Last week someone forwarded me an email for a company that was looking for a phone sourcer. I contacted the solicitor and offered to put it out to the network of 1600 members in the MagicMethod Phone Sourcing group and I received a grateful reply that included:
I’m really looking for a seasoned pro with 2+ years who needs minimal mentoring but can take project direction on a continuous basis – multiple times a day…for a full-time manufacturing and a part-time DoD position. Pay depends on experience – of course.
I asked what the pay was for an “old, salty sourcer” and it sounded reasonable.
I laughed ‘cause I’m an old sourcer but salty? Yeah, I s’pose that, too.
Anyway, I put the missive out and he began to get some inquiries. He had a pretty straightforward “test” he was sending to the applicants: identify the VP of Product & Process Development and the Director reports at a company and find the e-mail address of a person at another company.
He gave the info in an Excel spread sheet and it included the telephone numbers of the two specific companies he wanted penetrated. At the top of the Excel spread sheet it said:
Product Marketing Sample
Looking for the VP Product Development and of his/her direct reports.
They should all have the title Director Product Development
I thought it looked like it might be an interesting “challenge” and being as rusty as I am these days with so little phone sourcing work to do on a daily basis I took a stab at it. I wanted to know the answers anyway in case any of my MagicMethod network asked me about the challenge so I could “help” them with advice on how to proceed. Besides that, it looked like fun.
Not being accustomed to working in Excel (I find it too “jumpy” for fast phone sourcing work), I eyeballed the document and picked up the phone. Knowing what titles are used at a specific company is a huge leg-in on any search, Internet included. But this was a phone search – he wanted phone sourcers specifically.
“XYZ Corporation. Melinda speaking.”
“Hi Melinda, this is Maureen Sharib. Can you give me the e-mail address of so-and-so?”
Piece of cake – she recited it easily to me. I repeated it back to her – slowly – to make sure I had it right. It took about half-a-minute. That part of the challenge was finished – on to the next. This is where I got into trouble. I think I was feeling haughty.
“ABC Corporation. Delores speaking. May I help you?”
“Hi Delores, this is Maureen Sharib. Can you please transfer me to product development?”
“Which division? We have many different divisions.”
Blowback. I didn’t expect that after the ease of my first call.
Glancing at the Excel document I noted it was asking for “Interiors & Exteriors” so I blurted that out.
“Which?” she pressed.
“Interiors,” I grabbed, thinking I would start somewhere.
“One moment, please,” and before I could collect my composure Delores had me on hold in a transfer process. The phone rang and rang and finally a VoiceMail answered. “Amanda” informed me that she was gone for the day and would be returning tomorrow and in the event I was trying to reach so-and-so (I had no idea who so-and-so was) I should call Sheila at x4567. Eyeballing the original telephone number of the company on the Excel sheet I dialed 1 (this was long distance) and the first six numbers – the area code and the prefix – and then Sheila’s four digit extension. It rang through and another Voicemail answered, identifying herself as “Sheila, the Coordinator in Engineering” and informing me she was on the telephone and would be happy to return my call shortly.
I hung up.
Feeling giddy as I so often do on these chases I pushed back in my chair and noted Sheila’s extension. Thinking that maybe, just maybe as they sometimes do, if I dialed x4568 directly (now that I knew the easy internal dial key to the company’s employees) I might hit someone else in Engineering so that’s what I did. It rang and rang and another VoiceMail answered. I hung up. I then dialed x4569. Another VoiceMail. I hung up and redialed x4570. A male voice answered.
“Hello.”
“This is Maureen Sharib. I am trying to reach so-and-so and Amanda is out for the day. Can you give me his number?”
“Huh?”
“So-and-so. I am trying to reach the Engineering department. Is this Engineering?”
“Yeah, this is Engineering but you have the wrong number.”
“I am sorry to disturb you. Can you give me so-and-so’s number?
“Uhhh – sure. Wait a minute.”
I waited while he fumbled with some paper. He then told me so-and-so was at x4561. Huh. Close enough in the phone tree to think this wasn’t a fluke – the fact that Engineering was close together in the phone tree. I wasn’t finished. I asked, “So-and-so – he’s the VP of Product Development – right?”
“Uh. Yeah. We do product development here.” I wasn’t listening. My heart filled with glee that I had discovered:
…product development
…the internal dial system
…the fact that “engineering” (product development) was closely aligned in the company’s phone tree
… that I had the VP of “Product Development”
I was so happy that I was hearing all that I was hearing I wasn’t listening.
I pressed on. “Can you tell me, in case I can’t reach so-and-so now that Amanda is gone for the day, can you tell me who else I can try? Does he have a Director reporting to him that I might try?”
With this last I had pressed too far and he went south on me, curtly telling me he was busy and he had helped me as much as he could. I thanked him and hung up and dialed the next extension 4571.
Another male voice answered.
“Matthews here.”
“Yes, this is Maureen Sharib. I was trying to reach so-and-so and Amanda is out for the day” (as if that matters) “so I would like to reach one of his directors. Do you know who that might be?”
“You mean Charlie? He’s not in today either.”
“Is there anyone else that reports to so-and-so I might try?”
“Well, Brian reports to him too but I don’t know Brian that well – he’s new.”
“Do you know Brian’s extension?” I asked.
“No, I don’t know his last name, either. You might try Alfonzo though – I think he reports to Brian. Alfonzo’s extension is 4582.”
“Is Brian one of the Product Development Managers?” I queried.
“He’s one of the Engineering Managers – yeah, we do product development here.”
I still wasn’t listening. Or maybe better, I wasn’t hearing.
Sensing that this was going to take some time and needing some encouragement I emailed the Challenger and told him I had the email address requested and so-and-so’s name (I gave the initials JT) and he was the VP of Engineering and was I on the right track and did he know the size of the group I was after?
This came back: “No idea – where did that come from?”
My balloon deflated.
Another missive, as if he had an afterthought:
“Engineering is not the department we’re looking for. The title on the sheet is a specific title at the company handling PD. PD is a department that combines engineering and marketing and is responsible for product planning as opposed to brand and channel (traditional marketing). I’m sure JT is a great guy, but the wrong branch for this project. What’s the email address you found?”
My temper flared at this point and I had the thought that he could have told me this in the beginning. I flashed off an irritated response that included the email address first before I started the willful lambasting:
Hint: That piece of info below would help the sourcers who are working on this – Engineering keeps telling me THEY handle product development.
“…combines engineering and marketing…” —> that’s important!
Someone in Engineering told me Process Development is handled by each of their manufacturing divisions. You sure the title is VP Product & Process Development?
He gently answered:
The important thing is that YOU asked and others have not. Most of my job as project manager is fielding questions from researchers to tighten the results and show folks the right path for client success. We don’t always have that info going in. The questions should be asked early on. Most of the time it depends on the company where that function lives. The leg work is done in this instance because the Title has been found. The group size has been determined.
Once I had regained my composure I looked again at the Excel document. You know what? He had told me and I wasn’t listening from the get-go! Clearly, at the top of the Excel document, as I have indicated previously, were the words: Product Marketing Sample
I wasn’t listening because I had ignored my own NUMBER ONE CARDINAL RULE in phone sourcing – set up your document the same way each and every time you do a search. I had rushed head-long into this thing without reading the particulars because I was working with a document I was not accustomed to working with. I always do my research in a Word doc into which I enter all the particulars of a search:
Search Number/Name
Job Description
Notes from customer
Target Companies
I had not done this in this case because, being filled with hubris as the queen of phone sourcing I’d thought getting a VP and Director reports at one company would be a one or two call mission – a slam dunk wam/bam affair. I over-confidently thought I could plug the procured names into the Excel doc and email it back in a few minutes and impress someone.
I was wrong. This had turned into an ordeal.
To my credit, once I realized my stupidity, I answered:
Of course, it DOES say: Product Marketing Sample – That’s what I get for NOT paying attention!
Back to the drawing board; I called back into the main number. Delores answered once again.
“Hi Delores, it’s me again – Maureen Sharib. Product marketing, please.”
And once again she transferred me. But before she did I quickly asked who she was transferring me to and what the person’s capacity was. The administrative assistant for the marketing group answered and identified herself as Nichole. I said to her, “Hi Nichole, this is Maureen Sharib. Delores transferred me to you. Can you tell me who the VP of Product and Process Development is?”
She did and then I stabbed at her. “I understand he has six reports. Can you tell me who they are?”
And she did. And it was just that simple.
Can anyone tell me why they think it was so simple after all that I had been through? I’d like to hear why you think Nichole was so helpful.