by Admin | Mar 4, 2013 | Networking
This morning I conducted an interview that was underwhelming to say the least. Very nice guy, great background, solid credentials. Vanilla. Here’s why I wanted to hire him in spite of that… 1. He suited up – Mentally and physically he was sharp dressed. Well spoken. Good communicator. Thoughtful. 2. He prepared – In his binder (no it wasn’t full of women;-) was a copy of my Linked In profile, I was very clear when I set the interview up of who I was interviewing for and he tracked down me, my background, and was prepared. He had also thoroughly researched my client and knew where they were strong and where they were not. 3. He engaged – he was nervous, he hasn’t really interviewed for years and was very rusty. What he was not rusty with was making eye contact, firm handshake, asking questions. 4. He didn’t quit with no – into the interview about 15 minutes I knew he wasn’t the guy for my client. So what, he knew I knew a ton of other people. Then he really went to work with uncovering which other individuals I knew of who were hiring someone who looked just like him. 5. He made it easy for me to help him – he asked what he should do to prepare for his next interview, so he would wow the interviewer. He’ll get better with practice, and I feel good about helping him. 6. He followed through – I indicated a client who had need of someone who did look just like him, he asked for his name, best method...
by Admin | Feb 15, 2013 | Uncategorized
I work with sales pros all day every day and it seems like most come in with the common focus of any business is good business and let’s just get more. When I ask you who your clients are, what is your response? Is it anyone? Or in the words of one of the cosmetics professionals at a networking event I was presenting at replied – I work with anyone with skin and hair. So the whole world is open to you, you should experience wild success, right? Wrong! Here’s why… If everyone in the world is a prospect, where do you start? It’s pretty overwhelming isn’t it? Do you know how you actually make $? Not just income – profit! And when you look at this, you begin to find the Pareto principal is alive and well in your book, like it is with most of us. That’s the rule of 80/20 or 80% of your results come from 20 % of your efforts. What happens to your workload if instead of working with everyone, you just describe to me your best client – be as specific as you can without divulging confidential information. Such as, my favorite client is an attorney who is very good at what he does, works in a very specific field – actually environmental law. Has great client relationships and is now assuming the position of Rainmaker, like it or not. That’s much more descriptive than ‘I work in the Professional Services Industry’. Where did you mind go when I described my client? Normally the response I hear is ‘I was thinking of...
by Admin | Feb 12, 2013 | Prospecting, Selling
Up and down and up and down goes the pipeline. You call like mad and network like crazy and guess what? You get business! Yeah! But be careful what you ask for because then you have to serve what you sell. Suddenly you get wrapped up in client work and about the time you can breathe you look up and ‘Oh Crumb!’ my pipeline is empty. Then you start all over again. Lather, rinse, repeat. Let’s talk about some simple (not easy) concepts to execute to stabilize your cash flow and client service (oh and your paycheck too). I’m going to keep it pretty simple to give you something to begin performing consistent activity leading to consistent results. You will have to refine this as you begin your own prospecting effort, but let’s get going… First, you need to recognize that your prospecting activity consists of face to face or scheduled meetings with prospects, clients or someone who can lead you to a prospect or client. That means: Bumping into someone does not constitute a meeting. Networking and catching someone for a 2 minute conversation does not count as a scheduled meeting. Cold calling and never talking to anyone does not result in paytime activity. Hanging out on Facebook with 335 of your college buds is not considered pay time activity. Drinking coffee with co-workers who will not buy anything from you is not considered prospecting activity. With that clear, let’s talk about what a scheduled contact collaboration meeting needs to sound like… What does their typical prospect look like – industry, revenue, #of employees, decision maker, problem experiencing,...
by Admin | Feb 9, 2013 | Referrals
Wouldn’t it be great if you had a relationships with someone that just sent you business consistently day in and day out without any investment of time on your part? I see a lot of people fall down with expecting people to be thinking of them without doing anything remain top of mind with their center of influence relationships. I have the fun of working with people in a lot of different industries and one of my clients, Marc, is a sales genius who happens to broker airplanes. Our conversation this morning was about what autopilot really does in an actual airplane with wings, an engine, with a propeller-+ that flies. I was thinking autopilot was like cruise control you would set and then pop open the latest best seller, be able to run below and make yourself a cocktail, take a nap or enjoy the in-flight movie. Of course, that is not the case. I learned there are aircraft in which you have an autopilot that merely maintains level wings and altitude, in other words, it simply goes straight at that same speed. Then there are some aircraft in which you can set the system to basically run your flight from takeoff from once you get it in the air until you are ready to land. The difference is, of course, dependent on aircraft model, features and how much you are willing to spend (since that plays a role in how many bells and whistles you get). But bottom line, there are still systems that if you walk away from the controls, you will fly into the side of...
by Admin | Feb 7, 2013 | Networking
Timing is everything. We know that luck can play a huge part in the success of our careers. Yet, when you start knowing people who land great jobs, work with great clients or get the best promotions, you start seeing that these people have a huge network behind them of mentors and supporters. The real question then is: When do you invest in those relationships with your time and energy? When you need them? Or when you don’t? I was having a conversation with one of my current class participants – Frank – and he’s a pretty networked guy. The conversation turns to the biggest pet peeves we have with folks who are great at coming to connectors to ask for help with making a conversation happen. Being generous folks that connectors are, they drop what they are doing and initiate an introduction to a great opportunity for the person making the request. For the requester, the job is landed or the client engaged and happily ever after ensues. Connectors do this regularly, so when doors are opened for someone and that same someone has the opportunity to help someone else, there is an expectation of a level of effort to payback what someone has done for them. It is not about payback; it is about reciprocity. Connectors understand that connections happen when you need them, because you invest in people when you don’t need them. You don’t do it expecting quid pro quo. You do it because you recognize to get what you want, you must help others get what they want. You pay it forward. You establish...
