Staffing firms and many sales organizations believe that cold calls are the answer to every difficulty. Need new clients? Time to hit the phones. Revenues down? Make more calls. Not closing enough sales? Work the numbers and make more calls!
But cold calls are only one tool in a staffing sales person’s arsenal. In this article we’ll discuss options to the cold call and best practices that can make the calls you do make more effective.
What’s the problem with cold calling?
In a word – the odds. On average, a staffing sales person might need to place as many as one hundred phone calls to make a single appointment. It’s hard to argue that this is an effective use of time. When they do make that one appointment, they will be going in cold. That makes it that much harder to interest the prospect in what your firm has to offer.
So what’s the answer?
Make fewer, better calls. Rather than focus entirely on the number of calls made, better prepare before you pick up the phone. Do your homework. Use LinkedIn or your own network to find out who is the best person to call at each company and learn a little bit about them.
Keep up with your top prospects. Create Google alerts for the companies you really want to get into. Pay attention to news about them. Find out when they will be expanding or taking on new projects so you can call them right when they are most likely thinking about how they are going to handle the increased workload.
Ask for an introduction. If your research reveals you know some of the same people, ask one of them for an introduction or referral. People like to do business with people they know and can trust.
Talent market. Show the companies you’re calling what you have to offer. Give them proof of the quality of the talent you can provide by sharing some profiles of current candidates available or success stories from current satisfied clients.
Let the customers come to you. Use inbound marketing to position yourself as a thought leader. Use email marketing, blogging and social media activity to get the word out about your company, so prospective customers see you as a valued partner.
About Avionté:
At Avionté, we provide solutions for staffing firms that help you to operate more effectively and keep your operational costs down. Our comprehensive staffing software delivers integrated software systems that make it easier to drive growth, maximize profitability and streamline your administrative tasks, so that you can focus on your serving your customers. To learn more about the many benefits of Avionté staffing software, contact us today.
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