By Danny Cahill

Hi Danny,

We have been utilizing MPC calls for about 80% of our marketing presentations, but we’re getting the sense managers are hearing about a “silver bullet” candidate presented to them a lot. Other recruiters have developed a nonexistent “virtual candidate” to gain the attention of hiring authorities.

It is my sense a lot of managers are becoming immune to these types of presentations. Do you have any suggestions on differentiating these calls and do you suggest other types of marketing calls that have been effective in this market?Thank you for your assistance. Danny’s response:Nonexistent “virtual” candidates is code for making things up!

T.S. Eliot said,“Human beings can only bear so much reality.”

And while I not only agree with him but owe much of my sanity to a rich fantasy life, marketing is not the time for pretending. You don’t care about nonexistent candidates.You don’t fight for clients to make time to see them.You play with your imaginary friends; you don’t stick up for them. Making up “virtual” candidates is lazy.If you’re going to market candidates, find a really excellent one that you genuinely like, your tone and approach will improve dramatically.

Now, (he said, stepping down gingerly from his soapbox), other approaches: Our series Marketing Matters, discusses two of our favorites. One I developed years ago and my recruiters have refined:“ Matt, my name is Danny Cahill. I’m, to use the vernacular, a Headhunter. I limit my practice to ______ (name niche). When I work with candidates, I demand two things. One, they have to be excellent, with numbers to back them up, and two, they have to know who they want to work for. My candidate selectively targeted you and a couple of your competitors, but asked me to reach out to you first. I thought you’d want to know.” (KEY HERE IS: My candidate asked me to call.) On our tape Pinnacle Conversations, Volume 1, Mike Goldman describes his call, which we use and like very much.“Hi, I’m Mike Goldman, I’m a recruiter with a different approach. I see it as my job to support your career, and I do that in one of two ways. I can tell you about competitive opportunities outside of your company, or I can bring you talent that can further your interests inside your company. <br>What I do today is a matter of timing.”Or, if you are a senior recruiter, make your track record the focal point of your call. We do this by compiling data on the achievements of the people we place, which for us means salespeople, so you’ll hear this call here quite often.“Matt, my name is Danny Cahill. I’m a recruiter on a mission.In the last three years the people I’ve placed with your competition have brought a staggering total of 32 million dollars into the supply chain market. I’d love to have you at the party.That can start with a call back.”

Try these. Stay open minded. But MPC calls with passion? Hard to beat. I don’t think they’re outdated at all. They’re just seldom done well.