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I like talking to our clients, solving problems for them, and working on creative projects; but I hate dealing with computer issues and slowness.  I imagine you’re in the same boat.  Whether your focus is selling staffing solutions, finding qualified applicants, running a business, or trying to take your staff to the next level; your PCs and laptops are just supposed to work.

Which is probably what frustrates me about Vista so much, but I’m going to stop there before this turns into a rant!  Instead, this week I took a major step in accepting the fact that my Vista machine isn’t going to get any better unless I proactively do something to make it better.  The 20 minute boot-ups in the morning drove me to this common-sense realization.   So I’m going to share with you some of the very simple steps and resources I used to improve my Vista machine’s performance.

I know maintaining and improving your PC or laptop’s performance is not your main job and may not even be on your radar, but it’ll pay off exponentially if you and your staff gain 5 to 10 minutes a day.  The main article that got me off and running was “10 things you can do to increase performance in Vista,” on Tech Republic’s website: http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/10things/?p=200&tag=rbxccnbtr1.

Besides adding additional RAM (this is the only acronym I’ll use – I promise) , here are the 3 most effective things I did to boost my laptop’s performance.  The first one only applies to Vista machines, but the second two apply to all PCs or laptops.

1.       Turn off Aero  - the slick graphical look that comes with Vista.

While Aero makes Vista look pretty, beauty comes at a price – memory and lots of it.  I’m content with a classic Windows look, so here is how you can change from the sexy Aero look to the workhorse Windows look:

Right-click the desktop and select Personalize, then click Windows Color And Appearance, click Open classic appearance properties for more color options, from the Appearance Settings dialog box select either Windows Vista Basic, Windows Standard, or Windows Classic, click OK or Apply and voila you’ve proven you care more about what’s on the inside than the superficial things of life.  

2.       Defrag  your hard drive, which rearranges your data and files in a way that is easier for Vista to access.

I know “defrag” sounds scary, but it is really quite simple; if you have a Vista machine, go to:

Your Start menu, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and select Diskeeper.  When Diskeeper is displayed, you can right-click on you your hard drive – most likely (C:) – and select Defragment.

This process slows down your computer, so it is best to schedule it or kick it off when you are not using it.  There are also many third-party defrag utilities available.

3.       Turn off extra startup programs.

You probably have a lot of processes, services, and programs running in the background that you may not even be aware of.  To turn off unnecessary startup programs, go to:

Your Start menu, Performance Information and Tools, and Manage startup programs, and you can literally go down the list and Remove any unnecessary startup programs. 

If you are not sure about removing a program, either ask your IT person, google the startup program name, or check out CNET’s The Download Blog’s startup posts: http://download.cnet.com/download-blog/?keyword=startup.

I hope this gives you the information and nudge you need to do something positive for you, your computer, and your productivity.  It was hard for me to get to this point, but I’m glad I tapped into my inner-geek.  If you need some further inspiration; get a bag of Doritos, Red Bull, and a your own hacker handle (alias) at http://www.rootcompromise.org/hhg/.  Mine is Static Darkness.  This week, follow these three steps and comment on this blog or click I actually did something good for my computer to let me know if you and your staff are saving time, money, and emotional health.

Static Darkness (aka Everett Reiss)
Business Relationships Development
The Staffing Cooperative
Check me out on Linkedin:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/evreiss
Check us out on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/StaffingCo_op

How are people getting to your staffing company’s website?  For that matter, who is visiting your staffing company’s website?  Right now, you may not know the answer to these questions, but today you can start driving quality traffic to your staffing agency’s website through your disciplined use of Linkedin.  I do highly recommend that you use Google Analytics, http://www.google.com/analytics/, a free tool that measures your web traffic and breaks that information down into many useful forms.

The following two videos will show you how we’ve increased the quantity and quality of your web traffic through Linkedin. 

The first video is geared towards staffing managers and professionals who are starting out with Linkedin and shows you how you can:

·         Publish your company’s website on your profile .

·         Drop into comments your signature with hyperlinks to your website as you participate in discussions.

This second video is for more experienced social networkers and discusses how to use Linkedin to drive traffic to your blog, newsletter, or some other regular content that you are producing.

Let us know how you’ve successfully used Linkedin or or get our feedback by submitting your questions or anecdotes to Linkedin Success Stories.

Click-in for next week’s Linkedin Success Story on “Creating  Valuable Discourse in Your Area of Expertise on Linkedin?”

Everett Reiss
Business Relationships Development
The Staffing Cooperative
Check me out on Linkedin:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/evreiss
Check us out on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/StaffingCo_op

How much time are you actively on Linkedin?  Are you wondering if Linkedin is worth your time?  Or is your staff, co-workers, or manager skeptical of the business value behind social networking?  This is the first blog-video of a three part series on “Linkedin Success Stories in the Staffing Industry” that will demonstrate to you and your fellow staffing professionals proven ways you can use Linkedin to:

• Gather valuable professional information that can sharpen your staffing game.
• Drive traffic to your staffing company’s website.
• Strike up provocative discourse in your area of expertise.

Let us know how you’ve successfully used Linkedin or pick our brains on the topic by submitting your questions or anecdotes to Linkedin Success Stories.

Additionally, check out the May 15th blog post we compiled off of a Linkedin discussion that we started on cold calling and leaving voicemails, http://www.staffingcooperative.com/news/?p=35.

Click-in for next week’s Linkedin Success Story on “How to Drive Quality Traffic to Your Staffing Company’s Website Through Linkedin?”

Everett Reiss
Business Relationships Development
The Staffing Cooperative
Check me out on Linkedin:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/evreiss
Check us out on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/StaffingCo_op

In the previous blog post, I discussed some ways staffing companies can use Linkedin to develop their sales and staffing professionals.  The first step is building a Linkedin profile, followed by joining and participating in professional groups with valuable discussions taking place.

Recently, when gearing up for a cold call campaign, I posed the following discussion question in the SalesBlogcast.com group, “When cold calling, how do you handle voicemail? Do you leave a message - if so, what type of message? Do you also send a follow up email? Or do you just hang up and try back later?”

The response was overwhelming as 50+ sales professionals added 61 thoughtful and valuable comments to the discussion - some wrote borderline essays in response.  Here are some of the highlights from the discussion:

·         Many people found the voicemail-email combo to be effective in getting a response. Make sure the message stays consistent between the voicemail and the email.

·         Emails and voicemail should be brief, to the point, and about the prospect.

·         The point of the phone conversation is to advance or move the relationship forward – get an appointment – not to sell them a product or service within that phone call.

·         Know what you are going to say on the voicemail and make sure you believe it.

·         Come from a mind-set of trying to help and solve problems instead of trying to sell products and services.

·         It is best not to mention the past, like “I called you last week and now I’m following up…” Just get your name and message out there and into the forefront of their minds.

·         Key is to peak the prospects interest with valuable information that can do something for them – solve what they perceive to be an important problem.

·         In the voicemail, include something personal showing that you are familiar with them/their company – something from their website, location, industry, etc…

·         Standup and maintain good posture when delivering the message – even smile.

·         Leave something short that is provocative and gets them thinking.

·         Put yourselves in their shoes before you call and then look to appeal to their desires, motivations, and values.

Discussions like this one with other staffing professionals in the trenches can give you and your staff critical and timely feedback to meet specific challenges, strategies, and issues you’re facing.  Linkedin discussion groups, webinars, and podcasts should be just as much a part of your staff development toolkit as more traditional (and often more expensive) resources such as books, conferences, and video and audio training courses.

Everett Reiss

Business Relationships Development
The Staffing Cooperative
Check me out on Linkedin:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/evreiss
Check us out on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/StaffingCo_op

Many small staffing companies are proficient at staffing clerical, light industrial, IT, or any other line of business, but quickly plateau and never have a shot at being number one in their market.  The key is to take your knack for staffing people, and carve out a niche in the market where you can exercise your staffing ability with a crack at being number one.

Having claimed their space in the market as number one, five private staffing companies were featured in a recent article in SI Review on “Contingent Niches.”  The companies followed the hedgehog principle espoused by Jim Collins in Good to Great – find a place in the marketplace where you can be the best in the world (a niche), make sure it is economically feasible, and be passionate about it. 

One of these staffing agencies specializes in placing “moms who left conventional corporate work to spend more time with their children” in “finance and accounting, human resources, sales, marketing, information technology, and some legal work and strategic consulting.”  The CEO/founder is a mom who desired to be with her kids while doing flexible professional work, and wanted to help other moms do the same.   Another example from the article, is a temporary staffing agency that only focuses on “connecting companies with retired engineers and scientists.”  The company works with 30 Fortune 500 clients who are getting great results ordering well-seasoned experts to focus on projects for a definite time period. 

Our last blog post discussed how temporary staffing accounts for only 5% of the US workforce.  That means that you and other small staffing companies can chip away at the remaining 95% by offering staffing services and solutions to niches in the market that meet specific needs better than anyone else.  Check out Bridget Mintz Testa’s article “Contingent Niches: How clients and staffing companies can benefit from unconventional candidates” in SI Review, March 2009. We’d love to hear your comments on how you’re creatively carving out a niche in your staffing market.