Milestones vs. change

Our new website is near completion and today we are all changing our profile pictures that were taken a few weeks ago.  The last time this happened was more than four years ago, and a lot has changed since then.  I was particularly reminded of this fact over the holiday weekend as September 2 was both my ninth anniversary of joining Capstone and my twelfth wedding anniversary.  Then September 3 was my twelfth anniversary of turning 25. 

I am incredibly grateful for what has comprised the last twelve years personally and professionally.  I have been blessed at home with a wife I couldn't live without, along with three precious children that are all growing up way too fast.  Add in an incredible employer that pushes me to be the best I can professionally and it seems like a blink of an eye when considering what the last decade-plus looks like.

At first I was proud of the milestones and I thoroughly enjoyed the trip down memory lane over the past several days.  Then I got to thinking about all of the change that has occurred during this timeframe and that is even more exciting the more I thought about it.  I don't think I would have had all of the accomplishments I have achieved without embracing the change that came along with the territory.  I have had to be a different husband with each new child we added to the Winterboer fold.  I have had to be a different father each time as well.  I have had new pressures on my time management with work in the midst of these changes, and that continues to change as my kids' schedules seem busier than mine most days.

Many more changes have occurred at Capstone over the past nine years.  I have been forced to embrace technology like never before, I have had to adapt to changing economic pressures, I have been forced to diversify how we deliver customized solutions to our clients, and I have had to interact differently with candidates during the past 3-4 years of increasing unemployment.

Here is the question I pose to you -- is aiming for long term milestones or being adaptable to constant change more important in order to be successful going into 2013 and beyond?

Do you have a "farm system"?

I know that football season is upon us and that is where my focus should be.  My son has his first flag football camp tomorrow morning at 7:45 am, as a matter of fact.  But several recent conversations with agency clients of mine have me thinking about the topic of a farm system.  For those of you that are not baseball fans, this is simply another term for the minor league franchises affiliated with the corresponding major league team.  We are fortunate here in Des Moines to have the Triple-A affiliate of the Cubs, hence the logo of the team on this week's blog.

Here is where we can all learn something.  All major league teams focus on blockbuster trades after the All-Star break to propel them to the playoffs and hopefully the World Series.  But unless you have the budget of the New York Yankees, you do not have an unlimited budget to make those moves.  So you have to focus on developing younger players and have them work their way up from Single A to Double A and Triple A.  You might have to throw a signing bonus or two at the best younger players, but for the most part they are playing for small weekly stipends to get them through each and every day.

There are several reasons why this is successful for the baseball profession and I believe they translate into the insurance industry.  The first reason is that the potential is there for every player to reach the big leagues and sign a multi-million dollar contract.  While in the minor leagues they focus on the details and even learn from some veterans that might be in town for a re-hab assignment.  The parallel here is to make certain your older, tenured, and successful producers are always spending time with the newer and younger producers.  Simply being around someone who has been successful at another level will rub off on you.

Secondly, players go into the minor leagues knowing that playing baseball is what they want to do.  They are not plumbers, carpenters or realtors that one day decided that playing baseball for a living would be fun.  So naturally you should align yourself with people that have an understanding of insurance, are committed for the long run, and maybe even have some outside influence of other industry professionals that have been successful and might be able to mentor them in the early years.

Third, and perhaps most important, is that the team does matter.  Although each player is grinding through each practice, game, road trip, and workout to achieve an individual goal, they all know they will go farther with the team's best interests in mind.  You must foster an open environment within an agency that promotes the idea of helping others.  When I was a young producer I had the opportunity to work with a few of the interns that were working with us in the summers.  As much as I had going on with my own production goals, I always thoroughly enjoyed bringing an intern with me on a sales call or renewal meeting to show them what I had learned at that point in my career.  It was usually invigorating for both parties and a great way to keep me on my toes as I had another pair of eyes watching and ears listening to my every move.

The last point I will make will also show where my big league loyalties lie, if it isn't already obvious.  The Cubs right now are sacrificing short term success for a bigger and better long term plan.  Sometimes you have to commit to the future by working hard on a plan in the present that may not be widely accepted.  You might have to make changes that the "veterans" won't like but that could improve profitability or productivity going into the next 2-3 years.  Instead of spending big money on a well-known producer with a large book, you decide to hire three or four younger producers with a lot of upside.  There is no one magic formula, but I sure believe that there is some great benefit to developing a well oiled machine called a farm system.

Taste of the good life

We are in the midst of the greatest phenomenon in Iowa outside of the annual corn and soybean reports that will come out in 6-8 weeks.  It is called the Iowa State Fair.  Over one million visitors stop by each year, easily making it the most attended event of the year for our great state.  You can get just about any food you can imagine on a stick.  Fried Twinkies are by far my son's favorite, and I tend to agree with him.

What I really like about the Fair is that you tend to stop and look around a bit instead of just trying to run from booth to booth.  This is a great reminder for candidates when they are seeking a new position or interviewing for a different role.  Far too often people tend to move quickly and not really view the process through an objective lens.  They are most interested in leaving what they view as a "bad" situation with their current employer, chasing more money even if the job isn't the best match, or even sometimes pushing toward offer stage just to feel wanted.  None of these are good options if you are looking to make a career move that will stick and be a long term solution.

Or just like at the Fair, there will be people that want to move faster than you are moving.  We still take a stroller for our two-year old and teenagers especially didn't like the pace we moved at while walking around the main concourse.  This is more of a danger for employers that have an immediate need that can't wait another day to be filled.  If you take the first candidate that comes in the door despite it not being a direct match, you will certainly pay for it shortly after the candidate commences employment.  It can also adversely affect a candidate's opinion of the company if they are not patient about scheduling interviews or waiting for response regarding references or other administrative details.

Most recruiters will tell you that time kills all deals and would actually love the process to move quickly every single time a candidate interviews with a client.  While there is certainly some truth to that, we are always more interested in finding a balance, taking the appropriate amount of time to fully vet a candidate, and even passing occasionally when timing simply doesn't work out.  It is a much better long term approach that will inevitably produce better results.  Just like the Fried Twinkie in the captioned photo, it is best sometimes to let your food digest before moving quickly to the next booth to eat a double bacon wrapped corn dog.......

Good things come to those who wait

I usually hesitate making any comments that show my age, but how many of you remember the Heinz ketchup commercials from the early 80s with this slogan?  You would see a young guy (who is now incredibly famous because of the show Friends on NBC) place a newly opened bottle of ketchup on a rooftop, he would run down the multiple flights of stairs, purchase a hot dog from a street vendor and then you would see one glorious drop of delicious condiment float from the sky and perfectly land on the hot dog.  I don't even like hot dogs, but that made me want to try that trick at home.

The reason I bring this up is more than simple nostalgia.  I had a great reminder this morning that patience is a key virtue in our business.  A candidate of mine had been flirting with the idea of an interview with a client for nearly four months and finally had the opportunity to have an initial interview yesterday.  Not only did he nail the interview, but he had a positive attitude about the whole situation.  Instead of becoming bitter for the delay, he seized the opportunity to shine and show them why they should have been interviewing him all along.

All too often the interview/recruiting process does not align with everyone's ideal timing.  Clients drag their feet to offer stage when a candidate feels as though they are on the goal line and in the 11th hour.  Candidates take way too long to return phone calls to set up next stages of the process.  Emails are lost in cyberspace and calendars fill up before something can be confirmed.  I could go on and on and on, just like Taio Cruz.  Like Taio I want to celebrate and live my life.  (Thank you to my seven-year old son's love of Pandora for that random reference.)  Or in other words I try to inject a positive attitude and optimism in the midst of what is often a slower process than anyone would like to see.  I wish more people would share that sentiment in the transactional, what-have-you-done-for-me-lately society we live in.

Along with pure unadulterated optimism, I do also like to stress clear and realistic communication.  The candidate I referenced above remained patient primarily because he and I had a lot of conversations with him over that four-month period.  I was honest with him that the slow process frustrated me as well.  But the opportunity was worth waiting for.  He knew that he could ask me open and honest questions and that I was his advocate in the process and not just a means to an end.

The takeaway here is to envision that ketchup bottle perched high above the street when you find yourself in a situation where you wished the interview process was moving along more quickly.  Keep in mind that waiting not only produced the desired result of ketchup on the bun, but it was the perfect amount as well.  Ah, the beauty of television, even if it was the 1980s.........

Five steps to become a tenacious producer

I have a producer candidate in final stages with an agency client this week and one of the references described the individual as tenacious.  What a wonderful descriptor for someone responsible for new business development.  Which got me thinking about different definitions of the word tenacious.  Webster's Dictionary defines the word in two ways -- a) not easily pulled apart or cohesive, and b) persistent in maintaining, adhering to, or seeking something valued or desired.  Retentive was a synonym also listed, along with dogged, persevering, insistent, and patient.  So how does one exhibit these qualities?  Here are five ways in which I believe you can become tenacious on a daily basis -->

1) I will start with the final synonym listed -- patient.  That wouldn't normally be a word I would align with tenacious.  But it makes a lot of sense if you think about it.  Many times producers turn new sales calls into simple transactions.  If one doesn't hit quickly, they move onto the next one.  Instead I would consider keeping track of each of those "near misses" more closely to see if there is something that was overlooked with initial review.  Maybe another referral that could come from the prospect.  Perhaps a chance to call back in six months to see how the competition is faring.  Sometimes sales cycles are long and it takes patience to achieve the end result of winning the client.

2) Retentive is also a word I would not associate with tenacious.  But if you look again at the Webster's definition it talks about "adhering to" and that should definitely be a goal for every account a producer brings on board.  Not only is it less expensive to retain a current account than sell a new one, but I would also argue that is your best referral source.  If your current clients speak highly of you, it should naturally lead to other prospects and clients in the long run.

3) Salesforce.com is creating a new way to predict who is most influential within an organization.  Some of it appears to be in initial phases of testing and is quite subjective, but it brings up a good point.  You should know your colleagues well enough that you can influence them to help in all facets of your business.  If your account management team respects you, they will likely work harder for you.  When you need them to be your foxhole buddy on a tough account, it is too late to get to know them.  They will run for the hills if you are just asking for their help for selfish reasons.  Maybe you can partner with another producer that has more expertise in a particular niche.  Maybe you need someone in marketing or IT to hit a deadline on some glossy materials for a presentation that is the next day.  The time invested over months and years to get to know your team will pay huge dividends in those moments.  Be tenacious about details.  Know their spouse's names, their hobbies, their weekend activities, etc.

4) The devil is in the details.  I heard a story recently about a producer who works for a smaller agency, but won over a huge account with a ton of political ties in the community.  This individual was competing against three much larger agencies in a broker selection process.  The reason the client picked his agency -- he knew more about their exposures.  Sounds too easy, doesn't it?  While the other three agencies focused on their service platforms, pricing, value-added services, and all of the fancy marketing ideas, this producer simply knew the client better than anyone else.  He had asked in-depth questions about the state of the client's business, where their growth would occur, and what was most important to them. 

5) Have a little fun.  While this may also seem too easy, many salespeople tend to take themselves way too seriously on a daily basis.  Start a cold call asking about the weather.  Bring some greasy donuts from a local bakery to a renewal meeting.  Be memorable.  Talk about a movie you watched last night with your spouse, especially if it was terrible.  You can save someone else ninety minutes of their life they'll never get back.  It is human nature to gravitate toward interesting people.  So make it a point to be interesting.  Look at the Webster's definition again -- "seeking something valued or desired".  Can anything you have done this week be described as being valued or desired?  That is the core of being tenacious.

You don't know jack!

This is something a recruiter would never want to hear.  Whether it be from a candidate or a client, it would be an indictment of our profession.  On several recent occasions I have had candidates tell me after an interview that the client asked what we (as the recruiter) had shared with the candidate about the organization.  Thankfully we know our clients well and every single time it has actually benefited us in interview process to have that question come up.  In one instance a candidate even flat out admitted that he wouldn't have agreed to the interview if it weren't for what we shared with them about the organization and the opportunity.  But what if we hadn't known much about the organization either because we hadn't done our homework or the client simply didn't feel like sharing much information before the interview with us?

I read the following stat in an article authored by CareerBuilder -- When asked to assess the recruiters who contacted them, one-in-five job seekers (21 percent) reported that the recruiter was not enthusiastic about his/her company being an employer of choice. Seventeen percent didn’t believe the recruiter was knowledgeable and 15 percent didn’t think the recruiter was professional.

This is obviously in reference to an in-house and not external or third party recruiter.  But still it is an astonishing fact if you really think about it.  What is the old saying -- you will only tell one person about a good experience, but you will tell 8-9 people about a bad experience.  I have oftentimes had to educate candidates especially that have previously had bad experiences with recruiters that not all of us are bad medicine.

Two lessons can be drawn from this.  First of all, it is a great reminder for executive search firms like Capstone to really know their clients well.  For us to be able to properly prepare a candidate for an interview, it benefits everyone for us to know the little details.  We try to stress this with our clients all the time.  Whether you have extraordinary benefits, fun activities for the summer, flexible schedules for working from home, ESOPs, career progression, etc., that is valuable knowledge for us to have.  We are working with one new client that has a page on their website devoted to "50 fun things we do in the summer".  How cool is it for a prospective employee to know that they might play in company kickball in their first week of employment? 

Secondly it is a reminder for employers everywhere to remember that they are representing their organization in every single interview.  Even if it is a candidate you are never going to hire, that individual can have an impact on future hires.  They have friends, colleagues, family, and much more that they talk with about bad experiences with employers.  Whether it be zero response on a resume submission, a mishandling of an interview or follow up, or an inappropriate Dear John letter, that can send a ripple effect that you'll never completely see the end of.  I spoke with a candidate just this week that thought an interview was going along quite well with senior management when out of the blue she received a letter from HR stating that they were not interested.  She was shocked and disappointed and called one of the executives she had met with.  The individual was not even aware HR had sent the letter and felt obligated to apologize. 

I will be the first to admit I am not perfect and will eat some humble pie in conclusion.  There have been times that candidates have had to call me after interviews to tell me something about a client that I didn't already know.  It is impossible for us to know all of our clients a mile deep and a mile wide, but it is certainly our goal to know as much as we can.  That serves to benefit the client, the candidate, and ourselves in the process.

If you are a hiring manager, do you strive to provide as much information as possible to prospective candidates?  Do you show consistency in what you share?  Do you have some level of engagement and excitement that will leave a good impression on the candidate?

If not, I hope you will take my advice to heart to avoid ever hearing back from a candidate that "you don't know jack!"

Tips from a seven-year old ambassador

I attended a ceremony yesterday afternoon for my son's basketball camp at a local university expecting to walk away with a few pictures and a cheap certificate showing his participation.  Instead I received a reminder about how your behavior and attitude counts so much even when you think no one is looking.

One of the awards was for the player that the coaches agreed would be a great ambassador for the university and especially its basketball program.  When they said my son's name over the loudspeaker for Mr. Bulldog I couldn't believe it.  I asked him later in the evening if he really understood what an honor it was to win that award.  He didn't, so I explained to him that it had a lot less to do with his basketball skills and much more about how he exhibited good qualities as a supportive teammate, a good listener to the coaches, and his overall approach to the game.  He smiled even bigger than if he had been named MVP of the whole camp.

No one told him before the camp started that the coaches would be keeping a watchful eye for the player that would receive the award.  Yet he came each afternoon with a desire to learn, get better on the court, and pick up life lessons along the way. 

Here is the tie-in to the interview process.  Both candidates and clients alike so often fail to remember that the entire recruitment process is oftentimes a lengthy one and they always need to bring their best to the table.  From silly things on social media that can be viewed as inappropriate for a candidate to off-the-cuff comments before and after a formal interview, people seldom can be described as ambassadors for their organizations or their own candidacy.

As a candidate, are you constantly attempting to improve your background to be more appealing to employers?  As an employer are you creating a culture of winning that permeates from the top to the bottom?  With all of the reasons in the world to put on a front when we know others are looking, can we learn from a seven-year old boy trying his best and giving his all at basketball camp even when he has no idea that someone else is watching his every move?