What are you worth?
by Andrew Bryant
Director of Self Leadership International
It is curious how the theme for each month's newsletter seems to present itself; over the last few days I have had several conversations with people who were struggling to communicate their value. One friend has been performing a leadership role since the retirement of his boss and yet the organisation still hasn't confirmed his appointment or given him a raise, one consultant colleague is charging what she thinks is the maximum the client (a government department) will pay, but despite being busy, with her costs she is hardly making ends meet. And this week I had a conversation with a coach who likes to work with adults with ADD but thinks they have no money.
I could list a few more, but I think you get my point - people often put their own limit on how much they earn or do not articulate their true value.
Earlier this year I had a coaching session with a young woman who was earning $30,000 pa as a sales representative, she hated the job but felt she couldn't quit because her boss was a friend and she felt he might be paying her more than she was worth. During the 1-hour coaching session, we examined her beliefs about what she was worth; 2-weeks later she had quit the job and had signed on with another company for $60,000 pa!
This example is a great testimonial for coaching but I tell it because it clearly demonstrates how our belief about our value translates into dollars and cents (I do not believe money is the ultimate goal, but it is a convenient way of keeping score).
In a previous article I talked about self-esteem as self valuing, if you haven't read this I suggest you do so before reading the following ideas on increasing your value.
#1 Give value first, get paid second:
We have recently been interviewing for a junior team member at our Singapore office, and my wife Zurina commented on how many of the new graduates had an attitude the they 'deserved' top wages although they had no track record or experience other than graduating. Just believing that you are commercially valuable without demonstrating it is fantasy. If you believe in your value you need to demonstrate this in a way that is tangible. If you feel you deserve a promotion, are you working beyond the expectation of your current role? If you are an entrepreneur, are you giving your clients more than they expect?
#2 Articulate the value:
If you believe that you are adding value to the job or your client's you need to articulate what that value is or it may go unnoticed. For example, my friend who is performing the leadership role (without pay) has created a plan to replace outdated machinery that will save his company a large amount of money over the next few years. In addition the increase efficiency of the new equipment will increase quality that will translate into sales.
When he told me about this, I asked him how much more value he was creating for the company compared to the amount of pay increase he expected to receive if his new position was confirmed. On answering this question he realised that he had not articulated his value to the people controlling the appointment. He was thinking about how much his pay rise was going to cost the company rather than how much he was going to make for them. The same limiting thinking was afflicting the consultant who provides her services to the government. As a previous government employee she 'knew' what the government would pay. She was forgetting the investment she has made in getting her PhD and the amount of wasted effort she saves her client by streamlining their processes. In short she is not articulating how much value she is providing.
#3 Ask with a smile:
Good sales people know that they have to ask for the order and that customers like a discount, but they also know that when the customer just has to have that product they will do anything to get it.
When you know what value you offer and have clearly articulated this, then it is time to say with a smile "this is what I want and this is what you will receive in return". Zurina did just this when she went for a payrise a few years ago; she told the company what she was worth and provided a detailed list of the value she added to that company.
Does this work, you better believe it! Zurina got that pay rise and next month I am doing some work for one of those government departments that have a 'fixed' spending limit and I didn't discount a cent. There is however a caveat - when you adopt this approach make sure you deliver the value!