What Should Someone Pay Me For?

John had a long and successful career as a financial planner and then as a politician. He was a cabinet minister until 2011, when he lost his seat in a tight election. After being rejected by the voters, he had to figure out what to do.

John realized that the first hurdle was to come to terms with the loss. “No one wants to date someone who isn’t over his or her ‘ex,’” he joked. “I had to first ‘get over the girl.’” He also took some time off to figure out what he wanted to do next. “I knew what I had to do to be successful in business,” he said. “I knew what I had to do to be successful in politics. Now all of a sudden, I was on my own.”

Job offers came in, but none of them felt right. “People would come to me and say I’m a fit for their agenda,” he said. But it was their agenda, not his. “I remember telling my wife, I can do this as long as I turn myself into a pretzel that someone else wanted. But I’m not going to be successful and happy unless I’m doing something I enjoy doing.” Like most of my clients, John had to answer the universal question of life: “What should someone pay me for today?” What was his real value proposition to an employer or client? It would not be easy to answer that question, especially for a former politician.

The best way I know to figure out your true value proposition is to create what I call an infomercial. You might have seen them on The Shopping Channel—the infomercials hawking the wonder wallet, the fake jewellery, and the magic mop. Infomercials are corny and tacky, to be sure, but the great thing about the modern infomercial is that it explains the direct relationship between my dollar and what I get when I buy the item. It says exactly what is for sale. You either need it or you don’t. If you need it, you’ll likely buy it. If you don’t need it, you’ll pass.

The universal question of life: “What should someone pay me for today?”