Business Development in a Job-Heavy Market

When the market is job-heavy you’re spoilt for roles, so it’s easy to think that proactively building a pipeline of prospects needn’t be a priority.

But that’s not the way to think of it – and you can be sure that your top-billing competitors will still be dedicating time and effort to BD right now.

It's really important you keep up your BD in a job-heavy market, here’s why…

Better roles, better clients and better rates

When clients really need your help – this puts you in the perfect position to start upping your game! Keep up your BD and you’ll get…

• Better roles – Clients need your expertise so you can afford to be selective and target the jobs you really want to work and turn down the jobs that don’t bring you a good return on your efforts.
• Better rates – A job-heavy market puts you in a better position to negotiate higher rates for your services.
• Better clients – You have the freedom to be selective and choose exactly which clients you work with and say no to any that could end up wasting your time.

If you keep up your BD in a job-heavy market, you can really own your worth and use to your advantage – after all it’s your expertise clients need the most.

You’ll stand out from the competition

There is rarely a day in recruitment when you’re not stuck competing for a job or client. But when the market is job-rich, many of your competitors are finally too busy working the roles they have on to even think about doing their BD.

This presents you with a rare moment of silence that you can use to get noticed!

By continuing to focus on your BD when nobody else is, you’ll be doing things differently, and with less competition go against, you’ll stand out more easily. Keep chipping at your BD and stay vocal across your networks. This way, you’ll make a lasting impression while your competitors fade into the background.

This market presents new opportunities

The best billers in the industry are the ones that continuously push themselves out of their comfort zone and stay open to new opportunities. It’s the kind of recruiter everybody wants to be, but when the market is rocky, taking high-risk tactics isn’t always an option.

But in a job-rich market, it’s a different story: your pipeline is already healthy so any BD work you do will come from a position of strength. With less to lose and more to gain, you can confidently evolve your recruitment desk in the direction you’ve always wanted to take it.

This could mean laser-focusing in on a niche, going after exclusive jobs or pitching for retainers for the very first time. Do this in a job-heavy market and you’ll have confidence on your side.

You never know when the market will turn around

To say the last few years in recruitment have been a challenge would be a massive understatement. The pandemic caused the job market to dry up overnight and bounce right back all within the same 12 months.

This has taught us that we can never really know when the market may flip on its head so it’s essential to stay one step ahead. If you maintain key relationships when everyone else has dropped off a cliff, you’ll establish yourself as the reliable recruiter clients and prospects value.

Keeping prospects warm even when you’re busy is a sure-fire way to futureproof your pipeline. The moment the market changes (which it will at some point) your competitors will be jumping back on the BD bandwagon only to find their relationships have gone cold. Meanwhile, you’ll be busy targeting a promising pipeline of warm prospects.

One surefire way to up your BD game is to start selling more retainers. Download the eBook below for guidance on how to create a pitch that your clients can’t ignore!