Are you ‘touching base’ … and pouring your credibility down the toilet?
Is it possible to come up with a more clichéd reason to call
a client or prospect than ‘I’m just touching base’?
a client or prospect than ‘I’m just touching base’?
I cringe if I ever hear a recruiter say that hackneyed
phrase. They may as well just say ‘I can’t be bothered thinking too hard about
what I should say but I hope you will talk to me’. It’s the ultimate in
recruiter laziness. And it’s just as prevalent now as it ever was.
phrase. They may as well just say ‘I can’t be bothered thinking too hard about
what I should say but I hope you will talk to me’. It’s the ultimate in
recruiter laziness. And it’s just as prevalent now as it ever was.
No wonder clients and prospects are increasingly reluctant to
pick up the phone or continue a conversation when they know a recruiter is on
the other end. Who wants to have a conversation in business hours with a person
who just wants to ‘touch base’?
pick up the phone or continue a conversation when they know a recruiter is on
the other end. Who wants to have a conversation in business hours with a person
who just wants to ‘touch base’?
Every phone call you make to a client or prospect
should be one in which you endeavor to enhance your credibility with the person
you are talking to. You won’t achieve this goal with every call for many
reasons, some outside of your control. However opening the conversation with
the ‘touch base’ reason is just recklessly pouring your credibility, whatever
amount of it you had, down the toilet.
should be one in which you endeavor to enhance your credibility with the person
you are talking to. You won’t achieve this goal with every call for many
reasons, some outside of your control. However opening the conversation with
the ‘touch base’ reason is just recklessly pouring your credibility, whatever
amount of it you had, down the toilet.
Having a credible reason to set the context for the
call really isn’t that hard, you just have to give it some thought (and keep
good notes on your database from previous conversations).
call really isn’t that hard, you just have to give it some thought (and keep
good notes on your database from previous conversations).
Here’s a list of twenty-two reasons you can use to
prompt your gray matter next time you’re about to pick up the phone and call a
client or prospect when you aren’t running a current recruitment assignment
with them:
prompt your gray matter next time you’re about to pick up the phone and call a
client or prospect when you aren’t running a current recruitment assignment
with them:
- To follow up
on a placement (credit check), whether in credit period or not - You read
something about the client in the media and you want to discuss the topic
with them - To follow up
an article of interest you sent them (by email or snail mail) - To arrange to
bring morning/afternoon tea (for the temps generally, or for a special
occasion such as a temp’s one year anniversary, wedding, birthday etc) - To arrange a
coffee or lunch - To invite them
to an industry breakfast/lunch/cocktail party - To ask whether
they will be at an industry event or function that you will be attending - To invite them
to an in-house function - To ask their
professional opinion on something (eg salary levels, performance
management issue, University undergraduate or post graduate program or
other professional course) - To
float/reverse market a candidate - To ask for any
candidate referrals for a job you are working on - To discuss the
job they advertised directly on their careers site, job board or elsewhere - You saw an ad
another recruiter was running that read like it was your prospect/client’s
company - To ask whether
they may need a temp or temps for holiday cover over Christmas/New Year,
Easter or any other seasonal period - They recruited
a temp(s) this time last year – might they have the same need again? - To mention
something you read or heard about a specific personal interest they may
have (parenting, golf, footy team, stamp collecting etc) - To take a
reference - To conduct a
review of a recruitment exercise you recently completed on their behalf - To request
their input (eg quote or to interview them or have them on a panel
Q&A) for a blog or newsletter you, or somebody else in your company,
is writing. - To provide
additional advice on an issue they have asked your opinion on previously
(performance management, salary review, training & development etc) - To advise
about other services your company offers that the client or prospect may
not be aware of, or has forgotten about. - You supply
recruitment services to another business in their industry/business
park/suburb/street/building and you thought it would be appropriate to
meet to talk about their needs
The most important thing to remember in having
appropriate topics to talk about with a client or prospect is to keep
detailed notes in your database so that you can refer back to previous
topics of conversation. Do not rely on your memory!
appropriate topics to talk about with a client or prospect is to keep
detailed notes in your database so that you can refer back to previous
topics of conversation. Do not rely on your memory!
No matter how engaging the conversation was, the
passing of days (and likely, weeks) and the hundreds (thousands?) of
conversations you will have in the interim, will mean that you will forget
important details of the conversation and, under pressure, you will resort to
‘touching base’ with your next call.
passing of days (and likely, weeks) and the hundreds (thousands?) of
conversations you will have in the interim, will mean that you will forget
important details of the conversation and, under pressure, you will resort to
‘touching base’ with your next call.
Please don’t be that clichéd recruiter.