Bradley Austen

Why is CRM often the last thing brands fix, and the first thing that makes them money? 🤔 Brands obsess over new customer acquisition - paid ads, influencers, flashy site launches. Meanwhile, CRM sits in the backlog. But in practice, CRM often gives the best returns. Take Harrods as an example: 💎 2.5 million registered loyalty members. 💎 Top 0.1% of customers generate ~20% of total sales. 💎 85% of spend comes through their “Rewards” programme. 💎 Loyalty programme members spend ~6% more than non-members. Fixing CRM isn’t sexy - It’s often complex. But when done properly (single view of the customer, meaningful loyalty tiers, personalised experiences), it becomes your first lever to unlock real revenue and stability. Is your CRM still on your to-fix list? Definitely worth getting ahead of your competitors! #CRM #Retention #Loyalty

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Recruiters, don’t be blasé about your billings & commission structure when you are interviewing for a Recruitment position. When you’re interviewing with an agency, your numbers matter. So if you don't know them before you meet an Agency or speak to someone like me: find out. Or if you are a temp recruiter that isn't measured on revenue, it could be number of hours billed per week or day, or temps out. But know them. Be armed with that information. Because it helps you. It also helps you build your desk. We know you aren't billing/placing what you were 18 months ago. If you share your billings and are able to explain your commission structure and how much you have earned in comms, (or not earned) every Leader and Manager in the room will do the maths. Because we work it out backwards, starting with the comms you have earned. If you've earned a certain amount of commission, and your structure pays, for example 30% monthly and your salary is $80k, we can work out what you've billed. If the figures don’t add up, it’s obvious and it damages your credibility and honesty. Instead, approach it like this: Be transparent. The market has shifted. No one expects you to be billing what you were two years ago. Owning that reality shows maturity. Know your structure. Understand your commission scheme and be ready to explain how your earnings were calculated. Highlight your value. If your numbers dipped, explain what you did to adapt whether that’s client development, smarter sourcing, or candidate care. Agencies don’t want a fairy tale version of your billings. They want an honest recruiter who understands their desk and can talk about performance with confidence. 🥰 check out my list of recruitment jobs here. https://lnkd.in/gyyscyX

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5 ways to ditch your best recruiter 🫡 Thinking of pushing out your top biller? Here’s a handy guide ⬇️⬇️   🫵 Micromanage them to death Hover over every call, second-guess their judgment, re-write emails, and remind them how you did it back in the good old days. Works like a charm.   🎯 Set KPIs for KPI’s sake Who cares if they’re bringing in the most revenue? Make sure they still make 50 calls a day!   🔨 Give them broken tools Outdated CRM? No access to LinkedIn? No automation? Perfect   🙅 Offer zero support Want a healthy pipeline? Don’t bother with marketing. No client intros. No admin. Let them juggle everything   👊 Create constant turf wars Pit them against others in the team, create an environment where your recruiters won’t share candidates/clients/info – nothing like a bit of healthy competition Are you a manager reading this and feeling personally attacked? I’m sorry to say you may be creating a toxic environment 😭 Are you a recruiter reading this thinking, is this post about me? Message me ASAP 🥲 Recruiters don’t leave recruitment They leave environments that make it impossible to succeed #recruitment #agencylife #recruitertips #rec2rec #recruters  

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"Elite Recruiters build resilience to their pipeline". Marcus Lynch is our latest guest on The Special Source. An infectious personality with the credibility to back it up. This is a MUST watch....... From punching out 500 cold BD calls a week in London to a successful exit of the business he co-founded Marcus has seen it all. A million dollar biller himself, Marcus gives us actionable insights as to what elite recruiters do to get to the top of their game. ➡️ Never fear the No ➡️ How top billers play the odds to win again and again ➡️ Being "In the contest" to build your network ➡️ Importance of managing your time as a 360 and tips on how to do it Oh....and he does it all with a nice shiner. You'll have to watch/listen to hear about that though! 👁️ Be sure to also check out his latest venture Zinger

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Recruitment is a contact sport. 🏉 The more people you engage with, the more opportunities you create. High activity = results Quantity leads to momentum — and momentum uncovers quality. Quantity x Quality = Real, consistent success. Every top-performing recruiter started off by covering lots of ground. They weren’t just making calls — they were: - Learning their market - Fine-tuning their approach - Sharpening their instincts - Mastering their craft Reps build confidence. Confidence builds performance. And performance builds a career. 🔨

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Hiring Managers - The strongest candidates aren't applying to job adverts! Some of the best placements I have made have been from me reaching out to a candidate that was never looking for a new role, but was attracted to a new opportunity that would enhance their career. These are the same candidates who have strong tenure throughout their CV and don't hop from one company to the next. So how do you access the passive talent pool of candidates that aren't scrolling through job boards and thriving in their current positions? Partnering with a Recruitment Consultant who specialises in your industry is key. We know where these candidates are, what motivates them, and how to position your opportunity in a way that resonates. It’s not about filtering through thousands of applications to just "fill" a vacancy, it's about connecting with the right talent that will elevate your team and business. #Recruitment #PassiveTalent #HiringStrategy #SalesAndMarketing #TalentAcquisition #CareerGrowth #Consulting

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Something's shifting in recruitment, and I'm curious if others are seeing it too. A few agency owners I've been speaking with are moving away from traditional placement fees and testing something different. Tom in Manchester mentioned he just closed an annual contract worth £84K - not for placements, but for managing a client's entire hiring infrastructure using AI tools. Jessica in Austin shared similar results with tech companies there. The pattern seems to be: - Companies want predictable hiring pipelines, not individual placements - They're willing to pay monthly retainers for automated systems - Internal hiring teams cost more than outsourced AI infrastructure What's interesting is these aren't just agency owners. Remote recruiters and internal hiring managers are testing this approach too. They're all spotting the same trend. Instead of competing on placement fees, they're positioning themselves as hiring technology partners. The monthly retainer model ($5K-$8K) seems to work because: - Clients get dedicated attention vs. competing for agency time - Still cheaper than hiring full-time internal recruiters - The agency's AI tools enhance the embedded recruiter's productivity I'm seeing this across different markets - UK, US, parts of Europe. Tuesday I'm hosting a session to explore this trend deeper. Looking at the tech stack behind it, the positioning strategies, and hearing from a few agencies making this transition. Not claiming it's the only way forward, but the data is interesting enough to dig into. Anyone else noticing this shift? Would be curious to hear your thoughts. Comment below if you're seeing similar patterns in your market. Session details: Tuesday 16th September, 3pm UK / 10am EST / 4pm CET "The AI Retainer Revolution" - 100 spots available #RecruitmentTrends #AIRecruitment #AgencyEvolution

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Here’s my best bits of advice for anyone who's tasked with BD in recruitment...... 👉 Start with a targeted list. There is no point prospecting to the wrong people. 👉 Timing is everything! A prospect said no a month ago? Guess what things change. And so may their needs. 👉 Engage with people not the business. 👉 Get interested in the individual and who they are. This will pay off in spades.   👉 Recapping a conversation or prev interaction on your next interaction will pave the way for a more meaningful conversation. We all inherently want to feel heard & understood. This builds trust.   👉 Pick up the phone. It is your friend. It can be daunting when you’ve not done it in a while. 👉 Inmails, emails, drip campaigns are not as effective as one one-on-one interaction  There is no shortcut. 👉 Activity targets are a must. You need to map this out and hold yourself accountable to the activity. Good, planned, intelligent activity will ALWAYS lead you to the results. Sales is actually quite simple. Find the right people through good research = Be curious about them and their challenges = Have a 7 point touch point plan (and no, drip campaigns don’t count) = chip away with varied touchpoints where you are getting to know an individual over time! Hope that helps anyone who's currently feeling it with BD! It can be overwhelming if done sporadically and without a plan. Hume Scope - Developing Exceptional Recruiters #recruitmenttips #recruitmenttraining #recruitmentconsultant

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Mid Year Market Temperature Check 💡 🎤 The current feeling from candidates is definitely one of frustration, over the last 12-18 months in the UK we have seen vacancy's decrease, unemployment increase and businesses under tremendous cost pressures when it comes to hiring. We have seen more restructures, redundancies and offshoring than there is building and hiring, pair that with more days back in the office being mandated, less people are moving roles and those vacancies that are available are extremely competitive to difficult to land the offer. Within Internal Audit, Risk & Controls specifically, Assurance professionals are working on the new Failure to Prevent Fraud legislation, Corporate Governance changes, the IIA Standards as well as their day job (!!) so people are feeling stretched and stressed but without the option to increase the team / use more co-source due to budget constraints only adding to this feeling of frustration. My advice to those candidates that have been in the market for a while, or new to the market is to 'try' to remain positive. The market is definitely tougher for candidates at the moment but this H1 at Michael Page, we have placed a record number of candidates into positions showing people are still getting the jobs they want! I would recommend partnering with an agency you trust, take on their feedback and allow us to manage your searches. We can help give you up to date market intel, CV advice and most importantly help to bypass the '300' direct applicants you're all seeing on the job profiles. Unfortunately for some, this is a market where you might have to sacrifice on your expected salary, job title and days in the office so also be aware of this. As we enter August (a typically very slow month due to annual leave and people enjoying the summer) try to remain positive, sharpen that CV and reach out to a specialist agency as it is our job to navigate this every day. There are unfortunately some that act unprofessionally often promising they're working on roles they haven't been briefed on but trust your gut and act with caution. Darragh O'Donnell Michael Page

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