Q. I’m tired of losing my candidates, waiting for my clients to make hiring decisions. I don’t send my candidates to other clients, but they often find jobs on their own. How do I get my clients to make decisions faster? I realize we represent the client because they pay our fee, but they don’t realize how hard it is to surface candidates. Our entire office is frustrated and waiting for your answer.
-Frustrated Recruiters in St. Louis

A. I’d like to address several issues, starting with your statement “I realize we represent the client because they pay our fee.” You are right, they pay our fees, but in the current candidate-driven job market, it is the “recruiter with the candidate” that WINS! You need to represent both your clients and candidates. I learned this formula years ago: “3 + 3 = 3.” I thought this formula was just bad math until I discovered the thinking behind it. Three interviews for every candidate you represent and three candidates on every job order give you a good chance to close three placements. Most individuals want a “choice” when they are making a major decision. They will interview through other sources, which is why it makes sense to send them to more than one client. When your client becomes aware that this candidate is actively interview-ing, often the interviewing process is shortened. Everyone wants what everyone else wants!

You also need to cover your job orders for your clients. If you originally set up three candidates and end up with only one going to the second interview, you need to submit more candidates. Your goal should be to have two or three of YOUR candidates in the final interview process. I’ve often heard recruiters say they don’t want to “muck up” the process once they have candidates in the second or third interview process. My advice is “MUCK UP THE PROCESS” until you have an offer. Often, great candidates surface after you have submitted candidates. You owe it to your client and your candidates to submit addition-al candidates. You will “make more placements!” There’s nothing like closing more deals to eliminate “frustration.”

Q. I’ve invested in your Top Producer Tutor and was surprised to find out that you believe in marketing candidates. The hiring authorities I work with don’t appreciate this type of call when they don’t have any positions available. I’m curious why you are a proponent of this “old way” of doing business.
-Scott H., Syracuse, NY

A. Marketing an MPC (most placeable candidate) is an effective way of writing job orders, landing new clients, and showing a sampling of the caliber of person you represent. The reception you receive depends greatly on the quality of your presentation. Most hiring authorities appreciate knowing there are qualified individuals who have identified them as their “company of choice.”

I’m sure you’ve heard of Sam’s Club or Costco. One of their most effective marketing techniques is having individuals giving out “free samples” as you shop. Once you have a sample, you are more likely to make a purchase. Marketing candidates is an extremely effective technique in this candidate-driven marketplace. Prior to your phone call, write out information on your MPC, including an effective grabber, benefits and features, possible objections, and closes. This will result in a more prepared presentation, which will result in your landing new clients and making more placements. Your candidates can help you write your “pitch” and will appreciate your marketing their skills. Ask for five top companies from every candidate you represent and market the candidates to their top five targets. Often, these companies represent the hot companies in your area of specialization and can help you land these clients.

If you don’t have an opportunity that fits the criteria of the top talent you represent, marketing their skills is one of the most effective ways to place those candidates. There are some techniques that have been used for years. That does not mean some of them are not still very effective. Start marketing candidates, utilize the candidate-presentation form in the tutor, and enjoy your increased level of success.

Q. In one of your last columns, you made reference to all the job orders we are writing and not filling. When I think of the money left on the table it makes me sick. My current recruiters are telling me they are not even making market-ing calls because we don’t need additional job orders. How do I handle this? Do I hire more recruiters? Do we stop making marketing presentations?
-Bob P., Newhall, CA

A. Your top client for 2007 could be a company you are currently not representing. Market your services to companies you have targeted. Try to write orders that mirror where you have made placements in the past 12 months. You will have candidates in your database.

In order to know which job orders to work, do the following:

1. Ask for a “targeted” date to fill the position vs. ASAP, yesterday, or immediately.

2. Ask what “problems” exist due to the position being open (the higher the pain, the more urgency to fill).

3. Obtain interview times when you write job orders. This assures send-outs when you identify talent, and gives you the client’s commitment to interview. It also forces you to commit to providing top talent to the client.

Working hard doesn’t mean your recruiters are working smart. Set minimum daily result standards in your office and you will fill more of the job orders you are writing. You are in business to “make a profit.” Who you hire is the single most important decision you make as an entrepreneur. If you do not have the team you need in order to attain the goals you have set, you need to hire your next overachiever. Successful recruit-ing firms always upgrade their clients!

Barb Bruno, CPC, CTS, is one of the leading international speakers for the recruiting profession today. Sign up for Barb’s FREE NO BS Newsletter and receive notices on the two FREE teleconferences she conducts each month – one for owners, one for recruiters. Go to www.staffingandrecruiting.com/newsletter.

What do your recruiters look for in an employer? The list below comes from a study done with employees in several types of companies and will give you a good idea of what makes most employees happy and content. The list appears in order of importance.

1. Vision:

The number one thing that employees look for according to this study is clear vision for the future. This surprised me when I first read it, as it is rated as being more important than compensation. However, it makes a lot of sense if you give it some thought.

We all want to be a part of something exciting, something of value, and something with direction. Many recruiting firms have a vision that reads like this: “We want to make more placements.” That statement is a goal, but it isn’t an inspiring vision. Recruiters who share in the vision of a company are easier to manage, motivate, and retain.

2. Contribution:

The opportunity to make a contribution was number two on the list. Again, this one surprised me. How can your people make a contribution to your firm? If the only way for them to do that is by making another placement, you are going to have a frustrated workforce, as even a good recruiter is only making 2-plus placements per month.

Contribution can be measured by attitude, energy level, and many other factors. Activity tracking is a good way to measure contribution. Bonuses or contests based on strong activity numbers reinforce the value of that contribution.

3. Appreciation:

People crave sincere appreciation. Not cheap flattery but rather true appreciation. Appreciation costs the manager nothing yet pays big dividends in terms of employee satisfaction and retention.

People rate appreciation as being more important than compensation. Appreciation breeds loyalty and higher self-confidence. High self-confidence is a hallmark of all top-producing recruiters.

4. Fair Compensation:

It’s interesting to note that the word fair was used. People care about being paid what they are worth but are less concerned about money than one might assume. We always say that candidates don’t usually move just for dollars, and this study bears out that wisdom.

The average total compensation for a permanent recruiter is somewhere between 40 and 45% of the revenue they produce. This would include whatever combination of salary/draw/bonus/com-missions, etc. If you are paying in this range, you’re in the “fair” category.

5. Fun:

We all want to have fun at work. If you enjoy your environment, the day speeds by and the work is more satisfying. I know of an office here in Northern California that has arcade games in their break room. This atmosphere fosters a very fun work environment. Fun is all about attitude, and it is the owner or manager who sets that tone.

6. Quality Environment:

This final category relates to the actual physical environment of your office. Your computers, your desk configuration, and the view out the window all matter to your people. You don’t have to be extravagant, but you also cannot appear to be cheap.

Do you serve Folger’s or Starbucks in your break room? Are your recruiters provided with the software and database tools they need to be successful? Is your training library of the highest quality available?

Conclusion

Unfortunately, I’ve misplaced the reference to the original study, but the six items listed above will provide you with a workable reference point to see how your office is measuring up in each category. You may want to give yourself a score, from 1 to 10 on each of the six items, and see what you can do to improve each. The best people to get feedback from on how to improve are the ones working for you right now.

Gary Stauble is the principal consultant for The Recruiting Lab, a coaching company that assists firm owners and solo recruiters in generating more profit in less time. Gary offers FREE special reports, including “The Search Process Checklist,” a 17-step recruiting tool, on his website. Get your copy now at www.therecruitinglab.com.

Late one night several years ago, in an attempt to unwind after a particularly grueling day of travel, I turned on the TV in my hotel room and found myself watching an old episode of The Rockford Files. Almost asleep, I heard one of the characters on the show make the following statement:

“I only have two things going for me. My time and my ability to make things happen.”

The first thought that crossed my mind was, this man must be a recruiter. Although he wasn’t a recruiter and only played a supporting role on the show, his words have stayed with me for all these years. After all, as recruiters, we have the same two things going for us, with the addition of a few extra ingredients:

Our time and the ability, willingness, and discipline to use that time to achieve results for all those we serve.

It all starts with time. Notice that I didn’t say “time management” because you cannot manage time. You can only man-age yourself and your activities. Around those activities, time is relative. Therefore, when recruiters ask me about “time management,” I generally respond in the following manner.

The concept of “time management” essentially encompasses two primary factors:

1. Establishing the proper priorities

2. Having the ability, willing-ness, and discipline to function in accordance with those priorities (making it happen)

All the time-management tools in the world will not help if you do not have your priorities properly set and if you lack the ability, willingness, and discipline to act on those priorities.

Examples of misplaced priori-ties abound in our business and include:

1. Working on poorly qualified job orders/searches (the low-hanging fruit).

2. Trying to place candidates/ recruits who do not possess the motivation to make a job change or the willingness to work within your process.

3. Allowing yourself to be pulled off plan by every conceivable interruption, including email, unnecessary incoming calls, your coworkers, and even your boss. Many times this is nothing more than avoidance behavior designed to justify not picking up the phone.

4. Concentrating too heavily
on closing a sale at the expense of keeping your “pipeline” full in order to ensure a continued flow of business.

Example

Literally spending days trying to close a low-odds deal. During most of this time, the recruiter is in a state of suspended animation, doing nothing while waiting for something to happen.

5. Relying too heavily on voice and email messages to get business or to make the sale.

6. Not working from a written plan (either on paper or on the computer).

This is by no means a complete list of potentially misplaced priorities. However, the list does bring us to one inescapable conclusion:

Most recruiters tend to waste time in the same manner every day, and in almost all cases, they are either unaware or unwilling to admit it.

Therefore, the first step toward utilizing time to “make things happen” is to understand how you currently spend your time each day. Any or all of the following will help you in this regard.

1. Use call-accounting software, which produces daily reports on the various dynamics of your call activity. Using the combined statistics from many of those firms that use this software, it has been determined that average producers spend from 1.5 to 2 hours per day on the phone, while top producers average between 3.5 and 4 hours on the phone each day.

2. Complete a time-utilization audit on yourself. To increase its reliability, this audit should cover at least five successive business days. Audits are generally designed to analyze your business day in 15-minute increments from the time you arrive at your office until you leave at the end of the day. Once the audit form is properly designed, all you have to do is place a hash mark in the appropriate activity column that corresponds to the time of the day in which you engage in that activity. The results of an audit will show that you tend to waste time in the same way every day, and it will also show that during an average business day, you experience certain activity peaks – times when you are most productive. Knowing both of these facts about how you spend your time will serve as a foundation for improving your daily productivity.

3. Interruptions are part of the business. The key is to respond only to the high-value interruptions during your most productive hours (See TFL – 06/06 – “The Sacred Six”) and then to make certain you don’t lose time in transitioning back to your primary activities. As a time-utilization audit will demonstrate, most recruiters lose the most time when they transition from one activity to another. That’s because they can be most easily distracted during times of transition. However, having in place a well-written daily plan will guide you through these transitions and allow you to quickly refocus on primary activities.

4. Block in periods of time each day to work exclusively on primary activities such as marketing and recruiting. You will be amazed at how much you can accomplish when you have a single-mindedness of purpose and a commitment to task. Two-hour increments seem to work best for most practitioners. During these two-hour blocks of time, they concentrate on a singular activity. In preparation for their concentrated time period, they provide the receptionist and/or coworkers with a short list of calls (must be an emergency or activity in progress that has reached a critical point) they will accept at the exclusion of all other interruptions, including email. A two-hour block of time in the morning with a corresponding two-hour block of time during the afternoon is a strategy employed by many top producers.

5. Overplan your day. Under close scrutiny, many recruiters fall prey to “Parkinson’s Law,” which states essentially that “work expands to fill the time allotted for its completion.” To compensate for this “law,” build your daily plan to the point where you believe it could be accomplished only if there were no interruptions (good or bad) and if you were able to maintain a high level of energy throughout the day. Fact be known, most recruiters underestimate what they can accomplish in a given day. Therefore, by overplanning and committing to fully execute the plan, you challenge yourself to stay on task, to limit interruptions and distractions, and to be as productive as possible. The overall results may astound you. As the old Army slogan stated, “Be all that you can be.” By overplanning your day, you are one step closer to accomplishing this goal.

6. Always, always make certain that your priorities are in proper order. Whether they are prospects, clients, prospective recruits, or candidates, evaluate everything you do and everyone with whom you work against a clearly understood set of qualifying criteria. This is not a business that breeds success with an approach that is little more than “we will work with anyone at any time.” The very nature of our industry requires us to be selective with whom we work. Since you cannot be all things to everyone, concentrate your efforts on being something very special to the qualified few.

Remember, just like the character on The Rockford Files, you only have two things going for you: your time and your ability to make things happen. Therefore, how you choose to use your time will ultimately determine what you make happen. And what you make happen determines the level of success you will achieve in this business.

As always, if you have questions or comments, just let me know. It’s always good to hear from you.

Recipient of the 2006 Harold B. Nelson Award, Terry Petra is one of our industry’s leading trainers and consultants. He has successfully conducted in-house programs for hundreds of search, placement, and temporary staffing firms and industry groups across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, England, and South Africa. To learn more about his training products and services, including “PETRA ON CALL,” visit his website at www.tpetra.com. Terry can be reached at (651) 738-8561 or email him at Terry@tpetra.com.

Working Trade Shows

TEN TACTICS TO SEARCH AND SELL AT SHOWS

You’d think a headhunter at a trade show wouldn’t even need a spear. All those potential “heads” of the industry you serve just waiting to be attacked. There oughta be a law prohibiting a license to hunt at events like that. Right?

Wrong. Search Research Institute estimates that only around 5% of the recruiters who attend trade shows in industries they serve get any return on their investment. Shocked? You shouldn’t be. Just ask yourself whether you ever:

1. Placed a candidate recruited at a show

2. Filled a search assignment obtained at a show

See what we mean? None of the above.

Most of the people at the show were looking for contacts, too. Maybe even with you. Frantically looking, in fact. Running around aimlessly, jostling in crowds, eating indigestible food, keeping unnatural hours, and traveling at the speed of sound. Packing, unpacking, sorting, babbling, and bumping into walls like children on the first day of school. That’s why they return to their overloaded offices tired and uninspired.

Nobody ever blames them-selves. They all say it was the space, sponsor, service, or speakers. They never realize that their preparation was wrong. They just never knew how to “work the territory.”

We’ve asked Susan RoAne to hold our hand through a trade show using her nifty book How to Work a Room. Initially, Susan notes:

The time to start preparing is not when the plane touches down or when we get our first peek at the convention hall. First of all, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of things – the number of people to see, booths to visit, meetings to attend, parties to drop in on, and the immense physical distances to be covered.

It’s not unusual to attend six to eight events in the course of a day – and that’s before the evening cocktail parties, drop-ins, dinners, hospitality suites, and late night get-togethers.

As the saying goes, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’re likely to wind up somewhere else.”

Here are 10 tactics to help you search and sell at shows:

1. ARRIVE BEFORE THE EVENT

Any meeting planner can predict arrivals with perfect accuracy. This is because they follow a standard bell-shaped curve; one-third of the visitors will be early, one-third will be on time, and one-third will be late.

Plan to arrive early. If you don’t, all the rest of your plans won’t matter. Regardless of the distance, plan to arrive the day before the event begins.

This allows you time to get your bearings. Even if you’re staying at the host hotel, familiarize yourself with the layout and convention area. If there’s no map in your room, get one from the front desk. Review it carefully, so you save the incredible amount of time and energy expended on logistics. Invest a few hours quietly in your room reviewing your notes, using the phone for greetings and meetings, checking the program of events, and generally setting up your “war room.”

Susan says:

The best way to get a handle on the organization is to read its newsletter or professional journal.

These publications can be invaluable resources. If you invest the time to read them, you will be well compensated. You won’t be an outsider; you will be familiar with the group and its people, and have all the information you need to ask questions and start conversations.

Should you recognize a member from a photo you saw in the newsletter or journal, you can bet that person will appreciate and welcome you.

This few hours is the most important part of any effective trade show strategy, since it allows you time to scope out the territory and develop a plan of attack. If you didn’t bring any snacks with you, order room service. It’s tax deductible, and you’re not ready to see anyone yet.

Once you’ve developed a strategy, you can freshen up, get dressed, and check yourself out in the mirror. Then promptly, eyes forward, chin up, shoulders back, stomach in, feet straight, confidently, self-assured, poised, march out of your room and over to the elevator. It’s time for your coming-out party.

2. LOOK LIKE A MEMBER OF THE “ADVICE SQUAD”

If you were at a meeting of recruiters, you could dress as casually as you liked. You’d be among colleagues, associates, and friends. They would know you, identify with you, and not care how you looked. They also wouldn’t be a source of business other than by networking through your acquaintance.

But at a trade show in an industry you serve, you must strictly maintain a consultant image. You must be immediately identified as a professional adviser – a member of the “advice squad.”

Joseph Girard stated in How to Sell Anything to Anybody:

A top salesman is a first-rate actor. He plays a part and convinces his audience – the customer – that he is what he is playing. However you do it, the thing that matters most is that you know your customers, if not by name at least by style and type. Then you too will be able to disarm them and win the war.

To join the squad, you need:

a. A confident, pleasant look on your face
b. A conservative suit or dress
c. An ability to pronounce at least 20 of the latest buzzwords in the industry
d. A pen and pocket-size notebook to write down ideas, leads, reminders, etc.
e. A conservative, quality, clean briefcase containing:
i. A hundred business cards
ii. A sufficient number of brochures about your services to employers and candidates
iii. Convention paraphernalia, maps, and any other paper you dumped in during your travels

3. GREET PEOPLE PROPERLY

Stand at the exhibitor area of any trade show, and you’ll see how many vendors blow the greetings to people walking up to their booths. You may not be paying rent for a tent, but you’re a vendor just the same. Be sure you blow those darts that are in your briefcase, not the greetings to your targets.

Proper greetings to vendors in the booths are particularly critical, since this is when rigid first impressions are formed. They’re even more rigid because of the large volume of contacts people make at meetings. Vendors, chained to their booths, quickly get tired of the questions, requests, and rejection. This results in “emotional carry-over,” which brings the negativism into the next greeting.

In Psycho-Cybernetics, Maxwell Maltz discussed its effect:

If you have just talked with an irate and irritable customer, you need a change in set before talking with a second customer. Otherwise, “emotional carry-over” from the one situation will be inappropriate in dealing with the other.

You’ll know that a vendor has been victimized by emotional carry-over when you see him pushing interested people away from his booth. Don’t push people away, too.

Before you enter the exhibit area, be sure to follow Susan’s advice regarding name tags:

If you are asked to fill out your own name tag, you have some leeway in describing your position or specialty. This is a chance to identify yourself in an interesting way. [Someone told] me that when he put the designation FINANCIAL PLANNER on his name tag at a business show, no one looked twice. But when he wrote MONEY beneath his name, he was approached by many interesting people who wanted to know what he did.

A sense of humor does help!

Always, always place the name tag on your right-hand side. When you extend your right hand for a handshake, the line of sight is to the other person’s right side. If the name tag is placed on the left side and you sneak a peek away from the line of sight, you’ll get caught! The idea is to make the name tag as visible as possible.

When you see a victim, spear him with the “Magic Four Hello.” It consists of four acts that must occur simultaneously:

1. A smile.
2. Direct eye contact.
3. The words “Hi, I’m (first and last name). It’s a pleasure meeting you.”
4. A firm but gentle hand-shake.

Practice makes perfect in coordinating these four elements. Since you’re in a phone-intensive business, you may well be out of practice. Aside from making the “Magic Four” flow naturally, a proper handshake is often the hardest to master.

Enthusiasm in the handshake properly sets the tempo for the dialogue that follows. Recruiters are no better or worse than the general public when it comes to haphazard handshakes. One-third have a dead flounder dangling at the end of their wrists; another third have a live shark there. One turns people off; the other can critically injure them. Few even realize that this occupational disability exists. But it does – two-thirds of the time!

If you have a problem with your handshake, practice shaking hands with your coworkers in the office. They’ll be glad when you leave, but when you return you’ll have a briefcase full of placement potential.

The effectiveness of the Magic Four Hello has led the staff of Search Research Institute to consider making a trade-show briefcase with an 11-inch slot at the top to insert résumés.

4. KNOW INDUSTRY BUZZWORDS

Buzzwords are the “insider” language that has developed in every subculture since Eve recruited Adam. Their primary use at conventions is to lock in the alignment with employers and candidates. Their use also gives the impression of a working knowledge of the industry, and makes you look professional.

If you are already working in the field, you should be able to use buzzwords fluently. If not, get at least a dozen recent publications about the industry and list the strange words in them. Memorize them, along with the trends that you note in the articles. If you can’t fluently use at least a hundred words and discuss industry trends, you shouldn’t be recruiting or selling at the show.

Even a “Magic Four” greeting won’t help you at the “second impression” stage.

5. DEVELOP YOUR RECRUITING VOCABULARY

This consists of words and phrases that every professional placer uses. That doesn’t mean ones you know. Read these, and check yourself for a week to see how many are really in your “working vocabulary.”

If you don’t know the definitions, find out. Then consciously use them:

Accelerated Accepted Achieved
Acquired Acted Administered
Advanced Advised Analyzed
Arranged Attained Available
Certified Checked Communicated
Completed Concentrated Concluded
Conducted Contact Information
Counseled Determined Devised
Directed Employed Evaluated
Exit Interview Expanded Formulated
Handled Hired Identified
Implemented Improved Improvised
Increased Informed Innovated
Integrated Internal Referral
Investigated Involuntary Termination
Job Comparability Job Congruence
Job Description Job Order Job Rotation
Labor Grade Located Managed
Maximized Measured Minimized
Monitored Negotiated New Hire
Offered Opportunity Organized
Performed Personal References
Persuaded Position Professional References
Promoted Qualifications Raise
Rate Range Recommended Relocation
Requisition (“rec”) Résumé
Reviewed Revitalized Search Assignment
Served Simplified Solved
Span of Control Staffed Streamlined
Supervised Supported Taught
Trained Trimmed Upgraded

6. INTRODUCE PEOPLE TO EACH OTHER

Since you do this all the time, it should come naturally. However, many recruiters leave conventions without introducing people, foreclosing their value as the matchmakers of the executive world.

These introductions aren’t to make placements, they’re to make acquaintances. Here’s how Letitia Baldrige says to do it in The Complete Guide to Executive Manners:

a. Introduce a younger person to an older one.
b. Introduce a junior person to a senior one.
c. Introduce a nonofficial person to an official one.
d. Introduce your associate to someone else.
e. Introduce another vendor to an employer or candidate.

As you can see, convention dictates that the “less important” person be introduced to the “more important” one. If people have equal standing, it makes no difference.

Frequently, you’ll be introducing someone with a doctorate, and you should use the title (introducing them first). Obviously, if both people have the same title, you can dispense with “Dr.” entirely.

7. KNOW HOW TO ENTER AND EXIT CONVERSATIONS

Susan just reminded us that there’s a difference between including yourself in other people’s conversations and intruding on them.

She suggests the following:

a. When people appear to be involved in a personal discussion, stay away. You can only be deemed an intruder.

b. When two people are “brainstorming” intensely, and you realize you can’t catch up without interrupting their train of thought, back off. You’re just wasting your time, and perhaps a few good contacts. Instead of appear-ing interested, waiting for an opportunity to interrupt, find them at a more receptive time.

c. Look for groups of three or more. This optimizes the interaction, while allowing you to withdraw from the conversation gracefully.

d. Allow others to enter the conversation, as long as it is not something confidential. (If it is, you shouldn’t be discussing it in public any-way.)

e. Enter every conversation physically before you do so verbally. When you feel included (by words or looks), you probably are.

f. Be sure your brain is turning over before engaging your mouth. Any conversation worth entering is one worth having. Besides, placing your foot in your mouth near other people at a convention can start a riot.

Bryce Webster suggested in The Power of Consultative Selling:

Use empathy to . . . uncover their point of view and feelings by doing background research and asking questions. You share their feelings by listening and extending your own feelings toward your clients.

You best empathize by sharing what you yourself believe you heard your client say. Play back or feed back your under-standing to your client and elicit his reaction to your under-standing. You are not judging the other’s feelings or opinions.

Phrases you can use to preface your empathetic re-marks include: “Let’s see if I understand correctly what you are saying . . . So, you seem to believe . . . Do I understand what you are saying? In other words, you maintain that . . .” and so forth, through numerous familiar phrases.

Say these messages with open, yet confident body postures and gestures, and in a calm, soothing tone of voice. You can’t share with someone else if you send mixed or confused signals. If you don’t feel it, don’t fake it.

When it comes to extricating yourself from the unhireables and unhirers, Susan advises:

To make your exit easier, wait until you have just finished a comment. Then smile and say, “Excuse me, it was nice meeting you.” If it makes you feel more comfortable, you might add, “I think I see my client . . .”

Once you extricate yourself, visibly move to another part of the room. It underscores the fact that you really did have someone to see, or something to do, and that you didn’t leave simply because you were bored.

Treat everyone nicely whether or not their title impresses you. You never know. Looking for “decision makers” may be a poor decision. They may be the most important people in the room, but they may be moving next week to positions that are not very impressive indeed.

As James Brewer added in Power Selling:

Selling is an interpersonal process. If the salesperson builds a positive interpersonal relationship, the chances of making a sale are good. Very few, if any, sales are made when there is a negative relationship. The goal of the salesperson should be to build a mutually beneficial association with the prospect.

The salesperson and the prospect will work toward a balance of power. If the prospect feels that the salesperson is overpowering, no sale will be made. At the same time, when the salesperson feels intimidated by the prospect, no sale will be made. A balance of power will allow a frank and open discussion of the service, which is so vital to successful selling.

8. REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE NOT ON A VACATION.

Trade shows are a vendor chore and bore. Don’t stay any longer than you need to, and keep the socializing to a minimum.

Unprepared, insensitive recruiters are much better off never attending a trade show. They’re much more effective working a desk, in the controllable, one-dimensional environment of a phone call. Once they arrive at the hotel, they’re thrust into an environment that is unpredictable and therefore uncontrollable. Although there’s never been a survey on the subject, recruiters have probably lost more relationships at shows than they gained.

Even the typical luncheon meeting is fraught with problems. Where do you sit? Do you eat unusual foods? Do you ask for something different? How do you talk to the hotel staff? Do you drink? How many? Do you smoke? What? How are your manners? Where’s your napkin? Who’s paying? How much? Do you pay cash or charge it? Which card do you use?

These and a hundred different items can affect your relationship with the people you’re trying to impress. When you add the discussion of subjects that are offensive to them (or vice versa), it can be a disaster. If your spouse or associates are with you, the probability of a chemical imbalance is even higher. If your victim is of the opposite sex, it might even be like chemical warfare.

Lack of control isn’t the only reason familiarity breeds con-tempt. You’re not really an industry member. It’s no coincidence that “common,” “community,” and “communication” sound alike. You may feel like the first headhunter who’s ever been ambushed by his prey.

You see this all the time working a desk. Richard Gould observed in Sacked! Why Good People Get Fired and How to Avoid It:

Every person is unique, set apart from all others by a unique bundle of needs, motives, ideas, experiences, attitudes, and values. Each struggles with life in a unique fashion against an unreplicable combination of circumstances.

There are basic differences in the way they think, construe events, and react emotionally.

You’re not on a vacation, not even on a “business trip.” You’re in an unpredictable, uncontrollable jungle. It’s rich in game, but you’ve got to know the terrain.

9. GET NAMES AND CONTACT INFORMATION

Business cards are fine, as long as you note who gave them to you, and why. But they’re only a tool to avoid writing down contact information.

Instead of focusing on getting business cards, rivet yourself to those people who can increase your business. You’ll find that trade directories, and even convention rosters, are woefully inadequate to reconstruct con-tact information on people you met. This, coupled with the confusion of so many places, faces, and cases, will interfere with your effectiveness.

Don’t be afraid to ask immediately how to reach people you need. Then, like a hungry headhunter, track till you trap. Michael Enzer explained why in Selling by Seminar:

A sales executive I knew usually closed all of his staff meetings with the exhortation: “Follow up! Follow up! Follow up!” He believed that no matter what you were trying to achieve, if you didn’t follow up, you were increasing your chances of failure – needlessly – or at the very least, limiting the extent of your success.

To assume that something will happen, in and of itself, is to succumb to a naïveté unworthy of any professional salesperson: You must follow up – diplomatically, to be sure – but nonetheless you must provide the kind of “nudge” that will get your “invitation” out of the in-box and into the action file.

10. DON’T INTRODUCE ANY CANDIDATE TO AN EMPLOYER AT THE SHOW

You’ll be blowing a dart through a U-shaped gun.

Instead, hope that the candidate and employer don’t meet. If it looks like hoping won’t work, dash over to the nearest house phone, call security, and anonymously report the candidate for stealing a doorknob. That way he’ll be detained.

If you need more time, call again and report the hiring heavies – one at a time. It’s particularly important that the candidate be released first, though. One recruiter didn’t wait, and the candidate was handcuffed to his future boss for seven and a half hours until the housekeepers all reported in.

The two doorknobs were finally located inside the security booth. One of the guards had rigged up a dumbbell (using the knobs and a coat hanger) so he could exercise his saluting arm. Fin-ally, the night manager persuaded him to open the handcuffs. The future boss and candidate walked off holding hands.

Fortunately, the recruiter was never caught. Unfortunately, he was never paid.

So hang on to that hot résumé until you get home. Then:

a. Clear the fee in writing.
b. Ask the hiring authority to state the names of any candidates being considered in writing.
c. Write a cover letter enclosing the candidate’s résumé.

Fax is fine, but you must do this to straighten out your blow-gun.

There oughta be a law against headhunters searching and selling at trade shows. Anything that good should at least require a hunting license. But it’s open season.

Using these 10 tactics, you can do it properly.

Jeffrey G. Allen, JD, CPC, turned a decade of recruiting and human resources management into the legal specialty of placement law. For over 32 years, Jeff has collected more placement fees, litigated more trade-secrets cases, and assisted more search and placement practitioners than anyone else. From individuals to multinational corporations in every phase of staffing, his name is synonymous with competent legal representation. Jeff holds four certifications in placement and is the author of many best-selling books in the career field. He can be reached at Law Offices of Jeffrey G. Allen, 10401 Venice Blvd., Suite 106, Los Angeles, CA 90034; (310) 559-6000; jeff@placementlaw.com. The Placement Strategy Hand-book and other books on search and placement can be purchased at: www.searchresearchinstitute.com.

“How is everything going since you sold The Fordyce Letter to ERE Media?” That’s a question I get at least once a day – sometimes more.

It is going fantastically well – better than I ever imagined. As I told you last November, I had many opportunities to sell TFL, but for one reason or another, none of the suitors measured up. Only ERE Media met all the criteria I had on my checklist.

Last month, we had a change in the style and format of TFL. From my viewpoint, it was a welcome change that came about only because of the amazing talent available within the ERE family – young, vibrant, creative people with vision and a mission to continually move the ball down the field. I’m pleased with the final result and, while there will be some tweaking based on reader suggestions, it is truly a 21st-century publication. One blogger recently referred to TFL as the Ritz-Carlton of recruiting publications, and with ERE’s muscle and resources, we will get even better.

How does this impact on me personally? I am still totally responsible for the content every month. For me, that’s the “fun” part. Even better, all the back-office functions are now the responsibility of ERE’s out-standing staff in New York.

Although I still want to hear from you regarding your questions concerning the search and recruiting business (TheFordyceLetter@ aol.com), all other questions or problems regarding renewals, address changes, switching from mail to email, subscription delivery problems, etc., should go to ERE at Help@ere.net.

As most of you already know, our archives are enormous, containing over 6,000 pages of information about the business. Joyce Lain Kennedy, the legendary author of the widely syndicated column “Careers Now,” recently referred to TFL as the “undisputed treasure trove of professional information for third-party recruiters.”

But I’m surprised that more of our readers haven’t taken the time to register with ERE (www.ere.net). Not only is it an additional free resource for information, but it is also a resource for useful information about our business as well as the HR community. The breadth and depth of their resources is truly remarkable.

There are hundreds of net-working groups based on your interests, industry/occupational specialty, or geographic region. Almost all of the applicable blogs about recruiting are available to you with a click of your mouse. ERE’s job board is the premier community of recruiting and human resources professionals on the Web.

For TFL readers, the ERE discussion element is where ERE Network members come to discuss and debate issues related to recruiting and talent management. There are special discussion groups like the ERE Network Feedback & Assistance group, or ERE’s splits board (currently free). Got a question you can’t answer? Their discussion archives are totally searchable, and odds are, it has already been covered in previous discussion groups.

InsideRecruiting offers daily news, analysis, polls, and stats you can use. Also very useful is the ERE Recruiting Directory, where you can explore recruiting products and services from hundreds of vendors in the industry.

These just scratch the surface of the awesome features and benefits of ERE Media – and one of the main reasons why I’m happy to have been acquired by them. Before the day is over, you should register at www.ERE.net. Am I pleased about the acquisition of TFL by ERE? You bet! You will be too.

Since we are not in the social work business, we expect to get paid for our efforts. In most cases, that’s not usually a problem, but judging by the number of calls and emails we receive, employers are much more enthusiastic about hiring than they are about paying your fees. Not a week goes by without a couple of readers grumbling about their inability to collect their well-earned fees.

Attorney Jeff Allen wrote a best-selling book a few years ago entitled The National Placement Law Center Fee Collection Guide, complete with citations of all the fee-avoidance cases adjudicated up to the publishing date. It has even become a great holiday gift for readers’ lawyers.

Fee avoidance has almost become a national sport amongst the HR community. There is no end to the excuses they proffer for withholding or delaying the money you earn. We were recently told by the HR chief of a major company, “No matter what the guarantee agreement is between my company and the recruiters I use, I never pay a fee for 90 days. I call it my 90-day guarantee, and although I hear many complaints about this policy, there has been no blowback from the recruiters I use.”

Probably the biggest of these is the absence of a signed agreement between recruiter and “client.” That didn’t seem to be the problem in this case, but some states require a written agreement to get paid, and others are leaning that way.

We have written about this many times before and, frankly, cannot understand why any logical-minded recruiter would spend their most precious asset – time – with a company that will not agree in writing regarding the specifics of an assignment.

Even those employers who are willing to pay a fee seem to be in a slow contest – and winning. Another large company HR professional told us their cash-management people almost forbid timely payment of bills. Money not used for bill payment is earning them a tidy sum in interest and other investments, and they feel that this “float” period is worth more to them than happy vendors, many of whom depend on quick payment to keep their doors open.

One of our readers – a million-dollar producer who prefers to remain anonymous – told us he keeps an attorney on retainer for those reluctant non-payers. He makes it crystal clear that he expects to be paid within 10 days of the placement start date, period! Any payment received after that date voids any guarantee to which he may have agreed. “On the eighth day, I call the client to tell them that they are about to lose the guarantee and inquire about the check. This usually works. On the 11th day, I email them that they have lost the guarantee. On the 32nd day, I turn the matter over to my attorney and he sends a letter gently demanding payment. This usually works and, surprisingly, after that I rarely have any future problems with that account. And I’ve never lost a client because of my process, either. Why? Because I produce! If, however, I have not been paid in 60 days, my attorney is instructed to file suit. Had only one case where the client had terminated my placement prior to that occurrence, but since they abrogated the guarantee, I got paid. I have found that with slow payers, once they know you are serious about getting their check, they can find a way to get one to you, nonsense about their normal accounting process notwithstanding. I asked one client, ‘If there was a truck at your loading dock with material crucial to your doing business, but the truck driver wouldn’t unload it without a check, do you really think there would be no way to accommodate him?’ There’s always a way around the red tape. Hiding behind bureaucratic process is pure chicken****.”

Friend and longtime practitioner C. E. “Chub” Ensminger, president, Management Recruiters of Chattanooga-North, Inc., said, “We have known each other for a lot of years, so you know very well that I am old school in a lot of ways . . . so here is the method that I instituted back in the ’80s. Due to the fact that sales managers, veeps of sales, etc., were notorious for carrying invoices around in their brief-cases, and manufacturing/plant managers would leave them in the stack of other unimportant papers for days or weeks on their desks, I decided to send the original invoice directly to the controller of the company and a copy to the hiring authority. The invoices are usually sent a week before the start date and then again on the start date; the admin calls the corporate controller to ask if the check has been sent. Our collection time from start date averages less than 17 days and has remained steady ever since. Regarding extended guarantees, I told our folks that we will be happy to extend the guarantee beyond 30 days at an increase of 5% for each additional 30 days and of course replacement only. Oddly, no takers yet in the past three years since I instituted the policy, and we never extend the guarantee otherwise. Like I said, Paul, I am old school and have never seen the necessity to change.”

Jerry Marymont, president of Corporate Search, has a unique take on the problem: “I’ve heard that some firms would give a reduced rate for early payment. . . . This practice goes against all I believe in. So, we came up with a method to charge a little extra for late payment and it’s all thanks to our phone company, AT&T. I noticed on their monthly bill that they have the due date with a dollar amount, and then they have the late date with a higher amount due. On our fee agreement we state: ‘Past due balances shall bear interest at the maximum legal rate allowed.’ On our invoices we put the amount due and a 30-day due date. Right below that we put ‘If paid after the 30-day date, please pay . . .’ and we add an additional 1.5% to the original fee. Just like the phone company. For the most part we seem to be getting payments within 30 days. In a few in-stances, when the client was late paying, they paid the higher amount, with no questions asked. After 30 days, if the client has not paid, we send out another invoice indicating the higher amount owed and another late date with an additional 1.5% interest added. It’s not perfect, but it seems to help and we haven’t heard one complaint – yet.”

We hope none of our readers have fee-collection problems, but I recommend Jeff Allen’s Fee Collection Guide. It’ll not only help you collect those well-earned fees, but it will also assist you in avoiding the problem altogether. It can be bought at www.searchresearchinstitute.com.

Loose lips sink ships. A reader lamented that he had a search assignment for a senior-level financial position with a $50,000 fee. He located a perfect candidate, and during the conversation with the candidate, mentioned the name of the client. While he was awaiting the candidate’s résumé, the candidate asked a few friends if they knew of the company. One not only knew of them but also had a good friend working there. Guess what! The friend sent the candidate’s résumé to the friend at the client company before our reader even had a copy to send. When our reader got the résumé and sent it to the company, they refused the referral since they already had it as a freebie. Even though the candidate acknowledged in writing that our reader was the one from whom he learned the company’s name, the company said, “Sorry! No dice!”

Our reader wanted to know if he had a leg to stand on.

The answer is No. Although it is prudent to tell potential candidates as much as you safely can, on a contingency deal this is often the end result. Although this is somewhat like the “forward pass” attorney Jeff Allen warned against in last month’s issue, in this case, the rubber band around this deal just won’t stretch to include the reader in the transaction.

Our reader certainly tapped the right shoulder with this candidate, but the introduction to the client was a day late and a buck short. Perhaps he won’t get hired and he can revive the deal with another candidate, but you just never know where your next “competitor” will pop up its ugly head.

Attorney Jeff Allen said, “We call this a ‘self-sendout.’ Technically, the recruiter and client may be in ‘privity of contract’ with a valid fee agreement. However, the recruiter must be the source of the referral. Since this is a unilateral contract, it must fully perform before the fee is due.

“I see this as a causation issue. Without a referral period that imposes strict liability within the agreed time, self-sendouts are by definition not recruiter sendouts. You can drive a Mercedes truck through this tollbooth and wave as you speed through without paying.

“It is the reason that we advise against revealing client identity until (1) a list of pending employers is obtained from the candidate (preferably by email or letter), and (2) client interest has been established and documented. It goes even further – a recruiter should conceal the name of the client if possible until the sendout has been properly teed up.

“This capable recruiter made the match all right. But it can’t deputize the candidate as his agent. Even a thank-you note is more than a court would award.”

Another reader called to tell me about a $200,000+ fee he collected from a company that had become frustrated by the inability of one of the top-three retained firms to produce after many months. From the time our reader got the distress call from the disenchanted CEO until the deal was done, it was three weeks. Congratulations and a tip of the Fordyce fedora.

This is the season of association and industry trade shows, not just for recruiters but for almost any industry segment imaginable. They can be a fantastic source of information about potential clients and candidates, if you approach them properly. Several have asked how to work a trade show, so we asked attorney Jeff Allen to cover the topic in this month’s Placements & The Law column.

Third-party recruiters – those individuals who represent organizations as opposed to working directly for them as an employee – have it all over corporate recruiters in one dramatic way.

In almost all cases, they can pick and choose those organizations and/or hiring managers with whom they wish to work. Far more important, they can pick and choose those organizations /hiring managers with whom they do not wish to work. This, folks, is about as good as it gets because dumping a client who has been making you crazy for what can seem like forever is as liberating and freeing a feeling as one can have. I know this because when I was in the agency business, I did it on a regular basis. As a result, I billed more and had less stress. You can do this as well.

One of the sad realities for corporate recruiters is that they are accountable to the hiring managers they are assigned to serve. As a result, there is no picking and choosing here, and that can often be a very bad deal. Think of it as having a parent choosing a mate for a child. It might work out well for the child, but the child really should make the choice himself.

The world of third-party recruiting is a very different ball game. You can fire the client who makes you crazy and wastes your time, as opposed to simply thinking bad thoughts about them and trying to coach them for the 97th time in an attempt to get them to work with you in an intelligent and effective manner. (After the 10th coaching session, I suspect they are just passive-aggressive anyway and realize that more coaching is simply not the answer.)

With this in mind, as third-party recruiters, I strongly suggest that you consider any of the following behavioral characteristics as grounds to consider jettisoning a client. Frankly, if you have all of these characteristics in evidence, I strongly suggest that you give them a list of your three biggest competitors and let the client make them crazy instead of you. Please consider the following:

1. Clients who do not return phone calls. Recruiting is, if nothing else, a game of on-going communication. You and the client are trying to fill a position. This mutual goal creates a partnership, as the objective is the same for both parties. Clients who do not return phone calls are telling you through their actions that the goal of making a hire is not important.

2. Clients who do not respond to submitted candidates. For this point I will assume that you’re submitting only qualified candidates. If this is indeed the case, there is no reason that the client should not respond to your sub-mission in a reasonable time frame. You may determine what is reasonable, but 48 hours is a number I’m comfortable with.

3. Clients who change the requirements every 20 minutes. This is an interesting point. I don’t mind working with clients who change the requirements endlessly, but I simply do not wish to work with them until they have solidified what they are looking for in the candidate. I am willing to chat about it, make some suggestions, and help them to derive a final spec if that is helpful. But I can’t recruit if I do not know what the client is looking for in this hire.

4. Clients who “have no time.” No time to talk, no time to interview, no time to spend with you. We all have time; last I looked, we all have the same amount. When people tell you they have no time, they mean they have no time for you. That’s perfectly fine, but it is an indication that this relationship is not important to them. Given the chance to choose between what the client says as opposed to what they actually do from an action/ behavioral standpoint, go with the latter.

5. Clients who make lowball offers. This is a personal favorite of mine. After endless discussions with you about compensation, the client decides to wing it and try to save a few bucks by going around you to close the deal with an offer that you know will not fly. This is big-time dumb. The client decides in their infinite wisdom that they have nothing to lose and the worst thing the candidate can do is say no. They figure, “Big deal, we can just try again in a few days after the candidate cools off.” At this point, you get a call on a Sunday night from a candidate who is angry and insulted and you are caught absolutely flatfooted as you tap-dance in an attempt to mend fences and save the deal.

6. Clients who say such bright things as “I will know them when I see them.” This is a first cousin of number 3 but bears mentioning because I have heard it so many times. If they will know them when they see them, that’s terrific, but they should not be seeing them on any time that you invest. However, when they do know what they need, the time to begin to work on them has arrived.

7. Clients who can’t answer yes to the following two questions:
- Is the position approved and budgeted for hire? If not, I strongly suggest that you wait until it is before you put in any time. (Remember, time and experience is all you have, so use it wisely.)

- If I find you the candidate who meets your needs, will you hire him/her? I once had a client tell me, “No, I just want to see who is out there for possible hires in reorganization.” That’s perfectly fine, but not with my time.

8. Clients who do not get back to you after a candidate interview. This makes me crazy. Even if the client has no respect for your time or your work (a good enough reason alone to send them packing), they should at least have the decency to treat the candidate well and get back to you so you can get back to the candidate. There are few situations more uncomfortable than having candidates call you every day for a week after the interview with steam coming out of their ears because you have no information about what the client is thinking. It makes both of you look bad, and it’s unnecessary.

I know what you are thinking: Adamsky is unreasonable. I am not. I am a sweetheart. But I do expect my business partners to do what they say they are going to do and live up to their end of the agreement. (Hence the term “business partners.”) I hardly see that as unreasonable. I am also sensitive to the occasional blunder or family illness, but this type of behavior as a standard operating procedure should be unacceptable to you. You work hard and your job is important. As recruiters, you build great organizations, and if there is something that is more important than business-building, please email me and tell me what it might be (howard@hrinnovators. com)

Two more things:

1. They pay me. I can under-stand the temptation to put up with grief for money, because in the end, the kids need shoes and clients do pay the bills. Truth be told, money for misery is a bad deal all around. You will grow to hate the client, and you will not be all that happy trading self-respect for cash.

2. It is political; the client is the director’s cousin. I understand that problem. Tell the director that it is a bad business decision for you to be working with that client and have him/her assign it to another. Everyone wins.

No one who has read this far and is still awake can avoid one simple reality that I have not addressed:

- Finding new clients is not easy.

I concur. But recruiters are not by nature shy individuals. I strongly suggest that you accept the reality that the marketing is never done. If you buy into this philosophy, you will have more possibilities for new clients because your continual marketing will simply put you in a better position than if you were simply working with the same five to seven clients and having one or two of them make you nuts. (I happen to know a recruiter who jettisons his least favorite client or two every year and simply replaces them with others. It’s not a bad way to operate.)

Tell me, is it time for you to get rid of a client who’s making you crazy?

Howard Adamsky has been recruiting since 1985 and is still alive to talk about it. He works with organizations to support their efforts to build great companies and coaches others on how to do the same. His experience in identifying, developing, and implementing effective solutions for organizations struggling to recruit and retain top talent clearly improves the condition of his clients.

Mr. Adamsky is a politically in-correct, atypical thinker who solves problems and gets results. Since 1985, his work has made an enormous difference in how organizations see the recruiting function and how that role can be leveraged to lead the talent acquisition process by hiring smart, motivated employees.

Howard is also a writer (Hiring and Retaining Top IT Professionals: The Guide for Savvy Hiring Managers and Job Hunters Alike, published by Osborne/McGraw-Hill). His articles on everything from leadership to recruiting trends appear on too many sites to count. He is also a regular contributor to ERE.net, a member of the Human Capital Institute’s Small and Mid-Sized business panel, a Certified Internet Recruiter, a Certified Diversity Recruiter, and a charter member of the Society for Advancement of Consulting, and he rides one of the largest production motorcycles ever built. He is also working on his second book, The 25 New Rules for Today’s Recruiting Professional.