Just got corporate development offer: salary expectations & negotiation tips

Just heard back from a private firm with ~700m in sales in retail/tech space for a corpdev senior analyst/associate role (1-1.5 years of boutique M&A experience from target UG). A senior ex-banker and I will make up the team. They asked me about comp, and I stuck to my guns and deferred to them with the usual salary negotiation lines and diagnostic questioning techniques. Their HR said they will call with a hard salary number tomorrow after "conducting comp data analysis" and speaking to the CFO.

May you guys list expected comp ranges? I've conducted extensive research regarding the matter (and prepared my negotiation tactics and responses), but I'd like to hear your input and personal experience for similar corpdev roles. Thanks.

 
Best Response

Most firms, at least in my experience, have no idea what corp dev analysts/associates actually costs. They are used to FP&A, treasury, and finance analysts making $70k to $80k, so they go out trying to form a corp dev team and keep wondering why they get rejected by candidates. Eventually, someone is HR suggests conducting a market study on corp dev salaries, and low and behold, HR finds out their salary offers have so far been (way) below market. They aren't used to offering $100k, so they instead play the "let's ask the candidate first" game delusionally thinking the candidate will ask for $70k to $80k.

 

That's what I was getting at, hr's initial range was insulting and out of touch with reality of the market and skill set of the job. HR couldn't hit water if they fell out of a boat.

I'm always fascinated by job postings: 2-4yrs IB/PE experience at major firm, top business school and test scores, salary range ends up being $60k no bonus.

26 Broadway where's your sense of humor?
 

Thanks for the input MMbanker and Sil; That seems to be the sentiment shared by others on this forum and across the web. I'm not close with anyone in my network whose been in corpdev yet, but I've gathered roughly 90-110K base and 10-20% bonus, not including stock, is ballpark. HQ is SF/NYC market. The founder/ceo owns most of the firm (it's a very well recognized brand in the retail space) and since competitors have been acquisitive, i imagine he wants a dedicated team of m&a professionals to generate and pursue inorganic growth opportunities.

TippyTop: They hired their first senior banker a few weeks ago. The two of us are building the corpdev/strat unit from the ground-up.

I'd like to share a WSO knowledge-sharing discussion I found resourceful in case others are building corpdev divisions from scratch: https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/knowledge-sharing-corporate-deve…

 

You have to also remember that people lie about their salaries. Take the numbers you see on this forum and haircut it by 30%. All of those analysts making $150k year. Not happening.

“Elections are a futures market for stolen property”
 
Funniest

Alright, here's what to do bro. Walk in there like you own the place in a blazer and khakis. Full suit = NF. Slap the secretary on her sweet ass and be like "I think I'm Corporately Developing an erection for you". There's no such thing as sexual harassment if you're confident enough. Then march straight to the CEOs office and pound his fist because he's your boy from the frat's rich dad and you all used to play croquet together when you would summer in Buckhead as a youth. Then be like "Yo biatch, throw 15 hunnid more G's at my bitch ass, son". And he'll be like "word yo, dank-nasty blazer my guy. Take my secretary too and crush her box as a sign-on bonus."

That's how I did it yo, swear to god.

 
FratLord:
There's no such thing as sexual harassment if you're confident enough."

I burst out laughing. I couldn't help it. I've seen a couple guys get fired for sexual harassment over the years, and I feel like that one sentence perfectly encapsulates what they must have been thinking right before it all came crashing down.

"Now you's can't leave." -Sonny LoSpecchio
 

Good luck on negotiations. Sometimes, HR can be difficult since they have to stick with corporate set guidelines and rules. From my Corp Dev experience, it was impossible to get a bonus higher than 12% every year, even as post-MBA.

 

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