It’s much easier win jobs from existing clients than brand new ones – so why do we focus so much of our BD efforts on winning new prospects?
Setting up a strategy to better serve your current clients will pay off faster in this job-short market – and building strong relationships with them is a great long-term strategy too.
Here are some tips that will help you win more jobs off your best existing clients…
1. Give clients more than they expect
Providing a great service isn’t just about filling a job. Even if you’ve provided the perfect placement for your client, if your process was a mess or your communication wasn’t up to scratch, this will not get you repeat business.
There are plenty of excellent candidates on the market for your client to choose from right now, so your service needs to stand out if your client is going to work with you again in the future.
Give them more than what they expect in terms of a great process and approach. Here are some easy ways to improve your service:
- Layout what the process will look like from the start
- Don’t throw ten CVs at them - create a shortlist of your top candidates and sell it in to your client instead
- Check in with your client throughout the process to make sure they’re happy.
This will not only ensure that your client keeps coming back to you to fill their jobs, but it’ll also win you referrals from these clients too.
2. Tailor your service to suit their needs
It doesn’t matter how good your process is if you haven’t listened to your client’s needs and tailored your offering in response.
For example, if your client is struggling with their employer branding, you could offer them a recruitment service package that would include branding to help them stand out in the market – this blog explains more.
Offering a recruitment service that goes further than just filling jobs will lead to in new sales opportunities that your competitors haven’t even thought of selling.
Sign up to our next Crowdcast, ‘How to Repackage Your Recruitment Services to Win More Business’, to learn how to roll this out.
3. Only promise what you can actually deliver
Promising your client that you’ll find an excellent candidate for a job that you know you’ll struggle to fill is always going to end badly.
Overpromising is one of the biggest problems in agency recruitment – it gives the entire industry a bad name. If you repeatedly let down clients, they’ll stop working with you entirely because they never trust you to deliver.
It’s important to be realistic with your goals so you don’t let anyone down. You’ll know your own capacity and limitations when taking on a job, so be realistic when pitching to prospects and clients.
4. Add a personal touch to your service
Building strong personal relationships with your clients will provide you with a constant stream of jobs to work throughout your recruitment career.
And building strong relationships doesn’t just mean sending a nice card or a hamper at Christmas. It’s about taking the time to get to know your clients and making the effort to show an interest. For example, if you know your client is a big fan of basketball, drop them short email when you see something online about the NBA – this is especially easy if you share that interest.
Thoughtful outreach like this also gives you a great excuse to keep in touch with clients between jobs….
5. Support clients even when they don’t have jobs
Supporting your clients when they’re not hiring is crucial to keeping your relationships going through a job-short market. The key to this is staying visible and valuable with market insights and keeping them in touch with the hiring market so that when the time comes to hire, you’ll be the first and only recruiter they turn to.
Keeping in touch when there’s no fee in it for you will demonstrate that you’re in it for the long haul and that you care about seeing your clients succeed. Be the recruitment expert who supports their clients through thick and thin and this will lead to lasting relationships that you can count on.
Building strong relationships like this with your clients will make selling retainers to them a lot easier. Download the eBook below to learn how to start winning retainer businesses.
