Cold Calling Passive Candidates
I have just been reading some articles on the web about cold calling passive candidates,(by the way ”passive candidates” are individuals who are not actively looking to change their current career position); it strikes me there are two important principles to consider here: 1) When the researcher or recruiter calls, they must first and foremost listen to the texture of the potential candidate’s voice tone. This is will give the clue immediately whether or not they are able or if they want to talk to anyone, let alone the recruiter at this precise moment in time. If there is any hint of strain or negativity in the persons voice, the recruiter shouldback off immediately and offer to call back at another time. It is always tempting to try to continue the conversation which is then almost doomed to failure. This is because the other person’s world is not being honoured by the caller. This is why call centre calls very often fail because the agent will keep going even though it is so obvious the person does not want to take the call. 2) The recruiter or researcher should also endeavour to do some genuine research about the person they are calling before they call. They should imagine if they were standing in their shoes, would they listen to them! When I am training and coaching this point, I get people to rehearse the call in their heads first before picking up the phone. In this way they can get a sense of whether the call will be successful. If not they can then modify the words and delivery and then pick up the phone. I believe that the intense discomfort that people experience before cold calling or should I say starting conversations from cold is that they are simply not prepared to make the call! And guess what? They are then surprised when they don’t work! So follow these two principles carefully and you will have a very different experience on the phone.
