Where Do Offers Come From?
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Just like learning that babies don't come from the Stork, candidates should know the truth about how offers are made. Most companies go about it the same way. Know what this standard process is when negotiating your salary.

Facts vs. Opinions
First off, recognize that everything that goes into what you'll be offered will be "factual." In other words, don't expect companies to offer you more because that's what your friend earns in the same job or what a palm reader told you recently. You'll be far more effective (and come off as a lot more rational) in your negotiations if you stick to the facts.

3 universal facts that go into any offer:

  1. Current Salary: Your base salary, bonus (how much and when), review periods (how much and when) and other monetary components of your package
  2. Compare/Contrast to Team: How your background and salary compares to the team of people you'll be joining. Companies don't like to have a lot of variance in salaries for similarly titled staff. This is highly problematic should people talk about their salary (which many do).
  3. Additional Skills or Learning Curve: Any valuable experience you bring to the table that is in addition to the core skills - OR - conversely, any of the required core skills that you don't have and might need to be trained on. This will either add or subtract to the final tally.
If you want to do a little more research, here are a few other hard facts to use to your advantage...

  • HR salary grades or ranges: If the company has these, Managers will typically need to abide by them. It's OK to ask what they are so you understand the "budget" for this job.
  • Salary web sites: Payscale.com or Salary.com are two of the biggies. Plug in your particulars and see what it says!
  • Other offers: this gives you powerful collateral on your market worth. Try to get all of your offers in written form so that you can use them as an authentic bargaining chip. (Just another reminder of why you should interview a lot to generate multiple offers)
Just stick to the facts and offer them the "hard evidence" (as suggested above) that will maximize any offer they give you. By only giving them this type of information and bouncing the salary question back to them, you'll steer clear of shooting yourself in the foot at this critical negotiation stage.
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