A Letter From our Founder
If you were anything like me as a kid, you used to crave the adrenaline of amusement park rides. The roar of the rollercoaster as it rocketed past while you waited in line; the butterfly feeling in your gut as your car climbed the ascent. As a kid, the highs and lows were exciting.
Nowadays, perhaps not so much. Now, rollercoasters—and the events in our daily lives that simulate its ups and downs—are no longer desirable. Sure, the ascent feels great, but coping with the lulls, especially in the executive search world, causes most of us a lot of stress.
I’ve Been There
As a former executive recruiter, I’ve been there. And I feel there’s a level of camaraderie as I’ve silently shared in the pressures of navigating the ups and downs of what makes up the world of executive search. I know a few of these scenarios will look familiar:
- Working for free: Recruiting tirelessly on a role only to find out the client is putting a “hold” on the search, or they’ve decided to promote from within
- Losing a candidate because your client dragged their feet to make a decision after a three week interview process—or better yet, didn’t give any candidate feedback at all.
- Constantly justifying your 25-30% fee because potential clients “always pay their vendors 15%”
- Cold calling and cold calling and cold calling as a business development strategy, only to hear: “We have no needs”; “Talk to HR”; or, “You have to be on the vendor list.” Or worse, no callback at all.
We Have the Same Wants and Goals
At the end of the day, we all want to be taken seriously. We want to work with clients who value our time and see us as a partner—and be able to walk away from those who don’t. We want the A-level searches and to increase our fees, without having to sell our soul to the devil and work around the clock, or add additional headcount.
But how, and what tools, are going to help us be seen as an impactful, dominant, respected leader in our market? How can we stand out in a sea of noise?
One Thing is Clear
Being in the executive search industry, your business is different—and your marketing strategy needs to be different, too.
No limited time BOGO deals on the latest Yeti cooler, here.
You’re in the business of talent, building trusting relationships, and changing people’s lives. And it’s safe to say that very few other businesses give you the opportunity to make the kind of money that you can in this industry. You have the opportunity to gain a loyal client, and that client might mean $100k, $500k, or even millions of dollars of net profit over the next couple years.
What You’re Not in the Business of
Marketing. And that’s okay.
To be successful and achieve growth, it’s important that you’re able to narrow down what you are going to spend your time on—the things only you can do—versus what you need help with.
So, if you’ve ever thought…
- “I’m a recruiter, not an expert in marketing.”
- “I don’t know where to start.”
- “I would need to hire a full-time employee to support any marketing efforts”
… then, I first want to say, I get it. And I know how to help. No more ups and downs. No more feast or famine. Again, as an executive recruiter, your business is different—and your marketing approach needs to be different, too. How, exactly? Stay tuned for my next blog post where I dig into that very topic.