Friends Relatives
College alumni
Lawyers
Accountants
Bankers
Civic leaders
Clergy
Stockbrokers
Club members
College professors
Doctors
Dentists
Consultants
Insurance agents
Neighbors
Trade Association members
Former co-workers
Former employers
Make up your own list... BE CREATIVE.
It is certainly true that many of the above do not have the foggiest notion of what you really do, or how to help you, or what you really want. But it is equally true that you don't have the foggiest notion of who they know and what ideas they may have that might help you.
After you have completed your list of potential net working targets you should prioritize the list and start off with those who you feel it might be more productive to meet with. For example, if you have listed three of your cousins and one was just released from prison, one is a drug addict, and one is a successful entrepreneur, it might be wise to start with number three.
If your neighbor on the West has been cordial and appears intelligent and logical, she might be more interesting to approach than your neighbor on the East whose house needs painting and whose yard is poorly maintained. In other words, common sense should not be abandoned when selecting your networking candidates.
If you have a line of communication to several important business executives, don't start off with them. Save them for a little later on. Start off with some easy ones, some that will be easy to telephone, easy to meet and on whom you can practice your interview techniques.
You may have already contacted many of your friends and come up empty. Write to them again and say you have done additional work on your presentation and would like a few minutes of their time to solicit their advice. They will see you and, this time with better direction from you, they may be able to provide you with assistance they didn't know how to provide before.
All these friends of yours know other people you would like to see. Get names from them. Perhaps it had not occurred to them before that all you needed was some names. Before, they were trying to help you by sending you to someone who would have a job for you. They failed to understand that all you needed was a contact who would refer you to the next person in your Networking chain.
In all probability, within thirty miles of where you live there is an employer who would be delighted to employ you. Call this person, "D". How do you find this D, this needle in the haystack? The answer, obviously, is that you start with "A", and A can be anyone, your relative, your neighbor, someone you do business with. See a few A's and through one of them you will meet "B", or several B's.
These B's will help you meet a few C's, and one of those C's will refer you to D. But, if you don't start with A, you will never get to D. Start your Networking. It does pay off. Keep in mind that whomever you do see, you want to see in a businesslike setting. If you have set up a meeting with your neighbor, you want the interview, if possible, to take place in an office setting. You want to get dressed up in your best interview suit so the neighbor will perceive and deal with you as a business person and not as good old Charlie, or friendly Susie, who lives next door.
The Telephone Call
Now we come to the second step in the Networking process. You have written to someone asking for a meeting and now you must telephone to set up an appointment. For most job seekers, this is the hardest step. Only for a few is it a snap.
Even if the person you want to see is a close friend or a relative, it is important you first telephone and set up an appointment for a time when full attention can be given to your problem. Again, the emphasis is on a TELEPHONE CALL. Don't drop in unexpectedly.
The only purpose of the telephone call is to arrange an interview appointment. Don't allow yourself to be interviewed over the phone. Maintain control and don't be easily dissuaded.
If you intend to make your telephone calls from home, create a businesslike setting. Make sure there are no domestic noises in the background, like children crying, a vacuum cleaner going, a dog barking, or a television set working. Brush your teeth, wash your face and get dressed. Sit at a desk and have in front of you a copy of your letter, your appointment schedule, and a script of what you plan to say.
One thing making the Telephone Call a difficult step is that business people you want to reach have set up defenses to protect them against unnecessary intrusion during the work day. Without such defenses, the harassed executive would never get much work done.
Usually, the main line of defense is the "over-protective secretary." Secretaries often consider their most important purpose in life is to keep people from seeing their boss, and there is good reason for them to feel that way. Their boss is busy (or tries to appear busy to his boss) and their job is to shield him from unnecessary interruptions and from well-meaning people who want to chew up the precious time he needs to deal with his overwhelming responsibilities.
So, when you call and ask for Mr. Gonzalez, you will often hear a voice saying, "May I tell him what it's about?" Or the voice may ask some other screening question, such as, "What company are you with?"
You want to avoid getting into a discussion with the secretary about your purpose in calling, so you should respond. "It's a personal matter (or a personal business matter)," This will often cause the secretary to back off. Her assignment is to protect the executive, but she hesitates to interfere in his personal life.
You can also respond to the secretary's interrogatory by saying, "He's expecting my call." That is the truth. Your letter said you would be calling, so your call should be expected. If appropriate, you might go so far as to explain to the secretary, "Mr. /Ms. Jackson, Vice President of the Acme Company suggested I talk to Mr. Gonzalez." In this type of telephone exchange you want to be brief, pleasant and assertive, but not aggressive. Always identify yourself immediately and speak in an upbeat manner and with enthusiasm. Speak slowly, distinctly, in a firm, positive tone. Stay flexible, and be prepared to modify your technique to adapt to the situation.
Sometimes you will hear the secretary say, "Yes, Mr. Smith, we received your nice letter and it has been forwarded to the Human Resources Department. I'll transfer you to Miss Grant, our Human Resources Manager." The Human Resources Department is the last place where you want to be transferred, so you respond along the following lines.
Be particularly nice to the secretary. When you ask to speak to Mr. Gonzalez and the secretary asks, "What's it about?", and it appears that you are not going to get through for one reason or another, ask her for her name. She is a human being, too, and she has an ego. If she says her name is Mrs. Collins, make a note of it. The next time you call you say, "Hello, Mrs. Collins, is Mr. Gonzalez in?" She will be pleased you remembered her name. Continue to treat her nicely and she may become your ally in helping you reach Mr. Gonzalez.
A secretary will sometimes come to her boss and say, "There's a man on the phone who's called several times. He sounds very pleasant, why don't you talk to him?" The boss will often respect her judgment and pick up the phone. The opposite also happens. The secretary will say, "There is a man who wants to talk to you. " Do you want to talk to him?" With confidence in her judgment and respect for her feelings, the response of the boss is likely to be, "No, get rid of him."
In some offices several people answer the telephones. So, if you spoke to Mrs. Collins and she was pleasant, when another voice answers, ask for Mrs. Collins, and when she comes on the line you say, "Hello, Mrs. Collins, this is Sam Smith again. Would it be possible to speak with Mr. Gonzalez at this time?" Asking for her will make her feel more important in the eyes of her co-workers. Another point scored in your favor.
Another trick in getting through to an executive to whom you want to speak is to call early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Most secretaries work from nine to five. However, their bosses are often early birds who get to the office before she does, or night owls who work long after she has gone home. Try calling around 8:33 in the morning or 5:47 in the afternoon and you might find the boss answering his own telephone.
Recently a new obstacle has raised its head - the demonic device called "Voice Mail". Don't be discouraged or daunted. Speak in a cheerful, upbeat manner. Refer to your letter and repeat your compliment, your objective and repeat with emphasis that you do not expect a job. Then ask for a return call from your target or from the secretary.
So, now you have tried all your tricks and finally you get Mr. Gonzalez on the line. "Hello, Mr. Gonzalez, this is Sam Smith." Then you quickly repeat all the points you made in your Letter of Approach. Compliment him... explain what you want... reassure him that you do not expect him to have a job for you... tell him you only want fifteen to twenty minutes. Then try to set up a time for the meeting. Don't say, "When would it be possible to have an appointment?" This makes a big production out of the meeting and forces him to look at his calendar for an open slot. It is better to say, "I plan to be in your area tomorrow afternoon about three. May I stop in then?"
You have already explained you only want fifteen or twenty minutes, so it is easy for him to say, "No, three o'clock will be a problem, but how about 3:45?" You, of course, reply, "Great, I will be there."
Your telephone calls should be timely. The person has received and read your letter so your call should come in while your letter is fresh in his or her mind. Don't write someone and then call them ten days or two weeks later. By that time your letter will have been forgotten. Similarly, when you reach your target by phone you want to set up an early appointment. Keep your momentum. Don't let the trail get cold. If Mr. Gonzalez is just leaving on a business trip, don't even try to set up a meeting for after he gets back. By then you might find yourself meeting with an executive who is under the pressure of events that may have intervened between your phone call and the appointment.
If Mr. Gonzalez cannot see you because of a coming business trip, but indicates a willingness to meet with you at a later date, it is better just to say, "Why don't I call again when you are back from your trip?" Having once been successful in reaching Mr. Gonzalez, you will have little difficulty in getting through to him later. You have broken the barrier. The next time the secretary asks what your call is about, you simply answer, "Mr. Gonzalez asked me to call him at this time." She will put you through.
Keep in mind that it usually takes several phone calls to reach a business person. If you write four Letters of Approach do not expect to make just four phone calls and wind up with four appointments. Sometimes you have to make three, four, five calls or more before reaching the right person. Why is this? Because you call and the person is on a business trip. You call again and he is in a meeting. You call again and he is in the midst of dictation. You call again and he is out to lunch. You call again and he is in conference. You call one more time and he is sick. Frustrating? You bet!
So, when making your calls you must be patient and persistent. Keep in mind that persistence is an admired trait. Naturally, you have to be pleasant and make sure your persistence does not cross the line into pushiness or over-aggressiveness. Business managers like persistent people. They want people working for them who will be persistent in pursuit of the company's goals. They don't want people who are easily discouraged or dissuaded. So, be persistent, but nice.
