Welcome to The Fordyce Letter:

The Fordyce Letter

Straight Talk for the Recruiting Profession


Articles tagged 'sales'

Ask Barb

Go Global? Develop A Solid 30 Account Base First

by 4 weeks ago


Ask Barb

Dear Barb:

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

Justin G.

Seattle, WA

Dear Justin:

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

Keep reading »
No comments

Business Development

If You Want My Business, Here’s What You Need to Do

by on Mar. 19, 2013


Staffing agency

Editor’s note: Matt Lowney, EVP of talent & operations at The Buntin Group, will be speaking at the 2013 Fordyce Forum.  He’s worked with hundreds of outside recruiters and agencies during his years as a recruiting leader at HealthSpring and DaVita. He’s been pitched so many times he’s lost count, but knows what works and what doesn’t. He’ll share that insight during his Forum presentation and tell you just what you need to do to get his business and how to set yourself apart from the herd.

Staffing agencies struggle to differentiate their brand message and uniqueness in a sea of competition. In my dealings with staffing agencies, their pitches all begin to sound the same, but they also recognize that the sheer volume of competitors makes it difficult to sound different, if they truly are. In most local markets there are a handful of solid players and a larger number of peripheral staffing firms that tend to create the “noise” (read: sales calls).

Here are my thoughts on being a top agency player in your market:

Be different: I harped on this point a while ago, but I challenge any staffing agency that wants to be great to clearly communicate their compelling business case. Talk about your recruiting process, client relations, local market connections, and client successes.

Keep reading »
No comments

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.

Keep reading »
No comments

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.

Keep reading »
1 comment

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.

Keep reading »
2 Comments

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.

Keep reading »
4 Comments

Business, Business Development, Cold Calling, For Managers, Staffing

If You Want My Business, Here’s What You Need to Do

by on Feb. 11, 2013


Try me marketing on billboard

Editor’s note: In a world where corporate recruiting leaders get a call — or more — a day from staffing and search firms pitching their business, how do you get through the noise to land the business? Drawing on his years dealing with recruitment vendors of all types and sizes, Matt will tell you how to reach him and sell him during his workshop at the 2013 Fordyce Forum. 

Try me marketing on billboardStaffing agencies struggle to differentiate their brand message and uniqueness in a sea of competition. In my dealings with staffing agencies, their pitches all begin to sound the same, but they also recognize that the sheer volume of competitors makes it difficult to sound different, if they truly are. In most local markets there are a handful of solid players and a larger number of peripheral staffing firms that tend to create the “noise” (read: sales calls).

Here are my thoughts on being a top staffing agency player in your market:

Keep reading »
4 Comments

Business Development, Cold Calling

Six Steps to Emails That Get You the Call

by on Jan. 24, 2013


fordyce-default

computer-praying_2If you’re in the recruiting business and you’re serious about drumming up new business by tele-prospecting then you absolutely, positively need to integrate emails into your approach to the market. If you compose an effective, eye catching email and combine it with a disciplined telephone follow up program, you will get past more gatekeepers, get more voicemails returned, speak to more decision makers and get more appointments.

This month’s article will show you everything you need to know to get you started and to make you more effective with your tele-prospecting efforts.

IVEMP refers to “integrated voice and email prospecting.” It is the process of combing the visual power of an email with the audio power of a well-crafted voice message, be it a live conversation or a voicemail. IVEMP is NOT about sending email blasts and hoping that you get a response. It is about crafting 1:1 emails, working in small batches and customizing your approach. The emphasis is quality.

Keep reading »
2 Comments

Fees

Placement Fees Are Cheap When You Look At Them This Way

by on Jan. 22, 2013


ken-forrester-large[1]

Employers seldom complain about the services of headhunters, it’s the headhunters’ fee that has become their pain point.

A few months ago I was a presenting at a seminar to about 35 business owners and HR professionals.  The topic of the presentation was “How to Recruit like a Headhunter” and during the presentation I made the statement “If you are not using headhunters as your primary recruitment weapon, then you are not hiring the best talent in-the-market”

One individual took offense to that particular statement and became very irate. He stood up, pointed his finger directly at me and said, “You don’t know what you’re talking about because we hired some pretty good people, and they are working out just fine. And we didn’t use headhunters.”

Keep reading »
46 Comments

Cold Calling, How-To

Kickstart Your Tele-Prospecting With These 10 Tips

by on Dec. 18, 2012


fordyce-default

Note: Jim Domanski will present his popular telephone prospecting workshop at this year’s Fordyce Forum in June. To learn more about this year’s conference check Fordyce Forum 2013.

Here’s the cold, hard truth about telephone prospecting for new business: The real challenge is not the actual call itself, but rather sitting down, picking up the phone, and just doing it!

Once you start dialing, it’s not all that hard. What’s hard is getting started and staying focused. It begins with all the drama and angst that you fabricate before you hunker down to your calls. You worry. You delay. You hem. You haw. You dilly. You dally. You check your e-mails. You get a coffee. Check your e-mails again… Oh… and look at the time? Where did it go?

If this sounds like you then you simply need a process, a game plan, a road map, or system to get you into tele-prospecting shape. You need something that creates momentum. Here are 10 practical tips that can help kick start your efforts.

Tip #1: Schedule Your Cold Calling

Make your business development life a whole lot easier by scheduling your tele-prospecting on a daily basis. Using Outlook (or whatever planning system you have), literally block out when you are going to call. Create an appointment with yourself, and set your alarm. Your appointment is sacrosanct. Nothing should get in the way: not your boss, not a report, not a quote.

Keep reading »
No comments