Page 117 - James Caan - The Real Deal

11 · Pall Mall

candidate was twenty-nine, was an Oxford graduate, had been an
investment banker before, and had billed over £250,000 the
previous year. All he needed now was a name. I called him
Craig.
So now when I called people up I tried to engage them in a
conversation about Craig.
‘I had this guy in last week, he’s at Allied Dunbar and although
he’s not actively looking to move at the moment I know he’dbe
perfect for you . . .’ I gave them the pitch and at the end of it they’d
say: ‘Fantastic, we’d love to see him.’
There was a big grin on my face because I hadn’t even asked
them if they had a vacancy, I’d just got them talking. The fact that
Craig didn’t exist didn’t bother me, because I had also worked out
another strategy to find him.
‘Hypothetically’,I’d say, ‘if we were in a position to get Craig
to come along and see you, it would be really helpful if you could
give me the reasons why somebody like Craig would leave Allied
Dunbar to come and work for you.’
So the sales director would start pitching his company to me.
Perhaps he’d say something like:
‘Well, James, we’re one of the largest independents, we won an
award from Lloyds Life last year, we have our annual conventions
in Hawaii . . .’
‘That’s great, really helpful. Can you also tell me how the
financials would work? Would you guarantee him an income, or
is it all commission?’
Effectively what was happening was that I was getting the sales
director to write me a job description.
At the end of the call, I’d say: ‘Leave it with me. I’ll speak to
Craig and I’ll give you a call towards the end of the week.’
So now I had my first requirement from a potential client, and,
of course, the first thing I did was call up Allied Dunbar.
‘Hello, I’m quite interested in making some investments and I’d

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