David Searns | Co-CEO
Upsell. Cross-sell. Win-back. Cold outreach.
We’ve covered a lot of sales prospecting methods over the past four weeks.
Today, we’ll get a little creative with our 5th idea for driving sales in a down market:
Generating sales leads from your alumni
This is a really simple concept…reconnect with people you placed (and didn’t place) from the past three to five years.
Wait, what?
David, you’re asking us to dig into our ATS, find people we didn’t even place, and call them?
Yes!
You can also email them, reach out on LinkedIn, and even text (if you have permission to do this!).
And don’t forget about automation sequences!
Why reconnect with old candidates? Because people you interviewed a few years ago have probably advanced in their careers…and now many of them are hiring managers!
When you reconnect with your “alumni,” don't make it a sales call. Your intent should be to catch up, find out what’s new in their career, and see if there is any way you can help. (As long as they are not working for a current client, this is a great way to reactivate candidates you can skill market!)
Once you’ve finished catching up, tell them a little about what’s new at your company. For example, new services, new recruiting technologies, how you are using AI, your new mobile app, awards you have won, etc.
Then ask them if they know anyone at their current company who is looking to hire.
The idea is to show people that your company has come a long way since you last spoke…and now you can offer more resources than ever to help them with their careers—and help them hire when they need talent.
Alumni Marketing is not one and done.
Most of the alumni you call won’t be hiring managers or have an immediate hiring need. Don’t be discouraged.
The reason for reaching out is to re-open lines of communication. After the call, you should add every contact to some form of ongoing communication, such as:
- A monthly alumni email newsletter.
- An ongoing automation sequence for former talent.
- An invite list for future hiring events.
- A candidate or client referral program.
By reconnecting—and building relationships—with former candidates, you will dramatically strengthen your staffing firm’s brand. You’ll increase your reach to hiring managers. You’ll reactivate good candidates. And you can create an army of referral sources!
Think about it. Your sales team may be able to contact a few dozen prospects a week. Your alumni network contains thousands (maybe even tens of thousands) of candidates who are now advancing their careers.
Become part of their ongoing success…and they’ll help you generate more sales in the process!
Have you missed any of our How to Win Clients in a Down Market series?
You can access all our past issues at:
https://newsletter.haleymarketing.com/index.smpl?arg=content_deliverable_archive&aud=company
P.S. Have you had success reconnecting with alumni? Share your story with us, and you might be featured in an upcoming SMART IDEAS issue! |
