The June 2013 Staffing Industry Review survey asked what the top priorities were in staffing firms. The top 3 were:
- 53% – Grow Recruitment Revenue
- 40% – Expand/Diversify Clients
- 35% – Grow Recruitment Market Share
Since it seems to be all about sales, let’s take a look at how buyers became aware of suppliers. When buyers were asked how they typically heard about new suppliers/recruitment agencies, the survey showed that 74% of all introductions were a result of referrals. If you do not have a referral plan in place, evidence says that having a plan would help your international recruitment agency grow.
The second most common way buyers learned of new recruitment agencies was more surprising to me. Hold on, because your sales and marketing team may not like the results of this one. The “cold call” was cited by 63% of all buyers! The cold call…a salesperson called or dropped by. Today’s marketers and sales leaders may not see cold calling as a viable strategy. We all dream of “inbound marketing campaigns” that drive buyers to our door. Guess what? The evidence shows that the cold call still works.
The complete list looked like this:
- Referral – 74%
- Cold call – 63%
- Conference – 44%
- Published List – 27%
- Through VMS – 25%
- Internet Search – 24%
- Email Ad/Newsletter – 20%
What is working for your recruitment business? If you run an international recruitment agency, I would like to hear your experience. Do the results detailed here match what happens in your international recruitment agency?
