You have two words to choose from. Making the right choice can mean a difference of thousands of dollars. One of the words won't be found in the dictionary, but it is a commonly used word—and it will put money in the bank almost every time. Choosing the other word can be very expensive.

What’s the expensive word!  It's "OK" Say "OK" in salary negotiations--or other negotiations, and Bam! Those two letters just cost you plenty! How much can they cost you? Those two little letters may have...

A) Flushed a couple of monthly payments on that new car down the toilet; 

B) Canceled your reservations for a two-week dream trip to an exotic location;

C) Burned the blueprints for that addition to your house;

D) Yanked your kid out of college because you were short.

How could that one word be so powerful? Easy. "OK" is what most people say in re­sponse to a salary offer. They mean "I'll accept what you've just offered, thank you." Saying that wrong right word could lose you A, B, C, D. But you could also keep it, and more besides, if you learn even one small negotiating technique: don’t say “OK,” but substitute a second word.

That second word is "Hmmm." Say "Hmmm," and watch what happens. A simple "Hmmm" instead of "OK" can change a $35,000 salary into $40,000. A $75,000 offer might be pushed to $80K, affording you that much-needed two-week vacation. The "Hmmm" response can drop another fifteen grand in the bank for high-level executives, and senior-level execs can buy a $25K freshman year for a daughter or son by swallowing the "OK." If you can manage that swallow, you can negotiate a better salary. 

Even if you’re at a lower-level job and the employer says, "$15 an hour," an "OK" will freeze it right there. But a "Hmmm" response could increase it, and just $1 more could earn you $2000 extra in a year of 40-hour weeks. That could be a month's rent on an apartment.

Even in government jobs, where the pay range seems to be set in stone, there are sometimes ways they can manipulate things to get you more money—if they really want you.

Don't worry that the employer will change his or her mind about hiring you just because you ask for more. If you've interviewed well (and you must have done that, or you wouldn't be getting an offer!), you're the front runner already. Choosing the second best, or going through the whole recruiting-interviewing-hiring process again, will cost a company a lot of money in the long run. Odds are, you'll get that little extra, and the employer will still consider it a good bargain to avoid that hassle. The worst that happens is you don't get more, but your boss knows you know you're worth it.

Besides, you probably aren't even pushing employers higher than they expected to go anyway. Good managers always start low to give themselves some negotiating room. They might even really want to give you more, but if you say, "OK," you tie their hands! Then there is no gracious way to raise the offer.

This hmmm-response is a "flinch" in negotiations terminology. Even if you're so excited about the offer that you're ready to dance a jig, make your first response a flinch! To flinch effectively, repeat the figure offered, then act "contemplative." Repeating the offer lets the interviewer know you haven't fallen asleep or tuned out! Then, say, "Hmmm," or, "$X/hour? Hmmm. Isn't that a little low?" Or, "$X thousand...hmmm, is that the best you can do?"

Paradoxically, you don't just get more money, you make your potential employer feel better too! How so?  Think of when you sold your car. If the buyer had eagerly accepted your first offer, you’d think, "Darn! I could have gotten more!" Instead, he flinched and said, "Hmmm, that’s a little high." Then he offered less than what he expected to pay. So, you haggled with him. He gave in a little, and so did you (but you'd padded the price to allow for negotiating) and you both felt satisfied. Likewise, your future employer will most likely give in and offer a bit extra--he/she allowed room for negotiating too. You both win: you have more cash and the employer has increased respect for you and his/her hiring savvy.

No matter what your level, there's easy money to be made by changing "OK" to "Hmmm." Whatever the level of the job you’re being offered—hamburger flipper, mid management or top executive--don't say, "OK"; say, "Hmmm."