MSRP
What is the real value of our service? When a 3 to 5 percent raise is considered generous from a company that will earn a lot more than that from us, how can we be sure we are getting what we are really worth from a company? (I, by the way, received my first raise in several years. It was 2 percent.)
Often, economics of supply and demand will dictate what we are worth on the open market. But take an example of a company who hires new grad PTAs to staff a building while per diem PTs do the evaluations. Your value plummets as your need decreases in today's market.
Niche marketing comes in handy if there is good marketing for it and if your company will pay to market you. Exceptional customer care can be found and is advertised everywhere so what makes us unique therapists and why should a company pay our outrageous fees?
Perhaps we go about selling ourselves wrongly and we should appeal to those bean counters who really make the decisions. How about we tell a company it will cost you "X" amount to hire me per year but I can generate "XXXX" in a year through my services and the use of my license.
Reimbursement of gait is roughly 15 to 20 bucks, multiply this by the 10 patients we see each day, five days a week. They get the picture and you get the job. Perhaps we should market ourselves like the car manufacturers do.
Cars all have four wheels, some have two doors others four, but the basic makeup is the same under the hood (speaking about education here), but how much gas mileage (productivity) do we go with one fill up (paycheck)?