How can I negotiate a salary raise if my Manager isn't the person who decides whether to make the raise or not? He only makes recommendations and more often th

How can I negotiate a salary raise if my Manager isn't the person who decides whether to make the raise or not? He only makes recommendations and more often than not those recommendations are not listened to by central HQ. Should I ask to talk with the section director? What is a viable strategy in this case? I am preparing a viable BATNA at the moment. In any case I'm very interested in those recommendations!!