Scot McCallum: On Relationship Development, Metrics and Cold Calling!

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In this episode, Marcus Edwardes speaks with Scot McCallum, Senior Vice President of Western Markets at Artech, a global technology staffing and consulting company. He has previously held senior leadership positions at both Kforce and Ajilon.

Listen in as Scot opens the conversation by discussing the challenges he has had to face as a leader at Artech during the pandemic, and his observations around how his colleagues were able to cope throughout 2020 in such a socially-driven industry.

He then does a deep dive into the secrets to building rapport with candidates and the understated importance of building trust in that first conversation instead of simply pitching your proposal.

Finally, Scot gives his thoughts on recruiting metrics and the only reason a recruiter should be looking at them, as well as whether cold-calling is officially dead in the staffing industry.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

●      [02:25] Challenges that Scot had to overcome as a leader at Artech in 2020

●      [05:00] The pros and cons of working exclusively from home

●      [10:50] The challenges of hiring remotely

●      [12:38] Dealing with the unexpectedly uptick in business during COVID-19

●      [16:04] The importance of honesty and staying in your lane as a recruiter

●      [17:41] How to win strategic accounts today

●      [20:48] Attributes of a great recruiter

●      [23:50] Keys to rapport building

●      [29:02] Getting the candidate to talk more during the conversation than you

●      [35:30] Scot’s philosophy on recruiting metrics

●      [43:20] Is cold-calling dead in the agency recruiting business?

Key quotes:

●      “The one thing you can control is your level of effort.”

●      “This is a relationship business. Make no mistake. It always has been and it always will be no matter how much technology is involved.”

●      “The mindset that works in our industry is essentially a high sense of urgency [...] and an inquisitive nature.”

●      “The most successful salespeople and recruiters have a common skill: They’re able to build good rapport with their candidates and clients in a very short period of time—usually in one meeting.”

●      “Staying focused on open-ended questions really gets the conversation flowing with the person you’re engaged with.”

●      “You have to be able to take the interactions you’re having and focus on the other person. Make it about them. You want to learn about them. Through that process, you’ll have your opportunity to share, too.”

●      “You should look at metrics for one sole purpose: to help coach people and to understand where and when they’re struggling.”

●      “The key activity that generates results is getting client interviews.”

●      “It’s about your messaging as much as it’s about reaching out to people.”

Resources Mentioned:

●      Artech

●      Scot McCallum on LinkedIn

Connect with Marcus https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcusedwardes/