# (C) Comp Negotiation Prep — May 2026

> **Eval date:** TBC (May 2026, in-person at PH team building)
> **Decision-makers in room:** Maxime (CEO) + HR
> **Format:** Face-to-face, first time in-person
> **Last updated:** 2026-04-30
> **Linked goal:** [[GOALS.md]] (90-day milestone: comp closed at 200k+)

---

## TL;DR (battle plan in 30 seconds)

- **Anchor: 400k PHP/month base**
- **Target: 350k PHP/month base**
- **Floor: 280k PHP/month base**
- **Secondary ask: Title upgrade from "Head of AI Strategy" to "Director of AI"** (peer-Director title-match).
- Do **not** ask Maxime first. You name the number.
- Do **not** repeat the SF bluff. Done its job, leave it.
- Don't mention Alexa by name. Use scope and role to frame.
- Bring a written self-review (visible). Keep this doc hidden.
- After he says yes: don't soften, don't over-thank, just move on.
- Walk-away response: "Let me sit with that and come back to you."

---

## Your Numbers

| Position | PHP base | USD equivalent (~56 PHP/USD) | Total monthly w/ night diff + bonuses (~+30%) | Logic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Anchor (open with)** | **400k** | ~$7,150 | ~520k | Aggressive but defensible: 2 companies, team of 4, shipped products, direct CEO report. Compensates for habitual under-asking. |
| **Target (likely landing)** | **350k** | ~$6,250 | ~455k | 1.56x Marketing Director's $4k band. Comfortable middle ground. Probably where this lands after one round of counter. |
| **Walk-away floor** | **280k** | ~$5,000 | ~365k | Above the $4k Maxime already accepted as fair for you. Below this, "let me think about it." |

**Current base:** ~115k PHP/month (per April payslip). Total monthly ~150k with night differential and bonuses. **Negotiation is on base.** Night diff and bonuses scale automatically.

---

## The Case (your evidence — memorize cold)

### Built-from-zero work
- **Built the AI Innovation Department from scratch.** Function did not exist at Dermadry before March 2025. Defined scope, lanes (Creatives, Automation, AEO/GEO, Data Analysis), and headcount.
- **Built an AI Operating System for the department**, measured in quarters.
- **Strengthened reusable IPs**: skills package, Grok agents, Custom GPTs with MoEs.

### Public/branded artifacts
- **Prompt Polisher Chrome extension.** Live on the Chrome Web Store. Carries Dermadry's name. External proof point.
- **AEO/GEO multi-agent dashboard.** FastAPI backend, React/Tailwind frontend, multi-layer pipeline (intelligence extraction, LLM querying, technical SEO audit, competitor intel). Dermadry was the test case.

### Team and authority
- **Manage 4 people directly:** AI Creatives, AI Automations Builder, AEO/GEO Expert, AI Data Analyst.
- **Planned every role.** Defined what was needed.
- **Interviewed and selected** with HR.
- **Will run their performance reviews.**
- Maxime gave full autonomy. You set your own KPIs.

### Scope expansion since hire
- March 2025: hired as AI Content Optimization Specialist, marketing dept, 65k.
- June 2025: 75k.
- Sep 2025: removed from marketing, direct report to CEO, title shift to Head of AI Strategy, 130k.
- April 2026 (now): managing 4, full autonomy, shipping production systems, **still 115k base.** Comp flat for 7 months while scope 4x'd.
- **Imminent:** AI Head for SmartDeo (the second company) on top of Dermadry.

### The frame to memorize
> "The 130k bump in September was correctly priced for September Jerome. It's not priced for April Jerome, and definitely not for May Jerome with SmartDeo about to launch. I'm not asking for a raise. I'm asking to reprice the role to match what it actually is now."

---

## The Script

### Opening (when comp comes up — let him bring it up first)

> "Thanks for sitting down with me. Before I share my number, I want to acknowledge something. The progression from 65k to 130k last year was real and I'm not taking it for granted. You backed me when this department didn't exist. I want to keep building here. So this conversation, for me, is about pricing the role I'm actually doing now and the one I'm about to absorb with SmartDeo."

### Anchor delivery

> "Looking at the scope today: I'm running AI strategy across Dermadry and SmartDeo, managing 4 people, shipping production tools that carry our name, reporting directly to you. SmartDeo is launching after this eval, so whatever we set in May has to reflect that role too, because I don't think we want to redo this in 60 days. Given that scope, **I think the right base for this role is 400k PHP per month.**"

**STOP TALKING AFTER THE NUMBER.** Do not justify. Do not apologize. Do not soften. Let the number sit. **The first person to fill the silence loses.**

---

## Pushback Scripts

### "That's a lot. Walk me through how you got there."

> "Three things drove the number. One, the role today is not the role I was hired for, or even the role I had in September. It's a department head with multi-company scope, a team of 4, and product ownership. Two, the market for AI leadership at this scope is in the $6,000-7,500 USD band, and I'm asking near the middle. Three, SmartDeo lands on my plate this quarter, and the comp set in May has to price that in."

### "We don't have budget for that right now."

> "I hear you. Help me understand what's possible. If 400k isn't doable today, what does the path look like? Is it a phased structure (e.g., 320k now, 400k after SmartDeo launch), or is it a different shape (base + bonus tied to milestones)? I'd rather build a real plan with you than have you stretch on day one."

> **Internal logic:** This response keeps the negotiation open and forces Maxime to propose, not just reject. Watch what number he names in the path. That's his real ceiling.

### "Alexa makes less than that and she's been here 5 years."

> "I respect Alexa and her tenure, and I'm not trying to be priced against anyone else. My number is based on the role I'm in: AI Head across two companies, managing 4 people, shipping production tools. The market for AI/tech leadership runs higher than marketing leadership at this scale. Tenure earns trust and context, but comp has to track the scope of the role. My scope has 4x'd in 7 months, and I want to be paid for what I'm doing now."

### "Let's revisit this in 6 months when SmartDeo is up."

> "I'd rather not split it. The scope expansion is happening now, and I'd like the comp to match the work. If we set it now, I can stop thinking about comp and focus 100% on shipping SmartDeo and growing the team. If we revisit in 6 months, both of us will be having this conversation again at a more critical moment for the company. Let's settle it once."

### "What if we do title and equity instead of base?"

> "I'm open to that as a layer on top, but I need a real base bump too. Title doesn't pay rent, and we don't have an equity story for me to underwrite yet. Let's start with base, then talk title and any future upside as the second layer."

### "I was thinking more like 200k or 220k."

> "I appreciate you naming a number. That gap tells me we're framing the role differently. Help me understand: are you pricing the role I had in September, or the one I'm doing now, including SmartDeo? Because the difference between 200 and 400 is the difference between specialist Jerome and Department Head Jerome with two companies. I'm asking you to pay for the second one."

### If he stays firm on 250k or below

> "Let me sit with that and come back to you. I want to give it real thought."

**Do NOT accept on the spot. Do NOT counter on the spot. Buy 24-48 hours.** During that window, decide if floor is hit. If yes, accept with grace. If no, come back with a written counter-proposal at 320k with milestone-based path to 380k.

---

## What to do if Maxime says YES immediately

This is plausible given his "DONE" history. **The 30 seconds after the yes are where people lose money.**

### Do NOT:
- Say "really?" / "are you sure?" / "wow that's great"
- Over-thank ("thank you so much, you didn't have to")
- Renegotiate downward in your head and offer "actually 350 is fine"
- Apologize for the number you just got

### DO:
> "Great. I appreciate that. When can we get the contract updated to reflect the new base, and is there anything else you want to align on for SmartDeo before I dive in?"

That sentence does three things: confirms the deal, moves to logistics, and pivots to forward-looking work. **Then shut up about comp and let HR handle paperwork.**

---

## What to do if Maxime mentions the SF bluff

**Probability:** Low to medium. He may casually ask "any updates from the SF folks?"

### Pivot script (truthful, no bluff escalation):
> "I haven't been looking. Honestly, I haven't heard from them and I'm not chasing it. I want to focus on Dermadry and SmartDeo, especially with the launch coming up."

**Do NOT:**
- Invent a follow-up offer
- Mention a new outside company
- Build on the SF story with details
- Use it as a lever in the comp ask

The SF bluff did its work. **It's done. Bury it.**

---

## Self-Review Doc to Bring (separate from this cheat sheet — visible to room)

Write this BEFORE the eval. Ask HR if there's a template. If not, make your own. 1-2 pages max.

### Structure:
1. **Role evolution** (3 lines): hired as X, promoted to Y, now doing Z.
2. **Wins, last 12 months** (5-7 bullets, with measurable impact where possible):
   - AI Innovation Dept built from zero
   - Prompt Polisher shipped to Chrome Web Store
   - AEO/GEO dashboard built and deployed
   - Team of 4 hired and onboarded
   - AI Operating System designed and rolled out
3. **Current scope** (3-4 lines): what you own today, who you manage, who you report to.
4. **Forward look** (3-4 lines): SmartDeo, what AI leadership across 2 companies looks like, what you're aiming to ship next quarter.

**This doc is the public artifact.** It exists so Maxime has paper cover to grant a big raise: "we have evidence on file." HR will appreciate it.

---

## Day-of Checklist

- [ ] Self-review doc printed and emailed to Maxime + HR 24 hours before
- [ ] This cheat sheet reviewed once, morning of
- [ ] Numbers memorized: **400 / 350 / 280**
- [ ] Anchor sentence rehearsed out loud at least 3 times
- [ ] Pushback scripts skimmed
- [ ] Phone on silent
- [ ] Eat before. Don't go in hungry.
- [ ] Wear something you feel sharp in
- [ ] First sentence = acknowledgment (the "before I share my number" opener)
- [ ] After saying the number: SHUT UP

---

## Red Flags / Failure Modes (your patterns to watch in the room)

- **Under-ask reflex.** When you feel the number is "too much," that's the September pattern firing. Hold the line.
- **Yes-too-fast reflex.** When Maxime smiles or nods, the urge to lock in immediately. Resist. Confirm logistics, not the number.
- **Over-explain reflex.** Stating the number and then justifying it for 2 minutes weakens it. Say it. Stop.
- **Soften-after-yes reflex.** "That's so generous, I appreciate it." Translates to: I didn't expect this, I would have taken less. Don't.
- **Bluff escalation.** Don't add new outside offers in the room. SF stays buried.

---

## Walk-Away Definition

You walk away from THIS conversation (not from the job) if:
- Final offer is below 280k AND
- No path to 350k+ within 6 months is on paper AND
- No equity, title, or non-cash compensation is offered to bridge the gap

In that case, the line is:
> "Thank you for the conversation. Let me take a few days to think it through. I want to make the right call for both of us."

Then leave the room. Take 48 hours. Decide.

**You do NOT quit on the spot. You do NOT issue ultimatums. You do NOT mention SF.** You just buy time and re-strategize.

---

## After the Eval

Within 24 hours, regardless of outcome:
1. Write down what was said, what you asked, what was offered, what was agreed.
2. Update [[GOALS.md]] 90-day milestone with actual closed number.
3. If hit anchor or target: celebrate, but go straight to side business decision next.
4. If hit floor: plan the next conversation in 6 months, document what you'd do differently.
5. If walked away: come back to me, we strategize the next move.
