Social Consciousness vs a Sales Mindset

Written by: Stephanie Healy Founder and Chief Executive Officer at One Recruiter

Consider this, more and more sales professionals are leaving large scale recruitment businesses to either join SMEs or go out on their own – which got me wondering, what is driving this?

Years ago, working in a large recruitment business was THE goal. Apply for an international business, start in a Resourcer position, gain exposure to different verticals, progress through the ranks and relocate to another office through the agency network, ultimately changing your life – But is this still the case?

Whilst many recruiters I’m speaking to advocate for the benefits of working at a larger recruitment organisation for the experience and skillset they receive; many are frustrated by the distractions a larger organisation can get lost within.

In the ever-evolving landscape of recruitment, there's a constant barrage of movements and trends vying for a business owner / leaders’ attention.

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the list goes on. While these are important enablers to build an inclusive workplace, embrace innovation and a sustainable way of working, it's time to recognize that they aren't the fire in the engine that drives a recruitment business forward – SALES is There I said it.

Sales is your organisation’s priority – and it is your people’s priority as well. Everyone in this industry is here for various reasons both personally to professionally, intrinsically, and extrinsically, but above all else, in this industry, you need to sell, convert, execute and deliver value. Your consultants want to be successful, to make money to fund their personal and professional dreams, and it’s up to all recruitment leaders to embrace this and show their teams that they’re there to enable them to do exactly that.

So why are we distracting them from doing what they signed up for?

The best recruitment leaders I’ve seen recognise the power of focusing on the fundamentals –which haven’t changed in decades – proactively reach out to clients, learn their needs, coach candidates well, sell the partnership to the client and execute with value. They understand that success in this industry is about a laser focus on what works – and they communicate that clearly to their teams, so they are laser focused each day.

I am not saying that ESG and DEI are not important topics, they absolutely are. Equally I am not saying AI cannot add value. What I am saying is the fundamentals of recruitment being a sales-oriented business have not changed and it needs to maintain a huge share of voice and time within a recruitment business to ensure the mindset, skills and habits of consultants and leaders are at required levels to be successful.

And…there should be no shame in making that abundantly clear to all.

So, to all recruitment leaders and business owners out there, if you aren’t leading sales and talking about it with customers, what EXACTLY are you leading? (and what IMPACT is it having?)

Questions worth pondering.

Hear more from Steph about our upcoming training course for high-performing consultants.

APSCo Australia and One Recruiter have put together a special intensive two-day Sophisticated Sales Training program in Canberra; meticulously crafted to supercharge consultants to bill $500k and beyond.

This program will be held in Canberra, on May 1-2. Read more about the course offering here

Hear from Steph Healy of One Recruiter who will be leading this intensive Sophisticated Sales Training Program: https://vimeo.com/937539768?share=copy