Qualifying For Success

Standing out at a Job Fair can make a difference in your career search. Career Faires are starting to pick up, and Dice is running some nice ones, called Targeted Job Fairs. At a Silicon Valley Job Fair in early 2010, 10 companies as showing up, and a major job search company has 82 job faires scheduled for this year across the US.

How do you get to the real interviews at a Career Fair? The competition can be substantial, but you can help yourself leap out from the gang with early planning. At AA-Careers, we have a simple step-by-step process to get ready. Plan to go? Here’s how to prepare:

First, investigate the companies that are going and pick your objectives. Use the World Wide Web to check out the organizations that are there ahead of time. Go to their sites and see if they have their jobs listed. Pick a sound number to go after, and get ready to spend an hour researching each one. It’s hard to do more than ten in a day, and four to six is a much more reasonable target. For each company, you want to know: recent news, key product lines, and contacts you know. Try to see if you know anyone at the target companies. You should end up with a page or two of research for each company/job.

Second, if there are job openings on the web, read them to see what the organization is looking for. Create a mapping of your accomplishments and skills to the requirements of the job. Make the terminology match. If the hiring company calls customers "clients", your resume should do the same thing. The accomplishments should be written in the style of the hiring company.

Third, create a ‘brief sales pitch’ for each potential company/job combination. Write down a 90 second ‘thumbnail’ that you can repeat verbally depicting why you are a fantastic prospect for that job. You’ll use this in your resume and when you meet people at the job kiosk.

Fourth, modify your resume for each position. The objective on your resume should exactly match the job you’re going after. The executive summary should be a written form of your “mini sales pitch” for the job. Then choose the accomplishments and skills that most clearly match the job description. Especially at a Job Fair, the purpose of your resume is a sales tool for you – to get you on-site job interviews. It should be very easy to see that you’re a fit based on your resume.

Fifth, practice your ‘mini-sales-pitch’. Collect your research and the resume for each spot - bring a couple of copies for each – and put each in a distinctly labeled folder. Keep them in a lightweight briefcase or folio.

Finally, dress and prepare as if you’re doing on-site interviews. Dress well and be properly groomed. Avoid strong cologne or perfume…use any cologne or fragrance meagerly, if at all.

Remember to smile, and good hunting!

Affiliate marketing resembles an auction site. Your website advertises assorted products in return, every last sale brings in commission. It isn’t nearly as much effort, very few operating costs, it sells twenty-four hours a day, and it is simple to pick up. To start with, you need to make a decision as to precisely what area you would like to work in. A good way to do this is, find out solutions to issues a specific market segment is anticipating, and then discover a solution. An efficient method of doing this task is to find groups of extremely specific longtail keywords and phrases; in general customers search for these less, yet they will convert far more into sales. To discover these lucrative words or phrases, you should use applications such as Micro Niche Finder. Selective Information gathered by Micro Niche Finder or analogous applications and services results in related terminology in an extensive list which you can focus on in order to earn an advantage in the rankings on an internet search. Micro Niche Finder will in addition let you know the number of searches, exactly how many other sites who exploit those keywords, even competitor details. Last but not least, the info created will help you find the best domain, help you in putting together your internet site, and draw attention to suitable items for you to sell. Now it’s time to build a website; however there are still crucial things to do. Getting the best placing on internet based search engines demands the optimization of your web site. Programs like SEO Elite will make this less problematic. This program analyzes competing websites and helps you by stating exactly what you need to do to achieve top spot in the search engine listings.

With applications like SEO Elite, info produced by the computer software suggests where to find links, the most lucrative keywords, and even an extensive listing of article submission web sites for reference. In short, Seo Elite information is the same kind of information that an SEO specialist would give.

When you decide on your niche market, have some product promotion, and your internet site has been completed, then you are ready to get your website up in the search results. The profits will roll in regularly and you will wonder why you doubted that this type of marketing could be successful for you!

Affiliate marketing resembles e-bay. You push the merchandise on your internet site and for all your effort, you will have a percentage from every lead. It isn’t as much work, very low overheads, it sells 24/7, and what is even better, it is relatively simple to master. First of all, you must decide which products or market best suits your business style. To get this out of the way, you need to find out what specific solutions to a given problem a certain customer profile is expecting, and what solutions are available to assist them. A great method of achieving this is searching for groups of extremely drilled down longtail keywords and phrases; there are fewer searches for these as a rule, nevertheless a higher percentage of these convert to a sale. These important keywords can be discovered by using Micro Niche Finder. The information gathered by this software or other computer programs or computer software will give you associated terminology in an extensive list giving worthwhile targets to get a high listing in an internet search and bring in a great deal of traffic.

Further info is available from the program, for to illustrate the number of searches each one gets, the exact number of other sites using the particular keyword or phrase, and details on your competitors as well. Ultimately, Micro Niche Finder data will help you find related domains, help you put together your internet site, and also identify suitable items for you to sell.

The next step is to construct a web site; however there are still important things to do. Getting a strong performance on web based search engines demands the optimization of your website. Applications like SEO Elite will make this simpler. Your rivals’ internet sites are examined by SEO Elite information which then provides advice to increase search results.

With SEO Elite the data created by the software advises you on links, the most lucrative keywords, and a list of sites to submit articles to refer to. Concisely, Seo Elite information is much like to the suggestions that a specialist in search engine optimization may give.

When you know which niche market you’d like to focus on, have your product ads, and your site is ready to go, it is time to get your internet site up in the search results. You’ll pick up a regular pay check and you will question why you didn’t try affiliate marketing earlier!

Every year, a survey is published that lists the nation’s best occupations as perceived by the general public. Supreme Court Justices appear in the top ranks, and as you might expect, surgeons make the cut–but why not telemarketers?

Before you dismiss the idea, consider this fact: Many of the most accomplished people in business today got to where they are because they learned to Reach Out & Sell Someone®.

For instance, billionaire David Geffen, fresh out of the mail room at the prestigious William Morris Agency in Beverly Hills, made as many as 300 calls a day to build his portfolio of clients. One thing led to another, and this powerful mogul, founder of Geffen Records and partner in Dreamworks Studios, rose to the very top.

Of course, telemarketing wears many disguises and uses various names. Stockbrokers and financial advisors are phone-folks, developing their books of business this way. In fact, if you look at many successful people across the economy, one of their greatest strengths is the ability to project their influence over the phone.

Here are ten reasons I believe telemarketing is a great job:

1. You can find work, fast, in nearly every city, in any economy, good or bad.

2. It’s a great place to start your career, because you don’t need a lot of formal education or experience to qualify.

3. You can do it part-time, while you pursue your studies, parenting, your real passion, semi-retirement, or another career.

4. Depending upon the compensation package in effect, you can earn full-time money for part-time work.

5. You’ll learn to communicate with different kinds of people and meet and converse with more individuals in a year than most interact with in a lifetime.

6. You’ll learn what selling, and practical persuasion skills are all about.

7. The techniques you’ll learn will be easily transferable to other occupations and careers.

8. You’ll have to deal with and overcome rejection, which is an ability that will take you far in life. (See my article: “Thanks For The Rejection!”)

9. Your contributions will be objectively measured and compensated, unlike in many other jobs.

10. You’ll succeed where most fail, and many fear to tread, and this will make you a very unique and rare individual.

I began my business life as a full-time collector for a finance company. Then, I graduated to outbound telemarketing for Time-Life Books, which promoted me to sales management, and then I
launched a consulting career over the phone.

So, the next time I want to build my portfolio of clients, establish strategic relations with other firms, or sell my
latest bestseller to a major publisher, guess what tool I’m going to use!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman © 2005

Dr. Gary S. Goodman is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. Gary’s programs are offered by UCLA Extension and by numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. When he isn’t consulting, Gary can be found in Glendale, California. He can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com

How many times have you encountered a salesperson that wanted to know about YOU before presenting the benefits and features of their product or service? How many times?

As an upper level manager in the senior housing industry I was constantly challenged by helping the sales and marketing staff understand the difference between asking and telling. Just this one challenge was costing the company millions of dollars in lost business on an annual basis. Here’s an example:

Let’s assume you’re responsible for helping your parents move from their existing residence to a senior housing environment, know as a CCRC (Continuing Care Retirement Community)-or ALF (Assisted Living Facility). Depending on the health and finances of your parents, coupled with the emotion and lack of experience or knowledge in the area of senior housing, this could be a daunting and confusing task. Because your parents would want to remain in the immediate area you find a local CCRC and place the call. Below are 2 scenarios, one with an unskilled salesperson the other a skilled salesperson.

Unskilled Salesperson

(This scenario is based on the assumption you have limited knowledge in the senior housing industry and you are not prepared to ask the appropriate questions.)
You phone a local CCRC to get information. Upon calling you’re transferred to a sales or marketing counselor. You ask to receive information about senior housing. The sales or marketing person may ask a few questions about your situation but most likely will not; instead, you will be barraged with all of the benefits and features this community has to offer. The call would go something like this:

CCRC: “Hello, Mary speaking how may I help you?”

PROSPECT: “I’m calling to get some information on your residence.”

CCRC: “Ok, can I get your name?”

PROSPECT: “Teri.”

CCRC: “Hi Teri, is this for you or someone else?”

PROSPECT: “My parents.”

CCRC: “Ok, what are their names?”

PROSPECT: “Their names are Bertha and Ben.”

CCRC: “How old are Bertha and Ben?”

PROSPECT: “78 and 81.”

CCRC: “Ok Teri, let me tell you about our residence. We have a beautiful community located on a lot of land overlooking a beautiful lake with swans and fish. We also have a lot of people just like your parents so there are a lot of things to do. We serve 3 meals per day and snacks and we have an activity director that will get your parents involved in all kinds of fun stuff. We also have a nurse on staff and laundry facilities as well.”

PROSPECT: “That’s great Mary. Can you tell me how much it costs?”

*It’s no wonder the primary question moved so quickly to cost. There wasn’t much warmth, empathy, compassion, or understanding of my parents or their needs. What would it matter how many things you have, such as lakes, swans, etc., if those things aren’t important to me or my parents. Why would I need to visit if you haven’t given me a reason? The purpose of the initial phone contact is to get, not give, information and schedule an appointment.

Skilled Salesperson

You place the call and ask for information about senior housing. This time you’re connected to a skilled version of Mary:

CCRC: “Senior housing, Mary speaking how may I help you?”

PROSPECT: “I’m looking for information on your community.”

CCRC: “I can help you with that. “Your name please.”

PROSPECT: “Teri.”

CCRC: “Hi Teri, thanks for calling senior housing. Have you visited our residence before?”

PROSPECT: “No.”

CCRC: “Can you tell me what type of information you’re looking for?”

PROSPECT: “Yes, just general.”

CCRC: “Ok, so that I’m better prepared to understand your specific needs I have a few questions I’d like to ask.”

PROSPECT: “Ok.”

CCRC: “Are you gathering information for yourself or someone else?”

PROSPECT: “My parents.”

CCRC: Ok, do your parents live close by?”

PROSPECT: “Yes.”

CCRC: “That’s great, have they been in the community a long time?”

PROSPECT: “Yes, 32 years.”

CCRC: “Ok, can I get their names Teri?”

PROSPECT: “Yes, Bertha and Ben.”

CCRC: “How old are Bertha and Ben?”

PROSPECT: “Bertha is 78 and Ben is 81.”

CCRC: “Could you tell me a little about their current housing arrangements?”

PROSPECT: “They live in their own home.”

CCRC: “How about their health?”

PROSPECT: “Bertha is doing fine but Ben is having some issues.”

CCRC: “What type of issues?”

PROSPECT: “He’s in the beginning stage of Alzheimer’s.”

CCRC: “Has that been diagnosed by a physician?”

PROSPECT: “Yes, it has.”

CCRC: “Ok, has the doctor made any recommendations?”

PROSPECT: “Yes, he indicated that it would be best if we started looking at senior housing options.”

CCRC: “Have you discussed this with your parents?”

PROSPECT: “My mom only.”

CCRC: “How receptive is she.”

PROSPECT: “Very.”

CCRC: “Is there a reason why you have not included your dad in this conversation?”

PROSPECT: “Yes, he would be upset.”

CCRC: “When you say upset what do you mean by that?”

PROSPECT: “Well, he’s determined to stay in their house until he dies.”

CCRC: “I understand - that’s not uncommon. This must be difficult for both you and your mom.”

PROSPECT: “Yes it is.”

CCRC: “Let’s talk about time frames. There are a number of decisions involved in this process, have you or your mom thought about when a move would occur?”

PROSPECT: “No, not really.”

CCRC: “Just a few more questions Teri, then I’ll make some suggestions. Aside from your parents and yourself will anyone else be assisting in the decision making process?”

PROSPECT: “No.”

CCRC: “Ok, do you live close by?”

PROSPECT: “Yes, within 10 miles.”

CCRC: “Ok, my suggestion would be to schedule a time for you and possibly mom to visit with us as the first step in the process to help both of you determine if this might be the right choice. Do you work during the week?”

PROSPECT: “Yes.”

CCRC: “Are you off on weekends?”

PROSPECT: “Yes.”

CCRC: “Would this Saturday work for you?”

PROSPECT: “Yes.”

CCRC: “Morning or afternoons?”

PROSPECT: “Afternoons.”

CCRC: “Would 3:00 work?”

PROSPECT: “Yes.”

CCRC: “Ok, would your mother be coming with?”

PROSPECT: “No.”

CCRC: “What is the best number to reach you at?”

PROSPECT: “555-555-5555.”

CCRC: “Ok, Teri I look forward to meeting with you on Saturday at 3:00.”

This one Skill

“Asking - not - Telling” will change your bottom line results SIGNIFICANTLY!

What do you have to lose? MORE SALES?

CEO - United Sales Training (http://www.unitedsalestraining.com), 20 years as a Professional Sales and Marketing Troubleshooter, Trainer, Recruiter, Upper Level Manager, and Consulting Professional. Dedicated to the “keep it simple” approach.

To receive 1 free response to a sales question or situation via email: tsamuels@unitedsalestraining.com

It is vital that insurance salespeople have a steady stream of leads. Often, people don’t even know about a particular type on insurance and it is up to a salesperson to explain it to them. The salespeople must have good leads in order to know who may be more open to purchasing certain types of insurance.

Insurance lead generation is done in a couple of ways. One common strategy is the use of a list service. A list compiling company generates the leads by gathering extensive information on people and then selling either the entire list or individual leads to the insurance salesperson. Insurance companies also offer free quotes in order to create awareness and interest in their services. Of course, advertising is another insurance lead generation technique.

List compiling services sell their lists to insurance companies. These lists often have pretty in depth information. For example, if someone’s address is located within a known flood area, the insurance salesperson could offer him or her flood insurance. The list services sell the leads in a number of ways. They sell the leads individually, sell the entire list once, or allow the insurance company to subscribe. When companies subscribe, they get a new list with fresh leads at certain time intervals.

Free quotes are a great form of insurance lead generation. People become interested in the prospect of saving money when the insurance company offers free appraisals and quotes. Often, the insurance company will offer their rates along with the rates of some of their competitors.

Advertisement is a major insurance lead generation technique. It seems that all media, including TV, radio, and print are flooded with ads for insurance companies. These ads create awareness and consumer interest in the company. These ads come in a variety of forms, from serious to comical.

Everyone needs some types of insurance. It is vital that insurance companies capitalize on the need that people have for insurance by capitalizing on leads. Insurance lead generation guarantees that the insurance salespeople have a steady stream of potential customers.

Lead Generation Info provides detailed information about sales, mortage, MLM, business-to-business, internet, and insurance lead generation, lead generation telemarketing, and more. Lead Generation Info is the sister site of MLM Leads Web.

You probably never tell potential clients your real goal in calling them, but you don’t need to. They’re already aware, because we’re all sensitive when the phone rings and it turns out to be someone we don’t know.

In the old traditional training, we learned the latest techniques for making a sale. We talk to “prospects” rather than with people. And we “guide” conversations along rather than letting them unfold naturally.

The way we do this sometimes might even be called a bit manipulative. After all, we’re relating to another person while holding an ulterior motive of making a sale.

Where does honesty and integrity fit into this scenario? Well, most of us honestly believe in our product or service. But beyond that, we carry a somewhat artificial persona when we’re cold calling. We talk with people for the primary purpose of making a sale, and we’re not really interested in them or their world.

Doesn’t this make you feel uneasy at times? It does to me.

So let’s discuss some ways we’ve been trained in the traditional sales mindset that feel artificial and dehumanizing, and ways we can overcome them.

1. We intrude upon another person uninvited, with the goal of making a sale.
It’s against our nature as human beings to create uncomfortable situations. We have a natural instinct for courtesy and connection It’s usually hard for us as regular people to call uninvited, because on some level it feels discourteous. We can change that by changing our goal. What if our goal is not to make the sale, but to find out if we can help someone? This shift makes us more relaxed. And it keeps us in harmony with personal integrity.

2. We project ourselves as personable and friendly, while also holding an ulterior motive for securing a sale. There’s an inner conflict with integrity when we find ourselves using our connections with others for self-gain. So we can bring ourselves back into honesty and truthfulness by shedding ulterior motives entirely.

We do this by focusing on whether we can provide something that will benefit another person. We find out if they have a problem we may be able to solve. And if it turns out we can’t help with our product or service, we graciously accept the outcome. By being honest and not playing a role, we find ourselves really liking what we do. And when our “ulterior motives” are simply non-existent, people are more open to trusting us.

3. When we meet someone new, we immediately talk about ourselves and what we have to offer. It’s actually not normal for us to start an interaction by launching into a self-focused monologue. As regular people, this just goes against our grain. Common courtesy dictates that initial conversations be dialogues, not monologues.

In normal conversations we would feel self-absorbed if we primarily talked about ourselves and what we have to offer. Yet in the traditional cold calling situation, it’s an accepted “norm.” We’ve been trained to read a script, follow a strategy, or give a sales pitch.

This really isn’t the way we’d like to relate to people, but it’s the way we’ve been taught. We can break out of this artificial game of sorts by just being ourselves. Integrity and truthfulness means being authentic. We begin cold calling conversations with a natural focus on the other person. We find out their needs, and respond with genuine interest.

4. We “rev up” in an artificial way, hoping to carry the potential client along with us into a sales process.
When we “pump ourselves up” with enthusiasm, it feels somewhat fake. It’s not our normal way of being, and it throws us out of integrity. And we also appear artificial to potential clients. They become wary of possibly being maneuvered into a sales situation.

If we can navigate a cold calling conversation without such games, people will sense we’re trustworthy. They react warmly and unhesitatingly to a conversation that feels natural to them, and especially if it revolves around their issues rather than our agenda.

So how do we approach cold calling in the most truthful way? We stop being “salespeople” and become human. We engage in an honest dialogue rather than a monologue. We look for ways to help others, and we’re comfortable knowing that our product or service may not be an honest “fit” for them right now. And we stop playing roles, especially the “high enthusiasm” game.

This is what I mean by bringing integrity back into selling. It’s unbelievable just how rewarding both personally and professionally this can be.

Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Cold Calling Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don’t know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit http://www.Unlock-The-Cold-Calling-Game.com

A “role” is defined as the characteristic and expected social behavior of an individual. We all play many roles in life, such as parent or salesperson, and it is not difficult to see how this sense of the word role is related to its meaning in theater, where a “role” was played by a character.

All of these factors have a significant negative impact on self esteem, professional self image and consequently resilience in the face of adversity. In short, without a clear definition of the roles you are to play, the amount of work you are to perform and how these roles intertwine, you may end up like the other thousands of salespeople a year who do not make it in the profession. I will now define professional selling roles and what is generally expected in each.

THE SEVEN ROLES OF HIGHLY COMPETENT SALESPEOPLE ARE:

1. “The Strategic Planner”
2. “The Client-Focused Positioner”
3. “The Persuasive Communicator”
4. “The Focused Catalyst”
5. “The Concerted Facilitator”
6. “The Effective Manager”
7. “The Value-Driven Guardian”

These roles are created by understanding the phases of building customer satisfaction and loyalty (as outlined by the United Professional Sales Association). Their model focuses on the entire transaction experience of a buyer, from initial needs identification, through decision-making, selection, and purchasing. More importantly, this transaction experience continues past the purchase into implementation — and beyond into measuring the quality and return-on-investment of the solution.

In this article, I will explain the sixth role in greater detail (please see my other articles for in depth explanations of the other roles.)

Primary Focus of This Role:

“Managers” of the past were expected to maintain the status quo in order to move ahead. But in this role, you’ll be expected to be a great learner and a teacher throughout the entire selling cycle. You will also be expected to influence others in a positive manner internally in your own organization while maintaining high standards of personal health, time management, and action through daily activities. You will need to achieve what the management team brought you in to the organization to achieve and execute revenue generation results effectively.

This role is focused on the entire transaction experience equally (therefore, it will not be segmented into pre- or post-sale expectations).

General Expectations:

You will need to bring about the plans you created (Strategic Planner Role), embrace appropriate trends and market forces (Positioner Role), continuously improve your sales process through analytical and data-driven methods (Communicator Role), be able to manage internal pricing, variances, legal, and other contracting requirements (Catalyst Role), and include all relevant input from the customer (Facilitator Role), while maintaining an ethical mindset and building trust (Guardian Role).
Pre-Sale Expectations:

In this role, you are someone who fulfills administrative activities as well as tactical execution of a sales strategy. You must manage yourself within the overall context of your organization and within one or more customer relationships. To help accomplish this, you will set personal goals for your success and properly motivate yourself to succeed. You will also help yourself and others manage time, resources, and technology to create daily, weekly, monthly and yearly plans to achieve success against pre-determined objectives (from your Strategic Planner role). You will manage yourself in accordance with the plan you create (and constantly revise) to ensure your success. You must assume responsibility and accountability for your results because your selling skills are in high demand by your organization and others count on you to succeed.

As a result, you will create measurements of success and use technology to create appropriate reports, manage a defined process, forecast future sales, or collaborate to ensure you are progressing against your plans accordingly. You will work collaboratively with others internal to your organization as well as with others within client companies. You will create partnerships and alliances where appropriate as well as manage the financials of your work unit or organization. You will be asked to troubleshoot or overcome serious concerns raised by clients, prospects, or internal team members. You will create schedules for yourself and others and manage these schedules accordingly. You will be asked to follow a sales process that you have built or you have been trained on. Your overall management of the sales cycle will be under scrutiny by those who are forecasting sales or otherwise relying on the revenue your and your colleagues (if applicable) create.

You will adhere to or create escalation management processes as necessary to properly address customer service issues. You will need to acquire appropriate habits for your industry (mannerisms, jargon, etc).

You will establish remediation strategies to address internal miscommunication issues and either redefine roles and responsibilities or reset expectations with marketing, sales, customer service, or fulfillment professionals. You will work to establish a relationship management structure to create winning relationships that you will need to leverage. You will establish procedures to quantify customer service, sales, and marketing outcomes where necessary. You will comply with (or establish) metrics and tracking processes to detect and address revenue target deviations as necessary. You will establish management processes to request new services as needed. You will also forecast new sales accurately and conduct necessary reporting per requirements set forth in your organization.

Required Traits of This Role:

You will be asked to take 100 percent responsibility for results, be dependable, loyal, obedient, strategic, empowering, and a problem solver. You will need be intensely goal-oriented and have a commitment to your current role and employer. You will have to be authoritative and direct if needed.

———————————–ABOUT BRIAN LAMBERT———————————–

Brian is the Chairman and Founder of the the United Professional Sales Association (UPSA). UPSA is a non-profit organization headquartered in Washington DC that has addressed the concerns and challenges of individual sales professionals. Brian has authored the world’s first universal selling standards and open-source selling framework for free distribution. This ‘Compendium of Professional Selling’ containing the commonly accepted and universally functional knowledge that all sales professionals possess. The open-source selling standards have been downloaded in 16 countries by over 300 people. Over 30 people have made contributions.

Because UPSA is not owned by one person or any company, it is a member organization and guardian of the global standard of entry into the sales profession.

Find out about the membership organization and understand the processes and framework of professional selling at the UPSA Website at http://www.upsa-intl.org.

Find out more about Brian at: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert_bio=Brian_Lambert

Or at http://www.brianlambert.biz