Instead of matching your brand to a dollar amount; think of the market your serving. Not everyone needs your brand to accomplish A, B or C. Stay niche and don’t drift away from your personal brand. A marketing firm isn’t going to hire a veterinarian and a hospital isn’t going to hire a CFO. These are extreme cases, but know that you need to research your niche to find, promote and attract clients or hiring companies. The image on the right is Hanukkah gelt. For anyone who isn’t Jewish, it is chocolate wrapped in foil and given out during the holiday, alongside dradles, for little children. If your goal in life is to collect gelt, then you are reading the wrong blog. 😉
Your brand value is equal to the total amount of money your audience is willing to pay for your services.
This amount may increase or decrease depending on a variety of factors:
- Global economic situation
- Your experience in that industry/field
- Organizational need (supply vs demand)
- Results from a successful project
- Size of the target company
- Benefit’s package inclusions
- Your network volume, credibility and relevance to their business
- Their total budget they can allocate to your services
- Evidence of an online personal brand (blogs, etc)
- Specialty skills (i.e. salesmanship, writing, analytical,etc)
- Case histories (projects +customer references)
- Care to add?
Your goal should be to closely align your personal brand value with compensation. The organizations goal is to pay you the least amount possible for your services, while still hiring you. You need to find some common ground in order to accept the job and be satisfied simultaneously. Your personal brand toolkit will elevate your pay grade drastically, as you’re showcasing more value to them, as well as skills that can help their business push into the future. In order for a company to grant you more money, you need to give them justification. Think about it; if you were a manager and were given a pay scale of between $40,000 and $60,000, you will want to hire the best possible candidate for that $40,000. If an applicant comes along that exceeds expectations and is unique to the position you’re hiring for, wouldn’t it be worth paying $50,000 – $60,000 for them? Of course and that’s the way you should think as you build your brand and position it to employers or potential customers.
