Recruitment – finding the perfect candidate for their ideal job right? Well, yes… but if you are a recruiter, you will know that it is just as important to make sure that you HAVE the vacancies to fill!
For most recruiters this can be the hard part. Initially recruiters are drawn to the role because of their people skills – their ability to understand their clients needs and match their candidates desires, experience and qualifications accordingly! Interestingly the personality traits and work experience that make recruiters good at this are the same innate skills they need to be able to ‘sell’ their ability to potential hiring managers.
So why do many recruiters come unstuck here? Simple – lack of sales training. For just about every business there is, sales is a necessity – without sales there is no business! The disappointing thing is that most businesses forget this and expect their staff to successfully find business without understanding some basic sales skills!
What sales skills do recruiters need?
People buy from people they know, like and trust. So how do you get people to know, like and trust you?
Firstly, a recruiter MUST be able to communicate that they can comprehend the needs of a client. If a recruiter is able to put a client at ease and demonstrate that they are able to be of assistance, the client is far more likely to trust the recruiter and give them the opportunity!
The best way to demonstrate ANYTHING is through narrative. If you are able to tell a story that your potential client can identify with, they are more likely to trust you and more likely to spend time getting to know you!
Where do you look for business?
This is another very important part of the ‘sales process’ for recruiters: define your market. Anyone who has a vacancy right??? NO!! – not EVERYONE who wants to hire someone is your ideal client. Hiring Managers are more likely to identify and trust someone who has experience in the field they are needing their hire in. SO, make sure that you start with roles you have EXPERIENCE with!! This is the same for new recruiters – don’t try to secure a vacancy for a Drill Operator if you have a background in IT.
How do you approach potential clients?
Most recruiters start with current vacancies – this is a great place to start, BUT not the only place you should be offering your services. You should also identify:
- Who are the market leaders in the industry you specialise in?
- Who are you current clients that would be happy to refer you?
- Who are past clients that have moved elsewhere and may be happy to introduce you?
What’s the ONE thing you just HAVE to do?
PROSPECT - Pick up the phone! Yes – you have to make calls!! If you don’t want to do it directly, outsource it – but you have to be constantly prospecting for business and it is much cheaper and more efficient to make calls to start with! DON’T waste your time visiting offices when you don’t know who the Hiring Manager is and especially if you don’t know if there are any current vacancies.
Ever notice how many times you get told ‘we already have a recruiter we like’ – this is because this is definitely the type of career where rapport is critically important!
The cold, hard truth is that people aren’t going to hire you on the spot (well – you may strike it lucky on the odd occasion), but the truth is that you build rapport and when potential clients know, like and trust you – then they will come to you when the need arises!!
If you would like any more sales tips, advice or assistance– feel free to pop along to StrategiCall Sales for lots of free tips and advice on our blog, or Sales Coaching for individuals or Sales Training for teams. Or contact me directly: mailto:Stephanieb@strategicall.com.au
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