
43 lessons from 2,000 client visits
Have I done 2,000 client visits?
At least that many. All over the world.*
Obviously, I did not count them, but one a week over my career takes me well over that number. (And it’s much more like two a week anyway)
Due to Covid and much else, plenty of recruiters have done very few meetings IRL recently. Even VC meetings, if done at all, are to take an order.
The ability to sell to a ‘prospect‘ has suffered.
So, the need to build relationships and uncover business opportunities is becoming important again. And ironically, with the emergence of AI, interpersonal skills will become more critical, as it’s a key opportunity for us to differentiate.
So, did I learn anything from those 2,000-plus meetings? I like to think so. Do these resonate with you?
- Just turning up for a visit is not enough. You have to plan, structure and craft a great meeting.
- If you are meeting with the wrong person, not the decision-maker, you are wasting your time and did not do the research.
- A great meeting is not a ‘friendly chat’. It could be that as well, but it must be an exchange of meaningful information, that ends with a roadmap for the future relationship.
- The more (quality) visits you do, the more business you win. (That is gospel)
- The visit is the start of the relationship getting real.
- The fundamental goal of a prospect meeting, the one thing you must achieve, is ‘credibility’.
- You can learn a considerable amount that will help you in the meeting while you are in reception.
- Meetings fail because of a lack of structure, planning, poor questioning skills, the consultant talking too much, and missing the actual needs.
- A client in pain is a good thing. Meetings help you identify clients ‘in pain’.
- You can qualify a job order immeasurably better at a visit, and qualified job-orders get filled.
- After you visit a client, your commitment to helping them get the best staff increases. Or decreases. Either outcome is excellent because you know your level of commitment.
- When you meet clients, you make better matches.
- It is much easier to sell roles to candidates once you have met the client.
- Your preparation and research make all the difference to the quality of the visit outcome.
- Allow enough time to get there on time. Why make a stressful situation worse by annoying the client by pitching up late?
- Building early rapport is a critical and much-underappreciated imperative. It must be done authentically, and it may take time, but you can get better at it.
- Asking intelligent questions is the backbone of a successful meeting.
- Clients become candidates, especially after they have met you.
- Clients often lie. Usually, white lies. And the more they trust you, the more honest they become.
- An effective client meeting will have the client talking 70% of the time and you talking 30%.
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- Client meetings are like a first date. The more you talk about them, the more they like you.
- When the client is talking, you are selling.
- Don’t give the client any collateral, brochures, salary surveys or anything other than your card, until the end. If you do, they will read that and stop listening to you.
- A prospect, who is cold, sceptical, brusque, and disinterested at the first meeting, can be friendly and chatting by the end of the meeting, and your lifelong client after six months. That is the power of a great client meeting. And some of the best fun this industry can offer.
- If the client keeps you waiting too long in reception, takes calls during your meeting, haggles your fee, and is generally disrespectful, this client will jerk you around forever after. (Depend on this)
- You start the meeting with non-threatening questions like ‘Tell me about your company’ or ‘What is your market like’.
- However, by the end of the meeting, you have addressed all the hard questions like “Who do you use”, “How much do you spend on third-party recruiters”, and “What do you like and dislike about agency service you get”. But you have to earn the right to ask these questions!
- You have to close. That means taking an order or getting a commitment to work on their next order. And you have to ask for the business before you leave.
- If the prospect is seeing you, there is a reason. They did not agree to meet you because they had nothing else to do that day. An opportunity exists there. Even if the client says, it doesn’t. It does. Maybe not right now. But it does.
- If the client asks questions and even raises objections, that is a sign they are interested. Stay calm and deal with it, because reward awaits.
- When the client starts talking about fees and discounts, you know you have not sold your service well enough. And you need to go back to talking about your value, not your price.
- No ‘pitch’ to a prospect is the same. You don’t have a ‘one size fits all’ presentation, that you wheel out on every occasion. You tell the client what they want and need to hear, and you know what they want and need to hear because you have asked the right questions and have unearthed their needs and ‘hot buttons’.
- A demeanour of confidence, self-belief, and an attitude that says, “I am an expert in my field”, overcomes just about everything. Without that self-belief, you will never earn ‘recruiter equity’.
- Selling exclusivity and retainers is immeasurably easier in a meeting than over the phone or by VC.
- Possibly the most valuable thing you will give the client or prospect in the meeting, and what they are likely to remember you for, are market insights and professional advice.
- The ability to ‘sell your differentiator’ is a crucial selling skill. To do that, you need to know what they are and know which of your differentiators has value to that particular client.
- Never say to a client, “I know you are busy. I won’t keep you long”. You are busy too. Your time is valuable too. The meeting will take as long as it needs to take. Be respectful to the client, but don’t belittle your value.
- Always agree on the ‘next steps’ before the meeting closes. That might be another meeting, a call back at a specific time, or an open brief on skills needed that allows you to be back in touch with specific candidate profiles.
- Ask for referrals. Who else in the group hires?
- Don’t put your phone, keys, or folder on the client’s desk.
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- Don’t take a phone call in the clients’ office (obvious, but some clowns do it). Don’t be on the phone when the client greets you in reception. Don’t even have your phone visible during the meeting. And do not allow it to ring, beep, ping, or play ‘Highway to Hell’ either.
- Remember to ask the two most influential business development questions in selling. ‘Who else?’ and ‘What else?’.
- The best fun in the recruitment business stems from meeting clients. That is when the adrenalin pumps. Most of the rest of this job is glorified administration. Or un-glorified administration, for that matter. It’s in the client meeting that the magic happens!
Have I missed any lessons from client meetings? Please leave your comments and ideas below.
* Client meetings, literally, all over the world. These countries, for a start: Australia, New Zealand, England, USA, South Africa, South Korea, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, India, France, Spain, Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, and The Netherlands.
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This is an excerpt from my new book ‘Recruit. The Savage Way’. Get it here
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- Posted by Greg Savage
- On July 10, 2023
- 5 Comments
5 Comments