Editor’s note: Last week, we gave you part 3 of “The Phone Rang…” Robocruiter series. This week we continue this short series from Bob Marshall with part 4.
To recap, in Parts 1-3 we covered the definition of The Total Account Executive, the analogy between the A/E and the doctor, the ten manifestations of failure due to the lack of commitment, the six reasons why we market and how to market with a Feature-Accomplishment-Benefit format, and the “I have arranged…” technique. So, here we go with Part 4…
Recruitable JOs
When we market we will uncover three distinct types of JOs: Search Assignment (SA), Matching and Can’t Help JOs. This is a ‘given;’ it is indisputable; and we must recognize that fact. If a superstar writes 15 JOs, 0-1 will be of SA quality and recruitable; 4-5 will be matching and semi-recruitable; and 10, or 2/3rds will be of the Can’t Help variety. So, the $64,000 question is: How do you determine which JOs are which? And which are recruitable?
Recruitable JOs – Qualities
- Total and complete information; uniqueness; HM bios – Develop qualities about the JO that make it unique; that give it sizzle. We are going to recruit candidates who are happy, well-appreciated, making good money and currently working and we need something that we can use to entice them to make a move. Stay away from ‘vanilla’ JOs. Also, it is critical that we get HM biographical information. Most placements contain a significant amount of chemistry matching—and this is how we initially find out that information.
- Cooperation – The HM needs to see you as an equal, not as a forced irritant that he must deal with temporarily. Every client-candidate-recruit relationship is equal on all three sides.
- Urgency – It must be urgent; they must be ready to hire NOW – We need a ‘drop dead’ date. If there is no deadline to fill, then there is no urgency. And if there is no urgency, our job becomes very, very difficult and highly problematic.
- Commitment for semi-exclusivity – Semi-exclusivity (including retainer formats), show that the client has ‘skin in the game.’ This is good for us and usually smoothes out the process.
- No resumes – Resumes are in the portfolios of job hoppers, job shoppers and rejects. We find candidates who, as a rule don’t have these. So, by the HM requesting a resume, it only slows down the process. At the very least, stay away from starting the process with a resume. Use a Statement of Match (SOM) instead. Then, after the telephone or face-to-face interview is arranged, you can send all of the resumes your heart desires.
- Hiring Process qualified – Who interviews, when and where; the time between interviews; the time from the last interview to the hiring decision—all of this is critical information, and very professional for you to ask for and for you to know. This needs to be agreed upon at the beginning of the relationship. These are the rules of the game. If you don’t do this at the beginning, you don’t have the right to do this at the end.
How to Qualify the JO
I actually witnessed Robocruiter qualify his Job Orders when I visited his office. This is what happens:
Robocruiter will stop the HM in the middle of taking a JO and say, “I think I can help you, but let me explain to you how I work.” When the HM says that they have worked with recruiters in the past, Robocruiter says, “Well that’s fine, but you have never worked with me, so let me explain the difference.”
“Number One: My service charge is 30% of realistic first year’s earnings. It’s not negotiable. My time is as valuable as the next guy’s—and I’ll need your OK on this today because this will be the last time we will talk about that.”
“Number Two: I offer a 30-day guarantee. If the candidate doesn’t start to work, I will refund the service charge and, if he is terminated, or quits, in the first 30 days, I will credit my service charge toward the candidate’s replacement—and I’ll need your OK on this today because this will be the last time we will talk about that.”
“Number Three: I recruit people who are happy, well-appreciated, making good money and currently working and I entice them to move for a better opportunity (i.e., yours, if you give me the appropriate information to conduct the search). I will not present you job hoppers, job shoppers or rejects—those who are looking at the electronic ‘want ads’ on the Internet. What this all means to you is that I won’t have resumes, or C.V.s, so don’t ask me to send you one because it will only slow down the process and possibly cause you to miss the opportunity of interviewing my highly qualified and desirable candidates while they are available—and I’ll need your OK on this today because this will be the last time we will talk about that.”
“Number Four: All offers need to come through me. I serve the function as a buffer and as an ombudsman during the offer process. Being utilized in this way, I can almost guarantee that an appropriate offer will be accepted—and I’ll need your OK on this today because this will be the last time we will talk about that.”
“Number Five: I will need to take an in-depth job order. This means that we will need to set up a time for me to call you back for this activity to take place—and I’ll need your OK on this today because this will be the last time we will talk about that.”
“Number Six: I will need to arrange a time, after the interview, to share with you candidate feedback. Because you and I are both busy businessmen, we will need to set up an agenda for this post-interview meeting so that it can proceed quickly—and I’ll need your OK on this today because this will be the last time we will talk about that.”
“Number Seven: I will need to be able to contact you in a timely manner and so will need your home phone number should the need arise to reach you after hours. Also we will need to prearrange a time when we can talk (should the need arise) on a daily basis—and I’ll need your OK on this today because this will be the last time we will talk about that.”
“And Number Eight: I will ensure that your Return-On-Investment (ROI) will be in your best interest for the long run.”
“Is all of this clear?”
He says this in a nice, matter-of-fact, way.
The 5 reasons why AEs don’t close
- They don’t feel entitled to close, because they haven’t made a commitment to the business and so never got the information necessary to close at the beginning of the relationship.
- They sometimes agree with the employer’s excuses to delay rather than the recruiter’s need to get a decision. Unfortunately, ‘Time Kills All Deals.’ The more delay, the more likely this situation will not come together for us.
- They fear losing something—usually caused when they don’t have a full hot sheet. We all need 5 full situations or 10 splits on our hot sheets in order to guarantee our success.
- They have a hard time hearing “No.” We need to teach our recruiters that this is not rejection, but a refusal to do business. It’s not personal; it’s just the way business is conducted.
- People, by their very nature, are wishers and hopers. We sometimes think that if we wish and hope hard enough our deals will come together. And sometimes that happens, but this is not a sound business strategy.
The 13 Motivational Paths
- You have to want to be motivated – We need to realize that people do things for their own reasons, not yours. Motivation comes from within.
- Find out what motivates you and do it – Robocruiter used to always say, “If it is to be, it is up to me.”
- Volition, or will-power, to continue to pursue the goal no matter what – Of the 5 qualities we look for in AEs, tenacity seems to stand above the rest. Aesop’s fable of the tortoise and the hare comes to mind here.
- A continued plan for learning – When we stop learning, we regress. All of the big billers I know are great students and eager learners.
- Single out success stories – Remember your successes and relive them. These attributes will anchor positive thoughts in your subconscious. 90% of your brain consists of the subconscious. It believes what you tell it—whether positive or negative—You choose.
- Use motivational tapes – Again, positive thoughts beget positive thoughts. Stay away from the news media, in any of its forms. They are, by their nature, negative and de-motivating.
- Set the example – Be enthusiastic. It’s contagious. We learn best by modeling behavior.
- Advance into new markets; retainers; etc. – While implementing the ‘classics,’ stay on the cutting edge of what we do.
- Listen and talk to the new AEs – The new people need us the most. They want the reinforcement that they are doing a good job and that they are doing it correctly.
- Keep up to date in your industry – Know what’s happening in your niche. Become a Power Broker.
- Focus on end results – Don’t focus on the individual acts that get you to the end result, just the end result.
- Differentiate between being “up” and being “on” – You can only be ‘on’ for short periods of time. You can be ‘up’ much longer.
- Goal set – As a rule, professional and business goals will lead to personal goals. These are the benchmarks that guide our progress.
The 5 things you will lose by implementing these techniques!
In conclusion, keep in mind that those of you who will take this information to heart and strive to become the Total Account Executive, will lose some things with this concept:
- You will lose frustration;
- You will lose incompetency;
- You will lose time-wasting assignments that you should not be working on in the first place;
- You will lose continuous ‘blank’ months.
- And, you will lose the tendency to ‘burn out,’ because the things you most enjoy you never burn out on! Just try to stop eating for a while.
The final part of this mini-series of “The Phone Rang…” will cover “Closes, Closing and The Closing Room.” Until then, strive to be The Total Account Executive!
“The Phone Rang…” by Bob Marshall is a series that defines what we, as recruiters, do for a living. This article series ran in The Fordyce Letter over the past year and we are proud to bring you the series online. To subscribe to the print edition of The Fordyce Letter, click here.