Congrats on your recent engagement

When was the last time you read an instruction manual?

You spend 4 hours and 37 minutes a day on your phone. That's 70 days a year.

And yet I can guarantee you never read the instruction manual.

The gadget in your pocket that runs your calendar, controls your money, connects you to friends and family… it couldn’t be more central to your life. But you didn’t feel the need to read through a document telling you how to use it.

If that’s how we approach the most important device that affects how we live our daily lives, it’s safe to say that we’re highly unlikely to concentrate on the details of something we only have to do now and then. In a work context, something that isn’t core to our job description.

Which brings us on to hiring managers.

‘Hiring manager’ is not a job title, of course. It’s how us recruiters describe someone with a real job title when they have yet another task on their to-do list, and this one involves hiring.

And when these innocent people are suddenly transformed into hiring managers, we can be sure they’re not in the mood to read an instruction manual on how to do things.

To put it another way, they’re not going to listen intently as you explain how you’re going to solve their one-off hiring problem (task 7 on the list of 84 things to do today). Other things they’re not going to focus on: your terms of business; your testimonials; the About Us page on your website.

So here’s the question: how do we get hiring managers to understand why they should choose us when they won’t listen?

To answer that, let’s return to the little black device in our pocket. How did Apple get people to learn how to use their iPhone? By making us part of the learning process.

We didn’t have to spend hours reading what to do and how to do it. Apple designed the iPhone to be inviting to pick up and play with. And once we were in, we engaged with the controls and discovered how to do the things we wanted to do.

One flaw in this approach is that you and I probably only know how to do about half the things we could do on our phones. But of course it’s not a flaw, because we found out the things that were important to us… and didn’t get bored by having to learn things that we didn’t need.

Here’s how we engage hiring managers

So far we’ve been asking hiring managers to read the instruction manual. “Sit still for 15 minutes while I talk you through my process.”

It isn’t working.

We need these people to hear what we have to say if we want to win exclusivity and justify higher fees. Which means we need to get them engaged in our pitch, rather than passively listening (or not).

The most powerful way to do this is by giving your clients a choice. If people are told what to do, they turn their brains off. If people are asked what to do, they have to think.

You can do this by creating a menu of services, then talking with - not to - hiring managers about the service that works best for them.

Because you’re the expert, this conversation gives you the opportunity to show your potential client how consultative you are. You find out what they need, what challenges they’re facing, what support they value from you… all to help them make the right decision for them.

You’re on their side. You can answer their questions. You can even tweak the services here and there to make your approach bespoke to their needs.

And they engage in this. They listen. They ask questions. They see your expertise. And they want to work with you.

This is how you get potential clients to understand your value.

Once they are engaged in this consultative conversation, you can justify your fees and explain that they should work exclusively with you - ideally with part of the fee paid upfront.

What do I do again?

Recruitment leaders often ask me to explain more about what I do.

I don’t tell them.

Because I know that it I talk at you for 15 minutes about my process, you are going to turn your brain off. No offence taken, it’s just human nature.

Instead, I suggest we start by reviewing your current pricing approach. A consultative look at where you are and your biggest challenges. An engaging conversation.

Where we go from there is up to you. But you know that you have a better understanding of where you are right now, and some ideas on where you could go next.

If you’re looking to change how you engage your clients, win higher fees and more exclusive business, simply reply to this email with the word ENGAGE and we can talk.

Jon

P.S. “Today we will now demonstrate the safety features of this aircraft. Your attention is essential as this may be different from other aircraft.”

If you want an example of turning your brain off while being told something, think what you do when you hear the opening words of a pre-flight safety briefing.

A few airlines have famously tried to get our attention by using humour and animation, but at the end of the day we’re all stuck in our seats while they talk at us.

Next time you’re pitching to a client, ask yourself whether they’re stuck in a cramped airline seat with their brain turned off. Or are they engaged in a conversation with you about the what they need.

If you’re looking to change how you engage your clients, win higher fees and more exclusive business, simply reply to this email with the word ENGAGE and we can talk.