Networking is the art of building and sustaining mutually beneficial relationships. It is the way we will do business into the future. Forget cold calling, become an expert networker and you won’t ever have to make a cold call again. In the definition above, it is important to highlight that the relationship must be mutually beneficial – that is, the relationship must provide a win for both parties. I think that’s where most of us get it wrong. We take the “spray and pray” approach when networking. That is, we give out and take as many business cards from as many people as possible without too much thought to each encounter. Networking is actually about helping others and allowing others to help you – it’s not about selling anything! (not at this stage anyway).
There are three types of people in this world; those who make thinks happen, those that watch things happen and those that wonder what has happened. Expert networkers make things happen. First impressions are important and your reputation starts with the first impression. Your reputation is what others think of you – it starts with the first impression and then builds as people get to know you. You can quite easily destroy your reputation if you act inconsistently or unpredictably. Remember that for networking to be worthwhile, you must GIVE as well as TAKE.
The interesting thing is that networking is actually about building relationships before you need them and then when you do, you can be sure that the person contacted will be willing to help. Diane Darling in her book Networking for Career Success says that “It’s a personal connection with people who may want what you have, know others who do, or play a role in the decision. Selling connects the solution and the problem. When marketing and networking have done what they can do, selling is much easier”.
There are many different types of networks – your family, your partner’s family, neighborhood; business and if you have children then there is also the school and childcare centre networks. Having said that, I know that many of you have outlook folders full of contacts, yet how much do you know about each of those contacts. A person is not in your network unless you know about them both personally and professionally and if called upon they would want to help you.
Personal Experience
I have always had a fear of networking. I am an extrovert, but would rather stick a pin in my eye than walk up to someone I don’t know and strike up a conversation. My brother on the other hand is an excellent networker. He, interestingly is an introvert, yet can walk up to any person in a room and make them feel special. He is a natural networker and when I considered his approach, I noticed the following things:
Approach those that are either standing on their own or don’t look huddled in an intimate conversation
Shake hands, make eye contact, smile and request a business card
Keep your hands out of your pockets and maintain a friendly body language
Keep your questions neutral, consider,
What brings you here?
How do you know the host?
What made you decide to come to this event?
What is your occupation?
Actively listen. That is, focus on what is being said and make a mental note of what is being said.
Make a note about each person on their business card so you don’t forget the encounter.
Always leave before the other person. Say “it was lovely to meet you and thank you for spending time with me”.
Another important thing to remember before attending any event is to make sure that you have packed your kit (business cards; Paper for note taking etc) and that you are dressed appropriately. Remember that first impressions are very important so don’t risk standing out!
Expert networkers know how to scan the room and get a sense of who is there before deciding who to approach. If you want to approach VIP’s, then do so early before they get swamped. Make sure that you have done some research on the person before the event so that you can strike up a meaningful dialogue.
Always ask for a business card before offering yours. Make sure to focus on contacts not cards – the art of networking is about making valuable contacts who you can help and who can help you.
Successful headhunters know the importance of creating networks. Imagine how much easier your job would become if you knew where to go for help in sourcing your ideal candidate.
Follow up
Networking is about building relationships. Ask about preferences for follow up (e-mail; telephone etc) and use that method. If you invite someone to lunch or coffee, be clear about your expectations. Follow up on a regular basis. When phoning, know what you want and what you are going to say. Always return calls within 48 hours and answer e-mail promptly, always using e-mail etiquette.
Once or twice a month, meet with someone you like and ask what you can do for them. Get involved with professional organizations and organize networking meetings within your company. A word of caution though – choose your causes carefully. Whether you choose a cause for business or personal reasons, it will reflect on both. Maintain your network and you will never have to start from scratch again.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Retainers is not a dirty word
I recently read an article by an industry commentator about retained business. I thought the comments were very superficial and perhaps the article didn't offer as much information as it should have. As an industry trainer and someone who has many years experience in this area, I thought I might share some of my comments on this issue.
Selling retainers for recruiters is a scary thing. I have been training for years on this topic and the resistance comes from contingent recruiters, not those new to the industry. I have found that if recruiters who are new to the industry are trained in selling retainers up front, then that is what they do. They never accept a contingent role!
My experience with selling retainers came from my time with Alectus Personnel in the mid 90's. I was one of the founding members of the company and for those of you that remember, Alectus was the support brand of the old Morgan and Banks. I set up the Alectus Accounting brand and was responsible for filling accounting support roles up to $50K. Roles over $50K were passed onto our counterparts at Morgan & Banks.
We were very much trained in the "Morggie" way. That is, we were expected to sell client paid advertising and retainers at the support end of the market. It was unheard of in those days and having come from a highly contingent agency, I was very resistant to change. I remember spending time with the directors of M&B and having my brain transplanted! At the end of the session I was convinced and sold a retainer within a week! I have sold many since then, all incidentally at the highly competitive "support" end of the market. I have also based my workshops around the skills I learned by watching and learning from the experts.
Here are my tips for success in selling retainers:
1. Belief - you must sincerely believe that the retained model is the best solution for all parties. If you don't believe it with all your heart, then you won't be able to convince your client. I can't emphasize how important this point is. All the skills training in the world won't make any difference to your success rate if you don't believe in yourself, your ability to deliver the candidate to the client and that this is the only way you want to work.
2. Clarify if this job is real - one of the best ways to do this is to ask the client "should I get up early and stay at work late to fill this role?
3. Find a problem and sell a solution that works for the client - Ask open questions that uncover problems with the current process. If there is no problem to solve, then the client has no reason to change.
4. Know the benefits for the client in working this way so that when objections occur (and they will) you can confidentially overcome them.One of the main benefits to your client in working this way is he/she gets 100% commitment as you have time to do things properly. It strengthens your relationship as you work together to produce the outcome required. Your client returns your calls and is responsive during the process. Retained recruitment means you need to work less jobs to get the same result as a contingent recruiter and with much less stress! Remind your clients that it costs no more to work with you this way and in fact many recruiters are moving their clients to this model as it is more effective in producing the outcome required
3. Selling retainers is a numbers game - like anything in recruitment, the more you ask for a retainer, the more you will receive. When I first started selling retainers, I would ask for 50% of my listings on a retained basis and get 10%, then as I gained confidence the percentage increased.
4. Learning to sell retainers is like an apprenticeship - nothing great comes without hard work. Learn the skills from those that have experience and if you attend industry training, ensure that the trainer has demonstrated experience in what they are teaching, that is they have actually been successful at selling retained business in the past.
5. Be selective about the contingent roles you take on - Moving from a contingent to a retained recruiter is like re-inventing yourself. Success won't necessarily happen overnight, but it will happen if you diligently follow the sales process. My rule if I was competing against 2 or more agencies was to turn the role away. Typically, I would say to clients “what I suggest you do is to evaluate what you get from the other agencies. If you are not happy with the quality of the response then come back to me and we can discuss how we can work together.” You will be surprised how many clients will call you back and then it becomes easily to move him/her to the retained model. Move your existing clients to retainers by explaining that to do the job properly in a candidate short market you need a commitment from them before you spend the extra time required to source quality candidates. Remind them that the market has changed and contingent recruitment will not produce the quality outcome they need. Reiterate that it costs no more than contingent recruitment.
Finally, remember that you are in control – you have what your clients need (quality candidates) so ask for retainers on each and every job you decide to work on. Finally, the biggest benefit for me when I was a recruiter was less jobs = more success = more money = less stress. Convinced?
I have an audio program available for download on How to Sell Retainers. For more information visit www.trtc.com.au. You may also like to read my published article "Reflections on Sex and the City" which was published in June 2008. Look on my website under "the Training Room".
Selling retainers for recruiters is a scary thing. I have been training for years on this topic and the resistance comes from contingent recruiters, not those new to the industry. I have found that if recruiters who are new to the industry are trained in selling retainers up front, then that is what they do. They never accept a contingent role!
My experience with selling retainers came from my time with Alectus Personnel in the mid 90's. I was one of the founding members of the company and for those of you that remember, Alectus was the support brand of the old Morgan and Banks. I set up the Alectus Accounting brand and was responsible for filling accounting support roles up to $50K. Roles over $50K were passed onto our counterparts at Morgan & Banks.
We were very much trained in the "Morggie" way. That is, we were expected to sell client paid advertising and retainers at the support end of the market. It was unheard of in those days and having come from a highly contingent agency, I was very resistant to change. I remember spending time with the directors of M&B and having my brain transplanted! At the end of the session I was convinced and sold a retainer within a week! I have sold many since then, all incidentally at the highly competitive "support" end of the market. I have also based my workshops around the skills I learned by watching and learning from the experts.
Here are my tips for success in selling retainers:
1. Belief - you must sincerely believe that the retained model is the best solution for all parties. If you don't believe it with all your heart, then you won't be able to convince your client. I can't emphasize how important this point is. All the skills training in the world won't make any difference to your success rate if you don't believe in yourself, your ability to deliver the candidate to the client and that this is the only way you want to work.
2. Clarify if this job is real - one of the best ways to do this is to ask the client "should I get up early and stay at work late to fill this role?
3. Find a problem and sell a solution that works for the client - Ask open questions that uncover problems with the current process. If there is no problem to solve, then the client has no reason to change.
4. Know the benefits for the client in working this way so that when objections occur (and they will) you can confidentially overcome them.One of the main benefits to your client in working this way is he/she gets 100% commitment as you have time to do things properly. It strengthens your relationship as you work together to produce the outcome required. Your client returns your calls and is responsive during the process. Retained recruitment means you need to work less jobs to get the same result as a contingent recruiter and with much less stress! Remind your clients that it costs no more to work with you this way and in fact many recruiters are moving their clients to this model as it is more effective in producing the outcome required
3. Selling retainers is a numbers game - like anything in recruitment, the more you ask for a retainer, the more you will receive. When I first started selling retainers, I would ask for 50% of my listings on a retained basis and get 10%, then as I gained confidence the percentage increased.
4. Learning to sell retainers is like an apprenticeship - nothing great comes without hard work. Learn the skills from those that have experience and if you attend industry training, ensure that the trainer has demonstrated experience in what they are teaching, that is they have actually been successful at selling retained business in the past.
5. Be selective about the contingent roles you take on - Moving from a contingent to a retained recruiter is like re-inventing yourself. Success won't necessarily happen overnight, but it will happen if you diligently follow the sales process. My rule if I was competing against 2 or more agencies was to turn the role away. Typically, I would say to clients “what I suggest you do is to evaluate what you get from the other agencies. If you are not happy with the quality of the response then come back to me and we can discuss how we can work together.” You will be surprised how many clients will call you back and then it becomes easily to move him/her to the retained model. Move your existing clients to retainers by explaining that to do the job properly in a candidate short market you need a commitment from them before you spend the extra time required to source quality candidates. Remind them that the market has changed and contingent recruitment will not produce the quality outcome they need. Reiterate that it costs no more than contingent recruitment.
Finally, remember that you are in control – you have what your clients need (quality candidates) so ask for retainers on each and every job you decide to work on. Finally, the biggest benefit for me when I was a recruiter was less jobs = more success = more money = less stress. Convinced?
I have an audio program available for download on How to Sell Retainers. For more information visit www.trtc.com.au. You may also like to read my published article "Reflections on Sex and the City" which was published in June 2008. Look on my website under "the Training Room".
Friday, September 4, 2009
Random Acts of Kindness
I am a follower of Random Acts of Kindness. For too many years I have been consumed by the be more, have more, consume more mentality. I was warmed by a recent story I heard of a famous restaurant er sitting on a park bench in Sydney. A homeless man approached him and offered the only possession owned - his blanket. The restaurateur was so touched he sold his restaurant and set up a charity that now feeds hundreds of homeless people a night. I am very lucky to have a friend Gwen who lives by this philosophy. She has shown me how the power of random acts of kindness make such a difference to the world.
I encourage those lucky enough to have cable TV to tune into the secret millionaire. You will be warmed and humbled by the stories told of random acts of kindness.
Think what a better place the world would be if we all committed to one random act of kindness per day.
I challenge you!
I encourage those lucky enough to have cable TV to tune into the secret millionaire. You will be warmed and humbled by the stories told of random acts of kindness.
Think what a better place the world would be if we all committed to one random act of kindness per day.
I challenge you!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Generation Y - have we created a monster?
I have become somewhat of a generational expert, having appeared on national TV and radio talking about generation Y and employment issues. Recently whilst travelling on a delayed flight, I started to think from a parental point of view rather than as a recruiter about the challenges that generation Y face.
As parents we all want a better life for our children than perhaps we have had. I certainly wanted a better or less painful childhood experiences for my sons than I have had. Is that perhaps why we created such a self indulged generation? My parenting situation was not unique. I divorced at 30 when my sons were 5 and 18 months old. On reflection, I absolutely indulged them. They attended private schools, had all the latest games and enjoyed lovely holidays accompanying me on my speaking trips as well as a couple of Christmas cruises. On reflection I indulged them because I had so very little time to spend with them. They were essentially brought up by my parents and various housekeepers whilst I climbed the corporate ladder.
Now of course that they are grown and on their own way in life I wonder whether I have given them enough life skills to "make it". My eldest is about to move in with his girlfriend and I wonder how someone who has always had a cleaner to clean up after him actually possesses the skills to clean up after himself. Is this my fault? Should I have better equipped my sons to face disappointment and failure. My concern for Gen Y is that so few of them have been dissapointed in their lives so far. They haven't on the whole been told to be patient, to try harder or that you have to actually work quite hard to get anywhere in life.
Should we as parents stop indulging them and start parenting more like many of us were parented?
As parents we all want a better life for our children than perhaps we have had. I certainly wanted a better or less painful childhood experiences for my sons than I have had. Is that perhaps why we created such a self indulged generation? My parenting situation was not unique. I divorced at 30 when my sons were 5 and 18 months old. On reflection, I absolutely indulged them. They attended private schools, had all the latest games and enjoyed lovely holidays accompanying me on my speaking trips as well as a couple of Christmas cruises. On reflection I indulged them because I had so very little time to spend with them. They were essentially brought up by my parents and various housekeepers whilst I climbed the corporate ladder.
Now of course that they are grown and on their own way in life I wonder whether I have given them enough life skills to "make it". My eldest is about to move in with his girlfriend and I wonder how someone who has always had a cleaner to clean up after him actually possesses the skills to clean up after himself. Is this my fault? Should I have better equipped my sons to face disappointment and failure. My concern for Gen Y is that so few of them have been dissapointed in their lives so far. They haven't on the whole been told to be patient, to try harder or that you have to actually work quite hard to get anywhere in life.
Should we as parents stop indulging them and start parenting more like many of us were parented?
Monday, August 10, 2009
Spring is almost here!
I have been very happy to hear the positive sentiment about the economy in recent days. That means that we will soon be back to "normal". That is, lots of jobs and no candidates. If you have worked diligently through the "winter" of the economy, you should start to see shoots sprouting soon. The recruiters who took the time to build solid client relationships prior to this difficult economic time fared much better than those who didn't. Is there a lesson in this and have you learned it? How are you going to ensure that you spend less time at the contingent end of the market and more time at the exclusive and retained? Now is the time to decide on your future and set your goals accordingly. Learn the all important skills for building better relationships and headhunting and use your networks more effectively. Use this time to "start over" on your desk and redefine it, and finally get ready for the ride once again!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Why are we all coming down with swine flu or some sort of the virus? Why are we unmotivated, stressed and unhappy? Why do many of us suffer from depression or related conditions?
One of the things about humans is that we avoid change, enjoy structure and like the status quo. We get used to how things work and most of us actually enjoy working within the confines of KPI reports and expectations being clearly reported as we know what the end result of our activities will be.
We have enjoyed one of the longest periods of solid economic growth in history. In fact for some Gen Y's this is the first uncertain economic time they have experienced. I'm not enjoying this time. My business started to go quiet in April and since then I have almost been on the longest holiday I have had since I started working some 25 years ago! No job is safe and for those of us whom are self employed, these times can be even more worrying.
How can you stay positive and get through these times?
Remember that "this time shall pass". Even though it may seem really tough right now, keep things in perspective. What's the worst that can happen? Yes you can lose your job, so what? Life has taught me that when one door closes another opens. It may be really ugly at the time but I assure you that you will emerge a better, stronger more resilient person as a result.
Do what you need to do to take care of yourself - exercise, read, spend time in nature. All of these activities cost almost nothing. Improve your skills so that you ready when the market turns but most importantly, reach out for help and support if you need to and remember that "this time shall pass".
Have a great day.
One of the things about humans is that we avoid change, enjoy structure and like the status quo. We get used to how things work and most of us actually enjoy working within the confines of KPI reports and expectations being clearly reported as we know what the end result of our activities will be.
We have enjoyed one of the longest periods of solid economic growth in history. In fact for some Gen Y's this is the first uncertain economic time they have experienced. I'm not enjoying this time. My business started to go quiet in April and since then I have almost been on the longest holiday I have had since I started working some 25 years ago! No job is safe and for those of us whom are self employed, these times can be even more worrying.
How can you stay positive and get through these times?
Remember that "this time shall pass". Even though it may seem really tough right now, keep things in perspective. What's the worst that can happen? Yes you can lose your job, so what? Life has taught me that when one door closes another opens. It may be really ugly at the time but I assure you that you will emerge a better, stronger more resilient person as a result.
Do what you need to do to take care of yourself - exercise, read, spend time in nature. All of these activities cost almost nothing. Improve your skills so that you ready when the market turns but most importantly, reach out for help and support if you need to and remember that "this time shall pass".
Have a great day.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Share your story on beating the recession
Want to be part of my next book?
I am looking for 100 stories of success in recruitment. E-mail me now to register your interest in being a part of this exciting and inspiring book.
Perhaps you have made it through the recession or have successfully juggled a career in recruitment with bringing up a family or perhaps you were told by your first manager that you would never succeed and have proved him wrong. Share you secrets to success with the recruitment world by registering your interest now! Email me at info@trtc.com.au with your contact details.
Gaynor Lowndes is the founder of The Recruitment Training Company which is the leader in the provision of training to the recruitment industry in Australia and New Zealand. Her first book “The Art of Recruitment” has become the recruiter’s bible and her new book promises to be a great read.
I am looking for 100 stories of success in recruitment. E-mail me now to register your interest in being a part of this exciting and inspiring book.
Perhaps you have made it through the recession or have successfully juggled a career in recruitment with bringing up a family or perhaps you were told by your first manager that you would never succeed and have proved him wrong. Share you secrets to success with the recruitment world by registering your interest now! Email me at info@trtc.com.au with your contact details.
Gaynor Lowndes is the founder of The Recruitment Training Company which is the leader in the provision of training to the recruitment industry in Australia and New Zealand. Her first book “The Art of Recruitment” has become the recruiter’s bible and her new book promises to be a great read.
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