David Searns | Co-CEO
[TV TIMEOUT]
Before we get started with today’s newsletter, I want to ensure you know about our upcoming SMART IDEAS Summit on September 17.
This amazing event features 14 presentations by some of the smartest people in staffing, including Dan Mori, Tom Erb, Tricia Tamkin, Jason Thibeault, Rishabh Mehrotra, Noah Yosif, Terry Keating, Patrick Morin, Nick Florio, and more.
It’s a full day of training to help you drive sales, improve recruiting, and of course, strengthen your marketing.
And it’s all free to attend!
Check out the agenda (and grab your seat before we sell out):
https://www.haleymarketing.com/smartideas
Oh, if you register, you get first access to all the recordings!
[Now back to our regularly scheduled newsletter!]
Sales Idea #6: Sell solutions…to specific problems
Project services. SOW engagements. Solution selling.
If you’re in technical staffing, this sales idea might seem old-hat.
But if you’re in industrial, healthcare, or professional staffing, selling solutions is not the norm.
Maybe it should be.
Why do people use your services?
If you’re a regular reader of this publication (and you should be!), you know my “NO ONE NEEDS A TEMP” story.
The TLDR version is that people don’t buy staffing because they need an extra employee or two.
They buy staffing because they need to get something done.
A project completed. A product shipped. A deadline met.
Staffing is a tool that enables people to accomplish a goal.
In a down economy, most prospects are likely to respond to your sales efforts with statements like “we’re not hiring” or “we don’t use staffing services” or “we’re happy with our current provider.”
When you hear these phrases, it means you’ve been put into the commodity bucket. People only see you as a staffing vendor and not a solution provider.
And right now, they don’t need another “staffing vendor.”
To sell in this economy, move up the value chain.
As a solutions provider, you are taking responsibility for delivering an outcome.
Maybe a completed project.
Maybe a retainer-like agreement with a defined scope of work.
Maybe the management of a business function.
In IT staffing, project solutions companies sell completed software applications. They also sell the management of systems integration projects.
I’ve seen clerical staffing companies selling document scanning projects…by the foot of documents to be scanned!
I’ve seen industrial staffing companies take over running production lines for manufacturers.
The idea is that these companies are taking ownership of a result rather than selling labor by the hour. They have learned how to evaluate client needs, develop solutions to specific problems, and then package their services in a way that is not solely based on hours.
What problems can you solve?
Solution selling, as the name suggests, is about focusing on the value you can offer by solving specific client problems.
With solution selling, your services may include labor (people doing the work), management (people supervising the work), technology, or other tools and resources to get the job done.
However, step one is to determine the problems you can solve.
What are the biggest problems your clients are facing?
Start with the easy ones…staffing-related problems.
This can include access to talent, controlling labor costs, improving workforce productivity, reducing the cost of job vacancies, and improving the management of recruiting and temporary staff.
Next, look at more strategic business issues.
These will vary depending on the industry you serve, and could include things like maximizing plant throughput, implementing digital transformation, AI integration, improving patient outcomes, and lots of others depending on your industry.
As you consider the problems your clients face, which do you repeatedly see? And most importantly, what can you do, as a workforce solutions provider, to take ownership of resolving the problem for your clients?
Not sure where to start?
Look at consulting companies in your specialty niche. These are actually staffing companies that sell solutions (at a 300% mark-up!).
Go to trade conferences in your clients’ industries—or just read their trade publications. By getting closer to the industries you service, you will discover a wide range of problems to solve.
And then you can determine what you can offer and how to package your solutions.
This takes training…and practice.
Solution selling is not for rookies. You need expertise in staffing. And your clients’ industries.
You also need to understand the economics of the services you offer and the value you can deliver, so you can determine appropriate pricing and processes for service delivery.
When done correctly, solution selling eliminates commodity pressures. You stop being one of many staffing vendors in the market, and you become one of a few companies (or even better the one and only) that can solve specific problems for your clients.
Solution selling makes you a specialist. It positions you as an expert.
And selling becomes a whole lot easier!
Six down, one to go.
Next week, we’ll tackle the last (and most strategic) approach to selling in a down market – finding your X factor.
If you have missed any of the past five issues in this series, you can catch-up here:
https://newsletter.haleymarketing.com/index.smpl?arg=content_deliverable_archive&aud=company |
