Four Elements to Remain Employable

[margie albert]

We live in a time of fear and uncertainty. There are those of us who found ourselves suddenly out of a job and those of us left in jobs that have expanded to make up for those ousted. And then there are those who continue to wonder if they are next on the chopping block.

Well, there are no guarantees but I recently read a very short blog written by Seth Godin (yes, him again!). He said, “you will never be out of work if you can demonstrably offer one of the following:
sales, additive effort and initiation.”

As most of you know, I work primarily with television stations and there has never been a time when the ability to sell, to bring additive effort to the table and taking the initiative to reinvent the business has been more valuable.

The business is changing rapidly – not because of the broadcasters’ great inventiveness but because of the viewers and the advertisers forcing them to change. But are they changing? Are they delivering News much different today from yesterday? If you took a newscast from 1980 and compared it to one today would there be much difference? Yet, think about how much the world has changed and our ability to consume information from so many sources. Sure, the graphics are better; the color is richer, the clothing and hairstyles are more modern but what about the Newscast and the content delivered? It’s still pretty much 9 minutes News, 5 minutes Weather, 5 minutes Sports, maybe an Enterprise story thrown in and a couple of “refers” to a website. Some have gone so far as to show their website with comments. Is that “additive effort and initiation?” Is that what consumers want? The decline in local news ratings answers that question for us.

And Sales Departments are still out there talking about station ratings and pageviews in a world where advertisers care only about their sales and how to measure success. Advertisers want to talk “with” – not “at” - their customers and develop relationships. What kind of sales skills are needed in today’s environment? Very different from the 1980’s but every station still has the “wall of one-sheets” that describes their program ratings and sellers are still taking “packages” out to their clients based on inventory they want sold. If you mention “measure success” to most sales reps you can watch them cringe.

If you want to be employable hone your sales skills in today’s environment and don’t be afraid to bring something new and different to the table. Take the initiative – the worst that can happen is someone will say “no” but we’ve been told that before. The new world takes new efforts and new initiatives and the courage to experiment.

That’s the one phrase Seth left out that I would add immediately - “courage to experiment.” Go for it, be a positive disruptor. Seth also said, “Smart organizations will treasure you if you are the one who makes productive or transformative happen.”

How will YOU remain employable? Share your comments here or on my website!