A reminder that generating a job offer is not different from closing a sales deal.

1. You can’t expect to be the preferred resource when applying for a job at a particular company if you don’t know what product to offer. You must listen/do research to learn VOC (voice of customer) and then address the relevance and value of your product and services. Client will be looking to solve a specific problem like fix products now flat or in decline. Grow profit. Even if your resume has a track record of success, it has little value if it has questionable relevance.
2. Providing facts and features about you does not move the relationship forward by itself. Trust and relationship are crucial to the selling process. The client will prefer someone with lesser credentials on a superficial level if that person comes highly recommended by someone the client trusts. Resumes offer too little depth or proof of connection of you to the results claimed to offset that. Single interviews don’t often solve the problem because clients are not usually trained interviewers.
3. Network with several people at a company first, send resume later. Listen 2/3, talk 1/3.
4. “Consulting” with a client you would like to work for permanently without a designated selling process may distract and pre-empt closing a deal. Similarly, offering too much information during consulting, networking, and interviewing without closing the deal encourages the client to ask for more free advice/details without committing. A gift of gab does not equal selling.
5. A direct mail piece gets a .5-2% return at best. A superficial resume sent to a portal generates similar results.
6. You are highly unlikely to get what you want from a sales meeting or interview if you don’t ask for it and specify exactly what you want and provide specific rationale for deserving it. “I want $200K salary base and $200K is justified for these reasons…” “I want the open Business Development Manager role, and I am the best candidate over other Biz Dev Mgrs with the same amount of industry experience and sales success because of these reasons…” The sales trainer John Baker says 3 reasons establishes a pattern and builds just enough intrigue to consumate the deal.

If you want more in depth training on closing deals in person whether or not you are a professional sales person, read The Asking Formula, by John Baker. He is a fun trainer for any audience.

Topics: communications, getting ahead, hidden job market, interviews, negotiating, networking, resume + cover letter, salary, selling skills, technical skills | No Comments »

Most importantly, top executives can not only perform more effectively than many of their peers, but they can communicate their ideas and impact to the rest of the organization and industry. The CEO needs to be able to influence the world outside of the company such as VCs (Venture Capitalists), Wall Street stock analysts, and the industry at large. Most competencies of a successful CEO are about soft skills. The CEO must be able to advocate a vision and future success. Promote the potential of a company not yet delivering that service/product. Demonstrate presence, gravitas, and panache.

Regardless of how far down the path to CEO you are now, getting ahead in the work world is increasingly about soft skills and demonstrating your ability to lead ideas, influence others, and be a rainmaker. Are you building those skills? Are you having the conversation with your communities to demonstrate your prowess in these areas? Is your story as convincing as it could be?

Topics: branding + positioning, career strategy, interviews, negotiating, networking | No Comments »

Someone usually gets promoted to Sales Manager based on his/her track record as a solo Account Executive rather than on his/her potential as a leader and sales coach. Most often the AE received limited training, but not enough to explain the good sales numbers. Ranking is more the result of personality (relationship building) and persistence. When that AE is promoted to the supervise others, the team’s numbers are most heavily dependent on the innate skills that came with the team.

An exceptional Sales Manager can identify and nurture the competencies that are needed for every team member’s success. The Manager can articulate the processes and benchmarks required to win most sales opportunities regardless of customer issues. Like an effective Product Manager, a top Sales Manager will probe more deeply into root causes and unarticulated problems with team members and customers than other Managers. Delivering a better ROI (return on investment) for the entire team is not an accident, it is part of that Manager’s toolkit. He can predict and deliver the team’s revenue within a very small percentage.

Topics: branding + positioning, career strategy, interviews, negotiating, networking, resume + cover letter | No Comments »

A young job seeker named Joe applied to an engineering firm last week through a third party recruiter stating he would jump for the right opportunity accompanied by a salary around $70K.

Joe then told the corporate HR person in a phone screen a few days later he was making $72K salary and wouldn’t move for less than $80K.

The engineering firm knew his present salary was $62K because they had hired a number of other people from the same firm. Read the rest of this entry »

Topics: career strategy, negotiating, salary | 2 Comments »

Most folks assume getting married or accepting a job will bring long-term financial and emotional security. 10% of marriages end in divorce after 5 years, 40% of marriages by the 50^th year ^(a). Comparatively, the average job tenure is now 2-3 years.

Someone who has been out of a relationship or work many months may take a questionable spouse or job out of financial desperation or the need to be “wanted.”

In both marriage and work, you should do more homework about long-range goals and the cultural fit before committing. Beauty is only skin deep. One-night-stand and one interview decisions carry a lot of risk. Consider Contract-2-Hire. Read the rest of this entry »

Topics: career strategy, negotiating, networking, salary, solving problems | 12 Comments »