Is Social Media a Fad?
Some are still skeptical of social media and what it means to the business landscape. We found a great video and would love to know your thoughts!
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Happy Thanksgiving from Treeline!
Thanksgiving. Can you believe it is here already? For many of us Thanksgiving signifies the beginning of an end. When the holidays hit you know the year is about to come to a fast close. For some, a new year cannot come soon enough. Just the word “new” sparks hope that things will prosper and life may be back to the norm which we once knew. But, hold on a minute! What about Thanksgiving? Isn’t this the time to reflect on all the things we should appreciate and be thankful for in the present?
This will mean different things to different people. What makes one person happy and fulfilled does not necessarily meet that need for another. However, in sales, a talented sales person always wants to exceed, to be #1 and outdo the rest. Naturally, disappointment and frustration sets in when we hit barriers that prevent us from achieving our goals. Hey, it’s been a tough year. But is it that we are so used to getting “more” that without it we feel we have “less?” Think about it: If each year you exceed your sales goal but this year you meet it, will you look at that as a misfortune? I’m sure you won’t be thrilled out it but there is a lot to be thankful about. Every sales person who has survived this tumultuous year has a lot to be thankful for. Aside from still being employed, what about all that you have learned. Business as we knew it has changed. Successful sales people have fine tuned their skills at all levels in this extremely competitive market. Without potentially realizing it, you have changed your attitude and belief system. In this market only the strong survive – you have!
So take some time to reflect and look beyond the obvious, professionally and personally, to clearly see what it is that you can be thankful for this year.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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Meet The Team: David DeMelo
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Meet David DeMelo, a five year Division Manager at Treeline Incorporated. Always business minded, David started working at a very early age. His first memory of being in business was when he was 16 and looking to make extra spending money.
One day after school, David and a friend of his stopped by a well known landscape company to inquire about openings. Unfortunately, there was only one opening and Dave’s friend got the job. Disappointed but determined, David didn’t just accept this fate and walk away – instead he overcame his first objection. The next day David went back to the owner of company and told him he would be the hardest working, most dependable employee he would ever hire. He said to the owner, “working hard is all I know; I don’t believe you can afford NOT to hire me”. The owner was impressed by David’s tenacity and hired him on the spot. David continued to work there for seven years. Little did David know, his professional career would one day be teaching others how to go after what you want and not stop until you get it.
A native of Tewksbury, MA and graduate of Merrimack College, he actually never thought of a career in sales. David’s Portuguese heritage influenced his professional career early in life. He was interested in the large corporate culture, longevity and security. Unfortunately the corporate climate never satisfied his entrepreneurial spirit and desire to take risks.
David then explored a career in sales. Prior to Treeline, David worked in both financial and pharmaceutical sales roles. Although he excelled in both industries, something was missing. Consistently referred to as a “People Person,” David decided he would try his hand at recruiting, only to find that it fit like a glove.
David has been with Treeline for over five years. The collaborative team model, David helped build in Treeline’s early days, continues to both challenge and benefit David on a daily basis. “There are several days that I rely on my colleagues for advice and support, and other days, where they look to me for leadership and direction.” David feels grateful that he has been able to make a career out of his natural ability to listen to and understand people.
“Still to this day, my favorite and most memorable candidate placement story is about the first person I ever placed”, said David. “After spending over an hour with my first candidate, I left the interview room, convinced I didn’t have the right opportunity for that person. Still very early in training, I told my CEO who told me to go back into the room and ask my candidate, “What is the most important thing for me to know about what you are looking for”. My candidate said, “commute” He said that he had two kids and was in charge of morning carpools, thus needed to work close to home. I told him about a great job that was five minutes from his home. He is still there today and doing very well.
David believes he is an open communicator and is genuinely interested in helping people attain something they need – in this case, a career. Another instance where he helps people is in the sport of hockey.
David has been skating since he was three years old. Through hockey, David has traveled across the country, met hundreds of people and pushed himself to the limit both physically and mentally. Growing up, David was always that kid that tested his limits with the referees. As Dave got older and his love of hockey remained consistent, he often wondered what it would feel like to be on the other end. After little contemplation, decided to get certified as a USA Hockey Referee.
“I started refereeing back in middle school and did it throughout high school,” said David. “I eventually stopped when I went to college but recently decided to pick it back up about a year ago.”
Since David is interested in helping others, being a referee allows him to give back to the hockey community, especially the kids.
“Being a referee is more than just calling the game. I get to become a mentor and a teacher,” he said. “Safety is the number one goal and I want these kids to feel confident out there and have fun! I referee six years olds through high school and being able to see these kids develop on the ice and to be a better player reminds me of my days.”
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, David is looking forward to spending quality time with his family and fueling up on his mother’s Portuguese home cooking. “My family is everything to me, if it was not for them, then who knows where I would be!”
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Selling Power Magazine – Sales 2.0 for the Innovative Sales Professional
At Treeline, we spend all of our time speaking with Sales Professionals. Every day, whether it is helping a sales professional to hire or get hired – we are always speaking to our own kind. In this market, it is more important than ever to quickly recognize good sales talent and help them, whatever their need. Through our experiences, we have found very few organizations that are effective and consistent with their recognition of good sales talent and best practices. One of those organizations is the trade publication, Selling Power Magazine.
If you are a business professional, regardless of industry, you can find value in staying informed through Selling Power. This monthly periodical covers soup to nuts in the sales world. They cover topics ranging from what technologies will benefit your business, what are the best networking practices evangelized from industry leaders, and even discusses what NBA team is being run in the most effective and profitable fashion. Selling Power covers all angles, they discuss what’s working and what’s not, what industries are struggling and what industries hold promise. They share success stories and life lessons – Selling Power covers the things that really happen to us as sales people and what we can learn from them.
Selling Power does not only react to the sales world, they are helping to define it. Over the past few years they have partnered with an innovative movement that is on the cutting edge of sales technologies and practices called Sales 2.0. Selling Power utilizes its bandwidth and reputation to define the market to bring sales practices into the next generation through Sales 2.0. From generating and qualifying leads, to what sales trainings are worth the time, to what CRM will be the best fit for your organization, to how to effectively present to your clients via web demo, or even how to close deals with new technologies – they are educating sales people as to how to stay abreast with advancements in technology. These technological advancements will ultimately benefit us as sales people and ultimately lead to more revenue.
Gerhard Gschwandtner, Founder and CEO of Selling Power Magazine, has been developing and publishing this magazine since 1980. He is still very active in the publication and he can often be found in front of the camera conducting one on one interviews with industry sales leaders. A few years back, he took the time to sit down with our own Kristen Vose and discuss how Treeline was changing the recruiting industry in regards to sales. He was in our office recently to sit down with the team and collect some input on what we, as sales recruiters, are seeing in the job market. It was an educational experience to say the least and if you spend 5 minutes with Gerhard, you’ll soon understand why Selling Power is leading the charge to take sales into the future. Gerhard’s approach is very consultative and he gets people talking. I am not sure if he is a journalist who sells or a sales person who writes…I think he likes to keep you guessing. Regardless, he is a beacon for the direction for the world of sales and people are paying attention to see what direction he is pointing. So should you.
Treeline Inc. would like to recommend Selling Power. You will find that one of two things will happen when you educate yourself through Selling Power: 1.) You will learn something new that will add value to your business, or 2.) You will read about something that you already knew and you will see how other sales people react to it – good or bad. Either way, you will find yourself in good company.
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What are companies allowed to say regarding former employees on reference checks?
In response to the blog we posted yesterday, a reader asked what the legal boundaries are regarding what a company is allowed to share via professional references. We asked Attorney Kenneth J. Rossetti, of Barton & Rossetti, P.C., a contributor to our blog, to respond to that question. Here is Ken’s response:
That is an excellent question. As a preliminary matter, different states may have different laws (and perhaps conflicting laws) with respect to furnishing employment references on behalf of former employees. I am therefore limiting this response to Massachusetts.
In Massachusetts, there is no law or statute prescribing what companies may indicate in furnishing an employment reference with respect to a prior employee; however, stating false information about a prior employee may subject the employer, and the individual furnishing the reference, to one or more causes of action, including defamation (making a false statement of fact about someone to a third party, which statement would tend to make the subject of the statement viewed negatively by the local community) and wrongful interference with the former’s employee’s relationship with the new (or prospective) employer.
Civil liability may also arise if the reference contains misleading (although not necessarily false) information about a prior employee, and/or if the reference includes information that is protected from disclosure under privacy laws (for example, medical records/information concerning the prior employee). Massachusetts citizens also enjoy a statutory right of privacy, under which “[a] person shall have a right against unreasonable, substantial or serious interference with his privacy.” Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 214, Section 1B.
Employers must therefore be guarded regarding what they indicate in a reference for a prior employee. Indeed, it is good practice for an employer to furnish reference information only upon receiving a written request for a reference.
Massachusetts employers – though not technically barred from furnishing negative information about prior employees if that negative information is accurate – typically limit references to confirming the fact of the prior employee’s employment, the prior employee’s dates of employment, and (sometimes) the prior employee’s job title(s), if any. Under these “plain vanilla” references, prior employers will not furnish the reason(s) for separation, even if the former employee separated through no fault of his or her own (such as through a layoff or reduction in force); similarly, prior employers will not give the reason(s) for separation, even if the prior employee was terminated due to the employee’s own wrongdoing.
The information furnished in an employment reference may also be governed by any employment contract, and/or or severance agreement, that the prior employee entered into with the prior employer. For example, an employment contract may specify a “plain vanilla” employment reference upon the contracting employee’s separation, notwithstanding the reason for the separation; under that scenario, a prior employer’s failure to abide by that contractual provision may subject the prior employer to civil liability for breach of the employment contract.
Similarly, a severance agreement may specify the content of an employment reference, either through an agreed, accurate statement that shall be furnished to the reference seeker or through a truthful letter of reference. Indeed, it is not uncommon, as part of the severance package, for the employer and the to-be-severed employee to agree upon an accurate letter of reference that may be furnished by the severed employee to prospective employers, particularly if the severance arises through no fault of the departing employee.
This scenario often presents a “win-win” opportunity for the employer and employee – as most employers typically only furnish plain vanilla references, a letter of reference (particularly a praiseworthy letter of reference) may set a job candidate apart from other applicants (principally those lacking a letter of reference) and thereby facilitate gaining future employment. For the employer, furnishing a letter of reference in a severance package can often be bargained for in place of some remuneration or other benefit, and thereby helps to preserve the “bottom line” (an important consideration if the bottom line prompted the separation of the severed employee).
Keep in mind that a prior employer’s violation of a severance agreement provision on an employment reference can subject the prior employer to civil liability for breach of the severance agreement.
In sum, while Massachusetts does not expressly prescribe what a prior employer may state in an employment reference on behalf of a prior employee, there are many reasons, set forth above, why Massachusetts employers typically furnish “plain vanilla” employment references. As different states may have different laws or rules regarding employment references, readers should consult with an attorney licensed to practice in their particular state should legal assistance or a legal consultation be necessary in connection with an employment reference or other employment matter.
Attorney Ken Rossetti has been a licensed attorney in Massachusetts since 1997, and his practice covers various employment-related matters. Ken welcomes your telephone calls at 781-944-4200, ext. 203, and e-mails at krossetti@BartonRossetti.com, to discuss how he may help you. Ken is not affiliated with Treeline, Inc., and this article, furnished for informational purposes only, does not constitute legal advice. Please seek legal counsel if you have questions about employment law or any other legal matter.
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Liar, Liar Does Not Get You Hired: Why Not to Lie on a Resume
Having been in recruiting for just under 5 years, I have reviewed thousands of resumes and have conducted hundreds of interviews. Time and time again, I rely on the resume to tell me the initial story about the candidate. Once in the interview, I use their resume as a blueprint to their career. Our focus and the main piece of discussion is around the resume and the work they have stated they have done. Everything is covered: work dates, responsibilities, successes and accolades, education, etc. More often than you would think, you find discrepancies and false truths on the resume. Many candidates will claim that the discrepancies were “accidental” where as others are honest and fess up to exaggeration and lying to get their foot in the door. Whether by honest mistake or outright admittance, lying on a resume is a serious action that executives, hiring managers and HR professionals take as an unforgivable offense and that will more likely than not get your candidacy in the recycle bin with a permanent “do not interview” note.
Often times, some think that a little white lie on a resume is harmless and will go undiscovered. That is not the case. It is becoming commonplace for companies to utilize background, W2 and credit checks in addition to conducting in depth references with previous employers. No stone goes uncovered. Some may feel that this is an unfair practice utilized by companies and that it would make it impossible to get a job. Does this practice weed more people out? Absolutely. However, as a company, would you want to hire a candidate who started off the relationship with lies and fallacies? Absolutely not. Think of background checks and W2 requests as a Consumer Report and that organizations are merely being consciences buyers.
In these times of desperation where the job market is tight, some people feel that they need to lie on their resume in order to get a chance to interview. It is widely known that companies are stricter than ever with candidate qualifications and they are non-forgiving on their requirements. Therefore, lying on a resume has now become an art form for many job seekers. The New York Post recently published an article titled “Crock Stars” which discusses this phenomenon*. They too, note that many employers are screening resumes with a fine tooth comb and are only hiring candidates who have a clean background and honest resumes. Like your mother told you as a child, honesty is the best policy. If you want a job, be honest in communicating your background with prospective employers and find other ways of making your background relevant. Utilize any transferable experience you may have to get your foot in the door or clearly draw parallels between what the company is looking for and what you have in your background. If they deem your candidacy as not a fit, move on to the next opportunity. After all, liar, liar will not get your hired.
New York Post http://tiny.cc/4cVFD
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Do Cover Letters Work? How to Write an Introduction Email.
When the job market is tough and full of competitors, you may feel that a strong cover letter may be your best chance of standing out from the crowd and perhaps the key piece in landing that hard to get interview. However, is that theory actually true? We all know that in today’s market the hardest part is getting noticed and getting your foot in the door. So the question is, does your use of a cover letter prove to be effective?
As a sales recruiter, my responsibilities are to understand my client’s needs and also to understand what my candidate is looking for. I have seen thousands of cover letters and they all seem to tell a story which is important, however what other real purpose does a cover letter serve that has not already been demonstrated on your resume? Cover letters can reveal a ton about a candidate and their ability to communicate, however do people still read them? Classically, cover letters were used as hard copy letters you sent to potential employers that served as an introduction to who you are and why you are interested in the company. Nowadays, it’s very rare to see a hard copy cover letter or a resume due to the fact that the internet has become commonplace. It’s now a cultural norm to shoot off a resume as an attachment to an email or simply submit a resume through an online portal. That being said, many job seekers tend to exclude any type of introductory email with the attachment of their resume and even their cover letter. You may think that you’re following proper protocol by submitting a cover letter, but shooting off a blank email with only attachments can leave a bad impression and even lead to your resume being moved to the recycle bin. Let’s be honest, an introduction email serves the exact same purporse as a cover letter. It is a proper way to establish a relationship with the hiring manager in the hopes of getting noticed. That being said, be conscious of what you put in your introductory email. Make sure the subject line of your email is professional yet eye catching. Also, be aware of your audience! Many people draft an introduction email and use the same one time and time again. It is extremely important that you tailor every introductory email (as you should do with your resume) to speak to the specific hiring manager(s). Never title your email with “Dear Sirs” or “Gentlemen”. Many HR professionals and hiring managers are women. This can be a very easy way to leave a bad taste in the mouth of the intended party.
So what should your introduction email include?
1. Your story.
- Use it as a conversation piece- peak their curiosity!!
- Does it focus on your main competencies?
- If you are looking to change your career, are you focusing on transferable skills?
- What kind of skills would be beneficial to the hiring company?
2. How detailed oriented you are.
- Is your email grammatically correct? Are you articulate and well spoken?
- Is it structured?
- How pertinent is the information to the open position?
3. Be concise and direct.
- Focus on what is important. We are in a world of convenience!
- Be detailed and focus on your accomplishments.
4. Key Words.
- Organizations are now using technology to scan through introductory emails and resumes so make sure you include key words and phrases of what they are looking for!
Use your introductory email to your advantage! Organizations are flooded with resumes in today’s marketplace and having a well written introductory email is your first chance of being noticed! Focusing on some of the above pointers will help you exemplify your skills and experience on what an organization is looking for. Once you have submitted your information, make sure you do not stop there!! Here is a great article that can give you direction:
I’ve submitted my resume, now what do I do?
Good luck and happy job hunting!
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What are the Top Traits of a Successful Sales Professionals Today?
Has there been a Death of the Sales Professional as we had known it?
Forty years ago, my grandfather worked for Abbott Laboratories as one of New England’s Top Pharmaceutical Sales Professionals. Although I never personally knew my grandfather (he died when I was just a baby) his memory was kept alive by the many stories told about his unforgettable character. The stories painted a picture of a man “that could and would talk to anyone,” “a gifted influencer”, “a keen listener”, and “a man whose charisma walked through the door before he did”. The consistent theme in these descriptions was that my grandfather was incredibly likable and had the ability to make an impact when he was in front of people. Many said, “the man was born to sell.”
However, in today’s market where the structure of sales organizations continue to change, would those gifts of my late grandfather hold much weight if he was unemployed looking for a job in today’s Sales 2.0 Generation? What other qualities or skills would he need to have to be competitive?
I sought out answers to these questions and asked a handful of influential sales leaders what they felt were some of the most important characteristics of a successful sales professional in the Sales 2.0 Generation. This is some of what they said:
1. Process oriented approach vs early stage relationship selling:
In today’s market, although it certainly doesn’t fall off the list entirely, likeability may fall down a rung of the ladder of priorities when looking for successful sales professionals. Gene Fay*, the former VP of Sales and Business Development of Vkernal Software states that “Sales 2.0 is far more about meeting customers needs then the ability to be likable.” The key difference seems to be a change in the buying process itself. Fay goes on to say, “even three or four years ago sales people would work with a customer to educate them on a new product. Now, people are going to the web and doing much of their own research. Then they are reaching out to co-workers, friends and their network [Twitter, Facebook, and industry forums] to find out what people know about the topic. It is after all of this work that a sales person would be engaged”. Prospects are educated when they are engaged by a sales person. They come to the table already ready to ask specific questions that will help them compare and contrast the products they are considering from a variety of vendors.
Adam Bosnian*, VP of Products, Strategy and Sales at Cyber-Ark Software defends a similar opinion. “It is less about relationships in today’s selling and more about impact within the buying process (vs. selling process). I think it is more about how the salesperson today is able to pull together all the research and work that the prospects have already done, identify what gaps of information or concerns exist, and then making sure that the right information is provided to address that gap/objection at the right time, to all the right people.”
2. The ability to assimilate to new technology immediately and without training
Dan Fantasia*, Founder and CEO of Treeline states, “The most scaleable and successful sales professionals in the Sales 2.0 Generation, don’t waste powerful selling time attempting to adapt to the use of new tools. For a Sales 2.0 Superstars there is no adaptation. Their ability to assimilate is immediate. New tools are a part of their everyday. These reps are not reliant on company training, they have adapted the ability to learn this stuff on their own, troubleshooting through the kinks.”
3. The ability to find the competitive edge in a changing market
Noted sales leader Gerhard Gschwandtner*, Founder and Publisher of Selling Power Magazine, challenged that fact that there is not a concrete list of characteristics successful sales professionals need to have in this new market. Instead he stated that “the real story isn’t that the world has changed, the real story is about how the new, changed world can work to your advantage.”
Let’s consider you are not one of my readers that was born into the Sales 2.0 generation, maybe you are more comfortable with heavy relationship selling styles. You may feel the new tools available to you seem to just complicate things. An opportunistic, positive sales person has that ability to make a decision to look for the opportunities presented in the challenges you face. Gerhard’s attitude, his decision to focus NOT on the fact that “the landscape of sales has changed drastically in the last three years” but moreover, how the “new changed world can work to your advantage” is brilliant.
So in conclusion, what does this all mean? Was there a death of the Sales Professional as we know it? No, absolutely not. As the Sales Leaders in this article confirmed, the world of selling has changed, most notably the “buying process itself” and the tool belts of sales professionals are chocked full of ammunition to make the selling process smoother and more efficient. But teach my grandfather how to use a computer brief him on the new “buying process” and he may still be killing his quota. To quote the play Death of a Salesman, “Be liked and you will never want.” Forty years later this still seems to hold true and all the intangible qualities that define a sales person remain the same. What seems to have changed are the Process and Technology. Garth Moulton*, Co-Founder of Jigsaw, sums it up very well, “the new Sales 2.0 Professional has to be more tech savvy, adaptable, and process oriented, but to me the top traits are the same as when your grandfather was in sales: persistence, personality, brains, talent, and charisma”.
*To learn more about the contributing sales leaders check out their websites and blogs:
Gene Fay
Adam Bosnian, Cyber Ark
Dan Fantasia, Treeline, Inc
Gerhard Gschwandtner, Selling Power Magazine
Garth Moulton, Jigsaw
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