Millennials Financial Stress is costing YOUR Company

The millennial money struggle is NO JOKE. The youth of today are making 20% less than their parents were at the same stage of life. Plus with Millennials getting more education (masters and PhD’s), they have more debt than their parents did as well! To top that off the job market isn’t making things any easier for the future of your young staff.

While 48% of millennials are optimistic about their financial future, most of them are worried about income in the here and now. Jobs are few and far between, and the salaries are even less. Which leaves them wondering; what to do?

Here is where you can help. As a manager or CEO, you can offer financial lunch & learns for your staff.  Millennials surveyed say that on average, they spend four hours every week sweating their personal financial matters at the office. That means you lose a whole week’s worth of productivity a year for each millennial staff you employee. Millennials may be the biggest money, but they are not alone. Boomers and GenXers say they spend office time worrying about money troubles.

It’s really easy, with 92% of millennials saying they would benefit from a financial education program, and those classes can equating to higher productivity for the company; you should be on the phone now to book a money specialist now!

Tip: you can save some money and have your CFO or the company account hold the meeting; as long as they can make it entertaining.

Stop Devaluing Your Brand And Make More Money

Sales is a tug of war over the amount money that one person can get using the least amount their commodity (depending on the business). Every day, it seems, account executive are in a negotiation and/or conflict while handling their client's needs, wants, and desires.  Dealing with conflicts over, how much to give and, for what price,  can be taxing and uncomfortable. Far too often an AE will simply cut the price of their product as the first course of action, instead of the last-ditch effort to keep a customer.

I work in the field of conflict management and dispute resolution but, I have been able to use my skills to help companies maximize their profits by making their sales staff smarter negotiators. Recently I read a book called Emotional Intelligence: Sales Success that had a lot of interesting ideas on how to combat your customer in a sales negotiation.

Tips to keep value of your product and your customers as well:

If the customer says to you, "Your competition is 20% lower can you lower your price."

You can respond; "I appreciate you sharing that information. Can I ask you a question? What was it that made you agree to a meeting if you are getting similar services for a discounted rate?"

This makes the customer be the one to share what they are not happy with when it comes to their current situation. Take that information and share why you are worth the slightly higher adjustment.

If the customer says, "We would like to go with you, however, your price is a little high."

You can respond; Thank you, I am glad you see the value in us, I would be more than happy to go back over our proposal to see what you think would be a something we can remove to fit your budget.

This shows the client that you appreciate their business and are willing to work with them without cutting or discounting your prices. 

If the customer says, "We have had a tough year is there any way you could do better on your price?"

A sympathetic reply of, "I completely understand, it has been a tough year for many of my clients. I would understand if you need more time to think about whether this is a good time to invest in advertisement."

This shows empathy, and that you are not looking to hurt their business; instead you are interested in helping them out. Remember the old allegory, give a mouse a cookie and it will want a glass of milk. No client will every say, "You know we have had a great year, I am ready to pay 20% more than what you are offering."

Believe in yourself, your product, and your company. You worked hard to figure out a fair price and value to your customers, honor that and over time people will honor you.

3 Steps To Asking For More Money At Work

When it comes to making more money during salary negotiations you need to remember to stay focused, do your research, and ask the right questions, if you want to see success. 

In today’s office culture, I see fewer and fewer companies that are doing a standard 3% raise and a pat on the back. Budget cuts and cut backs are a fact of life for many people.  Job-hopping to try and make more money is stressful for both employees and employer. Preventing pricing oneself out of a job or, once inside the company, asking for a raise is a difficult task for many people.

The common mistakes that I have seen when it comes to salary negotiations is people lose sight of the true focus. Often people think more about what they want and what they deserve and allow that to be their starting point. Odds are, if this is your approach, you will not end up with a positive result. When people are concerned about what they want or what they are worth/deserve, the focus of this entire conversation is on them. In a contract or salary negotiation, what’s being negotiated is not you; it is what you mean to the company.

Focus: Is it on yourself or on your interests?

You should not approach the negation as if your employer cares that you have two kids in college and need more money. The fact that you have been here a decade is not a good enough reason to make more money. Remember not to let the negotiation become personal. What is being negotiated is the value of the job that you perform. The monetary value attached to the work that that is being done and the worth of those tasks to the company. So what that means is change the focus from YOU, to the VALUE that you bring to the company.

Research: Know what the market value is for your assigned tasks. Knowing what your job is worth when compared to similar companies can ensure that you are not way out of line with your asking amount. After you know the amount that your job and experience is worth, then it is time to work on your approach for asking for the raise. 

Leading up to your year-end review, or simply a request for more money, you need to prepare. Most of the time people spring a salary increase on their boss, that’s not fair and will not get the best result. The best alternative is to start the negotiation by asking the right questions of your boss.

Ask the Right Question:

What does it take to make ____ in this company?

What should I do to be in the position to be the type of employee that could receive a ____ raise? 

In doing this, you get to hear from your boss exactly what he or she wants and expects of an employee that makes the money that you want to make. When you have accomplished the expectations, you have eliminated the reasons for the employer to deny the request.

It is important to be open-minded to other possible interests when it comes to a raise.  For example, if the company is truly strapped for cash, you can try to negotiate for more vacation days. Being positive, open-minded, informed and direct is always the best approach when it comes time to negotiate for a higher salary. If you have a specific questions please feel free to reach out.