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Kathleen Kurke
Well known for her 30 year history of high dollar production and growth-oriented leadership, Kathleen has worked extensively with companies and individuals to leverage learning as a business success strategy. Clients ask Kathleen to work with them on increasing Production, Profitability and building high-performing recruiting teams in the Executive Search, Perm and Staffing industries. Having served as Chief Learning Advocate with Global Recruiters Network, Inc (GRN), Kathleen worked with the almost 200 franchised offices to implement a learning strategy that increased system-wide and individual office revenues by launching over 1000 hours of annual learning content. While National Practice Leader with StarbridgeGroup, Inc. Kathleen worked with training and consulting companies around the world to recruit and hire executive talent to convert their business goals into reality. Her tenure in the learning business has included highs and lows in her various roles as practitioner, search team leader, building and managing a 15 person search firm, as a franchise owner and a franchise consultant and learning leader. Kathleen now works with a variety of recruiting and human capital companies as a speaker, trainer, coach and business consultant. Kathleen began her professional career in 1980 when she traveled around the country teaching sales effectiveness to thousands of fund raising executives on behalf of a national non-profit organization. After several years, Kathleen shifted into sales, starting with opening new territories and moving up to Vice President of Sales for an educational software firm. Moving into recruiting provided Kathleen with a powerful way to leverage her sales and executive experiences, and her long history of helping executives build organizations and struggle with career decisions established her as a trusted advisor and coach. Kathleen has remained a leader in the executive search industry for the last 20 years of her recruiting career, and was selected in 1995 for membership in the Pinnacle Society, a recruiting industry honor society recognizing 75 of the top executive recruiters in North America. Kathleen was honored to serve as President of this prestigious organization for 4 consecutive years, and has now returned to the organization as an honored member Emeritus. Kathleen’s core expertise is in helping others learn and get things done. Working with others as coach and consultant, she is known for helping her clients build dreams, make plans and execute to create results. Often that means laying out a roadmap, identifying roadblocks and building a detour so the journey is productive. Kathleen Kurke specializes in Productivity and Profitability Coaching in the Recruiting Industry. If you or your team would like to make better choices on working Job Orders to increase your production and pro tability, reach out to Kathleen at kathleentkurke@gmail.com.

PBC: The Party Favor in Every Call

  By Kathleen Kurke  |    Sunday April 2, 2018



We make a lot of calls in our line of work, and most of them are US asking for something for US.  We make calls to clients hoping they’ll be interested in our candidates; we make calls to candidates hoping they’ll be interested in our opportunity; we make calls to others hoping they’ll will connect us to clients or candidates. That’s a lot of calls to advance OUR agenda. 

What’s in it for THEM – the people we’re calling? For many of us, our basic sales training included reminders to address the WIIFM (What’s In It for ME?) when we describe an opportunity to a prospective candidate or present a candidate to a client. That’s the more obvious. “This opportunity is right for you because…..”, or “This candidate is right for you because ….”

But, what about the WIIFM in even participating in the conversation? We make the call, so we know what’s in it for us. Let’s be sure to build in specific wording

Here’s a great formula for ensuring we build in and communicate the value in the call for the person we’re calling: Begin EVERY call with Purpose, Benefit, Check (PBC).

Purpose(P): the reason you’re reaching out or making the call. 

Benefit (B): the value to them of what you’re going to share, ask about or discuss.

Check (C): Confirming that what you’re proposing is of value to the other person. Or, not.*

*If what you’re calling about, even if it is what you agreed you’d talk about during this call, is not or no longer important or of value to the person you’re calling, this creates a great opportunity to ask questions and learn more about what IS important. 

 

Beginning every call with P, B, and C has several benefits:

• You must think about the benefit you’re bringing to the person you’re calling before you dial (or write). Keeps your sensitivity to their needs top of mind. 

• It’s easier find out what’s changed since your last conversation. You’re going into every call asking for confirmation that the agenda you’re proposing is of value. 

• PBC help keeps you on track during the call and helps the person you’re calling know where the call is going 

How can you position your request so that them participating in the conversation has value to them?

Here are some examples of Purpose/Benefit/Check conversation starters. Try them out during your next set of calls and build a script combination that works for you. 

 

Purpose

Benefit

Check

Recruiting Call:

Calling to share information about an opportunity

So that you, like most top performing professionals I know, can stay aware of what’s going on in the marketplace.

Is that of value to you?

Marketing Call:

Calling to share information about what’s going on in the marketplace that might influence your 2018 planning.

So you can benchmark the talent you’ve already got with what’s available.

Can you make time for that conversation now?

Prep Call:

Calling to give you the background information for tomorrow’s interview

So the meeting is a good use of your time.

OR

So you’ll be able to learn about the areas that interest you. 

Does that match up with your priorities?

Call to Present Candidates:

We had scheduled today’s call to review backgrounds of the candidates we’ve recruited who will be able to quickly open up your new territory

So you we schedule their interviews and give them the opportunity to learn about the exciting opportunity you’re offering at Company A.

Is that still your priority for this call?

Debrief Call:

We agreed we’d talk right after your interview

So we can plan whatever next steps help you get the information you need to decide whether or not this opportunity is right for you. 

Tell me what you’ve learned so far.

 

It’s great when the opportunity or candidate you’re calling about is a match for what the person on the other end of the line want. But even if it’s not, bring a party favor to the conversation. Make it clear in your PBC that you’re calling with some value to the person you’re calling.


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