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NHSN Newsletter - Fall 2008

Spotlight On NHSN Success Story One member, Edgar Jimenez, exemplifies the mission of the National Hispanic Sales Network. Read Edgar's Career Guide here. Corporate Profile 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 The Editor's Corner 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. Click Here To Continue Reading This Article NHSN Calendar Midwest Region 9/15 Leadership by Doug Staneart DePaul University 10/23 Job Fair Guest speaker from J&J on Behavioral interviewing at Hyatt Regency Hotel 151 East Wacker Chicago, IL 60601 11/17 Sales with Antonio Castillo Hyatt Regency Hotel 151 East Wacker Chicago, IL 60601 Northeast Region 9/23 Professional Development Event: Johnson & Johnson, NJ                                 “Fortune 500 Mock Interview Workshop” New Brunswick, NJ 10/29 Career Fair Sheraton Hotel at Time Square 790 7th Avenue & 51st Street, New York, NY 11/12 Professional Development Event: AFLAC, NYC Location: TBA 12/16 Networking Event & Toy Drive Location: TBA

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

The National Hispanic Sales Network, Inc. (NHSN) 956 Lancaster Place Downers Grove, IL 60516 | 773-876-NHSN (6476)
Feel free to contact our Leadership Team at Info@nhsn.org
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NHSN Newsletter - Spring 2008

Spotlight on Founders Freddy Torres and Antonio Lugo Looking to advance their career development and others, Antonio and Freddy launched NHSN for Latino sales and marketing professionals in 2005. Learn more about their vision, goals and insight in this engaging interview. Corporate Profile Reymundo Abrahante State Farm, Agency Recruiter Mr. Abrahante and State Farm recognize NHSN as an important professional organization that advances Hispanic leaders in sales and marketing. Read more about his role with State Farm and commitment to NHSN. Meet the Editor Carlos Rodriguez, Editor Mr. Rodriguez holds a BA and an MA and has experience in sales, state government and educational management. Read his bio here NHSN Calendar Northeast Region Networking: May 15th Networking Event - Jersey City, NJ August 14th Networking Event- Location TBD December 16th Networking Event- Location TBD Professional Development: June 11th Leadership Panel - Sponsored by Prudential September 23rd Interview Workshop - Sponsored by Johnson & Johnson Career Opportunity: October 29th Career Fair Midwest Region Professional Development: May 12 at 5:30pm Professional Selling by Freddie Torres Hyatt Regency Hotel 151 East Wacker Chicago, IL 60601 Event Details Here

Dear Colleague, Welcome to our first edition of the NHSN newsletter.  This and future newsletters will be divided into two main sections.  An academic section to keep our members abreast of current trends in the market place as it relates to the Hispanic market place as well as a NHSN national and regional perspective.  The goal is to provide our membership with practical and useful information.  Ultimately, I envision that the NSHN will be the premier source of information for executives, managers, professionals and corporate America as we strive to keep them informed about business trends.   In 2005, NHSN was founded by Antonio Lugo and Freddie Torres – three years later we are growing strong and looking to firmly plant our foot onto the landscape of business and education. As editor, I welcome feedback from the membership and strongly encourage articles and opinion pieces for future editions of this newsletter.  I look forward to seeing you soon at an NHSN event. – Carlos Rodriguez (crodriguez@nhsn.org) Sales Tips and Topics The Best Openings by Mike Brooks, Mr. Inside Sales “How are you today?" Nothing defines you as a telemarketer or salesperson more than that opening delivered in an obligatory, insincere way (the way 80% of your competition delivers it). If you want to separate yourself from your competition and actually connect to your prospect, then please use any of the following after you give your name and company name: “Can you hear me OK?" My personal favorite. This opening does a number of things A - it elicits a yes response, B - it gets them saying yes, and it gets them to really listen. Not a bad way to start the call. “Happy Monday!” (or Wednesday, or Thursday, whatever day it is). You get a lot of traction with this opening, and it really opens your prospect up. “Is it raining there, too?” (or hot or foggy, etc.). Immediately connecting with your prospect on an issue unrelated to sales really gets them talking and takes the pressure off. Read more >>> Attitude and Motivation: Remember What Made You Great By Dave Anderson Think for a moment about the most significant accomplishments you've attained professionally or personally, your own personal best. Perhaps it was the record month, the heroic turnaround of a failing business, winning a major contest, spearheading a successful fundraiser, coaching a winning team, climbing a mountain or running a marathon. Don't go any farther until you've determined what you consider as your personal best accomplishment, or even your top 2-3 top accomplishments. I don't know you or your circumstances, but my bet is that you did not attain your personal best while you kept things the same. My guess is you achieved your personal best when you changed something, challenged something; when you attacked the status quo, not when you nurtured it. The most significant accomplishments we rack up in our lives are when we step out and step up, not when we sit still. Read on >>> 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

The National Hispanic Sales Network, Inc. (NHSN) 956 Lancaster Place Downers Grove, IL 60516 | 773-876-NHSN (6476)
Feel free to contact our Leadership Team at Info@nhsn.org