I am a great believer in making scintillating recruiter marketing presentations. By implementing the Feature-Advantage-Benefit (FAB) approach, marketing can be fun!
The FAB presentation is an easy format to learn and can be used with either an ‘Idea’ presentation or a Most Placeable Candidate (MPC) presentation. It works with either, although I prefer the MPC avenue.
Now, if you use a candidate as an MPC, you can very easily apply this FAB principle. The Feature is what the Candidate does. The Accomplishment is how well he/she did what he/she does—these are usually spelled out in ‘concrete’ (number) terms. And the Benefit is how those Accomplishments will benefit a new company—a company to which you are going to take the Candidate.
Now you are armed to make a scintillating presentation. You will be able to answer the prospective HM’s non-verbalized question (“What can this Candidate do for me?”) and you can easily avoid the “No Openings” box. The FAB presentation also allows you to get excited about the Candidate and that excitement will be contagious. To reinforce this last point, remember sales training icon Cavett Roberts insightful quote that, “People are more moved by the depth of our conviction, than by the height of your logic.” FAB an MPC and you’ll see what I mean.
Most of us make a fundamental mistake when we initiate company matching call. We tend to be so excited to have a recruit to present that we go willy-nilly into our presentation without re-qualifying the JO and/or setting the stage for the subsequent interview. We just call in and present our candidate. At the end of our breathless monologue, we hear the Hiring Manager say, “Gee, he really sounds good, Bob. Send me his resume.” Or, “Well I don’t know, let me think about it and I will get back to you.”
So, we have basically arranged nothing. This isn’t quite fair when you consider that we were given the JO, or search assignment, with the expectation that it was an urgent matter. We already won once when we wrote the JO. Based on that victory, we then went to our marketplace and expended a lot of time and effort (for free if this was a contingent assignment) betting that anyone we would find would be a match. And now we have received nothing for our hard work. Woe is us!
Recruiter marketing FAB scripts
Approach this task a little bit differently. First, after recruiting your candidate, call the hiring manager and re-qualify the job order.
“John, remember when you gave me the information on this search assignment you said that the title of the position was ‘X’. Is that still the same? Yes, well that’s good. And that the duties and responsibilities were ‘Y’. Has that changed at all? No. Good. And that the salary range was ‘Z’. Is that still the same? Good. And that you agreed to pay my 30% fee. Are we still OK there? Good.”
Then set the stage.
“Then I have some good news for you. I have canvassed the area. I have talked to many potential recruits. And finally I have refined the list down to three who are qualified and are good matches for you and your company.”
Then set the hook.
“So, John, this is what I have done. I have arranged for these three recruits to be available to speak with you next Monday and Tuesday (as we had pre-arranged) at 9, 11 and 2. Now let me tell you a little more about them.”
Robocruiter always presented his candidates to his client companies in this way. He first re-qualified the JO, he then set the stage and finally he inserted the “I have arranged” close. His central focus was that he had arranged for those people to be there. In his mind, it was a done deal, so to speak, because it had already been arranged.
This approach works for a couple of reasons. First of all, HMs, and indeed most business people today, have things arranged for them. So what you’re doing is fitting into that nice neat package of how they do business anyway. Also, if something’s arranged, it’s going to take place.
If I said to you, “Let’s have lunch some time while you are here,” we wouldn’t have lunch. But if I said, “I have arranged for us to have lunch at noon on Wednesday at Ruth’s Chris, and this is what I want to discuss,” then now, all of a sudden, it’s arranged. You can actually picture Ruth’s Chris restaurant and can even visualize the table where we will be sitting. It’s an accomplished fact. It’s done. As opposed to me saying, “Let’s have lunch this week,” and then the luncheon never taking place.”
This recruiter marketing approach works. Try it and you will see.
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Bob Marshall of TBMG International, founder of The Marshall Plan, has an extensive background in the recruiting industry as a recruiter, manager, vice president, president, consultant, and trainer. In 2016, Marshall is celebrating his 36th year in the recruiting business. He can be reached at bob@themarshallplan.org or at 770.898.5550. Marshall’s website is www.themarshallplan.org.