Smart Lemming Diary: Assessing Priorities for 90-Day Plan & Salary Negotiations
June 25, 2005
Things don’t move as fast as you expect. I should have realized that her CEO, Tom, was more prudent than Amanda realized. Tom didn’t call me on Thursday, as Amanda said her would, but he did call on Friday. He did not to extend an offer for the Director position, but to tell me that he would like me to come in one more time to meet with him. Of course, he did share that his direct reports thought I was a fit. He apologized for not calling me Thursday afternoon, since he was busy with his top investor into the evening. I heard the caution and measured words in his voice, when he said that he hadn’t taken time to think through expectations for this key position.
What are the Marketing Priorities?
“I realized that you’re approach to starting new jobs is to have 90-Day Plan, but I don’t know what I expect this position to accomplish right away. I’d love one of everything in your Marketing Portfolio, Management Transition Plan, Market Development Program, and Sales Reference Guide,” he explained. “I’d like you to come in and meet with me to discuss what we both think the priorities are and how this would work. I’d also like you to meet Amanda, CTO, and me again so we can get their perspective too.”
After I adjusted my mindset from a salary negotiation to consulting mode, I thought on my feet. “Of course, you’re building a new marketing department, but I’m sure there are urgent, time sensitive things that should be done right away. I see six parallel processes that should go on simultaneously with those urgent action items. For starters, I’d like to discuss with your team if they need the following:”
- Lead Generation: identify the urgent needs for Sales, but I know they’ll say lead generation. We’ll need to identify lead generation activities that will help Amanda ASAP, as we start work on the product marketing for new and existing products. We can always update the messaging in the lead generation later on as we refine that messaging in the other processes.
- Key Messaging Work Plan: identify the key messaging for your current product, identify the target audience and how your product satisfies their business needs, what features are used to solve those problems. This will drive the sales tools like Solution Development Prompters, but also Marcom efforts.
- Sales Reference Guides: develop a Sales Reference materials for your existing product for your direct sales and a tailored one for your partners because you’ll need sales training materials very soon.
- Product Marketing for New Product in Development: start the product marketing process with your new product in development, so you’ll have a Product Launch Plan with all Marcom activities identified and ready for the early 2006 launch.
- Initial Competitor Sale Tools: identify key competitors and how your product(s) compare, creating side-by-side sales tools.
- Market Planning: from a planning perspective for next year, I’m assuming you have sales goals. I’m sure you’ll want a Marketing Plan to support those goals, so that process will have to start.
Hit the Ground Running
I could tell that Tom needs to make sure he’s making the right hiring decision, seeing if I have the chops to do the job. While I’m disappointed about things not evolving like Amanda thought, I understand completely. I’m ready to facilitate a meeting to assist Amanda, CTO, and Tom in identifying their needs.
“You don’t want someone to start only to hide away in an office doing only strategic stuff or identify what the marketing roles and responsibilities are. That doesn’t create deliverables for the near term to help you with your sales now. We know what the marketing functions should be, what the infrastructure should be. You need multiple efforts going on.”
He replied with “Exactly, I tell people that it’s like changing a tire while the car’s moving. We don’t have the luxury to stop the car and change the tire.”
Next Meeting
We both felt better, after I was able to rattle off my six thoughts. He’s traveling on Sunday to a tradeshow, but will return on Monday night. He wanted me to pick the day and time for when I wanted to have the second meeting. I chose to not look eager, so I picked next Wednesday, for the same time this week. Fortunately, I don’t much work to do in preparation for this meeting. I’ll be able to identify the deliverable examples from my binder for the meeting. I just need to prepare how I’ll actually facilitate the meeting with Amanda, CTO, and Tom.
Negotiation Preparation: Buy Employer Data for Your Negotiations
I was fortunate that Tom didn’t call until late in the day Friday. In the morning, I was busy identifying talking points for point/counter point discussion. I also was able to buy and review the compensation data for both job seekers and employers. I purchased the Personal Salary Report as a job seeker and the Job Valuation Report as an employer. I can understand why Salary.com would sell different data to job seekers. Employers wouldn’t participate in the surveys used to gather if the methodologies were identical.
Variance between Job Seeker vs. Employer Data
The real reason I purchased the employer data was because this data was used against me in salary negotiation two jobs ago. I was angry that the job seeker data was off from the employer data, because it hurt me in these negotiations. I calculated the variance between the job seeker base pay to the employer data. The job seekers data consistently overstates the 25th percentile, Mid, and 75th percentile by 3% when compared to the employer data. While 3% doesn’t sound like a big difference; it is, giving the employer the upper hand in negotiations. They can always use your expectations or counter offers against you since they have numbers that are 3% lower than what you think you’re worth or discredit your position with the employer data source.
Variance between Your Estimated Market Value & Predicted vs. Market Range & Benchmark
I also found a difference in variance between Between Your Estimated Market Value and Market Range in the job seekers Personal Salary Report was were consistently 8%, -4%, and -23%. The 8% reflects that my value came in 8% higher than the market range at the 25th percentile and my value at the 75th percentile was -23% below the market range. These percentages were identical in the employer’s Job Valuation Report. My only comment here is that the variance percentages are identical in each report. I know that my personal traits contributed to the variances, but I just find it interesting that the variances are identical between the two reports. In summary, the job seeker data makes you think you’re worth more than the actual employer data, giving employers the upper hand if market data is used in salary negotiation.
What’s in the Employer Data Set?
I’m prepared now that I purchased the employer salary reports for Marketing Directors for Tom’s industry, company size, and metro area. However, on the other hand, I’m thankful that I have job seeker data at all; it’s a double-edged sword. Using this criteria and exact personal information on me, I had access to the Job Valuation Report listing the Benchmark (or what’s known as “Market Value” in the job seekers report) and Your Predicted Base Pay (known as “Your Estimated Market Value”) for the job of marketing director, raises, benefits, and additional information; it also lists the base pay in terms of 25th percentile, Mid, 75th percentiles for:
- Base pay and total compensation package
- Job and employer details
- Incentive pay: Short term and long term
- Benefits and prerequisites
- Linking pay to performance
- Raises
- New hires or promotions
- Negotiation with employees tips
Negotiations Spreadsheet
After reviewing this employer data, I was able to create a spreadsheet using this data for the 25th, median, 75th percentiles for base bay. I designed the spreadsheet so it would quickly assess the initial offer, what the counter offer should be based on the initial offer, and offer in response to a counter offer. My spreadsheet also measures how the offers compares to my goal in base pay, stock options, bonus, benefits, vacation, and delayed start date. It also includes a stock options calculator, so I calculate stock value for vesting periods, since I was going to use this element to negotiate my goal in vacation time for work life balance.
Recommended Books
- Negotiate Your Job Offer: A Step-by-Step Guide to a Win-Win Situation
by Mary B. Simon
- Management Consulting: A Complete Guide to the Industry
by Sugata Biswas and Daryl Twitchell
The Smart Lemming Diary is a series that chronicles a journey of laid-off worker, who becomes a Vice President of Sales Operations & Marketing for a small entrepreneurial healthcare technology company.
