How to Demonstrate Leadership in a Crisis with Greg Benadiba, Ep #14

03/31/20 • 48 min

How do you demonstrate leadership in times of crisis? How do you protect your business and lead your team through the Coronavirus Pandemic? We are living through a very uncertain period of time where we must stay relevant and resilient. In this episode of The Resilient Recruiter, my friend and coaching client Greg Benadiba joins me to share his thoughts.

Greg shares his strategy for screening recruiters and hiring the right people for the position. He also shares the leadership principles he’s built his business on. We share a hopeful viewpoint, one in which your recruiting business can emerge stronger than ever.

Outline of This Episode

[2:11] Greg Benadiba shares how to work smarter—not harder
[4:48] Lessons and takeaways from the last recession
[6:57] How to help your business survive the Coronavirus pandemic
[10:33] How to build and maintain relationships with clients
[17:15] The unique way Greg interviews and hires recruiters
[26:49] The targeted and probing questions to decipher the best candidate
[30:49] The 5 principles Greg has adapted for his recruiting business

How to stay resilient through adversity

At the time of recording this podcast, Ontario had declared a state of emergency. Major outlets, stores, banks, restaurants, and bars closed on St. Patrick's Day. Greg ‘s team went from having 120 jobs to fill down to 72. Greg believes there will be a significant decrease in job orders across the board. But notes it is possible in this day and age to interview, hire and work remotely.

Greg points out that regardless of the pandemic, there will still be positions that need to be filled. So you must stay level-headed and position yourself for the upswing that will come. I work with each of my clients to have a plan of action to get them through this pandemic—you need to have one as well. Keep listening as Greg and I talk about having a contingency plan in place and where he’s focusing his business right now. We also talk about tough decisions you may have to make as a manager.

How to stay in front of your customers

It is more important than ever to position yourself to remain in front of your clients. When things pick up again you’ll be at the forefront of their minds. Greg found a unique way to add value for his customers: he made his Zoom account available to customers so that they could still interview potential hires. It was a simple way to help meet their needs and keep their business from screeching to a halt.

We can still facilitate meetings through the tools we have available—email, conference calls, video conferencing, etc. We must be careful not to alienate customers, but stay in touch and offer insight, guidance, and empathy. Greg says to ask the question, “How can we add value considering the current circumstances that our clients are in?”

Greg’s unique hiring process

Greg doesn’t aim to hire experienced recruiters but prefers to hire candidates from across industries who embody the values he’s looking for. They need to be good with people as well as driven and sales focused. He looks for resiliency and someone who is always learning and finding ways to improve. He asks probing questions, such as “What’s the most difficult thing they’ve ever been through?”.

He notes that you can’t rush the recruiting process. On top of his interview questions and profile testing, they have the recruiter undergo a half-day of job shadowing. In the second part of that day, the potential hire is allowed to jump on the phone to connect with people and flesh out a list of referrals. In this way, the candidate is able to immerse themselves into the job and get a feel for what it will be like.

Greg uses a clearly defined checklist in his hiring process. All of the questions on his checklist are based on mistakes that he’s made in the past. He crafts those mistakes into questions for his screening process. Listen as he shares examples of his questions and how he uses them to decipher who will be the best fit for his business.

The 5 principles Greg incorporates into Bilingual Source

Greg was kind enough to share 5 principles that he incorporates into his business:

Principle #1: You are solely responsible for you and your team’s performance. Assume the role of “mini CEO” and take responsibility for performance management, hiring, training, etc.
Principle #2: You must lead by example. “Do as I say, not as I do” doesn’t work—we all know it. Be the type of manager and leader that your team looks up to and emulates. Follow the rules, don’t cut corners, and be the role model
Principle #3: Have very clear goals defined for you and your team. Don’t confuse goals with desires. Goals MUST be accomplished, desires are just things you want.
Principle #4: Don’t worry about looking good, worry about achieving your...

Outline of This Episode

[2:11] Greg Benadiba shares how to work smarter—not harder
[4:48] Lessons and takeaways from the last recession
[6:57] How to help your business survive the Coronavirus pandemic
[10:33] How to build and maintain relationships with clients
[17:15] The unique way Greg interviews and hires recruiters
[26:49] The targeted and probing questions to decipher the best candidate
[30:49] The 5 principles Greg has adapted for his recruiting business

How to stay resilient through adversity

How to stay in front of your customers

Greg’s unique hiring process

The 5 principles Greg incorporates into Bilingual Source

Greg was kind enough to share 5 principles that he incorporates into his business:

Principle #1: You are solely responsible for you and your team’s performance. Assume the role of “mini CEO” and take responsibility for performance management, hiring, training, etc.
Principle #2: You must lead by example. “Do as I say, not as I do” doesn’t work—we all know it. Be the type of manager and leader that your team looks up to and emulates. Follow the rules, don’t cut corners, and be the role model
Principle #3: Have very clear goals defined for you and your team. Don’t confuse goals with desires. Goals MUST be accomplished, desires are just things you want.
Principle #4: Don’t worry about looking good, worry about achieving your...

Previous Episode

How to Generate Warm Leads On LinkedIn, Ep #13

How do you respond to a recession? I’ve been here before and I’ve learned to recognize the signs—a recession is coming. I recommend to act as if tough times are coming and take massive action—charge forward with total commitment and sell as if your family's financial security is at stake.

I get 100% of my business through digital marketing strategies with 20% of my warm leads coming from LinkedIn. Generating warm leads on LinkedIn is one of the marketing strategies I recommend adopting right now.

The only way to deal with adversity is to increase your commitment and adopt more intelligent strategies. In this episode of The Resilient Recruiter, I’m sharing a presentation on how to generate warm leads on LinkedIn. I’ll share the 5 key things it takes to make your profile compelling, how to connect with leads and how to resonate with your audience.

Outline of This Episode

[1:16] What motivates me to push harder in times of uncertainty
[6:57] How to generate warm leads on LinkedIn during a recession
[10:05] I share the 5 keys to creating an effective LinkedIn strategy
[13:17] Key #1: Create a compelling LinkedIn profile
[24:08] Key #2: Focus on Consistently growing your network
[33:08] Key #3: Follow up and start engaging conversations
[39:07] BONUS: How to increase your response rate exponentially
[42:40] Key #4: In a world where content is king—how do you stand out?
[53:47] Key #5: Who do you engage with on LinkedIn?

Key #1: Make your LinkedIn profile compelling

Your LinkedIn profile should be a lead generation website for your business. Take a look at your LinkedIn profile from the perspective of a potential client or candidate. Does it convey who you are and what you do? There are a few things I recommend making a concerted effort with:

Choose a profile image that is professional and inviting.
Do not use the default banner. It is prime real estate and one of the first things someone sees. Ideally, you should use a photograph taken in a professional context. It needs to convey credibility and authority.
Craft a professional headline. Clearly define what you do and what value proposition is. Who do you work with? What kind of results do you get? Signal to your industry and your ideal audience that you speak their language and provide them an incentive to scroll down and get more information. PRO TIP: Adjust your headline using the app on your phone—you’re somehow allowed more words/characters.
Use the ‘about’ section to make a human connection. Tell your personal and professional story in a way that is relevant to your business and resonates with your audience. You want a potential client or prospect to relate to you. Share WHY you do what you do.

Listen to the episode for more ideas to create a compelling LinkedIn Profile.

Key #2: Consistently grow your network

Growing your network needs to be a proactive process that you do consistently every day. You need to start by searching for your ideal prospects with a tool such as LinkedIn Sales Navigator. I recommend setting a goal to send 30-50 connection requests a day (allocating 30-60 minutes of your time). I typically see a 40% acceptance rate from people who are warm prospects that are more receptive to engagement.

Secondly, focus on crafting a message that is low-key, non-threatening, with zero sales pitch. Personalize the message when possible with something relevant. You can create a friendly and natural-sounding template to use and interchange the pertinent details. You could use a simple template across the board, but your response rate will likely be lower without a personalized touch.

Key #3: It’s all about outreach

You need to follow up with leads and start conversations. Send a sequence of messages with the end goal of engaging the lead and having them schedule a call on your calendar. This is a task where you can hire a virtual assistant to help you.

Within the first 24 hours send them a polite note.
If you don’t get a reply, send another message from a different angle. You could ask a question or comment on a post or article on their profile. Perhaps you could send them a piece of content or research relevant to their field.
You could send a case study pitch—a soft sell—just sharing a brief snapshot of what you do and the success you’ve found.
Offer a call—ask them when would be a great time to chat about the value you can offer them.

There is ONE thing I’ve found that will get you a higher response rate. One of my clients gets an 80% response rate when they use this tactic. Listen to the whole episode to find out what the strategy is.

Key #4: Content is King

The easiest way to generate inbound leads is by producing content on LinkedIn. Wri...

Next Episode

How Katie Howard Cross Empowers Women in Recruitment to Excel, Ep #15

There are very few women in recruitment management positions in the global power sector—for years, Katie Howard Cross was one of them. You see more gender disparity as you climb up the ladder and both Katie and I agree that needs to change. In this episode of The Resilient Recruiter, Katie and I chat about how she found success. We’ll delve into her strategies, her positive mindset, and talk about her new business endeavor—Eva Connections. Katie has a strong entrepreneurial spirit that shines through whatever she takes on. Her goal is to empower women working in recruitment—in any industry, truly—to help them reach success.

Outline of This Episode

[2:55] The message Katie is sharing with her community
[5:28] Career advancement, family, and tough decisions
[10:15] Katie’s lightbulb moment that changed everything
[14:26] The freedom and flexibility of running your own business
[17:04] How Katie billed €600,000 while managing a large team
[24:09] Katie shares how to sell a retainer model to clients
[31:35] What Katie has learned building her business
[34:08] We take a deep-dive into Katie’s business—Eva Connections

Women in recruitment are forced to make tough decisions

Katie shares she was focused on career advancement well into her 30’s—it wasn’t until then she decided to have kids. She worked long hours in a global sector that included constant world-wide travel. When she had her daughter, she knew her work practices needed to shift. She began leaving work at 5:30 every day which—for some recruiters—is the middle of the day. After having her 2nd child, she knew she needed to leave Amoria Bond, and they parted ways amicably. But she was left feeling as if she was having an identity crisis, and found herself asking “Who am I? What's my identity? Where do I fit in the world?”.

Why Katie launched her own business

Before Katie had kids, she had worked with an executive coach to narrow down her values, which were found in career advancement/progression and seeking out adventure. After kids, her values drastically switched to finding autonomy, freedom, and flexibility. She still wanted a career and knew she could couple it with being a Mom.

So Katie started her own business. She launched into career-coaching for women and focused on recruitment training—because she excelled at it. She met her current business partner 8 months into the process and found that they complemented each other’s abilities. They put their heads together and Eva Connections was born.

Suddenly, Katie had the freedom to choose her own hours and structure her day how she pleased. She had the flexibility to make appointments when it suited her. She points out that the traditional 9-5 is becoming outdated and old-fashioned and found herself questioning, “What works for me and makes me happy? As long as that’s working I know my business will flourish”.

How Katie billed €600,000 while managing a large team

Katie has been in the recruiting industry for 19 years and reached a point where she completed 10 deals a month while managing a team. It took years of learning from the experts, working with candidates to understand the industry and soak in all the knowledge she could. She didn’t reinvent the wheel but followed a process she knew worked. 10 years later, she became the expert.

She attributes some of her success to choosing a niche and diligence with market-mapping. She wasn’t afraid to get on the phone and speak to candidates and clients. She qualified her leads and minimized the event of a candidate not accepting a position. She firmly believes—as do I—in the retainer model. Above all, she believes in the value of her service.

Katie goes into detail about what she did that works and continues to work—listen to this section carefully to benefit from her vast knowledge.

Retainer versus contingency: selling it to clients

The average conversion of job order to placement across the industry is a mere 19%. So the recruiters who work on a contingency basis are working for free 80% of the time. This isn’t a way to make a living and provide for a family. You should be paid upfront for the work you do. Your time is precious—don’t waste it.

Katie believes that recruiters don’t challenge their clients enough and that you need to fight for yourself. You’re a specialist working in a particular niche and an expert in your industry. You must have confidence in yourself and your abilities and be willing to push back when necessary.

Katie states you must focus on “finding those clients that appreciate the value in the service that you offer, the skills and the expertise you can bring, and the quality and the caliber of candidates that may then add significant value to [their] business”.

In the remainder of the e...