Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1078362
28 SMT007 MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2019 have a better strategy for engaging those people and attracting them. Let me give you an exam- ple. Again, in many roles, there's an extremely small population that has that skill set that they need. What that hiring manager should do is to identify the entire talent pool. At MRINetwork, we do that by identifying which companies would have people with that skill set, and how many people they have in each of those com - panies. If there are 15 companies with an aver- age of three people in each, there are 45 people who have the skill set that we want. However, most people get a candidate and act on that candidate or not. But in many ways, they're guessing about the timing of that deci- sion. If they wait, will somebody better come? Or will they lose this one, and then find they were the best? What we recommend instead is to identify that talent pool and exhaust it. Ap- proach each of those 45 people with the most powerful message possible, which is fascinat- ing because high performers get excited about different things than bottom performers. It's one of the ways that we tell. If the person is saying "I want more authority, lead the charge, work with this exciting stuff, and have some- one help me grow," then the chances are very good that they're a top performer. Then, what we do is identify that finite tal- ent pool. We then co-create the most powerful message, leveraging what we understand are the primary motivators for top performers and that hiring manager's insight into their com- pany. When we combine those two things, we end up with a message that's pretty special. Johnson: This makes for a pretty solid value proposition for what you do. McNabb: It certainly does. Johnson: What if you're at a top-tier company with a full-blown HR department that is able to do that sort of work in-house? McNabb: There's a problem with that. They can't do it even if they have those resources because they only have access to opportunities within their company. They can't offer the rest of the world. I had one instance where I asked the manager, "Are there any specific individu- als you especially respect and would like me to approach on your behalf?" He started laugh- ing and said, "There is a guy who just won a major award with the number one company in our space. We already approached him twice and he said no to us. My employee, who I just promoted, talked to him. Later, I ran into the other guy, talked to him, and tried to get him to interview with us, but he said no again. So, I have nothing to lose. Here's his name and phone number. Go get him, Terry." Johnson: As a recruiter, that's just a sweetheart deal—one phone call, one guy, and get them in. McNabb: It is, but the better part of that deal was that once I placed him with the company, the word spread like wildfire throughout the company: "Terry can get people we can't get." Johnson: There you go. McNabb: And the only reason I was able to get him is because he thoroughly discounted my client's company. His attitude was, "Of course, I'm not going to go there." But when I was able to engage him and talk about what was going in this or that direction, he responded: "Absolutely." This key prospect then partnered with me to create a comprehensive strategy to advance his career. But when we examined his strat- egy, we realized he had a lot of misperceptions about that client. I was able to answer those questions, put him into that environment, and afterward, he said, "This is the best-kept se- cret in the world. I had no idea that companies If there are 15 companies with an average of three people in each, there are 45 people who have the skill set that we want.