Getting LinkedIn Recommendations

In my blog posts over the last six weeks, I’ve covered LinkedIn as a part of a 7-part series (this is my 7th and last post!).

In my opinion, recommendations (not to be confused with skill endorsements) are the most important section on LinkedIn. Recommendations are probably a bigger differentiator than anything else on their site.

If you are a job-seeker or salesperson, recommendations may be the number one thing that make people comfortable hiring or doing business with you. We can all tell people how great we are – but someone else’s words mean a lot more. Get at least 10 recommendations on your page.

How do you get recommendations? Give them. I make a concerted effort to write them on a regular basis – and in most cases, it’s an opportunity to ask for one in return. Don’t make this a bigger deal than it is; write 3-4 sentences about why you think highly of them (and if you don’t, do not give them a recommendation!). And don’t get caught up in making it perfect. 

My recommendations say something like:

“I worked with Joe when we were both at ABC Company. I had the opportunity to see him in action and he did SOMETHING really well. I’d highly recommend Joe – please reach out if you have any questions!” (under SOMETHING describe 1-2 specifics).

This took me about 90 seconds to write.

Here are the 3 steps for writing a recommendation:

1. Go to their LinkedIn profile and click on the 3 dots in the right corner. In the dropdown menu, choose Recommend.
2. Choose how you know this person and your position at the time.
3. Write your recommendation.

Clients and people that you’ve reported to are the best recommenders, but colleagues you’ve worked with can also provide a recommendation. Just like the ones you give – only ask those that think highly of you and/or love the service you provided them. So don’t be shy and ask for them! Then ask again… if they say yes the first two times, then politely pester them a third time until they actually write one for you.

People are heavily influenced by these so don’t wait until someone asks for your references after interviews – put them out there for the world to see! 

It has been fun breaking down some of the best features of LinkedIn over the past 6 weeks. If you took my suggestions to heart, you understand better how to sell, recruit, find a job, join groups and receive recommendations… and you probably have one of the better profiles on LinkedIn. The quality of your profile will have ongoing benefits.

Despite the length of my 2019 LinkedIn entries, we have not exactly covered the breadth of this site. If you have questions about anything on LinkedIn, feel free to reach out to me.

It’s time to grow faster~ Drew

drew@blueoctopusllc.com

http://www.blueoctopusllc.com

 

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/getting-linkedin-recommendations-drew-schmitz/

#linkedin

 

How to Recruit on LinkedIn

This is my 3rd entry in a series of 7 blogs about how to make better use of LinkedIn. My first two articles were an introduction and focus on selling via LinkedIn (see entries on January 31 & February 7 if you missed them: BOSC WordPress).

If you are a full-time recruiter, you probably know the ins and outs of using LinkedIn. The rest of you probably don’t maximize all the benefits of this expansive site. Unemployment remains extremely low in 2019, so you can’t wait for resumes to land on your doorstep. Great candidates are currently working, and LinkedIn is probably the best way to proactively find them.

1. JOIN THE PARTY

By joining some of the larger groups on LinkedIn – including some specific to your industry – you give yourself further exposure to others. You can message other members directly, post new conversations within the group (like “I have an opening!”) and comment on others’ posts without requiring a first degree connection. I highly recommend doing some work searching and joining groups.

2. ROAR LIKE A LION

I covered being a L.I.O.N. (LinkedIn Open Networker) in my last blog. If you don’t know what it is, please read that last post. If you are actively recruiting, utilize this rich network on LinkedIn.

3. CONSIDER A SUBSCRIPTION

For some of us, the need for InMails and additional tools within LinkedIn becomes a little more important. I’d consider an upgrade so that you can message 2nd degree connections and beyond. Also, you will be able to contact other premium members without using an InMail (a $60/month subscription gives you 15 per month).

If you do have them, use your InMails wisely. Craft personalized messages explaining why the recipient seems like a match for your opening. Keep it brief and to the point about your opportunity.

4. JOB POSTINGS?

I don’t mean to plug spending a lot on LinkedIn but posting a job on here can be a good option. Not to get off-topic, but here are my job board recommendations:

• Try ZipRecruiter and Indeed first; they are probably the most effective.
• Monster and CareerBuilder are still relevant. They have become good but not great.
• Dice can be effective for technical positions.
• Ladders is good for salespeople and other $100K+ jobs.

I think LinkedIn falls in a close third behind ZipRecruiter and Indeed. Most of my tips are proactive efforts versus reactionary, so please don’t assume that job ads are going to easily fill your opening with a great candidate.

5. USE A CRYSTAL BALL

Crystal is a plug-in that allows you to learn about the personality of a person on LinkedIn based on their communication style. It’s a great little tool and I’d highly recommend that you give it a try.

6. DO YOUR HOMEWORK

The absolute number one value for recruiting on LinkedIn is the research you can do in finding people. Consider this site crucial for data mining. What do you want to mine? Their name, skill set and company. If you know this much, you can determine who to reach out to. With an extensive network (500+ connections), the advanced search becomes your best friend.

7. NOW WHAT?

You have their name, but you don’t have any InMails nor a group in common with the person. DON’T risk sending them an invitation to connect if they are a stranger. You can be red-flagged by LinkedIn if more than one person responds “I Don’t Know” to your invite.

Even though there are 590 Million people on LinkedIn, only 260 Million (44%) are monthly users. The average user spends just 17 minutes a month on their site. For more statistics, check out: https://www.omnicoreagency.com/linkedin-statistics/.

You are going to have to get more creative than that – below are four better suggestions.

a. Get an introduction. Chances are, you have a contact in common – message that person in LinkedIn (1st degrees are always free) and ask for that introduction. Also, be sure to clarify your intentions up front – “introducers” can be more helpful if they know you want to reach the person about a job opening.

b. Locate them on a job board by name and company. Even if they aren’t currently searching, you may be able to find this person on one of the several mentioned in #4 above. A lot of resumes are kept on job boards indefinitely (unless taken down by the user).

c. Find their email. Sometimes you get lucky and they have their email listed in their profile. In 2019, it’s not that difficult to find people’s email addresses. If you know their company, go to their website and find their email “suffix”. Blue Octopus is http://www.blueoctopusllc.com, so our email ends @blueoctopusllc.com. Joe Johnson at Blue Octopus is probably one of the 90% that can then be reached using these common email formats: jjohnson@blueoctopusllc.com or joe.johnson@blueoctopusllc.com (if a smaller company, try joe@blueoctopusllc.com). Worst case scenario, it bounces, and you move on to other methods.

d. Call them! You know where they work; if they look great, it might be time to bravely pick up the phone.

Remember when emailing and especially calling them at work to be respectful of your “interruption”. Keep the emails somewhat vague aside from stating you “have an opportunity to discuss”. Over the phone ask if this is “a good time – or can we schedule something more convenient?” (Picture their boss is sitting at their desk!).

8. KEEP CONNECTING!

I started out on LinkedIn many years ago, slowly adding colleagues, friends, clients and people I’ve met in person to build my network to over 2,000 connections. Later, I became an active LION and open networker. 14,000 connections later, I have a vast network giving me exposure to millions. If the average user has 500 connections (based on what I’ve read, that’s probably a low estimate), then I have 500 * 14,000 = 7,000,000 second degree connections!

First and foremost, I want you to think of LinkedIn as a database for mining people’s names, titles and skill sets. Don’t assume that an InMail (or any message) will work, because at least half of your messages probably aren’t read by the individual. Please, please remember – LinkedIn isn’t all-encompassing and you will need to apply some of the methods that I suggest under #7 above.

Stay on top of building your network – If you have spoken to or emailed a connection, send a personalized invitation. If you have met them in person, diligently keep sending these new people invites! 

It’s time to grow faster~ Drew

drew@blueoctopusllc.com

http://www.blueoctopusllc.com

 

Are You a Dog or Cat on LinkedIn?

From a simplified perspective, there are essentially two ways to use LinkedIn: Like a cat or like a dog…

Dog: You want to meet and connect with EVERYONE even if you don’t know them well (that’s me!). If you are meeting new people on a weekly basis, this method might make sense for you as a place to collect your connections; if you are a recruiter or a salesperson, I highly recommend being a dog.

Cat: You are more careful about your connections on LinkedIn. This is your core group of trusted colleagues and you don’t want to overload your contact list. You cats out there will probably be annoyed with my recommendations to join a lot of groups and connect with as many people as you can. You’ve kept this program simple and therefore a little more manageable.

Even though I’m a dog, I can appreciate the cat strategy. My personal LinkedIn is overloaded with connections and given its limitations, it can be difficult at times to sort through and remember my interaction with all my 1st degrees.

In 2003, LinkedIn went into business and then in 2016, Microsoft purchased it (for $26 Billion). It was ahead of its time – to compare, Facebook was launched in 2004 and Twitter in 2006. If the Rolodex wasn’t a thing of the past in 2003, it certainly got thrown out once LinkedIn came around.

Sixteen years later, LinkedIn is somewhat of a name brand in social media for business. It’s still very practical but not as user-friendly as I’d like it to be. Even with the best $120 monthly subscription, the ability to export specific information (like location) is poor and you are probably going to find a few aspects of the interface clunky.

That said, whether you are a dog or a cat, LinkedIn is the go-to web site for professional networking and that probably isn’t going to change any time soon. Since their basic membership is free, at the very least, have a profile on it and understand a few basic methods of using this social media tool.

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to break down LinkedIn in further detail to highlight its strengths:

• Selling
• Hiring
• Job Seeking
• Groups
• Recommendations.

In this upcoming blog series, I am not going to give much detail about building your profile. It has been written many times so instead, my focus will be on the list above. However, just to recap the basics: use a good profile picture, build some detail under your work history and create a profile highlighting your personality and strengths. Make sure it is well written!

Have you identified yourself as a Cat or Dog? Whatever your animal, let’s make the most of LinkedIn! I look forward to diving into more detail in the coming weeks.

It’s time to grow faster

~ Drew

drew@blueoctopusllc.com

 

 

 

 

Salespeople Can Produce 4X

I’ve seen many examples of salespeople and even teams that have achieved an ROI of 4X (gross margin / cost). In some industries, it is easier, but I’m a strong believer that most salespeople can reach that production level by year 2. I’m assuming that your B2B product(s) or service(s) cost more than $1,000 – and that your GM is more than 20%. If you fit that criteria, it’s time to focus on ROI and 4X.

Calculating Return on Investment (ROI) for Salespeople: 
Total Margin (Not Sales!) / Salary + Commission + Benefits

Example: 
Julie sells $1 Million in 2018.
Her Gross Margin is 34% = $340K

Julie’s salary is $60K and her commission is $34K.
The company’s benefits cost approximately 20%.
$94K * 1.2 = $112,800 is the expense of this employee

$340K / $112,800 = 3.01 is her ROI

When you simplify it, salespeople only do three positive and/or negative things for your company:

1. Make you money or cost you money.

1. Boost or hurt the company and team morale.

1. Externally, they positively or negatively affect your company’s reputation.

They’re Just a Number? 

I hate to turn salespeople into numbers and that isn’t where I start; especially in the interview and training process. Your sales force is much more than salesperson #12 that sits in the 34th cubicle on the 5th floor producing 3X.

If you’ve read any of my previous material in my newsletter, blogs or book, Sales Neutrinos, you realize that I put a lot of emphasis on the qualitative side of appropriately selecting, managing and motivating employees. Every salesperson is a unique human being and typically you should be helping them versus berating them over their ROI. If you hired well, assume they are another important future 4X producer on your team – and do everything in your power to get them there (or fall short at 3X).

Managing salespeople is actually a lot easier than we make it. They are working for you to help sell more goods or services. Long term, it’s about measuring their production. If they aren’t delivering a strong return, then they aren’t making a lot in commissions… and they probably aren’t happy either.

Hire, train and manage them well. In terms of numbers, first and foremost, concentrate on ROI; the rest of the metrics are secondary.

It’s time to grow faster~ 
Drew

drew@blueoctopusllc.com

Greener Pastures?

Because I own a recruitment firm, it goes without saying that I’ve seen a lot of salespeople changing jobs in 2018. The unemployment is low and salespeople are in demand. I’m often asked, “Is now the right time to leave?”… and usually my answer back is “Maybe you shouldn’t.” There’s a big difference between being curious and genuinely frustrated. The grass often looks greener on the other side of the fence but that doesn’t mean that you are going to be more fulfilled in making a job change.

So Why Should You Stay?

1. You have a good boss. He/she taught you the role well, is always there for questions, helps you achieve your sales goals and doesn’t micromanage you.
2. Your commission structure isn’t changing every year. I’ve seen companies change their sales comp plans annually. If yours hasn’t been constantly adjusted, then you may want to consider yourself lucky.
3. There is no commission ceiling. Obviously, you want an uncapped commission structure so you can continue to give yourself a raise.  You also want a territory that can continue to grow.
4. A strong company culture. This can mean a lot of things, but mainly it’s positive (even fun!) and supportive of the entire sales team.
5. A serious value proposition. Every company has one… but do they really? List the differentiators of your company’s product or service. Is it one-of-a-kind in certain niches?
6. Your company has a plan. The vision and 5-year goals of the company are continuously shared and openly discussed. If you feel good about not only where the business stands now but see yourself working for a long-term winner, why even consider a change?

If you have 5-6 of the above, don’t call me. You should make the best of where you are currently working and stop worrying about the stresses of making a job change.

It’s time to grow faster~

Drew Schmitz

drew@blueoctopusllc.com

 

What is a Salesperson Exactly?

I was having coffee with someone last week that does online sales assessments. We started to break down what a B2B salesperson really means in 2018. I tend to oversimplify and think of salespeople as an inside or outside employee. Smaller companies tend to only have those two positions – but let’s break down the roles into individual sales skills sets (this blog will not cover the growing list of marketing & social media roles).

In an ideal situation, you have all these people on your team. If not, it’s important to think of these nine roles and who takes on these responsibilities inside your sales team. Some people can do 2-3 of these positions, but almost no one is very good at more than a couple.

1. Sales Leadership: it could be more than one role depending on the size of your organization.
2. Sales Trainer: someone in the company that teaches the product or service (and company culture) to the sales team. Typically, “how to sell” (and close) is still taught by the manager.
3. Sales Admin: they are the organizer and support for all the roles on this list.
4. Sales Channel Manager: this position focuses on managing and selling to distributors. Many companies obviously don’t need this title depending on how their product or service is sold.
5. Account Manager: I have a hard time calling this a sales position unless they are servicing and focused on account penetration (or else this is simply customer service). They typically work full time at a desk. In many companies, the inside salesperson has this responsibility.
6. Inside Salesperson: works the phone and email and converts conversations into appointments or demos. They focus on generating leads at the top of the sales funnel.
7. Technical Salesperson or Sales Engineer: they are the topic expert. In software, they do the demos and discuss content. In other technology companies, this is the Sales Engineer.
8. Outside Salesperson: someone that opens the door to a proposal stage. They work the entire sales funnel from lead to close.
9. Closer: sometimes it’s the sales leader that comes in to help close all the deals. Often it is the responsibility of the outside salesperson. Regardless, closing is a trait that many do not have and separating this role should be considered.

It starts at the top. Many companies end up promoting their best salespeople into sales leadership. I’m guessing a promotion to Sales Manager/Director/VP is successful half the time at best (unless the executives above are matching their other abilities to the position). Sometimes effective sales leaders are only average salespeople, but they understand the science of sales and how to motivate a team.

Regardless of how many different sales titles you have in your organization, it starts with the sales leader. He or she is going to have a lot of input into how these roles are divided. In an ideal scenario, they look at every individual on the sales team and place them in the right role to suit their talents.

I’m a big believer in Jim Collins’ Hedgehog Concept; there are 3 circles for defining what someone is best at: (a) Passion (b) Skills and (c) Money. If you are skilled and passionate about a certain area of sales, that is where you will have the most value. Understanding someone’s passion, skill set and economic engine lead to more success and less stress. These three circles help define where someone best fits into a sales team.

There are a lot of assessment tools that I use for hiring but start with the Hedgehog Concept and you have a quick litmus test of how to design your sales team.

Forward, never straight~ Drew

drew@blueoctopusllc.com

http://www.blueoctopusllc.com

Better sales recruitment. Better sales coaching. Better sales. 

It’s time to grow faster.

 

Unemployment in Free Fall

The

sky

is

falling?

For the 9th consecutive year, the U.S. unemployment rate ended the year lower than the previous.

Dec 2009: 9.9%

Dec 2010: 9.3%

Dec 2011: 8.5%

Dec 2012: 7.9%

Dec 2013: 6.7%

Dec 2014: 5.6%

Dec 2015: 5.0%

Dec 2016: 4.7%

Dec 2017: 4.1%

 In October, 1999, the U.S. hit 4.1%, in April, 2000, we dropped to 3.8% and we stayed below 4.2% unemployment until January, 2001. Otherwise, we haven’t been in this territory since January of 1970 (3.9%).

The U.S. began 2018 at a 4.1% unemployment rate (the Bureau of Labor Statistics is two months behind so we only have January’s unemployment rate as of mid-March).

We are obviously experiencing incredibly low unemployment numbers (it’s currently 2.1% in Hawaii!). If we can be of service finding you top sales & marketing talent during this historic period, please reach out to us.

Forward never straight~ DREW

 It’s time to grow faster.

 drew@blueoctopusllc.com

www.blueoctopusllc.com

If interested in a free copy of my eBook, Sales Neutrinos, please let me know.

A Foolproof Hiring System for Salespeople?

Salespeople are great at interviewing. I, too, have been fooled by someone who looks good on paper, tests well, writes well and is personable. They look great and are hired… but fail.

Over the last nine years, our success rate at Blue Octopus is over 90%. That’s pretty darn good – actually amazing (if I can pat myself on the back), in comparison to most companies hiring salespeople in any B2B industry. But no matter what, we can all make mistakes and our new hires can fail.

Bad hires cost company time and money, hurt internal morale and sometimes damage your external reputation. The most expensive can be the average hires and the marginal performers that hang around for 2-3 years and never really make the company money. Here is an out of the normal paradigm idea…

Need to hire 1-2 salespeople? Hire 8!

• Start interviewing. Upfront, tell every candidate about the entire process below in the first interview. In order to run the experiment with integrity, make sure that candidates will not be surprised along the way.
• Hire 8 salespeople that you believe will succeed and pay them a $50K base + commission.
• Fire 2 of the salespeople after 3 months and give the remaining 6 a $5K raise.
• Fire 2 more after 6-9 months and raise the other 4 salaries an additional $5K.
• At 12 months, you have 4 left standing; fire 2-3 of them and you are left with 1-2 high-performing champions.
• Don’t bother creating new goals for them in their second year. They were fighting for survival in Year 1, so they have already defined their lofty goals for Year 2.
• Give them another raise and let them run.

Of course, you were measuring their activity, results and ROI throughout the year. My last bullet above assumes that they are in the neighborhood of 2-3X ROI (gross margin / cost). If they are under 2X, then the experiment potentially failed (but I attribute that to poor hiring, sloppy on boarding and bad training – feel free to challenge my stupid idea).

The experiment cost: $378,128 + commission paid. Here’s my rough math:

• 1Q, $125K ($50K/4 = $12,500 * 1.25 benefits+ = $15,625 * 8)
• 2Q, $103,128 ($55K/4 = $13,750 * 1.25 = $17,188 * 6)
• 3Q & 4Q, $150K ($60K/4 = $15,000 * 1.25 = $18,750 * 4)

I made some assumptions, but my little experiment will probably cost you about $500K (when commissions are included) in order to identify a star.

A lot of businesses would pay $500K for one guaranteed salesperson. If all of the salespeople brought in $1 million in margin over the course of the year, you certainly made money.

And I think every business would pay that if they found two strong salespeople producing 3x in year two.

Crazy idea? If the team is given good training and has a hands-on manager, it’s a hiring system that could work.

Forward never straight~ DREW

It’s time to grow faster.

drew@blueoctopusllc.com

www.blueoctopusllc.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewschmitz/

If interested in a free copy of my eBook, Sales Neutrinos, please let me know. My next book for sales management is coming soon…

The Problem with Millenials…

In 2015, millenials took over the lead as the largest generation in the U.S. labor force. By 2025, they are forecasted to be 75% of our workforce.

This isn’t your usual blog (I hope) by a Gen X or baby boomer discussing “How do we connect with these millenials today in business?” This is a little bit of a rant and an expression of disappointment in how we (the non-millenials) are managing and interacting with their generation. Time and time again, I’ve read articles primarily written by baby boomers that come across as somewhat demeaning on this topic.

I recently saw a speaker who gave away his book at the event. Kit Welchlin asks in The Communication Kit “Why don’t millenials ever call me back? … You may have more success connecting with millenials by sending a text message. Or heck, you may want to take a picture and send an Instagram.”

It sounds a bit belittling, no?

Check out this 1 minute video with a different take: http://bit.ly/2BUc0hP which parodies “What if millenials talked about baby boomers the way baby boomers talk about millenials?”

Memes, emojis, Snapchat and Instagram aren’t going to work if you don’t use them for any reason other than to “communicate” with millenials. We are talking DOWN to millenials. I feel that we are viewing them as a problem we have to resolve in order to profit from this troublesome group – rather than a generation of individuals with unique needs, emotions and ideologies.

Millenials are a collective but not a single identity. I would suggest we start getting to know the individuals one by one. Every one of them has a different belief, a better idea and a unique angle on life.

From here forward, let’s stop regarding their generation like a Rubik’s Cube we need to solve with one methodology.  Let’s stop talking about “them” because they are a part of “we” in the work place. Let’s stop treating them like a problem – because they are going to run 3/4’s of our workforce within 10 years.

Forward never straight~ DREW

It’s time to grow faster.

drew@blueoctopusllc.com

www.blueoctopusllc.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewschmitz/

If interested in a free copy of my eBook, Sales Neutrinos, please let me know.

Evaluating Your Sales Team

Annually, every company should be grading their sales team. I’m not suggesting that we follow Jack Welch and fire the bottom 10% every year but sales leadership should know where everyone rates beyond just their sales output. Your organization has performance metrics but is your evaluation of each individual well-rounded? Before you hire one more person, it’s time to understand your entire sales force. Following are my eight suggestions in examining your present team.

1. Sales Assessment. Through an external company, have your sales team take a brief online evaluation. I have my favorite tool but there are multiple sales assessments that will benefit your analysis. It will help identify your team’s strengths and weaknesses.

2. Metrics. The following are the three performance metrics that I believe are the most important:

• Annual and quarterly sales/gross margin. The closer you can get to a “real” gross margin or bottom line number, the better for calculating ROI.
• Number of deals pitched / percentage closed. Are they bringing enough opportunities to the table and closing a healthy percentage?
• $ deals in their pipeline 6 months into the future. If they haven’t done as much lately, this provides a glimpse ahead before judging their productivity.

3. Territory and workload. Territories are never completely “fair” and you should take that into consideration. Senior reps also often build up repeat customers and may not be landing a lot of new accounts. Also, consider if they have unique responsibilities beyond business development so that you have a balanced view of their value.

4. Price tag. Are they expensive based on their base salary? Do they have a gracious commission plan with repeat business that makes them more expensive? The quickest way to rank their cost is by dividing their annual gross margin production by their total compensation (going back as far as three years).

5. Continual improvement. I don’t care how green or tenured the salesperson – do they show promise for better production every year? When you challenge them, do they step up?

6. Teammate. Do your salespeople bring positive energy to the sales meetings? Or are they a pain that brings everyone down? Do they pass one another leads?

7. Leadership. Without a manager title, does a particular salesperson’s words and actions cause the entire group to hit higher marks? Do they make your team stronger through mentoring and helping their peers? Are there other intangibles in some of your salespeople that make the company better?

8. Manageability. Is the salesperson easy or difficult to manage? Are they self-reliant or constantly demanding your time for reasons that don’t involve customers? Do they follow the rules, document their calls, finish their paperwork and taking accountability for their results?

Now put it all together and label everyone “great”, “good”, “average” or “under-performer” and let them know where they rank based on all of the above. Everyone on the team should know their strengths and weaknesses and what it takes to climb into the “great” category.

It’s time to grow faster.

~Drew Schmitz

drew@blueoctopusllc.com

http://www.blueoctopusllc.com

www.linkedin.com/in/andrewschmitz/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Blue-Octopus-LLC/176668965728096

Twitter: @drew_schmitz