Q:
The following question was recently posted in ASA Central from the CEO of a staffing company in California who has been struggling to generate job orders:
How do I get more people to buy
staffing services?
A:
Develop a solid sales and marketing strategy, and combine it with a repeatable sales process.
Find out how below!
Struggling to generate job orders?
In a market as competitive as staffing, selling is tough. Sure, you can cold call over, and over, and over again, but who wants to do that? The majority of your time ends up being wasted, and it is an incredibly frustrating experience.
If you want to sell more staffing services, the key is to develop a solid sales and marketing strategy and combine that with a repeatable sales process.
Here’s how you create a staffing sales and marketing strategy:
1. Start with your messaging.
Most marketers will suggest you look at differentiators (i.e., what makes you different). I’ll suggest you look at the problems you are really good at solving (for your ideal clients). For example:
- Can you help employers with their last-minute needs due to COVID-related unplanned absenteeism?
- Can you reduce no calls / no shows?
- Can you help companies better plan for and manage their staffing needs?
- Can you help employers hire more productive workers?
To determine your messaging, look at the most common problems your ideal clients are having…and determine which ones you are good at solving. Build your sales message around these points.
2. Next, develop your sales strategy.
Step one is to identify you ideal clients. What kinds of companies really care about your message? Who are the decision makers in those companies who care? Don’t worry about building a huge list of prospects. Focus on a targeted list of companies that are most likely to appreciate your value.
Also, sometimes the best person to sell to is not the direct client. In some instances, there are strong influencers who can help you open doors faster than direct selling. This might include other companies already selling to your ideal clients, consultants who advise those ideal clients, local manufacturing associations and their members, or anyone else who already has a relationship with the decision makers you want to reach.
3. Then, define your sales process.
How are you reaching out to prospects? Calls? Email? LinkedIn? Drop ins? A lot of sales consultants will tell you it takes 12 to 16 touches to open the door with a prospect. The challenge is coming up with the things you can do in that process. Think of this process like a bank account: You have to make deposits (adding value) before you can make withdrawals (getting a job order).
You want your sales process to be multi-step, multi-channel outreach where you are consistently adding value while introducing yourself, your company and your messaging. Mix in mail (yes, old fashioned snail mail), email, connecting on LinkedIn, and calls to maximize your chances of capturing the attention of your audience. For the content, share lots of ideas that address the common problems and staffing and hiring related interests these people have.
In marketing, we use an acronym AIDA to think about this process:
- The first A stands for Attention: How can you break through the clutter and get people to pay attention to your message?
- The I is Interest: What can you share that will get people interested in your message / value?
- The D stands for Desire: How do you position your company (or yourself), so that the buyer wants to use your services—to get them to see you as being an ideal solution to their problems?
- And the final A is Action: Getting the prospect to reach out, visit your website, or agree to a meeting.
One side note: The first sale you need to close is not for staffing services. You are really selling the prospect on giving up some of his/her valuable time to meet with you. Focus on this sale first – creating a compelling reason for an initial conversation. Then you can transition to talking about that company’s staffing challenges.
4. Lastly, expand the range of tools and tactics you are using to sell.
I’m a big fan of combining integrated direct marketing (which is the process I just outlined above) to go after your “A” and “B” prospects. Then, using content and inbound marketing to build your visibility, strengthen your positioning, and attract the “C” and “D” prospects (and lots of candidates) to your website.
If you want to know more about these marketing processes, check out these resources:
- SMART Marketing Checklist – 156 questions to help you strengthen your marketing.
- 2020 Vision Workbook – a fill-in-the-blanks guide to creating your goals and marketing strategy
- Guide to Staffing Sales Lead Generation – explains integrated direct marketing and content & inbound marketing in more detail
You can find all these along with six on demand webinars at www.haleymarketing.com/covid-recovery
