Startup recruiting: How to hire A Players with the power of the follow up

In this episode of The Startup Sales Podcast, Steli discusses his journey hiring Phil Freo and Nick Persicoby following up and following through. He was rejected over and over again, but very determined to pursue these two candidates. They eventually joined Steli and have become very instrumental players that have and continue to contribute to the growth and success of Close.io. Tune in to find out why it’s important to follow up and follow through UNTIL you have those stand out candidates become part of your team.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

●00:04 – Today’s episode is about the power of the follow up to hire the unrecruitable

●00:24 – Steli’s formula for hiring people

●01:55 –͞If you don’t want to work for somebody for a decade, don’t work with him for a day͟

●02:55 – Transformational people can make all the difference

●03:20 – Keep following up and investing in the relationship with a 10 year plan in mind

●04:09 – When you meet someone who is truly amazing, keep investing in the relationship and checking in!

○04:15 – Keep sending emails and updates

○04:18 – Take an interest in their growth and career

○04:22 – Find ways to be useful to them

○04:26 – Collaborate on projects together, etc

●05:17 – First example: Steli shares the story of how he hired Phil Freo for Close.io

○05:19 – Phil is Head of Engineering and Product at Close.io and Close.io would not exist, today, without him

○05:59 – Phil was first a friend or social acquaintance

○06:27 – He was the head of engineering in an educational start-up

○06:40 – Steli expressed to Phil that he was impressed with him and wanted to work with him in the future; he made his intentions clear

○08:02 – Steli and Phil eventually worked together on a startup

○08:30 – Anthony and Steli’s first office was in Phil’s living room

○08:44 – He was the advisor and supporter, but still occupied with another startupproject

○09:14 – Steli pulled out all the stops to pursue Phil to come on board with their startup

○09:56 – Phil couldn’t leave the other company and join Steli because of his commitment to his other project

●10:23 – Typically when you get rejected from someone who is fantastic, and ͞breaks your heart͟, you don’t want to see them again

●11:03 –Another reaction is to retreat and cut ties

●11:30 – Steli was upset and did give Phil a hard time jokingly

●11:59 – Instead of getting angry, Steli was more committed to hiring Phil

●12:25 – As Steli was succeeding in their startup and proving themselves as a company, Phil’s situation at his other job was changing

●12:48 – Phil started flirting with the idea of coming back to Steli

●13:10 – Phil finally decided to join the company

●13:47 – Phil was instrumental in launching Close.io

●14:43 – Steli shares how a former hire, Nick Persico, left and came back

○15:25 – Nick was doing so well, he was offered an excellent job with one of Steli’s clients

○15:48 – We did everything we could think of to keep him, but we couldn’t keep him

○16:03 – It hurt, but as he left, we decided to be a resource to him and help him succeed

○16:25 – He became a big advocate and champion for our company

○16:36 – We maintained the relationship and he always knew we wanted him back ○16:44 – He became so successful, that he even started his own company

○18:31 – When Nick’s startup did not work out, he came back to work with Steli

○19:01 –He’s been with the team for a few weeks, but he’s already making a transformational change

○19:19 It doesn’t matter that it took 3 years to bring him back

●19:26 – When you find amazing people, you follow up and follow through FOREVER, until you work with them

●19:49 –͞The best companies in the world...they all have transformational hires͟ that will change the course of your company’s journey, success, and value

●20:23 – Steli wants to hear your feedback, questions, and your stories regarding your follow up experience

●20:36 – Subscribe to our Close.io Blog!

●20:23 – End of today’s episode!