December 1, 2025 • 16 mins
Do you know how to negotiate a Director salary? In this episode, I cover Director compensation, my proven step-by-step Director salary negotiation strategies, and some common mistakes to avoid during a Director salary negotiation.
That way you have negotiation advice that is based on hundreds of salary negotiations and actually work for Directors.
SALARY NEGOTIATION TOOLS MENTIONED
- Salary Negotiation Coaching: https://www.thesalarynegotiator.com/
- Salary Negotiation Courses: https://www.thesalarynegotiator.com/courses
- Salary Negotiation Scripts & Templates: https://www.thesalarynegotiator.com/salary-negotiation-templates
- How to Negotiate a Job Offer Guide: https://www.thesalarynegotiator.com/job-offer-negotiation-course
- How to Negotiate a Raise Guide: https://www.thesalarynegotiator.com/salary-negotiation-course
- Total Compensation Calculator: https://www.thesalarynegotiator.com/total-compensation-calculator
SALARY NEGOTIATION RESOURCES
- Director Salary Negotiation Guide: https://www.thesalarynegotiator.com/resource-center/director-salary-negotiation
- Meta Salary Negotiation Guide: https://www.thesalarynegotiator.com/resource-center/how-to-negotiate-your-meta-job-offer
- Microsoft Salary Negotiation
- Google Salary Negotiation
- Video Guide
Like and subscribe!
CONNECT WITH ME
WHO AM I
I'm Brandon, the Founder and Lead Negotiator at The Salary Negotiator®. As a former corporate negotiator, I now help employees increase their compensation. Through hundreds of salary negotiations, I've helped career professionals secure over $200 million in additional compensation. My expertise is backed by more than 150 five-star reviews from career professionals on Google and Trustpilot.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Brandon (00:00):
Directors typically receive competitive compensation
at perks, but how do you knowif your job offers competitive
before you accept it?
Right?
In this episode, my goal is tocover everything you need to
confidently navigate a directorlevel salary negotiation.
I'm first going to cover thecompensation package and
structure for most directorlevel roles so you know more
about director's base salary,bonus, equity package, and
(00:20):
sign-up bonuses that you mightfound in your package.
That way you're gonna knowexactly what to expect before
you get an offer.
I'm then gonna walk you throughmy five recommended steps for
negotiating a director level joboffer that are proven through
real director's salarynegotiations that I've led for
my clients.
That way you can filter out thebad advice out there and use
salary negotiation strategiesthat are actually gonna work in
these discussions.
And I'm gonna close out theepisode by highlighting three
(00:42):
common mistakes you shoulddefinitely avoid in a director's
salarynegotiation (https://www.thesalarynegotiator.com/resource-center/director-salary-negotiation).
That way you don't risk theopportunity and you do actually
secure competitive compensation.
So let's go ahead and get rightinto it.
Hey everyone, welcome back tothe channel.
If you're new here, my name isBrandon Bramley and I'm the
founder and lead negotiator atthe salarynegotiator.com.
I provide professional job worknegotiation coaching, salary
negotiation courses, and toolsto help professionals like you
(01:03):
navigate the negotiation processand secure competitive
compensation.
I'm not just a career coach orrecruiter giving out generic
salary negotiation advice.
There's already enough badadvice floating around online.
Instead, I've actuallypersonally led hundreds of
salary negotiations acrossvarious roles, helping my
clients secure hundreds ofmillions more in compensation.
My background is in strategicnegotiations and my goal is to
(01:24):
debunk the bad advice out thereand give you proven negotiation
strategies that are actuallygonna work and help you earn
more.
So if you're a careerprofessional looking to earn
competitive pay, subscribe herefor actionable tips.
And when you're ready to takeyour negotiations to the next
level, visitthesalarynegotier.com for
coaching(https://www.thesalarynegotiator.com/) courses (https://www.thesalarynegotiator.com/courses)
and tools(https://www.thesalarynegotiator.com/salary-negotiation-templates) that
are designed to help younegotiate the best possible
offer.
Okay, so before we dive intohow to negotiate a director's
(01:46):
salary, let's talk about thecompensation components because
it's really important tounderstand the difference
between base salary and totalcompensation when you get to the
director level.
Too many directors focus ononly the base salary for the
role, but that's just one pieceof the puzzle when it comes to
the pay at the director level.
When considering a new company,you should look at the whole
picture, which is your totalmonetary take-home pay, also
(02:07):
known as your totalcompensation.
This is gonna include, as adirector, your base salary, any
bonuses, the value of yourinvesting equity each year, and
any sign-on bonuses right fromthe start.
Now you might find fourcompensation components in a
director's offer package, andI'm gonna talk through all of
them right now.
Starting with the first one,which is your director's base
salary.
This is your consistentguaranteed pay that you'll see
(02:29):
in every paycheck, and it'sreally only gonna change with a
promotion or merit increasessince it's a set rate.
This shouldn't be new since youshould have received a salary
or a base salary throughout yourentire career.
So I don't want to spend thatmuch time there.
But second, you're gonna havesome type of annual, quarterly,
or other performance bonus as adirector, which is usually a
percentage of your base salary,and the range is depending on
(02:50):
the director level of the role,can be anywhere as low as 10%,
but upwards of 50% or more.
So it's really gonna depend onthe company, but it's usually
gonna be either personal orcompany performance based, and
it's gonna be paid out eithermonthly, which isn't very
common, quarterly, which issometimes, and usually annually.
Okay.
(03:11):
Um and the one thing I want tocall out about it is the bonus
is not gonna be negotiable, butthe cool thing is it's tied to
your base salary.
So if you do negotiate a higherbase salary in the negotiation,
your bonus should go up aswell.
So keep that in mind for thiscomponent.
Third, now that you're higherup in the company, you're also
hopefully gonna receive anequity incentive as a director.
(03:32):
This is huge, but to learn moreabout it is it usually comes in
the form of either restrictedstock units, which are called
RSUs at most companies, oremployee stock options.
RSUs are gonna represent actualstock, which means you're gonna
receive shares of the companystock outright once at best.
Stock options, on the otherhand, are gonna give you the
right to purchase company stockat a predetermined price.
(03:54):
For example, you have to pay orexercise these options to
receive the actual shares.
So keep those in mind.
Director equity grants, though,are gonna come with what's
called a stock vesting schedule,which means you'll need to wait
for the equity to vestaccording to that schedule
before you actually own thoseshares or options.
Most stock vesting periods thatyou're gonna see are gonna be
three to four years with theequity vesting increments over
(04:17):
that time.
It is either gonna be an evenlydistributed or a staggered
vesting schedule.
So, for example, if you take alook at Meta's RSU vesting
schedule for directors, it's afour-year period with equal
annual vesting.
So that's 25 best each year or25% best each year.
However, you'll find astaggered approach for, say, a
(04:37):
director at Amazon on their RSUvesting schedule, where 5% best
at the end of year one, 15% bestat the end of year two, 40% at
the end of year three, and theremaining 40% in year four.
So companies are gonna havetheir own specific vesting
schedules for directors.
So keep that in mind and makesure you understand it.
And one big thing to note aboutequity is you don't get that
(04:59):
value up front with that vestingschedule.
But the cool thing is you aregonna share in the value
fluctuations over that period,which is why it's so big, right?
So if your company is crushingit and that stock price
continues to go up, so is yourtotal compensation and your
equity as a director.
The only bad thing is if thatstock price drops and the
company is not doing well, yourequity value and your total
(05:20):
compensation goes down as well.
So there are a lot of riskswith equity.
And one of the big importantthings to note is if you decide
to leave the company before anyof your equity invest, you are
gonna forfeit portion ofunvested equity at the direct
level.
So keep that in mind whenyou're evaluating future job
transitions.
Finally, the last component youshould all get as a director is
(05:42):
a sign-on bonus at a newcompany.
Okay, this is a one-time cashpayment that's typically paid
out with your first paycheck or30 days after you start.
And it's usually designed tooffset any loss incentives or
equity from your previouscompany or just as an incentive
to join the new company.
Okay, so directors' sign-onbonuses aren't always gonna
include it in the initial offer,so they are usually gonna
require negotiation, so don't besurprised by that.
(06:04):
But instead, I've been verysuccessful in securing it for
the directors I work with.
So if you go through the properstrategies and you're effective
in these discussions, youshould receive one in your offer
package and the company isexpecting you to ask for one.
Okay, and one of the last perksthat I'll call out for
compensation is gonna be that alot of companies are gonna that
offer equity to directors mightalso provide an annual equity
(06:28):
refresh, which is additionalequity grants each year you work
for them.
However, stock refreshes arenot always guaranteed with most
companies and they can varysignificantly.
So I don't personally includethem in our total compensation
calculation, but it is worthasking the recruiter when you go
through these discussions ifthey do offer stock refreshes,
how you get additional equityand how much those might be and
(06:48):
how they work.
That way you're aware of thisfuture compensation component to
see how your comp's gonna growat that company over the years.
Now, the four main directorsalary components, your base
salary, any bonuses, equity, anda sign-on bonus are gonna make
up your total compensation as adirector.
To help you visualize this, wehave a total compensation
calculator on oursite (https://www.thesalarynegotiator.com/total-compensation-calculator).
(07:08):
It lets you input your basesalary, your bonus percentage,
your equity grant, and your signup bonus.
Then it's gonna show yourestimated compensation over the
vesting period, both in totaland on an annual basis.
You can find our free totalcompensation calculator at
thesalarynegotior.com.
And I'm also gonna link to itin the episode notes so that you
can access this free tool andunderstand how much you're
(07:29):
making with your new package.
All right, now that we'vecovered how director's
compensation structure works,let's discuss this director's
salary negotiation steps.
At a higher level role, like adirector, companies are gonna
expect you to negotiate.
Okay, so sitting back, justaccepting the offer as is, is
really not the best strategybecause there's more money on
the table, there's betterbenefits, and there's the
opportunity online.
(07:49):
So it's very important to makesure that you secure the best
package possible by negotiatingstrategically.
And the company's also gonnaexpect you to negotiate.
So I don't want you to sit backon this one, okay?
Now these are salarynegotiation strategies that I've
actually used to successfullynegotiate many director level
job offers.
And I'm gonna recommend thatyou all follow them to navigate
your director level salarynegotiation once you actually
(08:11):
have an offer in hand and notduring the interview process.
Okay, wait till you have anoffer.
Now, once you do have adirector level job offer, the
first step to negotiating is tomake sure you fully understand
the comp components and benefitsin the offer package.
The biggest takeaway from thisis that understanding the
director level totalcompensation before negotiating
is super important.
That way you know exactly howto value the offer and what to
(08:34):
negotiate with looking at themain components, right?
Your base salary, your annualbonus, your equity, and your
sign-on bonus.
The second step is what I calldoing your due diligence and
asking strategic questions.
This is honestly where you'regonna stand out to the
recruiting team and it'sactually where you're gonna
review the director level offerpackage and come back with a
list of questions for therecruiting team.
It not only helps you clarifyany questions you might have
(08:56):
about the offer benefits, but itallows you to strategically ask
questions that are gonna buildnegotiation leverage in the
future.
Okay, so you can call outthings that might not be as
competitive as your current comppackage or current company or
something that you might see onthe market, right?
And if you need some ideas,feel free to go ahead and grab
my list of strategic questionson my templates page or go
(09:17):
through my course(https://www.thesalarynegotiator.com/job-offer-negotiation-course) to
actually learn a little bitmore and get those questions
there.
Because I don't want you toskip the step.
Even if you think you knowyou're a director, you know
everything, you understand theoffer.
It's very important in buildingnegotiation leverage by showing
you're doing the research andyour due diligence before you
send a director counter offer.
It's also gonna let you secureany freebies or items you didn't
(09:37):
even know were on the table.
So you're gonna find a wholehost of additional negotiable
perks as you climb the ladder.
So you don't want to miss outon those and what might be on
the table just because you askedfor a bunch of things that you
didn't think were there to findout that they would have given
you anyways just by asking somestreet cheek questions.
So don't skip it.
And the third step is to doyour director level compensation
(09:58):
research, right?
I want you to find the basesalary and the total
compensation ranges for yourspecific role, location, and
level at the new company.
And you can use various onlineresources to find this data.
But make sure you're usingmultiple resources and you're
averaging across those resultsbecause what we're trying to
find is we're trying to identifythe compensation ranges so we
can see exactly where yourinitial direct offer sits on
(10:19):
that range and how much moreroom there is for improvement
depending on how competitive itis out the gate.
Because most companies aregonna try to hire directors in
at the lower to mid end of thepay bands because they do expect
negotiation, but I'm alwaysgonna suggest that you push to
the top end of that pay range soyou're paid the same as anyone
else in that role.
But I do want to caveat thatmost of the data you're gonna be
(10:41):
pulling is publicly reporteddata and it's not always gonna
be as accurate.
So directors report higherequity than a new hire might get
due to stock appreciation, orthey may not have uploaded the
comp correctly.
So if you want help with this,I highly suggest that you grab
my compensation researchcomparison tool on my templates
page, or you go through mycourse so I can actually show
you in a lot more detail ofexactly how to do your
(11:03):
compensation research andprepare you for the director
counteroffer.
Once you have the directorcompensation research done and
you've gotten the answers toyour questions, now you're ready
to discuss and draft a directorcounteroffer.
Okay, this is where you'regonna take a database approach
and craft a counteroffer to sendto the recruiting team.
We're gonna present the top endof the range you're targeting
based off your research and callit any items that weren't
(11:24):
competitive on your duediligence questions.
I'm gonna, even though you're adirector and you think you
should be having theseconversations and you built a
great relationship with arecruiter, I still highly
suggest doing this by emailbecause it's gonna give the
recruiter everything they needto advocate for you and can
simply send your points to thecomp team.
Instead of hoping that on yourcall, they're gonna note down
your concerns and your commentsand take it back, because
(11:45):
instead that recruiter istrained and they know you're
gonna negotiate.
So when you try to give yourpitch, they're gonna cut you off
on the phone, they're gonnasteer you in a different
direction, and their goal is todeter you from negotiating and
getting you to accept the offeras is.
Okay, so you wanna avoid that.
But it also leads into my finalstep is after you send a
director's counteroffer, youneed to be prepared to handle a
(12:07):
recruiter and the hiring team'spushback or objections because
they know you're gonnanegotiate, so it's guaranteed
you're gonna get pushback fromthe recruiter, and their
recruiters are trained to deteryou from negotiating.
Okay, so be prepared for thatpushback and know what to say to
overcome those objections andget them to take your concerns
back to the comp team in afriendly and professional
(12:27):
manner.
Because essentially you'regonna wanna say that you
understand their concerns, butnicely reiterate yours and ask
them to take back your concernsto the comp team for one last
look.
It's honestly gonna probablytake overcoming a few objections
or no's.
But once they do agree to takeit back for another look, nine
times out of ten, they're gonnacome back with a better package.
That way you can hopefully sitpretty and accept the role.
(12:49):
Um but if you need a list oryou want my scripts on exactly
how to handle objection handlingresponses, feel free to grab
them on our templates page orcheck out my course where I go
into a lot more detail so youknow exactly what to say when
you encounter this pushbackthroughout your negotiation.
But from here, as long as youace those steps correctly,
they're either going to comeback with a better offer that
(13:10):
meets your needs or it'll beslightly lower than your ass.
And at either point, you caneither be ready to accept the
director level comp or you cango ahead and send one last
director counter offer to pushone last time.
But I know you're alldirectors, you all are great at
negotiating, maybebusiness-to-business deals, but
this is not like how younegotiate in a boardroom.
This is not how you negotiate acar dealership, okay?
(13:32):
These are not aggressivenegotiations and there really
isn't much back and forth.
So you really don't want tosend more than two salary
counters, otherwise, you'regonna risk coming off as
aggressive and jeopardizing therelationship.
So always keep that in mindwhen you navigate these
discussions.
Now, the last thing I want tocover is a few director salary
negotiation mistakes before youdecide to negotiate your offer
(13:52):
package.
Okay, because the main item I'mgonna recommend against, and a
lot of people make mistakes, issharing your salary expectations
or your current pay with therecruiting team.
Okay, this is only gonna workagainst you, and this is not
negotiating.
Because if you think about it,right, if you throw out a number
that's lower than what theycould offer, or if your current
comp that you share is lowerthan what they could offer,
you're likely gonna get a lessthan competitive compensation
(14:14):
package to flow in, and it's alot harder to negotiate up from
that position.
Okay, and as a director, a lotof you are looking at higher
levels, you could even get downleveled to a different team from
senior to um regular director.
So don't make that mistake bysaying you'll accept less comp.
On the flip side, right,thinking this is gonna be a big
step up in your career, youmight think it's a good idea to
(14:35):
throw out a big number, but wedon't want them to say, shoot,
I'm not sure if I can affordthis director, so let's go with
a different candidate instead.
So it's not a good strategy andkeep the negotiations till
after you get the offer packageand you have a chance to review
it holistically.
And remember, because therecruiting team knows exactly
what they can pay for this role,so you're always gonna want to
turn that question back on themand learn more rather than
(14:56):
giving out these random rangesthat you think might sound good.
Okay.
The second mistake to avoid ismaking sure that you're
realistic what they should payfor your role.
Okay, you don't want to put inyour director counteroffer a
salary or a comp package thatjust doesn't make sense and is
much higher than they would everapprove.
Okay, you're either gonna getlaughed at, you're not gonna
think you're um professional, orthey might come off as
(15:19):
aggressive and you could evenget the offer ascended.
So instead, I want you to takea database approach as a
director and look at realisticcompensation that they might
actually be able to provide.
Because at the end of the day,it doesn't matter your level
role, they're only gonna paywithin the pay bans that they're
approved for on a base salaryand a total curve basis.
So don't jeopardize yourdirector level role by coming
(15:40):
off as too aggressive and askingfor unrealistic numbers.
Never a good strategy.
And finally, don't be worriedabout a director's salary
negotiation.
Okay, you might feel nervous,but they are expecting this.
And at your level, as long asyou're following proven
strategies and keep thenegotiation professional,
there's no reason you'd risk thedirector offer.
Instead, if you do it right,you're gonna secure a much
(16:01):
better package and you're gonnabe a lot happier throughout your
career with that new companyknowing that you're making
competitive pay.
So don't skip it.
That wraps up this episode ondirector salary negotiation.
I hope this breakdown of adirector's compensation
structure, our proven director'ssalary negotiation strategies,
and negotiation mistakes toavoid in your negotiation are
gonna help you feel much moreconfident in these discussions.
(16:24):
If you are serious though abouthaving the best possible offer
as a director, I highly suggestyou don't go into the salary
negotiation alone.
Head over tothesalarynegotiator.com to
either connect with me and workwith me directly as your salary
negotiation coach, or check outmy salary negotiation course and
tools.
You're gonna find all the linksin the episode notes below, and
they're all designed to helpyou negotiate better pay.
(16:44):
And if you found this episodehelpful, make sure you
subscribe, leave a comment, andshare with someone who can use
this advice in their career.
So I really appreciate youtuning in and good luck
negotiating that next package.
Directors typically receive competitive compensation
at perks, but how do you knowif your job offers competitive
before you accept it?
Right?
In this episode, my goal is tocover everything you need to
confidently navigate a directorlevel salary negotiation.
I'm first going to cover thecompensation package and
structure for most directorlevel roles so you know more
about director's base salary,bonus, equity package, and
(00:20):
sign-up bonuses that you mightfound in your package.
That way you're gonna knowexactly what to expect before
you get an offer.
I'm then gonna walk you throughmy five recommended steps for
negotiating a director level joboffer that are proven through
real director's salarynegotiations that I've led for
my clients.
That way you can filter out thebad advice out there and use
salary negotiation strategiesthat are actually gonna work in
these discussions.
And I'm gonna close out theepisode by highlighting three
(00:42):
common mistakes you shoulddefinitely avoid in a director's
salarynegotiation (https://www.thesalarynegotiator.com/resource-center/director-salary-negotiation).
That way you don't risk theopportunity and you do actually
secure competitive compensation.
So let's go ahead and get rightinto it.
Hey everyone, welcome back tothe channel.
If you're new here, my name isBrandon Bramley and I'm the
founder and lead negotiator atthe salarynegotiator.com.
I provide professional job worknegotiation coaching, salary
negotiation courses, and toolsto help professionals like you
(01:03):
navigate the negotiation processand secure competitive
compensation.
I'm not just a career coach orrecruiter giving out generic
salary negotiation advice.
There's already enough badadvice floating around online.
Instead, I've actuallypersonally led hundreds of
salary negotiations acrossvarious roles, helping my
clients secure hundreds ofmillions more in compensation.
My background is in strategicnegotiations and my goal is to
(01:24):
debunk the bad advice out thereand give you proven negotiation
strategies that are actuallygonna work and help you earn
more.
So if you're a careerprofessional looking to earn
competitive pay, subscribe herefor actionable tips.
And when you're ready to takeyour negotiations to the next
level, visitthesalarynegotier.com for
coaching(https://www.thesalarynegotiator.com/) courses (https://www.thesalarynegotiator.com/courses)
and tools(https://www.thesalarynegotiator.com/salary-negotiation-templates) that
are designed to help younegotiate the best possible
offer.
Okay, so before we dive intohow to negotiate a director's
(01:46):
salary, let's talk about thecompensation components because
it's really important tounderstand the difference
between base salary and totalcompensation when you get to the
director level.
Too many directors focus ononly the base salary for the
role, but that's just one pieceof the puzzle when it comes to
the pay at the director level.
When considering a new company,you should look at the whole
picture, which is your totalmonetary take-home pay, also
(02:07):
known as your totalcompensation.
This is gonna include, as adirector, your base salary, any
bonuses, the value of yourinvesting equity each year, and
any sign-on bonuses right fromthe start.
Now you might find fourcompensation components in a
director's offer package, andI'm gonna talk through all of
them right now.
Starting with the first one,which is your director's base
salary.
This is your consistentguaranteed pay that you'll see
(02:29):
in every paycheck, and it'sreally only gonna change with a
promotion or merit increasessince it's a set rate.
This shouldn't be new since youshould have received a salary
or a base salary throughout yourentire career.
So I don't want to spend thatmuch time there.
But second, you're gonna havesome type of annual, quarterly,
or other performance bonus as adirector, which is usually a
percentage of your base salary,and the range is depending on
(02:50):
the director level of the role,can be anywhere as low as 10%,
but upwards of 50% or more.
So it's really gonna depend onthe company, but it's usually
gonna be either personal orcompany performance based, and
it's gonna be paid out eithermonthly, which isn't very
common, quarterly, which issometimes, and usually annually.
Okay.
(03:11):
Um and the one thing I want tocall out about it is the bonus
is not gonna be negotiable, butthe cool thing is it's tied to
your base salary.
So if you do negotiate a higherbase salary in the negotiation,
your bonus should go up aswell.
So keep that in mind for thiscomponent.
Third, now that you're higherup in the company, you're also
hopefully gonna receive anequity incentive as a director.
(03:32):
This is huge, but to learn moreabout it is it usually comes in
the form of either restrictedstock units, which are called
RSUs at most companies, oremployee stock options.
RSUs are gonna represent actualstock, which means you're gonna
receive shares of the companystock outright once at best.
Stock options, on the otherhand, are gonna give you the
right to purchase company stockat a predetermined price.
(03:54):
For example, you have to pay orexercise these options to
receive the actual shares.
So keep those in mind.
Director equity grants, though,are gonna come with what's
called a stock vesting schedule,which means you'll need to wait
for the equity to vestaccording to that schedule
before you actually own thoseshares or options.
Most stock vesting periods thatyou're gonna see are gonna be
three to four years with theequity vesting increments over
(04:17):
that time.
It is either gonna be an evenlydistributed or a staggered
vesting schedule.
So, for example, if you take alook at Meta's RSU vesting
schedule for directors, it's afour-year period with equal
annual vesting.
So that's 25 best each year or25% best each year.
However, you'll find astaggered approach for, say, a
(04:37):
director at Amazon on their RSUvesting schedule, where 5% best
at the end of year one, 15% bestat the end of year two, 40% at
the end of year three, and theremaining 40% in year four.
So companies are gonna havetheir own specific vesting
schedules for directors.
So keep that in mind and makesure you understand it.
And one big thing to note aboutequity is you don't get that
(04:59):
value up front with that vestingschedule.
But the cool thing is you aregonna share in the value
fluctuations over that period,which is why it's so big, right?
So if your company is crushingit and that stock price
continues to go up, so is yourtotal compensation and your
equity as a director.
The only bad thing is if thatstock price drops and the
company is not doing well, yourequity value and your total
(05:20):
compensation goes down as well.
So there are a lot of riskswith equity.
And one of the big importantthings to note is if you decide
to leave the company before anyof your equity invest, you are
gonna forfeit portion ofunvested equity at the direct
level.
So keep that in mind whenyou're evaluating future job
transitions.
Finally, the last component youshould all get as a director is
(05:42):
a sign-on bonus at a newcompany.
Okay, this is a one-time cashpayment that's typically paid
out with your first paycheck or30 days after you start.
And it's usually designed tooffset any loss incentives or
equity from your previouscompany or just as an incentive
to join the new company.
Okay, so directors' sign-onbonuses aren't always gonna
include it in the initial offer,so they are usually gonna
require negotiation, so don't besurprised by that.
(06:04):
But instead, I've been verysuccessful in securing it for
the directors I work with.
So if you go through the properstrategies and you're effective
in these discussions, youshould receive one in your offer
package and the company isexpecting you to ask for one.
Okay, and one of the last perksthat I'll call out for
compensation is gonna be that alot of companies are gonna that
offer equity to directors mightalso provide an annual equity
(06:28):
refresh, which is additionalequity grants each year you work
for them.
However, stock refreshes arenot always guaranteed with most
companies and they can varysignificantly.
So I don't personally includethem in our total compensation
calculation, but it is worthasking the recruiter when you go
through these discussions ifthey do offer stock refreshes,
how you get additional equityand how much those might be and
(06:48):
how they work.
That way you're aware of thisfuture compensation component to
see how your comp's gonna growat that company over the years.
Now, the four main directorsalary components, your base
salary, any bonuses, equity, anda sign-on bonus are gonna make
up your total compensation as adirector.
To help you visualize this, wehave a total compensation
calculator on oursite (https://www.thesalarynegotiator.com/total-compensation-calculator).
(07:08):
It lets you input your basesalary, your bonus percentage,
your equity grant, and your signup bonus.
Then it's gonna show yourestimated compensation over the
vesting period, both in totaland on an annual basis.
You can find our free totalcompensation calculator at
thesalarynegotior.com.
And I'm also gonna link to itin the episode notes so that you
can access this free tool andunderstand how much you're
(07:29):
making with your new package.
All right, now that we'vecovered how director's
compensation structure works,let's discuss this director's
salary negotiation steps.
At a higher level role, like adirector, companies are gonna
expect you to negotiate.
Okay, so sitting back, justaccepting the offer as is, is
really not the best strategybecause there's more money on
the table, there's betterbenefits, and there's the
opportunity online.
(07:49):
So it's very important to makesure that you secure the best
package possible by negotiatingstrategically.
And the company's also gonnaexpect you to negotiate.
So I don't want you to sit backon this one, okay?
Now these are salarynegotiation strategies that I've
actually used to successfullynegotiate many director level
job offers.
And I'm gonna recommend thatyou all follow them to navigate
your director level salarynegotiation once you actually
(08:11):
have an offer in hand and notduring the interview process.
Okay, wait till you have anoffer.
Now, once you do have adirector level job offer, the
first step to negotiating is tomake sure you fully understand
the comp components and benefitsin the offer package.
The biggest takeaway from thisis that understanding the
director level totalcompensation before negotiating
is super important.
That way you know exactly howto value the offer and what to
(08:34):
negotiate with looking at themain components, right?
Your base salary, your annualbonus, your equity, and your
sign-on bonus.
The second step is what I calldoing your due diligence and
asking strategic questions.
This is honestly where you'regonna stand out to the
recruiting team and it'sactually where you're gonna
review the director level offerpackage and come back with a
list of questions for therecruiting team.
It not only helps you clarifyany questions you might have
(08:56):
about the offer benefits, but itallows you to strategically ask
questions that are gonna buildnegotiation leverage in the
future.
Okay, so you can call outthings that might not be as
competitive as your current comppackage or current company or
something that you might see onthe market, right?
And if you need some ideas,feel free to go ahead and grab
my list of strategic questionson my templates page or go
(09:17):
through my course(https://www.thesalarynegotiator.com/job-offer-negotiation-course) to
actually learn a little bitmore and get those questions
there.
Because I don't want you toskip the step.
Even if you think you knowyou're a director, you know
everything, you understand theoffer.
It's very important in buildingnegotiation leverage by showing
you're doing the research andyour due diligence before you
send a director counter offer.
It's also gonna let you secureany freebies or items you didn't
(09:37):
even know were on the table.
So you're gonna find a wholehost of additional negotiable
perks as you climb the ladder.
So you don't want to miss outon those and what might be on
the table just because you askedfor a bunch of things that you
didn't think were there to findout that they would have given
you anyways just by asking somestreet cheek questions.
So don't skip it.
And the third step is to doyour director level compensation
(09:58):
research, right?
I want you to find the basesalary and the total
compensation ranges for yourspecific role, location, and
level at the new company.
And you can use various onlineresources to find this data.
But make sure you're usingmultiple resources and you're
averaging across those resultsbecause what we're trying to
find is we're trying to identifythe compensation ranges so we
can see exactly where yourinitial direct offer sits on
(10:19):
that range and how much moreroom there is for improvement
depending on how competitive itis out the gate.
Because most companies aregonna try to hire directors in
at the lower to mid end of thepay bands because they do expect
negotiation, but I'm alwaysgonna suggest that you push to
the top end of that pay range soyou're paid the same as anyone
else in that role.
But I do want to caveat thatmost of the data you're gonna be
(10:41):
pulling is publicly reporteddata and it's not always gonna
be as accurate.
So directors report higherequity than a new hire might get
due to stock appreciation, orthey may not have uploaded the
comp correctly.
So if you want help with this,I highly suggest that you grab
my compensation researchcomparison tool on my templates
page, or you go through mycourse so I can actually show
you in a lot more detail ofexactly how to do your
(11:03):
compensation research andprepare you for the director
counteroffer.
Once you have the directorcompensation research done and
you've gotten the answers toyour questions, now you're ready
to discuss and draft a directorcounteroffer.
Okay, this is where you'regonna take a database approach
and craft a counteroffer to sendto the recruiting team.
We're gonna present the top endof the range you're targeting
based off your research and callit any items that weren't
(11:24):
competitive on your duediligence questions.
I'm gonna, even though you're adirector and you think you
should be having theseconversations and you built a
great relationship with arecruiter, I still highly
suggest doing this by emailbecause it's gonna give the
recruiter everything they needto advocate for you and can
simply send your points to thecomp team.
Instead of hoping that on yourcall, they're gonna note down
your concerns and your commentsand take it back, because
(11:45):
instead that recruiter istrained and they know you're
gonna negotiate.
So when you try to give yourpitch, they're gonna cut you off
on the phone, they're gonnasteer you in a different
direction, and their goal is todeter you from negotiating and
getting you to accept the offeras is.
Okay, so you wanna avoid that.
But it also leads into my finalstep is after you send a
director's counteroffer, youneed to be prepared to handle a
(12:07):
recruiter and the hiring team'spushback or objections because
they know you're gonnanegotiate, so it's guaranteed
you're gonna get pushback fromthe recruiter, and their
recruiters are trained to deteryou from negotiating.
Okay, so be prepared for thatpushback and know what to say to
overcome those objections andget them to take your concerns
back to the comp team in afriendly and professional
(12:27):
manner.
Because essentially you'regonna wanna say that you
understand their concerns, butnicely reiterate yours and ask
them to take back your concernsto the comp team for one last
look.
It's honestly gonna probablytake overcoming a few objections
or no's.
But once they do agree to takeit back for another look, nine
times out of ten, they're gonnacome back with a better package.
That way you can hopefully sitpretty and accept the role.
(12:49):
Um but if you need a list oryou want my scripts on exactly
how to handle objection handlingresponses, feel free to grab
them on our templates page orcheck out my course where I go
into a lot more detail so youknow exactly what to say when
you encounter this pushbackthroughout your negotiation.
But from here, as long as youace those steps correctly,
they're either going to comeback with a better offer that
(13:10):
meets your needs or it'll beslightly lower than your ass.
And at either point, you caneither be ready to accept the
director level comp or you cango ahead and send one last
director counter offer to pushone last time.
But I know you're alldirectors, you all are great at
negotiating, maybebusiness-to-business deals, but
this is not like how younegotiate in a boardroom.
This is not how you negotiate acar dealership, okay?
(13:32):
These are not aggressivenegotiations and there really
isn't much back and forth.
So you really don't want tosend more than two salary
counters, otherwise, you'regonna risk coming off as
aggressive and jeopardizing therelationship.
So always keep that in mindwhen you navigate these
discussions.
Now, the last thing I want tocover is a few director salary
negotiation mistakes before youdecide to negotiate your offer
(13:52):
package.
Okay, because the main item I'mgonna recommend against, and a
lot of people make mistakes, issharing your salary expectations
or your current pay with therecruiting team.
Okay, this is only gonna workagainst you, and this is not
negotiating.
Because if you think about it,right, if you throw out a number
that's lower than what theycould offer, or if your current
comp that you share is lowerthan what they could offer,
you're likely gonna get a lessthan competitive compensation
(14:14):
package to flow in, and it's alot harder to negotiate up from
that position.
Okay, and as a director, a lotof you are looking at higher
levels, you could even get downleveled to a different team from
senior to um regular director.
So don't make that mistake bysaying you'll accept less comp.
On the flip side, right,thinking this is gonna be a big
step up in your career, youmight think it's a good idea to
(14:35):
throw out a big number, but wedon't want them to say, shoot,
I'm not sure if I can affordthis director, so let's go with
a different candidate instead.
So it's not a good strategy andkeep the negotiations till
after you get the offer packageand you have a chance to review
it holistically.
And remember, because therecruiting team knows exactly
what they can pay for this role,so you're always gonna want to
turn that question back on themand learn more rather than
(14:56):
giving out these random rangesthat you think might sound good.
Okay.
The second mistake to avoid ismaking sure that you're
realistic what they should payfor your role.
Okay, you don't want to put inyour director counteroffer a
salary or a comp package thatjust doesn't make sense and is
much higher than they would everapprove.
Okay, you're either gonna getlaughed at, you're not gonna
think you're um professional, orthey might come off as
(15:19):
aggressive and you could evenget the offer ascended.
So instead, I want you to takea database approach as a
director and look at realisticcompensation that they might
actually be able to provide.
Because at the end of the day,it doesn't matter your level
role, they're only gonna paywithin the pay bans that they're
approved for on a base salaryand a total curve basis.
So don't jeopardize yourdirector level role by coming
(15:40):
off as too aggressive and askingfor unrealistic numbers.
Never a good strategy.
And finally, don't be worriedabout a director's salary
negotiation.
Okay, you might feel nervous,but they are expecting this.
And at your level, as long asyou're following proven
strategies and keep thenegotiation professional,
there's no reason you'd risk thedirector offer.
Instead, if you do it right,you're gonna secure a much
(16:01):
better package and you're gonnabe a lot happier throughout your
career with that new companyknowing that you're making
competitive pay.
So don't skip it.
That wraps up this episode ondirector salary negotiation.
I hope this breakdown of adirector's compensation
structure, our proven director'ssalary negotiation strategies,
and negotiation mistakes toavoid in your negotiation are
gonna help you feel much moreconfident in these discussions.
(16:24):
If you are serious though abouthaving the best possible offer
as a director, I highly suggestyou don't go into the salary
negotiation alone.
Head over tothesalarynegotiator.com to
either connect with me and workwith me directly as your salary
negotiation coach, or check outmy salary negotiation course and
tools.
You're gonna find all the linksin the episode notes below, and
they're all designed to helpyou negotiate better pay.
(16:44):
And if you found this episodehelpful, make sure you
subscribe, leave a comment, andshare with someone who can use
this advice in their career.
So I really appreciate youtuning in and good luck
negotiating that next package.
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