Why I Made 924 Recruiting Calls (And What I Discovered)

Last Wednesday I shared the unexpected results of 2070 recruiting calls made as part of a pilot program I ran late last year.

Today, I’m going to share how I produced nearly six times as many opportunities when I picked up the phone and made 924 recruiting calls myself.

But first, a quick recap.

Last November, I hired a telemarketing company to make 50 hours’ worth of recruiting calls on behalf of three of my coaching clients. The callers generated a disappointing number of opportunities, yet the opportunities they did generate were high-quality.

As I considered the results of that pilot program, I couldn’t help but wonder why we generated so few opportunities. So, I decided to hop on the phone myself to uncover where we went wrong.

Uncovering the Problem

I started by making calls using the same prospect lists and recruiting scripts the telemarketing company used (you might remember I purchased the scripts from a 3rd party). My goal was to figure out why agents weren’t interested in talking to my clients.

It took less than 100 dials before I realized the problem. Agents had a pre-loaded “not interested” or “I’m happy” response and they fired it at me the second I finished my opening line. The objection handling scripts I purchased with the primary call script didn’t budge them either.

Turns out, so many brokers use the same basic recruiting scripts that agents tune them out within the first few words.

Discovering the Formula

Once I knew the purchased scripts were the problem, I began experimenting with scripts of my own. I wanted to generate high-quality opportunities for my clients without resorting to hardball sales tactics, Jedi mind tricks, or endless bouts of objection handling.

After trying countless different scripts and tapping into the knowledge of some of the brightest people in the industry, I finally hit on a formula that worked.

By the time I finished my 924 calls, the opportunity rate had skyrocketed from a meager 3% to an impressive 17%.

One out of every six agents I spoke with agreed to have a recruiting conversation with my clients. Plus, I was still able to average more than 40 dials per hour.

The formula was both effective AND efficient.

So, what was the formula I discovered?

You need to make agents think and then listen for opportunity.

Formula Ingredient #1 – Make Them Think

An effective recruiting call script doesn’t allow agents to give an automatic “not interested” or “I’m happy”. That means you must either ask a question they don’t expect or dangle a benefit that piques their interest.

If you make recruiting calls and there isn’t a noticeable pause after you deliver your opening lines, scrap the script and try again.

Formula Ingredient #2 – Listen for Opportunity

One of the benefits of making hundreds of recruiting calls across several geographic areas is you get to hear all the different variations of the same basic responses. You would think one “I’m happy” is the same as another. But, that isn’t the case.

There are a few key questions, statements, and phrases agents ask or say during a conversation that predict whether they’ll agree to an appointment.

For example, if an agent asks, “Where are you located?”, she is likely to agree to an appointment if you repeat your opening question or benefit. This is true even when she initially tells you she would never leave her current company.

If the recruiting calls formula sounds simple, that’s because it is. Provided you’re willing to pick up the phone and experiment with different script benefits and questions, you too can use the formula to generate a consistent flow of recruiting opportunities for yourself.

P.S. - I launched a recruiting calls program Monday and it sold out within the first 48 hours.

If you'd like me to notify you when the program reopens, please send me a message or email me at drew@petersonres.com.