In my line of work, it is critical for us to know who people know. We are not satisfied with just getting to know people, because we are greedy and want to know who they know and what they know about these people. But unlike spies, we do not have to hide our intentions because the nature of the business is fairly open and above ground. So people speaking to us already know we are always interested to tap their networks, and the clever ones will know how to leverage that and get what they need from us, which is generally a better job (in their definition) than what they are doing now.
But obviously them knowing our intentions does not equate to them being fully co-operative, so a lot of effort has to be put in by us to milk that info and get what we want. So along the way, I have found myself using the same techniques over and over again, and have also observed how some of my folks execute these techniques with superb finesse. Generally the principles that belie these techniques are:
Stay honest
Never come across as lying, hiding something, holding something back etc (generally just don't come across as slimy). I am always open and specific about what I want. And I communicate my requirements effectively and specifically to them.
Paint a Picture/Profile
Which then brings me to the point about how to articulate and impress upon my sources what exactly I need. I find it helpful to describe in detail about the profile, like I'm talking about a real person, rather than just sticking to the general job description that is given to me. Example: I am looking for a VP Apac to start up a business in this region for a US ball bearing company that sells mainly to the pharmaceutical industries. I don't just tell my sources the job requirements like number of years of experience, what education blah blah. I emphasise the "person" behind this job description, saying "I need someone who has that start-up expereience, not too strategic but someone willing to get their hands dirty. Have experience in selling to the pharma companies. Able to go direct to customers instead of relying on channels, yet have the maturity and ability to build relations at the highest level. Something along those lines. As my sources go off scouring their brains for that someone, I contiue feeding them the information and building that image of this "ideal" someone. Sometimes, I get my sources excited enough to say "yes, that's it, there's this guy...." and off he goes.
A Dialogue
But it's dangerous at the same time to get carried away and come across as a juicer trying very hard to extract every drop from him. That definitely cheeses people off. I find it important to "stay with the person in front of me". I give him my full attention and make him the focus of the conversation right from the start, before leading the conversation subtly away to other issues. But before that, I give him enough airtime to talk about himself, his aspirations, his thinking. And, I give him feedback on what he is telling me, which benefits him and makes it sort of a fair "dealing". I also notice that letting people talk about themselves makes them feel at ease quickly, although what they are saying should not be like responses to an interrogation, which is an obvious no-no.
Steering
So while he is going on about himself, I take mental notes and at the same time look out for opportunities for me steer the conversation in order to induce him to talk about what I want to know. In this case, I am always direct and upfront. Example: "I am interested to get to know senior people with commercial background in industrial companies selling into the pharma industries. Do you know some people?" But of course, I can't just go in abruptly; there must be an opportune time for me to slot in my request smoothly. This is the tricky part, because you have to be constantly looking out for the right moment. Which is why it is so important to "stay with the person" and not glaze off while he is going on about himself.
So once I get him on track to where I want to go, the rest is just feeding him information constantly, building that image of an ideal profile, giving him ideas/options where these talents exist and hopefully get him excited enough that he will go back after the meeting/conversation, mull over it for a couple of days and send you a list of who he knows plus their contacts. You will be surprised how motivation can spur someone to do things that may seem out of the way, and how often this can happen.
We help each other
At the end of the day, he must go home with the feeling that I'll do my best to help him anytime I can, whether is it keeping him informed about the job market, linking him up to people, recommending him to a client. The important thing is he must go away thinking this is a person who will be there for him, not one who only calls when she needs something. That leads to the question about that initial approach. Generally, it makes sense only to tap people you already know or someone who has a mutual contact with you. Nobody is going to entertain cold calls especially when you are tryng to get something out of him. It's easy to call someone you already know, to say hi, find out what he is doing and take it on from there. It's a litlle tricker to call someone who has a mutual contact with you but it works too if you budget a bit more time to build some sort of familiarity and comfort before tapping him. I always find something to leverage: Example - a colleague from another office knows XYZ because XYZ was a candidate for an assignment. So I jolt his memory, talk about the assignment he was shortlisted for, find out about him, what he thinks about the company he interviewed with, generally prepare myself by finding out beforehand some background about this person. That will breed some sense of familiarity which can be built upon, perhaps leading to somewhere. But do not go in with the expectation that you will always get something out of a conversation, because it will then be difficult to NOT come across as desperate, overly persistent or even irritating. Just be nice, and people will be nice to you too.
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