In this episode, Marcus Edwardes speaks with Rich Rosen, an executive recruiter in the software sales industry with over 20 years experience. He is the Founder and Owner of Cornerstone Search, and for the past two years has been named by Forbes as a Top 20 Executive Recruiter in America.

Listen in as Rich discusses his typical day-in-the-life as a practitioner in the software sales niche and how he does business with startup CEOs and other gatekeepers in this space. He also discusses why it’s vital for recruiters to become specialists instead of generalists if they have any ambition for great success in this space.

He then shares his process for ensuring that each client he takes on is worth his time and why it literally pays to have confidence every step of the way when interacting with those clients, particularly when working with them on a container basis.

Finally, Rich dives into the tools of his trade. He explains why he has a lean tech stack, sticks to the free version of LinkedIn, has no aversion to automation, and swears by the phone.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

●      [02:56] Rich’s billing success since 2020

●      [04:25] Doing business in the software sales niche

●      [08:31] Rich’s mindset going into 2022

●      [11:51] How Rich decides whether or not a client will be worth the time

●      [18:04] Helping clients see the value of working with Rich on a container basis

●      [20:53] The type of people who “make it” in the recruitment agency world

●      [24:05] Rich’s tech stack

●      [27:46] The limitations of LinkedIn and the continued value of phone calls

●      [31:05] Rich’s thoughts on automation

●      [36:54] How Rich approaches his phone calls for the day

●      [40:05] Keys to a successful phone call

●      [46:16] Attributes of a successful recruiter

Key quotes:

●      “My days are jam-packed and every call I make, I can send someone three, four, or five roles. If I’m a generalist, these are one-offs I may never use again. It’s a waste of my time. It’s very challenging to make a lot of money as a generalist.”

●      “Confidence is absolutely everything in this business. If you sound confident, clients will do what you want.”

●      “Recruiters are always trying to find the ‘shortcut’. There are no shortcuts in this business. You may get lucky, but it will catch up with you eventually.”