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Leverage · Compensation Intelligence
Est. 2024 · Vol. 03
Confidential Briefing

You are not asking
for more money.
You are correcting
a pricing error.

Average client outcome: $34,200 increase in first negotiation.

$34.2K
Avg. first-negotiation gain
94%
Clients who exceeded ask
47
Scripts in the playbook
12
Negotiation scenarios covered
Download the Negotiation PlaybookSee Your Market Rate
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02 — Proof of Concept

The Numbers
Don't Lie.

Anonymized client outcomes. Same situation you're in right now. Different result.

Engineering

Senior Software Engineer

Series B SaaS, Bay Area

01

Received 4.2% merit bump after two years of staff-level contributions. Competing offer from FAANG in hand.

Before
$158,000
After
$212,000
+$54,000base + $30K RSU acceleration
Tactic: Competing Offer Framework
Marketing

Director of Marketing

PE-backed retail brand, NYC

02

Discovered via Radford data she was $43K below median for her scope. No competing offer, just market data and a prepared script.

Before
$134,000
After
$171,500
+$37,500base + annual bonus restructure
Tactic: Total Compensation Reframe
Leadership

Newly Promoted VP of Product

Public tech company, Austin

03

First VP role — accepted initial offer without reading the equity schedule. Renegotiated within 60-day window using vesting acceleration clause.

Before
$195,000 + 0.15% standard vesting
After
$210,000 + 0.22% with double-trigger
+$15K + $280K equity deltaat current valuation
Tactic: Silence Method + Equity Reframe

All figures independently verified. Names and companies withheld by agreement.

03 — Expert Tactics

Three Frameworks.
One Conversation.

Select the tactic that maps to your situation. Each one is a weapon. Learn all three.

Works best for: Base salary discussions after an initial lowball

“The most powerful word in a negotiation is the one you don't say.”

After a counter-offer, most candidates immediately start justifying, softening, or apologizing. That's the moment you lose. The Silence Method trains you to state your number and stop talking — letting the weight of your research do the work.

The Three Moves
  1. 01State your number with a single data point: "Based on Levels.fyi data for this role at this stage, I'm targeting $X."
  2. 02Close your mouth. Count to seven internally.
  3. 03The next person who speaks has shifted leverage.
"In 340 coached negotiations, silence after the ask produced a counter-offer 78% of the time. Talking produced justifications — which the other side used against us."
Maya Okonkwo, professional woman with confident expression in business attire
Maya Okonkwo
Former Compensation Lead, Google
Get the full script

The Playbook includes word-for-word scripts for The Silence Method and 11 other scenarios.

Download Playbook — Free
04 — The Playbook

47 Scripts.
12 Scenarios.
Zero Guesswork.

The Leverage Negotiation Playbook is a 64-page operational document — not a motivational guide. Every script is calibrated for a specific scenario, career level, and company stage.

47
word-for-word scripts
12
negotiation scenarios
8
salary research templates
3
equity calculator models
Scenarios covered:
▸Post-promotion lowball
▸Competing offer leverage
▸Equity refresh negotiation
▸Signing bonus ask
▸Remote work premium
▸Title + comp mismatch
▸Annual review counter
▸VP equity first-time
▸Market correction ask
▸Return-to-office pushback
▸Relocation package
▸Bonus structure reframe
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Negotiation Playbook

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05 — Voices from the Field

They Ran the Plays.
Here's What Happened.

01 / 04
Kenji Nakamura, male professional with composed expression
Kenji Nakamura
Staff Engineer → Principal
Fintech Series C, San Francisco
+$52,000
total comp increase
“I had the data. I had the script. When my manager said "this is the best we can do," I just said "I understand — I'll need $215K to move forward," and waited. They came back in 48 hours. Leverage taught me that silence is a sentence.”
Get the same playbookVerified client outcome · 2026