- Shark Tank’s Barbara Corcoran believes you can score a pay raise if you’re prepared to negotiate properly—but whatever you do, “don’t go in there and say you want a raise,” she warns.
If you feel like you deserve a raise, you’re not alone. Over 80% of Americans want to ask their boss for an increase in their compensation, yet only 60% plan to follow through, according to one study.
Luckily, Shark Tank’s Barbara Corcoran has some words of wisdom to help you obtain the compensation you deserve. It all starts, she says, with taking stock of your work responsibilities.
“You want to prepare for the meeting by making a list of everything you are hired for and then everything you are actually doing right now and share that with your boss,” Corcoran says in an Instagram post.
Then, she adds, you need to come in ready to negotiate firmly by naming a figure.
“Don’t go in there and say you want a raise,” she says. “Say you want a 10% raise and you’re in a much better negotiation position to maybe get 8%. Name the number.”
While Corcoran’s advice may sound simple, having confidence behind your raise proposal is likely to increase your chances of taking home the money you deserve and building your wealth on your own terms.
When there are fewer raises to go around, the stakes are higher
During periods of economic uncertainty, raises are often one of the first parts of companies’ budgets to go. Between 2023 and 2024, companies reported scaling back their median salary increases from 4.5% to 4.1%. And if 2025’s market conditions stand as volatile as they already have, there may be fewer raises to go around this year.
That doesn’t mean all raises are gone; it just means the stakes are raised for you to prove you are owed one. For those who need an extra boost in crafting a message, ChatGPT or another generative AI chatbot is slowly becoming an effective salary negotiation coach for workers.
While asking for a raise can be stressful, it may be rare for a leader to come to you with a performance-based salary increase. Corcoran’s fellow Shark Tank star Robert Herjavec emphasizes that more often than not, you need to initiate the conversation and treat it like a business negotiation. His advice centers around five items:
- Timing is important
- Don’t beg
- Emphasize your worth
- Follow the three P’s (practice, perspective, and proactive)
- Bring proof of your performance
“It feels just as good to give someone a raise as it does to receive one,” he says. “So plan ahead, be transparent, be firm, and remember that the final decision comes down to how much value you add to the company.”
Read more from Fortune
Not all leaders believe in asking for a raise
While the shark’s advice may sound risk-free, not every business leader agrees that asking directly for a raise is a smart career move.
In 2014, Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella was asked about his advice for women uncomfortable with asking for pay raises, and his comments raised eyebrows: “It’s not really about asking for a raise, but knowing and having faith that the system will give you the right raise,” he said.
Given that the gender pay gap continues to be a pressing issue and that women have less success in landing raises, his comments were viewed as controversial. However, to some surprise, some experts, including several high-paid female executives, agreed.
“You never ask for more money,” Victoria Medvec, the executive director of the Center for Executive Women at the Kellogg School of Management, told Fortune at the time. “You ask for more of a package. As you go into a negotiation, you always make it about what you achieving for the business. The compensation should be at caboose of the offer. It is just along for the ride.”
Nevertheless, if you feel like you are doing more work than you are being compensated for, it can be better to shoot your shot with a well-prepared plan instead of sitting idly by as your peers take the initiative.
