Actually, I won’t be returning your crappy cold call voice mail. Here’s why.

Fortunately I don’t get these very often… I’m one of a handful of recruiters and rather new to my company, so the vultures haven’t caught up with me yet. However – earlier this week I had FOUR horrible voicemails in a row, from FOUR awful sales people. Three agencies and a job board. It went a little something like this –

“Hi Amy, this is (first name only) with (unintelligible company name). I’m calling today to introduce you to my company. We are the (premier/best/top/only) provider of (IT/Staffing/Placement/Advertising) solutions in your area and I’d like to schedule a time to (buy you coffee/meet with you/tell you all about me).

Please give me a call back at (phone number)and let me know when would be a good time to meet. Thanks!”

Who would call this person back?

So much is wrong with this. First of all, I don’t know who you are. I don’t know who your company is. I probably couldn’t write fast enough to jot down your phone number even if I wanted to call you back. (Sometimes I’m a masochist that way.)

Secondly, you have given me no indication that you even know who I am, what I want, or how you can solve my problem. Do you know what my problem is? Do you know if I even HAVE a problem?

So what do I WANT to hear?

“Hi Amy, it’s (First Name, Last Name) calling. I am a (Title, as long as it’s not a stupid one) with (Company Name). My phone number is _______. I (found you on LinkedIn/got your name from [Name]/read your amazing blog at RBC) and found out that your company (has over 100 current openings/will double revenue in the next 3 years/is the 3^rd largest IT reseller in the US). Very impressive! I’d like to talk with you about your recruiting efforts, what’s working and what’s not, and see if (my relevant product/service) might be able to boost what you’re already doing. If nothing else I’m prepared to bribe you with free (coffee/chair massage/babysitting). Again it’s (name) at (phone number). Have a great day!”

Ok, I’m kidding about the bribery part. Well, not really. See, it’s funny. I like funny people. If someone can’t laugh at themselves, they probably won’t be laughing along with me at this crazy business. So while that's not the greatest voicemail script ever concieved, it beats the pants of what I've been subjected to lately.

And if the call went like –

“Hi Amy, (name) with (company). Heard you lost your (job title) recently. Not sure if you’re the person trying to replace him, but I know a guy who’s in a similar role right now over at (your competitor). He’s not looking right now but I could sure put some feelers out for you. What do you think? Give me a call at (phone number)."

Now if I got THAT call, I would not believe you but I’d be intrigued enough (and admire your chutzpah) that I would probably call you back.

Comment by Amy Ala Miller on August 19, 2011 at 1:24pm: this is why I absolutely ADORE Ms. Sandra McCartt!!!!!!!! You're the kind of external recruiter we should all strive to be - willing to bet you got a lot of that business because companies come to YOU, not the other way around.

If I ever got the greenlight to go outside for a tough position there's a shortlist of recruiters I'd call - I don't have to listen to their voicemails because they've already got my cell number.

Comment by Ben McGrath on August 19, 2011 at 1:30pm: @Sandra - OK, perhaps "script" was the wrong word to use. So as to explain myself, the idea was to get "call pattern ideas/wording/theories, etc" on messages we use to entice the person hearing the message to call back for additional discussions.

I apologize, if my semantics were not in line with the process, by which we determine the concept of the task.

All the best,

Ben

Comment by Sandra McCartt on August 19, 2011 at 1:37pm: I honestly can't remember ever making a cold call for business. I have always hated that crap both when it was suggested i make them and when i receive them. I talk to a lot of people but i know who i am talking to before i call them. If i am at some event or speak to a group if someone approaches me to recruit for them my reply is, "I don't like to talk business at a social event, please call me at the office tomorrow , here is my business card or give me a time to reach you and i would love to explore this with you to see if we can work together."

If i want to work with a new client i find someone who knows that person and ask them to introduce me or suggest that the person call me if they ever want a recruiter. It's like fishing for trout. You can't just splash a big hunk of bait in the water and expect to catch a fish. If we want to be exclusive we should be and act exclusive not like a bunch of hungry jackals circling something to get a bite.

Let's talk about that blog fer reals. :) My office number is 806-359-0335 but i won't be available until much later this afternoon or Monday afternoon. :)

Comment by Ben McGrath on August 19, 2011 at 1:43pm: Sandra -

Aha! Great suggestions/ideas and both very well stated.

Thanks,

Ben

Comment by Sandra McCartt on August 19, 2011 at 1:46pm: @Ben you are still looking for a cookie cutter way to generate call backs. Think of it this way. Your message should be as individual as the person you are trying to reach. It's not about semantics, methodology or a task. It's a personal contact from one "person" to another "person". Until it becomes a real person to a real person there is no reason for anyone to return your call. Relationship selling is just that.

Comment by Ben McGrath on August 19, 2011 at 1:52pm: You are absolutely right and exactly the type of response I was attempting to generate.

You see.......I'm not in sales nor do I recruit. (except for our internal recruiting staff) My intent was to stimulate ideas and some discussion about the initial call and the successful response.

You nailed it!

Cheers,

Ben

Comment by Sandra McCartt on August 19, 2011 at 3:16pm: I have one question Bill. Was this guy a former ERISA attorney? If he wasn't and he used that script i would have fired his stinky ass in a heartbeat. Some scripting will work but most recruiters who use some kind of an effective script develop it as their own style over a period of time. If his script was a lie i hope he gassed himself cause i hate gas bags.

The kind of script i am referring to is the one Amy mentions that is "Hi this is joe schmoo from Helar (hit em a lick and run) top tier recruiting firm". I want to talk to you about getting your business and tell you why we are better than everybody else."

Comment by Louis Bina on August 19, 2011 at 4:29pm: That was a fun read, thanks Amy. Unfortunately, a lot of these individuals are just handed a cold call sheet with a pre-written script that someone (probably the owner) wrote 10 years ago and there is no room to stray from it. All they want to do is make their calls and punch out.

Comment by Gene Leshinsky on August 19, 2011 at 5:02pm: You are too kind. If I got a VM that was that long I would delete it half way through. In turn, I would never leave a VM that long.

Comment by lisa rokusek on August 19, 2011 at 5:03pm: I do a fair amount of calling for both candidates and to generate new business. For me recruiting and bizdev are often the same thing. I make a point of putting on my "FBI Profiler hat" and jotting down some things I think will generate interest from a human standpoint and from the opportunity standpoint. Then I make a point of putting those in both my emails and my phone calls. I get a lot of call backs and responses to my emails. I pay attention to what works - often tiny changes make a difference.

Because I am not disciplined enough (or smart enough) to work a tidy niche I am able to notice things that work well in some areas or industries don't play well in others. I adapt. I pay attention and I always remember it is better to stand out than not in this business.

I got training once from a retained exec search guy - Dave Knutson. Love him. I aspire to his level of badassery (and billings). He left voicemails that were just pointed enough and full of the right panache (confidential, time sensitive) to make CxO level folks call back in a bit of a lather wondering what was up. Effective, but you had to have the guts to field those calls and skill to do it effectively.

The job of cold calls/emails is to get a response. Its a tease.... Warm business is always better but sometimes we need to send these emails make these calls and in my lonely little world the process of recruiting people is often cold anyway. I think this part of our business is fun.