Archive for the 'Uncategorized' Category

Know your client’s routine

Published July 15, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a Comment

Hello everybody. Sorry for the lag.  I got caught up in the beautiful Minnesota summer!

Today I wanted to talk about routines. You have one. Your client has one. No matter the level of ambition or status, everyone has a routine.

Here’s my typical routine:

Get up at 7:30.
Get ready for work.
Arrive at work at 8:45.
Take a walk for lunch around noon.
Leave work at 5:30.
Stop by the library to pick up a movie or book.
Eat dinner at home.
Watch Seinfeld at 6:30.
Go to the gym (7:30 – 9pm).
Write until 11pm (blogs, etc.)
Watch Seinfeld at 11.
Go to bed at 11:30.

Now say I’m a participant in a research study. You asked for my routine and I gave it. 6 months later you try all the phone numbers and nothing works. Here’s some options:

1. Go by my house around 6:30.
2. Leave a message at the library I frequent.
3. Send an email through my blog.
4. Stop by the gym at 8pm.
5. Send a letter to my work.
6. Drive around my workplace around noon.

Getting people’s routine gives you options when the phone numbers dry up. I’ve found many people because I knew their routine. Give it a shot.

Comments!

Tracking Clients: Quick Tip #6

Published June 18, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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When talking with a client contact, don’t ask them for the locating information of your client. Ask them if they can get a message to the client. First, collectors and police don’t request this type of action. They usually push to get as much as possible. So our strategy lessens the suspicion. Second, this non-intrusive request often results in the contact offering the locating information of the client anyways. Less work for them!

Remember Your Research Ability

Published May 5, 2009 Uncategorized 2 Comments
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At the beginning of my research career, I felt like Homer in this clip. (Hopefully I wasn’t as stupid)  It’s natural for people to question their ability, even further down the career road. This is especially true when your follow-up rate may be faltering.

But remember what got you here. Remember your instincts because yours are intact. Remember if you have the ability to be human, you have the ability to be successful in finding the unfindable. Remember the internet. Remember the strategies you’ve learned.

Finally, remember I’m here to help. There’s more to come. Stay tuned.

A Trip to the Dentist

Published April 9, 2009 Uncategorized 2 Comments
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My friend Trisha tried out a new dentist recently. She set down the large StarBucks latte on the counter and told the receptionist she had an appointment. They checked her in as quickly as possible.

After settling into the dentist’s chair, the hygienist went to work.

“So how much coffee do you drink?” asked the hygienist.

“A lot,” said Trisha.

“You know that’s not good-”

“Oh Carol, she’s not gonna stop drinking coffee,” said the dentist walking in. “That stuff is good!”

Trisha smiled as the hygienist shut up. 

So what does this have to do with research follow-up?  Well, for one thing, Trisha raved about the dentist and looked forward to going back. The dentist related to Trisha as a human being, not as a professional who feels she should scold her for drinking something that stains her teeth. You don’t think Trisha already knows this?

Bottom line: Try to create a research environment like the dentist did. Tell it like it is and don’t criticize them for anything. It will keep them coming back.

Preventing Follow-up Burnout: #2

Published March 31, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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Talk about the future. No matter if you’re struggling with follow-up, or you’re rocking it. It’s good to talk to your staff about how the future will look. 

1. You’re struggling. 
Talk about what a successful study will look like. Create a picture of the effects of the research. Talk about increased job security. Speak about how proud you would be of your team. Lastly, tell them you know they can do it. 

2. You’re rocking.
Talk about the home stretch. Raise the bar even higher. Give them the goal to get 100% follow-up. However, make sure to be positive or excited about it all. Because you should be. 

Overall, remember to be positive about everything. Negativity won’t get you anywhere.   

Fantasy Football and Research Attrition

Published March 24, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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The most important day in fantasy football is draft day. Players study and prepare for weeks. On this glorious day, you go through numerous rounds of picking your team. You win or lose your whole season on that day. But it takes several months to find out. Sure, you can make some moves and a couple trades, but a pig is a pig, no matter how much lipstick you put on it. Most of the time you cannot make up for the bad choices you made on draft day.

Similarily, the most important day of your research study is the first session with your client. You can make or break your whole foll0w-up season right here. This is why I stress the importance of making their first encounter enjoyable while getting as much locating information as possible. Just like the fantasy draft, as soon as the first encounter is done, your attrition rate is determined by the events that occurred. Specifically, the client’s impression of you and the amount of locating information you received. Over the following months, you will find out if you won or lost.

What do I suggest?  Prepare.

Social Proof and Research Retention

Published March 10, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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Ten years ago I was in Prague with a group of college classmates. We were walking down the main drag and saw a huge crowd of people trying to get into the Hard Rock Cafe. Something big was going on, so we joined the crowd. After asking about the reason for the overwhelming mania, a young Czech woman turned to us with tremendous excitement.

“David Hasselhoff!”

You could hear our groans a mile away. We couldn’t get out of that crowd fast enough.

Our reactions up to that moment were evidence of the social proof theory, which Robert Cialdini talks about in his book “Influence.”  Essentially, people will do what others do because they deem the behavior of others as appropriate or better informed.

In your research retention work, this phenomenon can help you. The next time you’re reminding your client about their follow-up appointment, tell them how many people have already come in for their follow-up appointment. Better yet, tell them how many people answered some questions and received _______ for their time.

What do you think?  Social proof, Hasselhoff or otherwise…

If I Can Do It…

Published February 16, 2009 Attitudes , Follow-up Strategies , Uncategorized 1 Comment
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You can do it. You’ve heard it a ton, but the phrase works with research follow-up. I didn’t start out confident in finding the unfindable. Let me give you a little context.

I grew up in North Dakota. Now, there’s only about 12 people in North Dakota, and everyone knew everyone else. For instance, I spent my childhood in a town where a typical newspaper article stated something like “Ferguson Grandparents Visit This Weekend.” You think I’m joking. Anyways, you ask a neighbor where Billy is, and lo and behold…

So this naive North Dakota farm boy moves to inner city Denver. Then gets hired by a university to work on a longitudinal study with hardcore drug users. Why’d they hire me? Had to be my character, because I had no research or tracking experience at all, and I didn’t lie in my interview.

Let’s step back. You know how much experience I had with hardcore drug users? The “hardcore” ND life consisted of guys putting back a case of Milwaukee’s Best in one night.

Now I get to follow-up on heroin and crack users. I was terrified. Not for my safety, but for the job and research. So I tried out the “hip to the streets” bit (similar to this scene from “Stir Crazy” [language warning]). My clients ate me up alive. So I dropped the act and let it flow naturally, for better or for worse.

Fast-forward 4 years, when I’m a guest speaker at a NIDA conference, training 300 PhDs and RAs on how to find research subjects who’ve gone missing.

It’s been a crazy, great journey, but here’s the point:

You and your project can achieve an amazing follow-up rate.

If I can do it, you can do it. So let’s get started…

Tracking Clients: Quick Tip #2

Published February 5, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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If you are out looking for someone and you see the neighborhood postal worker, talk to them. Ask them questions that can help you in your search. For instance, “Do you know if the Hendersons still live in the blue house?”
Don’t force it. If you are casual about it, you may be surprised by what you find. Also, check out this post for a story along the same lines.

So who else from the neighborhood can help?

Skiptracing in My World

Published January 20, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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Not all public records databases have the same information.Because of this, there is a strategy that I call “skiptracing,” but it veers from the standard definition.

My definition of skiptracing is taking information from one public records source and using it to search in another. Here’s a demonstration.

Go to the Intelius website and search a name for free. They will only give you a taste of the information they have, the rest you have to pay for. The taste is a list of names of relatives (this costs money on other databases). Now jot down the relative names, and go Merlin’s website and search the relative names from Intelius. If you don’t have a Merlin account, click here.

This should generate a good number of leads. So make sure to use this strategy throughout all the databases you use.

Ben Van Hunnik

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