What are a couple of things I can do to minimize falloffs, counteroffers, and turn-downs from my clients? Jessica in Flagstaff
Minimizing falloffs, counteroffers, and turndowns from both clients and candidates is a common problem in the recruiting industry. We have developed a simple and repeatable process that can help minimize these issues.
The First Phone Call
It all starts with the first phone call. If you’re not digging deep with your candidates on that very first call, it’s a huge red flag. You need to find out what their minor imperfections are in their current role or company. This helps you identify the pain points that they are experiencing and gives you an opportunity to discuss them with the candidate.
I’ve always loved this Peter Leffkowitz question: “I know there’s no such thing as a perfect company or a perfect opportunity. If you had to describe some of the minor imperfections in your current role or current company, what would those be?”
I don’t want to talk about what makes them unhappy. That’s too big of a jump. They might be happy. That’s why I love the use of language. And then, as a good recruiter, you just extrapolate that question and go deeper. How so? Say more. How does that impact you? And with somebody who’s genuinely dissatisfied enough to consider a change, you’ll hear them amplify those imperfections over the course of five and even 10 minutes.
Looking Forward
From there, you can ask them to contrast those pain points with what they would like in their next role. This helps you identify their future aspirations and gives you a clear idea of what they’re looking for in a job.
“Looking forward, if you could hand carve the next step in your opportunity, what would that be? Mr. / Miss candidate.” And I want to have them get as specific as possible. I won’t settle for broad answers like, “I’d like to have more freedom time-wise.” You can follow that with, “Fantastic. For you, define more freedom? What does that look like on a daily and weekly basis?”
Remember, we’re looking for measurable information we can use throughout the interview process to help the candidate identify the value of the opportunity. The whole process of minimizing turndowns or counters starts in that very first interview.
Act as a Career Advisor
As you move forward with the candidate, it’s important to act as a consultant and career advisor. You need to constantly remind them of what they said their pain points were and how the opportunity you are presenting can help fix those issues. This helps keep them engaged in the process and ensures they are fully committed to the opportunity.
At the end of the first interview, it’s important to ask the candidate what they need to discover in the next meeting for this to be a heck yes or a heck no opportunity. You need to listen to their tone as much as their words. Strong recruiters hear the true meaning of the tone, while mediocre or low billers hear the words and ignore the tone. The best billers out there actively try to blow up deals. And if they can’t blow ’em up, they know they’re real because there’s nothing wrong with somebody who’s a little bit whiny coming out of their first interview.
Challenge Your Candidate
If you hear that the candidate is not convinced this is a good move for them, you need to be willing to pull them out of the process. Challenging them throughout the opportunity to fight for what they want for themselves is the greatest service you can give to another human being.
The whole time throughout the process, you’re checking in with them. If the number’s right and we’re a go, we’ll define what the right number is with them where it’s a yes, not I’m going to think about it. And that’s why you want to do this throughout, not only when you take that first data sheet and your first assessment of them, but at each point of the interview process. It’s not this big yes or no decision at the point of the offer.
Minimizing falloffs, counteroffers, and turn-downs from clients and candidates is all about having a simple and repeatable process that starts on the very first phone call. By digging deep, acting as a consultant and career advisor, and challenging candidates to fight for what they want, you can ensure they are fully committed to the opportunity and minimize the risk of falloffs.
P.S. Whenever you’re ready… here are 4 ways I can help you grow your recruitment business:
1. Grab a free copy of my Retainer Blueprint
It’s the exact, step-by-step process of getting clients to give you money upfront. https://get.therecruiteru.com/retainer
2. Join the Recruiter Think Tank and connect with firm owners who are scaling too. It’s our Facebook community where smart recruiters learn to make more money and get more freedom. https://www.facebook.com/groups/there…
3. Join me at our next event
3x a year, I run a 3-day virtual intensive, sharing the 9 key areas that drive a 7-figure search firm. Click here to check out the dates of our upcoming event: https://get.therecruiteru.com/emerge
4. Work with me and my team privately
And if you ever want to get some 1:1 help, we can jump on the phone for a quick call, and brainstorm how to get you more leads, more placements, and more time. https://get.therecruiteru.com/scale-now
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