We suggest that a multi-pronged approach will lead to the best results (Calls, emails, LinkedIn and even Text).
Some ideas for consideration are below. Please remember there is no one right or wrong approach and the best sales people are constantly testing new messaging and monitoring results.
It isn’t always what you say but how you say it that gets the result you seek. Speaking in an engaging, yet professional tone is critical.
Bob, my name is Dean Garamella. I’m an executive search consultant specializing in _____________________. The name of the firm is HireResources. Bob, the reason I'm calling is that it had come to my attention that your firm has a need for optical professionals, optical management, and I was simply wondering if we could be of some help. (Pause)
Responses:
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I have no needs at this moment
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Where did you hear that we have this opening?
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We don't have a role like this to fill now.
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He may say, yes, I do have a need to fill a role like this now.
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He may even say yes there is an opening that very few people know about that needs to be filled, how did you hear about it?
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Hi John, this is Dean H at HireResources; We are a Nat’l search firm; We specialize in your arena (or can elaborate in the Data Analytics space); the reason for my call is that we are working with some of your competition (or some variation of this like – we are engaged in several high level searches..) and as a result, we have some fantastic candidates that I think you may want to take a look at. Would you be open to taking a look at our candidates?
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If you are leaving a message, pretty much the same pitch but include some hooks like – I’m sending you an email now; If I don’t hear back from you today, I’ll call you again tomorrow.
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Please call me back at 203-
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Or reply to my email and let me know a good time for a quick call; I’ll also send you a LinkedIn message in case that is your preferred method for us to connect..
We suggest that a multi-pronged approach will lead to the best results (Calls, emails, LinkedIn and even Text).
Some ideas for consideration are below. Please remember there is no one right or wrong approach and the best sales people are constantly testing new messaging and monitoring results.
It isn’t always what you say but how you say it that gets the result you seek. Speaking in an engaging, yet professional tone is critical.
Overcoming Objections; Our Value Proposition
The top objection/hurdles are – they work with other recruiters already; they have an internal recruiting team; they aren’t the right person handling recruitment; no current hiring needs; fee percentage is too high; need a longer guarantee.
Objection 1: Already work with other recruiters
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Prospect says, we’re good as we already have recruiters we are working with or some other approach to get off the phone, consider replying with:
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Yes we expect that you would be given you have a lot of hiring needs, however, I’m certain you must have a few roles that are more challenging roles to fill and that you simply haven’t seen the quality of candidate you seek. Let us work on those and we will show you how we are different.
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Our Value Proposition - We have over 45 very seasoned recruiters on our team that specialize in filling the more challenging roles..
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It costs you nothing to see our candidates, so why not let us take a stab at 1 or 2 of your more pressing needs, I’m certain you will be impressed with the results and we will earn your business.
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Make sure you are prepared and have a list of our clients that might be considered their competition. Many times, sharing a few of our client names will give the prospect confidence that maybe you can help solve their pain…
Objection 2: We have an internal recruiting team
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Response – Most of our clients have an internal team assisting with their recruitment efforts but they’ve found that it is extremely useful to work with firms like ours to ensure they are seeing the best talent available in the marketplace. Also, given our expertise at sourcing passive candidates from your competition, many times we are able to bring forward an entirely different level of candidate for your consideration all at no cost, obligation or risk to you. As we are happy to work on a Contingency basis, all the risk is on us. We work on your behalf with no commitment from you. We only get paid if we bring forward a candidate that you deem to be better than all the others you’ve found and hire them. So why wouldn’t you want to see our candidates to ensure you are making the best hire possible.
Objection 3: They don’t handle the recruiting process
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Response – ok is that handled by HR or your Talent Acquisition team? Can you suggest the correct person for me to send an intro to? Or possibly you’ve reached HR and the individual hiring managers make their own hiring decisions – in this case you might point out that you noticed a certain role posted as open, can they suggest who you can speak with as we are working on some similar searches and as a result have a couple of top notch candidates we believe could be a very good fit and wouldn’t want you to miss the opportunity to consider them.
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1. Finding new client leads
- LinkedIn advanced search methodology (Sales Navigator is a great tool)
- Picking a Niche and Focus are key to success
- Join Associations and get the Member Company list
- Use competitor analysis tools (ie. OWLER)
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If asked what our fee is, a response Is 25% of first years’ salary.
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Alternatively, you could share that we are open to working on a contingency or retained basis. Ask the prospect if they have a preference or if they would like you to share the benefits of each.
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Benefits of a retained search include but are not limited to – client gets a dedicated team of our senior recruiters working on their behalf; client gets right of 1st refusal on all candidates we source; our team focuses on your roles before any others in order to ensure an expedited recruiting process; our fee is the same as if we go contingency. We simply ask for a small portion up front (the retainer) to ensure our interests are aligned. If you have candidates that approach you directly, you will send them to us to be thoroughly vetted (freeing your resources).
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Contingency benefit is that there is no retainer paid up front, you are free to work with as many agencies as you choose. We only earn a fee if you hire one of our candidates.
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Down side of Contingency is that you may be bombarded from numerous directions with candidates. Multiple search firms may be crossing the same candidates for your role and could see it as negative. Potentially many distractions in the hiring process from your core business.
Potential Objections:
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Your fee is too high, we only pay 20%. Some possible replies to this include: Over 80% of our clients are at 25%, wouldn’t you want our most senior team members working on your roles. Or – we want to earn your business, would you consider testing us out one the 1st role at 20% and if you find that our service is superior than others, then move to 25% going forward. There are many ways to respond to this objection. Everything is negotiable to a point.
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Possibly the prospect rejects our 30 day candidate replacement guarantee and suggests they only will consider 90 days. One way to respond to this is with a question like “Why do you require more than a 30 day guarantee?”. As you know, all of our efforts are made at our risk and cost as there is no guarantee that you will hire any of candidates. We work on your behalf to find the best candidates for the role; they go through a rigorous screening process 1st on our side and then through your entire recruiting and screening process; Your entire team deems the candidate to be the best fit and they are hired; the candidate starts work and then something happens at your company (that we obviously can’t control) and you decide to let the candidate go. You come back to us 60 days after the candidate starts and tell us we didn’t do our job and you want your money back. That makes no sense. We did our job. There needs to be some risk on both sides. Our recruiters are all paid on straight commission and work very hard and deserve to be paid for their efforts. Possibly we can come to a more reasonable middle ground. How about we extend our guarantee to 45 days. This gives you 6 weeks to determine if the candidate is a fit.
The parameters we can agree to on a worst case are 20% and a 90 day guarantee. Our goal is 25-30% with a 30 day candidate replacement guarantee. We do not want a money back guarantee (as we did our job and deserve to be paid). Negotiations can lead to many different variations that can be acceptable. If we had a choice between a 25% fee and 90 day guarantee vs a 20% fee and 30 day guarantee, we would always take the latter. Why? Because we all want to be paid sooner rather than later for our hard work.
Try to get in the practice of scheduling a meeting or conference call at the onset of any new assignment with the hiring manager. Invite the account manager and possibly 1-2 recruiters who will be working the search, and establish a clear and open relationship with the client and hiring manager. It is a great practice to set In-take calls up on one of our conference lines so you can record the call to be shared with our recruiting team.
Here are 20 top questions to include on this call.
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How long have you been looking to fill this position?
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How many people have you interviewed for this position?
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What are the consequences of this position remaining unfilled? (This is a killer question for determining level of urgency!)
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How many companies are currently submitting resumes for this position?” What is your pipeline looking like right now?
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What is driving the need for the hiring of this individual (ie: project, replacement, deadline etc.)
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Can you elaborate on the business initiatives/problems that the successful candidate would be involved in solving?
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What are the “deliverables” for this position over the course of the first year/ duration of the contract?
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Please can you give me an overview of the technical skills you are looking for in suitable candidates?
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What are the “Must Haves” as opposed to the “Nice to Haves”?
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To what depth will they understand the “Must Haves”?
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Are you seeking candidates with specific domain knowledge? (Healthcare/ Finance/ Technology, industry experience etc)
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Are there any other special skills you are looking for (soft skills, communication/writing etc)
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Maybe you can tell a little bit about one of your employees who is currently successful in this position?
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What size is the team he would be joining?
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Would he be reporting directly to you?
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Can you tell me a little about the culture of the company – and any differentiators that may help us in attracting high quality candidates when we are headhunting? (In other words – how does the Client “sell the opportunity” when he identifies a candidate that he wants to hire?)
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Are there any opportunities for a flexible work schedule or work from home days?
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What is the ceiling on the compensation/rate for this position?
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(Client says $90k/per hr) …”So Mr Client, if I found the perfect candidate for $100k/per hr – would you still be interested in seeing the resume?
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Are you open to candidates who need an H1b transfer? Do you sponsor Green Cards?
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Do you have a job spec? “Great – what’s your email address – I’ll drop you a line right away so you can send it over”
What kind of turnaround can I expect for feedback on Resumes?
(push for same day. Any more than 24 hrs is not good. Great candidates are scarce and will be snapped up).
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How many interviews is standard (and with whom)?
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Would you consider hiring over Skype (for out of state candidates- means you can broaden the Search
At the end of the call, be sure to confirm your plan with the client, as in how many candidates you will be submitting and in what time frame.
Make sure that you have all of the appropriate contact information including a mobile number to reach them with urgent needs to help you deliver on target, and end with thanking them for their time.
If you have other recruiters on this same search, setting a debriefing immediately after is also a good idea.
Email Copy:
Hello Joe,
I noticed online you are hiring and seeking candidates with a record of achievement in SaaS Sales. This experience is exactly what we can offer you in our candidates.
What role is your most challenging to fill currently?
Our team of recruiters will have a shortlist of candidates for you to review within a week or less.
We will do the candidate sourcing without any commitment from you.
It’s really that simple, what does your calendar look like today or tomorrow to jump on a quick call together?
Hope you’re staying safe,
Your signature
LinkedIn Sales Scripts
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-Initial message sent to request a connection
Hello “name”. I see that we both work in the financial management sector and believe it would be good to connect.
-2nd Message sent 1-2 hours after connection has accepted or the next day
“Name”, we have pre-vetted and certified Wealth Management advisors throughout the country!
Our team leader in the WM space has over 18 years’ experience and a huge book of contacts nationally.
Additionally, we are actively filling these same roles for other firms.
It would be great to have the opportunity to work together.
Are you available today for a call?
OR
{firstname},
Does {сompanу} have any urgent to fill openings currently? Our Medical Device recruiting team is very efficient in identifying well tenured, proven successful candidates throughout the country. We are working with lots of your competitors in the Medical Device space, and it would be great to build your trust as well.
We are located in Fairfield, Connecticut and have been in the business since 2002 filling some of the most challenging Medical Device roles.
I'm the Managing Director for the firm.
Are you available today for a call to see if we may be a suitable partner for you?
Let me know either way, please stay safe during the current pandemic,
Signature
-3rd Message sent 5 days
Hello again “name” … I have been staring at my computer screen for five days now waiting for your response! LOL
Female
Male
Any chance you have a few minutes to chat today?
We do have some great candidates that would be a natural match for your firm.
Let me know your interest either way, thanks!
-4th Message 4 weeks later
Hello “name”. Our team has proven successful candidates in the Wealth Management space. I'm sorry we haven't been able to connect.
Are you ever looking for top producers to add to the team? If not no worries, we have other places to send these candidates.
Let me know either way so I can stop hounding you!
Hope you are well and I hear back from you.
-5th Message 6 weeks later
Hello “name”. I’m giving up soon, I hate losing BTW.
I’ve tried to reach you a few times, which tells me one of three things:
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You’re all set with your hiring needs and I should stop bothering you.
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You’re still interested but haven’t had the time to get back to me yet.
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You’ve fallen and can’t get up. In that case, please let me know and I’ll call someone to help.
Please let me know which one, as I’m starting to worry!
6th and final message 6 weeks later
---Hi “name”.
There is a fine line between persistence and annoyance. I fear I may have crossed that line.
Based on your silence, I'm assuming you're no longer interested in learning more about a staffing partnership and hiring solutions. If I've misread you, please let me know as I will no longer be reaching out.
The goal is to win a new client, get one or multiple job orders and develop a long term successful client relationship. Whenever you are engaged in dialogue, assume they will be our client and look for an opportunity to continue the dialogue with probing questions. Questions keep the conversation going, show that you know what you are doing, will lead to the prospect having a vested interest in working with us, will give you ammunition to close the sale.
Example - Taking the order and guiding the call:
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Bob, which role or roles are most critical to the business to get filled quickly?
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How long has the role been open?
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Why is role open? Growth, replacement, etc…
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Tell me about why you joined the company?
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Tell me about the future of XXX? Investors etc…
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Why would someone leave their position and want to join XXXX?
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How many openings do you currently have?
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What is your most challenging positions to fill?
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What territories need our attention first?
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Will we have access to the hiring Managers?
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What is your hiring process? Details
Learning about the job: Additional example questions:
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is this role more inside or outside sales?
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More cold calling or building existing accounts?
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Tell me about the sales process?
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What is the quota?
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How many new Logos do they sign in a quarter / annual?
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What is the average commit? dollars and seats?
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What market are they selling to? Mid, Enterprise?
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What is the industry focus?
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Location? Remote?
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how much travel?
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Farming - Where do top reps come from? Company names
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Compensation - base, OTE, equity?
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What is the ramp up period?
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Do you promote from within? Career path for the candidate?
Our process: Part of our on-boarding a new client is to fully understand their recruiting process as well as educating the client on our process and expectations.
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We require feedback on resume submissions within 48 hours
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A call with the interviewing Manager within 24 hours of an interview will provide us the ability to be on the same page with moving the candidate forward or the detailed feedback needed to refine our search.
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30 min call with hiring manager before starting a new search
The GOLD STANDARD
Our goal is to provide a superior services to all our clients. That is not accomplished by filling one role but being their trusted partner. We are not just a recruitment company we are the people behind the scenes that drive our clients success.
Screening
Vetting
Interviewing
Placement
Discovery
Discovery:
Your account is handled by a dedicated Senior Managing Director. This will provide you a single point of contact, more precision results, and a better understanding of your requirements.
All new job assignments are fully analyzed to optimize our results. We do not just send you paper, we fully understand the role and requirements before entering a search.
Screening, Vetting, Referring:
HireResources professional recruiters will mine through tens of thousands of potential matching candidates and narrow this universe to a few hundred to screen and vet through.
Based on your requirements (Geo targeting, Skills, Culture, etc.) we will interview only the finest candidates for the role. Once this vetting is complete we refer the best matches for the job.
Interviewing:
You are in total control of who you interview and hire. HireResources works with you to coordinate the interviewing process with your organization.
We understand you will not compromise and it's our commitment to give you the best candidate choices.
We are here to serve you!
Placement:
Once you have narrowed down to a finalist and an offer is accepted, the placement is made.
Our goal is to provide you with quality candidates and our transparent agreements come with a candidate term Guarantee to offer additional protection.
