There are three areas to overcoming resistance – knowing when an objection has been raised, knowing how to deliver your response, and knowing what specifically to say in your response.  Remember that your audience is hip to the game – they can sometimes predict your rebuttal even before you have a chance to deliver it.  Therefore, you overlook this tremendous opportunity to explain to them that they are indeed right – they should brush off nearly every other recruiter who calls – but that you are different.  If you are saying the same thing that all other recruiters are saying, you will miss this incredible opportunity to set yourself apart.

Other common objections recruiters need to be prepared to overcome.

"We have posted an ad and are getting tons of resumes from there." Obviously, as recruiters we know that passive candidates versus active candidates are two completely different candidate pools. Most reports show that about 15% of candidates read ads as a means of finding new career opportunities. If you are a market master and know your industry, you could very easily explain the metrics to your hiring authority.

"Send me a resume and if I'm interested, we'll talk about an agreement." The ‘Send me a resume’ concern is often incorrectly viewed as an expression of interest on the client’s part by new, inexperienced recruiters. More often than not, the request for a resume is simply a client’s way of saying “no” without having to handle rebuttals to his or her other concerns. At the very least, clients have found it to be an effective method of postponing a decision.

"We are using another firm." The great news is that you’ve found a company that recognizes the value of using a recruiter! The bad news is that it’s just not you – YET. This is an opportunity for you to get an understanding of how they found that firm and why they are using them. No firm is perfect – so there’s a good chance that you can probe to find some areas of pain – and those areas could be ones that you are able to alleviate.

"We Don't Use Recruiters." "Don’t” in the first statement is a very strong term – and it behooves you to clarify what the actual objection is. It is possible that the company cannot afford to pay a fee, however, more often than not, the company has not fully considered the benefits of using a search firm. This presents an opportunity to capture the account by overcoming the concern through selling the benefits of partnering with a firm like yours.

Human Resources typically lacks the technical competence necessary to answer specific questions relevant to this type of position.  A good way to drive this home is to have a few very specific, technical questions that you can ask the hiring authority and get his/her opinion as to if HR is able to answer such questions.  This will not only drive your point home, but further establish yourself as an expert in your market.

"We have no openings/on a hiring freeze." It is possible that this is a valid concern. The company may have all the employees it needs and may not be able to justify any more hiring at this time. Generally though, no company has enough top quality employees. Good managers are always looking for someone who can do a job better than is currently being done, or are considering the addition of a top-notch individual.