You know what you want. From your company: Stretch assignments, more training, a promotion. From your vendor: Better service, cheaper pricing. All you have to do is convince the other party to give you what you desire.

Are you up for the task? Probably not.

An August 2013 CareerBuilder survey found that about half of all workers take the first compensation package offered, even though 45% of employers are willing to negotiate. And a LinkedIn survey last year found that 39% of professionals feel anxious about negotiating. It's a particular concern for IT folks, who aren't as likely to pick up negotiation experience as their business-side colleagues.

For a crash course on how to negotiate, IT-style, read on.