David Searns | Co-CEO
What’s the definition of insanity?
That’s the question I used to open our most recent sales meeting.
Of course, you know the answer:
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result.
Yet, that’s exactly what many salespeople are doing right now.
Make more calls. Send more email. Spam more on LinkedIn.
When times get tough…the tough do more of the same?
Okay, that’s probably not a fair generalization, but it is an observation. I’ve seen it in our team. I’ve seen it at conferences. I’ve seen it in our clients’ approach to sales and marketing.
In staffing, when things get slower, the most common reaction is “make more calls.”
Now, don’t get me wrong. More activity is needed.
But more of the same isn’t going to move the needle in today’s marketing. We need to act...and sell differently.
How do we sell differently?
This was the second question I asked in our sales meeting. (Actually, I asked each of our team members to come to the meeting with a list of five things they could do differently, starting this week, to change their sales results).
Our team came through with flying colors, developing a list of highly creative strategies and tactics to accelerate their results. I’ll share their ideas with you in a minute, but first, let’s look at why a change is needed.
Stress. Overload. And FUD.
Do you know anyone who not stressed out?
Overworked?
Filled with a mix of fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD)?
That’s what happens in a down market. It’s what happens when businesses are striving to “do more with less.” It’s what happens when the news cycle is filled with negativity. And when we’re reading (daily) about how AI is going to take our jobs.
Here’s the thing: When people (and businesses) operate from fear and uncertainty, they become reluctant to take action, try new things, or try out new vendors.
In this market, you do not want to just sell differently, but also to think differently
Before you change your actions, change your mindset.
I recall reading a meme that stated:
“Whether you believe you can or cannot, you are right.”
Success in sales. Success in marketing. It all starts with optimism.
You have to believe you will succeed. You have to believe in the value of what you are selling (or marketing). You have to believe that there is always a better way…for you and your client.
Optimism opens our minds. It breeds excitement. It gets us to take action.
And it is contagious.
So, if you are suffering from a case of the FUDs, before you pick up the phone to make more calls, take some time to get perspective.
Yes, the market for staffing is down, but more than 80% of the business that was there two years ago is still there.
SIA is forecasting growth for this year…and even more for 2026.
Even in tough times, growth happens. In fact, many of the fastest growing, most innovative, and most successful brands were launched when times were tough.
Times of uncertainty are actually ideal for staffing—our industry offers flexibility to help companies expand or contract more rapidly and easily.
Staffing services are an outstanding business tool to control cost, improve productivity, and manage employment risk. We simply have to help our clients connect the dots.
Okay, back to selling differently.
As promised, here is a list of the ideas our team came up with:
Sales tactics
- Shorten proposal timelines (goal = 24 hour turnaround)
- Change design of proposal as a test – more focus on why and how it helps
- Increase follow-up frequency
- Modify follow-up process (share examples of wins, related educational content)
- Provide micro-value during calls
- Block time for pipeline calls, targeted outreach
Tools & technology
- Create a call planner GPT (use AI to analyze a company, create list of call questions)
- Focus on the risk of not investing (use AI to create a list of questions)
- Try out the new role play GPT I created (yes, I made a GPT for sales practice, email me if you want to see it)
- Create a proposal GPT to accelerate proposal writing
- Use AI to write more impactful follow-ups
Improve prospecting
- Ask yourself “who else can I reach out to, in a different manner, to keep from getting ghosted?”
- Ask if the person we are dealing with is still the main contact
- Use the new case studies and our testimonial list to share relevant examples of what’s working
- Use more video in emails to create connection
- Use texting in ActiveCampaign and/or Zoom
- Get back to more LinkedIn outreach
- Do more personal branding on LinkedIn
Be more focused
- Targeted outreach to prospects in different areas who are not clients
- Go after companies with bad websites (create a call script for this)
- Go back to companies that purchased one-off projects to find new opportunities
- Get laser-focused targeting on a top 20 prospect list
- Use AI to build a list of midsized companies in growth mode
- Focus on one product to sell (or one specific problem) and do proactive outreach
- Target top competitors – focus on our Success Team and technology advantages
- Follow-up with proposals we lost…or who didn’t make a decision
Expand client relationships
- Ask more questions about client issues (e.g., no job orders or not getting the fills)
- Provide more value in initial outreach (share ideas)
- Ask more of our existing clients for referrals
- Reconnect with old sales – coordinate with Strategists first!
- Review current clients – look for opportunities for upgrades (Chatbot, SEO, lead tracking, etc.)
- Connect with companies that took marketing in-house – offer help wherever they need it (marketing has become too big and too complex for one person or even a small team to manage)
- Offer SEO audits and website CRO audits
- Cross-sell our new Career Portal features and Talent Showcase
Could you do this with your team?
Absolutely!
The list above took less than 15 minutes to create.
Will we do everything on this list? Nope.
But we’ll take the list and come up with things we can test.
We’ll see what works (and what doesn’t).
And in the process, we’ll create optimism and excitement within our team…and we’ll bring that positive energy to our clients.
Yes, selling is tough right now. But it’s still fun and rewarding.
You just need to think differently…and act differently. |
