Top Echelon Network ‘Success Stories’: Philip Bartfield

So . . . just how can you be successful as a Preferred Member of Top Echelon Network?  What are the keys?  How do you do it?  In this ongoing series in The Pinnacle Blog, we’re going to interview some of the Top Producers in the Network and ask them what they’ve done to achieve success.

Recruiter: Philip Bartfield

Agency: Bartfield Search, Inc.

Accomplishments within the Network:

Bartfield is currently ranked #13 in the Network in terms of the top-producing recruiters during the past 12 months.  He’s made five placements in the Network so far in 2010 and four in 2009, and all of them were split placements.  (To view a complete list of the top-producing recruiters in Top Echelon Network, please visit the Members’ Area.)

Philip’s Keys to Success: Time and Flexibility

Bartfield joined Top Echelon Network in March of 2003, and he’s been investing in the Top Echelon Network system ever since.  While it’s true that some Members experience Network success more quickly than others, as long as recruiters are diligent in their efforts and invest the proper amount of time and energy, they’ll more than likely experience the success for which they’re looking.

“The more you spend, the more you’ll get,” said Bartfield.  “The same principle applies to the Network.  You’ll reap the rewards of investing more time in the Network, and the longer you’re a Member, the more likely you are to get better results.”

Even more than the investment of time is the way in which Bartfield invests that time, especially when it comes to other recruiters in the Network—mainly his Trading Partners.  According to Bartfield, being sensitive to the way in which his Trading Partners like to work is important when building (and sustaining) relationships within the Network.

“You have to appreciate the fact that everybody is different,” said Bartfield.  “Not better or worse, but different.  You can’t be rigid in your approach.  You have to look for the strengths and assets that the other recruiter can bring to a split placement relationship and how they can add up to something valuable.  You can do that a number of different ways, but you have to be flexible.”

Bartfield has made a total of 43 placements since becoming a Preferred Member, and he’s made those placements with quite a few Trading Partners.  However, as is usually the case, there are some Trading Partners he works with more frequently than others.  These include Bob Small of Carroll Technology Services, Inc. and Marc Tappis of Opportunity Search, Inc.  However, one of the split placements that Bartfield is most excited about is the recent one that he made with Colleen Balogh-Walther of The Provident Search Group, Inc.

“Colleen and I have been in touch for seven years, since I joined the Network,” said Bartfield, “and we just made a split a couple of months ago.  I think that means there are many more to come.”

When it comes to being split-minded, Bartfield is as split-mined as recruiters come.  In fact, his view of splits could be considered rather unique.

“Honestly, I don’t look at a split as a split,” he said.  “I look at it as being just as valuable as making a placement on my own, in its entirety.  When I make a split, I’m building a relationship, and as a result, there will be more jobs that are easier to fill in the future.  It’s the ease of filling the job order that’s important to generating revenue in this business.”

In addition making an investment of time and energy, Bartfield also advocates adhering to The Four Pillars of Top Echelon’s recruiter network—Quality, Communication, Trust, and Active Participation.

“If you don’t operate with all of those significantly, it can be detrimental,” he said.  “But if you employ those four things, you’re bound to get results and be more successful.”

If there’s one Pillar that might be more important than the others (although that’s certainly debatable), that Pillar is Trust.  However, Bartfield indicated that trust is more complex than what it might appear on the surface and it encompasses more than what recruiters might think.  Specifically, it’s not that other recruiters would present inaccurate information willingly, but that they might do so unknowingly because the relationship hasn’t matured to the point where they know exactly what to provide.

“Trust is being able to take comfort in the fact that the other recruiter is telling you,” said Bartfield.  When they say something, you know what they mean, and vice-versa.  If they know what you need in a candidate, you trust that they’ll find candidates who have exactly what you’re looking for, and you’ll save time during the process and hopefully make a split more quickly.  Ultimately, that’s trust.”