Building A Better Sales Process: Webinar Recap
A strong sales process is essential for any staffing firm to compete in the current landscape, but many firms lack a proven system and rely on unproven and outdated methods to bring in new businesses. On October 12th, Tom Erb, President of Tallann Resources, hosted a webinar with Bullhorn, providing staffing firms with the tools and strategy for implementing a reliable sales process that works. Watch the recorded webinar here and read our recap below:
WHY DO I NEED A SALES PROCESS?
Times Have Changed: Technology has changed the way staffing firms need to communicate with prospects. In 2001, a sales rep could expect to reach 1 live person on the phone for every 6 voicemail messages. Today, the average sales rep will have to wade through 22 voicemails before reaching someone on the other end of the phone. To be effective, firms need to find a reliable way to get prospects to answer the phone.
Sales is a Game Of Chess, Not War: Sales is a process. Just like a game of chess, you can’t win in one move, but you can position yourself to be more successful to eventually land the “win”. A proven, repeatable sales process is essential to set your sales team up for continued success.
FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENTS OF AN EFFECTIVE SALES PROCESS
Stand Out From The Crowd With A Unique Value Proposition: A generic value proposition doesn’t provide your customer any reason to choose you over what they’re doing now. Not only do you need to distinguish yourself from your competitors, your claims need to be meaningful. Instead of throwing out buzzwords, provide specific examples that set you apart from the rest of the field.
Don’t Underestimate The Power of a Letter: Chances are that your competition has abandoned direct mail long ago. As the volume of physical mail has declined, the impact that a letter makes has skyrocketed. Sending a creative, personalized letter is a great way to build credibility and brand awareness.
Prep Your Client With An Email: Don’t wait until after you’ve called a prospect to send an email. By sending an email and a letter before your call, you’re increasing the likelihood that the prospective customer will be familiar with your firm, and the likelihood that they’ll pick up.
Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile: Prospective customers WILL look you up on LinkedIn. Your LinkedIn profile serves as a credibility reinforcement. Think of your LinkedIn profile as a marketing tool, not a resume.
Establish Your Brand With Content Marketing: Hosting staffing-specific content on your website is a great way to position your company as an expert in the industry. Instead of using this content to directly promote your services, use it to position your company as an expert in staffing and talent management.
Display Your Company Name on Caller ID: Prospective customers are likely to ignore incoming calls from an anonymous number. They’re also likely to ignore calls from an unfamiliar company name. If you’ve taken the above steps, your company name should mean something to the prospect by the time you call.
Perseverance Pays Off: Studies show that it takes 10-12 contacts on average to make a sale. Very few sales happen on the first attempts. But the vast majority of salespeople give up after the second or third call. Instead of casting an impossibly wide net, invest more time on a refined field of prospects.
EXECUTING YOUR SALES PROCESS
Set A Schedule For Contacting Your Clients and Stick To It: Once you’ve implemented the principles above, you’re ready to create a sales process that works. A concrete schedule provides guidance for your sales team, eliminating guesswork and inconsistency in the way they approach prospective customers. Check out the recorded webinar for a detailed step-by-step analysis of the schedule below.
Execute Your Sales Process With A Robust ATS:
An ATS (Applicant Tracking System) is an invaluable tool for staffing firms to streamline candidate management. It’s also the perfect foundation for implementing your sales process. Now that you have a system in place, use your ATS to track each step of your sales process and ensure that your sales team is on track from the beginning of the process through the sale.
Learn more about how Bullhorn’s applicant tracking system can help you create an effective sales process.
