Chapter 11 presented several strategies for setting prices. Central to being strategic in setting prices – the pricing process – is customer perceptions of value. For this personal marketing plan exercise, you are to consider the steps in conducting a pricing analysis of your future career plans.
To begin, consider the expected costs you will incur in the next decade. These include: repaying student loans, rent, saving for a house, or costs associated with starting a family. Be mindful to consider the potential costs of these things on a monthly and annual basis. Next, compare the costs with the career information you submitted in another PM assignment – do things match up?
Next, consider your market value to a company, either now or after graduate school. The price elasticity you will bring to future employers will be a very important consideration especially as you develop in your career. For example, if you possess an exceptional combination of experience, education, personality, and work ethic, the demand for you and your services are probably be inelastic. In this case, you might be able to negotiate a higher salary if the demand for your combination of services is high.
On the contrary, if demand for your services is elastic, you will need to understand your that your bargaining power is lessened. In other words, you will need to work toward developing new skills and work toward increasing your value/brand to the company.
It is essential that you know the elasticity of your brand. As you probably know, too many times employees mistakenly undervalue their brand. This makes them accept work, and pay, for well under what the market prices dictate. They miss out on money they could have earned over the time they dedicate to their career.
Your Task: Considering the information above, you will develop a detailed list of the costs necessary for you to have the career you desire 10 years from now. As you develop the list, consider the following: student loans, training seminars, graduate school costs, or any fixed or variable costs. If you are confused about these costs, look them up.
Next, review the information you submitted about the companies, organizations, and/or graduate schools in a previous PM assignment. You will need to compare the list of costs against or with the prices /salaries with or without benefits that the companies or organizations are paying for people with your skill set. If you have stated that you intend to go to graduate school, base your information on the job/career you will take/enter after graduation.
Finally, determine your own personal break-even point (review the chapter) for your salary level. You will need to identify when you expect to reach the salary that you desire.
The assignment should include:
– list of costs based on 10 years from now
– remember what the costs should include (above)
– compare (charts are good!) the costs forecasted vs. your expected salary
– note your personal break-even point – this is mathematical and not hard – but necessary to provide you with data to help you know if the job/career/graduate degree going to help you obtain the lifestyle I want, etc.
– several well-constructed paragraphs and data to support your thoughts and findings
– REMEMBER: name your document as: Last name_initial_title of assignment