Emails… spam emails… social media… emails within social media… spam emails within social media…
In today’s hyper-connected world, there is so much noise that everything has a tendency to merge into one and, no matter the value or quality of the item you send electronically, it gets swept up in this wall of noise and given short shrift. Maybe it will be liked. Maybe swiped. More likely it will be ignored entirely. That’s what several generations have been conditioned to do – click, like, swipe, delete, forget. More than ever before, it’s tough to stand out on these platforms because of the sheer volume of competition for attention.
Don’t get me wrong, I believe a multi-disciplined approach to marketing is essential, but you are far more likely to stand out if you phone somebody.
Emails are, initially, a one-way street. There is no guarantee of it becoming a conversation. One side can simply decline to be involved. On a phone call, there is at least the chance to persuade somebody else as to why they should participate. You can react to their response and overcome objections – in short, it is more down to skill in selling than messaging and hoping.
There was a time where getting on the phone was the primary method of approach for recruiters but it has been replaced with initial written enquiries. Many who advocate this approach will defend themselves by using the words “polite”, “soft” and “respectful”. Make no mistake, they are using these words as a defence against the reality – that they are scared.
Scared of picking up the phone and introducing themselves to a stranger because they might be rejected. Scared of looking stupid in front of the rest of the office because a call went badly. I’ve even known company directors who still get nervous before making a sales call.
It’s somewhat understandable. It’s easier to cope with the passive rejection of somebody not getting back to your email than it is with the active rejection of somebody declining to speak with you or, worse still, hanging up on you (something that happens incredibly rarely, by the way).
It’s ok to be scared. But it’s not ok to let that beat you.
Yes, people may reject your approach.
But what if they don’t?
Yes, you may make a bad call and seem foolish to your colleagues.
But what if you don’t?
My advice? Get over it and get on it – pick the phone up and differentiate yourself from your competition.
Here are four great ways to help your office get back to basics and strike up the sort of two-way communication that leads to productive business relationships:
- Everybody on the phone at once – it’s harder to pick up the phone in a silent office, so set an hour (and build from there) where everybody agrees that it is phone time all the time and face your fears together. Don’t worry what you get, just get something – it’ll be more than you’ll get if you don’t make a call at all.
- Competitions – make it about something and for something. It doesn’t matter what. It could be most calls wins a stick of chewing gum. It could be most mobile numbers gained wins a bar of chocolate. Recruiters are naturally competitive people and earning that piece of Juicy Fruit or Mars bar will make them taste extra sweet.
- Role plays – if you’re nervous about how you come across, get a colleague or manager to role play a situation with you to practise. Better still, try out Recruitment Guide’s assessment call service and find out from an expert what you do well and what you could improve on in a controlled but realistic recruitment environment.
- Stay in the zone – rather than making a single call and then overanalysing, make a lot of calls at once, say 10 in a row. Arrange your call list in advance. Make clear but quick notes after each call and get dialing. Once you’re motoring along, you’ll cover ground more quickly than you will if you keep changing gears.