Owner's Forum and Virtual Forum Testimonials
Leadership and Business Consulting
Tom Duerr, CEO/Founder
System1 Search
“As a young business owner who knew my business as well as the best of them, I was challenged with how to grow my organization at the controlled, aggressive pace that the current market requires. Too fast, and you get sloppy. Too slow, and you get left behind. Implementing the right procedures and training help attract talent, but retaining that talent is something else. I needed a partner. A mentor. That partner and mentor was The Next Level Exchange. From the moment I first spoke with the Next Level team at the Forum, their energy and knowledge inspired and guided me to help my company become what we needed to, and still are yet to become.
What started out as just my partner and me has turned into a reputable, Wall Street based company with over 50 employees, and we continue to grow. I can’t recommend the Next Level Exchange Forum highly enough, and trust that while holding the course they guide, you will undoubtedly enjoy the growth and success that you desire.”
Kristina Marino, Founder
IT Accel, Inc.
Steven Y. Raz, Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Cornerstone Search Group, LLC
"Next Level Recruiting Training should absolutely be a requirement for anyone that would like to take their recruiting firm to the next level! As someone that had 7 years in the recruiting industry and over $3 Million in lifetime cash-in, I can easily say it was the single most eye-opening and impactful educational experience of my career. I personally felt like it was a tremendous opportunity to avoid mistakes that most people are going to make in this business by learning the ins & outs of a finely tuned business model that is at the top of it's class.
In a very intense and packed 2-day session, the Kaye/Bassman Team will take you on a journey that will increase your office earnings and help you build a recruiting business exponentially in a very short time. You'll see and feel the results of a dramatically changing company culture and business strategy - a better way to grow your business!"
Jeremy Sisemore, President & Founder
SearchPath International of Houston
“Just the information that I needed at the perfect time that I needed it. I thought I had seen all compensation plans and organizational charts in the business until this Next Level forum. I’ve spent 27 years searching for this huge volume of invaluable material!”
Jay Adams, President
Adams, Inc.
“The single best investment in training and business I’ve made in my 40 years in the recruiting business. You have exceeded all my expectations.”
Carlos Rodriguez, CEO & President
MRI Puerto Rico
“I have been in recruiting for 25 years and this was a mind blowing experience! I felt the forum had paid for itself by lunch of the first day.”
Jeff Mitchell, CEO
The Mitchell Group
“I wanted to take a moment to say thanks again to you and your staff on a very informative and worthwhile experience at the NLRT event, Building a NEXT LEVEL Search Firm.
The event was very well organized and I really learned a great deal over the three days. I learned a number of new things as well as validated much that we are already practicing. As an independent firm charting our own course, both are invaluable. You and Kaye Bassman have traveled a road that many of us have not traveled and the sharing of your insights, mistakes, as well as your high performance best practices will literally save us thousands of hours of pain and suffering and earn us millions of dollars. The wisdom you shared is priceless and I can't thank you enough.
We very much look forward to continuing to work with you and NLRT now and in the future in the building of our world class professional services organization. Thanks again.”
Joseph B. Hunt, Senior Partner
J.B. Hunt Executive Search, LLC
“I have never experienced a more credible, content-rich event than the Building a Next Level Search Firm Forum. Without compare, the Next Level Recruiting Training team were gracious hosts.”
Bob Pudlock, General Manager & Owner
Emerald Resource Group
“This forum truly exceeded my expectations. The training covered all aspects of the business and really got the ideas flowing on new markets, management, hiring and time management in my practice. Thanks so much for giving back so much to this awesome industry.”
Gayle Tapps, Director of Operations
NearTerm
“This was the single most effective use of time dedicated to personal and professional growth that I have experienced in the last 10 years.”
David Hayes, President
HireMinds
“This is a team that really “gets it”. Absolutely fantastic for anyone that wants to grow a search firm.”
Roger Brooks, President
Leading Edge Medical
“Tremendous amount of info provided in an abbreviated timeline. Worth every penny we spent. I salute your efforts and core values as an organization. Keep up the good work.”
Warren Carter
Qualifind
"Thank you so much for the incredible meeting this past weekend. The experience was invaluable to me and I am convinced that the content that you provided holds the tools that we need to experience expansive growth in our firm. The information itself was not only valuable, but also the availability of the ongoing support offered by you, Nick and the rest of your team is remarkable. "Thank you" does not adequately describe how grateful that I am to have been a part of this enlightening experience. The content was unquestionably valuable and the quality of the program was unmatched in my experience.
I am impressed and humbled by the realization that you and your team essentially give away all of your intellectual property, and with such class and grace. This type of generosity is not only unheard of in our industry, I can't think of an industry where this is commonplace. After this experience, it is easy to see why people flock to join Kaye/Bassman to be a part of a truly unique and inspiring organization."
Dru De Angelis, Managing Partner
The De Angelis Group
“I attended the 2 day intensive training on how to build and take your search firm to the next level. Was it worth it? Absolutely. Was it like drinking from a fire hose turned on high? Yes.
Where else can you go to see an 18+ Million dollar company that does what you do, and will open up and answer any questions you have, then take you through their whole company operations manual from A-Z . The answer? Not anywhere...until now.
They show how they start new practice areas, how they pay their people, how they train and how they manage performance...and a whole lot more. The presenters were powerful and stayed afterwards to answer any questions and best of all you get a huge binder of all their information policies and procedures and all their information you need to take back to implement. If you truly want to take your search firm to the next level, I would highly recommend you go. I did and am glad I did, It was money well invested.”
David Thaler, President
TSG Executive Search
“I can tell the effort on your end was extensive… the content is great. I am convinced these two days will help us change our business greatly. Thanks!”
Dave Kerns, Managing Partner
Key Corporate Services
“Jeff and his ENTIRE team are nothing short of absolutely incredible!”
Camden King, Owner
Bluespeed, Inc.
“It was worth every minute of my time.”
Deb Miller, Owner
KNL Executive Search
“As you guys know we sent donuts for your office as thanks to your staff – we were literally blown away by what KBIC has achieved. We were inspired by the example and by the generous effort put forth to capture the “formula” and put it into a practical frame work for teaching and subsequent use. While it is unlikely we will ever achieve what you have accomplished there is no doubt you have already made us a better firm – we look forward to spending time learning from your team in the future. Your training will be mandatory for any of my staff aspiring to leadership in our small firm.”
Will Smith, President
Enscicon
“The Search Firm Forum was well worth its hefty price tag. I wasn’t sure what to expect going in. Once there however, I found that all the instructors were knowledgeable and made sure that all the material was covered effectively and that all the attendees left with complete understanding of all that was taught…no easy task considering the amount of material they had to cover. Overall, I would say that it was money well spent and would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn how to grow a search firm.”
David Patterson, Managing Partner
Uber
“We’ve spent plenty of money and time with professionals to try and fix some problems we’ve had. I couldn’t feel more confident in the investment we’ve made with NLRT to give us the tools to fix many of our problems ourselves.”
Kevin Krumm, Managing Partner
Objective Paradigm
“I have attended several training seminars and I truly believe this is one of the best I have experienced. Congratulations for your contribution to make the recruiting industry a better and more responsible one.”
Fernando Espinoza
Qualifind
“This is the best applications forum I’ve attended. The challenging concepts and information were abundant, and I feel much better equipped to bring our firm to the Next Level.”
Mike Miller, Owner
KNL Executive Search
"Suffice it to say that we feel the investment made was more than justified by the quality of the message delivered and awesome content provided."
Patrick B. Ropella, President & C.E.O
Ropella & Associates
"Awesome! Just awesome...lots of learnings and insights. I've been to several recruiting trainings and this is the best by far..the openness and the quality of the training is just phenomenal!"
Lizette Ibarra
Qualifind
“Honest and binding information from highly credible experts. Great information which can quickly be applied and will undoubtedly save us time and money. Money well spent and really fun people to hang out with from Kaye/Bassman."
Chris Carmon, Chief Executive Officer
The Carmon Group, Inc.
“The content and openness of every sector involved at NLRT throughout the forum was truly unbelievable. It is one of the best meetings I have attended that focuses on helping me build a quality organization that emphasizes growth through high standards and strong business ethics.”
Tom Near, President
Near & Associates
“Fantastic amount of information that was very well presented.”
Jeff Wilson, Managing Partner
Key Corporate Services
“I wanted to take a moment to thank you and your staff for the excellent training and consulting forum. I have been to many training sessions in the past several years. Without hesitation, I would rank Next Level Recruiting as the number one training session on recruiting and building a successful office that I have attended since I began my recruiting career seven years ago. The key to its success, in my opinion, is that we are learning from successful working recruiters who are providing us with real, tangible information.
I currently operate a medium-sized (12 person) relatively successful MRI office in New York. We’ve been able to build a nice running operation with good processes and operations. It was not until I sat with you and your Next Level staff for two days that I realized how much more there was to learn. Initially, I was concerned that the current size and success of your office would prevent you from adequately addressing the needs of a smaller office, such as ours. In fact, I was able to transfer most of the information you gave me to my own business. In the last month, I have begun implementing several of your ideas, including the Next Level Performance Management system you outlined for us in your class. It is working nicely and has added much needed structure to our metrics accountability. I have also been able to successfully open up a new industry desk and roll out some very interesting culture-enhancing ideas that have had an immediate impact on our office.”
It’s not a surprise to me why your business has been so successful. It is a surprise to me that you would openly share all of your business ‘tricks of the trade’ with other recruiting firms. Frankly, the cost of the class was made up in the first few weeks upon my return home.
We have been using your training tapes, which I began purchasing before I even attended your class. My group – some of who have been with me for several years – regards these as the best training tapes we have. Frankly, I am a little embarrassed to tell you that they far outweigh the MRI tapes that we have been using."
Randy Strauss, Managing Partner
StraussGroup, Inc.
“It’s no exaggeration when they talk about a fire hose of information—there is a ton in a short two days, but it’s an efficient use of time and a jumping off point to future development. I don’t think there’s much of a substitute to seeing it in action and meeting multiple members of the team.”
Rick Harcourt, President
Harcourt Recruiting Specialists
"The forum is one of the best investments I have made in my firm. The information was informative-current and executable. It was presented in a way that benefited both long term as well as start up companies. Thank-you!"
Chris Sharron, CPC, National Practice Lead
STEWARD│PRESCOTT
"Absolutely Outstanding! Best recruiting industry training I've ever had, great management/leadership/training, top notch in every way. LOVED IT! Will recommend it to every search firm owner I know. Every owner of any sized office , from 1-100+ people could benefit form this training. It is a must see for anyone looking to take their training to the next level."
Jordan Rayboy - Founder/CEO
Rayboy Insider Search
“The single best workshop regarding how to build a sustainable business I have attended in my 12 years in the search business. Great long term strategic ideas to implement as well as tactical information we can implement Monday.”
Sean Milius, President
