what can I do to start getting more clients

hagoonabear

Hi new here so sorry if I make any mistakes posting this,

I am unemployed but in the process of starting a recruitment business , I have everything ready and just been calling a few companies for vacancies but never end up getting past the receptionist or even when I do I just seem to attract no attention from the head managers.

Its usually a no thank you were fine or we already have a recruiter who helps with these matters argh! so frustrating so can anyone give tips on how to improve myself.

I usually start by saying " hello I'm hagoonabear Im ringing on behalf of X recruitment we specialize in ....... and I think we could help you with your recruitment vacancies .

jimmii

Why should they go with you over their existing recruiter? It seems like you currently aren't giving them a good enough reason. Its not enough to just be doing the same as their existing recruiter otherwise there isn't any incentive to switch you need to show that you are better and that it is profitable for them to do so.

hagoonabear

Thanks for the reply would it be ok to then ring back the same companies in a couple of weeks or would I just have to cross them out from now on

House of Blaze

I used to be a recruitment consultant and I can empathise with the struggle getting past the 'gatekeepers'.

As pointed out above, you need to be able to pitch your services in such a way that will make an impact.

Once you get on to someone who is able to make a decision that is.

I would be wary of being put on to people who act like they have authority over these kind of decisions only to find that the decision is out of their hands when push comes to shove and you have invested a lot of time an effort into developing that lead.

I would also be wary of spamming companies with cold calls as it will only sour any chance you may have had.

Give it a few months and lead with the 'we have a number of new candidates who are exceptional for x y and z reason etc'

Good luck with it anyway, it's not an easy business at the best of times never mind starting out1

thecommander

The point is that if they're getting a service from someone else and happy with it, why would they change over to you? Have you a list of reasons why they'd be better off with you? You need to speak to the person in charge of decisions like that, not the receptionist.

fermanagh_man

Have you ever worked in recruitment before?

How will you go about sourcing your candidates?

jimmii

hagoonabear wrote: »

Thanks for the reply would it be ok to then ring back the same companies in a couple of weeks or would I just have to cross them out from now on

Only if you can give them a real reason to join you.

What can you offer them that is enough for them to start using your company over the existing company?

That is probably the most important thing for you to be able to answer right now. If you can't answer that then how are they meant to?

Sadderday

You need a unique selling point whether it be low commission, making appointments to meet HR people (instead of phonecalls) and having a portfolio of high calibre candidates ready to go, be more personable or professional than any agency you've ever come across, advertise yourself well, be contactable 20 hours a day yada yada yada...

You just need to sell your services by selling yourself, if you have a tatty office (starting out?) and your meeting a manager - maybe go to a nice hotel lobby on middle ground and buy some coffees, don't relay your information to the gatekeepers ... just research the company your calling, find a website - email for HR manager .... start by listing how much experience you have in the business and that you can focus on not only matching skills with a position but can identify the right kind of personality for the company etc etc etc

Get onto to jobs.ie and see whos hiring, take note of how many days the job is on the net, ring ask if its still available and if so, suggest offering your services to help speed up the process for the company and if you have a candidate that is good for the position you could push that.

I dunno, what do you reckon?

dbran

Hi

I would add to all the above comments. Cold calling is unlikely to deliver results unless it is properly targeted. At this level people will only do business with those who they know, like and trust.

Get a proper website with a good domain name. Nothing puts me off more then a person who operates out of a gmail address or just gives a mobile number etc. It has the air of lack of permanency about it.

Keep your linkedin profile uptodate as people will usually do a search to see who you are and what you are about.

Finally join a local chamber of commerce and get yourself know in the business community.

Best of luck

dbran

lucky john

I advertised a number of jobs on a website a few years ago. Two days later I recieved 6 partial CVs in the the post from an employment agencies. The candidates identify was withheld but all other relevant qualifications and information was included. This was followed up by a phone call from the agency to introduce themselves. It worked and I used them many times after that.

I think its important to have a candidate in mind if you intend to cold call and impress an employer.

Mrs OBumble

hagoonabear wrote: »

I usually start by saying " hello I'm hagoonabear Im ringing on behalf of X recruitment we specialize in ....... and I think we could help you with your recruitment vacancies .

I've temped as a receptionist, and I can assure you that you won't get past me with that spiel! (It's almost as bad as the "I'd like to talk to whoever is in charge of your website" line!)

Get busy on LinkedIn and the recruitment sites, identify how your target clients operate and the names of the relevant managers.

Then when you call the company, start with "Hello, can I speak to Brier Fox". Have a reason why they should put you thru "it's about a vacancy we were discussing last week" and save your intro for when you get to him.

But ideally don't call at all. Meet targets at networking events and the like, and sell yourself face-to-face.

Royal Legend

dbran wrote: »

Hi

I would add to all the above comments. Cold calling is unlikely to deliver results unless it is properly targeted. At this level people will only do business with those who they know, like and trust.

Get a proper website with a good domain name. Nothing puts me off more then a person who operates out of a gmail address or just gives a mobile number etc. It has the air of lack of permanency about it.

Keep your linkedin profile uptodate as people will usually do a search to see who you are and what you are about.

Finally join a local chamber of commerce and get yourself know in the business community.

Best of luck

dbran

To me this is a key one, your linkedin profile for your venture cannot be a CV of where you have been etc, it has to be based on how and what you have done to help your customers in the past, how have you achieved savings for your customers, I will try and dig out some good examples and forward them to you. 40% of candidates who get jobs are usually the wrong fit and don't last, what are you going to do differently to ensure that 80% of who you propose are the right fit, what do you do to filter out the 40%?

also maybe specialize in one particular area first, for example, people working in quality in pharma, pick a growth area/industry and then find out what kind of people they are looking for or are being snapped up