The Story of the Problem That Turned into the Program

In September 2016 I was at a crossroads.

I’d been coaching owners and managers on recruiting for just over two years and was running into a problem common to all sales coaches…

Getting my clients to pick up the phone and make prospecting calls.

I’d tried every motivation and accountability tactic in the book, but nothing seemed to work.

And I couldn’t keep doing the same things but expecting different results. That’s the very definition of insanity.

So I started asking around to see if there was a way for my clients to outsource their recruiting calls.

It turned out there were a couple companies and individuals who made calls. But, they got mixed reviews and I heard reports of them using questionable tactics.

I didn’t feel comfortable recommending them.

And that meant if I wanted to help my clients outsource their calls, I had to create the service myself.

Now, becoming the operator of an appointment-setting service wasn’t something I ever envisioned.

I hadn’t made recruiting calls in a decade, I had no experience managing people, and I wasn’t even sure where to start.

But I figured it was at least worth taking a shot at a pilot program.

Three of my clients agreed to be my guinea pigs (I didn’t charge them) and I made my first attempt at the pilot in October 2016.

It was a complete and utter failure.

I hired a Canadian telemarketing company a friend recommended, gave them some common recruiting scripts, and had them hit the phones.

They made something like 600 calls and didn’t get a single lead.

Not one.

No way I could continue using them.

And since I’d lost a bunch of money on this initial attempt at the pilot, I was hesitant to hire another telemarketing company for the next attempt.

So I started making the calls myself.

The first 100 or so did not go well.

Actually, “did not go well” is an understatement.

I sucked.

But as I experimented with different scripts and got comfortable with the common objections, I got better.

And after making close to 1000 calls myself I felt comfortable launching what is now our Recruiting Calls Program (creative name, I know).

I tell this story because creating the program taught me some valuable lessons I’ve never shared before:

1.) If you want to get good at making recruiting calls, you need to make hundreds of them. There’s no substitute for repetition and experience.

2.) Scripting is everything. If you don’t grab agents’ attention in the first 30 seconds of the call, you’re dead.

3.) Picking up the phone is still the surest way to recruit. Email, direct mail, networking, and even Facebook ads have their place, but they can’t replace making calls.

4.) 99% of agents don’t mind a call from someone other than you. And the agents who do mind probably aren’t worth recruiting because of the egos.

5.) You can outsource your recruiting calls. You can’t outsource the time commitment it takes to become successful at recruiting.

Drew

P.S. - If you don’t like making recruiting calls, aren’t making them consistently, or want more appointments, our Recruiting Calls Program can help.

I just reopened the program and there are a handful of spots remaining. If you’re interested in learning more, click here to book a call directly on my calendar.

But please book the call before Friday. I attend Inman Connect next week and the program always fills up after an event like that.