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Interviewing with intentionality: How to turn interviewees into ambassadors and future prospect clients
By Hylton Surat, Senior Regional Director, The CFO Centre - Gauteng
“Chutzpah” is a Yiddish term for courage and having the ‘’nerve’’ to be proactive. For many people, networking requires a certain amount of “nerve” to enable one to engage with strangers – some find this more comfortable than others, but it always entails going outside of one’s comfort zone to different degrees. I am unlike many Chartered Accountants in this regard — in fact, I love meeting new people. Each new person presents a blank sheet and there is so much to learn from engaging and filling in the blank spaces. I network almost daily looking for avenues to prospect clients and I put aside every Friday to serial interview Chartered Accountants whose talents we as a company can apply to our client base and potential client base.
As Senior Regional Director for Gauteng, I am tasked together with our support team, to not only secure new clients and maintain them, but also to ensure that there is a good commercial and cultural fit between our clients and candidates. Over the past 12 years, I have interviewed over 2 000 CFOs and it became very evident to me that each interview is not just an opportunity to secure talent to service our clients…
These interviewees will find their way into senior roles in mid to large-sized companies either through me, others or on their own – they are a great target market for the future!
I found that of the CFOs I interviewed, few had the appropriate mix of cultural and commercial traits to be applied to our client base to ensure a sustainable relationship – but they did have a skill and a capability that would certainly lead them to very senior roles in companies around the country – therein lies great potential for future business.
This insight led me to approach interviews with intentionality, turning interviewees into ambassadors for our business by using each interview as an opportunity to network for future business.
Leverage the power of networking and referrals
Networking is more than immediate gains - it’s about building a network of mutual support and opportunity. In our organisation we put a huge focus on proactive networking with all our stakeholders including: our associate candidates, networking forum and our clients. A study by Harvard Business Review found that 84% of business-to-business (B2B) buyers begin the purchasing process through a referral rather than with a salesperson, underscoring the power of referrals. A prospect that is referred by another satisfied client is far easier to convert to a client as one’s reputation speaks volumes.
Over the years, the relationships that started as mere interviews have led to numerous referrals and business opportunities.
Make a lasting impression
To deserve a referral, you need to ensure that all your interactions with people are memorable. Your energy levels cannot wane. People need to remember you as their needs may only emerge in 2 or 5 years’ time and the impression that you made, even back then, must lead them back to you.
Bringing energy and gravitas to each interaction helps to make you memorable. How can you do that in every interaction – even during your next interview?
Embrace face-to-face interactions
While virtual meetings are convenient, nothing beats the intimacy of face-to-face interactions. Personal meetings help solidify relationships and create stronger bonds. Since Covid-19 this appears to have changed with many professionals insisting on a Zoom or Teams meeting. That may suffice for meeting 1 but it is so important to ensure that meeting 2, at the very least, is face-to-face.
Some battles must be won to ensure this is achieved! In our case, maintenance of clients to ensure that the alignment with the candidate is still on track should be face-to-face where possible and I try to insist that interviews take place in-person.
Seek the purpose in what you do
Inspired by Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning,” one needs to have purpose in life and to work purely to generate an income can result in your work being unfulfilling. It is always good to look beyond to achieve a higher purpose whilst earning a living.
In my case, interviewing gives me the opportunity to give candidates ‘the dignity of work’’ which gives my work so much more meaning than purely earning a living. On top of that, interviewing with intentionality has turned interviewees into ambassadors, opening the window of opportunity for future business and adding a layer of purpose to each interview.
Hylton Surat is the Senior Regional Director in Gauteng for The CFO Centre in South Africa. He has over 25 years’ experience as a CFO in corporate and has a strong commerciality. He qualified as a CA(SA) in 1983 and has over the years gained valuable experience around interpreting how entrepreneurs think and how they wish to scale their businesses. “My biggest thrill is to assist entrepreneurs with finance team solutions that will help them realise their dreams,” says Hylton.
