Recruiting and sales; or Sales and recruiting. Which comes first and which is more important? Whether we wish to admit it, both are part of the very same industry, just at differing degrees on the scale. Just because you are a great recruiter doesn't mean you'll have a long career as a salesperson and the same can be said about Sales People potentially not doing well recruiting others. If you happen to be one of those rare few that can do both, and do them well--Congratulations!

Both careers take a lot of effort and an insane amount of time to get established; and once established, require tons of TLC to stay on the right track. You have to develop alot of talents, have the ability to juggle multiple jobs, possess a really thick hide and deal well with alot of rejection. If and only if you find that niche which will set you apart from all of the others in your profession; then you can start building your reputation. This reputation is why people will keep coming back to you, rather than try someone new up the street. He (or She) with the strongest reputation in any particular arena will get the nod, and receive the lions share of the business. This may be one of the only times where being busy may measure your eventual happiness, provided the direction is onward and upward, rather than spinning in place.

One of the things not taught in either school of thought, is that in order to succeed, you have to be willing to sacrifice. Sacrifice for some is a rather scary concept, as it brings to mind- doing without; and nobody likes doing without. You also have to be willing to create your own path and find that certain something that will set you apart of the pack. Sorry all, but I would be in a rather sorry state if I looked on the Internet, or in the Phone-book, or at the various Billboards around town and saw everyone doing the same thing as I, in the same manner, keeping the same hours, and working from the exact same pool of clientele. It wouldn't be long before that pool would be sucked dry of prospects, and we would have to spend our time practicing our patter on each other; because all of a sudden everyone had more than enough of what you offer. One of the biggest sacrifices, and greatest rewards is that of time; as we either don't have enough of it, or we have an over-abundance of it and nowhere to effectively place it.

This is where style-management is key. This along with proper time-management will help you stand out from everyone else in the industry. Find something that you can promote better than anyone else, and sell the idea. Sell it to family, to friends, to aquaintances and if done properly you should be receiving referrals and repeat business because you deserve it. You took the initiative and the time to learn all the concerns and objections; and found that mysterious way to turn a NO!! into a resounding YES!!. This is where listening is key; as the client will take you by the hand and tell you exactly what he/she needs from you, where they want it to come from, how much they are going to pay for it and how much money you stand to make. All you have to do is produce!

This is where the next sacrifice comes in. That is on what it takes to produce the sale. Standards have to be set and adhered to because if you waffle on how you do business, the value of your assets and clientele relations will go down, and many of your clients will move up the street. Your reputation depends on the standards you set; and this will add value to every transaction you complete. Its okay to stand alone in your industry, provided its because the crowd around you is too deep for you to involve others, not because you failed to keep your standards high, and everyone lost faith in your abilities.

In closing; be it at sales or in recruiting, take your time and learn your craft well. There are more than one correct way to get to the finish line: Just be prepared for the ride, as there will be lots of detours along the way toward your vision!

Something to Think About......