What Questions to Ask Clients When You Meet Them?

For many new recruitment consultants that have chosen this very interesting career in the recruitment industry, one of the most important and frightening events they encounter is to meet up with potential clients and to convince the clients to give them the business so that they can work on the deals.

So, when you meet up with the clients and do the presentation, what happens after that? You will need to ask further questions of the potential clients regarding the jobs and requirements.

Well, let me tell you a secret before you actually go and see your client – this is very important; not many people in the recruitment industry will tell you this secret. In many cases, people do not know it exists. The formula below only comes from people who have many years of experience in seeing and talking to people.

The Secret is: The QUALITY of your questions = how the clients PERCEIVE you = whether they will GIVE you the business.

Many recruitment consultants will ask the basic questions such as:

-          What will be the salary range of the position?

-          Does your company work on weekends?

-          What are the working hours?

-          What are the job duties of this position?

-          What are the minimum qualifications needed for this position?

Well, I would say that whoever asks these questions is raising the risk of losing the business up to 70-80%! That means the recruitment consultant is losing business!

Why am I saying this? The reason is very simple; let me ask you a very straightforward question: Is the client meeting with you only? Will they be meeting with some other agencies that are your competitors? Have they met someone before meeting you? Under normal situations, the answer would be YES, they would have already met someone in the same industry who is your competitor. Will your competitors ask the same questions as above? Very likely they have! So, if you are queue number #5 meeting the client, and you are asking the same questions the first four recruitment consultants have asked, what does that make you???

I am sure you get my point. You are just the SAME–no difference, no spice…. Sorry to say, but this is what the other party will think, and they DO NOT like to see something that is the SAME, BLAND, and TASTELESS….

YOU NEED TO BE DIFFERENT!!!!!

You need to impress them with something different. Let me ask you another question: What is the purpose of meeting with your client? To discuss the job requirements? Or something else? If you are meeting with the client, your job is to IMPRESS the client, not to talk about the job description and requirements. Period! Get the facts straight: you need to make them feel good, make them think that you can do the job, and let them have higher confidence in you and your company…. The point is, YOU ARE THE FOCUS, not the job order!

In the event that the company is confident in you and trusts that you will be able to get the job done, is that enough to make them give you the job order, requirements, and also anything and everything you need to know without you asking? YES, they will! They will be so anxious as to why you never ask those “Golden” questions!

My friends, my fellow recruitment consultants....you need to be different and unique so that you impress the clients….