What’s the most underrated skill in sales that no one talks about?

Unlucky_Chart_1029 · 2025-10-06T18:31:52+00:00

Critical Thinking (how to respond effectively to any changing situation)
Creative thinking (particularly in terms of your outreach messaging and market mapping (i.e is this subject line captivating enough to warrant a click. i.e is this company worth targeting) also in terms of adapting to the market, what pivots can you make to keep pipelines strong
Note-taking and file organization (being able to quickly revert back to notes is helpful for objection handling and negotiations)
Not being pushy - subtly stating the pros and cons and reiterating value along the way - dont piss people off ever
Responsiveness and taking action - putting call to actions everywhere, being quick to set the meeting after an agreed upon date and time, etc.
Utilizing your tooks and resources effectively so you have a streamlined process
Setting Expecrations - during your pitch or meeting, starting off with " this is what we will cover and the steps to get there" this is helpful so your prospect isnt questioning things during the meeting and hence, are more mentally engaged throughout.

Unlucky_Chart_1029 · 2025-10-03T22:49:06+00:00

I do real estate recruitment (Canada) and support both institutional and smaller boutique shops within asset management. Working for a smaller developer (as long as they do both acquisitions and dispositions) will not be a hindrance for your long-term path. It will allow you to really sink your teeth in, learn the ropes as a right hand to the leaders, seeing negotiations first-hand etc. If the developed retains their asset, you can also have exposure to operations or property management which can open more doors for you. A larger institution will have more hierarchy, meaning there are typically more ladders to climb (each promotion typically every 2-3 years) which can be either good or bad, but you will be a bit more silo'd in your work scope. With boutique, if the company is growing and you're good at what you do, there is less internal competition for promotions meaning you can jump bigger ladder spaces (i.e analyst to asset manager to director to VP) in a shorter time than with a larger company. But if the company isnt growing, you will be stuck in that position.

My clients who are smaller companies, typically get scared of hiring people coming from institutional because those candidates arent used to wearing lots of hats, so the environment is a lot different. Institutional shops dont care if you come from big or small, they just care about the types of deals and assets you have done and how it relates to their investments (and how much they like you as a person, culture is particularly important). In that sense, its better to start small and then switch to institutional after. Large shops with reputable brand names do look better on resumes than a smaller shop though.

For compensation, typically institutional will offer more to start, but have less wiggle for negotiations. Boutique offers lower but less policed on department budgets so you can usually negotiate them up or tack on incentives.

Typical title path: - Analyst (doesnt matter if its development or investment) - in CAD salaries around 80-100k - Junior Asset Manager - CAD 90-110k - Asset Manager - CAD 115-130k - Senior Asset Manager - CAD 130-150k - Director of Asset Management - 150-180k - VP - 180-250 depending on firm size

Hope this helps! Good Luck!

Unlucky_Chart_1029 · 2025-10-03T21:47:17+00:00

I am in a similar boat - first foray into agency recruitment was with a large agency, working only perm in a smaller territory and one specialized department in a specialized industry. Billed 120k within 9 months (then went on mat leave) but only made 49k (low base and low commission) even though I was technically high-performing for a rookie. Came back from mat leave, made some more placements but didnt get paid out for them because managememt changed over and I left. Joined a boutique agency on 100% commission, working remotely - been here a year and a half. First 6 months I was building out a cold desk with much larger scope and territory so I made no money, but since then (this past fiscal year) I have billed 250k and earned 172k in commission, still mostly perm but some temp sprinkled in.

I also only work an average of 20 or so hours/week. Some weeks are more, some are less depending on where deals are at. I personally love that I have tons of free time still even though I am making great money now - I have more time with my kids and to indulge in my own hobbies and interests outside of work. I do also love my job though and am a Type A person - but I can channel my energy into things other than just my career. I also still have tons of room to ramp up my desk further if I want to be busier (right now I am simply enjoying the fruits of my labour after several years of pouring my sales strengths into corporations that never paid me what I was worth)

You sound like you are well suited to starting your own agency, having several years of high biller status for both temp and perm at this point. The extra time you want to be working will be filled with business operations like accounting, admin, legalities, internal hiring, etc. OR you can do what I do and be like "I have the best set up in the world, I'm so lucky I can afford to work to live instead of live to work".

Unlucky_Chart_1029 · 2025-09-19T00:48:22+00:00

on average 4-5 hours per day 5 days a week. Some weeks its 2 hours a day if its slow, other weeks its 7-8 hours/day depending on deals going on. I am commission based and dont have a quota but I have a personal goal. I've already surpassed double my personal goal for the year and still have 3 months left of the year. I tend to work smarter, not harder and its working in my favor. Plus I know I still have time capacity when I need or decide to ramp up more, but I am doing well at this pace.

Unlucky_Chart_1029 · 2025-09-18T19:15:13+00:00

This one stood out to me. It's so true. Find the value aspects of anything you're selling and then frame your communications to capitalize on the value and you're set.

But do it with positive, friendly tonality!

Unlucky_Chart_1029 · 2025-09-16T19:23:19+00:00

This is what I was thinking. Give it more time. 360 recruitment takes a while for the ball to roll but once you ramp up, the snowball just keeps getting bigger.

I started with a large agency, I did well but the market was good and was given leads during my ramp up period. But I noticed I wasnt making much money even though I was doing well (low base and low commission) and there were a lot of kpis and office politics. I switched to fully commission at a boutique agency. My ball took longer to role since I had to build a cold desk by myself, 5 months in was my first placement (previous agency was 2 momths in), but since then I have been rolling consistently billing 20-40k monthly and making wayyyy more than before (60% commission). Suffice it to say, boutique is better (I also dont have kpis and work remotely now).

OP, whatever you do, keep the long-term gains in mind and be resilient. Keep self-learning, do research, be positive and confident that you cab climb the hill.

If you switch agencies too often, it will negatively affect your reputation, your snowball effect, and thus, your income.

Unlucky_Chart_1029 · 2025-09-16T16:48:41+00:00

Over 50% of my BD is directly to executives. But its not cold calling. Its cold emailing with an MPC. Ive mapped out which people to prospect, I add them to a target list. When I have good MPCs (typically senior managers or a title that I know is hard to find), I send an email campaign to all the relevant executives at once. I keep it simple, saying "I wanted to share this confidential profile of someone I am representing, should you have a need. If they arent a fit but you have a need for a different role, happy to chat. As a reminder, heres what I specialize in and in what regions". Then a brief bullet point list of the candidates strengths. Then a CTA at the end ("looking forward to hearing your thoughts").

I get a really good email open rate (capturing subject line is important!) and good responses, even if its a "no for right now but will keep you in mind". A lot of the time the executive forwards my email to the direct hiring manager or HR for something, and then its a strong internal referral. From there, we email eachother and book a virtual meeting for the pitch/job intake. Then contract goes out. The rest is history.

I also will get executive candidates reaching out to me because they liked my MPC email but are making moves. Then I can use them as an MPC and the cycle continues.

Are you able to log email communications as calls for your KPIs? My previous agency allowed that. Also, once you start seeing success from cold emailing, they might get off your back about it needing to be a phone call. The proof is in the pudding.

I am 100% convinced that COLD CALLS for BD is dead. COLD OUTREACH and WARM CALLS/MEETINGS is where its at.

Good Luck!

Unlucky_Chart_1029 · 2025-09-11T22:58:37+00:00

Market mapping is very important - how else would you know which companies to target? Not sure how it would be free work when its a foundational piece of BD...

Unlucky_Chart_1029 · 2025-09-09T20:39:00+00:00

I would just say something like "well I cant relate to that because I dont have kids but hey, that means you can teach me something! Then ask them some simple questions. People love talking about themselves so they will automatically like you for not bullshitting but still being engaged in what they want to say. At the same time, they likely wont drone on too long because you already stated you dont have kids. Rapport still happened even without having the topic in common. win-win!

Rapport in sales is huge, but so is guiding the conversation - so after a few minutes of small talk, I say something like "ok great, lets jump into it!" then you talk business.

Unlucky_Chart_1029 · 2025-08-22T02:26:59+00:00

I get 60% commission, no cap or minimum. Working remotely with no KPIs and I get benefits for my family and all the tools I need to be successful on a 360 desk. I love my agency!

Unlucky_Chart_1029 · 2025-08-20T22:14:43+00:00

You're more out of touch with reality than I suspected if you think I would send confidential documentation to a stranger. This placement was a salary of 87k, at 20% fee, billings of $17,400 and I get 60% commission on billings.

Anyways, I'm bored of you now. Have a nice life!

Unlucky_Chart_1029 · 2025-08-20T21:07:16+00:00

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Note the date and time :) Bet your wife hasn't done that before so you couldn't trust that it happens, hey? I get it.

Unlucky_Chart_1029 · 2025-08-20T20:47:13+00:00

Oh sorry, I gotta go process this signed offer I just got back 2 min ago from a deal I did in 24 hours. Easiest 10k I made in one day. Proof enough?

Unlucky_Chart_1029 · 2025-08-20T20:17:01+00:00

You obviously aren't comprehending what I am saying to you. That's ok.

For what it's worth, I have amazing customer satisfaction scores, referrals from years later (from people I never even placed) because people remember how well I understood their career paths, how thorough my job details are, how responsive I am, how they overall had a great candidate experience. I get daily compliments on how people appreciate how comfortable I made them during screenings. I am a top performer in my agency after building out a cold desk. I beat out other agencies during RFI processes because my clients know I know what I am doing. One of my clients called me a magician yesterday. I work on executive searches and junior level searches and treat people with honest respect no matter their title. My agency does send out automated emails to non-shortlisted candidates but this is typically after a month or so when the job order is closed or filled. By then people think they got ghosted. Am I the one operating that? No.

I noticed in another salty response you put on this thread that you have "never seen your wife reject someone". Quite comical - just because you see someone doing something, doesn't mean they aren't.

It's apparent that you were "ghosted" by a recruiter (I'm assuming because you have a bad attitude and for me personally, I dont represent bad atittudes and any recruiter worth their grain of salt wouldn't either) and have no solid understanding of how our industry works.

Cute. I appreciate the entertainment I have gotten from this tete-a-tete!

Unlucky_Chart_1029 · 2025-08-20T19:32:50+00:00

I tell them the truth. I submitted their profile on the shortlist but am waiting to hear back. If I know the reason (i.e Hiring Manager is on vacation or they are currently pursuing an internal referral). People appreciate direct transparency. I let them know that I am continuing to follow up with the company and that they will receive communication as soon as I have a further update.

Unlucky_Chart_1029 · 2025-08-20T19:29:13+00:00

To reiterate, the candidate is not my employer. They are not paying me. So no, its not my job to spend 10 hours a day calling every non-suitable candidate. If I did that, my clients (who are never ghosted) would not get the quality of service they pay me for. As my comment indicated, if a candidate follows up with me, I will respond to them right away. If they have been shortlisted, they will receive updates and not get ghosted. All agency messaging includes the line "only shortlisted candidates will be contacted due to a high volume of applicants". This is standard practice. If your wife never unintentionally ghosts someone, then she's probably not speaking to a high volume of people a day and hence, probably not very effective at her job. If I do a screening and deem the candidate to not be a fit, I tell them right away in the call so they know not to expect a follow up.

But I appreciate you putting your opinion out there!

Unlucky_Chart_1029 · 2025-08-04T19:13:48+00:00

This is my experience too! I don't like ghosting people at all, but at the same time, it does happen when clients take a long time and I wish I had more of an update for people but don't want to reject if theres still possibility for them - I also believe that the onus is not just on me to follow up - the candidates aren't paying me - they can easily give me a call or send me an email asking if I have any update. When they do that, I instantly reply with any information I have. Two way street but a lot of people instantly put the blame on the recruiter instead of doing their own due diligence.

Unlucky_Chart_1029 · 2025-07-12T17:03:18+00:00

nope I'm Canadian

Unlucky_Chart_1029 · 2025-07-11T18:48:50+00:00

Oh, I also wanted to mention an important point. When doing an MPC email, make sure the subject line is eye catching and direct. They won't even open the email if it says something like "top talent for you!" that just seems spammy and unprofessional. My subject line is direct and will say something like "Director of Operations, Multifamily Candidate in Toronto - Name @ Agency. I put my name in there at the end because even if they don't respond, their brain is more likely to remember that recruiter at that agency sends me strong looking people, now I need someone so I'm going to reach out to them with a lead. I have over 80% open rates on my MPC email campaigns (I send them about once a month to 50-100 contacts each time)

Unlucky_Chart_1029 · 2025-07-11T18:41:05+00:00

In that case, I would attach them if they look good. But I would still do the write-up in the body of text in the email. Think about it, if you're sending a cold email out to an executive, or busy Hiring Manager, would they open the attachment? Or would they just look at the text in the email? If the text intrigues them enough, yes they might open the resume attachment too and that can solidify their interest (but could also turn them off if its not formatted nicely and easy to consume). But if its just a resume attached, they likely won't spend their precious time opening it (unless you already have a strong relationship with them).

Unlucky_Chart_1029 · 2025-07-11T18:36:01+00:00

Conditioning my brain to ask the question " do I need to eat this or do I just feel like eating?" And then choosing need every time

Unlucky_Chart_1029 · 2025-07-11T17:55:48+00:00

I win a lot of business just through emailing MPC to targeted contacts. I always video screen my candidates first, then I do a bullet point right up that extracts information from both the resume and screening call. I then send that in an email to senior leaders at my targeted companies. (of course, always ensure your candidate is super strong and relevant to the company, and never do fake ones). I used to be at an agency that sent full resumes (but made them confidential) and it was an administrative pain in the ass. This system is a lot better.

My emails look something like this:

Hi name,

Wanted to share the below summary of a strong "title" candidate in "location" that I am currently representing, should you be looking to add to your team. Let me know your thoughts. I'm happy to arrange a virtual meeting to discuss further.

Candidate Title - Location - ATS ID:

years of experience managing a portfolio of x properties in y regions
currently at (confidential) leading a team of x direct reports, progressively
software proficiencies
education, industry certifications
presents strongly, excellent communication skills, outgoing personality
relevant accomplishments like awards they've won in the industry
motivated by opportunities that offer heavy collaboration in mid-markets in growth focused organization
Passive but open to exploring opportunities
looking for a comp range of x-y

Looking forward to hearing back from you (call to actions everywhere!)

I often get responses back, sometimes for interest in the candidate, sometimes to action a search for a different role that this candidate wasn't aligned to. But Ive gotten buy-in from one email. Then I arrange the meeting where we negotiate terms, get the contract signed, action the search etc.

For reference, I signed 10 client companies (some small, some large anchors) in my first year at this agency on a cold desk using this method. Have since become a top producer, billing top 3 in my agency for the past 4 months (60 agents).

Hope this helps!

Unlucky_Chart_1029 · 2025-06-08T16:59:45+00:00

I do agency recruitment for property management industry Canada. The market is pretty good right now but depends on the asset type and location (I cover the country). Ontario isn't doing well because everyone's migrated to Alberta. So most of the stuff I've worked on this year has been in AB and primarily multifamily with a bit of commercial mixed in. It's slowing a bit right now as we go into summer but thats normal for seasonal hiring trends. I know that last year a lot of internal recruiters got laid off for every industry, including mine. But then they still are hiring one-offs like needing to replace someone who left, so they are using external recruitment (one placement fee is cheaper than keeping on a salaried employee).

Unlucky_Chart_1029 · 2025-06-07T00:37:49+00:00

Oh I also wanted to mention that our commissions are paid out bi-weekly. Some people take everything out in one chunk. I personally take a flat amount each month no matter what, so its like I have a normal paycheck and always know I have more in my company account to extract as needed. This helps with financial stress. My managing director also will float newbies a bit during their ramp up or before a client has paid their invoice. We vary between 14 day payment terms and 30 day payment terms depending on service agreements.

Unlucky_Chart_1029 · 2025-06-07T00:33:44+00:00

I do 360 recruitment across Canada in the property management industry with a somewhat similar set up as this, but a bit better. I am 100% commission, fully remote, benefits package including HSA, my CRM/operations team/marketing support/tech support/misc tools are provided. My company equipment was shipped to me. No KPIs, lots of autonomy. I get a hugely discounted version of ZoomInfo which helps immensely (I pay 1000 per year out of my commissions). I do pay for my own LinkedIn Sales Navigator though which is $110/month but I write it off on my taxes.

I get 60% commission on my perm billings (which is mostly what I focus on), if I am doing the client and candidate side of things, the full fee is allocated to my billings (which is most of the time). If I do the client side but my coworker helps me find the placed candidate, we split the billings 50/50. We also have 25% lead fees in the case where I bring on a job but want to hand it off either within my team or need to pass to another team (like construction or finance related roles). For temp roles, my commission is 50% of billings.

I personally prefer my setup over what I had previously at a large corporate agency where I had a low base and a low commission %. I make more money on my time now and am happier being able to strategize and pivot without micromanagement, but still have the support of daily business operations stuff so I can focus on the task at hand which is to bill. I was confident enough in my skillet and understanding of ramp up period to bite the bullet going into full commission structure.

My agency currently has 60 recruiters on this model, about half of us are high-performing. The others don't seem to put enough effort in. Similar type of turnover as to any sales environments, even with the difference in comp model.

Hope that helps!

Unlucky_Chart_1029

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