How I Became a Names Sourcer by Maureen Sharib
“The road to happiness lies in two simple principles: find what it is that interests you and that you can do well, and when you find it, put your whole soul into it - every bit of energy and ambition and natural ability you have.� ~ John D. Rockefeller III
My name is Maureen Sharib and I’m a Names Sourcer. I have a BA in Economics from the University of Cincinnati and a thirty-year long career in business, beginning in the real estate brokerage business specializing in the sale of small businesses spanning my present activity as a decade-long participant in the names sourcing industry. I’ve spent thousands of hours names sourcing and I’ve compiled some of what I consider to be the best advice on sourcing into lesson formatting for you. The dialogue you will see in these lessons is actual dialogue taken from real-time sourcing activities. It’s meant to be a learning opportunity for both those in the offense positions and those in the defense positions of corporate America.
I will be very frank in these discussions - my writing style is the bare-my-soul variety. In my sourcing, I do not break any laws, nor do I encourage others to break any laws. The only “restriction� I ask you to soar above is in your own thinking. Names Sourcing is an art form combined with a little science – statistics and a keen understanding of human nature. It’s a simple and a complicated act. The adroit have taken the complicated and fused it into a simple process that I hope to convey here.
This series will continue to change with new advice, fresh dialogue, up-to-date resources and, overall, with continually improving course-ware. We look forward to serving you.
So, to start:
I can tell you what completely enthralled me in the beginning of my sourcing/names generation career but first, let me tell you how I was introduced to the subject.
For the first 22 years of my business career I sold small businesses *wince* here in Ohio. I didn’t like it, wasn’t well-suited to it, and the only reason I was successful and lasted so long is because I have a strong physical constitution and an unceasing drive not to lose at anything. I just don’t give up.
But I gave that up. After working successfully for fifteen years on my own and by myself, I started to take on people. Until it became a thirteen person organization in a 3,000 SF rented ‘A’ space in Cincinnati with a $15,000/mo nut and it got to the point all I was doing was putting out fires. Not being a trained firefighter, I perished in those fires.
Fortunately, I was in a financial position to “take some time off”. That, and the assistance of a wonderful psychiatrist, brought me, ultimately to where I am today: a Names Sourcer. (Uh oh, maybe that’s telling TOO much?
J) I have the most wonderful job in the world! And here’s how it happened:
1995: After several months of my sabbatical I was getting bored around the house, and I’d had enough “funâ€?. I bought a computer - my kids needed it, and I started fooling around. Well you know how it happens, the thing draws you in, it teaches you about itself. I was fascinated! I would sit at it morning noon and night, answering its’ siren call. I couldn’t get enough. And, you know how this happens; I started talking to people again. One day, a gentleman from California asked me what I was doing. I said “Nothing, reallyâ€? (it was way too painful to talk about what brought me to where I was at that point) and he asked me if I wanted to do some names sourcing.
“What’s that?� I inquired.
“Well, I give you a list of companies and a title of persons we’d like to see out of those companies, you go get them and we’ll pay you for them.�
Hmmm… sounded intriguing AND there was money involved - Money always gets my attention - so I said, “Sure why not?� He faxes the stuff over - I still did not know how to upload/download a Word document - and off I go…
I can’t convey to you the surprise I felt in my first impression - I LOVED it! They wanted to PAY me for this? I couldn’t believe it! Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t good at it; in fact, he fired me a year and a half later for bad research. When I started doing this, it was the halcyon days of Silicon Valley and research firms were going pillar to post looking for researchers/sourcers. Any port in a storm would do - I was living proof of that! I didn’t know the difference between a hardware engineer and a software engineer. That man was a saint to put up with me for so long! I can just imagine his frustration on the other end listening to my diatribes…anyway that was then. I was learning how to get ASIC design engineers out of companies when they were the hardest things in the world to find. It was a fabulous training ground, extremely challenging and rewarding. But he finally fired me – actually he just stopped asking me to do work. I was flabbergasted – here was something I LOVED TO DO and it was being taken away from me.
Not so fast, not like this, I decided. To make this long story short, I created a list of email addresses of recruiters and I emailed a short Business Development letter offering my services, and guess what? A couple of people called, then a couple more, and from the beginning, I’ve had enough business to keep me happy.
But I need to tell you what I loved about it. The first time I looked at my research document and I picked up the telephone, and obtained a name! - I was reminded how, when I was a child, my brother and I would visit a relative’s farm. The relative had a pond or a creek - I can’t remember exactly - I was so young! - with ducks and the ducks would build nests along the water’s edge and my brother and I would look for the nests (they were usually very well-hidden!) and find them. I remembered that feeling of excitement I felt as a kid finding those nests with their eggs! Finding names gave me the same flush of pleasure, the same rush of excitement! I couldn’t believe it! I was in egg heaven, and still am!
It may sound kind of dumb to some of you but it makes perfect sense to me. I’m a kid again when I do what I do – I have so much fun! Think about something you LOVED to do as a kid – remember that fun, hope and joy it raised in you as a child, transfer it to a work activity today and you’ll feel that passion John D. hints at above. Besides, the money follows and that makes it even more fun!
About The Author
Maureen Sharib, Names Sourcer (www.techtrak.com) and author of the popular Plan-Prepare-Penetrate-Persevere-Prosper (The Five Ps), is now offering training programs to corporations, as well as distributorships to individuals, based on her Outrageous Sourcing Techniques and the “Magic In the Method� sourcing online learning series. This process started with her interpretation of Sun Tzu’s best-selling book The Art of War in which she applies the master strategist’s principles to the sourcing/recruiting business. Maureen can be reached by phone: (513) 899-9628 or by email at Maureen@techtrak.com
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