Last month I introduced the subject of discovering newly emerging recruiting jobs in the December 16 blog post, Pact With The Devil.
I also promised a follow-up in which I would share with you another layer of business opportunities I sometimes uncover as I call into companies every day looking for those hard-to-find candidates that aren’t exposed on social media.
I know some of you work directly with business owners who are glad to have someone take over the difficult process of hiring people. In this respect many of you become a trusted advisor and friend to these owners.
I also know that in this capacity some of you have listened to (or overheard) these owners mention that one of their plans for growth is in acquiring other companies. You may not realize it but you are in a particularly advantageous position to be on the front-end lookout position for this effort.
Let me tell you a story from that job I was working on in last month’s blog post.
As you recall, I was looking for a Director of Operations for a Midwestern heat exchanger manufacturer. They wanted a hands-on plant manager out of a discrete/engineered products manufacturer in Tornado Alley. I was calling into plants identifying plant managers on the first leg of my job.
I’d done that at fifty or so companies and the second leg of the job was to contact each one to see if they’d have an interest in speaking with the recruiter for the heat exchanger manufacturer.
I’d called and spoken with several when I got the seventh or eighth one on the line.
“Bob? This is Maureen Sharib and you don’t know me. I’m calling on behalf of XYZ and they’ve asked me if I would call you to see if you might have an interest in speaking with them about a Director of Operations position they have open at…”
Blah blah blah I finished my opening and he listened politely and then he said:
“Well, now that sounds all ducky and if I were at that point in my life I sure might be interested but seein’ as I own this joint I ‘spect I’m kinda’ stuck here for the time bein’….”
I swallowed hard knowing I’d made a mistake when I picked up the name – I’d called and asked who the “Plant Manager” was and whoever it was I spoke with gave me the Owner’s name! Now I know some of you are thinking, “Stupid mistake!” and it was, I admit, but hey, we’re all human!
What would you have done at this point?
Here’s what I did.
As I said I swallowed hard and then I said, “You’re the owner? I’m sorry. I thought you were the Plant Manager.”
“I’m that too,” he said, humorously. “I wear a lot of hats around here.”
“Do you think about selling?” came out of my mouth next.
Here’s why I said that.
This particular customer I was doing this job for has shared with me their strategy for growth and it includes buying other heat exchanger manufacturers. This gentleman owns one.
It never hurts to ask.
“I’m 71 years old,” he said. “I’m going to sell sometime.”
I’m not at leisure to share much more with you at this time about this particular transaction (maybe someday I will!) but suffice it to say there’s money out there for you recruiters that you’re not participating in (well, maybe some of you are!) that takes the form of bird-dog fees that can add up to some wonderful bonuses that can represent whole year recruiting volumes every so often.
Recruiting isn’t just about matching people to jobs anymore. It’s about matching people (and companies) to opportunities and you can be a part of that brave new world.
Did you notice one thing though, in this exchange?
I was calling people on the telephone.
I was talking to people.
As long as you’re doing that you’ll always be in the money stream.
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I really appreciate that you took the time to read my post. I regularly write about phone sourcing and business development issues and trends. If you’d like to read more about the mysterious world of phone sourcing (it’s really not that mysterious!), Google my name and the word gatekeeper – lots of articles will come up for you that I’ve written over the years. It’ll be a good introduction for you to the subject!
Follow me on Twitter at @MaureenSharib and/or join my sourcing group on Facebook – Sourcers Unleashed.
Yes, I do (grudgingly) have a LinkedIn profile – send me an invite at maureen at techtrak.com – I’ll accept. I do post articles over there as well.
I own the phone sourcing/competitive sniffing firm TechTrak.com, Inc. that helps companies find and telephone contact candidates for their hard-to-place positions at fractional traditional recruiting costs.
You can always contact me at 513 646 7306.
