Most recruiters know that you must not extend an offer to a candidate without a commitment to accept.
Once you extend an offer of employment to a candidate, they will no longer share information with you, as they have no incentive to do so. Therefore, it’s your job to carefully orchestrate the offer and acceptance process.
But what do you do if your candidate is hesitant or getting cold feet? How can you help them move to a decision-making posture? Below, I have outlined 10 tips that you can use to close candidates.
Some of the ideas are last resorts and some are standard questions to ask of every candidate. You would not necessarily act on all of the ideas below with a given candidate, but it’s a good idea to be aware of them so you can use them when the situation calls for action.
1. Get leverage: Get the candidate to go over benefits of the new job. Get them to review original reasons (pain) for making a change.
2. Is the candidate aware that the client has other interviews in process?
3. Ask, “On what day can you start?” This question often flushes out hidden objections.
4. Ask, “What are your reservations?” The right language and scripts can go a long way toward increasing your effectiveness on the phone.
5. Ask, “Do you have any hesitations about the people?”
6. Pull it away: “It sounds like you feel as though it may not the right opportunity for you at this time. Perhaps we should we tell them that you’re not interested. What are your thoughts?”
7. Pre-close 24-hour decision requirement: “Once the offer is generated, we’re going to ask you to be decisive and make a decision on the offer within 24 hours. Does this work for you?”
8. Ask, “Are there any conditions, circumstances, or relationships that could interfere with you accepting this offer?”
9. Ask, “Do you have any hesitations about the company?”
10. Ask, “Is there anything we have not discussed that you feel hesitant about regarding this position?”
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Gary Stauble, a guest writer for the Top Echelon Recruiter Training Blog, is the principal consultant for The Recruiting Lab, a coaching company that assists firm owners and solo recruiters in generating more profit in less time. For more information or to schedule a complimentary coaching session, visit The Recruiting Lab’s website or call 408.849.4756.
After a break from recruiting and going full force again, this is a great article. Don’t forget to talk about counter offers and how they should handle them (during the pre-close). It is something the candidate does really think about and should be prepared for. I just closed a deal and went through this and ‘almost’ forgot the counter offer talk. Guess what, he got a great counter offer but said, Thanks, but no thanks. Whew!
Well said Carrie; covering the Counter offer early and often is vital.