DEEPER™ Sales Toolkit
Qualify the fit, put real numbers on the hiring plan, compare the options on equal terms, close live, then wrap the call.
DEEPER™ Sales Toolkit, by Decision Forensics™
DEEPER™ Conversation
Cost & ROI
DEEPER™ Decision
Summary
Leave-Behind
Who You're Talking To
What's Driving the Hiring?
Tap the one that fits best. This drives the language in the Decision tab.
Say This First
DEEPER™ Conversation Worksheet
Work the six phases in order. Tap a question as you ask it, jot notes as they answer. No pitching yet, this is discovery.
Phase
Questions to Ask
Your Notes
Your Hiring Plan
The roles you need to fill in the next 12 months.
Starting salaries are U.S. medians from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: entry-level uses all occupations, mid-level uses business and financial operations, senior-level uses the business and financial operations mean, manager uses management occupations, executive uses chief executives. Replace any of them with the pay for your actual roles.
How Hiring Works Today
How many weeks does it take to fill a role today?From posting the role to a signed offer.
weeks
How many recruiters do you have on staff today?Dedicated recruiters or a head of talent. Zero is a fine answer.
recruiters
How many hours a week do your leaders spend on hiring?Sourcing, screening, interviewing and follow-up, added up.
hrs/wk
How many hires left in their first 6 months last year?Resigned or let go early.
hires
What did you spend on recruiting agencies in the last 12 months?Zero is a fine answer.
$
Reference figures used below (editable)
Benchmark time to fill a roleMedian time to fill a non-executive role is 39 days, about 6 weeks (SHRM 2026 Recruiting Benchmarking). Weeks beyond this count as extra time a seat sits empty.
weeks
Value an empty seat would produce, as a multiple of its salaryCommon rule of thumb: 1x salary for entry-level, 2x for high-impact roles, 3x for executives (Built In; ASE). Edit by level.
Value of one leadership hourStarts at the executive salary above divided by 2,080 working hours. Edit it if you know your own.
$/hr
Cost to replace a hire, as a share of salaryWork Institute estimate, 2017 Retention Report: about 33% of annual salary.
% of salary
Current Hiring Plan Costs
How this cost is calculated
Roles open past benchmark$0
Leadership time spent on hiring$0
Early departures$0
Agency fees paid$0
If Nothing Changes
1 year
$0
3 years
$0
5 years
$0
How the 1, 3 and 5 year figures are calculated
Ways to Work Together
Click a card to select it. The return below updates to match.
Options
The roles on your hiring plan, filled three ways, in dollars.
Benchmarks used for these options (editable)
Contingency agency fee, entry-level through managerNo upfront payment, paid when a hire is made. Typically 15% to 25% of first-year base salary (Pin). Midpoint shown. Use their quote if they have one.
% of salary
Retained search fee, executive rolesExecutive searches usually run retained: 30% to 35% of first-year pay, often paid one-third at the start, one-third at the shortlist and one-third at placement (Talentfoot). Midpoint shown.
% of salary
Recruiter base salaryU.S. median for human resources specialists, which includes recruiters: $75,940 (BLS, May 2025).
$/yr
Benefits and payroll taxes, on top of salaryBenefits are 30% of total compensation for private industry (BLS, June 2026), which is 43% on top of salary.
% of salary
Hires one recruiter makes in a yearBusiness recruiters average 5 hires a quarter (Ashby 2026 Talent Trends Report).
hires/yr
Days to hire your first recruiterMedian time to fill a non-executive role is 39 days (SHRM 2026 Recruiting Benchmarking). Every hire on your plan starts that much later.
days
Applicant tracking systemCompanies under 100 employees pay about $250 to $3,000 a year (G2). Top of the range shown.
$/yr
How this comparison is calculated
Each option is priced for the same roles in the hiring plan, so the totals compare directly.
Recruiting agency$0
Internal recruiters$0
Superbloom outsourced department$0
Per hire is each total divided by the number of roles.
The Return on Acting
How the return and payback are calculated
Talking Points
What's the Hesitation?
Tap the one that fits best. This drives the language in the worksheet below.
DEEPER™ Decision Worksheet
Built from the hiring driver and hesitation you tapped. Pick whichever line fits the moment, work top to bottom.
Phase
What to Say
Your Notes
Call Summary
Recap for your notes or CRM. Fill in the outcome and next step, then copy.
Copied to clipboard.
Building the Case: a DEEPER™ worksheet for your hiring decision.
DEEPER™ is a structured way to think through a decision before you commit to it.
This worksheet prints as the last page when you use "Print for client" on the Cost & ROI tab.
Phase
Questions to Sit With
Your Notes