Fanatical Military Recruiting

JEB BLOUNT is the founder and CEO of Sales Gravy, a global leader in sales acceleration. He is the author of ten books and a highly sought-after advisor to a who's who of the world's leading organizations. Most recently, Jeb has taken a leading role in military recruiter training and development and advising United States Military leadership on improving military recruiter performance.

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• I Go to Basic xvA Conundrum xvLearning the Language xviiMilitary Recruiting versus Civilian Sales xviiiPart I: Mission Critical 1Chapter 1 Military Recruiting Is Facing a Perfect Storm 3Qualification Standards Continue to Tighten 5Chapter 2 Nothing Prepared You for This War 7On Most Days, Recruiting Doesn’t Feel Much Like Winning 8Asymmetric Battlefield 9Civilians 9Rejection 9FMR versus What You Learned at the Schoolhouse 11Chapter 3 Fanatical Prospecting 13Chapter 4 Stop Wishing Things Were Easier 16There Is No Easy Button in Military Recruiting 17Get Better 19Part II: The Ask 21Chapter 5 Effective Recruiting Begins with the Discipline to Ask 23Conjuring the Deepest, Darkest Human Fear 24Chapter 6 How to Ask 26Emotional Contagion: People Respond in Kind 27The Assumptive Ask 28Shut Up 33Be Prepared for Objections 34Part III: On The Move 35Chapter 7 The More You Prospect, the Luckier You Get 37The Universal Law of Need 38The 30-Day Rule 40The Law of Replacement 42The Anatomy of a Recruiting Slump 43Oscar Mike: The First Rule of Recruiting Slumps 45Make Your Own Luck 45Chapter 8 The Three Ps That Are Holding You Back 47Procrastination 48Perfectionism 50Paralysis from Analysis 52Disrupting the Three Ps 52Part IV: Battle Rhythm 55Chapter 9 Time Discipline 57Twenty-Four 58Leveraging Horstman’s Corollary 60Time Blocking 63Stick to Your Guns and Avoid Distractions 65Concentrate Your Focus 66Beware of the Ding 68What Lurks in Your In-box Can and Will Derail Your Recruiting Day 70Driving Is Not an Accomplishment 71Protect the Golden Hours 72Leverage the Platinum Hours 75Adopt a Command Mind-Set 76Part V: Targeting 79Chapter 10 Targeting—Leveraging the Prospecting Pyramid 81Walk Like an Egyptian: Managing the Prospecting Pyramid 83Powerful Lists Get Powerful Results 85The Recruiting Information Support System Is Your Most Valuable Recruiting Tool 87A Trash Can or a Gold Mine 89Own It! 90Chapter 11 Yes Has a Number 91Recruiting Is Governed by Numbers 93It’s All About the Ratios 94Changing Your Yes Number 96Chapter 12 Qualifying: Talking to the Right People 98Don’t Swing at Nothing Ugly 99Moneyball 100The Balance and Nuance of Qualifying 102Chapter 13 Prospecting Balance and Objectives 105Set an Appointment 106Gather Information and Qualify 107Build Familiarity 107Prospecting Is Not Pitching 108Adopt a Balanced Prospecting Methodology 108The Fallacy of Putting All Your Eggs in One Basket 109Avoid the Lunacy of One Size Fits All 110Part VI: Pick Up the Phone! 113Chapter 14 Telephone Prospecting Excellence 115Nobody Answers a Phone That Doesn’t Ring 117The Telephone Is, Has Always Been, and Will Continue to Be Your Most Powerful Recruiting Tool 118Nobody Likes It; Get Over It 120The Ultimate Key to Success Is the Scheduled Phone Block 123Chapter 15 The Seven-Step Telephone Prospecting Framework 125Seven-Step Telephone Prospecting Framework 129Practice the Framework 139Chapter 16 Just Eat the Frog 140Chapter 17 Leaving Effective Voice Mail Messages That Get Returned 144Five-Step Voice Mail Framework to Double Callbacks 145Develop Compelling Voice Mail Messages 147Part VII: Objections 149Chapter 18 Objections Are Not Rejection, but They Feel That Way 151Not the Same 153But It Feels the Same 155Chapter 19 The Science Behind the Hurt 157A Biological Response 158The Most Insatiable Human Need 159Chapter 20 Rejection Proof 161The Seven Disruptive Emotions 162Develop Self-Awareness 165Positive Visualization 166Manage Self-Talk 167Change Your Physiology 169Stay Fit 170Obstacle Immunity 171Adversity Is Your Most Powerful Teacher 175Leveraging Adversity 176Chapter 21 Prospecting Objections 178We Feel, Then We Think 180The Rule of Thirds 183Prospecting RBOs 184Prospecting RBOs Can Be Anticipated in Advance 187Planning for Prospecting RBOs 190The Three-Step Prospecting Objection Turnaround Framework 192The Ledge 192Disrupt 194Ask 199Putting It All Together 199Part VIII: Face-To-Face and Digital Prospecting 201Chapter 22 Face-to-Face Prospecting 203The Four-Step Face-to-Face Prospecting Framework 204First Impressions: Making an Emotional Connection 206Triggering the Negativity and Safety Biases 207The Five Questions That Matter Most in Recruiting 210Likability: The Gateway to Emotional Connections 212Pitch Slapping 213Keys to Being More Likable 215Put Your Recruiting Goggles On 216Chapter 23 Text Messaging 218Familiarity Is Everything with Text 219Use Text to Anchor Face-to-Face Conversations 220Use Text to Nurture Prospects 221Use Text to Create Opportunities for Engagement 222Seven Rules for Structuring Effective Text Prospecting Messages 223Chapter 24 E-Mail and Direct Messaging 225The Four Cardinal Rules of E-Mail and Direct Message Prospecting 226Effective Prospecting E-Mail and Direct Messages Begins with a Plan 233The Four-Step E-Mail Prospecting Framework 236Practice, Practice, Practice 242Pause Before You Press “Send” 242Chapter 25 Social Recruiting 244Social Recruiting Is Not a Panacea 245The Social Recruiting Challenge 245Social Recruiting Is About Nuance 246Choosing the Right Social Channels 247Five Objectives of Social Recruiting 248The Five Cs of Social Recruiting 256Social Recruiting + Outbound Prospecting = A Powerful Combination 260Creating Obligation and Leveraging the Law of Reciprocity with Social Media 262Chapter 26 The Law of Familiarity 265Familiarity Reduces Friction and Resistance 266Five Levers of Familiarity 267Part IX: Charlie Mike 273Chapter 27 Mission Drive 275The Four Pillars of Mission Drive 276Embrace the Suck—You Have to Grind to Shine 281The Enduring Mantra of Ultra-High-Performing Recruiters 283The Mantra of Fanatical Military Recruiting 285Charlie Mike 286Notes 289About the Author 295Acknowledgments 297Index 299