Blog: Mike Faber

The first snow of the season (or was it the last snow of last season?) arrived on the final day of summer. Funny how nature ignores our calendar and does what it damn well pleases, whenever it wants. Planning by the calendar can be a benefit or a pitfall in sales. When your "month" ends, do you heave a sigh of relief or take a day or two off? The pitfall of course is that when a new month begins, a salesperson is right back at "zero" and wondering where the next customer will come from.

Here's an invitation to ignore the calendar. The cycles of your business ebb and flow, but only if you allow the days and weeks to structure what you do. Here are three tips for getting ahead of the game, and the calendar, so that you take control of your time.

1. Don't wait for artificial deadlines to hit. Schedule projects and tasks in bite-size pieces that occur regularly; that helps you avoid a panicked "cram" session at the last minute.

2. Partner with an accountability buddy. This doesn't necessarily have to be someone you work with, just someone you'd feel really lousy saying "I didn't get this done" to. Decide on timeframes that give you flexibility, not timeframes that box you in. That makes for more time for the things you truly enjoy, personally and professionally.

3. Write out the specific results you want to acheive and the reasons why those results are so important to you. Do this before you think about the tasks that are required to fulfill your results. Getting specific about your results tends to reduce the angst associated with those results.

Our youngest, Chris, asked the other night if God really built the world in six days. My wife Terry's response was right on target. She said "He did, but God's days might not be twenty-four hours like our days are." If His calendar can be flexible, then yours can too.

Questions or comments? You can reach Mike Faber at info@mikefaber.com, or via www.mikefaber.com Mike speaks and coaches on the topics of leadership and business development.

Asking for referrals strikes most professionals as...unprofessional. It can feel like a plea of desperation, or somehow beneath us. You can "kick start" referral generation efforts in your office with a simple shift in perspective. Here's how:

1. Referrals are only about helping more people. Asking for a referral is how you extend the reach of your expertise and wisdom. The world would be a better place if more people availed themselves of that expertise and wisdom.

2. Only ask for referrals from people you enjoy working with. These should be the clients who brighten your day when they enter your office, or call you on the phone.

3. Send a hand-written thank-you note for every referral. There are several services out there that will create computer generated "faux" hand-written notes. From a volume standpoint, those services can be valuable; say when you're sending holiday cards. Referrals come from individuals though, not en masse, and so your response should be individual.

4. Preface your referral request with a sincere compliment. That might sound like "Jerry, I value your trust in me, and I don't say it enough but I really appreciate your business. Given that my practice depends on referrals, may I ask you to think of two or three names of folks who you trust, who might benefit from hearing from me?"

5. Make an appointment to ask for referrals. Scheduling this simple task in your calendar keeps it top of mind throughout the day. Develop relationships with like-minded business-people in other walks of life; ask them how they generate referrals from existing clients.

Asking for a referral should be a pleasure. It's a compliment to the client, because you are letting them know that they are your "model" working relationship. One note: referrals are not a quid pro quo. If you're asking for referrals and the response is "I'll give you one if you give me one", then you're asking the wrong person!

OMG, I jst hv 2 say t techlgy 2-day s s advd tht n-e id-yt cn use it, lol, 4 sure!

Allright, now that THAT is off my chest! Ever wonder how we all became so technologically saavy, and yet when it comes to connecting, person to person, we seem to miss the mark so often? Un-answered email messages, voice-mail auto deletions, "TME" (Total Mailbox Erasures) and more. It's so funny, how we don't talk anymore!

When you're out looking for a job, it's doubly important to ensure that you are heard, and that you set a respectful and responsive tone with your communication. There are three things you can do today, right now, to make your communication come through crystal clear in an age where more bells and whistles make it harder to hear.

1. If you can't return phone messages within one business day, set a clear expectation on your voice mail response, exactly when someone should expect to hear back from you. It's okay to say "You've reached Joe, and once I hear your message I'll be back to you within two business days!" Setting a realistic expectation sends the message that you care enough to make a commitment. This from a guy who fled from commitment 'til his mid-30's.

2. Respond to emails. I make it a personal practice to respond to every email I receive that's been sent by a human. Therefore, the email from my mother asking whether a drum set is an appropriate gift for my seven year-old son (Sorry Mom) gets answered. The "spam" email from ABC Mortgage Company urging me to call them for great rates, gets deleted faster than the Detroit Lions playoff chances this past season.

3. Texting makes great sense for short-hand communication. Lunch plans? Sure, let's confirm via text. Have a problem with my BLOG? My diction? My sartorial choice for the day? Please call or email me with the issue. Anytime a communication calls for discussion, rather than the straight-forward relay of facts, it makes sense to put the cell-phone keyboard away and talk to the other party.

Rome, it is said, wasn't built in a day. Changing the habits of all communicators takes each of us doing our small part to make (keep!) the world a respectful place to reach out and touch someone. Have a comment on this blog? Please let me know what you think. Leave your thoughts on this Web site, email or phone me. Carrier pigeon or smoke signals, hey, I'm game!

I'm typing away while listening to my two sons, ages 8 and 7, do everything except get in the bath-tub, which is where I'd like them to be. Alternately, they're wrestling, organizing stuffed animals, and arguing about who is supposed to be "first" in the tub. If cleanliness truly is next to Godliness, these two are in big trouble long-term.

Their behavior is typical of course. Not just for their age group, but for any age group. We all find diversions to keep us from what we should be focused on. Perhaps you should be preparing for a business interview, but instead you're polishing the nice silverware. Maybe you're avoiding making that difficult phone call to a "friend of a friend" about a job lead, but you've suddenly discovered an obsessive interest in finding your fifth-grade boyfriend on-line.

Sound familiar? The first step in banishing avoidance behavior from your repertoire is to recognize it when it's happening. Then change your attitude toward the task by changing your physical state. Walk away from the computer, put down your grandmother's silverware. Take a quick walk, jump up and down, go into the restroom and make silly faces at yourself in the mirror. Ponder for a moment how you'll feel once the distasteful task is completed. Happy? Relieved? Proud? With your "new" attitude, attack the task you've been avoiding with gusto.

We avoid tasks or circumstances because we imagine how awful the act will be. Yet, rarely is what we fear as bad as we imagine it to be. What makes this especially trying during a job search is that more often than not, we pursue a new position alone. Sitting at a computer, or hunched over a legal pad in the local coffee shop, it's easy to imagine that you're the only one going through this marathon process.

I am afraid of heights. Perhaps you are too. And yet, in June of 2008, I found myself standing 55 feet in the air, perched atop a telephone pole no larger across than your dinner plate. Trying to make that ascent alone, I wouldn't have gotten off the ground. With 35 friends encouraging me on, and a safety harness wrapped snugly around my mid-section, I conquered my quaking knees and made it triumphantly to the top! I was prepared to avoid, and yet with encouragement and accountability to a group, I found the strength to banish my fear.

When you find yourself practicing avoidance behavior in your job search, reach out for a friend or confidant to bolster your confidence. We all have a safety net, sometimes you have to purposefully create the net when you need it most. Try this out, and let me know how it works by leaving a comment or recommendation to this Blog. Thanks! I'm off to check on two clean kids.

A new business owner asked me the other day, "What advice would you give an entrepreneur who is just starting out?" In today's economy, it's easy to counsel "Run and hide!" but that's an answer that's neither helpful nor accurate. In fact, this may be the best time to embark on a new career, simply because you get to prove yourself in the toughest job market many of us have seen in our lifetime. Here is how I answered her question.

You entered into your new career because your passion led you there. First and foremost, that passion is what people should know about you. Tell your prospects and customers how you decided to embark on your new venture. What makes it more than just a job? Know and live the reasons why you're the best provider of your particular service and product in the marketplace!

Had my questioner been a job-seeker, she might have asked "What advice would give someone who is looking for work?" Here is how I would answer that question.

Your passion for work and people is what leads you to seek one particular job. All of us want more than a paycheck. Don't get me wrong, a paycheck is of great importance! First and foremost, that passion is what people should know about you. Tell your interviewers how you decided to work in the field you're applying for. What makes it more than just a job? Know and live the reasons why you're the best hire they can make in the marketplace!

Notice the similarities in the answers? Job-seeking is a lot like starting a new entrepreneurial venture. Own your job search, rather than letting your job search happen. Here are five tips to help you take control of your professional destiny.

 

When someone says "I'll follow-up with you", take the initiative and follow-up with them.

Set goals to achieve each day. You might choose to send X number of resumes out, or make X number of phone calls to contacts. As the Nike ad-people say, "Just do it!"

Network your tail off! Be alert wherever you go. I talk to people in the gym, especially if they're wearing a logo or carrying a tote bag from a company I've targeted for my speeches, books and workshops.

Stay positive. If you're having a bad day, create a ritual to snap out of it. My friends at Jobing.com tell me you can count on one month of search for every $10,000 of income you're looking for. That means a long haul for most of us; recognize that, and honor the fact that your new employer wants the very best. That's why they'll hire you!

Ask for help. Get the professional guidance you need. A career coach helped me at crucial moments in my own search for employment after a previous employer said "Bye-bye!"

Recently, a man came up to me after a presentation and asked "What makes you an expert? Just because you wrote two books doesn't give you the right to preach about it!" After thanking him for his feedback, and silently wishing for a wall to magically appear between us, I answered as tactfully and simply as I could.

"I'm an expert because I've lived it."

Every experience makes us richer and more mature. Employers are looking for people with depth, wisdom and passion for their work. Be that person, and own not only your job hunt, but your success.