The question I get all the time is “Keith, how do I increase my salary?”
It sounds so simple, and here’s the thing – it is so simple. But it’s not what you think. Most people expect a magic answer. They tell me their story and expect me to tell them to do one thing, relevant to their situation.
But I’ve got news for you, you’ve actually got three things you need to do. Forget what everyone tells you about salary and how to earn, there are actually only three things that you need to be concerned about and focus on.
Every time you think about salary, in fact every time you get up out of bed in the morning, you should be thinking about “What am I going to do in each one of these three jobs today?” because if you can do that, I absolutely guarantee it, you will blow your salary expectations out of the water. You will absolutely definitely get what it is that you should be earning.
When you learn this, you’ll see what I mean. Most people don’t get it, most people nod up and down and say “oh yeah, yeah, I understand it” and they don’t. They don’t, they just gloss over it, so just pay attention please. If you get this, and if you get the implications of what I’m going to be explain to you, seriously this is worth a lot of money to you.
Positioning
Your first job is positioning. Okay Keith, what do you mean by positioning? You need to be really really clear about what problem it is that you solve, who do you solve that problem for, and when you solve that problem, how is it that your boss or your customer benefits?
So the next time someone asks you the question, “What do you do?”, you need to be able to explain:
1. What problem do you solve?
If you’re not solving a problem, no one’s going to pay you.
2. Who is it that you solve it for?
You need to be quite clear on this. Different types of people have different problems that need to be solved in different ways, so which type of person are you going to solve a problem for?
3. What’s the benefit that you’re going to deliver?
Think about your local cafes and restaurants. Each one of them is slightly different, or the very good ones are different. Which the restaurant do you like going to most? I almost guarantee it’s a restaurant that is solving a problem for you.
Maybe your problem is you want really good tasting food with an excellent wine selection, and that’s what they provide. Or maybe you just want a place where your whole family can go, sit around and have a good value meal with but good food. Or maybe you just want some place where you can meet up for a cup of coffee and a pastry.
You’ve probably just imagined those three different restaurants. Can you see that they’re solving a problem for you? The benefit that you get from going to a really nice restaurant with a great wine list is that it’s a place you’ll go to with your partner or if you’re trying to impress someone, maybe your really good friends. Whereas the benefit’s different when you go to a restaurant with your family, it’s a family occasion and you don’t want to spend loads of money but you want to have an event.
Think about the problem, who you’re solving it for, and what’s the benefit. Get that really clear.
Producing
The second thing is the one that most people focus on. But not quite enough. It’s producing. That’s your other job that you’ve got to do. You’ve got to produce, you’ve got to do stuff. But, you can’t just do any old stuff, the key to producing is that you’ve got to produce work that is:
1. Relevant
Lots of people spend their lives being very busy doing lots of stuff, but actually it’s not relevant to what it is they want out of life,
