Persuasion: "What kind of a job would make you smile?"

    

    A recruiter called me up, and instead of going through her sales pitch, she asked a simple question. "What kind of a job would make you smile?" Then, she waited.

    Startled, I thought of my ideal job: the setting, the hours, the types of clients and co-workers I most enjoyed, and then I added the work values (independence vs team-work, travel vs being in one place, variety vs one type of work, a desire for status or power, etc, that I most enjoy). By the time I finished, the recruiter knew a lot about me, including whether she had an opening that I would enjoy. This recruiter was an extraordinary persuader - but now she knew what to focus on when persuading me.

    Take five minutes and write down the description of the ideal job for you.

What are the setting, the type of tasks done, the hours, the pay, the types of ideal customers, and the values that you most enjoy? What would be the impact on employee engagement if you asked each current employee this simple question? 

    If you are a recruiter or are on a recruiting team, ask each candidate this. Then go a step further, and figure out what you could do to be his or her employer of choice. For example, if he comes from out of town, could you provide him with some pamphlets on the community, including information how to find local property managers or realtors (or at least a map of the town)? Could your waiting area for candidates showcase what is special about your community as well as your organization?  Could you find out ahead of time in an anonymous survey why your current employees like working for your organization and share that with your candidate? People like to work with others with similar interests. Find out which of your benefits or other advantages of your workplace (such as a career ladder or tuition reimbursement) means the most to the person, and talk about that.

If you are not a recruiter, think about whoever is your customer. What could you do to make a customer (internal or external) smile tomorrow? 

 

Could you adapt the question above to fit your needs, such as "What kind of (product or service) would make you as the customer smile?"

Business Speech Improvement offers intensive training in verbal skills. Special topics in verbal skills relating to sales/recruiting can be designed to fit your needs; contact us!