Question

Topic: Branding

Salary Progression In Brand Strategy Consulting

Posted by Anonymous on 5/21/2007 at 3:15 PM ET 250 Points
Hi,

I've just been offered a position with a leading branding consultancy in London. My background is in business transformation and strategy consulting.

The reason I sought a move was primarily to focus in on an area that I'm really interested in and develop deep expertise over time. My experience in broader consulting has not enabled me to hone in on any particular issue area or industry and consequently I feel like a bit of a 'jack of all trades, master of none'.

Additionally, I was after a change of culture and environment. In business consulting the environment is often fairly 'corporate'. My interview experience in branding was very positive, relaxed and fun - a definite plus.

Although I'm genuinely excited at the prospect of joining the branding world, I have a slight concern around salary progression and ultimate salary potential. I have been offered a salary which is broadly the same as my current one (fair for a sideways move into a new discipline). Can you advise me how quickly salaries tend to appreciate with experience in this field versus strategy consulting? In strategy, typically somebody with 8-10 years experience can expect to earn about £80-100k ($160-200k).

Money is certainly not the driving factor, but something I need to resolve in my own mind before I accept the offer.

Thanks, R
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RESPONSES

  • Posted on 5/21/2007 at 9:10 PM Member
    Salary progression in consulting is not so much related to time on the job or experience per se. Rather it tends to reflect the consultant's track record. If you help a client create a program that is a raving success, you'll be worth more to the next client. If you are associated with mediocre results, your value will be mediocre.

    And, as BARQ said, your ability to sell what you do is likely to be as important as anything else.

    You might want to check out Rasputin For Hire : An inside look at management consulting between jobs or as a second career. It's a book about the critical success factors in consulting (generally), and it might address the issues that are on your mind.

    And the appendix has a transcript of a round-table discussion with 8 or 9 consultants who cover a range of topics that could be helpful for you.

    You can get the book through Amazon.co.uk, or at www.rasputinforhire.com . That website will also allow you to preview the table of contents, introduction and chapter 1 ... so you can see if you think the book will really be helpful to you.

    Hope this helps. Good luck.
  • Posted on 5/23/2007 at 9:28 AM Author
    Thanks to you both for your responses.

    In the end, I decided to follow my heart and accept the branding offer (and turned down a far higher paying strategy role at one of the Big 4). I fully agree that money should not drive the decision and that satisfaction is far more important.

    It's difficult to completely remove salary from the equation (especially when you're living in a high-cost city like London!) but I'm confident I've made the right decision in aligning myself to a career path that I feel genuinely excited and passionate about.

    I would value other views from people who have made a similar transition from broader consulting to brand consulting e.g. the pros, cons, what they have gained, what they miss etc.

    Many thanks in advance, R
  • Posted on 5/29/2007 at 11:18 AM Accepted
    Congratulations on your choice - of course I am biased, but I feel it was the better option for you !!!

    I made a similar move 10 years ago - I am so old it was still the Big 6 back then. And although I am informally doing my own thing right now, I can tell you this:

    What I Don't Miss:
    - Wearing a suit every day
    - Having three-dozen bosses in a year (partners and directors on different jobs or practice areas)
    - Packing and traveling on Sunday night
    - Checking into the same hotel every Monday for 3 months in a row
    - Eating in a restaurant every nite
    - Being in competition with a hundred other "young turks"
    - Grinding out one cookie-cutter project after another
    - Being a cog in a wheel, with limited senior-client interaction

    What I Gained - the flip side of most of the items above
    - Focused expertise in a critical business area = marketing
    - The ability to differentiate myself given my prior consulting experiences
    - Involvement with leading-edge issues such as web, segmentation, marketing ROI
    - Much more impact on client results
    - High sense of accomplishment

    Keep in mind, you will never make more than you could have in pure business strategy: Landor just can not get the rates McKinsey charges. But if you do well and can structure your promotions and some innovative bonus schemes, you should do fine.

    My three cents, anyway.
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