Just about every market is saturated, and the staffing industry is no exception. Your clients must have a personalized, relationship-based selling approach in order to stand out. Also, what used to be staffing agencies’ most valuable asset—their proprietary “database” of candidates and how they traditionally differentiated themselves from the competition, has all evolved. With the plethora of job sites and social media tools designed specifically for recruiting, companies don’t necessarily need to leverage a recruiter’s database to reach talent. Quality service and expertise are expected and what is driving the industry, so agencies must find new ways to differentiate themselves to adopt ways to source new clients.
Defining the Niche
Your clients need to identify a particular market where their agency has expertise with finding candidates and filling positions. Whether this be technology, healthcare, engineering, manufacturing, accounting, finance, etc., they must focus on excellence. They may need to zone in on a specific skill set or technology experience to become experts in the field. They should learn how to speak the “language” of the industry to better understand the needs of hiring managers, thus more effectively brokering recruitment opportunities.
Identifying “Ideal” Client Company Type
Depending on what resources are available and their ability to handle a certain volume of candidates, they can begin to identify and target the “ideal” client. It is smart for them to develop a profile based on company type, size, revenue, location, etc. It is also beneficial to create a list of target companies associated with an ideal client profile to help stay within the niche and give direction for which new candidates to pursue. If the agency has a large pool of recruiters, they may be able to target larger companies with large revenue streams; while boutique staffing firms can build relationships with a few smaller companies for a personal approach to benefit relationship building in the long term.
Who is Doing the Hiring?
Human Resources professionals focus on cultural fit and checking qualification/experience boxes, and typically do not have in-depth knowledge regarding specific positions or teams. That information is usually in the hands of the hiring manager, who is the one to make the final decision in the process. The hiring manager is the one to create the job description and the details of the experience required to be successful in the position.
Your clients must understand organizational dynamics to best determine who will need to be involved with the hiring decisions; whether all the power is given to the direct hiring manager or there is executive involvement; and if HR acts as a gatekeeper. With multiple people involved, they should decide if there’s equal representation or who has the strongest influence in the hiring decision. Your clients will have to keep contact information in mind and remember that recruiting is like sales. Knowing how to contact influencers will help build relationships and keep messaging relevant.
Buyer Personas
Who will be targeted with marketing content and sales calls? Hiring managers can be viewed as “buyers.” Using a buyer persona to describe ideal prospects allows for a better picture of the overall marketing strategy.
Your clients should analyze job titles, who should be in charge of what department, and how often hiring is done for their own clients. Understanding past behavior gives insights into future hiring cycles and what kind of candidates are sought after. It is helpful for recruiters to predict when a particular company might hire again. It is beneficial for them to have an inside scoop on their clients’ needs to allow for stronger engagement dialogue and targeted marketing content.
Research and Marketing Efforts
Recruiters must learn what influences decision makers to develop highly targeted content that shows they truly understand an organization and its needs. Even within the same organization, different decision makers should be approached differently.
Staffing agencies clients are looking for a relationship built on trusting the value of the service and that their specific needs are going to be met, so how are your clients marketing and sales efforts building this?
It is important that they position themselves as more than just a staffing agency, and become a resource of knowledge by sharing useful, relevant content, information, industry articles, etc. to promote productive dialogue. This may provide insight into long-term strategy, upcoming initiatives, and existing direct contact, interviews, and research issues. It takes time to establish this, but it is important for prospects to think of them the next time they have an open position.
Focus on Customer Retention
The quickest way to get more business is among the existing clients because new customer acquisition is expensive and can take too much time. It is best to give time and resources to strengthen current relationships with existing clients and create new contacts within the same company by going wider. Producing continuous streams of content so clients know they are keeping up to date with the ever-changing industry can make a huge difference.
Your clients must establish a strategic, integrated plan that aligns the sales funnel with marketing efforts to ensure they can resonate with prospects and close more business. Properly protecting themselves with staffing professional liability for inevitable mishaps, knowing whom to target, who the decision makers are within the ideal clients to distribute relevant content, and opening channels of dialogue can create lasting client relationships that will drive long-term revenue.
About World Wide Specialty Programs
For the last 50 years, World Wide Specialty Programs has dedicated itself to providing the optimal products and solutions for the staffing industry. As the only insurance firm to be an ASA commercial liability partner, we are committed to that partnership and committed to using our knowledge of the industry to provide staffing firms with the best possible coverage. For more information about Staffing Professional Liability Insurance or any other coverage, we have available to protect your staffing business, give us a call at (877) 256-0468 to speak with one of our representatives.