Getting what you want by saying what you need

LET'S FACE IT, when you have to go to your entrepreneurial boss with questions that range from getting a pay raise to adding more people to your team, the task can seem like the proverbial walk into the lion's den. It does not help if she regales you with tales of starting the business on her own, with no budget and no staff.

Should you shut up and make do with the resources you have? Or should you press ahead with your requests knowing that in order to execute your functions, you need the support - monetary or otherwise.

I am in favour of the latter course of action; even though I am an entrepreneur who has carved two businesses the lean way, I believe that employers should listen, really listen to employees when they communicate their needs.

Here are three big questions employees are afraid to raise.

Q 1: I need a bigger budget for marketing.

When asking for a bigger budget for marketing, anticipate the following questions from your company's head: Are you marketing the project so well, and need more to do more of the same? How was the last budget spent? Are you prospecting for new customers?

Can you point to an increase in the marketing spend of your competitors that is attracting your customers to them?

There may be other relevant questions, but whether you get a yes or no depends on how well you can justify your claim - you need fundamental information, with detailed knowledge of past history, the current situation, and the change in circumstances that produces the need for a new budget.

Q 2: I need more support staff

To many employees - accustomed as they are to working in pared-down, cost reducing conditions - asking the boss for support staff is a fearsome task.

When making your needs for assistance known, show your manager how an additional person can have positive impact on the business and how additional staff members (for a relatively modest outlay) can release you from all routine tasks so your time can be freed to help grow the business. It helps to quantify everything, that is, show what will be accomplished with the increase in budget.

Q 3: I deserve a pay raise.

This is perhaps the most emotive of all issues. When one of my assistants stated her case for a pay raise just over a year ago, I had already raised the issue with my accountant. But when my assistant came to me first with her "I deserve a raise" pitch, I should not have been surprised by her professionalism - which went far beyond the "I'm worth it" approach.

Instead, she looked at her job title and how much her responsibilities had changed in 12 months. She conducted an informal salary survey and justified with facts and figures how much and why her pay packet should be increased. It was.

There are no tough questions if employees take the time to craft their messages and communicate their needs in a language an entrepreneur understands.