What is the secret to billing $28,000,000 in 14 years, including $12,800,000 in personal production? If your goal is to become a top biller or billing manager, you’re going to love my interview with Michael Pietrack.
Michael was recommended to me on five separate occasions by previous podcast guests, so I made it my mission to get him on the show. He’s the Vice President of TMAC Direct which is the executive recruiting arm of The Medical Affairs Company based in Atlanta. On top of being a consistent top producer, Michael’s achievements include becoming MRI’s #1 Worldwide solo recruiter, being elected into the Pinnacle Society and becoming PharmaVoice’s Top 100 Most Inspiring People in Pharma.
Michael generously shared his approach and best practices as well as his mindset that drives him to success. Enjoy listening!
Episode Outline and Highlights
- [2:30] From being a baseball player/coach to becoming a recruiter.
- [4:15] The value of failure and other key drivers for Michael’s success.
- [8:45] How to become a celebrity within your niche.
- [11:20] A very insightful discussion on branding.
- [14:10] Michael’s best practices when creating videos as a differentiating factor.
- [20:05] How to effectively reach out to candidates to engage.
- [24:00] What are your thoughts on cold outreach? Hear Michael’s winning mindset and approach.
- [32:00] Best practices on candidate outreach.
- [40:11] Candidate exclusivity – how to earn it instead of asking and other sourcing approaches.
- [47:07] What a typical busy desk looks like and how does Michael manage his time?
- [51:48] How to overcome phone fear and distraction.
The Value of Failure
Upon realizing that Michael had previous playing and coaching experience in baseball before transitioning to recruitment, I recalled what my friend Joel Slenning said about hiring athletes as recruiters. I have also interviewed successful recruiters and business owners who applied discipline from sports or even combat sports in their recruiting careers. I asked Michael’s perspective, what is it about the athletic background that can add chances for success in recruiting? He gave his insights, “I would say the biggest commonality between all athletes is this ego drive that despite failure, you are going to succeed next time.” Michael added, “That’s very important if you are going to be a resilient recruiter, you got to have that ingrained in you.”
This is golden, considering that actual success is just the tip of the iceberg. What most people don’t see are the number of times a recruiter or business owner must fail in order to learn and move forward.
Michael’s Success Factors
Michael also shared differentiating factors contributing to his success. Billing $12,800,000 in 14 years is more than just hard work. As Michael stated, it is a “compounding variety of things.”
He gave two primary takeaways:
- Being more niched – Finding a niche, sticking to it and “being a celebrity in that universe.”
- Branding and Marketing – hear Michael’s epiphany while waiting in line at “In and Out Burger” and how it influenced his approach to recruitment.
Candidate and Client Outreach Best Practices
On top of what Michael shared on sticking to your niche and being consistent with branding, he also shared practical approaches that can significantly increase your chances of success. From overcoming the fear of cold outreach, how to seek out candidates and earn exclusivity, to how he manages his time to make the most out of each day.
Related Podcast You Might Enjoy
- TRR#46 How to Run a Million Dollar Recruiting Firm From Your RV, with Jordan Rayboy
- TRR#32 How to Build a 7-Figure Search Firm with a Small Virtual Team, with Rob Bowerman
- TRR#82 How to Become a Big Billing Recruiter by Building Your Brand, with Sean Rigsby, Ep #82
- TRR#65 Recruiting Success: How to Bill $700k+ While Achieving Work-Life Balance, with John Schlegel
- TRR#94 How to Create a Unique Value Proposition and Sell Retained Executive Search, with Chris Shoettelkotte
- TRR#53 How to Scale Your Staffing & Recruiting Firm to $16,000,000, With Joel Slenning
