8 Key Touches to closing your sell (you are the product) revisited

In an earlier blog and training, I demonstrated and explained how to reach out to 100+ hiring managers in your desired location.  Select a position one level above the one you're hoping to be hired.

In an earlier blog I mentioned the 8 key touches to closing a sell.  These touches should generally follow this sequence below but several of the steps may change based on your connection with the hiring manager and ability to meet in person at an earlier step.  While I indicate an invitation to meet might wait until the 4th or 5th touch, if you feel that you are getting closer to an interview, don't wait.  You decide when to ask for the invite based on your responses to earlier touches.  The data reflects about 15% will respond to step 1 affirmatively.  And 50% of them will invite you into an interview at about touches 4-5.  This process insures that you are only visiting and reconnecting to those who show a continued interest in you.

Touch 1:  Request an email (contact me for a template memo).  Record Hiring Manager's names in your excel chart (also a template I can email)

Touch 2:  Send to same Hiring Managers mentioned in touch 1 who sent you their email (tag line "re: our prior communication" - see template); to others who didn't respond in Touch 1 with their email you send same email as Touch 1 with an attached resume.  Everyone gets the resume unless they communicated to you not to email or send them messages.  Since LinkedIn may not attach word documents, you may have to attach the resume via a boxnet file (http:///)  Or you can just send them your LinkedIn profile and indicate your resume is in the website designated as resume (same boxnet file)

Touch 3:  You send to only parties responding with an email your Power Statement/Accomplishments listed in the (S)PAR format.  I will provide a template and a blog on how to insert this in your LinkedIn profile.  If you wish to combine steps 2 & 3 into one, attach the Accomplishment list via boxnet into your website via boxnet.  You have up to 3 websites (a resume, an accomplishment file and maybe a blog).  If you have multiple blogs you can make one a subdirectory of the other. 

Touch 4:  You send to only parties responding positively to your prior touches an invitation to meet with you.  In that email you indicate that they might recommend someone else who might be interested in you. 

Touch 5:  You follow up with personal visit with your 30/60/90 day plan (LinkedIn to allow your powerpoint to be added (See new blog on instructions)

Touch 6:  You provide via email your recommendation list from your profile on LinkedIn (you need at least 4-5 recommendations.  Hopefully from a fellow employee or direct report, a supervisor, a vendor/partner, or someone who knows your ethics, talents or other personal traits. You have several weeks to prepare for this so recommend the person you might want to recommend you.

Touch 7:  You provide business intelligence about some industry concern, white paper, etc. and indicate you have the skills to resolve their concerns.  We discussed this business intelligence earlier in a post about a webinar with Sam Richter

Touch 8:  You provide one more piece of business intelligence and ask them to recommend someone else if they are not interested.   If you hear nothing you must decide whether to move on.