Remember Your ABCs

Published: Nov 12, 2018 9:03 PM | By Kathleen Kurke | Viewed: 1605
Category: Columns, Expert Advice | Tags: Candidates, Recruiting, Placement, Marketing, Clients

When it’s first thing in the morning and the entire day stretches before you, your day is filled with possibility. You’re the one to make that happen, and the key to that possibility being profitable is to connect with people and create action. If that thought is daunting at times, step out of overwhelm and remember your ABC’s.

To connect with people and create action, be sure to work in blocks of intensively focused phone time and work toward your outcome goals of Presentations and SendOuts. Be sure any non-phone time activities are connected to making placements, eg planning, building email campaigns, are tied directly to marketing or recruiting campaigns, and that you also focus on those during pre-planned blocks of time.

During your calls, be sure to remember your ABC’s.

A is for Advance.

Look and listen for ways to move every relationship and every deal forward.

Ask questions about the next step. And, the step after that. And, the step after that.

Prep and debrief clients and candidates by focusing on solving business problems.

Ask questions that are future focused.

What will it look like when …?

What will it feel like when …?

What will the benefit be when …?

In every conversation about a deal-in-process, ask:

What additional information will help Client/Candidate make a Yes or No decision?

Create a next step to help them uncover that information.

End every conversation with a starting place for your next conversation.

B is for Build.

Focus your call time on creating placement possibilities.

Call 10 brand-new, never contacted before, companies or buying center.

Call on planned Marketing Campaigns to create additional Assignments.

Call on planned Recruit Campaigns to get SendOuts on open Assignments.

In EVERY call, ask about other company needs and candidate referrals.

C is for Close.

Preset expectations with clients, candidates and decision influencers that every step in a process leads to a choice: (1) Yes, (2) No, or (3) I need more information to select Y or N?

Remind yourself that a “no” decision is better than no decision if clients or candidates can’t identify what else they need to know to pick “yes”.

So when the day stretches out before you and you’re feeling overwhelmed, go back to the basic and practice your ABC’s.

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.