Comment by Maureen Sharib on August 5, 2009 at 1:26pm

I love magic words.

Comment by Dan Nuroo on August 6, 2009 at 12:36am

That said, getting asked "who referred you to me?" is something you need to have an answer for, I always ask that. Be warned BS or insincerity doesn't work.

Comment by Slouch on August 6, 2009 at 10:25am

Hey Dan, Of course you have to have an answer.

Of course if the recruiter says you were referred and it is a lie, it's not good.

1. you were referred to me through someone we both know and they asked me not to reveal them and I won't and I hope you respect that and if you can help point me in the right direction with this search I am having trouble with, I would never reveal your name in any conversations I have with the people you refer.

2. If you were not referred, I would say, I found you through original research as someone who would absolutely know someone who has the skills that this great client of mine is looking for and I never think that the person I am calling is going to be the one who I place but ultimately, through my original research and referrals, I absolutely will find the right person.

Dan, a lot of people these are findable and visible with emails and numbers and everything. I have found that most people want to know who referred them not to see if the recruiter is full of it but rather, their ego seems to always get the better of them and ego is usually what stops a candidate from talking the right job because they did not get what they wanted even if the difference was a few thousand bucks.

There is a lot more to this that we should discuss

Comment by Maureen Sharib on August 6, 2009 at 2:48pm

I agree Maren. He's a star.

Comment by Chris Keller on August 6, 2009 at 2:48pm

Great advice, Jason. What you talk about gets a little easier with practice but I agree with Rayanne: listening is critical in a situation like this.

Love the Ting Tings video.

Comment by Scott Love on August 26, 2009 at 11:06am

Hey, Jason. Good stuff as always.

A few minor points, call them 'style differences' if you will: I don't recommend saying 'I recruit out of your company'. That's kind of like saying, 'I used to sleep with your wife before you were married'. It may be a fact but why bring it up? That always makes for an awkward next step in the relationship you are trying to build. Plus, I advise recruiters to stay away from 'the reason for my call is...' because that's like saying 'I am a recruiter or a sales person so get ready, there's a pitch coming'.

So go get a shave, get down from the tree, and for god's sake, quit philosophizing in the middle of the road.
Best,
Scott Love

Comment by Joshua Letourneau on August 26, 2009 at 11:51am

Completely agree with Scott - Scripts lead to the robotic statement, "The reason for my call is", "If you have a minute, Bob, I'd like to tell you a little about our firm", "Have you heard of Recruit-Force, Bob?", "Bob, I work for a firm that hires the 'best' and brightest'", etc.

My personal approach is to break mental patterns - I want to throw them off their game in the first 10 seconds. I want them to pause slightly; pause in the sense of not combating my 'script' with their 'script'. And if you think Hiring Managers don't have a favorite script for dealing with interrupting/impromptu recruiting-referral calls, you're wrong.

Their script normally sounds like, "I don't know anyone", "I'm busy right now", "Send me your information", etc. It's their mental pattern, so if you play ball the same way, don't be surprised when you hear these responses. Great pitchers are great because they mix up their pitches depending on the batter - if a hitter knows you're going to throw a fastball on pitch 1, a slider on pitch 2, and a curveball on pitch 3, you're too predictable and aren't going to be on the mound much longer. The goal is to mix it up to keep the batter off-balance to a degree (even if they don't know it).

Scripts are for robots - frameworks for what you want to accomplish during the call work better. Keep the endgame in mind, but don't be overly stolid in how you get there - anyway, that's my take . . . and it's a take that isn't easy to replicate and sell from a training perspective. It's all about a focus on results; not solely the process that leads to the results.

I can tell you that it works for me, and that's the important thing - use the approach that works for you :)

P.S. Sorry for the late post - obviously I'm 3 wks late, but I saw Scott's response in my Ning hub so it led me to watch the video. Great video, by the way - Jason, you have an honest and genuine way about yourself that translates very well to video. Keep 'em coming :)

Comment by Slouch on August 28, 2009 at 12:26am

Hey Scott, it can't be so good if you disagree with what I'm saying. I would never advise a recruiter not tell the person you are calling up front why it is you are calling. I would tell that recruiter to make sure you tell that person you are calling that you are a recruiter before you tell them what the purpose of your call is. I can't imagine a good reason why that is not the right approach. Maybe you get more objections that way. Maybe that gets you to be a better recruiter over time. With regards to telling a client the realities of how the 3rd party recruiting industry works I completely subscribe to that. I think it is good to be able to explain to a potential client how it is the industry operates and that no company is immune.

Josh, you are an interesting fellow. I hope you don't take too much offense to this but what you wrote is for sure the craziest thing I have read from you I think since day 1.

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