Inertia is a powerful force—not just in physics but also in people’s lives. As such, you might not be surprised to learn that your potential new hires often need more than the lure of higher pay and better benefits to make the move from another business to yours. After all, people develop attachments and relationships at wherever they work; just because they’ve agreed to interview doesn’t mean they’re ready to commit. To overcome this fear requires good salesmanship, so let’s take a look at that today:
Sell Throughout
As Zach Culter explains in his article, To Recruit ‘A’ Players, Try This 5-Step Method, “Sell to candidates throughout the entire process, not just at the end, to convince them to make the leap to a new opportunity,” because, “A candidate may like the job and the company, but may not take the risk of leaving his or her current job for a new one.”
You may be used to the idea that the job candidates are the ones who have to do the selling to convince you that they’re a good fit for your open position. While this is true, you can’t forget that you’re both in a position of need. The candidate has some reason for wanting to change jobs, but you also need to fill a hole on your team.
Even before you decide between your potential new hires, sell each of them on the idea of your business’s opportunities, benefits, culture, and more. How each candidate responds to what your business offers may help inform you on who the right fit is, too.
Ask Questions
Don’t hesitate to ask your interviewee why he or she is considering this change. Uncovering details like this will actually help you to sell the position you’re offering since you’ll be able to match his or her specific needs to the position’s specific features—just as you would when selling a product to a customer.
Remember this well: oftentimes, the applicants you interview aren’t looking to change jobs solely because of higher pay. (Sometimes they are, but that might be due to the pressures of providing for a family or paying back student loans, not simply the desire to see a slightly larger paycheck for its own sake.) Perhaps the candidate is frustrated with his current job because he doesn’t see any advancement opportunities. If your open position presents a promotion path, you have a powerful selling point that his current employer can’t match.
Give the Tour
Phone interviews only reveal so much about your business. Even when managers meet with applicants face to face, many choose to do so at the local coffee shop or at a conference room in a hotel. While these are fine first steps, you should bring candidates to your business to give them the opportunity to tangibly grasp what you’re selling. If you have an open desk or workstation where the new hire will go, show it.
If it’s appropriate, let them meet your team. This will humanize your business because, as it stands, that candidate is coming from a place where he likely knows the names of many of his coworkers, has a desk or workstation that’s his, and so on. Show him something similar at your business that he can mentally project himself into.
Close the Sale
Just as you would when asking for a customer’s business, you should ask for the commitment from your ideal candidate. You don’t want to pressure, of course, but you want to convey excitement at the prospect of working together. If the candidate does return a similar level of enthusiasm, then he or she might not be the right fit. But do allow him or her some time to come to a final decision and put everything in order before leaving the current job. After all, you’d want him or her to do the same with you if the tables are ever turned.
One way to convince a candidate to invest him or herself into your company and business culture is to show that you will invest back into him or her. The Brandt Group offers a number of development services to help your staff improve in all facets of their personal and professional lives. Reach out to us at The Brandt Group so we can aid you with our world-class tools, including mystery shopping, employee feedback surveys, staff training seminars, and more. Let’s get started today!
