Last night Zebra Jeff and I spoke to Marketing Association students at UW-Oshkosh.
Zebra Jeff is an alum at UW-Oshkosh… I won’t post his graduation date, or how many years it’s been since he last held status as an “enrolled student” there, but I do want to share a few points that we emphasized to the younger aspiring sales people in the audience.
1. Interviewing for a sales job, or any job for that matter, should be treated as a sales opportunity in which you are selling yourself. This was the example that we used to tie in our sales methodology to something we thought most students would be able to relate to either currently, or in the very near future.
2. Given that this should be treated as a sales situation, we say that you should focus on your “Zebra” (OBVIOUSLY!)… Not only should you be a fit for your prospective employer, but that employer should also be a fit for you in terms of:
i. company culture (do you fit them and vice-versa in terms of lifestyle, philosophy, etc.)
ii. identify with and have sincere respect for the manager you will be directly reporting to
iii. have not only the skills to do your chosen job well, but also make sure you have the love for it, which is the only factor that can truly lead to real success
3. Before you talk too much about yourself and who you are, have a good idea of the unique and quantifiable value you can provide to your prospective employer:
i. research the company’s strategic direction and current business issues found in the CEO’s letter in the annual report
ii. find a way to penetrate that company beyond going through the usual channels (i.e. gatekeepers in HR)
iii. identify what makes you unique in pursuing these critical issues above and beyond your peer competitors
So, to all the young lions out there, make sure you have identified your Zebra (i.e. easy prey) and formulated and effective strategy of pursuit before making the decision to commit your valuable resources to the task. The reward will be a prosperous career step for you, and a fruitful new hire for your employer.
Zebras in any sales game are Fast Food that take dedication and discipline to catch, but are worthy of pursuit!
Last 5 posts by Chad Koser
- Building Your Zebra eBook Now Ready for Download! - April 21st, 2010
- Complex Sales and Selling Strategies, Sixth Edition - February 15, 2010 - February 26th, 2010
- Complex Sales and Selling Strategies, Fifth Edition - January 21, 2010 - January 21st, 2010
- Santa has a Zebra! Make your list, and check it twice... - January 1st, 2010
- Complex Sales and Selling strategies, 4th Edition - December 4, 2009 - December 4th, 2009
This is a great blog so congrats to zebra Sr. and Jr. At Taleo we are still hiring pretty aggressively but we hire very few recent college grads. The only exceptions are those who are willing to spend a year or two working on their craft in an entry level sales environment…especially when so many experienced people are in the market. Most important attributes for a new hire without experience are:
brain power
work ethic
pride in the sales profession,
sales is a calling!
b. smith, vp sales Taleo
http://www.taleo.com
During my career, I worked my way into a Network technical
Director position for a large mid-west medical equipment manufacturer. I was
responsible for the computer and networking infrastructure. I had the
budget responsibility and dealt with all of the vendors and suppliers.
After about 10 years, I had the opportunity to join one of these vendors.
I thought that after being on the buying side of the table, a move to the selling
side would be a walk in the park. After all, I knew what I needed as a buyer
and transforming that into a sales strategy should be easy… Wrong…
The sales “environment” is very dynamic. Many variables have an impact
on a customer engagement. (the economy, technology, relationships, product offerings,
the list goes on.) I wasn’t prepared for the onslaught and negative responses that awaited.
I was spending an extraordinary amount of time pursuing every customer contact I could.
I was successful but tired. I then started to lose my installed base customers
because I wasn’t managing the relationship. I needed to work smarter.
I was introduced to Jeff and Chad’s “Selling to Zebras.” The “Zebra”
technique made a lot of sense AND gave me the tools to qualify,
maintain and focus on customers that I could be successful with.
The “Zebra” technique allowed me to interject my technical abilities with
a solid sales process. I’m able to take this approach to all levels of
a potential customer. This is important as I’m finding that the real power within a
company is moving ever closer to the ”C” level.
During this difficult economic time, I find that the “Zebra” concepts
are especially important to maintain focus and bring to customers
no nonsense solutions to their business initiatives.
Buy for now,
Cliff Pautz
Solutions Architect
Sun Microsystems
Selling is always about selling yourself. Building a value proposition around yourself and matching your skills and attitude to a prospective employer’s is sound advice as well. Finding a Zebra company for a new grad might be more difficult, especially now with so very many experienced “value added” sales executives looking for jobs.
Gen Y’ers are notorious “sharers”. What I mean by this is that they are communication, feedback and recognition intense. The current economic condition has driven many organizations to spread management thinly. Over-taxed managers rely on concise, limited communication with staff to get through the day. Boomers often believe in less-is-more when it comes to e-mails, meetings, etc..
New grads might consider this when looking for employment zebras, and when selling their value. If you need a good deal of feed-back and social networking to feel connected to your work, then look for companies that are seeking that. If your zebra is more of an “old school” enviornment; then be certain you can produce indenpendently and sell that as a value. In this resource strapped market, hard work, dedication to sales as a career and a clear vision of what you do (and don’t) bring to the company will go a long way in securing that coveted position.
Thank you very much for the comments Bill, Cliff, and Eric! It’s great to have three experts weighing in on the “college grad new hire” topic, and I’m hoping many of our audience from UW-Oshkosh will continue to check back for more good advice from all of you. I know Zebra Jeff spoke to business students at Marquette on Tuesday morning as well, so we welcome any new participants that may be logging on from that campus as well!