4 Biggest Recruitment Problems... SOLVED!

Whoa! That's a big claim. Surely that title is just clickbait, right?

Nope. This is 100% genuine.

And you can tell because, instead of just plucking four random recruitment problems out of the air, we actually took the time to survey over 500 recruitment consultants and find out the biggest challenges recruiters are facing.

Not only are we going to reveal four of those biggest recruitment challenges, we're also going to reveal the methods we teach our clients that have helped hundreds of recruiters increase their average fees, win new business and improve their cash flow.

Problem #1 – “Too reliant on current clients”

Just over one in three recruiters identified this as a problem they're currently facing.

Which is actually a very self-aware issue to be recognising.

When you have enough clients to fill your work time, it's easy to get overly comfortable and ignore the fragile nature of your position.

Because all it takes is one major client to fold or switch supplier, or something totally unexpected to happen such as...

I don't know...

A global pandemic...

And a huge chunk of your "reliable" income can take a walk.

We all know that the biggest rookie mistake in business is to ease off on the marketing when times are good or even when you have no room to take on more business.

And yet, if we're honest, we all find ourselves doing it from time to time.

Solution #1 – Build a Funnel

You likely already have a marketing funnel. It just hasn't been clearly defined.

Maybe it's an ad-hoc mixture of emails, phone calls and the occasional social media post.

But take the time to put the funnel down in writing. This will accomplish two things:

• It will let you see which parts of your funnel are missing (or weak)
• It will help you put together a plan for working on every part of the plan on a CONSISTENT, systemised basis

No two funnels are alike, but you should aim to have, at the least, a system for…

• Bringing in leads
• Warming up those leads
• Making an offer to those warm leads
• Making repeat offers to those that convert
• Making repeats offers to those that don't convert but remain on your list

If you have that funnel in place, and you feed it on a regular basis, regardless of how busy you are, your over-dependency on a small batch of clients will melt away.

Quick Hack #1 – Ask for Referrals

If you need a quick boost to your new client potential, reach out to your current and former clients and candidates and ask for referrals.

Even if it's just a quick bulk email.

Response rate to this kind of request is typically low, but the leads you do receive from this exercise, are usually already warmed up and ready to be converted.

Problem #2 – “No Reliable System”

This recruitment business problem was identified, also by around one-third of respondents.

It's obviously similar to the previous problem, and the solution is much the same. But the key difference to this one is the word "reliable".

If you've already built a funnel, and it's not producing results consistently, this is incredibly frustrating.

Especially if it works sometimes, but not others, and you can't figure out why.

Solution #2 – Measure Everything

It's a bit nerdy, but you need to develop your capability of tracking your marketing activities and measuring every stage.

And I mean every stage.

Are you bringing in too few leads? Are you bringing in leads, but they're not responding to your email campaigns? Are you warming up the leads nicely but you're not consistently closing sales?

Then you need to dig deeper.

If leads aren't responding to your emails, is it because they're not opening them? Or are they opening them but not clicking on the links?

It sounds obvious, but if you don't know why something is working, or not working, you're just shooting arrows in the dark.

You need to measure all of this data and analyse it. Because you can't improve what you don't measure.

And if all that sounds too complex or time-consuming, then bring someone into your business who has the skills and experienced to take care of this for you.

Quick Hack #2 – Host an Event

While you're figuring out your marketing funnel, here's a rapid marketing campaign you can run for some quick wins.

Put on a live event (or webinar) that teaches small business owners and hiring managers how to save time and money on their next hiring campaign.

At the end of the workshop, offer every attendant a free recruitment audit – a private consultation during which you'll discuss their current hiring strategy and make suggestions that will improve their results.

That private, one-on-one consultation is a great opportunity to build a relationship with that prospect and to make a direct pitch for work.

Problem #3 – “Not Enough New Business”

You can see the trend here.

And it's no big surprise given the competitive nature of the recruitment industry.

The only real shock is that only 21% of respondents listed this as a problem they're facing. Because if you're too dependent on your current clients or you don't have a reliable system, then almost by definition, you don't have enough new business coming in.

I've a feeling that if we limited the survey to recruitment business owners, we'd see these numbers rise sharply.

Either way, this is a sticky problem to face because it adds considerable stress to your job.

You can't afford to take time away from filling your current roles. But you also can't afford not to put time into finding new clients.

Solution #3 – Focus on lead generation (and don't become over-reliant on social media)

Social media is good but it's easy to get sucked into chasing things like brand awareness and engagement, when marketing, at the end of the day, should be measured by its ability to put leads in front of the sales people.

Social media can provide that, but only if you're taking a very targeted approach and putting money into advertising.

Don't get so swept up in the online advertising hype that you neglect good, old-fashioned marketing strategies such as direct mail campaigns and networking events.

Even during the pandemic, networking has continued online and many have found the focused style even more effective for meeting potential clients than live events.

Quick Hack #3 – Back to Basics

Think back to when you first started your recruitment business, and you had few, or no clients.

You needed to get business in fast or you'd go broke in a heartbeat.

What did you do to get business in quickly?

Could you repeat that exercise again?

If that means, picking up the phone and making 50 calls a day, every day for a week...

That isn't a good long-term solution, but if you need a quick boost, going back to basics can get you out of a hole.

Problem #4 – “No True Differentiator”

This recruitment business problem is recognised by about one in ten.

But this would also likely be higher if recruiters took a really close look at their offering.

Having the largest database and the most experience sounds like a good differentiator, but this is less interesting to clients than you might imagine.

And, like it or not, you might not be the only recruiter in your space making those claims.

You might actually be the most experienced and talented recruiter in your industry, but your prospects have no real way of verifying that.

The fact is, most of what recruiters think of as unique selling points, are actually very common selling points.

Solution #4 – Help the Client Save Time, Money or Both.

Get your team together and brainstorm some ideas for creating a brand new USP.

It could be an existing part of your service that you elevate, or it could be something entirely new.

The only remit is that it has to save the client time, money or preferably both.

This is important because it’s easier to sell the benefits of your USP, and because these are the areas that make the client sit up and take notice.

Especially if your USP is in a form that can produce MEASURABLY better results and that will allow you make certain guarantees around your work.

Quick Hack #4 – Talk to Us...

One of our key strengths is helping recruiters develop their own bullet-proof USP, and providing them with the system and the software to support it.

So, if you want to create a true differentiator quickly, that will help you win more business, just CLICK HERE and book a free consultation.

There's no obligation and our conversation will be held in strict confidence.

***

Play around with some of the quick hacks, but if you're going to choose one of the above long-term solutions to work on, build out your marketing funnel.

If you choose two things, talk to us.

The above solutions are tried and tested, but no two recruitment firms are alike.

If you want a personalised solution that comes with the tools and training you need to succeed, we'd love to work with you.

We've helped hundreds of recruiters...

• Win more business
• Increase average fees
• Develop recruitment tech into their service
• Win exclusive retained assignments
• Improve quality of work life

Just click HERE to book your free consultation. Remember, there's no obligation, and the session is absolutely free.