Tried asking for a raise with actual numbers instead of feelings and got a completely different result

I work at a small marketing firm in Portland and for years I'd ask for more money by just saying I felt underpaid or that I'd been there a while. My boss would always nod and then nothing would happen. Last quarter I got serious and tracked every project I finished, how much revenue it brought in, and compared my pay to market rates on Glassdoor. I wrote it all down on one page, no emotions, just facts. When I sat down with my manager I showed her the numbers and asked for a 12% bump. She said yes in like 10 minutes because the data made sense. I was honestly shocked because I'd built up this whole story in my head about how they'd say no. Has anyone else had luck using hard numbers to get a raise when the personal approach kept failing?

3 comments

3 Comments

noranguyen18d agoMost Upvoted

Nodded along and made that same tracking sheet myself (ugh, took forever). Turns out bosses actually pay attention when you show them dollar signs instead of sad eyes.

emery_taylor18d ago

Numbers work better, sure, but that framing misses the bigger point about why the work matters in the first place. Some of us don't want to turn everything into a transaction just to be heard.

burns.fiona18d ago

noranguyen nailed it with that tracking sheet. Mine took me a full weekend but it paid for itself in about ten minutes of conversation. Cold hard revenue numbers change the whole conversation, and managers respect that you did the homework instead of just showing up with feelings.