Here’s the question: “When do you stop beating a dead horse?”

Here’s the answer: “When you can say to yourself, ‘This deal is unworkable on my terms and I’m not going to spend any more of my straight commission time on it.’”

Five Reasons Why “Horse Beating” Occurs

1. Incomplete information from Employers and Candidates.

2. Use of ineffective Qualifying and Pre-closing Techniques.

3. Lack, or complete loss, of cooperation from Employers and Candidates.

4. Hope Sheets … instead of Hot Sheets.

5. Not knowing what or when Employers and Candidates will buy.

SIGNS OF A “DEAD HORSE” EMPLOYER

1. Companies that are “Always Looking.” These are companies who have no clear definition in mind of what they want. They merely utilize the services of a recruiter to be made aware of the top talent that’s available. These are the people who have not determined what positions are open—and who might never have a position open. But they are always asking you to call them when you find anybody who’s a likely match because they are “always looking” for top talent. In other words, there is no urgency … no deadline.

2. Employers who are not sure of the answer when asked a question. This is because they never thought of the question. Therefore, they’ve never framed an answer. Again, there is no clarity of purpose in this type of employer. It’s like attacking a cloud.

3. Employers who are difficult to get on the phone. Most likely, they are not treating you as a professional. None of us are so busy that we can’t take a call when something is urgent. All this employer is saying to you (non-verbally) is, “I don’t think that you are important. I don’t think you are professional. You will have to call me on my schedule, and my schedule is too important to bend for just any of your phone calls.”

4. Employers who have a reluctance to see your Candidates on “your terms.” Again, this is usually because the hiring manager is not treating you with respect. They don’t think you know what you are doing.

5. Long period of time to make a decision and/or extend an offer. You need to be aware that after an interview takes place, “White Heat” cools down quickly. We never know when it will actually go below the magical ‘buy-line,’ but time does kill all of our deals. A long period of time to make a decision and/or extend an offer can only serve to stop a deal from coming together.

6. The “Expert From Afar” mysteriously appears. This could be the ‘other’ recruiter, the in-house recruiter or the corporate vice president from back east—any new person who comes into the situation and changes the rules after the game has already been set up.

7. Fee problems at any time. It is easy to agree to any fee that you might state when the hiring manager is not thinking about hiring. That’s why, when you cover a fee in dollars and percent with the hiring manager, you want them to be concerned. You want them to pause and think of whose budget the fee will be coming from and how they are going to pay it. The worse possible scenario, when you quote a fee, is for the hiring manager to quickly say, “No problem.” Well, it’s usually no problem because they don’t intend to pay it. They don’t think you can come up with the type of individual they want. When you do, then there is a fee problem because they are now faced with a fee that they had no intention of paying in the first place.

8. Need to run an ad. There’s no urgency if they can run an ad. And, as a recruiter, you need three things to be successful: Urgency, urgency and urgency. What you need to explain to hiring managers, when they want to run an ad, is this:

“You know, Mr. Hiring Manager, you can let your Personnel Department run an ad and work on this job order. However, it’s not the most economical solution. But realize this … when you run an ad you are going to attract job hoppers, job shoppers and rejects. These are the types of applicants who are looking at the job boards, at the on-line postings and reading the want ads.”

“I, on the other hand, enter into a segment of the marketplace that you are not going to attract with your ads. I am going to recruit people who are happy, well-appreciated, making good money and currently working, but can be motivated to move for a better opportunity. These are fast-track people. They don’t look in the paper. They don’t surf the Internet job boards. There is no need for them to do so. Therefore, they will not be aware of your ads. So, all you are really saying to me, by running ads, is that you have no urgency. Not a good thing for me to hear since I am paid to circumvent the time factor.”

9. Job Orders with too broad a range of compensation. The hiring manager says, “We will pay anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000.” You need tighter salary parameters so you know where to go to recruit the right people. There are not enough years left in your life to recruit every good person living in the USA in that wide of a salary range. What you need to do is to pinpoint that range.

TO ELIMINATE “DEAD HORSE” EMPLOYERS, ESTABLISH COOPERATION

1. Obtain complete information. You will probably need to talk to the hiring manager more than once. A personal visit may be required. But you eventually need complete information.

2. Set up a grading system. Grade your hiring manager’s job orders so that not only will you work on those JOs most likely to pay off, but also so you can remember what a hiring manager said originally and how the JO changes as time moves forward.

3. Establish start date – work interviewing procedure backwards from start date. You say, “When is the last day that you (the hiring manager) can reach, so that on the next day something bad happens if the new person is not on-board by then? In other words, what is your drop-dead date?” Keep in mind that there are three people involved in everything we do: The Hiring Manager, The Candidate and The Recruiter. Each party needs a segment of time. So, take the three time segments, add them together and back them off from the drop dead date to determine if this JO is really realistic enough for you to work.

4. Establish hiring process, i.e., who, when, where. Also, time periods between interviews. You want this leverage in case something goes awry. Having written down what is going to take place, and in what time frame, allows you to keep better track and control of the hiring process.

5. How many people must be interviewed before you can make an offer? If the hiring manager needs to see six people, they may have a directive from ‘higher up’ to see that number, so don’t send them five if that’s all you have because they will still have to wait for that sixth candidate to show up. If you take on an assignment, and they tell you how many people they need to see, whatever that number is, make sure you get that number in to the hiring manager.

6. Make sure internal transfer or promotion has been explored and any possibility eliminated. Some recruiters don’t want to do this because they are afraid that they will lose the job order. But isn’t it better to lose the JO at the beginning of the process than at the very end? That’s when it hurts the most. By learning this information at the beginning, you haven’t expended a great deal of time, energy and money, and you can cut your losses earlier. Also, you now have the ability to be able to write JOs to refill the slot from whence the transfer or promotion originated.

7. How many people have been interviewed? You need to know this to give you an idea of the ‘quality’ of the job order. If it is ‘unfillable,’ this will be an indication. If twenty-five people have been interviewed, and the position has not been filled, you need to know why.

8. How many offers extended, turned down, and why? This gives you some insight into the knockout factors and the general health of the JO.

9. Why were some Candidates eliminated prior to an offer? As above, this will further cover the knockout factors.

10. How many dollars have been budgeted to fill this position? You want to make sure the employer is being realistic by knowing how much he is prepared to spend. If the hiring manager says the salary is $60-70,000, but they only have $58,000 budgeted, there will be a problem. Even if they have $65,000 budgeted, where will your fee come from?

11. Where does the money come from? Whose budget? You need to talk to the person who has control of the purse strings because this is the person who will ultimately pay you. This person has the final power to say “yes or no” and you need to talk to him/her right from the beginning.

SIGNS OF A “DEAD HORSE” CANDIDATE

1. Candidates who are always looking. This type of candidate hasn’t made the mental commitment to change jobs, and would, most likely, accept a counter-offer, or use the offer as a “lever” to get what they want from their present employer.

2. Incomplete Data Sheet. Information has been left off and/or there are gaps. Time frames just do not ‘jibe.’

3. Won’t make themselves available on “your” timetable. They don’t see you as a professional. They will only interview on weekends or after hours. They need to be made aware of what’s required of them.

4. Resumes that are all feature oriented. Features are dead things. A resume is a logical presentation and people buy emotionally. Therefore, a resume that is all feature oriented is difficult to sell. Also, resumes may be composed of features because the candidate really doesn’t have any accomplishments. The problem facing us here is that we need those accomplishments from previous employers to turn into benefits for the new companies—the companies to which we are marketing.

5. Won’t return your calls. Again, they don’t respect you as a professional. Or they don’t need you. Or there is no sense of urgency.

6. Reluctant (or won’t) tell you where and/or with whom they have interviewed. They keep it a secret. They act as if they are going to compete with you for their candidacy. To combat this, you can say two things: (1) “Where have you been? I don’t want to cover the same ground where you’ve left a resume and identified yourself. Therefore, I don’t want to go back into those same companies”; and (2) “I need to know where you might have your candidacy pending and I will need you to ‘unpend’ yourself. In other words, I can’t work with you if you are competing with me in regards to your candidacy.”

7. Reluctant to watch interviewing films, or listen to interviewing tapes. Again, the candidate is not treating you as the expert. They believe that they are the experts in interviewing. (Special Note: Beware any candidate who is a ‘terrific interviewee.’ Those who are too adept at interviewing merely have done it a lot, which means they might not be quite as proficient at the technical aspects that relate to their job. They have become ‘professional interviewees.’)

8. “No Shows” or late for appointments. This is an indication of a sloppy person, a sloppy attitude, and will probably carry over into their new position, should you be lucky enough to place this person. It also reflects directly (and negatively) on you and your recruitment firm.

9. Reluctant to talk relocation with their family. Let’s say that the candidate wants to move. No problem for them, but keep in mind that when you are facing a relocation, you are looking down the cylinders of a double-barreled shotgun. You are either going to have to address the not-so-recent phenomenon of a two-income family or the reality that there might be children (especially teenagers) who will be affected by the move. It’s not the person doing the work. Therefore, if you have a candidate who will not discuss relocation with his/her family, there is going to be a major bump down the road. You will undoubtedly have a turn-down or a fall-off later on in the process when the family suddenly discovers that the candidate is contemplating a move.

10. Reluctant to submit resignation in writing, leaving them open to a counteroffer. What you want is for the candidate to write a letter of resignation at the beginning of the process because by physically writing this letter, the candidate is mentally making the break with their current employer.

TO ELIMINATE “DEAD HORSE” CANDIDATES ESTABLISH COOPERATION

1. Obtain complete information regarding: can do’s, will do’s, won’t do’s, can be motivated to do, counteroffers, emotions, etc.

2. Itemized list of what they will buy and when they will buy it. What companies does the candidate want to work for? When can the candidate make the move if the perfect position comes along?

3. Have them list their Features/Accomplishments/Benefits (TFL, 10/05) – do FAB sheets. These should be originally typed for each employer that they will see on an interview. This original sheet will be left with each employer. You need a copy of the FAB sheet and the candidate will need one for their records.

4. Submit a list of “target” companies. These are companies that the candidate would like to work for—companies in which they have an interest. Also, it would be good to know those companies for which they don’t want to work.

5. Submit a list of questions. These are questions that the candidate needs the answers to before they can make a decision of coming on board with the new company. Questions beyond the regular salary and benefit type queries — types of projects they would like to work on, amount of travel time, special perks they would like in order to make the move. Anything the candidate needs answers to, before making a decision.

6. Agree to interview your way. Because you are the expert, you know about interviewing whereas the candidate knows about what they do for a living. Prepare your candidate for the interview. Go over Agenda Closing and the Eight Point Candidate Prep. You want to make sure the candidate is prepared correctly for the interview.

7. Must be able to ask for the job (TFL, 5/06). Somewhere in the interview, the candidate must express an interest in the job—verbalize that they want the position. They need to take the initiative because the hiring manager is usually waiting for the candidate to express an interest in the company/position.

8. Give you the authority to negotiate, accept/reject offers. The candidate must understand that you are the professional and that you are also an effective third party. After you have introduced the candidate to the employer, then many of your duties are those of a buffer.

9. Pre-write a resignation letter and sign it. It is best if you can have your candidates give the resignation letter to you so that you can mail it for them later. If not, just make sure they write this letter early in the process. As I said before, it is important that they write it so that they have made a ‘mental break’ with their current company.

10. Submit the letter the day he/she accepts an offer.

11. Must be willing to exchange commitments of cooperation as well as agree to make decisions. The candidates have to cooperate with you—to work with you as an ally. And they must be capable of making a decision. If they can’t make a decision, no matter what situation you put them into, they won’t be able to say “yes or no.” It will always be “maybe,” or “Let me think about it…”

CONCLUSION

Anytime you discover any problems, STOP, REQUALIFY Employers and Candidates and either GET THEM BACK IN LINE or BACKOUT of the project. Remember, you are a straight commission sales person and you are paid for results, i.e., Send Outs and Decisions, and if the results are not there, you are wasting your time and not doing your job!

Bob Marshall, CPC, CIPC started in the search business in 1980 and became Western Regional Manager for over 60 Management Recruiters Intl. offices in 1984. In 1986 he founded The Bob Marshall Group, International, training recruiters across the nation as well as the United Kingdom, Malta, and Cyprus. In 1996, he returned to working a desk full time and continues to train recruiters. To learn more about his activities and descriptions of his products and services, contact him directly at: 770-898-5550 or espro@bellsouth.net or www.TheMarshallPlan.org.

(In the following personal melodrama, the names and places have been changed to protect the innocent—and guilty!)

One of the beauties of working a desk as a trainer is that you get to practice what you preach. The following started with an assignment I was given by a recruiting company that I do work for on an independent contractor basis. I received the JO from one of the company principals, Keith Padgett, on January 27th, 2006. Keith wrote up the details and cleared the fee that he thought the position warranted. This was a new client. The recruiting was long and agonizing.

The following is a story about a slow client company and an even slower candidate. Because of the situations I faced at certain times, I had to implement four of the techniques that I teach recruiters when I am in training mode. The four Closes that I relied on, in order, in attempting to put this deal together were: The Multiple of Compensation Close (combined with The Reduce To The Ridiculous Close); The Counteroffer Close; the Investment Differential Close; and finally, the admonition on decision making that was given to us in the Ben Franklin Balance Sheet Close:

This is how I handled it

First a little background. My client company, IDA, is a very large east coast based office furnishings dealership. They wanted me to recruit a Senior Project Manager. Mike Foote is the Hiring Manager (HM).

My candidate, Ellen Woodward, worked for one of the competition. She was a typical recruit. She was happy, well-appreciated, making good money and currently working and I was able to entice her to consider a new and better opportunity. Ellen was movable because her current company’s assets were being taken over by a third company (Chaco) and she wasn’t sure that Chaco would retain her services. So at this point everything is moving along well.

I officially presented Ellen to IDA on May 24th, 2006.

After IDA concluded their interview sequence, they decided that they wanted to make Ellen an offer. At this point, the problem of what to offer raised its ugly head. This is the Email I sent to Mike, the Hiring Manager, on June 28th, 2006, to help him with his dilemma:

Hi Mike,

Not to confuse the offer issue concerning Ellen Woodward any further, but here are some more numbers for you to ponder.

1. Here is a way to set Ellen’s value. It will also work with your other employees. There are three different methods to estimate the worth of an employee to their company: The Multiple of Compensation Method; The Contribution to Profits Method; and The Cost of Replacement Method. Information on all three methods is readily available on the Internet. The next paragraph is based on the first Method.

Based on studies conducted by the top business graduate schools in the US, Ellen’s value to IDA is recommended to be set at 5 times her salary. So, for instance, if you pay Ellen a salary of $65K, then the value that she will bring to IDA is $325K per year. My service charge, on the other hand, was set by Keith Padgett, in this case at only $10,500 ($3,500 of which has already been paid leaving a balance of only $7K). Or, to look at it another way, our fee is only 3.2% of this position’s value to IDA, and, that’s only for the 1st year! You benefit from the $325K value year after year after year. We get our fee only one time. When you look at our fee structure in this way, we are definitely a bargain. Conversely, taking the value of this position at $325K per year and realizing that there are 2080 work hours in a year, you are hemorrhaging $156.25 per hour for each hour that this position remains vacant. Think about it! That’s $1,250 per workday, $6,250 per workweek, etc. Two (2) weeks with this position open will exceed my fee, and you’ll still have that vacancy.

2. Considering the possibilities of hiring Ellen at $62,500 versus $65,000, we come up with a difference of $2,500. This $2,500 amortized over the first year of employment equals $1.20 per hour. Amortized over the first 5 years of employment (average tenure in the USA), you have 24 cents per hour. I believe that you could lock her up with that extra 24 cents.

That’s about it for now Mike. Just some more food for thought. I’d hate to have you lose Ellen at the 11th hour over really small amounts of money. All of us (you, Ahmed, Celine, me) feel that she is a ‘keeper’. And, if you treat her fairly, I don’t think she will ever leave you. She wants her next job to be her last job. Ellen truly is someone who will make you look good in the eyes of the owners.

Best Regards,

Bob

This seemed to work and Mike relented and made the official offer to Ellen at $65K.

In the meantime, Chaco made her an offer of $62K—well above her current salary of $55K. And here is where everything started moving in super slow motion.

My first sign of concern was that Ellen suggested she could use the IDA offer as a lever to negotiate with Chaco. I told her that that would not be wise because that was tantamount to accepting a counteroffer since Chaco was basically taking the place of her original company. I then sent her the following email, adding that, in my opinion, she would be gone voluntarily in 6 months or involuntarily in 12 months. This is the email I sent to Ellen on August 8th, 2006

Hi again Ellen,

When you mentioned that you might go back to Chaco for a counteroffer, I thought I’d better send you the attached article. Since I train recruiters, as well as do recruiting, I put together this article for recruiters to send to their candidates. The reason the article is so important is that we have found that, when a candidate accepts a ‘counter’, statistics show us that they will be gone from the company who offered the counter within 6 months (voluntary) or 12 months (involuntary). I thought this was important for you to know since you want this to be your last position change.

Hope you will come to your decision shortly. I know Mike is very anxious.

I send my best.

Counteroffers

Since counteroffers can create confusion and remorse, you should understand what’s being asked of you. Counteroffers are typically made in conjunction with some form of flattery. For example:

• You’re too valuable, we need you.
• You can’t desert the team/your friends and leave them hanging.
• We were just about to give you a promotion/raise, and it was confidential until now.
• What did they offer, why are you leaving, and what do you need to stay?
• Why would you work for that company?
• The President/CEO wants to meet with you before you make your final decision.

Counteroffers usually take the form of:
• more money
• a promotion/more responsibility
• a modified reporting structure
• promises or future considerations
• disparaging remarks about the new company or job
• guilt trips

It’s natural to want to believe these appeals. But think about it: If you were worth “X” yesterday, why are they suddenly willing to pay you “X + Y” today, when you weren’t expecting a raise for some time?

The Reality
• Employers don’t like to be “fired.” Your boss is likely concerned that he’ll look bad, and/or that his career may suffer. It’s never a good time for someone to quit, and it may prove time-consuming and costly to replace you, especially considering recruitment and relocation expenses. In addition, they know that statistically you are almost certain to leave them in the future.

• It’s much cheaper and easier to keep you, even at a slightly higher salary. And it would be better to fire you later – on the company’s time frame. Bosses who truly care about their employees will wish them the best, offer to act as a reference, and communicate their disappointment.

• Having once demonstrated your “lack of loyalty” by having considered looking at another job opportunity, you will lose your status as a “team player” and your place in the “inner circle.”

• You will always be suspected of being on a job interview whenever you are absent from work for any reason.

• In addition, numerous studies have shown that the basic reasons for wanting to change jobs in the first place will nearly always resurface. Changes made as the result of a counteroffer rarely last beyond the short-term, no matter how many promises are made.

• When making your decision, look at your current job and the new position as if you were unemployed. Which opportunity holds the most real potential? Probably the new one, or you wouldn’t have pursued and accepted it in the first place. If you have made the decision to take another job elsewhere you should maintain a firm and final position.

Ten Reasons NOT to Accept a Counteroffer

1. What type of company do you work for if you have to threaten to resign before they give you what you are worth?

2. From where is the money for the counteroffer coming? Is it your next raise, early? (All companies have strict wage and salary guidelines that must be followed).

3. Your company will immediately start looking for a new person at a lower salary.

4. You have now made your employer aware that you are unhappy. From this day on, your loyalty will always be in question.

5. When promotion time comes around, your employer will remember who was loyal, and who wasn’t.

6. When times get tough, your employer will begin the cutback with you.

7. The same circumstances that now cause you to consider a change will repeat themselves in the future, even if you accept a counteroffer.

8. Statistics show that if you accept a counteroffer, the probability of voluntarily leaving in six months or being let go within one year is extremely high.

9. Accepting a counteroffer is an insult to your intelligence and a blow to your personal pride, knowing that you were bought.

10. Once the word gets out, the relationship that you now enjoy with your co-workers will never be the same. You will lose the personal satisfaction of peer group acceptance.

(Source: Bob Marshall, trainer)

This seemed to get Ellen back on track, but I still couldn’t move her to make a decision. And since the two offers were pretty close to one another, I decided to use the Investment Differential presentation to show her that she was not throwing away $3,000 per year, but $5,259. And over 10 years, all things being equal, she actually stood to lose more that $52,593. I let a week pass and then I sent this chart over in my second email on August 14th, 2006:

Hi Ellen,

One other thing I should put in front of you is the difference, over time, between the offer at Chaco and the offer at IDA. This is based on both offering you a 10% salary increase every year. With this in mind, based on the Chaco salary of 62K, at the end of ten years you will have earned a total of $1,086,933. Based upon the new starting salary of 65K at IDA, you will earn $1,139,526. Moving to IDA will give you an additional $52,593 (averaging over $5,259 per year) in income over Chaco. This is the real differential which amounts to a sizeable ‘return on investment’.

Here’s how the numbers work:

The Investment Differential

Year % Raise Chaco IDA Differential
$62,000 $65,000 $3,000

1 10% $68,200 $71,500 $3,300
2 10% $75,020 $78,650 $3,630
3 10% $82,522 $86,515 $3,993
4 10% $90,774 $95,167 $4,393
5 10% $99,852 $104,683 $4,831
6 10% $109,837 $115,151 $5,314
7 10% $120,820 $126,667 $5,847
8 10% $132,903 $139,333 $6,430
9 10% $146,193 $153,267 $7,074
10 10% $160,812 $168,593 $7,781

Total $1,086,933 $1,139,526 $52,593

Ellen agreed and said that it was coincidental that I had sent this over since she had just been working on her own 5 year plan. So, at this moment, we were back on the same page. Then nothing, just a waiting game supposedly based on the fact that Chaco had not forwarded their benefit package to Ellen—their HM being on vacation.

Now things are starting to get tense. The company is making grumblings that if the offer is not accepted fairly quickly, it will be withdrawn. So, I’m at the final junction in the road—short of a Take Away close. I decide to use The Ben Franklin Balance Sheet close and sent Ellen the following email on August 23rd, 2006:

Hi Ellen,

In the interest of helping you to make a decision before your IDA offer is taken off of the table, why don’t we consider how Ben Franklin made his decisions.

Most of us consider old Ben to be one of our greatest statesmen. He lived from 1706 to 1790. Between 1733 and 1758 he published Poor Richard’s Almanack. In the Almanac, he explained how he made decisions when faced with a lot of data. He said that, “all Reasons, pro and con, are not present to the mind at the same time… As a result, our minds are like a pendulum swinging back and forth, swayed by whichever aspect of the decision seems to be primary at the time without being able to arrive at a solution.”

To help solve this dilemma, he would take a sheet of paper and make a line down the middle. Then he would put all of the reasons for doing something on the left and all of the reasons for not doing something on the right. Then he would add up the columns and the bigger sum won.

Let’s try this with your situation—as much as I know about it. I will construct the chart as if I were you:

PRO
1. IDA is the larger company

2. IDA provides greater growth opportunities in the future

3. The offer is larger – much larger than my original company and also larger than Chaco’s offer and they know me

4. Over a 10 year period with similar raises, I will be making $52,593 MORE with IDA

5. My goal of being at $100K by the time I am 50 is more realistic with IDA

6. Mike Foote agrees that my 5 year plan is “do-able”

7. Benefit packages are similar

8. Company location is closer to my new house in Hagerstown, MD—about 10 miles—so I’ll save gas and be closer to my mother when she needs me

9. IDA is doing ‘cabling’ which I am familiar with

10. Everyone I interviewed with liked me and I liked everyone

11. IDA is the largest Knoll and Kimball dealer in the US

12. Learning the new systems will be provided for me

13. Mike Foote has been very patient with me during my long decision making process

14. Since Chaco’s and my original company have been so close lately, taking Chaco’s offer is like taking a counteroffer from my original company which means it is statistically likely that I will be gone in 6 months voluntarily or 12 months involuntarily

15. A mid-September start date is fine with IDA

16. If I don’t make a decision soon, I will lose this offer

CON

1. I will look like a bad guy

So, that’s 16 PRO and 1 CON. I think if you will allow him, Ben Franklin just made your decision for you.

Warmest Regards,

Bob

Postscript: The story I sent has a happy ending. “Ellen” just accepted the position with a 10/3/06 or before start date. Not all melodramas end poorly!

Bob Marshall, CPC, CIPC started in the search business in 1980 and became Western Regional Manager for over 60 Management Recruiters Intl. offices in 1984. In 1986 he founded The Bob Marshall Group, International, training recruiters across the nation as well as the United Kingdom, Malta, and Cyprus. In 1996, he returned to working a desk full time and continues to train recruiters. To learn more about his activities and descriptions of his products and services, contact him directly at: 770-898-5550 or espro@bellsouth.net or www.TheMarshallPlan.org.

Ron Allen passed away this past Memorial Day, 2006. He was too young, but it was somewhat fitting since he was a military veteran and also a very memorable man.

I met Ron in the early 1990s when he was part of a team recruiting me to relocate from San Diego to Atlanta. I liked him immediately. He was very likeable. Ron Allen was a Salesman trapped in the body of an Accountant. Ron had been a CPA for some 30 years. He graduated from Georgia State University in downtown Atlanta and started his business life first with the large accounting firms and then as a Business Broker. Some time later, for 8 years, he was the CFO of a quickly expanding Atlanta Temp firm that grew from $8,000,000 to $165,000,000 during his tenure. In the 1991/1992 period, he moved over to a recruitment company where he had been on the Board of Advisors for the previous 7 years. I joined this firm as their trainer in 1993. This is when I had a chance to get to know this dynamo of a CFO.

When we had our regular recruiter class graduations, Ron would be invited to give the new recruiters his parting words of wisdom before sending them off to their individual offices. I teasingly entitled these talks “By The Numbers” since he was the top financial person in the company even though he rarely spoke about the numbers. Instead he focused on giving them fatherly guidance—basic rules to live by as a recruiter. Let’s go back to those days and see how many I remember. Pretend you just graduated from rookie recruiter training. I get up in front of you and say, “Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce to you our CFO, Ron Allen…”

Recruiter Guidance

1. Don’t let anyone talk you into failing. Don’t be surprised if the top recruiter in your new office walks by your desk on your first day and tells you that you don’t need all of the recruitment tools that were given to you during your rookie training (daily planners, quick resource guides, scripts, etc.) to be successful. These top recruiters will boast that they don’t use those tools and don’t need them either. But don’t listen to them. Use the tools that you were given during your training classes to become successful. Then, after time, when the tools become a part of you and you reach the level that Abraham Maslow called “Unconsciously Competent” your use of those tools will not be as apparent because by then you will conduct your business naturally. But always keep those tools handy so that you can easily access them during inevitable slump periods.

2. This business is an activity business and it is not an easy business. This is a pretty straightforward business, but it is also hard work. Never confuse a lot of activity for production. A lot of one minute phone calls will lead you nowhere. The activity has to make sense, but there has to be activity nevertheless. You will never make a placement with a company that you never call.

3. This business is a Process, not a series of Transactions. It’s important to do everything everyday. When you conduct your business this way, you will always have something to do, something to work on. If you start treating this business as a transaction, then, once the transaction is over, you will have to start all over again. If that happens, this business will be rife with fits and starts and become a very confusing and difficult endeavor. So, treat your business as a process for smooth and constant production.

4. Don’t let money be the end-product. Money is a by-product of the business you conduct. Your business is finding a suitable candidate for your Hiring Managers and it is finding a suitable position for your candidates. You do that, and the money will come. In this business if you focus on the money as the end-product, you will soon be out of business.

5. When you call in to your client companies, don’t talk to people who cannot say “yes.” In every company, everybody can say “no,” but few can say “yes.” So, make sure on your client calls that you reach the people, and speak with the people, who can say “yes.” If you only speak to those who can only say “no,” two bad things will happen. First of all, you will get nowhere. And second, no one will ever know that you called in the first place. The problem is, from an ego point of view, the people who can only say “no” don’t tell you that. They don’t say that they can’t say “yes.” They just say “no.”

6. We can’t be successful as a group unless each one of you are successful individually. So, that means learn the systems, pick up the phone, and do the activity. If you have questions, ask for help. Don’t muddle through when you are not sure what to do. Ask. Synergistically we can be more creative and bring more to the bottom-line than any one of us can accomplish singly.

The Best and Biggest Piece of Advice

And then came what I always considered his best piece of advice. He said that we are in an 80:20 business—that indeed life was an 80:20 proposition. So he would suggest to the new recruiters that they tell their Hiring Managers that if the candidate presented was 80% right for the position, jump all over him and consider yourself the luckiest HM on the face of the planet because no match will ever be a 100% match. And to the candidate he recommended saying that if the position you are interviewing for is 80% right, jump all over it because no position is ever going to be perfect. If it is 80% of what you are after, accept immediately and run to tell all of your family and friends just how lucky you have become. Remember, as in life, 100% matches—the so-called ‘perfect matches’—do not exist. If you look for them in your JOs and candidates, you will constantly be frustrated and if you look for them in life, your life will be a tortuous and unfulfilling journey.

The True Southern Gentleman

Ron always had a quick wit and a wry smile. He called pick-ups “Pick‘em-up Trucks” and in elevators he would “mash” the buttons. Once in downtown Atlanta when we boarded an outside glass elevator to start our 73 story ride up the tallest hotel in the Western hemisphere, I mentioned that I didn’t like heights. In his quick way he said, “Well Bob, then look at the door”. He loved to play up his Southern drawl and ‘perceived’ slow Southern mannerisms to get the upper hand on those ‘damn Yankees.’ He reveled in that. Ron was truly a Southern Gentleman. Like Julia Roberts, he was from Smyrna—a real “Smyr-fette.” Ron had two children who had unfortunately preceded him in death. I know that he was tortured by that. It was a shame. Professionally, Ron had many gifts. He was a special man and touched many, many lives. You were special Ron Allen. I wish you God’s speed. May you finally rest in peace.

*“The Simple Brilliance of” is one in a series of articles focusing on ideas and techniques from some of the great thinkers, movers and shakers in the field of recruitment who Bob Marshall has had the privilege of meeting and discussing various topics over the past 25 years.

Bob Marshall, CPC, CIPC started in the search business in 1980 and became Western Regional Manager for over 60 Management Recruiters Int’l. offices in 1984. In 1986, he founded The Bob Marshall Group, International, training recruiters across the nation as well as in the United Kingdom, Malta, and Cyprus. In 1996, he returned to working a desk full time and continues to train recruiters. To learn more about his activities and descriptions of his products and services, contact him directly at: 770-898-5550 or espro@bellsouth.net or www.TheMarshallPlan.org.

Finally, a Contest, and an Award, That Motivates

In my travels over the years, I have had the advantage of meeting many fine managers — producing and otherwise.  But the one who really separates himself from the pack is Larry, the Super Manager.

Larry, until 2002, ran a large recruiting operation in Portland, Oregon.  For years and years, he was either the top office in his network, or close to being the top office.  And here’s the strange thing.  In an industry noted for our extraordinarily high turnover, Larry had none, zero, zilch.  Account Executives (AEs) only departed when Larry let them go.  Otherwise they stayed forever.

Now, Larry is noted for giving us several special techniques — techniques such as:  team closing; the closing room; multiple closing rooms; the Directors Club; daily morning meetings on special topics given by the AE considered weakest in that topic; and others.  But I think his finest contribution was his ‘take’ on the AE of the Month Award.  I know what you are thinking, “Big deal!  We all do AE of the Day, Week, Month, Quarter, Year award — you pick ‘em.”  But Larry’s Award was different.

Contests as Demotivators

First let’s look at the downside of contests.  We all strive to make our contests interesting and motivating.  But the reality is discouraging.  Most, if not all, of our contests tend to be demotivating.  And they’re demotivating for many reasons:  First, the same AE, usually your best AE, tends to win all of your contests no matter how you structure them.  Second, and conversely, all of the other AEs sense that they can never win, so they stop trying to win.  Third, when you offer a specific prize, often the winner already has the item, owns a higher quality of that item, or could care less about it.  Fourth, a money prize is either considered tacky or too little of a sum and the manager is therefore seen as stingy.  The list goes on and on.  And so, this is why you don’t see as many contests as you did in the good old days.  What a shame!

Larry’s AE of the Month Award

Larry had a different style with his contest and so it became very motivating.  Everybody participated and was excited about winning the AE of the Month Award.  This is how Larry’s award was structured.

The AE of the Month was determined by the following monthly percentages:

20% on number of Send Outs
20% on number of Job Orders
20% on amount of Billings
20% on amount of Cash-In (the only true measurement—my note!)
20% on the subjective judgment of the manager (Larry)

Because of this structure, Larry was able to award the AE of the Month to the most deserving AE.  Now no one AE won all of the time.  There were just too many variables and the last percentage, the subjective variable, always gave Larry control over who would win.

All of the above was fine, but this is where it got better.

When an AE joined Larry’s office, they were required to do three things.  First, they had to go to Larry’s professional photographer and have an 8½” x 11” picture taken.  Second, they had to write a one page Bio to be typed up on an 8½” x 5½” sheet of paper.  And third, they had to designate a ‘significant other’ person.  If you were married, it had to be your spouse.  If single, it could be your partner, mother, sister, brother, etc.  After these three items were completed, you were welcomed into Larry’s office.

At the beginning of each month, Larry called all of his employees into their office waiting room.  There, in the waiting room, were two elaborate picture frames fastened to the wall in a position of prominence.  Everyone who entered the waiting room would immediately see both frames.  Inside the larger frame was the photograph of the AE of the month from the previous month.  Below the photograph was that AE of the month’s Bio.  At this point, Larry would begin by thanking everyone for the past month’s production and recognize, again, the past AE of the month.  Then, with a certain amount of suspense, he would grandly remove an envelope from his pocket, open it slowly, and read the name of the new AE of the Month.  Then he made a big production of opening each of the frames and inserting the new photograph and Bio to the general applause of the assemblage.  The new AE of the Month would give their little appreciation speech and everyone would return to their desks and their work.

And all of this was exceptional, but this is where it got superb.

Larry would then retire to his office.  He would take out the AE of the month’s personnel file and find who they had selected as their significant other.  He then handwrote a heartfelt letter to that person explaining how he knew that in this difficult business the AE wouldn’t have succeeded without their help, encouragement and support.  Then he would hand-address the envelope and insert a $500 check made out directly to the significant other as a token of his appreciation.  As a final touch, he would have the prize couriered to its final destination.

You can imagine the groundswell of excitement among the AEs and their significant others.  Every AE wanted to win this award for themselves and their significant others.  And every significant other wanted their AE to win the award and gave them the support that is so often needed to be successful in our business.  All of a sudden, late nights at the office were encouraged, not discouraged.  Late dinners were better tolerated. And, toward the end of each month, the significant others were asking their AEs how they were doing with SOs, JOs, etc.  For the first time in our business, the family was considered as essential to the success of the AE.  For the first time in our business, all of the AEs were motivated by a contest.  And for the first time in our business, Larry, the Super Manager, had touched a chord that had heretofore been missing.

This was brilliant—but so was Larry.  He was, indeed, a Super Manager!

*“The Simple Brilliance of” is one in a series of articles focusing on ideas and techniques from some of the great thinkers, movers and shakers in the field of recruitment with whom Bob Marshall has had the privilege of meeting and discussing various topics over the past 25 years.

Bob Marshall, CPC, CIPC started in the search business in 1980 and became Western Regional Manager for over 60 Management Recruiters Int’l. offices in 1984.  In 1986, he founded The Bob Marshall Group, International, training recruiters across the nation as well as in the United Kingdom, Malta, and Cyprus.  In 1996, he returned to working a desk full time and continues to train recruiters.  To learn more about his activities and descriptions of his products and services, contact him directly at:  770-898-5550 or espro@bellsouth.net or www.TheMarshallPlan.org.