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Timely tips for calculating the right pay package for big decision-makers.

In Pictures: How To Calculate What Key Employees Are Worth

With the economy tanking and unemployment nearing 7%, it's a buyer's market for firms lucky enough to be hiring. The challenge: landing loyal talent without going broke in the process--either by losing valuable hours rooting through piles of résumés or dangling profit-sapping salaries.

"A buyers' market doesn't mean that it's any easier," says John Younger, chief executive of Accolo, a Larkspur, Calif., staffing company for the software industry. "Hiring tends to consume more resources than it did before. You place an ad on Craigslist and get people bugging you for weeks."
So what are key decision-makers really worth? Unfortunately, there is no one formula that transcends industries and business cycles. Tackle the problem in logical steps, though, and you can increase your odds of earning a solid return on that important player. Potential applicants can learn a thing or two from this process, too.

Life is one big negotiation--be it with your boss, spouse, customers or the used-car salesman.

Formidable deal makers like Warren Buffett, Bill Clinton and sports agent Scott Boras tend to be born, not made. But talk to negotiating pros from the worlds of government, finance and media, and they'll admit there is at least some science to this art--and there's no better time to master it than in a severe economic downtown.

Knowing, for instance, how to negotiate easier terms with suppliers can be the difference between conquest and carnage. "Vendors will be more lenient when it comes to negotiating financing options if they can lock you into a long-term contract," notes Gregg Bedol, business consultant with Red Zone Consulting in Atlanta. In this environment, Bedol recommends angling for friendlier financing on high-volume items like paper, ink and toner.

Winning every point in a negotiation is rarely an option, of course, but if you keep a few principles in mind, you can tilt things in your favor--whether you're signing a peace treaty or re-jiggering contracts.