The Executive Career Vault · Action Plan
Your 30-60-90 Day
Career Action Plan
Ninety days. A clear number. The conversation you've been putting off.
by Eleanor Brooks
writeeleanorbrooks.com  ·  Use alongside your full product suite
Days 1–30 · Build the Foundation Days 31–60 · Build Your Case Days 61–90 · Ask and Advance
How This Works

This isn't here to motivate you. You don't need motivation. You need a clear order of things. Every step in this plan connects to something in your bundle: the Salary Negotiation Playbook, the Quick Reference Card, the Executive Command Scriptbook, the Email Templates Pack, and the Performance Review Takeover. The first month is about getting your evidence in order. The second month is about making sure the right people know what you've been doing. The third month is the conversation itself. Work through it week by week.

30
Days 1–30
Get your evidence together. Open the Salary Playbook, go back through the last 12 months, write down everything you've done with a number attached, and get your three salary figures out of your head and onto paper.
60
Days 31–60
Make yourself known. Start sending short updates, put compensation on your manager's radar in writing, practise your scripts until they feel natural, and draft the emails you'll need before you ever sit down.
90
Days 61–90
Have the conversation. Go in with your number, your evidence, and a response ready for whatever they say. Log what happened straight after. If they come in low, counter. If they stall, get a date and criteria in writing.
Opening this for the first time?
Start here.
Right now. Ten minutes.
Step 1
Open the Salary Playbook. Go to Section 3: Your Number. Write down your Floor, Target, and Opening Ask. Rough numbers are fine right now.
Step 2
Think back to last month. Write down one thing you delivered with a number attached. Drop it into Salary Playbook Section 1, Accomplishment 1. That's your first entry.
Step 3
Set a recurring reminder for every Friday at 5pm. Label it "Win Log." Ten minutes. One win, one number. Keep them in any notes app or doc you'll come back to. That habit starts this week, not next.
Phase One · Days 1–30
Get Your Evidence Together
Most people walk into a salary conversation hoping they'll remember something impressive on the spot. Don't do that. Spend this first month digging through the last year, writing down what you actually delivered, putting real numbers next to it, and getting clear on what you want to earn. That's the work. It's not glamorous, but it's what makes every other step possible.
W1
Days 1–7
Open Everything and Go Back Through the Last Year
💰 Salary Negotiation Playbook
Open the Playbook and write down your three numbers
Go to Section 3: Your Number. Put in your Floor, your Target, and your Opening Ask. Rough figures are fine right now. If it's not written down, it's not real.
→ Salary Playbook · Section 3
📋 Performance Review Takeover
Go back through the last 12 months and write down everything
Emails, Slack, project files, meeting notes. Go through all of it. Write down every win in plain language and put a number next to it. Revenue, time saved, headcount, cost avoided. Something.
→ Part I: The 30-Day Setup
💰 Salary Negotiation Playbook
Move your top wins into Section 1
Take what you found in the audit and drop your three strongest wins into Salary Playbook Section 1: Know Your Value (Accomplishments 1–3). Every entry needs a number next to it. A rough estimate beats leaving it blank every time. Keep the rest of your wins in a running notes doc.
→ Salary Playbook · Section 1
💰 Salary Negotiation Playbook
Find out what the market is actually paying
Look up salary figures for your role, level, and city. Glassdoor, LinkedIn Salary, Payscale. Save the range in Salary Playbook Section 2: Market Research. This is what you'll point to when they ask how you got to your number.
→ Salary Playbook · Section 2
From The Performance Review Takeover · Achievement Audit Rule
"Don't rely on memory. You're looking for: results with numbers attached, projects you led significantly, problems you solved before they became visible to leadership, moments you went beyond your job description, positive feedback from anyone."
Write wins in plain language. "Led Q2 campaign that generated $240K in pipeline" beats "contributed to marketing initiatives."
W2
Days 8–14
Put What You Want to Say Into Words
💰 Salary Negotiation Playbook
Write your opening statement and say it out loud
Two or three sentences: what you've done, what it meant for the business, what you're asking for. Write it into Salary Playbook Section 1 → Your Summary, then say it out loud. Keep going until it doesn't feel strange coming out of your mouth.
→ Salary Playbook · Section 1 · Summary
💬 Executive Command Scriptbook
Read Scripts 1 and 2 out loud, not just in your head
Script 1 is requesting the meeting. Script 2 is the moment you say your number. Read each one quietly first, then out loud. Find the line that trips you up. There's always one. Say just that line three times until it sits right.
→ Script Library → Scripts 1 & 2
💰 Salary Negotiation Playbook
Start logging wins every Friday, starting this week
Ten minutes every Friday. One win, one number, one row. Keep the running list in any notes doc you'll come back to, and refresh your Salary Playbook Section 1 entries each month with the strongest ones. By the time your review comes around you'll have months of evidence ready instead of scrambling to remember what you even did.
→ Friday habit · Salary Playbook · Section 1
💰 Salary Negotiation Playbook
Update your three numbers now that you have real data
You've looked at what the market pays. Now go back to Salary Playbook Section 3 and sharpen those figures. Specific numbers, not round ones. "$112,500" reads differently than "$110K." One signals you did the work. The other signals you guessed.
→ Salary Playbook · Section 3
W3
Days 15–21
Start Showing Up on People's Radar
📋 Performance Review Takeover
If a review is coming up, send the agenda email now
If you've got a review or any kind of compensation conversation within the next 30 days, send this email this week. It puts pay on the agenda before you walk in, so it can't be treated as a surprise or pushed to "another time."
→ Part I: 7 Days Out
📧 Email Templates Pack
Send one visibility email this week
From Part III of the Email Templates Pack, pick one visibility email and send it this week. A win update to your manager, a project summary to your skip-level, or a recognition note. One email. That's all.
→ Email Templates → Part III
📋 Performance Review Takeover
Plant the casual pre-review mention (14 days out)
Find a natural moment to mention your upcoming review in a positive way. This isn't a negotiation. It's a seed. Use the 14-day script from the Performance Review Takeover.
→ Part I: 14 Days Out
💰 Salary Negotiation Playbook
Complete your BATNA in Section 4
Write down your Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement. What are you actually doing if this conversation doesn't move? A real alternative changes your posture in the room.
→ Salary Playbook · Section 4 · BATNA
From The Performance Review Takeover · The Conversation Plant (14 Days Out)
"I've been pulling together some notes ahead of my review and I'm really proud of what the team accomplished on [specific project]. Looking forward to the conversation."
It signals you're coming prepared, reminds them of a win, and sets a tone of confidence rather than anxiety.
W4
Days 22–30
Lock In Your Case Before the First Conversation
💰 Salary Negotiation Playbook
Pick your three strongest wins and know them cold
Go through your full Win Log and choose three. For each one: what you did, how big it was, and what came out of it. Write it in plain English. Drop them into Salary Playbook Section 5: Build Your Script. These are what you'll be saying out loud in the room.
→ Salary Playbook · Section 5
💰 Salary Negotiation Playbook
Calculate what this conversation is actually worth
Subtract your current salary from your Target. That's the annual gain. Multiply by 10 for the rough decade impact (raises compound off the new base). Write the three numbers in your Salary Playbook notes. That figure is what you're walking in to protect.
→ (Target − Current) × 10
💬 Executive Command Scriptbook
Read objection scripts 3, 4, 5 and 6
Read these aloud: "No Budget Right Now," "We'll Revisit at Review," "Top of Your Band," and the Counter-Offer. Know which one you're most likely to face before you go in.
→ Script Library → Scripts 3–6
📋 Performance Review Takeover
If the conversation is close, send the opening email now
Use Template 1 from the Email Templates Pack. Short. Direct. No apology in the subject line, none in the body. You're not asking permission. You're requesting a specific conversation.
→ Email Templates → Part I, Template 1
If you've done the work, here's what Day 30 looks like
Your Salary Playbook is open and being used, not just sitting there. You've been back through the last 12 months and written down what you actually did. Your three numbers are on paper and backed by real market data. You have at least four wins logged with a metric next to each one. You've said your value statement out loud enough times that it doesn't feel strange anymore. You've shown up in at least one email or conversation in a way that keeps you visible. You know which scripts apply to your situation. The difference between Day 1 and today is that you stopped waiting to feel ready and started building the thing that makes you ready.
📊
Add-on · Sold Separately
Want it all in one dashboard? Get the Career Vault.
Win Tracker, Negotiation Prep Hub, Salary Impact Calculator, Day-Of Checklist, Conversation Log. Every tool in this 90-day plan, connected and live, in one interactive system. The Plan tells you what. The Vault helps you do it.
Get the Vault →
Phase Two · Days 31–60
Build Your Case
You have the foundation. Now you make it undeniable. This phase is about growing your visibility, strengthening your evidence, and sending the written communications that set up your ask before you ever enter the room.
W5
Days 31–37
Put Your Wins in Writing and Make Sure the Right People See Them
📧 Email Templates Pack
If you're doing more than your title says, put it in writing
If your responsibilities have grown past what your job description says, document that before the negotiation, not during it. Use Part IV (Boundaries and Workload) or Part II (Promotion and Advancement) from the Email Templates Pack.
→ Email Templates → Part II or IV
💰 Salary Negotiation Playbook
Log this week's wins on Friday (10 minutes)
Keep the streak going. The habit is the asset. One row per win, one metric minimum, in your running notes doc. Every week without a log entry is a week of ammunition you're leaving on the table.
→ Friday habit · Notes doc
📋 Performance Review Takeover
Send a brief monthly progress note to your manager
One paragraph. Three sentences max. What you delivered this month, one metric, one forward-looking statement. Keeps you visible between reviews without it feeling forced.
→ Part I: Between Now and the Review
📓 Daily Habit
Keep a one-line daily pulse
One sentence every day in any notes app. Your mood, one win, or one insight. Takes 60 seconds. Creates a running record of your mental state and momentum going into the negotiation.
→ Notes app · 60 seconds/day
W6
Days 38–44
Get Your Scripts Out of Your Head and Into Your Mouth
💬 Executive Command Scriptbook
Practise Script 2 until it sounds like you, not a script
Evidence first. Number last. Then silence. Swap in your actual wins and your actual number. Say it out loud, to yourself, a mirror, your phone camera. Keep going until you can say the number without your voice changing.
→ Script Library → Script 2
💰 Salary Negotiation Playbook
Study the anchoring and silence principles
Whoever names a number first sets the reference point. After you name your number, count to seven. Do not fill the silence. This is the hardest skill and the most important one.
→ Script Library → How to Handle Silence
💬 Executive Command Scriptbook
Know your most likely objection by name
Choose: "No Budget," "We'll Revisit," "Top of Band," or counter-offer. Read that script three times this week. It should feel automatic by the time you walk in.
→ Script Library → Scripts 3–6
📧 Email Templates Pack
Prepare your counter-offer email as a backup
Draft Template 2 (Counter-Offer Email) from Part I of the Email Templates Pack. Have it ready even if you don't send it. Knowing it exists changes your posture in the room.
→ Email Templates → Part I, Template 2
W7
Days 45–51
Get Everything in Place Before You Walk In
💬 Executive Command Scriptbook
Send Script 1 and request your dedicated meeting
Send the meeting request by email or message. Never in person. Keep it short. Don't pre-negotiate in the calendar invite. Use the exact script or adapt it to your voice.
→ Scriptbook · Script 1
📋 Performance Review Takeover
Send your pre-review agenda email (7 days out)
If your review is within a week, send this email now. It puts compensation on the agenda in writing. They can't say it "wasn't the right time" when you set the agenda in advance.
→ Part I: 7 Days Out Email
💰 Salary Negotiation Playbook
Fill every field in the Playbook
Value statement, BATNA, market research, three wins, three numbers. Every field complete. The progress bar at the top of the Playbook should read 100%, or close to it, before this conversation.
→ Salary Playbook · All sections
📋 Performance Review Takeover
Review your past conversations for patterns
If you've had prior pay conversations or reviews, pull whatever notes or emails you've kept and read them back. What language did they use to stall? What of yours landed? Use that to sharpen what you'll say in the next one.
→ Past notes · Past emails
W8
Days 52–60
The Week Before: Run Through It Once, Then Stop Preparing
💰 Salary Negotiation Playbook
Check your Playbook progress is at 80% or above
Open the Playbook and look at the progress bar at the top. If you're below 80%, find the one or two fields still empty and fill them now. Don't go into the conversation with blank spots you could have filled the week before.
→ Salary Playbook · Progress bar
💬 Executive Command Scriptbook
Do one full out-loud dry run of the whole conversation
Not just your opening. The whole thing. Your three wins, your number, your silence, and your most likely objection response. Say it out loud to yourself or to someone you trust. Once is enough. You're not over-rehearsing, you're settling the nerves.
→ Script Library → Scripts 1, 2 and your objection
📋 Performance Review Takeover
Confirm the meeting is in the calendar with a specific time
If you haven't sent Script 1 yet, send it now. If the meeting is already booked, confirm the time and location. You should know exactly when this is happening before this week is over.
→ Script Library → Script 1
💰 Salary Negotiation Playbook
Say your three wins out loud and time yourself
Each win should take no more than 15 seconds to say. If any of them runs longer, cut it down. In the room you need to land quickly and move on. Short, specific, and with a number. That's the format.
→ Salary Playbook · Section 5
If you've done the work, here's what Day 60 looks like
You have 8 to 10 wins logged, each one with a number. Your three salary figures are specific and backed by real market data, not a guess. You've sent emails that put your name and your contributions in front of the right people before a single conversation has happened. You've got a meeting in the calendar or a plan to send Script 1 this week. Your value statement comes out clean when you say it out loud. You already know which objection is coming and you already know what you're going to say back. Sixty days ago you were hoping the timing would work out. Now you're the one controlling the timing.
Phase Three · Days 61–90
Ask and Advance
Everything in the first 60 days was preparation. This phase is execution. The conversation, the counter, the follow-up, and the habit review that sets you up for the next 90 days.
W9
Days 61–67
The Morning of the Conversation
💰 Salary Negotiation Playbook
Complete every item in the Pre-Negotiation Checklist
Open the Salary Playbook Pre-Negotiation Checklist. Work through every item. Don't skip the obvious ones. Those are exactly what people forget under pressure. Aim for every box ticked.
→ Salary Playbook · Pre-Negotiation Checklist
💬 Executive Command Scriptbook
Read your scripts out loud one last time this morning
Script 2 and whichever objection response you're most likely to need. You're not memorising. You're warming up. You want the words to come out like you mean them, not like you're reciting.
→ Script Library
💰 Salary Negotiation Playbook
Block 15 minutes of quiet before you go in
No meetings immediately before this one. One quiet read of your opening. Your three wins clear in your head. Your number fixed, not a range, one number. Water nearby. That's it. You're ready.
→ Checklist item 11
📋 Quick Reference Card
Open the Quick Reference Card before you walk in
Scan the power phrases on Section 06: The Walk-In Card. Pick the three most relevant to today's conversation. Read them aloud twice. "What would need to be true to make this happen?" should be in your mouth before you go in.
→ QRC · The Walk-In Card
From The Executive Command Scriptbook · Script 2: The Opening Statement
"I've been tracking my contributions carefully and I want to share a few things before I get to the ask."

"In the last [X months], I [Win 1, with the metric]. I [Win 2, with the metric]. And [Win 3, with the metric]."

"Based on the value I'm delivering and where the market sits for this role at this level, I'm asking for a base salary of $[X]."

[Then say nothing. Wait.]
Count to seven after you name your number. The first person to speak loses the anchor.
W10
Days 68–74
Right After: Log It, Follow Up, and Counter If You Need To
💰 Salary Negotiation Playbook
Fill in the Post-Negotiation Debrief within the first hour
Open the Salary Playbook Post-Negotiation Debrief while the exact words are still fresh. What did you say? What did they say? What worked, what didn't, what's the next step? One hour is not a guideline. It's the rule.
→ Salary Playbook · Debrief
📧 Email Templates Pack
Send a follow-up confirmation email the same day
Whatever was agreed, whether a number, a date, or specific criteria, confirm it in writing the same day. Use Part VII (Follow-Up and Accountability) templates. This creates a record that protects you.
→ Email Templates → Part VII
💬 Executive Command Scriptbook
If the offer came in low, use the Counter-Offer script
One counter. Specific number. Reference one win. Ask a direct question. No range. No apology. No over-explaining. "Based on what I've delivered this year, specifically [win], I'm asking for $[X]. Can we get there?"
→ Script Library → Script 6
💬 Executive Command Scriptbook
If they deferred, pin down a date and specific criteria
Use Script 3 or 4 to convert the deferral into a documented commitment with a date and agreed criteria. Then follow up in writing the same day with the Email Templates Pack.
→ Scriptbook · Scripts 3 & 4
If they said yes
Good. Now do three things before the day ends. Fill in the Salary Playbook Post-Negotiation Debrief with the exact number agreed. Send a follow-up email using Part VII of the Email Templates Pack confirming the amount and the start date in writing. Then take note of what worked, because you'll want to repeat it. A verbal yes with no paper trail is not yet a yes.
W11–12
Days 75–90
Look Back, Reset Your Numbers, and Start Again
💰 Salary Negotiation Playbook
Run a full 90-day debrief review
Read your Post-Negotiation Debrief alongside any notes you kept across the 90 days. What language did they use when they stalled? What of yours landed? What was promised vs. what happened? This review is worth more than any course.
→ Salary Playbook · Debrief + your notes
💰 Salary Negotiation Playbook
Reset your three numbers for what comes next
Whatever just happened, go back to Section 3 and update your Floor, Target, and Opening Ask based on what you now know. The system doesn't stop. The next 90 days start now.
→ Salary Playbook · Section 3
📧 Email Templates Pack
Send any outstanding follow-up accountability emails
If a date was agreed, schedule a follow-up reminder. If criteria were agreed, document them. Use Part VII templates to keep commitments visible and on record.
→ Email Templates → Part VII
📓 Daily Habit
Celebrate, then keep the streak going
Whatever happened in the conversation, you did the work. Keep logging wins every Friday in your notes doc. The habit is the compounding asset. The next conversation will be easier because of this one.
→ Friday habit (always)
If you've done the work, here's what Day 90 looks like
You had the conversation. You walked in with a number, three wins, and a response ready for whatever they said. It's logged in your Salary Playbook Debrief and confirmed in writing by email. If they said yes, you have it documented and you know exactly what worked. If they came in low, you countered with a specific number and evidence, no apology. If they stalled, you left with a date and clear criteria, not a vague "we'll see." Whatever the outcome, you did not leave the room empty handed. Your Friday win-log streak is still going. And the next conversation will be easier, because you now know what the whole thing actually feels like.
Your Bundle

Every action in this plan maps directly to one of these five resources. Use them as a system, not in isolation.

💰
The Salary Negotiation Playbook
Six-section workbook: Know Your Value, Market Research, Your Number, BATNA, Build Your Script, Objection Prep, plus Pre-Negotiation Checklist and Post-Negotiation Debrief
📋
The Salary Negotiation Quick Reference Card
Printable companion: 7-day prep timeline, condensed prep workbook, six core scripts, walk-in card with power phrases and the silence rule
💬
The Executive Command Scriptbook
50+ scripts for salary negotiation, promotion asks, difficult conversations, skip-levels, counter-offers, and objection responses
📧
The Executive Email Templates Pack
43 word-for-word templates: salary opener, counter-offer, visibility updates, scope pushback, follow-up accountability, conflict response
📋
The Performance Review Takeover
Achievement Audit, 30-day timeline, conversation plant scripts, pre-review emails, deflection decoder, post-review follow-up
Add-on · Sold Separately
📊
The Executive Career Vault
An interactive dashboard that brings the Win Tracker, Negotiation Prep Hub, Salary Impact Calculator, Day-Of Checklist, and Conversation Log into one connected system. Everything in this plan, in one place. Get the Career Vault →
📅
Every Friday
10 minutes. Log every win with a metric. This one habit is the foundation of everything else.
📝
Within 1 Hour
Fill in your Salary Playbook Post-Negotiation Debrief while the exact words are still in your head.
🔄
Every 90 Days
Re-read your Debrief and notes for patterns. Reset your numbers. Go into the next cycle prepared.

Go Prepare.
Then Go Ask.

"You were not asking too much. You were asking too early, before the system was in place."

Start today
Open the Salary Playbook
Fill in your three numbers in Section 3. Log your first win in Section 1. Set the conversation date. Ten minutes and you've started.
This Friday
Start the Friday Win habit
Block 10 minutes every Friday. One win, one metric, in your notes doc. That's the whole habit. Don't miss a week.
Within 30 days
Request the meeting
Use Script 1 or Email Template 1. Don't wait for the perfect moment. The system is ready when you are.
Eleanor Brooks
writeeleanorbrooks.com