The Cold Calling Checklist That Top Recruiters Use

Cold calling is the subject of a multitude of books, seminars and courses, but the basics are very simple. Ultimately, cold calling is talking to people, something each and every one of us does every day.

Successful recruiters don’t use any complicated sales techniques;  they talk to their prospects, they ask questions and they bring in new business.

You are never going to convert every prospect into a client, but by using our simple three point checklist below, it will set you on your way to success in the recruitment sector.

Identify what outcome you would like from each call

Ideally, at the start of each day, you should have a call plan ready for that day’s business development calls. Putting together a list of targeted prospects, along with the desired outcomes is a great way to structure your business development activity for that day.

As a recruiter, ultimately you are searching for businesses to give you vacancies to fill, but you will be at different stages in the sales process with different companies, and your desired outcomes will reflect that.

With some companies you may be wishing to close the deal, but at others it may simply be a case of finding out who you need to speak to. Aiming for a specific outcome from each call gives your call structure, and will help you achieve even better outcomes.

Be flexible

Many recruiters, when faced with a prospect where they cannot get to speak to the person named on their data as ‘decision maker’ simply move on to the next company. Whilst never getting ‘bogged down’ is a good idea, have you considered talking to other people in the company?

You will find that recruitment is rarely the sole decision of one person in a larger company. The MD, relevant directors and HR are all suitable targets to talk to if you are getting nowhere with your own contact.

Success in recruitment boils down to talking to people. The more relevant people you speak to within an organisation, the better.

Continually review

As with any business activity, be it marketing, advertising or sales, always continually review and change your tactics according to what works and what doesn’t.

Look at what type of companies you tend to have more success with. Can you identify why? Is it a particularly buoyant segment of the market they operate in, or could it be you having more knowledge of this sector?

Identifying what works and what doesn’t, and more importantly why, is crucial to fine-tuning your skills as a recruitment consultant and ensuring that you continually develop.

It can also highlight areas of weakness, parts of your sector where you haven’t made any inroads. Maybe it’s knowledge or training issue, or a depressed market. Whatever the reason, once you have identified it, you can do something about it.

By following these three simple ideas, your cold calls will be much more effective than most of your competitors. Too many recruiters take a lottery approach to cold calling, bashing through call after call hoping to come across a vacancy.

Using this three step approach, you will find that you will be making fewer calls and getting more vacancies because you are targeting your approach much more, all in all a whole much more effective way of working.

‘Till Next Time,

Cheryl