Business Development Employment Services & Innovations Training 2 Employment Services & Innovations Indiana Vocational Rehabilitation Services

Business Development

Employment Services &

Innovations

Training 2

Employment 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


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) Trust

2) Win/Win Nature

3) Long-Term Relationship

4) Service Competence

5) Customer Service Orientation


Know the Business World

1) Business knowledge

2) Employer as individual vs. organization

3) Know your services & benefits

4) Recognize multiple sources of business contacts

5) 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.Employment Services & Innovations Indiana Vocational Rehabilitation Services

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?


Documents

Business Development Employment Services & Innovations Training 2 Employment Services & Innovations Indiana Vocational Rehabilitation Services