Positive relationships are key to achieving goals

What’s the secret to a recruiter’s success? Is it the ability to produce high metrics? In an industry where metrics are often how we are viewed for our ability to produce, there’s still much more to it. The answer is found within a simple statement.

Success is found in the success of others.

What exactly does that mean? It means that the best recruiters know that achieving their goals comes from helping others achieve success. At the core of recruiting is the ability to develop relationships. The details within those relationships are what differentiate the average recruiter from the A+ players in our industry.

Regardless of whether you are a recruiter working for an RPO, a search firm, or part of an internal recruiting department, the goal is still the same – to generate positive relationships with hiring managers and candidates. The hiring managers seek out the expertise to locate and draw the attention of the top talent in their industry. The candidates, on the other hand, are seeking out a recruiter that takes the time to understand what their career ambitions are and to assist them in making a match with a company that can provide the opportunity to fulfill those goals.

Taking the relationship principle into account, it’s clear that in order to obtain success, you must first make others successful. The hiring manager you helped to fill a position with A+ talent is able to develop a thriving business unit and earns the respect of his colleagues — a direct result of your contribution. The candidate you took the time to understand and place within the right company becomes the future hiring manager, ultimately looking to you to help build the best team. It is a cyclical chain of events.

Now let’s take a look at the details within those relationships. Knowledge, trust, and integrity are at the core of every successful relationship:

• Knowledge: in your relationships with hiring managers and candidates, you must have a level of knowledge about what your clients do. If you can’t speak intellectually about the industry and job requirements,, you’re not fully capable of delivering the best service. There are varying opinions about the level of knowledge you need to have. Most recruiters with the core relationship-building skills educate themselves via Google, trade magazines, and associations. If you are not an expert in the subject matter area, the worst thing you can do is pretend that you know everything. Ask questions. It will go far in building a trusting relationship with your hiring managers and candidates. This leads me to the next quality of a successful relationship.

• Trust: recruiters talk to hundreds of people each week. What differentiates one from the next? Is it that the recruiter persistently called them back ten times before having a live conversation? Maybe, but it takes much more than that. We all have the intrinsic need to trust those with whom we build a relationship. No one wants to invest time with someone whom they can’t trust. If two people do not trust one another, eventually the relationship becomes mutually unbeneficial. Therefore, successful recruiters build strong relationships one step at a time by showing that they can be trusted to do what they say they will. We’ve all heard the saying, “A man is only as good as his word.” Keep it, and you will build a relationship of trust. And if you are proven to be untrustworthy, the relationship will be unsuccessful.

• Integrity: recruiters who succeed understand that one relationship will multiply to ten relationships over time, but this only happens if the recruiter has integrity. When is the last time you referred someone in your network to someone who lacks integrity? You don’t. We only refer people to those who have high integrity because it reflects back on us personally. While trust and integrity essentially go hand in hand, trust is what you obtain in order to have a reputation of integrity.

Recruiters are in the business of building relationships that result in successful people and companies. If it weren’t for the success of others, where would our industry be? Zig Ziglar said it best, “You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want.”

image source: Thomas Cunningham

This week’s inquiry comes from Mary Anderson:

Jeff, I have been an avid reader of The Fordyce Letter and your “Jeff’s On Call!” column for over 10 years. Reading your column has helped me to avoid a number of pitfalls that you never think will happen to you. Your insight and legal knowledge has been very helpful in running my business. I’ve run into a situation that I don’t recall having been addressed in your column before, but I know you’ll have the answer.

I’ve had a signed contract and have made placements with a firm since 2006. I have not made any placements with them for the last few years due to the economy, ever-changing HR personnel and hiring managers, etc.  However, I have always stayed in touch with them throughout these years and sent them candidates for positions that never went anywhere.

A couple years ago, this firm was bought by another firm, but remains a separate entity in name.

About six months ago, I started working very closely with two new HR people and several hiring managers in different locations. I sent them resumes, they interviewed my candidates, etc. etc. During this process, I was informed by one of the HR contacts that the new company had implemented a new HR system that requires all recruiting vendors to use this system for applicant tracking and client management. I was emailed an RFI to complete and return. The RFI was made up of questions only related to my company’s ethics program. Did I have a formal ethics program? Did we do an ethics audit once a year? Did we regularly train our employees on ethics issues. etc. I am a sole proprietor and do not have a formal ethics program, so I had to answer each of these questions “no.” However I added an addendum stating how long I had worked with the company, the names of the employees I placed with them, the hiring managers I worked with closely, and offered additional references.

I received a call from my HR contact and was told that they could no longer work with me because I was determined to be “adverse.” I asked what that meant and the HR person told me she was only the messenger and did not have any further information. I asked for the name of the person in compliance that made this decision and she wouldn’t give it to me. I told her I had an existing contract and reminded her that the firm has continued to accept and interview candidates from me. I told her my reputation was on the line and that it was very important to me to be able to discuss this further. She said she’d do what she could and call me back. She did call me back and said she was told by compliance that even if I talked to them directly, I would get the same answer. This time the HR person used the words “background check.” Well at that point I could hardly talk because I know for a fact that I have a completely clean background whether it be credit, criminal, or otherwise. She also said that the contract I had with them originally was no longer valid because the new firm was using this new system. I proceeded to tell her that the very last statement on the original contract is in regards to Termination Notice, and it states that either party can cancel the contract with prior written notice. I informed HR that I never received written notice.

At that point the HR person asked me to fax her a copy of the original contract and she would send it over to the compliance department. I did that, but have not heard anything back.

Jeff, can a company do this without informing me as to the reason WHY I have been found to be adverse? Although I don’t want to lose this company as a client, I am more concerned about my reputation. I have strong relationships with hiring managers in this company and I don’t know what I’ll have to tell them when they are ready to hire again. This could really damage my reputation. Also, if I knew for a fact that this was based on the RFI responses, I would research to see if there was some kind of ethics program for a sole proprietor, just so I could fulfill their requirements.

Please Help!

Mary

Hi Mary,

Thanks for your most gracious comments. I’m so pleased that you’ve been listening and learning. Your success is our goal!

You shouldn’t have to go through all this turmoil with an obviously misguided client. However, it sounds like it can legally stop working with you for any reason — or no reason at all. That “Termination Notice” requirement just sounds like a formality. Even if you had completed the RFI (request for information) process and the bid was accepted, most of those open bid deals are terminable at will by either party anyway.

I’ve written many ethics codes, rules, and enforcement procedures for our industry trade associations, networks, and franchises. Typically a draft goes to the volunteer “ethics committee” for deep-tissue massaging. So the result is an abstract marketing piece that ensures no member will get nailed, but (they think) sells well to prospective clients and candidates.

The dirty little secret is that prospective clients and candidates don’t want “ethical recruiters.” They want effective ones. (Another is that clients don’t care how much they pay – for results. Junkyard dogs are high billers. They charge and get paid full fees.)  Recruiting reality doesn’t yield to recruiting rhetoric.

Do you want the most ethical lawyer? It’s not that a professional shouldn’t be “ethical.”  It’s that “ethics” is the subjective, daily way that a professional conducts himself.

That’s why my take on this whole “ethics” business is that “professionalism” is synonymous with “personal preference.”

There are four things that might help if you want to continue the relationship (then a fifth if they don’t work):

1. Ask the human resources manager for a copy of some ethics policies they’ve accepted.

State that they can just redact (“excise” or remove) identification of other vendors or any items that don’t apply to you.

That way, you’ll find out immediately whether the background check (if any) really persuaded them, and whether you’re really considered “adverse.”

If you receive samples, just rework them with the same words and phrases. Then submit the policy.

2. Google trade associations, networks, or business groups for codes of ethics (rules of professional conduct, business practice standards, etc.).

All business and professional trade associations have these masterpieces. They’re almost identical.

Just play their silly game. Again, no real-world business obsesses over this stuff.. If they’re in business for a profit, they want the most effective recruiter. Period. They just don’t want to get caught recruiting from a competitor or misrepresenting to a candidate.

They also don’t want to get caught doing what they’re trying to do with you. Because the more they try to monitor the process, the more liable they become for conspiracy. That’s two or more persons doing what neither of them should be doing separately. (Perhaps you can place an employer lawyer over there in the “compliance department!”)

Does that client want to get nailed for participating in a violation of the code of ethics?

3. Ask the human resources manager what he means by “adverse.”

Adverse is a very specific legal word. It’s the first half of the legal phrases adverse impact and adverse party.

In the 1971 landmark case of Griggs v. Duke Power Co. (401 US 424) the United States Supreme Court found that a “facially neutral” (otherwise acceptable) employment practice could be implemented in a way that had an adverse impact (discriminatory effect) on a protected class (racial minority, etc.).

Perhaps the HR or “compliance” folks are just using the word because it sounds like they know more than they do. But it’s worth asking for an explanation of why that five-dollar word is being used to describe you.

Lawyers use the phrase adverse party to refer to the other side in litigation too. Again, why the use of a five-dollar word to describe you?

4. Demand a copy of the “background check.”

Since your business is not a consumer or candidate, there’s no way to compel the documentation without filing a lawsuit.

But it might shake these folks up enough to reconsider their arbitrary decision.

Then, if all else fails,

5. Tell the human resources manager that you’re changing your company policy from “compliance” to “compensation.”

Do this by a “courtesy” phone call. It’s over, and the “ethical” thing to do is tell him why.

When clients start dictating how you are to run your business, you quickly reach a point of diminishing returns. It starts because you identify with a “client” to make placements. You must. How else can you sell well?

But when you’re abused like this, it’s time to go from “professional detachment” to “professional attachment.” To yourself – who you are, what you do, how well you do it, and how little you’re appreciated. That deal is terminable at will for you too. Unfortunately, for them.

That’s about all there is to know here. It sounds like that “client” could really use someone like you.

Hopefully you’ll straighten them out now!

Best always,

Jeff

If you have a legal question you’d like to have Jeff answer here on The Fordyce Letter, check out Jeff’s On Call! and submit your question.

To commemorate the fifth anniversary of my career in recruiting which recently passed, I have shared with you over the past several weeks the five biggest learning lessons I’ve experienced thus far during my time at the Aureus Group. Last week, I shared the story of how I forgot about the relationships that really matter, and how that cost me countless placements. This week, I bring you….

#1 – Story of Losing Faith in an Old Customer

It never fails. Every single time I talk to a prospective member of our esteemed recruitment team here at Aureus Group, I am asked the same question.

“What does it take to be successful at recruiting?”

I have fumbled, mumbled, rambled, and stuttered senseless responses to that questions dozens of times. Andrew, my current recruiting partner and teammate, makes good fun of me because when he asked me this question during his interview, I actually told him, “I have no idea.”

Sorry Andrew, let’s just assume I was having a bad day. After all, when have I ever not had an opinion about anything?

Bottom line, it’s a tough question for me to answer, as you could reach for dozens of legitimate answers that make sense and can be proved true on some level. That being said, there is one possession that I now believe to be of greater value than any other; and It was my lack of this that led to my biggest mistake in five years as a recruiter. It is the virtue of persistence.

We’ve all seen one of those semi-lame motivational posters. You know, there’s the one with the J.R.R. Tolkien quote and the footprints in the sand. Persistence…..”Little by little, one travels far.” Leave it to the creator of “Middle-Earth” to dispense profound wisdom for our usage. He is right though. Persistence=very good.

In our business one must be judicious as to not let persistence become stalking, but there is no real way to teach the difference. If you don’t know it, you are probably a stalker. We all must toe that line in order to be remembered.  If the juice is worth the squeeze, eventually the chase will be rewarded.

This all seems obvious enough though. When has “not giving up” ever failed anyone? Criminals, and miscreants aside, likely nobody. Which is why I always cringe in rehashing my “not so great” moment in giving up on an old key account.

Late in my second year of recruiting I came to a crossroads, though I didn’t really know it at the time, with a former client of ours. I had been calling on this business since I started and had literally nothing to show for it but some good phone time. With a unified front, this organization had denied all my advances to penetrate their defenses. Calling on no less than a dozen hiring managers for nearly two years had amounted to nothing. Nada. Nil. Resigned to defeat I gradually stopped calling entirely.

Several months later, a call came in from the HR Manager of this former client. They needed a payroll manager. Finally! At last, my hard work is going to be rewarded! This former client was now going to be a current client once again! The only problem was that the call was not for me. It was for my teammate. The one that had been calling on this client before me. You see, once I stopped calling this particular hiring manager I was easily forgotten. Meanwhile, my teammate smartly picked up the ball that I had dropped and kept the relationship warm.

The client gave my teammate an order for a payroll manager and we successfully placed not one, but two payroll managers. I watched idly by as this happened, burning inside that I had not stuck with this client. I even had some displaced anger toward my teammate that really had no merit at all. It was not her fault that she did her job and I didn’t. This all occurred at a time when I was teetering on the edge of success and failure in this business, and this was a move in the wrong direction for me.

This situation resulted in plenty of internal thought about whether or not I had what it took to be successful in this business. Gradually, I began to own my mistake a bit more, at least to the point where I realized that I controlled what happened to me. Simply put, I lost faith that the calls I was making were moving the needle towards something positive.

Later that same year, my teammate went on to make two more, higher level placements at this company. We had billed them almost $100k and I was not a part of that at all. Perhaps I was never meant to get those placements and my teammate was. Perhaps this client simply worked better with her and I was not going to convert with these hiring managers anyway. Any of those possible realities are tough pills to swallow, but what hurts the most is that I will never really know. I didn’t stick around long enough with them to find out.

As much as I was happy for my teammate to convert on the placements, I was upset that it was not me. My competitive nature would not allow any other emotion to prevail.

On the outside, I know I have certainly made mistakes that have had larger and more negative ripple effects. After all, my team made the placements in this case. I was the only person affected negatively. I value teamwork and a “sum of all parts” ideology very much, but you must convert on your own opportunities to be successful in this business. I preach to the newbies in our office that “controlling the controllables” is paramount. Have a plan, put forth good effort, have strong ethics, have good follow-through, and you are likely to be good at this. Add in some natural ability to create real rapport and you can be great. Within that is the virtue of persistence. The road in recruiting is not paved in gold, and even within the most successful times we are bound to encounter great challenges to our faith and resolve to get the job done right. The only way through that is by pressing on.

As a matter of poetic justice, this client is now under my supervision once again, and we have not billed them since I took over. One thing I know for certain is that I will keep calling this time around. Additionally, I have an answer locked and loaded for every time I get the question of, “What does it take to be successful at recruiting?”

In summary, here are lessons I learned from mistake #1:

• Persistence in combination with solid ethics is the greatest determinant to success in our business, and maybe any other as well
• Never stop calling on past clients unless they go out of business. Even if you are not getting job orders, those relationships will matter at some point for you.
• Finally, know the difference between persistence and stalking. But if you must, err on the side of stalking. Just not the creepy kind.

Here is a recap of this very humbling Top 5:

#5 – Story of the “One Year Search”

#4 – Story of the Email that Got Me Fired

#3 – Story of the Botched Salary Negotiation

#2 – Story of Forgetting about the Relationships that Really Matter

#1 – Story of Losing Faith in an Old Customer

This list is bound to look different a year from now as I will continue to forge boldly ahead into new missteps. I pray my mistakes continue to be vastly outnumbered by proper execution of my job. I hope that this mini-series has helped you to avoid some pitfalls in our profession that are all too common.

The Recruiter Chronicles will return shortly with perspectives from two “Million Dollar Producers” that you will not want to miss.  Stay tuned…

image source: Zach Klein

By Danny Cahill

Since my divorce two years ago, I have become good at resisting men, and I have always been good at resisting headhunters, so when you put the two together, a male headhunter has no chance with me. They want to know if I am happy. Would I like to hear about a dream job? I know why they call—I am a successful software sales rep with a massive network of clients, and I’m an attractive woman. I don’t think much about happiness anymore. And I don’t deal in dreams. So I don’t return their calls.

Except Harper.

Harper Scott gets to me. He placed me once eight years ago when I was first learning how to sell software, and then again years later when my boss at the time started taking clients away from me because I was out earning him. Harper has been a successful headhunter for a long time. He seems to know everyone in my market space, and everything that is going on. Harper is connected. But that’s not why he gets to me.

“Casey, it’s Harper. I refuse to say my last name because that would imply you know and love another Harper, and that would kill me. Do you really think you can get away with this shabby treatment? You don’t send funny emails, you don’t call. I am seriously considering starting a relationship with you just so I can break up with you and have you know my pain.”

Okay, I admit it, I giggled. I’m 34. I thought I left giggling behind.

“Look, I can’t get in to this on voice mail. Call me. Notice I am not leaving my number. If you don’t still have it, all is lost.”

I told myself to ignore his message. Let it settle. I’ve been at my job for just over a year, and calling Harper back would mean getting caught up with the drama of interviews and the inevitable subterfuge with my current boss to make myself available. Why bother? Let it go.

So I held out. For about another four minutes. I got his voice mail and a few minutes after that his executive assistant, who irritated me because she sounded perky, (and the fact that I had no right to be irritated made me more irritated) called and said Harper wanted me to meet him at 1 p.m. sharp at Max’s Oyster House on West 76^th Street the following Tuesday.

I convinced myself that morning that I was dressing in order to make a good impression on the CIO that my sales engineering team and I were doing a demo for that afternoon.  But why was I reaching for the black, form fitting cashmere sweater, the charcoal grey skirt that even I, as my backside’s biggest critic, know hangs and clings in a flattering way? Why am I putting my hair up and exposing my neck? Why am I giving this account the full “Surprise, I’m very corporate, very astute, and wicked hot” look? Oh, what a coincidence, I pretended to recall, I have that meeting with Harper before the demo. Only those in commission sales and the divorced have such powers of delusion. They are essential tools of survival.

I sat in the restaurant for 10 minutes before Harper showed.  Harper plans every move he makes, and nothing is more fiendishly calculated than his penchant for making everything look unplanned.  Harper must be 40 or thereabouts now, but could easily pass for younger. Flecks of grey accent the brown hair, and at 6 feet, he is still at fighting weight, shoulders broadened by daily free weight and Nautilus toil, waist impossibly narrow from small, frequent high protein meals and miles logged on a treadmill. Eight years ago, when we first met, I came back from lunch and my friend Hannah asked me what he looked like, and I said, “Big in the right places, small in the right places,” and she understood immediately. Somehow, he looks even better now.  Harper seemed to be at home no matter where he was. He seemed to have all the answers. But as I locked in and looked him straight in the eyes, the same way I start any meeting, I didn’t know for the life of me why I was there and what questions I had.

Harper folded his hands, placed them under his chin, rested his elbows on the table, and took  the kind of beat actors take before delivering their big speech.

“You’re wondering why you’re here. You’re a busy person, you’re not looking for a job, you’re feeling vaguely guilty about meeting with a headhunter on company time. And yet, it’s so good to see me. Am I right?”

“About everything except the ‘it’s so good to see you’ part.”

“I’m shattered.”

“Bounce back, Harper. I agreed to see you because I’m in town rolling out a demo for an insurance company at 2:30 and because I was curious to see if you had gone to seed yet like most guys your age.”

“And have I?”

“Not quite.”

An impossibly cute waitress who was all of nineteen excused herself for interrupting, took our drink orders, and told us the specials. Harper asked her how she was doing, and told her he was a headhunter and when she graduated she should look him up. She beamed. I rolled my eyes.

“You’re pathetic.”

“Six degrees of separation,” he shrugged. “My network is my lifeblood. It is ever expanding; it never sleeps. You don’t know who she knows.”

“I’m ready for your pitch now, Harper.  By the way, I Googled you this morning.”

“Isn’t that eerie? I Googled me this morning too. Any new entries since 7 am?”

“Oh God. I was going to congratulate you on making partner, but to hell with you.”

I always do this with men. It’s a problem.  I remember what I like about them and forget the down sides. Harper’s ego was a bit much, and then, he redeemed himself. He took out his wallet and showed me the latest pictures of his daughter, Jess. I raved, which I would have done anyway because she really was fabulous.

“A teenager already. Has it really been that long since you tried to recruit me?”

“Don’t remind me. Soon it’s nothing but boys. Then the lying starts.”

“She may not end up that way, Harper.”

“I’m talking about me. I’ll totally lie if it keeps her away from boys.”

Harper shifted his hips and leaned back, and I could tell this marked the end of the icebreaking. At the end of the day, he was here to qualify a prospect that could make him money. I would be well served, I repeated to myself, to keep that in mind.

“So, here’s what my research associate tells me. Nineteen months ago you’re one of SAP’s resident stars. Big territory, established key accounts, and three direct reports that you were getting overrides on. W2 of over 330K. In software sales, it doesn’t get any better. You leave and end up at an underfunded supply chain company where you’ll be lucky to make 225K. It doesn’t add up, Casey.”

“I’m not going on any interviews, Harper. I like my job.”

“Were you sleeping with the boss? Was that it?”

“What?! John was sixty three. He had yellow teeth and eyebrows so close they looked like a headband.”

Harper shook his head with disdain. “So then, what? It doesn’t add up and you know it.”

I promised myself I wouldn’t share this. A solemn promise, made at my bathroom mirror just five hours ago, now waffling gently out the restaurant’s open windows.

“I got divorced, okay? Don’t look at me like that. It’s not that shocking.”

“No, what is shocking is my research assistant missed that. I’m going to have to fire her, and then hire her back right away because I’d be lost without her.”

“It’s no big deal. We had no kids; we both had careers. We evaluated, we made a choice, we negotiated and distributed our assets, and we moved on.”

“Well, look at you and your stiff upper lip. No collateral damage, no scar tissue?”

“Absolutely none.”

“Did you shake hands and say, good luck?”

“We did in fact shake hands. One folded over the other, like Clinton used to do. Then he said, ‘Godspeed.’”

Harper leaned back. “He actually said the word Godspeed?” I’ve never been able to work that word into a sentence. That’s fantastic! So you’re fine? No residual sadness?”

“Nope.”

“No regrets about losing your prime years?”

“I’m suddenly regretting this lunch, but no.”

Our waitress bought me some time by asking if we had any questions. Neither of us had really looked at the menu, so we both agreed to the halibut when she raved that it was “phenomenal.” Harper was a sucker for enthusiasm in any and all forms, and he clapped his menu shut for emphasis to show how bought in he was to the halibut and its magical pesto sauce. I felt like I should leave, that leaving would be a sign of wisdom. I reached over for my jacket on the chair next to me, slipped my Blackberry out, and turned the power off.

“You turn thirty five soon, right? That’s typical of my research associate; she gets the birthdays and doesn’t update the marital status. So if you’re going to have a family, you need to pick one of the many guys I’m sure you’re dating, shorten the engagement, and abandon all birth control.”

“I’m not focused on that right now, Harper.”

“There are guys, right? You’re beautiful, you’re smart, and you don’t need their money. I imagine your social life is exhausting.”

His charms had run their course. I was now officially angry. What is the matter with me that I would subject myself to this?”

I started gathering up my things. I was going to walk out of there an absolute ice queen. I wasn’t going to show him anything.

“Have your research associate delete me when you get back to the office. If you would.”

“Two minutes.” I looked at him with the stock, half querying, half irritated way I would look at Donald when he would leave wet clothes in the dryer. Men hate this look, so I keep it near me at all times. “Give me two minutes and this meeting will have been worthwhile for you, whether you eat or not.

And as if on cue, the food came. I wasn’t going to let our waitress think I had been hurt or was weak in any way, and I couldn’t very well exit I  while Miss Teen America was warning me the plate was “super duper hot.” I sat down.”

He cut his food slowly and didn’t look up while he spoke.

“Thank you. Answer me this, and remember, I only have two minutes, so don’t over think it. You traveled 85% of the time.  He was home, a desk jockey. May I assume he cheated on you?”

Oh, what the hell. Could it be I want to talk about this?

“Yes. He did. Apparently for a long time.” I will not cry. I will not turn this arrogant headhunter into Barbara Walters.

“And if one of your friends knew? If I knew? Would you have wanted to know?”

“Yes.”

“You’re sure? It’s touchy. You reconcile and then the friend or friends who told you are the bad guys on the wrong team.”

“So they said. They were wrong. They should have trusted that I would never blame them.”

“I agree with you. In fact, if you ever find out my wife is cheating, let me know.”

“Right after I reassure her nobody in the world would blame her.”

He smiled wanly, and then a sigh, a slow, dense sigh. Suddenly he didn’t want to be here.

“You’re getting fired, Casey. Your manic depressive owner, Tynan, is bringing in a new EVP, and he’s going to clean house. Replacing the whole sales force. He starts in six weeks. I’m sorry.”

“How do you know?”

Harper nodded. “I placed him. Tynan gave me the search four months ago to replace your boss.”

“And you tell me now?”

“I told you. I didn’t have to. Ethically I shouldn’t be telling you now. Look, Casey, your boss was going to get fired; someone was going to get that search. Any new EVP is going to bring in his own people, and you were going to be replaced. Because it’s me, you are the only one in the sales force who knows. You have at least three or four months  to prepare and plan, and find a job, and it will be better. All because of me. Because I care.”

I was twirling linguini drenched in pesto sauce with my fork. My stomach felt like it had jumped off a bridge, leaving a note under a small rock that outlined how wearying it was to continually be filled and emptied, filled and emptied. What was the point? I lowered my fork.

“Stomach, right?” Harper said. “It’s usually the first responder to this kind of news.” I nodded.

“Look, Casey, this is a good thing. You’ll get out before they let you go; you’ve got track record, leverage. In the long run, this is the best thing that could happen to you.”

“Oh save it, Harper. Really. Every time something bad happens to me, I am surrounded by people telling me it’s the best thing that could have happened to me. And always by people who are not affected, who don’t have to wait for it to become, in retrospect, a great thing to have happened. Donald falls in love with a co-worker’s wife, a woman I introduced him to, and it’s a good thing because he didn’t love me, and now I can find someone who does. The fact that their affair humiliated me at work and made my cushy job that I had killed myself for over a decade to attain, untenable, was a good thing in the long run, because at a new company there’d be no ghosts, no gossip. And now that I have picked myself off the floor, now that I am established, albeit at a crappy company, now that I have made the best of my reduced circumstances, they are being taken away and I have to hear that it’s the best thing for me. You know what? It’s not. It’s not good that I’m going to be out of a job; it’s not good that I don’t have any dates with any men; it’s not good that I only go out to eat for business; it’s not good that I am in sweats all weekend and am addicted to Court TV and hi glycemic foods. It’s not good, Harper. It is the exact opposite of good, and I would only ask you to let me have that for just a while!

Is that too much to ask?”

“How is everything, you two?” said the reigning Miss Teen America.

“It’s good,” I said.

“No,” Harper nearly bellowed, “it’s not. It is the opposite of good, and we would just like to experience the food’s opposite goodness for a while. Is that too much to ask?” Miss Teenage America withdrew, slightly dazed.

“You’re an idiot, Harper.”

“Yes, but an empathic, listening idiot.” He gave me the kind of smile that made me want to feel better for him, so that he’d keep smiling. My whole life has been spent doing whatever I need to do to keep men smiling.

“So now what?”

“You need to read my book.”

“You wrote a book?”

“Does that seem inconceivable?”

“On getting a job in software sales?”

Harper winced. “Writing a simple book on getting a job is not going to get me on the Times bestseller list and Oprah’s couch. It has a far more ambitious scope.”

“What’s it called?”

For some reason, Harper didn’t think I would ask a question so granular.  Within a second, he haltingly said, “It’s called, I uh, have decided to call it, Harper’s Rules: The Headhunter’s Guide to Love and Career.

“You’ve written no such book, have you, Harper?”

“I certainly have, and I find that insulting. Now, to clarify, I haven’t written it in the sense of having actually committed words to paper in some structured, organized form.”

“In what sense then, given that tiny distinction, would it qualify as a book?”

“Continued ridicule will take you right off the dedication page and onto the bottom half of the names in the acknowledgements.  Here’s the deal. You wanted to hear a pitch, here it comes: I’ve been a headhunter for 20 years. I interview, I evaluate, I dig deep because I need to know how people make decisions. If they don’t accept the job, I don’t get paid. And here’s what I’ve learned.

There is no difference between making decisions in your career path and making decisions in your romantic life.

It’s the most natural analogy in the world, and one every headhunter uses. We all know an interview is like a date, that we seek attractive jobs using the same skill we use to find a mate. The best relationships come from referalls from friends, not from postings, giving notice feels like breaking up, and as you now know….getting fired feels like you’ve been cheated on. Get the premise or do I go on?

I had to admit I had often felt, when deep into the interview process with a company, that I was sizing up the various staff members I met: how they would be to sit near, how dull or funny they seemed, the feel of the office zeitgeist. It was like walking into a party.

“My book is meant for someone just like you. You are the prototype; you are my target audience. Usually, we’re happy in our relationships but our career is in trouble, or we love our job and are conspicuously successful, but our home life is terrible, so we gravitate toward the positive reinforcement of work, and the problem gets exacerbated because our loved ones feel ignored.”

I put my napkin on the table and folded my hands in front of me. It was my way of admitting I was guilty as charged.

“I find there are only two types: the type that knows how to manage a career move, and the type that knows how to manage their personal lives. Precious few have done both. Do you agree?”

I would have liked nothing better than to shoot Harper down, but my thoughts flashed to the evenings on the road, sitting at a Marriot bar with the road warriors, and how quickly the conversation descended into the ingratitude of the spouse left at home or the unfair expectations of a CIO changing the specs of an order, and how easily, given enough alcohol, the conversations steered toward the choice of covering each other, just for the night, in the simple, empty blanket of a sexual encounter. I had never been seriously tempted, but I had felt truly sorry for many of them. Near the end with Donald, I found myself the one with the horror story, the impossibly positioned victim. This is not to say I didn’t know marriages that did work, but if Harper was talking about the world’s work force at large, I would have to agree. Not too many happy people. I conceded with a nod.

“My book’s ambition is to point out how, if you understand the correct way to get a job and manage a career, the power of the analogous relationship between who you love and what you do cannot be separated, becomes synergistic, and creates a new you. One who is whole; one who is real. Wouldn’t it be nice to wake up in the morning and not have to make a distinction between what your life is and who you have to pretend to be?”

“Is that how your life is, Harper? You never talk about your personal life.”

“This is about you. You need my book, Casey. You need a new career, and you need to stop living without love. The two can be done at one time.”

“If you ever write the book.”

“I believe I’ve just started.”

Reprinted by permission of Greenleaf Book Group. Excerpted from Harper’s Rules: A Recruiter’s Guide to Finding a Dream Job and the Right Relationship. Copyright 2011 Danny Cahill.

Our previous three articles have focused on “how” to develop exclusive client relationships. In this article I will provide a summary of the questions from the near record number of calls and emails I have received in response to those articles.

Q: Are there different types of exclusive agreements?

A: Yes, but in all cases, the term “exclusive” must be clearly defined. As an example, there can be many variations of exclusive contingency agreements. Some agreements are designed to prevent the client from working with other staffing services and/or from advertising the position (including on their web site or on the Internet). Other exclusive contingency agreements state that all candidates, including internal candidates and employee referrals, are considered to be candidates of the staffing service and are processed accordingly. These variations may also exist in certain retainer agreements. Therefore, it is imperative not to assume anything where exclusives are concerned. In your written agreement with the client, you must spell out in specific terms exactly what is and what isn’t covered by your exclusive relationship.

Q: What is the key to getting your client’s agreement to an exclusive relationship?

A: Although clients may carefully weigh several factors before agreeing to an exclusive relationship, in most instances, the factor they consider to be most important is whether or not you can deliver, i.e. fill the position(s) within an acceptable period of time. Selling it is one thing. Delivering it is quite another. If you are sincere about developing exclusive relationships, take an honest look at your service delivery processes.

Remember

Clients do not grant exclusives because you are just like your competition. Clients grant exclusives because they see you are different (better) than your competition. And being better is not a factor of salesmanship. Being better is a factor of workmanship.

Q: Is it absolutely required that an exclusive relationship be defined by a writing agreement?

A: In life there are very few absolutes. However, in our business, this is as close to an absolute as you will find. If you have a client who is hesitant to sign an agreement that confirms the specifics of what they have already committed to, you have to question their motivations. This is the “point of no return.” However, it may have more to do with “how” you asked for an exclusive than it has to do with the client’s motivation. Positioning is critical. Consider the following:

“In order to meet your needs in a timely manner without compromising processes or selection criteria, we need to make a mutual commitment of resources. This commitment should be in writing and include a provision for an exclusive working relationship. To proceed on any other basis would not make good business sense for either of us. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Learn how to present the concept of “exclusive relationships” in a manner that makes sense to your client. If they do not see the benefits in granting you an exclusive, they will not agree to it.

Q: Should all my orders be on an exclusive basis?

A: You should work on an exclusive basis only those orders that are properly qualified and only if you are prepared to deliver on your promises. Most contingency orders do not meet the basic qualifying criteria for exclusivity because of one or both of the following reasons:

1. The prospect/client has already given the order to several other recruiting firms and/or has developed alternative sources for candidates.
2. The client is unrealistic in their candidate selection criteria or simply not in a position to attract the level of candidate they require.

Remember

There is one thing worse than working on a poorly qualified order and that is working on a poorly qualified order that you have on an exclusive basis.

When you work on an exclusive basis, you must perform. Your client justifiably expects you to perform and to do otherwise will place your relationship in jeopardy. Therefore, as with any commitment, do not enter into it lightly. Know your capabilities. Have in place objective standards for measuring each business opportunity. Understand how and when to properly position the concept of exclusive relationships. Most importantly, build a reputation for delivering on your promises.

As always, if you have questions or comments about this article or wish to receive my input on any other topic related to this business, just let me know. Your calls and emails are most welcome.

View the whole ‘Exclusives‘ series:

1. The Power of Exclusives
2. The Presentation
3. The Written Agreement
4. Q&A and Final Thoughts

To commemorate the fifth anniversary of my career in recruiting which recently passed, I have been sharing the five biggest learning lessons I’ve experienced thus far during my time at the Aureus Group. Last week, I shared the story of botched salary negotiation that cost me a fee. This week, I bring you…

#2 – Story of Forgetting About the Relationships That Really Matter

So, imagine this scenario, if you will. You spend years building relationships with HR partners and business line managers in an organization. Your team makes hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of placements, assisting in building entire teams along the way. This is made possible, due in part, because of the 100% trust amongst everyone involved in the process — especially between you and HR.

Then one day, the rules of engagement are changed forever. HR separates from recruiting, and in comes Talent Acquisition (TA). You have no relationships with anyone on this TA team, and have to start from the ground up with one of your firm’s best clients. On top of all of that, they tell you that you can no long talk to hiring managers in an effort to earn search assignments. All communication is to be routed through TA. In an instant, the partnership that took years to build is now an opposing force.

Scenarios like this play out all the time in our industry, and we must come to grips with the fact that not every relationship we have will be great. If the juice is worth the squeeze, however, we must find a way to build bridges and not blow them up — even though all of your instincts may be telling you to just light the match and move on.

This scenario happened to me, and it led to my second biggest mistake in five years as a recruiter. Take a few moments to live it with me, and hopefully we can learn how not to let it happen to you.

We have all been deeply affected by the credit and financial crisis of 2007-2008. Personally, professionally, or otherwise. Those years have left their stamp on every person you know. Our client in this case was a very large financial organization in the midwest and certainly felt this landslide.  In late 2008 we began to hear rumblings and grumblings that, among other fairly significant changes, HR was being overhauled. Specifically, as it related to how we worked with them, Talent Acquisition was changing. There was to be fewer vendors, an RFP was on the horizon, and HR was leaving recruitment. A new Talent Acquisition team was being hired and would direct all recruiting.

This was a perfectly cogent strategy, to be sure. I am not one of those recruiters who thinks HR and Talent Acquisition are the axis of evil in our client companies. I truly believe that we must work together with HR and TA to provide the best possible resources for the real “buyers” of our services, the hiring managers. This can only be accomplished with unilateral respect for one another, and an understanding of what produces the best possible results.  So, I moved in this new direction still feeling good about the partnership. What came next changed that feeling for good.

The new Talent Acquisition team was announced, and we took that opportunity to meet with them. Shortly into that meeting it became clear the changes were much more than we had anticipated. The most significant was the “lockout” between our recruitment team and hiring managers at this organization. In fact, they voiced significant displeasure at known conversations we had with hiring managers leading up to this meeting. It was clear that this group, for better or worse, was hell-bent on making big changes. They wanted total control over the engagement process, and this was not a negotiable point. Furthermore, they made it very obvious that the ‘gravy train’ was coming to an end, and placements through us and other staffing firms were going to be dramatically reduced.

So, at the end of this meeting, three very clear directives were put in front of us:

1. Do NOT contact hiring managers.
2. Do NOT expect much future business.
3. WE will contact you when we have a need.

In return, we were given assurance that we would be on the short list for vendors moving forward, and than an RFP to formalize this process was forthcoming.

So, I played ball. From that point forward, I only called TA. The MPC calls I used to make to my hiring manager contacts, I now made to TA. This quickly grew tiresome. In fact, I mostly felt they were not even paying attention at all. Several frustrating months went by and the job orders had dried up entirely. At this point I had mostly written off this former “A” client. But one day, a colleague of mine served notice of the fact that I was not trying hard enough.

“I know you always say that this company is not using recruiters, but you’re wrong.”

“Say what?” Being the stubborn butt-head I can be, I took offense to this assertion.

“Look Nate, we have several candidates that are interviewing at this company through another recruiter. You need to get back in there. We are missing out on placements!”

The words hit me like a ton of bricks. This was the realization that I needed to act the way I should have all along. I picked up the phone and called some of my old contacts. They acted as if nothing had ever changed, and indeed, they were still working with their external recruiting partners. In one particular department, the hiring manager had always used us in addition to one other firm due to close relationships with both. When I had stopped calling, he just kept using the other firm and easily forgot about me. That was a punch in the gut I will never forget. I was disgusted that I had been so silly in letting relationships slip away so easily.

The hiring manager and I talked, and he agreed to give us the search I was hoping to get. We did not make the placement, but the door was open again. In the next several weeks, we got a better understanding of the dynamics of what was going on out there. We gained a clearer idea on how we needed to partner. The hiring managers did not care one iota how they got the talent they needed, just that they got it in a timely fashion. Their beliefs –that 3rd party recruiters were the most effective way to find hard-to-find talent — had been forged over years of experience. They would not be denied this service they always had before. So, they had just kept on working the same channels they always had before.

Over the next few weeks, we re-built key bridges and started anew with this client. We did not forget about the Talent Acquisition team, though. Forgetting about them at this point would serve me about as well as forgetting about hiring managers before. We re-connected with them too, in a different way. We explained to them why it is important for us to maintain relationships with those who own the decisions and the process. We promised to keep TA as partners and in the loop with every thing that we did. More importantly, we allowed TA to keep the hammer they needed to have. We committed to allow TA to formalize any search agreement between us. This was a perfectly amicable agreement, and we all seemed to benefit from the results.

At present day, this client is continuing to be redeveloped, and the relationships are getting stronger with all key parties. In reflecting back on everything that transpired, here are the lessons I learned from this experience:

• Strive for open communication with the true decision makers. These are the individuals who can actually buy what you are selling. Anything less than this is not a true partnership.
• In the face of HR or Talent Acquisition opposition, work to create an understanding of why it is important for you to have open access to hiring managers. In return, commit to these professionals that they will always be kept in the loop, and ultimately will have the control over processes that they are being directed to have.
• Creating true partnerships with clients requires 360 degree understanding of each other and respect for the processes that matter most for getting results.
• Never turn your back on relationships that have helped you in the past.

Next week I will share my #1 mistake from the last five years of recruiting. Stay tuned!

Lemonade was the theme of our last Fordyce Letter article (Lemonade, Anyone? From the January 2011 issue). We were happy to share the three main strategies we implemented when a down economy really forced our hand, driving a change from a salesperson-driven culture to one more affordable and still focused on new business development, but sans salesperson. To recap, our three “Lemonade” initiatives were:

1. No more salespeople. Our traditional staffing coordinators are now relationship experts — not only with applicants and contract employees, but also with prospects and customers. Their relationships, and strategic business development goals, drive new business development.
2. A bigger, friendlier brand presence with customers. We continue to be the “little staffing company that helped.” We don’t want the lack of dedicated salespeople to create a vacuum, so we continue to stay very active in personal relationships, educational marketing initiatives, and social media, to stay top-of-mind in a truly helpful way.
3. A more engaged, relationship-oriented presence continues to be our recruiting strength as well as a sales strategy. Since the Lemonade article in January, we have continued to avoid paid recruiting advertising and stayed focused on the more personal touch — including all forms social media, referral programs, job fairs, and other old-fashioned recruiting methods. We even resurrected the “Now Hiring” job flyers — they work in our market!

As we continue to make “lemonade” and improve and strengthen our relationship-based, social media-driven methodologies, we were delighted when one of our longtime clients asked us to bring those tools to the table when they threw a huge party — in honor of BURYING the recession. Here is a “When the economy throws you a curve ball, make Jambalaya” story that I hope makes you smile. Thanks to our client, OEM Fabricators in Wisconsin, for allowing us to be a part of this event and share the story.

****************

May 19th, 2011 marked a new era for Wisconsin businesses and their partners. We were curious, and a bit excited, when we first heard that our Wisconsin client, OEM Fabricators, was throwing a big, New Orleans-style funeral PARTY for the recession. When we talked with OEM’s management about the idea, we got even more excited.

We have worked with OEM, and with many other local manufacturing firms, for years. These last three years have been tough ones. In 2008 and 2009, our clients simply weren’t hiring at the pace they had been — and many were laying off. Then, in 2010, several clients started to see upticks in hiring, and we were there to help put people back to work. In 2011, while many companies still have a journey ahead of them to get to pre-2008 sales and staffing levels, things are looking up. How refreshing it was to have been a part of this party, a funeral in name only, as hundreds of folks gathered to say “Enough!” and put the recession behind them.

We placed flowers on the gravesite of the recession to signify NEW growth and opportunity.

Mark Tyler, President of OEM Fabricators, said it well, in his “eulogy”:

I am asking you to dig deep and muster your most positive attitude! I am asking you to join me in declaring this thing dead! I am asking you to look forward, not back, with hope and aggressive action to make our economy, our outlook, our future incredible. Don’t let the naysayers hold you back! We in manufacturing have been being told for years how we are has-beens. We have been told that we are leaving the U.S. economy for greener financial statements. I say, get your head out of your past, and pay attention! Manufacturing . . . is leading the way in Wisconsin and across the US out of the now dead recession.

So we join OEM and other local businesses that refuse to listen to the news and are instead moving boldly ahead to create jobs. And I reach out to other local companies, who may still be struggling to bury their own economic woes—we’re here to help, however we can. We see significant hiring increases and good economic signs from where we sit, and we hope you do, too.

Oh, and the jambalaya was great!

Have you done anything fun and unique with your clients or your local community to celebrate their hiring and/or job growth? Share some of your stories in the comments below!

The agreement to work on an exclusive basis with your client can be confirmed either verbally or in writing. However, as a wise man once noted:

“Verbal agreements aren’t worth the paper they’re written on.”

The exclusive relationship is established verbally but should be confirmed in writing and signed off by both parties. If you are dealing with a reputable client who is sincere about utilizing your services on an exclusive basis, there should be no valid reason why they would not sign a document that confirms that to which they have already agreed. Therefore, we will concentrate on written agreements.

In the process of establishing an exclusive relationship you must determine:

1. What elements of an exclusive relationship hold the greatest value for your client.
2. The viability of the job specifications and the selection criteria.
3. The level of time, energy, and resources required from you to effectively meet the client’s needs.
4. The level of process adaptation required to effectively and efficiently service this client.
5. From a potential employee’s perspective, the attractiveness of the client’s organization and the positions on which you will be working.
6. If prior experience or activity on the opening(s) will unnecessarily restrict the nature and scope of your efforts on their behalf.

Once these points have been clarified and you and your client have agreed to work on an exclusive basis, you need to construct the written agreement. Written agreements should be developed and signed whenever you establish a relationship that can be classified as an:

• Exclusive Contingency
• Engagement Fee or Partial Retainer
• Standard Retainer
• Recruiting Services or Hourly

All of these agreements may include many of the standard provisions you currently have in your normal fee agreement. Additionally, the agreement should:

1. State that the person signing the agreement is authorized to bind the client’s organization to the terms of the document.
2. Establish that the services will be provided on an exclusive basis.
3. Outline the process that will be followed, as well as mutual responsibilities and specific accountabilities.
4. Define how internal candidates, internal and external referrals (whether solicited or not), and walk-ins (including mail-ins and e-mails) will be processed.
5. Clearly define “what” constitutes acceptable performance on your part.
6. Define whether or not any agreed upon payments are “progress payments” or “installment payments.”

Although most of these agreements can be structured without utilizing an over-abundance of legal terminology or “remedies” clauses, the specific circumstances may require this approach.

Any written agreement should be entered into with caution and therefore you need to pay particular attention to three areas:

1. Be careful when stating specific time or performance provisions.
2. Make certain that all key provisions are in writing.
3. Do not begin your service process until you have a signed agreement and where retainers or engagement fees are involved, a check in hand.

Exclusive relationships that are confirmed with written agreements are not developed easily. However, when properly established and structured, working on an exclusive basis allows you to better focus your resources in achieving results while positioning you as absolutely indispensable to the success or your client’s organization.

If you would like to receive examples of the various agreements that apply to exclusive relationships, just e-mail your request to: Terry@tpetra.com.

As always, if you have questions or comments about this article or wish to receive my input on any other topic related to this business, just let me know. Your calls and e-mails are most welcome.

View the whole ‘Exclusives‘ series:

1. The Power of Exclusives
2. The Presentation
3. The Written Agreement
4. Q&A and Final Thoughts — coming next week…
   

In our previous article we stated that “… exclusive relationships generally produce better results, in less time, while requiring the investment of fewer client resources than traditional methodologies.” However, this is a fact that may not be widely accepted by your prospect/clients. Therefore, in order to sell the concept of exclusivity, whether retainer or contingency, you must understand the justification for establishing such a relationship.

One or more of the following reasons typically provide your prospect/client with the necessary justification:

1. Their sense of urgency places the highest priority on filling the position. The position must be filled right and must be filled now. Little or no margin for error exists with this hire.
2. The difficulty of the search requires a focused resource approach. The required skills and experience are not resident within the readily available candidate pool.
3. The prospect/client does not possess the wherewithal to effectively conduct the search through alternative means. A quantity approach would not only waste time and staff resources, but also would increase the level of frustration and aggravation that comes from being stretched too thin.

Focusing  your marketing efforts for exclusives on prospects and clients where one or more of the above listed justifications are present is just the beginning. Convincing them to grant you an exclusive is quite another matter. Whether or not you receive an exclusive will depend on:

1. The client’s belief that you truly understand the specifics of their needs and the peculiarities of their organization. The development of a comprehensive job description and realistic selection criteria needs to go hand-in-hand with gaining an understanding of the outcomes that must be achieved through this position.
2. The client’s belief that you can access the talent, skills, and experience they require in the desired employee. Your search efforts must go beyond easily identified and readily available candidates.
3. The client’s belief that your service delivery capabilities will produce a successful hire within an acceptable timeframe. They must be convinced that you can orchestrate a process that will result in a successful hire.
4. The client’s belief that the risk they take in granting you an exclusive is well worth taking. They must have confidence in your ability to deliver on your promises.

Obviously, one of the most effective ways of convincing the prospect/client that you can deliver on your promises is to prepare a list of references, i.e. clients who can qualitatively verify your claims. This list should be prepared in advance. Depending on your area of specialization, you may wish to customize it to include companies of similar size and focus as that of your prospect.

Nevertheless, references alone may not be enough to convince the wary prospect/client. Therefore, you need to discuss the details of your service delivery system. You must clearly describe in specific terms “how” you work and the steps you will take to meet your client’s needs. It is in this critical area that most recruiters/consultants lose the sale. You should demonstrate that your process is thorough, systematic, and designed to achieve the desired results while eliminating as much as possible those variables that contribute to hiring error. Many of the following factors could be included in your presentation:

1. The nature of the exclusive relationship allows the client greater control over the search process.
2. Search firm accountability is specific and detailed. No mutual mystification.
3. Initial and long-term objectives become more clearly focused.
4. For the client, a greater understanding should result from both the internal and external factors that may influence the achievement of objectives.
5. Comprehensive job and candidate descriptions will be formulated thereby defining not only the structure and functionality of the position but also realistic, specific, and job-related selection criteria.
6. The search process becomes quickly focused, thereby allowing for an improved allocation of corporate resources, i.e. time, financial, and human resources.
7. The depth and scope of the search will be greater thereby improving the likelihood results will meet or exceed expectations. Search efforts are not restricted to easily identified, readily available candidates.
8. Dialogue and interest can be established with targeted individuals who may not be available through alternative approaches (see previous article, “The Power of Exclusives”).
9. The presentation of the opportunity to the candidates can be handled in a more sensitive, discreet, and objective manner.
10. The closed-loop partnering relationship should help control the potentially negative variables in the hiring process. Expectations can be kept in line with reality. An objective third party perspective adds tremendous value to the process.
11. Candidate acceptance criteria are identified and assistance is provided in formulating an offer that will be acceptable to both parties. Proper handling of the offer is guaranteed, as no offer will be extended until or unless the candidate is pre-qualified to accept it.
12. Comprehensive referencing is performed to help ensure that the candidate selected is qualified to fulfill the responsibilities of the position and properly suited to the client’s organization.
13. A comprehensive strategy for proper onboarding is implemented to insure a smooth transition for both the client and the candidate.
14. Appropriate follow-up involvement with all parties, at proper intervals, facilitates the evolution of a functional and mutually beneficial relationship between the client and their new employee.

If your presentation is delivered in person, the description of your delivery (search) process may include the use of a laptop computer, audio/video equipment, or collateral material. It can be very beneficial to have your process outlined on paper in some form of “leave behind” document. An example of this type of document is a “Search Project Timetable.”

A properly constructed “Search Project Timetable” provides a visual representation of your service delivery system. Additionally, this form can be instrumental in gaining the client’s commitment to work within a structured, partnering process to achieve their desired results. If you would like to receive an example of a “Search Project Timetable” send your request to terry@tpetra.com.

Whether the presentation is made in person or on the phone, in order to gain an exclusive relationship with your client, you must create a belief that the risk they are taking in granting you an exclusive is well worth taking.

As always, if you have questions or comments about this article or wish to receive my input on any other topic related to this business, just let me know. Your calls and e-mails are most welcome.

View the whole ‘Exclusives‘ series:

1. The Power of Exclusives
2. The Presentation
3. The Written Agreement — coming next week…
   
4. Q&A and Final Thoughts — coming soon…
   

The state of the economy notwithstanding, the opportunity to secure business on an exclusive basis may be greater today than at any time in the past ten years. Companies have no margin for error when filling mission critical positions and many of them are choosing to use fewer vendors who can produce better, more consistent results. This presents an increased opportunity to build exclusive relationships with your clients. However, in order to take advantage of this opportunity, you must be prepared to understand and properly present the benefits that accrue for clients through this type of mutually supportive relationship.

The major difference between a contingency client relationship and an exclusive client relationship may have been stated best by a client who said:

“If I understand it correctly, with a contingency relationship I’m in if it works. However, in an exclusive relationship, I’m in and it better work. Does that about sum it up?”

Yes, that about sums it up.

Exclusive client relationships are not for everyone. They require a level of bipartisan commitment that may be uncomfortable for one or both parties. Nevertheless, when the client, position, and timing are right, settling for anything less than an exclusive relationship may prove to be a disservice to everyone involved.

However, give careful consideration to the following.

Fact #1: Exclusive relationships with recruiting firms generally produce better results, in less time, while requiring the investment of fewer client resources (time, energy, and staff) than traditional methodologies.

Fact #2: Most clients and prospects do not understand and/or believe “Fact #1.”

Fact #3: Most recruiting professionals do not know how to make their prospects and clients believers in “Fact #1.”

There are many reasons why exclusive relationships generally produce better results than non-exclusive relationships. However, in this article we will focus on just two and they both relate to POWER, i.e. the ability to generate results that meet or exceed the client’s expectations.

First, in a truly exclusive relationship, you can choose to apply the full resources of your organization in an unencumbered fashion to meet your client’s needs. Assuming you possess and utilize certain base competencies in executing your processes, exclusivity provides you the power to “go to the wall” for your client. With this level of power at your command, along with the necessary commitment and follow-through, you should be able to out-perform any other alternative available to your client. In turn, your client will learn to call you first, to grant you exclusivity, and most importantly, to believe that the quest for organizational excellence is best served through this form of relationship.

Second, in a truly exclusive relationship, you are the only access point to the client’s opportunity. Properly leveraged, this exclusivity can be a tremendous source of power for you when dealing with low-supply, high-demand candidates and recruits. It demonstrates to them that you have a strong trust relationship with your client, a relationship that could hold great value for them as well.

In many instances, these individuals can only be approached in a discreet and confidential manner by a seasoned recruiting professional, one who has earned the right to represent a select client on an exclusive basis. The perceived power you gain from this type of relationship can many times be the deciding factor in whether or not the targeted individual feels comfortable in stepping forward and investigating your client’s opportunity.

In explaining the power that is created through an exclusive client relationship and how it applies to the recruiting process, you may want to use role projection. Here is an example.

“(Client’s name), put yourself in the position of a well qualified individual who receives an unanticipated call from a recruiter. Would you be more or less likely to speak with that recruiter if you knew they were working on an exclusive search for their client thereby providing the security of a closed loop communications process?”

Most clients will respond “more likely” because they recognize the benefit to the potential recruit in terms of maintaining confidentiality as well as being involved in a tight process where as many variables as possible are under the control of the recruiter. You may also add that the only way the client will have an opportunity to interview one of these highly qualified and motivated individuals is if you can recruit them and that process begins with an initial conversation. No initial conversation, no recruit. This is a simple concept – it is easy to understand and that is the very reason it is so effective.

If your clients are interested in getting results on time, every time, without exception, they need to understand the dynamics of power and how it can be utilized for their benefit in the recruitment process.

If you are interested in building and maintaining long-term profitable relationships with your clients, you must learn how to sell the concept and benefits of power; the power that comes from exclusive relationships.

Remember

Power is a factor of perception. If you believe you have power, you do!

By the nature of your role as a recruiting professional, you already have power. However, you cannot fully utilize it unless those with whom you deal perceive your power as being of benefit to them. Only in this manner will you be consistently successful in building exclusive client relationships.

As always, if you have questions or comments about this article or wish to receive my input on any other topic related to this business, just let me know. Your calls and e-mails are most welcome.

View the whole ‘Exclusives‘ series:

1. The Power of Exclusives
2. The Presentation — coming soon…
   
3. The Written Agreement — coming soon…
   
4. Q&A and Final Thoughts — coming soon…
   

This article is from the May 2011 print Fordyce Letter. To subscribe and receive a monthly print issue, please go to our Subscription Services page.