Military Recruiting is a war. It’s just a different kind of war than what you were prepared and trained to fight for. Recruiting is a war for talent.
Smart, competent, and capable people are rare and in high demand. Every organization, from commercial enterprises, healthcare, non-profit, sports, and education, to the military is in an outright battle to recruit and retain these bright and talented people.
Rather than bullets and bombs, the war for talent is won through high-impact prospecting activity, time discipline, intellectual agility, emotional intelligence, and human to human relationships. On this highly competitive, ever changing, asymmetrical battlefield, to win, you must operate at a level of excellence beyond anything asked of military recruiters before.
Yet, in this new paradigm, many recruiters are struggling, and most recruiting units are staring down the barrel at 50 percent or more of their recruiters consistently missing Mission.
It is imperative that we arm military recruiters with the skills they need to win in this challenging environment. The failure to make Mission is an existential threat to the strength and readiness of America’s fighting forces and our democracy.
Fanatical Military Recruiting begins where the Recruiting and Retention colleges of the various branches of the military leave off. It is an advanced, master’s level training resource designed specifically for the unique demands of Military Recruiting. In FMR, you’ll learn:
- The Single Most Important Discipline in Military Recruiting
- How to Get Out of a Recruiting Slump
- The 30-Day Rule and Law of Replacement
- Powerful Time and Territory Management Strategies that Put You in Control of Your Day
- The 7 Step Telephone Prospecting Framework
- The 4 Step Email and Direct Messaging Framework
- The 5 C’s of Social Recruiting
- The 7 Step Text Message Prospecting Framework
- How to Leverage a Balanced Prospecting Methodology to Keep the Funnel Full of Qualified Applicants
- Powerful Human Influence Frameworks that Reduce Resistance and Objections
- The 3 Step Prospecting Objection Turn-Around Framework
- Mission Drive and the 5 Disciplines of Ultra-High Performing Military Recruiters
In his signature right-to-the-point style that has made him the go-to trainer to a who’s who of the world’s most prestigious organizations, Jeb Blount pulls no punches. He slaps you in the face with the cold, hard truth about what’s really holding you back. Then, he pulls you in with stories, examples, and lessons that teach you exactly what you need to do right now to become an ultra-high performing recruiter.
Fanatical Military Recruiting is filled with the high-powered strategies, techniques, and tools you need to keep your funnel packed with qualified applicants. As you dive into these powerful insights, and with each new chapter, you’ll gain greater and greater confidence. And, with this new-found confidence, your performance as a military recruiter will soar and you will Make Mission, Fast.Table of Contents
I Go to Basic xv
A Conundrum xv
Learning the Language xvii
Military Recruiting versus Civilian Sales xviii
Part I: Mission Critical 1
Chapter 1 Military Recruiting Is Facing a Perfect Storm 3
Qualification Standards Continue to Tighten 5
Chapter 2 Nothing Prepared You for This War 7
On Most Days, Recruiting Doesn’t Feel Much Like Winning 8
Asymmetric Battlefield 9
Civilians 9
Rejection 9
FMR versus What You Learned at the Schoolhouse 11
Chapter 3 Fanatical Prospecting 13
Chapter 4 Stop Wishing Things Were Easier 16
There Is No Easy Button in Military Recruiting 17
Get Better 19
Part II: The Ask 21
Chapter 5 Effective Recruiting Begins with the Discipline to Ask 23
Conjuring the Deepest, Darkest Human Fear 24
Chapter 6 How to Ask 26
Emotional Contagion: People Respond in Kind 27
The Assumptive Ask 28
Shut Up 33
Be Prepared for Objections 34
Part III: On The Move 35
Chapter 7 The More You Prospect, the Luckier You Get 37
The Universal Law of Need 38
The 30-Day Rule 40
The Law of Replacement 42
The Anatomy of a Recruiting Slump 43
Oscar Mike: The First Rule of Recruiting Slumps 45
Make Your Own Luck 45
Chapter 8 The Three Ps That Are Holding You Back 47
Procrastination 48
Perfectionism 50
Paralysis from Analysis 52
Disrupting the Three Ps 52
Part IV: Battle Rhythm 55
Chapter 9 Time Discipline 57
Twenty-Four 58
Leveraging Horstman’s Corollary 60
Time Blocking 63
Stick to Your Guns and Avoid Distractions 65
Concentrate Your Focus 66
Beware of the Ding 68
What Lurks in Your In-box Can and Will Derail Your Recruiting Day 70
Driving Is Not an Accomplishment 71
Protect the Golden Hours 72
Leverage the Platinum Hours 75
Adopt a Command Mind-Set 76
Part V: Targeting 79
Chapter 10 Targeting - Leveraging the Prospecting Pyramid 81
Walk Like an Egyptian: Managing the Prospecting Pyramid 83
Powerful Lists Get Powerful Results 85
The Recruiting Information Support System Is Your Most Valuable Recruiting Tool 87
A Trash Can or a Gold Mine 89
Own It! 90
Chapter 11 Yes Has a Number 91
Recruiting Is Governed by Numbers 93
It’s All About the Ratios 94
Changing Your Yes Number 96
Chapter 12 Qualifying: Talking to the Right People 98
Don’t Swing at Nothing Ugly 99
Moneyball 100
The Balance and Nuance of Qualifying 102
Chapter 13 Prospecting Balance and Objectives 105
Set an Appointment 106
Gather Information and Qualify 107
Build Familiarity 107
Prospecting Is Not Pitching 108
Adopt a Balanced Prospecting Methodology 108
The Fallacy of Putting All Your Eggs in One Basket 109
Avoid the Lunacy of One Size Fits All 110
Part VI: Pick Up the Phone! 113
Chapter 14 Telephone Prospecting Excellence 115
Nobody Answers a Phone That Doesn’t Ring 117
The Telephone Is, Has Always Been, and Will Continue to Be Your Most Powerful Recruiting Tool 118
Nobody Likes It; Get Over It 120
The Ultimate Key to Success Is the Scheduled Phone Block 123
Chapter 15 The Seven-Step Telephone Prospecting Framework 125
Seven-Step Telephone Prospecting Framework 129
Practice the Framework 139
Chapter 16 Just Eat the Frog 140
Chapter 17 Leaving Effective Voice Mail Messages That Get Returned 144
Five-Step Voice Mail Framework to Double Callbacks 145
Develop Compelling Voice Mail Messages 147
Part VII: Objections 149
Chapter 18 Objections Are Not Rejection, but They Feel That Way 151
Not the Same 153
But It Feels the Same 155
Chapter 19 The Science Behind the Hurt 157
A Biological Response 158
The Most Insatiable Human Need 159
Chapter 20 Rejection Proof 161
The Seven Disruptive Emotions 162
Develop Self-Awareness 165
Positive Visualization 166
Manage Self-Talk 167
Change Your Physiology 169
Stay Fit 170
Obstacle Immunity 171
Adversity Is Your Most Powerful Teacher 175
Leveraging Adversity 176
Chapter 21 Prospecting Objections 178
We Feel, Then We Think 180
The Rule of Thirds 183
Prospecting RBOs 184
Prospecting RBOs Can Be Anticipated in Advance 187
Planning for Prospecting RBOs 190
The Three-Step Prospecting Objection Turnaround Framework 192
The Ledge 192
Disrupt 194
Ask 199
Putting It All Together 199
Part VIII: Face-To-Face and Digital Prospecting 201
Chapter 22 Face-to-Face Prospecting 203
The Four-Step Face-to-Face Prospecting Framework 204
First Impressions: Making an Emotional Connection 206
Triggering the Negativity and Safety Biases 207
The Five Questions That Matter Most in Recruiting 210
Likability: The Gateway to Emotional Connections 212
Pitch Slapping 213
Keys to Being More Likable 215
Put Your Recruiting Goggles On 216
Chapter 23 Text Messaging 218
Familiarity Is Everything with Text 219
Use Text to Anchor Face-to-Face Conversations 220
Use Text to Nurture Prospects 221
Use Text to Create Opportunities for Engagement 222
Seven Rules for Structuring Effective Text Prospecting Messages 223
Chapter 24 E-Mail and Direct Messaging 225
The Four Cardinal Rules of E-Mail and Direct Message Prospecting 226
Effective Prospecting E-Mail and Direct Messages Begins with a Plan 233
The Four-Step E-Mail Prospecting Framework 236
Practice, Practice, Practice 242
Pause Before You Press “Send” 242
Chapter 25 Social Recruiting 244
Social Recruiting Is Not a Panacea 245
The Social Recruiting Challenge 245
Social Recruiting Is About Nuance 246
Choosing the Right Social Channels 247
Five Objectives of Social Recruiting 248
The Five Cs of Social Recruiting 256
Social Recruiting + Outbound Prospecting = A Powerful Combination 260
Creating Obligation and Leveraging the Law of Reciprocity with Social Media 262
Chapter 26 The Law of Familiarity 265
Familiarity Reduces Friction and Resistance 266
Five Levers of Familiarity 267
Part IX: Charlie Mike 273
Chapter 27 Mission Drive 275
The Four Pillars of Mission Drive 276
Embrace the Suck - You Have to Grind to Shine 281
The Enduring Mantra of Ultra-High-Performing Recruiters 283
The Mantra of Fanatical Military Recruiting 285
Charlie Mike 286
Notes 289
About the Author 295
Acknowledgments 297
Index 299
