Meeting Scott Walker

I got to meet Wisconsin Governor, now former candidate for president, Scott Walker at a place I worked.
Actually I got to talk to him more than anyone else at my work. People thought I was dumb to wear a badger tie, however the gov saw it first thing and came over and told me how one of his sons goes to Marquette and one to UW and then showed me the hand sign for "W" and "M" that he says his sons flash at each other in the spirit of the rival schools. I mentioned I went to Whitewater and we talked about the football championships they won.

He then talked to my clients and came back to me and asked if the students I worked with have a real chance to succeed, what jobs they could get, what was holding them back, and what did I hear from clients that would make them hire more people.

I told him the biggest thing I hear from the thousands of companies I've talked to over the last few years is the biggest block to hiring is uncertainty. All companies have plans in place to do business no matter what person/party is in power. What they have all told me is they don't like not knowing who is in power. The recall elections pissed them off (owners of both parties FYI) because they had a plan to deal with Walker taking office. Then they had to wait until the recall election of everyone.

Then there are the laws going through the court systems. One judge declares a law legal/illegal then it is upheld/overturned by various courts then there is state court then federal court. It caused confusion and delay and employers just decided to wait it out and only hire essential people.

I went on to tell him the high cost of tuition and the high student loan payments were drags on income people could put into the economy.

Policies that let non-resident students, illegal aliens get either in state tuition to the detriment of local students not being able to enroll in WI colleges was also contributing to the brain drain and the lack of younger workers staying in WI. If they can't get into a WI school why stay in WI?  Both the tuition and being shut out of school issues are contributing to some not being able to get the skills and training they needed to advance in the workforce.

I also told him how many of the companies I work with are ready and willing to hire, assuming all the confusion over elections and laws is over, but some want or need streamlining of the bureaucratic red tape. Not the dropping of regulations or laws, but just clarity over how they are supposed to work. gave an example of the small business owner who had his business since 1979 and passed all health and safety inspections every year, but was now facing a $5,000 bill because an inspector said there is a statute that says all exit/entrance doors have to have an electric door sensor that opens the door when the power is out. Think about it. The business is open so the door is unlocked. If the power goes out the door is still unlocked and the electric door senor doesn't work anyways so why install it? That kind of government stupidity is not what small businesses need to to pay for. And every time a business has to pay for dumb things like that it means they can't hire someone.

 I also told him I appreciated him running on issues and his record and said I was sick of all the "too extreme/too liberal" ads and he should only run on his record and issues. 

One thing that was cool was he stayed and met with everyone that wanted a picture, handshake, or make a comment or had a question no matter what slant it was from and that it went past his scheduled time. As a public official I thought that was good as other officials I met take off as fast as they can.     

Thanks Governor for listening and for taking the time to treat me as a real person and not just a voter!
Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy

Follow Up to My Bad Customer Servce Story

Photo by the Author taken at Milwaukee County Zoo

Several years ago I took my then infant son to what was known as the Timber Wolf Preservation Society.
It didn't go well as you can read here:
A great-example-of-bad-customer-service As an update I recently found out that the TWPS has gone out of business.
timber-wolf-preservation-society-quietly-goes-out-of-business

I believe that my experience wasn't unique among visitors.
Lack of proper customer service in today's instant information world can lead to a large decrease in business. There is an old adage that if a customer gets good customer service they will tell five people. 
IF they get bad customer service they will tell fifty people. Maybe if my son and I were simply allowed to pay our admission and walk around as was advertised by TWPS, my positive story could have helped a few other people to go. They would have told a few more and those would tell a few more and TWPS might have the volunteers and funds to continue. As it was I told everyone I knew about our terrible experience and even wrote about it for this blog. One person's review can't destroy a business, but it can contribute.
If enough people experience or believe the bad press, the business will fail.

In sales and recruitment the one thing you have control of is your reputation. Be a positive, stand up, honest salesperson or recruiter and you will be successful for years. Treat clients like they are nothing more than a, paycheck for you, and you will ultimately fail as people see who you really are. Once they start telling others how they were treated by you, your opportunities, prospects, and clients will start to disappear.
Remember that when you are tempted to say or do something stupid in the presence of a client (be it a company or candidate). 

Thanks!
Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy

That's What Networks and Friends Are For: Part. 1

I was once fired from a job.
It was a surprise and wasn't because of anything I had done. The company had hired someone they originally wanted for my role, but wasn't available at the time, so they hired me and then replaced me with the original person. It happens in the corporate world. No sense crying about it. Get up and move on to the next opportunity. Since I never saw this coming and was completely blindsided, I wasn't actively searching for a job through my network.

That was when people in my network came to my aid and was a big lift to my spirits.
One of these friends asked me to help market his SEO business. He provided me with a place to work, a laptop to use, database software, and listened and tried my advice for selling his services to new clients and marketing his business to other networks. He even treated me to several lunches.
Another individual also treated me to lunches and valued my marketing advice for his graphic design business. He also designed the logo for my wife's new business
(Kolibri Yoga, Kirtan & Meditation)
The third person provided the inspiration to look at other opportunities I hadn't considered before when he reminded me to be open to trying other paths for my career, just as he did when he left the recruitment world and opened his own golf trip business. He also treated me to lunch.

These three gentlemen helped me by giving me a place to continue to use my sales and marketing skills. Provided me with a place to go to where I could focus on things other than my job search.They gave me a boost in confidence and helped me get back on track with my career. All thanked me for my advice and showed they were not just members of my professional network but friends as well. Plus they took me to several good lunches.

So if you have a small business of less than 50 people and don't have to time to build a website and make it visible to your clients and prospects, contact John at Devin Group and he can help you make more profit from your website.
The Devin Group

If you need a great logo or need to build a brand identity, call Todd at Design Engine.
The Design Engine 

Do you like to golf or travel? Combine both and book a vacation using Brian's website:
Golf Wisconsin

There are lots of other people who helped me and I will thank five more of them next time.
Thanks for everything!
Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy

I'm So Proud of My Wife!

I'm so proud of my wife!
All of my life I wanted to own my own business.
Over the years what that business was would change, however I shared that dream with my wife before we were married.
Since then she has encouraged, and even joined me in that dream so over the last several years we have owned our own business with two locations
www.TooCleanLaundry.com

Now she has found a passion of her own and has opened her own yoga studio,
Kolibri Yoga, Kirtan & Meditation
wwww.KolibriYoga.com
She has worked hard to get to this point. Over the last several years she has:
-she studied hard for a year to become a certified yoga instructor
-did her student teaching for free
-started a neighborhood yoga program
-and teaches for various recreation departments
 
In addition she studied the yoga market, other studios, networked with other yoga enthusiasts who could help her, and developed a target audience (if you have never done yoga, need to relieve stress, are out of shape, or just need to do something to get yourself moving around-go to her classes!)

No matter what side of the political aisle you are on...
No matter what sports teams you are passionate about...
No matter what the rest of the world thinks of our country...
One of the things the United States of America still provides is the opportunity for anyone to pursue their dreams and
opportunities to start their own business and become successful!
America you have produced another entrepreneur, and I couldn't be more proud!
Thank you!
Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy...and Proud Husband!

Barrie White: A Tribute

Barrie White with author, Vicki Schuch, Kristina Mowers of Recruiter Network

When you scroll down the list of members of the Recruiter Network of Southeast Wisconsin, two names jump out at you: James Brown and Barrie White.
While neither person is the famous singer of the same name, both are outstanding members of the community that I'm proud to know. This is a story about one of them.

Barrie White was working in his back office at Denny's when I came calling on him to buy some recruitment advertising back in 2001.
While most of my appointments back then usually lasted 30 minutes, this meeting took double that because Barrie and I talked about everything except advertising.
He did buy an advertising package and a few days later I happened to see him at a job fair.
Even though the job fair was not officially over, every company had left early. He was the last company still taking applications as the job fair ended and had a long line of applicants waiting to talk to him.

Even though he was busy he took a minute to talk to me.
He said he liked the ads I created for Denny's and that they were working well.
I asked him why he was the only company still at the fair.
"I always stay until the end of these fairs," he said.
"All the other companies leave early but what about those people who can't get here until later because they're working, in school, have to wait for childcare or transportation?
They took the time to come to the job fair and deserve the chance
to see some employers too, and I've found a lot of good employees by staying till the end because there are no other companies for them to apply to."

He was too busy to talk more so I left.
At the time I didn't think of him as anything other than a client, albeit a fun client.
Therefore it was a big surprise when I saw him ten days later at my dad's funeral.
He didn't know my father. He didn't know anyone at the funeral. He barely knew me, and yet he took the time to come to talk to me and my mom.
I was very honored by that act.
He was the only client of mine that attended (to be fair I wasn't expecting ANY clients to come)
and it was a complete surprise and I was very humbled by his act of compassion.
I thanked him and asked why he decided to stop by.
His exact words to me were, "I thoroughly enjoyed our meeting and talking to you and I've come to see you as more of a friend rather than a sales guy."

Barrie stuck by those words in the years since. He not only supported me in my career changes, he took the time to help hundreds of others find their next position, even though companies weren't giving him a second look for positions he was clearly qualified for after Denny's downsized. He never complained about being passed over by those companies.
He took it as a sign to continue to help others. He was the pastor for a local Korean Baptist church where he not only strengthened that community's faith, but also helped new immigrants acclimate to America.

He was a very active member of 40 Plus where he was always helping to find speakers, reach out to new members, or willing to help other job seekers with advice.
40Plus-Southeastern-Wisconsin


He was also active as the long time secretary of the Recruiter Network of Southeastern Wisconsin, having been part of the group almost since the beginning in 1997. 
Recruiter-Network-Southeast-WI 
As the group always wanted to keep an informal coffee klatch feeling to the meetings, Barrie would always ask three questions at the beginning of the meetings:
Is there anyone getting married?
Anyone pregnant?
Anyone newly dating someone?
While they may not seem like appropriate questions for a business meeting of recruiting professionals, they broke the ice, made the meetings more relaxed, and served as a showcase for Barrie's quick wit. This often led to he and I having Abbott & Costello type comedy bits for the entertainment of the group as we played off each others joking banter.
Barrie often joked that he was "railroaded" into being secretary for the group because no one would run against him in the elections.
Actually no one wanted to fill his shoes, because we couldn't.

As the years went on he declared himself retired, yet continued to help other job seekers in any way he could, mostly through groups like 40 Plus and their events as he served as one of the board members. As his health declined he still continued to help other job seekers who were part of that group.

One time he magically appeared at my office in Menomonee Falls.
He had attended a networking meeting and was on his way home when he felt dizzy and short of breath.
He saw my office and stopped in to see if I was there. He was worried that he would need medical help and didn't want to be driving if that indeed was the case.
We talked for 45 minutes while he recovered his breath.
It was a fun session of listening to his good stories about cars, living in New York, previous jobs he had, and people he had helped.
A few days later he found out about his heart problems.

We saw Barrie less and less at meetings over the following year.
Eventually we got him back to a Recruiter Network meeting where he announced he and his wife, Clara, were moving to Rochester, New York, so he could spend time as much time as he could with his grand kids. Once again he was thinking of others.

Clara you have my deepest sympathies, and those of all of us who knew him.
Barrie you will be missed.
As I told you Barrie when you came to that last Recruiter Network meeting, I'm glad you told me what you did at my dad's funeral, because I also see you as more than a client.
You indeed are a friend.
Barrie's LinkedIn Profile

Thank you!
Ev
From one Heck of A Nice Guy to Another...

Inside Sales Skills that Would Make Dr. Evil Proud

Inside salespeople can be some of the best salespeople around.
In this article Alexia Stath talks about what makes them successful.
Thanks for the insight Alexia!
Ev

Inside sales skills that would make Dr. Evil proud
Posted by Alexia Stath

Sales managers increasingly understand that different parts of the sales process require people with different skill sets. Outside sales people embody characteristics like “devastatingly attractive” and “preternaturally intuitive” as qualities that lead to success. At least that’s what I tell my bosses who do that type of work. (Oddly enough, my raise has yet to arrive). Regardless, opinions on what makes a great closer have been exhaustively argued. What makes a great prospector is a far fresher debate.
I recently came across an article listing the top qualities possessed by inside sales reps. Adding my own to the mix, I realized that my top inside sales skills could also double as a rejected eHarmony profile. Utilize these qualities at your own risk.

1. Insensitivity – It’s not a novel idea that a thick skin is needed in cold calling. It’s after hearing a similar story from various outside sales people – that a lead must not be interested after they reached out 2-3 times - that I realized a good inside rep must take insensitivity to a new level. Sensitivity tends to lead to assumptions. I don’t know why someone hasn’t called me back after nine attempts and honestly, I don’t care. My first job is to get someone on the phone. Period.

2. Stubbornness – One of my best motivators is getting that ridiculously rude contact that shuts me down before a meaningful conversation. It kicks me into my most stubborn gear, hunting down other contacts and pursuing them in the hopes of proving that first person wrong. And it’s yielded positive results on more than one occasion.

3. Be Relentless – “Used to describe someone who does something in a constant and determined way without stopping or becoming less forceful.” This one essentially combines aspects of the first two qualities in one great word. I don’t know a single inside sales rep that achieves continued success without being unrelenting.

So yes, approach this work with “passion”, “resourcefulness”, and “charisma”. But don’t forget to throw a little Dr. Evil in there for added success.

Five Pragmatic Things You Can Do to Make Sure Your Resume Gets Seen by Hiring Managers

Thanks Martin.
Interesting approach. Some of this doesn't work and some does.
What does everyone who looks and writes resumes think?
Ev

Five Pragmatic Things You Can Do to Make Sure Your Resume Gets Seen by Hiring Managers
By Martin Yate
five-pragmatic-things-you-can-do-to-make-sure-your-resume-gets-seen-by-hiring-managers

1. A Target Job Title.
A resume cannot be all things to all people. It needs to focus on a specific job and carry a target job title, coming right after contact information (80% of resumes lack this and start instead with a Job Objective); your email address should be hyperlinked. Recruiters use the target job title in database searches and using one helps your resume be pulled for review by a hiring manager, and the title then gives the hiring manager an immediate focus.

2. Sell to the customer's needs:
Don't sell what you think are your strong points in a resume, find out what the customers (hiring managers) want to buy. Do Target Job Deconstructions (TJD) on 6 job postings to determine how employers prioritize their needs, and the words they use to describe them. Recruiters search resume databases using the approved job title and the words used in the job description. By doing TJD you know what skills employers value in this job, how they prioritize them and the words they are likely to use in database searches: in short you'll have a template for the story your resume must tell.

3. Replace Job/Career Objective (no one cares what you want), with Performance Profile.
Managers do performance reviews on all employees every year so the phrase has immediacy and relevance. Beneath the heading, address the heart of what you do in your professional work. Take the first four to five priorities from your TJD and turn them into short sentences running no more than five lines.

4. Core Competencies.
Follow the Performance Profile with a Core Competency section. This contains all the words and phrases that were used in the job posting to describe your work (example: A/P, A/R, Quarterly P&L). List all the words and phrases that apply to you in columns; then repeat the words in the context of each of the jobs where they were applied, this way you get to use keywords that will be used by recruiters as search terms at least once and possibly two or three times; this will improve your database ranking. A hiring manager will read Core Competency section as headlines for all the skills you can talk about.

5. Together, a Target Job title, Target Job Deconstructions, Performance Profile, and Core Competency section pack all the information into the first half page of your resume, to improve its database performance and to tell any recruiter or hiring manager of your ability and suitability for the job. This opening to a resume tells any reader you can do the job and you "get" what is truly important.

Cold Calling Voice Mails That Will Keep People From Hating You

Alexia Stath has some great words of wisdom on cold calling. They sound like mine. Funny how great minds think alike!
Thanks Alexia for the great advice.
Ev

 

Cold Calling Voice Mails That Will Keep People From Hating You

Posted by Alexia Stath

http://www.yourb2bmatchmaker.com/blog/cold-calling-voice-mails-that-will-keep-people-from-hating-you?utm_campaign=Blog%2010&utm_content=15280291&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin 

Cold calling yields one of two possibilities – a conversation or a voice mail. Ideally the call will result in the former, allowing you the opportunity to dazzle the prospect with your brilliant and infallible sales pitch. The latter option? You leave a nice little message but think, “I’ll really wow them when I eventually catch them."

The problem with this logic is that the overwhelming majority of your cold calls end in a voice mail. A large chunk of your prospecting time is wasted if you only apply quality scripts to the conversations. Putting just as much effort into carefully crafting cold calling voice mails will result in more opportunities for you….and less boredom and annoyance for the prospect.
Helpful tips to make you lovable (or at least tolerable)

• Self-awareness = cold calling enlightenment. - The moment just after the “beep” and right before you begin to speak, you are nothing more than a nuisance. Your product might be the greatest solution for that prospect but as far as they know, you’re trying to sell them lingerie hazmat suits. Accept this and craft your voice mail with that knowledge in mind.
• Creativity isn’t just for starving artists. – It seems that most prospectors believe all sales voice mails should be the most dreadfully mediocre swill in order to be deemed business appropriate. Have the guts to break free from this delusion. Nobody is itching to call back the boring guy.
  
• Everybody likes to laugh. Even jerks. – Okay, so really huge jerks might hate laughter, but who wants that guy as a client? He’s probably pushing toddlers down for sport and asking for world wars at Christmas time. Giving all the other prospects a good chuckle in the middle of their stressful work day means they’ll remember you. Some will even call you back.
  
• Hey Tommy Two Times, stop repeating yourself! – If you keep saying essentially the same pitch over and over again, you might as well hold the phone up to some white noise because that’s what you’ve become. Variation is key. Every voice mail you leave should be completely original.
  

Danny Cahill's Follow Up Email Script

This is from Danny Cahill's website.
Danny is one of the foremost recruiters in the business and has great advice that applies to recruiters, and if you swap the words recruiter and candidate for salesperson and prospect, it is good sales advice as well.
Thanks Danny for the great advice over the years.
Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy

Hi Danny, Hello, I just signed up yesterday so this is the 1st time I'm using the program. When you speak with a possible candidate and they are not interested however ask you to send your contact information of course you ask them who they know not someone that they know is looking but anyone who is good at what they do. What is a good email message to send them for referrals? Thank you.

ATD Response: Welcome to the According to Danny family! We hope to be a contributing factor in you reaching your goals!! (So let us know when you have a deal pending and we’ll cross our fingers and do our relentless hope dance!) Meanwhile, you’re right that “send me your contact info” can be anything on the spectrum from “…I’m brushing you off nicely and we shall never interact again…” to an excellent opportunity for you to maximize this call. My recruiters would instinctively… Thank this person for his/her time, let them know that the real value in connecting was starting a relationship. We like to tell our candidates that the one thing we know is that circumstances can change overnight, and that everyone should have 3 numbers on their fridge, their doctor, the police and a headhunter immersed in their niche, because what is more important that your health, your safety, and your livelihood? Get their cell number and offer yours. (then you can text them, and people respond to texts much faster than any other channel) Get their email so you can “send the info” and tell them you will send a LinkedIn Invite. (if you haven’t already obviously) “While I have you, let me borrow your expertise. Let’s brainstorm. The client for the job I called you about will begin interviewing soon, who do you know with a similar profile to yours that you respect enough to want to help? (It needs to be that open ended. You want them ruminating, you don’t want them remembering a guy who just got fired for poor performance, so don’t ever ask who is looking or available.) This can also be in the email you follow up with if you choose rather than on the phone, but I’d do it live. Tell them you are always interested in new clients and you know they are wired into what is happening. Who else is hiring that they know of? I’d close by reassuring them that you are a call or email away if they ever have career questions or issues, and not to hesitate to use you as No Judgment Sounding Board. Some people create templates, but I prefer you, if you can be succinct enough, create this message for every quality candidate you speak to. You CANNOT afford to do this for everyone. Some people simply are not worth your time. That sounds cold, I know, but you are not a social worker. Good luck!! I look forward to working with you!