Top Biller, The Life of a Recruiter - Steve Guest

Our next Guest on Talentwolf recruiter interview is Steve Guest! After 14 years of recruiting top talent in the construction and property industry, he has shared his wisdom in the highly successful recruitment book: 'Top Biller - The Life of a Recruiter', which detail recruitment, sales and management tips for success. Read on and happy learning!

As always, we start with how you chose or fell into the recruitment industry. Steve, what’s your story? 

I started my career as qualified Strategic Commodity Buyer at a company called Severn Trent Water (a water utility company based in the West Midlands – managing & negotiating £multi-million contracts). The sway towards my recruitment career, simply put, was that I saw what my wife was doing and the earnings from working as a recruitment consultant and I wanted to be a part of it.

My logical thought process was that as a qualified buyer I would naturally fit, recruiting for buyers and procurement staff so I went for an interview at Hays Purchasing & Supply – the first interview went well. So well, in fact, that they asked me to play in the 5-a-side football tournament after my 2nd interview the following week. The 2nd interview, however, didn’t go well – I didn’t fit what they were looking for – I wasn’t loud, confident enough or salesy – so I was rejected.

What I did do, however, was use this rejection as my fuel – I crossed the road to Hays Construction & Property and advised that they should take me on and I will spend every day proving that Hays Purchasing & Supply made a mistake not seeing my potential – and that is exactly what I did. I was one of the fastest promoted consultants – from Trainee, Consultant to Senior and Managing Consultant – I believe I still hold the regional perm billings record which I set back in 2007 and hold even to this day. 17 perm placements in the month…. not a bad start to my recruitment career.

Since then I have gone on to build recruitment businesses, most recently opening 2 brand new regions for a company called FastTrack Management Services Ltd – at peak, I recruited and mentored 19 staff and grew their regional turnover to £7million (2018) across the Midlands and North West.

I have operated within the recruitment industry for over 14 years, working for large global recognised recruitment PLC brands and driving smaller businesses, new regions, and offices. Always pushing boundaries, inspiring change, innovation, and growth. I continue to mentor, coach, and train recruitment consultants at all levels and still actively recruit in my specialist sector - construction. I try to remain at the cutting edge of the market, ensuring that service delivery is the agenda priority for both client and candidate.

My advice on how to become successful within your recruiting career differs from the norm, as I dispel the idea that you must obtain a brash and loud persona to gain success within the industry. These 'salesy' industry expectations were why I, a methodical man, was initially rejected at interview stage to become a recruitment consultant.

I have recently published my book, Top Biller – The Life of a Recruiter where I discuss my journey over 14 years moving from rejection through to a Top Billing success by simply applying a structured, ‘process and procedure’ method. I, along with my mentees have shown that by following this method you can be, consistently, more successful than the most aggressive salesperson in the room. 

I have specialised in recruiting for commercial, permanent construction staffing across the Midlands for over 14 years while inspiring, motivating, and leading individual mentees and teams to personal and regional growth. My primary goals are to consistently deliver an exemplary service to both client and candidate, with integrity that ensures repeat business, working 'with' rather than 'for' both parties. I strive for structure, ongoing improvement and growth, continuing to champion strong, ethical recruitment without compromise. 

So many recruiters live by default, instead of by design. What tips do you have for consultants to control their days, instead of letting the day control them? 

You need to put value on your time and stick to it. It's valuable.

Plan your month, your week and your day ahead of time. Stay focused and rigid in your approach. Too many people these days try and ‘wing it’, do not have focus or a plan and blindly call companies, clients and candidates without a prior motive or consideration for the call.

If you have set hours for sales – then stick to them and don’t get distracted – do not have private, conversational chats with colleagues during these hours – stay focused – there is plenty of time before and after work, during lunchtimes or downtime to talk about the weather or what you watched on TV the night before – this won’t help your sales figures.

Don’t take ‘non-income making’ calls, messages or emails during sales times – leave this for before work, lunch or after work/planning time.

Valuing your time is difficult to do initially but once your colleagues and your clients and candidates get used to your work processes you will often find they know when to contact you and get an answer – and it won't be during the times you are concentrating on sales! 

Use a Month, Week and Day Planner – let this be your work planner and diary & stick to it.

What are some simple recruitment strategies you recommend, to increase sales? 

Be consistent and deliver on what you promise. Don’t oversell but overachieve or be efficient with setting all parties expectations. It’s simple but effective, I feel the market is often filled with overzealous, overly salesy people that fail to deliver – it's ok to not find suitable candidates or find a candidate suitable opportunity – just be open and honest along the process and keep the feedback continuous, constant and honest.

I have a tick list for calls made – numbered 1 – 20 so that I am always aware at any point during the day as to how effective my output sales are. You can spend the day answering other peoples calls or taking messages and not effectively working on your own business – so make sure you know where you are for the day. If you have only made 4 sales calls in a morning and your target is 20 – you need to have a very motivated afternoon to catch up!

Set realistic but challenging targets and always strive to do more – your targets are there to help propel you and your momentum further. Make sure you WHY is big enough to smash down any negative or self-limiting beliefs and hit your goals

When I am having a down day and have a lack of momentum in my business, I send out a mass email to all clients that detail a list of my current candidates – a brief snapshot & summary of them as an individual – I call it my ASSET Register. This gets sent out and it has never failed to deliver by way of new vacancies, new clients, new contacts, interviews, placements and a general upbeat in activity, follow-ups and KPIs being hit. It’s a monthly game changer to get things moving in an effective and proactive manner.

Let the market work for you – be well connected, well networked – get to the point of being the ‘key person of influence’ in your market so that people naturally think of you in your field of expertise. This helps enormously when putting an advert out via social media – it quickly gains traction and referrals start to come thick and fast – its an effective way to enable your network to help you find the right person for the role or the right client for your candidate. Think smart, work hard and get to the end goal quicker.

Stay client and candidate focused, be the human touch, offer a service that truly listens to the needs and wants of both parties. I provide value to my clients because they can trust me to listen, be accountable, be considerate, and chiefly, ethical. I think in every area of life if you approach an action with respect, trustworthiness, and proper process, it will always have a place within society

The Game Changer

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” — Helen Keller, American author, political activist and lecturer

Getting to grips with compounding is huge. Albert Einstein called it the 8th wonder of the world, stating that people that get compounding earn from it, and those that don’t, pay it. From a work perspective, it’s worth reading ‘The Compound Effect’ by Darren Hardy. From a sales perspective, it talks about making small incremental changes on day to day basis and let that build up over a 12-month term. For us in a recruitment perspective, making just 1x extra sales call a day, amounts to a whopping 261 additional calls over a 12-month period. 261 over 12 months. This can make a HUGE difference in comparison to your competition.

What mistake have you made that made you become a better recruiter?

I have always worked to a saying – “never regret sending a CV, always regret not sending it!” 

To my horror, the paperwork was not complete, and we missed the deadline! I kicked up a right stink, putting the blame firmly at their door. I called the person in question and told them precisely what I thought; that they had ruined a great opportunity for me, and that the three-year agreement for the company was now off the table because they had missed the deadline. I was extremely annoyed; I couldn’t believe they hadn’t completed the document on time, and boy I let them know it.

The following day, I had a heated discussion with my Director at the time, who completely turned the tables. To my surprise, he began to point the finger at me. No matter what excuse, reasoning, or argument I put to the Director, he tore me back down. While this felt harsh at the time, it was the best lesson I’ve had so far. According to him, it was my fault. It was my client, my paperwork, my PSL, my submission. He explained that I hadn’t managed the process correctly. I hadn’t set the essential reminders, and subsequently, I was responsible for not getting the submission in on time. It was 100% my fault. This unpleasant experience turned out to be one of my most valuable lessons, and since that day, it has never left my thought process. Manage everything well and ensure you don’t miss out on golden opportunities. If you do, it’s 100% YOUR fault. These days, I take ownership of everything I do, including managing other people effectively. In my mind, it’s 100% my responsibility to ensure that what I set out to do is completed meticulously.

There is a high rate of drop-offs in the first few years of recruitment, but we understand that it takes longevity to bill at a high level. What tips do you have for those consultants starting off and questioning their futures in the industry? 

Recruitment is a tough vocation no matter what level you are at – it does get easier the longer you have recruited a market but that’s not to say its plain sailing.

In my experience, the recruiters that put 100% effort in from the start are generally the ones that become the Top Performers – it’s the ones that have the massive WHY that break down all barriers and are willing to do whatever it takes are the ones that succeed at the highest level. The individuals that do enough to get by and never aim or target more are the ones that fall by the wayside or never quite achieve (which generally means they move job roles every 1 – 2 years for a higher basic as they never really master  the art of the high commissions!) – these individuals eventually get a basic salary level where there is nowhere else for them to go.

Having mentored and trained numerous entry-level recruitment consultants over the years – what I have learnt is that I would much rather a Trainee have a really tough first 6 months and face everything recruitment has to throw at them and still come through wanting to be a success, than to have a first 6 months where everything works outwell – everything they do turns into a fee or a placement.
Whilst this is great and the individual feels like they are riding on the cusp of a wave – the rejection and tough months are only just round the corner and when you’ve had such a positive introduction into recruitment the dreaded ‘fall from grace’ hits so much harder. The fall is from a greater height and the ‘expectation’ and levels set make it so much more difficult to deal with for the individual that they tend to leave as they don’t know how to cope with the pressure.

What are the mindset traits of a top biller? 

I have become a Top Biller by fulfilling the following: 

I do what I say I will do – you can guarantee that if I say I will call you at a certain time, or I tell you that I will email you I will. This fills my character with integrity, and it means that I work with the same people year in, year out.

Process and procedure – this is the central message! Have the right process, and you will not simply find yourself top billing when you’re having a lucky month, but top billing month in month out, year in and year out. Following the process, with the right procedure, is how you can guarantee that you will succeed in every area of this industry, time and time again. 

Motivated – at the beginning of my book, we talk about ‘Your WHY’. I ask you to visualise what sparks a fire within you and makes you get out of bed in the morning. The WHY that pushes you to put in the extra time, energy, and determination into your work, hour by hour, day by day, month by month, and year by year. The main motivator in your life is you, and you only. Find your WHY and use it! 

Active – where can you find the new deal? Where can you find the right candidate? How many more sales calls can you make today? How can you achieve more today than you achieved yesterday? You must be active every single day to achieve more than you did the previous day. Small incremental steps will get you there. 

Amiable – I’m easy to get along with, and so should you be. While we all want things to work efficiently and effectively, it does not make any sense to treat people aggressively or without respect. I use this philosophy throughout my life, and I feel it is one of the reasons that I am where I am today. “I don’t trust anyone who’s nice to me but rude to the waiter. Because they would treat me the same way if I were in that position.” — Muhammad Ali. 

Approachable – I would hate to think that any of my clients, candidates, or colleagues found it difficult to approach me with a question, a problem, or some great news that they simply wanted to share. This business is human-led, and we are dealing with people’s lives, careers, and businesses. You must be approachable, as this will continue to make you the go-to person within your marketplace. 

Honest – the best businesses I’ve ever worked with are those that have transparency at their core. Again, I believe that you will build your desk and your business faster with honesty than you will by keeping things tightly under your belt. This is not to say that you should be telling all and sundry your personal details, but try to make sure that you are clear and truthful in all areas of your business.

Knowledgeable – to get ahead of your competitors, it is important to be very knowledgeable about your marketplace. As I mentioned in previous chapters, this can be attained by doing your research. We have the internet at our fingertips, and thus, there is no excuse for not going out there and finding out everything there is to know about your marketplace. If you truly want to become a Top Biller, you must learn the lingo, learn the market, and learn all of the major players within that arena. Of course, you must learn about your competitors; these can become your best teachers further down the line.  

Structured – one of the main messages that I preach within this book, is that regardless of your personality traits and regardless of your sales technique, you too can become a top billing recruitment consultant by simply structuring your life adequately. I structure my days down to the hour, including my family time. While you may feel that this is an extreme action, you can’t argue with the fact that it has elevated me above all of my competitors. Like it, or lump it, by structuring my days in the ways outlined in this book, I can constantly compete with previous versions of myself, and continuously move up the ladder. 

Effective time management – I told you the anecdote about James (see the last question if you haven’t read it before), who was stuck in the elevator, and we fed him his call sheet so he could optimise his calls for the day. While this is a humorous story, it does illustrate that there is always an opportunity to get ahead. 

You don’t need to take every call that comes into the office for a colleague, and you don’t need to take on other people’s responsibilities during your core working hours. Have respect for your structured day and be accountable for your own time. People believe that I have more time on my hands then everybody else. This illusion is given by the fact that I get more done than most people. Of course, I don’t have more time; I’m just smarter about how to use it. 

Orderly – I’m an orderly person. Things have their place, events have their time, and data is stored where it should be. I know where things are, and I know where I put things, figuratively and literally.

High integrity – it seems a weird thing to talk about yourself having integrity, as integrity is a humbling trait to have. However, my integrity is why I feel proud and unashamed to deal with client or candidate of any level and know that I can deliver the service I promise, time and time again. I believe in me, which is why my clients and my candidates believe in me. 

Hard-working – I get up early every single day. I find myself getting into work at 7 AM, not to try and prove myself to anybody else, but because it gives me a good hour and a half before any of my competitors get to their desks. It gives me an edge, it puts me a step ahead, and it means I am succeeding beyond my expectations. I wouldn’t be anywhere near where I am today if I did not work so hard. Hard work, however, is easier to activate when you have a systematic, and process-driven, structure to your working life.

Creative – believe it or not, I am a creative person. While I speak about how methodical and procedure driven, I am, putting those ideas into place in a fast-paced industry requires creativity. The way I have succeeded in this industry, outside of the industry norm, is a creative approach to old methods. 

Thoughtful – I don’t always speak in meetings. I don’t shout my opinion down people’s throats when having a one to one conversation with them. I do, however, go away and think carefully about what the other person has said, or what the central theme of the meeting was. I will then return with what I believe is a rational and thoughtful response – whether that be agreeing or disagreeing with points raised. Either way, my comments or thoughts will be constructive.

Punctual – I am early for everything. I keep books in my car to read or call lists ready to phone, as I am always sat in car parks 30 minutes before I need to be anywhere. Being respectful of other peoples time as well as yours is a must. I once worked with a client that would raise an invoice for the time wasted for anybody that was late for a meeting with him!.

Big picture thinking – there is always a bigger picture. Wherever you deem to be the furthest you can reach within your industry, I can promise you that there is further to go should you see the bigger picture. In ‘The Allegory of the Cave’, Plato presents the image of prisoners chained to a cave for their whole lives. They had never seen outside the cave, but they could see the shadows of the world outside playing up on the walls from campfires or the sun outside. 

Because they had never actually seen what lay beneath the cave walls, they did not believe that anything bigger than the cave existed or was possible. With our knowledge of the world and everything that exists within it, we may think of the prisoners within Plato’s cave as small-minded, or ignorant to the majesty of the world. This is how you should look at your career; although you may not be able to see it, there is a whole universe of opportunities available to you if you can think big enough. 

Non-confrontational and a solution provider – remember that you are a solution provider and that you provide a service. Your aim is not to confront clients and candidates with any wrong doings; you are simply trying to provide solutions for both parties. Bear that in mind when you are about to blow your top. 

Relationship building and long term outlook – all of the attributes above are why I have built long-standing, strong, and profitable relationships throughout my career. I guarantee that if you take on these traits, you will also make relationships that will solidify your career. Remember; the candidate that you are placing in an entry-level role now may be the CEO of the top company within your market in 10 years

What was your favourite placement? 

All of my placements are important whether they are a graduate in their first-ever role or the Director taken onto to turn a business or department around.

My first placements for graduates back in 2006 are now Commercial Directors and Commercial Managers and are my clients.

They are equal and I am extremely grateful for their loyalty over the years – as without them I would never have achieved Top Biller status and allowed other consultants to build their desks off the back of my client base.

How you recommend recruiters structure their day, to increase productivity and sales? 

“If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten”. – Tony Robbins

Working in recruitment is always hectic, and fraught with distractions, but having a plan in place will eliminate time-wasting. Begin to structure your day by planning exactly what you need to do to achieve your goals.

When I first started working in recruitment, I worked to what was called a ‘day-plan’. This was an excellent way to become accustomed to how your day is set up, and thus what it will entail. The general overall structure for the day-plan looked like this:  

• 8 am – 9 am admin, adverts, plan, structure, emails, plan for the day. 
• 9 am – 12 pm sales calls.
• 12 pm – 2 pm admin, adverts, plan, structure, emails.
• 2 pm – 5 pm sales calls.
• 5 pm – 6 pm admin, adverts, plan, structure, emails, plan for tomorrow.

To this day, my day-plan is roughly structured the same, with a few tweaks here and there. I tend to get into the office earlier now; usually, 7 am to 7.30 am, as this gives me an hour or so before most of my competitors get into the office. I find this gives me a distinct advantage, as I have already worked through my applications, made the necessary calls and sent off the CV’s to roles before my competitors have even had their breakfast cereal.

The sales and business development calls are scheduled during the busy times of the average person’s working day, to catch them at their desk. Downtime calls are set at times when your contacts are likely to be getting into work or are on lunch. 

Track your structure and activity by counting the calls you make, either by crossing off as you go or using tally marks. It’s surprising how easily you can feel like you’ve had a productive day, only to realise the calls have been predominantly incoming and not outgoing. You think you’ve been busy, but you have, in fact, been handling other people’s requests, and working on their business, and not your own. Building your call count proves whether you’ve had a busy morning or not and it will provide the motivation to pick up the momentum to achieve your daily KPIs in the afternoon.

Tracking what you do every day is the best way to stay targeted, motivated and on the path to achieving top billing status. Your admin is downtime in which to place adverts, confirm interviews, and plan meetings. It’s time for you to write your vacancies, create your mailers and e-shots, and complete all the areas that allow you to promote yourself. You could take this opportunity to write your social media posts, record your videos and manage your outward marketing more effectively.

Sales calls can be whatever you want This may be time for you to call through your clients, conduct business development calls, spec a candidate in or call through your lists of candidates about a role.

I have:

A MONTH plan.
A WEEK plan.
A DAY plan.

This way you know what your monthly targets are and you can break them down by week and day. While you are aiming for the big goals and big targets, breaking them down into much smaller parts allows you to focus and therefore target more precisely.

I have created a month plan book which you can contact me for further details or obtain a copy: Email or find me on LinkedIn.

The importance of planning the evening before is something that many people suggest, but very few do. I can honestly say that the best and most productive days you can have in sales are when your day is mapped out. Plan to the finest detail, and you will discover that achieving things becomes that little bit easier.

If at 5 pm every day, you get your day plan ready and decide on your activities for the following day. With sufficient detail, there is no way of not achieving. For example:

AM 9 am – 12 pm

• Make 30 sales calls for a candidate, Mr John Smith, who is looking for a new role. 
• List the 50 clients you are going to target John Smith to.
• Work towards arranging 3 interviews, from your sales calls, for John Smith.
• Listing the 3 to 5 things you are going to gather from each spec call. Ξ Target 5 new clients in Birmingham.
• Arrange 3 client meetings for the following week.

PM 2 pm – 5 pm

• List / create your candidate search list for the vacancy you are working on.
• Call 30 candidates for the Quantity Surveyor role you are recruiting for.
• Find 3 to 5 available candidates from working on your new Quantity Surveyor position. 
• Send out at least 10 CV’s from applicants to vacancies.

When you arrive the following day, and you already know the plan, and the structure, you are on the right path to achieve your goals. Be specific, targeted and execute your plan. Use your time effectively and be ruthlessly efficient.

What do you foresee being the greatest challenge and opportunity for recruiters over the coming 5 years? 

I believe the recruitment industry is ripe for disruption – it’s the one industry that hasn’t really had an individual or company come in and change the way it works. Look at the likes of PayPal and Banking, Uber and Taxis, Airbnb and Hotels……. Recruitment has got to be on the agenda for disruption. What this will be or what form it will take I don’t know – but there’s not a day goes by that I don’t think about what it could be. How will the industry be revolutionized?

I think promoting and supporting Mental Health and awareness of recruitment is going to be huge. The recruitment industry, one of the most pressurized sector’s to work in, where the stress levels reach sky-high limits every day of the week – whether that be from KPIs, clients, candidates, rejections, sales, commissions, dealing with people on a day to day basis and yet awareness and promotion of ways to deal and support mental health issues seems to be severely lacking within the recruitment businesses – certainly in the UK at present. This will need to change and I believe there are individuals and businesses actively championing this at the moment to give it the impetus it desperately needs.

We’ve all got a recruitment story, what’s your favourite one? 

One of the most important aspects of sales is to always push on, even throughout the toughest of times. There is no room to excuse yourself from your sales time or ‘core hours’. It’s imperative that you maximise your time to make as many sales calls as possible, and thus allow yourself optimum opportunity to advance at any given moment.

Back in my early days of recruiting, I worked alongside a hardworking consultant. James (not his real name) needed ‘some air’ part way through one of our morning sales sessions. He decided to take the elevator down to exit the building, but as the doors closed, the lift engines creaked, and the elevator moved ever so slightly and stopped, trapping James inside. He was stuck; the doors wouldn’t open; the buttons didn’t work, and the elevator wasn’t budging. J

ames shouted through the gap in the doors that he would “take some downtime and wait for the engineer to arrive and fix the issue”. Unbeknown to James, and not to allow for any wasted opportunities, I had returned to the office and printed off his call lists for the day. He had a mobile phone in his possession, so I felt he had no excuse. After the four pages of numbers had been printed, I delivered them to James by carefully ‘posting’ them through the slight gap between the elevator doors. The rest, as they say, was history; James had no distractions, no incoming calls, no cups of tea, just an excellent two-hour solid cold call graft, and good use of his ‘alone time’.
 

Great work, James!

Recommended reading list

As I also read a lot – I have added my recommended book reading below – feel free to let me know any that you feel I have missed off my list:

• The Compound Effect – Darren Hardy. (I always buy new consultants this book as it sets the ‘marginal gains’ conversation in place.)
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen Covey
• Go for No! – Richard Fenton & Andrea Waltz
• The Chimp Paradox – Dr Steve Peters
• Rethink Social Media – Paul O’Mahony
• Unshakeable – Tony Robbins
• Key Person of Influence – Daniel Priestley
• How to win friends & influence people – Dale Carnegie
• The 4 hour workweek – Tim Ferriss
• Start with Why – Simon Sinek
• Unlimited Power – Tony Robbins
• Can’t hurt me – David Goggins
• Rethink Time Management – Paul O’Mahony
• If you’re not First, Your Last – Grant Cardone
• Crushing it! – Gary Vaynerchuk
• The 10X Rule – Grant Cardone
• Oversubscribed – Daniel Priestley

I very much hope that you have enjoyed this interview, at least as much as I have enjoyed answering the questions.

I would love to hear from you and discover what your thoughts are and if you have purchased a copy of my book – and whether you gained any value from the content. I’m always open to feedback and would like to hear your thoughts on the material within the book.
 

If you tag me into your social media post promoting the book and leave an Amazon review, I will happily send you a free copy of the Month Plan and Work Books - I might even throw in a few FREE GIFTS. I would also like to hear from you, so feel free to add me on LinkedIn and drop me a line if you would like any help, guidance, or have a specific question that you think I might be able to help with.

 
I wish you all the best in growing your desk and being on the way to becoming a Top Biller. I believe in you, but the main thing is that you must believe in yourself.

Connect with Steve Guest

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