Summer Prospecting Strategies for Military Recruiters

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Hello, and welcome to the Recruiting Solutions podcast.
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Once again, I'm your host, James Welch, the founder and CEO of Recruiting Solutions.
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And with me is my good friend and colleague, Steven Sibley, retired sergeant major.
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Sonny, how are you today? Good, man.
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How are you, James? I'm doing good over here.
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Good.
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It's nice and s- nice and sunny down here, you know? It's not, it is not nice and sunny here in Alabama.
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It is- stormy and wet, so, if you hear some thunder and some, rain, I might have to duck out.
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We'll s- we'll see how it goes, but, Okay.
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No doubt but yeah, I'm happy to be here with you, man.
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I appreciate you- Yeah this is a really important topic, for all the recruiters that are out there, regardless of the service or component.
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because the bottom line is this, we're at the end of spring, right? It's May, we're getting ready for summer, and typically what happens in the summer, a lot of recruiters will take a knee, and they do that for different reasons.
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But in either case, from what I've seen, is that when the recruiters slow down in their summer prospecting, not only does it impact them in the near term, it really is gonna hurt them in the long term when we get into the fall.
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So that's what we're gonna talk about, and let's get rolling.
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Sonny, you ready to go? Yeah.
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Yeah, happy to be back, man.
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It's been a while.
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I appreciate the invite.
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Looks like a good topic.
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I think it's a great topic.
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I'm happy to sit here and talk to you about it and shed some light on, some of this experience that we got and, see if it helps somebody out there.
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As usual, that's the goal, just help somebody, that's listening Yeah.
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Well, I know it'll help.
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It's just like riding a bike for you.
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You've got all that experience and expertise, so I know it'll be valuable to all the recruiters that are listening.
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But let's start off with this.
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You know, when we talk about, the summer prospecting, w- what do you think happens in the summer and why do we have so many recruiters that tend to struggle during this time period? I will tell you, and I think that most people listening to this that know me will agree that I've always felt like, and even when I was a recruiter, right, but I always felt like it's gonna slow down because of the school prospecting, right? Like, whether you run a playbook like we did, or whether you're against it and you don't have a playbook, so you kind of just go out there and wing it every day.
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If you're running some type of offense out there where it's consistent that you're in the schools, you know, daily, weekly, monthly, as soon as that door locks up for the summer, I think that a lot of recruiters are gonna struggle because they're just, that's their norm, right? That's where they get their, their engagement from.
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I think that it just slows down and, and the- The fact that you're having this podcast right now to talk about it is right on th- right on that mark, because it's not too late, but the, the people that are out there right now should be thinking about, "Hey, what are we gonna do when the schools shut down?" And that doesn't mean, like, just sit in your office and find a plan.
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This means go out to those schools, get the list you need to find, go talk to the people you need to talk to, find out who's gonna be there, who's the point of contacts for the schools when you need something for the school over the summer, like a registrar and- Mm-hmm Now is the time to act before they lock the doors.
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But, you know, to, before getting too deep, to answer your question, I think that it's because the doors lock up, man.
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I think that we're so used and so comfortable being in the schools and talking to kids that, we know that that's gonna stop real soon for the next few months.
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And so you're gonna have to have a plan, for sure.
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Yeah.
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No, I think you're right.
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E- even the successful recruiters that have done well in the schools, they're consistently there, Mm-hmm if they have not experienced a summer prospecting season, you know, they can be ill-prepared for that, right? Because they're...
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It's one thing to do table set ups, classroom presentations, a- and you're, you're out there in front of the students every day.
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But when they're not there, you gotta develop that plan.
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And When I was first in recruiting, we called this, like, the 90 days of summer.
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And then it became the 60 days of summer.
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But the bottom line is you've gotta have a, a concerted effort throughout all those weeks of summer if you're gonna be successful.
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And the other part of it is, is that, you know, I, I mentioned that the recruiters who are successful sometimes slow down, right? They wanna take a knee.
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But the bottom line is you can never stop prospecting, right? Yeah.
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Even if you...
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I understand slowing down the tempo a little bit, but you still have to continue to fill that pipeline, 'cause if you don't, you're gonna be zero.
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You may have a couple of contracts that are saved up for the next FY, but you're not gonna have a lengthy pipeline to continually put contracts in when it comes September or October, November.
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Yeah.
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So when it comes to the plan, what I've always been taught, and I've seen successful recruiters do, is number one, it's a targeted effort, right? they're looking at, groups of applicants or prospective applicants or individuals they know of, and they're targeting those people throughout the summer with a plan.
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It's not random.
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It's not just showing up and walking around Wal- Walmart or going to an event.
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You're actually going after individuals.
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And I think that's, that's what differentiates a successful recruiter from one that's gonna do more poorly.
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So in your mind, what is...
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When you think about a, kind of a disciplined summer prospecting plan, what might that look like, just kind of in a broad perspective? So and I will reiterate and reiterate and reiterate about having a playbook in your organization.
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But, you know, when you run the playbook and you talk about daily prospecting, right, it, it's, the efforts don't change, right? It's what you do consistently, routine, battle rhythm prospecting, for your entire three years that you're here.
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You know, with some minor distractions here or there that come along with the recruiting business.
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But in regards to prospecting, the plan shouldn't really change too much.
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But you gotta look at the prospecting methods, right? Like, going to a high school, going to a college, that's always gonna be a face-to-face prospecting effort, period, right? And that's just the way it is.
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So you're gonna have to replace that exact, you know, that method with a different method.
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And unfortunately for people, the fastest way to try to get in contact with the same population is gonna be through via text, telephone, social media, and other methods of prospecting that you're gonna have to find a way to perfect, right? Because they're, th- the students are still out there, right? The juniors are now seniors.
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They're still in the same addresses.
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They're still in the same community.
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You're gonna have to figure out ways to reach out to them.
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So that goes back to what I said earlier about getting back to the schools now before the doors are locked and start obtaining any list that you may or may not have got yet.
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Get updated lists.
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Find those dropout lists, who's not coming, who dropped out earlier this year.
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You wanna obtain as much material as you possibly can that's going to help you with that other prospecting method.
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That's just the bottom line, right? Face-to-face will be there in the streets, right? You're gonna post, you're gonna do all this normal daily prospecting and efforts that don't change except face-to-face and in the schools.
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So you know you gotta change that method.
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So that's the biggest thing you're gonna have to figure out.
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Think now through the, especially commanders, think through your plan.
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What is your prospecting gonna look like a month and a half from now, for the next three months after that, and then how are you gonna replace face-to-face with? Is it gonna be all text, all social media, all, you know, phones? I don't know, but that's for them to figure out.
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But you gotta figure it out now, or what's gonna happen? Doors are gonna shut, and you're just gonna have a blank space in your plan for each day, and be like, "I don't know what I'm gonna do now.
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I think I'm just gonna sit here," or I'm gonna go, you're just gonna be like, 'I don't know what to do.'"
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Yeah, and that's a great point for the leaders, too, is that, what I've seen successfully done at, from the brigade level on down is actually developing an op order with your sergeant major, and then issuing that plan out to the team, right? You can offer some, some broad parameters.
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A here's what you're gonna target when, and then the details can be figured out by the subordinate level commanders and CS, or, first sergeants.
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But the, number one, the thing my first sergeant taught me when I was a recruiting company commander during the summer is to target those folks who were juniors but are becoming seniors, right? So first to contact is the first to contract, so that's the group to start with.
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And then narrow that down further, looking at those who have already taken the ASVAB and have a passing score.
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They've shown some proclivity for military service, or at least perhaps a qualif- initial qualification, so focusing on those people.
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A- what First Sergeant Smith taught me was- It's not just about calling.
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In the summer, you've gotta get out there and get in front of these kids' faces.
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So that means hot knocks.
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It means going to their house in the morning, right? Because kids are probably sleeping in.
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So in the afternoon they're gonna be out doing stuff, out playing ball, doing sports, whatever.
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So get there mid-morning, talk to them.
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If they're not there, you've got a door hanger, you've got a business card, you've got something.
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You've got to be able to do that, and if you don't have that plan, and you're not in their face, one of the other services is probably gonna be doing it.
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So, yeah, anybody can call or text, but the guy and the girl who are in their face talking to them is probably gonna be successful.
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So that persistence is gonna matter.
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So when you think about that, you know, and, and being aggressive, what's your take, Sonny, on getting out and face-to-face with those potential applicants- Yeah in the summer, and how aggressive should you be as a recruiter? I remember being a station commander out of Aurora, Colorado, right? It was like my third station I had ran when I was in the...
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back in the day of recruiting.
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And so what we would do is we would take and we would make PT, right? 'Cause we're like, all right, school's out.
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Kids are somewhere.
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We have everybody's addresses.
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We've, we've- Face-to-face and we've, you know, shaped the market, you know, the whole year, right? So like we know our area.
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So what we would do is for PT is we would get together.
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Now this is a TTP for somebody out there looking for some other different prospecting effort, right? And you used to get those little cards, right? And we would punch holes in all these cards and stick rubber bands in them so you can hang them on things, right? Essentially, for those that don't have the actual PPIs that are like door hangers, we'd make our own door hangers, right? Yeah.
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All we do is staple business cards and things to this and maybe put a flyer on there about college and the Army paying for college.
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Doesn't matter, something.
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Some type of information from the Army, or if it's just a business card, then that's what it is.
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However, what we would do is we would meet up at the station real early in the morning, about 5:30.
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Everybody would buckle up.
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We- the night before, we had loaded up backpacks full of all these items, and then we were getting our govs and we would all have an area sectored off, and that's where we're gonna go.
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And your goal was to get out there, everybody have 100, and your goal was to get into these apartment buildings and these places and in, let's say in a morning, I had a big station, so I had about 15 recruiters in this one station.
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And what would happen is, if 15 of us would go for 100, but if we all put out 50 flyers in the areas that we had, you know, we just launched about 750 flyers onto somebody's door, right? So if 10% of those people were to call and say, "Hey, man, what was this about?" And that's 75 people.
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It only took us a hour of prospecting in the morning for PT, and then we go eat breakfast together, and then we get ready and come back to work and get after it.
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But it's posting, right? So even though you're not actively like, you know, telephone or text messaging prospecting, you're actually going out there and you're posting your area.
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But you can do it really fast and you can do it once a week, and you'd be surprised that instead of going out and knocking on every single door, you know, go out there and put your information out there, and somebody's gonna wanna be, you know, somebody will be interested, whether it's 1% or 10%.
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And I would tell people as a TTP, man, that's a good way in the summertime to utilize your time.
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You got parks, you got playgrounds, you got all these different places that you could pop up on and do this type of posting just to try to shape the area a little better during that time.
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So we would do stuff like that.
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and I will tell you, like, I mean, nobody's gonna be a fan of hot knocking, especially in today's environment, but it's, it is what it is.
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Go out there in buddy teams, do it.
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You got the address.
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But if you're gonna be hot knocking, I would just tell you be very specific and very targeted, like you said earlier, about who you're going after.
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Maybe it's that list of ASVABs, you know, the people that took the ASVAB or SATs AB, and that's who you hot knock.
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But to try to hot knock an entire, you know, list or something, we know how that goes, Right.
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So be very targeted with that, but also make the best of the time that you have during the day, right? Make sure you're not just sitting in your gov driving, you know, you're gonna hit two houses in two hours.
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I mean, that's just not very efficient, right? So that's why they talk about efficiency versus effectiveness, so.
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Yeah.
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And the, the other part of that is, you know, you've got, you know, a lot, every recruiter's gonna have a lot of potential applicants, right? And what I was taught is a good goal is that a recruiter should try to contact Every one of the rising seniors before school starts.
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Try at least, right? So you're working your way through those school lists.
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You might be doing a hot knocks for a particular select few for AS- that are AS- SATC qualified.
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But you're still trying to call all of the other, other folks to get that first to contact, first to contract.
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You may not get there, but that's, that's the goal you get to.
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And just because they haven't had an SAT doesn't mean they're gonna be disqualified, all right? They just haven't taken it yet.
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So you still wanna contact all those folks, and you gotta do it to scale, right? Like you said, you gotta knock out a little bit every day.
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You're not gonna be able to sit down and call an entire list in a week.
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you gotta plan to work your way through your different schools, and then you gotta be prepared to talk to the parents.
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I think this is another key point that a lot of recruiters miss.
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I'll never forget the first time a parent picked up, and I didn't know what to really say.
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So when you think about that, how do you work your way through a list, and then what do you do when you come into contact with the parents? Yeah.
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I think any, any form of prospecting that you do, every single station commander out there that knows and is good at their job, knows that they've been teaching their recruiters all the way from the new recruiter program to have scripts, right? You gotta have some type of script.
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You can blind call if you're good.
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But have a script.
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have a targeted script ready that says, "Hey man, this is what we're gonna talk about."
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Like, you can't be all over the place, like, when it comes to telephone calls or text messages.
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You gotta be very upfront and very quick to tell what you're here for, what do you want, why are you calling me? And do the same thing with the parents.
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Just know, hey, whatever you're calling their son for, or daughter, just be very specific and say, "This is why I'm calling."
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But I think that recruiters that, that go out there blindly and just, like, don't know, you know, what they're gonna say when they call, those are the ones that's gonna trip up.
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But in regards to, like, how you get through the list, right? It's just math, right? Like when station commanders out there right now, they know the list, and then the company commanders.
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They know what their population looks like for each school, for each whatever.
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They have the junior list, the senior list.
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And the way you gotta do it is don't, like you said, first to contact, first to contract, but don't wait.
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Go through right now and say, "Okay, if I got X high schools and X recruiters, how many people in each high school?" And then narrow it down to, give them goals.
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Give the recruiters goals that says, "Hey, listen, today everybody's goal is to, to attempt to contact X amount of, you know, applic- or prospects."
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And then do that every single day repetitively until you get in touch with them.
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It may be, hey, you're gonna get through this list this week, and then do it all over again next week with a different prospecting method.
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But you gotta have a plan, and that's goes back to simple- You know, recruiting's easy.
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You just have to do it, and you have to repeat it, right? Like, you just have to have a plan of, "Hey man, we gotta go after this amount of people today from this high school and this population."
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So make sure that these recruiters are trained and ready for this, we call the off season, because when schools shut down, you gotta become lethal on them phones, lethal on social media, lethal on all of that, because face-to-face isn't gonna be there like it was.
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So we could be dead to death, to be honest with you.
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But, and, and not everybody wants to hear that because they're like, "This is gonna suck.
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Like, I'm gonna spend a lot of times on the phone."
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But not necessarily.
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Get your goal from your leadership.
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What do you need me to do today? And execute it to the fullest the best you can, and then, you know, you did your job.
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That's right.
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Yeah, and that's always a, a, a point I try to remind all recruiters is that it's highly unlikely that someone's gonna say yes the first time you contact them or you're in their face, right? You know, there's different statistics that show, but usually it's upwards of 20 or more times before someone has heard your message, either through a phone call, either through a text, a billboard, commercial.
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So starting early just gives you more opportunity later in the year to get them to that commitment level, right? But so another population that I think is overlooked, but probably is one of the ones that is most vital to a recruiter, is identifying those people, not the ones who just graduated, but the ones who graduated a year ago.
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Yeah.
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Right? And there's the reason for that is that, yeah, a lot of kids, they graduate and they get all these grandiose plans.
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They're gonna go to college.
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They're gonna...
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They get a great job, whatever they're gonna do.
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But a lot of times those don't pan out.
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So we know about 30% of college freshmen don't make it through their first semester.
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So you've got that, that population that are kind of, maybe they're back home in the summer trying to figure out what they're gonna do.
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Then you got a lot who thought they had a, a high-paying job doing something, what- whatever it might be.
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Maybe it's working at the paper mill or, or doing something else, and then that job fizzles through.
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Or they've decided, "I don't like this anymore.
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I gotta find another path."
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So that to me is a, is a group that you can really get after as a recruiter, in addition to the rising seniors.
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But if you planted that seed in high school, and they, and they kind of know a little bit about the Army, and now you're following up a year later after they graduated- Mm-hmm It seems to me oftentimes you're gonna find one that's like, "Hey, you know what? I, I am interested.
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Things haven't worked out the way I planned.
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I want to hear what, what the Army has to offer me from, for my passion to my goals in life."
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So talk to me about that.
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What, what do you think about that? And then, you know, why do you think so many recruiters tend to overlook that particular segment of the population? Well, one, because th- that's typically where your walk-in market comes from, right? Like, the, the ones that dropped out of high school, the people that you were talking to a year or two years ago, that have went off to college or like you said, every, every scenario you use.
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That you hope that you created an environment in the schools that you were in, in the area that you're in, in your ZIP codes, that people know you, right? So that the people know where to come, know where to call.
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This is why having assigned ZIP codes and having a daily routine of posting every single day and getting into your area to shape the market as...
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That's not a direct prospecting effort, but shaping your market through posting and events and things like that, right? It's so important because now, even if you just started right now, it's going to be so important for next year because the population that you're talking about are the ones that's going to come back to you because they know who you are.
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Number two is going back to what is your role and responsibility as a recruiter every day? All right, I've laid out my plan for the summer.
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the college list, I got mine, ZIP code, my high school list, I got that one.
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But when that runs dry, oh, by the way, I can go back into my system and I can check for seniors that graduated the year before.
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All you're doing right now, James, is just giving them some free chicken.
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Like, "Hey, man, you might want to go ahead and pull that list too for your ZIP code," because that's a population that we forget about, and if they don't walk in, we completely forget about them.
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So go back and look at those.
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It's like, "Hey, go back."
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And you're telling commanders right now, like, if you don't have this in your brain, now you do.
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Go pull those lists and start building the SOP or the, the summer prospecting plan and put that in there because, if they don't walk in, how are you going to get after them? Hot knocks, social media, all these different things.
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But that's just a whole another list that you can use and refine to try to get what you're looking for, right? To try to get that one person, "Yeah, man, I'll come see you right now."
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Because every, every one of them matters, right? So, and I think you're putting out a good point right there talking about that 30% potentially that have dropped out that they don't know what they're going to do now.
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You know? I think you need to find out what their goals and passions are and explain to them exactly how the Army can get them exactly what they want to meet their goals and passions for every single one of them.
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Absolutely.
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A- and Sonny, you made a great, great point about shaping the walk-in market.
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I was always taught that walk-ins are either one of two things.
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You either have the ones that you shape yourselves, that are probably pretty good applicants, and you have the ones that are running from something or are broken.
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So if you don't shape the market, you get the ones that are probably broken, m- may not be that good.
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But if you shape it correctly, hey, that just helps you bring in some potentially quality applicants.
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But one other thing that I've seen recruiters do really well in the summer, particularly, it tends to be the more athletic ones, but anybody can do it- is leveraging summer athletic programs.
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Now, this goes back to what you said is, before the doors close now, get in there and talk to the coaches.
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All, you know, nowadays just about every sport has some sort of summer workout or summer practice schedule.
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Every single one of them.
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So if they talk to the coaches now, they've developed some rapport, they have a relationship, and then talk about, "Hey, how can I help out, Coach? Can, can I come out there?" Maybe it...
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Some schools allow them to work out with them, right? I've seen some schools adopt the recruiter, and that recruiter becomes an assistant coach, right? fo- I've seen it for football, I've seen it for basketball, I've seen it for baseball.
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But you don't have to go that far.
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Just by being at the practice, maybe having water or, or, or whatever it might be- Mm you have a presence.
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The athletes begin to see you, the coaches see you, and you don't have to have a hard sell at that time.
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You're, again, you're shaping the environment so that when it does come time for the school year, you're a trusted entity.
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So I think that's another area where it, it's gonna take maybe a couple hours a week, but if you can get in there in some of those practices and make yourself known with the coaches and athletes, that can pay some big dividends.
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ha- have you ever had some experience embedding with athletic programs? Have you seen recruiters do this effectively? Yeah, 100%.
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and I've seen from when I was young, sergeant E5 recruiter, right? In the same, you know, in hitting those same high schools to when I was a CSM before I retired and I saw some of my best recruiters were like you said, they were coaches, they were all this stuff.
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Doesn't mean you have to be.
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I would challenge everybody that may be listening to this or may hear about this podcast right now to look at their books and say, "Okay, where in my plan every single day," 'cause, you know, you go look at your plans, your recruiters' plans.
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Like, where do we have the shaping piece at, right? So part of the Richmond Battalion play- playbook when I was there back in the day, right? Was, whether people loved it or hate it, was that we will have a timeframe every single day was marked out for, "Listen, if you telephone call from this time, 22 calls an hour," right? If you face-to-face for this time, we have eight hours minimum in a day, right? You could get all of this done easily by 1600 every day.
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But we always had marked off time in there for the same recruiters on the same days in the same ZIP codes to continuously post.
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And I would give training to these guys myself of like, "Hey, this is how you terra- you mark off your territory.
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You start on this road, and then next, tomorrow you do this one, and vice versa."
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But to the commanders out there and to the, you know, first sergeants out there, what is y'all's plan every single day for some type of posting activity? Because at the end of the day, phone calls, text messages, Facebook is never gonna be enough.
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It's just not.
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You have got to create the walk-in market.
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And it doesn't just happen because somebody Googles Army recruiting, I promise you, right? Right.
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'Cause nowadays, you'll Google Army recruiting for your area and the recruiter from, you know, two battalions over will get your applicant because they're smarter than you on Google, right? But right now, like, what is the commanders and first sergeants saying, "What are y'all's plan right now?" And I used to harp on this, and it used to drive them crazy, but the most effective recruiters just stuck to the script.
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They had their posting times, their prospecting times, their school visit times.
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Now that you gotta X out the school visit time, that's even more to either add more prospecting activities, more posting activities, or find yourself something to do, Spend the time that you would've been in a school, like, at some type of sporting activity or something where you can lend, you know, your, your, your brains and your muscle to your local schools because it's gonna pay off in the long run.
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And like you said, you hit it earlier, don't go out there looking for an appointment or a conduct.
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That's not the time for that.
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If it happens, it happens.
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That time has to be specified and marked off that you are going to give back to your community doing something because you're still...
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Your image is enough to be recruiting without you having to hand out business cards.
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So, you know, it's just a- to the commanders and first sergeants out there, do, is there a plan? Is there a playbook in place, or we just, or do we just show up and go after it? I don't know.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Well, you know, a- again, you know, what I've heard before from other pe- from many other, NCOs, to include, Command Sergeant Major Brown, was recruit- you know, applicants wanna be like their recruiter, right? So, if you happen to be an athletic guy or girl, and you're at the practice, you look good, you know what you're talking about, you don't have to sell it, right? Yeah.
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Those kids are naturally gonna gravitate towards you because of your presence.
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so something to consider.
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Yep.
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Now, the other thing that I've seen happen in the summer, Sonny, and this is a double-edged sword, you know, there are a lots of different summer events that take place in different communities, right? There's, of course, you got stuff like the Fourth of July.
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You got Memorial Day events that start early in the summer.
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and more often than not, recruiters get asked to come out there, maybe present the colors, participate.
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It's all, that's all fine and well.
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Those, those are, you know, good things to do for the community, if you have the time, right? Mm-hmm.
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But then there's other things like sports camps or leadership camps.
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Some of those, I think, can be pretty good.
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the double-edged sword that I'm speaking of is that sometimes you'll have an event, and maybe it's like a regional, region-wide or a state-wide effort.
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So a recruiter goes there thinking they're gonna find people from their high school or their local community, and it might be seniors from elsewhere in the state.
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Other times, there are ones that are more localized, right? Where you're getting, like, the cream of the crop for that local town or that local area coming together for a sports program or maybe an academic program, something like that, and I think those can be very, very valuable, right? Again, just like you said, it's not about going there to do a hard sell, but it's somehow if you can contribute meaningfully.
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for example, if it's a leadership event, hey, you're, you're gonna have...
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go there and talk about your leadership experience from the Army, right? Yeah.
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If it's an athletic camp, maybe, maybe you can get some Army branded water bottles and just hand those out, right? Didn't take a whole lot of time to do it.
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That sort of stuff, I think, can be powerful.
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So what, what do you gotta say about those events? Are they...
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are those...
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was it a good thing to do, bad thing, or is it kind of a mix of both? I, I, I'm always gonna say it's a good thing.
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depending, right? Like, so you're gonna...
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I'll tell you what differentiates it for the most part is the money.
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Is it a, is it a cost event for the Army? Is it not a cost event, right? So that's typically what defines, for me, is it a good event versus a bad event, because if a recruiter's getting paid regardless.
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So if a recruiter shows up to an event that cost the Army nothing and hands out one business card, okay.
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You showed face, they saw you.
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You did hand out one business card, because at the end of the day, and I mean, I will stand on this business the rest of my life and anybody that asks me about recruiting is, eight hours in a day is a long day of Army recruiting.
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I always say that, which is why we had the playbook.
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I'm like, "Dude, this is eight hours of your day marked out," and that's after PT, to where, like, all you really need to do is do some prospecting, do some of this, do some of that, and then close out your day.
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But somehow we drag these days out, I'm talking about a normal recruiting day for a normal, brand-new NCO that's just trying to prospect.
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So why not do events? Why not get out the dang office and go do something else with your life, right? It, it goes back to the point that, like, hey, summer's coming and everybody just come up with a plan.
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You can find out what events are going on like this.
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It ain't like it used to be.
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Now, you know everything going on in your community.
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They got all these calendars and all these social media posts of what's coming up.
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Find things to do to get you outside, and also try to find things to do that don't cost money.
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Because when it don't cost money, recruiters, nobody's sweating you, nobody's stressing you, right? "Oh, we just spent thousands of dollars of this and you didn't do anything."
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Man, just go out there and be present in your community and, and I, and I think it will, again, shape that walk-in market.
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Also give you some return on investment right away when you do find that one person that's interested and glad to see you.
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just do stuff.
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Whatever that looks like, right? Yeah, that's, that's a motto there.
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Yeah, just do things, man.
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Just, like, get up and do things and, and be creative.
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00:27:32,885.0309658 --> 00:27:35,295.0269985
And for the leaders out there, listen to the recruiters.
278
00:27:35,295.0269985 --> 00:27:38,545.0269985
Give them the latitude to say, "Hey, listen, it's your zip code, it's your area.
279
00:27:38,785.0248623 --> 00:27:39,815.031271
I don't go out there every day.
280
00:27:39,815.031271 --> 00:27:43,205.0306606
What's going on? What do you wanna do?" "All right, Sarge, this is what I wanna do."
281
00:27:43,205.0306606 --> 00:27:47,115.0343227
"All right, let's put that in your plan so we know what's coming up," and do stuff.
282
00:27:48,130.0275898 --> 00:27:58,610.0272512
We just, I have found, and this is not always, this is not true for everybody, but I have, in my career I've seen enough of we just kinda show up and just kinda wing it, man, sometimes 'cause we just like we're sick of it, we're tired of it.
283
00:27:58,610.0272512 --> 00:28:04,40.0275564
It's like find ways to make this as enjoyable as possible while you're here because it's gonna be a long three years if you don't.
284
00:28:04,290.0275564 --> 00:28:11,990.026412
And the mor- the most fun I ever had in recruiting was almost when I was a brand-new recruiter 'cause I just had free rein to just do what I wanted to do and do stuff.
285
00:28:12,30.0273275 --> 00:28:13,30.0273275
I just had to put people in the Army.
286
00:28:13,330.0265646 --> 00:28:16,850.025115
So I would just find creative ways to put people in the Army, and then it just worked out.
287
00:28:16,850.025115 --> 00:28:19,720.0278616
So, and I think everybody, if I can do it, I think anybody can do it.
288
00:28:19,720.0278616 --> 00:28:21,410.0295401
So, just do stuff, man.
289
00:28:22,250.0296927 --> 00:28:23,800.0289297
That, that's my new motto, just do stuff.
290
00:28:23,840.0298452 --> 00:28:27,60.0310659
the importance of having a relationship with college campuses.
291
00:28:27,560.0310659 --> 00:28:32,390.032897
National Guard tend to do very, very well because they embed themselves on the campus.
292
00:28:32,630.0261831 --> 00:28:43,230.0200796
and I experienced that myself when I taught Army ROTC, at a university in Arkansas is, you know, I offered office space to both active duty recruiters and to the National Guard.
293
00:28:43,950.0213003 --> 00:28:45,640.0237417
And guess who took me up on it? The National Guard.
294
00:28:46,90.02069 --> 00:28:48,970.0255728
summer's a good opportunity to go to the college campuses.
295
00:28:49,460.0222158 --> 00:28:56,310.0283194
there may be some students there, but it's really to build relationships with the staff 'cause things are a little bit slower for them.
296
00:28:56,850.0216055 --> 00:29:01,630.0280142
It's a, it's a good chant- time to go in there, introduce yourself, start that milk run now.
297
00:29:01,830.0280142 --> 00:29:04,580.0280142
and there's different people to talk to, right? You've got career services.
298
00:29:05,220.0274038 --> 00:29:24,450.0231314
Those are the people that can talk to students on your behalf, either about part-time employment in the Guard or Reserves or full-time employment on active duty when they graduate, right? So we can be an arm, help the university employ these students and keep them in school, if we play that card right.
299
00:29:24,940.0240469 --> 00:29:40,500.0246573
the other ones are like, you know, financial aid, talking to them about what we have to offer so that when students come in and don't have money for school, they can say, "Hey, have, have you thought about the Army Reserves?" Right? "Have you thought about the Guard?" Again, they're acting on our behalf because we've informed them.
300
00:29:40,500.0246573 --> 00:29:56,40.0148916
so You've got the VA reps on campus, another really great people, people to know because yeah, we, you have a lot of veterans who have completed their service obligation who are now in school, but we also have a lot of children of veterans who are in school.
301
00:29:56,565.0197804 --> 00:29:59,605.0198317
Who, those kids are more likely to join the military.
302
00:30:00,65.0198698 --> 00:30:08,705.0197363
So why not get in front of the VA rep so they know who you are, so when a kid asks about joining or enlisting, they can refer you, refer that kid to you.
303
00:30:09,205.0197363 --> 00:30:11,745.0196981
So I say all those, all those different people are really important.
304
00:30:11,745.0196981 --> 00:30:35,935.0202322
And of course, probably the biggest one, regardless of service, is if your branch of service has an ROTC presence on a campus, go there, develop that rapport and that relationship with them, right? Some of the active duty folks may be gone for the summer doing training or, or what have you, but they always have civilians that work in the building, and that summertime's a really slow time for them.
305
00:30:36,335.0179434 --> 00:30:42,505.019927
So just going in and getting to know the secretary, get to know their HR person, and make that part of your milk run.
306
00:30:42,505.019927 --> 00:30:51,465.0190115
Again, you're developing that relationship with the people behind the scenes who can speak on your behalf to students, to cadets, and to the cadre.
307
00:30:51,755.019927 --> 00:31:02,55.0191641
So I think those are just, again, we're not talking about contracts, but we're talking about a shaping effort- now, and then that will mature and result in contracts down the road.
308
00:31:02,55.0191641 --> 00:31:13,745.0170279
So what do you think about that in terms of college? is it worthwhile to be on the college campus, and who else should they talk to if they're there? Yeah, I mean, obviously, yeah.
309
00:31:13,745.0170279 --> 00:31:22,145.0185537
I think you hit everybody that's there that, that, that matters, especially being, I mean, big things are the registrars and, and people like that that have access to records that you're gonna need, right? Mm-hmm.
310
00:31:22,145.0185537 --> 00:31:23,455.0161123
Like, especially over the summer.
311
00:31:23,455.0161123 --> 00:31:27,925.017333
We talked about that earlier in the pod, but the, like, you gotta have these relationships.
312
00:31:27,925.017333 --> 00:31:35,755.0115347
And so what better time than, like you said, when the school is slow? We're trying to throw out some TTPs for you guys to understand that, like, hey, summer's coming, and if s- if...
313
00:31:36,185.0118399 --> 00:31:39,115.012145
You might not be thinking about this, and some of your leaders might not be thinking about this.
314
00:31:39,165.012145 --> 00:31:40,55.0115347
Go get a directory.
315
00:31:40,55.0115347 --> 00:31:43,465.0151968
Go on the college website, get the directory of who's there.
316
00:31:43,465.0151968 --> 00:31:46,915.012145
Point out who you might want to talk to, like that person may be able to, and just go meet them.
317
00:31:47,95.0124502 --> 00:31:49,505.0161123
Also, find out who's the veterans on those campuses.
318
00:31:49,505.0161123 --> 00:31:56,335.0179434
If you can figure that out, that's the thing that I used to try to do is, like, figure out, like, hey, who here that works here is a veteran? And I don't care what branch you are.
319
00:31:56,335.0179434 --> 00:32:00,525.0203848
one of my closest COIs when I was young was a Air Force veteran.
320
00:32:00,775.0203848 --> 00:32:14,925.017333
So just find somebody that, like, find the veterans that actually are on the campus so that when the school year comes and you need to access something, you have s- you have a brother or sister in arms over there that will probably gladly help you, as long as you're willing to help them if they need help.
321
00:32:14,925.017333 --> 00:32:16,415.0228262
College recruiting is gonna be...
322
00:32:17,145.0216055 --> 00:32:18,765.0319815
Just go out there and do your job.
323
00:32:19,105.0283194 --> 00:32:25,170.0266027
But just have a plan when you get out there, but- I don't think, I don't think I can add anything to the group of people they need to talk to.
324
00:32:25,170.0266027 --> 00:32:30,670.0266027
But I will say they need these contacts before the summer because things are gonna come up and you're gonna need to get into that college for something.
325
00:32:30,940.0261068 --> 00:32:38,0.0255728
Some kid's gonna walk in and you're gonna need his transcripts or her transcripts for something, and you're not gonna have access to them online because they don't know their username and password.
326
00:32:38,300.0267172 --> 00:32:39,830.0274038
You're gonna need to go get that from the registrar.
327
00:32:39,830.0274038 --> 00:32:42,570.027175
So at least link up with that person for sure.
328
00:32:43,120.026412 --> 00:32:43,410.0273275
Yeah.
329
00:32:43,470.0258017 --> 00:32:49,640.025115
This is, we're just offering some TTPs so you can put together- Yeah that plan, particularly for the leaders.
330
00:32:49,930.0260305 --> 00:32:55,110.0255728
So your guys aren't there twiddling their thumbs in the station wondering what to do, during the summer.
331
00:32:55,480.0245047 --> 00:33:07,550.0275564
not only are you potentially prospecting and finding some, contracts for the summer, is that when you think about the flash to bang that exists now in military recruiting, it's pretty lengthy.
332
00:33:07,550.0275564 --> 00:33:14,790.0246573
So kids that you talk to in the middle of the summer, they may not be able to even enlist until, later on in the fall.
333
00:33:15,670.0257254 --> 00:33:19,470.0287771
So you've got to build that funnel now throughout the summer.
334
00:33:19,470.0287771 --> 00:33:23,450.0245047
And this is the biggest mistake that I saw recruiters and leaders do.
335
00:33:23,450.0245047 --> 00:33:26,640.0269461
I'll give a quick war story, for everyone's benefit.
336
00:33:27,30.0293875 --> 00:33:33,70.0257254
as a battalion commander I had a company that was the number one company, in the entire second brigade.
337
00:33:34,140.0254202 --> 00:33:37,350.0245047
Small company, but outperformed companies twice their size.
338
00:33:38,10.0281668 --> 00:33:41,250.0260305
Well, that company commander and first sergeant switched out.
339
00:33:42,50.0290823 --> 00:33:43,90.0299978
They were a phenomenal team.
340
00:33:43,990.0238943 --> 00:33:45,650.0275564
We get a new company commander and first sergeant.
341
00:33:46,470.0272512 --> 00:33:51,340.0299978
Well, we notice this, the performance of this company starts slowing down a little bit.
342
00:33:51,340.0299978 --> 00:33:52,440.028472
Well, that's not unusual.
343
00:33:52,440.028472 --> 00:33:55,500.0367117
That happens, from time to time when you get new leadership in.
344
00:33:55,950.0336599 --> 00:34:00,730.0324392
But it just kept getting worse and worse and worse and worse in the summer till they weren't putting anyone in.
345
00:34:02,20.0333548 --> 00:34:07,190.0315237
And finally, I had, one of the more seasoned recruiters as he was out processing share with me.
346
00:34:07,190.0315237 --> 00:34:12,170.0348806
He said, "Hey, sir, you know what's happening in our company, right?" I said, "No, I don't, I don't know.
347
00:34:12,170.0348806 --> 00:34:18,460.0357962
What's happening?" He said, "Sir, our, our first sergeant has told us to stop prospecting, that this is the time.
348
00:34:18,460.0357962 --> 00:34:24,290.0345755
We've al- we're already close to making our mission, that we can just relax and, you know, we should work half-day schedules.
349
00:34:24,290.0345755 --> 00:34:26,400.0351858
It's, it's so guys aren't doing anything."
350
00:34:27,60.0388479 --> 00:34:31,540.0345755
So I confronted the company command team and sure enough, they said, "Oh yeah, well, our guys worked hard all year.
351
00:34:31,540.0345755 --> 00:34:32,500.0412893
Now it's time for a break."
352
00:34:33,670.0394583 --> 00:34:33,700.0382376
Mm-hmm.
353
00:34:34,490.0315237 --> 00:34:38,370.0364065
And lo and behold, guess what? It came down to the last week of the fiscal year.
354
00:34:38,370.0364065 --> 00:34:43,580.0278616
They almost missed making their mission because they slowed down so badly.
355
00:34:44,180.0370169 --> 00:34:56,780.0431204
now not only did it hurt them for that fiscal year, guess what? For the beginning of the next FY in October and November, they didn't have anything in their funnel to put in the Army.
356
00:34:57,150.0357997 --> 00:35:07,50.0360441
And I think that's, that's the biggest cause for concern is that not only are you, you know, hurting yourself for those last few weeks, you're going to have nothing in your funnel.
357
00:35:07,50.0360441 --> 00:35:15,740.0365782
So you may have some applicants that you set aside that are going to enlist that first couple of weeks of the FY, a new FY, but then you have nothing.
358
00:35:16,300.0360441 --> 00:35:16,380.0359678
Yeah.
359
00:35:16,410.0366545 --> 00:35:18,450.0356627
And you're, you're starting over from scratch.
360
00:35:18,450.0356627 --> 00:35:24,730.0363493
So I, I tell that cautionary tale that leaders know is that you cannot stop.
361
00:35:25,50.0360441 --> 00:35:27,400.0364256
Yes, the tempo may slow a bit.
362
00:35:27,460.0358915 --> 00:35:28,800.0360441
That's, that's understandable.
363
00:35:28,800.0360441 --> 00:35:31,940.0354338
People go on vacation with their families, those sorts of things.
364
00:35:32,880.0340605 --> 00:35:48,780.0355864
But if you tell them to stop or you allow them to stop altogether, you are doing them a big disservice, because now not only are they going to hurt on the production side, they're going to have to work twice as hard when school starts to catch back up with everyone else.
365
00:35:48,990.0346708 --> 00:35:55,360.0374174
So what are your thoughts on that? Have you seen that before? And is that a cause for concern for leaders and recruiters? 100%.
366
00:35:55,410.0366545 --> 00:35:59,200.0329924
I mean, at the end of the day, like, I want to sit here and be like, "No, I've never seen that," because we never slowed down.
367
00:35:59,200.0329924 --> 00:36:00,620.0387907
All gas, no brakes, right? Yeah.
368
00:36:01,290.0369597 --> 00:36:01,800.0390959
Let's be honest.
369
00:36:01,800.0390959 --> 00:36:03,660.0320768
I mean, there's going to be times everybody wants to take a knee.
370
00:36:03,660.0320768 --> 00:36:19,640.0418425
And I will tell you that the bottom line is, like, what are you going to do? I just told y'all to do stuff, right? What are you going to do if you, if you don't prospect? That's what I don't understand about recruiting, right? Like, it's one thing that I never got through my head and it was just always stayed with me, because I was just from recruiter to CSM and everything in between.
371
00:36:19,950.0394011 --> 00:36:22,90.0387907
I'm like, "You always have to prospect."
372
00:36:22,90.0387907 --> 00:36:22,700.0394011
Like, you just do.
373
00:36:22,700.0394011 --> 00:36:23,900.0363493
This is what you get paid to do.
374
00:36:23,900.0363493 --> 00:36:30,310.032382
And so what I used to try to really, really, really, instill into my soldiers was, "Listen, man, this is what you get paid to do."
375
00:36:30,310.032382 --> 00:36:30,920.0329924
And I used to, like...
376
00:36:30,920.0329924 --> 00:36:33,660.0308561
I'd have so many meetings with so many leaders and be like, "Let me tell y'all something.
377
00:36:34,90.0311613 --> 00:36:39,150.0363493
A recruiter's job is to go out there and make appointments, right? Prospect and make and conduct appointments.
378
00:36:39,260.0293303 --> 00:36:43,460.0339079
And then from the time they conduct the appointment, station commander, your job is to get them to the test line.
379
00:36:43,560.032382 --> 00:36:46,370.0299406
First sergeant, your job is to take them from test to floor and get them in the Army."
380
00:36:46,590.0311613 --> 00:36:54,50.0302458
One of the reason I used to do this, and it goes back to the playbook, but the reason I used to make this very clear, I would sit in front of my recruiters and tell them, all 300 of them, and say, "Let me tell y'all something.
381
00:36:54,340.0311613 --> 00:36:55,730.030551
This is what y'all are paid to do."
382
00:36:55,760.0293303 --> 00:37:13,10.0339079
And try to make them understand that the more I repeat this and say, "Hey, this is what we're paying you for," the more they would start to understand and grasp that, like, why am I getting distracted with all these other things? if I could just understand that this is my role, this is my responsibility for three years, maybe I would just try to get really good at that.
383
00:37:13,250.0394011 --> 00:37:14,450.0363493
And that's what I used to want them to do.
384
00:37:14,450.0363493 --> 00:37:15,990.0296354
I'm like, yeah, you might have to build a package.
385
00:37:15,990.0296354 --> 00:37:20,470.025363
Yeah, got it, right? They teach you that at the ARC, right? You got to learn how to build packets and drive the MEPS.
386
00:37:21,280.0229216 --> 00:37:24,730.0198698
But get really good at prospecting because there is no days off out here.
387
00:37:24,900.0180388 --> 00:37:25,770.0284147
Like, there's not.
388
00:37:25,970.0284147 --> 00:37:38,240.0174284
you're going to build into your plan and you're going to have a funnel built, if you're lucky, to take those vacations with your family or by yourself, and you're going to have this built into your plan to take a knee at Christmas if they do, you know, Christmas leave and all that stuff, and that's fine.
389
00:37:38,990.0174284 --> 00:37:40,540.0204802
Take a break when they let you take a break.
390
00:37:40,890.0265837 --> 00:37:47,630.0233221
But if you're not on leave- Like the army, like then you're working, and when you're working, I need you to be really good at what you're doing.
391
00:37:47,900.0234938 --> 00:37:56,540.0228834
When we try to take these recruiters and make them good at every single facet of recruiting, that's not what we're here for, right? Like, you gotta be really good at your job.
392
00:37:56,750.0238752 --> 00:37:57,800.0231123
Go out there and prospect.
393
00:37:57,800.0231123 --> 00:38:09,300.0250196
I need you to make appointments, prepare for appointments, and conduct the appointments, and then we'll take it from there, right? So I will tell you that that's the way things used to be, right? Is like get really good at prospecting, because that's what I'm gonna reward you for.
394
00:38:09,490.0236464 --> 00:38:11,750.0257826
Because your hard work is what's gonna make our mission.
395
00:38:12,60.0233412 --> 00:38:15,580.0237989
Station commanders, first serge, we're just there to facilitate the process.
396
00:38:15,620.0247145 --> 00:38:19,880.023036
It's the recruiter's hard work that's gonna make or break any single company out there.
397
00:38:20,0.0257826 --> 00:38:23,350.0242567
So get really good at your job, you know, and, and I think we'll be okay.
398
00:38:23,350.0242567 --> 00:38:25,400.0234938
So yeah, no n- no, no days off out here.
399
00:38:25,560.0233412 --> 00:38:29,980.0253248
No days off, you know? Or wait, no days off out there, not in here no more.
400
00:38:29,980.0253248 --> 00:38:33,370.0247145
You know what I mean? Lots of days off here, but no days off out there.
401
00:38:33,370.0247145 --> 00:38:39,10.0248671
But, you know, it's, you'll get there, too, but, like, have fun with it, be good at it, and I think, you know, I think y'all will be fine.
402
00:38:39,970.0239515 --> 00:38:43,190.0175428
Yeah, you know what? And we'll end on that, because I think you're right.
403
00:38:43,190.0175428 --> 00:38:53,930.023036
The mindset means everything, right? That, that's what differentiates an average recruiter or a mediocre recruiter from one who excels and always makes their mission, right? So it's the mindset.
404
00:38:54,260.0248671 --> 00:39:05,320.0224257
And, and some of the notes I was taking as, as you were talking are, you know, you gotta have a plan, number one, first and foremost, and the leaders need to help them develop that plan, giving them the template for success.
405
00:39:06,100.021205 --> 00:39:07,880.0199842
Then you have to execute daily.
406
00:39:08,740.0205946 --> 00:39:09,800.0181532
You've gotta, you've gotta be...
407
00:39:10,150.0242567 --> 00:39:16,620.017848
You gotta have the plan, and you gotta do it, and then stay consistent, right? You've gotta stay consistent throughout the year.
408
00:39:16,820.0224257 --> 00:39:19,280.0215101
You, we don't know what's on the horizon.
409
00:39:19,280.0215101 --> 00:39:25,420.0208998
And you think back to our time in recruiting, you know, we, we saw wars, right? We had COVID.
410
00:39:25,650.0242567 --> 00:39:28,10.0248671
No one foresaw that coming, right? Yeah.
411
00:39:28,260.0248671 --> 00:39:41,160.0218153
And, even then, those, those recruiters and those units who had a pretty substantial funnel, they had some degree of success those months into COVID- Yeah because they still had people that wanted to join.
412
00:39:41,270.0224257 --> 00:39:49,230.0291395
The ones who didn't, boy, they were really hurting, right? So we don't know what the horizon, is on the horizon for recruiters.
413
00:39:49,230.0291395 --> 00:39:49,860.0187635
And think about this.
414
00:39:49,860.0187635 --> 00:39:52,590.0144911
For the recruiters out there who are successful, I'm really happy for you.
415
00:39:52,790.0266981 --> 00:39:59,400.0273085
But you know what's gonna happen soon is that, that, that military industry is going to rise, and with it will, your mission will rise, too.
416
00:39:59,760.0279188 --> 00:40:20,590.0144911
So if you're not putting in the work ethic, you don't have a plan, and you're not being consistent, you're gonna pay a price, okay? So Sonny, what would you offer them, anybody listening, a last piece of advice for recruiters and leaders? Man, listen, I may have said this before, but, you know, it's always been my thing, right? Like, I always had a motto which was always like, "Don't owe nobody nothing," right? But I use a different word, right? Don't owe nobody anything.
417
00:40:20,590.0144911 --> 00:40:28,710.0150919
Just go out there and do your job, right? So, Anybody watching this that, or hearing this that knows me will 100% validate, like, one, I'm always gonna be honest with you.
418
00:40:28,910.0149012 --> 00:40:32,790.0154924
But I've always had this mindset of, like, I don't...
419
00:40:33,110.0151873 --> 00:40:38,70.0152254
I would say it out loud, and I don't think some leaders liked it, but I would say out loud, like, "I don't really care if you make mission.
420
00:40:38,690.015111 --> 00:40:40,330.0145006
I just need you to work hard.
421
00:40:40,650.0141954 --> 00:40:43,950.0153399
Let me validate that you work hard and be like, 'Hey, man, it just didn't work out.'"
422
00:40:44,30.0152636 --> 00:40:57,710.0136614
Right? We know, look, sometimes the numbers are made up and, and the score don't matter, right? We, what matters is work ethic, plans, execution, and getting to the end state, right? Which is like, "Hey, I, I did my job today, this week, this month."
423
00:40:57,870.0135088 --> 00:41:05,470.0119829
Right? And if you constantly come in and do that and give 100% every single day, do what you're supposed to do, and be good at it, like, that's all I would ask for.
424
00:41:05,720.0119829 --> 00:41:21,220.0165606
All the way down to when I was hired as a CSM, I was like, "Listen, every first sergeant, especially my commanders knew, 'cause I talked to them a lot, too, "Look, you're not always gonna make mission, but did you work hard or did you not work hard? And you won't know if you worked hard if you don't have a plan to validate that was executed."
425
00:41:21,490.0170183 --> 00:41:22,890.0147295
So that's why it all comes together.
426
00:41:22,890.0147295 --> 00:41:24,880.016408
It's very simple out here, right? It's not hard.
427
00:41:25,90.0154924 --> 00:41:29,970.0127459
We make this shit hard sometimes, but at the end of the day, come to work, do your job.
428
00:41:30,150.013051 --> 00:41:33,660.0151873
It's gonna work out sometimes, and sometimes it's not, and that's just the way it's...
429
00:41:33,660.0151873 --> 00:41:35,10.006032
And that's always been my motto.
430
00:41:35,10.006032 --> 00:41:41,190.007863
I got guys out there that are like, "Oh, it's mission or die," and I get it, right? But, did you work hard or did you not? And so that's all I care about.
431
00:41:41,190.007863 --> 00:41:42,470.0066423
So go out there and do stuff.
432
00:41:43,20.0096941 --> 00:41:43,490.0109148
That's what I would say.
433
00:41:44,80.0072527 --> 00:41:44,530.0118303
thanks, Sonny.
434
00:41:44,530.0118303 --> 00:41:45,60.0106096
I appreciate it.
435
00:41:45,60.0106096 --> 00:41:51,490.021596
But for those who are listening and who would like to follow up with you, can they get in touch with you via your website or any other way? Yeah, man.
436
00:41:51,490.021596 --> 00:41:55,520.0203752
I mean, you can get me on LinkedIn, right? Obviously, Sibley Group website, you can check that out, too.
437
00:41:55,870.0264788 --> 00:41:58,470.0249529
but at the end of the day, man, like, I'd rather you just, just DM me.
438
00:41:58,510.0258684 --> 00:42:05,40.021596
I get calls all the time, especially from 2nd Brigade, you know, and, and guys just wanna talk about stuff about recruiting, or just about life, or even about transition.
439
00:42:05,80.0148821 --> 00:42:11,740.0185442
Like, I'm getting really good at talking to people about transitioning out the military, and I will tell you that I'm always available all the time, and my number hasn't changed.
440
00:42:12,60.0136614 --> 00:42:12,690.0185442
I'm here for you.
441
00:42:12,690.0185442 --> 00:42:14,550.0191545
So just give me a call, man, if you need me, for sure.
442
00:42:15,310.0136614 --> 00:42:16,280.0148821
Yeah, I, I know you will be.
443
00:42:16,280.0148821 --> 00:42:18,330.0179338
You certainly have been there for me, and I appreciate it.
444
00:42:18,950.013051 --> 00:42:20,450.013051
Well, folks, hey, that's the end of our podcast.
445
00:42:20,450.013051 --> 00:42:26,560.0014543
if you or your unit are looking for some additional training or consulting, you can contact me, James Welch, on LinkedIn.
446
00:42:26,849.9947405 --> 00:42:30,340.0002336
You can also visit our website, recruitingsolutionsllc.com.
447
00:42:31,250.0038958 --> 00:42:33,330.0057268
That's recruitingsolutionsllc.com.
448
00:42:33,700.000844 --> 00:42:39,69.9959612
And finally, you can check out my book, The Art of Military Recruiting: Lessons Learned from the Recruiting Battlefield.
449
00:42:39,69.9959612 --> 00:42:40,269.9929094
That's available on Amazon.
450
00:42:40,629.9935198 --> 00:42:42,879.9935198
Again, thank you Sonny, appreciate your time.
451
00:42:43,169.9934816 --> 00:42:48,289.9933672
And for all the recruiters out there, I wish you much success and little stress.
452
00:42:48,829.9923754 --> 00:42:49,669.992528
James, watch out.
453
00:42:50,29.9931383 --> 00:42:50,319.9921465
Cool.