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How to Email Decision Makers

By: Harry Joiner, Management Recruiter
Ph. (678) 795-0900

Have you ever had a voice mail ignored?  Has your snail mail ever been trashed?  Have you ever been told by a receptionist that "we don't give out email addresses?"  In B2B selling situations (and in management recruiting), it has never been more difficult to get past the screeners of the real C-level decision makers.

If you want to send an email directly to your C-level prospect, candidate, or hiring manager, simply visit Whois Search and enter the URL of the firm you wish to solicit.  After entering a special onscreen code, note the format of the email address of the firm's Webmaster.  Try sending an email to your contact using that format.  See example.  This trick is especially effective for Hoover's users, who can lookup the names of the firm's officers and copy multiple recipients in on the same email.

And if you really want to increase your response rate, simply call your recipient and say, "Hi, ____. This is Harry Joiner and I was just following up on an email that I sent you this morning.  Do you have a minute to talk? ….etc…."  Studies have shown that telemarketing behind a direct mail or email promotion will increase your response rate by five-to-ten times.

Fan Picks Top Five Posts from "Marketing Headhunter.com"

This is Steven Kempton of the Asia Pacific Headhunter.  With the Recruiting Blogswap I have the honor of writing for Harry on his blog.  This is really a treat for me because Marketing Headhunter is a one of my favorite blogs.

Blogs are an interesting phenomena where it is easy to get sucked into the noise and get very little of real value.  But as Harry writes here, one of the best ideas for a blog is to "treat it like a Cookie Jar. Give the reader something tasty and nutritious.  Tell them something that they didn't already know. Or give them a new way to apply something that they already know."

Harry follows his own advice and has built a blog with some outstanding resources and information for readers involved in marketing, job hunting, and business in general.  Here are my choices for top 5 most nutritious posts from Marketing Headhunter. It took me some time to narrow this list down.

1. "Before You Apply for Your Next Job..." - Just GREAT career advice for all of us.

2. "What's a Good Marketing MBA Dissertation Topic?" - I hadn't fully appreciated the value and empowerment of good copywriting until I read this.  This is a great resource on becoming a better writer and marketer. There is enough value in this post alone to keep you busy for months!

3. Jay Abraham's "Stealth Marketing" - Free e-book from marketing guru plus a great story of how to get in touch with that CEO who will NEVER return your calls.

4. How to Recognize a Big Idea - Link to a free article which defines a core change in the workplace and business from the greatest business philosopher of our time.  PLUS, great marketing stories and advice.

5. Getting Paid What You're Worth - Spot on advice on how to get paid more as well as what you are worth.  Plus a link to a free article on how sports agents get big deals done for the stars!

If you haven't read through this blog before then I highly recommend those above.  But, this list isn't definitive and there are plenty of other gems there as well.

Marketing Your Open Jobs

By: Harry Joiner, Management Recruiter
Ph. (678) 795-0900

Tom Petersson of Cheap Trick is on the cover of Bass Player magazine this month.  This I know because I went to the Publix up the road today and saw the magazine on the newsstand.

Now, I'm not a bass player.  But I am a Cheap Trick fan.  Plus, I'm a drummer and I found it perplexing that Publix did not stock Modern Drummer.  Why, you ask?  Because circulation analytics for retail distribution is a science -- and I'm sure Publix stocked Bass Player based on the historical sales of that title at store # 12365 in Roswell, GA.  From this one can surmise that there are more bass players in my store radius than drummers.  I guess that makes me a hot commodity.

As I thumbed through the magazine, I wondered how I could reach the twenty or so bass players who would also thumb though those pages -- and the handful who would ultimately buy those five copies.  Who were they?  What kinds of music do they like?  Would they like to have a beer and possibly jam some time?  After all, we're local -- and we have in common an appreciation of Tom Petersson.

Then it hit me:  Why not come back to the store and insert post it notes into the pages?  "Roswell-based drummer seeks Tom Petersson sound-alike for jamming and possible gigging. Call (678) 795-0900."  Ethics aside, it's certainly targeted -- both psychographically and geographically. And that's what you want in your advertising.

Question:  Who's your target employee -- and what do they read?  Where do they hang out?  How can you reach them?  Put yourself in their shoes, and walk through an imaginary day with them.  Then go to those place and advertise your open position.  This is called Guerrilla Marketing -- and it's worth knowing how to do if you are a specialty retailer in need of hourly employees who belong to a certain niche or subculture.

Free Cash Flow Spreadsheets

By: Harry Joiner, Management Recruiter
Ph. (678) 795-0900

This is great.  I rarely blog about what's on someone else's blog -- but in this case it was hard to resist.  Peacock Capital specializes in solving the cash flow challenges of Small/Medium Businesses (and more), and their blog -- called "The Cash Flow Blog" -- is amazing.  Recent posts include

• Bank Fees - A Hornet's Nest of Traps
• What to Do If a Bill Collector Crosses the Line
• Up Your Cashflow by Next Week: 13 Ways to Have a SALE!
• Five Mindsets to Success
• 9 Ways to Increase Cash Flow For Small Business Growth

But as helpful as these posts are, be sure to check out their page of free Excel spreadsheet downloads. Having taken several advanced classes on corporate finance in business school, I can assure you that Peacock has done a lot of work for you here.  It's all excellent.  And it's all free.

Tell your CFO or Controller to check it out.  She'll be glad you did.

The World's Greatest Interview Question

By: Harry Joiner, Management Recruiter
Ph. (678) 795-0900

Did you know that an ostrich's eye is bigger than it's brain?  Yep.  And they probably have a better eye for management talent than many companies.

All management recruiters are in the business of trying to help companies get their arms around what Peter Drucker believed was the final frontier in competitive advantage: Attracting, hiring and growing great people.  So much has been written on the subject -- yet so many companies get it wrong, which is why it's still a reliable source of competitive advantage.

And it's not like I have all of the answers.  But I do read old-school management books by guys you may have never heard of.  Like Richard Sloma -- who wrote "No Nonsense Management" way back in 1977.  Mr. Sloma had a cult following among management students who enjoyed his clear, unvarnished way of handling issues.  In particular, Mr. Sloma had a knack for distilling complex issues down to one or two key points.

The World's Greatest Interview Question

For example, Mr. Sloma had ONE, single job interview question that he used for learning almost everything you need to know about an interviewee's managerial competence.  Are you ready?  Here it is ...

"What was the worst mistake you ever made;  and what was the worst damage you did to your employer's P&L and balance sheet?"

According to Mr. Sloma, you immediately learn four critical things about a candidate from his or her answer:

1. The magnitude of the mistake directly identifies the level that the candidate had in his employer's hierarchy.  Mr. Sloma always reasoned that candidates cannot make big mistakes at low levels [although I did once, but that's a story for another post].
2. The magnitude also demonstrates the extent to which leadership was exercised.
3. Since few people repeat a mistake once made, you learn the depth of experience gained by the interviewee.
4. Finally, the elaboration in the answer reveals character traits -- especially the extent to which the mistake was palmed off as someone else's fault.

All of this makes perfect sense.  Executives who get great results often lead great, big projects -- and the bigger the project, the bigger the risk.  And sooner or later, even the most successful executives are bound to taste failure.

It's like my dad used to tell me: "Sometimes you gotta go out on a limb because that's where the best fruit is."

How to Hire a Problem Solver

By: Harry Joiner, Management Recruiter
Ph. (678) 795-0900

As a management recruiter, I interview lots of people.  And though most candidates find a way to look good on paper, their resumes don't always reveal their problem-solving abilities.  Yet all of my management recruiting clients want to hire problem solvers — people who can walk into an operation and make the problems go away.

According to Scott Armstrong of The Wharton School, few MBA students — even at the top schools — know when and how to apply specific problem-solving techniques.  And all problems are contextual, which means they present difficulties relative to a given ideal solution.

A good hiring manager will start the requisition of a new employee by asking,

• "What business problems do I want this new hire to solve?
• What quantifiable improvements will this person deliver to specific areas of my business?
• Will this person be able to deliver these improvements in a way that meaningfully differentiates my business?"

The best resumes and cover letters demonstrate that the candidate has addressed similar problems before.  I recommend reading resumes in chronological order — from back to front — starting at the beginning of a career and ending with the most recent position.  Look for trends and patterns, and discount the style of the resume.

Ask yourself: "Is this job going to broaden the candidate?  How will this position add to where the candidate wants to go?"  Any candidate who interviews with you presumably will have researched your company and your industry, making it fair game for you to ask the candidate questions about the strengths and weaknesses of your company, as well as the opportunities and threats facing your business given its operating environment.

Finding problem solvers

How does one actually find a problem solver?  As a management recruiter, I make 75 to 100 calls every day, and my average daily connect time is almost four hours.  Having made thousands of cold calls in my life, I recommend finding problem solvers in the following way:

1.  Write down the primary area of responsibility for the new hire.  For example, if you're the CIO of a growth-oriented company that intends to expand primarily by solidifying customer relationships, you might want to hire someone with experience in CRM technology.

2.  Go to Yahoo Finance to peruse a list of target industries from which to recruit.  Click on any industry, and you'll see the Industry Center for that industry.  At the top left-hand side of the Industry Center page, you'll see "more on this industry."  Click on the company index for a list of target companies, complete with phone numbers, addresses, and a brief description for each.

3.  Call the candidate.  Often you'll need to leave a voicemail message.  That's fine.  Simply say "Hi, ______. My name is ______ and I'm with ______.  We're looking to hire an A-player for a high-growth position in our ______ area, and your name was given to me as someone we should be talking to.  It would be an outstanding career opportunity for you or someone you know.  Call me at (555) 555-1234.  Again, my name is ______ with ______, and I look forward to hearing from you soon."

When the candidate calls you, have a brief outline of the position, the compensation, the relocation-package details, the hiring process, and several selling points about why the candidate would want to tender a resume for your consideration.  If the candidate isn't interested in the position, always ask "Who's the best person you know at (name the key area of responsibility for which you'd like to hire)?"  Try to get referrals on every call.

A final suggestion:  For at least 30 days, add the following text to the signature file of all of your outgoing E-mails: "P.S.: "Who's the best person you know at (name the key area of responsibility for which you'd like to hire)?"  Most white-collar executives send between 15 and 30 outgoing E-mail messages each day.  You'll be amazed at the referrals you'll get.

Probing for problem solvers in interviews

After you've lined up several well-respected candidates to interview, it's time to ask them how they solve problems.  When someone solves a problem, it's important that they show they've followed a logical process.

Most business problems go unresolved because people don't clearly define the real problem. You can gauge the strength of a job applicant's problem-solving ability by walking him or her through the following seven-step framework while having the candidate describe how he or she solved a real-life problem in a previous job.  When discussing that scenario, the applicant should demonstrate the ability to:

Define the problem:  Have the candidate identify what went wrong by including both a cause and an effect in the definition of the problem he or she solved.

Define the objectives:  Have the candidate explain the outcome he or she wanted to achieve as a result of solving the problem.

Generate alternatives:  How many alternatives did the candidate generate?  Did the quality of the alternatives vary greatly?  Was there a significant difference in the hard — and soft — costs associated with each idea?  This is the area in which the candidate can demonstrate creativity and resourcefulness as a problem solver.

Develop an action plan:  Have the candidate recap a detailed action plan.  Most action plans for tough problems involve taking several steps over a period of time.  In his or her recap, does the candidate specify who did what?  And by what dates?  The devil is in the details, and detailed problem solvers are usually more effective than generalists.

Troubleshoot:  This is where the candidate can recap the worst-case scenarios.  What could have gone wrong in this plan?  What might have been the side effects?  How did the candidate ensure that this plan would work?  Were there unintended consequences?

Communicate:  Getting information to the right people is key in getting buy-in to make any change a success.  Have the candidate address which individuals or groups affected the success of his or her action plan.  Does the candidate explain who was impacted by it and who needed to be informed about it?  How did he or she communicate with relevant parties?

The most effective executives are those who can leverage their time and talents by getting things done through other people.  This is your opportunity to build your company's management bench.

Implement:  Have the candidate explain who carried out the plan and monitored its implementation.  Who was accountable for each part of the solution?  What were the consequences of failure to meet the plan?  Try to determine:  As a manager, will the candidate be hard on the issues and soft on the people?

Drilling down on how a candidate solved problems in the past will give you a good idea of how he or she will solve problems in the future.  Think in terms of the quality, consistency, and costs of these solutions.  During the interview, you must get the candidate to be specific about his or her problem-solving experience.  Minimize the chances of being duped by getting the candid to recap in vivid detail exactly what happened in a given situation.

Think like a little kid:  Ask "why" or "how" to everything the candidate says.  If you don't challenge the person during the interview process, you may pay a steep price later for your lack of persistence.

Copyright 2006, Harry Joiner, All Rights Reserved.  For reprint permission, please click here.