According to Top Echelon Network member and Top Producer Kerry Boehner of KOB Solutions, the world is like a big pizza. Which we love here at Top Echelon because, well, we love pizza.

But we also love what Kerry has done since becoming a Network member over a decade ago.

Kerry Boehner

During that time, she’s made a total of 72 split placements. That’s an average of more than six per year.

In addition, her cash-in total in the Network during that time is an impressive $654,497. That total has been helped by a number of large placement fees that she has split with her trading partners. Below are some of the totals from the past year alone:

• $35,000
• $50,000
• $42,818

Considering the fact that KOB Solutions, Inc. paid $1,500 in membership dues during the past year, that’s a rather staggering return on her Network investment. However, the return that Kerry has received on her investment in Top Echelon’s recruiter network has transcended the financial.

According to Kerry, below are four takeaways that have been instrumental to her success as a member of the Network:

#1—TE is a lifeline in down times (and then some).

Kerry and KOB Solutions joined Top Echelon Network back in 2010. The United States (and much of the world, by extension) was facing the consequences of the Economic Crisis. The Great Recession had begun, and Kerry was looking for ways that she and her agency could persevere in the midst of adversity.

“I joined the Network back in 2010 during the economic crisis,” she said. “It was a challenging time for everyone, and I knew I had to change how I was working.”

Not only did Kerry have access to more job orders in the Network, but as an importer, she also had access to top candidates via her trading partners. Working in the Scientific and Biotechnology industries, she has put those candidates to excellent use.

“My clients have benefited from the outstanding candidates that I have received from various Network members,” she said.

#2—Membership is about more than making placements.

What? Although that might sound like borderline blasphemy to some recruiters, it is absolutely true.

Once you’ve been a member of Top Echelon Network for more than a few years, you realize that you’re part of more than just a network of recruiters. You’re part of a group of people in a challenging profession that respect and support each other.

“The benefits go way beyond the financial,” said Kerry. “I have a team of TE recruiters who support me in different ways. It might be posting my roles, sharing industry trends, or just getting together and having fun.”

#3—Everything revolves around relationships in TE.

Relationships between recruiters are the foundation of Top Echelon Network, and that has been the case down through the years. Not only do these relationships help you make more placements, but they also help you forge new friendships.

“I’ve really enjoyed the relationships I have built in the Network,” said Kerry, “and I rely on my recruiting friends for support and counsel when I encounter challenging issues.”

You know the old adage: people do business with people they like. That’s why the relationships and friendships that recruiters build in Top Echelon Network have both professional and personal ramifications. In other words, when you have a personal connection with your TE split recruiting partners, you’re more likely to enjoy professional success.

“The key to success in the Network is to find recruiters who not only work your niche, but also share a connection with you,” said Kerry. “You have to be able to trust someone and share similar values.”

#4—Follow the formula and success will follow you.

Top Echelon Network has its Policies and The Golden Rules for a reason. No, it’s not because we’re a killjoy. It’s so we can protect our members and allow them to work and interact in an environment that is conducive to making the most amount of placements possible.

Kerry has recognized that, and she also recognizes the importance of following other best practices, as well. This is evident in her advice to newer Network members.

“Reach out to folks and get to know people in your niche,” she said. “Email first to set up a call. Don’t work a job without contacting the recruiter working on it. Get the status of the role and the main points of the position.

“Also, follow the golden rule: treat others as you would like to be treated. And definitely do not post anyone’s job without their permission.”

Ultimately, Kerry is a split-minded recruiter with a passion for what she does as a professional search consultant. Not only does she enjoy being successful, but she also enjoys helping others become successful, as well, including her trading partners in Top Echelon Network.

“The world is a big pizza, and there are enough slices for everyone,” Kerry said. “We can all be successful!”

We could not have said it better ourselves.

The coronavirus and the COVID-19 pandemic have changed the way that we do things, and that includes the way we do things here at Top Echelon.

Last year, we held our first Virtual Network Awards Ceremony due to the pandemic. And while vaccines are currently being rolled out all around the country and the virus has seemed to subside, things are definitely not “back to normal” quite yet.

And because of that, I’m here to announce that Top Echelon’s Second Virtual Awards Ceremony is scheduled for Friday, April 9, at 3 p.m., EDT!

The platform for this event will be Google Meetings, and I will share the login information with you at the end of this Pinnacle Blog post.

Everybody is encouraged to attend, but I would consider attendance almost mandatory if you are or have made a placement with one of the following Network recruiters:

• Debbie Winkelbauer of Surf Search
• John Peterson of Sun Recruiting, Inc.
• Joe Cresci of Food Management Search
• Gary Schultz of Work 22, Inc.
• Maria Hemminger of MJ Recruiters, LLC
• Michael Stuck of the Gables Search Group
• Terry Rhodes of New Careers
• Steve Kohn of Affinity Executive Search, Inc.
• Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

We will be recognizing the top 10 recruiters in Top Echelon Network for 2020, as determined by their cash-in totals for the year. We will also be recognizing those members who were part of the Largest Split Placement of the Year for 2020.

To join the ceremony at the appointed time, click on this link to gain access to the Microsoft Meeting: https://meet.google.com/bpg-mfox-ozk.

Support your split recruiting partners for this historic event. Join us on Friday, April 9, for the Second Top Echelon Network Virtual Awards Ceremony!

If you have any questions about this event or about how you can maximize your membership, please contact me.

You can do so by calling 330.455.1433, x156 or by sending an email to drea@topechelon.com.

(Editor’s note: Recruiter and search consultant Gary Silver of The Shay Group was a member of Top Echelon Network for over 25 years. During that time, he became one of the most successful recruiters in Network history, making over 240 placements, both direct hire and contract. In this installment of our “From the Vault” series, Gary identifies three keys to his tremendous success in our recruiting network.)

— — —

What IS the secret to experiencing more success as a member of Top Echelon Network?

Fair question, don’t you think? What’s also fair is that we ask somebody who has made more than their fair share of placements in Top Echelon Network. After all, experience definitely counts for something.

The person we asked is Gary Silver of The Shay Group. There are about 240 reasons why we interviewed Gary—one for every placement he’s made through the Network. If there’s somebody who knows “what’s what” when it comes to split placements, it’s Gary.

So . . . what’s the secret? Well, it’s not a secret, really. It’s a mindset, namely that recruiters have to be willing to make an investment in their Network membership.

Gary Silver

“It must be integrated into your day,” said Silver. “It’s not any kind of magic formula. I spend two or three hours every day with my trading partners in Top Echelon. It must be embedded in your work scheduled to talk to and work with two or three partners a day. You have to schedule this time and make sure it happens. It has to be an every day commitment.”

The results speak for themselves. There is no better example of a recruiter who has taken the Top Echelon Network system and applied it to their business. During his tenure as a Network member, Silver worked the system day in and day out, experiencing a tremendous amount of success since joining the Network in 1992.

“There’s no question what TE has meant to me,” said Silver. “In good times, it’s made my revenue stronger by many miles, and in bad times, it’s been a life-saver. I’m not sure how much stronger you can say that.”

Make an investment in your Top Echelon Network membership every day. This is a mindset that really is NO secret. You might be surprised by the return you receive on your investment.

Have you ever been in a situation where you thought somebody knew something . . . but to your amazement, they did not?

Well, we’re in that kind of situation with our FREE Recruiter Coaching Series of webinars.

We have discovered during the past year or so that up to 50% of Top Echelon Network members either:

• Don’t know about the Recruiter Coaching Series of webinars, or
• Know about the Recruiter Coaching Series, but have not taken advantage of them as of yet.

With that in mind, allow us to re-introduce ourselves . . .

Top Echelon offers a FREE monthly webinar as part of its Recruiter Coaching Series. After the webinars are over, we post the recorded version of the webinars on our website.

These webinars touch upon a variety of recruiter-related topics. These topics deal with both candidates and clients.

As always, our goal with these webinars (and corresponding videos) is to help recruiters make more placements. So, to recap:

• You can attend the live webinars, which we typically conduct on the second Tuesday or Wednesday of every month at 1 p.m., Eastern Time.

• You can watch the recorded versions of past webinars in our Recruiter Coaching Library. And when we say “past webinars,” we mean ALL of them.

Just click the link below. That will give you access to the library and also the chance to sign up for the Recruiter Coaching Series emails.

Yes, I want to see the library!

We encourage you to take advantage of Top Echelon’s Recruiter Coaching Series of webinars. It’s yet one more way that we’re helping you make more placements!