Hidden Jobs Market

Reading a freesheet article written by a careers advisor on a commuter train the other morning, I wondered how similar job seekers were to solution salespeople.

“Don’t ring people cold – get others to pass you on with an introduction, explaining what you’re trying to discover.”

“There is one measure of success in the hidden jobs market – your name comes up at the same time as a job-shaped position.”

“This isn’t a matter of chance.”

The parallels with uncovering a solution sell opportunity are certainly striking.

In my early days, when double-breasted suits still hadn’t given way to their three-buttoned single siblings, I was occasionally exposed to big ticket IT salesteams. They were obsessed with landing the whale. They employed what now sounds like a relic, but nonetheless still a fascinating resource.

The deal opener.

Not a closer, but someone who’s sole job was to get an intro into huge potential accounts for the first time.

They had budget too. One chap was famed for the time he sent a limo the size of a ship to personally drop him off to deliver info for the target individual.

The barriers most solution sellers have with the work required to cultivate such openings is that it has way too long a gestation, takes an enormous amount of repeated effort and it must be someone else’s job anyway.

I recently encountered a solution sales team with an impressive approach to this vital pump-priming activity. They called it Nurturing.

Who’s doing it for tomorrow’s prospects in your funnel?