“Oh, confound it, man, are you afraid of success?” Taking Your Liaison Program to the Next Level: Strategies for Outreach and Integration ACRL National Conference Baltimore, Maryland March 29, 2007 Jamie Coniglio

"You can't compare me to my father. Our similarities are different." -- Dale Berra

“We need to adapt special library models to academic libraries.” -- Jamie Coniglio, George Mason University, 2004

But we’re Academic! Some things ARE universal:  Visibility, Value  Service, Personalization  Specialized clientele  Programs, Technology  Key ingredient: ENTREPRENEUR Holy Cow!

But we’re Academic! Releasing the Inner Entrepreneur Is she serious???

Entrepreneurial Scenario Come with me and you’ll get a brain! Come with me and you’ll get a heart! Come with me and you’ll get courage! Need Sales

Entepreneurial Scenario TP “There’s ALWAYS a band, kid…” Solution Sales  =

Inigo: “Fezzik, I have no gift for strategy. I need the Man in Black…he can plan my castle onslaught any day.” Entepreneurial Scenario

Why were they successful?  TARGETED KEY PEOPLE  PLANNED  COMMUNICATED

Thinking in Threes: Target key people  Who are your key stakeholders?  Stake of support vs. stake in the heart

Thinking in Threes: Plan You’re in sales  Develop profiles  ID your products & services  Clearly ID targets  Determine how to open door(s)  Make action plan  Make coaching plan

Thinking in Threes: Communicate  Identify your desired outcome  Identify three qualities about you  Identify three natural channels of communication  Feed the three qualities into  the three channels  three times  for the next three months

Thinking in Threes: Creating Buzz  Give your users three reasons to “buy” your service/program/idea  Suggest three benefits of your service/program/idea  Offer three different ways to obtain/attend/use your service/program/idea  Obtain three testimonials from “satisfied customers”  WOM = most powerful marketing tool

Selling the “Sizzle” Don’t underestimate the “small” stuff Don’t forget who and what you are Not everything is “big bang” Your skills; your library’s capacity to support, develop and deliver (top to bottom)

Thinking in Threes: Quick Assessment  What went well?  What went poorly?  What’s still left to do?

What we have here is a failure to communicate.

What’s wrong with this picture? Title of item I was looking for? Alternative choices: catalog? Local ILL? ILL? Reference Desk Contact/Liaison Contact? Virtual patrons need virtual help…somewhere…!

Exercise: Mission Statement Haiku Personal mission statements Drive & inform work life Drive & inform philosophy Basis of the Elevator Pitch Sum up your personal, professional mission in17 syllables

“You have to give 100 percent in the first half of the game. If that isn't enough, in the second half, you have to give what is left.” -- Yogi Berra !

Sources Abram, Stephen Henczel, Susan. The information audit: A practical guide. Information management series, ed. G. St Clair. Munich: Saur, ml ml