Here Is A Quick Way Towards Finding Employment

 People  2 Responses »
Feb 262011
 

 

Many friends have congratulated me on finding new employment last week, and asked “What did you do?” I’ll tell you. Perhaps you’re hearing many naysayers around you that repeat what they hear in the media. You’re constantly getting messages nowadays like, “jobs are hard to get”, “unemployment is too high,” and “the economy is terrible.” Those messages are meaningless to you. You are not deterred from seeing and believing the truth, which is you can find employment. You go through the doubters. You don’t let them block you. You don’t block yourself.

The way I received the job offer is quite by surprise, but on hindsight makes complete sense. One of my co-workers from Microsoft in the marketing role had been hired at the same firm a few weeks before me. She recommended they look at me and the interviews and an offer ensued. She continued to express her favor for me to the executive management team to choose me over the other candidates during the interviewing stage.

Good and Bad of Unseen Job Market

I think my job opportunity was never announced publicly. Most of the best ones for us aren’t announced publicly in this economy. If these opportunities were published, then we’d get buried in the mass of candidates, plus it’s most likely not going to be as good of a match. The best ones come when someone personally refers us to the hiring manager. That’s what you’re seeking.

Power of Advocacy

Lesson learned? You need an advocate. You don’t always pick the advocate, sometimes they pick you. It doesn’t matter who does the picking. It needs to happen though. It’s up to you, if you’re not getting the results in this area. You don’t know where your job lead will come from. Be optimistic that it will come. You’ll need an advocate, maybe more than one to get you in. You don’t know who can help you, or who wants to help you, or how they can help you. That is not an impossible problem. Try to think of it as a blessing, stimulating your creative powers and motivation. It is merely unrealized potential.

Power of Attitude

Your approach has several aspects. Your attitude is key. You’re using a process with stages, broadcasting widely in the beginning, followed by narrowcasting, and having a personalized touch with your friends, associates, customers etc. It’s a timing thing, very ephemeral. You repeat it periodically. Your next job offer will be most likely from a client, co-worker or boss from one of your past employment or contract situations that gets you to your goal. Someone who already knows you. Don’t worry if few people respond to your efforts to communicate. Many are reading your message, and don’t respond. It doesn’t matter how many don’t respond. You work with the ones that DO respond. All you need is your first one. You might remember this:

“Some will,

Some won’t,

So what,

Who’s next.”

Power of Action and Numbers

You focus on connecting with them in two stages. I’m talking about doing something here. You don’t think it out too much at this stage, just get the message out. First do it in a programmatic way, where you start things the same way with a bunch of people. Maybe you make an email announcement, a Facebook, Twitter or other social media platform ‘What’s happening?’ series of blurbs. For topics, you can spotlight projects you’re working on, or an event you’re going to, a news item of interest, or something that gives them insight into your genius.

Then you go onto stage two, where you do something more personal for a couple of them that respond to you, the ones who you want to think of you more deeply. Then the job leads unfold. As you begin your campaign, don’t focus so much on the job leads, but rather on creating what I call the WoW Factor, meaning what can you do to make them feel good about themselves or you? It will trigger something where they want to do something in the future for you in return–like search their contacts directory and give you hiring manager contact information!

8 Job Search Tactics to Focus on Today:

  1. Look through your contacts directories
  2. If it’s linkedin, then pick a couple persons and write and send them a recommendation.
  3. Someone may offer to write one for you in return. Now you’re creating buzz, and you’re going to grow this.
  4. Phone them or set up a meeting. At the meeting, not before, have ready to discuss your research results on their ‘industry trends,’ your ‘ideal job description’ and ‘top 10 employer targets’. Personal stuff is also on the agenda here.
  5. See my linkedin slideshare deck for a set of more job searcher tips, using that platform.
  6. If your target contact person writes a blog, visit it and write a response on one of their blog posts. I like blog post comments on mine.
  7. Let a bunch of other burn-out job search tasks go; for example, sending in your resume on an opening where you don’t have a personal referral at the firm.
  8. Go to twitter, subscribe to some job search resources. A new one in my current industry is http://twitter.com/spjbs and another excellent one is http://twitter.com/JobHuntOrg run by Susan P. Joyce. Today, she has made 10,322 tweets and attracted over 21,410 followers. Reason being, she tweets terrifically.

You already know the ratio of applications to appointments to interviews to job offers. Ugghh! Something’s got to give. Somehow, you need to re-position yourself to bypass all that mumbo jumbo. Your personal relationships and action steps are the key.

Why don’t you give these recommendations a go and tell me how it works for you?

10 Secrets I Learned From ‘Gotta Get More Sales’ Boot Camp

 Sales Strategy  2 Responses »
Feb 122011
 

This is the fourth post in a series of six articles

 Bolt Out
of the
Shadows

and into

the Sun

 

1. Picture Success

You’ve heard “I’m on a vision quest.” For me, it’s a discovery quest. My vision of success on this project is to create a great sales process. I see sales success as partnering with marketing to attract prospects, and then converting the interested ones into customers in a consistent manner. Many businesses try to bring certain functions together: research and development, product management, marketing, operations. But they neglect the sales part. Big mistake. Are you one who has neglected the sales part, don’t want to get involved in the messy details of sales. If so, my article here aims to encourage and enlighten you on the idea that the purpose of a business is to attract and retain customers. Profit is just a byproduct of sales done right. Nothing counts until a sale happens. Remember, I pictured discovering a great sales process.

2. Plan Strategically

Simply put, my sales strategy involved adopting two or three channels of distribution and executing tactics to maximize opportunities.

  1. Businesses which provide their employees with laptop computers and smart phones.
  2. Wireless phone and consumer electronics distributors and retailers.
  3. Customers who care about protecting their electronics, valuable items, reputation and ability to be productive using these tools.
  4. Affiliates who have aligned business and charity causes with ImHONEST.com

3. Make Goals

Because I want to bring WoW Factors to my customers, I make sure to have intentional congruence between my short term sales growth goals and my long term business development picture of success. It’s a virtuous circle. I started out with six metrics to monitor, and my sales team quickly advised me to narrow it down to a more manageable number for our ‘Gotta Get More Sales Boot Camp’ game. With a green field opportunity to sell ImHONEST.com products, I decided on three, number of calls made, number of review meetings with decision makers, and number of sales. With my starting and ending dates set, my purpose clear, my strategy in place, I am ready to bolt off the starting line, eager for a strong finish.

4. Do It!

Secrets Learned: There can be no doubt that all my success results from intentional, focused action. This chart shows my prospecting actions over the last four weeks. In week one, I missed my weekly target by two calls, but I came into the realization that my sales goal loomed large and I needed to step it up. In week two, I boosted the numbers over goal, but I still wasn’t satisfied. Good things happened to me in week three, when I doubled the activity goal. Be ready to take on a double now and then. I’m not talking about a double cheeseburger either.

Sometimes I hear people say the problem with prospecting is that it’s hard to do. It’s NOT HARD, if you’re prepared. It’s easy to do, but it’s easy not to do too, even when you’re prepared. You know what I’m talking about, don’t you? Yes, easy not to do. Any sales plan needs to track field activities. Especially when you’re starting something new. In this example, the chart doesn’t tell the whole story, just the numbers. Management likes the numbers, but leadership knows they need the proper key to unlock the your potential, to get yourself to produce the activities. Why are you going to do it?

5. Pause Reflect Recharge

Secrets Learned: If you pay attention, the numbers in the chart above tell you what you need to know. After week one, I came up short. The key lessons for me:

  • Obtain a better prospecting list, work introductions of associates. I shifted from calling office supply retailers in week one, to wireless dealer distributors in week two. The list had no decision makers though. If you can get a list with decision maker contacts, it’s even better.
  • Write a presentation script, write some answers to anticipated objections, and practice them.
  • Have objectives for your calls.
  1. Get the Decision Maker Contact info. Name, phone, email, times in office, schedule, assistant
  2. Get suggestions, advice, a referral or introduction.
  3. Get an appointment for a product review when addressing the Decision Maker, have them take some kind of action
  4. Get a commitment to BUY.
  • Ask myself what can I do to improve my result next time?
  • Break up my routine. Get out of my comfort zone. Seek feedback.

Secrets Learned: Although sales revenues and numbers are key results to achieve, having an interim milestone like meetings with the decision maker highlighted above, gives me vital clues about my activities, effectiveness, progress, and success. I use this information to make adjustments in strategy or tactics to improve my sales approach. You will become excited going through this process.

6. Deal with Reality

Time happens, whether you’re making the numbers or not. Have you ever noticed that somehow, successful sales professionals make the time to do the numbers? Unsuccessful ones let interruptions crowd out their time for doing the numbers. Then they make excuses. That’s not you. You put distractions in the rear view mirror.

Secrets Learned: Perhaps you found a coach and a team of associates working on similar goals, while forming new habits. If you have not found them, then you’ll want to identify them, get together, and gain solidarity. My coach gave me an invitation that I could not pass up for even a moment. It was 30 minutes per day, every day, for four weeks. She called it ‘Gotta Get Sales Boot Camp’. I signed up immediately. If you can’t face reality on your own (and most sales people can’t), then I recommend you get a coach. I did. You’ll be fortunate if yours does for you what mine does for me.

Go ahead and check my coach out. Her business zooms at Accelerated Outcomes.

7. Make a Commitment

You may have heard the definition of a sale is the transfer of enthusiasm. Did you ever wonder about the meaning of enthusiasm? Why do some people have it and some don’t? The root word enthuse has Greek origins, meaning ‘the god within.’ And I-A-S-M, is an acronym that stands for “I am sold myself.” The God within I am sold myself. Once you make a commitment, enthusiasm flows. Give it a try.

I play mind tricks on myself. I’ll give you a couple examples. I don’t quit calling on a high note. I keep going with the next customer when I’m on a high note. Why? Because the person you reach will feel it, and that can be your next customer. Alternatively, I don’t quit if I haven’t reached my goal. I make another call.

Another example happens when I’m growing frustrated. Instead of falling into the hole, I catch myself and become fascinated. Have you ever been caught sitting in your car, on the freeway when it’s a parking lot and you have a critical meeting with an important person? Nothing you can do will change the situation, kind of like President Hosni Mubarak this week, with the Egyptian protestors marching for freedom. The pressure keeps building, building, you’re boxed in . . . and then you notice the chrome wheels and lug nuts of the truck next to you throw off shards of light shimmering in all directions. Fascinating . . .

8. Prepare Daily Tasks

There are only 24 hours in a day, and now I had a new set of activities to layer into my daily schedule. Something had to give. It wasn’t going to be my morning exercise, but the problem was most of my customers were on the east coast and I am on the west coast. If I didn’t start early, time would slip away. My response was to start making calls at 5:30am. Shift happens. In order to do that, I needed to go to sleep earlier. I gave up a worthless evening hour of TV, and it was a breeze. I’m still looking to find associates to join me for lunch at 10am, however . . .

In one of my calls to Disney, the customer asked where’s area code 510? I answered San Francisco and he said, “Doug, you have tough working hours.” My response, “Yeah, it may seem so. It’s early, but I am done with my work day before 2pm, plus I don’t have the same traffic challenges that many others do.” Actually, I get more done now, from this minor adjustment. One of the benefits of making this change, is that I am stronger asking my customers to make adjustments too. Funny how things work that way. You don’t have to get up to make calls a ungodly hours of the day to be successful in this area. My point is you prepare daily tasks, resolve to never give up. And your effectiveness will soar.

9. Track and Monitor

I set the goal for six sales. OK, so you see I haven’t made the sales numbers after four weeks. Is that a bummer? No, because that was five weeks prior when I didn’t have a clue about what the sales process should look like. Now, I have greater insights into what it takes to succeed in this business; also like Vince Lombardi said, I just ran out of time. I know sales will happen. I’ve received verbal commitments. I will ride out the closing process, no matter what. I’m not going to beat myself up for missing this milestone. I have learned much about what I need to do to improve, and have committed to getting the sales by the next period. Do you notice the attitude? It’s time to be a victor, not a victim. Only you decide that.

Secrets Learned: Sales is a critical metric to monitor. In this case, the gradient was too steep. When starting out selling a new venture, product, or service, it’s important to craft a delicate balance between what is inspiring and what could be overwhelming. I had inspiration sustain me during this four week period. Even though I made much sales effort, the sales goal needs to be adjusted to later in time, for a more even gradient. My workaround was to accept a verbal commitment from the customer to buy, and go for two of those in the final stretch. There are other key business metrics you can track here, including margin per sale or customer, size of sale, percentage of growth rate, or repeat customers.

Remember this: You can probably fool other observers with your numbers for a few days, maybe your associates for a couple days, your boss or coach for one day, but not yourself, not even for one day. You don’t want to call your character into question. So don’t even try.

10. Find Bright Lights

Some of my recent bright light figures who I owe kudos to: Harvey Baraban because he stands for personal integrity and shares his knowledge generously in our monthly roundtable events. JT Foxx, because listening to him makes me uncomfortable, his unreasonableness, incisiveness stir up my assumptions; and then, his passion is like a warm blanket coaxing me out of my comfort zone. Raymond Aaron, because his intellect, passion and communication are rational yet challenging; and, Eroca Lowe, who carefully teases out whimsical dreams from far places, and nurtures these thoughts into reality, then steadfastly keeps them growing. My Wife gets my special thanks because so much is fascinating with her. Brian Tracy for sheer force of belief, a prodigious idea factory, and offering new introductions that reveal opportunities at every turn. Then there’s Bill Bartmann for his decent boldness and sensible approach. Nick Nanton the celebrity brand maker, bursting onto the ‘I will improve your life’ scene with contagious optimism. And finally, like the unknown soldier, we have to thank the superstar sales rep you know who proclaims joyously, “My friends are my clients!”

Thanks for Reading  

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