Every hiring manager must deal with the frustration of canceled recruiting appointments from time to time.

It’s maddening to spend time prospecting, building rapport, and getting a commitment only to have the prospect cancel the appointment at the last minute.

The dialog typically goes something like this (in a text or email):

Prospect:  Sorry, but I need to cancel tomorrow, something came up.

Hiring Manager: OK, I appreciate the heads up.  Would you like to make it happen another day this week or weekend?

Prospect:  I’ll reach back out when I have a good date/time.

At this point, most hiring managers sign-off, and you never hear from the prospect again.

It’s a lost opportunity and a big waste of time.

Is there anything else that can be done to keep the opportunity alive?

Here is how one high performing hiring manager that Mark coaches recently followed-up after the last text above:

Hiring Manager: Honestly, the communication and follow-up completely falls on me. It’s literally my main job.  Are you thinking you need a week, a month, 3-months, a year?  Whatever it is, I’ve got your back.  All I ask is you allow me to help you.

Prospect: I would say at least a month.

Hiring Manager:  OK, you got it.  Now, I will lean on you to let me know if anything changes on your end between now and then.

This response does a great job of keeping the opportunity alive and sets an expectation for a future follow-up the prospect will likely appreciate.

Getting experienced agent hires is often about staying in the game until the time is right for the prospect to make their move.

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PS. When you’re ready, we have coaching solutions that help hiring managers execute more purposefully in dozens of different scenarios like the one described above.  If you’d like to learn more, reach out for a complimentary coaching session to see what’s possible.