A wise man recently told me to put the ‘consultant’ back in the title recruitment consultant. He stated, “The better you are at consulting, the better you’ll be at selling.”

Isn’t that the truth?

Any commercial business operates for sales. However, that’s the outcome and result from building a trusted and credible reputation with your clients.

Consulting means acting as a business partner and always being transparent… warts and all.

Not so long ago, I presented a candidate to a client who initially behaved like a 10/10 superstar. They went through a 3-round interview process perfectly and everyone was jumping up and down saying we had found ‘The One’.

BUT, when it came to the very pointy end and the candidate received a verbal offer pending final checks, something just switched. The engagement and communication severely decreased when we were tying up the final ends of the placement.

I could have masked these concerns and covered for the candidate as it would have been a lovely big fee that fell into last quarter (meaning I would have had a nice commission payday right about now, and with a trip to Greece on the horizon it would have been greatly appreciated). However, I simply couldn’t do it and I consulted the business to rescind their offer.

After a long process and countless interviews, it was the last thing all parties wanted to do, but the client trusted that I was doing what was best by them as their consultant.

The search continues and we’re back to square one, but more in-tune with a strengthened partnership.