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Now think about your next interview. What are you going to do to make that person want to hire you? How are you going to stand out from the 20 to 50 calls and countless e-mails he or she receives every day from people just like you?

Here are 3 ideas to help you stand out and outsell your competition.

Get Research-Ready

Before you make contact, research the prospective employers. Dig deep. Look for recent announcements or changes that may open doors. When you’re informed about their business, you can speak to how your product, service, or your experience is relevant within their world.

Become an Instigator

Being an instigator is tough to strive for. You have to be personally and professionally committed to breaking away from the traditional and throwing out your own status quo first. You need to demonstrate your value and professionalism on day one and build a relationship that will be the impetus for getting them to throw out their status quo and make decisions that will positively progress the sale of you within their company.

Get in the 2 Percent Club

I have a customer, Neil, who when we first sat down to discuss how he wanted to generate new business and how he wanted to differentiate his company, told me he wanted all of his customers and prospects to know that he and his partner were in the 2 percent club. Puzzled and thinking he had been recognized with some award in their industry, I asked Neil what he meant. Neil explained that if you put 100 salespeople in a room and told them the exact steps they needed to bring in a million dollars in business each year, only 85 of them would leave the room intent on following those steps. Within 2 weeks, only 40 of those 100 salespeople will still be following those steps. Within 2 months, maybe 15 or 20 of that original group would still be diligently following the path to revenue. Then finally, within a year, only 2 will remain. Two salespeople out of the 100 will have followed through. Get yourself into the 2 percent club by becoming more disciplined and diligent in your everyday activities and you are guaranteed to succeed no matter the position.

If you begin executing on these 3 tips today, I guarantee, within a month you will be on a path to becoming one of the top 2 percent. You’ll get there because you are challenging yourself to be better prepared to create new customer relationships and to be outstanding in a very competitive landscape. Strive to stand out or to be outstanding.

Matt Massey is president of drive2 Inc., a demand creation and lead generation company. He can be reached at www.linkedin.com/in/drive2/.

➤ Strategy 3: Use Curiosity to Neutralize the Mismatching Reflex

Intrigue and mismatching do not coexist. Prospective employers cannot be intrigued and at the same time want to mismatch you. Your aim is to have employers become so curious about you that they will actually lean into the conversation. This helps facilitate an in-depth discussion, where you will be able to present your value added in the best light.

Leveraging Voice Mail

As you begin to set up interviews, you will run headfirst into the employer’s voice-mail system. Immediately seize this opportunity and leave an intriguing message.

A typical all-too-common voice mail sounds like this:

Hi, Mr. Perry. My name is Frank and I am a marketing expert with well over 20 years of experience. I have been following your company for some time and am quite impressed with some of the recent successes. I would like to see if there would be an opportunity to meet with you to discuss how my qualifications and experience could serve your company.

Instead, try something like:

Good afternoon, David. I’m calling you because I have a question that only you can answer. Could you please call me back at [phone no.] before 4 PM?

Or the something-made-me-think-of-you technique: where you find additional information about the employer that could be used to prompt a callback:

Good afternoon, David. I’m holding a copy of