In a telephone intensive business like ours, getting through the gatekeepers (GK) can be a major problem. The magazine Selling Power ran an article on the subject with some interesting points: Honor the gatekeeper. Respecting their position goes a long way towards getting their help. Reveal your identity. No camouflage here. Letting them know who you are [...]
Archive for August 2003
On a beautiful evening last May, Paul Hawkinson and I had dinner in St. Louis. Over the years and in a variety of cities we’ve enjoyed many memorable get-togethers. This was no different. After getting caught up, laughing a lot, and sharing opinions about world conditions, we focused on the placement business and its future. [...]
During his legendary career, the late Robert Half, in a Boardroom Reports article warned companies about setting rigid and arbitrary job qualifications.We’ve all looked at some ridiculous job specs generated by companies and we have written extensively about how to overcome the problems.Bob’s advice to companies is as useful to us in getting employers realistic [...]
“Sometimes we charge $3,000 for a $50K employee. Sometimes we charge $15,000 for a $40K employee.” So said a very successful specialist in sales recruiting.”We have literally dozens of sales openings from ‘household name’ companies where the maximum fee is a flat $5,000, take it or leave it. For several years, we stuck by our [...]
“I understand that you would like to solve this problem as inexpensively as possible. No one likes to overpay. But our fees are based upon an analysis of our expenses along with a reasonable profit. I seriously doubt that I can talk my boss into accepting this assignment with no profit, so I must ask [...]
By now everyone has heard the story of the weekend handyman who visits the local hardware store to purchase a drill bit. When the wise old sales clerk asked him what size drill bit he wanted to purchase, the handyman said he wasn’t certain. The clerk then asked the key question, “What size [...]
The best industry trainers, managers and search consultants are great storytellers. They have an uncommon ability to convey their own experiences in a vivid, engaging style. In the process, they captivate imaginations and transfer their wisdom. Their stories are timeless and their messages are memorable.In January this year I heard a non-industry [...]
Can employer ineptitude in interviewing candidates lose placements due to poor preparation and simple-minded questions on the part of the interviewers.This often happens when dealing with HR people who do a cursory howdy-do before sending the candidate to a line manager for the real interview. Things to be considered and communicated to the employer: It’s OK [...]
Have an employer giving you the stall or stringing you along on a decision? Maybe you can break the logjam by turning the situation over to your manager. You may get bad news, but at least you’ll know where you stand so you can move on to other things. Here’s the script: “Mr. Employer, my name [...]
That’s what we’ve been asked by many who are beginning to restaff their firms as business begins it’s slow climb back to normal. We’ve covered this topic before but here’s our take.The trend, prior to the recent economic unpleasantness, was definitely swinging towards more salary and less commission, but in the last year we’ve noticed [...]
Fallout is generally defined as any situation where a recruiter has been retained to search for a specific opening and the client company decides to also hire other candidates submitted during the search for other positions within the company.The subject comes up frequently and we wonder why so few recruiters address it in their contracts. [...]
The last two years have been a disaster for many recruiters. For the survivors, stress levels have been high and relaxation a rare treat. To make things worse, most successful recruiters are hard-driving, focused, workaholics. From a business standpoint that is not a bad thing. From the personal and physical side, it can [...]
There are many obvious reasons for people’s resistance to making cold calls. Some are valid (it takes a pro-active effort on your part) and some are self-created (’I’m scared to call this guy’). First off, I’d recommend changing the phrase “Cold call” to something more interesting such as “Business development call” so that it doesn’t [...]
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