The first few days of this week have started off unlike many weeks for a lot of people. As I have written in the past, I have two part-time jobs. While I love them both, the people and the work, I also find myself frustrated looking for full-time employment. With CollegeBuzzz, I am having to hire interns for the Clemson website. So yesterday, I went up to Clemson to interview a girl. I talked to her at a local Starbucks for about 40 minutes, getting to know all about her life, passions, and skills. Tomorrow, I have an interview for a full-time position in Washington DC. While I have very little knowledge of the DC area, I have done my homework of this business and the position I would take for them, and I want to share my thoughts of how I am approaching tomorrow.
Research the Company: Find out everything that you can about the company before taking an interview with them. Most importantly, know their mission and industry. One you find out the outline of the industry and company, get into the details. Know the locations of the company. Find out how many employees work for them. Find out their clients and review their work. You can even go as far as looking into employees. Some websites, such as Glassdoor, will give you information of what current and former employees think of the company, as well as look into the process that some of them went through during their interviews. For example, for tomorrow's interview, I know the work-enviornment, the age of most employees, the company's size, their office locations, the salary expectations, and the chance (or lack of) promotions.
Review the Position Requirements: Almost always, a person sends in their application to fill a specific role that the company is looking for. If they give you a description, check it out. Reading over it before the interview will give you create comfort and a pretty good idea of some of the questions you may be asked. Be ready to explain how you possess those skills or how you have used them to achieve success in your past.
Research the Recruiter: If you get the name of the person that is going to be interviewing you, just do a search for them on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Google. (Hopefully they will have a good LinkedIn Profile) Getting to know a few things about the person interviewing you, such as where they went to college, can be of great help to you during the interview. In May, I was being interviewed by the president of a small marketing company. After discussing that I had attended Furman and lived in Greenville, he asked if I knew his connection to Greenville. Immediately, I responded that I knew he had attended college there, linking him to one of my previous bosses. To say the least, he was impressed and I was offered the job a few weeks later.
Create a Good Environment: If you are in an office setting having a 1:1 interview, then you have no control over this. If you are having a phone interview, make sure that the setting is quite and has no distractions. I was interviewed during the middle of my intramural softball games one time. I had just scored a run, heard my phone ringing, and had to have a conversation right there on the spot. It was an unneeded challenge and something I will never do again.
Be Yourself: Do not get nervous. Relax and realize that they are going to judge you for whatever you say. You can tell them in a stumbling voice that you have started three companies, or you can state confidently and clearly that you just graduated and are unemployed. The more confident you are with your answers, the better you will be received by someone that is getting paid to judge you. Just relax and prepare to achieve a better interview.
Showing posts with label Self-Marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Self-Marketing. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Monday, August 20, 2012
5 Tips To Be A Successful Salesman
There are many different types of sales that we must make in our life. High schoolers may work their summer selling Cutco knives or a 40 year old may have a career out of selling suits at a retail store. A recent college graduate has to sell himself to a company to get a new job or a college drop-out may have to sell his entrepreneurial idea to local businesses. As a freshman in college, you may have to present yourself favorably to catch the eye of that perfect girl or, one day, in meeting her parents. We have to sell ourselves to earn trust in friendships, relationships, and businesses. Knowing that sales are found in many different areas of life, we must be constantly aware of how to make sales.
1. Establish Trust: Nobody will purchase or believe anything that you say if they cannot trust you. Establish yourself as a reliable person that can relate well with them. Provide information about yourself, and know that any question that you ask, you must be able to answer as well.
2. Remember The Little Things: When you are meeting with a customer for a second sale or a boyfriend for a second date, prove that you listened the last time you were together. Asking little things about their personal life, such as how their kids are, how their last test went, or how their job interview went will make them realize that you care about them. Caring about your customer outside of the sales situation is vital to making them trust you more . . . leading to more sales.
3. Be Generous At First: While being generous is a trait that you always want to possess, you must be able to draw them in with an act that will make them appreciate you. This could be something as simple as buying a girl a drink, providing a potential client with a free trial of your service (GoToMeeting), or giving them a glimpse of your public relations campaign for them and how you can help them out.
4. Care About Your Product: I know for a fact that I could not sell clothing from Old Navy or happily encourage others to go watch "The Notebook". The reason you want to sell something to someone is because you like the product that you are selling. Selling something without caring for it will come across as laziness or a lack of interest to the client, making them not buy into whatever you are selling.
5. Make Them See Their Benefit: When selling something, the objective is to always fill a need of the consumer. Make them see what they will get in accepting your offer. Let them know that if they join your fraternity that they will always have a 60 strong friends. Make it aware that if they purchase your laptop that it will provide great quality for them. Prove to them that if they purchase your clothing that it will look good and last for a long time. If it does not do them any good, they will not buy it.
I wanted to put a picture of a man, or voice I trust. Who better than Morgan Freeman?
1. Establish Trust: Nobody will purchase or believe anything that you say if they cannot trust you. Establish yourself as a reliable person that can relate well with them. Provide information about yourself, and know that any question that you ask, you must be able to answer as well.
2. Remember The Little Things: When you are meeting with a customer for a second sale or a boyfriend for a second date, prove that you listened the last time you were together. Asking little things about their personal life, such as how their kids are, how their last test went, or how their job interview went will make them realize that you care about them. Caring about your customer outside of the sales situation is vital to making them trust you more . . . leading to more sales.
3. Be Generous At First: While being generous is a trait that you always want to possess, you must be able to draw them in with an act that will make them appreciate you. This could be something as simple as buying a girl a drink, providing a potential client with a free trial of your service (GoToMeeting), or giving them a glimpse of your public relations campaign for them and how you can help them out.
4. Care About Your Product: I know for a fact that I could not sell clothing from Old Navy or happily encourage others to go watch "The Notebook". The reason you want to sell something to someone is because you like the product that you are selling. Selling something without caring for it will come across as laziness or a lack of interest to the client, making them not buy into whatever you are selling.
5. Make Them See Their Benefit: When selling something, the objective is to always fill a need of the consumer. Make them see what they will get in accepting your offer. Let them know that if they join your fraternity that they will always have a 60 strong friends. Make it aware that if they purchase your laptop that it will provide great quality for them. Prove to them that if they purchase your clothing that it will look good and last for a long time. If it does not do them any good, they will not buy it.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
5 Tips for First Impressions that Impress
A large part of anyone's life is interacting with people. Whether working hard on the job or mixing in a social setting, you can't avoid it. While some people are painfully shy and others can talk to anyone about anything, being able to successfully interact with someone the first time you meet them is vital to growing and maintaing a relationship. You are not trying to do what Brad Pitt (Rusty) suggested to Matt Damon (Linus) in Ocean's Eleven:
I know that many people have problems of standing out in a crowd, making a lasting impression, or even just getting the courage to interact with others; it is very difficult at times. Don't worry, that is natural! We all worry about what people think about us, but worrying about it gets us nowhere. Take these five simple steps to help people walk away with a positive first impression of you.
Image:
Whether we want to believe it or not, our society is highly judging on appearance. While this can be shallow and unfair, the way we appear to someone the first time we meet them will always be stuck in their head, even if we haven't said a word. This judgment can be positive, negative, or neutral, but it does make a difference. Try to dress appropriately for whatever situation you are in. I am not going to tell you to buy the nicest clothes or to lose weight, but I am going to tell you to be yourself. Dress nicely and let your style reveal who you are.
Tone of Voice & Speech:
When meeting someone for the first time, you need to sound confident. Whether this is talking to that attractive girl at the bar or meeting a new client, you need to not stumble on your words. Think about what you want to say prior to meeting them, but know that you can never plan a conversation perfectly. Planning will only give you opportunities to get into the conversation and easy your mind. Also, pauses are okay. God allows for our mouths to shut. Instead of rambling, making up filler sentences, or saying "uhhhhhh" a bunch of times, just gather your thoughts and then speak confidently.
Say Their Name:
Saying the name of the person that you have just met in conversation can do a few things. First, it will let them know you are listening to what they are saying. If you repeat their name, you likely are remembering the other things they are saying as well. Second, it will let them know that you care. It shows that you are focused on them, their time, and your conversation. And third, it will help you remember the girl/guy/client/contact better. If you see them later in a different setting, it allows you to go up to them, and personally ask how they are doing. This is always a way to impress people.
Find Common Interests:
Finding something that you share in common with someone leads to a genuine shared interest, a prolonged topic of conversation, and generally more areas to talk about. Getting an idea of a person's school, job, hobbies, or family can lead to many more conversations if they are something that you can both relate to.
Be Yourself:
Do not try to act like someone that you aren't. Creating lies or putting up a front during a first conversation will ruin anything you establish on that false foundation. Don't act like you know more than you do, just relax and be yourself.
"Don't use seven words when four will do. Don't shift your weight, look always at your mark but don't stare, be specific but not memorable, be funny but don't make him laugh. He's got to like you then forget you the moment you've left his side"
I know that many people have problems of standing out in a crowd, making a lasting impression, or even just getting the courage to interact with others; it is very difficult at times. Don't worry, that is natural! We all worry about what people think about us, but worrying about it gets us nowhere. Take these five simple steps to help people walk away with a positive first impression of you.
Image:
Whether we want to believe it or not, our society is highly judging on appearance. While this can be shallow and unfair, the way we appear to someone the first time we meet them will always be stuck in their head, even if we haven't said a word. This judgment can be positive, negative, or neutral, but it does make a difference. Try to dress appropriately for whatever situation you are in. I am not going to tell you to buy the nicest clothes or to lose weight, but I am going to tell you to be yourself. Dress nicely and let your style reveal who you are.
This style shoes originally and individualism while looking nice and approachable.
Tone of Voice & Speech:
When meeting someone for the first time, you need to sound confident. Whether this is talking to that attractive girl at the bar or meeting a new client, you need to not stumble on your words. Think about what you want to say prior to meeting them, but know that you can never plan a conversation perfectly. Planning will only give you opportunities to get into the conversation and easy your mind. Also, pauses are okay. God allows for our mouths to shut. Instead of rambling, making up filler sentences, or saying "uhhhhhh" a bunch of times, just gather your thoughts and then speak confidently.
Say Their Name:
Saying the name of the person that you have just met in conversation can do a few things. First, it will let them know you are listening to what they are saying. If you repeat their name, you likely are remembering the other things they are saying as well. Second, it will let them know that you care. It shows that you are focused on them, their time, and your conversation. And third, it will help you remember the girl/guy/client/contact better. If you see them later in a different setting, it allows you to go up to them, and personally ask how they are doing. This is always a way to impress people.
Find Common Interests:
Finding something that you share in common with someone leads to a genuine shared interest, a prolonged topic of conversation, and generally more areas to talk about. Getting an idea of a person's school, job, hobbies, or family can lead to many more conversations if they are something that you can both relate to.
Be Yourself:
Do not try to act like someone that you aren't. Creating lies or putting up a front during a first conversation will ruin anything you establish on that false foundation. Don't act like you know more than you do, just relax and be yourself.
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