What came first, the unsolicited email or the client relationship?

On my first day in recruitment (many, many moons ago) the order of the day was to get acquainted with candidates in my area and to build up market knowledge, splitting the ‘ear to the ground’ folk from the more active individuals. It’s been recruitment practice for years to offer to ‘proactively market’ candidates to our client base if they see the value in it and give their permission… Why? Why do I do it when clearly it irritates some clients? it is far too easy to hit the delete button or send, and sometimes send impolite and abrupt replies back (isn’t it funny how some people are far more bold with email than they would be verbally?) 8 years in recruitment has made me very much immune to unkind responses however because, more often than not, this approach to sourcing opportunities and interviews for my candidates works time after time. If I know that you may not have a requirement today just like you may not want to order a domino’s pizza when the ‘two for Tuesdays’ flyer floats on to your doormat (or did i mean mine…?). This is my marketing opportunity and just as with any marketing the ‘direct’ percentage return is always expected to be low. and like domino’s I know that you may want one but not have budget at the moment or may not have planned to have one initially but then decide you will because it will free up some time to do something else etc, Cheap shot lazy recruitment? Believe it or not I go through the process of working out if this candidate is going to be able to add value to your business (based on their background and achievements) and whether you are the right level of client to influence. It’s in my interest to make the process as targeted as possible since sending you irrelevant information will damage our brand image and my own credibility. Of course there are times that i might get this wrong and the profile I’m sending you is irrelevant and if this is the case then why not give some feedback? There are many ways that i have gone about engaging and building quality relationships with clients over the years and this method never ceases to start the conversation, secure an interview for the respective candidate and provide an opportunity to grow genuine long term relationships (recruiting relationships of course). What’s the alternative? well; I could call you and give you my best ‘patter’ but the beauty of the email is that i don’t have to go through the switchboard and you don’t have to think of a reason tell the gatekeeper that you can’t take the call. The fact is that by not doing this i miss out on the opportunity to market myself and my company’s brand – my competition won’t hesitate and therefore I can’t afford to either! To quote Zig Ziglar one of the world’s most famous salesman “For every sale you miss for being too enthusiastic, you will miss a hundred because you are not enthusiastic enough” Shout it from the rooftops I am proud of what I do and I know I have the ability to find talent that will contribute positively to your team. Read any book on starting and growing a business and it will tell you to promote your brand, tell the world and scream it from the rooftops. So which came first? My parting question to you would have to be this: the people you work with, be they a client or colleague, how did that relationship start? I can make a pretty educated guess that it came from a cold call or email.