Industry Perspectives

One of the most common reasons for recruiting failure is losing sight of the real purpose: Getting the BEST to say YES! But there are other advantages to always consciously acting as both a buyer and a seller in the CPG recruiting process.

In every interaction with every candidate, you must consciously integrate deliberate efforts to attract the best people to your team. Especially as a consumer-driven or CPG hiring manager, you are both a buyer and a seller. You are looking to “buy” the best talent for your team, while also “selling” – differentiating your brand, your company and the job amid competing opportunities.

Good for Business

Successful companies understand this principle: every candidate you interact with is a possible customer, investor, competitor, or an influencer of potential customers, investors, etc. Sharing enthusiasm for your company with your candidates is smart business. Creating ill will in any of them has the potential to have a negative impact on your business. Your recruiting program, by deliberate design and conscious effort, can create hundreds – even thousands of loyal consumers – even though they didn’t get the offer!

Being both a buyer and a seller must be fully integrated into every single step of your recruiting process. Your position specifications must reflect a sell as well as buy outlook. Every interaction with a candidate must consider these questions:

• Why would the candidate we seek to hire want to say YES to this role?
• Is the advertising appealing and attractive?
• Does the administrative hiring process you use sell by creating a positive experience for every candidate at every stage of the process?
• Are your recruiting partners, internal recruiting team and interviewers selling as well as buying in every interaction with every candidate?

Your interview team is critical: the questions they ask, how they ask and how they treat all candidates have an impact on getting the BEST candidate to say YES! Training your team on techniques that “sell” candidates is vital to a successful outcome.
For good reason, these two classic sales concepts have stood the test of time in executive recruiting:

Create Win-Win Relationships

Win-win is a powerful buy/sell technique that maximizes the probability of successfully attracting the best talent to your organization. Creating win-win recruiting relationships will maximize your efforts with all involved in the search process – from your candidates to your search partners. In a win-win scenario, all parties feel good about the decision and feel committed to the action plan because one person’s success is not achieved at the expense or exclusion of the success of others. Candidates will draw their conclusions from observing your interview team’s actions, especially if there is inconsistency between your words and deeds.

Remember WIIFM – “What’s In It For Me?”

For the best possible candidate to say yes, he or she must have a compelling answer to this question. But beware: what will be motivating and energizing about a job varies by individual. Seek to understand a candidate’s near-term objectives and long -term goals, both personal and professional. Focus each candidate on the features and benefits of the opportunity that will be most attractive to them. Be ready to customize offers, positions, career tracks, work-life balance expectations. When you know and appeal to whatever will maximize the perceived value for a particular candidate, you will sell that candidate on your opportunity.

Contact us for a consultation on your recruiting process. We can show you how to integrate the buy/sell mindset and provide you with techniques to construct win/win opportunities for the best possible candidates, resulting in “YES!”