Seller, Buyers and Branders (and one Piker)

Every once in a while something or someone bothers you so much that you have to address it. Some people go to the gym and work out and get healthier. I sit down and write about it and get more sedate. Perhaps it is time to go outside.

The thing that got me going this morning was an ongoing interaction with a candidate. There are active candidates and then there are ACTIVE candidates. The candidate in question falls into the “God’s Gift” category of candidate, as in “I am God’s gift to employers so you better be talking to me.” It's not the attitude as much as the candidate's constant bombardment of emails about the fact that she / he will be in town at some point in the future and don’t I just want to drop everything and set up meetings for them with people who have already reviewed their credentials and decided they aren’t a fit. There is just such a disconnect between their espoused self-image and the desperate nature of their demands.

As I was getting worked up about the issue, with my thinking alternating between “I already said 'no' in the nicest way I could three times for goodness sakes!” and “Gotta admire their persistence!” I realized that I needed to get something off my chest to every candidate, recruiter and hiring manager out there who may be reading this blog.

Recruiting is one big transaction (a hire) composed of lots of little transactions (identification, resume submission, phone screening, interviewing, etc.). Each transaction is an exchange of value (which, by my reckoning, is the definition of a transaction). Like all exchanges of value, you take on one of three roles in the transaction: seller, buyer or brander.

The way to identify role in the transaction is very simple: if you want something or someone more than it wants you then you are a seller. If something or someone wants you more than you want it or them then you are a buyer. And if you don’t know where which is you right now then you are a brander. Finally, if you just don’t care about exchanging value then you are fourth category: piker.

If you are a seller (as the candidate of whom I am speaking quite obviously is) then your job is to provide value before you expect value in return. No kidding. I know that you’ve been taught that selling is all about persuasion. It’s not. Maybe it used to be, but in a world of transparency and information hyper-velocity all sellers are one smarmy “Did you get your teeth whitened or what?” comment away from being crushed by your competition. A seller's job is to figure out how to establish a relationship of credibility with your potential buyer, and the best way to increase the trust that is the foundation of all credibility is to provide value before you ask for any in return.

And what exactly is the meaning of value? In a free market, the concept of value is whatever the buyer says it is. So your job as a seller is to figure out how to deliver value to the buyer before you even mention what you expect in return. Alternatively, if the seller provides value and doesn’t get any in return, then the seller should drop the buyer like a bad habit. Always remember rule number one of selling: you are not fighting a lack of opportunity, you are battling a lack of time. Get to the next buyer that accepts what you offer as value before you spend a lot of time on this one.

If you are a buyer (the role I play in the present dance with the candidate who expects something for nothing), it is your job to only deal with sellers who can provide you with value. If you aren’t clear what “value” is to you in particular then you aren’t a buyer; you’re a piker. You think the world exists to deliver variety to your table and you will see what strikes your fancy. This is the very reason that most sellers think that good hair and nice suits are the path to riches: if you don’t stand for something you’ll fall for anything.

In broader terms, your job as a buyer is to have a specification. This is an important point to consider for all the hiring managers and recruiters out there. When you don’t have a spec you are liable to be sold a bill of goods. And you deserve exactly what you get. It is your job as a buyer to ensure that sellers provide value before they take any more of your time and the definition of value rests solely with you.

What about the scenario where there is no current transaction? What about when you want people to consider you for some future transaction, but you don’t know when and where that transaction is going to occur. Then you are a "brander." Your job as a brander is to determine your potential buying community, connect with as many members of that community as possible (also known as the nodes in your value network) and provide value to them as many times as you can afford to, in as many ways as are consistent with your passions and objectives. This is the real definition of branding. It’s not selling at a distance. It’s building relationships with potential buyers by providing value ahead of any possible transaction the buyer may consider.

At any one time you are probably fulfilling all three roles. If you are a recruiter you are buying from active candidates, selling with brand candidates and branding with hiring managers and your extended network. If you are a candidate you are selling to the recruiter who controls access to the job you want, buying from the recruiter who is trying to convince you to take a job you don’t want and branding to the nodes in your network which may just be selling that dream job you’ve always wanted.

And where does that leave me and my candidate friend? To date, this person has not provided value to me and therefore as a buyer it’s my job to define my spec. The trouble is, I don’t have one. I am neither the hiring manager nor the recruiter: I am just the person who had the node in my network. So I guess I end this post with the observation that I am neither a seller, nor a buyer nor a brander: it appears I am just a piker.

Comments

[Manish]

Jeff,
What a simple and fantastic way to explain the recruiting process. Yes, recruitment is now more like marketing. And to be successfull, it is extremely important for one to understand their role and the value they want to derive from it.

Here's another interesting take on the same side:
www.interbiznet.com/ern/ interbiznetRosesInTheThornbush.pdf

Looking forward to more thought provoking posts on talentism.