1. Demonstrate how you add value and have made a difference to the company.  This subtly reminds your employer that you can take these skills elsewhere.
2. Get the facts about your unique contributions to the company.  Most people wing it.  That won’t work. Often your employer may not be aware of all that you bring to the company so this is an opportunity to tell him/her.
3. The exact best time to ask is when your boss is stressed the least.  Makes sense, right?  But often raises are sought when the employee is ready to ask or has assembled the confidence needed to bring it up.
4. Ask for a raise just before you are ready to take on a new significant project or just when you have completed a project successfully.  That’s the right moment.
5. Review time is not necessarily the best time to ask for more money.
6. No ultimatums, complaints or threatening.  You are asking not telling.
7. In the end, asking for a raise is successful not just when an employer says yes, but even when they say no because that no may motivate you to take your well thought out request to a better opportunity.

Know your worth.

In sports when players go to salary arbitration, the neutral arbitrator usually compares the player’s skills with those of players with similar skills, accomplishments and records.  That is their sweet spot and it is usually the arbitrator’s decision.

The same principle works for us.

Compare your skills and accomplishments with those of others and that is your sweet spot.

One warning:  avoid comparing yourself to others in front of your employer.  The request is about your work and your value to the company.

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