Strive is proud to be a Co-Founder of The Launch Collective: A 350+ strong Community of Internal GTM Recruiters at SaaS Vendors and VCs.
As part of the Community, we run regular 'Lunch & Learn Sessions', which are open to all our members who want to learn more about a particular topic. Whilst there is a Community Host, these are open events for people to share ideas and learn from other!
One of our recent Sessions was hosted by Maggie Fish, Senior Manager GTM and G&A Recruiting at Grafana Labs and was around the discussion point of 'Building Senior Relationships' - and this blog gives you a brief summary of some of the discussion points that arose.
Please reach out to a member of the team to gain access to the full Key Takeaways document!
We have captured below, a summary of session and some of the areas we will cover throughout this blog include:
- Executive Presence
- The 7 Cs for Executive Relationships
- Relationship Building Action Plan
If you would like to join The Launch Collective, you can find out more information here!
Executive Presence
“In its simplest terms, executive presence is about your ability to inspire confidence –
Inspiring confidence in your team that you’re the leader they want to follow,
Inspiring confidence amongst peers that you’re capable and reliable,
And inspiring confidence amongst senior leaders that you have the potential for great achievements”
(Forbes, Executive Presence: What is it, Why you need it and How to Get it)
The 7 Cs for Executive Relationships
- Credibility – Quality of being trusted and believed in (be a strong relationship builder).
- Composure – Staying calm under pressure (especially when have demands from C-Suite).
- Connection –Build and maintain rapport (make one to one relationships).
- Confidence – Making others feel assured and secure (a quiet confidence, ability to stay humble).
- Charisma – Ability to naturally influence others (make your team feel essential).
- Competence – Knowing your line of work (own your experience and feel confident in your abilities).
- Character – Your core values, ethics and internal beliefs (others trust you).
Understand Senior Leaders Priorities
- Gain insight into their strategic priorities. This should be your number one goal. What is happening in their world?
- Become their strategic partner, not just a recruiter. Don’t just ‘get the hire done’ – what business challenges are they looking to solve for? How does a person become a fit in their team?
- Deliver them metrics and show them the business impact recruiting has through data (time to hire, pass through rates, source of hire etc). Pro-actively build this to your meetings.
Relationship Building Plan
Proactively request a brief 15 – 20 minute meeting with a senior leader or suggest a small group session with other recruiters to discuss talent strategy.
- Be clear on the agenda and be concise.
- Offer insights into recruiting performance.
- For example, ask your CRO for a meeting to show how long it takes to hire sales talent and what can be done to improve.
- Be seen as a thought partner.
After interactions, or when key hires are made, follow up with a quick summary.
- Provide proactive updates on actions agreed upon, highlighting wins and share lessons learnt.
- For example, consider dedicated Slack channels to provide weekly hiring achievements, discuss trends, or to align on strategy and provide visibility into recruiting.
Don't let recruitment challenges hold back your growth.
Invest in a Software Sales recruitment agency and accelerate your path to success.
Reach out to a member of the team here, or see more about how we can support your growth here.
Adam Richardson
Co-Founder and Director
