Change is Inevitable

The past decade was an incredible time of change, not all of it positive. I’m confident most of us would have chosen different changes or circumstances instead of two recessions, two wars, multiple natural disasters, and terrorist attacks across the globe.

None of us has the ultimate power to change global events. We can, however, make changes in our businesses to make these our best years ever.

So, here are a few changes I suggest you make right away:

1. Start quoting higher rates or fees, even if it’s just a little bit more. Some people may just say yes. You can always negotiate down from there, knowing you did not leave any money on the table.

2. Hold yourself, your colleagues, and your team to a higher standard. For example, the biggest money earners in our business spend at least half of their day reaching out to clients and candidates through conversations and messages. Yet, more than 70 percent of people in our business spend less than two hours daily in these activities. Step it up! Make more calls. Visit more clients. Spend more time with your best candidates.

3. Stop booking bad business and don’t waste time with unqualified and unwilling candidates. This starts with taking better, more thoroughly vetted orders and digging deeper in candidate interviews. Decide today which of these and other changes you will make this year and next. Then, take a few minutes each week to monitor the progress.

“Change is inevitable―except from a vending machine.” – Robert C. Gallagher

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Comment by C. B. Stalling!! on September 21, 2010 at 11:39am: Tell me how that is going for you increasing your rates. How many of your clients yes. At this poing I am not suere what else I can offer my clients. And then to charge them more?

Comment by Will Branning on September 21, 2010 at 12:30pm: Great reminders that I need to implement ASAP...thanks for the challenge!

Comment by Scott Wintrip on September 21, 2010 at 3:10pm: C.B.,
It's going very well. Personally, I have successfully increased rates at hundreds of clients. I have been mentoring recruiters for the past 11 years and they, also, have had this kind of success. Not everyone will agree to a rate increase...and we can always, always ask. It's not about giving more...it's about perceived value. We must help our customers understand our value proposition, how we actually save time and money, and why it makes sense to pay us full fees and rates.

Comment by C. B. Stalling!! on September 22, 2010 at 7:51am: I wish more people would give their thoughs. But I think it is hard to go back to clients and increase rate. Maybe on new clients you are signing up....

Comment by Barbara Goldman on September 22, 2010 at 11:48am: I'd like to talk about rates. Never ever quote low rates, for goodness sakes, it cheapens your service. Your service is worth 50%. I truly believe that. Whatever you charge is up to you, but you don't have to increase your service to increase your rates. The service you provide is valuable.

Comment by Tiger Patrick on September 23, 2010 at 7:55am: Thanks for #3. I could not agree more.

Comment by C. B. Stalling!! on September 24, 2010 at 10:06am: how many client in the past 3 months have you increased. or our you talking over the 11 years you have been raising rates?

Comment by Scott Wintrip on September 24, 2010 at 11:44am: C.B.,
I mentor recruiters now and work their desks for them and with them as a teaching tool. Over the past three months in working these desks, I've personally increased rates over 30 times.

Comment by C. B. Stalling!! on September 25, 2010 at 4:09am: what is an example of the increase?

5 % 10% 50%

Comment by Scott Wintrip on September 26, 2010 at 11:13am: C.B., this varies based upon either the current fee or hourly rate. Normally, it's at least a 3-7% or a few dollar per hour for contract work.

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