Head of Marketing: +€24,000 in the same role

Johanna (name changed) had been Head of Marketing at a B2B startup for over two years and loved her job. Her salary, though, hadn't moved since day one. So she got support from Nova Salary to negotiate a raise without having to change jobs.

The background

Johanna started her career in performance marketing and worked her way up to Marketing Lead at her previous employer. Two years ago she joined a B2B software startup as Head of Marketing at a salary of €90,000. Since then the company has grown a lot, partly thanks to her team's results. Her salary stayed the same throughout.

It wasn't a lack of courage that held her back, but consideration. The company was cutting costs despite growing, given the tough economic climate, and Johanna didn't want to push for a raise at the wrong moment. After a strong Q1 2026, with a funding round on the horizon, she decided the time had come.

Preparation with Nova Salary

Johanna came to us early on to get a clearer picture of what was realistic and how to go about it. Four things were front and center.

Timing. Johanna had just delivered a strong Q1 but wasn't sure when to bring up the raise. She worried that asking at the wrong moment could put a strain on her good relationship with her manager. Together we decided she should make her move as soon as possible, ideally before the funding round closed.

Market value. Johanna already had reference points from recruiters and people in similar roles. Combined with Nova Salary's market data, the realistic range stretched up to €130,000. Since her salary had been frozen for two years and she'd been getting strong feedback on her performance, Johanna set her anchor at the top end: €130,000.

Arguments. Based on her track record, we put together a clear case: monthly leads up 160% since she joined, the marketing team grown from two to four people, and a record Q1, partly through opening up new target segments, a project she had led at the end of the previous year.

Pushback from the employer. We worked through the objections her manager was likely to raise and prepared strong responses to each. That meant Johanna could react quickly in the room and felt ready to open the negotiation.

Throughout the whole process we stayed in close contact, trading messages regularly on WhatsApp and calling before the key conversations.

How the negotiation went

Johanna's counterpart throughout was the company's CEO, who is also her direct manager.

Asking for the conversation. Johanna brought it up in her weekly 1:1 with the CEO and asked to set up a dedicated salary conversation.

Salary conversation with her manager - first ask. Johanna opened the conversation: she gave a brief summary of her contribution to the company's success and named her target of €130,000. The CEO acknowledged her performance explicitly but said €100,000 was the maximum she could offer. Anything above that would need board approval, which the CEO thought was unlikely given the funding round hadn't closed yet. After the meeting, Johanna wrote up a short summary of what had been discussed.

Second conversation with the CEO - improved offer. Johanna acknowledged the situation but pointed out that the upcoming funding round had been made possible in part by her team's results. She offered to put her achievements and arguments together in a format the CEO could take to the board. She held firm on her target of €130,000 but signalled some flexibility: she'd be open to taking part of the increase as additional equity. The CEO asked for time to think it over and the next day sent an email offering €105,000 base salary plus €20,000 in equity.

Second round - new ask. In the next conversation, Johanna thanked the CEO for the improved offer and responded: she was happy with the €20,000 in equity but wanted €120,000 in base salary. Her reasoning was that equity is less tangible and doesn't translate directly into salary. The CEO said a higher base wasn't possible within the current budget and suggested picking things back up after the funding round closed. Johanna would rather settle it sooner and offered to have the increase take effect only after the round closed.

Third round and close. The CEO came back with an offer of €110,000 base plus €20,000 in equity, effective the following month, and pushed to close: a very good offer, let's lock it in. Johanna responded with a clear closing move. At €114,000 base plus €20,000 in equity, she'd say yes right away and sign that week. The CEO agreed.

What you can take from this

Give yourself time to think. Johanna only responded to an offer on the spot in the final conversation. In the previous conversations, she wrote down what had been offered, asked for time to consider, and set up a new meeting to continue.

Take objections seriously, but don't let them stop you. The board approval requirement and the uncertain situation were real, but Johanna didn't accept them as the final word and kept coming up with proposals. She acknowledged the constraints and kept working toward her goal.

Persistence and warmth are not opposites. Across three rounds, Johanna stayed friendly and professional but firm. That combination gets you further than pressure.

Think about your total package. When base salary hit a wall, Johanna brought equity into the picture to keep the negotiation moving without giving up on her goal. You can also bring bonuses, extra holiday, one-off payments, and scope of responsibility into the mix.

Plan your close. With the concrete offer "€114,000 and I'll sign this week," Johanna gave the CEO a good reason to say yes right away instead of postponing again.

Want to apply these principles in your own negotiation? We'll prepare you for it, one on one.

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I was genuinely nervous about having the salary conversation. I have a great relationship with my manager and I didn't want to damage that by asking for too much. Talking it through with Nova Salary helped me see the negotiation differently. I'm really happy with how it turned out!

The result