What To Say At The Recruitment Appointment

Take it easy, take it slow, but be prepared and be helpful.

Photo of an employer recruiting a new employee.

Insider

Contributing Writer

So you got the appointment. You are now sitting down and having lunch. You have promised them not to recruit. Where do you go from here? For one thing, promising you are not recruiting does not mean you can’t give them a recruitment – or in this case – informational package. It takes 15 seconds to say something like:

I brought you a present. This package contains some information on our company. You might enjoy looking at the marketing materials. You can just look at it and if you want, feel free to pass it on to someone else who might want to know about us.

Like our meetings with mortgage prospects, we need to make sure that our meetings with loan officer candidates uncover their real needs. This is why cold calling prospects and hard sells do not work. If the recruitment happens that superficially, you are bound to be recruiting the wrong person because you have not really found a deep-seated match. Deep-seated connections take time and you must be willing to go through the sales process the right way for more long-term success.

The approaches we suggested for making contact and obtaining an appointment are actually an important part of this process.

With a connection. Instead of cold calling, you were introduced through someone you know. This gives you a connection with the prospect which you cannot achieve with a cold call.

Showing An Interest In Them

Your first meeting is not to hammer them over the head and gain recruiting submission, it is to find out more about them. If you find out everything about their business, you are more likely to find out how you might be able to help them. You are also more likely to find out how they can help you – again, through mutual loan referrals or even other loan officer candidates.

Your ability to ask questions, rather than talking or lecturing is a major key at this point. The person controlling the conversation is the one listening. You can’t find out about them if you are talking. What type of questions might you ask? There are plenty of possibilities. If you are interested in a list of questions to ask at the meeting, email us at [email protected] and we will forward them to you.

And other questions will arise from the questions you ask – as these are all about starting meaningful conversations.

For example, if you ask: What marketing system do you think you should be implementing, but you have not as of yet?

And they say: I want to keep in touch with my previous customers more frequently.

You might then ask: Do you have a newsletter you send to your clients on a regular basis?

Do not get the impression that we are recommending that you are doing the research in order to write an autobiography about this person. Obviously, the purpose here is to find opportunities in which you can help the candidate and they can help you. And some of these opportunities can lead to benefits you have at your company which may help them.

For example, let’s say that they are closing eight loans per month, but have a goal of moving to 15 loans per month. Perhaps they indicate they need an assistant to get to that level, but their present company will not hire an assistant for them unless they are producing 12 loans per month. If your company would provide an assistant at eight loans per month, this may be a factor which can lead to a decision.

Of course, the example is pretty much from point A to point D. For most other examples, there will be many short steps. Perhaps you can recommend a CRM system for them if their company does not provide one. And you can mentor them in using that CRM. That mentor relationship moves the needle along and perhaps three months later, their company starts to have processing problems. Now you are in position.

Check and Check

One area we have not covered, but which is vitally important, is doing the research necessary before you even call the candidate. By accomplishing proper research, the call to get an appointment or questions to ask at the appointment will become easier.

The research can be accomplished through networking and/or online. For example, reviewing their LinkedIn profile or website to uncover where they are from, where they went to school and what companies they have worked for. This research will not only facilitate conversations, but also uncover reference sources you can use later on within the process.