I've received an offer from a company in Seattle that I'm excited about working for, but...I want/need more money to make it work. Cross-country move, family, etc. I'm moving out of context here- I've never counter-offered before and I don't have any decent comps as this is in a different industry and geographic region. I'm not asking how much I should ask for, or what's fair or anything like that. I'm curious as to what a good negotiation strategy is. I have qualifications that in some areas exceed the job requirements, and one area in which I'm underqualified. Everyone knows this, everyone's good with it and we're all hugging and kissing over the phone. The rubber hasn't met the road yet, so I'm not sure how to proceed. Dr. Internet is no real help on this, as he repeatedly tells me to start 15% over and haggle from there. That seems a bit arbitrary and would get you kicked to the curb in my current industry. What angles have worked for you guys in the past? More qualifications than requested? More experience? Hey gosh I want a nice place to live? Cost of living adjustment? Thanks!
I'd just come out and say that you need an offer that makes it attractive for you to uproot yourself and your family to the other side of the country and that you need to make sure that your quality of life remains at its current levels. Presumably you know what the amount of money you'd need to make it work for you is, so ask for that and make it clear that if they say no then you won't be able to accept the offer.
Rather than trying to haggle over a salary increase (long term recurring monetary benefit) to make a move (one time financial and time drain) worth it, considering negotiating for a signing bonus, asking if they'll cover the cost incurred to you in the move, and if it would be possible to get some extra paid time off (on top of your regularly negotiated paid vacation time in your contract) so that you don't have a loss of wages for the days you have to spend moving and getting your family reorganized in the new city. A salary negotiation in this situation might be a non-starter but one-time bonuses to make the transition easier are definitely a reasonable thing to ask for.
http://www.slate.com/search.html?q=negotiation There's a really good podcast about salary negotiation though I'm having trouble getting the link to come up right at the moment.
