When Trying To Recruit, Obstacle One Is Getting An Appointment

When Trying To Recruit, Obstacle One Is Getting An Appointment

In a hot hiring market, it’s up to you to get in front of the best sales talent.

BY DAVE HERSHMAN | CONTRIBUTING WRITER, NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL

One key objective in the recruitment process is to uncover the prospect’s needs. However, if you never get to meet with the loan officer prospect, you will less likely be in a position to uncover their needs.

Therefore, the first step is to get the appointment. Getting an appointment is not so easy, especially since most loan officers have recruiters cold calling them all of the time. Here are a few rules that should help:

• Cold calls. Like mortgage prospects, cold calls are harder to convert. Thus, if you can receive an introduction through a mutual source, you are at least starting out on the right foot. As you can tell, I am not enamored with the process of cold calling.

• Start with value. Send an article, news update or other information they will be interested in, instead of information about your company. The more value you give them, the more likely they will reciprocate by agreeing to meet.

• Don’t start with the obvious approach – Can we meet so that we can talk about you coming to work for our company?

Even if you have built up some value in reserve, this question belongs at the end of the process, not the beginning. Thus, we would suggest you try one of the following approaches instead- or formulate your own approach: I have heard a lot of good things about you through my contacts. I am always networking so that I put myself in position to help others within my sphere. Do you have time to meet so that we can get to know each other better?

I am always talking to top loan officers to find out more about how they generate their business and handle challenges. I would love to meet with you and share some of this information and also find out more about your business model.

I am a producer as well as a manager. I get a lot of my business from other loan officers, as I always find some deals that they can’t do or prefer not to do, and vice versa for me. I would love to meet with you to find out what type of business you specialize in and how we might be able to help each other grow our businesses.

This last approach is especially important because it provides an important concept -- synergy. Being a producer, many times this production is what keeps you from recruiting. But if you specialized in getting referrals from other loan officers, then you would be able to work both of your priorities at the same time. That is a prime example of synergy.

Keep in mind that these approaches, though better than the first approach, are not always going to work. Again, so many recruiters are calling these loan officers that they are going to be on the defensive. You may have to promise them that you will not spend the meeting trying to recruit them. In reality, if they can be recruited in a first meeting with you, they are not likely the quality of candidate you want to recruit.

You can let them know that the meeting is about networking. Therefore, if you have contacts to help them, you will be happy to share. And you will encourage them to refer other recruiting prospects to you. This step is all about positioning. You must be in the right position to uncover their real needs.

DAVE HERSHMAN