Gift that Keeps on Giving

Published: Nov 21, 2019 7:05 PM | By Kathleen Kurke | Viewed: 1880
Category: Expert Advice, Trends | Tags: Email Marketing, Candidates, Leadership, Marketing

It’s a beautiful thing, this crazy world of ours. There’s always something going on. The stock market is going up. Or, it’s going down. Companies are merging. Or they’re selling off a business unit. New technologies change older ways of doing business. Tariffs will ruin the holiday selling season. And then, tariffs are postponed. Brick and mortar stores are closing and on-line stores are opening brick and mortar. Today’s ‘no openings’ is tomorrows ‘urgent’ assignment.

Change is the gift that keeps on giving. We must go looking for it and unwrap it.

Here’s a short list of places to look for the gift of change that can translate into placements.

New products in new categories
- Plant based meat substitutes are the new hot offering at big fast food restaurants, including McDonalds, Burger King, Dunkin, White Castle and Denny’s. With two big companies showing triple digit increases in market share, other food and beverage companies will be racing to grab a part of that market category.
- FIND THE GIFT: Regardless of your prospects’ current product offerings, present candidates with expertise in an ancillary market to top level executives in your current niche. Those companies might just be ready to broaden their product offerings. Run candidate email marketing campaigns and market candidates from your current niche to companies in an ancillary market.
Changes in leadership
- It can be easy to assume senior players stay in place. Not true. During the first three quarters of 2019, more than 1,000 CEOs stepped down or were kicked out, as reported by Challenger, Gray and Christmas. Some of the former CEOs are from big companies, including WeWork, JUUL, eBay, Gap and Nike. Others are from much smaller companies. CEOs (and other senior executives) aren’t any more permanent than the rest of us.
- FIND THE GIFT: Target your marketing calls high up in the organization. Very high. Call at the CEO and Board levels, even if you haven’t made placements there (yet). Tell them you know companies make changes at the top and you want to help them when they do. Market high level candidates to higher level executives. Higher level placements generate higher level fees.
New and shiny objects
- Companies always need something new that they didn’t need before. Sometimes, they’re able to train existing staff on new process or new technologies, but sometimes they need to hire those skills from the outside.
- FIND THE GIFT: Always be asking, “What’s the one skill the company needs to continue growing that your people don’t have now?” It might be a technology, or it might be knowledge, or it might be a process. CNBC is already reporting on the list of hot technology skills for 2020, but it’s the prospect’s answer to this question that serves as your invitation to market candidates matching their ‘wish list’. Bring them what they say they’ll need and when they’re ready, you’re ready with the talent they need.

If you go looking for change, you’ll find it. That’s where the money is in our business.

Shiny objects – what’s next?

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/19/these-will-be-the-top-10-most-popular-tech-skills-of-2020.html?__source=newsletter%7Cmakeit

Written by

Kathleen Kurke

Well known for her 30 year history of high dollar production and growth-oriented leadership, Kathleen has worked extensively with companies and individuals to leverage learning as a business success strategy. Clients ask Kathleen to work with them on increasing Production, Profitability and building high-performing recruiting teams in the Executive Search, Perm and Staffing industries. Having served as Chief Learning Advocate with Global Recruiters Network, Inc (GRN), Kathleen worked with the almost 200 franchised offices to implement a learning strategy that increased system-wide and individual office revenues by launching over 1000 hours of annual learning content. While National Practice Leader with StarbridgeGroup, Inc. Kathleen worked with training and consulting companies around the world to recruit and hire executive talent to convert their business goals into reality. Her tenure in the learning business has included highs and lows in her various roles as practitioner, search team leader, building and managing a 15 person search firm, as a franchise owner and a franchise consultant and learning leader. Kathleen now works with a variety of recruiting and human capital companies as a speaker, trainer, coach and business consultant. Kathleen began her professional career in 1980 when she traveled around the country teaching sales effectiveness to thousands of fund raising executives on behalf of a national non-profit organization. After several years, Kathleen shifted into sales, starting with opening new territories and moving up to Vice President of Sales for an educational software firm. Moving into recruiting provided Kathleen with a powerful way to leverage her sales and executive experiences, and her long history of helping executives build organizations and struggle with career decisions established her as a trusted advisor and coach. Kathleen has remained a leader in the executive search industry for the last 20 years of her recruiting career, and was selected in 1995 for membership in the Pinnacle Society, a recruiting industry honor society recognizing 75 of the top executive recruiters in North America. Kathleen was honored to serve as President of this prestigious organization for 4 consecutive years, and has now returned to the organization as an honored member Emeritus. Kathleen’s core expertise is in helping others learn and get things done. Working with others as coach and consultant, she is known for helping her clients build dreams, make plans and execute to create results. Often that means laying out a roadmap, identifying roadblocks and building a detour so the journey is productive. Kathleen Kurke specializes in Productivity and Profitability Coaching in the Recruiting Industry. If you or your team would like to make better choices on working Job Orders to increase your production and pro tability, reach out to Kathleen at kathleentkurke@gmail.com.