The Recruitment Marketing and Sales Podcast

Marketing focus for the recruitment and staffing sector has changed over the last few years. As I write this post and record the podcast, it’s been a busy ten days and I want to share some of the things that have been going on because there is a huge lesson here.

Do you notice anything?

These are recruitment leaders stepping up to step out.

Is it easy for them? Is everything working like clockwork?

The answer is no.

However, they have insight into the need to play the long game. That waiting around to see ‘what happens’ isn’t a logical strategy and let’s be honest never has been.

So, what should you be doing now when it comes to marketing your company?

Marketing is about awareness and creating demand. You must have a vision and goal otherwise what is the point?

You are leading your recruitment team, whether that is you and a partner or you and 10 or 20 recruiters.

Your team need a vision and goal to get behind and so do you.

Something that is bigger than improved cash flow.

The world is changing, and human beings are moving to evolved enterprises as their preferred partner to work with.  Check out this amazing book by Yanik Silver.

In it he talks about businesses without a core impact will be at a competitive disadvantage in 4-7 years (or less). There’s no doubt; business could be the ultimate lever for making a significant difference in the world.

A few months ago, there was a massive backlash about the use of Palm Oil, and some organisations had a drop-in share price.

It’s starting to happen in every sector. Though it’s the corporates, currently it won’t be long until this is making an impact with smaller organisations too.

So, what about you? Does your team have a vision they can get behind?

Ours, by the way, is to enable the recruitment and staffing industry to make the world a better place.

…I know it’s huge.

Having been involved with recruitment at various levels, I see the impact a great recruitment process can have.

My first ‘proper’ job came through a Pharmaceutical Recruiter, and as they say, the rest is history

If you have a bigger vision and you want to make an impact on the world you are going to be rewarded so it’s sensible to consider a number in other words, the revenue you want to make. This number will help inform you about the volume of leads you will need.

Let me use an example.

Say you want to increase turnover by £500k this year while maintaining the same profit level. If you know your current average fee level is £10k then logically you need to make 50 placements to hit this number.

Like other KPIs you have you need to know what your average sales conversion and fill rate is.

Then sales become predictable.

In recruitment, the numbers don’t lie.

…” but Denise I thought marketing was all about creativity?”

Yes, it is… and maths.

What worked last year? Unless you have changed your sector, it is likely that doing more of what worked is a logical first step; don’t over complicate this one.

Candidates and clients have more choice. Therefore, you have to stand out. This involves your website; it’s imagery, your social media channels and the collateral you use.

Though Fiverr the freelance website is excellent for some elements of marketing, editing audio, voice-overs etc. I have never been impressed with the visual or written side of their offering.

In the b2b sector where we all operate content marketing is no longer a ‘nice’ to do it’s a pivotal part of the impact of your marketing.

In today’s market, it’s critical to add value along with the candidate and client journey; if you don’t, you will drop to the bottom of the pile.

Answer the questions going on in their head and provide solutions.

Here in the UK GDPR was a challenge and… don’t let it stop what you are doing.

Many of our own competitors sell the dream that you press a button and 200 leads fly into your inbox…. I wish.

The recruitment and staffing companies that are nailing it combine the two, they have a sales funnel which combines inbound and outbound channels; this is where the magic happens.

Think, pdfs, checklists, emails, connection requests, social media structured in a way so that when you make that call people recognise who your company is.

We have mapped out the process for our Superfast Circle clients that they follow and we even provide the collateral too! You can find out more here.

I am sure many of you post job adverts online! Though maybe not so on social channels?

Many recruitment companies are missing out on the opportunity that Facebook Advertising can bring.

It’s targeting capability is exceptional.

Say you want to reach your ideal candidate, and they are 30-40 within a 30-mile radius of your local city, and they like engineering.

You can build an advert around this, and your advert can be shown to these people.

Here is something else… I am sure we have all been ‘stalked’, by an item of clothing we are checking out. It’s called remarketing. I have written about it here.

What if anyone that visits your job page could have an advert shown to them.

Your brand and service are making a huge impression.

Social media isn’t going away. It’s where many of your ‘prospects’ will first engage with you.

You might have heard the name, Grant Cardone? He is an American sales trainer. Well worth watching by the way.

He attributes much of his success to being up for ‘doing more’. His Facebook page is full of content Videos, Facebook Lives and Memes and it’s working…

It’s a lesson for us all that our clients and candidates need to know us first before they can decide to work with us.

Take action on the ideas we have shared and if you would like more clarity then get in contact here.

The post Marketing Focus For Recruitment Companies: What Should You Be Doing In 2019? appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Creating your best year ever starts with marketing planning; at least if you want to create more demand for your recruiting service. As we move to the end of another year over I suspect it has had its ups and downs?

If you are keen on growth this is how it all works.

Now it’s time to get ready to plan 2020 and the start of a new decade; making sure that you start as you mean to go on… with your best foot forward.

I’m not necessarily talking about the whole ‘New Year, New You’ ‘dream’; because I don’t really buy into that.

Fact: It’s just not practical to think that you’ll wake up in January as a new person with different skills, will power or having received amazing skills as you slept on New Year’s Eve!

Let’s start at a place where we can get at least some level of success and kickstart next year in the best way possible.

I know you probably weren’t expecting me to start off with this one and it’s a great way of creating a fresh start.

Ever heard the saying that your outer world reflects your inner world?

That is why I love me a good clear out!

This year I have a couple of health goals, so a few random frozen apple crumbles have been given to neighbours as the freezer became a sugar-free zone.

I came into the office and cleared out some filing draws (yes, I still use a filing cabinet) and some folders of past proposals too.

Look at everything you have and decide whether it plays a crucial role in your business life or your personal growth.

If it doesn’t consider getting rid of it! This process creates physical space in your home, of course, but it also creates mental clarity too and is an easy way to shift your energy.

Taking time for a clear out is therapeutic and relaxing, once you get into it. It helps you to de-clutter your mind, as well as your home and office.

This process is subconsciously making room for a whole new you – and that is so, so powerful. Once this process is complete, it’s time to reflect on last year.

Bob Proctor, the well-known personal development speaker, often comments that we don’t spend enough time thinking.

Remember thinking and reflection is something we can do at any time; not only as one year ends and another one starts, though this time of year is as good as any to analyse where we are.

We have talked about the gap and the gain before, and you can read the post again here.

Success leaves clues, and I am certain some great things happened for you last year. So how about repeating them this year?

Though they might not be the ‘sexiest’ strategies sometimes nailing the basics is all that is required.

Spend some time with a journal and pen and ask yourself questions like:

Get your calendar or diary and look over the activities, to examine the year, month-on-month.

So, then determine how much of what you set out to achieve last year happened.

Then.

Looking specifically at the things you didn’t manage to achieve, decide whether those things are still relevant and important to you. If they are, circle them, as we can come back to them later.

This is an opportunity to take a long hard look at last year and map your progress along the way.

By analysing last year, you’re able to see clear, solid and quantifiable ways to improve and achieve more during the next 12 months.

Understanding and accepting what worked and what didn’t really is half of the battle.

One reason most people don’t achieve their goals is that they are not clear on what they want, or they expect ‘things’ to happen overnight without putting in the time, effort, or resources.

A mentor of mine defines his goals in 5, 10, and 20-year cycles.

That might be a step beyond what you were considering for some people reading this though it’s critical if you are serious about building a 7 or 8 figure recruitment business.

So, let’s make it easier for you.

The first place to start is with the things you circled in the previous step. Remember those things you wanted to happen last year that didn’t. The question is, are they still relevant? If they are adding them to your list.

What about your successes last year; can you take them to a logical next level?

[Hint: These are easy wins for you.]

Real goal setting takes thought.

Rather than randomly plucking an idea out of the air, decide how a goal fits into the plan.

A couple of years ago one of our clients had a goal to open a new office that year in neighbouring geography.

After a planning session with us, he realised that the first step was to mine his current geography and to up the billing level of his current team.

Within eight months, this had added 400k into the pot over and above current levels which meant more revenue with very little additional cost.

The new office was then added to the plan for the final quarter of the following year; which leads me onto the next step.

Back in the day both Sharon and I worked in the Pharmaceutical sector. It wasn’t the easiest job I have ever had though when it comes to understanding marketing and sales it taught me a huge amount.

One strategy that was consistently used was the quarterly cycle.

The year was split into 4.

In fact, as I write this some old buddies of mine will be attending the cycle one kick-off meeting again in January again. They have been working this way well before I started with them, so I sense it’s working!

In the words of the legendary Stephen Covey start with the end in mind and then map out the path to your goal.

Let’s say you have a goal to turn over an extra £750k this year, what would the steps be to get you there? Questions I would ask might be?

We encourage all our clients and students on Superfast Circle to work in this way.

We suggest breaking this down further into monthly and then weekly plans.

The devil really is in the detail.

This gives you some small ‘stepping stones’ to follow, on the way to achieving your major milestones.

In other words, you can focus on exactly what you need to do for the next few weeks.

It’s much easier to build 4 x weekly plans for the month ahead than it would be to plan out your path for the next year.

By breaking everything down this way, you can make sure that you’re always working on the month ahead… however, every step will take you to where you plan to be in a year.

This is SO much more effective than just starting a journey and making it up as you go along!

If you are stuck on the finer detail of what to do get in touch here.

If you have taken action on steps 1 to 4, you are ahead of the pack.

You’ve decided what you want.

Now you need to take action and get some support.

This is where a lot of people fall down.

Start by writing down your own goals for the week and then review what you have achieved. This takes discipline and won’t work for everyone… however, it is a start.

Alternatively, find someone who will support you and call you on your stuff when you need it.

If you want to take it even further join our Superfast Circle ninjas and make this your best year ever.

Thanks,

Denise

To accelerate your marketing at speed, you need to know your starting point and be clear on what good marketing looks like.

That is why we have designed a complimentary Marketing Audit Checklist that you can download here.

The post How To Make This Year Your Best Ever? appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

The easy path to selling more in your recruitment company? A question every business owner wants the answer too, especially at this time of year as one-year slides into another and the question whizzing round in our heads; ‘how can I make more placements next year?’

This isn’t going to be a long post. It doesn’t need to be.

Work on these five elements and you are gold.

It’s a straight forward formula:

• Goal
• Market
• Offer
• Leads
• Conversion mechanism

Of course, each of these elements has a few more ‘bits’ to it though these are the big chunks to consider.

Let me drill down to each in question.

Nothing happens without a goal. Period.

It will also inform the other parts of the process. You must know why you have this goal too; it always helps.

I know it sounds woo woo and all of us need a why to drive us. Whether that is to fulfil the potential we have always known we have, to be a great provider for our family, to have a business that makes a difference in the world, and the list goes on.

If you have a big vision you will need to factor in time too. If you want to turn over £3 million then you need to consider the sector, time, and resources to make that happen.

Which leads me onto your market or sector.

If you have a big goal will the sector you have chosen deliver the revenues, you want?

If you are in technology or the commercial sector the answer is probably yes.

Not sure? Then it is critical to do your own due diligence and research especially as you want to have a business building plan for a minimum of 5 years.

Google is your friend on this one. Here is a useful report I came across when preparing for this post from O2; from the data it presents, you probably wouldn’t want to be in printing and the manufacture of basic metals

Can you sector command higher fees? Is it more specialist? What about longer-term growth?

The markets are changing and specialists’ rule.

Google and the World Wide Web has changed what is possible for all of us.

What about verticals? How many could you have in your sector?

Now this often stumps recruitment owners.

What is your offer?

When it comes to clients you have a recruiting service? How comprehensive is it? Is it on the lines of RPO or an amazing service where you work closely with the client from scoping out a project to arranging behavioural testing, video screening and the whole 9 yards?

What service would your client value and want?

If it’s possible, then scope your offer around this and then charge them for it.

So many people miss this point.

Know what your client’s value then work out how you can deliver it well and make a profit.

Fact: Higher value clients will pay more for a service they want.

Ditto with your candidates too. If you can help a candidate with their career, particularly in a role where they might later become a client, deliver an outstanding service and watch all the dominoes fall in your direction.

This leads me onto leads; excuse the pun!

When you know what your ideal clients and candidates want attracting leads becomes easier. When you communicate through content and by phone and email that you understand your market more of those clients and candidates take your calls and get in touch.

Leads can come from multiple sources and because you know so much about your market it’s easier to presell them on your recruiting service.

Here are a few examples:

• Your website blogs, free reports, contact forms, chat boxes and chat bots.
• Social channels; LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram.
• Paid advertising LinkedIn, Google, Job adverts, Facebook.
• Email lists
• Referrals….. and the list goes on.

Marketing is about creating awareness and demand for your recruiting service and expertise. Once people start to know, like and trust you they are easier to convert.

The buyers cycle means that a small percentage are ready to work with your straight away the rest will over time.

Historically conversion takes place through a conversation be that on the phone, face to face or is a presentation setting.

Get all the other four elements ‘right’ and this part of the process becomes easier.

Jump into action. If you don’t have all the answers to these questions, then that is your starting point. If you haven’t yet downloaded our marketing checklist you can do that here.

If you want our help nailing your marketing next year get in touch by dropping us an email here.

The post The 5 Step System To Selling More In Your Recruitment Company Next Year appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

    Self-motivation for business leaders. This week I recorded a video for our Superfast Circle group. It was part of our Monday Motivation series. It relates to the last few weeks of the year and a touch of self-motivation. December Isn’t The Easiest Month Being honest, as business owners, December has its ups and […]

The post Self-Motivation For Business Leaders: Time To Look at Your Gains appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

  How to choose a marketing supplier for your recruitment and staffing company was a question we were asked on a recent webinar. I can understand your pain; do you have that question too? Many business owners we speak with aren’t exactly complimentary about their marketing providers and I understand why. Marketing is a discipline […]

The post How To Choose A Marketing Supplier For Your Recruitment Company appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

    The law of familiarity? I am not going to get woo woo on you here, and it’s a universal law that super successful salespeople understand. Its origination was in Gestalt therapy, and its basic concept was around awareness and patterns. The law of Familiarity: From Cold to Sold When it comes to a […]

The post The Law of Familiarity: How to Get on Your Client and Candidate’s Radar appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

[Please excuse any typing errors as this is a direct transcription of the podcast.] Placement growth is top of the agenda for all our clients and it’s a core topic we review at our events. Here at Superfast towers, we are planning the Superfast circle event. We run them in April/May and November and they […]

The post The 5 (Easy) Steps To Scale Your Placement Growth appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

  Hi, it’s Sharon Newey from Super Fast Recruitment, and this week we’ve been down at the Recruitment Expo in Birmingham. I had the opportunity to present there, in the Business Insights hall, and I was talking about content marketing. I want to share with you a couple of key points that we haven’t really […]

The post Content Marketing and The Power of Pre-framing and Positioning appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

  How to get more traffic to my recruitment website is a common question we are asked. If fact we wrote a blog post a while ago that talked about the fundamentals of good design, branding etc and you can read that here. So, how can you start to ramp up your website visitors and […]

The post Website Traffic That Generates Candidates and Clients: Our Client’s Secret Formula appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

  Hi, it’s Sharon from Super Fast Recruitment, and today I want to talk to you about a strategy that is a quick win for you, and it’s a perfect time of year to implement this really simple marketing strategy And it came to mind because over the last few days; we have been developing […]

The post A Back To School Lead Generation Strategy For Recruiters appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.