Your Value Checklist
A sneak preview from BDX Summit
This Wednesday I’ll be joining a stellar list of recruitment experts at the BDX Summit hosted by JobAdder. If you’re looking for BD advice and inspiration, you’ll want to hear from the likes of Hishem Azzouz, Vanessa Raath and Angela Cripps as we cover everything from the essential tech you need (hint: it shouldn’t cost a fortune) through to closing the deal by focusing on value.
As part of my talk I’ll be sharing my Value Checklist to help improve your BD results and close more high-value business. And I wanted to give you a sneak preview of three of the most impactful things you can do to improve your BD.
1. Slow down your pitch
It seems counter-intuitive to pitch more slowly for a new role. After all, we were taught to ‘always be closing’ in recruiter school. And when there’s not a huge number of roles out there, you’d hate to miss an opportunity.
But in order to win high-value business with clients who see you as an expert partner, it’s essential that they get to experience what you are going to be like to work with before they work with you.
Simply telling clients that you’re diligent, thorough, insightful, or whatever else you consider your strengths doesn’t cut it. They need to see and feel those things in action, which means giving yourself the time to prove yourself.
Think about it this way: the shorter the pitch process, the easier it is for someone to blag their way into working the role. The longer the process, the harder it is for an average recruiter to pretend they’re a true expert.
2. ‘You’ not ‘We’
I review a lot of BD meeting follow-up emails (a lot), and the majority focus on the recruiter not the potential client. It looks something like this:
“Thanks for your time today. As discussed, we would be a great recruiter because we are number 1, we have some great services, we know our market, we can get great candidates…”
Unfortunately this reduces your chance of winning high-value business, because you’re broadcasting generic sales messages to a client who is looking for a consultative partner. And talking about yourself a lot isn’t consultative.
When you ditch the ‘we’ statements and start talking about ‘you’, the best clients get interested again. Let’s look at how that follow-up email could look:
“Thanks for your time today. As discussed, you want to double the size of your business but you are struggling to find the right people. You are also concerned about your retention rate. I’ve put together some suggestions on how you could address these…”
Get this follow-up email right and you’ll stand out from the crowd as a high-value recruiter worth working with.
3. Offer tailored packages
Choice is a hugely powerful psychological tool in business, and we see it everywhere. You can’t just buy ‘a coffee’ from Starbucks, you have a menu of options. And if you’re flying somewhere this summer, you’ll have to choose which class you travel in.
Rather than offering a one-size-fits-all approach, B2C brands know that a carefully designed set of options is good for business. People who can afford to pay more have a way to do so (getting more in return), which those who want to pay less can do so (while accepting they’ll miss out on a few bells and whistles).
But look at recruitment and 95 percent of agencies are offering a single service. If a client has a perm role, they offer their perm service. One size for all. Which means those who can afford to pay more don’t (you’re leaving money on the table), and those who want to pay less go to someone cheaper (so you lose business).
Creating a menu of services for your clients to choose from is a really powerful way to improve your chances of winning more business from more clients while keeping a focus on value.
For more BD advice and inspiration this Wednesday, sign up to the BDX Summit here.
Jon
P.S. Here’s a bonus item from the checklist. It’s not easy to do, but it’s a huge power play if you can: Recommend your competitors.
You might well have recoiled in horror when you read that. But that’s exactly why it’s so powerful. Some of the best recruiters I’ve met have had the confidence to see a role and say to their client, “I don’t usually work at that level, you might consider this other agency instead.”
You can see the power in it. You get to show your clients that you’re not the same as your competitors, precisely because they will work roles you won’t. It shows a huge amount of confidence in your position, and your ability to win the right roles at the right time, when you can do this.
For more BD advice and inspiration this Wednesday, sign up to the BDX Summit here.