You’ve been with your current company for less than a year but feel that you’ve really contributed a lot to the business’s bottom line and company culture. You felt satisfied with the salary you were initially offered, but now that you think your value at work has increased, you want to see your pay increase as well. So what do you do?

Although many find the experience of asking for a raise awkward and uncomfortable, there is a lot you can do leading up to this event to make the chances of success a lot higher. To help you leave your boss’s office with a smile rather than a frown, here are three ways you can put yourself in a great position to ask for a raise.

Pave the Way Before Review Time

While you know your annual or quarterly review is coming up, waiting to talk to your boss until right before that time or the review itself could be a bad move if you’re wanting to leave your review with a higher salary. According to Molly Triffin, a contributor to LearnVest.com, the timing of your request needs to be well thought out in order for you to get the raise you’re seeking. Mention your review and your personal contribution to the company a few weeks before review time. This will get your supervisor thinking about how to more fairly compensate you and ensure you get the portion of the raise money allotment that you deserve.

Research Your Worth and How to Improve It

Wanting more money and knowing you deserve more money are very different things. When you go into your meeting with your supervisor to ask for a raise, you better know your worth within your industry and to your company before you start seeking higher compensation. FoxBusiness.com shares that you can find out this information by learning what people in different companies in your industry but with similar positions to yours are making. However, if for some reason you recognize that you’re lacking the skills or experience in an area that could give you much more leverage when seeking a raise, do all you can to acquire those skills prior to your review in order to show your boss that you have sustainable professional excellence that’s worth a higher pay grade.

Understand How Professional Negotiation Works

If this is your first time asking for a raise in a professional setting, it’s important to understand how the process should work. According to Aaron Gouveia, a contributor to Salary.com, there are a few things you should never say during a salary negotiation, such as discussing your personal problems, comparing your salary to other employees, or threatening to walk. Although you may feel some of these things, it’s important to discuss your value, improvement and worth only to get your boss firmly on your side.

Using these tips to prepare yourself to talk to your boss about salary negotiations will help you to feel more secure and confident in your ability to make more money. Best of luck!

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