David Searns | Co-CEO
It's time to pull out your crystal ball…
As you look forward, what do you think will be the biggest issue for your staffing company next year?
No, this is not a rhetorical question.
I sincerely want to know what you think.
Please click REPLY…like right now!
Let me know what your #1 issue will be in 2025.
Not sure? Here are a few possibilities:
- The economy. Continued weakness in the labor market.
- Trade wars. The impact of tariffs on U.S. manufacturing and distribution.
- Driving sales. How to beat the competition…and win over prospects.
- Recruiting. Finding qualified, hardworking, "A" caliber talent.
- AI and technological disruption. Is ChatGPT coming for your job?
- Mental health. Dealing with the continued impact on people at work.
- Competition. From local agencies to global tech platforms.
- Regulation. Will there be new "anti-staffing" regulations in your state?
Have you shared your answer yet?
No? Please, please, click reply. Let me know what you think!
Why is this so important?
Easy! Your feedback will guide the topics we cover in SMART IDEAS Weekly next year. And if you want help with a specific challenge, now is the time to ask for it!
So, what do I think the #1 staffing industry issue will be in 2025?
For me, it's probably differentiation.
How do you make your company truly stand out in a world where there is more noise than ever, competition is fierce, people are harder than ever to reach, buyers are incredibly skeptical (and don't seem to care about the value you offer) and demand remains weak?
This is a sales challenge. A recruiting challenge. And a marketing challenge.
Fundamentally, differentiation is how you make your company stand out from your competitors.
It's about how you deliver value to your clients that is superior to other staffing firms…as well as other substitutes for your services (like, offshoring, nearshoring, direct sourcing, DIY, etc.).
It's about how you get noticed, build trust, stay top-of-mind, and develop irresistible relationships with the companies—and decision-makers inside those companies—that you most want to sell.
In staffing, differentiation can come from many different sources:
- Geographic market focus
- Skills for which you recruit
- Industry, technology or process expertise
- Recruiting capabilities
- Market knowledge
- Technology and innovation
- Client experience
- Candidate experience
- Speed and responsiveness
- Safety and risk mitigation
- Candidate vetting processes
- Custom-tailored staffing programs
- Having a narrower focus
- Offering a wider range of services
- Offering more scalable solutions
- Hours of operation
- DEI
- Compliance
- Price (or markup)
Yeah, that's a long list.
And I am sure I forgot a few things.
The real key to differentiation…
KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER In today's world, despite having access to unprecedented amounts of data, we often don't know as much as we should about our clients or prospects.
We don't take the time to do deep research.
We don't fully understand the client's pain points.
We can't articulate the value of our services.
If you are a regular reader of this publication, you know that a regular theme of mine is to understand the ECONOMIC value of your services to your ideal clients.
In other words, why do companies choose to work with YOU when there are so many other options?
Maybe you help them:
- reduce costs…
- get access to better talent…
- reduce the time to fill…
- improve productivity and quality…
- get more reliable talent…
The key is to understand each customer, their company, their industry, and the role of the person you are selling to as well, or better than, they know it themselves.
When you truly understand your clients, it's MUCH easier to convey the value you deliver.
And it becomes easier to improve on your value…and keep your competitors out.
REAL differentiation happens when you become the best at solving specific problems, for specific people, in specific types of organizations.
What can you do with this information?
I'd suggest starting with an account-based marketing approach to your existing clients.
Create a list of all your current accounts.
Build a profile of each organization. Who do you sell to? What roles do you fill? Why do they use staffing (what problem are they solving with your services)? How do they measure the impact of your services?
Would you like a head start? Try our free Staffing Buyer Persona Generator GPT which leverages the latest in AI and is customized for staffing (it's one of several GPT's we recently created).
Does your client work with multiple vendors? If so, why? How do you stack up against them? How do they stack up against you?
What are the biggest challenges they anticipate in 2025? How can staffing be used as a tool to address those challenges? Where can you add more value in the new year? (This can be for the company as a whole or the specific decision-maker you sell to.)
The more you know about each of your clients, the more you can tailor your services to their specific needs and wants (which will greatly help client retention).
As you gain deeper expertise with your current clients, you can use your knowledge to target new prospects who match the profile of your ideal clients.
You can create a solution-focused sales process that looks and sounds quite different from the way most staffing firms sell.
And by creating a differentiated sales experience, you can ensure that differentiation is NOT your biggest challenge of 2025.
Good luck! And please let us know how we can help!
Oh, and if you have not yet hit reply and told me your #1 challenge for 2025…get to it! Today's newsletter is almost done! |
