Welcome to The Fordyce Letter:

The Fordyce Letter

Straight Talk for the Recruiting Profession


Ask Barb

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Go Global? Develop A Solid 30 Account Base First

by 23 hours ago


Ask Barb

Dear Barb:

Is international recruiting something I should consider? I live in Seattle and place primarily in the Bay Area. I keep hearing about people making a killing placing in Europe, Asia and other international areas. I’m a sole proprietor and don’t have the advantage of a team to support me. Do you think this is a way to avoid getting hit when the U.S. economy takes another dive?

Justin G.

Seattle, WA

Dear Justin:

You never shared your niche or area of specialization in your question. I always advise that a client territory of 30 accounts is pretty much recession proof. This is comprised of 10 key accounts and 20 back-ups. The key accounts call you first, view you as a trusted advisor/consultant and hire multiple candidates from you throughout the year. The back-up accounts call you and others and probably view you as one of the vendors they utilize for top talent. However, they know who you are and the services you provide.

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Ask Barb

With So Many Trainers, How Do I Know What to Do?

by 7 days ago


Ask Barb

Dear Barb:

I feel like there are so many trainers out there, and after attending two conferences in the last year, my people are confused on what ideas they should implement. We attend all the free teleconferences or webinars offered, read three trade publications, have internal training, and I send my team to at least two conferences.

How do you know who has the better methods or techniques when trainers, in essence, disagree with each other? It confuses my sales team, and I’m wondering if I’m not providing too much training if that is possible. I mandate that each of my employees reads a sales book each quarter. Some of the ideas they come back with, I would never implement in my company. How do I get the greatest ROI on the money I’m spending on training?

Ron H.

Dallas, TX

Dear Ron:

When I first entered this profession, I felt the same confusion and there weren’t near as many trainers as you have today in our profession. It has been proven by the Department of Education and great sales organizations that you must create and implement a consistent successful repeatable sales process.

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Ask Barb

What Can I Do About Clients That Take Too Long Making a Decision?

by 2 weeks ago


Ask Barb

Dear Barb:

Loved your programs at the NAPS conference, I’ve implemented two of your ideas already with great results. I’m having an issue with clients dragging their feet during the interview process. When they give me the order they act like they want to hire immediately and then it’s as if they have all the time in the world.

This has resulted in me losing several candidates that I felt were very talented. How do you force the issue with clients who don’t understand the value of making decisions faster? When I press them, they stop returning my calls.  Do I just stop doing business with clients who can’t seem to make timely hiring decisions?

Catherine M.

Milwaukee, WI

Dear Catherine:

There are several reasons why clients don’t make decisions. These include:

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Ask Barb

Why Would A Client Pay You To Source From A Job Board?

by 3 weeks ago


Ask Barb

Dear Barb:

I just lost a major account because they said we provide them with the same candidates their internal recruiters find on the job boards. We have had great luck surfacing qualified candidates off job boards, I’m now wondering if the job boards are going to replace us? 

Charles S.

Syracuse, NY

Dear Charles:

To not be replaced by job boards, it is important you change the way you are attracting top talent. Clients expect us to recruit passive candidates who are working, although, they would consider a new job if the opportunity represented their next career move. You can use job boards to lead you to these candidates, or you can complete daily networking and recruiting calls.

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Ask Barb

Build Your Rep, Show Your Smarts and Talent Will Find You

by on Apr. 17, 2013


Ask Barb

Dear Barb:

It’s getting harder and harder to fill our orders. I place in IT and we are only filling 30% of our orders. It makes me crazy that we’re leaving so much money on the table. Do I start a new niche or do I continue to struggle to find candidates that everyone seems to be having a hard time finding?

Frustrated in San Francisco

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Ask Barb, Business Development

Can Your Team Say What Makes Them Better Than the Competition?

by on Apr. 10, 2013


Ask Barb

Dear Barb:

Can you give me some idea of how to brand myself and my company? I saw you speak recently to a room full of owners. You asked us to tell you why we should use your firm. You told us we could not say anything that anyone else in the room could say. I found it almost crazy that none of us could think of an answer. If we as the owners don’t know why someone should use us, how are the people who work for us supposed to know the answer?

You said hiring authorities tell you that we all say we’re different and then when they ask us how, we all give the same answer. I think you’re 100% right, this has bothered me since I returned from the conference. We had a brainstorming session about this question and it did not go well. We were all saying the same things that I know our competitors say. I can’t remember some of the examples you gave us and would appreciate it you would refresh my memory.

Pat D.

Tulsa, OK

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Ask Barb, Business Development

You Need 30 Clients to Keep You Safe

by on Apr. 3, 2013


Ask Barb

Dear Barb:

I hear you always warn against having too few clients. We have four clients that provide more than enough orders for us to cover. We are currently only filling about 40% of the orders we are given. Do you still advise to continue marketing our services to other prospective clients?

Sharon M.

Springfield, IL

Dear Sharon:

I strongly advise that you build a client territory of 30 accounts for your business.

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Ask Barb

Teaching a Producer to Be a Manager

by on Mar. 27, 2013


Ask Barb

Dear Barb:

I have a manager who would rather do than teach others. As a result, my sales team drops the ball knowing she will take up the slack. This is limiting her success as well as the production of the team. She has always been a good producer for me, how do I get her to teach others rather than constantly saving the day without it having a negative impact?

Frank S.

Indianapolis, IN

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Ask Barb

Beware: What Happens in Your Office, No Longer Stays in Your Office

by on Mar. 20, 2013


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Dear Barb:

You asked me to share my story for this column but for obvious reasons, I’m going to sign this anonymous. We are involved in a discrimination lawsuit because someone in our reception room took a video on how our receptionist was answering her phone,and treating candidates who came to our office. We are accused of treating women and certain groups of people differently.

We are a light industrial, clerical staffing firm and also place engineers. Obviously, there is a different process between an unskilled light industrial candidate, and a degreed, experienced engineer. We found it extremely suspicious that this person was videotaping activities in our reception room.

This has cost our firm thousands of dollars and we’re far from any type of settlement. There were some very negative comments put on various social media sites, which will have future job seekers and clients possibly question our reputation. We have done nothing wrong; this has become a nightmare for our team and our company. Our receptionist ended up quitting. Not sure what advice you would give to other owners, I would not want this to happen to another owner.

Anonymous

Dear Anonymous:

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Ask Barb, Relationships

Everyone’s A Vendor; Become An Adviser

by on Mar. 13, 2013


Ask Barb

Dear Barb:

We work so hard to surface qualified candidates but it seems our clients are screening out over 50% of who we present. When we send resumes over, often, they just send us an email to let us know who they want to interview, so we don’t have a chance to ask why the others were screened out. I think all the candidates we send over are high quality. How do we get them to realize they are passing up some candidates they would possibly hire?

Susan M., Tulsa, OK

Dear Susan:

You are currently being treated like a vendor, probably one of several firms being used by this client to find talent. You need to really work on building a relationship with this client, which will never be accomplished by email alone.

When you are presenting candidates to your clients your goal is to book 100% of the candidates you present. A resume can’t possibly sell your candidate as effectively as you could verbally. You are not giving yourself a chance to overcome any objections or sell your candidate’s accomplishments.

Your client will only change the way you are currently doing business together when they see how it can benefit them. It’s all about them, not you. Inform them that it is your goal to elevate the working relationship from vendor to trusted advisor. One way you can do that is by attaining interviewing times up front, and only booking your best candidates. Show them the benefit in back-filling any candidates who are screened out so you can attempt to have two or three candidates going into the final interview process.

If they do not agree at first, send a fact sheet filled with the accomplishments of each candidate and the impact of those accomplishments on past employers, in addition to the resume. It often takes several steps to earn trusted adviser status.

Barbara J. Bruno, CPC, CTS

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