How to Sell Staffing Services When Clients Say, “We’re not hiring!”

STEP 1: STOP BEING REACTIVE

If your team is still asking, “Do you have any hiring needs?” or “When do you use temps?”—they’re fishing with an empty hook.

In an uncertain economy, you won’t sell staffing services by waiting around for job orders.

Shadow your team’s sales calls.
Audit the questions they ask.
Identify where the conversation turns transactional.

Then reframe.

Instead of chasing job reqs, position your firm as a partner who can help clients:

Reduce overhead
Increase agility
Get more done with fewer people

That’s the real value of staffing services during a downturn.

STEP 2: DIG INTO THEIR BUSINESS PAIN

If they’re not hiring, what are they worried about?

Cost cutting?
Layoffs?
Fears of personal job loss?

This is your entry point. Because when pain exists, there’s opportunity to solve problems—and that’s how you sell.

Do your homework. Read industry reports. Talk to existing clients. Set up business reviews with senior leadership.

Then ask:

What’s your biggest risk right now?
What would you tackle if you had more resources?
What’s getting in the way of execution?
When you find the pain, you can present staffing as a solution—not just a service.

STEP 3: SELL PRODUCTIVITY, NOT PEOPLE

In a down market, clients want one thing: lower costs.

But slashing your bill rate isn’t the answer.

Here’s how to pivot:

Teach your salespeople the math of productivity.

An FTE who’s 50% productive at $50k/year is costing $100k per productive hour.

Temporary staff typically deliver 90%+ productivity.

That’s a big savings story.

Also show how:

Temps can reduce benefit and admin costs.
Flexible staffing supports demand fluctuations.
Contractors are a smarter, leaner alternative to FTEs.

Then back it up with numbers. Create simple financial models. Present cost-per-output comparisons.

The more you quantify the value of staffing, the more strategic your services become.

STEP 4: UNCOVER GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES

Even in a slowdown, every company has untapped growth potential.

Ask this question:

“If you had the right people, what would you pursue right now?”

Boom. You’ve just moved the conversation to strategy.

Now show them how:

Support staff can free up execs to focus on growth.
On-demand experts can push stalled initiatives forward.
Temporary sales and marketing pros can drive short-term wins.

If they can’t afford to hire, help them see how staffing = fractional growth.

STEP 5: SELL STRATEGIC RECRUITING

Some companies just won’t budge on hiring today.

That’s okay.

Shift the conversation to tomorrow:

Who will you need when things rebound?
Which roles are critical to long-term success?
How can we start building that bench now?

Help clients:

Map out future hiring needs
Build and nurture talent pipelines
Consider fee-based sourcing, assessments, or engagement campaigns

This isn’t about getting an order today. It’s about locking in future wins—and positioning your firm as the recruiting partner they trust.

TAKEAWAYS: HOW TO SELL STAFFING SERVICES DURING A DOWNTURN

Selling staffing services when companies aren’t hiring takes more than cold calls and discount rates. It takes strategy.

Here’s your action plan:

Audit and retrain your sales team. Eliminate transactional pitches.
Dig into your clients’ real pain. Use business reviews to uncover risk and opportunity.
Sell outcomes, not headcount. Show the financial case for flexible staffing.
Push growth, even in slow times. Link staffing to initiatives they’ve put on hold.
Plan for the rebound. Help clients build pipelines for future hires.

And one more thing…

Make sure you’re talking to the right people.
You can’t have strategic conversations with people who aren’t empowered to think strategically. If you’re stuck at the HR coordinator level, it’s time to level up your outreach.

READY TO HELP YOUR SALES TEAM SELL SMARTER?

If your sales strategy is still stuck in “any job orders today?” mode, let’s talk.

Haley Marketing helps staffing firms:

Modernize their sales process
Train teams on consultative selling
Use sales funnel automation to drive more meaningful conversations

Want to learn more about selling staffing in an uncertain economy?

RELATED RESOURCE: Lunch with Haley Webinar – “Demand Generation: Can You Really Create Demand for Staffing Services?”
Staffing is stuck at 2% of non-farm employment. But what if it could be 10%? In this powerful Lunch with Haley session, top sales pros reveal how to shift the conversation from “we’re not hiring” to “how can we grow smarter with staffing?”
→ Watch now to learn how strategic selling can transform your demand generation efforts.