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Focus on Education Over Selling to Demonstrate Your Value

Katie Corbett holds the book "The Referral Engine"

By Katie Corbett

 

I run a freelance writing business. Not surprisingly, sales is now a large part of my regular business practice. Authenticity is an important quality to me, and I want to tell you about a technique that helps me stay true to myself and get new writing leads at the same time.

 

The book, “The Referral Engine,” by John Jantsch, recommends focusing on educating rather than selling. Focusing on educating others helps me avoid being spammy or desperate. It can help you in your efforts, too, because you can apply creativity to your job hunt. Here are some ideas:

 

  • Start a blog or podcast where you post content that is relevant to those who might be looking to hire you.
  • If you enjoy interviewing guests, this could be a great way to get your audience involved and meet more people.
  • Consider other areas in which you are an expert and create content around that; I made a list of 25-30 ideas before I settled on business books.
  • Attend mastermind groups and offer to help when you can.
  • Look for opportunities to speak to share your expertise.

 

The hardest part about this project will be to get started. It can be as easy as posting frequently on your Facebook or LinkedIn profile, or as complex as starting a company to solve a specific problem. Find a way to be seen as an expert. It will help give you purpose and bring others to you who want to know about what you have to offer.

 

A word about building awareness: I recommend setting metrics that you control to evaluate your success, such as posting regularly or sharing your work with a certain number of people. This practice will keep you from getting discouraged if it takes you longer to build a following. I focus on posting one time per week, and that keeps me motivated to keep blogging.

 

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Reasons to Become a Giver

Katie Corbett holds the book "The Referral Engine"

By Katie Corbett

 

People usually help those they know, like and trust. Part of developing that know, like and trust factor is to give help as you can, in ways that are meaningful to those receiving your help.

 

In the book, “The Referral Engine,” John Jantsch talked about having a service-oriented approach to boost the reputation of your company. The same is true if you are an individual looking for a job. I encourage you to make a list of all the things you could do to help someone. At the least, this will keep you busy and give you purpose as you are waiting to hear back about potential job leads and interviews. Here are some questions to consider as you are making your list:

 

  • What do you enjoy doing?
  • Is there anything you promised to do for someone that you haven’t gotten around to doing yet?
  • What causes are important to you?
  • What types of help do people usually ask for from you?
  • Is there something you are good at that other people need?
  • Is there something you have been meaning to try and want a place to test your skills?

 

To show that I practice what I preach, I will make a list of ways I plan to help people this month:

 

  1. Introduce two people I promised to introduce.
  2. Post job openings to a group of friends, many of whom are looking for a job.
  3. Reach back out to someone I recently finished career coaching and ask what I can do to help.
  4. Offer to write a case study for my favorite nonprofit.
  5. Look in Facebook groups for quick things I can do to help someone.

 

I hope you get a lot of mileage out of offering to help. Approaching your job search with an attitude of giving will make you stand out among other applicants. Most of all, I hope helping others makes you feel good and like you have a purpose.

 

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Generating Referrals and Recommendations Takes a System

Katie Corbett holds the book "The Referral Engine"

By Katie Corbett

 

When I was a senior in college, one of my professors recommended me for a job. It was an exhilarating experience to have someone recommending me, since I hadn’t worked a full-time job yet. I interviewed, did quite well, and I was in the top five candidates. While it was flattering to be recommended and get so far along in the process, I soon learned that such opportunities are not commonplace. Often times, to get a recommendation for a job, it is helpful to have a system in place to ask for recommendations from the people you know.

 

I recently read the book, “The Referral Engine,” by John Jantsch, and it talked about how a good system brings in referrals. The same applies for job recommendations.

 

Developing a system that is personalized to you is important, because you will be more likely to follow a system you enjoy doing. Here are some questions that could help you develop your system:

 

  1. How do you like to communicate with people?
  2. How often do you feel comfortable doing reach-outs?
  3. Do you communicate better in writing or verbally?
  4. How many times will you follow up with people before taking them off your list so you can avoid constantly following up with the same individuals?
  5. What reminder systems will you put in place to help you track your progress?

 

The most important aspect of this system is that it is tailor-made for you. Remember to account for your needs, life circumstances and the type of job you are seeking as you develop your system.

 

What questions do you have about devising your own job recommendation and job hunting system? Let me know in the comments.

 

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