Thriving in Today's Workplace

Kirsten Olson wrote an article last year titled New Learners for the New Economy. She tells college students and those who recently graduated, what habits and attitudes are crucial for thriving in the workplace.

Kirsten's essay is so relevant, that not only does it pertain to students, it pertains to business owners, managers and coworkers. And, if you substitute a few nouns, it pertains to Australian aborigines. Really. It's that relevant.

Kirsten asks her readers, "What learning attributes do employers seek in the flatter, fragmented, and constantly changing workplace?"

Most of us employers are so busy trying to run our businesses, we don't give much thought to what sort of learning attributes we should be seeking in prospective coworkers. Fortunately for us Kirsten did. She calls them habitudes (habits plus attitudes). Check them out:

New learners for the new economy...

1. Are highly adaptive.
2. Ask great questions.
3. Are curious about everything.
4. Have a broad knowledge base that they are always expanding.
5. Are good at seeing patterns.
6. Are team players who share what they know willingly and generously.
7. Are a glass-half-full resource managers.
8. Understand that every contact matters.
9. Know that hierarchy doesn't matter.
10. Are choiceful about how they socialize.
11. Own mistakes and are error alchemists.
12. See learning as a pleasure.

Kirsten expands on these habitudes in her article.
Kirsten Olson bio.
Wounded by School, Kirsten's book.

Wounded by School is an eye-opening journey into the world of the American school system today. A system that is inept in producing the attributes critical for today's business community and one that was around when Abraham Lincoln presided over our country. The book also offers ways to combat the wounds inflicted by school.

Paycheck Pump Up

I get a lot of great ideas from Juan Cardona, owner of JC Heating & Cooling in Cross Lanes, West Virginia. He's one of those guys who spills ideas without consciously realizing it. I got another today.

"I really liked this," Juan wrote in Facebook about the Mabel & The Wal-Mart Greeter story. "Every employee is getting a copy of it in this week's payroll check."

I often talk about seeking out large area employers for the purpose of getting a discount card or promotion stuffed in employee paychecks. After all, that's one envelope people are guaranteed to open.

It never occurred to me that a contractor could use the same approach to communicate with his (or her) own employees. Take a cue from Juan. Stuff a motivational message in every paycheck at least once a month. While you could do it every week, infrequency probably increases readership.

And for a lots of information to choose from, keep reading Comanche Marketing!

HVAC, Plumbing, & Electrical Salary Data by Zip

MyOpenJobs is providing salary data based on the last 12 months of hiring by zip code, radius, experience level, and type of job. According to the website...

The MyOpenJobs network of sites gather salary data from over 100,000 job seekers each year in the HVAC, Plumbing and Electrical Industries. The survey results include Residential, Commercial, Industrial, Building Facilities & Maintenance, Wholesale Supply and Engineering sectors.

Check it out.

Las Vegas Roundtable - October 25-27

Service Roundtable members asked for a fall Roundtable. They asked for Las Vegas. We listened.

Hosted at the fabulous Rio All Suites Hotel & Casino, the Las Vegas Roundtable is a wholly new program with an equal focus on HVAC and Plumbing. This power packed two day meeting features some of the most demanded speakers in the industry, plus highly interactive Roundtable breakouts.

Nowhere else in the industry will you get Mark Matteson, Robert C. Viering, Charlie Greer, Ron Smith, and me together for a two day event. You do not want to miss this.

Learn More About The Las Vegas Roundtable

Keep Your Team Inspired

Originally Posted 2.23.09

Renie Cavallari, CEO and Chief Inspiration Officer for Aspire, offers up a series of ways hotels can keep the staff motivated. Many of these will work for your company.

Read More

Resumes That Rock

Originally Posted 2.11.09

Are you looking for work? If so, I’ve got a few suggestions. Let’s start with your resume. Most resumes stink. The worst are horrible. The best are boring.

As a hiring authority looking at your resume, it's got to jump. It’s got to stand out. It’s got to make me want to interview you. Does it?

I haven’t put together a resume in nearly 10 years, yet I bet my old resume beats your new one. Don’t worry, with a little work yours will easily beat mine.

To start, take a look at my old resume.

The last time I was in the middle of a job search, I got several calls from people who weren’t in a position to hire me, but liked my resume so much they called to complement me. One was the president of a manufacturing company who has a reputation for rarely complementing anyone on anything.


Graphic

The first thing people comment on is the graphic. Few people include any type of visual support on a resume despite the fact we’re visual people. Come on! We’ve got computers today. We aren’t limited by our IBM Selectrics.

If you want, select a graphic that reinforces the benefits of hiring you. I selected the upward moving sales chart because that’s been my track record.

The selection of a graphic should be done carefully. Most of the resumes I’ve seen that include a graphic, include a goofy one. That works against you, not for you.

Show a version with a graphic and one without a graphic to family and friends. Ask which gets their attention and which attracts them. If in doubt, leave it off.


Testimonials

Testimonials are powerful. They are third party endorsements. Including them in your resume along the left hand column will make you stand out.

When you look at my resume, the most compelling reasons to call me for an interview were given by the people providing testimonials.


Soliciting Testimonials

The best part about the testimonials is that the process of soliciting them results in great networking. The last time I conducted a job search, I never even completed collecting my testimonials. When I asked Jerry Thomas at Decision Analyst for a testimonial, he offered me a job.

Here are the steps:

1. Make a list of everyone who has worked with you and who might say something nice about you. This list includes former bosses, co-workers, subordinates, vendors, customers, and teachers.

2. Call each. Tell each person that you are in the midst of a job search and would like to send him a copy of your resume and some other material. Tell him the type of position you are seeking. Remind him about your shared experience. Ask if he wouldn’t mind writing a sentence or two about you and suggest some places you might look for work. Always give people an out. Say, “It’s okay to say no.” Few will.

3. Prepare a testimonial form. The testimonial form opens with a paragraph like the following…

“Because people respect your opinion, I wonder if you might not offer a few words about me that I can share with potential employers. I might have to edit your comments for space reasons, but I promise not to change the words or meaning.”

Leave three or four lines for a response. Below the lines include a check box followed by the statement, “You have my permission to use me as a reference.”

4. Prepare a referral form. State, “Knowing me, knowing what kind of job I’m seeking, and how I perform, I wonder if you might know anyone interested in hiring someone like me. Would you mind listing a couple of possibilities below?”

Below the paragraph, include lines for two individuals’ names, positions, companies, addresses, phone numbers, faxes, and email addresses. Then, include a check box by each under the heading, “You have permission to use my name to contact this person.”

The next paragraph is for broader searching. “Please list anyone you know who may not be interested in hiring me, but who might know someone who would be interested.”

Collect the same information, but for five individuals, not two.

5. Send a cover letter, your resume, testimonial form, and referral form to everyone you called. When you do this, networking magic happens. People will open all kinds of doors for you.

You also learn who makes a good referral and who not to mention. If someone refuses permission or will not write a testimonial, don’t list him as a referral.

When Dave Laurenz hired me at Titus, he commented, “You select your references well.”

He was right. I did. So should you.


Philosophy Resume

When I first tried the testimonial resume, I didn’t have any testimonials. While I was collecting them, I needed something for the big empty column to balance the resume visually. I wrote out my business philosophy. I called it, “What I believe…”

It gave me a unique resume to send to people while I was waiting for the testimonials to arrive.


Versions

I would prepare several different versions of my resume depending on what type of job I was seeking or industry I would operate in. The changes were slight differences in what part of my career I emphasized and in the testimonials selected. As a result, my resumes always appeared to be better matches to the companies I would target than generic resumes.


Details

Note that my resume stresses facts and figures. I give a very short description of duties and responsibilities, but quickly shift to accomplishments. It wasn’t everything I did with each company, but it was enough to show I got results. Moreover, the facts and figures made the performance believable.


Action Words

Note how the bullet points stress action words…

-Increased
-Outpaced
-Consistently maintained
-Developed
-Produced
-Designed
-Improved
-Created
-Expanded
-Generated
-Exceeded
-Ranked
-Launched
-Awarded
-Managed
-Directed

Action words convey energy and accomplishment.


Length

The conventional wisdom says resumes should be one page in length and never longer than two pages. Horse hockey!

My last resume ran on for three pages. For a nearly 20 year career at the time I wrote it, I felt three pages were justified. Today, I would probably use four pages. Earlier in my career I used two. Starting out, I used one page.

Long copy sells. If you’ve got interesting and relevant information that a hiring authority might like to know, include it.

If you use bullets and headings, length isn’t as important. People in a hurry can quickly scan it.


Command of the Written Word

I continually find it amazing how many people send out resumes with misspelled words, incoherent sentence structure, poor grammar, missing punctuation, and generally sloppy presentation. Your resume is the first tangible clue about your ability I will see. If it’s poorly done, it will be the last one I will see.


The Right Job Waits

Someone out there has the ideal job for you. The manager may not have even started the search. Personnel may not know about it, so don’t send your resume to personnel. Target hiring authorities.

Hiring is a pain in the butt. Except for a few search consultants, I don’t know anyone who enjoys the hiring process from the company’s side. If your resume hits the right desk at the right time, you can eliminate the need for the manager to suffer through the process.

As a grunt engineer at the Turbo Refrigerating Company, I used a trade magazine’s directory to send my resume to the vice presidents of manufacturing of companies within a 30 mile radius. If no one was listed, I simply mailed to the company president or general manager.

I mailed a resume to John Norris, the CEO of Lennox. To get it off his desk, John penciled “To Dennis Blanchard” on the corner.

Dennis was the newly hired vice president of manufacturing. As it happened, he was getting ready to start a search for an Advanced Manufacturing Technology Engineer to oversee and promote factory automation efforts at Lennox’ factories. My resume arrived on his desk, sent down by the CEO. Dennis assumed John wanted him to interview me for the position.

Dennis instructs Dave Napoli, who would be my boss, to call me in for an interview. In a follow up phone call Dennis tosses out an objection. He says, “My problem is this position calls for someone with 10 years of experience.”

I had two. I never would have been considered if my resume hadn’t drifted down from the CEO’s desk.

Being brash and cocky, I told Dennis, “You’re going to have a tough time finding someone with 10 years in robotics and computer-aided manufacturing. The technology’s not that old. Look, my experience is a perfect match for the job, plus I’m only two years out of one of the top robotics and computer-aided manufacturing programs in the country. Would you rather have someone with my experience or someone with one year of experience repeated 10 times?”

To my surprise, Lennox hired me. My salary at Turbo was so far under the minimum pay for the job that the offer was nearly 50% more than I was making and I needed two 10% raises over the next six months to get my income in line with the bottom of the job classification.

By sending my resume direct to a hiring authority, I slipped around the human resources department and was considered without competition before the job was advertised. Once the job was advertised, HR would have automatically flushed me as too inexperienced. If I somehow got past HR, I doubt my two years would have stood out against a crowded field.

Was I lucky? Sure. But I found my luck. It didn’t find you. If you’re in the midst of a job search, you can find your luck as well.

© 2009 Matt Michel

Free Marketing Ideas - Part IV

Originally Published 2.11.09

9. Load Up On Testimonials.

Testimonials are powerful. Expert testimonials are even stronger. They reassure uncertain consumers who lack the technical ability to judge the quality of your work.

For most companies the problem isn’t getting testimonials, it’s *capturing* them. After a service call, a grateful homeowner complements your plumber or technician. There’s the testimonial. Too bad it’s lost.

At a home show, your customer stops by your booth and tells you how wonderful your company is. It’s great to hear, but unless you capture it, it’s lost.

Now, a new product from Dan and Dave Squires makes it easy to capture testimonials. The product is called Voice Q. Essentially, Voice Q is a telephone comment line that digitizes the comments and instantly emails you a wav file with the customer’s message.

Ironically, the Squires brothers developed Voice Q as a means of improving field efficiency, not increasing testimonials. Dan saw it as a way to eliminate wait time when technicians call in to debrief after a service call. The techs didn’t like waiting on hold while the call taker or dispatcher was on another line. The call takers didn’t like having to drop everything to debrief a technician.

Each tech has a separate line, which is identified by the tech’s phone number and the date and time stamp. Separate lines cost a little more, but search and sort makes it worth the cost. An additional line is available for parts orders.

Voice Q helps improve field efficiency. The office staff will love it. Yet, it works even better as a testimonial catcher.

With Voice Q, the technician can ask the homeowner who gives the complement to call the message line and repeat the message. In fact, he can whip out his mobile phone, dial the message line and ask the homeowner to repeat the message on the spot. In all likelihood the message will be even better if the technician is standing there while the homeowner gushes.

The catch, of course, is the field service personnel. They must be given an incentive to collect the testimonials. Plus, the need to collect them should be reinforced every week until it becomes a habit.

Dave used Voice Q recently to capture testimonials during a trade show from his contractor customers. Click here to hear how clear these sound, despite being recorded in a busy show with background noise.

Get expert testimonials by asking your peers in other towns to provide expert testimony about your quality and craftsmanship.

Take the customer and peer testimonials and transcribe them or place them on your website for people to click and listen. Even better, incorporate them into your on hold message so that prospects hear your customers rave about you (if they must be placed on hold).

Voice Q isn’t free, but it is affordable. It only costs $3/month for a line ($5 for separate debrief and parts lines). Check it out at http://voice-q.com/.

Help me test it by calling the new Service Roundtable and Comanche Marketing comment line at 810.320.3118. Leave me a message about the Service Roundtable, Comanche Marketing, your best clean joke, whatever.

You don’t need Voice Q to collect testimonials. It just makes things easier. When you learn from your field service people that a customer paid a complement, you can call or email the customer and ask if he or she wouldn’t mind repeating it in an email you can quote.

At a home show, you can hand the complementary customer a business card and ask the customer to send you a quick email with the same message. Some will and you lose nothing by trying.

Expert testimonials are easier. Simply email your peers in different markets. Start by offering each peer a testimonial of your own. Be sure to tell everyone you contact that it’s okay to say no.


10. Give Creative Titles

Let’s say you are starting a new career. You just got your first job. You can’t wait to tell your mother.

“Hey Mom, I just got a job!”

“Why that’s wonderful. I can’t wait to tell the ladies in the bridge club. What’s you title? I know it will take a few weeks before you’re named vice president, but I’m sure you’re important.”

You puff up your chest, stick out your chin, and proudly proclaim, “I’m a ‘Helper.’”

What a proud day for your mother!

Titles are cheap. At different points in your life, they matter to people or to customers. Let people have creative titles if it will help them feel better about themselves or better represent themselves.

Instead of “Helper,” call the kid an “Assistant Installation Technician.” Give him a title he can brag about with mom and more important, with his girlfriend. And give him a business card. Give him a real business card with his name and title, not a blank line for the kid to write his name in.

At Turbo, I had an intern working with me during the summer. I ordered business cards for him and gave him the title of “Student Engineer.” There was no obvious reason for him to have business cards. He didn’t meet with customers and was unlikely to run into any. His main use of the business cards was to hand them to girls in bars.

You probably think giving him business cards was a waste. Maybe it was. Yet, the business cards were cheap and the title was free. A couple of years after he graduated, he returned to Turbo as a full-fledged mechanical engineer. Did the good feelings and identification he felt with the company while a “Student Engineer” have anything to do with the return? Absolutely. And the cards and title reinforced both.

When I worked at Decision Analyst I used to joke, “What do you call a salesperson at Decision Analyst?” “Vice President.”

In truth it wasn’t a joke, it was a business strategy. While I did my share of true research, business analysis, and consulting at Decision Analyst, I was fundamentally a high level salesperson. Before I could perform an engagement, I had to win one. I had to sell. Since I called on corporate CEOs and Vice Presidents, I had an easier time when I was a Vice President.

Taking it the other direction, the late Tom McCart gave himself the title of “Assistant Buyer” when he was selling for Ron Smith at Modern Air. It was an ice breaker. Tom would hand prospects a card at the start of a sales call. When a confused prospect commented on the title Tom would answer, “Well, I’m here to help you buy the best comfort system for your home.”

Do you have an employee who wants a more prestigious title? What about a more creative one? Will a title help your employee feel better about his job? Will it help him sell more? Don’t be stingy with the free stuff. Make your better salespeople vice presidents if that will help them sell more.


11. Have Employees Park Their Trucks At The End Of Their Driveways, Perpendicular To Traffic

This runs counter to conventional wisdom. Park your vehicle in the driveway of the customer’s home so the billboard is perpendicular to traffic and to every other home up and down the street.

Do you see any billboards placed parallel to the highway? Of course not. They are all perpendicular. If you decaled the truck for the advertising impact, turn it perpendicular to traffic, not parallel.

I hear the gasping now. You say the homeowner will be mad. Okay. Get permission.

“Mrs. Homeowner, I parked on your driveway to get the truck out of the way of traffic. I don’t want it obstructing a driver’s view if a kid is riding her bike down the street. Is it okay where it is, or should I move it to the street.

The homeowner will either say it’s okay where it is, giving you permission, or say she prefers it in the street, which means you move it. What’s the problem?

But what about oil leaks, you say. Personally, I’m not happy about oil leaks in front of my house. Once, a couple of plumbers showed up at my house driving the Exxon Valdez installation truck. It was big as a supertanker and left an oil slick everywhere it went. The only reason I didn’t complain after they left and I saw the oil slick was fear that they might return.

If you vehicle leaks oil, there’s a simple solution. GET IT FIXED! Even if you’re too afraid to try parking on the customer’s driveway and asking permission, GET THE OIL LEAK FIXED!

Service trucks are the primary advertising medium for most contractors. Park so more people can see them.


12. Hit The Service Club Rubber Chicken Circuit

Local service clubs (i.e., Rotary, Lion’s, Kiwanis, and Optimists) feature weekly speakers. These clubs are always on the lookout for speakers who can address relevant issues affecting the community and club members. That’s you.

When you speak to a service club, you speak to a room full of community leaders. These are connected people whom others turn to for advice and recommendations. If there’s any group you want to influence, it’s a group of influencers. If there’s any group you want to connect with, it’s a group of connected people.

Search the Internet to find the clubs in your area and contact the club president. Tell the president that you’re trying to spread the word in the community about electrical fires, refrigerant phase outs, ways to save water, practical solar technologies, and so on. Describe the topic and offer to speak on it when the club has an opening.

You will get approximately 15 minutes. Don’t use all of it. Be sure to leave time for questions and answers.

While this is an informational talk and not a sales pitch, it’s inherently promotional. When more people learn about your business, more business opportunities will come your way.

© 2009 Matt Michel

Hire the Yellow Pages Rep

Originally Published 11.4.2008

A whopping 60% of restaurant owners have cut their yellow pages spending over the past two years. Two thirds of the downsizers reported that, “Yellow page reps applied more sales pressure than usual and sometimes even threatening scare tactics.” While really bad yellow pages reps are probably the unpleasant exception, all YP reps are struggling. Think about it… Highly motivated, commissioned, well-trained, professional salespeople in a dying industry. Hire one! Compared to YP sales, you offer unlimited opportunity. Read more.

Marketing For Employees

I saw a great recruiting sign on the back of a cab in Houston yesterday. The headline proclaimed, "Looking for an office with a view?" The remaining verbiage was about the joy of cab driving, with a number to call. The sign made driving a cab sound more like a vacation than a job.

Dominick Guarino from the National Comfort Institute stopped by the Service Roundtable World Headquarters today. I mentioned it to him. He said he's been advocating technician recruiting ads that describe the requirements, emphasize the duties, build up the training, and stress the benefits without mentioning the industry.

Mike Hajduk from Callahan Roach Business Solutions also dropped by. He mentioned that John Garofalo (at least, I think it was John) used to take his car to a different lube shop whenever he needed an oil change. He would look around and see who was really hustling and seemed to have a great attitude. He would ask these guys if they would like more freedom and better pay.

Well, duh. Who wouldn't?

With the door open, John gave the guy a business card and suggested he give him a call.

With a shortage of labor, marketing should not be limited to recruiting customers. Use to recruit employees!