Top Echelon is pleased to announce that texting capabilities will be available in the Big Biller recruiting software starting on Friday, November 1!

We imagine that you probably have some questions about this new feature in Big Biller. And since over 75% of Network recruiters use the software, we thought it would be a good idea to provide answers to those questions.

But first: please note that there will be a special Training Thursday webinar regarding Big Biller’s texting capabilities. That webinar, titled “Text or Treat: Announcing Texting in Big Biller!” is scheduled for Thursday, October 31.

Click here to register for this special Training Thursday webinar.

And of course, we also have a series of Help Center article that explores Big Biller’s texting functionality. This series of articles covers the following:

• Setting up a dedicated texting number
• Sending and receiving text messages
• Managing your texting subscription
• Allowing a user to send text messages as other users
• Canceling a text messaging phone number/subscription

Click here to see the Help Center article that contains all of this information:

But wait, we’re not done! We also have an overview video explaining texting, which you can play below:

And last but certainly not least, we have information in a Q&A format listed below.

How much does the service cost?
Each phone number that you create costs $12 per month and comes with 250 outgoing text messages. Each message sent beyond the 250 limit will cost an additional $0.05, and incoming messages do not count towards the limit. The limit resets each month, and any unused messages do not carry over.

Will I be able to pick my texting number?
No, a number will be provided for you when you activate the service.

Can I use my existing work number?
No, a number will be provided for you when you activate the service.

Will the number provided to me use my area code?
Yes, the area code will be based off your location on file.

Will mass texting be available?
No, not at this time.

Do incoming texts count towards my message limit?
No, incoming messages will not count towards your limit.

Can I receive responses on my phone?
Not directly to your phone number, but email notifications can be set up from within Big Biller so that you can receive them on the go.

What’s the advantage of texting from Big Biller, rather than just sending from my phone?
Texting through Big Biller allows you to send messages without revealing your personal phone number. Incoming and Outgoing Messages are also automatically recorded as Activities when sent as well.

Can my users share a single texting number?
Yes, users can be given permission to send texts from another user’s number.

Do my remaining messages carry over to the next month?
No, the message limit resets with each new billing cycle.

Is there a limit to the number of texting numbers that I can activate?
No, you can create as many phone numbers as you need.

We’ll have more information in next week’s issue of The Pinnacle. But if you haven’t do so already, please register for the upcoming webinar about texting on Thursday, October 31!

The term “double-dipping” sometimes has a negative connotation. However, there are at least two instances in which that is NOT the case.

The first involves ice cream. Who wouldn’t want to double-dip when it comes to that kind of creamy goodness?

The second involves the largest fees in Top Echelon’s recruiter network for the third quarter of the year. (Or any quarter of the year, for that matter.)

But what does it mean to double-dip in terms of fees? It means that multiple recruiters are represented more than once on the list below. Specifically, it means they were part of not just one of the top 10 fees in the Network during the third quarter, but multiple fees.

The recruiters who double-dipped include:

• Darrin Skinner of Howe & Associates
• Mike Loftus of Beacon Professional Search
• Nikita Gates of Executive Search, Recruit
• Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

And what’s the best way to celebrate scoring a big fee through Top Echelon Network? With ice cream! And what kind? A banana split, of course!

C’mon . . . that was too easy.

Congratulations to everybody who made the largest split fees in Top Echelon’s split network during the third quarter of 2019!

— — —

Largest Split Fees of the Quarter
First Place:

Darrin Skinner

Anjela Mangrum

Darrin Skinner of Howe & Associates and Anjela Mangrum of Mangrum Career Solutions, Inc.

The position for this split placement was a Chief Financial Officer. Darrin was the job order recruiter and Anjela was the candidate recruiter.

The action that stimulated this split placement was listed as “Alerts.” (Editor’s note: That would be the Alerts system in the legacy version of the software, not the new one that is currently in production.)

The fee for this split placement was $66,000.

— — –

Second Place:

Mike Loftus of Beacon Professional Search (job order recruiter)
Nikita Gates of Executive Search, Recruit (candidate recruiter)
Position Title: Director Supply Chain
Fee percentage: 25%
Split Fee: $43,750

Third Place:

Tom Christensen of C.H. Thomas Search, LLC (job order recruiter)
Greg Downs of Downs Associates (candidate recruiter)
Position Title: Vice President of Operations (Meat Processing)
Fee percentage: 25%
Split Fee: $41,250

Fourth Place:

Darrin Skinner of Howe & Associates (job order recruiter)
Terry Rhodes of NewCareers (candidate recruiter)
Position Title: Director Managed Care
Fee percentage: 25%
Split Fee: $38,750

Fifth Place:

Laura J. Petraitis-Doll of LS Doll & Associates (job order recruiter)
Cynthia Woods of Woods & Paolino Recruiting Solutions (candidate recruiter)
Position Title: Plant EHS Manager
Fee percentage: 29%
Split Fee: $37,830

Sixth Place:

Mike Loftus of Beacon Professional Search (job order recruiter)
Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group (candidate recruiter)
Position Title: Director Human Services
Fee percentage: 25%
Split Fee: $37,125

Seventh Place:

James Sullivan of Ethical Search Professionals, Ltd. (job order recruiter)
Nakita Gates of Executive Search, Recruit (candidate recruiter)
Position Title: Sr. Supply Chain Manager
Fee percentage: 22.5%
Split Fee: $37,125

Eighth Place:

Cathy George, CPC of C.G. & Company (job order recruiter)
Richard Steinman of Steinman Recruiting Associates (candidate recruiter)
Position Title: General Manager
Fee percentage: 20%
Split Fee: $36,000

Ninth Place:

Juanita Smith of the Executive Group (job order recruiter)
Mike Pettit of Channel Personnel Services, Inc. (candidate recruiter)
Position Title: Fixed Equipment Reliability Engineer
Fee percentage: 25%
Split Fee: $35,000

10th Place:

Harvey Lipton of The Centrus Group (job order recruiter)
Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group (candidate recruiter)
Position Title: Director Systems and Process
Fee percentage: 20%
Split Fee: $34,000

— — —

Top Echelon determines the monthly and quarterly winners of its Network split recruiting awards in four distinct categories, which are listed below:

1.) Recruiter of the Month
2.) Largest Split Fee of the Month
3.) Recruiter of the Quarter
4.) Largest Split Fee of the Quarter

The winners of these awards are only announced in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog, usually (but not always) in the issue following the conclusion of each month and/or quarter.

We have the top 10 recruiters in Top Echelon Network for the third quarter!

As you look at the names below, you probably see some familiar faces. That’s because the top 10 recruiters of the quarter are a “who’s who” in terms of Top Producers in our Network.

We have long-time Top Producers, like Trey Cameron, Steve Kohn, and Terry Rhodes. We also have some members who have been Top Producers for a relatively short amount of time, like Shree Kumar, Joe Cresci, and Michael Agen.

It also goes without saying that many of the members listed below have earned Recruiter of the Week honors. In fact, nearly all of them have done so since we first created that award a few years ago. (Has it been a few years? Or more? I lose track of these things.)

The bottom line, though, is this: all of the money these recruiters made through the Network is money they would NOT have made otherwise, if not for their TE split recruiting partners.

They either didn’t have the job orders or they didn’t have the candidates to make the placements. Fortunately, their trading partners did. And their commitment to Top Echelon’s recruiting network and their adherence to the Pillar of Active Participation has resulted in more placements and more revenue for their agency.

So congratulations to the leading members in the Network during the third quarter of 2019.

Let’s finish the year strong!

— — —

Recruiters of the Quarter
First Place:

Recruiter: Trey Cameron
Agency: Cameron Craig Group
Placements: Thirty-two (32)
Commission: $275,140

Second Place:

Recruiter: Steve Kohn
Agency: Affinity Executive Search
Placements: Thirteen (13)
Commission: $106,746

Third Place:

Recruiter: Terry Rhodes
Agency: NewCareers
Placements: Seven (7)
Commission: $77,244

Fourth Place:

Recruiter: Tom Daly
Agency: Ridgeback Management Services, LLC
Placements: Seven (7)
Commission: $61,075

Fifth Place:

Recruiter: Shree Kumar
Agency: Max Populi, LLC
Placements: Six (6)
Commission: $24,440

Sixth Place:

Recruiter: Darrin Skinner
Agency: Howe & Associates
Placements: Five (5)
Commission: $70,382

Seventh Place:

Recruiter: Melissa Truax
Agency: Premier Health Careers, Inc./Premier Paths
Placements: Five (5)
Commission: $39,108

Eighth Place:

Recruiter: Joe Cresci
Agency: Food Management Search
Placements: Five (5)
Commission: $38,788

Ninth Place:

Recruiter: Michael Agen
Agency: New Solutions Group, LLC
Placements: Five (5)
Commission: $33,453

10th Place:

Recruiter: Michael Stuck
Agency: Gables Search Group
Placements: Five (5)
Commission: $25,781

— — —

Top Echelon’s split network determines the monthly and quarterly winners of its recruiting awards based upon two criteria, which are listed below in order of importance:

1.) The number of split placements made
2.) The amount of cash-in dollars earned as a result of those split placements

This explains why, when multiple recruiters are tied with the same number of split placements during a given month or quarter, the recruiter with the largest cash-in total for their placements is deemed the winner.

— — —

If you’re looking to make more placements with your Top Echelon split fee recruiting membership, then contact Director of Network Operations Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS at 330.455.1433, x156.

The quarterly issue of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog is as good a time as any to gauge the thoughts of Top Echelon Network members. So that’s what we did!

Specifically, we gauged their thoughts by posting two successive poll questions in the Members’ Area of the Top Echelon website. Both of these questions, in some way or another, had to do with the end of the third quarter of the year and/or the beginning of the fourth quarter.

As you can see below, what has been true about past poll questions in our recruiting network remains true about these poll questions: opinions vary.

Which makes sense, since Network members work in a variety of industries and niches. What works well for one agency does not necessarily work well for another, and vice-versa.

So while the market is good and job orders are plentiful, it’s not all rainbows and unicorns for search consultants. There are still challenges aplenty, and that figures to always be the case . . . no matter how good the market might seem.

Below are the two poll questions that we recently posed to Network recruiters.

— — —

Finish this sentence: through the first three quarters of 2019, my recruiting desk . . .

The choice of answers that we provided is listed below, along with the percentage of recruiters selecting each one:

• Is on FIRE! — 15.6%
• Is running like a well-oiled machine. — 26.0%
• Quite possibly has multiple personalities. — 24.7%
• Needs a timeout. — 5.2%
• Will need a miracle to match last year’s production. — 28.6%

— — —

How optimistic are you about your production in the fourth quarter?

The choice of answers that we provided is listed below, along with the percentage of recruiters selecting each one:

• Uber optimistic! — 16.8%
• Pretty optimistic! — 33.7%
• Cautiously optimistic — 21.8%
• I am very much neutral. — 13.9%
• I am NOT optimistic. — 13.9%

— — —

Just a reminder: we post a poll question in the Members’ Area every week. Once you participate in the poll, you can see the results as other Members cast their votes.

We usually post a new Members’ Area poll question on Monday. We usually do that, but we don’t always do that. We don’t like to be predictable.

If YOU want to make more split placements and increase your production, then contact Top Echelon Director of Network Operations Drea Codispoti, CPC/CERS.

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