By Jim Joyce

In his article, “Change Your Career Now and Have a Better Future” Michael C. Thomas, PhD notes that “… for most people … a career is a sequence of jobs each of which lasts from three to six years. The thirty year career in one organization or one occupation is part of our past history. Therefore …, you will likely have to change “careers” (soon) and again in three to six years…”

To help position ourselves for our future, consider developing a Personal Marketing Plan.

In my 30+ years in sales management and field sales work, I’ve come to realize that finding a job is a marketing and sales process.

If we look at ourselves as a “product”, then developing and executing a “Personal Marketing Plan” will significantly aid our efforts.

What might a “Personal Marketing Plan” look like?”

It might be similar to many other Marketing and Sales Plans:

• Packaging the “Product”
• Identifying and Targeting “Customers”
• “Prospecting” Activities
• Marketing “Image”
• “Presentation” Components
• “Closing”
• Next Steps

Who am I – personally and professionally?

To be sure, consider investing in a Personality Test or other instrument such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, the Highlands Program Driving Ability Quiz, DISC, etc.

Once we find out who we really are, we next need to understand and be able to articulate how an employer would benefit from hiring us - depending upon their needs.

If we don’t know exactly what they need, we can create generic “features & benefits” to match their presumed challenges. These may be such things as:

• Needing to do more with fewer resources
• Needing to achieve constantly-increasing targets
• Needing to increase productivity

To describe ourselves, we need what every good “product” needs, some “collateral” – cover letter, resume, needs contribution statement, business cards, etc. Our “benefits” need to be highlighted in these.

And, we definitely need to know our desired positions:

• What does the ideal situation look like?
• Role, tasks, industry?
• Rewards: money, perks, opportunity, security, image?

“What would you be doing if you KNEW you COULD NOT FAIL?” – Edie Raither

2. Identifying and Targeting “Customers”

3. “Prospecting” Activities (have related Goals and Measurements)

As with any “product” we need to get our offering in front of as many key people as possible, by:

4. Marketing “Image”

When our prospecting activities are successful, what kind of image do we want to present - what’s our “brand?”

(Be consistent – always tie back to our “packaging”)

Everything we do and say to describe ourselves needs to have the same “message.”

5. “Presentation” Components

Next comes our “presentation.” It’s where we proffer our offering to our “customers: by means of:

• Our “Elevator” Speech
• Face-to-face or Telephone Meetings
• Actual Interviews
• Mailings
• Other

6. “Closing”

In the personal context, “closing” is simply receiving and responding to job offers. Few people actually ask if they have the job. Doing so, at the proper time and in the proper fashion may:

• Surprise us with the response. Or,
• Help us to find out about any shortcomings with our approach.

7. Next Steps

If we’ve positioned ourselves as a “helpful resource”, contacts will keep us in mind. This is very important for follow-ups, relationship-building, referrals, etc.

“Whether we like it or not, in many aspects of life, it’s not (necessarily) ‘what you know’, as much as it is ‘who you know’ that can be a determinant in one’s success/fulfillment. That, plus all other things being equal, most people want to spend time with (and buy from - and help) people they know.” - - Joyce’s Law #8

Lastly.

“My interest is in the future because I'm going to spend the rest of my life there.”-- Charles Kettering

Jim Joyce is President of Sales Training, Inc.
He can be reached by e-mail at jpjoyce@salestraininginc.com
Visit his website at www.salestraininginc.com