Networking Tip: how to start a request for help on the phone?

When networking it is not only important to give, but also to ask questions and ask for help to other people. Why? Because you give the other person the opportunity to build a relationship with you!

I already discussed parts of this in previous posts:
– How do you feel making a request
– Ask
– Ask for what you want, it won’t happen automatically

Keith Ferrazzi also posted in his blog about this this week: Do a friend a favor and ask for help.

However, most people don’t know how to start. In order to help them I post this small part out of my network book Let’s Connect.

“Before asking a question it is always good to check if the person has time for you. Contrary to what most people belief, it is OK to directly say what you are calling for. I used to say “Am I disturbing you?”, which already indicated that I didn’t find my question important enough or valued the other person’s time more important than mine. But with my weak opener I already opened the gate to “failure”.

In her book “Selling with Integrity”, Sharon Drew Morgen gives examples of how to avoid this. She advices sales people to use these words: “This is Sharon Drew Morgen speaking. This is a sales call. Is this a good time for you to talk?” When I first read this, I couldn’t believe this would work, but when I
tried it myself, I couldn’t believe the results. People were surprised by my honesty and no one ever told me that he/she was not interested. If it was not a good time for them, they gave me another time to call them back.

“But I’m not a sales person” you probably think. Then this also applies to you. I use variants of this sentence in all my communication, personal or professional. “Hi mom, I’m just calling to say hello. Is it a good time for you to talk?” or “Hi business partner X, I’m calling about the contract. Is this a good time for you to discuss this?” By using this phrase you show that you are confident about what you want and respect other people’s time. Just try it!”

To your success !

Jan

Referrals Will Become the Primary Sourcing Channel for All Positions

This week’s blog is dedicated to the trend of the increased importance of networking and referrals for recruiters.

The following text comes from Lou Adler and is part of his 4 Trends Affecting the Future of Recruiting:

“In a recent Execunet survey, 70% of over 6,000 executives and executive recruiters indicated that networking would be the key to either finding a job or finding candidates, compared to 16% through online advertising.

While this would be expected at the executive level, our own 2007 survey of 800 corporate recruiters filling staff and mid-level positions indicated that networking and employee referrals represented about 35% to 40% of their hires.

This is about five points higher than last year, so not only is networking important, but the trend is up. LinkedIn has helped accelerate this trend, in combination with Facebook, MySpace, and some of the niche social networking sites.

At the employment agency referred to earlier, referrals were also a core part of their recruiting efforts. While this group was primarily placing hourly personnel in general laborer or office admin positions on temporary assignments, it seemed like at least 50% of their recruits were from referrals. More important, the emphasis was on getting even more referrals.

It’s a pretty safe bet to conclude that in the future, referrals and networking will be the primary means companies and third-party recruiters will use to find candidates at all levels. For recruiters and sourcers, this represents a critical shift.”

So it’s nice to read someone else saying the same thing as me 🙂

Have a great networking day !

Jan

Read the whole article at: http://www.ere.net/2008/06/06/four-trends-affecting-the-future-of-recruiting/

Networking Tip: We are a direct reflection of the 5 people we associate with the most

One of many quotes by “personal success veteran” Denis Waitley is:

“We are a direct reflection of the 5 people we associate with the most, and our income and lifestyle is the exact average of those people.”

This is a quote to think about, isn’t it?

Who is now part of your fivesome? And which influence do they have on you?
Are they positive people or are they rather focused on negative things?

Are they people who motivate you or rather pull you down?

One of the ways to change your life is choosing who you interact with.

So the question to you is: who do you want to be part of your primary network?

To be able to define that, it helps to take a step back.

First ask yourself the question: what are my goals in my professional and personal life?

Then look for the people who already are in the position you want to be in.

And then spend more time with them.

Have a great networking day !

Jan

Spreker bij Stay Great and Grow: lots of referral tips

Last month I was invited as a speaker for the Stay Great and Grow club of KMO/PME magazine.

There was also a journalist of this magazine/website present who wrote about the session and interviewed me afterwards for camera.

Unfortunately for many of the readers of this blog only in Dutch this time.

If you do speak Dutch: lees het uitgebreide verslag van de referral workshop die ik heb gegeven (journalist Frans Uyttebroeck covert veel van de tips die ik geef) en bekijk het interview met mij als spreker.

Have a great networking day !

Jan