Richard Milligan

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Richard Milligan Recruiting Strategy Consultant. Author. Speaker. Podcast Host. Bookrichardnow.com

25/04/2025

Having more resources than your competitors is a significant advantage, and your vision should clearly communicate this to potential recruits. To effectively showcase this, there's a practical exercise I recommend for leaders.

Here's the approach:
• Going Beyond the Company Offer: Consider all the elements of your employment agreement, including compensation and any special conditions. But don't stop there.
• Documenting Your Leadership Value: Create an additional document that highlights the unique value you bring as a leader. This could include the way you support and coach your team, your approach to one-on-one meetings, accountability practices, assistance in growing their business, and involvement in real estate presentations.

This is about recognizing and articulating the full spectrum of what you offer:
• Highlight Your Unique Offerings: Detail the special aspects of your business development strategy and any unique products or services you focus on.
• Creating a Value Stack: Compile these elements into a "value stack" – a comprehensive list of all the benefits and resources you offer, which might not be available at other companies.

By doing this, you make it clear to potential recruits that joining your team means gaining access to a wealth of resources and support that they might not find elsewhere. It's about showing them the tangible and intangible benefits of being part of your organization, going beyond just the basic terms of employment to the broader support and growth opportunities you provide. This strategy can make a compelling case for why your leadership and company stand out in the market.

24/04/2025

Recruiting isn't about closing fast.

It's about staying close.

But here's the challenge:
How do you follow up long-term without annoying the candidate?
How do you stay on their radar… without feeling like a telemarketer?

You ask for permission, and you earn the right to stay in the conversation.

Here's a simple 3-part framework I teach leaders to use:

1. Acknowledge the timing
"I totally get that now may not be the right time to make a move."

When you acknowledge their current reality, you build trust.

2. Ask for alignment
"Would it be okay if I stayed in touch over the next few months, just to keep the conversation open?"

This shifts follow-up from "nagging" to agreed-upon access.

3. Set the tone for future value
"I'll make sure anything I send your way is relevant to where you're headed, not just where you are today."

Now you're not a recruiter.

You're a future-focused partner.

Bonus tip: Keep it human and low-pressure.

Text updates.

Quick voice notes.

A win your team just had.

A leadership thought that made you think of them.

The goal isn't to sell.

It's to stay worth replying to.

Because the best candidates aren't always ready on the first call.

But they do remember who stayed connected the right way.

Play the long game, with permission, not persistence.

24/04/2025

Attracting the right people to your team isn't just about what you offer; it's about who you are.

Your vision and core values aren't just fancy words; they're the magnets that draw people towards you.

When you know what you stand for and share it, you become a leader people want to follow.

Define and clarify your vision and core values.

Share your beliefs and attract those who align with them.

Find your "why" and let it guide you in pursuing and engaging others.

Becoming an attractive leader means going beyond the basics.

It's about digging deep to understand what drives you and how that aligns with the people you want to bring on board.

When you lead with your vision, values, and why, you're not just filling positions; you're building a community.

Remember, people are drawn to leaders, not just roles or companies.

Make your leadership the reason they come and the reason they stay.

Pursue clarity in your purpose, and let your authentic self be the guide that brings the right people to your team.

A difficult season is to move towards this mindset of I've got to get lean and mean. In order to move through this, and ...
22/04/2025

A difficult season is to move towards this mindset of I've got to get lean and mean. In order to move through this, and so in order to do that, I have to say "no" to almost everything.

18/04/2025

Creating a memorable first impression in recruiting hinges on presenting a compelling vision. Here's how to make it count:

1. Vision as First Impression: Ensure your company's vision is the first thing a recruit learns about.
2. Make Your Vision Memorable: A strong vision makes you unforgettable.
3. Show Commitment and Knowledge: Demonstrate a deep understanding of the recruit's market.
4. Use Data to Impress: Share unique, insightful data about the market to show thorough research and commitment.
5. Communicate Non-Optionality: Convey that what you're doing in the market is essential and strategic.

By focusing on a clear, data-driven vision of your market, you not only impress recruits but also establish your commitment and deep understanding of their environment. This approach positions you as a leader who's not just interested in recruiting talent but genuinely invested in their market and success.

17/04/2025

So many people treat recruiting as a negotiation. "I'm trying to win and get you to do things my way." That's inherently confrontational, and that's not at all the situation we want to create. Instead, how can you be on the same side of the table? Find a way where you can both work towards the same goal.

15/04/2025

The best way to attract great talent is to provide better leadership than what they currently have.

14/04/2025

When we talk about our plans, the words we choose can make a big difference. They can show how serious and confident we are. Let's think about two ways of saying something:
• Strong and Confident: Saying "We're coming to town" sounds sure and strong. It shows you mean business and you're ready to make things happen.
• Less Confident: On the other hand, saying something like "We sure would like to find someone pretty in your market to hang our banner" sounds less sure. It's like you're just hoping for things to work out, not like you're sure they will.

The way we talk about our plans can really change how people see us. If we use words that sound strong and sure, people will think we have a lot of power and know what we're doing. It's more convincing. But if we use words that sound like we're just hoping for the best, it doesn't sound as strong. We want to show people that we're not just trying, but that we're doing and we're sure about our success.

11/04/2025

Here's what's important in today's recruiting landscape:
- Recruiting has Evolved: A clear example is a recent conversation with a veteran who hired over 700 loan officers and is now struggling to recruit.
- Strategic Approach is Key: The current market demands a more strategic approach to recruiting.
- Vision as a Core Element: Vision, defined as "the seed of desire," plays a pivotal role in effective recruiting.

The recruiting world has undeniably changed. To be successful, we must adapt our strategies. Part of this strategic shift involves understanding and utilizing the power of vision. My experience with an impulsive buy on Instagram – an igloo ice chest that doubles as an air conditioner – illustrates how presenting a vision can create instant desire. In recruiting, we must convince top talents that "more is available" with us.

Finally, structure in our approach is crucial. The way we frame our conversations and the sequence in which we present our points have a significant impact. A well-structured approach leads to success. It's about adapting to the evolving dynamics of recruiting and ensuring our strategies are aligned with the current market needs.

As a recruiting leader, you have to be aware of what language you're using.Now I know that sounds like your Mom saying "...
10/04/2025

As a recruiting leader, you have to be aware of what language you're using.

Now I know that sounds like your Mom saying "watch your language", but I find that most recruiting leaders use very tentative language when they're sending videos, when they're typing messages, a lot of times even over the phone, and they do it because they're very, very relational.

They would say "I hope you can make time to meet up with me". That's tentative, right? One of the things I found is that he, or she who is most confident is most right. Or let me give you another framework. Certainty breeds influence. You want to have influence the recruit? Use strong language. "I believe" is strong language. I believe if you met with me on Friday I can bring you a lot of value, and help you grow your business. That is a certain language. It's a confident language.

Change your language and you'll change your results.

09/04/2025

Your reputation is your brand. Leaders must consider their personal brand. If you recruit, you must understand this. Your leadership brand matters! If you are leading with company brand and believing this matters most understand, you will lose the game of recruiting.

There will be another Attractive Leader in your market who gets the importance of this. Here are a few principles to activate around:

1) Be clear on whom you were created to be over what the world wants you to be. Be you! That is uncopyable and uncopyable is precisely what you want to be. Different is better than better!

2) Give value with no strings attached. Activate the Surrogate Leadership Principle. This states that where leadership is lacking, and you bring value, people will move towards you.

3) Integrity is everything! If you get "over your skies" it's okay to say I messed up! If this is you, then do everything in your power to correct this. Don't avoid conflict! Leader up and deal with it head-on!

How are you building your leadership brand? I would love to hear your thoughts!

"Reputation doesn't grow linearly; it grows exponentially." - Rory Vaden

08/04/2025

When teams share values they become interdependent.

This means that they look to the team for a handful of things:

1) Coaching
2) Inspiration
3) Accountability

Interdependence is always the sign of a heathy team as this creates identity.

A lack of identity is a sign of a "recruitable team."

Leaders insulate their team from outside recruiting efforts when they give their team an identity.



07/04/2025

Here are 3 reasons to stop posting "We Are Hiring" on LinkedIn if you want highly qualified candidates.

1) Highly qualified candidates don't respond to job postings. They are already have a good idea of where they are going before they ever make a move.

2) It cheapens the position by making it non-exclusive. Desperation is never attractive.

3) It opens the door to non-qualified candidates. This creates a ripple effect. Lots of low value conversations. Thus little time to find the right candidates. Then forced to settle with the hires you make.

In my time as a coach I have found too many say "LinkedIn Sucks!" Most don't understand how to use this platform to connect and have valuable conversations. If you want a simple blueprint for success drop me a DM and ask for my 4 Steps To LinkedIn Recruiting Success.


04/04/2025

Having a clear roadmap is crucial in leadership, especially when recruiting. Let's unpack this idea:
• The Advantage of a Roadmap: If you have a roadmap and your competition doesn't, you're already ahead. The assumption is that many current leaders lack a roadmap.
• The Reality for Most Leaders: Sadly, a vast majority, about 99.99%, don't have clear roadmaps. This leaves a gap that can be exploited.

Imagine this scenario:
• A Competitor with a Vision: If someone enters your market with a compelling vision and a clear roadmap, and you don't have one, they instantly have more energy, authority, and credibility. They know the market and can present an exciting future.
• Comparing Roadmaps: When you have a vision, you need to ask yourself: Is my roadmap significantly better than just staying where they are? You must be able to confidently say it's a "level 10" on the scale of effectiveness.

In essence, a strong, well-defined roadmap not only shows where you're going but also establishes your credibility and authority. It's about offering something more concrete and exciting than the current state of affairs, making your opportunity more appealing and forward-thinking.

03/04/2025

As humans, we naturally love stories–the ones that take us to another world full of adventure and imagination.

Story-telling activates things inside the brain's hippocampus that formulate dopamine, oxytocin, and serotonin–which spark good feelings inside our body.

And that's why we want to fully tell our story when it comes to social media. We want to share our struggles, our periods of growth, and the times we failed.

René Rodriguez, author of the book Amplify Your Influence, explains this principle:
""Using the methods that marketers use like video, blogs, social media, articles, old school phone calls, texts, and emails, today's leader can share more of who they are . . . Communicating to their audience what they believe about leadership, teamwork, vision, values, dealing with uncertainty, etc., they can craft a coherent story about what they want to achieve in partnership with everyone in the organization. It is critical that the leader also shares their personal origin story in their branding. An ounce of vulnerability from a leader goes far in today's world.""

Remember, content creates connections. And we never know who could later become a critical character in the book of our lives.



01/04/2025

Temporary: salary, commission, benefits, company swag

Eternal: serving others, relationships, culture

There's a verse in Corinthians that says this: "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

Over the years, I've found that anything worth doing is usually intangible.

That's why recruiters never find long-term success when they offer, "We're a little bit better than that other company. We sell more; we make more; we do something better."

We have to realize that offers can be matched, but vision, core values, and a larger why cannot. I often refer to the BAM zone. This stands for:

BELONGING

AFFIRMATION

MEANING

Once people feel secure in their finances, they'll start looking for the next step. They won't be looking for more money or more security. Instead, they'll be looking for the things that matter to help them feel self-actualized.

It's time to focus on dreams instead of dollars. We need to start emphasizing impact over investments.

Only then can we truly see what's most essential.



28/03/2025

As humans, we naturally love stories–the ones that take us to another world full of adventure and imagination.

Story-telling activates things inside the brain's hippocampus that formulate dopamine, oxytocin, and serotonin–which spark good feelings inside our body.

And that's why we want to fully tell our story when it comes to social media. We want to share our struggles, our periods of growth, and the times we failed.

René Rodriguez, author of the book Amplify Your Influence, explains this principle:
""Using the methods that marketers use like video, blogs, social media, articles, old school phone calls, texts, and emails, today's leader can share more of who they are . . . Communicating to their audience what they believe about leadership, teamwork, vision, values, dealing with uncertainty, etc., they can craft a coherent story about what they want to achieve in partnership with everyone in the organization. It is critical that the leader also shares their personal origin story in their branding. An ounce of vulnerability from a leader goes far in today's world.""

Remember, content creates connections. And we never know who could later become a critical character in the book of our lives.

27/03/2025

Lead by example, and make it easy for others to follow you. When they see you, they'll think of it this way "if he can do that, then I can do it too."

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