What are your best tips for negotiating salary?

I thought of sharing a very interesting experience of mine recently, but this is in the context of being absolutely confident and having guts in knowing your worth.

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I applied for A and B. A gave me an offer at 13% increment (without considering 2-3M bonus) within 2 weeks from the interview. I ACCEPTED on the grounds primarily that I see this is where I can leverage my skill set and the interviews gave me good impression (remember that interview is a two way process, same goes to probation).

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B came back to me quite late, but offered a higher 23% increment by throwing in 13M bonus (with the same 2-3M bonus). I knew that I didn't want B because of how the interview went. So I went back to A and politely say that I look forward certainly to working with A, but I didn't stage this counter-offer and will hope to see a match up offer (with a screenshot of B compensation without showing who is B)

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So A did a MATCH UP. I believe I am happy myself because I don't want to go into a new job knowing I am not being paid the best rate. I also believe it makes A life easier because HR just wants to retain talent and match up to it.

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From this experience, some things I have done are:

1. Customised CV. Both A and B have absolute similarities in roles and positions. And my customised cover letter, CV and (even business execution strategy which describes what I foresee to execute as this is an in-house role) have really helped in positioning myself in crafting my interview questions.
2. Interview questions. Showing sincere curiosity during an interview works both ways, it helps you to know whether this is the company for you (by knowing how and what answers your hiring manager is giving you), and it also validates the company if they are searching for someone like you. I get plenty of rejections also which is fine (simply probably because my personality doesn't suit)
3. Benchmark. When it comes to the dollar question, benchmarking helps a lot. Unfortunately, glassdoor isn't the best-contextualised source of information. Few factors that helped me: I have an HR compensation friend in the industry to know the dealings AND I also already have an offer from B to push the evidence across.
4. Let it be open-ended. The compensation package is my secondary interest while my primary interest lies in the right environment, with the right people to execute my skillsets (and grow them). Stick it to 15-20% at the start of the HR call and say you are open for negotiation. HR also has its budget and will convince you around other perks to be equivalent. Only after you have made through the interviews and given the hiring manager an impression, then look at it seriously and go for a convincing package that you are happy with.
5. Have the guts, after the signs are aligned. IF you know from your anecdotal sources and chat with HR that you are the only person in line and just negotiating salary, chances for them to match up ~%5 will do easier than them restarting the hiring process with another candidate.
6. Don't try to beat the market. I have learned that there is no absolute correlation between compensation and pay grade in this employee market situation. Just find somewhere you can grow and rooted and upgrade your skill set to build your CV branding first, $$$ will come along till you hit a ceiling only you realise the younger generation can match up to your capability. By then in your 30s you should know that your network and soft skill set matter more than your hard skill set.

Calculate your expected based on your annual package instead of your monthly.

Use Glassdoor to estimate the salary range for the role you’re applying.