It was last Wednesday morning, I was preparing for a weekly meeting with Steve.
As he joined the video, I could see that he was irritated.
I asked Steve, “You don’t look so happy. What’s on your mind?”
He said,” I lost a search. Again.”
I asked Steve if he knew who his competition was.
He wrote down a few company names.
I asked, “AND… who else”?
Steve said, “what do you mean?”
I asked, “Could it be the client?”
“How’s that?” ,Steve replied.
So, I shared my experience. I have been there also.
I recruited, engaged, and got four people excited about the opportunity. I received the resumes and presented all four. I felt like I had nailed this search.
After a week without any response, I finally got a call, and my hopes were high to schedule interviews.
And then my heart sank, “Sorry, Mark. I have heard we filled it internally”.
Yes, I have heard those words.
I also have heard that we changed the role or put the search on hold.
So after hearing that for the third time in three months, my blood boiled. I felt outraged as my client did not live by their words. I felt embarrassed as I called my candidates. I lost my credibility. I lost my time, the associated cost, and other resources I invested in.
To say that I was disappointed and frustrated was an understatement.
This was THE LAST TIME.
Either I was going to quit or learn a better way.
I did not quit. I couldn’t. If you read last week’s email, you know that’s not what winners do.
And so, I studied and applied my prior successes in recruiting as well as salesperson and leadership roles in wholesale distribution.
After a week, I created a new system with an attitude of extreme confidence but not cockiness.
At first, I had a few weeks of failure. Then I had my first success! And in a couple of weeks another, and then another one!
Consistency. Predictability. Confidence. In myself. In my system.
And I completed sharing this story with Steve, he was eager to make changes.
If you are open to making changes, like Steve, join me for a Workshop on August 25th at 5:00pm Eastern by clicking here. I will reveal strategies to earn exclusives, engagement fees and full retainers.
Thank you for reading. Until next week,
Mark
