KeenHire Blog by Margaret Graziano

Maximize Your Profitability. Build and Execute A World Class People Strategy

Executive Forum - January 16 & 17, 2011

Call for Presenters!

 

KeenHire is carefully vetting senior level Human Capital trainers & consultants who are excellent at live training, focused ONLY in the Corporate space, have a strong track record of recent success and have world class strategic Talent Management content focused in the below areas. We are accepting submittals now and will select candidates for potential co-presenters by July 30, 2010. If you are interested in being a candidate, the context of the event is maximizing your profitability through building and executing a world class people strategy.

 

Module 1 - Talent Acquisition

-Current & Future State of the Workforce-Keen Hire

-Workforce Planning

-Best Practice Teams

-Building your Employee Value Proposition

-Building your TA Strategy

-Performance Metrics

 

Module 2- Employee Selection -KeenHire

-Building your Internal Hiring Process

-Performance Management

-Talent Benchmarking & Role Analysis

 

Module 3-Employee Retention

-Employee Engagement

-On Boarding

-Career Planning

-Performance Metrics

 

Module 4-Employee Development                                                                                      -High Potentials                             

-Succession Planning

-Performance Management

 

Selected speakers are expected to promote this event, register at least 10 companies and will be paid a percentage of revenue.

 

Establishing Performance Criteria For Your Talent Acquisition Department

Wow! As the market begins to rebound I am amazed at all the nation wide openings for internal Human Resources roles. Most of these roles no longer carry the Human Resources title; the most popular title I noted I see is Talent Acquisition Director.

What amazes and concerns me is, in none of these job advertisements for Talent Acquisition Director; absolutely none of them have the key performance indicators and specific measureable intended outcomes clearly delineated in the ad.  In the cases where there is no Human Resources leadership in place I understand a lack of clarity in role expectations, however in hundreds of cases the companies doing the hiring have well established HR executives and HR leaders and still no clear expectations listed. 

If companies really want to impact their ability to hire and retain ‘A’ players they must clearly outline the specific measurable results for those expected to deliver.  ‘A’ players want to win and area attracted to challenges.

Any company taking the initiative to hire a Talent Acquisition professional for the purpose of owning the recruitment role and impacting their ability to build and grow  their talent pool must also understand that you get what you expect. If you are not clear on what you expect you can not expect people to deliver just because they hold the title and have a resume that says they know how to recruit. 

A solid Talent Acquisition Director has typically spent their career working in organizations that paid for performance, rewarded proactive behavior and expected innovation and creativity on a daily basis. 

 I am going to give an example of some key performance indicators a well-crafted Talent Acquisition Director Role might include. While these are only an example I think you will get the concept of clearly articulating role expectations.

 Time to Fill – Talent Acquisition Director is expected to build and maintain a pipeline of at least 25 qualified potential software engineer candidates at all times therefore impacting their ability to fill open positions within 20 business days.

Quality of Hires - It is expected that 85% of all Talent Acquisition Director’s new hires are achieving intended outcomes at their 90 day, 6 month and 12 month performance review.

Employment Brand Management – Talent Acquisition Director is continually delivering a high quality recruitment and engagement experience for candidates involved in our companies hiring process resulting in increased high quality applicant referrals and high marks on new hire surveys. 

Customer Service – Hiring Mangers are delighted with the level of service and attention their recruitment needs and business unit receives from the Talent Acquisition Director.

They key to building a strategic HR department is to be the change you want to see.  If you want the Talent Acquisition Director role to deliver and truly impact your businesses ability to grow and compete then you need to consciously hire the right person. In order to hire the right person for the Talent Acquisition Director you must be specific about what you expect the role to produce. You must be clear about what you expect the role to deliver and what excellent performance looks like. 

Once you are specific about what you expect it will be that much easier to identify the person who has the competencies and ability to achieve those results. At KeenHire our proprietary conscious hiring process begins with creating the KPIs for each role and is completed by clearly detailing the behaviors, competencies, values, motivators and emotional intelligence it takes on a daily basis to perform effectively in the role.

Conscious Interviewing-Bring Science And Precision To Your Hiring Process

Behavioral Interviewing Certification Training

 

The Premise

Turnover cost the US economy over a billion dollars last year. What is it costing your organization? The estimated costs of a poor hire runs 3-7 x's of a roles salary.

 

No matter what type of organization you run the competition for mission critical high quality people is heating up. With costs rising and margins shrinking, no organization can afford unwanted employee turnover and money pouring out the door due to poor hires. When we say costs of a mis-hire, we don’t only mean in the wrong hires’ salary, we are talking about the management and training hours wasted, the unsatisfied customers, the compromised processes and employee morale issues - it all adds up.

 

Let’s face it in the world right now, your internal people resources is one of your only differentiating competitive advantages. For your company to sustain growth and be profitable it is critical that you hire effective difference makers who have the capacity to achieve your company's goals and objectives.

 

In KeenHire's Conscious Interviewing program you learn a proven, effective methodology and a process to attract and select the right people, for the right roles all the time.

 

 Click Here to register
 
The Program

The KeenHire™ Conscious Interviewing course trains and empowers recruitment professionals and hiring managers to learn interviewing strategies that help your company succeed.  At KeenHire we bring science and precision to the recruitment and hiring process® and we teach you how to do it too.  We train you to implement a Conscious interviewing process that saves your company time, money and effort while causing early engagement from your high potential candidates.

 

Join us for this hands on training workshop that encompasses every aspect of correctly utilizing targeted selection, behavioral interviewing and Role analysis in your employee selection process. You walk away with a thorough understanding of when to look for what types of behaviors, competencies and motivators and which types of questions to ask to hone in on specific behaviors as well as what answers to listen for and when to probe and when not to probe. In our full Conscious Interviewing course you actually have the opportunity to create 2 behavioral interview benchmarks that you can use immediatley. With each course registration you get a FREE 90 day subscription to KeenView - KeenHire's on line behavioral, values and competency based interviewing software.
 

The Take Aways
1. Develop a fundamental understanding and appreciation for why most bad hiring decisions are made in the first ten minutes of the interview. Learn interviewing strategies that help your company succeed.

2. Learn the foundation behind behavioral, competency and value based interviewing and why it is so important to utilize this diligent conscious interviewing process when hiring for high impact roles.
3. Gain faculty in uncovering the key performance indicators for each role.

4. Delve into all facets of what drives peak performance -motivations, ways of being, ways of thinking, and modes of interacting.

5. Improve your prowess in creating astute behavioral interviewing models that target the right fit.
6. Receive your Certification in Conscious Interviewing which includes; role analysis, top talent benchmarking, behavioral selection, behavioral interviewing and behavioral interviewing interpretation.

 

The Expert

Dr. Stephanie Marberry, Interviewing Strategies Consultant received her Ph.D. in Industrial Organizational and Social Psychology from Northern Illinois University.  As an originating partner at KeenHire Talent Management, Stephanie has consulted with small to mid-sized companies in High Touch and High Tech markets to improve their hiring efficiency and effectiveness through the implementation of customized selection systems. Dr. Marberry has a passion for educating others on current HR best practices by utilizing the appropriate scientific tools and methods to identify, select, develop, and retain top talent. Her facilitative training style encourages discussion and application, allowing her participants to gain a clear understanding on how to implement the techniques into their own business processes.

  

Want to Bring a KeenHire Consultant In-house?

Call Today! 1-888-533-6447

 

Registration

Virtual Courses consist of 8 weekly 90 minute sessions and begin on Friday afternoons June 18, August 9, September 17 at 12:00 p.m. pst and costs $499.00 per person. Save 30% overall when you register 3 or more participants. Click Here to register.

 

Can't make time for training, visit the KeenHire on line store and purchase tools, workbooks, scripts, manuals, assessments, CD's, DVD's, books and more.

 

Call For Executive Recruitment And Talent Management Presenters

HR Executive Forum – Silicon Valley –January 2011

Our intention is to create a transformational Executive Retreat at StillHeart Institute in Woodside California for companies committed to achieving extraordinary results in service delivery, operational excellence and profitability through the power and engagement of their workforce.

Call for Presenters:

I am looking for highly successful Executive Level Recruitment, Corporate Recruiting Leadership and Talent Management Consultants and Practitioners who are at the top of their league, have an extraordinary ability to capture and engage a room and have achieved transformational results in dynamic and challenging environments.

Areas of Expertise

Corporate Transformation Consultant

Systemic Change Agent

Leadership Development

Succession Planning

Organizational Development and Design Specialist

Corporate Recruitment Consultant

Engineering Management Recruitment Consultant

Executive Sales Recruiting Practitioner

Management and Executive Recruiting Consultant

Human Resources Management-Operational Excellence

HR Technology Consultant

Recruitment Technology

Performance Management Consulting

Employee Engagement Consultant

Application Process

Please submit your CV, a video of you speaking to a group as well as the 3 goals you want to accomplish by participating in the HR Executive Forum. mgraziano@keenhire.com.   Deadline for submissions 6.29.10

 

 

What Really Grinds My Gears? Recruitment Versus Selection

 

Composed by: Stephanie Marberry, PhD 

You know what really grinds my gears?…Lindsay Lohan….just kidding!The focus of this discussion is on the difference in the distinction between recruitment and selection. Some of you may say there is no difference, some of you may say that they are completely different processes, and the rest of you may say who the heck cares!

 

The truth is that some terminology resonates better with business professionals than others. Certain words, like recruiter, carry a particular stigma because there is a certain perception that the recruitment industry does not add value. In my world this is not always the case, some of my best clients are recruiters and my partner for the past 2.5 years owned her own staffing firm and was a recruiter! Where the distinction exists is when recruiters incorporate selection into the hiring process. However, I have witnessed that no one really understands what the term selection means and why it is different from the recruiting process.

There is a distinct difference between the way companies define recruitment. What I have heard from senior executives, and hiring managers is that recruitment by a 3rd party is a process where people or resumes are thrown at them without any regard to quality or fit. This is not always the case but somehow this is the perception that exists. I have even heard the term head hunters, which creates even more of a negative connotation implying that anyone is fair game!!!! When we talk about 3^rd party recruiters I do think one bad apple has spoiled the bunch. The 3^rd party recruiters that I have been working with are actively looking to incorporate selection into their process in order to become a true partner with their clients.

So what’s the real difference between recruitment and selection besides the fact that one word carries bad rap? When I teach on the topic of Industrial-Organizational Psychology there is not much emphasis placed on the science or strategy behind recruitment. In fact there are only a few pages dedicated to a discussion on recruitment in most textbooks. Recruitment is defined as a process to increase the pool of job applicants that meet the organization’s legal and social obligations thereby also increasing the success rate of the selection process. In the classroom I discuss various ways to source candidates and the effect that specific messages or people might have on the candidate’s first impression of the company. So the strategy surrounds different ways to find and attract the most candidates for the job and company.

What is emphasized in the world of Industrial Psychology is the idea of personnel or human resource selection. Human Resource selection involves a scientific process that begins with the development of a selection program which includes a full job analysis where the tasks, resources, work environment, and performance measures that characterize the job are defined.  The creation of a selection program also involves the identification of worker characteristics required (i.e., knowledge, skills, and abilities), the development of various assessment devices (e.g., tests, interviews, personality and behavioral measures), and the validation of these devices (e.g., does the measure predict performance on the job). In the end the selection process should allow a company to systematically collect and combine information from valid selection instruments to make hiring decisions that result in top performers to drive the company’s efficiency and effectiveness. Companies can even take this one step further by evaluating and monitoring their selection process through a utility analysis or with other ROI forms of measurement (i.e., turnover, profitability, satisfaction, engagement).

As a consultant for KeenHire I find myself involved in both recruitment and selection and I see that they are highly inter-related (you can’t have one without the other!). So why does this gap have to exist where recruitment is offered separately from selection? These are distinct terms but they should not be offered independently. Further, selection is the necessary piece in making the right hire and if is not conducted appropriately it can lead to negative outcomes. Both corporations and recruiters who are not incorporating a selection system into their hiring process need to look at what it is costing them. For corporations it might be wasted time, money and resources hiring and developing an employee who is not the right fit and does not make any impact on the job. For recruiters it might be lost business due to less expensive alternatives that deliver the same results because they do not offer anything different than the competition.

So is it truly a lack of awareness about the distinction between recruitment and selection or is there some other reason why selection is under-utilized? I am still struggling to find the appropriate answer to this question but in any event, it grinds my gears!!!

The Upside of the Downturn: 10 Management Strategies to Prevail

In the News from Staffing Industry Executive Forum Last week I spent 3 days in Las Vegas, at the Red Rock Resort and Casino. Although Vegas is the place for it, I was not there to drink, gamble or party. I was there to get connected on what is happening in the staffing industry, what’s new and what is critical for me to learn to keep KeenHire Talent Management in a growth mode.

The most poignant speaker was Geoff Colvin of Fortune Magazine. This is a man who travels the world, writes and speaks to several industries what he had to say was absolute validation for me, of why KeenHire was created.

First and foremost, he began with in tumultuous times – when everything is up in the air – is the time to change where we are in the competitive order. It is a tremendous and fleeting Opportunity and it is up to ‘you’ to take advantage of it. He told a story of Lance Armstrong in his first Tour de France.

I was unaware that when Lance began the race he was nowhere in line to win. He was a no one, he was not seeded and for the 1st few days he was behind the best riders. It was not until the race went into the mountains, the most treacherous roadway that Lance took a strong hold. He was prepared, ready and able to outperform.

The leaders became laggards and the laggards became leaders. He sent a very strong message for today’s times. He has a new book, The Upside of the Downturn: Ten Management Strategies to Prevail in the Recession and Aftermath. The message was something like this.

As the economy recovers, the business world we’re entering wont be anything like the pre recession world. Consumers are saving more and saving less. Government is taking a larger role in the life of everyday business. The global economy is becoming less U.S. centric.

These dramatic changes aren’t necessarily dangers- they’re opportunities for companies and leaders that respond the fastest and smartest. All those changes and more are profoundly affecting staffing at every company. Author and Fortune Magazine columnist, Geoff Colvin, who sees the world’s best organizations and leaders up close, describes how they are responding to the new normal and what I means for their most valuable asset, the people who work for their companies.

Below are the top 5 most critical aspects of managing through an effective recover and beyond.

1. UPGRADE your Human Capital. The only competitive advantage a company has is the people who work inside it and represent it. The best companies are using this time to tell the truth to themselves about whom they have on their payroll and who they need to have. They are evaluating and assessing their talent pool and continuing to evaluate their performance quarterly. They are using this time to hire better people, to steal resources (people) from the competition. He said something really cool next. “You don’t see who is swimming naked until the tide is out. When the tide is out you can clearly see A, B and C players.

2. Setting new priorities to face a new reality. The best companies face new realities faster than anyone else. This is the advent of a fundamentally global labor market. Face it, do something about it. China, India, Brazil, Russia (the BRIC) is graduating billions of students to do jobs that our U.S. kids have grown accustomed to attaining. If the work can be done on the phone, and the Internet, the work does not need to be done in the U.S. or by our new graduates. The U.S. is the MOST expensive option. We must ask ourselves the questions and have the answers to “Can this be done elsewhere for a lot less money?”

3. The Government is playing a larger role in our lives, we must accept it and see how we can turn that role into business opportunities.

4. Re Examine Your Business Model. This is the time to be crystal clear on what your Defensible Sustainable Competitive Advantage is, if you do not know or do not have one, you wont survive. This is the time to ask, “What is the best business model? Is it the best model for us?” “What is our Essence, what will we never cut?” “Has our industry been changed in a fundamental way, or have we just been thrown off track?”

5. Grow Yourself. The best business leaders are using this time to grow themselves. Research shows that the only way anyone gets really good is to get pushed. The best leaders stand up and are seen. They stake their claim; they demonstrate fearlessness in the face of uncertainty.

As I watched the several hundred business leaders respond to his presentation, I knew in my heart that KeenHire Talent Management was not built in vain. We built KeenHire to bring best recruitment and talent management practices to our customers, to create efficiencies in the recruitment process, to give customers a choice to do it themselves or to have our help; how they wanted it, when they wanted it, on their terms.

If you have not yet read, Good to Great, The World is Flat and Top Grading, put these books on your Kindle and get down to it. How you respond to these tumultuous times means everything to your business and everything to your future success.

21st Century Hiring Effectiveness. Times Are Changing. Are You?

90 Minute Webinar Offered By KeenHire Talent Management

This 3 part, 90 minute webinar will cover what you need to know about hiring to avoid legal pitfalls and maximize your return on your people investment.  We have brought together a diverse panel of subject matter experts to discuss one of the hottest topics in the workplace today.

 

Join Diana Maier, Lawyer, Workplace Investigator and Employment Counsel, Dr. Stephanie Marberry, Selection Consultant and Margaret Graziano, a 25 year veteran in Recruitment and Staffing. 

 

 

When: April 20th 1:30pm-3:00pm CST

Cost: $35 per person

To Register: Click Here

 

 

Segment 1: Contractor vs. employees: What you need to know about the legal issues behind having a direct hire vs contingent workforce

 

Diana Maier, Workplace Investigator and Employment Counsel, will cover the legalities of working with a direct hire vs. contingent workforce.  Specifically, Diana will address when/how to classify someone who provides services as an employee or a contractor.  Not knowing the difference between contracting with an independent contractor or worker and hiring an employee is increasingly risky. The government assumes that virtually all workers are employees, and imposes stiff penalties or stop work orders on employers who cannot justify paying someone for services without providing benefits, paying unemployment taxes, and incurring a range of other expenses.  Yet, there are enormous benefits to using contractors instead of employees.

This portion of the seminar will teach you how to use independent contractors or part-time employees while minimizing legal exposure. 

The Presentation

• Learn how and why California agencies are cracking down on individuals and small businesses
• Assess your vulnerability to the rash of wage and hour lawsuits for seemingly innocent small jobs and your exposure to civil and criminal penalties
• Understand the differences between employees and independent contractors, risks & benefits and strategies for using both, and how to justify often subjective distinctions between the two
• Determine your risk of being audited by state agencies enforcing worker-related laws
• Explore actual cases and real-life scenarios of attendees-submit your questions! 

 

Segment 2: Conscious Hiring: The 7 steps to implement a hiring process

 

Margaret Graziano, a 25 year veteran in Recruitment and Staffing, will discuss the importance of maximizing the return on your people investment. One of the only competitive advantages your company has is the how your mission critical, key contributor and next level leaders solve business issues, carry out the company mission, run the operation and interact with your customers.  What companies all too often painfully uncover is that the right systems housing the wrong people always fail and that wrong systems housing the right people often fail.

A holistic conscious-hiring empowers you hire right the first time, every time.

The Presentation

• Learn how to avoid common interviewing traps & mitigate hiring risk
• A process for conscious hiring
• Hire right the first time and increase your people ROI

The Takeaways

• Insight into the value setting up an internal hiring process—and how to do it.
• Specific holistic hiring techniques that save your company thousands
• Learn the power of the 3-pronged selection approach
• A step-by-step process for Choosing Your Talent Wisely
• Role Analysis, why it matters  

 

Segment 3: Choose your Assessments Wisely: The dos and don’ts in utilizing assessments in the hiring process.

 

Did you know that there are some assessments that you cannot legally use to select a new employee? With hundreds of assessments in the marketplace how will you know if you are using a quality tool?

 

Dr. Stephanie Marberry, Selection Consultant with KeenHire, discusses some of the important features to look for when evaluating what assessment to add in your hiring process. Growth oriented companies are demanding more of their workforce, and are unwavering in their expectations to attract and hire 'difference makers.' In today’s competitive talent market, with candidates demanding top salaries, companies have the right to know what they are getting, and have the right to expect a return on investment with each hire.

 

Whether you are looking at utilizing assessments in your placement process, looking to re-sell assessments or you just want to keep abreast of the on-going developments surrounding our industry – it is paramount that you attend this session!

 

The presentation

• Learn the types of Assessments on the market today
• Understand Validation and what it means
• Be Aware of the 4/5th rule and how it applies.

 

The takeaways

• An in-depth easy to follow introduction into the complex world of personality
• A look into the BIG 10, BIG 5 personality index measurements
• An overview of different Assessment and their features
• A realistic view of what it will take to implement assessments in your company

 

Workforce Performance Management - A Must For Progressive Companies!

Workforce Performance Management, how does a company maximize their return on their people investments?  If you read my blog you know my first rule of thumb is to hire people who can naturally produce the results you expect with minimal coaching. Trying to fix a performance problem with a person who is not engaged, under-qualified, or whom lacks the inspiration and motivation to do the work is an utter waste of time and gives managers an ulcer just thinking about it. If you want a high performing team, I recommend follow these guidelines.

1. Define Your Role by Expected Outcomes

2. Hire people who are RIGHT for the job, the company and who want to produce the results

3. Clarify Expectations early and often -during the recruitment process, in the on-boarding process and quarterly. Integrate individual performance with company performance so people can see and feel how what they do or do not do impacts the organization.

4. Have the Employee Measure, Track and Report results to the Manager (take the monkey off the Managers back- Ken Blanchard, One Minute Manger)

5. Create Awareness and Consciousness in the employee's mind

6. Communicate and Give Feedback-Recognize Positive Behaviors, Steps, Milestones, Effort and Execution towards Outcomes

7. Correct the Opposite and Remember to Separate the 'Person's Identity' from their Performance

Often, Workforce Performance Management conversations are dreaded by Managers, after interviewing and coaching several hundred people who hold the responsibility of managing others I have discovered that the issue is lack of training in this area. Utilizing a comprehensive software that tracks performance, teaches the Mangers to have empowering conversations and coaches the employee on how to accept responsibility for their performance without making it mean they are broken or wrong makes a world of difference.

Dr. Stephanie Marberry teaches Industrial organizational psychology at Argosy University and Workforce Performance Management is a major component of her curriculum. In 2009 Stephanie conducted an all industry software evaluation of performance management providers, the results were incredible, educational and inspiring. The good news is there are several programs to choose from, the bad news is it takes TIME, KNOWLEDGE and RESOURCES.

If you would like to ask Stephanie questions about her research LinkIn to her, email her or give her a call @ 312-618-3252.

Retention: Will Your Key Contributors Be There When You Really Need them?

Even though Human Resource Executive’s Magazine is geared towards HR Management professionals, the January 2010 issue is excellent reading for any leader concerned with Talent Management.  The cover story is about the necessity of Re-Engaging of Mission Critical, Key contributor and next level leadership talent. The most pressing post recession issues for leaders will be to provide highly engaged worker with the ability to execute new business strategies.

HRE reports that as the nation heads for an economic recovery, HR leaders at some of America’s largest companies will have to focus their attention on securing and keeping the talent capable of executing new post recession business strategies and metrics. 

Isn’t that what we have been saying all along?

KeenHire Talent Strategy 3.0 program not only delves into the changing demographics effecting the US workforce and the companies employing it, we also dig deep into the continual stream of issues surrounding and effecting employee engagement, organizational design, recruitment, and talent retention.  The course is quite content heavy however because of the group interaction the journey is barrel of fun!

The Washington based Executive Board reports that the number of disengaged workers has doubled during the recession of 2009 and 2010; even more disturbing many high potentials, workers who very possibly hold the key to a companies ability to press through the rebound are waiting with baited breath for a headhunters call. When the call comes, these highly valuable contributors will not only take it, they will leap at the chance to escape the last few years of misery.  Actually another report by the same organization indicates that nearly ¼ of all high potentials are already looking for a new job and beyond that one in ten of the broader workforce is actively on the hunt for a new job.

In Peter Drucker's 5 New realities and 8 Business Strategies he speaks about Business Leaders being willing to see the truth even when it hurts. To ensure you are not running in front of the truck and scrambling for Talent Management and Recruitment solutions, the time for planning how your firm will handle these changing workforce realities is now.

From The Trenches-Strategic Positioning For Recruitment and Staffing Firms

KeenHire's Keen Recruiting Institute began it's 1st 2010 training session on Friday, January 22. It is an exciting course for me to lead as I have 3 member companies who have already taken Keen's Talent Strategy 3.0 / NAPS CERS course in attendance and 3 brand new Keen customers, 2 whom are Key contributors of dear friends of mine who own extremely successful staffing operations in California.

The students were challenged with coming up with their Unique Selling Proposition, reading Attracting Perfect customers and tying their 2010 personal goals with their business and sales goals.                                                                                                                                                  

Some highlights of the 1st weeks course are:

1. The Customer getting what they want, when they want it - Is critical. Actually, it's all that REALLY matters.

2. The look and feel of the competition in Staffing & Recruitment is very different today than it was 24 months ago. Your current and future customers do not need more of the same, they need full scope solutions that effect retention, engagement and profitability.

3. If we are not being more efficient and more effective in our Recruiting process and exceeding our customers needs, someone else will!

4. It is not about us-- Find out what is important to them.

5. What are their challenges and frustrations as it relates to their people - what keeps them up at night?

6. Sell to Decision Makers or don't bother selling at all. Companies do not need to pay your rates to have you submit a resume to a VMS or a MSP. Your success will be temporary, at best with that approach.

7. Know what makes you better and different and if you sound just like everyone else, get to work on figuring out WHY a company should work with you instead of everyone else.

8. It is about them, what they need - not about what you want to sell them. For some of your that statement alone will be worth taking the time to read this.

9. They have big problems to solve, like global competition and we need to be more than an ista fix.

10. Follow a process for defining your ideal customer, targeting & prospecting to them, qualifying their pain, budget and possible gain, engaging in their purpose, creating a win/win solution, a process for closing as well as a process for quality service delivery.

11. Do the work or none of what you learn matters

Next Week we will be delving into

Defining Your Market Niche and Prospecting 101