Developing Candidate Rapport

Building relationships, whether personal or professional, takes time and consistent effort. Today, our phones blow up with unsolicited robocalls and salespeople trying to talk us into their products or services. This has put everyone on the defensive when their phone rings.?

Are you struggling with engaging your prospects over the phone? Cold calling can be challenging, especially since many people don't answer calls from unknown numbers. In such cases, waiting for the caller to leave a message may seem like the best option.

However, if there's no voicemail option available, the likelihood of getting blocked by the receiver increases. In this situation, it's essential to understand the secrets to better connection engagement to increase your chances of success.

Frequent and consistent communication fosters and reinforces close relationships, allowing individuals to connect and build trust over time.?

It's connecting, reaching out, and engaging with potential candidates long before cold calling them. This approach allows you to build rapport and establish a relationship, increasing the chances of a positive response. Make it a priority to invest time and effort in these pre-call activities.

By establishing consistent contact, individuals can build deeper connections with each other and strengthen their bonds over time. This helps to create a sense of trust and understanding, which are crucial for any healthy relationship to thrive.

In the mortgage industry, there’s usually no rapport with loan officers. Often, they receive numerous unsolicited cold calls from recruiters and sales managers who fail to take the time to develop a relationship.

This approach can be quite challenging for recruiters to establish a good relationship with loan officers. When the calls are answered, the loan officer often fails to acknowledge or respond to the recruiter’s outreach attempts.?

Recruiters often face a daunting task when building a solid rapport with loan officers. Despite their persistent outreach attempts, loan officers frequently overlook or disregard the recruiter's communication, making it difficult to establish a meaningful relationship.

Establishing a strong connection with potential candidates is crucial for recruiters to create a lasting impression. However, a lack of engagement can hinder this process and make it challenging to build rapport.?

As a solution, recruiters can focus on developing a more proactive communication strategy to stay top-of-mind with potential candidates and increase their chances of success.

As a busy leader, it's easy to overlook a simple yet effective technique we call touchpoints. This technique involves prioritizing building relationships with potential candidates by showing an interest in them and communicating with them long before a cold call. This demonstrates your leadership through your respect and behavior, not to mention creating a warm initial call.?

If you improve your touch point frequency and effectiveness, you can significantly improve candidate engagement.

When attracting the best talent, it's crucial to prioritize the candidate's experience. Building trust and demonstrating an interest in their well-being can make all the difference in the relationship.

Engaging with potential candidates long before reaching out to them is essential to recruit top talent successfully. Building a relationship early on can increase the likelihood of a positive response once you take the first step and call them.

Candidate relationship is a simple approach to cultivating a pipeline of potential new employees. Strong relationships can help you find the best talent and build a positive candidate experience.

Today, social media has made it easier than ever to connect with professionals. Creating a profile that showcases your strengths and interests can help you network effectively and build meaningful relationships.

To successfully recruit, it's essential to understand the candidate's perspective and provide tailored solutions that align with their business and career goals. Consistent communication and a genuine interest in their network can demonstrate strong leadership and promote a positive candidate experience.

It's essential to have a well-planned approach when talking with potential candidates to make sure they are interested in speaking with you.?

Ultimately, as a recruiter, we introduce candidates to hiring managers and facilitate the hiring process; from there, success is based on many elements, but one of the most important is the relationship between the candidate and the hiring manager.?

Let's share an approach utilized by top recruiters:

A Recruiter’s Story

Once upon a time, there was an executive recruiter named Jim. He was tasked with finding the ideal candidate for a high-level position at a prominent company. He realized that the conventional approach of cold-calling candidates would not be practical for recruiting loan officers.

Therefore, Jim decided to adopt a different approach. He began researching potential candidates on LinkedIn and other professional networks and started reaching out to them with personalized messages. Initially, he did not mention the job opportunity but instead focused on creating a conversation and building a relationship.

Jim shared interesting articles or industry news with the potential candidates and engaged in discussions about their professional backgrounds and goals. He also ensured that he responded promptly to any messages or inquiries they had and was always polite and helpful.

Over time, Jim's efforts paid off. He had developed a rapport with several highly qualified candidates he knew would be perfect for the position. When the time came to reach out about presenting the opportunity, Jim had already established a foundation of trust and respect with these candidates, which made the conversation much more effective.

Thanks to Jim's approach of developing relationships with qualified candidates before the initial cold calling, the company could fill the position with a talented and experienced loan officer who was a perfect fit for the role. Jim felt satisfied knowing he had helped connect the right person with the right opportunity.?

And everyone lived happily ever after!

Our frequency of interactions with candidates will vary depending on the nature of the role in the company. To guide you, I have included a list of examples below.?

However, if you are unsure, it's always better to err on the side of more frequent communication than less:?

1. Initial Connection Request: The first step is to send a connection request.?

• Please ensure your message is personalized and includes why you want to connect with them.
• Start the message with a soft intro, follow up with your market thoughts, and follow up with “Please add me to your professional network.”
• DO NOT solicit them. They most certainly will not ACCEPT your connection.

2. Endorse a skill: Once the connection is accepted, immediately go to the bottom of their profile and endorse one of their skills.?

• LinkedIn sends the new connection a note saying (your name) just endorsed you for that skill.?
• LinkedIn gives them a quick reply to messages to send to you. Thanks for endorsing them.

3. Thank You Message: Once the candidate accepts your connection request, wait a day. Then, send them a thank you message. This message should be brief and should thank them for accepting your request.?

• Thank them and let them know that “your network is now open to them, and if there is anyone they would like to introduce them to, don’t hesitate to reach out.”
• DO NOT solicit them. They will click remove connection if you start pitching them now.

4. Follow them on LinkedIn: Following someone is a great way to expand the timely news, insights, and other quality content you'll see in your Feed. It also lets you see the person's posts and articles on your homepage.

5. Like a post: Once you receive the accepted notice, wait a few days, and then find and LIKE a post of theirs and add a nice comment. It also helps you develop the relationship.

6. View their profile again: Before taking the next step, wait a few more days. Many LinkedIn members look on their HOME page to see Who viewed their post. This lets new connections know you are interested in them and keeps your name top of mind.?

7. Send an Introduction Message: After the series of above touchpoints have been applied to the message, it's time to introduce yourself. Please don't mention your company name. This relationship is between two like-minded professionals. Provide a brief overview of who you are and what you liked about their profile or experiences. Keep it light and professional.

8. Schedule a Call: Once you've established a connection, followed, liked a post, and shared some information, it's time to make the initial call.?

By carefully following this series of touchpoints on LinkedIn, you can significantly improve the likelihood of a potential candidate showing interest in taking your initial call. It's essential to approach this as a professional connection, considering the value of being personalized, informative, and respectful of their time. You can build strong relationships with the right approach that leads to successful outcomes.?

The world of web-based technology has evolved, and many tools on the market can create automation to handle Casting a wide net to connect with more prospects on LinkedIn.

Are you struggling to connect with prospects? Comment below and I will respond to your comments.