From Corporate Sales to Start-up

From Corporate Sales to Start-up Success Story > From: Job To: Startup From Corporate Sales to Start-up “I felt trapped... Work was just a grind, and I knew there was something missing.” * From Corporate Sales to Start-up Martin Lamberti's careerwas stifling his potential. So, he made the bold choice to strike out alone. Here, he shares his warts-'n'-all story of what it's taken to get his business off the ground, and why (despite the wrong turns) it's all been worth it. What work were you doing previously? I've been in sales my whole life. I hated sales for the most part, but I was good at it, so it stuck. What are you doing now? I started a business, with the goal of changing sales. Sales has a bad rap, mainly because of poor leadership. Salespeople, particularly in the B2B space, need a major shift in tactics, to become trusted influencers, rather than product pushers. So, my company does consulting to businesses who get their income from other businesses. Through my work, businesses become more effective at selling, and at the same time, the people involved in sales will look at it in the correct way. How did you feel in your work before you decided to make the change? Frustrated. I felt trapped, and had absolutely no sense of purpose. Work was just a grind, and I knew there was something missing. Why did you change? It felt like I was dying inside. OK, so that's a little drastic, but I knew there was no way I was going to reach my full potential on the course I had been on. The need for change was becoming an urge I could no longer ignore. I needed to find a way out of a way of work and life that had become stifling. When I started working a sales job for one of the largest banks in South Africa, at the age of 24, I'd actually started to enjoy sales for the first time, and started getting a new found respect for my own career. I moved up to senior positions in the bank, then was recruited by a former boss of mine who had moved to TransUnion. That's where the solutions we were selling became more and more complex, and I loved it! But things also started to go awry. I was learning a lot about the industries I was working in, and brought this information back to the business, in the form of ideas. My ideas were shot down and sometimes even laughed at. But a year or two later after every big idea had been rejected, the business started coming up with the same ideas and others took the credit. I decided I needed to start my own business, but wasn't sure what. When was the moment you decided to make the change? In my last job, I had started consulting pro bono for people who needed help selling a project or solution â€" just people in my own network. I did it because I knew sales and usually got some free beers for doing so â€" it was usually in pubs or homes after normal working hours. I helped one of these guys win a massive deal with Diners Club. So,I played with the idea, andit made perfect sense â€" this would be my business, to help other businesses that do B2B sales sell more. I made a formal arrangement with that company, and cashed in my provident fund from the bank which bought me what I thought would be a enough to cover me for year. But with all the costs of running a business in South Africa, it really only bought me eight months. I knew I would be able to help people to sell more. But I had no idea how. I knew CRM (Customer Relationship Management) really well, so set up a partnership with a brilliant company in the US and started selling that. How did you choose your new career? It kind of chose me. It was doing the work I had learned in my career, but applying it in a very different manner. It excited and scared me at the same time. It still does! Are you happy with the change? Absolutely. There are some really tough times. But they're worth it, as they're truly character building, rather than character squashing. I still don't think this is my ultimate purpose, but it's a major step in the right direction. I'm in hot pursuit of my true potential now, whereas before I was just trapped. What do you miss and what don't you miss? I miss the people the most. I always had good relationships with my colleagues and we used to see each other all the time. Now, I work mostly alone, even though I spend most of my days with many different people via my clients. How did you go about making the shift? I registered a business, and formed a formal agreement with my first client that I had been consulting with pro bono. Then, I formed another partnership with a powerful CRM company based in the US. I figured I'd quit my job, sell the CRM and earn commission off of that. What didn't go well? What wrong turns did you take? The CRM angle was a bad one. Soon after I quit my job, the CRM I had a partnership with doubled their pricing. A heavy blow, as here in South Africa, our currency does not do well against foreign currencies. I had nothing to offer but myself, and though I know I had skills, I had no idea how to 'package' them. (I'm still grappling with this!) I also made a bad call on my company name (Rapid Sales Growth), which I'm only realising two years down the line. Sales is a 'dirty' word. People associate it with sleazy car salespeople, and many people don't even want to be associated with sales. This never occurred to me, because to me sales means solving complex problems for clients. Most people don't see it that way, and as a result don't even want to speak to me, no matter what I can do for their business. When I started, I was very unsure of myself and my abilities. The whole thing was very daunting. As a result, I didn't assert myself soon enough, because I doubted my abilities, which meant the results took longer to achieve, which meant that some clients got frustrated. If I'd just done what I know and believed in myself from the word go, things would have been much easier from the start. I also built my own website. I ran a Google Adword campaign, and never even got one lead. Baffled, I cancelled the campaign after three months. I realised that the email link on my website was broken. I was so mad with myself â€" I am a meticulous person and I couldn't believe the stupidity of the mistake. How did you handle your finances to make your shift possible? I cashed in my provident fund, which I thought would get me a year â€" paying myself the minimum to get by. But it only lasted me eight months, so the pressure was on to get sales. Luckily, I landed a few clients at the eight-month mark! My family and I still run a tight ship. We seldom go on holidays, and we try to save money wherever we can. Extra cash goes into growing the business. What was the most difficult thing about changing? Backing myself and my abilities. It's still one of the hardest things, but looking at where I am today compared to when I started, I'm worlds apart. What help did you get? I had one client to start with, which I won when consulting pro bono. Other than that, just support from my closest family and friends. What resources would you recommend to others? If you need to sell your product, you need to get a CRM to track everything. There are also great tools out there to help you generate leads, depending on what you're selling and your budget. Getting them on your own can be a little difficult in the beginning. What have you learnt in the process? It's really difficult to build something from scratch. I don't know what the future holds: things are going well now, but in a small business, everything can turn upside down in an instant. Then again, it doesn't matter what happens in the future. This is where my life led me, and I believe that I'm now on the right path. I see the world in a different light now; it's like my mind is opening. And as my mind is opening, I see possibility in everything: it's really liberating. What would you advise others to do in the same situation? Follow your gut. I didn't have all the details figured out, and I had no financial backing. I'm still figuring things out, and although daunting, I'm feeling free. Make plans, but don't die by them. By the time you hit the road, things change so fast, you need to adapt quickly. Trust in your abilities and skills, no matter what anyone tells you. To find out more about Martin's business, visit www.rapidsalesgrowth.com. What lessons could you take from Martin's story to use in your own career change? Let us know in the comments below.

How to Help Hiring Managers Sell the PositionÂ

How to Help Hiring Managers Sell the Position   I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sent a well-qualified, enthusiastic candidate in for an interview only to have them come back and report that they had a horrible experience and would never want to work at that company. If this is happening to you, you need to pay more attention to training your hiring managers on how to sell the position to candidates. Does it sound like I’ve got it vice-versa? Shouldn’t the candidate be the one worried about impressing the hiring manager? In today’s employment environment, candidates have top choice for where they choose to work. This means you have to sell them on your company and on the person they will work for if they’re hired. Your hiring managers are a linchpin in this process. I coach hiring managers as well as candidates on how to prepare for a strong interview. Here is the advice I provide clients to help their hiring managers create a positive impression: 1) Teach them how to interview: Just because someone is a manager doesn’t mean they are great or experienced at interviewing. In fact, many hiring managers are just as nervous as candidates in an interview. Equip your hiring managers with solid training on interviewing techniques and the legal do’s and don’ts, i.e., what you can and cannot ask a candidate. It’s a good idea to have role-playing practice included in the training. Put a marketer’s hat on them.  Hiring managers need to be trained (ask your marketing, talent acquisition or peers to help) on what the key differentiators are for your company and how  to position those key selling points to the candidate. It is important to share what makes your company a great place to work at compared to your competitors. Provide them with training and make sure they know how the role the candidate is applying for impacts the overall success of the organization. Give them the current “big picture.” Drill it in them that the candidate’s experience is king.  Everyone expects a candidate to show up on time, right? But hiring managers also need to be on time. Not only that, they need to be taught that it is their job to provide a positive experience for the candidate. This means they need to have positive energy, be invested and present as they meet and talk with the candidate. Candidates will be evaluating the management style of the manager and be looking for a manager that is involved, positive and passionate about the work their department is doingâ€"and the opportunities the company is pursuing. Have them highlight training and development.  Millennials, especially, want to know that the company they invest their time in is fully invested in advancing their potential. But this is true of all talent. Hiring managers need to clearly outline career paths, orientation/onboarding support, and what kind of career development and coaching they are going to provide the candidate if hired. Be specific about how often performance reviews are conducted, what type of goals will be set and how they will be measured. All opportunities for professional  development need to be discussed because candidates want to know how much you value their future at your company. Caution them not to oversell, however.  As important as it is that hiring managers sell a candidate on the company, department and position, it’s equally important not to oversell. Hiring managers need to be upbeat, but realistic. They should not promise an experience that is not going to happen. I have seen candidates leave after being hired because what was promised and glorified during the hiring process never came to pass. Be sure hiring managers understand that it’s important to accurately portray the culture and to be transparent about any challenges they are working to overcome. The more you prepare hiring managers to be strong interviewers and company representatives, the better your hiring results will be. Follow these tips and equip your managers for success. Author: Katie Calhoun is a Strategic Director for Seven Step RPO. She has more than 11 years experience within the recruiting industry and is responsible for delivering Seven Step RPO’s solutions to global clients.

4 Steps to Effective Recruitment Marketing

4 Steps to Effective Recruitment Marketing Because of the reach and popularity of the online space, recruitment marketing has justified itself as a genuine  candidate attraction tool, as well as a safe space to build your employer brand. And in what is a highly competitive market to find the best talent, recruitment marketing becomes more and more important for businesses who dont want to use a staffing agency to help them find candidates. So in a mission to help you put your marketing hat on, weve put together the 4 most important steps to getting started with recruitment marketing. 1. Know your market As a marketer, one of the first things you do when want to market a certain service or product is to do your research on your audience. You ask yourself questions such as: What gender are they? What age are they? What generation are they from? What ethnicity are they? What level of education do they need? Those are just the basics. Everyone has their own audience in mind and the questions you have to ask yourself when doing the research will vary. Taking the time to research these areas will help you begin to shape a profile for your target audience, and will lead to you the next stage; Candidate personas! 2. Develop candidate personas Candidate personas are a representation of your ideal hire for a specific role and require a high level of research. Creating a candidate persona usually includes specifics such as: Skills Qualities Personalities Goals Background Experience Personas help you  create more relevant job content, including job titles, descriptions, as well as the content you provide on your company careers site and other social channels. To create candidate personas, you need to go big on data. And maybe you have a few top  performers at your company and you want more of them? Then we recommend you analyze these employees  based on all the different persona attributes we listed beforehand so you can create the ideal employee for your business. So once you have defined your candidate personas, you can move on to the next stage! 3. Constructing your employee  value proposition Your employee value proposition EVP is the messaging you put out as a company that effectively communicates  what is unique about working for your company. It represents your organizations  most important values and represents your organizations culture. To construct it, Link humans report that organizations need to understand the needs that drive talent outcomes and what is right for their workforce. Additionally, you need to make sure your EVP is differentiating your company from your competitors. Check out this quick video on the best practices you need to consider when constructing your EVP, by the  Top Employers Institute: ? Once done, test your EVP internally and with a sample group externally. This is a very important step as you need to see if your EVP accurately represents why a candidate would want to work for you! 4. Create an inbound content strategy This is the fun part. And the multiplicity  of social platforms at your disposal makes it somewhat easy! Dont just stick to one platform. Create content that showcases your values and culture. Share things like employee testimonials on your career page, company events on Instagram, employee blog posts on LinkedIn and more! Theres so much you can do. Get creative with it. The more channels of distribution you use, the greater the odds you will find relevant candidates. Want to learn more about recruitment marketing? Here are the 9 Critical Components of Recruitment Marketing.

Christmas at the office is bad for diversity

Christmas at the office is bad for diversity Countless workplace studies have shown that a diverse staff is likely to outperform a homogenous staff. So with all this talk about diversity, why are we still hanging Christmas wreaths at work? Not everyone at the office celebrates Christmas, and acting as if everyone has the holiday spirit squelches the spirit of workplace diversity. Diversity in the workplace is not diverse religious expression. Diversity should express itself in how people approach business problems. Religion is not appropriate at work in the same way that politics is not appropriate; both are divisive. Corporate events that are tied to religion make people who dont practice that religion feel like outsiders and therefore inhibit diversity. (And those of you who think Happy Holidays is non-sectarian, please realize that almost all non-Christians I know hear Happy Holidays as Merry Christmas to those of you who do not celebrate it.) For me, the Christmas problem starts early at Yom Kippur, which usually falls in September. This is the most important holiday for Jews, but I have never gotten this holiday off from work. I take vacation days to observe Yom Kippur. And I dont complain about using my vacation days because it is absurd to think everyone should stop working because the Jews have a holiday. But as workers, Jews have to observe Christmas. For us, its a weird day to be off from work. No stores are open. Theres nothing on TV. Most restaurants are closed. Its a boring day, a good day to be at work. So when Christmas rolls around, many Jews would be happy to work on the 25th and have a more useful day off. But we are forced to take a holiday. Given the nothingness of Christmas to most Jews, it is absurd how much Christmas cheer that Jews partake in just to fit in at the office. Vendors send Christmas cards, co-workers say Happy Holidays, clients expect Christmas gifts. Jews partake in all these moments because the best way to succeed at work is to fit in. The bottom line is that Jews are forced to be what they are not in order to fit in, and that is never good when youre trying to promote the diverse expression of ideas. I can already hear the uproar: Christmas is not about religion! Its always the Christians who say that. Christmas is about religion because Christians celebrate Christmas. Jews dont do Christmas. Muslims dont do Christmas. Buddhists dont do Christmas. And no one rants and raves about how religious or nonreligious Christmas is except the Christians. Thats because they feel they have authority over the holiday its theirs. Heres an exercise for those of you who have gotten to the bottom of this column and are infuriated (I know youre there you send e-mail to me every December): Try to see my point of view. Even if you dont agree with me, acknowledge that my point of view represents a minority in the workplace. If you cannot step outside yourself and see things from a minority perspective, you will not be able to manage minorities. And if you want your career to be upwardly mobile, you need to be able to manage diversity. If you want to be kind and generous and contribute to peace on earth in the New Year, help minorities to fit in. Open your mind to experiences that are different than your own. Look at ways your office makes diversity difficult and fix them. You can start by getting rid of those Christmas wreaths.

Reasons Why You Should Consider Working Abroad

Reasons Why You Should Consider Working Abroad Photo Credit â€" Pexels.comDepending on where you’re from, you may either be quick to jump on the opportunity of living and working abroad or stay behind to build a career back home. In Hong Kong, for example, four out of five employees would shun traveling abroad for work, while Chinese counterparts have a totally different situation, with a measly 2% choosing local work instead of going international.Interestingly, both countries, along with New Zealand, Belize, the UK, Switzerland, and a few others, are in the Business Insider’s top 10 list of best countries for expat employees, suggesting that working abroad is a matter of personal choice as well.Those who have experienced working abroad swear by it as a life-changing experience on both personal and professional levels. A number of them find the opportunity a golden one and would encourage others to try their luck, at least once in their lifetime.evalHere’s a round-up of reasons that motivate expats to pack up their bags an d build their career elsewhere, and which you should consider too:1. To do the impossibleMigrating is tough by any measure. You leave your old, familiar life and set foot on a foreign land where you have to start from scratchâ€"most of the time, all on your own. However, to do it means you’re bold enough to see what’s on the other side of the world.2. To explore other culturesIf you would like to satisfy your curiosity, experience diversity, and understand how one community exists as it does, you’ll definitely welcome the experience. Explorers are such a great breed that if they could go to Mars, they would hop on to the next NASA space mission.3. The boring stuff: bigger incomeSurely, you wouldn’t settle for anything less than what you would get or are getting back home, so you go out for greener pasture.If you’re from the freelancer bunch whose most prized possessions are your laptop, along with a good Wi-Fi connection, you could earn yourself more money in countries lik e Ecuador, Thailand, or Singapore where work from home opportunities abound to help you offset the reasonable to pricey cost of living.4. To bring back some learningPatriotism is not dead. For a number of professionals abroad, settling away from home is not the ultimate goal. Some would want to bring back what they learned abroad to their motherland.For example, Americans are very low key when it comes to status and wealth. So, to a Filipino migrant in the United States, it may be a personal crusade to come back home in time and teach fellow Filipinos to be less obsessed about titles and more humble with their wealth.5. To adorn your CVevalHaving an international job history on your CV / Resume makes you an attractive candidate for recruiters. It speaks highly of your ability to break through social barriers, to adapt to new surroundings, and take on challenges in an unfamiliar territory.6. To shift gearsOther people see working abroad as an opportunity to discover what their passio n really is. Perhaps being away from one’s comfort zone could help a person reflect on which route to choose as far as career is concerned. Plus, there’s less pressure from family or friends in case you fail on your first few attempts.7. To be globally competitiveIf you finally decide on a career or industry of your choice, working in a foreign country can give you a different kind of perspective on how things are being done elsewhere. If later, you decide to expand your boundaries, you could be way ahead of your peers in terms of global advantage and competitiveness.8. To make extraordinary memoriesDespite the associated challenges, starting fresh somewhere can be a memorable journey. Meeting new coworkers, living like the locals, learning a different language, and adapting to your surroundingsâ€"all of these could add value to your personal and professional life.9. To seize the dayevalNot everyone is given a chance to travel to see the world and work. Some wait forever for a c hance like this to come but are less fortunate.For some, the opportunity might come a little too late, especially if you have been working on tenure for the longest time. But if the opportunity presents itself to you, like your company sending you on a special work assignment or you land a job from your own fruition, then, by all means, embrace that opportunity.Working abroad may not be for everyone, as it will all boil down to various contributing factors such as your capabilities, goals, readiness, and others.If you’re doing OK where you are right now, well then good for you. But if you’re the sort that feels like conquering the world and gaining valuable experiences along the way, the way to your dreams is well within reach.

Summary Sunday Networking, Talent Pipelines and Job Search

Summary Sunday Networking, Talent Pipelines and Job Search Heres what you need to understand about job searching in 2019 and why networking and talent pipelines are so important to  your job search and ultimately securing a new job! In this weeks roundup, youll find help in crafting emails asking for an introduction that will actually get a response, insights on how talent pipelines work, helpful job search advice, how to use advanced LinkedIn search, interesting data about Artificial Intelligence and HR predictions. There a lot in here across different topics! Sit back with your cup of coffee and enjoy! NETWORKING The Art Of The Email Introduction: 10 Rules For Emailing Busy People by Bruce Upbin  | Forbes If you only read one article this week, it should be this one! This is one of the best articles Ive seen written on writing an email introduction! It was written in 2013, but was circulating on social media this week! CAREER Post-Vacation Anxiety Is a Real Thingâ€"Heres How to Prevent It by Alyse Kalish | The Muse You are already back from your vacation, but read this anyway. It will help you prepare for your next one. Yes, taking a vacation  does  reduce your stress, make you feel more motivated, and improves your work quality and productivity. However, if you dont do some planning and unplug while youre out of the office, youre likely to feel more stressed when you return. JOB SEARCH Talent Pipeline Case Study â€" Nestlé Purina Reaches an Amazing 43 Percent of Hires by Dr. John Sullivan | ERE Im sharing this to help you understand a major shift in how employers are finding candidates and filling jobs. This directly impacts what you need to do to get hired! (Hint: Create a list of companies you want to work for!) Dr. Sullivan explains what talent pipleline  recruiting is: If you’re not familiar with the concept, a talent pipeline recruiting strategy provides a tremendous competitive advantage because it allows your firm to fill positions almost immediately with higher-quality talent then you would normally get by using the typical just-in-time sourcing. This pipeline approach is called a “pre-need strategy” because the candidate sourcing starts before you have an immediate opening. And that means that rather than “chasing talent” under time pressure, you can take your time finding top candidates.   How to Make Employee Referral Programs Work for You by Susan P. Joyce | Job-Hunt.org Another game-changer in the world of recruiting is the employee referral program. In this post youll learn about how some of the different ERPs work and the rules of how to apply. Its important to understand this stuff! 15 Ways To Attack Your Job Search In The New Year by Bob McIntosh on LinkedIn Follow this helpful checklist to keep your job search going in the new year! Youve got this! LINKEDIN How to Leverage LinkedIn for a Successful New Year by Wayne Breitbarth, PowerFormula | YouTern Do you know how to use the advanced search function on LinkedIn? Well, you will be amazed at the information you can find when you use it! Plus, there are very specific actions you can take to improve your LinkedIn experience! INTERESTING READS 2019 AI Predictions:  Six AI Priorities  You Can’t Afford To Ignore by PwC Artificial Intelligence (AI) is penetrating every aspect of every job. So even if you havent been exposed to it yetexpect to see it soon! PwC writes: To get a read on where organizations currently stand, we surveyed more than 1,000 US business executives at companies that are already investigating or implementing AI. A full 20 percent said their organizations plan to implement AI enterprise-wide in 2019. If these ambitious plans pan out, many leading US companies will become AI-enhanced â€" not just in pockets of the organization, but throughout their operations. The Human Touch: 10 Predictions for HR in 2019 by David Green on LinkedIn Each prediction is backed up with data to help you see why it makes the list. These predictions will impact your career and your job search so I thought it was important to give you a heads up. The Human Touch: 10 Predictions for HR in 2019 by David Green

PPT on Resume Writing - Customize Your Resume

PPT on Resume Writing - Customize Your ResumeIf you are running a business and are looking for a job, you should do some online research on PPT on resume writing. This can be a very important thing to do for your resume. PPT on resume writing will enable you to present yourself in a way that will get you hired. The following article will give you some information on PPT on resume writing.To start with, you should know the difference between PPT on resume writing and resumes that are PPT on paper. There is a big difference between the two. Resumes on paper will usually show the educational level, work experience, previous employer, etc. However, if you are looking for a resume writer that can customize a resume for you, you should look at the PPT on resume writing method as it will show you a better way of presenting yourself to a potential employer. A good PPT on resume writing can show a fuller picture of your past history.If you are trying to determine if you want to pursue a caree r in the field of customer service, a PPT on resume writing can help you. It will show you a better way of making your point without having to read every word of your resume. It will save you from having to glance at your resume and then leaving the room in order to review it. Using a PPT on resume writing method, you can get the necessary information to create an effective and meaningful resume. Your resume should be on your job and it should also be designed to catch the attention of a potential employer.The PPT on resume writing method will give you a lot of benefits. First, you should be able to create your own resume. By doing this, you will be able to customize it according to your preferences. You can get it to show more information about your knowledge of the industry. You can also choose to put in any special facts that are relevant to your specialty. It is up to you what you want to put in.When you use a PPT on resume writing method, you can include a sample resume or a li nk to your website. You will be able to attract a lot of interest. In fact, when a company decides to hire you, they will not only consider your skills, but also your resume.The next benefit is that PPT on resume writing will allow you to write a resume that looks professional. You will not only have to do the writing for it, but you will also have to re-write your resume several times. This makes it hard for a prospective employer to decide which resume you should use.It is also important that you take into consideration the fact that a resume written by a professional will also reflect a lot of professionalism. Professionalized resume means that you will have all the keywords and content in the resume that you put on it. You will not have to spend a lot of time trying to insert keywords in your resume. This is definitely a plus for your resume.