Here’s Why I Don’t Call You …

If you are not yet a client of Staffing Advisors, do you ever wonder why I don’t call you?  You obviously read this blog, maybe you read our newsletters, maybe you heard me speak somewhere or we met at a networking event, or maybe you just know someone who knows me. 

I could find your contact information (DUH, I’m a headhunter) and it’s likely that you would take my call if I called you, and yet I don’t.  It’s not that I don’t want to talk to you …  far from it.  

So why don’t I call you when it appears that everyone else in the search business calls you regularly?  And further, how exactly do we remain busy, without cold calling, while so many other staffing firms are struggling?  

Because the world changed.  People want communication, conversation and engagement on their terms, not cold calls.   So we’re here on your terms, and as you can see, we put all our energy into researching and sharing how to solve your staffing problems … not pestering you for work.

What’s probably not obvious is just how many people call us.  Friends, casual acquaintances, people who have never spoken to us, people who have no budget to engage our services this year, people who might never be in a position to engage us for a search … all kinds of people call.  All the time.

This blog has been a great way for me to start a conversation with you, without interrupting your day.  You can continue that conversation by posting a comment on this blog, connecting with me on Twitter, sending me an email, but really, most people just call me.  So what do people call me about?  Well last week it looked like this: 

• “We have someone retiring and need some help to rethink the position.” 
• “I need to prove a point to my executive team, can you send me some articles or research on … ?”
• “We’re too busy to even come up with a job description, but need help in our … department, can you help?” 
• “I’m trying to find good candidates for an open position and have no idea where to find them, any suggestions?” 
• “Can you look at this job ad and suggest where to post it?”
• “We have someone who is just not working out and we need to replace them, what should we do?”
• “We simply must develop a pipeline of candidates for this role, these hiring delays are costing us a fortune, and our managers are afraid to fire anyone because they are so hard to replace.”

Sometimes people engage us to solve the problem, sometimes we just have a nice conversation and share a few ideas.  No matter.  

People feel comfortable calling me because the cash register does not have to ring every time someone calls. The financial stuff always works out in the long run.  I’m an inquisitive guy and love hearing what’s going on in your world.   It’s all a fine education for me, so you are never wasting my time by calling, and I never expect anything in return.  (That’s how things work in social media, it’s a “pay it forward” mentality, full of small acts of kindness).

But just don’t expect me to call you.  I already know you are overworked, understaffed, doing more with less … you’re swamped.  I have no intention of being that rude guy who interrupts you.  So call me when you have a question, okay?  

Oh, and every time some other search firm cold calls you?  Please just consider that a gentle reminder to call me with your question, because I’m right here, researching your answer, not on the phone - interrupting other people.