Successful Recruiting Tactics

I have not been in this game, Recruiting, very long, but when one chooses to become a recruiter they receive a crash course on the most challenging sale that is humanly possible.  Learning from the right people, like the people I work with at eHire, is very instrumental in creating the right type of recruiter.  They have taught me the way to take the tools that I already posses and turn them into something special.  This blog is being written not just for the recruiter that wants to be the best but rather the salesperson who wants to be the best.  Recruiting is one of the hardest sales positions around.  There are so many moving parts in a recruiting deal, and getting burned happens frequently.  These tips are for fighting through the pain, dusting off, and getting back on the horse.  I witness the best salespeople in my office work very hard to become the best every day, and these three tips are my brief attempt at explaining what makes an “A” player.    

Always listen.  My grandfather, the late HM Barfield, used to tell me, “Son, if you don’t ever listen to anything else that I say that’s fine, but pull the wax out of your ears for two seconds and I will give you the greatest piece of advice that I could ever pass along.  Always listen.”  He was right.  I have learned more from listening to people than I ever could from most text books, classes, etc.  As a salesperson the more you listen the more you will get out of every situation.  Take everything with a grain of salt, but the quickest way to discover who someone is or what their intensions are is to hush and let them speak.  Apply this tactic to accounts, clients and candidates, and you will find out everything you need to know regarding an individual.  This ultimately helps salespeople make smart decisions about keeping the right players around in order to gain maximum success.  A good listener creates the most knowledgeable salesperson.           

Follow up and be honest.  Deliver the information to candidates, clients, and business partners that is the most difficult to deliver.   Being honest in the roughest times will build respect more often than not.  In a recent Harvard Business Review article written by Art Markman entitled Are Successful People Nice, Art shares that, “Good leaders need to be able to tell people things that they don’t want to hear.”  The best salespeople I know practice this tactic day in and day out.  It has created some of the best relationships that I have professionally.  Following up and being honest with people builds an honest image, and someone who can step up to the plate and deliver bad news demands respect.  A salesperson or recruiter with an honest image is worth their weight in gold.  This is a great way to build the right image, and ultimately make money.  

Be thorough in the information you receive while listening.  Before a sales call, research and have questions prepared that are tailored to each call.  Ask the questions that no other salesperson or recruiter will.  Invest in building an actual relationship with the person whom you are potentially going to make money with.  I know this sounds easy, but I can’t tell you how many calls at eHire have ended with, “It’s so refreshing to speak with a recruiter who actually cared enough to get to know me.”  Practicing thoroughness can make or break deals.  Investing in the person you are speaking with will get around, and creates business through word of mouth.  It’s one of the most gratifying feelings in the world when a salesperson delivers such a good experience that the person, client, or professional connection refers you to someone else.  Being thorough by asking ALL the questions to create relationships helps solidify a great sales image and separates the A-players from the rest.  

These tips just graze the surface of what it takes to be the best, but in my brief time working in this business if someone had shared this info with me it would have been a pretty solid building block to start building a successful career.  Listening, following up, being honest, and asking all the questions in order to be thorough are A-player musts.  These are some tools to build off of as a salesperson.  My advice is to start with tips like these, continue to learn, and always stay hungry.