It doesn’t matter at this juncture why your leaving the Services or why your now going to be 24/7 at home (you know what I mean) what matters is making the “transition” to civilian social as smooth and as rewarding as possible. There is huge support for your career transition and you should fully exploit this but Service leavers must also be aware that there is another form of transition pending.

When your away and have those special private moments when on deployment thinking about your loved ones it must make the final journey back to civvy street even more exciting and perhaps even more nervous. No harm in either.

While as a writer of this article I have never served and will never fully understand the pressurised environments that our fantastic armed forces have endured away from family, I have in my career spent hundreds of flights, and I exaggerate not, many flights travelling country to country daily (within Europe) to conduct my (Sales) duty. Perhaps there are some similarities as I too missed my special ones.

Children: – you can’t stop them growing up when away. Photographs don’t change, they do. Partners experience new things and new environments and they will need to share this with you. You, however, may be tired and don’t want reminders of being away.

Finance: – You ask everything of your partner when away, electricity, gas, community charge, school fees and the list is endless. Your back and perhaps you are the “bread winner”. It is hard for both to come to terms. Are you really expecting your partner to suddenly stop doing what they do to make a safe and homely environment just because you are around 24/7?

Honey I’m home: – Remember when you never to your partner anything “real” about what happened to you as you need to protect them. Well, easily done on sporadic communication channels and seconds on deployment. Now, however, you are (and I make no apology for this) 24/7 with them. Your wish has now come true and you experience the kids changing and growing and slowly get involved in the finances and decisions and the new social. It may now become harder to “protect” your loving partner from their wish to know and to help.

Lastly, your partner is a military partner, not a military person. They will have social or civilian friends who likewise will know your coming back and two things will happen; they will be happy for your partner and they will be curious. During my conducting CTW I always try to raise that civilians whom you join in a new career will likely want to know about you in a different manner than simply “new colleague”. You know what I mean, so, this is also likely to be the case with your partners trusted friends. Remember, I deliberately used “trusted friends” so they care.

It will be hard but is anything worthwhile ever easy? You have the CTP, you have a resettlement consultant you have your original friends and existing colleagues, and, you have your partner who only has one objective: your well being. Civilians can actually be very hard to get to grips but you are the highest trained and most professional Services so together this is actually a winning formula for a smooth transition.

You won’t let your Partner iron your shirts for deep down you know they won’t get the creases right.

You ignore all communication from the Kids unless it ends with “Roger that” and not OK Dad/Mum.

Corned beef suddenly tastes horrid.

You use the the phonetic alphabet instead of the normal to highlight post codes and risk sounding like a call centre worker.
 
Time is always in the 24 hour format to you.

Sunday afternoon trips to the Family pub for lunch involves (unnecessary) GPS, scanning the landscape for threats and sending the Partner in first as a decoy.
 
You constantly window stare but to gauge the length of your own hair not the shops products.

You throw “shapes” on the dance floor with your mates that resemble Patrol Hand signals.

You eat out too much as boil in the bag food has become too difficult.

Kelly’s Hero’s DVD (re) takes pride of place on the mantle place over the family portrait.

Ross Kemp’s webbing isn’t on correctly and you find yourself shouting orders to him from your comfortable seat.

You start to use your own internal “target acquisition” when you see attractive ladies on your local high street.

The first step is to assemble a group of people within your organization and, if possible, a few of your best customers.  This group should include those who understand the critical characteristics of the types of problems you solve and are able to understand the unique way in which your solution addresses those problems.

 Next, explore the six major focus areas required to arrive at a quality decision process. They include: thoroughly diagnosing the problem, determining the financial impact of the solution, establishing measurable outcomes, understanding solution alternatives, defining investment parameters and establishing the decision criteria.  In each of these areas ask the following questions to help prevent decision mistakes:

1. What types of mistakes do customers tend to make while making this kind of decision?
   Make sure the decision process avoids these mistakes.
2. What do customers most frequently overlook or not consider?
   Make sure the decision process brings these elements into consideration.
3. What are the most difficult things for a customer to understand?
   Determine ways to communicate these elements precisely.
4. What must a customer understand to reach a fully informed decision?
   Make sure the decision process brings these to the customer in an orderly fashion.
5. What level of professional education or experience is required to understand each specialty area of the decision?

Make sure you engage people in the decision process that have the required experience or professional background.

If you observe and model what the top 10% of professional salespeople are doing, you will find this approach is the norm, not the exception.  Top-performing sales professionals are guiding their customers through a high quality decision process.

You will find qualified opportunities sooner and spend less time and money on the “resource drains.” You will also find your cost of sales dropping and your sales revenues and proposal to sales ratios increasing. The end results are very profitable sales and completely satisfied customers. (J Thull Prime Resource Group)

The following are twenty questions to ask yourself when it comes to your business, its growth and success.

1.    Are you undercapitalized?
Check, or do, your company budget and projections now! Be realistic, even conservative or you will run the risk of running out of operating capital before your dream has run its course. You either have the money, have the means to get the money, or you shouldn’t be in business. Buying your self a job rather than securing a career and a solid investment is all too common. The entrepreneur who struggles to make ends meet year after year can attest to that. Don’t spend all your money on fancy offices, stores and surroundings only to find that there’s no money left to operate. You’re better off having the money to get things done rather than being done because you misspent what you had and then found yourself under funded.

2.    Do you have written short and long-term goals?
Both business and personal goals are very important. They should intertwine. Take the time to write out your personal and business goals by month, ninety-days, six month, one year, five years and so on. If you don’t have a destination and a map, it’s tough to get there. We hear the call for goal setting so often that it almost becomes trite. However it works. Most successful businesses and individuals are very succinct in where, how, and when they want to get to their goals. The best way to keep a record of your progress is by writing your objectives down.

3.    Do you know your strengths and weaknesses?
Ask your self, “Who am I?” Are you an entrepreneur, technician, manager or artist? Do you know if you have a behavioural type that likes to get the task completed no matter what or perhaps you’re someone who enjoys mixing with all kinds of people? Maybe you would rather keep things on an even keel and be “steady as she goes” or you’re one of those detail people who likes to make sure every thing is perfect. Do you know why you do things? What moves you into action, is it the quest for a nice return on your investment, fame, the need to help people, the desire to make things more beautiful? Maybe you’re looking for power and advancement or on a quest for truth and knowledge. All these factors enter into your strengths and weaknesses. For instance, if you’re a detail person, who wants a nice investment return, and not a mixer, don’t put yourself into a sales role if you can help it. You would be better off finding someone else to do that function while you go of to figure out the books and inventory. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses and admitting them can save you a lot of problems and make you very successful.

4.    Do you have a plan and method for expansion?
Know where you want to go, grow and how you’re going to do it. Understand the physical, geographical, competitive and staffing parameters. Realize what got you to where you are and then be totally realistic about your expansion. Do a complete analysis of your physical (plant, stores, transportation vehicles, equipment, etc.) capabilities and the pressure expansion will put on them. And can you afford it? Look at the area you serve currently and the new areas you want to serve. Will you be able to do it efficiently and effectively without jeopardizing your existing business? Does the new market need what you are selling and/or is it already served, even over served, by your competition? Do you have the staff to substantiate expansion and/or will you be able to get additional qualified people to support it? Or will you be overtaxing your existing staff?

5.    Do you have a strategic plan?
Understand your competition, your customer base, your niche, the market, how you interface with the economy and what it means to your growth. Do the research, find developmental help and make sure your data is kept up to date. All the facts you need are out there. And much of it is in your own files! Have a method for retrieving it easily. The strategic plan your business needs is not a static document. On the contrary it’s a living document that has to be updated in a scheduled manner. Make sure all those whose input is needed have time to review it and make changes before the next strategic meeting. If you’re business is you and only you have a “meeting with yourself” about your strategic plan and take it seriously. Believe me your competition is.

6.    Do you keep abreast of your industry, market and technology?
Read industry and business publications and websites to find out what’s new and happening in your industry. It better to know what’s changing BEFORE it hit’s the market than to be left trying to catch up. Find out as much as you can about E-commerce and the internet and how it is or will be affecting your business. Go to trade shows. Make sure you join the appropriate industry associations. Become an integral put of your industry.

7.    Do you manage your schedule well?
Not time management. You can’t manage time it’s going to pass no matter what you do. You can only manage your schedule. Do you know how to prioritize to maximize your schedule? Can you realistically look at the tasks at hand and categorize them into urgent, important and routine bins, both literally and figuratively. Do you keep a daily planner with you at all times during your business day? Do you make sure that you leave enough time between meetings? Are you cognizant of the geographic distances between sales calls or meetings? Are you aware of your peak performance times of the day and schedule accordingly? It’s no joke when people ask if you’re a morning person or afternoon person. Some people are better at one type of task in the morning and another type later in the day. Do you leave yourself enough time to prepare for meetings, sales calls, projects, etc.? Do you manage your schedule so that you have time to relax? Poor schedule management can quickly lead to burnout.

8.    Are you able to delegate?
It’s the only way to really grow. It enables you to work on your business as opposed to in your business. The person who can’t delegate will always be stuck in a dead end job, even if they own the company. Thinking that you have to do everything will mean that you WILL do everything? What good is that? No one should do it all. Remember the strengths and weaknesses we discussed earlier? If you’re doing something that you’re not proficient at because you can’t delegate, who gains? Not the business, not you and not the other people in the company. Even if you are good at what you do, how are you going to advance if you can’t teach those around you so that you can move up the latter?

You should periodically review your goals and objectives so that you clearly understand how delegating will enable you to reach your desired outcome. Being able to delegate, with the understanding that those you delegate to may make mistakes just like you did. Delegation has another long-term benefit besides growth for both you and the person you delegate to, and that is a more stress free environment and life.

9.    Do you believe in yourself and your dream?
If you really, really don’t believe that this is your dream get out. Your dream gives you the intestinal fortitude to keep going. If you view your business as a nightmare than wake up and walk away. Business should be about dreams, hope, fun and ultimately contentment. Too often business brings on stress, anxiety, resentment, and countless other negative thoughts and feelings. Why put up with them? There’s too much opportunity for the good things in life out there in the business world to let your self be taken down by the negatives. Look realistically at what your business career is costing in the commodities that money can’t buy health, contentment, happiness and love. If your life is being robbed buy a career gone bad think seriously about your options and do something about it.

10.    Do you have one customer who is so large that if they leave so does your business?
This happens so much in business it’s pathetic. Before you know it, that one customer owns you. You meet their demands or you’re finished. Even if you do meet their demands you could be finished. Being a slave to a customer so large that you must immediately react to their every whim can be heavily detrimental to you and your business. Your business will suffer because it won’t be able to cater properly to those other customers that could mean additional growth and less dependency. Knowing how to balance your customer base is a hidden secret of most really successful businesses. If one customer leaves it shouldn’t mean the end of your business, just an opportunity to find another customer or two. (D Goldberg)

Is there anything you can do to prevent this? Of course. Here are four proven strategies that will help you prevent your hard-earned business from disappearing into the hands of price cutting competition.

Strategy One: Deepen your personal relationships with the key decision makers.

It is really difficult, though not impossible, for your friends to take the business away from you. So, turn the key decision makers into your friends.

Don’t rely just on the business aspect of your relationship, no matter how sound, to see you through. Make it a point to develop personal relationships with the key people. Try to spend time with them socially. Take them to a ball game, a concert, golfing or fishing. Spend one-on-one time with them outside of the work environment. Arrange to have them meet your spouse and family. Get to know them more deeply than you would normally.

These efforts to turn them from business acquaintances to personal friends is almost never wasted. As the relationship grows, the natural tendency to keep doing business with you grows proportionately.

Strategy Number Two: Close any open doors that may exist in the account.

When I’m coaching salespeople on how to get their foot in the door of an account that is in the hands of the competition, I have them look for open doors. “Open doors” are lingering issues that make you, the established vendor, vulnerable to the competition, and that are within your capability to close.

When you are on the inside, trying to protect your business, you need to make sure that there are no open doors for your competitors. For example, you may have a pile of returns that are sitting on the account’s shipping dock, waiting for a return authorization from you. It may not be a big deal to you, but from the perspective of a competitor salesperson, it may be an example of your lack of attention to that account. And that can be a little opening into which a competitor can wedge themselves.

Make sure you take care of any lingering service-type issues that could serve as opening for the competition. Lingering invoice problems ignored back orders, promises made that haven’t been kept – all these are potential open doors for your competition. Clean them up.

Another open door has to do with your keeping the account up to date on the latest products and services. Ensure that the account is aware of all the product updates and innovations for the things you are supplying. For example, the account may have bought some machines from you. In the last six months, the machine maker has introduced some updates to get greater productivity out of those machines.

You make sure that you have communicated that option to your key contacts. That prevents the competition from being the source of information about something that you should have communicated to your customer. If that happens, it makes you look bad, and opens the door for the competitor.

The largest open door, however, is pricing. If this is a good account, they probably have been doing business with you for a while. And, since they have been doing business for a few years, it’s entirely possible that you have allowed the prices on some products to rise above market levels. In fact, it may be that you are getting significantly higher than market prices on several products. That can be an open door if your competition decides to attack it. You may be better served in the long run to discretely and strategically lower your prices on those items that are head and shoulders above market rates.

Strategy Number Three: Hold regular “business reviews.”

Gather all the computer printouts your IT person can produce for this account.

Put them inside a three ring binder. Make a cover with the account’s name and logo on the front. Then, schedule a meeting with your key contact and his/her boss, yourself and your manager. Go through all the reports, describing your service levels, how many SKUs they are buying from you compared to last year, their payment history, etc.

Then, all four of you go out to lunch together.

This regular (at least twice a year) business review establishes you in the minds of your customer as a cut above just another vendor. You are willing to measure and disclose your performance, and to talk frankly about the business relationship. You become more of a consultant in the eyes of the customer. That’s certainly worth a few percentage points. Strategy Number Four: Bundle it up.

Your good account is probably buying multiple products from you. Probably, over the years, each of those products has been evaluated and selected on its own basis, without regard to other things that the account is buying from you. Now is the time to change that. (D Kahle The Growth Coach)

We aim to reproduce the most frequently asked questions, along with Keith’s responses and advice, in future editions of Quest and on our website, to help other readers searching for the same information. All communication will be treated in the strictest confidence and confidentiality is assured.

On the Despatches pages of the September edition of Quest, we offered you some examples, to give you a flavour of the sort of things that you might like to ask. You can access these via our website by clicking on ‘Back issues’, under the subhead ‘Publications’ on our home page, and then selecting the September edition.

About Keith

Keith has been managing large sales and marketing teams for major organisations for over 25 years. In this time he has gained a wealth of knowledge on how best to manage people in order to maximise their success. Now running his own coaching business and recently qualified as an NLP Practitioner coach, he is also an Associate with the CTP, assisting Service leavers into a second career. Send him your questions at askus@questonline.co.uk, or visit his website at: www.ktaluk.com.

Its intention is, above all, to urge you to remember that, as you embark on your new civilian life and career, the skills and attributes you have gained in uniform can help you to reap great benefits in your professional and personal life. As WO1 (ASM) Phil Harley states in this month’s rail case study (page 40), ‘I can honestly say that I believe the vast majority of training I received in the Army has been useful in civilian life, be it professional qualifications, the ability to make decisions, bring order from chaos and plan for any eventuality, even to knowing that skin’s waterproof when I’m standing in the rain on some platform! The robustness of personality that the Army has given me has stood me in good stead; the ability that all soldiers develop to “roll with the punches” is invaluable whether you’re in a trench or on an escalator.’

He also told Quest that, ‘at the most basic level, engineering is engineering and it doesn’t matter whether a nut or bolt has worked loose on a machine gun or an escalator – either way it’s going to cause trouble! So the differences in equipment, locale and paint jobs aside, my core business has not really changed very much. Similarly, I am constantly dealing with people and have to adopt different leadership styles to get the best out of them, exactly as I did when wearing a green baggy skin.’

Indeed, it was even confirmed in recent research published by Virgin Media Business that companies really do prize a ‘can do’ attitude – and that’s one of the very things with which your time in the Forces is likely to have equipped you. The Virgin survey reported that ‘A “can do” attitude as well as soft skills are the most important attributes employers look for when recruiting new workers.’ It also found that a ‘can do’ attitude was considered ‘most important’ for 85% of the businesses that responded, while academic and professional qualifications were cited as ‘most important’ for 27% and 28%, respectively.

True, a determination to succeed is also required, but the good news is that, as Phil highlights, almost everyone in the Armed Forces has the necessary character to achieve whatever they set out to.

However, surprisingly few link this to their inevitable future – working as a civilian. As emphasised above, they have the personal qualities, skills, training, experience, education and opportunities for personal development – however, they also need to make the necessary personal choices and be prepared to carry them out. As Phil’s experience underlines, they need to have confidence in their abilities, and the value of these to future civilian employers – and, despite the findings of the survey reported above, it is still the case that these should, ideally, be enhanced by the addition of well-targeted qualifications that are likely to prove useful and relevant.

Whether we like it or not, and despite what some business surveys may find, qualifications are more important than ever. To get ahead in life, the vast majority of us have to work for qualifications, and work hard. This cannot be achieved overnight – it takes time to build knowledge. Those who do not put in the effort are not going to achieve the results.

Many civilians have just as many distractions, and much less help than their Service counterparts. They generally pay for their own learning, conduct their own research, study in their own time, and have nothing like the same in-house training and facilities as Service people. A very few high fliers may be sent on top-level management courses, but that is about it. Few people in the Forces seem to understand just how fortunate they are in comparison to their contemporaries. So, remember that, although you are highly likely to have the necessary personal and practical skills to succeed in civilian life, at the same time remember too that these are best backed up with relevant and transferable qualifications – you need to give yourself every advantage possible in an increasingly competitive jobs market.

In whatever field you are seeking employment, we hope that Quest can offer you a few tips. This month’s edition takes a look at a number of different career options. Close protection is a popular choice with our readers, while, as noted above, we also cover opportunities in the rail industry. Perhaps some Service leavers are more suited to a future in health and safety than they may realise, and a career in the maritime and marine sector could be a natural progression, particularly for those leaving the Royal Navy. Turning our attention to education, a huge number of qualifications can be gained, at least in part, through distance learning – a method of study that is undeniably useful to Service people, for whom taking courses and gaining qualifications might otherwise prove a difficult proposition. We take a look at what this involves and the benefits it is likely to hold for you. Our final piece – on the electrical and electronic engineering sector – also emphasises that there continue to be opportunities available in every part of the economy for skilled and qualified people.

And don’t forget that in-depth articles on all the career areas covered by Quest during the course of the year are always available on our website: visit www.questonline.co.uk and click on ‘Careers A–Z’ for the full list.

Jobs may be harder to find at present, but many employers are also finding it hard to recruit the right employees. The more you strive to make a good transition and, above all, remember the value and importance of your transferable skills, the more likely you are to set the civilian employment landscape aglow like a firework, rather than languish in job-seeking limbo, failing to set the world alight …(Questonline)

Start with the sales managers.

If you want to do something to improve your sales force, the best application of limited funds is to invest in the sales managers.

It’s the sales managers who have the greatest opportunity to help sales people unleash their potential. Because of their daily high touch interaction with the sales force and the market, sales managers have the levers to ratchet up sales performance in the entire team. If you can educate a sales manager in the best practices of his position, and if he then implements the principles, practices and disciplines of professional sales management, you can see an immediate, measurable and long-lasting improvement in the performance of the sales team.

While most people intuitively understand the link between effective sales management and improved sales results, research in the last few years has confirmed it. For example, a study by Wilson Learning Worldwide, Inc. concluded that sales teams under the oversight of a highly skilled sales manager produced “29% higher revenue, 47% higher employee satisfaction, and 16% higher customer satisfaction.”

Unfortunately, of all the job titles and positions in a typical B2B sales force, the first line sales managers are the least trained for their positions. Most have never been educated in the best practices of effective sales management. As a result they default to the habits and practices they saw when they were sales people. They mimic the models of the sales managers for which they worked. Alas, most of their models were also never educated in effective sales management.

As a result, sales management practices vary from one extreme to another, depending on the individual manager’s vision of himself. There is a continuum from micromanager on one extreme to non-manager at the other. Some see themselves as super sales people – the most competent of all the sales people, and the one who needs to go with the sales people to close big accounts, and smooth flustered relationships. Others become administrators, busying themselves with reports, meetings and a continuous stream of clerical functions.

Some identify with the sales people, and wouldn’t think of impinging on anyone’s style or system of work. Others see themselves as executives who don’t really have time for the nitty gritty of joint sales calls.

Still others, suffering from a lack of a clear vision as to what their role could be, default to a reactive style of management, where their time is directed to the most compelling of the countless number of issues that cry for today’s attention.

The costs to the company can be huge. Morale is not what it could be, and that impacts almost every transaction and relationship for the sales team. Sales people turn over more rapidly, causing a whole series of unnecessary costs. Marginal sales people continue in roles for which they aren’t suited, resulting in lost sales and disgruntled customers. Unfocused sales people default to reactive sales styles, dissipating sales efforts. (D Kahle The Growth Coach)

Although so-called ‘nice girls’ also receive thinner pay packets, the earnings gap between ‘agreeable’ and ‘disagreeable’ in men emerged as much more marked. Or, as delegates at theAcademyofManagementwere told, on being presented with the findings, ‘disagreeable guys simply leave agreeable ones in the dust’. So whereas agreeable women are £1,115 worse off than their more challenging peers each year, men are down approximately £6,000 over the same period, the study found.

Based on data taken over 20 years in multiple surveys, the findings show that ‘agreeable’ ‘warm’ ‘friendly’ or even ‘helpful’ types earn ‘significantly less’, particularly if they are male. (Questonline)

When it comes to making a major purchase, buyers’ decisions are influenced by numerous factors, many of which are not obvious. Key among these factors are the prospects

1. Personal Agenda (what’s in it for me?) – This is driven more by emotion than logic
2. Dominant Buying Value – Am I the kind of person who’s always looking for an opportunity to gain something, or am I the kind of person who’s driven by fear of losing something, and am always looking for ways to play it safe?
3. Motivational Trigger – What’s my hot button? Money? Convenience? Comfort? Security? To what personal desire do you have to appeal in order to get me in your corner?
4. Buying Style – Do I need to feel in control, or do I want and need guidance? Do I need to see all the details, or do details bore and irritate me? Does I view the transaction as a confrontation, or as collaboration? Am I a maverick who likes to strike out on my own, or do I prefer consensus and the comfort of the crowd?
5. Concerns and Worries (sometimes expressed, but more often not) – What’s keeping me from making this decision, even though a compelling case has been made that it’s the right one?

Awareness of these factors, together with your skill at determining which are in play, and how, will increase your odds of connecting with each person on the prospect’s buying team, winning them over, and closing the business. (C James Sales Solutions)

1. Self-assess. Ask yourself, “What skills do I need to get where I want to go?”
2. Identify your learning goals. Put them in writing.
3. Decide together how the mentoring relationship will work – frequency and type of contact.
4. Commit the time. Don’t give up if the chemistry doesn’t feel right at the first meeting. Meet a minimum of once per month. Touch base regularly – by e-mail, phone, in person.
5. Take time to build trust and communication. Get to know each other on a personal level. Discuss your backgrounds, interests, career histories, and perspectives of your organizations.
6. Keep confidences. Nothing kills trust in a mentoring relationship faster than a breach of confidence.
7. Be sensitive to cultural and gender differences. Do a little homework. And listen.
8. Understand and plan for the phases of a mentoring relationship. Build in time for evaluation and closure.
9. This is about learning, whether you’re a protégé or a mentor. Keep a journal.

You don’t need a single mentor who you keep throughout your career. What you need is a mind-set that allows you to learn from those around you, no matter who they are. To get ahead, create your own multitalented “board of advisors”.

Raise the bar with the two key areas for job search in the visible market; Recruitment Agencies and Internet based Job Boards.
 
Recruitment Agencies will always remain a massive and valuable part of the job search market. They will always be an obvious first step for advice and receipt of your very well tailored CV. Just remember two things; they should never be the only source for the CV and that they work in many different ways despite what they say. I remember being told on several occasion’s that “unlike all other agencies we maintain the relationship and care” only to challenge the numerous others chasing my CV for onward transmission and quote the same thing to them. Recruitment Agencies exist to make money. The professional agencies make money and care about your career path – that’s the only difference that sets some apart.

So, lets not give them a hard time now we have fronted the basics. Recruitment Agencies have many avenue’s to clients that you may never have, even with excellent networking. They can and will work for you securing the interview or raising your profile with their client but some things need to be in place. Guess what? You know this already don’t you?

Selecting the right agencies; don’t scatter gun nor wait on just one. Research their skill set and their specialism. Review their web site for clients and placement stats they may show. Call them, follow up with a face to face and then emails. If it feels wrong (they promise you the world) then it is wrong. Remember to assess the age and experience of the agencies employee. Recruitment “sales” for that is what it is, is an obvious first or second career move for many. If the contact is wet behind the ears then perhaps you should ask for someone else.
 
So, now you have found the right 3 or 4 agencies and you have confidence in all they portrait. What now?
 
Be open and honest with them when you meet or chat. They have the knowledge and by being open they will see better where you might fit within their client base. Also, I suggest be persistent for they have may hopeful candidates and are often too busy to remember individuals. Initiate a regular contact plan to keep you top of their mind list. Then, when that is done, record your contact points and subject matter for conversations. If you leave them with next steps, follow up. If you have the action, complete it on time.

Lastly, for Agencies, there are a growing number of specialist (Ex Forces) agencies appearing. They will obviously understand you and what you are going through better than most but balance this with their knowledge of the commerical market place which some will still be learning. Many others however, have caught up quickly with established civilian agencies are will prove valuable.

Selecting the right job sites; There are so many to choose from and unlike Agencies, you have to work them 100% yourself. Also like agencies though, don’t put your CV on dozens nor your hope in just one. Many sites link to each other or are part of one bigger picture so choosing the right one can gain you exposure on a few others. You will be well aware of Rightjob from your time passing through the CTP and the transition process so I suggest you continue with the familiarity of this site. Likewise, you may have valuable clearances in play so why not check out sites that push this like securityclearedjobs.com.
 
There are, however, others that specialise in full time, part time, Interim, Contract work.Then there are those that specialise in certain industry sectors. The skill is to find those that have the right employment status for you in your preferred Sector. Take time to search. They do exist and your chances of successfully identifying opportunities closest to your aspirations will therefore be greater.

Golden rules of the visible job market:
 
- Be open and be honest with recruitment agencies
- Build a strong relationship with a select few and contact them regularly to “nudge them”
- Never pay money up front or at anytime in the process. They get paid from placing you (commission)
- Spend time selecting the right agency, in the right location and market sector and register with them
- Never register with dozens for it must always be a quality game not numbers game (unlike the hidden market)
- Apply the above to Internet recruitment sites as best as you can.

Good luck and happy successful searching.
 
Regards,
 
Keith
www.ktaluk.com

Emails

Emails are constant and dense. I get in the habit of checking my email each time I get a prompt for a new message. I also get lost in the myriad of messages that accumulate each day.

I found I work better by ignoring the new messages and designating certain times per day to check my mail. I also use folders to categorize what needs immediate attention and what can wait until later in the week.

The phone

I do not have a secretary, so I usually answer the phone every time it rings. It is not always important, but it does always break my concentration from the task I was formerly performing.

I now screen all of my calls. If I see it is someone important on the caller id, I pick it up. Other than that, I let it go to voicemail and check it on a regular basis.

Random papers

I am always amazed at how many random papers accumulate on my desk throughout the day. I usually lose track of them and then have to scramble to find something when the appropriate time comes.

Now, I assess each paper as it comes into my hand. I use folders like I do for emails, and if the paper does not need my future attention, then I discard it.

Visitors

Clients and colleagues will sometimes pop-in my office unannounced. I usually get distracted like I do with the phone and find it difficult to refocus my attention after they leave.

Now, I kindly tell them I am busy and would love to talk with them on a scheduled basis. It may sound rude to read, but I do not come across as rude. Most people understand that I am just trying to do the best job possible with the time I have.

Ambience

I used to bring an extra sweater to the office or find myself taking my jacket off depending on the immediate climate. I really didn’t understand what a distraction your immediate environment can become until I thought about it.

Now, I have no hesitation in adjusting the thermostat to my comfort level.

Noise

I got in the habit of leaving the radio on after listening to my morning talk show. I would find it difficult to write while singing and talking were being inserted into my head while I was trying to form my own thoughts.

I now focus my attention on my talk show and when it is over, I shut off the radio for the duration of the day. If co-workers are noisy outside, I shut the door to my office.

Thinking ahead

Before, each day would be like an adventure. I might have two meetings one day, a doctor’s appointment the other, and have to pick my child up from school another. Yet, I would try to get the same amount of work done each day.

Now, I look at the big picture for the week. I try to schedule tasks for when I have ample time for them. It has helped me gain a lot more time back. (Vendorseek.com)

A number of years ago, a professional association attempted to answer that question. They studied superstar sales people from a wide variety of industries and concluded: Yes!

In fact, the best sales people excel at the same things. Here are the top five practices of the very best sales people:

1. They see the situation from the customer’s point of view.
2. They ask better questions.
3. They listen more constructively.
4. They are obsessed with time management.
5. They do bigger deals.

Let’s look at the relationship among these items to see if there are any lessons for us.

“They do bigger deals.” That is both the result of their work (that is, after all, why they are the best sales people) as well as their focus from the beginning. They start with an understanding that it is their job to bring revenue into the company, and that the more revenue they bring in, the more valuable they are to their companies and the more successful they become. And this realization leads them to what becomes an obsession.

“They are obsessed with time management.” That means that they intentionally and methodically strive to make the best use of their sales time by focusing the bulk of their efforts on the highest-potential opportunities and customers. You won’t find them running an errand for a “C” customer just to be a nice guy.(D Kahle The Growth Coach)

Create a profile of who to ask. Asking for referrals can be scary. It’s another opportunity for rejection. Perhaps your client isn’t as happy as you thought or may not want to disclose names. With this in mind, you want to be sure you’re asking people with whom you have the best potential for success. Create a profile of the characteristics of the ideal client to ask, such as they appreciate your recommendations on how to use IT more effectively across their business. This helps everyone on your team envision who they’re asking.

Identify four perfect points to ask. Knowing who to ask is only one piece of successful referral gathering. There are points in your sales and account management process that are natural opportunities to ask for referrals. Clients are happy. Discussions are valuable. They’ll be more than willing to recommend people for you to speak with. Determine which four are your best and integrate them into your processes.

Create additional natural opportunities for asking. Clearly you don’t want to ask for referrals every time you see a client or prospect. For most people that’s uncomfortable. If you want to extend beyond the four points in your sales and account management process, create some other genuine circumstances to ask, such as quarterly business reviews or project close-out meetings.

Provide the words to use to ask, and then train people to use them. Teach your team how to frame their referral request, including how to transition from the topic at hand to the question. It doesn’t need to be half-day training. Use an hour at a company meeting or your Monday morning meeting. The goal is to make people comfortable with asking for referrals. The quickest way to do that is to practice together.

Measure referrals. Not only will this validate that your process is working, it’ll show your team the impact they’re having on growing the business. Create a lead source code in yourCRM and you’ll be able to measure sales results from referrals and even the lifetime value of referrals.

Once you take a proactive approach and make referral gathering part of your sales and account management process your team will get comfortable asking and you’ll have a steady flow of warm prospects. (K Lee KLA Group)