What this boils down to? If your prospective client perceives great value in partnering with you, they will be more willing to pay a great price for your service. If your prospective client perceives very little value in your process, you will be the victim of some very tough negotiation. On top of that, you may also encounter challenges in how the client treats and regards you in the search process.
Types of Service Charges – Learn more.
There are numerous options that you have when it comes to customizing your service charge and approach to the needs of your client. In this section, we will give you an overview of the most common types of service charges – Contingent Search, Retained Search (with no placement commitment), Financially Committed Search, Consulting Agreements, and Annualized Agreements. It is certainly important to understand the types of service charge options, but it is equally important to understand the “why” behind your professional recommendations. In this section, we will help you understand what is in the best interest of both the client and the recruiter in each suggested approach.
Establishing the Proper Service Charge – Learn more.
In a perfect world, you will first have the opportunity to gather strong insights into a client’s areas of pain and needs for growth before you begin rolling out your service charge and terms for working together. The phrase “prescription before diagnosis is malpractice” is incredibly relevant to this step in the client development process – the discussion around recommending a solution and your professional fees should not take place until you fully understand where the client is in their hiring process. Regardless of the type of client solution, the very essence of a consultative approach requires that you first determine the specific need, problem or goal and align the proper service approach to meet the need, solve the problem or achieve the goal.
The purpose of asking qualifying questions and truly understanding your client’s situation is giving you tremendous insight. Insight is essential to gaining influence. Ultimately, the more insight you have into an organization, the more influence you will have with that organization. The reverse is also true: when you have no insight, you have no influence. When you have greater insight and influence, you can begin to align your client’s needs with your firm capabilities.
Creating Your Professional Recommendation – Learn more.
Once you’ve garnered enough information to formulate a game plan, it’s time to create and deliver your Professional Recommendation to the prospective client. It is imperative that your recommendation for a solution and fee is presented with absolute confidence, and that you are very clear about your recommendations and process. It is at this point in the conversation that you have the opportunity to differentiate yourself as a true consultant and collaborator in this process – not just a vendor. All business relationships require a sense of mutuality – a spirit of the client and the recruiter working together to achieve a shared goal. The more effectively you position your Professional Recommendation, the higher the likelihood you’ll meet your goal of working with the client and not for the client.
Today, most offices sell a spectrum of both contingency and financially committed solutions. It is essential that you communicate to the client that there is no difference when it comes to the quality of service – rather, it is the approach and the application of resources that differs from solution to solution. You provide the very best candidates with integrity and professionalism regardless of the search approach.
Service Charge Resistance and Rebuttals – Learn more.
After presenting your Professional Recommendation to your potential client, it is anticipated that you will encounter some form of resistance. Just like we covered in the other Objections Segments in the Library, you should be fully prepared to handle all typical statements of resistance. We can essentially predict the objections that you are going to hear on a daily basis, and those are the ones we have covered in the following section. It’s like getting the opportunity to look at the test before you take the final exam – be as prepared as possible to avoid failing. Check out the Service Charge Resistance and Rebuttals Section for the 10 most common and predictable areas of resistance when it comes to clearing your fee.
