T H E T O R P E D O C L I E N T As we all know a good recruiter has to be a top sales man/woman specially in the thriving Middle East Recruitment Market, After all we are always selling. Selling ourselves, (to stand out from the 1000s of new "recruiters) selling the job, selling the client, selling the candidate to the client, selling the salary ..... You catch my drift. As a man that's never believed he was ever a salesman (20 years own !) I can assure you - selling is no child play. From the early 90’s, days of "prepare the broacher and drop off to the client” (oh my, how many trees we wasted!), onto the boiler room days of cold calling, to today's social selling, Selling is a tough business for tough folks. Selling or "business development" as today intellects like to call it, is the hardest and most critical part of any good recruiters role.(after all my 16 yr old daughter can play the mix & match game on LinkedIn we like to call “sourcing“ However finding that dream account is the name of the game, And after hours of researching and month of networking and connecting, you finally get that first requirement in Qatar - the test - always to be worked on the clients terms (8% 7% 6% fee) of course, and always the near impossible to find consultant ....You find, you deliver (we recruiters are tough folks remember) and the deal is done! Hurrah Consultant happy, client mutters “I am happy too” and you get the glowing reference, Move on to the next req (hopefully with this happy client) - then comes silent slowly moving but sure deadly TorPedO! The first invoice (SLAP) At first they are late a day or two (for some lame excuse: wrong invoice No, wrong stamp, wrong colour paper etc) Your accounts chases there accounts and through many fake smiles you get paid. Torpedo no2 - you send the second month invoice and the payment is not made (right number, stamp, even paper colour and everything). Tthis time your opposition comes prepared with a stronger excuse "waiting to be authorised“ - a favoured excuse here in Middle East and in Dubai is "waiting for chq to be signed" by that mystical God "the boss or Arbab" ! You are reluctantly forced to make that dreaded call to the "muttering" happy client pleading "I found you the impossible perfect candidate at that silly 5% fee" please pay. They have mercy and a week later you are paid. (Boom) Torpedo no3 - Monday morning coffee warm in your hands and your ready for recruitment battle, click open email "Dear Ali your client has not paid again" WTF you scream ?! You call - no answer, you call again –same. You email and your contact is on vacation (it's amazing how clients go away on vacation come invoice time, strange ) Fast forward, accounts take over with stronger email - legal threats etc and you are paid but at what cost......kaboom! All of us recruiting or doing business in the Middle East know of the epidemic here known as "don't pay on time", Dubai to its credit has the best system out here (God only knows what happens in down town Yemen) but this literally is every sales persons nightmare. After all the hard work you lose the client, for "A client that does not pay us is technically not a client you see" Back to Google I go and research for that dream client I go ……