What Keeps Recruiters From Achieving Their Full Potential with Scott Love

Intro [00:00:00]:

Welcome to the elite recruiter podcast with your host Benjamin Mena, where we focus on what it takes to win in the recruiting game. We cover it all from sales, marketing, mindset, money, leadership, and placements.

Benjamin [00:00:18]:

So this is gonna be a fun episode of the elite recruiter podcast. I have my special guests and good friend, Scott Love with me today. And one of the reasons why I'm excited about having Scott love talk is because he is such a good coach on helping bring out the best is you and recruiter. So what we're gonna talk about is bringing out your full potential and what keeps recruiters from achieving their full potential as a recruiter. But on top of that, like, Scott is actually back in the coaching chair again with the placement club. So Excited to see all the fun things that he's gonna share, help level up the entire community, and also just for there was a special link in the show notes to sign up for the placement club if you definitely wanna be part of it. So, Scott, welcome to the podcast. Thank you, Ben. I'm excited to be here. This is great. So I know we normally talk about, like, how you got started in recruiting. I I we have that on another episode. So if you wanna make it short and sweet so we can get into the good the good stuff. Yeah. Just like everybody I fell into it. I got out of the navy, and I liked the navy experience. It was great. and I got into sales, commission only sales.

Scott Love [00:01:27]:

And the office next to ours, I was selling telecom at the time. They were a recruiting firm. I would hang out in their office during lunch, and they said if you get really good at recruiting, you can make over $40,000 a year. And I thought I'm never gonna have an opportunity like that. And so I did And I joined them, and I did okay. I moved away. I was supposed to still be working for them. I moved away and was working virtually. and the owner of the firm didn't pay me commissions. And so I I think I I think I quit. I'm not sure. I didn't even know it was an industry. I hung out my own shingle, literally folding card table in a one bedroom apartment, honored my non compete and the rest is history, and I've been in it. And then I'll be honest, I've tried to quit this business for years. I've tried to quit, but it just it's just like the game of golf. One good shot brings you back in to that wicked sport. It's the same thing with recruiting also, and I love it. I mean, just admitting that I love the grind. I love the work. It's I really it's very satisfying and very fulfilling.

Benjamin [00:02:28]:

I I think it's crazy that, like, you back then, The pitch was you could maybe make 40 k, and you've had multiple years, like, over 7 figures. I've been grateful.

Scott Love [00:02:38]:

And, honestly, I just feel like I get lucky.

Benjamin [00:02:41]:

mean, I just happened to call someone. I happen to have a client that happens to fit, and they like each other, and they pay me no time. So -- Well, I will say this. I have seen your workout, I think, over the years. And for those that don't know, me and Scott actually now live pretty close to each other, so we've gotten a chance to hang out. And with the work ethic, that that luck just kinda happens that it happens a little more often.

Scott Love [00:03:03]:

But honestly, I just feel murky, Ben. I mean, I real I really do. So -- So So before we do a deep dive into reaching your full potential as a recruiter -- Mhmm. -- talk about the placement club. Yeah. I I had a similar version of so so many the placement club, it's a free community. We've got free resources over 20 hours of content on there every other week. and sometimes even more frequently, I'll do a free 15 minute recruiting workshop. One good idea can change your life forever. And all those are archived and saved, and that's absolutely free. And then I do a weekly group coaching program because I don't have the time to coach a bunch of people 1 on 1. It interests me a little bit, but I like solving problems and mass, where you sign up for that every Monday at 1 o'clock EST? We do that, and I I go into deep learning on certain variables that are critical important to people achieving success, and it's mostly geared towards intermediate and advanced recruiters. And the premise is this, many times they don't need more training. Do you know how to make a placement? Yes. Well, how come you're not doing more of that? There's a reason why, and those are the things that I've covered, and that comes from me having coached so many people. I started my training business bin back in 2002. I don't even think you were born yet back then. I started my my training business back then. and then sold it in 2006 to you because I like doing deals. But since that time, I've missed helping people. I'd gone to some conferences. I'm a member of Sanford Rose. I spoke at their conference last year. A lot of people came up and said, hey. Thanks to you. in your dorky YouTube channel, I learned how to become a big pillar. Thank you. And I and I liked that. And I realized, you know, I like helping other people. I like sharing listen. Let me save you 20 years. Don't do that. Do this. Wow. Thank you. You just saved me 20 years. I like that. And so I wanted to put something together that didn't cost a lot, the price of a nice dinner. You can cancel at any time if you're not getting value. I don't wanna keep people to something that's just mud. giving them value over the long term. If they wanna cancel, that's fine, but I wanna give overwhelming value. Basically, we play a game. You pay me a $100. I give you tens of 1000 as dollar dollars back. That's the whole premise of that. So I like doing it, and I like the fact that, you know, I'm I'm taking time away from my deals for about an hour or 2 week. But it's doing deals. That's what that's what I get really excited about, and it motivates me, and it's just the replacement is the fruition of disciplined focus effort in the service of other people, and I like that. I liked like I said, it's a grind, but the grind can be a joy, I think. And so I'll have a special link for the placement club in the show notes. So definitely go down to the show notes. Click it. Join the club. I'm actually part of it myself.

Benjamin [00:05:45]:

Alright, Scott. And, you know, one caveat. I'm actually turning 40 this month. So okay. Good. catching it up. Catch it up. Catch it up, you know, wasn't quite recruiting yet when you started the training. I actually if you wanna get off, I think I started recruiting 4 years later. after you start your training program. Was that right? Okay. Good. Good. That's great. Yeah. I've been in there for a while myself.

Scott Love [00:06:07]:

It's great. It's good to get some time in where you know which way to duck when problems come along, and things just don't bother you as much. So that's good. Good. Awesome.

Benjamin [00:06:17]:

So alright. Here's what I'm excited about. Scott, what keeps recruiters from reaching their full potential. So I think

Scott Love [00:06:27]:

number 1, it's self steam. I think that And and I've done this in seminars that I've done, and I may do some in the future again, but I would hold them in Las Vegas and we get maybe 40, 50 people there, and it would be a 2 day thing, and I would talk about limiting beliefs. I would say, that, do you know how to get a candidate? Yes. Do you know how to get a client? Yes. Do you know how to put them together and make a place? Yes. Then what is it? There's something beyond training that's keeping people from being massively successful. And I would ask them to identify Their ultimate career billing goal, if you are able to work at a peak level every hour of every day for a year, and your relationships are healthy and you're not going to feel burned out. What are you truly capable of? And so I would have them define that vision, and I don't It's not all about the money, but that's how we measure it. That's how we define it. It's not all about the money. And I don't think that should be the motivator. I don't think it is, but that's the measurement. So start with that. What's your ultimate career billing goal? And then I would have them get a separate sheet of paper, and I would say you know, what it is that's keeping you from reaching them. And I want you to write it on a sheet of paper. Just pull it out of your notebook, tear it out, write it on and I would have them do this. I would say, I want you to take it, and I want you to fold it, and fold it in half again, and then tear it up. and you're making a decision to choose not to let that limiting belief control you. And some people would tell me they would take these pieces of paper back home and they would burn them. And that was a pivotal moment for that. And how do I know that works? because that's what I did. It was low self esteem. I think that's it. It's do you what is your relationship with money like? When I grew up as a kid, money is evil, the rich, and I remember my dad. Bless his heart. We're 4 son, but we're proud. We're always gonna be poor, but we're always gonna proud, and I remember thinking, I don't know. I think I can watch something different, but I found, gosh, I'm guilty. I'm feeling guilty when I made all this money. All I did was just send an email. No. There's more to it than that. But I realized that Wealth is a representation of the amount of value you provide to other people. And that helped me anchor my feelings about money that it's not being a greedy, greedy selfish, rich person. It's a over overwhelming service to other people that benefits them. And so I think it's people's self esteem. There is a I I remember this is a critical book for me that I read, and I've read a lot and I read every day. And years ago, I was in a bookstore. I was in the business section, and I found a book on how to overcome self sabotage. And the name of the book was called How to overcome self sabotage. Written written by Pat Pearson. And I read and I found it I thought it was interesting. It was in the business section, and I realized that was it. I'm hesitating. I'm delaying and getting back to people. I'm not asking those hard questions because I'm afraid of success. I had a person that worked from years ago and he'd never done recruiting. He'd never done sales before. He came out of the construction industry, which at that time was my niche, and he told me, and this is before I have my training business. He said, I'm gonna do everything you tell me to do. I'm not gonna question it, and I'm gonna do it. And in his 1st 12 months, he billed $300,000. Now that's a lot of money now. There was a lot of money back in 2000. And the next 6 months, He had several deals that didn't close. He billed 0 in 6 months. And that's when I learned how to do deal autopsies, which is something I've taught people. and we would do deal autopsies on each of those. And each reason each each deal's reason for not closing was something that he either did do that he shouldn't have done or something he didn't do that he should have done. It was all within his control. And there were little inflection points in each deal where this didn't happen, so the deal fell apart. And I believe the reason was he didn't see his financial self worth going over $70,000 a year because he never made that much before. There's a book that Harvecker wrote. I can't remember what it's called. It's the millionaire something, but the book is a good book in that it explains that concept of a financial thermostat that if you feel that you're worth less than a certain amount, then you're not gonna do what it takes to get over it. And as soon as you start getting over that, you're gonna sabotage yourself. So I think in a nutshell, Ben, I think that's what I've seen. And just to give some perspective when I had my training company, I mean, it was a hardcore training company. I had videos. I had books, CDs, then online learning, over 45100. recruiting and staffing companies from 36 countries. It was global. Invested in my resources. I've been in over 150, 125, 150 recruiting offices doing one on one coaching with their team. over the years. And I've coached a lot of people and I've seen that's it. It's not the skill. It's not the knowledge. It's do you feel like you deserve it? And I'd gone through that through that journey, Ben. I've been there, and I had to deal with the conflict. God. I wanna make the money, but what am I doing? And then And I've seen other people who I just have so much respect for that I've coached that have risen up, that have done the work and their self esteem increases, and their it's a skill. I think anybody can learn it. It's a skill. You're not gifted with high self esteem. I think we're all born in the same in the world the same way, upside down and naked. You know? That's it. And everything else happens after that. But I think that's it. And that's what my commitment is is to help people reach their full potential. And I like that. I really I really like that. I feel like, you know, with the placement club, that's something that'll be my retirement business when I stop sparring with lawyers all day as a legal recruiter. You know? That's what I'll do in between painting pictures of western scenes at my gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. So that's so because I can do that for a couple hours a week. Right? But but that's what I love is just helping recruiters Breakthrough that and just achieve overcome and breakthrough.

Benjamin [00:12:46]:

So oh, you've figured it you figured that out. Was there a point in time where it just hits you and what were you going through when you realized like I have been self sabotaging myself?

Scott Love [00:12:59]:

I would say yes and a journey, where I think that there's a little bit of self destruction and all. And I've been through a lot. I've been through when I was at the Naval Academy. I wanted to be a navy pilot. I had migraines. They said you're not gonna do it. and I got self destructive. When I had to go to a ship, I had a bad attitude, but when I started enjoying the salering part of it, The headache's got worse. We're gonna separate you. I know I'll go to law school. I'll be a navy jacks. Sorry. We've got a reduction in force anyways. See you later. Self destructive. And I think I didn't learn until years later that we can choose our response to adversity. And through my training business years ago, I would teach people techniques, tactics of building resilience muscles. So it gets easier every time. I think we all fall into that. I think A spiritual walk is a way to help people with that by looking at the world as a spiritual thing, and that's just my own belief through the for me, it's the through the episcable tradition. But I think looking at the lens looking at the world through that lens, we're never gonna be perfect. There's always something to learn. So I think for me, the pivotal moment was in that book. But then even recently, and this is something that I've talked about recently with people on the placement club is that I document every day 4 different things, my submissions, my send out, So 2 key performance indicators, and then another column on an Excel spreadsheet is what was the thing that I did really well, what was my greatest achievement for the day. I document that, and then the other one, this is the real learning bed. What was the lesson that I learned? And so every day since 2017. I've been documenting this, and I found that every 6 weeks or so, I'm gonna go back through the lessons learned call. I'm looking for trends. And I'm looking at why is that trend happening. And so here's an example about 3 years ago. We're actually pre COVID pre COVID. I keep forgetting those 3 years ago. Pre COVID. Pre COVID. I remember seeing that I'm looking at my lessons learned. Didn't get back to the candidate soon enough. He took another Didn't return the call to the client soon enough. They withdrew the offer. Whatever. I mean, it's I saw this pattern of me delaying not getting back to Pete. And I real and I thought about what is that? I'm afraid. I'm afraid of hearing a no. I'm afraid. I I still had rejection fear. And so I would look at certain trends, and I would see is and I would ask myself, is there some sort of character goal? or virtue goal I can set that month to ameliorate that deficit, to fix it. And so it's just, I think, self awareness is key. And I think even doing something like that then, even just documenting what was your greatest achievement and your greatest lesson that you learned, which is code for mistake every day, and then over time you grow. So I think that I don't consider myself a teacher of the business. I'm a student. I mean, that's how I see myself. I'm a student. I I think when we think we've noted when we think we know it all, I've got it covered. I don't need any more help. You know, I'm good. Okay. That's fine, but you're never gonna reach your full potential. So that's

Benjamin [00:16:08]:

that's that. I think you I think you really, like, really hit the nail on the head that there's actually a podcast episode going live tomorrow talking about where we spend some time talking about EOD, end of day review, and tracking it. And -- That that's Cole That's good. That's great. End of the day. I love it. I love it. And it's, like, going through and, like, tracking, like, you know, stuff like stuff like, you know, biggest lessons. some of your metrics. You know? Did you get your workout in? How was your sleep? Did you take care of your body? That's great. And it's I I love that you're doing that because you can only figure out what you've been tracking. I'd try it myself. I can't remember what I did. Last week, if I it's not ran down. That's right. Anything that can be measured improves over time.

Scott Love [00:16:49]:

An interesting been yet when I was an naval officer after on my my sea duty tour when I'm in the process of getting separated I was on a surety tour for about a year, year and a half, and I was a trainer at the world's largest naval base in Norfolk, Virginia, a teaching deming management methods, total quality management. The navy had an initiative in the early nineties called total quality leadership. So that's what I did, Ben. When I was at the age of twenty four, when you do know every thing. I was an organizational development trainer and consultant, teaching statistical process control. And that's also something that I brought in to how I have taught people this that what are the things that you can measure? What are the ratios? Now now look at the ratios between your interviews and placements and your submissions to interviews to placement. If that's skewed one way or another, that gives us information. So you're absolutely right. I like that. The end of day review. That's great.

Benjamin [00:17:39]:

And so do you also mention that, like, self esteem and resilience is like a muscle? Yeah. Yeah. It's something you can grow. Talk about that. I think that it's something that's

Scott Love [00:17:51]:

then it's a muscle. Let me talk about it in two points. When we Cut our skin, the point where the skin is cut, heels back stronger. When we break a bone, the point where the bone breaks, heels back stronger. when we lift weights. We are actually tearing our muscles down. And we don't conduct the same training on the same muscle area every day. We take a break in between. Why is that? It's the healing that builds strength. So I think we look at it as a muscle. I think rest is what builds strength. Being self aware and knowing that you're not skewed in one way that you're out of balance. I think that's one part of it. The other way is looking at it in terms of skills that you can learn certain skills of overcoming adversity. And the more you do that, the more effective you are. And you can then shorten that recovery time. For example, I've lost out on placements that have been worth 100 of 1000 of dollars. I had a deal that didn't close, last quarter that would have been about a 200 k placement fee. And it took me about 5 minutes to recover. Because I've got the skills down of, okay, step 1, step 2, step 3. Okay. I'm good. Back to the funds. And one one here's one tip. When whatever something happens to you that's not optimal, the perspective you need to have is, okay, the enemy has me surrounded, They can't get away this time. That's the attitude you have to have, chesty pull a reference. You have to have that attitude of I'm gonna win. I'm gonna be okay. There's Jim Collins in his book, Good To Great, writes about the Stockdale paradox, Vice Admiral's James Stockdale, who is the longest serving and highest ranking POW officer in the Vietnam War, that there's a paradox. You have to be keenly aware of how bad your situation is and be truthful with yourself. And when you're in the field in the POW camp, if you see a string you pick it and you save it because you may need that. But then you also know you're gonna be okay. You have got this. You're going to be fine. And I think those are some of the things I've learned about building those resilient muscles, Ben. That's the good thing with recruiting is that, hey, there's lots of opportunities to exercise And one thing I tell people, when you start seeing really weird stuff happen, like really weird stuff, that's not bad. It means you're getting expertise. It means you're getting time in gray. You're gonna see weird stuff happen if you're in it long enough, so don't let it bother you. There's a way you can recover, but the first step is Maybe that can be the solution to a problem you didn't know you had. Oh, absolutely love that. And, Scott, going back to the Scottsdale paradox, I

Benjamin [00:20:37]:

that it If somebody ever asked me, like, a quote or a book that's had a huge impact in my career, I can't quote the exact paradox down to a tee. Yeah. But one of the things that when I first read that, it just screamed at me was he got asked before talking about paradox. He was like, who didn't make it out of Vietnam?

Scott Love [00:20:55]:

That's right. And -- What you said?

Benjamin [00:20:57]:

The Optimus. The Optimus. Yeah. And I was like, wait. Why the optimists? Like, their the hope is, like, the they just They didn't have the realization of where they were. And because of that, when their hope died, they did.

Scott Love [00:21:10]:

Yeah. I think that's that's a correct perspective for any adversity, and recruiting is built on adversity, and you have to admit that. and you have to go into it knowing that this business will deplete me from all the energy that I have. And that's just the way it is. But if you're aware of that, then you can take steps to make sure that it fills you, such as listening to podcasts like yours. Read being around people that can support you. using the lens of resilience when a problem comes along and finding solutions. that I'm gonna take so for example, I actually had 3 counter offers take place in a day, Ben, years years ago. I had a candidate. Never forget. 11 o'clock more. I've been thinking. What why'd you do it? I'm gonna stay here. 2 other people. I mean, I I almost thought about flying to Seattle to tell my candidate, no. Don't do it. But and I remember and I joke about this. I say my wife was knocking on the door of the bathroom. Wondering if I'm okay, and I'm in there crying. I'm crying so hard that My ads are gonna look so good tomorrow because of how hard I'm crying. And I remember, at the end of it, I realized, wait a minute. These candidates They're selfish, and they're just gonna do what they're gonna do, and that's true. So find out what they want and use that. to heart to to drive the deal forward, and it changed my whole perspective completely about placement. So at this point in time in the chapter, You've got something bad going on, flip through it a few pages. What did you do with that? Maybe that adversity was a gift. Maybe you found a way. to keep from having counter offers happen as much because the sting of disappointment caused you so caused you to change because it's so bad when people are or making placements their pop in champagne corks, high fives, fist bumps. They're not thinking about gee, what do I need to do to get better? Which is why That when and I gave a speech last Friday to a group of CEOs, and I talk about using your disappointments as a learning tool, and here's some struck should ideas on how you can take that sale you didn't make and create standard operating procedures around them. What if that's the best thing to happen to? But I think that the recruiting business, it depletes you from energy. You just need to admit it and find ways to build strength. and to replace that energy with positive things that were.

Benjamin [00:23:28]:

I absolutely love that. Is there anything else that you'd love to chat about on recruiters reaching their full potential? I would say treated like a disciplined sport.

Scott Love [00:23:36]:

I think you need to look at this like you were a high performing athlete and There's a choice not everybody wants that, and I'm never gonna judge anybody. Some people, they're okay. That's fine. There's lots of things you can do with this business. Some people, I do a The guy's professional musician, he'd make placements when he needed money, and he'd be playing his guitar. And that's good. There's lots of options. and not one way is the right way. You need to be aware, though, that if you put a 100% into it, you will get a 100% back. If you put 80% into it, you're only gonna get about 40% back. I think there's a tipping point between 80 to a100 terms of your energy and your commitment. But I think it's a sport. You need to think of this as a high performance sport the same way a professional golfer thinks about his or her career compared to the way I think about golf. We're weird. It's like hey. Driving range. Yesterday, I'm good. And I'm probably gonna play eighteen holes Saturday morning, and I might even have a bloody mary when I'm doing it. And I'm just fine with that. But that's not how Roy McElroy plays. They treat it seriously. So you need to make a decision. What is it that's holding you back? And what are you willing to do to change that? to reach your goals. And then first, even also going beyond that, figuring out why do you wanna do that? What are you gonna get from What do you wanna do with this? Why is this motivating you? Where do you wanna go and how do you wanna get there? You know, I think that's the overarching rule right there, Ben.

Benjamin [00:25:04]:

Absolutely. Love that. Awesome. Well, Scott, just kinda switching gears a little bit. Yeah. You have a podcast You have, like, all sorts of different ways that you have developed new business over the years. Mhmm. Do you wanna talk talk talk about some of those? Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. I I believe

Scott Love [00:25:24]:

in leverageable assets such as creating a podcast for my niche of recruiting. Now it's the rainmaking podcast. I launched that 3 years ago over COVID, July of 2020. Because I thought, you know, I wanna do something. I had my old great recruiter training podcast that had been around since 2009. I took that feed. and I dusted it off the shelf, and I have 2 objectives with that. One is I want to get law firm rainmaking partners, the people I recruit, want them to stay connected with me without being spammy. If I had an email list I'm sending to attorneys, they're gonna send me notes back, say, take me off your list. You spamming scum. I mean, that's just how they are. So I dangle that shiny lure of value with content that's gonna help them regardless of them working with me or not. And I think anytime you produce content, my philosophy is that when I have someone on my show, as you've been on my show, we start with Let's get to the point. Let's solve some problems. Our audience are nothing more than the equivalent of hungry toddlers. and hungry toddlers don't care about getting loving you back. They only care about getting fat. And so that's my philosophy with producing content. is dangle that shiny lure valve. So I did that, and that's a leverageable asset because I produce it once, and it's there forever. What I didn't realize was how much depth I would have in building a brand, 2 of my guests. I didn't know it. They'd coauthored books before they asked me to co author a book, Rainmaker, confidential. I had a meeting 2 2, 3 weeks ago with the the chair of a smaller firm, a 240 attorney firm, and their managing partner of the New York office and some other leaders. and all of them I'm sending a book to, with with my signature. It was great meeting you. I look forward to working together. because this is expertise. It's self published, but it's still expertise. So this gives me credibility with my candidates. And I also anytime you create any sort of content, don't just make money on it one way, make money on it three ways. And my voice mail message is to candidates. I tell them, I know you get calls from other headhunters. One thing that's distinct about me is that I'm a credentialed expert in business development. I produced the rainmaking podcast and I've written books on that. How that helps you is that when you move to another firm, you need to understand that it's a good business opportunity. And I think this is worth at least hearing about. So I'd use that to build credibility. I had a chair of a big top 50 firm call me. The corporate trade said I I'm I'm in my sixties. I'm not gonna leave, but I wanted to call you and tell you I got your voice mail message, and that was really good. You really got something. And I've I've got proof of concepts. So that's number 1. leverageable resources. Do something once and find ways to make money multiple times. Number 2, I would say get in front of your niche. speak to the groups that have people whether they're recruiting HR people within your niche? I don't like to deal with HR. Still, Build them as advocates. They will open up doors for you to the c suite if they know you're gonna make them look good. Again, in front of groups like that. Start with trade associations. Look for trade associations that serve your niche. Reach out to the executive directors. Offer to write something for them. Offer to speak at their lunch meetings offered to sit on a panel. I I've been speaking for a long time, but just until COVID hit, I really thought about doing that within legal, I always thought, well, they don't wanna hear from me. I'm not an ex lawyer, but I realized there's a lot of there's a lot of value in sharing ideas that you and I know about recruiting to people that just don't think about it all the time. And so I've done that, and that's a leverageable resource. And then I think number 3, is realize this is disciplined work that you need to unfortunately, with my experience Sprint from the Naval Academy and the Navy, I learned how to withstand long periods of extreme discomfort and be okay with that. You need to be okay with doing the work and being uncomfortable. So, anyways, those are those were a couple of the the other points I had that I wanted to share with people then. Awesome. And, yeah,

Benjamin [00:29:33]:

I'll have the link to his podcast in the show notes. I know from the conversations I had with Scott, there he's got multiple deals. from people just finding his podcast, and now he's the expert in the space because of that.

Scott Love [00:29:47]:

Yeah. It's and what I found what I felt very comfortable with. And I appreciate you saying that, is that my show isn't about meat. It's about my guests. and about my guests looking really good and about me getting information from my guests that's gonna serve my constituents, the candidates that I really want them to hear. And the podcast is not specific to legal. It's agnostic towards an industry, professional services, so it helps people in the recruiting industry also.

Benjamin [00:30:15]:

Awesome. And for anybody that's looking at starting a podcast, Scott just shared some great advice. Make the guest the star.

Scott Love [00:30:22]:

Yeah. just like you always do back. And your show is great. I mean, I listen to it. There's so many good interviews that you have on here that's it's not a waste of time what you're doing, Ben. Well, thank you. I I always joke around with other people. I'm like,

Benjamin [00:30:36]:

I I'm not the star. The guess of the star is like, I'm here just to try to ask good questions.

Scott Love [00:30:40]:

Yeah. One one interesting thing. I didn't even anticipate this with my show because I was interviewing a lot of BD coaches, business development coaches for for lawyers, even though the topics are malleable to other industries, I was actually creating a referral funnel. I didn't even think about that when I started it. Because I've got out of the 157, maybe about 50 of them are real one on one business development coaches that now they call me. I've got a group that wants to move. Can you help? One of them does conferences twice a year. I've spoken at 2 of them in front of managing partners of firms that are his clients. So it really gave me some surprising benefits that by taking a risk putting myself out there, it can do good things.

Benjamin [00:31:23]:

Some great advice. Well, Scott, is there anything else that you would love to share before we jump over to the quick fire questions?

Scott Love [00:31:29]:

I would say Think of this as a journey. That's meant to be enjoyed. I've always believed that this is a character business. This business will cut you open and let you look deep inside of what you really made of, then you have a choice. And so it's just just the way it is. I think it's It's a personal development opportunity disguised as a job. And that's something I really believe. I've been saying that for years. And that's kind of my whole perspective in coaching people. This is about

Benjamin [00:31:58]:

not just closing deals that's you growing in your spirit. Some. Well, Scott, is there any advice that you would love to give to a recruiter that's actually just getting started in the industry in 2023?

Scott Love [00:32:10]:

Yeah. I would say come in early and stay late. Put the time in. Start at 7:30 or 8 o'clock in the morning and and quit at 6. You gotta put time in. This is a job you can do in about 45, 50 hours a week. After after that, there is diminishing returns in terms of the energy expended. But in the beginning, you gotta learn. But what I did when I first started, I was with that firm that had some training VHSs by Tony Byrne. And I would watch Tony Byrne videos and Steve Finkle videos. I would read sales books. So I would say, be a sponge. Take advantage of anything free that's out there and just learn as much as you can.

Benjamin [00:32:48]:

And the next question, I I there's a chance you might kind of recover and answer that you've already given, but I'm still gonna ask it. So what advice would you have to recruiters that have been in the business for a while that are looking at growing and being more successful?

Scott Love [00:33:03]:

I would say, be honest with yourself. Be honest where those deficits really are? It might not be something you wanna admit to yourself. And when you keep track of your losses and any sort of gain, that gives you perspective on where you need to grow. That's what I'd recommend. Is be aware and be self aware.

Benjamin [00:33:26]:

Well, I in talking about tracking, here's a question for you. Like, how can you actually track your stuff?

Scott Love [00:33:31]:

How how can I or how do I do it? Yeah. How do you do it? Yeah. I think the the main sheet I use is the one I referenced earlier. And I also will set my weekly targets So I have my monthly goals, and I got my weekly targets. I call them targets because it's much more precise, and then my daily targets ends. an old school where dry erase board, it works, or yellow sticky notes, it doesn't have to be fancy. so I've got 2 more goals. I don't know if I'm gonna hit those. I I've gotta get busy today for me to hit those. So that's something I do, and I I keep track of this every week. I think about And then also Sunday night, before I go to bed, I will write down my targets for the week. It's it can't be done on Monday morning. You gotta do it Sunday night. If you do it Monday morning, it's too late. We can start on a start.

Benjamin [00:34:19]:

Has there been a book that's been had a huge impact in your career?

Scott Love [00:34:23]:

I'd say it was that one book I mentioned by Pat Pearson. Another there's 2 other books I'll mention. One of them is called Pitch Anything by Orum Claff. And he's an investment guy that's done pretty sick significant pitches for money? Oh, the audio book is really good. I started with the audio book then I read the book. And I've listened to the audio book probably twice, maybe three times. Also, and I happen to have this book on my desk, Phil Jones, exactly what to say, Phil's been on my show twice. He's out of New York. He's English, and his book is great. I read this in 2017, I think, when it came out. And it's just really good, really good suggestions. Awesome.

Benjamin [00:35:03]:

When it comes to artificial intelligence and recruiting, How do you think it's gonna impact the future of recruiting?

Scott Love [00:35:08]:

I think it will give people a lot more wisdom, and increase the odds of effective execution because they'll be able to test it with certain ideas that they have and seek advice. For example, the first thing I ever did with that was I left my voice mail script. I wrote it in chatty PT. And I got some really good ideas back from that. Anytime I have any sort of initiative, I'm gonna take that mini business plan anytime I do anything. I'm gonna do at least a one page document objective you know, swot analysis, action steps. I put it in chat GPT just to see what the answers are, and you get great ideas. Anything that is dealing with people, and I believe that technology, the goal of technology, is to increase our effectiveness in personal relationships with people, to increase the speed, to manage them via scale, and to increase our effectiveness with one on 1 because that's really where the answer is. But I think anything related to communication with other people, you can put that and chat GPT and get some suggestions up. Within our parish, I was a lay reader for the first time a few months ago, so I actually got 11 really good ideas from chat GPT about that. which meant a lot, honey. You know? And so so I think anything with communication with people, you'd be surprised. How many good ideas that chat GPT gives you? Love it. I probably access chat, like, multiple times a day. That's great. I know. I know. Can't stop now. It's out there.

Benjamin [00:36:38]:

Now when it comes to your own personal success, mhmm, is there anything that you can

Scott Love [00:36:44]:

contribute that to? I think it's just falling forward. It's being able to make decisions for me. You know, it's my faith, my family, and making good decisions. And the way I make good decisions, it's and like I said, there's a little bit of self destructiveness in all of us. and you've got to experience the emotion of disappointment. You've gotta feel it. But you wanna feel it in 3 minutes or less. Get a journal, write about that. Get it out. Have a counselor. Have a counselor if you need to. We all have issues we have to deal with everybody else be real with yourself. But I would say Fall forward. You know? That's it's gonna happen. You're gonna fail. Fall forward. There's then there's a skill.

Benjamin [00:37:29]:

Awesome. Now, Scott, if you can everything that you've learned, everything that you've experienced. If you can go back to the very beginning of your recruitment career, and sit down and talk to yourself. What advice would you give yourself?

Scott Love [00:37:42]:

It would have been find a different recruiting company to join. people, really, where people have good leadership, and there are some great firms out there. If if I would have known What I know now, it would have been moved to Dallas, Texas, and join CapeAS. That would have been the advice I would have given to myself when I started. Join a group of people that care about you that have effective protocols that aren't gonna mess around with the money. Oh, Anytime someone joins my company, I say, I'm never gonna lie to you, and I'm never gonna play with the money. If you make a placement and you leave, you're gonna get paid on it. I've got a guy that has a commission payout next week. I even texted him last week. Just FYI, it's on the calendar. Because I think at the end of the day, It's a it's a character business. And if you're gonna play with the money, if you're gonna not pay commissions to people, man, you're you're gonna fail in other areas also. So that's what I would have told myself is find a different firm that has good values and good ethics and go there and stay there. I didn't even know this was a real industry. I mean, I just didn't know. I took a I took probably a hard route by trying to figure it out on my own. instead of going to an established firm, keeping my head down, enjoying the work, and staying there for a long time, and then reaping the reward. that's that's the advice I would have given to myself. Great advice. Well, before I could let you go, Scott, is there anything else that you'd love to share with the listeners? No. I just say stay with it. And it's a great business, and it will test you. It's not for everybody. And there's nothing wrong with taking a break going and doing something else. Some people, they go in house. and then they come back to it. Other people and and there's nothing wrong with saying it's just not the right fit for me. I've got a lot of respect for people that were in it, and now they're working in house. Some of them were my clients. They're close friends. I would say it's it's it's a it's a good career that has an element of risk It has an element of gamble to it, where and the way I look at my job as a recruiter, I'm playing poker all day band. This is a game, and I've structured it. And that's the lens to which I look. That's it. I'm using game theory. How do I increase the odds? Here's an example. We've we've got because I've got a colleague that works with Michigan with me over two and a half years, we've got 8 deals at the closing of pre closing phase. It's gonna be a good year. and all those come from her. I'm able to increase the odds of getting candidate flow by having somebody whose job is to tap shoulders of people for me. I'm able to use technology so that we can scale those conversations. I'm able to and so There are key leverageable assets like I mentioned earlier. But if you use those, you'll have quantum change. just by making a few tweaks in a few key areas. I've had a lot of people help me with this. I can solve anybody's problems except for my own, Ben. I'm a mess. Right? And so that's why I have coaches. Jordan Rayboy, that's the guy that helps me keep my head squared on on straight where he can tell me Don't do that. I'm like, yeah. I shouldn't do that. So I think I think you gotta have somebody that's that you're talking to that helps you. I think that's key also. But it's such a great business. I think that people if they have the right attitude, if they do the right things, they're going to experience massive success. And that's something that I hope that they'll achieve.

Benjamin [00:40:59]:

Awesome. Well, Scott, once again, thank you for coming back on the podcast. And for listeners, if you are interested in the placement club, check out the link, There's a special link in the show notes. And, you know, I I love that you have such a passion for this industry. I love that you have such a passion for this business. This it really is a a life changing business. I mean, think about that. I was like, some people are one placement away from changing their entire lives. Absolutely right. Absolutely right. I mean, one good quarter can change your life. Significantly.

Scott Love [00:41:28]:

And, again, the question I'll leave people with is what could you do In terms of your billings, if you spent each hour of each day effectively and you knew you're not gonna burn out any relationship are gonna stay healthy. What are you really capable of doing? That's the question people need to start. And with that, Ben, thank you for having me here. It's great. I'm glad I didn't cry this time talking with you. But it's great. And and yeah. Thank you so much for that and for your friendship, and it's great to live in the same community. And Ben and I, we live in Richmond. Don't move here. Horrible. You know? Don't don't move here. We don't want it to get any more crowded. Anyways, I'm glad we can we can hang up also socially bad. Absolutely. Well, Scott, definitely thank you for coming out the podcast. And for the listeners until next time, and let's crush it together. Thanks for listening to this episode of the Elite Recruiter podcast with Benjamin Mena. If enjoyed. Hit subscribe and leave a rating.

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00:03:03 Placement club: Free community with resources, coaching, and workshops for recruiters.
00:06:27 Overcome limiting beliefs to achieve success.
00:12:59 Journey of self-destruction teaches resilience and growth.
00:17:51 Rest and resilience build strength in life.
00:21:10 Recruiting is tough, but find resilience.
00:25:24 Create valuable podcast content, build credibility, leverage resources.
00:30:40 Interviewing BD coaches led to unexpected benefits.
00:35:08 Use chat GPT for better communication ideas.
00:37:42 Find a firm with good values; stay there.
00:41:28 Maximize billings, avoid burnout. Next level potential.

1. How has working with a company that values ethics and has effective protocols impacted the speaker's success as a recruiter? 

2. What role do mentors or coaches play in helping recruiters navigate challenges and achieve their full potential? 

3. How does the speaker's belief in a spiritual walk and continuous growth mindset contribute to their success as a recruiter? 

4. What strategies does the speaker implement to increase their odds of success in recruiting, using game theory and leverageable assets? 

5. What are some examples of self-destructive behavior the speaker has experienced in their career, and how have they overcome them? 

6. How does documenting daily achievements and lessons learned contribute to the speaker's self-awareness and ability to reach their full potential? 

7. What advice does the speaker provide for individuals wanting to excel in the recruiting industry? 

8. How does the placement club and the resources it offers help recruiters overcome barriers and achieve their full potential? 

9. What similarities can be drawn between being a high-performing athlete and being successful in the recruiting field? 

10. How does building resilience and overcoming adversity contribute to a recruiter's ability to achieve their full potential?

- Importance of working with a company with good leadership and ethics:
  - Regret of not joining a different recruiting company with good leadership and ethics.
  - Emphasis on working with a group of people who care about you and have effective protocols.
  - Prioritization of honesty and integrity in their own company, ensuring proper payment to employees.

- Challenges and suitability of the recruiting industry:
  - Acknowledgment that the recruiting industry can be challenging and not suitable for everyone.
  - Use of game theory and leverageable assets to increase chances of success.
  - Importance of having coaches or mentors to navigate challenges.

- Personal journey, self-destructive behavior, and resilience:
  - Reflection on journey and self-destructive behavior while pursuing a career in the navy.
  - Importance of understanding that one can choose their response to adversity and teaching resilience techniques.
  - Belief in a spiritual walk and viewing the world as an opportunity for growth.
  - Practice of documenting daily achievements and lessons learned for self-awareness and improvement.

- Lifelong learning and continuous improvement:
  - Emphasis on being a lifelong student rather than thinking one knows it all.
  - Desire to reach full potential as a recruiter and provide overwhelming value.
  - Excitement in helping others and finding joy in the grind.

- Building credibility and leveraging resources:
  - Use of podcast, books, and relationships to build credibility with candidates and clients.
  - Advice on leveraging resources to make money multiple times from one effort.
  - Importance of disciplined work and being comfortable with discomfort.

- Scott Love's coaching and the placement club:
  - Scott Love's coaching role with the placement club.
  - Invitation to join the placement club through a special link.
  - Importance of solving problems and helping others achieve success.

- Overcoming adversity and building resilience:
  - Acknowledgment of the emotional and challenging nature of the recruiting business.
  - Importance of replenishing energy through podcasts, supportive people, and resilience.
  - Personal experience of dealing with counter offers and turning adversities into learning opportunities.
  - Need to find ways to build strength and replace depleted energy with positive elements.

- Leveraging chat GPT and technology:
  - Belief in the value of using chat GPT for wisdom and effective execution.
  - Examples of using chat GPT for seeking advice and generating good ideas.
  - Importance of using technology to enhance personal relationships and communication.

- Overcoming limiting beliefs and achieving success:
  - Holding seminars on overcoming limiting beliefs that hinder success.
  - Importance of self-esteem and one's relationship with money in achieving success.
  - Recommendation of the book "How to Overcome Self Sabotage" and its impact on success.

- Building resilience and recognizing solutions:
  - Comparison of building resilience to building muscle.
  - Need for rest, learning skills of overcoming adversity, and recognizing solutions to problems.
  - Reference to the Stockdale paradox and facing difficult situations while maintaining belief in a positive outcome.
  - Personal experiences of losing placements but quickly recovering due to overcoming adversity.