It was a very niche sales profession that my candidate was in. Fortunately, I’ve been around long enough to know exactly where to go and who to call. I’d worked with this candidate about two years ago and he found the situation on his own. But I was still really lucky to get him this go-round.
There are only a few elite firms that can afford guys like this because making $1.5 million-$2 million is reasonable to do even your first year if you know what you’re doing. And this guy had been pretty successful before. So, I picked up the phone and began my quest.
It’s the kind of business that most principles will talk to any solid player and no make room for them if they have to. So, I decided to start at the top of the heap. I left a voicemail for one of the principles. I have to admit it was an excellent presentation.
He calls me back and after a minute or so of discussion, he starts laughing. He says, “you know,… I remember him….. I interviewed that guy twice a couple of years ago and he was supposed to call me back. He never did, not even to say that he had taken another job or that he wasn’t interested or… anything. I even called him and left two messages and never heard from him. We have an opening for a guy like him, so now you know what I’m looking for. But I’m not interested at all in speaking with him. If he treats clients the way he treated me, he won’t make it here in our company.”
I haven’t had a chance to speak to my candidate about this yet. But it will be interesting.
Never let your ego get bigger than your game.
