Sales pitch of a Recruiter

It is very well accepted that when a recruiter approaches a candidate, he/she is in the shoes of a sales person- trying to sell a job. But most recruiters lose too many candidates because they refuse to see the selling part in it. The probability of closing a business deal depends on the selling skills of the sales person and so is the case in recruiting. Most recruiters lose candidates due to lack of basic recruiting skills and to make things much more painful they lose the candidates very early in the process.

It is always better to have a value building approach rather than one shot miss all approach. Taking the latter approach is more likely to find yourself running into a wall. For example, most recruiters impel more on compensation while approaching a candidate for an opening. Compensation is not always at the top of candid list. Instead people look for the scope and challenges involved in the job, the company culture, the business growth prospects etc. The best way of starting a conversation would be to inquire if the candidate is open to explore a superior career opportunity rather than a "are you interested in XYZ?"

Once you have given the conversation a shade of strategic career growth, there is very little that you can go wrong with. Your next step should be to wait for the "what’s in it for me?" question. This is probably where the $$$ part comes in. Make sure the candidate is convinced that he is not making a long-term decision (ruling out/accepting the offer) with a short-term frame of reference (compensation).

Throughout the process, you have to be cautious of not rushing away. Not all conversations would end up in a hire straight away. Sometimes it would require a series of conversations where in the candidate have to be nurtured with relevant information to reach a stage of decision-making. After all, recruiting is no different than selling.

Sell well, Recruit better.