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Time Kills All Deals

RECRUITER: I’m sorry. The candidate just accepted an offer from another firm.
CLIENT: What?! You told us he loved us, that he wanted to work for us.
RECRUITER: He did.
CLIENT: We’re #1 in our space, you said he liked that.
RECRUITER: He did.
CLIENT: You said he liked the team, that he thought he would fit in here.
RECRUITER: He did.
CLIENT: I don’t understand, we were thinking about making him an offer.

Yes. And while you were THINKING Your competition was ACTING. While you waited three weeks to get that last business partner to meet with him… Your competition flew him in to meet the key players and had him do a video call with the business partners who weren’t available. While you sat on the knowledge that he was interviewing elsewhere… Your competition made things happen and sped up the process. While you waited a month to get a few more people into the mix for "comparison"... Your competition recognized top talent and made the call. While you debated with HR over salary requirements and asked him for his history… They put out an offer at the top end of their range to ensure the deal was done.

If you want the top talent, you need to be thoughtful, yes. But you need to be decisive. I promise you, your competition is.