Intro to Question: I do the Marketing for a company that did $13 million last year. They currently have 5 Sales people that make great money. The average salesperson brings in about $2 million in revenue a year. I just started January of last year. We ended up growing 30% in 2016. The percentage of revenue that came from marketing generated leads last year was around 26% of all revenue, or $3.4 million. This was an increase of about $1 million more than 2015. It's only my second year, but I doubled the number of leads they received in 2015 in just one year and I'm on pace to increase them even more. This is all while not increasing their marketing budget whatsoever. The only increase in expense was paying me about $20k more than their previous Marketing Manager. My question is this: If I make about half of what the average sales person makes ($81k), but I touch about double the amount of revenue the average sales person touches... should I ask for a raise and what should I be asking for given the average marketing manager in my State makes around $100k (I don't feel I'm close to being average but I also don't want to come off as a cocky millennial). I've never understood the income disparity between sales and marketing, especially in my scenario where 80% - 90% of all new business comes from marketing generated leads. Appreciate any advice (by the way I'm only 27 years old and I look like I'm 21), JG
I just want to start off by saying. I was a salesman for the past 5 years of my life. Given that, I think you should do 3 things. 1- show your manager - Numbers and EXACT value you bring to the table 2- how much money you saved them, that could've been spent 3- show them how much revenue you actually bring in over the some of the salesman. IF your supervisor is smart enough. And you've laid out the value that you're bringing, if your numbers are concrete, and show the exact value you bring , he/she will not have a choice but to give you a raise. Now given you do get a raise: get ready for a negotiation, because you won't get the raise that you want, you'll be meeting somewhere in the middle. 2- be ready for all the rebuttals, and your negatives he might bring to the table. 3- show them how your positives outweigh his re-rebuttals. I personally used this strategy to increase the percentage of my income from the profit I was bringing as a Car sales Managers, several times a year. I used this strategy every time I made a huge improvement(made negotiations- on a HIGH NOTE)(very important****) - which was every 3-4 months. IN THE END: What you have to keep in mind is that YOU HAVE TO ASK FOR A RAISE - even if you get rejected and get no raise. Because that's what's going to the build the habit and belief in yourself to do it. It's the only way. Getting a raise, is an art. It's a form of a negotiation, and you have nothing to lose basically, because the worst thing that can happen, is you won't get the raise, and the supervisor won't let you go, after all the benefits you've showed him you bring to the table. Thanks, yours truly thw1seone
