Customer Success | Hot Spaces

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Fritz Eichelberger

Founder

It’s often said that it’s not ‘what you know’, but ‘who you know’ – and in Fritz Eichelberger’s case, that couldn’t be more true.

Over the last 14 years, Fritz has built a highly successful recruitment consultancy, FJE Enterprises, by nurturing, managing and maintaining an impressive database of some 40,000 contacts.

But such a mountain of data on potential candidates’ job roles, skillsets, experience and locations would have little value if he wasn’t able to search it effectively to find the right people, for the right role, at the right time on behalf of his clients.

Fritz is able to do so, in large part, because of Act!

I make sure everything I need is on Act! so I can get at my data whenever I want.

Managing a mountain of data

Fritz started using Act! back in the early ‘90s when, as a young salesman, he wanted a way to manage leads and prospects more effectively – and he’s been an enthusiastic and loyal advocate ever since, particularly so since setting up his recruitment business.

Based in Tampa Bay, Florida, Fritz specializes in the technology, healthcare and services sectors and needs a constant flow of candidates to offer companies who are hiring, whether that’s today, in six months or five years from now.

“That means I have to maintain dynamic relationships with people so I know when they’ve moved to different positions, been promoted, or been laid off and are looking for new roles,” says Fritz, “and Act! lets me do that.”

Act! – part of a recruitment ecosystem

Not surprisingly, Act!’s ability to schedule calls, emails, alerts and follow-ups is highly important to Fritz’s business — helping him to keep relationships going until the moment’s right. “I once placed someone in a job nine years after I first came into contact with them because I’m maintaining connections longterm,” says Fritz.

So, his database is the very heart of his business.

It’s so critical that Fritz now devotes 80-90% of his day growing and maintaining his recruitment ecosystem, which consists not only of Act! but also LinkedIn, which like many other recruiters, Fritz uses to identify and acquire information about potential job candidates.

But while many recruiters would use LinkedIn exclusively, Fritz wants more control, which is why information from LinkedIn is backed up on Act!.

“I wouldn’t want to rely on LinkedIn alone,” says Fritz, “in case they have a hack, or change their policy so I can’t get at my data. That’s why I make sure everything I need is on Act! so I can get at my data whenever I want.” Finding ‘purple squirrels’ While Act!’s scheduling capabilities let Fritz keep in touch with candidates, it’s the software’s ability to query his database quickly and accurately that gives him an edge.

Finding ‘purple squirrels’

While Act!’s scheduling capabilities let Fritz keep in touch with candidates, it’s the software’s ability to query his database quickly and accurately that gives him an edge.

“There are a million recruiters out there,” says Fritz, “so you have to find a way to stand out. So, I often ask potential clients to give me what I call the ‘purple squirrel’, their hardest position to fill.

I can often fill those positions fast because I’ve built groups and subgroups of candidates with different qualifications so that I can target those with very specific skills. And even if I can’t find someone on my database, I can generally find someone who knows someone who could be perfect for the role.”

Alongside his recruitment business, Fritz also runs a networking community – www.hotspaces.net – something he started even before his recruitment business, for which he also uses Act! to keep track of everyone who’s registered and to email out thousands of event notifications and newsletters often on a weekly basis.

Why would I be anything other than loyal to Act! when it’s helped bring me millions of dollars of profits!

Increased efficiency

Fritz is very focused on making his system as streamlined as possible.

“I don’t want to spend more time than I need on things like data entry,” says Fritz, “so I’m always looking for ways to automate processes, to make things easier, faster and better — fewer keystrokes and less process is what I’m after – which is why I always upgrade Act! when I get the opportunity so I get the most from every feature, rather than having to introduce third-party plugins.”

As an experienced user, Fritz is able to resolve most issues – he is proficient in getting Act! just the way he wants it. But if he does need help with the latest version, he’s more than happy to reach out to the Act! community, where other users share information and can answer his questions. For more complex issues there’s always the support line or an Act! Certified Consultant (ACC) he can call on.

And given his experience of Act!, would Fritz consider switching to another CRM? “Why would I,” says Fritz, “when Act!’s helped bring me millions of dollars of profits!”

Key Takeaways

Fritz has built a database of some 40,000 contacts which he stores and manages using Act!.
Since Fritz needs to continually touch base with those on his list, Act!’s ability to schedule call-backs and follow-ups at just the right moment is critical to his business operations.
Fritz now spends 80 to 90% of his day adding to and updating his database of connections so he can maintain dynamic relationships with both job candidates and potential clients.
To create the most streamlined possible recruitment process, Fritz ensures he’s using the latest Act! version so as to take advantage of new features that will make his business as efficient as possible.
While Fritz uses other platforms to gather information about people who might be able to fill a job, because he wants long-term control over that data, he makes sure it’s transferred to Act! for safekeeping.

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