Yes, the market has changed,with new and even more difficult problems as a result of the pandemic. And even though the task remains basically the same there are some ways to make it more interesting, fun and profitable. In this article we will face the problems head-on while suggesting some variations on the older yet effective methods and adding some new ones.
Both new client sales and recruiting projects are always critical, but in the current circumstances it is hard to gauge which is the more difficult task or where to begin. One thing is certain, you cannot have one without the other.
- Instead – Always be marketing!
One of the rules of developing new sales is to look first to your existing clients. True enough but, if you are not careful that can get old and tired with diminishing effectiveness. That is why I prefer to “always be marketing” instead of “simply” selling.Of course, you will also be selling, cross selling, and probing potential openings but it is more a matter of approach.In each client or prospect meeting, the difference between marketing and sales could be expressed in two short sentences, i.e “I have something to sell you”, and “I have a few new and interesting ideas/products/services that I would like to talk with you about as well as our core services”. If this latter statement is genuine, well organized, brief, and your presentation follows through (credibly), you may be able to sell not only your core products, but something added, newer, interesting,needed, and mutually profitable. (Read on-especially #3 below). - Create opportunities for your prospective employees.
You can always recruit to fill an existing job opening but you can also “sell”{honestly) a candidate for job opportunity that does not currently exist. Survey your current database of workers and new applicants to see what kind of job they would like, what kind of experience they would like to have in their resume for future career opportunities. Then go out and sell their services to your most logical client.You can also advertise with something like this “Tell us what kind of job you would like, and we’ll do our damnedest to find it for you!”You should be upfront about this with your prospective employees so as not to be accused of that often inaccurate but common complaint/perception about staffing companies. Finding a job for a particular candidate looking for a particular job also makes for a better job “fit”. You could build a reputation on this that would make you a more “sought after” staffing agency. I do not mean to overlook the companies that have been pursuing this strategy for a long time. A good idea is always worth pursuing no matter where or when it began. - Consider the entire “gig economy” as part of your talent pool of professionals.
As a staffing agency, 80% of your work is to hire people to do Temp jobs for your clients. That is, as you know, what most gig platforms do, and do it quite well. There are literally hundreds of thousands of qualified and well rated free lancers that are easily available through these platforms. They can be contracted by you for hundreds of client projects, providing ever more services to your existing clients and opening doors to new ones.I have written about this topic in a full article a few months ago titled: Increasing Staffing Company Profits with the Gig Economy. - Niche markets
According to the American Staffing Association (ACA) there are about 25,000 staffing companies in the US with a total of 49,000 offices. If you eliminate the top 150 companies that account for many thousands of offices regionally and nationally, this still leaves the bulk of the staffing companies or 21K + of them to be single offices. These are mostly local companies, many of whom are in niche markets. When you look at profit margins, some of the most profitable are small companies in local areas specializing in niche markets.Even if your company serves several market areas, it is a good strategy to also find and develop a niche market that you might virtually “own”. Knowing a market well can often point to related vertical and horizontal segments where you will have an excellent probability to enter as a known entity.In niche markets especially you will need to have the absolute best qualified people to ensure your reputation makes you the only one to call upon. Price is always a factor but in certain critical markets quality is by far the greatest concern. Quality can save many thousands of dollars. Just consider an IT project to re-reprogram of a critical piece of machinery! - Partnering with other companies for complementary products and services.
Our Staffing software company has formed several partnerships in the last 10-15 years that have been mutually beneficial to our respective companies but, more importantly, they added significant value and increased automation services to our clients. Automating the Onboarding Process and Benefits Management were two of these.The Onboarding Process for new hires had become increasingly complex for many companies in order to be compliant with increasing and changing government regulations, ensuring they were taking advantage of available tax credits in hiring, protecting them against potential lawsuits, documenting employee policy agreements, safety training, and much more.Also, because of the complex formulas and changing requirements for the Affordable Care Act,especially for the staffing companies, this was another area that needed specialized attention.Although our software covered many elements of the Onboarding Process and ACA management, these were only a part of our comprehensive staffing software product.We discovered two companies who specialized in each of these areas and covered them extremely well. Additionally, they both were always in the process of upgrading to meet changing regulatory requirements and the suggestions of end-users.These two companies, “Efficient Hire” for Onboarding and “Essential StaffCare” for health care (ACA, etc.) became partners with Bridgeware and their respective software products became seamlessly integrated into our TempsPlus staffing software.One of the most unique (and funniest) partnerships I have ever heard of was a complex partnership of the NFL and related companies together with a candy company to create a product called “Quarterback Gummies”. If you have never seen them go to Google Images for several examples of their packaging.Entrepreneur Magazine has all the details of the above in an article entitled “Accelerate Your Business Growth Through Partnering”
The same article also carries a good list of 5 things to keep in mind when looking for partnerships. I will close by listing them here followed by a caveat of my own. Here they are:
- Do your brand identities have synergy?
- Does the opportunity give visibility to each brand?
- Is the opportunity innovative and relevant?
- Have you identified the crossover in your target audiences?
- Is added value being delivered to your customers?
And my own addition: Is it profitable for each partner? And that is no “Quarterback Gummy”