NHSN Success Story

One member, Edgar Jimenez, exemplifies the mission of the National Hispanic Sales Network.

Read Edgar's Career Guide here.

Al Sczweck
Talent Identification Manager for Johnson & Johnson Recruiting

Al most recently helped to launch the Northeast Region of the National Hispanic Sales Network and played a key role in building the Johnson & Johnson partnership with ALPFA, the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting.

Learn more about Al Sczweck through this engaging interview

All Aboard the Hispanic Bandwagon
by: Carlos Rodriguez

To think that it wasn’t until 1970 when the Bureau of the Census made its first attempt to identify us as people of “Hispanic origin”. Today, the Hispanic community continues to grow in population, political clout, and economic buying power.

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NHSN Welcomes State Farm as a Regional Sponsor

The Nation Board of Directors recently held their annual meeting in Chicago IL. Afterwards, Freddie Torres, President and Antonio Lugo, Vice President, announced that State Farm and the National Hispanic Sales Network (NHSN) had reached an agreement on Regional Sponsorship.

“I am very pleased to announce that State Farm is continuing its relationship with us,” Lugo said. "Freddie and I have met with representatives from State Farm and remain convinced the company will continue to have a tremendous impact on the National Hispanic Sales Network for years to come."

State Farm was in the top half of companies in the percentage of women employees, percentage of women on the Board and the percentage of women running $100 million plus business areas.

Read about State Farm

In Sales, What Differentiates The Top 5% Achievers
By Jonathan Farrington at EyesOnSales, a community for and by sales professionals (http://www.eyesonsales.com)

As you can imagine, I am often asked by sales leaders, anxious to recruit the best salespeople they can afford, just what is it that makes a consistently top performer, what are their characteristics, where are their strengths, and what differentiates them?

Over the past fifteen years I have trained and developed thousands of sales professionals, from foundation right up to “master craftsman” level and this has given me the opportunity to formulate an accurate profile of a Top 5% Achiever.

So What Is It That Top 5% Players Do?

They:

• Position themselves with the real decision-makers and avoid those without ‘approval power’. They are able to first identify and then access the formal decision making unit.
• Not only get the order but a satisfied customer, repeat sales, enthusiastic reference sites and constantly increase sales penetration within their accounts.

• Read all they do here

Power Tips
by Michael Dalton Johnson

Everybody likes to buy, but nobody likes to be sold.  Help your customer buy and you’ll rack up more sales.

Everybody likes to buy, because buying is fun. If you don’t believe this, try to find a parking space at a shopping mall, or a seat at an auction, this weekend. However, while buying is fun and exciting, nobody likes to be sold. The truth is: the best salespeople don’t “sell” their customers; they help them buy.

Respect your buyer’s intelligence. Speak to your potential customer as if you were talking with an intelligent, yet uninformed friend. Do not insult your prospect’s intelligence with inane leading questions such as, “We all want to save time and money, right?” Instead, simply state, “Our product will save you both time and money,” and immediately follow this statement with a brief example or two. Allow the prospect to respond to your time and money-savings premise. A high-pressure “What’s there to think about?” approach doesn’t work in today’s business environment.  Your buyers are smart, and deserve your respect.

Read All The Power Tips Here

First-time Homebuyers Have Opportunities
By: Katiria M. Cobian, NHSN Member
Home Loan Consultant
Katiria.M.Cobian@wellsfargo.com

Typically, housing prices begin to stabilize when first-time homebuyers entering the market outnumber the homes for sale. First-time homebuyers stimulate the production of new homes and enable sellers of existing homes to move up. The market slows down when first-time homebuyers are on the fence.

A buyers’ market typically has a six-month supply of existing homes. According to a recent Harvard study, in early 2008, the U.S. had an 11 month supply of unsold new homes and a 10.7 month supply of existing single-family homes, making this a buyers’ market. Of course, conditions vary from market to market.

Read the entire article here

Lost your job or looking for a new one?
A career expert offers these tips:

1. Networking with colleagues in your field; many jobs are filled via recommendations from insiders.  Let your friends, neighbors and relatives know you're looking for a job-they can be a very powerful part of your network.  Drop in on local chamber of commerce meetings to meet employers.

2. Make a detailed list of your strengthens and practice talking about yourself, so you can market yourself to anyone you meet at a party or a business networking event.

3. Conduct a few information interviews with people in the field you’re considering to an idea of whether it suits you

4. make sure you have a good resume that is targeted to the job you're looking for.

5. When you go for an interview, thoroughly research the company and make sure you have at least one good question to ask the interviewer.

Source: Janet Neal, career coach and founder of the Women's Professional Center in Montclair, NJ