Struggling To Find The Words

Struggling to find the words? 

In recruitment, we have to wear many hats nowadays. 

If it isn’t having a shining personal brand on LinkedIn, or elevator pitches that would stand the heat in ‘Dragon’s Den’, then it’s also being an excellent writer to convert clients and candidates who simply cannot be won over on the phone. 

It’s important to recognise that recruitment has changed a lot in the past decade, and you can’t just rely on the ‘gift of the gab’ to get you placements.

Copywriting isn’t easy. In fact, there are specialist jobs for copywriters alone because it’s such a niche and complex skill set. 

Words are open to interpretation, and creating a tone that feels like you whilst also coming across as professional and personable isn’t easy.

This edition is going to be split into five main sections:

• Do’s and Don’t’s (some basics)

• The 20% rule

• The art of the follow-up (using words)

• Personalisation and relevance

• 3 different openers you can try for BD 

Do’s and Don’t’s

The 20% rule

Waffle. 

We often think about this when it comes to speaking on the phone or in a client meeting. 

The danger of waffling on is something that we are all guilty of in the world of recruitment, and we hate to tell you - it can definitely translate into the written word, too. 

Something you should always remember when sending any type of message - whether it’s your first piece of outreach or it’s an e-mail to a client you’ve known for years, is the 20% rule.

This means, get rid of 20% of any message before you send it. In the nicest way possible, your prospect, client, candidate, or even your colleague doesn’t need to read all of that, nor will they have the time.

This will enable you to become more concise with your messaging. 

You can always send more if you need to or if someone asks, but you can’t take back a gigantic paragraph that may have scared someone away!

Less is more.

Try and think of it in this way:

10% of your message will be an intro and some relevant info.

50% of your message will then be pain points and solutions you can provide.

20% of your message will be a call to action and any additional relevant information.

20% of your message will be what you need to delete (filler words, waffle, irrelevant information right now)

The art of the follow-up (using words)

Just like you’d follow up using calls, the same should apply when sending messages (InMail or LinkedIn). 

Here’s a framework that you can use to guarantee consistency and keep yourself accountable!

Day 1: Message one.

Day 2: Message two.

Day 4: LinkedIn connection request.

Day 5: Cold call.

Day 7: LinkedIn DM.

Day 9: Call.

Day 11: Final e-mail.

Personalisation and relevance

In an ideal world, you’ll want to be able to include both in outreach e-mails and in LinkedIn messages. However, this isn’t always going to be possible.

So, what’s better? Personalisation or relevance?

Personalisation grabs attention, but it often lacks substance unless the personalisation in question is related to a mutual friend or something that has enough weight to develop into a further conversation.

Relevance, on the other hand, is a great way to build credibility, drives engagement, and is more likely to guarantee you that follow-up conversation.

A great framework to follow to ensure that you are including relevance and personalisation in your copy is as follows:

• Trigger: The REASON why you’re getting in touch. 

• Hot button: Acknowledging and addressing a pain point.

• Teasing: Providing a potential solution to the pain point and a call to action.

• CTA/Close off: Getting a second/next step booked in.

3 Different openers you can try for BD.

[First Name],

[Personalised intro - using a trigger from their Linked profile]

[Your company] has come up consistently with positive recommendations in the space.

I noticed you have been looking for [Job Title] for the last two weeks.

I’m surprised it’s been open that long, given how great your reputation is.

We’ve recently helped companies like yours find

• List recent searches you have completed

Worth exploring further to see if we can help you with [X position] like we did with [Competitor name]?

Thanks

[Name]

[First Name],

Completely agree with what you posted on [insert topic] earlier this week, it was a discussion we had in the office!

How do you think that’s going to affect [insert question]?

I’d love to know more about the team structure you have at the moment as we recently placed with [insert competitor name] and we had some incredible candidates who also would be suited to your team.

We’ve also placed with [X, Y, and Z] in the last 12 months so have an in-depth understanding of the technical elements you may be looking for.

When would you be free to have an introductory call this week? I can do Tuesday at 11:00 am or anytime on Wednesday and Thursday between 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm.

Looking forward to hearing back from you!

[Name]

[Name],

I met a mutual friend of ours [insert name] and we were talking about [x, y, and z] and I didn’t realise that you’d made the move over to [company name].

How are you finding it?

I had placed [mutual friend name] about 3 months ago so the fact you and I hadn’t crossed paths is crazy! 

[Mutual friend name] told me that your team is set to double in the next 18 months, which is great news.

[insert info about your agency here]

I’d love to organise a coffee or introductory call to understand your needs and see whether we’d be the right fit for your growth plans.

I can do [insert dates/times here]

I’ll follow up in a couple of days if I don’t hear back.

Best,

[Name]

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