Hi,

We are a startup recruitment firm based in New Delhi and are really struggling to move in the right direction. Currently, we have a very small staff of about 7 employees in total, consisting of 6 recruiters and 1 business development manager.

The main issue we are facing is that there is a lot of blame shifting happening within the team. Recruiters are pointing fingers at the Business Development Manager for bringing in average clients, while the BDM is blaming the recruiters for not closing deals.

As we approach the end of our second month in operation, we have only managed to close 3-5 deals in total, which I believe is a poor performance and creates a negative atmosphere.

I am seeking advice from experts on how to address this situation effectively.

Chetana Sharma

From India, Delhi
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Hi Chetana,

Always believe that SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL. This is what I suggest to people when they want to start their business.

Please take note of the following:

1. You can start with two recruiters and a business development executive. Always keep your costs under control as it's a new business. This is where many companies wind up before they could actually begin.

2. Review the process of what your organization is doing to get clients.

3. You can ask a few employees (4) to leave and inform them that they would be given a chance once the company does well financially.

4. There is nothing like average clients. A start-up company cannot expect a big company to come to it in the beginning itself. Add as many small clients as possible, from varied fields (sectors). This will help in creating a decent profile for your organization. Go for non-IT as well if possible so that you can get some inflows.

5. Take employees on a trainee basis/probation basis. Try to add freelance business development executives (can search on job portals, etc.) who can give you clients on a revenue-sharing basis.

6. What's over is over. No point in playing the blame game. Try to make a fresh start.

7. ALL THE BEST. I am sure you could be a motivator for other start-ups. If you need any help, you can always reach out. I hope my comments make some sense to you. Listen to many people, but remember that you are the best judge.

Regards, Alex

From India, Secunderabad
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Hello Alex,

Thank you for your reply. This is actually very motivating, and I feel like the right thing to do would be to get rid of a couple of employees and have things on a smaller scale where I have them under control.

Thanks for your advice. I will post back my progress.

Thank you!

From India, Delhi
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Hi Chetana,

I believe talking about your issue in public is not good. If possible, please drop me an email at priya.arora@hrfacility.com. I have been in the same business since 2007, and we are currently looking for business associates. Perhaps, we can help each other out as I have a requirement, and if you can close that deal, we can share the profits.

I am based in East Delhi.

Regards,
Priya Puri

From India, Ghaziabad
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Hi Chetana, Priya, and Sandeep,

I am having similar problems like you, Chetana. My brother and I started a placement organization in Nagpur, Maharashtra. It picked up very well in the initial 2-3 years. Then I shifted to Delhi for expansion but have never been able to do real business. Resources at my end are available, and I am looking for tie-ups.

I agree with what Mr. Alex had said. He has indeed given good advice.

Regards,
Shiv

From India, New Delhi
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Hi Chetana,

Kudos to you for being candid and being open to suggestions. (Alex, Priya, Sandeep & Shiv... very nice of you to share your learnings and pointers!)

Believe me, a 7-member team is by no means a small team. You have an enormous bandwidth. Please do review the strengths of each of the 6 recruiters and see if you can pick a couple of verticals (industries, as Alex suggested) and a couple of horizontals (accounts, sales, engineering, etc.). It would help you focus and add value to the clients you wish to cater to.

A big client is not a big name but one that gives us opportunities for big billing. So pick a bunch of clients; it helps to showcase to a better quality of candidates you can present. Aspirationally, candidates want to join better brands than they are presently employed with, and vice versa. It is necessary to give both sides the options to choose!

The last 3 years have been the toughest in the Indian scenario, and many recruitment firms have closed shop, and many others downsized. Hats off to you for managing the fortunes of 7-8 families. It is always darkest before dawn. I am sure with the bullish business sentiments - thanks to the new government - there would be increased industrial activity now, which means more hiring than what most companies can internally handle with their present bandwidth. You might just get the escape velocity you need!

AK

menon@optionsindia.com

PS - please ping me with a mail regarding the strengths of your recruiters.

a) If you have a good bench strength in hiring finance professionals for the manufacturing sector, please connect. I am working exclusively for an MNC Auto giant in Chennai that needs to fill 22 positions in June. CA with 3-12 years of experience. I shall need extra hands and quality support.

b) Should your team have access to social gaming experts, please let me know. A 100 strong team in Kochi funded by a San Francisco-based VC is looking to hire programmers, game producers, slot mathematicians, designers, across levels.

You can make a difference...

From India, Hyderabad
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Friends,

Pardon me for offering unsolicited advice. I would advise against Chetana letting go of the 4 colleagues!

I have been running a recruitment firm since 1992 - much before the internet or job portals became popular. Every 3 years, new sunrise industries emerge, and organizations need external assistance to supplement their hiring needs. Clients come and go. Some stay, some return when unable to fill positions after exhausting all sources.

Let me share a secret - it isn't about clients. It is about the RECRUITERS we attract to our team that make the difference. It is about the relationships they build with us, and through us, with our clients and candidates.

And believe me, it is they who make our (promoters') dreams come true. Most join as freshers and help us start-ups on our way. Therefore, I feel choosing them is more critical than choosing a client who pays us only on success (not based on our efforts!).

Yes, the recruiters are our ambassadors.

It is essential we invest in our recruiters and make them specialists or subject matter experts based on their interest and passion. The industry is changing; clients no longer need low-hanging fruit. Clients need third-party firms to provide candidates they cannot attract on their own (given their bandwidth and urgency).

I have had over 200 recruiters who have been part of our journey. While most stayed with the firm for a couple of years (a few for 7 years, with a couple of them for 14-15 years too!) before finding their calling and joining corporates as recruiters/generalist HR, or competition, or even starting their own firms. Some still help us as freelancers!

But the basic trust remains. Some 'alumni' collaborate and add value to our respective connections. We split the referral income as a result of the association.

I would advocate investing in our team, training them to be specialists. Recruitment isn't as easy as it seems. A lot of it is about being able to handle pressure, uncertainty, and things beyond our control.

AK

From India, Hyderabad
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@Shiv,

Just a piece of advice... If you think your recruiters have the right talent and can work tight deadlines, you can consider working with Kelly Services. They sign up with any company and offer a 50% profit sharing model.

The downside is that they assign the same position to 4-5 different companies, so the chances of your candidate being selected are reduced.

Good luck!

Chetana

From India, Delhi
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Dear Friends,

We are in the stage of starting a recruitment firm in Chandigarh. As an initial step, we have to buy the database from various portals. We would like to request if someone could guide us on the tentative price and the best portals that could help us cover major domains.

We appreciate your inputs and support.

Regards,
Kulwinder

From India, Chandigarh
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Hi Kulwinder,

The naukri portal (with all India access) might cost you around 1.8 Lakhs per annum. You can negotiate down to 1.3 Lakhs per annum, inclusive of taxes. There may be some variation in pricing from one state to another.

Monster might cost around 80K-1.2 Lakhs per annum. You can also consider paying in installments, but the price will slightly increase.

Another option is to find individuals willing to share their portal login on a monthly basis. However, be cautious of potential fraudsters.

ALL THE BEST FOR YOUR BUSINESS.

Regards,
Alex Praveen

From India, Secunderabad
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Well Said Mr. Alex. I have done the same thing.now am happy in getting new clients and increasing my revenue
From India, Hyderabad
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Here are five mistakes I see many any Placement Agency in India make when hiring their first Employee.

Mistake # 1:

Hiring a senior leader

“Yes! We just recruited the head of operations from a reputed Company and she or he is the best.”
Often start ups get greedy and go after the big name leader in their field of operations. Here is the issue - this has
not sold on the front-line in years. The first question she or He will ask when joining the company is “where is my
assistant?”. You need someone who is closer to the front line and is willing to roll up their sleeves and get their
hands dirty.

It is similar in the war
The General who will leads his team in the front line.
The rest follows.

Mistake #2:

Placing too much weight on industry experience or on experiences candidates.

Don’t get me wrong. We hired plenty of Recruiters from our industry ( HR Rescruiters). However, believe it or not, it
was a minority case. Most Gentle Man and ladies came from reputed Recruiting firns and even outside of the field. I
would rather have the below average performers stay with us still. Go find the rock star from a dying industry and bring
them into your space.

Mould them
Bring the best in them
Try and sharpen their ability and their strengths.
Sit with them and talk with them on a daily basis.
Understand their difficulties
Try and make them understand the possibility of making the Impossible possible.
Start by teaching them by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly he or she will be doing the
impossible.
Progress is impossible without changes in attitude and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.
And the last
Be a better Pay Master.

Mistake #3:

Placing too little weight on go-to-market strategy experience
When your first Business Development executive joins the company, the so called go-to-market strategy is typically not
developed. Who should they call? Big companies? Small companies? Should they focus on closing the C-level decision maker or getting closer to the big B ( CEO or Big Boss of the Company ) ? Will discussions require an in-person visit or can they be completed over the phone? Will they work with inbound inquiries or outbound cold calls?

Most Business Development executive in Placement companies in India and sales leaders will simply try to replicate the
go-to-market strategy from their previous employer. It worked then. It should work again, right?

Not necessarily.

As an entrepreneur myself I consider my Client to be a smart player and an ideal business partner rather than a money
making Machine ( ATM ) for my self.

I sit on his Chair ( My Client ) and see views from his angle and try giving my best of my ability to have value for his
money spent.

My product is people and my company strategy is in determining and Improving my clients company with the best of the
employee hired by my self through my concern and ideally speaking that would be the best market approach. Be sure your Business Development executive you hire has experience with that approach or is at least willing to adapt and learn.

Mistake #4:

Overlooking sales process development experience

“Yes! We just hired the top Business Development executive. This Business Development executive was ranked #1 out of
1800 sales people. She or he is going to crush it here.”
I agree. This Business Development executive is talented. However, these will be her or his first questions when she
arrives at your company:

§ “Where is the pitch deck?”
§ “What is the sales process I should follow?”
§ “Where is the list of top 10 objections and how I should handle them?”
You’ll be scratching your head, “I thought that is why we hired you”.

When this Business Development executive started she or he attended a month of training, walking through the blueprint
of success. She or he is great at following the blueprint. In fact, she or he is the best.

However, can she build the blueprint? Probably not. You need someone that can work in a far less structured environment
and at least lay out the foundations of the company’s first sales process.

Mistake #5:

Hiring a “product pitcher” rather than a “consultative seller”

Believe it or not, the most valuable result from your first thousand sales calls will not be the early customers or
revenue these calls produce. Instead, it will be the plethora of feedback from the market, allowing your team to
continue to understand your buyer persona, literate on your product ( Human Resources, Head Hunting ) that is recruiting, and perfect your market message.

Unfortunately, many Business Development executive in a Placement Agency will approach these early calls as an
opportunity to dump as much information about the product and its beautiful features on the prospect, an approach we
call “show up and throw up” in the industry. Chances are, your features and message are not quite right. The Business
Development executive in Placement Agency will fail to engage the prospect and throw up his hands, “it’s not working”.

The key question is “why?”.

Alternatively, a consultative seller or a Business Development executive in Placement Agency will leverage the first
sales calls to learn about the prospective Client. They will learn about their goals, learn about the strategy they have
to pursue these goals, and learn about the challenges they are facing in these pursuits. A consultative seller or a
Business Development executive in Placement Agency will be able to come back to the team with the same “it’s not
working” result but they will understand why. As a result, the organization can continue to refine its approach and
tighten the product/market fit even further.

I hope these five mistakes help you hone your skills as you embark on the exciting phase of scaling sales in a placement
Company. The next logical question is where can I find candidates that avoid these mistakes. Here are a few ideas.

1. A recently Business Development executive in Placement Agency at a reasonably sized business. They are not too far
from the front-line but also have some experience in sales process development.
2. A failed entrepreneur with formal sales training in their past. They usually score high in the consultative selling
arena and experience with unstructured environments.
3. A top-performing salesperson that was around in the early days of their previous company’s growth. They may not have
built the process. However, they certainly watched someone do it and had a hand in it.

Have a Passion in what you do
Will work wonders
Grow with your Employees
Make them realize you are actually growing with them.

Good Luck

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLJT9C3uafk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx7aHbYA4-Y

http://www.bangaloresecretary.com/placement-services-in-bangalore.html

Mr.Murali

Mobile : +917795547089

From India, Bangalore
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