Welcome to a unique edition of our popular feature, “‘Comments’ and Compliments.”  (But then again, aren’t they all unique?)

This week, we have a quartet of veteran Preferred Members, recruiters who have been in the business a long time and who have the placements (and battle scars) to prove it.  In fact, the four recruiters featured have made a combined 203 placements within Top Echelon Network during their time as Preferred Members.

And here’s the unique twist: this marks the first split placement that each recruiter has made with the other.  Despite their tenure in the Network, they haven’t made a split together until now.  Of course, now that they have made a split placement, the chances that they will make more in the future is much greater.

If you’d like to compliment one of your Trading Partners for a recent split placement (whether it’s your first, second, or ninth), send your comments to marketing@TopEchelon.com, and they’ll appear in a future issue of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog.

— — —

“I have been looking at Trey’s candidates for years and finally placed one.  Keep up the good work, Trey—it works.”

Submitted by Jim Hipskind of Continental Search & Outplacement, Inc. regarding his split placement with Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

Position Title—CORPORATE CONTROLLER
Fee Percentage—30%

(Editor’s note: this is the first split placement that Hipskind and Cameron have made together in Top Echelon Network.)

— — —

“This was a challenge and a half.  Eric provided a technically qualified candidate that made the process interesting all the way to the end.  Thanks, Eric . . . now find me another one!”

Submitted by John Snyder of CareersPro, Inc. regarding his split placement with Eric V. Stearley, CPC of Eric V. Stearley, CPC & Associates

Position Title—QUALITY ENGINEER
Fee Percentage—25%

(Editor’s note: This is the first split placement that Snyder and Stearley have made together in Top Echelon Network.)

— — —

Remember, if you have compliments for a Trading Partner regarding a split placement, please email them to marketing@TopEchelon.com.

Making split placements with other recruiters is something that just never gets old.  It doesn’t matter if it’s your first split placement together or your ninth.

Why use those numbers to illustrate the fact?  Well, because those numbers pertain directly to this week’s installment of “Comments and Compliments,” that’s why!  Two of the recruiters featured recently made their first split, while the second pair made their ninth.  The latter relationship further shows that once you make one split placement with another Preferred Member recruiter, more split placements are sure to follow.

If you’d like to compliment one of your Trading Partners for a recent split placement (whether it’s your first, second, or ninth), send your comments to marketing@TopEchelon.com, and they’ll appear in a future issue of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog.

— — —

“Ken provided an outstanding candidate that followed all of the instructions, showed excitement and enthusiasm, and started very quickly through his desire and eagerness to get the job.  Excellent referral!  Ken, I look forward to doing more splits with you.  Round peg in a round hole . . . works every time.”

Submitted by Bob Long of Executive Personnel Services regarding his split placement with Kenneth Lowry, CPC of Lowry Personnel Services

Position Title—CORPORATE FACILITIES COORDINATOR
Fee Percentage—20%

(Editor’s note: this is the first split placement that Long and Lowry have made together in Top Echelon Network.)

— — —

“Thanks, Jeff.  This placement was a struggle, but it happened!  You provided a great candidate.  Let’s do another split and keep the momentum going!”

Submitted by Janet Miller of Computer Management, Inc. regarding her split placement with Jeff Gilbert of Kingfish Technology, LLC

Position Title—PROGRAM ANALYST
Fee Percentage—20%

(Editor’s note: This is the ninth split placement that Miller and Gilbert have made together in Top Echelon Network.)

— — —

Remember, if you have compliments for a Trading Partner regarding a split placement, please email them to marketing@TopEchelon.com.

A while back, we profiled Larry Radzeley of Adel-Lawrence Associate, Inc. in a blog post regarding the split placements made in Top Echelon Network during that particular week.  Now we’re going to highlight Radzely again—namely because his Trading Partners want to do so!

That’s right, Radzely is the common thread that runs through this week’s installment of “Comments and Compliments.”  We mentioned in our previous blog post that Radzely is one of those Preferred Member recruiters who “flies beneath the radar.”  However, with six placements in 2011—and two recent posts in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog—he might not be flying beneath it for much longer.

If you’d like to compliment one of your Trading Partners for a recent split placement, send your comments to marketing@TopEchelon.com, and they’ll appear in a future issue of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog.

— — —

“Larry and I are not just making splits—we’re having a great time doing it.  He’s so much fun to work with and has a great sense of humor!”

Submitted by Georgette Sandifer of Gallman Consulting regarding her split placement with Larry Radzely of Adel-Lawrence Associates, Inc.

Position Title—FIELD SERVICE ENGINEER
Fee Percentage—25%

(Editor’s note: this is the third split placement that Sandifer and Radzely have made together in Top Echelon Network.)

— — —

“Larry provided me with some great candidates and has been wonderful to deal with.  Hopefully, we will do more with this same client.”

Submitted by Christine Ramsay of Corporate Resources, LLC regarding her split placement with Larry Radzely of Adel-Lawrence Associates, Inc.

Position Title—FIELD SERVICE ENGINEER
Fee Percentage—20%

(Editor’s note: This is the first split placement that Ramsay and Radzely have made together in Top Echelon Network.)

— — —

Remember, if you have compliments for a Trading Partner regarding a split placement, please email them to marketing@TopEchelon.com.

Once you make a split placement with another Preferred Member recruiter . . . you’re more likely to make MORE split placements with that recruiter in the future.  This installment of “Comments and Compliments” is further evidence of that.

That’s because the recruiters profiled in this week’s issue of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog have all made multiple split placements with one another.  They know each other well, they know how the other person likes to work during the recruiting process, and as a result, there’s no telling how many split placements they could make in the future.  Trading Partners in Top Echelon Network have made as many as 20 splits together during their career—and in some cases, even more than that.

If you’d like to compliment one of your Trading Partners for a recent split placement, send your comments to marketing@TopEchelon.com, and they’ll appear in a future issue of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog.

— — —

“Yeah!  We did it again!”

Submitted by Carol Brinkman, CPC of Corporate Resources, LLC regarding her split placement with Sean Napoles, CPC of Career Brokers, Inc.

Position Title—JAVA SOFTWARE DEVELOPER
Fee Percentage—20%

(Editor’s note: this is the fourth split placement that Brinkman and Napoles have made together in Top Echelon Network.)

— — —

“Mark Tappis rocks!  Thanks, Mark!”

Submitted by Alan Carty of Automationtechies.com regarding his split placement with Marc Tappis of Opportunity Search, Inc.

Position Title—SYSTEMS ENGINEER
Fee Percentage—25%

(Editor’s note: This is the second split placement that Carty and Tappis have made together in Top Echelon Network.)

— — —

Remember, if you have compliments for a Trading Partner regarding a split placement, please email them to marketing@TopEchelon.com.

Yes, it’s another installment of one of our most popular Pinnacle Newsletter Blog features . . . and another first split placement for a new Preferred Member recruiter.

The recruiter in question is Rick Krumel of SearchWise, Inc., who joined Top Echelon Network in May of this year.  After just six months, Krumel has already made his first split placement and received a rather sizeable return on his investment.  Everybody here at Top Echelon Network would like to congratulate him for his first split and wish him good luck in the pursuit of many more!

However, that split placement isn’t the only one we’re highlighting this week.  There’s another one—and we’ll be highlighting even more in the future.  So if you’d like to comment one of your Trading Partners for a recent split placement, send your comments to marketing@TopEchelon.com, and they’ll appear in a future issue of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog.

— — —

“Cindy reviewed my job posting and referred her candidate, who was outstanding, on October 13.  We had offer acceptance in 15 days from the date of referral.”

Submitted by Rick Krumel of SearchWise, Inc. regarding his split placement with Cindy Andrew Cordell of Corporate Resources, LLC

Position Title—COMMODITY BUYER
Fee Percentage—25%

— — —

“Stepanie McGinty was delightful to work with.  Stephanie was extremely patient with a slow-moving client, offered great advice on some challenges we faced with the client, and brought a rock star candidate to the table who surpassed the competition—hands down.  THANK YOU, Stephanie!  I really enjoyed working with you.”

Submitted by Lisa De Benedittis of Elite Recruiting Services, Inc. regarding her split placement with Stephanie McGinty of Ives & Associates, Inc.

Position Title—SENIOR PRODUCT MANAGER
Fee Percentage—20%

— — —

Remember, if you have compliments for a Trading Partner regarding a split placement, please email them to marketing@TopEchelon.com.

Question: “What’s the best kind of Trading Partner?”

Answer: “One who’s in it for the long haul and isn’t afraid to stick it out to make a deal happen.”

In this installment of”‘Comments’ and Compliments,”we look at just such a split placement situation.  As any recruiter can attest, some placements happen quickly, and others . . . do not.  That’s why when a Trading Partner is committed to a split placement, no matter how long it takes, that Trading Partner deserves kudos.  In this case, both recruiters were rewarded with a split placement fee, as well as the knowledge that they have a Trading Partner upon which they can fully count.

How you made a split placement with another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member recruiter that took a lengthy amount of time?  Would you like to compliment that Trading Partner for their commitment and their investment of time and energy?  Then send your comments to marketing@TopEchelon.com, and they’ll appear in a future issue of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog.

— — —

“This placement was over 8 months in the making.  Location was a big drawback, and the client would not budge on the requirements.  Greg was my partner in this from the beginning.  He kept feeding me candidates until we found the one who was a perfect fit in all categories.  Hats off to Greg!”

Submitted by Ron Sunshine of Ron Sunshine Associates regarding his split placement with Greg Downs of Downs Associates

Position Title—SAFETY MANAGER
Fee Percentage—25%

— — —

“Tim, thanks for your great assistance!  Let’s get another split!”

Submitted by David Kersey of Kersey & Associates, Inc. regarding his split placement with Tim Hughes of Hughes & Associates

Position Title—CHEMICAL PLANT MANAGER
Fee Percentage—25%

— — —

Remember, if you have compliments for a Trading Partner regarding a split placement, please email them to marketing@TopEchelon.com.

What does it take to make split placements in Top Echelon Network?  Besides adhering to The Four Pillars of the Network, that is?  Well, it takes two more things:

1. A split-placement mentality
2. The desire to embrace the “spirit of networking”

When recruiters embrace the “spirit of networking,” they actively seek out opportunities to make split placements with other recruiters, especially if the split placement situation would be the best one for the candidate, as well.  That’s the case with one of the split placements being highlighted in this week’s installment of “‘Comments’ and Compliments.”

If you want to be successful as a Preferred Member recruiter in Top Echelon Network, you can’t treat split placements as an afterthought.  You have to be split-minded . . . and you have to embrace the “spirit of networking.”  Then success will follow.

If you’d like to compliment your Trading Partner for a recent split placement (or placements), send your comments to marketing@TopEchelon.com.

— — —

“Michelle had a candidate scheduled for an interview already before she sent the candidate to me.  She could have held off sending him and [tried collecting] a full fee, but instead she sent him, anyway, and we made a split.  Thanks for thinking of the candidate first, Michelle.  You are awesome!  I hope we do many more splits!”

Submitted by Alan Daum of Alan N. Daum & Associates, Inc. regarding his split placement with Michelle Johnson of Automationtechies.com

Position Title—PROCESS AUTOMATION ENGINEER
Fee Percentage—25%

— — —

“This was a great candidate.  The company hired him for a different job than the original sendout.  Matt is great to work with.  I’m looking forward to many more splits with him and the J. Miles Company.  Thanks, Matt!”

Submitted by Steve Moore of J.D. Cotter Search, Inc. regarding his split placement with Matt Scheihing of J. Miles Personnel Services

Position Title—QA-SANITATION MANAGER
Recruiter Hourly Rate—25%

— — —

Remember, if you have compliments for a Trading Partner regarding a split placement, please email them to marketing@TopEchelon.com.

Don’t get us wrong—there’s always good stuff in our “‘Comments’ and Compliments” feature . . . but this week, we’re taking things to a whole new level.  How is that?  Well, we’re glad you asked.  Consider the following:

• The Trading Partners involved in this week’s feature have now made multiple split placements with one another this year.
• One Preferred Member recruiting firm—Front Line Solutions, LLC—is represented in both split placements.
• One of the split placements is a contract split.  In fact, it’s the second contract split placement between the two recruiters, and they have plans to make even more in the future (as you can see by the comments below).

See how much placement goodness we’ve stuffed into this week’s feature?  That’s because we want YOU to make multiple split placements with a Trading Partner, we want YOU to consider making contract staffing part of your business model, and we want YOU to make more money.  That’s just how we roll.

If you’d like to compliment your Trading Partner for a recent split placement (or placements), send your comments to marketing@TopEchelon.com.

— — —

“Thanks, Pete!  That makes two so far this year!”

Submitted by Juli Smith of The Smith Consulting Group, LLC regarding her split placement with Peter Oettinger of Front Line Solutions, LLC

Position Title—EPIC BRIDGES CONSULTANT
Fee Percentage—20%

— — —

“Two down, four more to go!”

Submitted by Ralph Dahm of IT Audit Search regarding his contract split placement with Rich Harrold of Front Line Solutions, LLC

Position Title—PHP DEVELOPER
Recruiter Hourly Rate—$7.83

— — —

Remember, if you have compliments for a Trading Partner regarding a split placement, please email them to marketing@TopEchelon.com.

Making split placements is all about teamwork between two recruiting firms . . . and teamwork is also the central theme of this installment of “Comments and Compliments.”  That’s because the recruiters involved in this week’s highlighted placements (and their firms) made a concerted effort to work together in order to bring the deal together.

Not that other recruiters don’t work together on their splits, but these recruiters felt compelled to praise each other regarding the split placements they’ve made.  That, of course, is what we want ALL recruiters in Top Echelon Network to do—use teamwork to make split placements and then praise one another about them.  That could make for a lot of blog posts, but hey, we’ll take one for the team.

If you’d like to compliment your Trading Partner for a recent split fee recruiting placement (or placements), send your comments to marketing@TopEchelon.com.

— — —

“Great candidate!  Stacie Miebach [in Steve’s office] delivered the perfect candidate for the role.  I look forward to the next split.”

Submitted by Patrick Walsh of the PSW Group regarding his split placement with Steve Brody of Executive Resource Systems

Position Title—MANAGER OF SAFETY
Fee Percentage—25%

— — —

“Russ was a great asset in working with his very ‘risk aversed’ candidate.  Teamwork and patience paid off in the end.  Hopefully, we will share many more placements in the future with this client!”

Submitted by Bernie Nutter, CPC of Hire Horizons regarding his split placement with Russell Schutt, CSP of Progressive Executive, Inc.

Position Title—REGIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGER
Fee Percentage—30%

— — —

Remember, if you have compliments for a Trading Partner regarding a split placement, please email them to marketing@TopEchelon.com.

When you’re the number-one recruiter in Top Echelon Network, you’ve made a lot of split placements.  And that’s definitely the case with Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group, who’s now made a total of 101 placements as a Preferred Member recruiter.

In fact, the split placement highlighted in this installment of “Comments and Compliments” is the 101st that’s he made in the Network.  (So far in 2011, Cameron has already made 18 Network placements . . . with nearly three months left in the year.)  Congratulations, Trey, from everybody at Top Echelon for breaking the 100-placement barrier, and here’s hoping you can make 100 more.  Actually, we’re hoping that everybody on the recruiter split boards can make 100 more, but that probably doesn’t surprise you.

If you’d like to compliment your Trading Partner for a recent split placement (or placements), send your comments to marketing@TopEchelon.com.

— — —

“It’s about time.  I felt like I was the only recruiter in TE who hadn’t made a placement with Trey!”

Submitted by Robert Gabor of the Gabor Group regarding his split placement with Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

Position Title—CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE
Fee Percentage—25%

— — —

“Exceptional candidate . . . thank you!”

Submitted by Cindy Sommer of SearchStars, Inc. regarding her split placement with Steve Kohn of Affinity Executive Search

Position Title—PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT
Fee Percentage—18%

— — —

Remember, if you have compliments for a Trading Partner regarding a split placement, please email them to marketing@TopEchelon.com.

To find out how YOU can become a Preferred Member recruiter in Top Echelon Network, click here.