A couple of blog posts ago, I touched upon the indirect vs. direct approach of recruiting candidates.
In today’s post, I’m going to discuss the direct approach used by big billers, specifically the “three call” technique.
I’ve outlined the parameters of each of those calls below, naming them “The Initial Call,” “the Second Call,” and “The Third Call.”
The Initial Call:
This call should last approximately 60 seconds.
“I would like to call you sometime this week—some evening—what time would be best? I would like to discuss some alternative job opportunities with you, and I’ll need about 30 minutes.”
The big biller refuses to talk to the potential recruit on this initial call.
The big biller wants the potential recruit thinking about talking to a recruiter.
You don’t need a job order to do this.
Never miss the call back time—it illustrates your punctuality.
The Second Call:
Ask first, “If you were to make a change, what position would that be for?”
Ask second, “What are your geographical limitations?”
Don’t talk specifics—take a Recruit Data Sheet (RDS)—and explain the FAB.
Say at the end of the call, “I don’t know enough about you now. I’ll review all of my searches and if there are any matches, I’ll call you back. I do promise, at this stage, not to mention your name or your company’s name.”
Then hang up.
The key to this is developing relationships—establishing rapport.
The Third Call
Now is the time to present a position.
If the recruit doesn’t have the right parameters, the big biller tells them, “My companies won’t consider people without __________.”
If the recruit does match, this is when the big biller arranges the first client-candidate meeting.
Regardless of your recruiting effort results, always call back after two to three days with a new piece of information and a condensed re-presentation of your FAB’ed job order. You need to give these folks time to think about what you have asked them.
Leads will come to them with time, but don’t expect them to initiate the call to you with this information. You must call them back. You must ask again. When you do this, don’t be surprised if your hit rate improves dramatically.
In closing, I would like to quote former United States President John Kennedy, who spoke one summer day in 1962 about why we were accepting the challenge of going to the moon. This is what he said:
“We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.”
I also have a challenge. I want to challenge you to do these parts of our business correctly—not because they are easy, but because they are hard. And, as President Kennedy promised, the attainment of our goals will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills.
At the end of the day, this is how we can evaluate ourselves on the scales of success.
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Bob Marshall of TBMG International, founder of The Marshall Plan, has an extensive background in the recruiting industry as a recruiter, manager, vice president, president, consultant, and trainer. In 2015, Marshall is celebrating his 35th year in the recruitment business. He can be reached at bob@themarshallplan.org or at 770.898.5550. Marshall’s website is www.themarshallplan.org.