I was consulting with a client the other day and she asked me what my thoughts were on building out and promoting “Talent Communities.”  This question made me sincerely pause.  And the first question I asked in reply was…”what’s a Talent Community?’  Clearly I have no problem with seeming slow [...]]]>

Talent Community or Data Base?

I was consulting with a client the other day and she asked me what my thoughts were on building out and promoting “Talent Communities.”  This question made me sincerely pause.  And the first question I asked in reply was…”what’s a Talent Community?’  Clearly I have no problem with seeming slow and dimwitted.  I had no idea what she was referring to.  Was she referring to:

• The company’s Applicant Tracking System (ATS) Database?
• The existing employee population and the strength of their current Employee Referral Program?
• Potential candidate engagement opportunities on Soc Nets like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, MySpace, Ning, etc.?
• The employee alumnus…those who either retired or moved onto opportunities with other employers?
• The Diverse Employee-and dare I say we’re all diverse?

Turns out the client was referring to “Relationship Marketing Databases.”  She’d had a potential vendor-partner visit with her and explain the value of remaining engaged with those potential candidates, whether they be experienced, college, alumnus…all diverse of course.   The concept was really novel, since the database would be embedded into a Careers Web solution with the goal of collecting email addresses with specified areas of interest.  The potential candidate would be “prompted” to enter their information and become a member of this Talent Community.  With this data captured the appropriate “marketing” communication could be directed to the new member of the Talent Community.

"We'll Take Over The World"

BRAIN SPASM – if I become a member of this community (which is a closed database by the way) how do I actually consider this a community?  How do I interact and build relationships that are genuine and authentic…aren’t I actually just an email address and a name delivered to an automated e-mail distribution tool? This is the thought that has invaded my mind while listening patiently to my client’s enthusiastic narration.

I nodded my head when my client was done and then I stated….Ah…you’re referring to Relationship Marketing (RLM) and the building out of candidate databases, then remaining engaged through targeted communication whether analog (print) or digital means.  Sure I think  RLM is a very important part of your over-all strategy…but I personally would not call it a community.

I began to further uncover the big vision for this clients “Social Web Engagement Strategy” and a multi-faceted approach began to take shape…there was genuine excitement.

And then I shared a few thoughts around the idea that perhaps we could think of the recruitment of candidates as “Employee Tribe Management” as opposed to Employer Brand Management.

Yes…I’d be referring to Seth Godin’s book “Tribes…We Need You To Lead Us.”   Seth’s Blog post January 30, 2008, offers a very profound observation.. about the need for people to connect to a tribe.  Here let Seth explain…it’s much better coming from him.

Tribe management is a whole different way of looking at the world.

It starts with permission, the understanding that the real asset most organizations can build isn’t an amorphous brand but is in fact the privilege of delivering anticipated, personal and relevant messages to people who want to get them.

It adds to that the fact that what people really want is the ability to connect to each other, not to companies. So the permission is used to build a tribe, to build people who want to hear from the company because it helps them connect, it helps them find each other, it gives them a story to tell and something to talk about.

This is the good stuff…and I want more of my HR clients to think outside of the RLM database box.  It’ll be a tough challenge to gain buy-in from corporate compliance around this concept for some…but whether they get it or not it won’t matter.  The Tribes have already spoken.  Look at how many corporate recruitment focused Facebook Fan pages Twitter accounts, (Tweeps)  have cropped up in the last 6 months.  Some of the best examples  are of course Sodexo Careers, Past Present and Future Facebook Fan Page, Discover Careers Facebook Fan Page, @acareerathca HCA Twitter feed, and the list continues to grow.

Now the next challenge encountered is how do we begin to craft an over-all Social Web Engagement Strategy.  I’ve said this many times…first… “LISTEN.”  Before jumping into the social web stream…we’ve got to take a step back evaluate an over-all online presence (audit the noise) and determine if any IRL (In Real Life) reputation fragments have made their way to web conversations.

Once auditing the noise is complete…we can really build out robust, interesting, engaging villages, or colonies for tribe members to congregate.

I caution my clients and perhaps those who stumble upon my musings – don’t be seduced by those who offer “turn-key” Employee Tribe Management solutions.  The social web is NOT a turn-key experience.  Real people…real candidates want an authentic vision into your organization…to get to know more than just your location, last years 10K, the cool video testimonials.  The potential members of your tribe want a chance to visit your talent tribe community…walk around, ask what’s the weather like over there from people who live with that weather.

I know the thought of this is really frightening from a compliance perspective…and HR is definitely kin to corporate legal.  But no matter what…these tribes will be established whether you like it, support it, endorse it or ignore it.

The Right Deal

But sometimes, I will be presented with an opportunity to bid for business that I don’t [...]]]>

So often in a sales leadership role I will be presented with an opportunity to “pitch” our solutions. I absolutely love the opportunity to consult face to face.

The Right Deal

But sometimes, I will be presented with an opportunity to bid for business that I don’t believe will make a great fit for us or the potential client.

Because in order to win the business we would have to practically give it away. A great “deal” is about a great business decision, not just a desperate attempt to bring in any kind of business.

Now, don’t get me wrong I’m not ONLY about the profit or commission. I am about the best fiscal decision for all parties involved.

For if we say, sure we can do all this for less money, just to capture the biz, we are actually going to frustrate the client more than just walking away from profit.

When we have clients that are sold a deal at cost or less, we wind up with a compromised focus by our internal teammates. What do I mean by this?

What I mean is, we as sales professionals have a responsibility to consider the services and time for those services that we sell.

So for example, a support CRM that will be assigned to this new deal, one who is judged by revenue generated from an account. The CRM will only be able to devote minimal attention to an undersold deal. This in turn leads to an unhappy customer who feels slighted. In reality they are slighted, not by the CRM, but by the Sales Professional.

It’s sad perhaps, but so true that money talks and BS walks. If we as sales professionals don’t practice courage in our day-to-day walk with potential clients, we will inevitably leave a trail of bad business behind us. And the opportunity to sell forever is gone.

In this day and age where a bad reputation, or bad business deal, can be broadcast across the globe in literally seconds, that whole Web 2.0 thing I keep nagging on. We cannot and MUST not take a chance with a desperate decision to close business at all costs.

This brings me back to my preaching on the art of selling.

Had an opportunity today to speak with another sales professional that shares a similar passion for sales. We briefly commiserated on the importance of Silence and Ownership.

Silence comes from me the sales professional…be quiet and listen to the client as they divulge. Never assume that you know anything about what they need from you. They may not even know themselves. So we must be sure to ask questions, the right ones and then “shut-it”

We quietly let the client vent or dump all the junk of their workday on us. This is where we get that deep knowing of the pain experienced every day in their world.

Once we know how much the issues impact their day, we usually can communicate a solution with a real return on investment. So, if we were able to put even 2 more hours back into the day of the client, freeing them from the mundane tasks that eat into their productivity…betcha cost becomes much less of an issue than we first fear.

Like my favorite Sales Mentor, Jeffrey Gittomer always says, “No one wants to be sold, but they do NEED to buy.”

Talented sales professionals passionately care about the client they are speaking with. But at the same time, they are listening for the opportunity to lead them to OWNERSHIP of a solution. Perhaps your solution?

Hence the “art of selling.”

It’s a real skill to work that kind of magic.