When it comes to our National Convention and Fall Conference, one of things we always try to do is book the very best speakers and trainers in the recruiting industry.  That’s why we’re excited about our keynote speaker for the upcoming 2012 National Convention—Rob Mosley.

Mosley is a Partner and Senior Director of Training and Development for Next Level Exchange.  He has an impressive list of credentials.  His knowledge of the search industry comes from 10 years with Merritt Hawkins and Associates, part of AMN Healthcare, the nation’s leading provider of clinical healthcare staffing, and consulting services.  Mosley was MHA’s “Marketer of the Year” for three consecutive years and served as Vice President of Corporate Business Development.

Mosley will present the following three sessions at the National Convention.  The abridged descriptions of these sessions are listed in the preliminary agenda.  However, the complete descriptions are contained within this blog post (for your edification, of course).

‘Best Practices that Drive Revenue’

This session involves five cornerstone strategies that have a direct impact on how you differentiate your services and ultimately, on your ability to generate revenue.

Participants will engage in group discussion, small group role play, and coaching feedback around these client best practices—Presenting Your Capabilities, Gaining Initial Commitment, Developing Executive Insight, Responding to “Red Flags,” and Negotiating Client Demands.  This session will provide you with the tactical skills to be better in the following areas:

• Presenting your capabilities to clients and candidates with greater impact
• Gaining initial commitment for next steps with prospective clients
• Leveraging insight to see a situation from the hiring authority’s perspective
• Responding better to different types of client and candidate resistance
• Negotiating to keep the client relationship in a healthy balance

‘Great Communication = Great Compensation’

Great dialogue in our business is the cornerstone of our craft, and great dialogue has four distinct elements—Probing, Listening, Responding, and Seeking Agreement.  These four elements are like the chambers of the heart; each section or chamber is a unique and critical part of the communication process with both clients and candidates.

This interactive workshop session will dissect each of the four cornerstones of conversation to better understand what is really behind the heart of great dialogue.  These four skills come together when managing certain types of potential client and candidate “red flags.”  This session will provide you with the tactical skills to be better in the following areas:

• Managing resistance (client and candidate “red flags)
• Listening (for what is being said and what is not being said)
• Acknowledging (indicates your attentiveness/seek to understand)
• Clarifying (the power of asking great clarifying questions)
• Expanding (suggest alternatives with strong rationales)
• Seek agreement (common ground)

‘Four Great Truths’

At the core of our business lies the ability to instill trust in both our clients and candidates.  This session is about your ability to develop strong, trusted, profitable, healthy relationships with these groups, even during challenging economic times.

It’s also about your ability to execute skills, techniques, and approaches to differentiate yourself from your competitors.  This session will provide you with recruiting principles and specific skill sets to accomplish the following:

• Open the conversation with new clients in a way that immediately differentiates us from our competitors
• Better understand the client and candidate thought process and align your value proposition at every step
• Build real value and trust in an industry that tends to see us as “vendors” or a “necessary evil”
• Better manage initial client and candidate resistance to secure next steps

The National Convention is scheduled for Thursday, March 22, through Saturday, March 24, at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tenn.  Remember, you can sign up for the National Convention at the low Early Bird Registration rate of just $399 per person.  Register now, take advantage of this attractive price, and get ready for what’s sure to be a great event this March!

View the preliminary agenda.
See who’s already signed up.
Register for the convention.

— — —

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The end of the year is hurtling toward us like a meteor careening towards Earth.  Okay, that’s not the greatest analogy in the world, but you get the idea.

My point is that there’s a limited amount of time left to do all of the things that you want to do before 2011 bids adieu . . . which is why we’re releasing Early Bird Registration for the 2012 National Convention next week.  It’s been our experience that many recruiters prefer to register for the convention before the end of the current year, so that the expense of the event is associated with that year and not the next one—and we are more than happy to oblige them.

Where are we going for the 2012 National Convention?

As we announced recently, we’re going to the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tenn.  We were at the Gaylord for the 2005 National Convention, and we had a great time.  How great of a time?  Click here to see photos from that event.

What’s the cost of Early Bird Registration?

I don’t have the answer to that yet, but I will say this: we haven’t raised the price of registration for either our National Convention OR our Fall Conference since I started working at Top Echelon—and that was two whole recessions ago.  In fact, our Early Bird Registration price for the 2011 National Convention was the lowest that we’ve ever offered.

How can I knock some money off the price of attending, anyway?

I’m so glad you asked.  If you read my blog post last week, you know that you can reduce the cost of registration by $50 by submitting a video of you singing a country song.  And that’s just for starters.  If your video is deemed to be the BEST one submitted—by a very secret, covert, and completely objective committee—then you will attend the convention for FREE.  (Hotel and travel expenses extra, void where prohibited, your cancelled check is your receipt, sanitized for your protection . . .)  So what are you waiting for?  Start sending in your videos.  I mean right now.  Chop-chop.

What are the dates for the 2012 National Convention?

The dates for the convention are Thursday, March 22, through Saturday, March 24.

What’s the room rate that Top Echelon Network has secured for the convention?

The room rate is $155 per night for Wednesday, March 21, through Saturday, March 24.  That rate is good for either a single or double occupancy.  Each additional person to a room is $20 per night for triple and quad occupancy.

Does Top Echelon Network have a room block reserved at the Gaylord?

We do, but it’s a small room block.  That means if you know that you’re going to attend the convention, I suggest you book your room as soon as possible.  To do so, call the Gaylord Opryland Resort directly at (615) 883-2211.  Before booking your room, identify yourself as part of Top Echelon Network and/or mention group cope X-TOPEC.

Who are the speakers for the 2012 National Convention?

The keynote speaker for the convention will be Rob Mosely of Next Level Training.  Among the sessions that Mosely will present are “Great Communication = Great Compensation,” “Behaviors That Drive Revenue,” and “Four Great Truths.”  In addition, Sam Mondalfo of LinkedIn will be on hand to discuss strategies that recruiters can use when navigating this popular social media site.  Of course, Top Echelon Internet Strategies Manager Todd Bossler will once again present training about the Big Biller recruiting software.

What are we doing for the Gala Event on Friday night?

It’s a secret.  Quit asking.  Jeez.

Okay, that’s all for right now, but rest assured that we’ll be publishing plenty more about the 2012 National Convention in the weeks and months ahead.  And of course, be on the lookout for our country music video . . . because nobody is going to make fools of themselves before WE do.

— — —

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As we announced in last week’s issue of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog, we’re going to Nashsville, Tenn., for the 2012 Top Echelon Network National Convention!

We even presented the perfect case study for why you should attend the convention—namely that no matter WHO you are, you can make a split placement (and maybe multiple split placements) from attending.

As for this week?  Well, we have something special planned.

We’re always looking for new ways to either help you make money or help you save money.  Attending the convention, of course, helps you to make money since it presents split placement opportunities with other Network recruiters.  So . . . how will we help you save money?

Easy.  If you’re willing to send us a video clip of you singing your favorite country song, you’ll automatically receive $50 off the cost of registration.

AND if we pick your video as the best one that we receive, then you’ll attend the 2012 National Convention FREE of charge.  (You’ll still have to pay for hotel and travel expenses, of course.)

We’re not doing this just to save you money.  It also ties into the Gala Event that we have planned for the convention.  In addition, it’s a great way to promote the event and to enhance the networking aspect of the convention.  After all, these videos would make very good conversation starters for those recruiters who attend.

Still skeptical?  Tell you what, we’ll go first.  That’s right, we’ll be record a video of us singing a country song in the near future, just to show you how easy it is to do.  Below are some additional points to keep in mind:

• We will be using the videos for promotional purposes.  That means putting them on YouTube and publishing them in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog.  So when you send us a video, you’re doing so with the expressed knowledge that we’ll be using it for these purposes.  Hey—no guts, no glory.
• You do not have to sing the entire song.  Sing a couple of verses, if that’s all you can muster.  Of course, if you sing the whole song, you stand a better chance of going to the convention for FREE.
• You do not have to wear cowboy garb in your video, although it’s certainly permissible.
• You can play the song in the background while you sing along to it, or you can sing without it.
• If you want to get two or three or more Preferred Member recruiters together to sing in the same video, that’s a-okay.  You’ll all get $50 off the cost of registration.  However, we’ll have to randomly select one person from the video to attend the convention for free.
• Once you’ve shot your video, email it to marketing@TopEchelon.com.

Early Bird Registration for the convention, which will be held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, will be available two weeks from today.  In the meantime, keep an eye out for our video . . . and we’ll keep an eye out for yours.

— — —

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There are Preferred Member recruiters in Top Echelon Network who go diligently about their way, networking extensively with other recruiters and making split placements.  Not a ton of splits, but two or three or four a year—which MORE than pays for their monthly Membership fees.

Unfortunately, these recruiters don’t get as much press or publicity as some of the Top Producers do . . . but we’re going to change that this week.  That’s because we’re highlighting Larry Radzely of Adel-Lawrence Associates, Inc.  Radzely has been a steady producer in the Network, having made a total of 56 placements during his time as a Preferred Member.

This week, Radzley has TWO split placements in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog.  To illustrate his versatility as a Trading Partner, he was the job order recruiter for one of the placements and the candidate recruiter for the other placement.  We’d like to congratulate Radzely for those two placements, as well as everybody else who made a split placement this week!

THIS WEEK’S COMPLETED SPLIT PLACEMENTS!

Job order recruiter: Larry Radzely of Adel-Lawrence Associates, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Tim Hopkins, CPC/CTS of Stephens International Recruiting, Inc.

Job title: BIOMEDICAL FIELD SERVICE ENGINEER

Fee Percentage—15%

Action causing split placement: The job order or candidate was sent to me via the automated email alerts.

 — — —

Job order recruiter: Christine Ramsay of Corporate Resources, LLC

Candidate recruiter: Larry Radzely of Adel-Lawrence Associates, Inc.

Job title: FIELD SERVICE ENGINEER

Fee Percentage—20%

Action causing split placement: Reaching out to a recruiter I have not worked with who works with Field Service Engineers

 — — —

Job order recruiter: Janet Miller of Computer Management, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Jeffrey Gilbert of Kingfish Technology, LLC

Job title: PROGRAM ANALYST

Fee Percentage—25%

Action causing split placement: Regular communication with another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member

 — — —

Job order recruiter: Denise Milano Sprung of JA Pharma, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Jim Strickland of BioSource International

Job title: LEAD NEUROLOGIST

Fee Percentage—20%

Action causing split placement: The job seeker or client was found through my Hiring Hook Website.

 — — —

Remember, you can opt out of having your split placement highlighted.  All you have to do is send an email to marketing@TopEchelon.com indicating your desire to be left out.  Once you do so, you won’t be included in future installments of this feature.

If you’d like to see the amount of the fees associated with each of the split placements listed above, login to the Members’ Area and click on the profiles of the recruiters involved.  The fee totals will be included along with those split placements.

— — —

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Okay, we’ve just announced that we’re heading to Nashville, Tenn., for the 2012 National Convention.  And since you might be wondering whether or not you should attend, we thought we’d clear that up for you.

Yes, you should attend—and the following case study will illustrate exactly why you should.

If there was a Top Echelon Network “Hall of Fame,” Sean Napoles of Career Brokers, Inc. would be voted into it on the first ballot.  Why is that?

• 11 years as a Preferred Member recruiter
• 156 Network placements
• $1.3 million cashed in during his Network career
• Has won more Top Echelon Network awards and hardware than would fit in your car

Napoles is a split placement machine.  He’s seen it all and done it all, including attending Top Echelon events like the National Convention and the Fall Conference.

On the other hand, Kaleb Dumot of the Emerald Resource Group is about as new a Preferred Member as you can be.  Although the Emerald Resource Group has been a Preferred Member firm for nearly 14 years, Dumot wasn’t added as a recruiter until September 12 of this year . . . a little over two months ago.

With Napoles and Dumot, you couldn’t have two recruiters who are more at opposite ends of the Preferred Member spectrum in terms of experience within the Network.

And yet . . . the two of them recently made a split placement together.  And why did they make a split?

Because they BOTH attended the 2011 Top Echelon Network Fall Conference.

“But for me attending the conference, I never would have met Kaleb,” said Napoles, who is currently the number-two recruiter in the Network in terms of production during the past 12 months.  “He gave me a job order [for a C# Developer] at the conference, and I just filled it.”

If it sounds that simple, that’s because it is.  Dumot gave Napoles a job order at the conference . . . Napoles filled it with a great candidate that Dumot’s client liked . . . and now the two will split the placement fee.  Not only that, but the two of them are also more likely to work together in the future and more likely to split more fees.

So . . . it doesn’t matter who you are.  You could be a tenured recruiter with over a decade in the Network and countless placements.  You could be a recruiter who’s new to the Network and how everything within it works.

You can make split placements by attending Top Echelon Network events.

Make plans to join us at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in March.  Bring your hot job orders and candidates.  And be ready to make some money.

— — —

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One of the indicators of how things are going for recruiters overall is their prevailing fee percentage.  Typically, that fee is 20% to 30% of the candidate’s starting salary.

Well, in this week’s breakdown of split placements within Top Echelon Network, there’s a placement with a fee of 35%.  The Preferred Member recruiters involved placed a Project Electrical Engineer, indicating that there’s a need for such candidates.

What about the other percentages for this week’s split placements?  The majority of them are 25% fees, and the others are 20% fees.  During the depth of the recession, it wasn’t unusual to see fees as low as 10%, but as the economy improves and grade-A candidates become more difficult to find (especially in high-demand industries like Information Technology), fees are beginning to rise.

What’s been YOUR experience?  Do you believe that companies are more willing to pay fees in the 25% to 30% range?  Or are they still attempting to keep fees as low as possible, no matter how badly they need the talent for which they’re looking?  Feel free to comment at the end of this blog post.

In the meantime, below are the split placements in Top Echelon Network for this week:

THIS WEEK’S COMPLETED SPLIT PLACEMENTS!

Job order recruiter: Ron Magnusson of Norseman Recruiting Services

Candidate recruiter: David Wick of Career Center of Cincinnati

Job title: PROJECT ELECTRICAL ENGINEER

Fee Percentage—35%

Action causing split placement: Regular communication with another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member

 — — —

Job order recruiter: Jim Smiarowski of Atlantic Systems Group

Candidate recruiter: Judy Kaplan of Prof’l Recruiting Consultants

Job title: SAP FUNCTION ANALYST

Fee Percentage—20%

Action causing split placement: Regular communication with another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member

 — — —

Job order recruiter: Jan Burke of MetalJobs Network

Candidate recruiter: Steve Kohn of Affinity Executive Search

Job title: INDUSTRIAL ELECTRICIAN

Fee Percentage—25%

Action causing split placement: The job seeker or client was found through Steve Kohn’s Hiring Hook Website.

 — — —

Job order recruiter: Larry Baker of Computer Careers

Candidate recruiter: Trey Cameron of the Cameron Craig Group

Job title: MECHANICAL ENGINEER

Fee Percentage—20%

Action causing split placement: The job seeker or client was found through my Hiring Hook Website.

 — — —

Job order recruiter: Eric V. Stearley, CPC of Eric V. Stearley, CPC & Associates

Candidate recruiter: Ed Chambers of Search Team One

Job title: MANUFACTURING ENGINEER

Fee Percentage—25%

Action causing split placement: Regular communication with another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member

 — — —

Job order recruiter: Lisa DeBenedittis of Elite Recruiting Services, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Stephanie McGinty of Ives & Associates, Inc.

Job title: SENIOR PRODUCT MANAGER

Fee Percentage—20%

Action causing split placement: Regular communication with another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member

 — — —

Job order recruiter: Debbi Reiger of Reiger Technical Search

Candidate recruiter: Melinda O’Neil of Enterprise Search Associates

Job title: .NET DEVELOPER

Fee Percentage—25%

Action causing split placement: Regular communication with another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member

 — — —

Job order recruiter: Stacy Pursell of The Pursell Group, LLC

Candidate recruiter: Rebecca Kohn of Affinity Executive Search

Job title: BIOSECURITY TECHNICAL SERVICES VETERINARIAN

Fee Percentage—25%

Action causing split placement: Regular communication with another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member

 — — —

Remember, you can opt out of having your split placement highlighted.  All you have to do is send an email to marketing@TopEchelon.com indicating your desire to be left out.  Once you do so, you won’t be included in future installments of this feature.

If you’d like to see the amount of the fees associated with each of the split placements listed above, login to the Members’ Area and click on the profiles of the recruiters involved.  The fee totals will be included along with those split placements.

— — —

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Okay, I know . . . we’ve been singing the same song for so long that maybe it’s overkill.  But it’s not overkill for those Preferred Member recruiters who continue to make split placements with their Trading Partners (like the ones below, for instance).

It doesn’t matter HOW you communicate with them:

• Call them.
• Email them.
• Text them.
• Chat them.
• Visit them in person.
• Send them a singing telegram.

How you communicate isn’t nearly as important as making the decision to communicate.  Communicate about your hot job orders and candidates.  Those recruiters who make the most split placements in Top Echelon Network communicate with their Trading Partners nearly every day.

They’ve made the commitment to do it . . . and now they’re making the money to prove it.  You can, too.

THIS WEEK’S COMPLETED SPLIT PLACEMENTS!

Job order recruiter: Steve Moore of J.D. Cotter Search, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Matt Scheihing of J. Miles Personnel Services

Job title: QA-SANITATION MANAGER

Fee Percentage—25%

Action causing split placement: Regular communication with another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member

 — — —

Job order recruiter: Carol Brinkman of Corporate Resources, LLC

Candidate recruiter: Sean Napoles, CPC of Career Brokers, Inc.

Job title: JAVA SOFTWARE DEVELOPER

Fee Percentage—20%

Action causing split placement: Regular communication with another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member

 — — —

Candidate recruiter: Carol Brinkman of Corporate Resources, LLC

Candidate recruiter: Joe Miglizzi of Perspective

Job title: JAVA SOFTWARE DEVELOPER

Fee Percentage—20%

Action causing split placement: Regular communication with another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member

 — — —

Job order recruiter: David Kersey of Kersey & Associates, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Tim Hughes of Hughes & Associates

Job title: CHEMICAL PLANT MANAGER

Fee Percentage—20%

Action causing split placement: Regular communication with another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member

 — — —

Job order recruiter: David M. Sgro of True North Consultants, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Jim Strickland of BioSource International

Job title: JD EDWARDS BUSINESS SYSTEMS ANALYST

Fee Percentage—20%

Action causing split placement: The job seeker or client was found through my Hiring Hook Website.

 — — —

Job order recruiter: Wendy Johnson of Professionals Incorporated

Candidate recruiter: Sean Napoles, CPC of Career Brokers, Inc.

Job title: QA/TESTER

Fee Percentage—25%

Action causing split placement: Regular communication with another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member

 — — —

Job order recruiter: Rick Krumel of SearchWish, Inc.

Candidate recruiter: Cindy Andrew Cordell of Corporate Resources, LLC

Job title: COMMODITY BUYER

Fee Percentage—25%

Action causing split placement: Regular communication with another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member

 — — —

Remember, you can opt out of having your split placement highlighted.  All you have to do is send an email to marketing@TopEchelon.com indicating your desire to be left out.  Once you do so, you won’t be included in future installments of this feature.

If you’d like to see the amount of the fees associated with each of the split placements listed above, login to the Members’ Area and click on the profiles of the recruiters involved.  The fee totals will be included along with those split placements.

— — —

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We’ve had more than our fair share of “Crazy Recruiting Stories” that revolve around the actions of candidates . . . and there will most certainly be more such stories in the future.  In the meantime, though, here’s one in the present.

This week’s tale was submitted by a Preferred Member recruiter.  The story just goes to show—once again—that you never know what’s going to happen when you schedule a face-to-face interview for a candidate.

Remember, if you have a crazy recruiting story that you believe would be suitable for The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog, then by all means, tell it to us (see below).  We may publish your story in the newsletter, and it might even be named “The Craziest Recruiting Story of 2011.”

— — —

When I was a HR manager with a division of the Jervis B. Webb Company (a control engineering company in Harbor Springs, Mich.), I had advertised for an engineer with a B.S. degree and mechanical engineering and metals design experience.

A guy walks into the lobby, and I get a call from the receptionist.  She says, “Mr. Gregg, you need to come to the lobby.  Your engineering candidate is here.”  I told her to just send him back to my office.  She replies, in a whispered voice, “No, I think you need to come to the lobby first.”

Somewhat agitated, I walk out to the lobby and there stands a tall Indian, dressed in a full Indian outfit, with large feathers, moccasins, and war paint on his face!  Wow!  I looked at him for a moment and said, “You’re not dressed appropriately for a professional interview and will need to re-schedule and come back later.”

He hands me a card and says, “You’ll be hearing from my attorney.”  (I knew I was being set up.)  I handed him a corporate business card and said, “Just send it to my corporate attorney, and for what it’s worth, if we get sued, you get counter-sued.”

He left, and I never heard anymore about it.  Whew!

— — —

Remember, there are three ways you can submit your “Craziest Recruiting Story”:

1. You can email your story to marketing@TopEchelon.com.
2. You can post the story by including it in the comments section at the end of this blog.
3. You can give me a call and relay your story to me.

The deadline for submitting your “Craziest Recruiting Story of 2011” is midnight on Saturday, December 31.  We’ll announce the winner during the first part of January in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog and the Recruiter Training Blog.

— — —

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If you want to know how to make more split placements in Top Echelon Network, you need look no further than this blog post.

That’s because the relationship of the recruiters involved perfectly exemplifies the most important element for making split placements—Trust, one of The Four Pillars of Top Echelon Network.

The recruiters in question are Preferred Members David M. Sgro of True North Consultants, Inc. and Maria Hemminger of MJ Recruiters, LLC.  Hemminger works the Manufacturing industry, and Sgro works Information Technology.  Yet, they’re still making split placements.  How are they doing it?

A primer is in order.  We highlighted Hemminger and Sgro’s Trading Partner relationship a year ago in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog in a two-part series.  Links to those blog posts are below:

Taking Trading Partner Relationships to a Whole New Level, Part 1

Taking Trading Partner Relationships to a Whole New Level, Part 2
Why are we revisiting Hemminger and Sgro?  Because their unique relationship continues to work (i.e., they’re continuing to make split placements).

Here’s a brief overview of how that relationship developed:

After attending the 2009 Top Echelon Network Fall Conference, Hemminger decided that she no longer wanted to turn down IT job orders from her Manufacturing clients.  She and her business partner, Joanna Spaun, agreed that they needed to partner with another recruiter in the Network in order to fill those job orders.  Hemminger and Spaun chose Sgro, and they contacted him with their proposal.  He thought it was a good idea, and he agreed to work with them.

However, it’s the nature of that relationship that’s unique, and this is why:

1. When Hemminger takes an IT job order from a client, she calls Sgro immediately to describe the job order and discuss it with him.
2. BOTH of them then visit Hemminger’s client to discuss the job order, outlining the whole process with the hiring manager, including who will be responsible for what during that process.
3. Hemminger and Sgro then work together to fill the job order.

Basically, everybody involved in the process does what they do best.  Sgro conducts the technical pre-screen of candidates, Spaun conducts the behavioral pre-screen, and Hemminger is responsible for all client communication.

How well has this relationship and this process worked?  Hemminger and Sgro have made two split fee recruiting placements so far with two different clients, and others are currently in the works.

“My goal is to be able to fill all of my clients’ needs,” said Hemminger.  “Dave is easy to work with and knowledgeable in this field, and he’s very accommodating to what we want to accomplish.  I think what we’re doing together takes [Trading Partner] trust to a whole new level.”

“It’s a great relationship,” said Sgro.  “I feel honored that Maria would let me in the door with her clients.  Maria’s clients trust her, and they do pretty much what she thinks is right for them.  They appreciate the fact that she’s bringing in somebody she can partner with to get the job done.  So far, the feedback has been great.”

Hemminger and Sgro trust each other implicitly when it comes to their recruiting business.  There’s no holding back information or going halfway.  They have invested fully in their Trading Partner relationship, to the point where they’ve made each other part of their firms’ recruiting process.

That is why they’ve made split placements in the past, and they’ll continue to make them in the future.

Two recruiters + complete trust = split placements.

— — —

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What’s one of the best ways to enjoy success as a recruiter in Top Echelon Network?  By finding out how other recruiters are enjoying success in the Network.

While it’s definitely tougher to make placements in this economy, some Preferred Member recruiters are still making just as many split placements as they’ve always made . . . and we’re going to find out why.

Up first is David M. Sgro of True North Consultants, Inc.  Before we address the ways in which Sgro is making the split placements that he’s making, we’re going to analyze his production, especially the split placements he’s made in the Network within the past few years.

Recruiter: David M. Sgro
Firm: True North Consultants, Inc.

Industries/Niches: Information Technology
Network Join Date: July 27, 2006
Total # of Placements: 42
Network Cash-in Total: $345,505
Average Cash-in Per Year Since 2006: $69,101

It’s important to note for our purposes that Sgro has had two stints in Top Echelon Network as a Preferred Member recruiter.  He was previously a Member from 2000 to 2002.

It’s also important to note that Sgro decided to re-apply for Membership in the Network after attending the Annual Ohio Regional Core Group Golf Outing, which remains a yearly event.  Debra Stitt, CPC of Quality Source Inc. of Ohio invited him to the Outing, and that became the first step in what has been a very successful relationship for Sgro and Top Echelon Network.

Okay, now there’s a good chance that many recruiters would agree that this most recent recession was the most challenging one they’ve ever endured.  They might also agree that current conditions (companies looking for the “perfect” candidate, an agonizingly long hiring process) are still making it tough for recruiters to make placements.

However, Sgro’s placement numbers have remained rather consistent during the past four years, and it’s possible that he could has his best year in terms of split placements since 2007, when he made 14 in the Network.  Below is a look at his yearly placement totals as a Preferred Member:

2011: 7
2010: 3
2009: 4
2008: 8
2007: 14
2006: 3
2002: 1
2000: 2

Here are some other important facts regarding Sgro’s production:

• His 42 placements have been made with 22 different Trading Partners, illustrating Sgro’s desire for networking and ability to share information and collaborate with many recruiters.
• Four of his 42 split placements have been contract split placements.  Sgro has made contract staffing a part of his recruiting desk, so much so that he conducted a training session about it at the recent 2011 Top Echelon Network Fall Conference in Chicago.

So—how is Sgro enjoying success in the Network when other recruiters aren’t able to do so?  This is a question that we’ll be tackling in future issues of The Pinnacle newsletter, specifically in regards to the Trading Partner relationships that he has with Bob Small of Carroll Technology Services, Inc. and Maria Hemminger of MJ Recruiters, LLC.

Sgro and Small have made nine split placements so far, and their relationship continues to bear fruit.  Meanwhile, Sgro and Hemminger have made three split placements and are currently together in a unique way, one that takes the Pillar of Trust in Top Echelon Network to a whole new level.  Stay tuned . . .

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MDeutsch@TopEchelon.com
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