Rate vs responsibility

[Eucriel]

Indeed

[ChimpMaster]

I've not been in your position but I'd be wary of making yourself look like an extremist in either direction - i.e. don't appear too greedy and don't appear a pushover. I'm not sure what your rate is but banks DO pay well relative to other sectors. At the IB I am at, rates are anywhere from 350 to 800, with the top end being for PMs and bottom end for trainers/project co-dinators and the like. Developers are probably on 500-600.

Go for a rate that you would be happy with - that is the main thing. You don't want to be looking back in 6 month's time thinking that you undersold yourself. If the role is worth 50% then go for it and sell yourself well on the facts only you can explain. If you know the client well enough then you may not need to negotiate as such... just have an open honest conversation instead.

[oracleslave]

Difficult to say if the 50% jump is possible without knowing what the starting point, i.e. 50% of not much is not much etc. What is the market rate in your opinion for the new role? If it's so specialised that they can't find anyone else without incurring significant cost then why not go for market plus say 15%?

[XLMonkey]

The key to getting a rate rise, whether its 5% or 50%, is to ensure that the negotiations are conducted by reference to facts and alternatives, rather than a gut feeling about "what's reasonable" or "what you're on now".

I don't know if 50% is reasonable or fair. I doubt if the customer does either. To get to a mutually satisfactory agreement you need to find, and give, the customer more information:
- what's the average rate for the new role that you are being asked to fill (you can get some benchmark figures from the various contract watch sites that are out there)?
- how much was your predecessor getting ?
- do you know other contractors working for the same company in more senior roles with whom you can check to get a sense for the rate that the customer pays?

Assuming that you get a few figures that suggest, say, the average contract rate for the role is 45% higher than you are on at the moment, then you need to prepare a case showing the customer why the rise is appropriate, and also identifying other factors that are relevant:
- the fact that you are well-known and (hopefully) respected in the organisation already
- the fact that the alternative (recruiting another person) will incur significant time and cost penalties

etc.

If you have the time, I strongly recommend buying and reading a negotiating skills handbook (Fischer & Ury's "Getting to Yes" is the one I like best), as it will take you through the process in a lot more detail than you can on an internet forum.

best of luck

[r0bly0ns]

Sounds like a good plan to me, but be aware that they will try to haggle with you, it's just the way business is.

If you want 30% then go in asking for 35%
Whatever figure you go in with, they will expect it to be a bit higher than what you actually want and to be able to haggle you down a bit.