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Passion+Persistance = New Clients

Staffing Stream

Passion+Persistance = New Clients

March 15, 2013
Businessman talking on the phone

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When introducing myself to a prospective client over the phone, I have one incredibly difficult task ahead of me: persuading them that my legal recruiting company will provide beneficial services to them and make their job easier.

As one can imagine, the point of contact often doesn’t return my introductory call with a warm welcome, if at all. Even identifying the proper person to call, particularly at larger companies and law firms, can be difficult and time consuming. Although there are inevitable roadblocks in any business development role, I have found that passion and persistence are the two qualities that invariably enable me to sign new clients.

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Recently, I attempted to contact a financial services corporation after seeing their ad on a job posting board that was perfect for our recruiting niche. Since they are a large company, I knew that signing this client would not be easy. Luckily, I was able to identify the proper contact from the start, but despite this minor triumph I did not receive any feedback after three weeks of multiple attempts. The key during this unfortunately common situation is to not get defeated.

I decided to keep calling and, much to my own surprise, was finally greeted by a voice at the other end. During our first conversation, the hiring coordinator said they typically don’t use recruiters and was not interested in our services. Although this news was discouraging, I considered it a neutral response, so it did not end my pursuit. I continued to monitor the status of the job on the company’s website, and when I saw that it was still listed two weeks after my first contact (five weeks after I initially reached out), I decided to call again.

My second conversation was drastically different from the first. At this point in the process, they still could not find qualified candidates for the job. After about ten minutes of talking, she decided to use our services. A contract was executed shortly thereafter and they hired one of the candidates we submitted six weeks later. Although my first conversation was brief, it ended up being essential to the eventual signing of the client.

When I spoke with the hiring coordinator the second time, not only did she know who I was, but also realized the value of our services. Persistence enabled me to not only determine that the job was still active, but also to actually obtain a lucrative new client that generated revenue for my company.

Persistence, however, is only valuable with authenticity. I genuinely believe in my company’s mission. It is also essential that I demonstrate an ardent belief in my company’s ability to recruit talented and qualified candidates with each of my prospects. Since my primary form of communication is by telephone, the challenge is to convey that confidence not by what I say, but how I say it.