With one month left, a perfect sales year beckons

By Nick Boulton, Client Server CEO

Last Friday, a team of 13 Client Server staff competed in the Finsbury Park Tough Mudder. It's an event we've done together every year since 2018 and it always generates a big amount of buzz. Maybe it's the collective pain of running through electric wires that brings everyone closer together. Whatever it is, pain or otherwise, it reminds me of how strong a team we have at Client Server.

I'm a big believer in momentum in anything you do in life, especially in sales. Success breeds success, and when you are on a roll, you need to make the most of it. The experienced among us know that the good times don't last forever, and you want to make hay when they're around;?Don't look back in anger, no hang on, that was Robbie Williams, I mean,?don't look back with regret!

We are riding the crest of a wave that began at the start of 2021 but has gathered steady pace since the start of our financial year, 11 months ago. Now, after 11 consecutive months significantly over target, our annual sales target smashed in January 2022, 13 out of 13 teams over 100% in March and only one month of the Financial Year left, we have a real chance to not only beat every sales record we have but also finish with every team over target. Client Server historians would be salivating at the prospect of such a colossal achievement.

We have hit the annual target many times before and have had a good chunk of the teams over too, but never have we collectively had every single team over target at the same time by such a large margin. And what I like most is the attitude of our senior management, hitting target this month isn't even a discussion; it's a given!?

Their steely gaze is now fully fixed on what the next year holds and the opportunity ahead for them, something we have traditionally never been good at.?

For me, this is a sign of our confidence at the moment. It's a real indication of our experience, quality and growth as managers, which bodes well for our future.?

I sometimes have to pinch myself to realise where we are after such a polar opposite previous 18 months, but boy, it's great to be where we are now.

As with any business, retention and hiring have been big issues for us over the last year. Coming out of lockdown it was the Managed Services that were the bane of our lives, hoovering up every recruiter they could. Still, as technology businesses are finding, they are far from the, all-encompassing recruitment solution they profess to be, leaving their clients with the hardest technological roles to fill.?

The battle to attract the best recruiters is an all-out assault and has never been fiercer. But with our hugely successful trainee scheme in full swing, churning out some excellent prospects for the future, it seems, for the moment anyway, that our future looks bright and what a time to be starting your recruitment journey!

Our Marketing and Advertising teams have never been busier, doing an outstanding job to keep pace with our growing client list; the jobs list seems never-ending. Improving our brand awareness beyond recognition has been a herculin effort, and I can sense the excitement of the imminent launch of our new bespoke website, which will catapult us to the next level.?

It's a great position as a company, poised to capitalise on the buoyant market and never have we been better prepared as a business, even if you forget the sales figures. Our consultants' overall standard and strength, the depth of knowledge and experience in our management team, and the unshakeable foundation of our back office and support function mean we are perfectly positioned to take full advantage over the coming months and years.

Looking around at the talent we have at the moment genuinely fills me with excitement at the prospect of what we could achieve. Being 'The Best' is all too flippantly banded around, but my wish would be for us to be considered the best amongst our equals. THE go-to technology recruitment business.

But before I get too ahead of myself, we have the not so small matter of making sure we finish off 2021/22 in the manner we started it. Eleven months done, one to go.