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(This is a direct transcription please excuse any typing mistakes.)
Last week we brought on board a new client and this particular recruitment company first started talking to us 2 years ago. At that time, we had a conversation, we mapped out a proposal for them and it just wasn’t quite right for them then…… and that is a big word to remember – THEN.
So it was a ‘no’. We spent time creating a proposal, we spent time going to meet them but it wasn’t the right time for them to say yes.
Now that client has come back and the proposal has doubled in size and we are now working with them. That could have been a situation where we just let it go and just said “Well, they didn’t work with us… That’s fine… Move on to the next.” Instead, we had a strategy in place.
One of the mistakes that many people make is that because somebody says no, they think it is forever and it isn’t always the case provided you have a strategy around that No Pile.
When people tell you ‘no’ don’t assume it is forever and that is what the subject of today’s podcast is all about. I am going to cover 4 particular areas that you can focus on to make sure that you leverage as much as you can from that candidates and clients that initially say no to your ‘offer’.
When a client or candidate says no to us initially we can think ‘b**%%!!er’ or words to that effect. However, it just may be, at that point in time they are at a different element of the buying cycle. They may not be ready.
They may be a browser as opposed to a buyer and what is great is if we can actually grab hold of these people, metaphorically speaking, when they’re in that position when they’re not quite sure what it is that they want.
By using some of the strategies that we teach around authority positioning, when they do decide to take action or they do decide that they want to move, then you are likely to be the person that they will connect with.
Now in our own business life, we have a current story at the moment that illustrates this exact point.
We are moving our office. We’ve had an office renovated and we are going to have a VOIP phone system installed. The first time I was thinking about this we were not in the position to have the VOIP system installed but I went ahead and started researching and made contact with a couple of companies that could deliver the service for us.
I made it very clear, having been in that situation myself, I was really clear with people that “We are not buying now but I would like some information and can you help me?”
It has been really interesting the experience of being in connection with two different people. One of whom decided that it was of no interest to them to keep in contact with me because they did not know whether this was just somebody ringing up and they could not be bothered and then another person that has kept in regular contact and not overbearingly so but sending me a couple of pieces of information. So which one do you think that when we install a VOIP phone system in the next 2 to 3 weeks we are going to go with?
If you said that guy that added value and has kept in contact you would be correct.
Why? Because somebody kept in contact and answered the questions that we had. Now, because they have kept front of mind with me through the email connection that they have made, actually a couple of phone calls as well, then that is going to be the decision that we will go with provider X as opposed to provider Y. That is the same in all walks of life. It is the same for your candidates and it is the same for your clients.
Let’s just look at this remember, when people come along and they connect with you, not everyone is qualified. Not everyone is at that point where they are ready to buy yet. However, if you connect with them and you demonstrate your authority in your sector, who do you think will they go along and connect with again when they are ready to move?
You, of course, they will. Provided that you keep in contact and that is why it is really important to build things into your system to make sure you are consistently nurturing people.
[Sidenote: Look out for the next podcast about an easy way to nurture your candidates and clients.]
The truth is, you spend money on your website. You might spend money outsourcing some of your marketing. All to generate leads.
We deliver marketing for a number of different companies through their content which they pay for, which is bringing in inbound leads for them. That they then have an opportunity to convert either now or later.
You are investing all that money so imagine that a candidate comes along and they are not quite qualified yet or they haven’t quite made that decision to work but you have invested in acquiring that prospect or lead. Therefore don’t just stick them in a no pile and think “Well, that one didn’t work, that one did not convert.”
They may convert over the long haul. They may convert over time because for all of us, our careers are really important to us and they are not something that we tend to have an impulse reaction around. Some people do but as a general rule of thumb, people don’t. So, therefore, what can you do? How can you keep front of mind with these people?
We always recommend our clients create a touch campaign to keep in connection with potential candidates and clients. It isn’t overbearing but just keeps them front of mind with people. There are 4 things that you can do to help this work.
1. Sharing concepts periodically
You may be listening to this podcast because you are connected to us on LinkedIn and you’ve seen one of our social shares so you’ve gone along and clicked it and had a look at that. Or you may be on our email database, every week we will send a communication out to people to inform people that there is new content on the blog and that people can go along and listen to it if it is relevant for them.
We do a range of content that is created specifically for people at different points in their marketing journey. So it may be if you are thinking about email marketing and email from us drops in on one week about email marketing, you are probably going to have a look at that but you may not have a look at the marketing strategy one that has dropped in the week before.
We provide a range of content (and this is a hint as well), that you guys will find interesting and you can do it exactly the same for your candidates or clients. It’s sharing that, it is a touch point specifically tailored because of the systems that we have in place. Not just us but everybody then you can make this really tailored to your audience.
2. Share results
The other thing is maybe to share some results. We always encourage our clients to create case studies and to proactively ask for testimonials because when someone is considering you as a new recruitment company, there is still bad press out there about recruiters and what they do.
Probably not anybody that listens to this podcast because you are thinking about how you can develop your company but imagine if you’ve got a testimonial or a case study from a candidate about how you are helping someone. The thing is people have that phenomenon that happens which is called the “People like us” strategy. This is how it plays out.
“Well, they worked with this person here. They worked with Jane and Jane is very like me so that must mean they can help me.” So that can make a real difference.
3. Make an offer
The other thing you can implement which is more active is to make an offer and that could be anything.
So like for us that would be an offer for a free marketing strategy session or a product that maybe we have sold in the past that we are giving away for free. It could be something like that or a free webinar. You are running an offer to someone to help them engage with you and for our recruiters that could be a career consultation. You guys know an awful lot about careers, offer that as something for your candidates.
4. Call them
It could be that you just pick up the phone and speak to them. Just touch base. How many of you have had the situation where you have rung somebody up and either a client or a candidate said: “Oh gosh, I was just thinking about you and looking for your phone number”? And it’s one of those woo-woo moments when you think “Wow, I’m glad I decided to follow up.”
Things change in people’s lives. You really do not know what might be at the other end of the telephone when you’re speaking to one of your clients and candidates. Something may have happened to their personal lives, maybe a new manager that they just don’t gel with or they have just discovered that their partner is having a baby or vice versa and they know that “I need to take my career to the next level because I’ve got somebody to provide for” or “I am getting married.”
All these sorts of things run through people’s minds and they can happen really quickly. Before you know where you are, you are 2 or 3 months down the line and you haven’t made a connection with that person so you need to factor in your consistent plan of connection. So just because somebody says no it does not mean it’s forever.
P.S. We provide a number of content services for clients including the touch campaign we have just mentioned. Would you like to know more? Fill out our contact form here contact us.
Important Complimentary Marketing Audit Checklist
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That is why we have designed a complimentary Marketing Audit Checklist that you can download here.
