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Best Practices in

Engaging & ServingEmployers

Bruce WahlgrenWorkForce West Virginia Conference

June 7 & 8, 2011

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Keys to successfully engaging businesses

• Must know what businesses want

• Must speak their language

• Must be comfortable in our role

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What businesses want . . .

• Save me time

• Save me money

• Make my life easier

• Improve my

product/service

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3 things to remember

1) Businesses don’t

care what you

can’t do, only

what you can do

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3 things to remember

2) People do

business with

people they know,

like, and trust

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3 things to remember

3) Goal is to have

business customer

think of you as a

partner, rather than

a vendor, or worse

— a bureaucrat

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Benefit Statements

• Features — describes attributes of product or service

• Benefits — how it will improve the customer’s life in some way

• End Results — a glimpse into the future

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Job Seeker Case Management

• Know your labor market & community

• Establish relationship

• Identify needs/ask questions/assessments

• Match services with needs

• Develop plan with job seeker (IEP)

• Determine next steps

• Follow-up

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Consultative Sales Process

• Prepare (research company, industry, labor market)

• Establish relationship• Identify needs/ask questions• Match services• Present evidence and benefits• Determine next steps• Follow-up

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• Know your labor market & community

• Establish relationship• Identify needs/ask

questions/assessments• Match services with

needs• Develop plan with job

seeker (IEP)• Determine next steps• Follow-up

• Prepare (research company, industry, labor market)

• Establish relationship• Identify needs/ask

questions• Match services

• Present evidence and benefits

• Determine next steps• Follow-up

Case management Consultative sales

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Action Planning

• List all services you provide– Business Services– Job Seeker Services

• Develop feature/benefit/end result statements for each

• Use that language with customers

• Review marketing materials-revise if necessary

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Thank You!

Bruce Wahlgren

Maryland Institute for Workforce Excellence800.332.0916

bruce@theworkforceinstitute.org