Most raise and salary problems, like job-hunting problems, are twins. First there’s the expectant side to the problem: generally a fear that threatens to keep you from taking an action, such as “they’re not going to give me any more money.” And second there’s the extant problem: an outright rejection, like “they said they won’t give me any more money.” However, unlike job-hunting problems, these twins are analogous. In fact, the secret to solving both sides of the dilemma is the same: expertise.

The key to being successful in initially asking for more money, or to appealing a negative decision about compensation, is to be an expert on the market value for what you do, and on how your personal value is perceived by the company. Even the most tightfisted organization in the world accepts that it must pay market value for good people. Therefore, the secret to getting more money knows you’re valued and being able to demonstrate you’re not receiving fair compensation for that value.

Though establishing trust between yourself and another party is vital in solving almost every problem, in raise and salary issues trust also takes on another role. You’ll be presenting the expertise you’ve acquire on compensation. It’s likely this will differ somewhat with the other party’s notion of the market value. In order to solve your problem you’ll need to generate trust in your numbers, as well as in yourself.