Networking: The Hunt for Prospects

First and foremost: Networking is hunting, not gathering.  It has to be done with intent, a purpose, and you cannot expect people just to come to you.  To be an effective networker you have to have a specific target and move into a stalking phase with them.

In order to effectively pick your “target” there are a few key questions that need to be asked.  Six specifically:

1. Who are you?
2. Who are you looking for?
3. Where can you find them?
4. What do you want from them?
5. What do you want them to say?
6. What is your pitch?

So who are you?  You really need to have a good understanding of what other people think of you and how you are perceived.  Think about your life, what pops into mind?  Are you young and free; partying with some friends; on some wild wind vacation; living the high life?  Now look in a mirror…I bet you aren’t there anymore.  It’s hard to see who you really are and what people think of you, mainly because well…you are you.  You need to come back down to reality and need to know your flaws.  Unfortunately, you can’t do it all alone so you’ll need to have a close friend help you out.  Consider what all we are judged on, what people assume about you from various things, and make a list of where you can improve…and keep in mind you can’t change it all.

1. Who you work for and its brand.
2. Your High School, College & Education
3. What church you attend
4. How well of a public speaker you are
5. Where you live
6. What your website looks like
7. How you dress
8. What your reputation in the business world is
9. What kind of success and “Big Clients” you have
10. The list goes on and on…

Not so pretty huh?  Don’t worry, it’s all part of the process you need to know and understand your flaws before you can fix them.

Who are you looking for?  Plain and simple, you can’t talk to everyone.  You need to be specific in your networking efforts and go after a niche.  With that in mind you need to keep your targets realistic, generally only 150 people or so.  You can’t really keep up with much more and that can help you narrow down and focus your efforts.

Where can you find them?  Should be where can’t you find them.  There is opportunity at every corner; you just have to make it happen.  Places to consider can be some places you normally frequent:

1. School & Church Groups
2. Conferences and Events
1. Look at and/or request a list of attendees for an event.  You need to have a plan of who you are going to “sit next to.”  This is hunting, not a game of chance.
3. The AJC
4. Atlanta Business Chronicle
5. Sales Groups
6. Company Lists
7. Trade Associations
8. CPAs and Lawyers
9. Online
10. Georgia Trend
1. Georgia Trend’s 40 under 40 list; but be careful, those people pay $3,000 to be on that list.

What do you want from them?  Naturally, you want their business but you are going to have to work at it.  So what’s second best: an email address.  Today, the game is to see how many email addresses you can collect.  And use that to your advantage.

If you don’t already do it, start sending out a newsletter.  Not about who the new guy you just hired, but filled with quality valuable information.  This is a great way to keep top of mind and really build some credibility with the prospect.  When you get that email address as I mentioned above, add it!  …they can always subscribe with the unsubscribe feature…might want to give them a heads up though.  And no, asking never hurts either.

Getting connected on LinkedIn can be pretty powerful too.  The more people you are connected with the more powerful your image will be and the more access you have to prospects.  The secret, use the “colleague” function to cut right to the chase and don’t forget to CUSTOMIZE the message.

Tip: Get someone’s LinkedIn message ready to go and simply say “I have a newsletter I’d like to sign you up for if you friend me on LinkedIn.”  They get something out of it and so do you.  60-80% of the time they will agree.

Tip: Check out my other blog post on LinkedIn, Tweet it, Link it, Like it.

Jigsaw.com can help with your stalking er…prospecting as well.  It’s on a trade basis so you upload a business card to get one in return.  You can use that powerful stack of business cards on your desk to help you generate, qualify and contact some significant leads.

Tip: Once you have all this information, track it with a spreadsheet but don’t be creepy when you actually talk with the prospect…you don’t want to be that guy (or girl).

What do you want them to say?  Things about themselves!  Business is the last thing anyone wants to talk about, so make an effort to really get to know the prospect.  You need to find out all kinds of stuff about them and relate.  Don’t go on for 30 minutes like an interview, but treat it as a date.  You wouldn’t ask a girl to dinner and ask her 50 questions would you?  No…and if you would, give me a call and we can have that conversation offline.  Latch on to some similarity and build on that with the prospect to get some quality rapport and make the doing business aspect of it a cinch.  But when you finally do decide to bring up business, which you will have to eventually, don’t just say “let’s do a deal,” have a quality pitch.  Have a conversation.

What is your pitch?  You have to nail it.  Don’t sound like a drone and talk and talk and talk….no one really cares and if you can’t peak interest in the first 10 seconds, you are toast.  There are a few different size pitches you need to be prepared for:

1. 18-30 Second Elevator Pitch
2. 1 Minute Conversational
3. 3 Minute Drill
4. 15 Minute Presentation
5. 1 Hour Lunch

Tip: 9 minutes is the rule.  Only be selling if you can close the deal in 9 minutes….remember that this can change based on your industry, but figure out what it is and stick with it.

There are seven elements of a pitch and you need to make sure you tactfully use each one to its fullest advantage…and some apply more than others given the length of your pitch.

1. Simplicity
2. Unexpected
3. Concreteness
4. Credibility
5. Emotion
6. Stories

Simplicity.  Less is more.  Know when to stop and what to say concisely.  People remember body language and tone more than anything to make sure that you pay attention to yourself in this regard too.  You need to focus on ONE THING you do better than anyone in the world.

Unexpected.  Be funky and original, sexy and chic but don’t be gimmicky.  You have to be counterintuitive and have a sense of mystery, curiosity and suspense.  It’s like a bad movie, you know it’s bad but you keep watching.  Why?  Because you want to see the end.  Make them want to see the end and be ready with the info you want and what questions you want to ask.

Concreteness.  You need to make things tangible and real.  They need to be relatable and they need to be memorable.  Did you know that a medium bag of popcorn has 37 grams of saturated fat in it?  Do you care?  Unless you are a nutritionist or food nut you have no idea what that means and most likely don’t care.

Credibility.  You only get one shot at this so make it a good one.  You can get really good at this by having knowledge of details.  The reason is, details are believable; but can’t be used as a crutch.  Statistics and facts are a great way to add credibility but only if they are used to illustrate relationships.  For example if you were only in charge of making 2 bikes and you said “We were only 2 bikes away from full production” it’s the truth but you can easily lose credibility.  Rely on relationships, not numbers.

Emotion.  All those spreadsheets that we have and make; they are just there to back up a to a gut reaction.  The point that emotion is trying to make it to get into a prospect’s head and help them realize what is in it for them, spell out how the end user will benefit.  People don’t care about all the certifications and awards, they care about doing business with people they like and will make them look good; throw them a bone.

A good example of emotion in marketing is “Don’t Mess with Texas.”  Funny story, it’s originally from an anti-litter campaign and made by the State Highway Department.  Its powerful though because it tapped into the emotion of the pride citizen’s have in the state of Texas.

Stories.  The best tool by far.  Who doesn’t like a good story?  Stories are far more likely to be remembered more than facts and it can really embody “If there is a problem, I’ll fix it.”  But, you can’t make it up the story has to be genuine.

Naturally, there is a structure to all this pitch madness, so you need to seriously consider what works best for you.  There are two really good ways to do this and they both happen to be from music; John Lennon’s Imagine and Frank Sinatra’s New York, New York. 

John Lennon’s Imagine.  Chris Hanks tells a story of one of his MBA students who was pitching for a company that made ball bearings for skateboards to improve their handling.

 It was pitched like this: “Imagine driving a car without power steering, now imagine driving one with it.  That’s what we do for snowboards”

The concept is a bit far out of reach for most of us, but the visual – bam – got me and I’m sold.  I’m asking more and I’m interested.

Frank Sinatra’s New York, New York.  There is one thing in this song that is so powerful it can stand alone – New York.  What is your powerful stand alone thing?

It’s your life.  Most of all, ask yourself why you are committing your life to this.  More often than not, that’s the secret to a powerful pitch…if not, might want to start looking for another job.

These thoughts and ideas were adapted in part from the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce’s “How to Network” seminar by Jim Beach and Chris Hanks on November 29, 2011.  You can purchase their book, School for Startups: The Breakthrough Course for Guaranteeing Small Business Success in 90 Days or Less on Amazon.

Big Oppurtunity for Little Schools

We are possibly in the toughest job market in more than a quarter-century.  The New York Times released an article this past July saying “hundreds of Americans have enrolled in federally financed training programs in recent years, only to remain out of work.”  The Atlanta Business Chronicle recently reported that the unadjusted unemployment rate had dipped to 10.4 percent in July.  Its tough out there and a lot of my friends are graduating…or at least they are supposed to be.

Photo: badlandsbadley.wordpress.com

A survey by the USA Today came out showing that over 50% of respondents were willing to spend money on continued education/job training out of their own pocket.  I guess not all of the friends I thought would be joining me in the “real world” actually are come December and May.

When you look at both the willingness to spend more for education and the economic conditions , there is a unique correlation that points toward a desire for increased quality and post-graduation job placement.

Sure, some of the big schools have their fair share of an Alumni base and lots of donations, but the agility and well roundedness that smaller, generally Liberal Arts, schools can provide is something to consider.  You don’t graduate and get a job being one thing when you are done, you graduate and get a job doing all things with one title on the nameplate.

It’s not always the been considered “proper” for reputable schools to advertise on mass media, but the marketing scene is changing and the cap & gowns need to change with it.  There is a lot to be said for top-of-mind awareness when you are selecting your next educational step in such an unpredictable job landscape.

First Call, Last Look.

It’s a little known secret that most of the consumers at any given time are not in the market for what you have to sell.  In fact, there is said to be only about 2-5% of people actually looking to make the purchase.  So how do you get the first call and the last look?

The answer: Top of mind advertising.

Since we can only really speak to just 2-5% of people who are a transactional type mindset and ready to make a commitment when the right opportunity presents itself, the only thing we can do with the other 95-98% of people is build rapport.  Its basic sales people, the first thing you do when you go in to meet a client is what; chat about something easy and off topic to ease that uncomfortable tension and then slowly work up to really getting down to business when the time is right.

Advertising is the same way.  A campaign full of tactical offers is like walking up to someone and saying “Hi, I’m Zach, will you marry me?”  Even with simple products people are not always ready to make a commitment, but when they are they need to have you, and only you at the top of their mind.

Research by some of the best known marketing strategists, Al Ries and Jack Trout, suggests that companies stack up against each other in consumers’ minds, similar to that of a ladder.  They show that there’s a hierarchy in the mind that prospects use in making decisions and your marketing strategy should depend on which “rung of the ladder” you occupy.  The higher the better of course.

If you want to be taken seriously by the consumer and actually achieve a top-of-mind awareness position for successful revenue and market share growth a carefully crafted marketing strategy is the answer.  Sure you can keep pushing tactical offers but eventually it will catch up with you and you’ll have low-end customers, miniscule margins, and hardly any credible brand recognition…you might also find a “CLOSED” sign on your front door too – it’s not a far out thought in this economy.

Build your brand and get the first call, but also get the last look.

Manhood: How Dockers Sees It.

“Once upon a time…women rarely had to open doors and little old ladies never crossed the street alone. Men took charge because that’s what they did. But somewhere along the way…disco by disco, latte by foamy non-fat latte, men were stripped of their khaki’s and left stranded on the road between boyhood and androgyny. For the first time since bad guys, we need heroes. We need grown-ups. It’s time to get your hands dirty. It’s time to answer the call of manhood.”

The theme of a great dockers marketing campaign that speaks to men on so many levels. Hey, where did I put those khakis again? …guess I need to get some new ones!

Tweet it, Link it, Like it.

I recently attended a career advancement workshop hosted by Georgia College’s University Career Center. And learned some very interesting facts about career advancement and how to use it to benefit your career search.

Here are some interesting facts and tips:
Between 70-80% of new jobs come from networking.
Look for recent grads to connect with.
50+ is the largest growing demographic on Facebook.
“Dial it Down” and do a Google search and cleanup your brand
Over 60% of employers are making decisions based on what they see or don’t see on searches.
300-500 jobs are posted per minute

LinkedIn
formalize connections when you meet someone and ask if they are on linkedIn because it’s about who you know. It’s all based on 3 degrees of separation so making that next connection is key. That helps you really go around the “Gatekeepers” and

Profile
Use a professional profile photo.
Use the title field to make a “bang” and leave some lasting words but also include what you do.
For the geographic location, use where you are, not where you want to be.
Get some recommendations, they are good even coming out of academia.
Baseline of 100 to 150, that is really where you start to mathematically make a difference using the site.
Link to positive sites that embrace your “brand”.
Make sure you personalize your public profile address, put on resume, email signature, etc.
Use the summary section to explain what you have done and use strong key words.
The experience section can also include things like volunteerism, leadership and more.
Use the interests section to “let your hair down” and explain things that are more personal so people can learn more about you.

One your profile is built, focus on expanding and growing your network. A few philosophies with building your network. The main argument is Q vs. Q, or quality vs. quantity.

Quality matches LinkedIn’s belief that you should only connect with people that you know and trust. The quantity side focuses more on getting deeper into that “three degrees of separation model” that the site uses. The tricky thing is, you don’t know who that contact know and it could be just that connection you are looking for.

Recommendations
Recruiters who find profiles that do not have recommendations will simply ignore the applicant. Starting out, three to six Is ideal. Ensure they are legitimate.

Contacts
Search, search, search! Remember that for every contact you make you enlarge your pool of connections by almost 3x! Look for possible connections in companies you are looking for under the other menu. Be sure to customize your approach and not just leave the standard connection message.

Three i’s
Invitation – lifetime limit of 3,000 and is a direct request.
Introduction – limit of 5 and an introduction of a 2nd and 3rd level connection through one of your 1st level connection
InMail – a direct message to another user….but it only available with a premium account.

Questions
It stays posted in for one week but is a great way to showcase your grasp and knowledge of subject matter. Don’t make it too self serving and make it beneficial for the network.

Network Activity Update
140 Character Limit and can sync with twitter. Use as a way to promote your own brand, reflection and knowledge grasp.

Groups
Use to find like minded individuals and help promote your brand.

Check out my LinkedIn profile at http://www.linkedin.com/in/zachmullins

Facebook
Ue this as a supplement to your LinkedIn profile. This is a more sociable site and does not require you to have a tie. However, you can use it to find and “like” companies and jobs that may help you appear in searches and make connections down the road. Overall, less structured and more relaxed.

Do make sure that it is clean though! Companies can come and look at your profile and if they see a bunch of beer drinking, it could really be a turn off for the employer. Make sure it is a good reflection of your “brand” and it helps, not hurts, your search.

Twitter
The Library of Congress is archiving tweets as a reflection of our culture. So don’t forget that it can be used against you. It can be very useful to join a following and have a following. You do need to have tweet “themes” and stick to it; maybe you can mask a more “personal” site.

When you are crafting your description, make sure that it matches your brand and is a nice “sound bite”. This needs to carry over into your tweets. Here are a few tips:

1. Keep posts short (140 characters)
2. Use URL shorteners
3. Stay true to your brand

Follow the rule of thirds for your posts and help narrow down your themes. Keep this ratio:
2/3 professional
1/3 personal

Hot Tips:
Hash tag it! This will help bring you in to the right circles.
Follow if they are following you to get noticed.
Use the live public, planned chats.
Don’t use a public forum for private chats.
Use it every day, but don’t get sucked in.
Pay-it-forward, and re-tweet!
Even if you delete tweets, it’s been archived by the government!
Consider auto followers.

Wrapping it all up
There is certainly lot of information that social media can provide for you job search and it can really be overwhelming. Remember to be active, and take advantage of it but consider using a tool to help you manage it all. I use HootSuite and it helps me manage LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, and WordPress. Good luck and remember, it’s all being searched….so be careful what you post!