Former Wall Street executive Sallie Krawcheck explains the best way to ask for a raise — and get one

REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

Just because you deserve a raise doesn't mean you're about to get one. More often than not, you have to ask — and then back up your request.

At the S.H.E. Summit in New York City in October, Sallie Krawcheck — the former Wall Street executive and founder of Ellevest, an online investing adviser for women — spoke about ways women can proactively bridge the gender pay gap. But her advice can be applied universally: Don't just ask for a raise, she said — provide definitive proof that you deserve it.

"Be as quantitative as you can be," she said. "Put numbers on paper."

Vague requests can easily be denied, but hard facts are far more difficult to argue with.

Krawcheck suggests keeping a running list quantifying everything you do, from the number of clients you bring in to the size of the budget you manage to the work you do on each project. When you go in for a performance review or salary negotiation, you'll be prepared with indisputable evidence of exactly what you contribute to the company.

Krawcheck also advises looking up your position on sites like Glassdoor and Fairy God Boss to know how your current salary compares to the marketplace and gain an idea of how much you should be making.

"We have more resources now than ever before," Krawcheck noted. "We should be excited about technology."

As Krawcheck suggests, it's smart to make the salary negotiation about the facts and leave personal emotions out of it. Demonstrate why you deserve a raise and how you're contributing to the company, don't whine about wanting more money.

"You should always link individual performance to departmental goals, and then to overall company goals and how what you've done directly impacted each," Adam Ochstein, founder and CEO of StratEx Partners, previously told Business Insider.

And if you get denied, don't take it personally — find out why it isn't possible right now and what you can do differently. Don't be afraid to be direct: "Ask, 'What can I do to make this amount?'" Krawcheck said.

And then do it.

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