Negotiating Your Worth: The CPGers Guide to Compensation

𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗳𝘁 $𝟰𝟱𝗞 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 "𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗺 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘆"

Marketing Director. 12 years at the same company. Just landed her dream role at a challenger brand.

"I don't want to rock the boat," she told me after accepting their first offer.

Six months later, she discovered her peer (hired same week, similar experience) was making $45K more.

The difference? He negotiated. She was "grateful."

Here's what I wish every CPG professional understood about compensation negotiation.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 $𝟭𝟬𝟬𝗞 𝗟𝗶𝗲 𝗪𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗢𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀

"My raise is for past performance."

Wrong.

Your compensation is for future value. Period.

Think about it: When Walmart negotiates with you, are they paying for last year's sales? Or next year's growth?

Same principle applies to your paycheck.

Yet I watch brilliant CPG leaders walk into compensation conversations armed with last year's achievements instead of next year's impact.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀

Last month, a client—Operations VP, saved her company $8M—was dreading her review.

"I hate talking about money," she said.

"Good news," I told her. "We're not talking about money. We're talking about ROI."

Here's what she presented:

"Based on my Q4 initiatives, I'll deliver $12M in cost savings next year through our automation project. I'll also reduce lead times by 30%, which marketing estimates will capture an additional 2 share points. To maintain focus on these critical initiatives, I'm proposing my compensation aligns with the value I'm creating."

Not: "I've been here 5 years and deserve a raise."

But: "Here's the expensive problem I'm solving and what it's worth."

Result? 22% increase plus retention bonus.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘂𝗹𝗮

Confidence in negotiation isn't personality. It's preparation.

Before your conversation:

1. Quantify your future impact (savings, growth, efficiency)
2. Research market rates (not Glassdoor—real CPG contacts)
3. Prepare for 'No' (it's rarely final)
4. Practice out loud (seriously, do this)

My operations VP? We role-played her conversation three times. By the actual meeting, she'd heard every possible objection.

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗦𝗮𝘆 '𝗡𝗼' (𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗠𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁)

"No" in compensation conversations is like the first "no" from a retailer. It's an opening position, not a final answer.

Your response framework:

"I understand budget constraints. Help me understand what would need to happen for this to be reconsidered? What metrics or milestones would demonstrate the value I'm describing?"

Then document everything. Email summary. Agreed milestones. Timeline for revisiting.

One client heard "no" in January. By June, armed with documented wins against their agreed metrics, she got 18%.

"No" just meant "prove it first."

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗣𝗚 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸

In CPG, we negotiate everything:

• Trade spend
• Shelf space
• Promotional calendars
• Vendor contracts
• Marketing budgets

But our own worth? Suddenly we're conflict-averse.

Here's the truth: The same company squeezing every penny from suppliers expects you to negotiate. When you don't, they wonder if you'll fight for THEM.

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸

Stop saying:

• "I've been here X years"
• "I work really hard"
• "Others make more than me"
• "I need more money"

Start saying:

• "My 2026 initiatives will deliver..."
• "Based on market value for this impact..."
• "To maintain focus on these priorities..."
• "Let's align compensation with value created"

The mindset shift:
You're not asking for a favor. You're proposing a business investment.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴

Remember my client who left $45K on the table?

She's now at a new company. This time, she negotiated. Not just salary—signing bonus, equity, flexible schedule, development budget.

"I finally realized," she told me, "that accepting less than I'm worth doesn't make me grateful. It makes me resentful."

And resentment kills performance faster than any competitor.

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗲

Compensation conversations aren't about greed. They're about alignment.

When your pay matches your value, you're focused on winning. When it doesn't, you're distracted by Indeed.

Your assignment:

1. Calculate the value you'll create next year
2. Research what that value commands in the market
3. Schedule the conversation

Because here's what decades in CPG taught me:

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁? 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿.

What's the real cost of NOT having this conversation?

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