======================================================================== THE ADVICE LINE: BOB LEWIS http://www.infoworld.com ======================================================================== Wednesday, November 17, 2004
LATEST WEBLOG ENTRIES ======================================================================== * A reply by an expert in the field * The selling instinct ADVERTISEMENT -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- IP convergence - the new game in town Find out about solutions that reduce complexity in the data center while lowering ROI. Tune in to learn about new technologies enabling IP convergence. Go now. http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=9FC65C:2B910B2 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- A REPLY BY AN EXPERT IN THE FIELD ======================================================================== Posted November 16, 9:30 AM PST Pacific Time Nick Corcodilos, author of Ask The Headhunter, sent this in response to the inquiry by "Endangered species ( http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=9FC657:2B910B2 )": Engineers and technical people naturally have difficulty with the idea of "selling". It's very foreign to their day-to-day work, and you can blame that on engineers themselves, or on their employers for not instilling more "sales" into engineering jobs. But I'm not commenting on this issue just to point out the obvious. I'd like to point out the hidden problem. And it is this: Engineers think in terms of skills and problem-solving rather than in terms of identifying opportunities and selling solutions. Any engineer can close one eye and tie one hand behind his or her back and bridge the seeming gap -- it's simple. Forget about skills and learning curves. This person is right: you can't sell the ability to make things happen by listing your skills. But, you CAN sell the business plan you use to do your job. My advice: create two or three brief "case studies" of challenges you've faced and describe how you tackled and solved them. Provide two levels of description. First, enough detail to make each example concrete and interesting. Second, a top-level view that reveals "generalizable" skills and the strategic approach you employ with all challenges. Tie it all up by showing the connections between your generalizable strategy and the cases in point. That's your sales piece. That's your marketing approach. If you really want to go whole-hog, assess a specific challenge being faced by the manager you want to work for. Create a brief plan for that scenario, using the same approach I outlined above. That's the rock-'em-sock-'em closing to your pitch. Any good engineer can put this together, because engineers are good at problem-solving. Marketing and sales are problems that can be characterized using the same general terms as any other problem. There's an input, a black box, and an output. What seems daunting to many engineers is the characterization of the black box, but it need not be. You take your abilities and the problem the employer needs solved (the in-zes), formulate a process that's based on the specific problem an employer needs handled and which you justify by applying your generalized skills (the black box), and a business plan for the job you want to be hired for (the out-zes). If you don't like the term "business plan", think of it as a "project plan". Hand it to the employer. You're done -- until the employer starts asking you for more details. Best, Nick Corcodilos Ask The Headhunter Newsletter found at ... For the full story: http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=9FC656:2B910B2 THE SELLING INSTINCT ======================================================================== Posted November 12, 12:40 PM PST Pacific Time Dear Bob ... I've read much of your career advice over the past few years. It's led me to the conclusion that as a generalist I am extinct, or at best endangered. You've said over and over again that the ability to sell yourself is critical to career success. But selling has to be the hardest profession of all and selling yourself instead of a tangible product is tougher still. It might be easier if I was a specialist with a complete run of Cisco or MS certs but I like being the "goto" guy that knows about the weird problems. Most of the time, engineers and management bring me the special projects and unusual situations since I have a good track record of finding a solution. Most of the time the other engineers could have found the answer but they didn't know where to look or where to start. What I bring to the table that's unusual is a very shallow learning curve and a broad experience base. It is very hard to sell that to a specialist HR department. I read, "Ask The Headhunter", which is a a very good newsletter and it offers the same advice. No offense is intended but I consider that advice worthless. Unfortunately, it is not because that I believe that you are wrong but that it is not possible to utilize. Engineers and technical people as a general rule don't sell very well. Salespersons rarely can handle technical details and configurations. There are people that operate in both worlds and they are rare and extremely valuable. It is foolish to ask me to try to sell myself when those skills are as much instinctive as learned. Many skills can be learned and many cannot and selling is either you have it or you don't. It an be honed by better technique and practice but the underlying ability has to be present and the mindset that develops technically doesn't led to that path. - Endangered species Dear Endangered ... I've heard any number of technical professionals explain that they can't sell because it isn't in their nature. Some of them even haul out their Myers-Briggs profiles to reinforce the contention. I don't buy it. Myers-Briggs or not, nearly anyone can sell. Some can sell more effectively than others, but that's a different question: Some people have a knack for golf, too, but it's a rare individual who couldn't learn to shoot in the 90s. All it takes is a few lessons and a lot of practice. And when you're selling yourself, shooting in the 90s is all you have to do. The mythology among engineers is that you have to deceive prospects into buying. And there are sales professionals who do just that, or try to. But really - when the product is you, if you think you have to trick someone into ... For the full story: http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=9FC657:2B910B2 Bob Lewis is president of IT Catalysts, Inc., http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=9FC65D:2B910B2 , an independent consultancy specializing in IT effectiveness and strategic alignment. Contact him at [EMAIL PROTECTED] . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Advertisement - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Have you ever wished you could give every manager in your IT organization a practical toolkit of leadership techniques, the way you can for database administrators or developers? You can. That's exactly what I've engineered my IT leadership seminar to accomplish. If you're interested, visit http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=9FC658:2B910B2 - Bob Lewis ======================================================================== INFOWORLD PRODUCT GUIDE Get the latest reviews, news, product specs, and information on the products essential to your business today! http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=9FC65A:2B910B2 ======================================================================== ADVERTISE ======================================================================== For information on advertising, contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] UNSUBSCRIBE/MANAGE NEWSLETTERS ======================================================================== To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your e-mail address for any of InfoWorld's e-mail newsletters, go to: http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=9FC655:2B910B2 To subscribe to InfoWorld.com, or InfoWorld Print, or both, or to renew or correct a problem with any InfoWorld subscription, go to http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=9FC65B:2B910B2 To view InfoWorld's privacy policy, visit: http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=9FC659:2B910B2 Copyright (C) 2004 InfoWorld Media Group, 501 Second St., San Francisco, CA 94107 This message was sent to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
