As we continue to push forward in a candidate driven market there are many challenges we are all faced with in the Recruiting business. The first and foremost challenge is the identification of candidates and gaining commitment to consider career moves.
 
This is a candidate driven market and the more candidates you can contact, develop rapport, and gain commitment to interview and ...the more placements you will close.
 
Here are a few ideas that can help you CLOSE MORE SALES:
 
1. Think like the Candidate
Your recruiting process should be a mirror image of the way that candidates want to buy from you- rather than a model of how your firm would prefer you to sell. The best sales skills in the world are useless when you are trying to sell the wrong way to the wrong people in the wrong organization. Do you truly understand your customers? Think like the candidate, role play as if you were being contacted by a recruiter, what do you think you would want to hear or know about before you committed to sharing your information, sending your resume or agreeing to interview with a client? Now think what THEY would want to hear about or know as well!
 
2. Marketing “You”
Develop a program that allows you to keep in contact with your candidate base on a regular basis, and I mean NOW! Have you developed an e-mail campaign to describe current searches and also highlight market trends or compensation issues? If you read news articles about your industry that is relevant to a candidate, do you forward a PDF of the information to those candidates? How often is “Your” name in front of the “candidate community” and what “marketing of you” are you doing to penetrate the candidate market deeper? Develop your 2 minute overview of who you are, what you do, and why someone should consider talking to you.  Rehearse it…practice generates confidence and confidence generates more SALES.
 
3. Mission Accomplished
When you are engaged to fill a new search, you must clearly determine your process before to begin. You must work with diligence, expedience, and thoroughness in searching the RIGHT targets and You must work toward your objective each day until you have at least 3 candidates presented to the client for the specified position. The number one mistake recruiters make is the lack of preparation, the second largest mistake is NOT recruiting until you have enough qualified candidates before you move on to another assignment. AVOID THESE MISTAKES AND WORK AS LONG AS IT TAKES AND HARD AS YOU MUST TO HONOR YOUR COMMITMENTS TO YOUR CLIENTS AND CANDIDATES!
 
4. Solutions
Are you solution oriented? When you contact a prospect, do you sell features and features only?  Do you offer solutions rather than simply vague benefits?  Think SOLUTIONS!  Features tell and solutions sell!

5. Stop thinking and start selling
Be in the moment, when the phone rings, when a prospect answers the phone----stop thinking and start living in the moment. Allow your training and instincts to act upon the SALES CALL. The more time you spend engaged in SELLING the better off you are going to be….just like anything else. A practice player is someone who practices more than they engage in the selling process itself. If you want to be a great recruiter, SELL, SELL, SELL as often as possible. Focus on the desired end objective of every phone call and then conduct your call in support of that objective. Begin with the end in mind!

About This Top Recruiter
Shawn Desgrosellier is a Managing Director at Kaye/Bassman and shares responsibility for overseeing the firm's Western Region within the Construction and Real Estate Specialty practice. Shawn began his career with another leading executive search firm and for over 8 years directed the CPA and Financial Management Practice as Vice President.

In 2000, Shawn joined Kaye/Bassman. Shawn was consistently ranked in the top ten in a national network of 4000 recruiters.  He is currently transitioning out of his practice into a full time leadership role with responsibilities for overall Kaye/Bassman sales leadership and training. He produced 1.6 million dollars in search revenue in 2006.