Bringing Together Jobs & Jobseekers
Corrections or additions?
These articles by Barbara Fox and Jeff Lippincott were
prepared for the January 3, 2001 edition of U.S. 1 Newspaper. All
rights reserved.
Rainmaker Fox
The rainmaker is the salesperson everyone else wants
to be. The rainmaker brings the art of the deal to new levels. He
brings in the most money, gets the best paycheck, commands the most
respect."
So says Jeffrey J. Fox (no relation to this writer), who claims that
rainmakers are made, not born. Fox, who wrote a book to explain how,
speaks on rainmakers on Tuesday, January 9, at 11:30 a.m. for New
Jersey CAMA at the Doral Forrestal. Cost: $35. Call 609-799-4900.
Fox, 55, went to Trinity College and to Harvard for an MBA. He has
had senior level marketing jobs at the Pillsbury Company, Heublein,
and Loctite Corporation and in 1982 he founded his own firm, Fox &
Co., in Avon, Connecticut. His book "How to Become CEO" is
published in 25 languages and was on international bestseller lists.
His new book. "How to Become a Rainmaker," published by
Hyperion
in May, went into its second printing after just two weeks on the
market and is on the Business Week best seller list. Harvard’s
B-school
did a case study on Fox that may well be the most widely taught
marketing
case in the world.
Fox seems to write his books for dyslexic non-readers who need to
be inspired. His style is pithy and counter-intuitive at best, choppy
and simplistic at worst. Some of his "chapters," in fact,
are just 12 short sentences long. But he puts in lots of them. The
CEO book has 75, and the Rainmaker book has 50 chapters, give or take
a couple of extra statements. And sometimes the chapter title tells
pretty much the whole story:
Do business with Us?"
word and write rave reviews on Amazon.com, but his detractors kvetch
about his belaboring of the obvious. "Don’t drink coffee on a
sales call" is the topic for one entire chapter. The danger is,
you might spill it, and this would distract your target. Another of
his chapter points: "Never Wear a Pen in Your Shirt Pocket."
The pen, after all, could leak, and that could distract your customer.
But maybe Fox’s naysayers aren’t getting the real point, that a
salesperson
should concentrate on wearing nothing and doing nothing that might
distract the customer.
Some fans espouse Fox’s concept of "dollarization." He
calculates
the dollar value for each product or service so that he can tell
potential
clients how much money they would lose if they did not purchase that
product or service.
If some of Fox’s ideas seem obvious, others rank in the "I wish
I’d thought of that" category. The CEO book tells about how to
arrange for the highest ranking person to tour and visit your
department.
"Before the tour write out a single index card for every person
with a one or two-line report of some achievement or contribution
— business or personal — that the person made. Use these as
`cue cards’ for the top guy, so that he can personally and
specifically
thank and compliment each person. . . You will look very good. Don’t
let anybody in the company know you do this."
Another counter-intuitive idea: Don’t go to office parties. If
attendance
is required, stay 45 minutes, and drink only soda. "Thank the
boss for inviting you, and leave. If anyone asks where you are going,
tell that person you are meeting your spouse, or parents, or doctor,
or music teacher, or personal trainer. Parties are supposed to be
fun, enjoyed with friends. Heed the old axiom: Don’t mix business
with pleasure."
"Push products, not paper. Monthly reports are stupid. Don’t write
any. If they insist, rotate the authorship among everyone on your
staff. Everyone. Each person should write what they want. Don’t bother
reading them yourself."
"To know your customers is to know your future. When the phone
rings, 12 people ought to dive to answer it. The customer is indeed
king. And the future president understands how the customer is also
the `king maker.’"
"Every Friday, take one of the people you need out to lunch and
ask, `How ya’ doin?’ These are usually people not in your department.
If you don’t know who you need, find out. Business is like a machine.
Every part needs to work. Every part needs to be oiled. Make one good
ally in your company every month."
"Always say `I can do it’ when a top guy asks. Even if he asks
you to water the plants in the lobby, do it."
— Barbara Fox
Top Of Page
Bringing Together Jobs & Jobseekers
The cost for going to this networking meeting is very
cheap — or very expensive, depending on your viewpoint. At each
meeting of the Central Jersey Job Developers Association, members
are asked for an "admission ticket" which equates to a job
opening to share with the other members. These openings are then
compiled
and put together in a job bulletin.
The CJJDA is a consortium of non-profit agencies that has been
involved
in helping people find work since 1981. Originally CJJDA was
established
to serve those with specific barriers to employment. CJJDA has evolved
into a quasi-professional organization for job developers, employment
specialists, and vocational counselors who are all looking for the
right fit for that open job slot. Employers who are looking for
employees
for all manner of opportunities, special needs or otherwise, have
found CJJDA a valuable resource.
This year’s Job Fair is scheduled for Wednesday, January 10, from
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Rutgers Labor Education Center, Ryders Lane
at Clifton Avenue in New Brunswick. Admission is free for job seekers
and open to the public. Employers who want to participate should
contact
Dorna J. Silverman, chair of the CJJDA, at 732-745-5300,
extension
4201. Cost for employers is $99. Past fairs have drawn all kinds,
says Silverman, from people who have never worked to people who are
highly skilled.
What separates the CJJDA Job Fair from many others is what Silverman
terms its broad appeal. "We’re not restricting fair attendees
to a specific industry or level — it’s open to everyone,"
said Silverman. "Being that we’re a not-for-profit group, the
fair is not something where we charge admission, our aim is to serve
as many people as we can." The association’s philosophy of helping
those with special needs is eloquently illustrated by the fact that
a Spanish language translator and a sign language interpreter both
will be available at the fair.
A number of other special services will also be available. NOVA
Vocational
and Employment Services (affiliated with Jewish Family and Vocational
Services in Edison) will offer workshops on resume writing,
interviewing
skills, and networking. New Jersey Transit will have a representative
on hand to dispense transportation advice for those without cars.
A representative of the state of New Jersey will assist job seekers
to identify career information using the computer-based Career
Information
Decision Making (CIDS) program.
The CJJDA meets monthly and offers professional development
opportunities.
"We stay on the cutting edge of what’s happening in the employment
and training community," says Silverman. Representatives from
local area employers are invited to speak about their staffing needs.
"Basically, we’re offering employers a way to staff that allows
them access to a lot of different agencies who have many different
job-ready clients."
Silverman, who coordinates adult and career programs at the New
Brunswick
Public School’s Adult Learning Center, one of the 200 member
organizations
in CJJDA, has undergraduate and master’s degrees from Rutgers. She
started with CJJDA about 20 years ago, when she was a career counselor
at Douglass. She now describes the Central New Jersey job market as
"very tight."
"I see companies that need to fill entry-level positions in the
retail, hospitality, housekeeping, and restaurant industries."
She offers a few tips for employers seeking employees, "Job
seekers
want to know that there is a career path available for them, and I
don’t think that’s always spelled out clearly by employers."
Silverman sees some pitfalls for individuals making the transition
to working on a contract basis. "A lot of employers now are hiring
employees on a contract basis through agencies. That doesn’t provide
the security in terms of benefits and pensions that you would have
as an employee."
One of the keys in making a successful transition to contract
employment,
she feels, is attitude. "You have to be an adventurous, creative
person to be willing to work on a contract basis and to be constantly
generating business for yourself, marketing yourself. I don’t know
that everybody’s ready to do that and not have the security of
benefits,
pensions, and the other things that everybody wants."
"I think CJJDA is unique in the state, and I know that there are
job development organizations that have modeled themselves after us.
Through the years we have earned a very good reputation with the
employers
who have participated in the fair," says Silverman. "One of
the things they like is that they get such a diversity of
applicants."
— Jeff Lippincott
Top Of Page
Corporate Angels
The Princeton Junction office of Coldwell Banker
raised more than $9,000 for Gilda’s Club with a silent auction and
cocktail party in December. Beverages were donated and hors d’oeuvres
were made and donated by sales associates, plus nearly 100 items were
donated for auction. "The turnout was phenomenal. We had 150
people
in attendance," says Alice Schoemann, manager.
Named for comedian Gilda Radner, Gilda’s Club is a place where people
with cancer can join their family and friends for social and emotional
support (www.gildasclub.org). JoAnn Parla chaired the planning
committee, which included Cindy Schwartz, Priscilla Berg, Jan
Belmont-French,
Carol Tosches, Dinah Kazakoff, Anne Germeia, Suzanne Grant, Judy
Satkowski,
Rocky Balsamo, and Loretta Neill.
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