5 Ideas for Expanding Your Client Base

Are you looking to acquire more clients for your recruitment firm? While the tactics you used before to get in front of clients may have worked five years ago, times have changed. With the tools we have available today, there are several new ways to get your prospects’ attention. We’ve compiled five ideas for expanding your client base below:

• Build Loyal Fans: The most valuable customers are loyal customers who will refer your company to others. The key to earning more referrals is building strong relationships with the customers you already have. Make sure you are sticking to your word and not only meeting expectations, but exceeding them. Trust me, it will pay off. Use tools such as task lists in your recruiting CRM to ensure you are accomplishing necessary tasks and preventing items on your to-do list to slip through the cracks. Task lists within your CRM will also allow for 100% transparency and improved internal collaboration; therefore, if you’re not in the office, your teammates can help you out.
• Know Your Org Charts: Make sure you have organization (org) charts to help you understand your prospects and customers more thoroughly. The organization chart is an invaluable tool that you can use to build new relationships with power players and other influencers. Ideally, you will keep these org charts updated on a regular basis as you learn the parent/child relationships at these organizations, as well as understand how your prospects and clients function on a daily basis.
• Make Dedicated Lists (Tearsheets, Hotsheets, etc.): Use your CRM to create dedicated lists for focused campaigns. For example, if you know you’re going to be in a particular location (e.g. Chicago) for a few days, create a list of prospects in that area and send them targeted emails to help you set up meetings with them. You can also use targeted lists to send your clients and/or prospects relevant content that keeps your staffing firm top-of-mind. Perhaps you have an amazing candidate that you want to share with new prospects. Use these targeted lists and “reverse marketing” techniques to start discussions with them that hopefully lead to new business.
• Use Social Media Networking: Social networking recently tied with attending networking events as the top way to obtain new clients, followed by joining professional groups and maintaining an online presence. This is an improvement over last year when social networking came in third, according to the 2013 North American Staffing and Recruiting Trends Report. Leverage social media to learn what your prospects are talking about and discover which ones are interacting with your competitors. Be proactive. Be personal. Use social media networking to build relationships and brand loyalty. Use social recruiting tools like Bullhorn Reach to announce successful placements. Prospects will see the announcements and know that your firm is good at what you do.
• Take Advantage of Mobile: One-hundred percent of the staffing salespeople who say they spend more than half their time outside in meetings said they consider mobile access important, with 85.7% considering it “extremely important,” according to Bullhorn’s 2013 North American Staffing and Recruiting Trends Report. The ability to enter meeting notes and send follow up emails while on-the-go allows salespeople to move quickly and keep their momentum going throughout the day. As you know speed and agility are critical for recruiting firms trying to keep pace in the industry. Agencies are adopting technology like recruitment CRMs with mobile access to remain competitive while working at an accelerated pace.

This Bullhorn Blog post was written by Ashley Healy.

Ashley Healy specializes in integrated marketing communications and a wide range of marketing activities including social media management, SEO copywriting, content marketing, promotional strategies and employment branding. She previously worked as Content Marketing Manager at Bullhorn and prior to that, as a copywriter and marketing coordinator at Verndale, a full-service digital agency.