Until then, I just had to stop and reiterate something I said at the end of our Pinnacle Panel at the Fordyce Forum in Las Vegas last Friday. I told David Manaster, in slightly less detail, that I have really appreciated how the Fordyce name has been honored since ERE took over. Having read almost every issue of TFL since I started recruiting in 1985, I was very worried about what would happen when Paul Hawkinson left. It has been long enough now that I think the best compliment I can pay is that it just doesn’t seem a lot different. I also want to thank ERE for making the last four Fordyce Forums happen. I have been to three of them and want to say, for anyone considering the next one, there’s nothing like a Pinnacle Society meeting for me… but if I didn’t have them, the Fordyce Forum comes pretty close. This year’s venue, The M Resort and Spa, was a great place for this event and the content is stuff that just isn’t available elsewhere. The Fordyce brand remains dedicated to search and placement; no other organization that I know of is. (No offense intended NAPSers – I am a member and a CPC but just not into ‘staffing’) David, Todd, Kate, Amy, and Amybeth…oh and that Jeff character…Thank you VERY much for a great event!

There were two overarching themes at this year’s Forum: the resilience of those individuals and teams who made it through 2009, and the absolute importance of cultivating relationships. The three keynote speakers – Jon Bartos, Jenifer Lambert, and Jordan Greenberg, each touched on at least one of these topics. Bartos’ presentation began with a recap of the difficulties we all experienced in 2009 and addressed the question, “Where do we go from here?” During her session, Lambert stressed the importance of building trust relationships and provided the formula: Trust = Truth + Time. She also shared the need for search partners to respect the process and develop partnerships with HR counterparts.  And during Greenberg’s session on Friday, he encouraged the audience to speak more positively and expect good things to come. He said to put ourselves in our candidates’ shoes to remember that stress happens on both sides of the table. Remembering things like this helps us to keep our jobs in perspective and remember the importance of that relationship.

General sessions brought topics of business development, closing skills, and personal marketing and promotion. Presenter Tim Tolan shared some of his business development practices with us, including how to know when to walk away from a bad client. He also stressed the importance of reviewing, and if necessary rewriting, your business plan on an annual basis. Carolyn Thompson showed us press kits and some really great ways to market ourselves and gain exposure with our target audiences. Her credibility as a Pinnacle Society member and the fact that she still works a desk while conducting these marketing campaigns was proof that we can (and need to) find time to promote our expertise. The Pinnacle Panel is always a crowd-pleaser – moderated by Jenifer Lambert, participants were given nuggets of wisdom from Dave Staats, Tom Keoughan, Rick Rush, and Fernando Espinosa. Questions coming from the audience ranged from office structure to niche markets to most difficult adversities overcome.

Our break-out session leaders provided workshops on using technology tools, how to take your billings to the next level, developing strategic partnerships, developing a niche, and closing techniques. Many thanks go to these individuals – Neil Lebovits, Rob Mosley, Jeff Skrentny, Paul DeBettignies, Jeff Kaye and Karen Pickens, and Shannon Myers. I did not have the opportunity to attend the pre-conference workshop on sourcing conducted by Shally Steckerl but those who attended it said that it was well worth arriving early for.

Of course, some of the best conversations at these conferences happen in between sessions and at the networking happy hours. I was on a mission to meet as many attendees as possible and ended up in so many interesting conversations. It was fantastic to observe new friendships being forged and to know that at the end of the day, we’re all rooting for each other’s success in our businesses. There was a sense of camaraderie with this year’s attendees – a mutual respect in reflecting back on 2009 and how, even though things got really tough at times, everyone there made it through and is starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Special thanks go to our event sponsors this year – PC Recruiter, TFI Resources,  Big Biller, Top Echelon Network and Top Echelon Contracting, NPA Worldwide, cBizOne, CATS, ZoomInfo, FileFinder, and The Right Thing!. We could not put these events on without you!

We certainly hope you’ll join us for Fordyce Forum 2011 next year. Please stay tuned for more information in the coming months and keep reading The Fordyce Letter. I am looking forward to getting to know all of you!

Tim Tolan landed the cover with his no-holds-barred “10 Lessons Learned in the Search Business” training piece. As he says in the article:

“This is not the time to mask your intentions just to generate an invoice. This is a time when you should take off your billing hat and find ways to deliver meaningful value to your clients.”

Jordan Rayboy’s 2,684-word diatribe on why planning matters, entitled “Proper Planning Prevents Piss-Poor Performance” is literally just a glimpse into his incredibly talented work ethic. (You can also catch him live in June at Fordyce Forum 2009; email me personally at elaine@fordyceletter.com if you want a discount code!).

In his “Pinnacle Perspectives” column, Dave Staats offers a doozy of a question. The reader asked Dave about working a deal that would pay 3% of the first year’s sales, paid quarterly. Is the long-term cash-flow option wise? Or should he just get back on the phone? Even Pinnacle experts like Tim Flanagan, Carol Wenom, Danny Sarch, and others, couldn’t reach a conclusive opinion.

There is much more inside the pages, including articles from Jeff Allen, Jeff Kaye, Barb Bruno, and lots of other leading trainers. The issue is being sent to the printers soon and will land on subscribers’ desks late next week.