From Collecting Newspapers
to Direct Marketing to . . . ?
Profiling Five O'Clock Clubber Linda Hardy

by David Madison, Ph.D.

"I'm trying to earn money to go to Norway. I'd like to come by your house and collect newspapers and aluminum cans once a week." This was Linda Hardy's pitch at age 13, as she went door-to-door in her California neighborhood. Of Norwegian heritage, Linda was fascinated by the idea of visiting the faraway homeland, and determined to find a way to get there. The neighbors were glad to help. "I got so many customers I had to go running back and forth with the wheelbarrow." It wasn't long before her dad saw that the one-wheel vehicle wasn't adequate. "Can I get my pickup and help you there?"

 Linda got her trip to Norway, and the recycling business was so successful that she kept it up for almost four years until the family moved to the East coast.

In the Beginning: Retail

 Linda had learned that there was money in talking to people face-to-face and filling a need, and she enjoyed doing it. During her last year at Pace University in White Plains—she graduated cum laude with a B.B.A. in marketing in 1986—she was hired by a local store that sold Scandinavian gifts and clothing. "I loved buying, managing and creating store displays." Linda stayed with the store for seven years, and helped with the opening of two stores in Manhattan.

 But she realized that there was potential for more money in wholesale, and through a friend she got a job with firm that sold women's accessories to retail stores. She assisted the sales manager handling 650 store accounts in the northeastern U.S., helped coordinate trade show appearances for the firm, and generated publicity in more than two dozen trade and consumer magazines.

 But the trip to Norway had only heightened Linda's interest in travel and discovering other cultures. Now married to Mark, who has a keen interest in British history, she decided to take a break from work for a two-month trip with her husband to India.

Finally Learning the Computer—and Selling Neckties

 Back in the US, they decided to settle "out West," this time near Linda's parents in Las Vegas. Although opportunities were limited, she found a position with a wholesale neckwear company that specialized in fashion and novelty neckties. This job helped to build Linda's skill base. "I didn't know computers, but I had to learn; I was on a fast learning curve for six months." A few months later Linda and Mark moved back to New Jersey, and the company hired her in their New York office as assistant to the VP of Sales, with responsibility for handling her own accounts as well. She eventually moved into sales full time, selling ties to 350 retail stores of a large national chain; she exceeded quotas while covering a territory previously handled by two account representatives.

 But Linda couldn't see herself selling neckties—for either the long or short term. She saw that the Internet offered huge potential and wanted to see if she could forge a career in marketing. She also sensed that it would be a good idea—and this was the right time-to get professional career guidance.

Keeping a Brochure for Six Years

  Six years earlier, Linda had heard a report on TV about the Five O'Clock Club and had sent for a brochure. The brochure was still in her file, and she put in the call.

Linda saw that the Internet offered huge potential. She also sensed that this was the right time to get professional career guidance.

 Linda's Five O'Clock Club counselor assigned her to do the Seven Stories and the Forty-Year Vision—and to do preliminary research in potential target markets. Linda did the assessment exercises and the research; the initial targets that she investigated were travel and direct marketing companies.

 But before she was very far into the process, she got a call from a school friend—with a promising lead. A major direct marketing company with a heavy Internet focus was looking for someone to offer its services to retail store accounts. Linda was skeptical since she had limited work experience either on the Internet or with direct marketing. But her background working with retail accounts proved to be what the firm valued the most.

 Linda had attended sessions at the Five O'Clock Club when this opportunity came up and was well along in her grasp of the methodology. She had done extensive industry research, and had learned that job hunters should remain proactive in the interview; she was prepared for the unexpected. "I was offered the job at the end of the first interview. But I really had not had a chance to explore the market yet. I wanted to follow the methodology—I wanted to have 6 to 10 things in the works! I felt that things were happening too quickly, I wanted to slow it down. I said, âThis is very sudden, I have other things going on. I have to digest what we've spoken about and weigh my options. I'll get back to you''"

Five Interviewers and Five Follow-Up Letters

 First she wanted to get back to her group. "You can ask your friends and family—everyone will have an opinion. But people at the Five O'Clock Club have been through it and know what's going on. The counselors are trained and everyone in the group has read the books." Linda brainstormed how to buy time with her small group at the Club; it was not only a matter of exploring other options—she wanted to make sure that this option was really the right one. "I wrote a follow-up letter to the man who had offered me the job. I told him I was very interested, but I needed to meet the whole retail team before I could make my decision." The company agreed, and flew Linda to their out-of-state headquarters to meet five people. The more she heard, the more excited she became. Buying time had worked-in the sense of giving her confidence that she would be moving in the right direction.

She had learned that job hunters should
remain proactive in the interview; she was
prepared for the unexpected.

 "Following Five O'Clock Club methodology, I wrote five letters—a different one to each person-covering the key topics that each had raised. I emailed the letters the next day." Within a week Linda had a formal offer, which included five weeks of training at the corporate headquarters.

 Linda's counselor at The Five O'Clock Club, Ruth Robbins, assured her that waiting to have "6 to 10 things in the works," wouldn't be necessary this time around! Linda accepted the job and since January 2000 she has been an account manager servicing retail stores. "I do consultative selling. Our clients, retail stores, need help figuring out who to target for ad campaigns and catalogue distribution. Through market research and computer modeling, we help them understand their customers."

Linda points out that direct marketing will have to become more sophisticated in the years ahead. "The malls won't die. People like to shop—but the consumer will expect to use all channels as they please: shopping at retail stores, using the Internet, and browsing through catalogues."

"I emailed five letters—a different one to each
person—covering the topics that each had raised."

Learning to Listen

 Linda ranks listening as one of the most important good habits in her line of work; it is crucial for serving the clients who turn to her for very sophisticated information. "Sometimes when you're talking to clients, you're actually formulating your response—I've been working on not doing that. I've got to clear all the noise out of my head and listen. I must find out what they're trying to accomplish, what their goals are, what their challenges are. If I don't get it right, I can't figure out what products to sell them. I have to be very focused every time I'm in a meeting with them—I have to be able to articulate what they want. I have to be able to tell other members of my team what they expect of us."

Determined to Stay Ahead of the Curve

 Linda recalls that, not too many years ago, she was a novice at the computer-and playing catch-up taught her a valuable lesson. "You really have to keep up with the world, whether or not you have a job. If you don't have the resources at your present employer and the world is passing you by, it's going to hurt you. I won't let that happen again. The world is moving too fast not to keep yourself marketable." Hence she tries to keep as much information flowing in her direction as possible; she subscribes to a multitude of e-mail newsletters—"I sign up for everything." She also joined the Women's Direct Marketing Group and is taking a course at NYU on direct marketing.

"The malls won't die. The consumer will expect to use all channels as they please—shopping at retail stores, using the Internet, and browsing through catalogues."

Now Working the Plan

  The inflow of information can play a role in long-term career and life planning. Linda can see herself in business for herself someday, perhaps after she and Mark have started a family and working at home would be the ideal. "But I haven't had âthe Big Idea' yet, and unless I expose myself to everything, how am I ever going to know, or have that come to me? But it might not happen until I'm 60."

Linda feels that the assessment exercises at the Five O'Clock Club have helped her look more creatively at the future. "I keep looking at my Forty-Year Vision. You need a plan; executing it takes listening and learning. You have to plan and at the same time be open enough to know that not everything can be planned. Something can come into the picture that wasn't expected. You have to be smart enough to know if it's still taking you in the right direction."

                  
Retirement on the Go, With a Camera

 Linda loves what's she doing now and can't imagine remaining in any job or career that aren't fundamentally fun and rewarding. "I like marketing, I like being creative. I like working with people selling ideas. Since I was 13 I was always pitching something to someone. I was able to convince people that they should come along—that they could become involved in something too."

 Thinking ahead to retirement, Linda says, "I see myself working. Whatever I do will be so much a part of my life that I would do it until I couldn't do it anymore." But there will me more time for her hobbies, traveling and photography. "I am an amateur photographer—I don't do my own developing—but I just love photography. My working retirement will give me the flexibility to say, âI'm going to Brazil to take pictures for a few months, hold the fort.'"