How to ace a salary negotiation, in 15 steps

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Salary negotiation is nerve-wracking.

It's not something we do on a daily, or even monthly, basis — but it's a critical skill to develop if you want to get ahead financially.

For one professional, 28-year-old Claudia Telles, it meant a $30,000 salary leap.

Next time you head into a salary negotiation, consider these tips from Telles and other experts in order to get the raise you deserve.

Know the range for the position you're applying for

Start by looking at the salary range for someone with your level of experience and skills and in your industry or company, Telles recommends. She used Glassdoor and PayScale to find out that the range for her position maxed out at $75,000, the amount she would eventually ask for.

Salary.com and Indeed.com also offer free compensation and benefits information.

You can also use your network. "Connect with business colleagues and friends and ask them what's appropriate," career coach Ted Leonhardt tells Business Insider.

Know what you're worth

You need to know your number before walking into a salary negotiation.

As negotiation expert Kim Keating writes in "Lean In For Graduates," it's important to do your homework on the company you're interested in — but it's equally important to do your homework on you.

Knowing what you're worth will keep you from asking for too little or far too much. While you don't want to request too low a salary and leave money on the table, you also don't want to name a number that is well above what the employer had in mind and risk knocking yourself out of the running.

Have a bottom line in mind

"Never go into a negotiation without knowing your 'below this I walk' number," Leonhardt tells Business Insider.

As tempting as it may be to accept anything, stick with your walk-away number, no matter how desperate you are to land the job.