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Permalink Reply by Rayanne on June 1, 2009 at 12:10pm

The industry you are interested in is highly competitive. I worked with a High Tech Company as in-house and also for search firm that recruited exclusively sales professionals (Sales Executives, Sales Engineers, Sales Managers, Sales Directors) for High Tech, IT, Software, and Hardware companies. This industry is flooded with recruiters that harvest resumes from anywhere and everywhere and then throw as many as possible against the wall to see which "stick" - rarely do they stick. Plus the "good" sales professionals are well known and getting one to jump ship is considered an incredible coup. The hard part is getting them to live out longer than your guarantee.

But it is highly rewarding and very fast-paced. Candidates need to be in play within a week or two, otherwise, HMs and HR move on to other recruiters who can produce TODAY.

If your network, in this field, is strong, you should find success rather quickly. Your relationships will be key in getting assignments and candidates. Gathering detailed info on each individual search will be imperative, as these guys KNOW the competition.

I made eight "sales" placements the first year but I had many searches drop out as parameters changed, due to funding issues. In high tech, as you are probably aware, attention changes at a significant pace. You need to be flexible and ready to go in a different direction in one click.

I think you can probably count on a ramp up time of at lest six months, I would guess it used to be a year but with the proliferation of social media, that time should be cut in half. I still have many contacts in the world of tech sales - if you need assistance, let me know...


Good luck to you and your partner! You are in for a fantastic ride...

~Rayanne

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Permalink Reply by Ken Gora on June 1, 2009 at 8:57pm

Hi James,

I agree with Ravanne below. Sales recruiting is competitive but the ramp up time is short and the success rate is great.
Reasons why: More than any other single position (good software engineers second), sales positions directly cause an impact on the bottom line and revenue. Many companies will pay good search fees for a top sales person if you bring them the Michael Jordan of their industry...the firm that I sold last year filled many sales position.
Ravanne also is correct that the social and business networking sites will allow you to find and lure the passive employed successful candidate faster than the old days.

Ok, to answer your question...you guys can have 1 or 2 placements within 60 days if you are sourcing like crazy and have good clients that are motivated to hire

Last but not least, I can help you with some of that...take a peek.... www.myrecruitingbusiness.com
Ken

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Permalink Reply by Maureen Sharib on June 2, 2009 at 6:58am

There was a discussion a coupla' months back started by someone who went out on his own 6 mos or so prior - it had a lot of good material in it - anyone remember what/where it is?

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Albright on June 2, 2009 at 9:09am

How long it would take to make your first placement is anyone's guess. You may place the first person you send to an interview......or you may be left wondering what in the heck is wrong as your 10th and 12th candidates miss the mark and your spirit is crushed like a bug under a car tire. It's a crap shoot. Less of a crap shoot with the proper tools, marketplace, training and experience. Only once you have made several placements in a given marketplace and tracked all numbers accordingly can you begin to "predict" what will/should happen.

I'm going to agree with my good friend Nick here though. Your buddy "sold" a one-man agency? I don't think so. What did he sell? The PC? His left-over business cards? A professional series telephone and headset? What?

I'd get a more "complete" story from him before jumping into anything right now. Presumeably you'd be getting into roughly the same marketplace that he was in, right? If not - why not? Why recreate the wheel if he's been successful there before.

Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by James Richardson on June 2, 2009 at 9:46am

Thank you all for your replies. I am about 6 months out from actually starting the business, and I am doing the necessary vetting of both my business partner and the industry as a whole. While I am comfortable with my partner and have found him to be honest and ethical over the last 4 years we've worked together, I will look into this aspect further.

It seems that some variance around the 2-6 month time frame for an initial placement is the feedback I am getting.

What have people's experiences been regarding growth over years 2-5? Specifically I am asking if anyone can share their experience in the early stages of their business.

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Permalink Reply by Maureen Sharib on June 2, 2009 at 9:52am

Important question. In the early stages I think you must be:
...willing to sacrifice almost everything. Can you?
...willling to work 60+ hrs per week. Are you?
...willing to make little money. Can you sustain yourself?
...willing to sweat through sleepless, worried nights. Want to?
...willing to go places completely different than what you expected when you started out. Can you?

Can you? Can you? Can you? Most can't. Or won't. It's a mystery to me which applies.

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Permalink Reply by pam claughton on June 2, 2009 at 10:03am

I agree with Maureen completely. Especially given that you are new to recruiting. Here's what I've seen, you can make a placement anywhere from under a month to several months in, and it's a combination of hard work, luck, timing and your own aptitude for the job. Focus on activity, if you are productive, and work smart, the placements will happen.

If you're starting your own business like this, whether at an agency or on your own, you get out of it what you put into it. Recruiting is not an easy business. If it was everyone would do it. :) On the surface, it does appear like an easy way to make big money. It's not.

Plan on at least 60 hours week for the first two to three years. If you work as hard in year two and three as you do in year one, you will see your business double or even triple from year to year. The first year is a learning year, and planting seeds. If you work as hard in year two, you'll see the results as the seeds you planted in year one pay off, client relationships bloom, and candidate referrals start pouring in if you provide excellent customer service.

If you start to coast in year two or three, you'll never see the real money that is possible in this field. If you work hard and smart and learn as you go, the growth potential is there.

I would highly recommend investing in some real training from people who are known producers. Peter Leftkowitz is one of the best in terms of giving you a solid foundation in how to do this job the old fashioned way, real recruiting and sourcing (not relying on job boards) and smart client development. I've taken his training several times and when I went on my own, bought a set of his materials to refer to. Other good trainers are Danny Cahill who still recruits.

Good luck!
~Pam



Maureen Sharib said:

Important question. In the early stages I think you must be:
...willing to sacrifice almost everything. Can you?
...willling to work 60+ hrs per week. Are you?
...willing to make little money. Can you sustain yourself?
...willing to sweat through sleepless, worried nights. Want to?
...willing to go places completely different than what you expected when you started out. Can you?

Can you? Can you? Can you? Most can't. Or won't. It's a mystery to me which applies.

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Permalink Reply by Maureen Sharib on June 2, 2009 at 10:15am

Here's that discussion I was talking about - it was from a couple months back and called "6 months and no placments..no nothing...what's going on?"

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Permalink Reply by Kalch on June 2, 2009 at 2:21pm

Hi James,
I would be happy to speak with you.
There are a lot of variables, but I would say your first placement to cash in the bank is about 6 months (plus or minus). A lot depends on you and your industry, and abilities.

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Permalink Reply by Ken Gora on June 2, 2009 at 4:40pm

Hi James...

To add to my earlier comments, I must underline that 1. the nature/urgency of the client relationship; 2. your work ethic; 3. your positive attitude and 4. knowing where to find those candidates in the sales arena ( hint: the competitors) are your four most important ingredients for your success. (in no particular order)

As I mentioned, companies ARE READY TO PAY top dollar for great sales people. One of our client companies has 185 domestic sales openings, another pharmaceutical client has 56 domestic openings. We are adding another recruiter to help with the volume. One of our seminar attendees started his business in January and has 7 hires in 4 months, 3 of them in the sales arena.

If you ever go or someone goes more than two months without a hire, you simply need to do something different...and usually it's in ingredient 1,2 and 4. I've hired and trained many a recruiter and head-hunter, and 2 months is not acceptable...either we transform and improve it... or...

These words on one hand may seem harsh but the real message is EXCITEMENT. We are very,very busy and that's why we are training so many people nationwide. The recruiting industry has many average and non-performers...their results and the way they speak shows it. You are not one of those when you do the right things.

Get excited James, good luck, let me know if I can help. www.myrecruitingbusiness.com

"A good plan (or search) violently executed today is better than a perfect plan executed tomorrow"
- General George Patton

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