Madame Noire details cities with a concentration of companies that pay women top dollar in top industries including manufacturing, scientific and management services, education and healthcare.

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Or at least the insight to help you get started. Check out these resources on how to negotiate and get the money you deserve:

• How to make sure you’re not settle for less when it comes to you salary
• Want to earn a man’s salary? Learn how to negotiate like him
• How to negotiate the right deal for the right job
• 5 high paying jobs and how to get them
• From college graduation to career success: your step-by-step guide

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The old adage of being “overworked and underpaid” still rings true for many of today’s professionals.  Honestly speaking, no one ever thinks they’re being paid enough. But the reality is that many professionals aren’t paid what they deserve, and work with employers for years with no pay increase.  Now that cost-of-living increases have become a thing of the past, the desire for a higher salary is often justified but oftentimes not satisfied.

Most professionals don’t have the courage to ask for a raise, feeling grateful just to have a job. But, find the courage to ask for what you deserve, and take these key steps to do just that:

• Do a self-evaluation. What has your track record been since you started with the company?  Have you been late often?  Do you complete tasks on time?  How does your work compare with that of your colleagues?  Have you gone above and beyond or just done the bare minimum?  These are all factors to consider before asking for a raise.  Then, document a list of your accomplishments, productivity, and cost savings to present to your employer during the meeting.  It’s also a good idea to bring in your past employee evaluations, which indicate the employer’s satisfaction with your performance and work ethic.  Build a case for yourself by finding as much qualitative and quantitative evidence as possible to support your claim for deserving a higher salary.  You want to be sure that your request for a raise is based primarily on your performance, and not just the holes in your pockets.
• Research the market pay rates for your job. It’s not very smart to ask for $50,000 for a job that pays only $35,000, even in the best markets.  You’ll want to research the average, lowest, and top pay grades for your position.  Be sure to take into consideration your location, levels of education and experience when doing your research.  Websites such as Salary.com and Salaryexpert.com offer easy-to-use tools for salary calculation.  Then, establish a salary increase goal that is well-supported by your research and ideally indisputable by your employer.
• Have a backup plan. While your accomplishments and thorough research should win your employer over, there are often times when companies and organizations either aren’t willing or financially able to pay you what you deserve.  This is when it becomes your responsibility to take matters into your own hands.  This might mean that you’ll have to make tough choices.  You may decide to look for a higher salary elsewhere, find a part-time job, or start that small business you’ve always dreamed about.

Your schedule, family, and community obligations will determine which route is best for you to consider.  A single mother with two small children probably wouldn’t consider taking a part-time night job.  She might, however, look into a home-based business where she can earn additional income.  Maybe you’ve got a hobby that can make you some extra cash.  Or, you might be ready to take a step out on faith and leave your employer altogether.  It doesn’t really matter what your plan is.  What’s most important is that you have one.

A capable and skilled professional should never feel obligated to continue working for an employer without proper compensation. You deserve the best salary, and you shouldn’t give up until you get it!

Learn from your better-paid male counterparts and negotiate the salary you deserve

Here it is 2011, and equality has yet to be fully achieved. Though women make up half of the workforce, they continue to earn far less than their male counterparts. Specifically, African American women earned about 62 cents for every dollar white men made in 2009, according to a study by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. And many would argue that part of the problem lies at the negotiating table. According to studies, women are less likely than men to negotiate for high salaries or raises.

It’s time to level the playing field. BlackEnterprise.com talked with Keith Wyche, career coach, Cub Foods president and author of Good is Not Enough, about doing just that, taking a page from men’s negotiation books to get the compensation you deserve in the workplace.

Don’t be afraid to speak up. “In my experience, men don’t think twice about asking for what they want,” Wyche says. And neither should you. Strategically make your request with confidence, whether you’re negotiating your salary at the point of hire or want a raise for being a top performer.

Don’t let the idea of the ‘good ‘ole boys’ club intimidate you. Be a thought leader and a top performer so that you’ve earned the right to get what you want and ask for what you’re worth. Build relationships, network and market yourself. Focus on what you bring to the table, not gender. “A male coworker may be more assertive or comfortable in asking for a raise, but if he’s not a top performer, his chances are not high for getting that raise,” Wyche says.

Remember, it’s about bottom line; not emotions. “Don’t go in talking about what other people make, because at the end of the day, people negotiate for themselves,” Wyche says. Because negotiating can get heated and tough, come prepared with documentation of what you bring to the table, whether you just closed a big deal, added to company profits or successfully pulled off a big project. Be professional and smart, and learn the nuance of getting what you want without taking things personally.

Look for other ways to supplement your full compensation package. Don’t limit yourself to just the base salary, Wyche says. Think about the whole package, including stock options, bonuses and other incentives.  ”If they can’t increase the salary offering or give you a raise, don’t be afraid to ask for more vacation time or other incentives.”

Don’t just give up after the first no. Be persistent in getting what you feel you deserve. If the economic outlook of the company does not allow for a raise, wait for better timing and continue doing excellent work, while also documenting your achievements and the measurable benefits your talent brings to the company.

For more on career advancement in the workplace:

7 Tips on Marketing Your Authentic Self

Taking It to the Next Level

10 Remarkable Career Comebacks

"Okay, okay! I'll stay late to finish the project!"

One of the most coveted skills in business is also the most elusive: the ability to persuade. Once you can get employees, current and prospective clients, investors, suppliers and other people key to your business success to not only agree to your terms, but to feel good about doing so, you are gold.

For answers, we turned to message strategist and jury selection expert Chris St. Hilaire, author of 27 Powers of Persuasion: Simple Strategies to Seduce Audiences & Win Allies, which will be published in September 2010. “True persuasion is not about arm-twisting or out-maneuvering your adversary,” says St. Hilaire. “It’s about the creation of consensus from conflict or indifference; taking an idea or a course of action and creating unity of purpose. These skills are crucial in business settings.”

St. Hilaire recommends four keys to improving your powers of persuasion in your business life, and beyond:

Focus on the goal to bring all sides together. “Focusing on the goal, stating it out loud and getting agreement upon it moves you closer to a solution from the get-go.  We go into meetings thinking we are all on the same page, but we rarely are,” St. Hilaire explains. “And as a result people talk past one another and many times begin to believe that the other person simply shares a different goal when in fact they just haven’t ‘mutualized’ the goal yet.  Also, when you get stuck in a process discussion going back to the goal brings you out of the minutia and many times results in new, more productive directions for the discussion.”

Third-party validation can sway the group in your favor. “Third party validation is something that all audiences want because they know you have a vested interest,” says St. Hilaire.  “In trials, in politics, in marketing and in the media they all use third parties to validate claims because they are perceived as less biased.  I’ve received many calls from reporters over the years saying ‘I need someone who will say this.’  They don’t want your opinion.  They want you to agree with them so they have third party validation to put their opinion into a story.”

Silence can be the most effective argument technique of all. “Silence, and being comfortable with it, allows you to take control of a room without seeming aggressive,” says St. Hilaire.  “Try it sometime.  Sit silently, comfortably – one of two things or both will happen.  First, if your listener is nervous they’ll add on and you’ll get to what they really think.  Second, some of the best solutions to problems come at the end of a statement, after they ‘seem’ finished.”

Use numbers to make your point meaningful. “People love to quantify things…it makes a point more official,” St. Hilaire observes.  “Using a statistic or two (don’t over ‘stat’ them) creates some official barometer for them to measure success.  It also creates the impression that there’s some official measurement involved.  You used to see it a lot in commercials where 9 out of 10 dentists surveyed prefer one toothpaste over another.  When you can, use a stat because 88% of all Americans will believe even a made up statistic.”

Effective negotiating, however, requires a full understanding of intended goals and a deliberate approach in attempting to reach them, since any outcome—particularly in finance—could possibly affect products, services, and profit margins.

To bolster his own negotiating acumen, Woods enrolled in Notre Dame’s Executive Education program in the summer of 2007. He reports that the instruction provided him with a solid understanding of competitive interactions, a framework for structuring the bargaining process, and strategies for mitigating resistance and managing obscuring factors.

The University offers professionals an Executive Certificate in Negotiations upon completing a 24-week, three-course online program. The courses include Negotiation Skills, Advanced Negotiations, and Strategies for Conflict Management. Each individual, eight-week module incorporates expert lectures, simulation exercises, and relevant case study analysis.

Since completing his studies, Woods employs the following tactics for achieving successful business exchanges:

Be prepared. Understand each party’s goals.  Discuss the intent of deliberations. Know pre-existing limitations and constraints. Determine beforehand your Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA); decide what will be your fall-back plan if current negotiations fail and an agreement cannot be reached.

Stay focused. Keep the “big picture” in sight. Concentrate on achieving shared goals and less on the specific methods necessary to reach them.  Distinguish between petty differences and potential deal breakers. Refrain from asking for everything upfront; settle one issue at a time.

Think win-win. Seek to move both parties away from polarized positions. Identify and capitalize on opportunities for mutual gain and benefit. Insist on objective criteria for evaluating the final deal.

Lose the ego. Try to eliminate personal biases. Brush off offenses and refuse to take anything personally. Separate people from the problem. Ultimatums and tantrums undermine closing the deal.
“As a result of this training I am better adept at turning initial differences into mutual gains that improve the financial terms and conditions for Financial Institutions, its investors, and customers,” offers Woods. For more information about the university’s executive education programs, contact Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business at www.notredameonline.com.

This article originally appeared in the July 2009 issue of Black Enterprise magazine.

Adjust spending creatively. Don’t be so quick to lower prices across the board, but be willing to give customers a break. “If you lower all prices, [low prices] are what customers are going to start to know you for,” says Beverly Alexander, 38, president of Today’s Divas Handbags in Upper Marlboro, Md. Instead, offer discounts to long-time customers or create specials tied to events or holidays, she says. “Five dollars to you is not a big deal but $5 off for a loyal customer makes them happy.”

Package services together. An alternative to cutting prices is getting customers to pay more by bundling products and services, effectively increasing value. Damon Gadson, owner of Empire Auto Detailers, a mobile car detailing service in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, has successfully convinced customers to pay more even in this tough economy by giving them a bargain on a package of services. “We’ve added headlight restoration to our services,” says Gadson, 33. “We charge customers $50 for it if they’re getting a detailing service; it’s $85 if they don’t get a detailing service so they look at that as value.”

Educate the customer. With people thinking twice about purchases during the recession, business owners have to do more to educate consumers about why they need a particular product or service. When fewer people starting coming into Omega Optical, a luxury eyewear company in Philadelphia, co-owners Steve M. Davis and Rebecca Cooper Jackson knew they had to get the customers that were still coming in to spend more. “We knew customers were still spending but only on things they felt they needed,” says Davis, 39. So in the last year, the company has invested in training for the sales staff so they would know more about the products and be able to educate consumers about why they should buy them. Since then, “the number of people making purchases didn’t go up but the amount of dollars they spent did,” Davis says.

Consider creative invoicing. Some clients or customers may want to spend with your company, but they may not be able to pay the entire price upfront or according to the payment schedule you’ve always used. Since the economy tightened up, Scentsational Greetings’ Seals kept some vendors from cutting back on purchases of her cards by offering them longer payment periods and giving them leeway when payments were late. “I understand so I don’t go and put them in collections,” the 29-year-old says. “I work with them. Customer service is key.”

Be willing to negotiate. Sometimes when times are tough, a bird in the hand beats two in the bush. If a customer is only willing to pay less than your ideal price, consider whether another customer is likely to come in any time soon, says Leland Nelson, president of Dirty Dog Hauling, a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania-based company that removes trash. “When my guys go to a job site, they don’t want to leave without money,” Nelson says. “A job might have been $400, but we walked away with $290 because the guy just couldn’t afford that. Right now a fast nickel will beat a slow dime.”