The Question That Closed a Deal in 24 Hours

Honest note to start.

I said I'd publish weekly, and I haven't hit that in the last four weeks.

Some editions felt forced, good enough to write but not good enough to send, and I sent them anyway. That didn't sit right with me.

So I've been rethinking what lands in your inbox. I never want to send a newsletter for the sake of a newsletter; I want every edition to feel worth saving and worth coming back to.

Here's the new approach to deliver on that promise:

One week, a full breakdown of a specific strategy, tactic, or observation.

The other week, the most important parts of the last two podcast episodes, the bits worth taking straight to your desk.

That's the plan.

I'll keep improving how I show up in your inbox, and if you’re reading this, I appreciate you being here!

Every week we cover a lot of ground with recruiters on the pod.

These are the moments I believe are most worth your time, the ones that'll actually sharpen your craft if you take them on board.

From Craig Whitings ' episode (RLS, hedge fund technology recruitment):

Stop asking candidates how they think the interview went. [37:49] 

Craig doesn't ask candidates how an interview felt. He asks what the client actually said back. 

Obvious once you hear it, but almost nobody does it. The candidate's opinion of themselves has zero bearing on whether they get the job. The client's reaction is the only data point that matters, and most feedback calls never even ask for it. 

Something to consider taking into your next booked interview feedback call.

The middle of the market is disappearing. [53:36] 

A genuine take on AI in our industry, without the slop and noise we see on LinkedIn every day. 

His barbell theory: AI is wiping out the volume-hiring middle, the 40-jobs-a-month accounts a lot of recruitment desks are built around. 

What's left is five brilliant people at the top and five juniors at the bottom. If you're not in the top 10% who can find people that aren't even looking, there's not much ground left to stand on. 

Worth fifteen minutes of discomfort if your desk lives in that middle.

Knowledge is the only lever you actually control. [25:34] 

We hear a lot about the importance of market expertise in recruitment. 

For Craig, this is something he lives and dies by. How committed are you to knowledge about your industry? 

"You only have two things. Time and reputation... there's only one way to get better at both. Knowledge." He says it once here and comes back to it again right at the end of the episode [1:07:18]. 

He sees this as a world-class recruiter's edge, and I'd back that up. 

There'll always be people who succeed without it, but I've met far more high performers who could go toe to toe with their industry peers talking shop about their market than ones who couldn't.

From Madeline (Interex Group, contract SAP recruitment):

If you've got the right person, don't stop until it's done. [47:44] 

We all hear about the importance of follow-up, and the data backs it up: most sales don't come from the first one to three touchpoints; they come from five plus. 

Madeline has always taken a relentless approach here. 

"If I knew that I had the perfect person for an organisation, I would not stop until I got there." 

Two calls a day at different times, timed to their commute, text, LinkedIn, even the switchboard. It might not be your style, but we all know recruiters who are professionally persistent, and it's usually why they smash their targets. 

Easy to nod along and think you need more of this. Harder to actually do it consistently, which is exactly why it works for the people who do.

She doesn't cold call; she calls armed. [32:09] 

Honestly, this is the game for a lot of people, and it's a big unlock. 

Prospecting without market intel is like going into a boxing match with one arm strapped behind your back. 

If you want more out of your BD efforts, have one rule: what do I know, what have I heard, and do I understand why I'm prospecting them? 

Go in armed with intelligence. Her rule: never go into a call without already knowing something about the business. That discipline is what turned one offhand comment about an obscure SAP module into her fastest deal ever, closed the next day [39:27]. 

The lesson isn't the module. It's that the intel came first, and her contract book changed shape because of it.

The million doesn't come from twenty new logos. [1:05:07] 

From what I've seen, this has consistently been true. 

Dissect any high-performing desk and you'll usually find two to four cash cow accounts, then another five to ten you do the odd deal with and could do more with. 

I'd be very surprised to find a top biller's desk without one. Madeline wants to hit $1 million this year, and this is how she thinks she gets there: three to four large accounts, not a wall of net-new names. 

If your BD plan this year is "get more clients," this is worth sitting with.

Our first-ever 24 hours inside a recruitment business episode [we have more coming]

Without question, one of the best things about this industry is the people you work alongside every day.

The culture you're part of that pushes you to be better.

The energy of the sales floor.

People don't stay in recruitment as long as they do without all of that.

I wanted to bring it to life properly.

So we built a new format. We spend a full day inside a recruitment business, capturing what it's actually like to work in one of the best industries in the world.

Enjoy it.

And when you watch it, let me know how you think we can make this format even better. Feedback genuinely welcome.

The line to close every call with if you have booked a meeting with a prospect:

Madeline asks this at the end of every call, even ones where she thinks she already knows the brief.

It's how she found out about a SAP module she'd never heard of, twelve companies in the whole US using it, and it became her fastest deal ever, closed the next day.

The question works because it leaves the door open for something you didn't know to ask about. Most recruiters end calls the moment they've got what they came for.

Steal this one, use it on your next call today, and see what comes out that you weren't expecting.

Keep smashing it & honing your craft!

Hishem x

Know a recruiter who needs to hear this? Send it their way.