SMART IDEA #55: "Better" won't help you sell more
I’m struggling with an issue.?
Maybe you can help…?
The issue is fundamental to your ability to sell staffing services.?
Here it is…?
Over the past eight months, I’ve had far too many conversations with staffing company owners who want their marketing to focus on some version of “our staffing company is better.”?
I’ve been told:?
And my personal favorite: “I know everyone says this, but our service really is better!”?
Now, these things are all great. And the people who told them to me are not lying. These companies do listen to clients, strive to provide great talent, have tons of relevant experience, and employ great people.?
Here’s my issue:??
IN THIS MARKET, THESE MESSAGES DON’T WORK!?
Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes…?
How often would you hear some variation of these messages? Would you believe any salesperson who says them? Would they compel you to work with a staffing company??
So, when you are selling staffing services in a market like this, what should you do??
In marketing, there is a truism that great marketing is not about you, it’s about the customer. Your marketing needs to be timely, relevant, and demonstrate deep understanding of the challenges your clients face—and the interests they have.?
My friend Dan Mori , who is the founder of Staffing Mastery, talks about the challenge of differentiating a staffing business. He says (and I wholeheartedly agree), “You can’t differentiate on service.”?
Why???
Because great service is something the client must experience….AFTER the sale is made.?
While things like awards, NPS scores, testimonials, reviews, and case studies can help prove value and build trust, they aren’t great for getting prospects interested in your services.?
Instead of differentiating on service,?differentiate your sales process!?
This is another recommendation from Dan. And I like this one. A lot!?
To make your company stand out (and generate real interest in your staffing and recruiting services), create superior sales experiences.?
This means thinking about what it’s like for the buyer to go through your sales process. And then strategically design your process to be more engaging, relevant, faster, and easier for the client.?
Top-of-Funnel??
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At the beginning of the sales process (the introduction phase), are you making cold calls and pitching services or are you offering something of value to entice people to want to learn more??
Great top-of-funnel marketing boldly captures attention, offers immediate value (not easily available elsewhere), and is highly relevant to the person you are trying to reach.??
Top-of-funnel marketing often includes things like whitepapers, best practices and how-to guides, market data reports, and industry-specific case studies that illustrate how to solve business problems with staffing. These can be delivered as text-based documents, videos, webinars, podcasts, or any other media format that’s easy for your prospects to consume.?
Great top-of-funnel content may not even be about staffing. It should focus on the problems you know your clients are facing, whether or not those are staffing-related.?
But top-of-funnel marketing isn’t limited to content. You might also consider offering tools, such as checklists, sample spreadsheets, interactive software apps, or workshops (in-person or virtual).??
Back in my early days in staffing, vacation planners were a frequently used sales tool. Today, you’re more likely to have success with document templates (Word or Excel) for things like workforce planning and talent evaluation, sample AI prompts, or giving away an app as a freemium.??
To take your top-of-funnel marketing up a notch, look to create unique experiences for your prospects. The easiest experiences to create are virtual events (like a webinar with an expert speaker).??
The most impactful experiences are in-person events that feature a mix of education and socialization. For example, if you sell IT staffing, you might host a regular CIO roundtable for a mix of clients and prospects.?
Middle-of-Funnel?
The middle of the funnel is where you show prospects the value of staffing and recruiting. At this stage, you’re getting people excited about the impact you can have on their business.?
However, in today’s market, that value has to be about more than your ability to source great talent. To differentiate your sales experience, teach people how to use staffing more strategically as a tool to solve their business problems.?
Show them how staffing can be used to reduce costs, drive growth, improve productivity, eliminate capacity constraints, and mitigate business risk. Show them how to run more effective staffing programs. Show them how to get a better ROI on staffing and recruiting services.?
At this stage, your marketing is about creating content that helps your sales team to have deeper and more meaningful conversations—so that your sales reps don’t look and sound like other staffing firms.?
Examples of middle-of-funnel content could include: a buyer’s guide to staffing services in manufacturing, whitepapers showing how to get the best results (and lowest price) from staffing vendors, and case studies that illustrate specific staffing use cases.??
Ideally, the content you create at this stage is industry and/or role-specific, so that the language you are using and the value proposition you are conveying are relevant to the role of the buyer.?
Bottom-of-Funnel?
This is where your salespeople do their magic and you close deals. At this stage, differentiating your sales experience is less about marketing and more about sales and operations.?
At the bottom of the funnel, are you making it easy to buy from your company? Are your salespeople trained to create win-win negotiations? Are you offering buyer-friendly policies and service terms? Are you minimizing the switching costs from current staffing vendors to your firm??
Helpful tools at the bottom-of-funnel can include proposal and RFP response templates, benchmarking comparison of local staffing vendors (services, reviews, team expertise), a sample client onboarding program, buyer FAQs, videos to meet your recruiting team, and landing pages about specific services you offer.??
Create demand with your sales experience.?
Way back in 1998, I had a client tell me that they did not think marketing could create demand for staffing services.?
I would agree—if your marketing is just about "better" staffing services.?
However, in a down market, if you can show people new and more innovative ways to use staffing services, you can differentiate your sales experience, make your company stand out, and create more demand for the unique value your company offers.?
Want to learn about differentiating your sales experience? Let's grab some time to chat! Give us a call at 1.888.696.2900 or reach out to [email protected]!
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