6 Pro SALES Tips I want all Agency Recruitment Professionals to know

Agency Recruitment is a bit of a wild west. Since there are 0 barriers to entry to this sales career, many are falling into recruitment without ever having worked at a proper recruitment firm and/or being formally trained by top-billers in the biz.

So with that in mind, I wanted to share with you these 6 pro sales tips I want ALL agency recruitment professionals to know:

#1. Riches are in the niches

There is long-term business value for both PERM and TEMP agency recruitment professionals to consider honing in on a specific career vertical.

Think of it like running a law or real estate business - most professionals have a clear demographic of focus and area of expertise.

I.e. intellectual property law versus employment law, selling multi-million dollar mansions to celebrities versus condos for first-time home buyers.

The level of niche knowledge expertise differentiates you from other staffing/recruitment vendors. Thus, it's critical to go deeper to grab more market share rather than going wide and barely scratching the surface.

This is why strategically focusing on a specialism for each professional is the go-to strategy deployed by many fast growing and extremely successful recruitment firms. They don't do this by accident. They do it because it makes them rich.

#2. Master the MPC sales technique

Many salespeople find out eventually that the TOP BD strategy in this business is to sell MPCs (Most Placeable Candidates) to hiring managers.

Every. Single. Proper recruitment agency at a global level has taught their staff some version of this. This is a tried and true sales process that is STILL the lynchpin of all successful market buildouts from scratch to fully dominate a niche!

Even those who work at a proper firm including me were not given enough training on this, so I've created my own course you can access here.

Register here for my 11:30am Eastern June 20th, 2024 LIVE Q&A session on the MPC process.

#3. Create Processes for everything

If you let it, recruitment can be completely emotional and disorganized. Avoid losing your cool or cadence by having proper processes for everything.

Instead of reacting emotionally, follow your process!

What's the play when your candidate wants to drop out of process?

What's the play when your client doesn't want to offer?

What's the play when a candidate/client ghosts you mid process?

Have a process for everything because process is not emotional. It is logical and you can execute the task and move onto the next one.

Take time to access the situation with as little emotive response as possible and resolve the issue. Otherwise, your emotions may only seek to damage the situation further.

#4. In person relationships STILL matter

In today's digital age where relationships are replaced by zoom calls, the in-person advantage can't be overstated.

Client events, panels, interviews for podcasts, in-person coffees, meals, and client entertainment events, everything is at your disposal to use in your sales toolbox.

A little bit goes a long way and while the expense isn't cheap upfront for these lavish meals and travel costs, the future placement fees are well worth it.

What's a $300 meal when the placement fee is $30k?!

#5. Determine KPIs & Execute without distraction

In this business, volume and consistency are your best friends. This is why focus is critical.

Turn off all social media distractions and make sure you're hitting your KPIs you set out to do on a daily and weekly basis.

The inputs will ALWAYS impact the outputs. That doesn't change for anyone no matter how long you've been doing the darn thing.

#6. Re-Program how you communicate

Replace closed questions ("yes" or "no" questions) with open questions (who, what, when, where, why, how). Get rid of upspeak. Ask cringe questions (questions you're scared of asking but know must be addressed). Dig deep without giving up. Call people out. Fight if necessary. Know all the different sales styles and which one to deploy at what time.

These are all skills that top headhunters practice and get really good at. Nobody wakes up a master communicator. Everyday is another opportunity to practice and get better.

Whether your 1 month in or 10 years in, these tips STILL apply. Keep on keepin' on!

Dandan is a die hard agency recruiter and founder of DG Recruit, a R2R firm that services top-billers across the USA. Access more tips, live training events, and coaching through her podcasts here .