Selling a Product That Can Choose Not to Be Sold

Those of us in the recruitment field know what it's like when a candidate changes his or her mind about an opportunity. It can be devastating. Weeks or sometimes months worth of work slips through your fingers like sand, and there appears to be nothing you can do about it.

But can this kind of disappointment be curtailed from the start?

Establishing an open and honest relationship with your candidate is crucial from the first phone call. Often we don't want to ask the tough questions: What other opportunities are you considering? What might be some barriers that would prevent you from pursuing this position further? If we gather this information up front, we have a better chance of discovering where there might be flexibility in the position to meet our candidate's needs.

Still, no matter how much diligence we've had from the start, our candidates always have the power to make or break our efforts. Understanding that it's not personal, and moving on from there is vital to a successful career in recruitment. We can allow ourselves a moment to process the emotion of the loss, but resilience is the name of the game when you're selling something that can choose not to be sold.

How do you deal with the volatility in your day to day? Perhaps we should pilot a "Recruitment Vent Line" to voice our frustrations? Share with me a story where you had to rise above this kind of disappointment. I look forward to hearing from you!