One of the most daunting workplace tasks is asking for a raise. It can bring down even the most secure person and relegate them to sweaty palms and stammering speech. But there are several ways to make the experience less painful…and hopefully, to make it pay!

First of all, it pays to keep your ears attuned to what might be going on in your boss’ life…his/her mood could largely be the determining factor as to whether you get passed by this year, so you want to be sure that timing is working in your favor. Has your boss been out for illness, been stressed out preparing for an important upcoming meeting, or is he or she headed out for a week at the beach soon? If you can’t find out what’s going on behind the scenes, then watch your boss’ face for signs of mood…don’t go in cold without seeing a welcoming look. Along with not procuring your raise, you don’t want to be the one who antagonized the boss after he just buried the family pet.

Next, it’s important to chase away as much insecurity as possible before going in…so make sure it’s good timing for you, too. Remind yourself that your boss has no doubt had to ask his/her boss for a raise at some point also. A helpful exercise is to imagine in advance how the conversation might go…try to anticipate which objections might be brought up and how you would handle them. Most importantly, visualize a happy ending!

It is possible that your boss WANTS to give you the raise but that you’re contending against others for budget share. You want to be prepared to explain why you deserve the raise more than others. Has it been a long time since your last raise? Was your last raise small? Is your salary lower than it should be? Any of these are valid reasons but you also want to focus on your intrinsic value to your company, particularly how you may have increased your monetary worth since your last raise. Can you can quantify your increased value in actual dollars? Perhaps you have brought some new business to the company, worked a lot of unpaid overtime, volunteered for some extra projects, or come up with some money-saving ideas. Attach a dollar amount to each line item and create a spreadsheet, then bring it with you…your boss will struggle to say no to such a concrete representation of why you deserve a raise!

But remember, the most important element when asking your boss for a raise is your own self-confidence. Don’t expect your boss to think you’re worthy of a raise if you don’t seem assured.