3 Reasons Why I Love Recruitment

You have to love being a recruiter. Otherwise you wouldn’t last very long!

Let’s face it — recruitment is not as glamorous as it looks. With all the frustration, knock-backs, disappointments, and the constant pressure to perform, it can be pretty tough. Recruitment has often been described as an emotional rollercoaster. One minute you’re jumping for joy, the next minute you feel like you’ve been kicked in the groin.


So why on earth do you do it? Lots of reasons! Here are three good ones…

1. The Money

You’re motivated by money. It’s OK to admit it. The potential rewards in recruitment are phenomenal — top performing recruiters can earn more than doctors, lawyers and accountants. That’s a pretty big incentive, but the reality is that money is only part of the reason you love recruitment.

2. The Buzz

You’re addicted to the buzz. Recruiters run on a mixture of caffeine, adrenaline and endorphins. Think of it… The rush of persuading a new client to give you a job order. The excitement of finding the perfect candidate. The anticipation of booking the interview. The exhilaration of getting the offer. The joy of the candidate accepting the offer! The triumph of getting your commission cheque! Ever since your first taste of success, you’ve been hooked.

3. The People

You’re a “people person.” You get enormous satisfaction from helping others and building relationships. Recruitment really does give you the chance to make a difference. You help your clients to hire great people and grow their businesses. You help your candidates to find out about new opportunities and develop their careers. What we do has a positive impact on people’s lives! And that’s a cool feeling.

There are other reasons why you’re a recruiter. The desire for success, the variety of the work, the satisfaction of winning, the sense of significance, the feeling of contribution, being part of a team, the chance to make new contacts, the ability to determine your own income and take control of your own destiny.
Of course not every recruiter loves recruitment. And nobody loves it all the time — especially not in the moment your candidate has accepted a counter offer or walked off the job on the first day! But the fact remains that you can’t become a Big Biller without feeling passionate about what you.

So why do YOU love being a recruiter? Why have you chosen this profession? How does your success in this business enable you to realize your dreams, goals and desires? By asking yourself these questions every day, reminding yourself of the bigger picture, you’ll develop the determination and mental toughness to deal with any challenge that comes your way.

See more at: http://www.recruitmentcoach.com/3-reasons-why-i-love-recruitment/

The 3 Ways to Differentiate Yourself from the Competition

Most recruiters are desperate for new business right now, which means clients are inundated with calls. As a result, they’re becoming more resistant and less receptive to marketing calls. In order to survive and thrive in the current climate, you need to find ways to differentiate yourself from the competition.

Your goal is for the client to perceive you as the recruiter of choice within your market niche. I believe you have three chances to achieve that goal.

1. Short Term — Make a Positive Impression on the First Call 

The first opportunity to differentiate is the very first time you contact a prospect. Whether your initial communication is a phone call, letter or email, this is your one and only chance to make a positive first impression.

 2. Medium Term — Build Rapport by Following-up on a Consistent Basis 

The second opportunity to differentiate is the way you follow up. After the first contact, every subsequent communication is a follow up.

Having an effective process for following up with your clients and prospects consistently is even more important than having a great call opening. It’s more difficult to differentiate yourself in the first call because you can be the best sales person in the world, but if you are the twentieth person who has called them that day, they may not be in the most receptive frame of mind!

However, here is the “hidden” opportunity: 99 percent of sales people and recruiters are poor at following up. And the follow up is the key to building a relationship. People buy from people they know, like and trust. Especially in a client driven market, they are going to choose the person or the company they have a relationship with. So if you are better at following up, you are going to build a better relationship.

In addition, if you rely on the first contact, you only have one chance to distinguish yourselves from your competitors. But by following up consistently, you have multiple, ongoing opportunities to differentiate.

 3. Longer Term — Develop a Relationship by Delivering Exceptional Service

The third opportunity to differentiate and that is in the service delivery. This is probably our most important chance to differentiate when the client says “yes” and gives you an opportunity to fill a job. Now you can differentiate in several ways:

•  • Your professionalism when writing the job order • How rapidly you respond with relevant candidates 
• • The value that you add to the client’s hiring process — e.g. the advice, expertise and market knowledge that you bring to bear 
• • How confident and competent you are at managing the entire placements process 
• • How much the client enjoys the experience of working with you 
• • Most importantly — by getting results and filling the job!

Next week, we’re going to go into detail about how to open the call in a way that creates an impact and leads to a productive conversation. In the meantime, remember that even if the first call doesn’t go as well as you would have liked, don’t give up! You still have many more chances to differentiate.

See more at: http://www.recruitmentcoach.com/

8 Reasons for Not Accepting a Counter Offer

   1.  Statistics show that if you accept a counter offer, it is highly probably that you will be back on the job market within 6 months.

    2. The underlying reasons that caused you to consider a change are likely to repeat themselves in the future.

    3. What kind of company waits until you threaten to resign before they agree to pay you what you’re worth?

   4. Where is the money for the counter offer coming from? Could it just be an advance on your next rise? Are you ever likely to get another rise again?

5. Your employer is now aware that you are unhappy. From this day on, your loyalty will always be in question.

6. When promotion time comes around, your employer will remember who was loyal, and who was not.

7. When times get tough and your employer makes cutbacks, the people with inflated salaries and a perceived lack of commitment will be the first to go.

8. Your company is likely to being looking for your replacement immediately, in case you decide to resign again.

About the Author

Mark Whitby is the leading sales performance coach to the UK recruitment industry. He’s the best selling author of 12 audio training CDs, and delivers in-house recruitment training seminars throughout the UK and Europe.

Mark has over 12 years experience of sales, marketing and business development in both the UK and North America. Since 1997 he has recruited and trained hundreds of salespeople from trainee to director level. His clients range from small independent recruitment companies to some of the biggest names in the recruitment industry.

Over 83% of Mark’s revenue comes from repeat business. That’s because he gets measurable results for his clients in the form of increased sales, higher profits, improved staff motivation and retention. And he’s the only recruitment trainer who offers a money back guarantee.

Mark is the creator of Big Billers ClubTM – the world’s first monthly coaching programme for recruitment professionals. Every month hundreds of recruiters dial into his popular teleconference training sessions from the convenience of their own office.

Mark also provides a telephone mentoring service for owner/managers of recruitment companies who want to “work less and make more.”

For a F.REE Audio Seminar called: How to Overcome Fee Objections: 23 Great Answers for when Your Client says ‘You’re too Expensive’ visit: www.RecruitmentCoach.com

For more information about training and coaching, please call Mark’s personal assistant Julie today on 0800 019 8899. International enquires dial +44 131 664 8064.

The 10 Characteristics of a Qualified Vacancy

• You have taken a detailed job order.
• Terms of business have been agreed, ideally at full fee!
• You will get a reasonable reward (fee value) for the time & effort required.
• The vacancy exists, and has been signed off.
• The vacancy is URGENT.
• The candidate exists – i.e. the client has realistic expectations.
• You have decision-maker contact
• Co-operative employer – will return your calls, provide good feedback,
• interview your candidates, etc.
• Client is committed to the process, and to YOU. Preferably this involves limiting the competition, e.g. exclusivity, head start on the competition,
• agreed interview dates prior to sending CVs, etc.
• Mutual trust and respect.

Comments:

• These 10 characteristics set the conditions for success in your favour and maximize your chances of filling the position. Evaluate every vacancy against the above checklist. If it does not meet your criteria, contact the client and address any deficiencies prior to commencing work on the assignment.
• If you are unable to resolve any of these issues to your satisfaction, you need to ask yourself “is this project worth working on?” Your time may be better spent finding another vacancy to work on.
• Ideally the Job Order should be taken face to face. This gives you the greatest opportunity to influence the above characteristics.

About the Author
Mark Whitby is the leading sales performance coach to the UK recruitment industry. He’s the best selling author of 12 audio training CDs, and delivers in-house recruitment training seminars throughout the UK and Europe.

Mark has over 12 years experience of sales, marketing and business development in both the UK and North America. Since 1997 he has recruited and trained hundreds of salespeople from trainee to director level. His clients range from small independent recruitment companies to some of the biggest names in the recruitment industry. Over 83% of Mark’s revenue comes from repeat business. That’s because he gets measurable results for his clients in the form of increased sales, higher profits, improved staff motivation and retention. And he’s the only recruitment trainer who offers a money back guarantee.

Mark is the creator of Big Billers ClubTM – the world’s first monthly coaching programme for recruitment professionals. Every month hundreds of recruiters dial into his popular teleconference training sessions from the convenience of their own office. Mark also provides a telephone mentoring service for owner/managers of recruitment companies who want to “work less and make more.”
For a F.REE Audio Seminar called: How to Overcome Fee Objections: 23 Great Answers for when Your Client says ‘You’re too Expensive’ visit: www.RecruitmentCoach.com

For more information about training and coaching, please call Mark’s personal assistant Julie today on 0800 019 8899. International enquires dial +44 131 664 8064.

3 Tactics For Getting Past Voicemail and Reaching More Decision-Makers

Are your marketing and recruiting efforts being thwarted by voicemail?

Recruiters are finding it increasingly difficult to reach prospects by telephone. Some clients and candidates seem to leave their voicemail on permanently! Here are three tried and tested tactics to get past voicemail and have more conversations with decision makers.

1. Don’t leave a message until you’ve called at least 3 times.

Leaving a voicemail message should be a method of last resort. It’s preferable to simply keep calling back because then you retain control of the process. Once you leave a message, the ball is in their court and they may not call you back. Or worse, they may avoid your calls in the future! So try calling back several times at different times of day before leaving a message.

2. Don’t hang up too soon!

Upon reaching voicemail, don’t hang up. Listen carefully to the message for important information – such as your prospect’s mobile phone number, and clues about their communication style.

Then hit “0” to go back to reception and see if you can locate the person you want to contact, or at least gain more information. Say: “Can you please help me? I’m trying to reach Bob, but I keep getting his voicemail. Do you happen to know if he’s in the office today and if not when he’s due back?”

• If Bob’s on holiday, find out when he’ll be back. Set a reminder to call him back 2 days after he returns, and make a note to ask him about his holiday.
• If Bob’s in a meeting, find out when it’s due to finish. Assuming the meeting finishes at 4pm, you would leave this message: “Please tell him that Mark Whitby called and I’ll try him again after 4pm.” Decline to leave your telephone number. Then when you call back, if you’re asked what the call is regarding you can say “He’s expecting my call.”
• If Bob’s stepped away from his desk, ask for him to be paged. (Provided you’ve got a valid reason for calling and a strong call opening for when Bob finally comes to the phone!)
• If Bob’s working remotely ask for his mobile phone number. You might only get it 10-20% of the time, but if you don’t ask, you don’t get!
• If the receptionist doesn’t know Bob’s whereabouts, ask to be put through to somebody else in Bob’s department who might know where he is.

Think about it this way. How important is it that you speak to Bob? If you have something that could benefit Bob, surely that’s important enough that you should make every reasonable effort to contact him. If you don’t really consider this to be an important call, then you probably shouldn’t be calling him in the first place!

3. Do use a script – but don’t give a sales pitch

Don’t wait until the “beep” to think of what you want to say! You’ve got one shot to nail this so have your voicemail script ready before you place the call.

Having said that, don’t promote the voicemail box to the role of sales representative. Your message should have only one objective – to get a return call. Curiosity is a powerful motivator and you’re more likely to get a call back if you don’t leave a detailed message. For example:

“Hi Bob, this is Mark Whitby calling at 10.30 on Friday. Please call me when you get this message on 0131 664 8064. I look forward to hearing from you.”

“Hi Bob, this is Mark Whitby. I have reason to believe you might be able to help me with a project I’m working on and I’d like to ask you a couple of quick questions. Please call me back on 0131 664 8064.

You want to create a sense of intrigue. If you tell them everything they need to know (“I’m a recruiter and I’ve got an opportunity that might be of interest to you”) then they have no reason to call you back.

The voicemail “game” is not one of pure chance. Winning this game involves a combination of both luck and skill. You can’t control when your prospects schedule meetings or take their lunch. However by adopting the right mindset, and refining your technique, you can significantly improve your odds of success.
See more at: http://www.recruitmentcoach.com/

How to Increase Your Sales Activity

Do you ever procrastinate when it comes to prospecting? I know I certainly do. It’s human nature to avoid tasks that we find uncomfortable.

Yet most recruiters would agree that developing new business is absolutely essential for success in recruitment, especially in the current climate. So how can we get ourselves to pick up the phone and make those marketing calls consistently, instead of waiting until we’re in the mood (which is never)?

The solution is to make prospecting part of your daily routine; something you do habitually, without hesitation.

The Power of a Standing Appointment

Cold calling is like going to the gym — short-term pain for long term gain! I find that the longer it’s been since my last workout, the harder it is to get back into the gym. On the other hand, when you’re in the habit of exercising regularly, the whole process feels natural and even enjoyable.

The key is sticking to a routine — exercising at the same time, on the same days, every week. Many people prefer to exercise in the morning, because they start the day feeling great and there’s less chance of skipping their workout if they get “too busy” later!

Similarly, we can defeat procrastination by setting a “standing appointment” for telephone selling. In other words, set yourself specific time slots for making business development calls. By locking those core calling times into your diary, you remove the decision of “if/when” to call and are therefore less prone to procrastination.

10 before 10:00

Here’s a simple, yet effective formula that has worked well for me and my coaching clients. It’s called “10 before 10:00″ and here’s how it works…

1. Set yourself the goal of reaching 10 prospects before 10:00am every single day.
2. Schedule this activity in your calendar as a recurring appointment.
3. Start dialling at 8.30am (or 9:00am at the latest) and stay on the phone until you reach 10 prospects or until you get a qualified job order.
4. The only calls that count are conversations with decision-makers. Voicemail messages don’t count!
5. Remove all distractions. Turn off your email and screen your mobile phone calls mercilessly. Unless the call is critical for closing a deal, let it go to voicemail.
6. Don’t replace the handset between calls, just disconnect and dial the next number. Keep up the intensity! Don’t update your database in-between calls, learn to type and talk at the same time. And save sending follow-up emails until you’ve finished all your calls.
7. You’ll need to plan your calls the night before, and have the names and numbers of 25-30 prospects to phone because you’ll only reach 30-40% of the people on your list.
8. Start with your hottest leads (companies that are currently hiring) and/or MPC calls (selling-in your “most placeable candidates”). Then move to call-backs and cold-calls.
9. Don’t just go through the motions — give every call your full effort.

Of course, if your market is extremely candidate-driven, and you’re lucky enough to have more job orders than you can handle, then you can adapt the “10 before 10:00am” formula and make recruiting calls instead.

Imagine how fantastic you’ll feel knowing that by 10:00am you’ve already achieved so much! This simple little idea of “10 before 10:00″ has helped me enormously in my own business. I challenge you to try it for yourself starting today and judge the results for yourself. If you stick to it for the next 2-3 weeks, I’m confident that you’ll experience a big boost in productivity and motivation.

For More Info: http://www.recruitmentcoach.com

Are Recruiters a Necessary Evil?

You’ve probably heard the expression “necessary evil.” Usually it applies to something unpleasant that we do not like but are forced to accept in order to achieve a particular objective. Taxes, for example.

Recently however, I heard this idiom applied to recruitment consultants. Not by a client or candidate, but by a recruiter! Even worse, he was a team leader.

Let’s examine this statement for a moment.

 

Are we “necessary”? The fact is that when it comes to recruiting, clients have a lot of options:

1. They could head-hunt candidates for themselves. Of course, why would the client take time away from what they’re good at to spend time on something in which they have no training, experience or aptitude?
2. They could advertise on job boards. Assuming they know where to advertise, and are able to write good ad copy, they then have to sift through an inbox full of resumes — most of which are unsuitable. Oh, and they’ll have to pay full rate card for the advert.
3. They could search for resumes on job boards and call candidates directly. Assuming they’re willing make the investment of time and money, what would they say? Are they able to qualify candidates effectively? Do they know how to sell an opportunity? Do they know how to turn a “not interested” into 2-3 candidate referrals?
4. They could advertise the job on their own website. But will they generate sufficient traffic to get a decent response? Even if their company is well known and well regarded, they’re only attracting active job seekers. What about the great candidates who are not looking a job?
5. Advertise in local, regional, national or trade press. After shelling out thousands of dollars/pounds all they get is one day (or one week) of exposure with no guarantee of success. And they still have to do all the work themselves!
6. Word of mouth. They could conceivably find the perfect candidate by networking with their industry contacts, including clients, suppliers and employees. But then again, they might not.

It seems that clients do have several alternatives when it comes to recruiting staff. Therefore it would inaccurate to say that we’re necessary to the process.

On the other hand, there are obvious benefits to outsourcing all this work to a competent recruiter:

• We save our clients a lot of time, hassle and money.

• We work very hard to find candidates who fit our clients’ job role and company culture.

• We promote their employer brand and actively sell their jobs in the marketplace.

• We can produce better quality shortlists, faster than they can do it themselves.

• We manage the whole process and often have a higher acceptance rate than offers made directly by the employer.

• We usually take all the risk and the client only pays if we produce results!

It seems to me that we provide tremendous value to our clients and candidates, and the fee we charge is worth every penny!

Now let’s look at the second part of this expression, the part about being “evil.” Are recruiters evil?

Well let’s see…We help our candidates to improve their careers. We help our clients to grow their business and hire great people. I’m having trouble seeing where the “evil” part comes in!

So coming back to our cynical team leader who thinks “recruiters are a necessary evil”…

How does this bizarre idea (also known as a limiting belief) affect his performance?

• Does he perform to his full potential?

• Is he an obvious choice for future promotion?

• Is he a great role model for his team members?

• How do his beliefs affect his client/candidate relationships?

• What about his job satisfaction?

• How about his overall sense of fulfillment, achievement, happiness?

Even without knowing this individual, I bet you can answer the above questions accurately.

We need to be very careful when we come into contact with other people’s beliefs which ones we let in, and especially which ones we choose to accept.

Next time you have a negative thought, or hear something negative from a colleague, client, candidate, or manager ask yourself the following questions:

“Is that really true?”
“Where does that idea come from?”
“How credible is the source of that idea?”
“What evidence is that assumption based on?”
“If I adopt that idea, will it help me or hinder me?”
“Is that a thought that a big biller would think?
“If not, what would a big biller think instead?

I’ve had the privilege of working with, training, coaching and interviewing hundreds of recruiters including some of the biggest billing recruiters in the country. I can tell you for a fact that 99.9% of them have incredibly positive belief systems. Big billers wouldn’t entertain this “necessary evil” notion for two seconds.

You can choose your beliefs. Make sure they’re the right ones. Which ones are the right ones? They’re the beliefs that help you to maximize your performance and feel good about yourself!.

About Author:-  “Mark Whitby — The Recruitment Coach — helps recruiters and recruiting firm owners to maximize their billings and business performance.  If you want to generate more clients, candidates and placements, get your FREE tips now at: http://www.RecruiterTrainingOnline.com.”