Securing Referrals From Other Resume Writers

Purchase This Report 

I've written lots of blog posts -- and even a special report -- on developing referral business. But in talking with a resume writer colleague yesterday, I thought of a couple of issues that make matching up a referral among resume writers a little bit easier.

Many resume writers ask for colleagues who are interested in a referral on the professional association E-Lists. The usual response is a series of email responses along the lines of "I'll take the client." 

Having been on the "asking" end of soliciting a referral writer, I can tell you that doesn't make it easy to choose a writer to send to prospective clients. That's why you'll sometimes see resume writers ask for prospective writers to contact them off-list, or they'll say something like, "The first three writers to respond will be forwarded to the prospect."

But there's a better way to handle referrals. Here are a couple of ground rules:

• Only respond to referral requests that you are qualified to serve. In some cases, resume writers are overbooked and can't accept a client due to time constraints. But in most cases, referrals are made when a client needs a specialist. If you're not a specialist, don't use this opportunity to pick up a new client. This is not your chance to get some practice with an unfamiliar field. You're not serving your new client -- and you're not helping your colleague. You might be a great resume writer, but the referring resume writer wants to look good too. 

• Distinguish yourself. The resume writer I spoke to was surprised when his request for referrals was answered with resume writers who either didn't establish their credentials for being qualified to write the client's resume -- or, worse, they sent samples, but they weren't for the type of project being referred. (If you want a referral for a Bioscience project, send a science-related sample!)

• Establish your expertise and secure referrals without competition. If you're a specialist in a particular field -- information technology, federal resumes, military transition, engineering ... whatever -- you can cultivate referrals by establishing your expertise. Instead of responding to general requests, you can elicit direct referrals by participating on E-Lists as a subject matter expert, and the next time someone is looking to refer a client within your specialty, they will likely contact you directly.

• Prepare yourself for referrals. If one of your client acquisition strategies is to solicit referrals from colleagues, prepare for for the referral request. Create a one-page sheet demonstrating your credentials. This should include your specialty area, credentials (especially any industry-specific certifications or training), scope of work you perform (resumes, cover letters, LinkedIn profiles, etc.), related books you've been published in, and any testimonials received from clients in this field/industry.

• Outline your referral rate. Many resume writers are happy to make a referral to a qualified colleague simply to serve a client -- but offering a referral fee can help make it worth the referring resume writer's effort to find a writer for the prospect. The "standard" fee for referrals is 15%, although it can range from nothing to 30% or more. By outlining the referral fee in your response to the requesting resume writer, you might get the nod over another writer who doesn't offer a referral fee.

If you're on the asking -- or receiving -- end of referrals (or want to be!), check out the "Maximizing Your Cash Flow: Subcontracting and Referral Relationships" special report.

Today's Reach Personal Branding Interview Series: William Arruda and Deb Dib!

Reach Personal Branding Interview Series Today's Guests: Deb Dib and William Arruda

REGISTER NOW for the call-in details
http://360rea.ch/HLufUn

======================================
Guest Deb Dib & William Arruda – April 19, 2012
======================================

The world is experiencing an increasingly
volatile marketplace forcing significant change
for both employees and employers. What could
possibly offer both executives and those they lead
the sense of stability, empowerment,
value-creation, and recognition in this
environment?

Personal Branding.

Most executives and employers, who are serious
about building their careers, have accepted this
truth but they may find themselves struggling with
how to live the power of their personal brand.
They need a relevant, actionable, fun and fast
career success guide that teaches them how to live
their brand.

Look no further…your troubles have been solved!

Ditch. Dare. Do! is the quick-start guide and
deep-dive instruction manual every executive and
employer needs to leverage the power of personal
branding. Deliberately bold and brief, Ditch.
Dare. Do! is a series of powerful stand-alone
two-page vignettes that create a comprehensive
roadmap for career success and fulfillment in the
new and exciting world of work.

Usually William Arruda, founder of Reach Personal
Branding, is the one asking all the tough
questions. But this interview will be a bit
different. The Reach Personal Branding Interview
taking place Thursday, April 19, 2012 at noon EST,
William will be the one answering the questions!
He and Deb Dib, co-authors of Ditch. Dare. Do!
will share with us some personal branding secrets
from their soon-to-be-released book: Ditch. Dare.
Do! Personal Branding GPS for 3-D Executive
Success.

In this interview, which will be recorded, you
will learn:

-How adopting a "Ditch. Dare. Do!" mindset drives
3-D executive success.
-Why continuous mind-shifting is so necessary for
career success today—and how 3-D branding can
help.
-Why "Ditches, Dares, and Dos!" are career
propulsion for all executives—from innovation
leaders to risk-averse traditionalists.
-Strategies even the busiest executives can use
to create and execute a 3-D brand plan as their
personal GPS for executive success.
-Why 3-D branding is good business for companies
and teams.
-How coaches can use these concepts to help their
clients increase success.

Deb Dib

Deb Dib, often called the career industry's
Resident Trend-spotter and Chief Innovation
Officer, is an unabashedly 'disruptive' and
passionate personal branding and career
communications expert.

A Reach Certified Personal Branding Strategists
since 2004, Deb pairs proven Reach methodology
with her innovative 'bold, brief, and branded'
career-comm to help colleagues and clients answer
today's mantra: 'So what? Make me care! Do it
fast!'

Deb is the co-author (with William Arruda) of
Ditch. Dare. Do! 3D Branding for Executives, the
first recipient of the Dick Bolles/Career
Management Alliance Parachute Award, and winner of
Career Directors International's Career Innovation
award (for co-authoring The Twitter Job Search
Guide). She is the co-creator (with Susan
Whitcomb) of The Academies' Get Clear. Get Found.
Get Hired! Coach program (The G3) and Why-Buy-ROI™
branding. She is the founder of C-Suite Career
Catalysts, a consortium of top career pros
focusing on C-level careers and issues.

Deb holds nine certifications and is featured in
30+ career books. Her advice has appeared in
articles in The Washington Post, The New York
Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Daily News,
Newsday, Forbes.com, Money.com, and
BusinessWeek.com among others.

William ArrudaDubbed the Personal Branding Guru by Entrepreneur
magazine, William Arruda is the founder and
President of Reach, the world’s leading personal
branding consultancy with representatives in 30
countries. He is credited with turning the concept
of personal branding into a global industry. One
of the most sought-after speakers on career
management and executive success, he has delivered
hundreds of keynotes to audiences of five to five
thousand throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia and
Africa.

His corporate clients include Adobe, BP, British
Telecom, IBM, L’Oreal, JPMorgan, Microsoft, Morgan
Stanley and Starwood Hotels. His private clients
include some of the world’s most influential
leaders. As a thought-leader, William is a
spokesperson on personal branding and social
media. He has appeared on BBC TV, the Discovery
Channel and Fox News Live and he has been featured
in countless publications, including Forbes,
Strategies (France), Time Magazine, Veja (Brazil),
the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.
William is the author of the bestselling book,
Career Distinction, and the upcoming book, Ditch.
Dare. Do! He has lived in Boston, London and Paris
and now calls New York City home.

================================================
Topic: 3D Personal Branding: Your GPS for
Executive Success
Guest: Deb Dib & William Arruda
Date: Thursday, April 19, 2012
Time: 12:00 Noon – 1:00 pm Eastern (NYC Time)
Register for dial-in number:
http://360rea.ch/HLufUn

"Write Where The People Are"

Note from Bridget: Here's an excerpt from my "Using Content to Capture New Career Clients" teleseminar last week. I'm finishing editing the transcript today, and it will be posted to the Expert Interviews Series page on BeAResumeWriter.com by the end of the day today. (Note: Bronze members have access to all previous teleseminar recordings and transcripts; Free level members have access to the recordings only.)

As you work to develop a content marketing strategy for your resume writing business, I’m going to advise you to start with this important piece of advice: “Write where the people are.” 

So, to start with, that’s probably not your own blog. Probably the number one challenge that I see from resume writers is they say, “I’m putting this stuff out here and I’m not getting the people to visit my blog.” You have a hard time getting momentum or traction when you’re shouting in an empty forest. Go to the city. Go to where the people are. And so from that standpoint, focus on putting content where people already are and driving that traffic to your website then, to build your mailing list.

So where are the people? It depends on the kinds of jobseeker clients that you target, but some ideas can include guest posting on another resume writer’s blog or teaming up with a couple of other resume writers and blogging on a joint site, like Career Thought Leaders does. 

Another idea is pay-per-click advertising—go to the sites that are already getting traffic, like Facebook and LinkedIn and Google and use pay-per-click advertising. You can also sign up for a site like Careerealism which allows you to subscribe to be able to provide content on their site, which is very heavily trafficked by job seekers. You can send out press releases like we talked about. You can post articles on LinkedIn groups that target your jobseeker clients, especially within specific niches. You can post on article directories, although the caveat there is that they require unique content and that they don’t drive as much traffic to websites as they used to. And you can create joint venture partnerships.

The most important thing to remember, though, is to "Write where the people are." Before you can build your own tribe (followers, members, subscribers), start building a following.

Content Marketing: Striking the Right Balance Between Selling and Connection

As I prepare for the "Using Content to Capture New Career Clients" teleseminar on Monday (90 people are currently registered!), one of the points I want to emphasize is the use of content for list-building -- and the importance of not just selling, but giving something of value to the people who connect with you.

Email marketing often involves a tightrope walk between selling and connection. If you sell too much, you'll lose your customer's interest and burn out your list. Focus too much on connection and not on selling and you won't generate enough revenue.

What's the right balance?

Between 10% and 20% Selling

Generally the right amount is somewhere between 10% and 20% selling, with between 80% to 90% of your content being focused on quality, solving the customer's problems and making a connection.

That means, for every five emails you send, four should focus on great content. As they start to get emails from you, they'll know that emails from you will be of a high quality.

Having 80%+ of your content be connection-based also does one other thing: it essentially buys you the right to sell to them.

When someone gets immense value from the emails you're sending, they won't feel resentful when they read a sales message. In fact, they'll read your sales messages with an open mind, knowing that there's a good chance they might get value from the product you're offering.

If you oversell, people will resent being sold to. If you consistently provide high quality content, people will look forward to your next product and eagerly read your sales message.

The 5-to-1 Email or the "At the Bottom" Style

There are primarily two different ways you can split your selling and connection content.

The first method is to send only emails that have connection and problem-solving content, then every once in a while send a 100% sales message. (That's the method I'm talking about above.)

If you use this method, make sure that your sales messages also provide value. Even if you regularly send out quality content, you still can't just send out a spammy ad. Instead, you have to provide value even as you're selling them.

By sending only one sales message every 5 or 6 emails, you keep up with the 10% to 20% rule.

The other method is to sell in each email you send, by putting an advertisement or one or two promotional sentences at the bottom of every email.

This method works very well, because instead of trying to get a home run of sales in one email, you're getting a steady flow of sales with every email that you send.

Try to tie in your sales message with the email itself. For example, if your email talked about all the most common obstacles jobseekers run into when looking for new positions, then pitch your product or service at the end. This could be an ebook you're selling (maybe one based on Pass-Along Materials), a free resume critique, a resume update, or interview coaching.

Walking the fine line between over- and underselling in email marketing can be a little tough. As a rule of thumb, sell between 10% and 20% of the time to maximize customer connection while still pulling in strong revenues. For more on content marketing and its role in getting you new business, be sure to sign up for the free "Using Content to Capture New Career Clients" teleseminar this week.