Are you a good closer? Everybody understands the value of finishing a sales presentation strongly. The final minutes of a presentation, when you outline and summarize why your firm is the best choice to take on the project at hand. When it comes to recruiting, the same principle applies. The last step, making the job offer, is your closing.

It's very unfortunate when a recruit, while mulling over a job change, gets turned off by a perceived slight during the offer and immediate follow-up stages. But it happens more often than you might think, and some easily avoided faux pas are sometimes to blame.

It's understandable when a recruit gets cold feet in the latter stages of the process. After all, changing jobs does carry risk, particularly if it means moving to another part of the country. Sometimes a recruit decides that while the new position is enticing, the risk that it might not turn out to be what's promised or that moving away from friends, family, and a familiar lifestyle is too great. That's why closing well is important. Any last minute bad vibes can tip the balance too far to the risk side of the risk/benefit scale for the recruit.

There are some matters of etiquette during the latter stages of the recruiting/hiring process that can be deal breakers if ignored. Here's how to avoid them and ensure that you close strongly:

How to extend the offer
It's surprising to me how firms sometimes extend an offer to a recruit. I've actually seen instances where a firm e-mails its offer to a candidate without even a phone call - and this sometimes happens with high-level candidates, not just entry-level people. This is a very impersonal way to offer any position, and has been known to dissuade candidates from accepting the offer. It also creates a practical problem. How does someone negotiate salary, benefits, bonuses, and a starting date with an e-mail message? Another problem with e-mail delivery is that spam filters may block your message or relegate it to the recruit's junk folder. Sending an e-mail alone simply isn't good enough.

The best scenario is to make the offer face-to-face. This method gives the firm's representative and the recruit the opportunity to interact and gauge each other's body language and facial expressions. I recommend that a lunch meeting be scheduled in a place where both parties feel comfortable speaking candidly. A neutral site away from the hiring manager's office is the best setting because it creates a "level playing field" psychologically. If held in the employer's office, the employer, at least symbolically, has the upper hand.

But an in-person meeting is often not feasible because of scheduling conflicts or geographical constraints. The next best thing to being there, as the slogan goes, is to phone the recruit. This permits the recruit to voice any concerns and negotiate terms. If the recruit accepts the offer verbally, it's OK to e-mail the formal offer document if the recruit says that's OK. Keep in mind, however, that legally, employers have the right to monitor (that is to read) employees' e-mail. So, if the recruit has any concerns about this, it would be better to e-mail the formal offer to his or her home e-mail address. Better yet, send the document via old-fashioned snail mail to the recruit's home.

The art of negotiating
Many people - both employers and recruits - find negotiating terms of employment to be an uncomfortable process. That's understandable because much is at stake, and both employer and employee will have to live with the terms of the agreement for a long time.

Starting salary is an important item on the agenda, though it isn't necessarily the thing that recruits are most likely to negotiate. Most employers realize that "recruited candidates" often require a significant salary boost to justify leaving their current position for another opportunity. But sometimes salary is a greater stumbling block when a recruit is considering a job in a different part of the country.

An employer recruiting someone from a major metro area on the East or West Coasts to a mid-sized city in the Midwest, for example, may not be able to match the recruit's present salary. If the recruit is inclined to make the move for other reasons, such as a change in lifestyle or to be closer to his or her extended family, then the employer may still have a chance at landing the recruit. The employer in this case can cite the lower cost of living - $70,000 in Indianapolis may go further than $110,000 in New York, for instance, due to much lower housing costs.

Employers are understandably reluctant to bring in a newcomer at a higher pay rate than what long-time staffers at the same level earn. One way to overcome that issue is to offer the recruit a median salary, but sweeten the offer with a sign-on bonus.

The most common issues that recruits tend to want to negotiate are sign-on bonuses and vacation time. Recruits can make a good case for sign-on bonuses when they would have to leave their firm before the end of the year because they may have to give up a significant year-end profit-sharing bonus. I've seen a number of recruits reject offers for that reason. Many recruits are also reluctant to give up vacation time they may have accrued over many years with their present employer.

Employers who are flexible with compensation and benefits packages will be able to accommodate the needs of many recruits. Recruits occasionally make unreasonable demands, though. When that happens, it's usually best to rescind your offer. Sometimes even a highly qualified, capable recruit just isn't a good fit for your firm.

But when you do find the right candidate and are ready to make the offer, put yourself in the recruit's position and think about how you would want to be treated. Don't let a good catch get away because of poor closing etiquette.