Are you in a job search or career change?
Sales manage your efforts to find and develop more opportunities
Sales managing your job search?
Why not? Sales managers build, train, motivate and drive sales teams to deliver the number.
For your career search why not use a “sales team” developed and led with sales management techniques to deliver your next job? This is a great way to multiplex your message across many sales “channels”!
How does this pertain to negotiations? Clearly one of the most important negotiations we participate in is about employment. Successful negotiating involves being hyper-informed about the circumstances.
Good sales managers use their teams to not only find and develop leads but to set the table for best outcome negotiations by doing the early discovery work that is guaranteed to sane time and maximize your negotiation. So if you’re starting a job search may I suggest that you…
Hire a team!
“Hiring” a team doesn’t mean to hire in the traditional, financially compensated manner. It simply involves asking people that care about you and who may benefit in some way from your new employment to get involved with your search.
You are surrounded by people that will help you find and win your next job.
“Hire” them to provide information, spread the word about your talents and availability and to serve as references.
· A family member could be assigned the task of checking certain job boards or newspaper ads.
· Another friend might be responsible for putting the word of your availability out to a specific employer, professional organization or networking group.
· Got a friend in the industry that you’re targeting? Hire them to search for leads via their company postings, industry associations and networks.
· Recruiters, though usually paid by the hiring firm can be “hired” by you…put to work in promoting your availability.
· Join a job seeking support group and put members on your team. An associate there may be following up a lead of their own and can check potential opportunities that fit your particular skill set or discline.
The “team” will need training. Spend time with each team member to help them understand what their “job” is. A quick bio summary such you may already have produced for Linked-In is an invaluable tool in helping them understand your skills and background at a high level.
Infuse the team with a positive attitude. Go to each one with excitement and enthusiasm…they’ll make sure others catch it too!
Most importantly be certain to arrange for an ongoing dialogue. Maybe it’s a weekly phone call or perhaps getting together over a cup of coffee. Keep notes of who is on the team and what actions they are assigned.
You are more likely to get the help you hope for if your “team” knows you’ll be following up like a good sales manager would.
But then, who is managing you?
Are you in a job seeking support group? A Success Team? Hire them to be your sales manager! Ask them to hold you accountable for your sales management activities and pipeline management.
Ask them to review your activity by sharing your pipeline summary report.
The next post will provide greater detail on the pipeline and how managing one can profoundly improve the productivity of your “team” and subsequently your career search.
© 2007 Burt Hadlock
tags:
sales manage,
sales pipeline,
Negotiating,
job search
