A Highly Paid Marketing Director Taught Me This Tested Method of Marketing Yourself to Get the Pay Rise You Deserve
A highly paid Marketing Director showed me how to make a strong case for a rewarding pay rise.
She had used this strategy to ensure that she always got paid what she felt she deserved. I have since tested the process many times. It has worked time and again for many different levels of employees.
She started by thinking of herself as a quality product. She made a list of the unique benefits that only she brought to her employer. She listed the ways that her strengths contributed to the employer’s productivity and profits. Only when she was confident about the benefits that she brought to the party did she start to think about her target audience, her employer, and the problems and needs that he was likely to have.
It is this detailed self-assessment and research that makes it much easier for a boss to say “yes” to your request for a pay rise.
The Common Mistake that Leads to Failure
Most people get it all wrong when asking for a pay rise.
They start in the wrong place. They think only about what they want. As a result, they fail to get as big a rise as they would like.
So, what are they doing wrong? Of the 1,000 plus people I have coached I would say that the subject of pay rises has come up at least 700 times. This has allowed me to test the Marketing Directors method hundreds of times in real-life situations.
I’m going to walk you through the process and then give you a step-by-step guide to pay rise success.
Stop Thinking About Yourself – Correct Mindset Matters
Most people go wrong because they fixate about why they need more money and what they need it for.
The problem is that focussing on your needs does not help your employer rationalise why he should give you a pay rise. The employer does not exist for your welfare, the employer exists to make money. The employer has plenty of other calls on his budget. Many of these are expenses that are budgeted and seen to be essential. You are competing for a share of that same budget.
If you are going to get a larger share of your employers budget you need to justify the expense.
How Much Should You Ask For?
This is where knowing your value matters.
You need to know your worth and ask for what you are worth. Check job ads to see what people with your qualifications, abilities and level of seniority are being paid elsewhere. The job ads will also give you an idea of how much demand exists for people like you. If there is a high demand for people like you, then you are worth more.
Keep in mind that it is not just you that is affected by your take-home pay. You have a responsibility to your dependents. The amount you earn impacts every aspect of your life. It is very important for your health that you are paid what you are worth. When you feel that you are under-rewarded you will feel dissatisfied and disgruntled. That is no way to spend your life.
Your Boss Has to Consider 5 Factors Before Giving You a Pay Rise
Put yourself in your boss’s shoes, what questions is he going to ask himself when he hears that you want a rise? He is going to be asking himself:
- If we pay you more money will it lead in some way to an improvement in the company’s productivity or profit?
- Will giving you a rise make you more loyal? Will it motivate you to perform better?
- What effect will giving you a raise have on the other members of the team? Will this raise open the floodgates and cause everyone else to demand more money?
- What effect will giving you this raise have on my budget?
- If I decide to let you go what will be the cost in time and money of replacing you? [Bear in mind that a recruiter is going to charge about 20% – 30% of your replacement’s salary. In the UK this averages out at £3,000 (US$4,000). On top of that the new recruit will take a while to work up to full productivity.]
It is your job, when you ask for a pay rise to solve all of these problems for your boss when you present your case.
Your 4 Steps to Pay Rise Success
- Prepare strong answers to these questions BEFORE you ask for a raise
- What abilities and strengths do I bring to the workplace?
- In what ways does my working here enhance productivity and profitability?
- What will it cost the employer in time and money to replace me?
- Study your boss
- Learn how he evaluates people. Does he put a high value on team players? Does he appreciate hard work, long hours, team drivers? Does he take account of emotional factors; if so, which emotions matter to him?
- Does he worry most about budgets, outcomes, team dynamics or status?
- How can I position my request in a way that my boss will see as justifiable in terms of his values and his needs.
- Know the best time to approach your boss. When is he most likely to be in a receptive mood?
- Broach the subject of your pay rise in the right way.
- Never say, “I want a pay rise because I can’t live on the meagre pittance that you pay me.”
- Better to say, “I think it would have a positive effect on profitability and productivity if you were to pay me more.”
All of my most successful clients, like the Marketing Director mentioned in this article, are lifetime learners. They never cease in their quest for new and better ways of improving their performance. I share what I learn from the best.