Attention:
Attract the candidate’s attention
Interest:
Raise the candidate’s interest by making it relevant to them with the benefits
Desire:
Using specific words and language that will create desire
Action:
Make it extremely obvious what the candidate has to do to progress (make this as simple and easy as possible)
Acknowledge a recommendation and suggest that using these traits will make them successful in the role you are approaching them for
Tell them that you have read their profile – acknowledge something specific (the role, how long, specialism), original content they created is always a great thing to mention.
Tell them that you’ve read their advertisement – again acknowledging specific vacancies – if they are active regularly on Linkedin, mention it
Talk about why you chose to contact them
Quotes are King, quote peoples recommendations, their profile, anything to strengthen the sell and the unique approach
Travel – If you see that a candidate has travelled, taken a gap year or anything of that nature it is important that you sell businesses that may have international opportunities under the assumption they still have a desire to move abroad.
Awards – Recognise the fact the candidate is well respected and obviously good at their job etc (see “Profiling a potential candidate”). Tailor according to who you are messaging. Eg Economics graduate would want facts, a marketing /creative person would want creative imagery.
Tell the candidate about ourselves & the business – sell our strengths and our approach – Tell them you have seen something on their profile that you like. Make the message truly unique, it makes people feel more special and valued when they receive the message.
After profiling the candidate make this personal to them and using the power of three select the most appropriate and powerful 3 pull factors.
Job title (always a step up)
Company brand
Company statistics
Size of business
Growth plans
International offering
Career progression
Basic salary
Bonuses
Examples of success stories within our client
Further incentives
Location
Awards
Training & Development
Clients / PSL’s
Invite them to look at your profile for testimonials and your background
Mention anyone you may have placed from their current business
Mention any placements you’ve done in their product area and give examples of them
“Due to the strength of this role and the fact you work in a relationship driven business I am keen to have a conversation with you”. Get their contact details to arrange a call (positive presumptive – the role you are talking about is so good you expect them to get back to us).
If the message goes unanswered follow up the message within 48 working days saying something like “I hope you’re well, I wanted to follow up with my previous message as I am excited by the opportunity, what is the best time to speak?”
Use your golden companies research also to narrow down your push factors e.g. is the company commission weak? Do they have a negative culture?
When sending a LinkedIn message it is important to be unique and tailor our messages as there are a lot of “spam” emails that get sent and you need to ensure that you are remembered for the right reasons. One must remember that the use of adjectives is very important, you want to describe the situation so the potential candidate can imagine it. Possession is nine tenths of the law and if you can get the candidate to possess the image of their new exciting adventure then there is much more chance of them wanting to follow up. In addition to this you must make it personal, every person wants to hear why they are brilliant and why they have been luckily chosen for you to drop them a message, therefore pick things out from their profile that you have seen and are impressed by.
There are 6 reasons why you should send a LinkedIn Message:
2. The recipient looked at your LinkedIn profile / comments on your LinkedIn (often they look at r2r’s LinkedIn as they are looking) to leave
3. Noticed that the recipient has left their business
4. You attempted to headhunt the recipient but you were told they had left the business
5. The potential candidate has updated their profile or has a work anniversary
6. You could ask the candidate for expertise, direction or their market expertise
It sounds simple but the best LinkedIn messages have a beginning, middle and an end (intro / body of information (hooks) / close) (this should between 160 and 200 words). The introduction should say something personal and be complimentary. The body should match the individuals writing style and language patterns, if they write in short paragraphs, if it is bullet points or large paragraphs always follow suite. People move with people and it is important you try to show commonality through this means.
Mention why you are emailing them and not calling – “I’m dropping you a message as I appreciate it can be difficult to talk in the office” or “I’m dropping you a message as I’ve tried to call a couple of times but you were away from your desk / office”