Why Skipping the Intake Call Can Cost You More Than Just Time

In this issue:

• Importance of qual calls

• Quick story about working with a sales rep who didn’t do one

• Dangers of skipping them

• Framework to follow

• A checklist on what to generally ask for

• Some questions I personally ask

PS: Some of you may be working “VMS” accounts where these qual calls aren’t possible. That’s fine. And tbh I’ve made a lot of money working these accounts in the past. These qual calls just help really increase your chances of success.

PPS: Thank you to those who’ve reached out to me with my injury. I am doing the best I can to keep up with this newsletter since it’s paid! My MRI is today so we’ll know a little more on what’s actually going on.

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In today’s fast-paced recruitment industry, the temptation to dive headfirst into sourcing candidates the moment a job order lands in your inbox can be overwhelming.

Speed to market matters in recruiting, especially today. While the market is generally still slow, a lot of us are likely calling on the same clients and prospects. So every second wasted recruiting is giving more time to your competition to fill the role.

That being said, there’s a saying I always fall back on: “Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast”.

This saying came from the SEALS, so I’d like to think it’s a good motto to have in our industry.

While we want to keep our foot on the gas, we also want to make sure we’re not spinning our wheels and wasting our time recruiting/looking for the wrong things. In order to do our jobs effectively, we need to be on the same page with everyone involved - Hiring Manager, Account Managers/BDRs, Recruiters, etc.

Now you can take this topic of wasting time and spinning wheels and apply it to virtually any subject in our industry, but for this article, we’ll focus on the intake call.

Let’s get real: skipping the intake or qualification call is akin to navigating through a storm without radar. It's risky, and here’s why you, as a seasoned recruitment professional, should never skip this crucial step.

Story Time

This subject is timely to me because I literally dealt with this situation yesterday (lol).

As you may know from one of my prev posts, my two main finserv clients are pretty much done hiring for the year (we had a great run until about 1-2 weeks ago, smashed our #s!) but I want to keep my foot on the gas. So I’ve been reaching out and partnering with other teams within the company to add additional firepower.

I’m a little spoiled because my team - although small and lean - is full of A players. To put it into perspective, the lowest biller on our team of 5 does approx $1.5M or $30k/week in spread.

So one account manager reached out to me to help fill a contract “full stack developer” for another large consumer bank. Great, up my alley and I should be able to hit a home run on this. Right? WRONG!

Let’s call this account manager Gary. Gary sends me the job description, which was literally 4-5 sentences of generic garbage.

I call Gary and ask:

• “What’s the tech stack”.

• It’s Java.

• “Ok, but it says full stack. So what are they using on the front end?”

• I don’t know

• Gary that’s pretty important to know, there are a million different UI technologies and if they are looking for something specific, I’m not wasting my time potentially looking for the wrong thing.

Ok, Gary says he will ask. But I continue to grill him more.

• “Why is the role open?”

• I don’t know.

• “Dude (literally I said dude) how do you not know this? If it’s a backfill, use-it-or-lose-it budget situation, added work? This is all intel YOU need to determine the priority of this position.

• “And if it’s a backfill, we need to know why the person got let go. Maybe they actually have an emphasis on a certain hard/soft skill. Maybe they are looking for something particular in culture fit”

I could write a Harry Potter sized newsletter on my call with Gary, but I’ll cut it off here for the sake of brevity. But hopefully you get my point on why intake calls are important with just this short interaction.

The Crucial Role of the Intake Call

The intake call is your first line of defense and your primary tool for ensuring alignment between what your client needs and what you deliver.

Here’s a deep dive into why these calls are critical: