"You just placed an order with XYZ Staffing???"
"Yeah, they were out here last week. Sorry, I forgot to call you."
Sound familiar? Don't feel too badly. We've all had this experience. A great prospect tells us that they don't have any immediate staffing needs. So we follow up a few weeks, or a month, later only to learn that our "hot" prospect just went with someone else.
What happened?
Life happened. People get busy. They forget prior conversations, and invariably when a staffing need pops up, they call the first company that comes to mind.
So how can you be "the top-of-mind company?"
Staying top-of-mind is no easy challenge. You're trying to reach people who have too much to do, not enough time to do it, and tons of stress (both personal and work-related). To make matters worse, your prospects are being BOMBARDED with communication in every direction.
Staying top-of-mind is difficult, but not impossible. Here's what you need to do:
Step 1: Be memorable.
When someone asks you "What do you do?," how do you answer? If you say "I work for a staffing firm" or "I help companies recruit talent," you're doing little to distinguish yourself. And when you sound like everyone else, no one is going to remember you.
If you want be memorable, be different. Be unique.
Pick one thing that you want to be known for. For example, you might want to be known as the world's greatest recruiter for a specific job discipline, the company that responds fastest to a last-minute staffing request, or the company that knows the most about manufacturing and distribution.
But your uniqueness doesn't have to be about the services you provide. It can also be about you personally. You might be the person with the brightest smile, the best jokes, or the most memorable attire.
The key to being memorable is to pick something, anything that will trigger people to remember you and your company.
Step 2: Surround people.
Why do spiders construct webs? Because it's the best way to catch flies. When it comes to staying top-of-mind, you need to construct a communication web that surrounds your ideal prospects.
Too often, staffing professionals rely on just the telephone and email to stay in-touch. That's not enough. If all you do is call or email, you're going to become very annoying, very quickly!
To surround your prospects, consider these tools:
| Tool |
Tips for Using |
| Email |
| Personal Email |
Use personal email for one-to-one introductions, follow-ups to sales calls, invitations to events and sharing educational and value-added information in a personal way. |
| Newsletters
(paper or electronic) |
Share ideas that position your firm as an expert. Provide valuable insights and practical ideas to help your prospects solve their business challenges. An effective newsletter is NOT about you; it provides timely information to address the interests and challenges your prospects are facing. |
| Seasonal eCards |
Nurture relationships with holiday greetings. You can also use seasonal eCards to remind people of appropriate times to use your services. |
| Promotional Email |
Actively market top candidates and specific solutions you can offer. |
| Social Media |
| Blogs |
Share provocative opinions and expert ideas. Encourage your prospects to subscribe to an RSS feed of your blog posts and automatically feed your blog posts to LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. |
| Blog Comments |
Contribute ideas to blogs (and industry forums) that your prospects frequent. Share informed insights and provide links back to your company website. |
| LinkedIn |
Directly connect with as many prospects as you can. Use the following tools to keep your name in front of your prospects: status updates, profile updates, sharing a link, continually adding new connections, Trip It, Reading List and Events. Join groups (LinkedIn allows you to join up to 50), and then contribute to each group by submitting news, jobs and discussion topics, as well as commenting on news and discussions posted by others. |
| Facebook |
Like LinkedIn, Facebook can be a great tool for business networking. Invite your prospects to be friends on Facebook, and then you can use the "What's on your mind?" feature to keep people up-to-date on new blog posts and activities at your firm.
In addition to a personal profile, create a strong company page and encourage people to "Like" your company. You can also integrate Facebook's "Like" button into content on your website and your email newsletters, so as people "Like" your information, their networks are updated about the content you offer (In fact, please go ahead and "Like" this article!).
You can use the SocialRSS tool to automate Facebook updates to your personal and company profiles to streamline sharing of educational content. |
| Twitter |
For technical, creative and other niche professions, Twitter can be a great tool for direct and indirect communication. Use tweets to share ideas and position your firm as an expert. Direct messages are ideal for more personal relationship building.
Like other social networks, the key to making Twitter work is to build a strong network of people with whom you'd like to have a relationship. Then continuously share ideas and contribute to conversations that are relevant to the people in your network. Your goal is not to get the most followers, but to build the strongest list of relevant followers.
Just like Facebook, you can use other tools to automate tweets from your blog, LinkedIn and other sources. |
| Conferences and Events |
| Seminars and Webinars |
Nothing does more to position you as an expert than being a speaker. Hosting your own events is a great way to demonstrate your knowledge and add value, and if you regularly host events, you can also regularly email your prospects to invite them to attend. Speaking at events hosted by others increases your credibility and will give you access to a wider audience. |
| Conferences and Networking Events |
Networking has always been a staple of the staffing business, and these events offer a great opportunity to meet with prospects, share ideas, and discover their challenges in a more relaxed setting than a traditional sales call. Networking events and conferences are also an ideal place to build email lists for future nurturing efforts. |
| Direct Mail |
| Personal Letters |
In an era of endless electronic communication, an old-fashioned personal letter can be an ideal tool to break through the clutter and get the attention of your target audience. For maximum impact, keep your letters focused on the recipient and the problems you can help them solve. Personal letters are a great way to introduce new services, follow up on a sales call, share articles and educational information and reinforce the value you can offer. |
| Note Cards |
A simple thank you note can be one of the best ways to make a lasting, favorable impression. |
| Other Direct Mail |
Greeting cards and postcards are a low-cost and effective way to remind prospects about the services you offer, the problems you can solve, and the unique value your company can deliver. The key to effective direct mail is repetition and continuity in your message. |
| Other Communication Tools |
| Trade Publications |
If you sell to a targeted industry, getting published is one of the best ways to keep your name in front of your prospects. Sharing articles, sending letters to the editor, or becoming a columnist can get you lots of free press--and build your credibility in the process. |
| Voice Mail |
Voice mail may be one of the most underappreciated marketing tools. Use it to remind people about invitations to seminars, webinars and other events. It's also a great way to follow up on newsletters and other email content. |
| Drop Offs |
From goodies to promotional products to educational information, drop offs can be an effective way to stay in touch, nurture relationships and reinforce your positioning message. Drop offs work best when combined with follow-up calls and emails. |
| eBooks |
Electronic booklets are an effective way to share how-to information, best practices, and more detailed explanations of your services. They can be directly emailed to prospects, linked to your email signature, and added to your website.
Want to see an example?
Check out our marketing best practices guide:
http://www.haleymarketing.com/marketingguide |
| Influencers and Referral Sources |
Sometimes the shortest path to a sale is an indirect one. Look at the people who already have access to, and influence on, the people you want to reach. If you can develop relationships with these referral sources, they will help you by sharing your content, recommending your services, and helping you to stay top-of-mind. |
The secret is persistence, not pressure.
In an industry where a sale is rarely a one-call close, you have to be persistent to be successful. But no one likes a pushy salesperson.
To stay top-of-mind--and truly differentiate your services, you have to nurture relationships. You have to use multiple channels of communication. And you have to include multiple types of content.
Relationships get developed through continuous effort. Communicate with prospects and clients on a regular basis (but remember to do it in a way that adds value and shows respect). Your communications can have many goals, such as:
- Positioning your company
- Teaching people how to use staffing
- Building credibility (proving your ability to deliver)
- Adding value
- Obtaining feedback
Ideally, you should develop a program of regular contact--one that adds value, differentiates you, and keeps you top-of-mind. Over 90% of all companies use staffing services. And while many companies may be satisfied with their current vendors, you know that at some point, those suppliers will make a mistake. It's at that moment when you want to ensure your organization is the first one that comes to mind.
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