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The Fordyce Letter

Straight Talk for the Recruiting Profession


Cold Calling

Cold Calling

Email Trumps Voice Messages For Getting a Response

by 7 days ago


email voicemail survey response
email voicemail survey response

Click for larger image

Earlier this week I invited Fordyce readers to tell us how often they got a response — any response at all — to cold-call emails and voicemails you send or leave for candidates and clients.

The results are reported in the accompanying chart. The headline is that emails get a better response rate than do phone messages.

What it says is that almost 40% of those of you who took part in the survey say you get a call back to your phone message less than 25% of the time. Looked at from another angle, hardly anyone is getting anywhere close to half their messages returned.

Email, though. gets better results. Just under 8% of the respondents told us they are getting a response to at least half — and in some cases more than 75% — of their emails.

Our poll is anything but scientific. A properly conducted, random survey of recruiters and response rates might come up with very different results. However, it does track with what I’ve heard anecdotally, and with some surveys about email reply rates.

What prompted our Fordyce poll was a  Top Echelon Network poll about same day callback rates. That survey of members of the splits network found few are getting called back the same day they leave a message.

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Cold Calling, Motivation

Make the Phone Your Friend: Focus On Results, Not Volume

by 9 days ago


Office Telephone

Today I have had a great morning on the telephone, I have:

  • Called my consultants for updates and offered my advice in a couple of areas they were struggling in;
  • Rang my key clients with updates (picked up a few new exclusive roles whilst doing so);
  • Chased a few candidates for interview feedback and was advised to call an excellent professional who is looking for a move (MPC for next week);
  • Spoken with various candidates who are all great matches for two urgent positions we are working on at the moment. One informed me of an interview he had attended recently with a client I have worked with in the past;
  • Chased a lead and have secured a new training session;
  • Made just six calls (to companies I have not spoken to before) on my MPC and arranged two telephone interviews.

I admit I loved every minute of it. All my calls were planned. I did not think for one minute I was making a sales call, but what did happen was I achieved results,. The calls reminded me how much I enjoy using the telephone; the results are instantaneous, not delayed waiting for a reply to an email.

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Cold Calling

Few Recruiter Messages Get Returned the Same Day – Or Ever

by 10 days ago


survey on calls being returned

If you rarely get a same day call back from a candidate or a client, it’s not you. Less than 5% of recruiters report getting their calls returned the same day.

Count yourself lucky is you get your calls returned at all. One survey by a messaging service said only 33% even listen to messages from business contacts. From numbers they don’t recognize, a mere 18% will listen.

That doesn’t mean they bother to return them. Some surveys of cold-call response rates found that one-in-twenty messages will get a response. The longer the message, the lower that response rate goes. Improving the call back percentage, even by only a few points, can make a big difference in client acquisition. Improving both the number of calls in which you actually speak with a live person, as well as improving the percentage of call backs is the key part of Jim Domanski’s session at the upcoming Fordyce Forum.

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Cold Calling, How-To

Important Questions To Ask Before Hiring A Phone Sourcer

by on Mar. 29, 2013


fordyce-default

die-hard phone jockeysEditor’s Note: If you’ve ever hired a sourcer to help with a particularly thorny search, you undoubtedly discovered that not only are they all not alike, but the range of services they provide is vastly different, as are their rates. Maureen Sharib is a phone sourcer who, with her husband, runs TechTrak. A phone sourcer is different from one who primarily sources via the Internet. Both provide a valuable, if different type of service for recruiters. In this post, Maureen offers guidance on hiring a quality phone sourcer.

What is your definition of phone sourcing? If they say they call companies to “check” on information they find on the Internet (“Is she still there? What’s her title now?”), keep looking. You haven’t found a real “phone sourcer.”

If they tell you they find names of people who hold specific titles inside specific organizations that you provide you probably do have a phone sourcer on the line but you need to dig deeper.

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Cold Calling, How-To

Getting the Recruit To See You As A Counselor

by on Mar. 14, 2013


Cold calling logo

Note: This is the final part of a four part series on cold calling. In part one, Terry talked about the first 30 seconds of making a cold call. Three goals must be achieved in that time, he said: Get attention; Avoid rejection, and; Establish a dialogue. In part two, Terry explained how to begin a dialogue with a client explaining why it is you called them and what you can do to help them. Last week he offered a number of openings that will get the attention of a candidate, even one who’s been hearing from other recruiters regularly

Setting a proper frame of reference with a recruit should be a primary objective during your first in-depth discussion. This will determine whether or not the recruit views you as an asset or a liability.

For the purposes of this article, we will define a recruit as someone with whom you have initiated the first contact, and someone who, at the point of that initial contact, was not actively seeking a change in employment.

Remember: The decision a recruit makes will impact their life to a greater degree than it will impact yours.

Keeping this in mind, it is imperative for you to quickly identify with the recruit any and all potential motivations they may have for a possible job change. This can best be accomplished by asking certain questions. The answers will quickly establish a realistic frame of reference between the two of you, and serve as a foundation for your relationship.

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Cold Calling, How-To

Here’s How To Grab That Hot Recruit’s Attention Fast

by on Mar. 7, 2013


Cold calling logo

Note: This is part three of a four part series on marketing calls. In part one Terry talked about the first 30 seconds of making a cold call. Three goals must be achieved in that time, he said: Get attention; Avoid rejection, and; Establish a dialogue. In part two, Terry explained how to begin a dialogue with a client explaining why it is you called them and what you can do to help them. The final part will be posted next Thursday.

Have you ever experienced any of the following responses when making your opening comments on a cold recruiting call (not referred by a third party)?

  • “I get calls from recruiters all the time. Take me off your list and don’t call again.”
  • “Tell me the name of the company and I’ll tell you whether or not I’m interested in listening to you.”
  • “I’m not interested in changing jobs.”
  • “How did you get my name?”

When statements like these interrupt your opening comments, it is typically an indication that the targeted recruit has had one or more negative experiences with recruiters and/or you have seriously mispositioned yourself on the call. Although you have no control over the recruit’s previous experience with recruiters, you can and should control your positioning on the call. This positioning begins with your opening comments, which should contain the reason for your call. If your reason for calling does not position you as having something of value for the recruit, they will immediately begin to implement an exit strategy from the call. When this occurs, the recruit stops listening and your call has little chance of success.

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Cold Calling, How-To

How-to Dial For Dollars After You Email For Interest

by on Mar. 5, 2013


3 Keys illustration teleprospecting

Note: If you’re serious about drumming up new business by tele-prospecting, Jim Domanski says “you absolutely, positively need to integrate emails into your approach to the market.” He detailed how to do that in “Six Steps to Emails That Get You the Call.” Today, Jim explains how to use the phone to follow-up on the email and seal the deal. Before you read this, review his previous article to refresh your memory. Jim will be presenting his telephone prospecting workshop at this year’s Fordyce Forum in June. To learn more about the year’s conference check Fordyce Forum 2013.

Be careful how you approach your prospects. Take it a step at a time and work in small batches. First, build a list of about 20-25 names. This is a manageable number when you are trying to coordinate a mail out program with a telephone follow-up program. (Depending on your other tasks and responsibilities your email campaign might be sent to more or less.)

Send your emails out either the day before you call or several hours before your scheduled call. This gives your prospect time to see and read your email. It also gives them time to digest your message; give it some consideration. Whatever the case, you want to make your follow-up call after no more than 24 hours. Your email was designed to catch your prospect’s attention, but that attention span is short. Strike while the iron is hot.

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Cold Calling, How-To

You’ll Get More Referrals If You Prime the Pump This Way

by on Mar. 1, 2013


Bill Radin

Here’s a technique I’ve found to be helpful, especially when I’m in search or sourcing mode and I want to stimulate referral activity.

The conventional wisdom when making a recruiting or sourcing call is to ask for the names of people who either have the background you’re looking for, or for people who might be in a position to make a referral.

So, if you’re describing a job to a prospective candidate, you ask the question, “Who do you know who can do the job?” or “Is there anyone you can think of who might have an interest in this sort of opportunity?”

Naturally, the more colorful your description of the job, or the more “sizzle” associated with the company, the more likely it is to get a referral. Unfortunately, some candidates are either tight-lipped by nature or develop a brain freeze when thrown a question they might not have anticipated.

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Cold Calling, How-To

Here’s How To Give Your Prospect A Reason to Hear You Out

by on Feb. 28, 2013


Cold calling logo

Note: This is part two of a four part series on marketing calls. Last week, in part one, Terry talked about the first 30 seconds of making a cold call. Three goals must be achieved in that time, he said: Get attention; Avoid rejection, and; Establish a dialogue. The remaining parts of the series will publish on each of the next two Thursdays.

In our last article we stated, “The most critical skill set to develop is not getting people to listen to you. Rather, it is the skill of getting them to talk with you, to open up, to willingly share the specifics of their individual situations”. Many times on an initial marketing call (cold call), the first step of this process of “… getting them to talk with you …” can be accomplished by explaining the reason for your call.

Think in terms of the person you are calling. Put yourself into their position and you will understand that your call (as well as any unplanned call) will be viewed as an interruption to their busy workday.  Therefore, you must give them a reason to listen, you must stimulate in them an interest or curiosity, and you must engage them willingly in a two-way business dialogue.

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Business, Cold Calling, How-To

You Have 30 Seconds to Answer: ‘Why Are You Calling Me?’

by on Feb. 21, 2013


Cold calling logo

Note: This is part one of a four part series on cold calling potential clients. Each part of the series will appear on successive Thursdays through March 14.

Whether you are making an initial marketing call or a cold recruiting call, you have approximately 30 seconds to do three things:

  1. Gain the individual’s attention;
  2. Eliminate (or at least not create) a reflex rejection;
  3. Change the dynamics from a monologue to a dialogue.

The ultimate success of your call depends on your ability to accomplish all three of these objectives in a brief period of time. If you fail to accomplish any of these objectives, the individual you are calling will immediately begin to exit the call. Once this occurs, it is very difficult to turn them around.

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