55 min
How to Break Out of a Slump and Bill an Amazing $420k in 5 Months, with Wes Ashworth The Resilient Recruiter
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- Careers
“Turning around worst ever billing through the pandemic, to record-setting results currently.” In this episode, my special guest Wes Ashworth shares his story of the proactive steps he took to overcome a perfect storm of business during the height of the pandemic. He also explains how he went from 100% contingency to 100% retained!
Wes is the Vice President of Executive Search at Lee Group Search, and specializes in partnering with packaging companies nationwide to find the talent they need to grow and scale their business operations. He joined the company in 2014 as an Executive Search Consultant and was promoted to his current position in April 2020.
I’m especially proud of this episode because Wes credits The Resilient Recruiter as being a “lifeline” during the toughest period of his career, and helping him access the motivation, strategies, role models and resources he needed to turn things around.
Episode Outline and Highlights
[2:27] How Wes finds the Resilient Recruiter podcast value-adding. [4:30] Wes shares his story on how he came into recruiting. [6:45] Why 2020-21 were the worst years for Wes and how he turned it around. [19:02] Key changes implemented to shift from the worst times to the best. [25:18] “The world belongs to askers,” - how moving to the engaged model drastically changed Wes’ recruitment results. [33:15] Great ways to pitch the engaged model to your existing contingent clients. [39:30] Turning around the worst ever billing through the pandemic, to currently record-setting results. [42:05] How having a peer group to pace yourself against can give better results. [46:00] How to develop your messaging approach to stand out in a world of noise. From Worst to Best Times - Key Success Factors
Wes’ recruitment journey is indeed colourful in terms of successes and learnings. He joined the industry around 2014, and three years later he was stable and was billing $550k with his own book of clients. He had high hopes for 2020 and he even got promoted to VP.
Then suddenly in March 2020, Wes’ high hopes came crashing down. Due to the pandemic, businesses and clients started to go away. His personal production plummeted and he was feeling the pressure. Being newly promoted, he had to carry his team’s performance which added more stress. Like with many others, the negativity brought about by the pandemic placed a great toll on Wes both personally and professionally.
Wes was never a quitter. With the support of his wife and the proactive actions that he took, he was actually able to turn from the worst times to the best times of his career. This is a story I am sure you will want to hear. What are the key factors that enabled him to overcome this colossal challenge? Here are some takeaways from our conversation:
Revisiting his business development and quantifying his efforts. Wes discussed how doing so made him realize that he lost around $600k+ in billings.
Transitioning from 100% contingent, to 100% engaged/retained. This was not easy, but as Wes discussed it, he had to “put his stake in the ground and don’t look back”.
Listening to the Resilient Recruiter podcast and reaching out to those whose stories resonated with him.
Having a peer group - applying for and getting accepted to the Pinnacle Society. Wes discussed each of the above in this episode and even shared other best practices.
The World Belongs to Askers
One game-changer that contributed to Wes’ success is how he transitioned from 100% contingent to 100% retained. This was not easy at the onset as he had to be willing to walk away from businesses. Initially, Wes focused on implementing this approach to his new clients. How did Wes transition from pure contingent to engaged? He is a firm believer in the advice that “the world belongs to askers.” Asking the right questions enabled him to apply the retained approach to new clients and to some legacy clients as well.
Wes is con
“Turning around worst ever billing through the pandemic, to record-setting results currently.” In this episode, my special guest Wes Ashworth shares his story of the proactive steps he took to overcome a perfect storm of business during the height of the pandemic. He also explains how he went from 100% contingency to 100% retained!
Wes is the Vice President of Executive Search at Lee Group Search, and specializes in partnering with packaging companies nationwide to find the talent they need to grow and scale their business operations. He joined the company in 2014 as an Executive Search Consultant and was promoted to his current position in April 2020.
I’m especially proud of this episode because Wes credits The Resilient Recruiter as being a “lifeline” during the toughest period of his career, and helping him access the motivation, strategies, role models and resources he needed to turn things around.
Episode Outline and Highlights
[2:27] How Wes finds the Resilient Recruiter podcast value-adding. [4:30] Wes shares his story on how he came into recruiting. [6:45] Why 2020-21 were the worst years for Wes and how he turned it around. [19:02] Key changes implemented to shift from the worst times to the best. [25:18] “The world belongs to askers,” - how moving to the engaged model drastically changed Wes’ recruitment results. [33:15] Great ways to pitch the engaged model to your existing contingent clients. [39:30] Turning around the worst ever billing through the pandemic, to currently record-setting results. [42:05] How having a peer group to pace yourself against can give better results. [46:00] How to develop your messaging approach to stand out in a world of noise. From Worst to Best Times - Key Success Factors
Wes’ recruitment journey is indeed colourful in terms of successes and learnings. He joined the industry around 2014, and three years later he was stable and was billing $550k with his own book of clients. He had high hopes for 2020 and he even got promoted to VP.
Then suddenly in March 2020, Wes’ high hopes came crashing down. Due to the pandemic, businesses and clients started to go away. His personal production plummeted and he was feeling the pressure. Being newly promoted, he had to carry his team’s performance which added more stress. Like with many others, the negativity brought about by the pandemic placed a great toll on Wes both personally and professionally.
Wes was never a quitter. With the support of his wife and the proactive actions that he took, he was actually able to turn from the worst times to the best times of his career. This is a story I am sure you will want to hear. What are the key factors that enabled him to overcome this colossal challenge? Here are some takeaways from our conversation:
Revisiting his business development and quantifying his efforts. Wes discussed how doing so made him realize that he lost around $600k+ in billings.
Transitioning from 100% contingent, to 100% engaged/retained. This was not easy, but as Wes discussed it, he had to “put his stake in the ground and don’t look back”.
Listening to the Resilient Recruiter podcast and reaching out to those whose stories resonated with him.
Having a peer group - applying for and getting accepted to the Pinnacle Society. Wes discussed each of the above in this episode and even shared other best practices.
The World Belongs to Askers
One game-changer that contributed to Wes’ success is how he transitioned from 100% contingent to 100% retained. This was not easy at the onset as he had to be willing to walk away from businesses. Initially, Wes focused on implementing this approach to his new clients. How did Wes transition from pure contingent to engaged? He is a firm believer in the advice that “the world belongs to askers.” Asking the right questions enabled him to apply the retained approach to new clients and to some legacy clients as well.
Wes is con
55 min