Recruiting is all about being in the right place at the right time. Of course, to be in the right place at the right time, you have to be in a lot of places all the time. So, every recruiter worth their salt is very aware of how many calls they must make to put enough candidates in the pipeline to expect a certain level of return. In our office, a hundred calls generally nets 8-12 potential candidates.
But it is not just about the number of calls. According to Skip Miller in Knock Your Socks Off Prospecting, success depends on several factors. He suggests that our metric for successful cold calling should include at least three elements:
- Number of Calls or emails where we actually connected with someone or receive a response
- Talk Time – There is a direct correlation between time on the call and successful conversion (1-3 mins is normal, 3-7 is good, 8+ minutes = high dollar)
- Next Step Calls – Where a real conversation occurs, agreement is secured from the candidate for taking the next steps, and the candidate meets the agreed upon goals. This is the Principle of Verbal Agreement – People are more likely to comply if they have verbally agreed.
So, be sure to give your candidates homework before you get off the call – one simple assignment (send me a resume, send me a reference, etc…) Then set a date to reconnect. Your success rate will go way up.
