Give your closing a day off

Always be closing.

Decide now or miss the boat.

No, you can’t take any more time to think about it as the offer will be off the table tomorrow.

We’ve all been on the end of someone trying to seal a deal. Applying the pressure. Turning up the heat.

I don’t know about you, but the more someone tries to convince me to buy something, the less likely I am to want to buy it.

A lot of businesses seem on the face of it, to have realised that the ‘hard sell’ is a thing of the past. Although, I know a few used car salesmen who would argue different.

More and more recruitment businesses talk about relationships. The value they put on listening. They call their staff consultants. The mainstay of a successful recruitment process is built on these elements.

So, what changes so often when it comes to the delivery of a job offer?

I understand the excitement. As a recruitment consultant, you’ve (usually) done a lot of work by this point. You’ve secured a client, you’ve understood the brief and found a candidate, you’ve managed to get the two parties together and they like each other. One wants the other. An offer is made. But the candidate wants a little more time to think about it.

A little more time to decide if this really is the best thing for them. If the move gives them what they originally wanted. If the money is right. If the commute is worth it. If they will enjoy their new environment. Whatever it is, the point is there are a number of variables and factors to consider.

What do you expect the result to be if you don’t give someone any time to consider the above? Yes, you will have (hopefully) had conversations about these factors and more before you get to this point but the heat's now on. The decision is a real one. With real implications.

Maybe your client doesn’t like the wait. They don’t understand why someone isn’t immediately delighted with the offer and the chance to join them.

The truth is, often they are but still want a little time to digest and confirm their choice. Which is fine. Of course, working towards a timescale is reasonable and at some point, a choice needs to be made. But if someone wants a little time to have a think about a decision as important as something that effects their livelihood, it should be respected.  Leave the closing for another day.

Waiting is hard. There's a fee attached and your a deal away from another month without your manager asking you for a daily activity review. But considering only your own agenda won't help. Putting too much emphasis on the close instead of the conversation and on the deal instead of the discussion, can be a fatal error. So have a little patience.