The Recruiter Campus

Recruiting Plans: Seed (Plan) and You Will Grow Rich!

Most recruiters and recruiting firm owners have spent more time planning their family vacation than doing their annual business plan.

Frankly, many of them will also admit in small private conversations that they aren’t thrilled with their current situation either. 

I am going to boil down a real simple “101” process to build a recriting business plan for you that will keep you excited and on track to grow your revenues.

1)     What do you want to achieve, EXACTLY?  First think longer term, 3 to 5 years out.  Write these down and get REAL SPECIFIC.  Then look 12 months out.  What needs to occur in the next 12 months that enables your 3 year goals?

2)     Then ask the question most forget to ask.  WHY is this important to me?  Why do you want to achieve this in your recruiting business?  Get real specific.  Everyone says they want to make a lot of money, but few know EXACTLY what they would do with it!

3)     What are the activities needed to GUARANTEE

It's October: Is Your 2011 Recruiting Business Plan Complete Yet?

 OK, you have completed your 2011 recruiting business plan right?  No? .... you didn't even do a business plan for 2010 either? As I write this in late October 2010 I realize most of you don't have plans ready for 2011 yet.  But let me challenge you as to why it is important to get it done and done QUICKLY!

Think about it... If you took a brand new job order today, right now and then filled the position successfully, when would the check arrive?  Probably January right?  Let's go thru the process quickly.. 3 weeks or so for recruiting process + another 3 weeks plus for interviewing process combined with a two week notice period means the person starts sometime in December.  Most clients pay net 30 days... cash comes in January!

OK, now that I made my case that your activity for the rest of this year is your income in 2011, lets get down to some of the first elements you want in a good recruitig business plan.  The biggest mistake I see recruiters and recruiting firm owners make

Recruiter Time Management: How to Get 2 to 4 More Hours Out of Each Recruiting Day

 

Being proactive in the recruiting business 

REQUIRES you to have and to look at your annual recruiting business plan You then need to chip away at the objectives one week and one day at a time.

 

But where do you find the time when your recruiters are asking questions, candidates are calling and you need to order staples to keep the office running?

 

Follow these SIX simple steps and you will add two to four hours of productivity EVERY Day:

 

1. 

First, track a week of your time in a notebook in 15 minute blocks to see where your major time leaks are.  Begin to reduce these the following week.

 

2. Schedule two or three hours of strategic initiative time into your weekly calendar in one hour blocks. Don't answer the phone or take questions from your recruiters during that time. Also, this is key, CLOSE YOUR EMAIL application during this time.  Most calls, employee issues, emails

Recruiters: Is your Day Managing You?

"...But Mike, I don't have enough time", says the anonymous struggling owner with about $400k in office revenue as we discuss strategies he agrees he needs to implement to grow his recruiting business.  This is a common lament of many recruiting firm owners that I coach, mentor and am associated with.

 

Let's face it.  As recruiters we are salespeople.  If you own your own firm you are an entrepreneur.  Is there no more perfect recipe for short attention spans, lack of planning and focused effort?

 

Here's the big problem.  Most of us (me included when NOT planned) REACT to incoming calls, issues with our employees, incoming emails (this one is huge), the shortage of staples in our office, etc in the MOMENT instead of having a system of handling these issues.  When we react we diffuse our attention.  When we react we are by default unable to be PRO-active.

 

Here are some ideas on how to fix that!

Recruiters: Free Audio Download: 6.5 Strategies You Can Use To Explode Your Billings Now!

According to most Recruiting Firm Owners I speak with March and April had VERY strong activity levels with more Job Orders, interviews arranged and, even PLACEMENTS!

 

To keep your momentum going, I recently hosted a complimentary 35 minute teleseminar to share 6.5 Strategies you can Implement (audio link below) now to EXPLODE your revenues at Little to NO Cost to your firm... just some simple, practical ideas overlooked by most recruiting firm owners.

 

NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED!

 

Here are just some of the ideas I discussed:

• How to Hire New Recruiters Now and Where to Find them!
• The Importance of Recruiting Metrics -- what you do to Avoid the Ups and Downs of the Business.
• Builiding/Re-Buildin Your Recruiting Firm Now, Why You Have a GREAT Opportunity.
• Recruiter Time Management and Planning Tips to Get More Hours out of Each Day.
• The Mistake we ALL Make and How to Avoid It!!!

TO ACCESS THE AUDIO, CLICK THIS LINK NOW...

http://AttendThisEvent.com/?eventid=12760113

Recruiting Conference: Strategies Taken from Day 3 of The Recruiting Firm Owner Summit

 
Another full afternoon from the recruiting Firm
Owner Summit!

Here's my quick strategy take away's you can use
in your business RIGHT NOW:

1) A time management tipfrom Gary Stauble is that you
should have 3 types of Days.  a) Focus days where you have
focused intensity and execution (Mon-Thurs).

b) Buffer days, where you do your strategic work and planning (fri).

c) Free days, where you rejuvenate and refresh yourself (weekends)

2)Bill Radin's observation in many offices he has consulted
is that activity levels,phone connect time are way toooo low.
Average office connect time is 1 hr 28 mins, should be over 3hrs.

3) There is an inverse relationship between the number of job orders
a recruiter is working and the success of the recruiter.

Recruiting Firm Owners: How to Market Your Firm to Get Clients Calling You!

Today I interviewed recruiting industry legend, Bob Marshall on How to add a new industry specialty to your office and Neil Lebovits on how to use the internet to market your recruiting business and have those who hire reach out to you with their openings.

You can listen to the entire 35 minute call here,no registration, no strings attached.  It's that good!  You can also download the audio in MP3 if you like.

Here are a few tips Neil shared on Internet Marketing:

The traditional web site we all have developed is largely ineffective because most visitors don't buy or call you when and if they find your site.  To convert these visitors you want to "capture" their email addresses on your website by giving them a free special report, a free video or audio training.

Once you capture their email address you can then market to them via email to stay in touch with them and establish yourself as an industry expert in your niche.  An example of what a page like this would look like is my site . This is a strategy to get you in front of people in your niche continuously.  For more details, listen to the call.

Here are a few of the tips Bob Marshall shared on establishing a new industry specialty:

Time Manangement for Recruiters- How to Get Things Done in Your Recruiting Firm!

See the image to the left?  $50 bills blowing in the wind! That is what I see every day in many offices of recruiting firms.  Money blowing out the window in lost time.  You see to me it's visible.  That wasn't always the case.  I made the same mistakes as other recruiting firm owners and didn't really KNOW the value of my time.  Not knowing this lowered its value significantly.

Today I interviewed two industry trainers Gary Stauble and Doug Beabout on how to get greater productivity in our recruiting firms.  Here are some quick tips from Gary and Doug:

1.  Create Strategic Urgency.  Do tasks like recruit calls, marketing calls, Planning and strategic development time in 30 to 50 minute blocks using a digital timer that counts down.  When the clock goes off, move on to the next task.
2. Have 10 minute meetings with your recruiters once per week where they have answers to predetermined questions in advance of the meeting.  Questions like:

• What have I accomplished the past 7 days?
• What are my challenges now?
• What are my opportunities?
• What am I committed to the next 7 days?

Then coach them around the answers to help them implement their new ideas.

3.  Hire a researcher, even in tough times, to take the $5 to $10 per hour activities that are keeping you from what you do best which is the interaction with your recruited candidates and clients.

• This can be a part or full time person
• They will leverage your time and do things you are probably putting off!

These were just a few of the ideas I took from these two speakers.  You can get free access to this interview HERE.  Both Gary and Doug are being featured as part of the world's first Recruiting Firm Owner Virtual Telesummit March 8th thru 12th designed specifically around the needs of recruiting firm owners.

Calling all Recruiting Firm Owners! Virtual Summit in March

 
One of the largest voids I have found in the recruiting industry is the lack training or recruiting seminars dedicated specifically to us, the owners and managers of recruiting firms.

Well, I am doing my part to change that.  I have gathered some of the most influential thought leaders like Bob Marshall, Bill Radin, Gary Stauble, Bill Boorman, Margaret Graziano, Mark Berger plus several others in a one week virtual telesummit with one purpose:  to give you the tools, strategies, and tactics to emerge quickly and profitably from this recession.

What is a Virtual Telesummit?  The speakers come together every afternoon the week of March 8th for 4 hours each day and present to you in "your office".  No travel or time away, so you have no excuse not to invest the time in your business.  Can't be on some of the calls live?  No problem, you can listen whenever you want.  Recordings will be posted within 24 hours of the presentation. 

I have asked all the speakers to pull back the curtain and share some of their secrets that have made them successful.  If you are looking for innovative ideas in finding, hiring, motivating recruiters you will want to listen in as to what these people have to say.

Check out the conference and the agenda.  Register HERE for free sneak preview calls where the speakers share some of the ideas they will be presenting at the Summit.

Recruiters- Do You Have Trouble Planning?

One of the first challenges recruiting firm owners and recruiters bring to me as a coach is "Mike, I need help planning" and/or (read a 'whining' sound into this) "I don't plan well or at all!"

Well I have good news and bad news!  This won't be the 157th article you read on good planning, on how to devote a period of your day to map out strategically what you will do next week and tomorrow.  Don't get me wrong, I believe you need to do this, but just between you and me-- please keep this a secret-- I was HORRIBLE at it!  That doesn't mean I didn't plan, but putting together lists, filling in forms made me want to stick needles in my eyes!!

Here is what it took me over 10 years to learn.  Most likely poor planning is a result of the recruiter or recruiting firm owner having a very weak short and long term vision for their business.  You see, "making a lot of money" is NOT a vision and frankly it is not even compelling until you can answer "How MUCH money?" and for "What SPECIFIC purpose?"

Here's a quick question to see if this applies to you: