DO YOUR HOMEWORK
A few days ago, one of our supplier sales reps gave me a call to inform us that she was leaving our area and that she had taken a new position with one of her competitors. Joyce had been calling on us for several years, and I was surprised to hear of her change.
Our discussion reminded me of my early days when I decided to look for a selling position in New York City. I was all of 21 and didn’t quite know the ropes or where to start. I had looked at the help wanted ads in the NY Times every day for weeks and noticed that the Snelling and Snelling Employment Agency kept popping up in the ads repetitively among the various job offerings.
Since I lived on Long Island and was on a tight and frugal budget, I thought I would start my search at Snelling and Snelling. My next move was to pack a bag and head into the city for a couple of days to begin the process. I’ll never forget taking the Long Island Rail Road to Penn Station, checking into the YMCA for $2.00 per day, and setting out to the Snelling and Snelling office on Madison and 37th St.
When I arrived at Snelling, the reception area was filled with many men, most older than I, filling out applications. I announced myself to the receptionist, and she handed me a clipboard and pen and instructed me to fill out an application, and she would assign a representative to my search process.
A few minutes after completing the application, a man entered the reception area and called my name. He introduced himself as Hal Kress and asked me to come with him to his office. Hal was a middle-aged guy. He wore glasses and sported a somewhat graying crewcut. He seemed to be the studious type and very easy to communicate with. Little did Hal and I know that he would become a good friend and mentor of mine for many of my formative professional years.
Hal took an immediate interest in me and we spent a long time chatting. He asked me many questions involving my background and asked where I was staying in the city and did I have time to spend a couple of hours with him the following day. He told me he had a few ideas for placing me, but I required some coaching and polish before he would put me out there. We made an appointment for the following day, and I was elated.
The next day came, and I was at Hal’s office early for our appointment. Hal greeted me and was very excited. He had a plan of attack and even developed a list of companies he wanted to discuss with me. Hal told me he needed to spend some serious time with me to do things properly, but it wasn’t going to be a snap.
We went over just about everything, including my appearance, how I should hold my hands during an interview, my posture, tone of voice, eye contact, and so on. Everything made sense, and I was receptive to all suggestions. Then came the end of the meeting. He handed the list of companies to me and suggested that I go to the NY City Libray on Fifth Ave. and spend the rest of the day researching everything possible about each company he had listed. He emphasized spend time and be thorough so that I could easily discuss all there was to know about each one. We made an appointment for the next day.
To begin with, I have a reading disability, and secondly, my span of attention was for shit. I decided that if Hal was willing to take the time with me, the least I could do was give it the old college try. I gave it my all, and during the process, it occurred to me how important this part of the process was. It made all the sense in the world. I learned everything about those companies. The founders, the mission, products, principles, size, executive’s backgrounds, just about everything, including office and plant locations. I’d be able to discuss in great detail most anything and everything there was to know. Also, I thought of questions I would like some answers to.
The next day arrived, and I met with Hal. He was very impressed with my research and told me I had a leg up on most competitive applicants for the job openings. We discussed all the listed companies in great detail. He gave me a few more companies to research and told me to see him the following week and to be prepared to take interviews. I was pumped, knowing I had an edge on my competition.
Next week arrived very quickly. I showed up with a new suit and was ready to go. Hal made a few calls, gave me the names of a few interviewers to see, and instructed me to return the next day for a review. The next day I visited with Hal again. He greeted me with a big grin and told me that each company was very interested in me and were prepared to make some offers. We repeated the process the next day with similar success. Eventually, I accepted a position with International Latex, Playtex Girdles, and Bras. Not too bad for a kid without a college degree. The question of my education only became an issue with one company.
My point with this tale is to demonstrate how important it is to do due diligence and research whenever you have the opportunity regarding people and companies you are going to do business with. It always gives one a leg up and will become invaluable at some point. With the internet today it is easy to do and does not require a trip to the library. Information is always on hand.
Now I’d like to get back to Joyce. Had Joyce made the effort and done her research, she would have known a few things about her new employer, most importantly that I was the company's founder about thirty years ago. The information she could have gotten from me may have given her a leg up during her negotiations, plus it would have been very flattering to this old-timer.
As much as a professional Joyce may have appeared to be over the years she sold herself short by not doing the very one thing that could have set her aside and it was easy and interesting to do.
My advice to all reading this article is to go the extra mile and do your research. The effort will lead to greater rewards down the road.
