In the first of a new series of podcasts, George Simmonds talks to Jordan Kennerley about his favourite TV shows, where he likes to go on holiday, and what he likes to do at the weekend.

CLUE: Drinking is involved

An overview of GDPR for SSG Clients by We Are SSG

These are the four emotions of business ownership.

Awareness, realisation, fear and action and the emotional steps you will find yourself navigating through on your way to becoming the owner of a successful company.

As ever, more at wearessg.com

Bullish, brave & brainy. Risky, resilient & resourceful. Passionate, patient & proactive. Focussed, fulfilled & fixated. Clear traits of all successful Entrepreneurs – yes?

Surely, you need all 12 characteristics to really “make it” as an Entrepreneur in today’s market?

Look - while you might not see all these traits within yourself right now; let’s explore 5 signs that you are no doubt, an Entrepreneur in the making…

1) Can they do the job amazingly effectively?

Will you know the answer to this question from their CV? No. Will you know the answer to this question from a telephone interview? No. Will you know the answer to this question after the first/second/third time of meeting them? Yep! Do they have the right skill set, the right balance of experience & enthusiasm, the right “feel” to them?

2) Can they do the job amazingly effectively long-term?

Now this is a slightly different question. Everyone, during the interview process, can be excited, enthusiastic & upbeat about the new opportunity because it’s new! It’s fresh, it’s a new challenge & everyone loves variety in one form or another & this is just that. The real question is; do you believe this individual can continually perform at the level you rightfully demand of them, long-term?

3) Who are they?

I know that sounds slightly odd but, in order to be able to answer the two questions above, you really need to know WHO it is you are interviewing. What are their goals, their ambitions, their objectives in life, not just this role? & are those ambitions in alignment with the role you are looking to bring them on to do?

Having understood that – do they “feel” right? Are they the right team fit? It’s funny, when you’re a Recruitment Business Owner & you’re looking to make hires within your agency; it turns out to be one of the biggest challenges of being an Entrepreneur. The reason for that is that your business truly becomes an extension of yourself, & therefore hiring becomes far more about the person than their credentials on a CV.

So, who are they? What drives them? Why is this role important to them? Are they looking for career progression within an organisation, contribution outside of just recruitment, personal growth through the company? What is it for them?

Time and effort – there’s no getting around it, effective social media usage does take time, and consistency is key. There’s nothing worse than a Twitter feed with three tweets from 2012. Or a LinkedIn profile with an out-of-date current job. Investing the time and effort into developing and implementing a social media strategy, creating content, posting regularly, commenting and engaging with your network and so on can pay dividends, but only if you’re sure it will give you a return on investment and if you are able to prioritise doing this (for the long term).

Difficult to measure return on investment – firstly, because your investment is likely time, rather than any financial investment, which many of us find hard to quantify or put a value on. And secondly, because the results are not immediate or easy to measure. For example, with job boards, it’s easy to see how many placements you have made from each and therefore a return on investment. With social media, much harder to calculate.

Not everyone uses social media – if your target market is aged 25 – 35 and interested in Candy Crush Saga, then you can be fairly sure they hang out on Facebook. But what if you’re targeting a group that simply don’t use social media platforms? The key here is to research your ideal audience, find out where they are and then go there! If it isn’t social media, then it should move down your priority list.

It steals time – we’ve all been there…merrily watching videos of dancing cats and liking our friends' insightful comments when, bam, three hours have passed. Social media has a way of sapping your time, especially for those prone to procrastination or lured by click bait titles. I’m not saying that’s a reason not to use it at all, but it is a reason to use it wisely and monitor carefully.

5 Ways to Win Valuable Clients

Expert recruiters will know how essential it is to sell yourself effectively in interviews so here are some tips you can apply to your business pitches to win and develop valuable client relationships.

1. Ensure you do your research and know as much as you can about their business. Before you even think about dialling their number, find out who their key competitors are, recent industry updates, in-vogue trends and the latest movers & shakers. To get a grasp of the company culture, visit their social media channels and read their blogs to attempt to get an inside feel for who they are (or who they are looking to portray themselves!). You could also read their LinkedIn profiles; not just the individual client you’re pitching but other key decision makers as there may be some further common ground.

2. If it’s a first call you’re making, try not to be too bullish. You will achieve a lot more out of the relationship longer term if you approach them at a more moderate pace, developing the relationship through sharing their blogs for example and subtly making yourself known. This may all seem like a great deal of work, perhaps even laborious - however good clients are extremely valuable, both to your company and your professional career.

3. No B.S. New clients need to learn to trust you. Quickly. So, when pitching, it’s important to be authentic, natural, credible and confident. You’re the expert so be concise and clear on how your recruitment service can deliver the best candidates. Use examples of your past successes if relevant to their sector.

4. Mirror the client. For example, some client’s preferred method of communication may be over email rather than on the phone. Some may be easier to get hold of before 8am or after 5pm. Others may be informal and relaxed about the whole process. Whatever their ‘style’, take note and use it to your advantage and heed it well so they don’t feel uncomfortable when you reach out to them.

5. Keep them updated all the time. There is nothing worse than a recruiter taking a job requisition to then leave the client in the cold wondering what progress is being made and furthermore for them to be doing the chasing! Take control of the process and set the client’s expectations on what will happen with regular reports on what you are doing for them to justify your fees. As the relationship develops, don’t be afraid to approach ‘non-work’ related subjects. Good bonding creates loyalty between the recruiter and the client.

Brand awareness – when you start your recruitment business, it’s likely that you will need to work hard and leverage personal connections to get your brand and name ‘out there’. And social media could be one of the places to do this.

Engage with your audience – where better to start engaging with your audience and demonstrating that you are an expert in field, than social media. Of course, you don’t want to become a keyboard warrior (personal interaction is just as important) but integrating the use of social media platforms into your recruitment and marketing strategy as an additional layer is sure to reap rewards.

It’s expected – not always the best reason to do something, I acknowledge. But, in today’s technology driven age, having a presence either online or on social media is expected by most – in fact, just yesterday I received a call from a candidate who couldn’t believe one of the businesses they wanted to contact didn’t have a website or Facebook page – they even asked me if the business actually existed!

Show your personality – social media platforms give your network an opportunity to glimpse into your world and your business, showing your personality and culture. Just be sure not to share too much ‘personality’ – remember to strike a balance between personality and professionalism. Not only might you attract customers, you may also attract new members to your team, enabling your business to grow.

Passive candidates – yes, you will increase your reach by posting adverts on job boards but only if job seekers are viewing your adverts. Which means they need to be looking on the job boards in the first place. Social media platforms give you a way in which to build your brand with passive candidates (i.e. those that aren’t actively seeking a new position).

Apparently, every business owner ought to be able to present a great elevator pitch – 90 seconds or so which explains exactly what the business has to offer. So, here goes – why not time me?

‘’SSG provides a free business launch to motivated Recruiters who would like to run their own recruitment business. This business launch is our investment into you & your new business and will cover everything which any recruitment venture requires to get ready to trade properly – from taking care of the legal & compliance issues to the creative & branding process, the allocation of tools & facilities and the definition of the accounting templates, which allow SSG to then run & support the back office for your new business & for you as an individual. We call this our Stage 1 provision.

Once your new venture is up & running, SSG provides a comprehensive trio of on-going support services in exchange for a Service Charge, which is a descending percentage of the billing so the new business.

Our on-going support covers all aspects of recruitment, which for many people can simply mean the allocation of job boards, recruitment software, help with PSL, client disputes & so on whilst for others it might mean looking at ways to hire Recruiters, take on an office and grow the venture. We also cover all of the back office from invoicing to credit control to the dreaded tax work! Finally, we hope to use all of our experience to help you to run the business itself & this is where we hope to provide practical and helpful mentoring services. This is our Stage 2 provision.

We work against a brief contract called a Working Agreement and hope to make our money from the Service Charges of course. There are no fixed costs, no investment requirement from the Recruiter and no need for any additional Company supports. We have launched over 200 business since 2003 and still look after well in excess of 100 of those businesses.’’

Find out more at wearessg.com

1. No short-term win, but a long-term triumph

As cliché as it sounds - building a personal brand is not something that just happens overnight. & yet there is this perception that when it comes to your personal brand, it’s like a light-switch. Something that can be turned on & off with supposed ease. & I know you know, but that’s just not the case.

Just like going to the gym once, doesn’t make you look like Arnold Sswntaneer or eating one BigMac from MacDonald’s doesn’t make you rival Augustus Gloop for size, one tweet or LinkedIn post won’t make you the next Greg Savage. Aren’t you glad you clicked on this upbeat blog today?

In order to build an effective social brand, you need to understand that it takes persistence, patience & a ferocious nature. You know the old adage? Repetition is the mother of skill. Well, this is no more applicable than when we think about building our own personal brands.

2. Content is king!

In keeping with our gym analogy; there are only so many press-ups you can do before they become redundant & your body gets so used to your 10 sets of 10 reps, that’s it knows exactly how to deal with the demands you are asking of it & you become a stagnant couch potato once again. Trust me, I know (unfortunately!).

And it’s the same when it comes to building a brand. If you have the privilege of creating a following on social media but you don’t differentiate your content, then they’ll get bored & they’ll get bored very very quickly. Us recruiters are a fickle bunch I know, so if the content you are producing isn’t constantly offering new & improved insights into areas of recruitment, industry & wider society, then you aren’t any different than the next keyboard blogger with 500+ connections.

3. Know your target audience

One of the most important aspects of understanding the logistics behind building your personal brand is who to market that brand to. You need to know your objective before you create an action plan to get there.

Let’s take me, for example. My goal is to find experienced recruiters who want to start their own businesses & therefore, as obvious as it sounds, all my content should be nurtured around that end objective. If I were to produce a blog on LinkedIn about the nuances of the new BMW M4, I would be wasting my time because my target audience don’t care. It’s not going to give them any real value in getting to where they want to be, nor is it going to give me any value.

Without understanding who you’re trying to talk to through mapping out the prospects, understanding your industry & appreciating what your audience responds to – then you’re going to be as effective as Raheem Sterling is at Manchester City.

4. Invest in value

One of the best pieces of advice I have ever got was from a well-known philanthropist in the US, who said that those who truly succeed in business are those who understand that you simply need to add more value than anyone else in your chosen field. I know it sounds simplistic, but it’s true.

In order to effectively build a personal brand, you need to understand that if you can add real value to your audience, value that precedes anyone else in that space, then you’ll get the traction you need to take your “one man band” on Deansgate, onwards & upwards.

I think to make a transition from “what can I get from this” to “what can I give” is important, understanding that the more “real” you are, the more relationships you will build. & when I say “real” I don’t mean being rude or abrupt, but being “you” (but if your nature is to be rude & abrupt, then feel free to run with that & see how you get on!...).