Up until recently, there were only four active Top Echelon recruiting agencies that had billed $2 million or more through the Network.

Now there are five!

The fifth agency is Corporate Resources, LLC in Cincinnati, Ohio! Corporate Resources sent in the brokerage fees from their two most recent placements last week.

There were a couple of things that were special about the placements:

1. They pushed Corporate Resources over $2 million to $2,011,343.
2. The Completed Placement Form for one of them was printed on the back of a Top Echelon Job Order Form from 1998. That form is pictured above.

Corporate Resources, LLC prides itself on recycling. As such, the firm reuses paper and does not throw it away after a single use. That explains the 19-year old job order!

Corporate Resources: an anniversary, too!

In addition, Corporate Resources joined Top Echelon Network in July of 1992. As a result, the agency will be celebrating its 25th anniversary this year!

In addition to the $2 million that the agency has billed, the firm has also made a total of 238 placements through the Network. The recruiters of Corporate Resources strongly believe in split placements and the recruiter networking necessary to make them happen. Those recruiters include:

• Jack Better, CPC
• Tom Heeney, CPC
• Dan Winters, CPC
• Carol Brinkman
• Chris Ramsay, CPC
• Suzy Turnpaugh
• Cindy Andrew Cordell, CPC

There are currently 21 active Network agencies that have reached (and surpassed) the $1 million mark. All 21 agencies are listed below, along with each firm’s cash-in total.

Congratulations to everybody on the list below!

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$4,608,590—Cameron Craig Group
$2,292,681—Career Brokers, Inc.
$2,223,862—Continental Search and Outplacement, Inc.
$2,076,181—Affinity Executive Search, Inc.
$2,011,343—Corporate Resources, LLC
$1,887,455—KB Search Team, LLC
$1,732,958—Lou Michaels Associates, Inc.
$1,587,325—Fitzpatrick & Associates
$1,556,684—Markent Personnel
$1,315,828—The Shay Group
$1,291,547—Career Professionals, Inc.
$1,234,857—Professional Recruiting Consultants
$1,188,300—EXEK Recruiters, Ltd.
$1,161,811—Elias Associates, Inc.
$1,143,927—NewCareers
$1,109,052—Database Search, Inc.
$1,074,363—The Williams Company
$1,040,537—MJ Recruiters, LLC
$1,038,239—Wick Jobs (Career Center of Cincinnati)
$1,012,656—J.D. Cotter Search, Inc.

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If you’re looking to maximize your Network membership and join the list above, then contact Director of Network Operations Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS. You can do so by calling 330.455.1433, x156 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.

The Early Bird Registration deadline for the 2017 National Convention is coming! The Early Bird Registration deadline for the 2017 National Convention is coming!

Not exactly Paul Revere, but you get my point.

Specifically, the Early Bird deadline for the convention is Friday, February 17. (Yes, that’s this coming Friday.)

Meet the deadline, save $70

That means if you sign up between now and Friday, you can take advantage of the special Early Bird rate of $395 per person. If you wait until after Friday, the price goes up to $465 per person. Why wait? Save $70 and take that money with you to Orlando.

Why Orlando? Because that’s the site of the National Convention, of course! Below is other important information regarding the event:

• The dates are Tuesday, April 25, and Wednesday, April 26.
• The location is the DoubleTree Hilton, located at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida.
• Jordan Rayboy of Rayboy Insider Search will be the keynote speaker for the convention.

We’re also pleased to announce that we have the descriptions for all three of the sessions that Jordan will be presenting. The titles and descriptions of those sessions are below:

Riding the Wave . . . and Getting Back to the Top

The longer we’re in this business, the easier it should become. However, some big billers fall victim to achieving a certain level of success, hitting a high billing mark, and then falling off the wagon, whether due to burnout or other factors. The truth is that most top producers stop doing the things that made them successful in the first place! Join Jordan Rayboy as he shares his journey back to the top of the wave and how you can learn from his mistakes and successes to keep your billings at a consistently high level.

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The Power of Leverage: a Blueprint for Full-Desk Recruiters to Multiple Their Billings and Freedom

The problem with being a top producer in our business is that everything that got you where you are is exactly what will keep you from getting where you want to go. (Think about that one.) In this session, Jordan Rayboy takes you along the growth path from producer to leader and how you too can scale your team, your billings, and your lifestyle to new heights previously unimaginable on your own.

— — —

You Get What You Tolerate

Having trouble with candidates? Having trouble with clients? Who among us isn’t? But do you have to take it? In this no-frills session, Jordan Rayboy will set the record straight and show that you’re in control of more than you think. You CAN avoid some of the misery that you deal with on a regular basis!

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Remember, you can register for the 2017 National Convention with a credit card in the Members’ Area. The convention represents a recruiter networking opportunity that can help you maximize your Network membership and grow your firm this year. You don’t know who you might meet, whose job orders you can work, and whose candidates you can place.

There are split placements waiting for you in Orlando. All you have to do is sign up for the convention and find them there!

February is the shortest month on the calendar. So it only makes sense that we would have our fewest number of Top Echelon firms with Network anniversaries during that month. Be that as it may, we’re still celebrating longevity in Top Echelon Network!

Celebrating the biggest anniversary this month is Pan American Search, Inc. in El Paso, Texas. Pan American Search joined the Network in February of 1995, making this its 22nd anniversary! Congratulations to Pan American and firm owner Stephanie Caviness!

We must also give a special shout-out to Database Search, Inc. in Amherst, New York. Database Search is somewhat of a special case as far as longevity in the Network is concerned. That’s because the firm’s owner, Colleen Switala, has been with Top Echelon on two separate occasions.

Longevity AND almost $1 million!

Colleen made her first placement in the Network on March 1, 1995. Since that time, she’s made 130 more placements as a Network member. She’s made eight of those since re-joining Top Echelon five years ago.

And get this: Colleen has billed close to $999,900 through the Network all-time. She’s poised to be our next $1 million producer! All she has to do is make one more placement. So if you’ve worked with Colleen in the past, let’s make this happen.

She’s already part of the exclusive Top Echelon Network 100 Placement Club. One more placement, and she’ll join the exclusive Top Echelon Network $1 Million Club.

Congratulations to everybody celebrating an anniversary this month. Let’s make more split placements!

(Editor’s note: Top Echelon recognizes firms celebrating five, 10, 15, and 20-year Network anniversaries, plus any firm celebrating an anniversary in excess of 20 years.)

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22-Year Anniversary

Pam American Search, Inc. in El Paso, Texas
Staff Members: Stephanie Caviness
Agency Join Date: February 27, 1995
Placements: 10

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10-Year Anniversary

Johnson Resource Group, LLC in Covington, Kentucky
Staff Members: Bill Hagerty, Larry Signorile, Karen Hargett, Jeff Duell, and Greg Johnson
Agency Join Date: February 8, 2007
Placements: 17

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5-Year Anniversary

The PRA Group, Inc. in St. Clair, Michigan
Staff Members: Jim Petitpren, Pam Petitpren, Dan Trudeau, Lynda Mammel, David Parker, Ryan Wilson, and George Newton
Agency Join Date: February 1, 2012
Placements: 31

Database Search, Inc. in Amherst, New York
Staff Members: Colleen Switala and Matthew Switala
Agency Join Date: February 7, 2012
Placements: 146

“There isn’t any money in the budget.”

“We’re under a hiring freeze right now.”

How many times have you heard a fee objection like the two listed above? Or this one: “We’d love to use you, but we just can’t afford the placement fee right now.”

It doesn’t matter in what kind of economy you find yourself. It could be a good one, a bad one, or a lukewarm one. Chances are that you’ll hear “No” to a direct hire more than you’d like. (Actually, any more than once is probably more than you’d like.)

Fee objection misdirection

But there is another option you could consider that helps the client and is easier on the budget: a contract-to-direct hire solution. This allows the client to get the skill set they need and “try out” the candidate.

With this option, your client will pay the placement fee over time rather than in one lump sum. In a contract-to-direct hire situation, the placement fee can be part of the weekly invoice. Consequently, the fee is paid in small increments over time instead of one large, lump sum payout.

Using the contract-to-direct option helps many recruiters overcome the placement fee objection.

That’s because a contract-to-direct situation is an audition. It’s an audition for both the candidate AND the company. That way, they can determine if they meet each other’s needs before they make the direct hire commitment. By providing the contract-to-direct option to your clients and candidates, you can help both parties make a decision they can feel good about.

But if you’re going to use this technique, you may want to use a contract staffing back-office to employ the candidates during their contract period.

Otherwise, YOU will be responsible for payroll funding and processing, Workers’ Compensation, unemployment benefits, invoicing and collections, etc. A contract staffing back-office can handle all of those tasks for you so that you can concentrate on closing your next placement!

For more information, call Top Echelon Contracting at 888.627.3678. You can also download our “Quick-Start Guide to Contract Staffing.”

This guide is designed to help you “hit the ground running” so you can make contract placements as soon as possible!