Business Development

Business Development

Employment Services &

Innovations

Training 2Employment Services & Innovations Indiana Vocational Rehabilitation Services

Lesson Objectives

Understand key components of the business world related to job development

Learn critical marketing ideas

Review customer service principles

Employment Services & Innovations Indiana Vocational Rehabilitation Services

Individual Strategies• Cold Call• Beg, Place and Pray• Food, Flour/Flower, Filth

Group Strategies• Breakfasts• Business to Business/Referral• Networks


Job Development: How do you do it?

Experience Talks

How you address job development Tools/Assessments you use Strategies for contacting potential

employers Experiences you had that you weren’t

prepared for


Effective Partnerships

1) Trust2) Win/Win Nature3) Long-Term Relationship4) Service Competence5) Customer Service Orientation


Know the Business World

1) Business knowledge2) Employer as individual vs.

organization3) Know your services & benefits4) Recognize multiple sources of

business contacts5) Let employers know why you are

contacting them


Know the Business World, cont.

6) Who makes hiring decisions? Process?

7) Stay in touch

8) Analyze aspects of targeted jobs


Marketing

Know what employers want

Know your package of services

Study the local business community

Marketing materials


Marketing, cont.

Business cards

Conduct seminars

Market services, not disability

Use past partners as reference


Marketing, cont.

Coordinate with other VR people

Track contacts

Adapt your style as needed

ASK FOR SALE


Customer Service Orientation

Respond quickly Customize your services “Coffee Stains” “Silk ties” Outstanding performance Learn from other fields Listen (80/20)


The EmployAlliance Concept

Job Developer Network Present one unified force to business Share leads Mentor each other “Focus Business”

1 per person Business you know well/screener 2 hours/month


Focus Business Model

A business that you would like to know more about.

A business you feel may someday benefit from services you can offer.


Focus Business Model, cont.

A partnership between your organization and the business

A business for which YOU provide a service.


True or False?


There are nearly 153,000 people with

disabilities in the United States


False. There are over 49.7 million—21.3 million

of working age!

What a Focus Business Is Not

A business you choose only because you have a candidate who needs a job, and “any job will do.”

A business you must “preach to” about why they should hire your candidate.


What a Focus Business Is Not

A business about which you know very little, or that you choose to assume you know about, just because you’re familiar with the “industry.”


Don’t… Get on your soap box and start

preaching about hiring people with disabilities and how “businesses never understand.”

Tell them all the things they do wrong or should do/not do. FIRST you must learn before making any recommendations.


Assumptions About Businesses

Businesses know their own hiring needs best

Many businesses are inexperienced in hiring people with disabilities

Stereotypes exist Turnover in entry level positions is

often high


Strategies for Building the Relationship



Put yourself in the shoes of the employer and attempt to truly understand their position.

Learn as much as you can about the business and their goals & motivations

Act and dress professionally

Before the first meeting…

Do your research about the company before you meet in person.

Approach the situation with a long-term relationship/partnership as a goal. Do NOT focus on immediate placements, but rather build a trusting relationship


Ways to Learn More

Do your research on the internet

Go shopping there if appropriate

Take a tour

“Interview” relevant staff: hiring professionals, managers, workers, etc…


Ways to Learn More, cont.

Conduct job analyses of target positions

Provide literature/information about hiring people with disabilities

Conduct training(s) to staff


Mitigating Resistance

Try to understand the employer’s reservations and why they may have them.

Educate the employer about the benefits of hiring people with disabilities.


Some Examples

The business had a bad experience

They don’t have time to train a person with a disability

The candidate won’t fit in with the culture in that workplace/department.


Never forget to…

Be patient

Act as a consultant to the business


The Win-Win for Your Focus Businesses &Your

Organization Provides one point of contact for

referring job candidates

One “expert” developer for each focus business


Focus Business Activity What does the business do? Products/Services? Company goals? Positions they hire for? Required skills for those positions? What makes a good employee? How can WE help?


Business Development

Documents

Transcript of Business Development