9
The 8-Minute Rule
Mastering the Art of Micro Conversations
KEY TAKEAWAY
Those who are at the top of the professional ladder, either in corporate America or accelerating at building unicorn level businesses, are those who have mastered micro conversations. They limit interactions and remain mindful of time—theirs and others’.
When I was in my twenties and navigating my way in a dog-eat-dog legal profession, I was rear-ended on the Southern State Parkway on my way to work. No one was hurt, but my car was damaged significantly. Adrenaline flooding my veins, instead of calling the police, I called my office manager.
Hi, Kathy! I was just in a major car accident on the Southern State around Exit 19. This guy came out of nowhere and just slammed into the back of my car. My neck jolted and I didn’t know where I was for just a second—potentially I have a concussion, but I don’t know yet. I’m waiting for the police to arrive, hopefully, I will find out if I’m going to make it. This guy just came out of nowhere, and every day when I turn this corner I pray that no one ever slams into the back of my car, but today it happened.”
I nearly lost my breath rattling on with my explanations to Kathy. In retrospect, I wanted some sympathy and a bit of attention. Instead, Kathy gave me exactly what I needed when she responded, “So are you going to come to work or not?”
Whoa. She’s heartless, I thought. But I know now, 20 years later, that Kathy was right.
There are only two answers that matter—yes or no. Kathy gave me a dose of reality, and wanted a short answer to the only important questions: “Are you on your way to work, or do you need a day off?”
Welcome to the world of working for lawyers. But her response was one that I needed to hear: Get to the point. It was a harsh lesson that I needed to learn as early as possible if I wanted to climb the corporate ladder and earn a seat at the table. Even further, no one is listening. You may believe that people who react to your explanations care, until you realize they only care about the answer or decision that affects them. They don’t care about the explanation that led you to the decision. The drawn-out monologues to our decision are often more tedious to the person listening than they are to us. You believe they care, but here’s some straight talk: no one gives a crap about your personal life.
Drop the Neurotic Narrative
Implementing the KISS principle (Keep It Short and Simple) is the best way to accelerate to the C-suite. Many books, famed lectures, and TED Talks discuss effective communication and the importance of mindfulness and empathy one must possess. However, women rarely fit into this broad category. We communicate from a different narrative than men. We subscribe to an internal memo that expects us to be quiet, yet apologetic with an elongated narrative to substantiate our own decisions and intentions. Overexplaining is a form of apologizing. We overexplain everything while undervaluing our contributions as leaders. What happens when we offer unnecessary elaborations to our final decisions is that we show our leaks; we open ourselves up to be persuaded otherwise, and that sends a signal that we are not leaders at all. Decisions should be well thought out, confident, and final, which shows a team your word matters. Watch Mary sabotage herself in the following scenario by revealing the weakness in her decision.
The choice to go to the movie and for drinks is completely optional, but most of the people at the company are going. The manager walks up to Mark and says, “Mark, we are all going to the movies and happy hour at a local pub today after work at five. Do you want to go?”
Mark responds, “No thanks. Have a great weekend.” He nonchalantly clicks his alarm off on his Tesla and drives off for a weekend of fun by himself.
Mary, on the other hand, is gathering her things and shutting down the computer for the weekend. “Hey, Mary,” the manager says. “We’re all going to the movies and the pub after work today for some drinks. Do you want to join us?”
Mary is known for being a team player, and she’s always thinking about what’s best for the team rather than herself. It was a great win, she thinks, I feel bad now that I would prefer to go home than spend more time at work but not at work.
Mary’s response:
Aw man . . . sheesh, I wish I knew sooner. I want to come out with you guys tonight, but I bought a chuck roast and rosemary to put in my slow cooker tonight from a recipe that I want to try that I saw Bobby Flay make on the Food Network. The recipe says I need eight hours to get it all ready for tomorrow. I want to come, but I want to cook this chuck roast, too. Let me see what I can do. Maybe I can go home right now to prepare it and try to see if I can meet you back at the movie theater at seven or even later for drinks at the pub.
They don’t call it TMI for nothing, okay? Mary’s elongated explanation provides too many unclear personal details about her decision. Essentially, Mary is saying that she wants to cook the chuck roast, which is nobody’s business. This is an optional after-work event, but the explanation she provides leaves more facts about her personal life than about her decision. It leaves her susceptible for an effective manager to litigate her decision by giving her options on how to prepare the chuck roast and still be at the movie theater on time.
No one needs to know why you said no. When Mark said, “no thanks,” and drove off in the Tesla, no one asked him why or asked him to explain himself. There is an expectation that men make decisions while women will make revisions. I have never heard anyone ask a man to explain his no. If Mary just said no, the next common question that could have opened up the floodgates of explaining herself would be “Why?” It is uncommon for men to be asked why.
Mary’s waffled response is common. Women are conditioned to be nice to everyone, which includes smiling when we don’t feel like it, saying hello to people we do not care for, and working in strenuous environments that take a toll on our health just to please others. We convince ourselves that the narrative matters more than the answer, so we respond with a decision and then explain that decision in long form. We feel guilty about our decision on either side of the scale. Hence, in the books written about effective communication and how to communicate with compassion, women do not see or hear themselves throughout the pages, because it does not reflect the way women communicate in the workplace.
To test my example, we surveyed 100 women about leadership and professional boundaries. The question on the survey asked, “If a colleague, coworker, client, or partner asked you to stay late to work on a project (it’s an optional assignment) that you cannot attend because you have a previous personal engagement or commitment, how would you respond?” Sixty-six of our respondents chose the option that offers too many personal details.
What Not to Do
The following examples show what to do and what not to do when communicating a decision.
Do: I’m running 20 minutes late for our scheduled meeting.
Don’t: I’m running 20 minutes late to our scheduled meeting because my son’s school called, and I had to turn back in the middle of traffic. I’m so sorry.
Do: I want to discuss an opportunity to contribute to the sales development department as a team leader.
Don’t: I want to discuss the opportunity to contribute to the sales development department as a team leader because I believe I have been here the longest, and I know the ins and outs of this company.
Do: I would like to set up a meeting to discuss a potential joint venture.
Don’t: I would like to set up a meeting to discuss a potential joint venture between our companies because I am a woman-owned business, and I think that it’s a great idea to bring more women on board.
Everyone has a story, everyone has a bump in the road, everyone has a bad day, everyone has drama, everyone has family issues, everyone has dysfunction, everyone has something—but the world doesn’t need to know about it. That does not mean that your story is not important, but your experiences and circumstances are personal, and although you want to use your personal explanation to justify a decision or circumstance, the two are mutually exclusive.
No one needs to know why you have decided to say no, especially if you have personal obligations that will not affect productivity and workflow. Yet, we volunteer unnecessary information. It’s the subtle difference that turns a “no” into an explanation or substantiation of a decision. It also negates decisiveness and clear workplace boundaries. We are expected to provide more details, and the more that we volunteer an explanation and justification for every action, the harder it will be to ascend to the C-suite.
Learning how to keep it short and simple will help you self-assess your own defensiveness or reactive tones. When you communicate with a level of clarity and confidence, your team feels confident about your decision-making process under your leadership. But if you continue to negate the importance of trusting your intuition and leaning on your experience and expertise, the simplest answers become complicated. As discussed in Chapter 2, an important factor that contributes to the way women communicate beyond guilt is people-pleasing. We are worried about other people’s feelings, and we are aware that no matter which way we lead, someone will impact our decision. As leaders, this fact is unavoidable. Not everyone is going to get what they want. Especially in negotiating, there are winners and there are losers, so it helps to be decisive.
How I Learned the Hard Way
In 2003, I was working at a medical malpractice firm. Some of the circumstances that people experience are extremely traumatic, from life-altering accidents in the operating room to infant death. Hearing the horrors of grieving mothers all day was my breaking point, so I decided I’d need to find a new job, quit, and never look back.
I interviewed for other positions daily during my lunch hour. I received a call from an outside subsidiary of American Express. Although I had not received the full offer from the company, I made the ultimate decision to quit my current job at the law firm because I was assured that I would get the job.
On July Fourth weekend in 2003, after only six months at the last firm, I made an impulse decision to walk over to my office manager and quit, while my supervisor was on vacation. I had already expressed some concerns to my office manager a few weeks prior, and since I did not hear a response from any of the partners, I knew that my back was against the wall. When I quit, I sat with my office manager and said, “I’m leaving. I want to thank you for the opportunity. I have already expressed my concerns in previous conversations, and silence is always a powerful answer.” The entire time of this three-minute conversation, I was nervous, and there were moments where I almost cried because I wanted to explain everything that I was going through. However, I decided the best thing I could do was to keep it short and sweet. The only thing my office manager asked me was, “Are you coming in on Monday to give us all of the cases you are working on?”
I replied, “Yes, I will be here Monday and stay for a few hours.”
On Monday, I took my items off of my desk and placed them in my pocketbook, then drafted a case list for the office manager. The song Simple by India Arie was playing in my head. I felt liberated and free. A few moments after my arrival, my office manager handed me two dozen roses and said, “We want to make a full announcement and allow everyone to say their goodbyes to you today.” I instinctively knew that this opportunity for goodbyes would become one filled with my explaining my decision to people who didn’t really want it or wanted to use my oversharing of my personal decision to talk me out of it.
“Thank you so much, but I must decline the invitation to express any gratitude at this time.”
I knew that if I had explained my decision, nothing would have changed, and I would commit to a cycle of mental trauma by convincing myself that I could succeed in this role if I kept going. Worse, it would’ve shown that I was open to being convinced to change my mind, and I couldn’t let that happen. Subsequently, it became clear that my decision to terminate my short-lived career was one of the best decisions I ever made. No one ever contacted me, sent me an email of good faith, or reached out to me to ask me anything. The quick and clean break was confirmation that to be direct without any emotional attachment is the way to emotional freedom and career redirection. Ever since I walked out of that office and into my navy-blue Honda Accord, I’ve never felt the need to explain myself to anyone ever again—no explanation required.
The need to explain or justify using emotional and highly personal processes doesn’t only occur when you want to have some fun for yourself. Whether it be expanding your role within your organization, moving departments, going back to school, negotiating a major deal (or small one for that matter), or asking for the promotion, we need to tame how much we share, because when we focus too much on explaining the factors that galvanized us to the decision, we detract from the decision itself—and the value we bring to it. Giving the world an inside view into what you think and how you process your value, rather than being decisive and clear, is a surefire way to hand your power over to other people. You can see how overexplaining infiltrates the way women negotiate their raises, promotions, or business collaborations and transactions, which is detrimental to our career advancement. How can we win when we are being sorry for trying to win?
I used to feel the need to share more details about my life and decisions than necessary. I used to rehearse my story and practice with several of my enablers, which I called “friends.” We would practice the “what if they ask you” scenarios, as I always felt the need to have layers in my story without leaving out any details. Then, I entered the “real world” with powerful leaders, and I learned that I was the only one talking. Once I realized no one was listening—and that nobody was ever going to ask whatever it was I was preparing for—I knew it was time to find a better way.
Consider the two versions of an email that follow:
Negotiating with the simple response:
Thank you for the response. We have received your counteroffer and will reply shortly.
The complicated and overexplained negotiation response:
Thank you for the response, and I apologize for taking so long to get back to you. I was out of the office yesterday on a field trip with my son and had limited access to my email.
I received your counteroffer, and I will review it today with the partners during our meeting this afternoon. I hope to have an answer for you by tomorrow, or at the latest, Friday.
Once again, accept my apologies for the late reply.
Thank you, (Your Name)
What Is Wrong with the Overexplained Version of This Email?
Let’s start with the opening line, where the apologetic tone begins. Although innocent in meaning, opening a professional email to a stakeholder or client with an apology, followed by a personal circumstance, conveys a friendship context rather than business or professional dialogue. Unless the other party asked you if you were out of the office with your son yesterday, volunteering details beyond the scope of professional etiquette is not needed. The email uses limiting language, which minimizes your efficacy and professionalism. Also, it takes more energy to open an email with a narrative than one with a directive or deliverable.
A simple response, as sampled above, confirms receipt of the correspondence and the expectation of a counterresponse. It is pleasant, short, and effective. There is no need to explain your whereabouts or your personal life. All the other party needs to know is a method of following up further.
Achieving this level of confidence, clarity, and directness in negotiation and in any communication—professional or otherwise—does not happen overnight. One of the best tools and guideposts available to retrain yourself to keep it short and simple is what is known as the 8-Minute Rule. I use it to this day as a general practice.
The 8-Minute Rule
I learned about the 8-Minute Rule after spending a few years trying my hand at the world of venture capital. I always wanted to know why there weren’t more women startup investors, especially in Silicon Valley. As a habitual researcher, I went out to find my answers, and it came down to what happens in closed-door pitch meetings.
During the height of the popularity of Shark Tank, there were a massive amount of Shark Tank–like incubators popping up around the world. Then, the Small Business Association began to host funding incubators for universities to teach students how to pitch their ideas to investors through incubator training programs. These incubators—including Y-Combinator, The Tory Burch Foundation, and Backstage Capital—allowed some of the world’s greatest young minds to exchange ideas and learn how to become market-ready and competitive while understanding sales and valuation.
The first incubator I was privileged to attend was called Dibels, which was designed to specifically reach out to women and minority business owners, seeking partners to raise capital to fund purchase orders—orders on goods and services that must be fulfilled by outside vendors. The room was set up to replicate the hit reality show, and the audience had a chance to observe what a real pitch to a seasoned investor entails. The program was approximately six months long, and the participants spent another two months pitching day after day to the hungry investors. I went for the first three to four meetings and observed how investors watch the clock.
Participants each received eight minutes to explain to the potential investor their background, demonstrate their product, ask for an investment, and justify the valuation/ROI. The investors made a hard stop at eight minutes. Time and time again, I watched women walk up to the center of the room and explain a long and drawn-out bio that exceeded the two minutes allotted for an introduction. Then, they spent time talking fast and speeding through their product without adding any value. As the clock approached seven minutes and 50 seconds, you would hear the nervous laugh of women saying, “Oh my gosh, time is running out, please, please, please.” The investors would abruptly end the presentation on the eight-minute mark with “Thank you for your time,” and call the next person. My heart would ache, because the presenters spent six months preparing for just eight minutes.
Proving your value in eight minutes is challenging. If the investors decided to give you an initial verbal offer, they would consider giving you more time to introduce yourself and talk about your background. However, the women participants spent most of the time on the introduction, and less time on the product. Some of the investors were women, and they did not engage in personal dialogue.
Reframe the time you have with decision makers as being the same as eight minutes pitching a product. Doing so helps you become more specific when articulating your goals during a conversation. If you want to accelerate to the C-suite, you will realize that the higher you go, the fewer conversations—especially containing small talk—you will have. Busy people simply do not have time to talk about the weather. You have to be structured, purposeful, and pointed with your conversations to ensure that you capture their attention early. Essentially, you have to get to the point.
When I interviewed Sheryl Sandberg for Inc. magazine, I had 10 minutes to complete the interview. She gave me the primary talking points. I asked three questions and produced a 1,200-word piece. I interviewed Ryan Serhant of the hit show Million Dollar Listing New York, and I had nine minutes of his time. In both scenarios, I did not have time to introduce myself or make niceties. The value of their time required us to focus on the deliverables only.
Do you think people like Oprah, Sara Blakely, Hillary Clinton, Melinda Gates, Stacey Abrams, or Bethenny Frankel have more than five to eight minutes to listen to your story? And I know you might be thinking, they are far out of my reach. Ironically, they are not out of your reach at all, that is a matter of perception, which we have discussed. Don’t just think of them as a standard of admiration; their success is completely within your grasp if you know how to live by the 8-Minute Rule.
Let’s go back to my example about the accident I had on my way to work. Would you have used your time explaining the accident, or would you have just stated the obvious: “I was in an accident and will not be in the office today”? I spent more time explaining the details of the incident than I did to explain my health and well-being. When I reevaluated that scenario, it was clear that I was looking for sympathy. I should’ve used one minute to explain the event, and only shared more if I was asked. The moment my office manager asked me the question, “Are you coming in today, yes or no?” She was thinking about the length of the conversation.
Every two minutes within the 8-Minute Rule requires a transition in the conversation or correspondence. Here’s a breakdown to keep your communication short, sweet, and to the point (and we’ll get to specific steps to make this happen shortly):
• The first two minutes of your conversation should focus on your intention and takeaways: what will the other person learn, and why is it important?
• The next two minutes are strictly presenting evidence to substantiate your deliverables.
• The penultimate two minutes are about you and why you are the most qualified.
• The last two minutes should be dedicated to your ask, request, or outcome.
If you want to extend the conversation or explanation, that needs to be on your personal time. In the context of the work environment, focus on strengthening productivity and less on developing a friendship. When decision makers know that you know the key components of an effective eight-minute conversation or correspondence, without the pomp and circumstance, they know that you value your own time.
Far too much I’ve noted how women are drawn toward a more emotional and personal story, while men do not rely on such tactics to shift opinions of others. Consider how you react to those who are long-winded and meander their way to a point, if any. The next time you are given a long-winded story, time the conversation and mark the transition points. Out of all of the details provided during the conversation, how many minutes did the person spend on the facts, which are germane to the decision-making process? Today, I normally reserve less than 10 minutes for outside conversations, and the first minute tells me everything I need to know.
Until I went into the venture capital world, I did not understand how to stop being a chatterbox. The conversations at the water cooler are not going to lead to the C-suite. When allies and sponsors are bringing names to decision makers about promotions or advancements, they pay attention to how much time is being spent on emotionally based conversations versus productive outcomes. Focusing on an 8-Minute communication and correspondence is crucial to understanding how effective leaders think, and how they process details.
Keep reminding yourself about the 8-Minute Rule. There are going to be moments when you don’t even get an entire eight minutes, but if you are effective at grabbing people’s attention within the first minute, even the shortest conversations will bring the most meaning to decision makers. You will find yourself explaining yourself less and becoming more productive. Every minute counts.
How to Create 8-Minute Micro Conversations and Connections
Here are the four steps to take to create an eight-minute micro conversation:
Step 1: Start with the End in Mind (2 Minutes)
It is normal to start conversations with polite gestures and greetings. However, value-based and value-add conversations must begin in reverse. Whenever you engage or correspond with decision makers, think about the intention or purpose of the conversation. What is the one value-add that you would like to leave with them? That should be your opening line in all correspondence and conversations.
For example:
• “There is a new service that will increase productivity by 50 percent, and I need a moment of your time to discuss it with you.”
• “I’ve found a way to increase our sales revenue and meet our numbers before the end of the quarter, and I think you would be interested.”
• “There is a more efficient way to conduct our monthly meetings, which will save time and boost team morale, and I only need less than 10 minutes of your time to show you how.”
• “I have some new ideas on improving our social media footprint using Instagram and TikTok, without the need for an outside ad agency, that will reduce our marketing budget while generating consistent sales.”
In every example, the objective is to avoid the personal introduction and focus on the deliverable. In each of the opening scenarios above, the objective is to capture the decision maker’s attention by focusing on how you can provide a high-value skill that improves productivity. You will have time for introductions shortly, but the goal of your eight-minute conversation is to produce value at the beginning of the conversation to broker an introductory conversation.
Step 2: Present Proof (2 Minutes)
Take a page out of the hit movie Training Day when Denzel Washington’s character Alonzo says, “It’s not about what you know, it’s about what you can prove.” Substantiate your opening statement with facts or evidence of your value-add proposal. Although you may believe it is time for small talk, now is not the time to get off-topic. This is your moment to back up your opening statement. Always remember, once you have their attention, prove yourself fast. Don’t lose momentum because you want to be friends.
For example, as continued from above:
• “There is a new service that will increase productivity by 50 percent, and I need a moment of your time to discuss it with you.” I recently attended a sampling session with XYZ software and have been using it for the past week. I have experienced amazing results, which has also helped alleviate the backlog we’ve had in data entry. It is user friendly and it will save us time on manual data entry.
• “I’ve found a way to increase our sales revenue and meet our numbers before the end of the quarter, and I think you would be interested.” I found a new CRM that automatically tracks our new customer outreach and open rates for correspondence. It also tracks all of the conversion data and creates a spreadsheet for our department, which will avoid the need to train others on how to use spreadsheets.
• “There is a more efficient way to conduct our monthly meetings, which will save time and boost team morale, and I only need less than 10 minutes of your time to show you how.” I have designed a template, where all of our managers can add sample questions, which will create an agenda for each meeting. Best of all, we can send out the agenda in advance to ensure every department is prepared with data and avoid follow-up notes after the meeting.
• “I have some new ideas on improving our social media footprint using Instagram and TikTok, without the need for an outside ad agency, that will reduce our marketing budget while generating consistent sales.” There is a new stock image site called XYF Imaging, where we can download graphics, images, and MP4s, while purchasing the royalty rights. Then we can add the voiceover and upload without an outside agency.
Step 3: Introduce Yourself (2 Minutes)
Once you present value up front, you win decision makers’ trust, so you can keep your introduction short. You will have more time for a lengthy introduction as you build a solid foundation with the gatekeeper or decision maker, but take a moment to brag about your top attributes.
• What makes your ideas valuable?
• How many years of reserved experience do you have?
• A sentence about your background
Keep in mind, you are a walking, talking curriculum vitae. Put your highlight reel on display. Mention all of the impressive accomplishments and your career goals. The reaction I want you to aim for in this two-minute conversation is “ahhhhh.” This is your moment to brag without shame or judgment because you have already proven that you know how to create value up front.
• “There is a new service that will increase productivity by fifty percent, and I need a moment of your time to discuss it with you.” I recently attended a sampling session with XYZ software and have been using it for the past week. I have experienced amazing results, which has also helped alleviate the backlog we’ve had in data entry. It is user friendly, and it will save us time on manual data entry. I have been a sales director for over 10 years, with certifications from ABC University and additional training with MSD Sales Academy. During my tenure in this department, revenue has increased by 37 percent in the past year and is projected to exceed 60 percent by the close of next year.
• “I’ve found a way to increase our sales revenue and meet our numbers before the end of the quarter, and I think you would be interested.” I found a new CRM that automatically tracks our new customer outreach and open rates for correspondence. It also tracks all of the conversion data and creates a spreadsheet for our department, which will avoid the need to train others on how to use spreadsheets. I have a degree and training in information technology and coding, where I have developed software for RTM Corporation in San Francisco, California. I am always looking for software to improve workflow and avoid basic human errors, which can cause delays in growing the department.
• “There is a more efficient way to conduct our monthly meetings, which will save time and boost team morale, and I only need less than 10 minutes of your time to show you how.” I have designed a template, where all of our managers can add sample questions, which will create an agenda for each meeting. Best of all, we can send out the agenda in advance to ensure every department is prepared with data and avoid follow-up notes after the meeting. I used to work in human resources before transitioning over to the training team, and the one complaint most teams have is the ineffectiveness of weekly meetings. For a few members on my training development team, it slows down productivity and impacts their morale to attend meetings without an agenda, so I wanted to try something to improve the experience for everyone.
• “I have some new ideas on improving our social media footprint using Instagram and TikTok, without the need for an outside ad agency, that will reduce our marketing budget while generating consistent sales.” There is a new stock image site called XYF Imaging, where we can download graphics, images, and MP4s, while purchasing the royalty rights. Then we can add the voice-over and upload without an outside agency. I work with a few influencers to help grow their social media following, and I want to bring the same level of engagement to our company, without seeking an external firm, who may not report accurate numbers to our department. You can check out some of my work with other influencers on my Upwork platform.
Step 4: Ask (2 Minutes)
This is the most difficult part of the 8-Minute Rule. I will confess that I used to struggle with this part of communicating in high-level circles. I was afraid to come across as a “user” or “greedy.” I have learned, however, that successful people don’t view you as competition. As long as you can present value, they are interested in collaborating with you. They will broker introductions and meetings for you without hesitation and help you grow your career.
You only have two minutes to ask for what you want or deserve, not what feels comfortable. If you would like a raise, promotion, or leadership role, this is the time to ask for it. So far, you have started the conversation with the goal, substantiated its value, and marketed yourself. This is the grand finale—what do you want? Stop thinking about humility; this is your moment to shine.
• “There is a new service that will increase productivity by fifty percent, and I need a moment of your time to discuss it with you.” I recently attended a sampling session with XYZ software and have been using it for the past week. I have experienced amazing results, which has also helped alleviate the backlog we’ve had in data entry. It is user friendly and it will save us time on manual data entry. I have been a sales director for over ten years, with certifications from ABC University and additional training with MSD Sales Academy. During my tenure in this department, revenue has increased by 37 percent in the past year and is projected to exceed 60 percent by the close of next year. With the right consideration (money/pay) or new designated title of VP of training and development, I will gladly take the lead in sourcing the software from the vendor and train my department to use the program within two weeks. It will add great results to our department and maximize our efficiency.
• “I’ve found a way to increase our sales revenue and meet our numbers before the end of the quarter, and I think you would be interested.” I found a new CRM that automatically tracks our new customer outreach and open rates for correspondence. It also tracks all of the conversion data and creates a spreadsheet for our department, which will avoid the need to train others on how to use spreadsheets. I have a degree and training in information technology and coding, where I have developed software for RTM Corporation in San Francisco, CA. I am always looking for software to improve workflow and avoid basic human errors, which can cause delays in growing the department. I would like to discuss a pay per performance opportunity based on a three percent commission structure for all of our new clients who opt in using this new service.
• “There is a more efficient way to conduct our monthly meetings, which will save time and boost team morale, and I only need less than ten minutes of your time to show you how.” I have designed a template, where all of our managers can add sample questions, which will create an agenda for each meeting. Best of all, we can send out the agenda in advance to ensure every department is prepared with data, and avoid follow-up notes after the meeting. I used to work in human resources, before transitioning over to the training team, and the one complaint most teams have is the ineffectiveness of weekly meetings. For a few members on my training development team, it slows down productivity and impacts their morale to attend meetings without an agenda, so I wanted to try something to improve the experience for everyone. With the potential of shorter meetings, I am requesting flex-time to work from my home office at least one day per week to offset the time saved with our new agenda-led meetings.
• “I have some new ideas on improving our social media footprint using Instagram and TikTok, without the need for an outside ad agency, which will reduce our marketing budget, while generating consistent sales.” There is a new stock image site called XYF Imaging, where we can download graphics, images, and MP4s, while purchasing the royalty rights. Then we can add the voice-over and upload without an outside agency. I work with a few influencers to help grow their social media following, and I want to bring the same level of engagement to our company, without seeking an external firm, which may not report accurate numbers to our department. You can check out some of my work with other influencers on my Upwork platform. I believe my proven experience for developing high-quality content, while building social campaigns that have reached over 5 million subscribers, on average, would be a great way to create a new role as social media and marketing manager, of which, I will onboard a team of proven marketing strategists to grow your brand globally.
Ask and ask big. Never ask in layers—such as a trial offer or to work for free until you build trust. If you want a promotion, ask for it.
You can be just as effective, and polite, with a simple response. I know that it is difficult to detach the people-pleasing element from the way we engage, but I assure you that you can be just as effective with less. It is also important to remember that although mentorship is important, there are going to be situations when no one else is in the room except you. Self-discipline and accountability are going to be crucial. It’s going to help you to memorize your triggers and learn when to have faith in yourself that yes or no is enough.