Welcome to the Recruitment, Marketing and Sales Podcast. I’m Sharon Newey, and today, I’m thrilled to bring you an insightful conversation with Natalie Wells, a super successful finance recruiter who has successfully transitioned from corporate life to running her own independent recruitment business.

In this episode, Natalie shares her unique journey from her beginnings in actuarial science to becoming a sought-after finance recruiter. Her path is not the typical one, and her success is a testament to the possibilities in our industry.

We delve into the dramatic changes she’s witnessed in the industry over the past 25 years and explore her people-centric approach to recruitment, which has led to remarkably long-lasting placements.

Whether you’re a seasoned recruiter considering going solo or a business owner looking to improve your hiring process, Natalie’s experiences and strategies offer valuable lessons.

She provides a candid look at the challenges and rewards of independent recruitment and shares her vision for the future of our industry.

Get ready for an engaging discussion filled with practical advice and inspiring insights. Natalie’s experiences and strategies offer valuable lessons that can enlighten your understanding of the recruitment industry and inspire your own professional journey.

Where it All Started

I started my career in finance after studying maths and statistics. Because career advice was limited back then, I followed the traditional path into actuarial science. After a few years in a global insurer, I realised I wanted to work more closely with people.

Unlike many who fall into recruitment, I took a considered approach. I engaged a careers consultant, and we concluded that financial recruitment or training would suit me best.

I joined a large corporate recruiter, benefiting from their excellent training. Over the next 25 years, I witnessed massive changes in the industry. When I started, we didn’t have mobile phones or email. Business was done via landlines, and shortlists were printed, posted, or faxed. The recruiting process wasn’t necessarily longer, but there was less white noise to cut through.

Adapting To Industry Changes

LinkedIn’s arrival disrupted our industry, making extensive databases available to anyone. This shift and my growing focus on working with business owners of growing SMEs led me to consider going independent. I found myself increasingly in situations where I’d qualify a client’s needs, only to realise the role fell outside my remit in the corporate structure.

I decided to simplify my approach and focus on the client, their business, and how to help them grow. I wanted to invest time in nurturing individuals’ careers. With LinkedIn in full flight and clients buying into the individual rather than the corporate brand, there was no reason not to go independent.

 Building Successful Client Relationships

My approach to recruitment is people-centric. I treat everyone as an individual with their own vulnerabilities, wants, and needs. By getting someone to know, like, and trust me, I can ensure the solution I provide addresses their needs. This works particularly well with business owners.

I’m not interested in ‘bums on seats’ recruitment. I’m concerned with how the individual I place will contribute to the business in five years. My placements tend to last 5-8 years, with some retiring after 20 years. Understanding the company’s culture, leadership personality, and values is crucial. It’s about finding candidates who can share and buy into that vision.

The Importance Of Thorough Stakeholder Engagement

Before starting the recruitment process, I interview all stakeholders for senior roles like FDs. This includes direct reports, internal customers, and non-executive directors. It helps me understand the issues, test the quality of relationships at the top table, and shape the job spec.

This detailed approach means the actual interview process can be quick. For more junior roles, I still ensure I understand who’s involved in the interview process and get a feel for their needs and expectations. This allows me to address pain points upfront and helps line managers get more comfortable with their decisions.

The Challenges And Rewards Of Independent Recruitment

As an independent recruiter, I’m particular about who I work with. I work on a sole agency basis and get paid for what I do. If I sense that I care more about getting it right than the client, I walk away. This approach has led to some challenging situations, like having to advise withdrawing an offer to a candidate who seemed perfect on paper but raised cultural red flags.

Looking to the future, I believe technology will continue to play a crucial role in recruitment. However, it won’t replace the human elements of building relationships with business owners and helping people nurture their careers. It can take away much of the transactional heavy lifting, but the personal touch remains crucial.

Finally

If you want to connect with Natalie on LinkedIn, click here or visit Natalie Wells Recruitment here.

Thanks

 

Sharon

The post From Corporate Finance to Solo Recruitment Success With Natalie Wells appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Having worked with Rachel and Neo as their marketing partner, I’ve always been fascinated by their journey with Ice Recruitment.

Their story of building a successful business while handling the complexities of a husband-wife partnership is inspiring.

I decided to record this podcast because their experiences offer valuable insights for other recruitment business owners, especially those considering working with their partners.

Rachel and Neo’s candid discussion about their challenges, triumphs, and personal growth provides a unique perspective on entrepreneurship and relationships.

Their journey from a crisis-driven start-up to a thriving 16-year-old business is not just about recruitment strategies; it’s a testament to resilience, adaptability, and the power of shared values.

I hope this conversation will inspire and guide others in our industry, showing that it’s possible to blend personal and professional lives with the right approach successfully.

So, let’s dive into the Ice Recruitment story and learn from this remarkable couple who’ve mastered the art of building a business and a life together.

The Birth of Ice Recruitment

The idea for Ice Recruitment came about when Rachel and Neo wanted to start their own business. They come from families where both sets of parents had their businesses, so it seemed like a logical step. Due to family commitments, Rachel had left recruitment and was freelancing while their children were younger, while Neo was working in the city.

In 2008, the financial crisis hit, and Neo lost his job. Getting another role at Neo’s level was difficult, so they set up their own business. They combined Neo’s sales and technology background with Rachel’s recruitment background.

Over a coffee in Starbucks, Ice Recruitment was born.

Rachel explains, “We naturally combined Neo’s background in sales and technology with my background in recruitment. Over a coffee in Starbucks, Ice recruitment was set up pretty much as quickly as that. We lasted longer than Starbucks. That’s not there anymore.”

Overcoming Early Challenges

The early days weren’t without challenges. Neo came from a $5 billion global company with 75 to 105 people under his umbrella. He was naive in thinking he could replicate that culture with just two people. The processes and approaches might have been spot on, but the execution, delivery, and demeanour of a smaller company, especially a husband-and-wife team, differed.

Neo reflects, “I was probably quite naive that I thought I could replicate that culture with two of us because it worked with 200. Why would it not work with the two of us? And the processes and approaches would have been spot on. But the execution, delivery, and demeanour of a smaller company and a husband and wife are that it will never work.”

There was a reasonable amount of “storming,” in which two people put their stakes in the ground. Rachel, a freelancer, felt she couldn’t be told what to do, while Neo, a sales director, felt he should be listened to. Neither was budging.

The sense of urgency was high. Due to the financial pressures, they had to get up and running quickly. It wasn’t a panic situation but one of urgency. They had to work hard and accept the problem to find ways around the challenges.

Neo adds, “From a financial perspective, you must get onto that treadmill quickly. It’s not a panic situation but an urgent one.”

Balancing Work And Personal Life

One of the biggest challenges was differentiating between work conflicts and personal life. For a long time, it wasn’t easy to separate the two. If this continues, many partnerships might crumble by year two, but for Rachel and Neo, it was still happening in year two, although becoming less frequent as the years went on.

Rachel shares, “For a long time, it was very difficult to differentiate between the work conflict and then, you know, making dinner. That wasn’t easy. And that was some of the conflict I think as a partnership; you have to get over if you are a husband and wife, wife and wife or husband and husband.”

They had to work through it and figure out how to turn off the laptop and leave work at work. If conflicts weren’t personal and directed at each other, they could close it and deal with it the next day. They learned to keep it business-focused.

They also learned to separate personal conversations from work conversations. They focused on work during work hours, saving personal discussions for evenings. This separation helped maintain a healthy balance between their work and personal lives.

Rachel explains, “We don’t talk about those things at work. We have conversations about work as much as we can. And then in the evening, oh, you know, so-and-so said, do we want to go to a concert?”

The Benefits Of Working Together

Despite the challenges, the benefits of working together far outweigh the downsides. Neo has never missed a sports day, parent’s evening, or any significant event in their children’s lives. This flexibility and ability to be present for family events is enormous.

Neo emphasises, “I’ve never missed a sports day or a parent’s evening. My son had a six-week trial down at Watford, and I went to all six trials and took him down there and never missed a game. We always went to the swimming tournament. We’ve never missed anything. Ever. For me, that alone is enormous.”

Another significant upside is how working together has brought them closer as a couple. Many couples grow apart over the years as they pursue separate careers. Rachel and Neo have grown closer because they both have to grow as people together.

Neo reflects, “We’re closer now than we were 15, 18 years ago because we must grow as people. The people who are most successful in relationships and the people who are most successful in business, whether it’s parenting, friendships, or whatever, are the people who have the best coping mechanisms.”

They’ve created a life sustained on their terms. They’ve balanced running a successful business with being there for their children’s activities and sports events. It’s been challenging, requiring early mornings, late nights, and working weekends, but they’ve made it work.

Rachel shares, “We had the business in the daytime, but my daughter was a swimmer, so I was up at 4:30 a.m. doing early morning swims. Our son is a footballer, and Neo is the coach. So off they would go from 6:00 a couple of times a week or on a weekend. That was a priority they got from us, and they could develop their sports as they wanted to.”

Advice For Couples In Business

Rachel and Neo offer some advice for couples considering working together. Rachel emphasises the importance of being prepared for challenges and having clear intentions. “It is give and take,” she says. “You’re not going to win everything. It’s not going to go at the speed you want it. There are going to be hurdles.”

Neo adds, “Be prepared for conflict. Be prepared for very dark periods. But you’ll get those if you work for someone else anyway.” He emphasises that the benefits far outweigh the downsides, but it’s crucial to stick to agreed parameters and be ready for personal growth.

They both stress the importance of having separate spaces and interests outside of work. Rachel, like Neo, has her own “tribe” of friends and colleagues. This allows them to maintain their individuality while working closely together.

The Highlights And Future Plans

For Rachel, the key highlights have been having a business they love and knowing they’re fortunate. They genuinely enjoy what they do, finding it rewarding to help people find the right job opportunities. Rachel says, “It’s so rewarding when you help someone. There’s something so rewarding about that. And that’s actually the essence of what we do.”

They’ve been able to create a life on their terms and are excited about entering a new era in their business. Rachel adds, “We’ve managed it. We look back now and go, wow, we seem to have done that bit. Let’s keep going. And we’ve got so many goals we still want to hit.”

For Neo, the highlights include their ability to do things their way and maintain their values of honesty, integrity, and trust. He’s proud of their standards of work and energy. He also sees their personal growth as a major highlight, noting how they’ve developed the ability to handle situations calmly that would have caused meltdowns years ago.

Neo shares an example: “There was an incident a fortnight ago that, without going into detail, had that same incident happened 15 years ago, I’d have had a meltdown. The ability to cope with something you couldn’t cope with before genuinely doesn’t mean you’ll get out of it because sometimes circumstances don’t deal with that.”

Looking ahead, they’re excited about the next phase of their business. With their children now grown and pursuing their careers, Rachel and Neo are ready to focus even more on growing Ice recruitment. They aim to accomplish in the next ten years what most people do in 30, building on the strong foundation they’ve established over the past 16 years.

Neo concludes, “The highlight for me is knowing what we want to do. I’m really proud of our standards of work and energy. The highlight has been how much we’ve developed as individuals. I think that would be it.”

Thanks,

Sharon

The post Balancing Act: Love, Family, and Building Ice Recruitment appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

One of the best parts of my job is chatting with recruitment business owners daily. Each has unique challenges, but I often hear a common theme: business growth is slowing down. Market dynamics are always shifting, impacting different sectors in various ways.

Many owners have relied heavily on their existing clients, who, until recently, consistently provided business and referrals. However, this year, we have seen a dip in business volume from these clients and a significant drop in referrals, slowing growth.

So investing in your marketing is a good idea, yes?

Then, what do you need to consider.

Pinpointing the Core Problem

The core issue here is the need for more clients and jobs. While we can see the symptoms—a decrease in roles from existing clients and fewer referrals—the real challenge is not knowing how to generate new business and create demand for their services in today’s market, which is the purpose of marketing in any company.

Exploring different investment options is crucial for overcoming the lack of growth. Each strategy requires a unique approach tailored to your business’s needs and circumstances. Here are some to consider:

Reskilling the Team and Upgrading Your Tech

One option is to invest in reskilling your team, especially in business development (BD) activities. Many teams haven’t done BD for years and could use some updated training. Boosting these skills can rejuvenate efforts to attract new business.

Investing in technology can also increase productivity. Automating processes, implementing advanced tools, and streamlining operations will free up time for strategic activities like BD.

Self-Investment

As a business owner, investing in personal development through coaching or mentoring can spark new ideas and growth strategies. This can help you evaluate your business models, services and sectors and gain fresh insights to drive your business forward.

Marketing Investment

You know marketing is a topic close to my heart. Investing in marketing is crucial for creating demand and attracting new clients. Effective strategies are key to sustained growth, whether outsourcing marketing efforts or building internal capabilities.

Choosing an Investment Model

There are different models to choose from, varying based on how much of the business’s profit is reinvested.

50% Profit Reinvestment Model

This aggressive approach involves reinvesting 50% of the business’s profit back into the company. While it might reduce short-term personal income, it can significantly accelerate your growth.

20% Profit Reinvestment Model

This is a more conservative approach. It involves reinvesting 20% of profits. With 50% allocated for personal income and 30% for taxes, it balances business growth with personal financial stability.

Marketing Strategies: DIY, Outsourcing, and Do-It-With-You DIY Marketing

Doing it yourself involves learning and implementing marketing strategies independently. It’s cost-effective but demands significant time and effort, which can be tough for busy owners.

Outsourcing Marketing

Outsourcing marketing to agencies can be a lifesaver for those short on time. However, it can be pricey, with costs ranging from £2,000 to £3,000 per month. This investment can be uncomfortable if you haven’t used marketing activities before, but professional and consistent marketing efforts often yield significant returns.

Do-It-With-You Marketing

A hybrid approach, the do-it-with-you model, involves working with a marketing partner who provides guidance, marketing resources, and support while owners and/or a team member/marketer focus on implementation. This builds internal capability and offers flexibility in resource allocation.

Building Internal Capability

Developing internal marketing capabilities ensures the company has systems and processes it can leverage, even during busy periods or if external support isn’t available. This involves training and developing team members to handle various marketing tasks and creating a self-sufficient system.

Consistency in Marketing

Consistency is key to successful marketing. Maintaining a constant presence through regular social media posts, consistent email campaigns, or ongoing content creation is crucial. Experience shows that inconsistent marketing eventually reflects in the company’s results.

Overcoming Time Constraints

Time management is a common challenge for most businesspeople. We can procrastinate, get distracted, and focus on tasks that keep us busy but aren’t crucial for delivering results. By assessing how we use our time and prioritizing revenue-generating and client-delivery activities while delegating admin and other tasks to team members or outsourcing them, we can create time for essential marketing activities.

Measuring Marketing Success

Success in marketing isn’t just about financial returns. Other metrics like brand awareness, engagement rates, lead generation, and customer feedback are also important. A comprehensive approach to measuring success ensures a holistic understanding of marketing’s impact on the business.

Long-Term Marketing Strategies

Marketing isn’t a quick fix; it requires consistent effort and strategic planning. While some activities deliver quick results, the focus should be on building strong foundations for long-term success. This involves setting up systems that consistently create demand regardless of market conditions.

Practical Steps for Recruitment Business Owners

Recruiting business owners need to make strategic investments to address the slowdown in growth. Here are some steps to consider:

1. Identifying Core Problems: Understand the fundamental issues and focus on generating new clients and creating demand.
2. Exploring Investment Models: Choose an investment model that aligns with your business’s revenue and profit levels.
3. Implementing Marketing Strategies: Based on time and financial resources, decide between DIY, outsourcing, or a do-it-yourself approach.
4. Building Internal Capabilities: Invest in training and developing internal marketing skills to sustain efforts.
5. Ensuring Consistency: Maintain consistent marketing activities to build a steady presence.
6. Measuring Success: Use various metrics to gauge marketing’s impact and adjust strategies accordingly.
7. Planning for the Long Term: Focus on sustainable growth by building systems and processes that create ongoing demand for your recruitment services.

In Summary

Investing in marketing is a strategic decision that can significantly impact the growth trajectory of a recruitment business.

Business owners can navigate current market challenges and achieve sustainable growth by understanding core challenges, exploring various investment models, and implementing consistent marketing strategies.

This comprehensive approach ensures that businesses are no longer solely reliant on existing clients and referrals but have multiple strategies to generate new clients and candidates to drive success.

Thanks

 

Sharon

P.S. If you relate to the saying, “My problem is I don’t know what I don’t know,” and would like to explore how we can support you and your business in building long-term success, email Sharon@Superfastrecruitment.co.uk.

The post Investing in Recruitment Marketing: A Guide For Business Owners appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Today we share with you an interview with one of our clients. This is with an amazing guy called Scott Williams, who has a recruitment company based in the Midlands. Scott works in a very buoyant, challenging market. He joined Superfast Circle towards the back end of last year and is one massive action taker.

Scott was a very brave soul and set up his company in 2020, just before the pandemic landed on us. However, he’s doing incredibly well. Since he’s been working with us, he’s hit his target already, four months into the year. Obviously, he now knows he needs to increase that but he jumped on everything that we do and is a really fast implementer. I thought it might be interesting for you to hear his story of some of his challenges, what he’s done, and how he’s managed to nail his market.

Introduction 

Scott Williams started Food Recruit Search and Selection in 2020 and specialises in the food manufacturing industry.

Scott has been in the industry since 2007 and has a wealth of experience in the sector. His focus now is working with professionals in the industry from engineers through to CEO and C-Suite hires. 

As a business owner, what was “it” like before you joined Superfast Circle? 

I launched Food Recruit in September 2020, in the middle of a pandemic, and I thought the only way was up. Obviously, recruitment is evergreen; it was only ever going to get busier. And like with any other business owner, as you say, I was spinning multiple plates, from the website to HMRC, and the most important part of that was marketing. The landscape in my industry is very competitive. 

You have to be unique. You have to have your message and personality behind it, but my job is to fill roles, and marketing is a major part of my role.

The first year was about trying to keep my head above water and marketing, was very important to my strategy. Finding the time to do it was very stressful.  

What specific marketing problem were you looking to solve? 

Year one was all about establishing the name, getting Food Recruit out there and making a noise in the market.

Then, as you progress into year two, you have to start putting stronger foundations in place, which is branding and marketing, but along with marketing, it’s also about your message.

I was trying to establish my message; what makes me different, is the personal service I provide and I didn’t find it easy. To do it, you need to move the cloud, so to speak, to have clarity, and I wasn’t getting that. 

How did you find Superfast Recruitment? 

From my point of view, I think it’s important to find a specialist in marketing. There are thousands of marketing agencies out there, but the idea of me speaking with  Superfast was to get a specialist in recruitment marketing.

If I were to go with a generalist, then I’d spend all my time reconfirming what I want to do and re-explaining who my client base is, what my marketing tactic is, and the industry as a whole. I set about finding a specific recruitment marketing agency, which is when I stumbled across yourself and Denise. 

What made you decide to join Superfast Circle?   

Just like anyone in the world today, you’ve got to do your background checks, and your due diligence, and obviously, I went through the reviews on the websites. I read through the testimonials. I watched the videos. I knew about your business before you even called me. That’s my job; I’m a recruiter. 

When you called me, I felt like I already knew your business; I already knew a bit about yourself and what you do, but it wasn’t until our call that you sold it to me. I think it’s important, just like in recruitment, you’ve got to connect with the person you’re working with, because, at the end of the day, you’re my business partner now. You’re part of my business.

It’s important that you understand where I’m coming from, understand where I want to get to, and understand how I’m going to get there, and then you enable me to do that, which is why we clicked straight away, and I invested in Superfast. 

While you have only been a member for a short time, what have you been able to achieve so far? What were your most significant benefits/results?  

Superfast has basically had a ripple effect through my business.

Before, I was spinning dozens of plates, not getting anywhere with marketing, and not having the time to do it.

Being part of Superfast Circle has allowed me to put more time into my day, knowing that the recruitment and marketing part of my business is being looked after and ‘cuddled’ by yourself and Denise. Basically, you both keep me on the straight and narrow.

That, in turn, has enabled me to have more time in my day, which means more focus on job searching and fulfilling more business. It’s all cause and effect. Without Superfast Circle, I certainly wouldn’t have progressed to where I am now within the last few months. 

What have you been able to put in place so far? 

With Superfast, you’ve got the portal, which is my access to the data I need, but you’ve also got the wider community.

I think that the most important part so far was within the first week we had a call, obviously, to establish myself, where I want to go, what I want to do, and on that call, I sat with you and Denise, and we went through my website. You gave me some advice on it. I think I had 20 points off you guys as to how I could improve the site.

For me, it looked fine before, but then when you gave me the reasonings and suggestions, it all just clicked into place. Of course, that’s another plate I’m spinning. It really helped me to have an outside professional view that’s been there and done that to assist me. I’ve changed my website because of you guys. 

I’ve also managed to put in blogs, which before were written by me, in my voice. I know what I wanted to say but didn’t quite say it right. It wasn’t quite hitting the tone. Now, I’ve got consistency on my site and also managed to put in downloadable content, which I wouldn’t have dreamed of doing in year two but these are so important.

The reports are really detailed, and you guys have enabled me to do that. The content is another value-add for my site, which is now found in the ‘Insights’ tab. 

As a business owner and a brand, sometimes you know what you want to say, but you don’t know how to say it or when to say it.

Now I have clarity on that, and I can fine-tune my message. Now, the wheels are turning, and I know exactly what I’m going to say and how I’m going to say it.  

What has been your experience of the resources available to you as a member of SFC? 

It’s had such an impact on my day-to-day. I’m not having to sit in the evening pulling ideas together for a blog or think about how I am going to write it.

Most of the time, when you do it yourself, you look at it and go, “Is that right, or–?” You doubt it, and then you park it, and then it’s never to be seen again.

With SFC, there is consistency. Obviously, it’s every month.  

Also, it goes back to my original point, which is that if you speak to a generalist marketer, they’ll be asking me, “What do you think we should talk about, and what issues your industry is facing at the moment?” If I were doing that, that’s again taking more time out of my day, but with yourself and Denise, you’re enabling me to do my marketing and do what I want to do which is, fill roles. 

Where I am now with Food Recruit Search and Selection is that I’ve got consistency and a strategy in place, and you’ve enabled me to do that. Down the line, as we continue, that will start being tweaked as my business model changes, and you’ll be there to change with me. 

What is it like to work with Denise and Sharon?  

Lovely, of course. You guys are absolute lifesavers.

No matter how big or small, whether I think it’s a problem and you don’t think it is, you’re always there to give me advice. I now have people to lean on, someone who understands not only the market but also my business and where I want to go. You’re actually lifesavers, and I consider you an extension of my business. 

From the extra level of marketing you’ve been doing, what have you noticed so far? 

I have been able to add so much content to my website with access to the bonus campaigns, and content booster pack. This, in turn, has driven website visits.

I’m now being ranked on Google.

I’m being ranked for keyword matches on food manufacturing and this is due to being able to get up and running so quickly, and driving out content.

I haven’t got a dedicated marketing team behind me, and I haven’t got a finance team and an IT team, yet you’ve taken away the pressure of marketing from me, hence why I see yourself and Denise as part of my business.
 

What would you tell someone in a similar position who is considering joining Superfast Circle? 

Do it, absolutely do it.

You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain. The moment you press the button with Superfast, you’ll start seeing the content come through; you’ll start seeing how much that changes your day-to-day mindset.

I’m a lot more relaxed. I’m not worried about marketing; about how I’m going to do it and when I’m going to do it. It’s such an important investment for my business. You’re now going to be part of me growing my business. Absolutely, if anyone’s on the fence, definitely jump. 

The post Food Recruit Search and Selection Are Smashing Their Target Every Month appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

[Excuse any strange typing errors; this is a direct transcription for your benefit.] 

Today we’re talking about five marketing basics to action in your recruitment business. 

As a first start, download our recruitment marketing audit checklist on our website, which will be incredibly useful.  

Download it from http://www.superfastrecruitment.co.uk/mcl. Please put your Name and email address in, and it will download for you; 30 questions will help you as you start to think about the basics of marketing.  

I have five particular areas to share with you. Before I do, let’s stand back and think about why we market in the first place. Marketing is about creating demand; the more demand you have for you and your products and service in the market that fulfil a need of your clients and candidates, the more successful you will be.  

This is critical as we are in a particularly competitive environment. 

In the U.K. alone, 7,000 new recruitment companies registered last year. Many people are also expanding, which means more competition, so you need to stand out and be distinctive. These are fundamentals you need to nail because you have to stand out in the environment today. 

In light of the last few years, you have to market yourself to become the recruiter of choice in people’s minds.  

Let’s talk about these basics. 

 

1. Your Recruiting Sector  

Decide on your particular area of expertise and where you’re working. For example, if you are a tech recruiter, which particular tech areas are you going to work with? 

• What is your particular sector? 
• Where is it that you can add the most value?  
• Where is the market growing?  

When we launched our own business, we provided services to anybody and everybody in coaching and consulting because of our corporate background. However, we decided to work in the recruitment sector, because it was an area that we enjoyed. 

We nailed our flags to the mast and worked at becoming real experts in everything in the sector. We’ve been doing that for 15 years now, so we understand the market.  

As you’re thinking about your market, ask yourself questions like, “Is this a growth area? Is this going to continue to grow or maybe not?” 

For instance, if you’re a retail recruiter, will most of your business now come from online e-commerce sites rather than the typical brick and mortar retail organisation? What is your ideal company size? What is the ideal company size that you want to work with? Because there is a different process when working with companies of various sizes.  

Think about the ideal candidates and the clients who will work within the sector you’re working with. In our coaching program in Superfast Circle, we work closely with our clients to identify their ideal client and candidate avatar, the people they can serve best and will add more profit to the business. 

Once you know your market, you can start to move. You know it’s in a growth area, you know you enjoy working there, and you know it will be profitable.  

 

2. Your Recruiting Offer  

It is vital to nail your recruiting offer, product, or service.  

You may productise parts of your recruiting service. We’re doing a whole session on this with our Superfast Circle members at our virtual event, where we look at productisation. Because standing out in the market is all about your offer, and if you can make your offer the most logical next step for people to say yes to, That will make a massive difference to how you can move forward. 

You may have a retained service where you only work with select clients and have different elements to your service. We know that some of our clients have a completely different approach and do other things to help their clients, such as personality profiling. 

They make their offer completely irresistible to clients and candidates in how they help them. It’s much easier to create demand for something that people want. Think about the elements that make you stand out that will make you distinctive. 

 

3. Your Promotional Messaging 

The messages that you put out into the market have to be aligned to the service that you’re offering: 

• how you help people and the problems they have around filling their vacancies, 
• how you help candidates develop their careers and get the next role.

To be successful, you must communicate how you solve your candidate’s and clients’ problems.  

The good news is you can get your message out in front of your market 24/7 through various mediums. 

First of all, you need to identify your key communication points. Know your ideal avatars and their problems; know how you can help them and communicate this to the market.  

There’s a reason why the likes of Apple and Microsoft make billions.  

They do that because they get that foundational piece dialled in.  

These foundational elements make all the other parts of your business work. 

We can help you with this when you become a member of Superfast Circle. If you want to chat about that, drop Sharon or me a quick email. 

 

4. Your Added-Value Content

We live in a knowledge world; people are fascinated by knowledge. They want to know more. Every social channel has more visitors than ever engaging with content. 

It’s the same for service-based industries because it takes a while for conversions to happen in the B2B market. They want to know that you are the recruiter who can help them; this is where added-value content comes into play.  

Are you the recruiter who has a report they can download that could help them? What happens is that it sets up reciprocity in people’s minds. “Oh, those recruiters know an awful lot about what they’re doing because they’ve got reports, they’ve got blogs, I can go on to their website. You know what, when I’m moving, it’s them that I’m going to go and work with. Their emails drop-in, and I like their emails. There’s always added value there.” 

You need to have a blog on your website; you need content, an email system, and social media. You need those key basics to be in front of your market because your market will not always come to you.  

 

5. Your Website

You need a website. That is your online real estate. That is your shopfront. I’d recommend that you have a job board for many of you. It helps to develop your authority piece. You’ve got to think about having a good website that communicates value and shouts out who you are and who you serve.  

You also need to have social channels set up and working. Here I’m talking about LinkedIn. It’s key for most people listening to this podcast.  

Then, depending on your sector or niche, you’ve also got Instagram. We work with some hospitality recruiters, and they’re all over Instagram, and it works well for them. Then, of course, there’s Facebook. Love it or hate it, approaching half of the planet, and nearly 45% of the U.K. population, has a Facebook account. 

You need to make sure you have a presence on the key social media channels. You then become an authority, and people like to work with authorities. 

There are some fascinating data around how people move to the smaller supplier because they get a personal service.  

The other key things to think about with your go-to-market strategy are to use email campaigns and messenger. It still provides one of the highest ROIs of any marketing strategy known to man. If you are not using emails to nurture clients and candidates, you are losing out.  

Summary

So, know your market in your sector, decide which areas you will focus on, and start to identify the ideal clients and candidates to work with. 

Then, think about your offer. Think about designing your service in a way that adds value to your market. Have your promotional messages, think about the features, advantages, and benefits of working with you and your organisation and saying yes to your recruiting service or product rather than somebody else’s. Think about the content you’re sharing that builds your brand and your authority in the market. 

Have a blog with some content on it; have some content going down your social channels.  

Then finally, in your go-to-market strategy, you need a good website. I would strongly suggest having a job board, claiming your social channels, not just LinkedIn, but you want to be thinking about Facebook and Instagram depending on your sector. 

Have emails, use an email campaign to reach out to candidates and clients to nurture them through the process, and you will be amazed at the difference that will make.  

 

How We Can Help  

We have many clients who are on for their best quarter because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we provide.  

Book your call and demonstration here if you want a quick chat to see how Superfast Circle can work for you too. 

Thanks,  

Denise 

P.S. If you want to join Superfast Circle and would like to find out more, speak to us here. 

The post Marketing Basics to Move Your Forward appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Today, we’re talking about content assets, what they are and how they might work. I’m going to share seven assets that would be useful for you to create as a recruitment marketer or business owner that wants to take their business forward.  

If you’re new here, welcome. There are transcriptions for most of our podcasts which you’ll find if you go over to superfastrecruitment.co.uk/blog. You will also find information about Superfast Circle, our membership program.  

Candidates are still, in theory, in short supply. So, what do you need to do to become a magnet to those people so that they will start to work and engage with you? Content assets are the way. 

What is a Content Asset?

Over time, it compares to owning an investment property where the value grows over time. We create it once, and over time this develops into something that gives us increased revenue, increased profile, increased presence in the market.  

If you have several content assets that have been created over time, they will attract candidates. They’ll demonstrate your expertise and showcase the brand and what it’s like to work with you.  

You can create assets once and leave them to work time and time again. For example, we have a blog post that brings in thousands of views every year. It’s got a life of its own. It was optimised for the search engines, and it continually brings traffic to our website. Of course, once people have read that, they start reading something else on the website or subscribe to our podcast. 

I bet the first time some of you found us was because of this particular post about lead generation strategies. It’s called 10 Lead Generation Strategies for Recruiters. It’s been bringing awareness to our brand for absolutely years. 

Types of Content Assets

I’ve narrowed it down to seven that consistently work for our clients. Let’s start with number one, which is the good old blog post. 

 

1. Blog Posts

I’ve already shared an example of how a blog post continues to bring in traffic year after year after year. 

Create blog posts that align with important topics for both candidates and clients where you answer the questions that are going on in your clients’ and candidates’ minds. You promote yourself and your brand, and you’re demonstrating your expertise.  

It’s very easy to find out what those questions are if you just talk to them. Think about the candidate and client journey, and you have got more than enough topics to write about there.  

 

2. Reports For Your Market

Last week we did a deep dive into the anatomy of an ideal report or guide for your market. These are pivotal as you move forward. 

Hubspot shares a lot of PDFs and guides, and in a recent survey about what they should be creating, their clients indicated that they wanted PDFs and reports. 

You can make your reports gated, which is where people give you their name and email address, or if they are a connection on LinkedIn, of course, you can send them a link because you are already connected to them, but it helps you bring in new people into your area of expertise, into your recruitment sphere, into your sector that you could potentially work with. 

 

3. Longform Social Media Posts

These posts engage your market and share a little piece of advice, a tip, an idea or a strategy. We have talked so many times about the bias cycle. You can read a couple of posts we’ve written on the subject here and here.  

They tend to work well if you have a nice image with them; maybe a picture of you or a picture of your working environment or your local town. They do tend to get more views and responses. Of course, when that happens, LinkedIn and Facebook push them out more into the LinkedIn sphere, so more people will potentially read them or look at them. You can use them again and again and again. In fact, I saw a post of mine on social media that I know I wrote two years ago. At the time, I think it was talking about a particular marketing strategy that you could use and giving people some tips and advice on it. 

That post is going out and still gets viewed each time it’s shared. So it’s still working and getting eyeballs onto the Superfast brand time and time again. What if you wrote several posts like that or outsourced that writing? 

They are an asset for you and your brand. Social media is often the first place that people will come across you. If you’re reaching out to a candidate about a great opportunity that you have, first thing they’re going to do is research you on social media or check you out on your website.  

 

4. Video

Love it or hate it, video is the way. You’ll notice we do a fair bit of video, and we do some other things as well. Video gets engagement. In a recent poll on LinkedIn, people were asked what they preferred to look at and read. People talked about visual content as something that they enjoyed reading, and they got value from.   

Two years ago we put out a video on procrastination. We probably got something like 400 views on it. Procrastination is something we all experience no matter how good or how ninja-ish we think we are. It was a bit of content that helped people with some ideas and strategies around what they could do to get out of the funk that they were in when it came to procrastination. 

Video content also promotes you and your brand. Recruitment is a relationship to relationship business. I always encourage our clients to get their MDs on video because being the figurehead of a brand, being out there makes massive difference because also, it impacts clients.  

 

5. Podcasting

I did a really long and detailed post about podcasting, which obviously was leading up to this post, which you can read here. 

I record this podcast in batches two or three weeks before it’s launched. They’re very easy to do. I just note down some things that I want to share, talk about it, and then it goes into a process. Having a podcast you means you are then on the biggest search engines in the world – Google, iTunes and of course, you can upload it to YouTube as well. 

I won’t go into it too much, but please go and check out that post. Podcasting elevates your brand, particularly if you are a recruiter working in the professional services sector. It can make a massive difference because you tend to find that business owners or the business leaders tend to listen to podcasts. They’re as obsessed with the business as we are. 

 

6. Training Classes

I know there are a little bit more to do, but many of you listening to this podcast will have been on one of our webinars or master classes, and will have listened to content. Some of you may have even downloaded our latest video series.  

If you want to look at our different frameworks that we use with clients, and we go into a lot more detail about things then, go to superfastrecruitment.co.uk/clf. Pop your name and email address in, and then you can get access to all the videos. We’re not taking them down anytime soon, so you’ve got them there, and that you can go and look at. That content asset is already bringing in clients for us. 

It will continue to do that because we share some classic strategies that people often forget. We shared a framework that we’ve developed over the last 15 years.  

Something that we share with you now might spark interest in someone that will probably get in contact after they’ve listened to this podcast and say, “You know you talked about all this content assets, and we understand that you create a lot of these in your Superfast circle membership. What do we need to do to join?” 

 

7. Download Pages

The final content asset is so easy to do, and it works like gangbusters: you collate everything that you have in one page on your website, a downloads or resources page. We have multiple things you can download on our downloads page. 

Some require name and email address, some don’t but it’s a magnet for people that go to that page, and it’s an asset for us because we’ve already created all the other content pieces. We just go and put them all on there.  

If you want to know more about Superfast Circle, where we actually create a number of these elements for you and we give you scripts to create the others, get in contact with one of us, just go to superfastrecruitment.co.uk/call. That’s our web address/call, book yourself into one of our diaries and we can have a chat with you.  

 

How We Can Help  

We have many clients who are on for their best quarter because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we provide.  

Book your call and demonstration here if you want a quick chat to see how Superfast Circle can work for you too. 

 

Thanks,  

Denise 

P.S. If you want to join Superfast Circle and would like to find out more, speak to us here. 

The post 7 Content Assets For Recruitment Marketers appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Today, we’re talking reports, ethical bribes or white papers. They are incredibly useful for building your profile, your personal recruitment brand and your authority positioning in the market.  

If you’re new here, welcome. There are transcriptions for most of our podcasts which you’ll find if you go over to superfastrecruitment.co.uk/blog.  

Reports and guides are a great way to stand out in the market. We create reports and campaigns around them for our clients because they work so well to build authority, particularly in a competitive environment.  

I want to give you a framework and some top tips on creating your own report, what to include, and getting them working for you. You need to build authority and demonstrate your expertise in your area. 

Creating a guide or a report is one way of doing that. It’s a document that answers questions your clients and candidates might have, that demonstrates you know what you’re talking about, and that you can help them.  

These reports are real assets for your business, just like all the content you create is an asset. You can use reports to get people to give you their name and email address or as an added value for people.  

Things to Consider

What do you need to be considering when writing this piece of content? Let’s start with answering questions clients and candidates might have. There is a lot of talk about the four-day work week, pay rises, talent attraction and the great resignation. Make your report relevant to what is going on in the market. 

 

1. Decide on a Topic Area

The first thing you need is a compelling title because you want to hook people in. There are 2 ways you can use reports.  

You can use them as gated content through a landing page on your website, and you can grab the report for a name and email address. 

 

2. It’s All About the Title

You need a compelling title, eg ‘X ways to do Y’. People love listicles; they love titles with list in it. 

Another is a how-to, eg ‘How to do X without Y’. Or the classic ‘The ultimate way to do X’, or ‘The ultimate guide for X or Y’.  

 

3. Make It Longer

Generally, make them longer than blog posts, so anywhere between 3,000 and 5,000 words. It’s much easier to do that once you get deeper into a subject.  

 

4. Planning It Out  

Plan how you are going to sequence your report. If you have several ideas that you want to communicate, you need to make it read like a story, known as sequencing.  

This is where a lot of people go wrong when they write. They wonder why people don’t come back and read their content because they haven’t sequenced it in such a way that makes sense for people. If you’re giving people instructions, they want to know how reading it will benefit them. When they read it, they want to know exactly what they need to do. Remember, you are educating people with your knowledge as a recruiter.  

 

5. Include Some Data

Include any research data that validates your point. It’s always good to direct people to go and read a little bit more on the subjects. I often include data from Harvard Business Review or HRZone. Start with the end in mind.  

I also recommend easy-to-read books where people can go and help themselves. You’re adding value to people for free, elevating your position in the market.  

 

6. Link To Other Content

It would help if you also built some links back to your website. That reader will then go onto your website and start reading things on your website, making a difference for them. Who knows, they might then end up on your job page. 

 

7. Add an About Us Section

Because PDFs are often shared, I would always add an About Us section. If the person you share the PDF with wants to contact the authors, the information will be there for them. It doesn’t need to be war and peace.  

You could offer a career consultation, a deep dive on your talent building pipeline, or a consultancy piece – anything that people can hyperlink to and book a call with you. 

 

8. Add Social Proof

You can also all your social proof; maybe some testimonials from people you work with. Then add all your links to your social media to say come and connect with me.  

 

9. Use Smart Branding

Today there is no excuse for not having a well-branded and smart report. Members of our Circle programme have access to a couple of really good people who help them. Or you can, of course, do it yourself. A tool like Canva has lots of templates you can use, and you can make it look very smart.  

 

10. Plan How You Want to Deliver Your Report

Gated content means someone giving you their name and email address in exchange for the report. You can, of course, attach the PDF to an email and send it out. Alternatively, you may be able to create a media link on your website. We use Amazon S3, which is very inexpensive. Our podcasts and all our PDFs are hosted on there, and it makes it very easy to grab the link and share it with people.  

 

How We Can Help  

We have many clients who are on for their best quarter because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we provide.  

Book your call and demonstration here if you want a quick chat to see how Superfast Circle can work for you too. 

 

Thanks,  

Denise 

P.S. If you want to join Superfast Circle and would like to find out more, speak to us here. 

The post The Anatomy of Effective Reports For Recruitment and Staffing Companies appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

This is Denise from Recruitment Marketing and Sales Podcast. I hope you and yours are well in this wonderful March that we’re all experiencing.  

Today we’re talking about some really interesting questions that you can ask yourself, which will make you rethink your messaging. 

We create a transcription of the majority of our podcasts. If you go to Superfastrecruitment.co.uk/blog, you will see all our podcasts there.  

You can watch our video series at superfastrecruitment.co.uk/clf, but I also suggest downloading our audit checklist at superfastrecruitment.co.uk/mcl as it relates to some of the questions that I cover today. Fill your name and email address in, and it will download for you. 

I have four questions for you to think about.   

 

1. What Are You selling? 

 Think about the features versus the benefits and how you communicate what you sell. People will buy solutions to their problems. People tend to communicate the features of their service rather than communicate the benefits.  

Think about what your particular recruiting service mean for your candidate or client. For a candidate unsure about what to do, you can remove all the stress and angst by representing them to a company. You can do that in multiple ways. 

Think about clients and what you do for them. You help them build their talent pool, but what does that mean for them? Less stress, more productivity, higher revenues, or the ability to enter new markets. 

 

2. Who Do We Help and How?

Who is your avatar or business persona, and how do you help them? 

Do you help stressed-out business owners that want to scale but can’t find the right people? 

Do you help a candidate that is good at what they do but not good at communicating that in an interview? How specifically do you help them? Many have been around a long time, they’re very good at what they do, but they do not communicate who and how they help. 

When you look at your website, does it say who exactly you help and how you do it?  

Be very clear in your communication about who you help. Communicate that on all your marketing collateral. People want to know who you are and if you can help them. Be clear and specific about: 

• Is this a done-for-you service? 
• Will you represent them to a candidate? 
• Do you do the advertising?
• Will you help with the interviews?  

 

3. Why Would People Buy From Us?

Why would people choose to buy from you and not others who do something similar? How strong is your offer? 

Last year we looked at exactly how strong our offer is and how we can make Superfast Circle irresistible. We added more content and resources because that’s what our clients were struggling with.  

 

4. How do You Make Your Offer Irresistible?

What would you need to do to ensure that your offer is a no brainer? How do you make it irresistible to your candidates and clients? Do some competitive research and look at what they are doing. What are the gaps? How can you add X, Y, and Z to your service, make a profit, and deliver things that your clients and candidates want? 

Don’t assume you’ve got all that dialled in.  

Start talking about the benefits again. Be clear on what you are selling, who you help, how strong your offer is, and why people would choose to buy from you and not others who do something similar? These are killer questions that you should be asking yourself all the time. 

 

How We Can Help  

We have many clients who are on for their best quarter because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we provide.  

Book your call and demonstration here if you want a quick chat to see how Superfast Circle can work for you too. 

Thanks,  

Denise 

P.S. If you want to join Superfast Circle and would like to find out more, speak to us here. 

The post 4 Messaging Mistakes You Might Be Making appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

This is Denise from Recruitment Marketing and Sales Podcast. I hope your March is going well.  

We were asked a great question by one of the new members of Superfast Circle. They are a new marketer working with a company that’s just joined, so I thought I would answer that here because it might give a few of you some insights. 

We create a transcription of the majority of our podcasts. If you go to Superfastrecruitment.co.uk/blog, you will see all of our podcasts there.  

And if you haven’t downloaded our new video series on Consistent Lead Flow, I suggest you do that now. Go to superfastrecruitment.co.uk/clf after you’ve listened to this podcast. Sharon will explain everything to you on the page; then, there’s a series of videos that you can watch. 

The videos share our proprietary frameworks that we go through with all our clients.  

Head over there and pop your name and email address into the page. Remember to check out your spam folders because the email deliverability can be odd sometimes, as we all know. 

Let’s talk about these three questions. Today we had one of our Superfast Circle calls. Part of our Superfast Circle program, as some of you may have worked out, is we coach and we consult, and of course, there’s all the content we provide. 

Today, we had a new member, a new marketer in an organisation who has joined the Circle this month. Because our program works, you can have multiple people join from your company under the one fee.  

Our new member asked, what would you advise a new marketer to consider as they start their role? 

The three things that we suggested to this particular individual were as follow. 

 

Be Curious 

As a marketer, always be curious because marketing is about the human psyche and the psychology around how we: 

• Motivate ourselves; 
• What we do; 
• What impacts us, and how we move forward.  

Marketing is all about creating demand.  

Understanding what people’s drivers are, what their motivations are, what’s going right in their life, what’s not going right in their life, could make a huge difference to whether somebody buys something or not. 

I think that is particularly relevant when working in the recruitment sector because recruitment is a relationship business.  

I shared a story on this morning’s call about random purchases; it is amazing why we buy what we buy, so always be curious about people’s buying behaviours. 

Always be curious, ask lots of questions because questions are fantastic for giving you information and data. 

For marketers listening to this podcast, you’ll well know that you might create a marketing campaign and it dies on its feet, or you’ll put something out on LinkedIn you spent ages writing and get no response. 

No likes, no thumbs up! 

Yet you write something else another day, and it’s taking a few minutes to do, and suddenly it’s got 5000 views! 

 ……….. and you think, “How did that happen?” 

Be curious about. 

• What was that about?  
• What did I do differently here?  
• Did I send it at a different time of day?  
• Was it a particular day?  
• Did I do it in the evening?  
• Was it the image that I used?”  

I would say as a marketeer, always be curious, be incredibly curious.  

 

Read Voraciously 

Next, I recommend people read.  

I’m always reading books because they give me lots of ideas. They’ll give me lots of context, support, and enjoyment. I have always got a book on the go.  

At the moment, I’m reading something by Steve Chandler.  

It’s been a few years since it was published, but it’s absolute gold; it is called Time Warrior.  

I’m creating a new planning and productivity training for our S.F.C. members. I always study the latest techniques first, so our clients don’t have to, and then I can hone the parts that will work for them. 

I would suggest being curious, always educating yourself, always be ‘trying’ something new, and having four or five different marketing campaigns on the go that you are testing as you move into the role.  

 

Finish The Foundations 

Number three is, finish your foundations.  

I know everyone likes the sexy bits of marketing; everybody wants to get going on campaigns. 

However, nobody likes doing the non-sexy bits, which is all of the following. 

• The research,  
• all the validation,  
• all the message to market match,  
• realigning with your ideal customer,  
• your ideal client, your ideal candidate.  
• What is it that they want? 
• What are the solutions that they want from us now?  

Because as we all know, the world has changed quite significantly; there’s quite a candidate shortage depending on what market you’re in.  

Maybe you need to realign your service offering on what you deliver. 

There are times when we need to look at the key foundations of who are we selling to before we rush in and start implementing. 

Because you have to do the foundational work first, look at successful companies, they’ve always done their groundwork first. 

For instance, what candidates and clients do you now want. 

We have one of our particular clients who now want to work on bigger roles because they’ve realised “we know a lot, we’ve got a lot of contacts here, we need to be going for bigger roles and at a higher fee”. 

Maybe some of you can relate to this too, and therefore it is important to re-evaluate your foundations.  

I would do it every six months; it isn’t a huge task. 

Review and ask yourself the question. 

• Is our marketing still working?  
• Have we got our message dialled in?  
• Are there other things that we need to do? 

 

Bonus Idea – Planning and Process 

The final thing to talk about, which aligns with what I said before, is planning and process.  

Always focus on planning and process.  

Marketing is incredibly busy, and there are many moving parts in marketing because marketing and sales are the growth engines of a business.  

That is where you want to be put in a lot of resources. You have that with your recruiters, but marketing should go alongside that because marketing can make a massive difference and create demand for you.  

You need to think about planning, and you look at any company that you see who’s successful; they will always have a process. 

If you haven’t listened to last week’s podcast with Lynn Sedgwick, absolute gold for international women’s day, Lynn talked about her three Ps.  

Her three Ps were people, products, and processes about how she’s maintained success and continued to grow over 23 years.  

Always focus on the planning process, be curious, read and focus on foundations. 

 

Thanks, 

Denise 

 

How We Can Help  

We have many clients who are on for their best quarter because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we give them.  

Book your call and demonstration here if you want a quick chat to see how Superfast Circle can work for you too. 

Thanks  

Denise 

P.S. If you want to join Superfast Circle and would like to find out more, speak to us here. 

The post 3 Nuggets of Advice For Recruitment Marketers appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Today we are celebrating International Women’s Day by interviewing Lynn Sedgwick, the MD and owner of the Clayton Recruitment group.

In this candid interview, Lynn shares her inspiring story, including her short-lived accountancy career, studying for her postgrad qualification, becoming a successful corporate recruiter, building multiple high-performing desks, and owning and scaling Clayton into two recruitment teams of over twenty-five billers.

Along the way, we hear about the importance of self-development and outside help and Lynn’s eight lessons on successful scaling she has learned throughout this time.

You can read the full transcription of the podcast below.

Sharon: Hi, Lynn. It’s an absolute pleasure to have you on the podcast today as we celebrate International Women’s Day.

Thank you for taking the time to share your story and journey with me. I think our listeners will be interested to hear about your recruitment journey over 30 years

Lynn: Indeed, thank you for having me. The expression is a recruitment life, I think.

How Did You Come To Work In Recruitment and Join Clayton?

Sharon:  First of all, I guess it would be really helpful to know how you came to work in recruitment and join Clayton?

Lynn: I was a graduate in the ’80s. In those days, you got a new role as a trainee. For me, I started as a trainee accountant, and my goodness, I was in the wrong position. I ended up working insolvency and quickly realised that taking people’s wedding rings off them and double-entry bookkeeping was not the job for me.

Then like many people, I saw an advert for a recruitment consultant position. It sounded exciting, varied, and challenging.

What I particularly liked about it was the idea of being successful based on your efforts and having that work ethic from an early age; I thought I would go and explore the option, and it happened to be with an accountancy recruiter. I went in to register, and the guys saw something in me as well, and I got the job straight away; That was with Hays back in the ’80s.

Sharon: Oh, back in the day, right?

Lynn: Yes, so I started with them as a graduate and worked for a couple of corporates. I did fall into it. It is everything I thought it would be.

Sharon: I guess even though you fell into it, it was with a sector that you were familiar with as an accountant?

Lynn: I knew that they were recruiting, and as an accountancy trainee, I had not appreciated that I would be an ideal fit. Yes, having that experience in the niche helped me recruit accountants and professionals in those early days. It was super helpful to come from that background. Yes.

Sharon: What was the catalyst then to transition into joining Clayton Recruitment as the company was called then?

Tell Us About and Your Clayton Journey and Your Postgraduate Qualification?

Lynn: Yes, well, as a graduate, I had wanted to stay on and do a postgraduate, but I came from a background where that was not possible. I had to get a job. I always felt that even though I was successful with two corporates, I wanted to go back and study for a professional qualification.
I joined Clayton initially, and I said, “Look, I’ll set up a niche, financial recruitment desk, I’ll stay for a short while. Then I am going to go off and do other things,” which is what I did. I left for about four years and got myself a postgrad.

I became a social worker, helping people.

Sharon: That is different.

Lynn: It was, and then I realised that the public sector and social work were not for me. Having the professional qualification mentally, I got the tick, so I felt I had done what I needed to do. After setting up a financial recruitment division for them, I went back to Clayton, the company that I had left four years earlier.

Now, not having a specific desk, I thought, “Right. I’m going to set up a legal brand,” and that’s what I did. In 1999 and 23 years later, we are a brand leader in the sector, placing legal professionals in law firms across the UK.

How Did You Set Up Clayton Legal?

Sharon: Yes, so you were the instigator when you went back to Clayton then to set up the whole legal division of the business?

Lynn: Yes. Well, I progressed in my managerial and recruitment capability with two corporates. Then took that interim role to set up and troubleshoot and help this one-person band scale.

My strengths were in business development and being at the coal face. As your readers and listeners will know, when you are small, you are doing everything, so you are business development, servicing, and doing all the marketing.

I knew I had those skills, so I came back on the basis that I would set up a new business and take ownership of it. Well, 25% of it initially, and build on that experience that I had had. I think I did not appreciate how entrepreneurial I was at that stage. I was still in my twenties and just wanted to be a success.

What Were The Challenges As You Grew Clayton Legal?

Sharon: At that point, what were some of the challenges as you were building and growing the legal side of the business, which was your ‘baby’, I guess, and your responsibility?

Lynn: It is an interesting way of putting it because that is exactly how it felt. Literally, there was nothing, so it was starting from stage one, but I enjoyed that and the big picture, the details and wearing all those hats. We began in 1999, and then five years, and ten years flew very quickly.

It was very much a lifestyle business at that stage. We operated regionally only, and I had a business partner and myself, and my role was recruiting, training, servicing recruitment, running a busy recruitment desk.

Wearing all the hats with my business partner, who was the business’s accountant. It was a small business, but a lifestyle business because life happens simultaneously, children come along, so balancing those two things occupied the first ten years.

Then building a real brand regionally, and when I came into legal recruitment, there were no other legal recruiters around. We were the only people doing it. It was quite common in the accountancy profession but not in legal. The role was to educate our clients about serving, improving business performance, and time efficiency, saving them time and money. I enjoyed that.

It was educating and nurturing a new market. Business development was my lead. That is what I brought to the table. Then over time, my business partner became older and wanted to retire, so the opportunity presented itself to buy the remaining shares.

That was in the early 2000s. I thought long and hard about it; my children had grown up a little bit. They were at high school at that point.

I decided to take on the business and buy the remaining shares, with a definite plan and vision to grow from a regional to a national player.

You only want to buy a business if you can grow it, so that was the intention, the vision, at that time, to grow nationally and scale.

Sharon: Picking up on that, on your vision about growth. I know you are enthusiastic about growth. I understand from a business and a development point of view as well. You are also passionate and committed, in my experience, in terms of investing. The things you decided to invest in as part of that scaling were moving the business away from regional to something much bigger.

Investing and Growth: What is Your Advice?

Lynn: My three keywords and business strategy have always been; people, product, and process. People are your key asset, and investing in recruitment was part of that. During those initial stages, very much organic growth, so promoting from within. Then investment in products, so having the best products. What do I mean by that? Everything from IT to the entire range of business IT which runs a business.

Then also processes, and so what do I mean by processes? Everything across the business, every aspect of what you do, has a process behind it.

I was a recruitment expert, but there were other areas within the business that I needed to go out and find that expertise in the market. We did not have it in-house.

As I bought the company and started to grow, you are wearing multiple hats on a bigger scale. And there comes the point when you have over twenty people, you can’t run the business on your own; you need to bring in a management tier and specific skills; and initially, we went out to get those skills.

That was training and marketing to be able to scale.

First of all, coming back to training,  I always felt that I was also a marketer in terms of marketing as a business developer.

Specifically, what I mean is I worked in sales and marketing. I was selling the service, but I was also marketing why Clayton. I also knew that marketing methodologies underpinned business growth, and I did not have all the expertise I needed in this area.

Initially, it was trial and error. Of course, that is the right thing to do, but it needs to be applied in a logical process and format.

Seeking marketing expertise, firstly, external was an absolutely crucial part of understanding those fundamental marketing tools. I invested absolutely from day one of taking the business over into setting up a marketing department.

Initially, one team member is now three, but also in the tools that drive marketing. Whether that be automation or content, or whatever that may be to drive the nurturing of that new business, that has been an enormous success, and we have continued to invest. Everything from shop windows and websites; we are about to launch two new websites.

SEO, content marketing, and the brand process are part of the marketing approach that cycles around and continually develops.

We are just about to rebrand and relaunch our Clayton brands that have been cyclical, and as we’ve grown and scaled, that’s become even more critical.

Sharon: When we first met four years ago, you had just launched your then-new rebrand?

Lynn: Yes, everything from a marketing perspective has been a learning curve. Even that. As I am chatting today, our public face is about to change, but having the expertise in-house, we did not have the expertise in-house, and getting that right was important.

The reason we are doing it again is it needs revamping and modernising. Yes, I think being aware of your strengths and areas where you have no expertise is key when scaling.
It is certainly being self-aware, and then going out and bridging those gaps in your knowledge and expertise is crucial.

How Have You Navigated The Last Challenging Few Years?

Sharon: Thinking in recent times, I guess it would not make sense to have this conversation and not recognise that we have had a challenging couple of years. It would be interesting to hear about your experience as a business leader that you have been investing in, growing, and scaling. How did you navigate such challenging times?

Lynn: Yes. For everybody, I am sure yourself included and all your listeners, but a crisis brings out real resilience and the opportunity to use the tools you have at your disposal.

For me, it was a real awakening.

Although I always said, “I’ve been through three recessions, and we’ve done well,” this was different, wasn’t it?

It was all bets are off. Knowing how to, I do not like the word pivot, but know what to do in those situations. We were alone. As business leaders, we were alone. It was a definite feeling I can still tap into.

What you do is dig deep, and the internal resources I found was resourcefulness, so how to be resourceful and use the associates that I had.

I invested in some strategic support at that time in those early weeks. That did confirm that what I was feeling and thinking, I was on the right track.

It also gave me some new tools, and to focus, in those early days, to focus energy and effort. That was helpful, and very quickly, I identified what needed to change because what you thought was one thing was not, and so you had to– I will use the word pivot but get rid of the things that did not serve you anymore and built on the things that did. That was my biggest insight.

It was that feeling when I initially set the business up about one vision, having a set of goals, no fear, inner resilience, being single-minded. Those traits came to the fore but were coupled this time with strategic input. We were fortunate to get a bit of funding for some strategic input.

Sharon: I remember we talked about that.

Lynn: Yes, and this idea about taking us from where we were to be world-class just fed into my vision for the business. That was a platform, but I think like everybody through COVID, and I remember it very well now, although it was 2020 and 2021. It was 2020 that allowed me to shake things up for us. I mentioned before that people, product and process, and marketing have been a big part of business development, but people are your most valuable asset.

When you grow organically, which I had done, you promote from within, which is fantastic and empowers your team, which is amazing, but there are still skill gaps that have to be filled.

It was a time of growth as a leader because it did develop your leadership skills in a way that the previous recessions had not. I have always been a decision-maker but have been scared to make decisions, but I learned to make more informed choices.

What Has Been Your Experience As A Female Leader in The Industry?

Sharon: You were talking there about leadership. I am just curious. In the recruitment industry, for over 29 years, as you have been describing that you have been in the industry with a small gap, what has been your experience as a female leader?

Lynn: An interesting one. I have thought a lot about this over the years, and I came into the industry in the late ’80s, ’90s when it was that era. Shops, suits, and shoulder pads. Being a woman, I think, was not celebrated in the way it is today.

You had to compete and compete like a man with masculine qualities. You had to compete to succeed, and I was all about being successful. That persona, I think, was the persona that I had to build my career, and it worked. I was super successful working in a corporate setting.

But when I became a business leader, as in an owner-manager, that persona, in some ways, had to change. I learned to wear different hats and different personas. It was not just one persona, let us say, of the whole person. I became an all-around leader by wearing different hats and feeling compassion.

I had not drawn on all those traits in my earlier career.

Your question about the challenges of being a woman in a leadership role, the obvious ones, I think, was in my thirties. Balancing family and children with career-building and building a business. Then also, managing as well.

That was a challenge, and managing diverse types of people, often people, brought something different to the table, but I have not ever felt that I have been disadvantaged or hit any ceilings in my recruitment career.

As a leader, I am all about empowering the whole team to ensure everybody has a career goal and a career path within the business. That may be professional qualifications or career development in terms of promotion or not quite being in the right role but finding the right role and supporting the whole team but women particularly, that have had this similar journey as I had. It is a challenge and continues to be so. I have never felt that being a woman in recruitment has been negative.

Sharon: Good.

Lynn: Although I am sure it may be perceived as that by others, for me, it has been an actual superpower to be a woman in the recruitment industry.

What Was Your Journey Over The Last Few Years The Has Instigated The Strategic and Personal Changes You Are Making?

Sharon: Going back then to what you were describing in terms of seeing 2020 as an opportunity, making some changes; How were you able to build on that, in terms of your success, and how things evolved in 2021?

Because I know from our conversations, recently you’ve made some big strategic decisions for the next step of the growth of the business and yourself, personally. I am curious about what has been that journey in 2021 that has led you to where you are today?

Lynn: Like many business owners of SME recruitment teams, that is. You look at the quantity of SME recruitment businesses out there, and the majority have less than a £5m turnover; unless you are looking at corporates.

I am in my fifties now, and you think about the future differently when you hit fifty. Where I had held onto structures and people, the COVID opportunity to make changes did focus my mind on the future goals, and looking forward three, five years, where do we want to be as a business?

Rather than operating less strategically and just year-to-year, really setting longer-term goals, not only financial goals for the business but also business goals behind that.

Then mapping out how we would get there with key points along the way. That has been a huge change in how I have operated.

What I decided to do was to go up in terms of the seniority of the senior leadership team and bring in expertise in marketing, training, operations, finance, and working as a senior leadership team to deliver a more strategic business plan rather than spinning plates and not employing an executive board; having an executive board now has helped.

Sharon: What has that meant in terms of creating your future? Because you touched on the fact that you think differently when you hit fifty, with which I can associate. What has that meant for yourself regarding what you are reaping as the rewards? I do not mean financially, but in terms of your time in the business, your contribution to the business, and what it means for you personally outside of Clayton.

Lynn: Mindset has been huge. Business coaching has been a huge part of my investment in me and, ultimately, the impact on the business too. I had always felt it was a luxury previously to do that. Having a business coach has been invaluable along with a senior leadership team, and to keep on track, stay focused on what that vision is because the day-to-day can take over, can’t it? As we all know.

Sharon: Completely, yes.

Lynn: Mindset and mind shift. What has that allowed me to do? Well, first of all, it has given me: Oh, my goodness me.

It is stopped the sleepless nights. It has taken away overwhelm.

It has given me a supportive working environment that I did not have before. We have built a team now, and we have redefined our vision, our values behind that, and we have a successful performing team that are all bought into this one vision.

Although, I have felt that I had that before, and that is what I was aspiring to.

I did not. We were just growing slowly.

We could not get past that size of thirty employees. Yet now, it is a real platform, and people, products, and processes are in place now to scale, and it has allowed me to now take a step back.

I still have a bunch of projects in which I am involved. Yet now, I can also be involved in other things outside of the business. New ventures, new projects, which is exciting.

What Are Some of Your Lessons On Your Recruitment Journey?

Sharon: Brilliant. What would you say are some of your lessons from your experiences and your journey over the years?

Lynn: I have written a few down because I did not want to miss anything out; there are so many lessons I want to share. I have got eight in total.

Take risks and chances. I bought a building in the last financial recession without any security. It was a risk, and it was an opportunity simultaneously, and that was a big significant change as well. When those opportunities knock at your door, take them. Take risk. Do not be scared even if you make a wrong decision; it is not bad. It is a learning opportunity.

Surround yourself with positive people. Do not allow yourself to move away from your vision. That is important. Negative people in business aren’t useful. The expression is mood hoovers; Mood hoovers in the business are not so great. That is not to say you have not got to have diverse voices.

Stick to the vision; it is your vision, get your team behind you. Do not waste time on people, investing in people, products, and processes; if it is not right, if it does not fit, you are not serving those individuals by keeping a hold of them, and equally, they are not serving the business.

Make decisive choices. That can be difficult. That has been my challenge. Recruit and promote the absolute best. Here we are, we are a recruitment business, we say this to clients all the time, “We can recruit the best for you, the best talent,” and it is true, surround yourself with the absolute best that you can afford.

Invest in the best people you can. When you are small and growing, that’s not always easy because budgets limit you, but do get the absolute best, make sure you have robust recruitment processes, recruit in line with the business’s values, and take time to recruit the right people.

Focus on your self-development. My last one was about self-development. It took me many years to invest in myself; I was spinning plates on a hamster wheel, going faster and faster and faster. Business coaching, you must have the support of a business coach, and I have been fortunate to have two brilliant business coaches.

Invest in your training, as well as that of your team. We have a department. That has been important in our development. Invest in yourself as well. I think as entrepreneurs, you are constantly looking for new opportunities. I see myself as a captain of a ship looking out for opportunities and obstacles, but do not forget to look after yourself; it is really important.

Mindset is really important. I cannot stress that enough.

Surround yourself with the best recruitment partners, whether that’s marketing, like you guys at Superfast Recruitment or outside external associates, do the research and surround yourself with the best; it will save you buying years and years and years of expertise. Do not look at the cost; look at the gain. Those are my words of wisdom.

Sharon: Fantastic. That is great. Where can people find out about Clayton Recruitment and Clayton Legal?

Lynn: We’ve got a website, Clayton-legal.co.uk. Our recruitment brand is a commercial, regional brand, and our legal brand is national and soon to be international, which is exciting.

Sharon: Exciting that is another conversation for another day.

Lynn: It definitely is. Yes, absolutely. Happy to add anybody listening or reading this; if they would like to contact me directly, then by all means, LinkedIn is ideal.

With all the experience, I am happy to offer any words of wisdom or mentor anybody in a particular area if that is a pickup conversation, so feel free to get in touch.

Sharon: That’s brilliant. Thank you for extending that invitation. I am sure you will get some people taking you up on that. Thank you for your time. It has been great. We have known each other for several years now, and I have learned some things I had not realised tonight. I am glad we have had a chance to have this conversation. Thank you so much, Lynn.

More About The Clayton Group

Clayton Recruitment has been recruiting on behalf of businesses across the Northwest since 1989, placing upwards of five thousand professionals into exciting new careers. Our 30-year record of success has enabled us to develop trusted relationships with many of the North West’s reputable businesses.

Clayton Legal have been partnering with law firms since 1999 to find, recruit, place and uncover the brightest legal talent in the UK into exciting new careers.

Our 20-year record of success has enabled us to develop trusted relationships with many of the UK’s law firms, including

How We Can Help  

We have many clients who are on for their best quarter because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we give them.  

Book your call and demonstration here if you want a quick chat to see how Superfast Circle can work for you too. 

Thanks  

Denise 

P.S. If you want to join Superfast Circle and would like to find out more, speak to us here. 

The post Lessons In Leadership Being A Successful Woman in Recruitment appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Hi, everyone; this is Denise and today we are talking podcasting. Is it something that you and your company want to consider starting? I am going to give you some criteria on where this works well.  

Some of the things you want to think about, and some of the many, many benefits of actually going online, speaking into a microphone like I’m doing today, and some of the benefits that that will give you. 

[Excuse any weird typing errors. This is a direct transcription for your benefit.] 

If you are new here, welcome a transcription of all our blogs on the Superfast Recruitment website.  

If you go to superfastrecruitment.co.uk/blog, the podcasts are there, and they’re all transcribed.  

Before I start, I want to say that if you haven’t downloaded our Video Masterclass series on getting consistent lead flow, I strongly suggest you do.  

The training is a series of videos that you can go and watch. All you need to do is go to superfastrecruitment.co.uk/clf, which stands for consistent lead flow in case you forget it.  

In this training, we share frameworks that we use with our clients and teach, and we give you an overview of where to start to build your brand, grab authority and begin a flow of leads. 

 

Is Podcasting For You? 

Let us talk about podcasting, and is this a strategy for you?  

It is fascinating we’re talking about rivers and flow and being in flow. Often, we will say to people, “Look, there are many things you can do. You can write content, and you can record videos; you can get on a podcast.” Particularly, I like podcasting. I am very much in my flow.  

If the thought of sitting in front of a microphone scares the living daylights out of you, you have to think, A, can I get over myself and B? Is this something I want to do?  

Now, there are some reasons why you might want to consider pushing yourself out of your comfort zone because podcasting is where it is at.  

Let me share a little bit about this because I was listening to something over the weekend whilst the storm was– The storm will be a theme to this podcast. 

I was on YouTube watching some of Gary Vaynerchuk’s video content. The guy is a maniac when it comes to creating content; if you do not know him, well worth going and checking out some of his content. 

He was, I will use the word immigrant; that’s what he calls himself. He moved over to the States when he was a nipper when he was a young boy, with his parents from eastern Europe and started various businesses. He is always worked in business, and he’s an entrepreneur, and his dad used to run a wine company. You might call it to bargain alcohol or something like that in the U.K. This is where you can go and purchase wine. 

Gary started using paid advertising and video and became incredibly well-known approaching 20 years ago.  

He’s written several books, well worth buying his books. He also has a media company called VaynerMedia, which is predicted to be the biggest media marketing company in the world within the next two or three years. 

Gary does talk a lot of sense, and I love how he talks about marketing when he says marketing is oxygen to your business.  

“If you want to move forward, then you need to be thinking about marketing. I don’t want to be looking at P&L; somebody else can do that, but what I want to focus on is marketing.” 

In the video I watched about podcasting, he shared how it is good to turn the tables and be the producer rather than the consumer. Having a podcast could make an enormous difference to your market and your positioning. 

Knowing that, here are a few questions to ask yourself to work out: Do I start a podcast? Is it going to be worth it?  

 

Does Your Market Listen to Podcasts? 

The first thing is, do your market listen to podcasts? Who is your audience? Now, many people listen to podcasts in the B2B environment.  

I have podcasts that I listen to every single week. I have about half a dozen. 

As I am recording this, I know today that Stacy’s podcast always lands on a Wednesday. Brook’s always lands on a Thursday. There is another particular podcast that I listen to with Frank Kerns that lands- Frank can land any day of the week! 

I listen to various podcasts religiously because I always get a lot of insight. I might have them going in the kitchen if I am cooking. I ask Alexa to play them for me or if I am in the car driving around. I listen to them and get really good brain food and ideas. 

Now, is your audience likely to be doing that? In your organisation, if you are serving the professional services sector, the tech sector, then it is highly likely that your clients and your candidates will listen to podcasts, and they can find you.  

If you want to reach out to them, letting them know that you have a podcast will make a significant difference. It automatically elevates you as a person of authority because it is like having your radio show. 

I sometimes have guests, not all the time. Still, it’s that positioning piece where you’re saying, “Well, look, I know this much about the market that I have a podcast, and I can sit, and I can talk to you about recruitment, I can talk to you about technology recruitment, I can talk to you about building your technology career, and what difference that will make for you.”  

Just think about, is this likely to work in my environment? 

Now, do not put yourself off because you think, “Oh, no, that won’t work,” because you do not want to do it. Get over yourself over that, but think about, “Could I get in front of people?”  

We have been recording this podcast now for eight and a half years. When we first started podcasting, I used to do a podcast every three or four weeks and then realised that do you know what? I need to be a lot more consistent with this.  

People like to listen, people tune in to radio shows, so maybe I should start doing this more regularly. 

What I now do is record a podcast every week. I am just recording this on a Wednesday, and this podcast will land next Wednesday at 7 am GMT. 

Every Wednesday, if you haven’t subscribed to the Recruitment Marketing and Sales podcast, you’ve just come across this randomly, then subscribe on iTunes or Google Podcasts or Spotify.  

We have been recording this podcast for many years. We were one of the first in the industry to start a podcast. 

Come and disagree with me, any other recruiting marketers out there, but nobody is as consistent as I am with the podcast, because come rain or shine, I think there has been a couple of weeks where I have missed a podcast in the last six years. 

Because of that, it’s established Superfast Recruitment as a brand in recruitment marketing.   

It is a great positioning tool for us. The things that I do on it, I had shot myself in the thought, I will be really honest because it is mainly me. Every week I share a marketing idea and concept, I share data that you can listen to, and then you can go away and implement. 

Many people interview others, which is great. You will be listening to this podcast, and you must tune in next week because, for International Women’s Day, our podcast will come a little bit early. It is coming a day earlier, and we are interviewing a client of ours, an amazing female M.D. who has been with her organisation for many years and has gone from strength to strength.  

The lady in question is Lynn Sedgwick; Sharon is interviewing Lynn. 

 

Why Podcasts Work 

Let us talk about why podcasts work? Well, podcasts work because they are very human; let me explain. 

If you are a regular listener, you will know various things about my past life, pharmaceutical life, Flo, the Superfast Staffy that unfortunately passed away last year.  

You will know about moving from one part of the Lake District to Carlisle. You will learn about my sister’s birthday, all of these different things. You get an intimate connection, and you get a window into my life, and people quite like that. 

You also get to understand the level of experience, where I have worked, whether I could add value to you and your organisation. All of this happens through my storytelling, through the content that I share, because there is something about the human species; we crave connection.  

You only need to look at social media. The registrations shot through the roof during the pandemic. People were craving connection; they were stuck in their houses apart from their permitted exercise. 

Even on LinkedIn, the activity on the site increased by something like 2,500% within 24 hours. I know Facebook’s going through a little bit of a strange time at the moment, but you know that listeners at Facebook, followers and people who had accounts went crazy too.  

People crave connection, and podcasting is a fantastic way to do this. The amazing thing about podcasts is they are incredibly accessible to your audience. 

What do I mean by that?  

Many people of various ages walk around with their phones, not exactly glued to their ears, but they spend most of the time looking at their phones. 

However, if you have your trustee earbuds, you can plug in your podcast or put it into the car and listen on the go.  

It is quite easy to listen to a podcast while driving around or walking around getting your shopping; Not as easy to watch a video. 

With a podcast, you can listen anywhere. You can be doing your shopping, you can be going on a walk, you can be going to the gym, you can be with the dog, you can be doing anything, be sitting in the lounge with your significant other who is watching something on T.V. whilst you are listening to a podcast.  

There are so many things you can do with it. I am not sure why this happens, but there is this intimate connection when you listen to somebody. 

I do not know whether it is the sound of the voice, the tonality, the impact it makes, but you form a real connection. 

It is quite interesting for me, having recorded this podcast for years. I commonly get emails from people that say, “I love your podcast, I like your podcast,” or “Some of the things you were saying resonated with me. I’ve taken action on some of the things that you’ve done, or I was feeling really low; I listened to your podcast, and it made me laugh, and I was more upbeat afterwards.”  

There are all of these things, and it is interesting; as a podcaster, you can be quite honest and open and talk to people. It is slightly different when you have a camera in front of you. 

There are so many things that a podcast can give you.  

When we first meet clients, I sometimes know they will say not the same because obviously, we have had COVID, but they will meet. They will go, “Oh, I feel like I know you already,” or someone will say, “Oh, I remember when you shared that story about the painting, or I remember when you shared that story about Wigan Athletic.”  

All of these are those unconscious connections where people are validating whether you and your organisation are somebody they should work with, and this all comes through a podcast. 

 

Podcast Leverage  

Now, let us talk about technology and recording and what you can do with them in a second.  

First of all, let me say that podcasts are great for leverage.  

What do I mean by leverage? Use your podcast in multiple ways to communicate your value to the market. 

What we do is I record the podcast, and then this podcast is transcribed. From that transcription, we create social snippets; we make social media, it appears on our website. 

Our partners we work with all get a link to our podcast and get a link to the transcription. We use it every week; we email our podcast with our email list.  

People like to be updated because we are coaches and trainers for recruitment staffing companies that want to know more about marketing. 

We know that we are not going to work with everybody, and some people may choose to go down the D.I.Y. route, want to do things themselves, want to learn, and do not want to spend; that is fine.  

Our podcast is the free content that we give out to people. The people that have contacted us and said, “Wow, I’ve made money off the back of your podcast, even though I haven’t joined your program,” which is disappointing they have not joined the program, but good on them, they have acted.  

That is a great feeling for me to be able to do that for people, to reach out, share some content, and so people can get some of the results that they want, and you can do that too. 

 

Podcast Creation and Technology 

Now, creating a podcast is straightforward.  

Yes, there are podcast producers; we create podcasts for some of our clients.  

It is easy. Go and Google online how to start a podcast. What technical things do I need to do to create a podcast? I am sure you will find a free course or something that will help. 

This year, we are adding many additional training products inside Superfast Circle. We are working on a specific training product for our members who want to recruit, train, manage and motivate a new recruitment marketer. This product is going inside Superfast Circle.  

If any of you are considering recruiting a marketer, not sure how to go about it, how you can manage them, how you can performance manage them, how to set them objectives, onboarding? We are doing the whole lot, written by myself and a marketer that we work with. That’s all going to happen in March this year; if you want to know more, book a call with one of us here. 

We are creating several additional products that we will add into the suite so that our Circle members get everything, and one of them will be podcasting. 

 

Geeky Bits! 

Fundamentally what you do is you record a sound file, and that sound file then gets converted into a link that is added into iTunes and Spotify, and it comes out as a feed, and then that feed appears on your website.  

I know that sounds very technical, but when you follow the program, I always say that you can create a podcast if you can upload a blog post. 

Our podcast is recorded on a piece of free software. I am a bit of an old-school P.C. girl. I know that really, I am meant as a creative, I am told to work on a Mac, but I do not; I like P.C.s.  

I use a piece of free software called Audacity. With Audacity, you plug in your microphone, and then you talk away. I am chatting away now, and the lines are going up and down, so I can see that. I might edit any gaps out, and if I think I have made a fluff, I will stop and rerecord that part. 

I use a particularly good microphone. There are lots of good microphones that you can find online.  

I use a RØDE Podcaster mic which you can purchase on Amazon. You want to be thinking about spending over £50 on a decent microphone because it is all about sound quality.  

The other clever idea to create is that you need an intro and need a bit of music. You notice that we have music in our podcast. We have an introduction. That is extremely easy to facilitate.  

There are lots of places online where you can go and buy music.  

Make sure that you buy it, and you can use it because lots of places are very swift and nifty at noticing if you have whipped some music that you should not be using. Please do not go and download the latest Ed Sheeran track and think that that is fabulous for your podcast! 

I use a company called Soundrangers. They make great music; they have got everything listed into different genres. You can go and purchase some music and use it.  

Remember to think about your brand. The music that you hear at the start of our podcast is quite upbeat because this is a positive podcast, and we are talking about upbeat things; we are talking about marketing. You can go there and purchase music; you want to be spending £30, £40 ton a snippet of music.  

We have a voiceover artist on our particular podcast. You do not need a voiceover artist; you can do it yourself, though if you do, go along to Fiverr. I find it the best outsourcing website for tech-related tasks like this. 

One of our recruitment clients recruits in the SaaS space. They have career conversations with candidates on their podcast, which go down incredibly well.  

They get jobs from their podcast because theirs is all around the careers these people could have in this particular environment. They have a big listenership. As we do, you would be surprised how many people will subscribe to your podcast because one of the wonderful things about iTunes is you need to subscribe, and automatically it downloads. 

I forgot my phone by the side. If I look at my phone, I know that one of the podcasts I listen to is from a lady called Stacy. I know that Stacy is from the States, but it will have been downloaded by now because it tends to be live at nine o’clock in the morning her time. All of these different things that you can do with the podcast. As I mentioned earlier, many people who start working with us have all started or found us through iTunes or at least listened to our podcast. 

 

Using Podcasts As Added Value For Your Clients 

I’ve talked about podcasting here as being useful.  

We do something else that you could always consider doing, as well as we have a private podcast. There are many parts to our Superfast Circle membership in our training platform. We are the one-stop shop for marketing because we provide marketing collateral for our clients and provide training, which you can access on your P.C., iPad, whatever.  

You can also access it through a private podcast feed. 

Everything we do gets uploaded and appears in our Superfast Circle member’s podcast feed. There are so many different things that you can do with your content when you have a podcast.  

I hope you have enjoyed a slightly longer podcast and post today. 

 

How We Can Help  

We have many clients who are on for their best quarter because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we give them.  

Book your call and demonstration here if you want a quick chat to see how Superfast Circle can work for you too. 

Thanks  

Denise 

P.S. If you want to join Superfast Circle and would like to find out more, speak to us here. 

The post Podcasting For Recruiters: Positioning and Building Your Recruitment Brand appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

It’s absolutely pouring down up here in the Lake District, but the nights are getting lighter, and I always love that. Who doesn’t love that in the Northern Hemisphere?  

Anyway, today, I want to talk about inbound versus outbound lead generation and marketing, what’s working currently, some of the recent trends, and how that might work for you.  

[Excuse any strange typing errors; this is a direct transcription for your benefit.] 

If you go to http://www.superfastrecruitment.co.uk/blog, you will see a plethora of content that will help you with your recruitment marketing this year.  

And if you haven’t accessed our video masterclass series yet, it might be an idea. Imagine a classic Denise and Sharon webinar. If you’ve never been to one of our webinars, everything we share in them is absolute gold and actionable content. We’ve put that into some easily consumed videos. 

It’s brand new content, and it’s all-around how you generate leads and how to generate not just any old lead but the lead you want – and do it consistently.  

We’ve shared our framework that we share with our clients that you could take action on straight away because by giving value in that way, we hope that you might come back saying, “Wow, if I get that for free, what do I get when I pay for it?”. 

We’re sharing this particular idea with you is an inbound marketing strategy. Go to www.superfastrecruitment.co.uk/clf. Pop your name and email address in, and it’ll be winging its way to you shortly after, and that is a classic example of inbound marketing.  

I was recently on a HubSpot research post which was fascinating. If you don’t know HubSpot, it’s a piece of very whizzy software that will allow you to do all of your marketing. I am not suggesting that you sign up as a recruiter.  

Other pieces of software might be slightly better for you. As a marketeer, it’s a well-known bit of SAAS. They do some amazing research and provide a lot of data about inbound marketing. 

Hubspot Data: Blogging Provides The Biggest ROI

They talk about blogging and how providing content increases the number of inbound leads that people get into their organisation. One of the pieces that I think was interesting was that 56% of marketers who leverage blogging say it’s effective, and another 10%, so approaching 70% now, say it generates the biggest ROI. 

Another nugget is that 54%, so over half of the decision-makers, say that they spend at least one hour per week reading and reviewing thought leadership content, which of course, you can create.  

Next week’s podcast will be about podcasting, another way to demonstrate your thought leadership. There are many positive things about why you should be using content and how that works from an inbound perspective.  

First of all, let’s talk about inbound and outbound marketing. 

What is Outbound Marketing?

It’s probably very logical, but it’s important to be clear about what we’re talking about here.  

Outbound Marketing is also called a push tactic, so you’re going out to your market, and you are asking them to work with you.  

They aren’t coming to you.  

That automatically sets up a slightly different relationship. Now, I have done so much cold calling in my past. I used to knock on doors many years ago as a medical rep. It worked, and it was great, and times were very different then.  

A couple of weeks ago, I talked about Valentine’s Day and how we have to fall in love with our clients.  

If you are reaching out to somebody ice cold, it’s not as effective as it used to be.  

That has particularly occurred throughout the pandemic because reaching out to people was getting quite complex. Are you working from home or not? Are you on a mobile? Is the phone connected from the office? What’s happening? How come we can’t get hold of anybody?  

I am not saying that outbound marketing doesn’t work. However, I don’t think it’s as impactful as it used to be. So consider inbound marketing.  

 

What is Inbound Marketing?

So, inbound marketing, people coming to you because you’re a thought leader, finding your website, giving you their Name and email address because you look like you know what you’re doing, and can help them by actually helping them. It’s not costing them anything – this is what inbound is all about. 

It’s been around for years, but fascinatingly, in their 2021 research, nearly a third of marketers were saying that they were going to leverage inbound marketing for the first time, which does fascinate me because it’s been working for years.  

It works for us; it works for our clients. I think it was something like 15% of marketers are saying that it will be their biggest investment in the next year.  

Digital transformation is happening, and inbound marketing is an amazingly smart move. We often talk about the fact that we can automate so many things and do so many different things, which of course, is fascinating, but you need to get things working in the first instance. 

So how can you make inbound marketing work for you? 

Provide Value

One of the easiest ways to make it work for you is to offer something of value to your potential client or candidate and then follow up the process afterwards because what you’re doing is you’re saying to people, “Look, I know what I’m doing. I’m a great recruiter. I understand the sector, and I can help you.”  

We live in a knowledge age, so if somebody visits your blog post, let them know what the next step is. Then there is advertising. 

Use Retargeting

We’ve talked about retargeting and remarketing before, where once someone has visited your website, you then follow them around the internet, reminding them that you are there and you are the recruiter of choice for them.  

A great piece of value-added content to offer your website visitors is a report that they can download. Then they go onto your email list.  

What’s happened there is people have come to you. You can now communicate and connect with them and promote you, your brand, and your offer. That is the massive value of inbound marketing. 

Here at SFR, we don’t do any cold calling now. The only time we pick up the phone to speak to people is when we’ve had some level of engagement with them.  

Let’s say they’ve given us their Name and email address, and they’re now in our email database, watching our videos, listening to our podcast, or being part of our partner network.  

These are the people we contact because outbound does work provided somebody has some degree of knowledge of you.  

Awareness happens on social media. You get your content out there, and you’re starting to attract people. 

This is the pull strategy rather than pushing against what’s going on. That’s the difference with inbound marketing. If you haven’t got inbound marketing in your business, I strongly suggest you do.  

We notice a lot of recruitment software and CRMs are adding email marketing to their platforms because they know it’s working. It’s something we’ve been doing for years and encourage our clients to do.  

We even provide the content that will work in your different email funnels as part of your Superfast circle membership. 

In Superfast Circle, we write content and campaigns for you.  

If you want to know more about that, of course, get in contact with one of us, and we can share more about that with you.  

We’re still in the early part of 2022. Start to focus; inbound marketing is so much easier than it used to be. You can put a landing page up, which we talked about a while back. You can pull people into your database; you can start to network and connect with them. What a difference it will make for you.  

 

How We Can Help  

We have many clients on track for their best year ever because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we give them.  

Book your call and demonstration here if you want a quick chat to see how Superfast Circle can work for you. 

 

Thanks  

Denise 

P.S. If you want to join Superfast Circle and would like to find out more, speak to us here. 

The post Outbound Versus Inbound Marketing appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Today we’re talking about loving your customers, which will  lead to more success.  

I want to talk about the importance of your relationship with your clients and candidates and what a massive difference that can make.  

[Please excuse any rogue typing errors because it’s one of these direct AI whizzy things that does it for us.] 

First in case you haven’t downloaded our new video masterclass, then head over to superfastrecruitment.co.uk/clf where you will find a series of videos you can watch.  

They’re not going away anytime soon, so you can watch them at your leisure.  

We know that lead flow will make a difference to whether you are successful or not. In today’s strange marketplace that we’re all part of, it is critical to have lead flow systems in place; We share two frameworks that we go through with our clients that deliver leads. 

We share content ideas that you can use that will make a difference and a few other bonuses. All you need to do is pop your name and email address on that page.  

We highlight all the things you’re going to get, and it costs you, as they say in the north, “nowt” apart from your email address. Pop your name and email address in, and that will be winging its way over to you. 

Get to Know Your Client and Candidate Pain Points

Valentine’s Day is a day that I never forget because I met my significant other on this day. This was our first date, believe it or not, 23 years ago, so I’m not going to forget it. 

And I remember it for another reason. 

Let me tell you a little story. When I left my corporate job and decided, “Right, going to do this, going to have my own business”, I decided to invest in a mentor. 

Ironically, the first coaching we had was on February the 14th. During that session, she started to talk about what we all needed to do. I was well versed in sales and marketing, or so I thought at the time.  

We’re all sitting around this table, and one of the first things she said is, “You have to fall in love with your clients.”  

Now, at the time, I thought that seemed a bit creepy.  

Over the years, I realised that it was possibly one of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever been given when it comes to business growth.  

It’s ironic because at the time I was working with this mentor, I’d already started. I created my first product, and I thought, “This is it, I am going to be lying on a beach somewhere, eating grapes because all the sales managers in the UK, the States and Australia are going to buy this product.”  

Anyway, they didn’t.  

I sold something like 10 copies of it eventually, but it was a product for sales managers that I created. 

The thing was, I thought I knew exactly what my audience wanted. However, I made a few glaring errors.  

It would’ve been really useful if I’d have spent some time getting to know my client and finding out what exactly were their issues, what exactly were their problems, rather than thinking, “I want to create this,” or, “I think this is what they need,” and then just firing off and doing things.  

That was a painful lesson.  

I think that’s helped me over the years in really starting to understand my clients and what they need because when you think about that love word, it makes us act in different ways.  

 

Loving Clients 

Remember, love is a choice. If you start googling that, you’ll see endless pages online about what love is. Is it a feeling? What is it? The reality is, it is a choice.  

There’s that initial falling in love phase, which is all about the feelings. As the relationship progresses, that love changes, and it gets centred. It’s about remaining by your partner’s side for the long term, helping them, and doing what they want to do. 

It’s like buying the type of bread that they like. Even though you don’t like it, you buy it for them. Or you pack a dishwasher in a certain way because you know that they want it filled in that certain way. Love is about give and take and supporting that person.  

Let’s just cycle back and think about the context for client relationships. It’s the same because when a client relationship starts, it’s all exciting at the beginning.  

It’s easy to experience a similar feeling; it’s the barriers breaking down and wanting to do the best for that person. It’s all about the engagement; it’s exciting. Ideas are popping left, right, and centre and all the opportunities and what can you do for them. 

Then, depending on how long you work with your clients, your relationships shift and change. They become a bit like friends, don’t they? That’s because hopefully, you’ve built that loving relationship with them when you come from a place of, “What is it that my clients want?”  

When we’re talking about love, we’re talking about commitment; we’re talking about that intimate knowledge. The more we know our partners, the fewer mistakes we make with them, and the more we can do to support them because love is all about that. It’s the same with clients. 

Imagine approaching the candidates and clients you work with from the point of, “This is my new partner. I’m going to find out everything about them. I want to really, really help them.” Knowing what they want and then providing it completely alters the relationship you have with them. 

Surprise Your Clients and Candidates

I’m sure many of you have gone the extra mile for your significant other, and I imagine, also for family and friends. It makes them feel good if they receive something out of the blue and realise how much you appreciate them.  

What could you do for your clients that they are not expecting? We provide resources in Superfast Circle that we never even advertise; we quite like surprising our clients. 

We do that because our commitment is to them and their success. We fall in love with our clients because when we do that, we always do the right thing, and we always do the right thing because we’re here to help them.  

Superfast Circle is a high touchpoint program. We’re here to help our clients be successful just as we would if it was our brother or our sister or our mum or our dad, or the significant other in our life. 

Something a little different today, but you will see a massive difference in the responses from your clients and candidates and how you move your business forward.  

 

How We Can Help  

We have many clients on track for their best year ever because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we give them.  

Book your call and demonstration here if you want a quick chat to see how Superfast Circle can work for you. 

 

Thanks  

Denise 

P.S. If you want to join Superfast Circle and would like to find out more, speak to us here. 

The post Loving Your Customers Leads To More Success appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Today we’re talking about LinkedIn profiles and several mistakes you could be making. Your profile is a key piece of marketing collateral, and it’s important for every business owner, particularly if you work in the recruitment sector and you want to attract attention from clients and candidates.

When we talk to people online who are considering working with us, we look at their LinkedIn profile and their social media, website, and online presence.

We often notice some business owners making several mistakes with their profiles, not realising how important their profiles are.

As a recruiter, you have one of the highest-trafficked profiles of any business owner or person who works in a recruitment company across the whole spectrum of sectors because you consistently reach out to new people to work with, whether candidates or clients.

One thing that people do when recruiting or looking for a new role is to jump online to search for people who can help them and, of course, to check out who they are and their level of expertise.

Our online world means we can Google people, we can have a good look at their LinkedIn profile, and decide whether that is the sort of person we want to work with.

Unfortunately, many people forget that their LinkedIn profile is searchable. Remember, LinkedIn is a huge website and search engine in its own right. People will find you online, and they will make a value judgment on you and how you can help the business.

So, logically, it is important to make the most of it.

Today, let’s go through seven areas that you might not have considered, or might have forgotten about, or need to update if you want to make the most of your profile this year, so you stand out as THE recruiter to work with.

1. Fill Out Your Profile In Full

In at one is taking it seriously #fillitoutinfull

Now, that might surprise me, but as I mentioned before, we look at many profiles, and you can see how people have started to fill them out, then got a bit bored and left them!

They have not completed things, and there are significant gaps. They haven’t filled it out in detail with all the important things, like calls to action, telephone numbers, contact details, and why they are the recruiter to work with.

One thing to remember is that, over time, what you do and how you communicate with your market might change. You might have slightly moved sectors or bolted on some additional sectors.

Have you updated your profile to make sure this is what you are now communicating?

Because there are many people, and we’ve even had people that we are connected to, who work in the circle, who have added new sectors and have forgotten to add them to the profile, or they were rushing and didn’t fill out their telephone number in detail, or they’ve moved into a new market, or they’ve moved into working in Europe, and they haven’t added alternative phone numbers for people to contact them.

My first plea is to take it seriously and complete it in full. Remember that LinkedIn is always updating the different things that you can add to your profile. You can add the different services that you do now.

You are subscribed to this podcast, so you will get updates from me and Sharon about different things happening in the market and changes.

Number one is to take it seriously.

2. Make Your LinkedIn Profile Stand Out Visually

Now, number two is that LinkedIn is a business networking platform. You will be reaching out to people and connecting with more people, and they will go and check out your profile.

One of the things that’s important is to make it visually appealing.

You can grab your client’s attention by giving your profile some TLC regarding its visual impact. This is around the banner. There’s another area as well, which I’ll come onto later.

A question: Are you using the standard banner, or have you created a more compelling banner that will attract people?

This is easy to do. If you can go to Canva, you can create your banner. You can even go to Fiverr, a freelance website. If you click this link, they will give you 10% off your first order.

Now, here’s something to consider when it comes to visual impact.

That is when we are scrolling, looking at things, we are wired as human beings to notice differences. I know I’ve recorded multiple podcasts about the science around this.

If you imagine your profile banner, if your brand colours allow it, make it a different colour from LinkedIn. Now, many of us, us included, have blue as part of our brand colours, and we have blue. Because we change our banners quite regularly, we change the colours and keep our font the same, but our colours sometimes change; currently, as I’m recording this, we have a darker blue, which is similar to everything else we do.

We use white font on our banner to help it stand out. That’s a hot tip.

The other thing is to have a photograph rather than a picture of your brand in your photograph area. We always recommend having a professional photograph, not something taken at somebody’s wedding.

If you’ve got something that could communicate your personality. You’ll notice Sharon’s is a professional photograph. Mine is a professional photograph, and I’m not looking directly at the camera. You can use a different style, but it communicates more about my personality. It was taken at an event when I was presenting. You will see that it’s a professional photograph.

Make sure that you communicate who you are through your photograph. Get a professional photograph or get somebody to photograph you with a smartphone. Think about the lighting you use and upload it because it makes an impact. People want to know who they’re working with. Is this a professional person?

Now, the other thing people often miss out on their banner is that they don’t use all the real estate they can. What I mean by that is ideally, you want to have your name on it quite bold and big and how people can contact you.

For instance, your direct-dial phone number if you want people to ring you, and, of course, an email address.

You want to communicate who you are and how you help people. You want to stop people in their tracks. Have a look at my profile. If we’re not connected, reach out and connect with me, and you’ll be able to see some of the things that I share.

Both Sharon and I have questions in our profile banner.

As we know, the brain loves to answer questions. What question could you put into your profile banner that will stop people in their tracks, and they could then start to ask, “I wonder if this person could help me?”

3. A Compelling Strap Line

Now, the third part of your LinkedIn profile is your strapline. This strapline needs to communicate clearly how you help your target market.

My banner states, for example, “I help experienced solo, micro, small SME recruiters globally stand out in the sector as the people to work with.” This statement is pretty clear about what I do.

For instance, if you work at the C-suite level, you need to ensure that people know that. If you are very sector-specific, let people know which sector you work in and what roles you can fill or place.

It could be, “I help technology companies recruit their next CMOs, their next CTOs.” Whatever it might be, be clear on your heading because, as human beings, we make snap judgments.

When people are scrolling through their mobile phones, they see who you are. You want to get them to read further. They don’t want to waste time. If they can see that “This person could help us,” this would work.

This is most certainly one area I would encourage you to look at, make it specific, and stand out in your market. One of the things we noticed is that many experienced recruiters (the market we work with) don’t always communicate how good they are and specifically who they can help.

In this section, you will notice that you can highlight your contact information along with your website details, again an area that people miss because they forget to fill it out.

When going through your profile, ensure you fill out all the areas you can.

For instance, you can add multiple links to your website with your contact information. You might want to add a link to some free content that they can download. You’ll notice that on ours, we have our marketing checklist and links to our testimonials and case studies. You can add multiple links to your website. As a recruiter, add a link to your jobs page.

Add your phone number, your company address, and your email. Make sure that you fill all that out if you want people to contact you because a lot of people don’t. I think they forget

4. Your About Section Must Relate To Them

Now, as we come into number four, the next thing that I want to talk about is your About section, which is vital collateral. If you ever look at your Google Analytics, you’ll notice that people will look at your About page, and the same is true for your LinkedIn profile.

Here, remember that your About section needs to be not just about you but about them. It should relate to who you are and how you can help them because if people are scrolling down your LinkedIn profile, then they are checking you out and how you can help them.

It’s important to start with a positioning statement, such as “This is who I am; this is who I can help,” because when it comes to marketing, repetition is one of the first laws of learning.

When it comes to sharing who you are and how you can help, you’ve already stated who you are underneath your banner in that pre-statement. It’s important to repeat that in your About Us section.

Then, what is important next is to think about your market. These are your ideal clients and candidates you want to work with, known in marketing as your client and candidate avatars.

What’s going on for them? What questions are they having that are causing them frustration?

Your About section needs to remind them about their problems and how you can help them. This is a specific copywriting framework.

[Important: I share more about this framework in an email marketing webinar which you can access here. www.superfastrecruitment.co.uk/ode]

On our profile, you’ll notice the framework that we use. We talk about Superfast Recruitment, and we talk about why us, and then we have a call to action at the end. The good news is you don’t need to overthink the About section on your profile.

5. Top Skills and Services

The next part is your top skills and services. You can add these to your profile. Think about what you might be searching for on LinkedIn because this will also help bump your profile up in the search engine when people start looking for help.

Don’t just think, “Oh, well, everyone knows what I do. I’ll not add that in.” Add your top skills and the services that you deliver for people because, for some people, it might be, “I work on retained” or “I work on RPO.”

You offer different types of recruitment services. You might also offer talent consultancy, and you can add all of these to your profile.

6. Use Your Features Section

The next thing is your features section. Now, depending on whether you have a paid-for or free profile, you can get additional features here. That’s why, as a recruiter, I would expect that you would have a paid-for profile that you then can leverage and use with all the benefits that it comes with for a small cost.

A lot of people miss utilising the featured section. In your featured section, you can add some of the top-performing posts that you’re sharing, documents, videos, and all kinds of media to help your marketing. This could be a PDF of your services or case studies.

Remember, I talked about visual media. For ours, we have some pretty bright images that reflect our case studies of people who work with us, demonstrating who we are and how we can help.

It’s a drag-and-drop menu on LinkedIn; you can move these things around. You can start with a particular case study, whatever it is. Say you’ve got a focus on a certain part of your business at the moment, say one specific subsector, and then you can always move things around.

7. Your Experience Section

Your LinkedIn profile can do many things, and finally, to round this off, let’s look at communicating your experience.

Make sure you highlight all of the roles you have had over time that support how you can help your clients and candidates.

When you have worked in different organisations across a whole spectrum, no matter if it’s been a year or two years, people see that as “They’ve got a rounded experience. They could help me fill these roles,” or “They could help me do X,” or “They could help me do Y.”

Of course, in your Experience section, you will have a section on the current company you’re working with, which can be similar to your About section.

Here, talk more about the company and the results deliver.

I do encourage you to make the most of your LinkedIn profile. One of the things that people miss out on when it comes to their profile is sharing content down your profile.

Don’t just share it on your company page. I know many people who don’t share enough content. This is about standing out to your market because as you start to share more content, people are going to look at your profile and check you out.

You now have several ideas about things that your LinkedIn profile has not leveraged as much as it could.

It will still be a tough market over the next few years, and you will have to do more outreach.

This means you will have to stand out in front of people AND sell who you are and what you do.

Your LinkedIn profile can do exactly that.

Thanks

 

Denise

How We Can Help You

As part of Superfast Circle, we give you access to detailed training to help with all aspects of your marketing; we even have a detailed module on how to set up LinkedIn to work for you. If you want to learn more about how this could work for you, book a quick call with us here.

The post LinkedIn Profiles: 7 Mistakes You Might be Making appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Today, we’re talking about visual content ideas to help promote you and your brand. I will give you some rationale, ideas you can use, and where you can go and create all this.

Talking about visuals, if you have not downloaded our latest recruitment marketing video masterclass, go over to www.superfastrecruitment.co.uk/clf, where Sharon explains more in a short video.

We share the formula to create consistent lead flow, which everybody wants in any market, both candidate and client. Add your name and email address in, and it’ll wing its way to you. They’re not going away anytime soon, so you can watch in your own time.

Stop People In Their Tracks with Visual Media

Let’s talk about visual media.

It’s important that you create content that engages your clients and candidates; that answers their questions, provides solutions, gives them value in advance, and demonstrates that you can help them by actually helping them.

For that reason, it’s a good idea to use visual content alongside your other marketing methods, because as human beings, we are wired for visual input, and many of us are visually preferenced; You probably experienced it too.

Think about it: Why are magazines so popular? Why do quotes get so many likes, shares and comments? It’s because we love visual content.

Today I want to talk about types of visual media that you could use to communicate your message and your brand. You can use this in multiple ways, but I am specifically talking about your social channels because that is often where people will first come across you.

On the 10th February, you will be able to access a live training session that Sharon is running with Louise Triance. Many of you may know Louise. She’s a real influencer in the recruitment space. She’s part of UK Recruiter and has a live platform. Louise and Sharon will be going live, and they will be talking about getting attention and attention marketing. Part of that is around the visual media that you use.

Add Images to your Social Media Posts

Let’s talk about visual things you could be doing on your social channels that will make a difference in standing out. The first thing to do, which is so easy that people forget about it, is if you’ve written an update on your social profile, put an image with it.

It makes a massive difference because we are wired to see things visually. We are wired to look for things visually in different colours. Use an image because that will help draw the eye. That’s one of the first things you can do. We consistently get more views if we use a colourful image that contrasts with the LinkedIn or Facebook blue.

Use Quotes and Memes

The second thing is a bit of a derivation on this: using quotes and memes. The technical term is memes, but let’s just talk about quotes you could use. Everyone likes a good personal development quote. They make us think; they stop people in their tracks.

What works is if you connect a quote and something relating to the recruitment process or career development. It will help demonstrate your authority position.

Share Data About Your Business

Now, another thing when it comes to quotes and memes is to share data. We all love a bit of data, don’t we? You could also share data on how many roles you have on at the moment, how many placements you make, or data about how good your service is or how many years you’ve been in business and how many placements you’ve made.

This is critical data for people because they want to know that they’re in a safe pair of hands before making their buying decision. All these quotes can be created on straightforward images.

If you share that you will find a role within x amount of weeks of a skill match, or if it’s a client, you guarantee that they will interview 4 out of 5 candidates. That makes a difference. Hooks like this helps to pre-sell you and your brand.

You will be sharing your job ads, and did you know you can animate your ads? Very easy to do. You can create a very simple mp4 file. Again, that will make people stop and check what you’re doing.

Our clients who do this are getting 600 views plus on what they share.

Use Graphics and Illustrations

Now, other things to use is text, graphics and illustrations. When I am researching or creating content, I like to go and look at the evidence behind what I’m talking about. I’m obsessed with getting snippets of data. If you’ve got data or a graphic that illustrates your process, get some graphics created and share them on social with an explanation.

All of this is pre-selling you and your brand and demonstrating that you know what you’re doing.

A few years ago, infographics were really popular, and they seemed to go off the radar. Ladies and gentlemen, they’re back. You could create an infographic that explains all the different things you can deliver, which is easy to create.

Share Personal Photos and Passions

The other things which go well are personal pictures and photographs. Flo, our beloved Superfast Staffy, passed away last year. It always fascinated me that whenever we put a photograph of Flo up, it always got more likes and views than anything else.

One of our clients shared a picture of a bus stop in Preston, which had loads of interaction.

She shared this picture of a bus stop and said it reminded her of different things and told a bit of a story around it. Again, it got lots of interest, and it helped her recruitment brand,

It’s on point because we’ve just launched a new brand. Many of you who know both of us might know that Sharon has been coaching for 30 years. It’s another part of our business that we hadn’t advertised too much until now.

Sharon’s got her coaching brand – go and check out her Facebook page here. If you’re into personal development and managing your mind, then go and check it out – Sharon Newey Coaching on Facebook. She also has a brand new website.

We’re still in the process of adding pages to it, but go and check out sharonnewey.com. I’m sharing this because we’ve been promoting the brand and sharing things on Facebook over the past couple of days.

It’s been interesting to notice that posts are viewed more whenever we share a picture of Sharon.

In fact, we shared one the other night of her at an event of ours, coaching someone which then got the highest views and comments.

Pictures of the local environment will make a difference for people because it stops them in their tracks. Remember, what we’re trying to do here in a really busy marketplace is stand out.

Share Your Testimonials and Case Studies

The final idea I wanted to give you is to use testimonials and case study snippets. We live in a review society.

Just last night, I was on Amazon buying something. The first thing I did was check out how many reviews it received. One particular thing only had a couple of reviews, something else had 2,500, and the decision became quite easy.

Sharing your testimonials, case studies, and snippets online is very easy to do.

Often, you’ll do so many things incredibly well, and your customers, your candidates, and your clients will have a positive experience of you. You need to share that online for others to see because we’re all frightened of making mistakes. I would encourage you to do that as well.

Some Tools You Can Use

Now we’ve shared lots of things that you can do. The two pieces of software I would recommend to you is Canva. I recommend that you get the professional version of Canva because it gives you more images to use and more flexibility in what you can do.

I mentioned the mp4s, visual media that move. You can do all of that in Canva. Well worth it because obviously, you can create your job ads. You can create templates, which will speed up the whole process.

The other thing that we use that’s useful is a product called Infograpia. I’m not aligned to this. There’s no affiliate commission for me either for Canva.

Infograpia is a great product that allows you to create different types of tables, charts, dashboards, roadmaps, PDF tab PowerPoint templates.

How We Can Help

We have many clients on track for their best year ever because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we give them.

Book your call and demonstration here if you want a quick chat to see how Superfast Circle can work for you.

Thanks

Denise

P.S. If you want to join Superfast Circle and would like to find out more, speak to us here.

The post Using Visual Media To Promote Your Recruitment Brand appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Today, P is very much for planning. I’m a huge planner. It gives me thinking time; I know what I’m doing, I’ve got some structure, a place to head to, and I’ve got some process involved in everything I do. 

Sometimes, I don’t plan as well as I could.  

The consequence is that I don’t achieve the results that I wanted. Today I will give you a few questions to ask yourself as you sit down and plan.  

And I will share some practical tools that you can use that will shock you. They are so simple, but they work. 

Before I do that, if you’re new here, welcome; there will be a transcription of this podcast over on www.superfastrecruitment.co.uk/blog. You will see it there, along with a range of other content that you can use to take your marketing forward.  

If you’re thinking, “What am I going to do with my marketing? I know I need to do more things, where can I start? Have you got a process I can follow?” then I suggest you head to superfastrecruitment.co.uk/clf.  

We have a brand new complimentary video series; you just need to pop your name and email address in, and we’ll send it to you. 

In that video series, we share two of our most popular frameworks that we’ve developed for our clients that you can then use. There are four videos, one of which is a bonus video, which I know will blow your mind.  

Go along, pop your name and email address in. What we talk about in these videos is basically how to set up a system for consistent lead flow. I think we all know that when we have consistent leads coming into our business, we stand a sporting chance of converting at least some of them, be that candidate or client. 

In these videos, we show you how to structure everything, some of the things you need to consider, and why this needs to be a foundation of your plan.  

Start With Your Plan  

Now let’s talk about planning and these questions to ask yourself, first of all. Planning can be a bit of a nemesis for many people. They don’t want to spend the time, and it involves thinking a bit deeper than usual. 

I think many recruitment business owners are ‘just do it’ people. They want to jump in, start moving forward fast and don’t always want to do the foundational work, whereas if you take some time to plan and start to map things out, what a massive difference that makes for you. 

Look at the likes of Apple, Facebook and various other huge organisations. One of the reasons they are so successful is because they focus on planning what they want to do, when they want to do it, looking at what’s working or not working, and then making the necessary adjustments and steps to make it a different experience.  

A classic planning tool that many people use is the stop, start, continue process. What do we need to stop doing? What do we need to start doing? What do we need to consider when it comes to moving forward?  

The Questions You Need to Answer  

I have five different questions I ask. 

What’s working?  

The first one is what’s working? Sometimes this might be something on the surface that is quite boring. That is fine; carry on -boring stuff works. The challenge for many is dropping what works for the bright, shiny object syndrome; don’t do that. 

The first thing to do is think: “Okay, if this is working, maybe we should do more of it.” 
Let’s say videoing; let’s say I feel a little bit uncomfortable about videoing. Oh, it’s not my favourite thing to do. I might stop doing it, but the fact is, is it working? If it’s working, I recommend you do more of it. 

What’s not working?

Let’s cover something here that is important. Sometimes, the inputs take time to develop the outputs you want when it comes to marketing. 

You have to give things time to know whether they’re working or not. For many marketing activities, this could be 90 days plus. Though there may be some things in your business, you continue to do that you can’t track any ROI from. Maybe a networking group you have been part of for years or sponsoring a local event that no longer connects with your market. What is your version of this? 

What can we do differently? 

You may see something your competitor is doing, and you think, “Do you know what? We could do that, and we could do it better.” Then that might be something you want to think about; what can we do differently? 

I always encourage people, particularly when it comes to marketing, to try out new things. If it works, fantastic. If it doesn’t work, then you’ve got information.  

It is all about pushing out to the edge of our limits. We don’t know until we try something how well it could work. 

I’ve just been looking at something online about Wordle, this new game that people are playing, and how this guy decided he wanted to do this little quiz for him and his partner. He was just trying something different, and it’s gone bonkers. So, think about what you could do differently this year that might help you stand out. 

What do we want to do this year? 

A question to ask yourself is, what do I want to do this year? Is it more revenue in less time? Maybe you want to generate consistent processes that will lead to more revenue in 
Q 2 or 3? 

So, what are our goals? Some people say, “I want to double my business,” or, “I want to do X, Y, Z,” or, “I’ve got a three-year plan, and by the end of these three years, I want to have turned over a million from a cash flow point of view.”  

If you’re going to do that, you need a plan to deliver that. Normally, it will involve taking a lot more action than you realise. To get to that stage, there will be a lot of input. You need to think about that as you plan things out. 

What do we need to address? 

For some of you listening to this, you might have teams, and it may be that you need to address something in your team or need to improve resourcing or headcount.  

I suspect that many of you are short of candidates. That would be one thing you need to address: how I’m interacting with candidates, how we’re nurturing them, what are our processes, how do we stand out to candidates above everybody else. It may be that you have all these. 

Now, once you’ve looked at all of this information, then you can start planning. There is a lot of content on our website around 90-day planning. I start to map things through the month because it’s very easy to assume that you can do something very fast-which isn’t always the case. 

I like to do this on paper, and some of you might want to do it online, entirely up to you. I just like to do it on paper. I use one of these big A3 pads, and I divide it up with a good old-fashioned ruler into 12 months.  

Let’s just say that you want to have a new website by the end of this year or implement a new CRM system, which is all part and involved in the marketing process. 

Then that will involve time which will take you away from some other things you couldn’t do, so map it out.   

As an example, we run two Superfast Circle events in April and September. Our clients are our priority. Starting in February, I need to plan and prepare to make sure that everything is ready, working, and going to be fantastic.  

I know that I need to have a campaign that I’ve used before to run in April because I won’t have much time to design something new. 

You might have a trade show or decide to recruit some new consultants, so they will need more leads. You might want to have a new report created or a new email campaign that’s ready to go four weeks after your new guys arrive. Maybe you want to do some paid advertising.  

We work with a number of partners as well in the recruitment sector. We’re doing something with Louise Triance in a few weeks’ time. I know there’s some content I need to create for that.  

We work with another partner program, and we are presenting at their event as we are creating some content for them. I know that all that needs to be mapped in now.  

As you do that, you start to see where you have gaps, and you start to see, “Well, actually, we’re not doing anything around April and May.  

What are we going to do? What could we put in place here? How can we do X? How can we do Y?” 

Our Circle members know in advance the content that we are delivering for them so they can plan that into their marketing campaigns. It helps them manage their time because we’re creating it for them.  

If having access to campaigns and planning help like this would be valuable to you and you want to find out more, book a conversation with one of us here. 

Planning Helps You See the Gaps

Once you start to plan in this way, you can see where your gaps are and what else you could implement. 

Top tip, always front-load activity, because no matter who you are, where you are, when you work in the B2B sectors, conversion takes a long time.  

When you are thinking about developing relationships with organisations that will probably give you multiple roles as you move into the future, it can take weeks and months.  

You will know how long it takes to go from cold to sold. If you have that data, then you can plan accordingly. 

Lots of different ideas here for how you can map out that plan, but I like to always do the helicopter view.  

Planning will make a massive difference to you. Go on to Amazon, get these A3 pads, and map out what you’re planning to do. Then you can start to put some real timelines and actions on your plan. 

Stephen Covey always talks about starting with the end in mind in his 7 habits book. If you know some of the things you want to address this year, put that on your plan because until it’s out and on paper, you don’t know the implications of what you need to do and how you can make it happen. 

It’s great because the brain sees, “Oh, they’re really serious about this. Let’s move on then. Let’s just provide some things for them.” The reticular activating system kicks in. I always get very excited about planning because it makes a difference.  

If you need help with your marketing, you know where we are. Remember, we provide content, we provide collateral, we provide resources. It is the equivalent of having two outsourced marketing directors working with you on your business. 

We’d love for you to join us in the Superfast Circle, and I hope this has given you some reasons why it’s good to invest right now as you start the year. 

If you’d like some more support around your marketing, go to our private Facebook group Recruitment Marketing Mastery Facebook group, request to join, and Sharon or I will let you in.  

How We Can Help  

We have many clients on track for their best year ever because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we give them.  

Book your call and demonstration here if you want a quick chat to see how Superfast Circle can work for you. 

 

Thanks  

Denise 

P.S. If you want to join Superfast Circle and would like to find out more, speak to us here. 

The post Making The Most of Your Marketing This Year: P is For Planning appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Here we are in the last week of January; I have always liked January.  

It’s my birthday tomorrow, and I’m very excited because we are going to Glasgow in Scotland to watch a musical about Dolly Parton, one of my idols. 

Amazing woman.  

Anyhow, today, we’re going to talk about why you need to prioritise content marketing as a strategy for your particular organisation. 

Before we do that, if you’re new here, welcome; great to have you. Of course, for probably 99% of the podcasts we record, there’s a transcription, and there will be one of this particular podcast over on superfastrecruitment.co.uk/blog. In the meantime, I suspect that many of you listening to this want to have more clients and candidates knocking on your door that you can then serve.  

If you haven’t downloaded our latest video series, which is new this year, then head over to www.superfastrecruitment.co.uk/clf. That will take you to a page with a video message from Sharon. Pop your name and email address in, and we will share some of the frameworks that we use with our paid clients that are working like crazy.  

It’s full of content and actionable things that you can do in a webinar-style but cut into easily consumed videos.  

We’re not taking the page down anytime soon, so you can grab all the content that’s there.  

Why You Need Content  

I keep repeating this for a reason: it plain and simply works in your market. 

Let me explain. We talked to a client of ours last week about his marketing apprentice and their training.  

The challenge for this apprentice was that everything was aligned to the world of e-commerce, and you can understand that because e-commerce has gone crazy over the past few years? 

However, e-commerce for a recruiter is not where it’s at! The recruitment and staffing sector is a mixture of B2C and B2B because you’ve got candidates that you’re nurturing, and you’ve got clients. 

This makes the recruiting sector ideal for content marketing because you are selling a high-value item, which is a person, into an organisation. It’s no secret that content marketing is incredibly powerful, and it is especially true when you’re working in a business context, selling people. 

There are multiple reasons why this is the case. From a B2B perspective, it tends to be a more complex sales process. It takes a long time, and the reason for that is because people need to be convinced about why you and your product or service is ideal for them.  

This is where content works because it enables you to position yourself and boost sales conversations through content. One of the things to remember is that the recruitment sector is very saturated, and you need to differentiate yourself to stand out to your market. 

Self-Education is on the Rise  

People are doing more self-education than ever before through the likes of YouTube. 

Companies invest in content marketing to reach potential clients and candidates before speaking to a salesperson. Your clients and candidates are pre-sold that you are the recruitment company they need to talk with. 

We do it all the time when we’re looking for a supplier, don’t we?  

There’s almost zero barrier to entry when it comes to launching your recruitment company. All you need is a phone, the internet and a computer. 

However, the market is extremely competitive. 

Therefore, you have to stand out, and one of the easiest ways is through using content marketing. I will share some ideas on the specific categories of content you want to consider, and as I mentioned before, go to http://www.superfastrecruitment.co.uk/clf. In one of the videos, Sharon does a deep dive into the types of content to use and what’s working incredibly well at the moment, but let’s think about what you should start using. 

Value-Added Content through Reports  

The first one is reports or white papers. Now, I am sure you have downloaded reports from us in the past. We have a number of them on our website, including a very useful checklist. 

With a report, you can capture somebody’s name and email details so that you can contact them again. You can begin to nurture them and brand yourself as an authority in your sector.  

We provide this as a content resource for our Superfast Circle clients because it works.  

Leading on from that is your email communication with people. No matter what anyone says, we’re all glued to our phones, and we read emails. It’s still the strategy that stands out as giving the best ROI of anything you’re likely to do. 

Blogs Demonstrate Knowledge  

Next is blog content. This blog started as a podcast; it’s been transcribed and uploaded to the blog.  

In summary, you have content demonstrating that we know and understand marketing in the recruitment space.  

If you’re not putting regular blogs onto your website, that is something that you need to do. You will get found by it. Sharing it helps attract people to your website to look at your services.  

Increase Awareness through Social Media  

Another thing is social media. Social media has gone through the roof recently. LinkedIn had a day where they got an increase of 2500% on the number of hits on their website, and that hasn’t reversed since moving out of the pandemic; it’s still maintained.  

There is approaching half of the planet on Facebook. 

We often talk about the unawareness phase if you’ve listened to our podcasts before. People need to go from being unaware of you to becoming aware of you. That unaware portion will often come from social media. You share something useful that gets shared by somebody else, who then picks it up and reads it.  

The great thing about social media is you can create paid adverts quite inexpensively on Facebook that could get in front of your audience. Once someone has been on your website, by using re-marketing, you can get your advert shown in front of that individual as well.  

I post about all different things; I’ve posted about Flo before, and my family, and I get a lot of engagement because people are fascinated. They want to know about you. They want to feel connected to you and your brand, what you do, and what you stand for.  

There are many different things you can do. Content, in its many guises, is absolutely king and queen. 

We support our clients with content, and the reason we do is because we know it can make a massive difference to how you stand out in your market and how you position yourself.   

We’d love for you to join us in the Superfast Circle, and I hope this has given you some reasons why it’s good to invest right now as you start the year. 

If you’d like some more support around your marketing, go to our Recruitment Marketing Mastery Facebook group, request to join, and Sharon or I will let you in.  

 

How We Can Help  

We have many clients on track for their best year ever because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we give them.  

Book your call and demonstration here if you want a quick chat to see how Superfast Circle can work for you. 

 

Thanks  

Denise 

P.S. If you want to join Superfast Circle our 2021, prices will be held until the end of January. To find out more, speak to us here. 

The post The Recruitment and Staffing Sector Should Prioritise Content and Here’s Why appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Today I’m talking about one of my favourite topics, KPIs, because I’m a fan of KPIs. They have served me well over a long period of time. However, before I get into that, welcome if you’re new here.

First, go to superfastrecruitment.co.uk/clf. That stands for consistent lead flow- something that all business owners want for their organisation.

Sharon and I recently recorded a video series. If you’ve been on any of our webinars or master classes, you’ll know they are always content-rich, with actionable content.

In this video series, we share with you two of our proven roadmaps and frameworks that we use with our clients that work every time, provided you take action on them, of course.

They are our seven pillars and R.M.S framework.

This all might sound jargon, but it’s to pique your interest to go along to superfastrecruitment.co.uk/clf. There’ll be a video of Sharon there. She explains more.

Pop your name and email address in there, and winging its way to you will be a link to a page, and all the videos are listed out for you on the page. They’re not going away anytime soon, so you can go and watch them and learn some of the ideas you want to action to build lead flow this year.

Now let’s talk about marketing KPIs and how they might work for you and your business.

Why Use KPIs?

As many of you know, I have a background in marketing, but I started as a salesperson. Many of you are very used to B.D. and selling, and you will have had KPIs. One of the reasons why we have KPIs is that  KPIs work.

It’s very interesting when you look at sales and marketing because when it comes to marketing, sometimes it’s not always easy to know what piece of content made the difference.

• Was it the blog post?
• Was it social media?
• Was it the emails that I’m sending?

Unless you’re making a direct sale, it’s not always easy to know and understand that. However, if you are consistent in your inputs, that can deliver very different results.

From my days as a sales representative, one of the things that we had to do was see so many doctors a day.

The more doctors we saw, the more we could potentially sell, assuming that you can sell, by the way.

Working for a very large pharmaceutical company, they knew their data and contacts equalled business…… Here is a top tip; always know your data.

Know Your Data

They knew that if the sales force saw six doctors a day on average, they were likely to make X number of sales. If they saw seven doctors a day, they would make more sales.

They probably wouldn’t make as much if they saw three or four doctors a day.

It’s the same in everything that we do. I’m sure you have data around how many C.V.s /resumes you want to send out for a role. I don’t know your numbers, but let’s say you send out four C.V.s. When you send out four C.V.s, you know that if you do that, it’s likely that they’ll take a minimum of two through to interview. You might know that if two go-to interview, one of them is expected to get the job. You can work back those numbers. Not always the case in marketing; however, the principles are the same.

KPIs Shows You What You Should Focus On

One of the marketing challenges, particularly if you don’t have a marketer or you’re trying to juggle multiple tasks, is thinking about what KPIs you should have in place and what you should be doing every day. That’s the reason for this post and podcast to give you some suggestions on your focus.

A great way to think about KPIs, as you will do, I’m sure, with your consultants and your B.D. and resourcing, KPIs (key performance indicators) need to centre around the outcomes you want to achieve.

Identify Your Goals First

Your KPIs are aligned with the goals you set for the year.

• What do you want to achieve?
• How many new clients do you want,
• How many more candidates do you want to register and have on your database?
• What do you want your brand awareness to be like?
• How many people do you want to download reports or visit your website?

All of these are goals that you want to achieve.

To hit those goals, it’s quite simple; you need to decide what you can do around these particular areas that will make a difference? Some of it might be being on the phone, but let’s look at marketing as an aspect of what you want to do. That will help you to agree and decide on some specific KPIs.

One of the leverage points, for instance, for us as a business and for many of our clients is the more email subscribers that we have, the more we can interact with people, the more we can have a conversation with people where we have a demonstration.

From that demonstration, we make people an offer if we’re a fit and a match, and we’re not working with somebody else in that sector or that geography. That’s how our business works. Sometimes it’s very easy to overcomplicate businesses.

That’s what we do, and I’m sure you will have your ideas. You might know that the more candidates you register, a percentage of those candidates will be right for the role. If you then send an email to a number of these candidates and get on the phone with them, you will convert a number that wants their CV sent to a client.

Here is an example from our marketing that demonstrates the process.

For instance, we drive people to our website to opt-in to our email list from our podcast. We always record our podcasts. Two or three weeks ago was the first time we missed a podcast in literally over 12 months.

As a general rule, you will get at least 50 podcasts from us a year, and every single Friday morning without fail, we will send you an email alerting you to the podcast. There might be an offer; there might be a suggestion in there. We know that is one of our key lead generation mechanisms. From that, people then book a call. That is one of the things that we have down as something that we want to measure and track.

We also know that people follow us on social media, watch our videos, and download reports. All of these are things that we need are in play.

Even Sharon and I have KPIs for ourselves. I know, every morning, before I do anything else, I will always write a post, and that post will be shared, or it might be that we’ve recorded a video, and I’ll share a video snippet.

I will write a social media update in our private Facebook group. If you’re not a member of Recruitment Marketing Mastery, come and join us because we will be delivering a lot of training in that group this year.
Sharon has KPI’s too, based around her role in the company.

Consistency Is Key

If you want to make sure your business delivers the results you want, set consistent goals and KPIs; it makes life much easier!

We have a client doing his own marketing at the moment. On a call with us today, he said that he spends half a day marketing during the month. He’s a member of Superfast Circle; he gets blog posts from us, and he gets templates.

Half a day that month, as he says, bish-bash-bosh, does it all, everything’s done, and it goes out to his market, and he’s doing very well because of it.

That’s his KPI.

KPIs don’t have to be something you need to do every day, but what I’d advocate for you to do this year if you want to move the needle is to be seen online.

You need a brand that people recognise. You have to do things consistently. If people don’t see consistency, they will not trust you because “Oh, they’re here one week and then I never see them for six or seven months. What’s going on?”

Make sure that you come up with some ideal things you want to do—posting on social media, sending email campaigns, picking up the phone and talking to people downloading your reports and seeing if you can help them.

Think about the marketing KPIs you want to have for your business this year, and then start to plan how you will deliver on that. You will be amazed at the results that you’re going to achieve.

How We Can Help

We have many clients on track for their best year ever because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we give them.

Book your call and demonstration here if you want a quick chat to see how Superfast Circle can work for you.

 

Thanks

Denise

P.S. If you want to join Superfast Circle our 2021, prices will be held until January 27th. To find out more, speak to us here.

The post The Many Benefits of Marketing KPIs appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Recruitment marketing has changed drastically over the last few years. Digital automation, new tech stacks, and the pandemic have meant more staffing companies than ever are looking at marketing to create their presence in the market.

So, what are your competitors searching for when it comes to marketing ideas and strategies to attract candidates and clients?

As a respected recruitment marketing training provider in the sector, our content has thousands of readers and downloads each month.

Below you will find all our most read and listened to posts below.

Enjoy!

How to Use Direct Mail 10 Lead Generation Strategies for recruiters Why Case Studies Work to Attract Candidates and Clients How to Revamp Your Value Proposition Why Investing in Marketing is More Important Than Staff Social Media Strategies for Staffing Companies Client Winning Proposals Marketing Collateral for Recruiters Why You Need a Marketing Funnel Using Sales Convincers to Attract Candidates and Clients

 

How We Can Help

We have many clients on track for their best year ever because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we give them.

Book your call and demonstration here if you want a quick chat to see how Superfast Circle can work for you.

Thanks

Denise

P.S. If you want to join Superfast Circle our 2021, prices will be held until January 27th. To find out more, speak to us here.

The post Recruitment Marketing Popular Content from 2021 appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Today, I want to talk about marketing systems; first, I want to tell you about a brand new free video series you can access. 

[Excuse any strange errors in this content as it is a direct transcription for your benefit.] 

If you want to head over to superfastrecruitment.co.uk/clf, pop your name and email address in there, and you will gain access to a video series that Sharon and I have created on a specific hot topic all recruiters want to handle.  

We know that from questions we get from clients and the number of visits on our website around these particular blog posts keywords, it’s the all-around lead flow for candidates and clients. 

What has created a video series? As our American friends say, it will take you through from soup to nuts around what you need to consider when building consistent lead flow because it isn’t just about clients, and it isn’t just about candidates.  

A successful business has to be strong in every area. That’s what we’ve done. We’d love your feedback on it too. 

Just go along as I say to www.superfastrecruitment.co.uk/clf, and I love doing this because, as I said, I’m recording this in November, and I haven’t recorded the videos yet. However, because I have now said that they will be available, Denise will record them all and create them all for you.  

I’m sure you guys have plenty of systems around how you bring onboard new candidates, how you bring onboard new team members, how you all work together for the good of your organisation.  

I’m sure you have plenty of systems around that.  

The question is, how systematised is your marketing? 

Because often my experience with recruiters is, it tends to get left to the last minute because if the proverbial hits the fan, then we can always pick up the phone later and build our pipeline. 

Again, it may be a bit stressful. We can always do that. However, did you appreciate that it doesn’t have to be this way, that if you get a marketing system together, what a massive difference will make for you?  

Before I get into that, something pivotal to the process is that you have to have a goal.  

Now I know everyone talks about goal setting this time of year, and there’s lots of flack around the fact that we set a goal, and then nobody ever sticks to it. 

However, when you build out your marketing system and your marketing process, you need to know what you aim for. 

 

Systems Start With Maths 

If you did X last year and want to do Y this year, that’s fine. However, you have to build a system around that to create the revenue you want.  

Most people seem to forget that because if you’ve decided, let’s say you want to increase your revenue by 50%. Let’s say your turnover currently is 300K; let’s make it easy to do the math. 

You’re currently turning over 300K, and next year you want to be turning over 450K. A significant jump not out to the realms of possibilities.  

Some recruiters I know have had the best year ever. You need to be thinking about, “okay, I need to bring in 150K revenue.” I’m not going to get into what profit level; we’re talking about marketing here. Let’s look at it from a big picture perspective.  

If that’s 150K, how many new roles do I need to bring in at what fee level and at which parts of the year. 

Let’s say again makes it easier for the maths. Let’s say that each placement that you make is worth 10K. Therefore, do the maths; how many 10K placements do you need in addition to what you’re already doing to hit that extra 150?  

My rudimentary maths, I have an A level in maths, by the way, my fundamental maths means that you would need to make an extra 15 placements. That’s always a starting point, so you know you have to make that many placements. 

On average, what does your normal? I’m just going to use the word normal; the client give you when it comes to placements to make?  

What’s your conversion rate with this particular type of role? Do you convert everybody? How many telephone calls do you need to make? How many emails do you need to send? What marketing do you need to have in place? All of these things are part of your system because remember you look at the definition of a system; it’s a set of things working together as part of the whole interconnecting and working to produce a result. 

When you think about your marketing system, you have to start with the goal. We need to increase revenue by X. We want to penetrate this market.  

Therefore, we need an extra. Let’s say we’ve used this magical number of 15 here, so let’s say you have a 50% conversion, right. You need to ensure that you’ve got 30 hot leads; let’s say that each company gives you one placement.  

I know I’m making this simple, but you get what I’m saying here, because that will help you think about what resource I need to put into marketing and what systems I need? 

Now, in reality, that’s a conservative goal to have, and you’ll see here as you’re starting to break it down, you realise, “oh gosh, that isn’t quite as challenging as I thought it would be.” Let’s think about the systems around that to have in place. Now I’ve just thought of something else here; to clarify, I’m not necessarily talking about who’s going to do the work. Should you outsource? Should you bring in some admin support? Should you bring in a full-time marketeer? 

  

What Marketing ‘Systems’ Do You Need? 

My thoughts on this are that it’s always helpful to have somebody helping you with your marketing because there are two key growth areas in a business: marketing and sales. Give some thought to how you might want to do that in 2022, but let’s start talking about systems first of all.  

The first thing you need is you need a marketing plan. There’s a lot of data online; go and check it out. Businesses with a marketing plan are 26% more likely to achieve their goals than those that don’t. 

This data I read from a guy called David Fray, one of the first online marketers I ever followed, and he was quoting data from the American Marketing Association.  

Intuitively, I think we all know that if you have a plan, things are more likely to happen. You can start ticking things off, and then you don’t fall into that scenario of suddenly loads of jobs coming in, marketing gets dropped because you haven’t got a system where you’re monitoring and checking things. 

At the same time, when thinking about your marketing plan as you are making your plan, I believe every podcaster talks about the marketing checklist. If you haven’t got it, grab one or just email me, and I’ll send it over to you in the post. Print it off; look at where you’re at. You need to know your starting point because if you have a starting point, you can start to measure and look at how you’re moving forward. 

You need a marketing plan and, in that plan, you need to know who’s responsible for what and what campaigns you are going to run? How are you going to monitor and measure things through the year now?  

As I say, we’re recording this in November; we’ve just run a session with our Superfast Circle clients, and we went through a whole session on a marketing plan, and we provided the templates for them. 

We even provided the spreadsheet they just needed to pop their details into. Get yourself an Excel spreadsheet. It’s really easy. Don’t overcomplicate it. Then in that sheet, you can start to measure, track and add all of the different activities you want.  

The next thing I want to talk about is repeatable tasks. One of the things that I came across many years ago because I’d worked in the pharmaceutical industry and worked in a big corporate is the need to have standard operating procedures. To you and I SOPs.  

One of the great things about SOPs is that obviously, you can create your own. They make tasks so much easier to implement because anybody in the business can implement them, and the case of, “okay, so we do our social media every month.  

The way that we do our social media is we have so many blog posts we share, so many jobs that we share, so many this, so many that.” 

Suppose that’s the case; one of the easiest things for you is to create a standard operating procedure for that process to happen. We have some of our circle members because we provide collateral for them.  

They have the systems that they’ve mapped out. I’ve shared some of our SOPs with them as well. One of the things to absolutely create next year is an SOP because that will give you so much more time back as you are utilising that process. 

Whereas if you have a folder on the computer and there are videos, you can now buy screen capture software inexpensively. I think Zoom and Snagit do free versions, so you can always use something like that. We’ve talked about marketing planning. We’ve also just talked about standard operating procedures.  

The next vital thing has a content and collateral system. However, you deliver this in your organisation, whether you have somebody who writes for you, whether our clients use the content we produce, or you’re outsourcing the content. 

Whatever you are doing, content is king and queen at the moment. The more content you have, the more ways you can be in front of your market. The more ways you can convince both candidates and clients that you are the company to work with. You need to have that as part of your system. You can create a content plan, what you’re going to share during the year. 

We alluded to early, you know how many needs you want, you know which particular market, you know everything about your avatar, that’s key. That way, you can basically map out all the different types of content you want to have that you’re going to create during the year, and it starts to become a system. It becomes a machine, and that really will free you up in time. 

If you know that a particular time of year is mega, mega busy for you, it’s one of your best times of the year; what are you doing ahead of that to plan to tee up the market? We know for instance that the last quarter and the first quarter of the following year are really good sales times for us because people are thinking about marketing.  

That’s one of the reasons why over the last month or so, I have created a series of podcasts; you’ll have seen lots of videos out online helping you around your marketing. 

It’s the same for you to do that. I also systematise that process because once things are mapped out, I always talk to people and say that time is a mental construct. We can always do more than we think we can. 

You have those situations where you think it’s going to take you– I saw something from Elon Musk the other day that if you think something’s going to take you 30 days, it’s going to take you 30 days, when actually what if it could only take three days. It’s just a case of systematising things and taking the time to do it. We’ve talked about content and collateral system. 

 

Create a Candidate and a Client Marketing Campaign 

The next thing is, and I’m going to share here two things: you must have a campaign for candidates and a campaign for clients even if you only have two campaigns that you are running. If you are growing and you want to acquire new recruiters, new resources, new marketeer’s whatever that be, your talent, then you need to have a system for that. Marketing is about creating demand, and it’s also about creating demand as you build your team. 

Think about what I should create in my campaign for a client or candidate. If you know your candidates and clients well, the information, the ideas will automatically come to you. You know what your candidates need from you. You know what your clients need from you. Then you need to make sure that you’re communicating that out into the market. Also, you are there for them so that you nurture them. 

One of the easiest things to do is offer them some value, whether that be a video, whether that be a case study, whether that be a report and then you can get their name and email address start to nurture them because over time, what is great about having a really good marketing system is this can be chugging away in the background all the time.  

If you haven’t got a campaign for candidates campaign standing for clients, do that as a priority as you move into next year. 

 

Only Automate Systems That Work 

The next thing is automation. Everybody loves a good bit of automation. We do have an automation report as well. If you want to download that, that was based around a masterclass that we ran a while back. If you want a copy of that, I’ll drop a link to that in the transcription of this podcast, so you’ve got that. The more you can automate your marketing system, the better. 

However, the caveat around this is that you’ve had to have the process dialled in first of all because there’s no point automating something that you don’t know if it works or not. That’s a question for you, but then, of course, there are so many things you can start to automate. I’m pleased to say this because this wasn’t always the case.  

When we first started working in the recruitment sector was 16 years ago now, there was MailChimp, and there were CRM systems, and that was it. 

There were no integrated systems.  

Many CRM systems now integrate marketing automation and processes; I know Bullhorn does that. Forgive me if I don’t shout out your particular one, and I’ve missed it. I think Tracker does something similar, and I know that Loxo does well. There are all these different systems that you can use. You want to automate your touch campaigns, if you like, with clients and candidates because you always want to be in front of your mind. 

One of the challenges people faced this year around candidate shortage is that they haven’t nurtured their candidates.  

Candidates were the last thing that they were thinking about.  

You need to make sure that you can dial that in whatever system you have because look on the Superfast recruitment website. I’ll make sure we probably link to some of our past posts around automation. 

We did a whole section on automation, I think, towards the middle of last year. There’s lots of good ideas and content on there for you about the exact things you should be automating. There is so much you can automate that really will save you oodles and oodles of time provided that you systematise it. We’ve talked about campaigns for candidates and clients; we’ve spoken of automation software. 

The other thing that I find invaluable when marketing is using a project management system. 

I’ll tell you my personal favourite, entirely up to you what you do. I’m a marketeer, so we use it, and that’s monday.com. There’s a free version that you can get depending on the size of your organisation, but it’s pretty inexpensive.  

I love Monday because we have recurring and repetitive tasks and top tips. If you are doing your marketing well, you will have recurring and repetitive tasks. I’m logged into the system. I get consistent emails tagging me and telling me what I need to do by when it keeps me on track, and then we manage the system to time how long it takes me to do things. 

 

Work With a Mentor 

The final thing that I would say around systems is, work with a mentor, work with somebody around your marketing that can help, somebody like us. Yes, we have competitors in the market. We always think nobody does it like us; I don’t think they do, because of our service but because we work with somebody because marketing is constantly changing. 

We’ve just run an event for our Superfast Circle clients, and in that event, it was all brand new content that we were sharing because marketing is consistently changing.  

If you work with someone that understands marketing, and I would work with somebody like ourselves or some of our competitors, it’s horses for courses.  

Some people connect with some people; other people don’t. 

Somebody that has experience of the marketing in the recruitment sector because it is different, because you have candidates, and then you have clients, and you need to think about how you’re going to work with that.  

Then also the consultants that you work with, so that’s what I would say to you. When you’re building out your system, think about who your marketing mentor will be. 

We cook quite a lot today around marketing systems. You’ve plenty of time to get yourself ready before the new year. Think about your goal and how that goal relates to the number of leads you need.  

What’s your conversion rate? Are you going to add a new recruiting product? Are you going to add a new service that will bring extra revenue into your business? 

That’s the first thing to start with, but then if we go through number one, always have a marketing plan, number two, consider standard operating procedures, document everything, the more systems and processes you have, the easier business become and the more freedom you get in your business too.  

Number three, you need a content and collateral system.  

Number four, make sure I’ve got them all written down; I didn’t want to miss them; make sure you have campaigns dialled in for both candidates and clients. 

If you’re expanding, you need to consider your talent acquisition as well; remember number five to have automation software. 

 Number six is a bit of an add on to that, measure what you’re doing and keep a check on what you’re doing. Use a system of some sort. I just recommended monday.com.  

Then finally, get help, get some help from a mentor or coach, or be in a community like superfast circle, which will make quite a difference for you. 

This is Denise, talking Marketing Systems, what you need to have in place. Our next podcast is slightly different. It’ll be much shorter, but what I always do at this time of year, so you guys can get a handle on what’s important is to share with you the most popular blog posts that we’ve had this year. It gives you an idea of what’s topical, what’s current, and I’m sure you’ll find that useful. This is Denise saying, “Have an outstanding New Year, and we’ll see you in January. Bye for now.” 

 

Thanks, 

Denise 

 

How We Can Help You in 2022 

For many of our Superfast Circle clients, 2021 was their best year because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we give them. If you want a quick chat to see how Superfast Circle can work for you, book your call and demonstration here. 

The post Must-Have Marketing Systems For Your Recruitment Company in 2022 appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Something different today; who doesn’t love an inspiring story at Christmas? A year ago, two of our clients Lee and Theresa Durrant, moved their life and Salesforce recruiting business to the Lake District from Kent.

They arrived to pick up the keys of their new home 72 hours before the country went into lockdown again! We have been working with them for many years, and we would often get together for a marketing planning meeting when they were up here on a walking holiday.

The conversation at night in the bar over a few glasses of wine would turn to how we ran our business from here, so why couldn’t they?

In this podcast, they share their journey, the ups and the downs, how they manage their current team remotely and their plans for scaling. [As always this is a direct transcription so please excuse any strange typing errors.]

Sharon: Lee, Theresa, welcome back to the Superfast Recruitment podcast and thank you for taking some time today. Can you believe it’s almost two years since we were in a similar situation, having a conversation like this, and who would have known what was about to happen? 

Theresa: We were put into a lockdown and came out the other side, and the world has changed. So much is different. 

Sharon: It is. Also, what’s different as well, literally in the last 12 months is, where Resource on Demand is now based, where you are living. It’s been an incredible year for the business.  

What made you do some of the things you’ve done with the business and for yourself in terms of your own lifestyle and how’s it working. Are you ready to share some of your journey with us, then? 

Lee: It’s going to be one of those years, when we’re a bit older and we look back over a glass of wine, we’ll probably think, “How did that happen?”. A lot has happened in the two years since we last did one of these, but certainly, the last year has seen a lot of things forced on us that we’ve twisted into a positive.  But it’s been a whirlwind, hasn’t it, in the last 12 months? 

Theresa: Yes. We’re the kind of people anyway that always try to see opportunity in whatever situation is thrown at you. No one would have anticipated something like COVID coming along, but it has made us change our life completely. It’s changed the way we now run our business, which I’m sure we’re going to come to in a second. 

It’s changed our output and philosophy around life because watching people being devastated across the country and losing loved ones makes you think about your values again.  Life is so short, you need to grab it with both hands, and you need to make the most of it. Sometimes, being workaholic kind of people, you actually start to realise that there are loved ones out there who are dying, and families have been devastated through COVID. There needs to be more to life than work. 

It’s made us think about it a lot differently. The fact that we’ve now gone fully remote means that we’ve been able to realise a dream that we thought was for retirement, which was one day, we’d love to live in the Lake District. We can live that life now. It’s not impacting the business in any way, shape, or form. In fact, it’s had only positive effects on the business: massive move, massive changes. 

Was there a particular catalyst that made you make that decision to make it happen now rather than wait for retirement? Was there something that was a real catalyst that you can both think about?  

Theresa: I think we can pinpoint when the penny dropped for us. Obviously, we were forced into a situation; it was a case of you work remotely, or you don’t work at all, that was forced upon everybody. We were in a way very fortunate that when we set up the business back in 2007, we actually embraced cloud technology. For us to be able to move out of an office at a day’s notice and work without any impact on the business was very fortunate for us. 

I think as we started to have conversations with employees, and there was one particular person, Paul, we were saying to him, “Just imagine you can work from anywhere.” He’s got this wonderful little place that he goes to with his wife, and they go and escape there for the weekend; we kept saying, “Well, you can go there and work from there if you want.” 

Lee: He was talking about commuting there one day to the office we used to have, and it’s like, “Oh, it’s a nightmare.” This came along, and we were saying to him, “You can move to the moon if you want.” So when we heard ourselves say to other people, we thought, “Hang on a minute, we can go as well.” 

Theresa: We do encourage it. One of our ladies recently wanted to go away and see her family in Wales. Of course, because of lockdown, she wanted to go for a period of time. She just decided, “I’m going to go and work there for the week.” There are so many benefits of people being able to go off on holiday but to take extended leave with family and still be productive and work. For us, that was when it hit home, that we could start to live that life that we wanted to have now. 

Who knows what is around the corner? We wanted to enjoy the Lakes while we were still young enough to go off and explore. It’s an amazing opportunity. I can’t believe how lucky we’ve been. 

When you started having some of those conversations and thought of the move, how did your team initially adapt to remote working?  

Theresa: I think first of all it was a novelty. I think it was a novelty for a lot of people at first that they could work from home and just log on. Again, we had the systems in place anyway, so people could just log on straightaway the next morning, but I think it was a novelty at first. Then I think the realisation cut in because people had been at home; they were starting to probably get a bit jaded with the fact that they couldn’t go out and see people. 

Then I think after a period of time, people started to realise the benefits they were getting off the back of it. One of our guys had a lockdown baby, and he started to realise, “Actually, I’m there at bath times; I can go off and play with my little son during the day.” He was taking part in changing nappies and stuff like that. He would never have been able to have that in an office. 

As people started to have their own experiences, like one of our ladies has run a half marathon, she would never have thought to do that, but her commuting time was spent on going out running and fitness and health. I think people have started to realise, “Actually, we could have this all the time.” In a way, it was a very organic process. 

Lee: Our situation was quite unique in that we were in a situation with our lease where we could get out with one day’s notice. I understand that there’ll be some companies that were tied in three or five years or even longer, and those companies may have felt that they had to go back. I think that situation made us think, “Okay, maybe”.  

There must have been a time, and I’m trying to remember when it was, where we had that aha moment of, “Let’s never go back to being in an office every single day, and while we’re at it, let’s move to the Lake District.” If I remember correctly, I think we were slightly more nervous to tell our employees about the move to the Lake District than we were our friends and family. It probably meant more for them. Obviously, we see our friends and family, but probably meant more for them in terms, for them, “That means we’re not going to get an office.” 

Lee: I think mentally, we went through a process of maybe we’ll do that thing where we’ll get some shell of an office and pop back every now and then. As time went on, I don’t think it’s even on the table anymore. We meet up every now and then, but the rest of the time, we just crack on. 

Thinking about clients and candidates, how have they responded to this new, fully remote Resource on Demand team and way of working? 

Lee: I’ve never asked any of them, so I don’t know for sure, but I don’t see that it would make any difference because we weren’t the sort of recruitment company that met candidates or even clients that often. To them, we’ve always been phone, Zoom, occasional meeting in London, but that’s about it. It’s not like we had an office where people came and saw us. The office is just for the recruiters who are on the phone, and they can now do that anyway. 

Theresa: The thing about recruitment is when you’ve been in it as long as we have, after a while, some of those candidates, and also clients, become close friends. We’ve had some positive messages from people via LinkedIn who, when we started to put out on social media that we’ve relocated, just send these amazing messages saying, “Good luck,” and, “We wish you all the best,” and, “This is an amazing journey for you. Just go out and enjoy your life.” 

It has just been supportive. We have had some nice messages from people and quite a lot of people saying, “I wish I could do what you’ve done.” People are saying, “If only I could go and move to the Lakes,” or, “I’ve always wanted to live in Wales,” and places like that. It’s people saying, “I would like to be able to go and do what you’ve done.” 

Theresa: It’s inspiring for people to see, “Well, actually it is possible. It can be done”. I sometimes think while it gets people thinking everybody has different sets of circumstances, but it also gets people thinking about, “If I have done it like Lee and Theresa, what would have to change?” Just the fact that they start thinking about that begins to move people in a direction towards it as well. 

Lee: The clients and candidates may not have been aware that the people that work for ROD now are more willing to ring them out of hours than they would have been in an office. If you’re in an office, it’s 9:00 to 5:30. The candidate or client said, “Can you ring me at 6:00?” There’s no specific example here, but I would imagine some recruiters will think, “No, I want to go home now.” 

Whereas we have the flexible working now and they’re more than happy to take a call or make a call at eight o’clock in the morning or 6:30 at night, even later than that. From a client’s point of view, maybe we’re a bit more accessible than we used to be. 

Theresa: I think when you work in an office environment, and it’s very much 9:00 to 6:00  o’clock or whatever it is, it’s almost like you fit your personal life in and around work. Whereas this way, it’s almost like work fits in and around your personal life. We realised very early on because it impacts us as well that when you’re asking people to work from home, there are other people in their household they’re interacting with. It’s impossible to hold down a 9:00 to 6:00 job when you’ve got other people coming and going. 

We very much realised that if we’re asking people to work from their own homes, we’ve got to be adaptable and make sure that we can offer them the environment that fits in with their hours. That has meant people popping off to watch the little kiddie at a school play or something like that or popping off to the gym, or even putting washing on. It means the weekend is much better quality as well because they do not have to focus on those sorts of stuff. 

Lee: That might come around because we moved up to the Lake District, and someone said to us, it might have even been you, “When the weather’s nice, we’ve got to take advantage and get out there.” We’re sitting here looking out the window, thinking, “Oh, it’s quite sunny today; we should be out there.” That train of thought led us to think, “We should do flexitime because if we want to go out and have a two-hour lunch and it’s nice, we should offer that to everybody else.” As long as you make it up later on or whatever. 

What did you have to put in place to support the team’s transition to remote and now to flexitime? 

Theresa: I think it’s important to say that I don’t think we’ve got it perfect yet and probably it may never be perfect, but I think that the small cons are far outweighed by the pros, of the benefits that people get for their health, from work-life balance, just for being more present with their families. The things that we have had to put in place, things like Zoom calls, is more around the logistics of getting the team together, making sure that we can still be sociable. We can still knowledge share and swap ideas, and collaborate. 

Little things like having a WhatsApp group for everybody, so it’s a quick point of communication during the day and more regular Zoom meetings. We still make sure that we do monthly team individual review meetings, ensuring that we’ve got more training online for people coming into the business. 

From perhaps a hiring point of view, I also think that we’ve had to change our whole recruitment process. We think about that differently, how we market ourselves towards potential employees. There have been some subtle shifts, but I think on the day-to-day, because of the systems that we use and the fact that we’ve got all of the information there, it’s very collaborative, we’ve got tools in place that enable collaboration, that I’d say, hasn’t changed. 

Some really good things that have come off the back of it are the time we spend with people is a bit more focused because it’s booked in the diary. We have to; otherwise, when do people know when to join the Zoom calls? Suddenly it’s not conversations taking place in a corridor; it’s a proper, “Let’s sit, let’s work through these changes.” 

Lee: You give them more of your attention. In the office people walk in when you’re in your office, they walk in, and they want to ask you a quick question. I was never very good at saying no. You’re half doing what you’re doing and half-listening to them. These morning meetings we have at nine o’clock, they’re much, much better than what we used to do when we walked into an office at nine o’clock, “Morning,” and shuffle off to your office, and off you go. 

Whereas now, I think it’s much more pointed a much more, “What’s the plan for the day? Do you need any help with anything?” I don’t think we ever really did that on a day-to-day basis in the office. We had one big meeting a week, but we now have one big meeting every morning. 

Theresa: You still need to have some element of chit-chat because that’s what brings a team together. We’re still getting used to the fact that you have to instigate that kind of conversation, whereas before, they were just done a bit more naturally. 

Theresa: Having to adapt that way but again, it makes you think about it. The Thursday afternoon chats; usually, we talk about rubbish.  

Theresa: We work four day weeks and stuff like that. Thursday afternoon is usually the time that everybody is there for the last time during the week. It just tends to be what’s happening at the weekend, “What are you up to? What’re your plans?” that sort of thing. Then it just descends into an hour of chaos for a little while, but it’s nice because people get to have some of that banter that I think we miss out on. 

It has to be a bit more organised. That’s probably one of the biggest challenges we realised early on; we had to be more organised with those sorts of things. Now that we’ve got into the rhythm of it, it feels more natural. 

Just building on that, what would you say then are some of the other factors that have contributed towards the success of remote working for ROD and having this incredible year in still quite challenging circumstances? 

Lee: The marketplace we’re in is really busy, so that helps, I think. It went quiet for a little bit, but within a matter of a few months, the pendulum swung back, not only to the middle but towards the other side again. Not just because of what we’re going through, but Salesforce and the cloud are more relevant than ever with what’s going on. It’s a busy market, which helps in recruitment. That’s helped us have a good year. We switched our recruitment policy from local and inexperienced junior people because of our location; we are now looking for people with experience. It doesn’t matter where they’re based. As long as they’re in the UK and have the right attitude, those kinds of people can come into the business. In recruitment, you tend to find that you can pick up the technology speak quite quickly. It’s quite exciting for the company moving forward that we are in a crazy growth market. 

Lee: Technically, the restrictions on growth for us, one of the main ones was the location; we picked it so we can’t moan about it. We didn’t want to go to London every day, so we chose this particular part of Kent, but it hindered our growth in terms of finding people that knew how to do recruitment, and that has gone now. That barrier has been removed. I think those two things.  

Theresa: People that we can hire for but even the fact that we offer remote working, we offer flexible working, opens up the spectrum. Like mums returning to work. It’s made it a lot more accessible for them or any parent to be able to juggle childcare and work-life balance 

Theresa: Suddenly again, you’re expanding your horizons a little bit further there. It also means that we could potentially look at branching out into other countries in the future. We’re not just limited by a geographical location or just the fact that we’re in the UK. We could start to look further afield anyway. Being a recruitment company that has covered Europe and Dubai and places like that, that’s quite an exciting opportunity. 

Theresa: It starts to attract a different calibre of employee because they begin to see the potential there. 

There are lots of other things that are starting to generate success. Even just the people that we’ve taken on. I’ve got to give a little shout-out because we’ve recruited three people now since going fully remote. We’ve had to change our recruitment process to make sure we’re finding the right people that are motivated to work from home because they’re equally making it a success because they’re living their best life possible. Those are great success stories because ordinarily, they wouldn’t have had that chance. They would have been forced back into the office or even stuck with travelling expenses; even if you add that up in itself, financially, they’re better off because they don’t have to drive into an office. 

Lee: Also, a little shout-out to our marketing team, which is yourselves, because we obviously relied on you a lot. In the early stages of the pandemic, we probably didn’t think about marketing, but after a while, we started to realise that we had to stay, with your help, of course, we have to stay relevant and front of mind, but without talking about jobs. I think that’s really helped position us in the market as a company that wasn’t going anywhere and were there if you wanted to talk to us. With a few of the podcasts, it was your idea for us to get out there. It’s always good to have a marketing company that can talk to you about a quick shift in your message that quickly, which we did. 

Theresa: Actually, I want to add a point in because one candidate springs to mind in particular. I won’t say their name. We became almost like an agony aunt during the lockdown, and people were coming to us because the message was, “You’re still working, you’re still trading, you’re still doing business as normal.” That was specifically down to marketing. There were so many companies that just shut up shop. I know that we were in danger of it at the beginning, and thank you for talking us out of that. We made ourselves relevant with some of the roundtables that we’ve done with your help. 

Theresa: People saw us as a little beacon of light in the darkness, and they were coming to us. For months and months, we were just taking phone calls from people. 

Theresa: “We just want to talk to someone familiar, someone who understands what we’re going through.” There were some people that we’ve had amazing messages from that have said, “We’re so pleased because we don’t know how we would have got through that period without you.” That is a knock-on effect from the marketing that you guys continued to do for us. 

Theresa: I think also being able to not make it about yourself, and I think that’s what we tried to do during that period. It wasn’t about us; it was about them. It was about their pain, their journey that they were going through, and just being there for other people. Yes, our business was impacted, but in some respect, what people were going through and the ability to be able to help them helped us because it gave us a bit of a kick up the bum and said, “Right, come on, we’ve got to push on through this.” 

At what point did you start to think that this remote working, the flexible working that it’s now evolved into, is the way forward for not just ROD as a business, but for your own lifestyles and what you want for your future?  

Lee: We talked to a lot of companies. A lot of our clients have always been remote. Not the big, big boys, but a lot of the companies we recruit for, have always had this remote model. I don’t know why, but I never really thought that was for us. 

Lee: I grew up in an office environment, and a sales office should be a buzzy office, deals being done and high fives and all that cheesy nonsense. I don’t suppose we would have ever done it if it wasn’t forced upon us, but having it forced upon us, the ridiculous cost savings from having an office and all that sort of stuff; that helped. I don’t know if there’s a particular moment where I could say, “Yes, that’s the day it was like, ‘We’re never going to go back to an office.'” The lifestyle we’re now leading is flexible. 

Theresa: We got a bit more spontaneous as well, which is quite nice. I would add to what Lee was saying that we’ve always been very open and transparent with our employees. We very much care about what they think about the business’s direction and any changes that we’re thinking of introducing.  

We’ve made a point of talking to the guys about what they envisage the business to look like moving forward. It has come out of conversations where people are just saying, “Do you know what? I don’t care about whether we go back into the office. I’m quite enjoying my life right now and the flexibility that it gives me.” We’ve gone from saying, “Well, we’ll make sure we’ll meet up once a month.” To suddenly going well, “Do we need to do that? Because we’re on a Zoom call every day.” Even now, people are going, “Well, I think that’s a bit overkill.” It’s actually about listening to what people want within the business. It has been easy for us to get caught up in what we think is right 

Lee: I also think, digging deeper, the people that worked for us in the office, there was a few of them that we thought for sure would want to go back to an office, and they said they didn’t. It’s then making sure that it’s for the right reasons. Then for us, recruitment is one of those industries where it’s quite easy to track whether someone’s doing their job or not, by and large, KPIs and placements etc. It was easy to fairly quickly flush out if someone was saying they don’t want to go back to the office because they’re working from home and they’ve kind of not. Not that we had any of that. I know from speaking to these clients that we have how they remote manage people, which did help us. 

Lee: Speaking to those companies that you remote manage. In many ways, it’s easier to remote manage than it is when someone’s sat opposite you, in my opinion, because you’re not sitting there every day listening to the reasons and feeling sorry for them. When it’s in black and white, and you’re not there, you can look at the numbers and go, “What is it you’re not doing?” 

Theresa: He said to me one time, and this has always stuck in my head, and probably became more relevant when we started to work remotely was, “It’s about data, not drama.” You can very clearly see whether someone is performing or not, and of course, we were still very supportive. Just because we don’t sit near them at a desk, we still offer that same level of support. The beauty of it is you don’t see the excuses that go on. I would say that that has stopped. People realise now; they don’t have the distractions in the office. They can’t blame someone else for distracting them because people are very much self-sufficient now. Yes, it has kind of taken all of that away, which is amazing because it means we’re less stressed. We have a lot more energy. When we’re sitting in our meetings in the morning, we’re more upbeat and energetic because we haven’t got the drain of that. 

Theresa: Trying to counterbalance negative energy is draining, but we just don’t have any of that anymore. 

Lee: Since not having an office, the sickness record of people has been much improved. I’m not saying we’re pushing people to work when they’re at home and they’re sick. We’d obviously be the first people to say, “You’re ill; go back to bed. Log off.” Maybe in the olden days, if you were feeling a bit groggy, you wouldn’t want to go to work, so that was a day sick. That’s something that, if you’re just looking at the data, has plummeted. 

Sharon: It sounds like there’s a healthier physically and mentally team 

Theresa: You’re a coach Sharon, so you understand that they go hand in hand. If your life isn’t working very well, it has a knock-on effect. 

Theresa: If you can take care of yourself and you put your health first, actually, that means that you can start to look after your family and your relationships and your work and so on. It has a huge impact on your whole life. 

As ROD continues to expand, are there any other considerations that you might need to put in place to continue that growth trajectory that you’re on? Or is it just a case of you keep learning and evolving? 

Lee: I think one of the things we’re going to be doing next year is setting out a bit more of a hierarchy in the business. We used to have, as you know, a sales manager, and then some younger people reporting to that person. It has gone flat in terms of the structure at the moment. When COVID kicked in, Theresa and I jumped straight back in, doing everything. 

Lee: Doing everything we do, which for me, isn’t a lot, but for Theresa, it’s most of the things. Paul came back as a non-billing manager to a biller, and everyone else is a biller. We’re going to get to a point where we need to start promoting leaders, and you can’t do a Zoom call in the morning with 20 little faces on there. It’s hard enough. I think we’ve reached a limit of 10. Even doing this now, we’re talking over each other all the time. We’ve got to split it out a little bit. That would be interesting in 2022.

Theresa: You don’t have the luxury of being able to walk through the office and touch base and catch up with people. This way, in smaller teams, it makes it a lot more manageable. We will definitely focus on how to restructure the company properly. We’re fortunate the space we work in is, again, we do coaching, is you find somebody who does it incredibly well, and you model your business around what works well. I think the onboarding as well is something that we’ll have to improve.  It’s got better each time we’ve taken someone on, but I feel sorry for Nick because he was the first guinea pig for onboarding remotely. We made sure that it’s a two-way conversation. If we’re not doing something, you need to tell us so that we can adjust it. 

Lee: That’s new stress, isn’t it? I think give a shout-out to Natalie here as well because she was the second person we took on remotely. The PC and all of the equipment that was supposed to get to her went on an around-the-world trip before it got to her. Between Theresa and Natalie, they were trying to figure out where it was. It was quite stressful because she was supposed to be starting in a couple of days. 

Theresa: It arrived the day before she was due to start. 

Theresa: From the trustworthy company that can deliver your equipment to employees, that’s number one on the list. You want them to feel valued. You don’t want people starting on the first day, and they don’t even have an email or can’t get access to anything. You try to get stuff sent out in plenty of time, but that was unbelievable. 

Theresa: It’s a little bit out of your control to a certain extent because you give it to this delivery person expecting it to arrive, and it’s like, “Well, where is it?” It was great bonding because we got to know one another really well in the lead up to it. 

How about yourselves? What are your favourite bits of this move to live in the Lakes? 

Theresa: Number one is enjoying something whilst we’re young enough because we always thought it would be a bit of a retirement plan. The fact that we are living here at this stage of our life is just an absolute blessing. I think it has changed our outlook. We’ve gone from being complete and utter workaholics to having a much better work-life balance than we’ve ever had. Being a little bit more hands-off has given us more freedom to actually be more creative because we’re not just driven by a geographical location or an office. 

We don’t feel guilty now if we take a couple of hours off in the morning because we know we’re at our most creative when we’re out walking; that’s always been the case for us. I get other people have different outlets for creativity. We come up with our best plans of action when we’re going off for a long stroll. Now we can do it during the working day, and it becomes part of our work rather than the need to separate time out of the office. It’s been an absolute blessing. 

Lee: You move so far away from everything you’ve ever known, you’ve got to try and put yourself out there, especially if you work from home because you’re not going to get to meet coworkers. Obviously, you work from home in a place you don’t know anybody. Even though we’re busy and workaholics, one of our plans was to get out there and do some volunteering, whatever it is you can do in the Lake District. I just happened to search for volunteering opportunities and noticed Lake District Radio looking for presenters. I was picturing myself probably doing litter picking or something. I didn’t expect it to be that.  

Theresa: You’re the voice of RODcast; it’s a natural progression. 

Lee: I think the things like the fell walking; we always liked to do long walks as you know, with all the challenges we’ve done over the years. Now living in the middle of it, it’s nice to go when the weather is nice; we also do a bit of open water swimming now. All these things that I used to think other people did. Other people that I didn’t really like if I’m honest. 

Lee: But now that’s what we do. Yes, that’s great. Living in the middle of a tourist area, when the sun is shining, it is so tempting to log off and go outside. 

Lee: The minute Lockdown 1 stopped, and people were allowed to come and see you, you’d gone from a year of just the two of us, nice and quiet and, “Isn’t this nice.” The flood gates are open, and everyone’s on holiday when you’re trying to work. That’s a challenge as well. 

Where can people find out more about Resource on Demand? 

Theresa: There are so many channels. Thanks to our marketing team you guys, they’ve made sure that we’ve got something everywhere. If people want to find out about what we offer as a service, go to the website Resource on Demand or there is; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. We also have our podcast on iTunes, Spotify and Google podcasts.

Lee: JustGiving too; we’re planting trees now for every placement we make. Not literally, but someone is planting trees. 

Theresa: We’re offsetting our carbon and with every placement we make, we will now plant trees to help combat climate change. We also do offer careers coaching. Again, all of these things can be found on various social media platforms; we’re all over them. Recruiters thinking about a lifestyle change; we’ve got an amazing Working With Us page on our website so they can find out more. 

Lee: Plus the podcast that’s out there from wherever you get your podcasts. 

Lee: There are not hundreds of them; they’re people who are in my mind, absolute legends in the Salesforce space. Rather than have a recruiter telling you what you should and shouldn’t do for your next move or whether you should take their counter offer or not, listen to people in the industry that have been around a bit. 

Is there anything that I haven’t asked you that you think would be great for people to know about what makes remote working a success or how you’ve made it a success, or anything else that you’d like to share as we draw to a close?  

Theresa: The only thing I would probably say is to keep an open mind. As a business owner, I know that people are tied into leases, but it’s seeing opportunity and keeping an open mind to that because I think we are all stuck in our habits because we’re just creatures of habit. 

Theresa: We just naturally fall into patterns. I think just being able to keep an open mind. Whatever opportunity comes along, just look for the opportunity in it. I think that’s probably the biggest thing because whilst we stupidly had all of the systems in place to be able to work remotely, it was only when push came to shove that it happened. Actually, we fully embraced it. We’ve taken it with both hands and tried to run with it. It’s just having that ability to be a bit open-minded. 

Lee: I think also when you’re working from home, there’s a fine line between feeling guilty if you put the washing on or do something that you might consider to be, “Oh wait, this is a chore I should be doing in the evening,” or the weekend or something. Give yourself a break. When planning your day, try and plan something for you, something like that walk at lunchtime or go in that coffee shop. I am a coffee addict, so I make sure we walk out every day to one of the many hundreds of lovely coffee shops we can get to.

I get grumpy if we don’t do it because I have to feel like I’m getting out. Have a little mooch around. Get a coffee, come back. Otherwise, because you’re working from home, it’s data over drama. People might be thinking, “I’ve got to show that I’m working and the only way to show I’m working is output,” but don’t feel guilty for blocking in an hour or maybe even more if you’ve got flexitime to go and have a walk, clear your head at the gym, watch your kids do something at school, whatever it is. That would be my tip.  

Theresa: Being able to create a boundary between work and home as well because you are in your home, it’s so important not to let work spillover. Don’t be frightened to switch off the mobile phone when you’ve finished at the end of the day. You don’t have to be reading emails or taking phone calls outside of the hours that you work. Don’t be frightened of switching off those devices; put them aside. We have one mobile phone, but we give a separate mobile phone to our employees purposely so that we know that they can switch it off at the end of the day because you’ve got to create a boundary. You can’t let the two spillover. 

Lee: I suppose that’s communication. We’ve had this with some clients where they’re almost expecting their employees because they’re working from home to be accessible all the time. If anyone’s looking to move jobs, ask upfront, “What are the boundaries?” “If you email me, Mr Boss, at 10:30pm, are you expecting a response?” Because you’re looking at 10:30 doesn’t mean that everyone else has to, because bosses probably will be working at 10:30 in some places. 

How We Can Help 

We have been working with Lee and Theresa for years to enable them to get their brand out and into the market. If you would our help to do the same drop us an email.

We have many clients on track for their best year ever because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we provide. If you want a quick chat to see how Superfast Circle can work for you, book your call and demonstration here. 

The post Resource on Demand A Year of Remarkable Remote Recruiting appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Today, we’re talking about multichannel marketing and how it could change your impact next year.  

[As usual, this is a direct transcription for your benefit. Please excuse any rogue typing errors.]  

This particular podcast is continuing our series on different ideas, techniques, tactics and strategies that you want to deploy next year as you market your recruitment and staffing organisation. 

If there’s ever a time to download our checklist, it’s now. If you’ve already got a copy or a recent copy, because we updated it a couple of months ago, then print it off and assess where you are now. That will help to highlight the areas where you’re succeeding and areas where you probably need a little bit more work. 

It’ll give you a sense of what you need to do now. You can find that by going to superfastrecruitment.co.uk/mcl. Also, there are various places on the Superfast Recruitment website where you can download this.  

Let’s get into talking about multichannel marketing. Whenever I think about this, I always think about a famous Harry Nilsson song. Now, you may not know Harry Nilsson for some of the younger listeners.  

He wrote one of the most famous songs of all time, “Without You.” He also wrote another number called “One.” I always have it going around in my head when I’m talking to people or teaching multichannel marketing. One of his songs was “One.” It was, “One is the loneliest number,” and it most certainly is when it comes to marketing.  

Why Should I Use Multichannel Marketing?  

It most certainly is when it comes to marketing your recruitment company. For many of you listening to this podcast, you probably think, “I use LinkedIn, so it’s fine, Denise. I don’t need to do anything else, and we’ve got the phone.” I suppose you could say that’s two channels that you’re using. However, in today’s market, you will need to do more than that to stand out in front of your candidates and your clients. 

Why the big push around multichannel? Let me take you back. I’m only going there for a short time. I’m going to take you back to 2020. Suppose you remember that fateful weekend when we all realised that we weren’t going to be able to go anywhere. Many of us jumped on Zoom and did the Zoom quizzes and other things. Also, what happened is people went onto social media in droves. 

I think even LinkedIn recorded a phenomenal increase in the volume of people that were registered on the site. It’s now well over 700 million. For the first time, Facebook broke the 3.2 million ceiling of members. Similarly, with Instagram, YouTube had its best months ever. Not surprisingly, people were going on there looking at videos. When you consider all of this, you realise that people were, and are, using multiple channels. 

It Gives You Credibility and Authority  

Because of that, your audience is everywhere. When it comes to making an impact with the leads you have and the people you want to bring in, it makes a huge difference to your credibility and authority when you are seen on multiple channels. Even though you may think, “Nah, my market isn’t on Facebook,” or “Ah, my market isn’t on Instagram.”, it must be. 

I know some of my old neighbours are on Instagram. You would not have thought that they would be the sort of individuals to do that. Remember that, when you can be in front of your market consistently, sharing value, being present and demonstrating your authority, you will be streets ahead of people that are just on one channel or just that person that picks up the phone and sends the odd random email, which still happens for some recruiters. 

It Allows You To Stand Out

If you are in front of more people in more places in different ways, that will make a huge impression on your market, and your brand awareness will start to go through the roof.  

Before I share a few strategies, as you’re implementing the strategy, think about the fact that when people see you in multiple places, they feel that you are much bigger and more relevant to them than they ever appreciated in the past. 

At the same time, because people are being touched in multiple ways on multiple platforms, this approach accelerates and compounds everything you’re doing.  

I don’t know about you, but when I see an advert somewhere and suddenly, I get retargeted, and I see an ad. I realise that this person’s on Instagram, this person’s on Facebook, this person’s on LinkedIn, this person’s on Google, they’re stalking me around every website that I go on. 

Once I start to experience that, I don’t consider it a negative. I think, “Hmm, this person’s doing their marketing well.” It wakes me up to go and look at that brand because I think, “Oh, they’re on Instagram, they’re here, they’re wherever, maybe I should just go and check out the website.” 

We experience when we have run a campaign on LinkedIn or Facebook a lot more visits to our website because people are starting to see more and more of us, and they go and check us out. 

This is available for you in your market too. 

The last 12 months have been a challenging time regarding candidate acquisition. Remember, your candidates will be everywhere. They will be on Instagram; they will be on LinkedIn; they’ll be on all these different channels. Depending on which sector you’re working in, they might even be on TikTok. Think about this as you plan your strategy. 

How Do I Use Multichannel Marketing?  

Let’s look at the strategy around multichannel and what you need to think about. 

The first thing is, remember, you now have the ability, when you use multiple channels, to always be in front of your client or candidate, at the right time, in the right way for them. 

For example, let’s talk about only relying on email for candidates.  If you’re sending an email, let’s say it’s a candidate email you’re sending out to a Gmail or Hotmail address. I have an email address that I use for my personal communication, and I don’t go into it every day.  

That might be the same for your candidates as well. If you were relying on email alone, there might be an issue. If you are in front of them on Instagram or Facebook, that will make a difference because you are there. You’re interacting; you’re showing that you want their business because you are on different channels. 

Remember, let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater here because multiple channels can also mean the phone. It can also mean a networking event; it could also be a local BNI meeting; it can also be a local IOD meeting because you’re everywhere. It could be PR in your local newspaper, on your local radio station, whatever that might be for you, remember, be everywhere, and it’s so easy to do these days. 

It Increases Your Brand Awareness  

From what we just said, brand awareness is key; no matter what you think, people love a good brand. By being on multiple channels, the more your brand is out there, the more likely people are to find you and remember you because you’re constantly around. As an aside, a little Denise story here for you. 

I’ve been fascinated watching the recent launch of Adele’s new CD, download, whatever you want to call it.  

Adele didn’t allow her music to be streamed back in the day, but now she does. It’s been fascinating watching the whole launch of her new album and how that is now on multiple channels because I’m even on her email list. Believe it or not, she uses good old Mailchimp to email out, but she’s done something on ITV; she’s done something in the US. 

She’s all over Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and I noticed a few people had shared things around the recent audience with Adele that ITV did.  

When you look at how somebody launches a huge brand like that and they do it on multiple channels, it shows you the impact it can have. The benefits, I’m sure you’re getting a sense now that they’re going to be there for you. 

The more touchpoints you can build into a process with someone, the better because, the more places they see, the more they believe you are the person to work with. 

I was reading some research on the Lead Forensics blog, which is useful for some of the benefits and the data people see around multichannel marketing. 

They said that businesses that use more than four digital channels will outperform those using a single channel by upwards of 300%. If that doesn’t convince you to be in more places, in multiple ways, nothing will.  

In some ways, it’s better to make sure you have a consistent brand image, a consistent message that goes out, so people feel familiar with it. There is no point being super, super quirky on Instagram, and mister or miss conservative on LinkedIn; you need the same approach across all channels. 

One of the many benefits now is there are, of course, multiple automation tools that you can use that will help you do this. It’s not going to be mega difficult. 

You write your social media, or in the case of our Circle clients, we create social media for them that they can tweak. Still, for you, if you write social media, then you can share it on Instagram, you can share it on LinkedIn, you can share it down your LinkedIn company page.  

There are so many opportunities for you to be in front of your market. If there is one thing I would say that could shift your impact next year, it is to get in front of your customers in more places, in more ways. 

It works. 

We still have our offer for Superfast Circle. We’ve got a new version to support your marketing by providing collateral for you and the consultancy and all the training you need. It is a one-stop-shop with us these days. If you want to know more, there is still time to get in touch. We are not finishing till the middle of next week. 

 

Thanks, 

Denise 

 

How We Can Help 

We have many clients on track for their best year ever because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we provide. If you want a quick chat to see how Superfast Circle can work for you, book your call and demonstration here. 

The post Why Multichannel Marketing Will Be A Game Changer For You Next Year appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Many recruitment companies have used the ‘less is more’ approach when it comes to investing in marketing their business compared to investing in staff.

The perception is that staff can generate a greater ROI than marketing, though is that true?

In today’s podcast, we are delighted to introduce our guest speaker Rhys Jones of Davidson Gray. Following a hugely successful career building recruitment businesses, Rhys is now an investor in recruitment companies and mentors business owners as they look to grow and expand.

Rhys invites listeners to think again as you plan your marketing investment and explains how investing in marketing will enhance the ROI you gain from everyone on your team.

https://www.davidsongray.co.uk/

The post Why Investing in Marketing is more important than Investing in Staff – Guest Podcast with Rhys Jones appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Something happened today that I thought would be useful to share. It relates to a couple of conversations we’ve had with potential clients and a conversation with a relatively new client of ours in Superfast circle.  

[Excuse any strange typing errors as this is a direct transcription for your benefit.] 

The topic is what bait do you need to use to catch a Whale versus a Minnow. I do love a good fishing analogy, don’t I?  

It is recognised in the fishing world: if you want to attract bigger fish, you need different bait than the bait you use to attract small fish.  

Isn’t it logical, and isn’t it funny how these patterns play out in life across the board?  

So here is something to think about; what level of clients and candidates do you want to attract versus the marketing strategies you are using? 

 

Does Your Brand Communicate How Good You Are? 

Let me give you two scenarios here that we experienced recently. This morning we were on a call with our Superfast Circle clients.  

One client has a specific niche, and he is using a strategy that works incredibly well that we share in our membership.  

He was telling us about the type of clients that he wanted to attract. Fundamentally, it is the whale type of client, in other words, a bigger SME or corporate client. 

We started to discuss with him all the different things that he could do because the reality is that if you want to attract a bigger client, you need to speak into the needs of that bigger client and come across in a certain way.  

Here is one of my personal experiences that explains it well. 

When I first joined the pharmaceutical industry, I was a bit of a hippie. I know that may seem odd. For those of you that have seen me, I did once have very long hair.  

I got a job in a corporate organisation selling pharmaceuticals. Stuart Kearney was my first ever sales manager; he told me how I needed to clean my shoes and that I needed to dress in a slightly different way on my first day on the job. 

I thought, “Oh well, fair enough.” 

I went out to see consultants and pharmacists in the NHS who were a little bit different back in the day. They were very conservative, so I needed to give myself some form of authority and credibility. At the time, I was a new, inexperienced graduate. I needed to do everything I could to make sure that I stood out to potential clients. 

It is the same when it comes to marketing. Stand out to your client. 

If you want to stand out in the market and be in front of bigger clients, make sure that your marketing materials, marketing collateral, everything you do and say are at a different level because otherwise, you will not make the impact you want. You’re more likely to switch them off.  

Yes, I know we are all connected individuals. We are all human beings on the planet. We are all very green, or we try to be. However, think about the strategies that you use when you are attracting a bigger client. 

Now, our client gets this. He has got some great ideas he can use along with the content we provide. 

Contrast this with an individual Sharon spoke to a couple of weeks ago who also wants to attract whale clients; however, his website is amateur, which he has no desire to change. 

For some reason, he could not see that his brand impression was wrong for the client he wanted to attract.  

He shared several things in the conversation that I will not go into now, which indicated he was out of alignment. 

Certain business owners fascinate me when they want to charge big fees, and yet their business is limping along on free software. 

Yet obviously, we were having a conversation with him. He wanted some advice, and we were giving him advice that he had completely the wrong strategy around attracting the type of client he now wished to attract. 

What about you: Is your strategy aligned with who you want to attract? 

 

The Holiday Restaurant Scenario 

Think about the needs, desires, and wants of your current avatar.  

Are you speaking into that? Are you communicating value to them all the time that will help them move from one scenario to the next so that they can either move their talent building or their career forward?  

Think about the authority that you are communicating. Think about your personal brand. We have lots of content on the Superfast Recruitment website around personal branding about the content you should be sharing.  

All these things will make a massive difference to the impact that you make with your client. 

It is human nature. 

Have you ever been on holiday and walked past a restaurant because it did not look good enough? 

Yes, me too. 

Maybe clients and candidates are doing this to you too. 

As you plan your approach remember, as a rule, when you are going after that whale client, they will not convert straight away. You need to have a process dialled in; it might take six months to a year to land a big client. 

What are some things that you will map out and plan as you connect with these people and start nurturing them through to conversion? 

A slightly shorter podcast today, but one that is important for you as you plan moving forward. 

 

Thanks,  

Denise 

 

Important: We Have a Time-Sensitive Offer in December 

Finally, a shout out to those of you who are considering joining Superfast Circle next year. We have a special offer on now, so get in contact with one of us. We have updated all the content that we provide, all the resources. We even have a private podcast. You can have me in your ear every week, giving you ideas and strategies.  

Contact one of us if you want to know more. The offer will end as we move into January next year.  

Drop a line to Sharon [at] Superfastrecruitment.co.uk, if you want to know more, we will set up a call, and we can have a quick chat to see if this is a fit for you.  

 

How We Can Help 

We have many clients on track for their best year ever because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we give them. If you want a quick chat to see how Superfast Circle can work for you, book your call and demonstration here. 

The post Whale Versus Minnow Bait: Be Careful What You Use appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Welcome to Episode 427 of the Recruitment Marketing and Sales podcast. I’m recording this as we approach the end of June, which, for those of us in the UK, US, Canada, Europe, and Europe, is the end of Q2 in our calendar year. For multiple listeners in Australia, it’s the end of your business year.

When Sharon spoke to many Australian NPA members at their event in Marbella, they were talking about the end of the year and how things had gone as they reviewed their results, ready to plan for next year.

[This is a direct podcast transcription, so please excuse rogue typos!]

The end of a quarter and the end of a year is always a good time to sit down and review where you are. One of the challenges for smaller businesses is that we don’t automatically do that as a process.

Particularly if we think things haven’t gone as well as we wanted!

Rather than sitting down, looking at the data, and asking.

• What did we do?
• What didn’t we do?
• What do we want to do next?”

We often avoid it, and this is where the problems start.

It doesn’t matter the size of your business. Whether turning over six or seven figures, you have to sit down and look at what’s working and what isn’t working. That’s the premise of today’s podcast.

Let’s discuss your plans, what’s happened this year, throughout the year, or the first six months, and what you want to do next.

What I’ve got is seven questions for you, seven areas that I want to cover that are useful.

Take half a day, or even go wild and take a full day. Bring in people from your team who will be involved, sit down, and go through these questions together.

1. What Are Your Goals For This Year?

I’m a great universe girl; the universe responds to people who pay attention. If you pay attention to what’s happening in your business, you can move forward.

Number one is, let’s look at your goals for this year. We are discussing marketing here, but marketing and sales are your business’s drivers and growth engines.

From a marketing point of view, consider what goals you had this year.

These are all the outputs you wanted, but I recommend looking at some of the inputs that will create the outputs around your goals.

Maybe it was, “Okay, we want to bring on board X new clients,” depending on the size of your business. I know that some of you only need half a dozen clients to give you multiple roles, and that will provide you £/$200,000, £/$300,000 a year, and that’s what you want. For others, it’s going to be more than that.

Just make sure you’ve got a list of the actual goals you set this year. Some of you may be new to setting goals; for some, your goals may have been completely off or either too low or too high to achieve.

We often get very excited about our goals and think, “Right, I want to get this goal done,” it’s just not possible from where you are starting and with your current resources.

This leads to point two: wants versus expectations.

2. What Did You Want/Expect To Achieve?

Now, number two, that aligns with this is, what did you want, and I like this word as well, /expect to achieve? Because there’s always this thing in our life.

We get what we expect, but it is not always what we want. If you went into the situation expecting it not to work, then surprise, surprise, it doesn’t work. It’s interesting. Sharon had a call with somebody a few days ago who’s considering working with us.

This individual asked, “Well, what if it doesn’t work?” We always tell people to go in with the expectation that this will work; it does, provided you do.

The system we support our clients to use has been tested for over 17 years with all our various clients, and it will work as long as people put the work in. What did you expect versus what did you want to achieve?

3. What Worked Well and Why?

That then links us to number three, where we start to look at the data and review things because let’s focus on the positive first. As business owners, we are always looking at that gap; we’re always looking at things that we haven’t done, but instead, look at what worked well and why. If that worked well, why don’t we do more of it?

I was listening to a Frank Kern video. For those of you who don’t know Frank Kern, he’s a bit of a godfather in the internet marketing world; he has been around for 25 years. He’s a lovely guy.

One of Frank’s favourite topics is the fundamentals. I can’t do a Southern Georgia accent, but he always talks about the fundamentals and doing more of them because that’s what works.

Many people forget the fundamentals.

Here is something a client said to me the other day; “When I do more reach-outs on LinkedIn, that works. If I stick to my KPIs, well, that works too ”

Inputs don’t work overnight, but they do build over time. Think about the things you did that worked well.

We have had several clients set up cold outreach campaigns. We did a whole session on this at our Superfast Circle event at the end of last year. Several people jumped on the process and did multiple things.

Did they get massive results during the first couple of months? No, but these are starting to kick in now because there’s a clue in the title. If you are doing cold outreach, these people don’t know you and need much more contact with you.

Now, they are starting to get results. People are returning to them, but they put that process in place, and things are working well. Consider, “What am I doing that’s starting to work?”

4. Where are We Off Plan, and What Didn’t Work?

Next, I want to share where we are off-plan and what didn’t work. Combine those. Now, they are similar.

It could be, “I’m off plan because we landed a client, and I’ve got engrossed with filling several roles.” That happens. Hopefully, that does happen.

That could be one reason you’re off-plan. Why haven’t things worked? Maybe it’s because you haven’t implemented them correctly, done enough of them, or given them time.

Marketing can take time.

In nearly every webinar and workshop we deliver, we share the points of contact theory that sometimes people need 20 or 30 points of contact in today’s marketplace. In a B2B setting, before they make a purchase, they need to know you, like you, and trust you before money changes hands. It just might be that you haven’t given that process long enough.

You might only use one channel to communicate your brand when you need to post more in the current market.

If you’re only using one channel, you will have problems. For instance, if you’re only sending the odd random email, you’re not posting on social media, you’re not reaching out and finding new contacts, you’re not mining your current database, if you’re not doing multiple strategies, then that will be a gap for you.

5. Am I Putting In Enough Effort?

Sometimes, this one is a bit uncomfortable, and it’s a question that must be asked: “Am I putting in enough effort?”

This is a question we have to ask ourselves, and occasionally, we might come up with an answer that we don’t like to hear, like, “Well, I probably could be doing more.”

I’m not saying you have to work seven days a week. However, sometimes, in a particular situation, you need to focus your time, get focused, and put in the effort on the right things, which are your key business drivers to make a difference.

If you are completely stretched, then maybe it’s time to review how you are allocating your time, hire somebody, or come and work with people like us who can provide many things that help with your time and implementation.

Ask yourself the uncomfortable question, “Am I doing enough?” This is a reflective question: “Could I be doing more?” Are you allowing yourself to get distracted by different things?

Is your focus on the areas of the business that shift the needle? Or are you getting involved with the type of font you use on your images or whether you’ve got exactly the right colour match? It’s focusing on the things that matter and putting in the effort to start building things. That’s just the uncomfortable question we all have to ask ourselves.

6. What Are Your Key Business Drivers This Quarter?

We were chatting with one of our clients this week about how she’s got a busy business and a busy personal life. She’s coming up to the summer when her daughters are at home and have lots of things to do, such as socializing and business. One of the things we were chatting about with her is that she’s solo; what is the one thing she can do next quarter?

It’s less than that for her, but what can she do in the next six weeks to improve her key business driver?

I have a question for you:  “What are three things you can do in the next 90 days that will impact your key business driver?”

If you’re unclear about key business drivers, we’ve recorded two or three podcasts about this; just put that into the search bar on the Superfast blog, and you will find them.

A key business driver is what makes a difference. Now, it might be that your key business driver is to have a face-to-face, Zoom, or Teams meeting with a client because lots of recruiters are very good at selling. Once they talk to somebody, that makes a difference.

The key business driver might be, “I need to make sure that we have systems and processes in place so that I am having at least X number of new client meetings a week.”

It depends on the size of your business and your conversion rate; you will know your numbers. For most people, it will be, “I need to have X number of client meetings. Out of those client meetings, I will convert at least 70%, 80% of them,” which is not unusual for recruiters that we speak to.

It might be from a candidate’s perspective that one of the things that you do is register new candidates. You or your resource consultant will reach out, and you agree on how many candidates they need to speak to, which is a key business driver.

We are heading into July in a few days; what will be your key business driver for this quarter?

7. Stop Complaining and Work Your Plan

Number seven, I’ve got some ideas for you to consider. The first thing to do is stop complaining about the market.

It’s frustrating, AND people are fed up hearing about it.

You are in a volatile market at the moment. Sharon listened to Hung Lee speak about this at the team conference recently.

Don’t assume this market is going to go away. It’s challenging at the moment, and it’s going to be like that for a while. The economy is all over the place. The birth rate is lower. The amount of money put into education and the growth and development of people hasn’t been as high as it should have been, so there aren’t as many skilled candidates.

How are you going to tackle all of that? Just be aware that complaining doesn’t help.

Identify the issues that are going on and then consider, “What are the solutions to these problems? What solutions do I need to implement?”

The other end of the spectrum is, stop beating yourself up. We all make mistakes in business, we all have rough times, and we all know that we probably have not worked as hard as possible.

Maybe we’ve had a few too many holidays. We’ve spent some money on software that hasn’t been implemented how we want, but we just let all that go. You’re a human being having a human experience. Stop beating yourself up, and instead, channel your energy to say, “That was then, this is now. What’s next? What actions am I going to take?”

The human being is such an amazing thing. We, as individuals, can achieve so much. We are success-seeking creatures. When you think about the ideas, the innovations we’ve come up with, and how we have managed to survive some of the things that have gone on in the world, it is just phenomenal.

If you’re having a rough time in business, it is just a drop in the ocean compared to what you can achieve and what you can do.

If you get focused and start doing the boring work that delivers results over the next few quarters, you will see an amazing shift in your results.

Thanks

Denise

How We Can Help You

We support our Superfast Circle clients in designing their plans with effective strategies that work. If you want a conversation about how we can help, book a quick call here.

 

The post Recruitment Marketing: Getting Ready For Your Next Quarter appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Today’s topic is warming up your market. Now, for some of you, that may be candidates, and for others, clients. [As usual, excuse any strange typing errors as this is a direct transcription for your benefit.]

However, if you’re new here, welcome.

If you haven’t downloaded our marketing checklist yet, go to www.superfastrecruitment.co.uk/mcl; it’ll take you to a page where you can give us your name and email address, and then we’ll send you a list of questions. There are 30 in total, and it helps you assess exactly where you are on your journey, so I suggest you do that.

Let’s start talking about warming up your market.

We’ve had a lot of conversations about this recently. Last week, we were in the Lake District running our first live event in two years.

It was pretty emotional, and that was because we’ve not been able to run live events. So we had a group of our Superfast Circle members attend, and we did a real deep dive on some different ways of standing out in their sectors, which I think they all appreciate.

As I record this, we have something like five weeks until Christmas, and we have something called a six-week sprint, which we’ve just entered, and it helps people with their implementation. The topic of lead generation and warming up cold prospects has been happening over the last ten days, so I thought it would be good to share some ideas for you guys around warming up your market.

The Right Message at the Right Time

First of all, let’s put some context around the individuals you want to market to and warm-up, for want of a better word, because context is really important for marketing. That is the right message to the right person at the right time.

As I’m recording this, we’re heading towards the end of the year and Christmas. I don’t know about you; I love Christmas. I think I get more pleasure out of actually buying Christmas presents for people than I do receiving them because I love to have that reaction from people, where they say, “Oh, I wasn’t expecting that,” or “Oh, crikey, I didn’t realise you knew that I liked X, Y, Z,” because I like to put a little bit of thought into mine.

It’s the same, with everything; find out what people want and give it to them.

It is key to connect with someone to understand their challenges, what’s going on for them, and where you can best serve them.

That’s the case when it comes to your market, be it a candidate or a client. If you have not identified your ideal target avatar or ideal target candidates, then it’s a great idea to do that. There’s plenty of information on the Superfast Recruitment website around avatar here.

Before you do anything, don’t waste your time trying to warm up an individual that isn’t right for you. Make it contextual so that when you start this process, it will work with the right person.

Provide Value

The first strategy is to provide value to this individual, be that candidate or client. Content is a great way to do that. There’s a reason why content marketing has exploded because we are in a knowledge-seeking society now, and people want to check you out, they want some help, they want some ideas. There are multiple ways that you can do this.

A)    Add Value via Your Blog

First of all, you need a blog page on your website so that if people come across you randomly, or they’re searching for, let’s say, a sales recruiter in Birmingham, you will come up on their radar. Then they go on to your website, and they’re going to see lots and lots of valuable content that can help that individual, let’s say it’s a candidate that wants to move roles or wants to accelerate their sales career.

B)     Send Them a Report

Now, you can provide value on your blog, and you can provide value on social media. Also, you can send them a report that might be useful. This is something that our Superfast Circle clients do because we write this for them.

You can send a report to a client or candidate that adds value. It’s based on the influencing strategy by Robert Cialdini, and that’s about reciprocity; I give you something, you give me something. Somebody might give their name or email address, but automatically, there’s a connection and a feeling between two individuals, where one person’s providing something of value for the other.

That’s something really easy to be doing. Whilst other people are maybe slowing down towards Christmas, I’m ramping up because I want to be on that person’s radar when they are starting to look around.

If you notice what people tend to do in December, they begin to re-evaluate their life, re-evaluate their career, re-evaluate how they’re going to grow their organisation.

They start researching online, and this is a great time for you to be on their radar. Don’t be taking your foot off the gas, be pressing it down!

Use Video

The other thing I would do, and this works incredibly well, is to use video. Now, the way our brains are wired means we can process visual imagery and media much more easily than we can the written word.

We were having a conversation with our circle of clients about this the other day; the thing about video is, when you are looking into a camera and having a conversation with someone, it’s almost personal.

It’s one of the best ways to have a conversation with someone; if you can’t be with them physically, then have a conversation through video. The easy way to do this is to drop them a video.

Now, the way that our brains process information is that we love visual, we love auditory, and we love the sensation that it gives us. It’s called feeling; the scientific term is kinesthetic. If we can hit all of those different senses, which we are with video, it has an increased impact.

Imagine if you’re a candidate, you’ve been thinking about;

• Should I move or,
• what could I do next year?
• Maybe it’s time for me to move my career on?

…… and you get an email that drops into your inbox with a video.

The person on the video seems to know and understand what you are going through they look professional; what do you think your candidate is now thinking?

I suggest something like; they seem genuine I will call them or drop them an email.

Social Proof

The third thing is to use social proof.

We now live in a review society. I would imagine that when you go on to Amazon – I know I’ve been doing a lot surfing on Amazon in the last few weeks as I’ve been buying Christmas presents and various other things for the business – I will go and check out the reviews.

If I can see that someone’s got quite a lot of 4 or 5-star reviews and there’s more of them, I’m more likely to click purchase when making that value decision.

It’s the same in every walk of life, particularly in a B2B environment, because when you invest a lot of money, you want to make sure what you are doing is ‘right’.

After all, you don’t want to make a mistake. I know it’s crazy, but many of us are very scared about making mistakes. What we need is some validation that our ideas and decisions are correct.

A great way to warm up your market is to share with them a testimonial or a case study of someone like them. If they can see somebody sharing their experience, whatever that might be, if it’s male or female, and they are sharing the results that you got for them as a recruiter, that will make a massive difference.

I’ve started to work with a couple of people from a mentoring point of view myself. The reason that I decided to press go is that I’d seen the type of results they were getting for somebody else, who, surprise surprise, was very like me.

If you are not using case studies, testimonials, or reviews in your marketing, particularly to warm up your market, then put that as an action now.

Here you have the easy ways to start warming up your market; provide value for them on your website, give them something to download, drop them a video.

Then share a case study or a testimonial. You’ll be astounded how easy delivering these three ideas is and what a difference it will make for you and your business.

How We Can Help

We have many clients on track for their best year ever because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we give them. If you want a quick chat to see how Superfast Circle can work for you, book your call and demonstration here.

Thanks,

Denise

The post 3 Easy Ways To Warm Up Your Candidate and Client Market appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Today I want to talk about cold emailing and the catastrophic mistakes you might be making, which might surprise you. I’m going to get into that in a second. If you are new here, welcome. For probably 95% of all the podcasts we have recorded, there is a transcription over on the Superfast Recruitment website.

If you go to superfastrecruitment.co.uk/blog, you will find a transcription of this specific podcast. [Excuse any rogue typing errors as this is a direct transcription for your use.]

It’s important to look at these specific mistakes because I suspect you are doing some of them, and they’re quite easy to rectify, and you will be amazed at the difference it will make to you. Also, while you’re over there on the website, download a copy of our marketing checklist. For this, go to www.superfastrecruitment.co.uk/mcl.  It will help you from an audit perspective.

This is a time to be thinking about your marketing, and it’s always good to start with an audit; where am I now versus where I want to be? Make sure you download our report.  You can also get it by going to superfastrecruitment.co.uk/mcl.

Let’s talk about cold emailing. For those of you that are a bit cynical about emailing or have never implemented this strategy before, let me remind you that email marketing is still THE marketing strategy that will deliver the highest ROI of anything that you do when it comes to marketing.

Obviously, you need to have that list of people to email in the first place, and there are many ways to do that, which we’ve shared in different posts and podcasts.

Today I want to talk a little bit more about cold emailing. The concept of cold emailing is, you send an email to someone you may not have engaged with before, you may have seen them on LinkedIn, or you may know their company.

However, you haven’t entered into a dialogue with them, and you haven’t sent an email to them. That’s the context of cold emailing. From a GDPR perspective, you can still send a cold email out to an individual you haven’t been in connection with before, provided it’s a company email and provided you give them the option to unsubscribe.

Because the whole context of this is that it is a marketing email, this is about increasing your business, increasing your revenues, and it is something known as legitimate interest. Let’s just get that one off the table for anyone thinking, “Oh, I don’t feel 100% about doing it”.

So let me share a number of emailing mistakes we see happening.

1.      You’re Not Using Cold Emailing in The First Place

The first mistake is not using cold emailing in the first place. As many of you know, we run a specific marketing training and coaching program where we do a number of different things with our clients, one of which is that we support them around implementing their marketing. One strategy we always suggest that they do is look at cold emailing. Many of these individuals purchase email databases; they use these emails. We have a specific member in our circle membership who purchased a database, and literally within the first one or two emails (that we’ve written for them) that they send, they get business.

What if you could do that next year? You can find a list of people. There’s plenty of ways to do that. You could then just email, get some engagement going, and get into a dialogue with these people. That’s the first thing.

2.      You Only Send One Email

The second mistake that people make is they just send one email. It’s no wonder that emailing gets a bad rap sometimes, and people refer to the fact that they’ve been ‘spammed’.

On numerous occasions, I’ve had writers email me about work. They’ll send me an email, and then I never, ever get a follow-up. Sometimes I look and I think, “That CV looks okay, actually”. Yet they never bother sending me a second or third email asking me if I received the first email, and what did I think?

Is there an opportunity to have a conversation? There have been many of these individuals I probably would have given a job to, but anyway, there you go!

I think it just shows you what some people are like. They do not have a campaign. This is why it’s really important. On the Superfast Recruitment website, you’ll see various podcasts that I’ve recorded about how important it is to have a campaign.

When it comes to cold emailing, write a campaign, have at least three emails. You’ve heard me talk about the power of three before. Send at least three emails to people with who you want to engage with.

Then there’s a fair chance they will have opened that email, and they will have read it, and they might have even followed the call to action that you’ve suggested to them, which we’re going to come on to later. Of course, you can pick the phone up and speak to them because really, this person is not totally cold now. They’ve had some level of connection with you and contact with you.

3.      Sending Long Emails

Mistake number three is sending an email that is war and peace. By that we mean, a long, long email that is just pitching you and your service.

That person you are emailing doesn’t even know who you are yet, let alone what you do. There’s been no engagement; there’s been no rapport built. Instead, it’s much better to send a shorter email with more context. I’ll come on to that in a second. To someone that’s a busy business owner or HR director, send an enticing, shorter email. You are guaranteed to get a much better result by doing that.

If someone sees a long, long email that they’ve got to read through, it straight away goes into trash. Remember that. Don’t try and pitch somebody everything about you and your recruiting service in the first email.

4.      Your Email is Too Personal

The next mistake might sound a bit counterintuitive.

That is, you send an email and say, “I hope you and yours are well”. It’s nice traditional rapport building, but used in the wrong way can switch people right off. It also really shouts out:

“This person is sending me a cold email. I want them to get to the point; they’ve gone a step too far”.

In the current environment in which we’re living, just remember what’s going on.

I have a really good friend who has lost both parents in the last 12 months. She’s had a terrible, terrible time. The thing about that is if you were emailing her, “How are you? Hope you and yours are well,” straight away, that’s going to switch her off and probably throw her into emotions, which you don’t want to do.

This is a first touch point business email; you don’t know this individual.

Once you’ve established some connection with somebody, then, of course, do that; have rapport-building conversations in your email, but you don’t know this individual, so please don’t do that—hot tip.

5.      You’re Not Providing a Context For Your Email

Number five is not giving context as to why you sent the email. Obviously, in your map of the world, you are sending the email because you want to get a new client on board. They know that deep down, but you’re not exactly offering them much value.

I was chatting to one of our clients the other day, and he was talking about the fact that their team is a husband and wife management team.

One of the things that people love about having a conversation with his wife is that she knows everybody and everything going on in the city where they work.

She is seen as the font of all knowledge.

If you can construct an email where you want to share some of the things going on in the market, some of the things around recruitment, people see you as a consultancy service.

6.      You’re Not Providing Relevant Features and Benefits In Your Communication

Now, the next thing, which is number six, goes back to our original training that we’ve all had as salespeople, and that is talking about features versus benefits. Talk about the features of your service or the features of something that happened with a client that you’re trying to pique their interest about, rather than talking about the results that your client got.

Remember, make things benefit-focused rather than feature-focused; that makes a massive difference because that person receiving the email gets that it’s about the benefits for them, rather than the features of your service.

7.      You’re Not Specific Enough

Now, we’re on number seven here, and this is where it’s important to sometimes just think about ‘less is more’; make your emails specifically targeted. It may be that you only have a small list.

We’ve worked with some clients, and they’ve had a list of 20 or 30 connections that they want to reach out to, and being specific has made a massive difference because they can hone and target the specific needs of that particular group of people. I’ve shared this story before; I’ll share it again because it continues to work. When we first started in the recruitment sector, we found 23 email addresses for recruitment business owners based in the UK.

I think we looked at more around the North and the Midlands, constructed a great cold email campaign, and from that campaign, we ended up with our first three recruitment clients. Exactly the same can work for you.

Think about your targeted list. We have one particular client who purchased a list of 200 emails from particular companies in her sector, and she has used that consistently over a couple of years.

This has brought in a regular stream of high-value clients.

I think she just sends them out in groups of 25, and it still works for her. Think about sending out targeted communications.

8.      You’re Not Using Calls To Action

The next thing, number eight, is no call to action. There’s no point sending the email without saying should we jump on a call? Would you like to do X? Would you like to do Y? Here’s some information that you might find useful, let me know, hit reply; all of these very, very simple calls to actions that people forget to do.

Seth Godin, the well-known marketer talks about the fact that people need to be led, and especially so when you’re looking at marketing, what is the ideal next step for them.

Remember always to have some form of a call to action.

9.      You’re Not Using a PS

Leading on from no call to action being present is not using a PS. You will be aware of this fact if any of you have studied copywriting.

You’ll know that people tend to read the start, the middle, and the end, and people always read the PS because they think there might be something of value for them, so always make sure you use your PS.

You can use two or three if you want to, you want to really go gung ho, but in your PS, one thing that we would always recommend is that you think about using a link to social proof.

Social proof on your website could be testimonials, or it could be case studies. A couple of months ago, I recorded a lot of podcasts around this because it is so vital in today’s market when you want to attract more candidates and clients is to have a good volume of social proof. Go back and listen to some of those episodes, probably around episode 289.

10. You Do Not Follow Up

Finally, number 10 might seem a little bit different. One of the big things about cold emailing that lets people down is that they send out a number of emails, and they never follow up with a telephone conversation. This is fascinating when you consider the recruitment and staffing sector has historically had a real focus on sales, sales, sales, pick up the phone, pick up the phone, pick up the phone. Yet, many recruiters avoid following through with a phone conversation.

Which is a lost opportunity.

However, when you’ve had a number of cold emails that have been sent out, written well, and you might even know that people are opening it, depending on your email platform. Then you can pick the phone up and get in contact with them because your connection is no longer super cold.

This is a warmish lead that is on the other end of that phone. You put the hard work in with emailing. Why not now pick up the phone and see if you can have a conversation with them?

We have a number of clients that have joined Superfast Circle because we’ve sent out cold emails, picked up the phone, spoke to them, got engaged with them, and finally came to work with us.

Cold emailing mistakes do happen, and hopefully, now there’s no need for them to occur in your organisation.

Finally, if you haven’t used cold emailing as a strategy, then absolutely do it next year. You will find a massive return on investment from sending out cold communication like this and following up; you’ll be amazed at what might happen for you.

Remember, there are clients out there that need candidates. You are a good recruiter, and you can help them, so make sure you put this one in your plan for next year.

How We Can Help

We have many clients on track for their best year ever because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we give them. If you want a quick chat to see how Superfast Circle can work for you, book your call and demonstration here.

Thanks,

Denise

The post 10 Catastrophic Cold Emailing Mistakes appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Background

Big Cloud specialise in recruitment services for the data science, machine learning and A.I. sectors. An exceptional start-up that has grown rapidly over the last few years, placing over 1000 candidates in more than fifteen countries worldwide.

They knew the next stage of their journey involved taking their marketing to the next level, and that is when they joined Superfast Circle.

We interviewed Megan, their marketing manager, about her journey, why she joined Superfast Circle and the value she receives.

 

What is it like working for a recruitment company as a marketer?

It is busy and varied. My background was two and a half years ago; I came into marketing for the first time as an apprentice with Big Cloud, and I am now the marketing manager.

I support a lot of functions across the business with every aspect of marketing you could imagine.

Everything from email marketing, content creation, website building, job adverts, graphics and creative; a role with a broad scope where no two days are the same. I often get pulled into so many different areas to help.

What was your role like before you had access to Superfast Circle?

Big Cloud, we’re small as a company and marketing department compared to a corporate recruitment business. We don’t have people doing different things, so that it can be a bit chaotic at times. It’s always been a case of juggling balls, having many things to do, and not really knowing where to look sometimes; a lot of organisation, systems and process is required.

On a broader level, our business goal has always been to integrate marketing with recruitment more. There’s always been a bit of a disconnect there. Recruiters like to do things one way, marketers want to do things another way, and you can butt heads a little bit sometimes.

That was always something in the back of our minds and, something that we wanted to try and resolve going forward. We wanted to knit these two teams together more and streamline the functions better because my job is to help support recruiters and make them feel supported.

 

What made you decide to join Superfast Circle?

I remember everything was strange; we had gone down from a team of two to just me, and our resources were stretched.

We knew we needed marketing support on different levels, and your name kept cropping up. From our conversations, we were interested in the fact that you offered some attractive resources.

If I had a question, you could answer it. I remember asking for testimonials from your clients like us, their personal experiences, and how you’ve benefited them. That helped solidify in my mind that we were going to choose you.

Your communication was always fast, and I trusted that that would be the case when I became a client.

I realised that when I had questions or needed advice or support, you would be at the end of the phone and be very responsive to my queries. That was great.

What are the benefits you have gained since you have been a member of Superfast Circle?

Being the only marketer at Big Cloud, I think one of the biggest things was having other voices, a sounding box, if you will. Other advice to get from you and Denise, who have many years of experience.

Also, other circle members might be in companies very similar to mine, or their companies might be slightly bigger; they could be somewhere else in the world. That’s been refreshing to get a much broader perspective which I wouldn’t get even if I had a team.

I wouldn’t get that in an office setting. Especially with the pandemic, I guess it’s meant that it’s been a lot easier because we have the video calls, and we’re able to have these points of contact and support each other. That’s been a big benefit.

The thing I like about Superfast Circle is, aside from the group calls, is the online self-teaching platform. This allows me to learn and study the marketing strategies and techniques working in recruitment now in my own time

I also get to opt into the group calls when I have questions that need answering fast. Then your templates as well; your templates and marketing campaigns are great. They’re so time-saving, your campaigns, the email templates.

I’ve gone through those many times. I’m implementing that automation software soon. That’s helped me construct a lot of emails on mass because that will be quite a lot of work to do.

I feel like you have a very multi-layered approach to just the support you offer, which has been very helpful.

It has also helped me support the consultant team even more.

I feel like you guys have given me greater confidence to go and speak to other people, conduct conversations, and make things happen really.

I’ve produced higher volumes of content since joining you, partly because you have those templates and because there’s a level of accountability there. I get on these group calls, and I’m a bit like, what have I done this week?!!

That’s been so motivating and helpful, especially in the past year when productivity hasn’t been as high as we would like it.

I can now produce more and more things to help the consultants, social media, job adverts, reports, emails.

The other benefits weren’t what I originally expected, particularly around the mental side of marketing.

With your training and input, Sharon, we’ve had many conversations about working mindset, which I guess goes beyond business into personal goals.

My working mindset and my ability to work productively to time constraints and improve me. That’s been a major goal that’s been achieved and continues to happen. That was positive.

I think initially; I thought it would be perhaps on more of just a business level. The circle is quite tight-knit and feels like a proper community, which has helped particularly with the more personal side of things to feel supported. No question feels too big or too little to ask. The advice is always solid as well.

Sharon: I think it’s interesting that you bring up our mindset work with circle members. I think it’s easy, and it’s very common for all of us to underestimate how we’re setting ourselves goals, whether that’s bringing sales and marketing together, whether that’s getting a new website up, or optimising or whatever. Getting a new automated campaign together.

When we are spinning so many plates that sometimes, as individuals, we can get in our own way, can’t we, and we don’t need to.

Through some of those conversations I know that you and I have had, it sounds like that’s been helpful.

I know it has because I know things that you’ve been able to do because of it. And great that you have recognised the added value from the programme.

What is your experience of working with the Superfast team, and how our values might align?

Big Cloud and Superfast have aligned massively. I think your drive for productive and positive business growth is something. We are in an industry that is changing all the time. From that aspect, I’ve really felt like that’s something that we all have in common. Also, another thing, as well, is the positive conversations we have sharing successes.

I come to you for advice, but it’s always a very positive outlook, and it’s as much about focusing on maybe things that didn’t go so well and how we can improve them, but also looking at the things that did go well and celebrating those.

For consultants, they are all close and part of a team. For a marketer, we often talk about different geeky things like open rates and optins and copywriting, a different language that people in SFC appreciate and applauded

How do you think Superfast Circle can work for marketers in the recruitment and staffing sector?

I have seen first-hand from the other people I’ve met in the circle that you guys cater to recruitment businesses regardless of size and where people are in their personal marketing career journey.

For me, as an apprentice, I wasn’t just new to marketing. I was new to recruitment as well; It was all new to me.  I completely forgot it was two things at once.

You do cater to a lot of people and the industry as well. Industries can be completely different, but we’re all doing the same thing in terms of recruitment.

For marketers and business owners who have been in the business longer, it helps you refresh your mindset and think of things differently.

I think things can get a bit stagnated, and you need that outside advice, and inspiration, and someone else to help you generate new ideas and go back to the drawing board because it’s never too late to do that and to explore things and try new things. You guys encourage that.

Another big thing is being able to produce more, as you guys have tested things already. Yes, I can add my own spin, of course, and the resource we have access to saves so much time for a marketer spinning multiple plates.

The different people in the circle, from business owners and marketers, gives me a different perspective.

I come from a very creative background. As far as age is concerned, I may be on the younger end of the spectrum, and I’m getting insight from people with years of experience and in completely different industries.

If it’s a business owner or a business leader, it’s interesting to see their struggles and see things from a different side. It doesn’t only help me understand where someone else is coming from in their kind of business. Still, it also helps me understand my business structure more and what other people in my office might need from me specifically.

How We Can Help

We have many clients on track for their best year ever because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we give them. If you want a quick chat to see how Superfast Circle can work for you, book your call and demonstration here.

 

Thanks,

Denise

The post Why Megan A Marketer for A Tech Recruitment Company Joined Superfast Circle appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Hopefully, those of you in the Northern hemisphere will be experiencing – I love the way our American friends call it ‘Fall’; love that terminology- we in the UK call it ‘Autumn.’

Fantastic colours abound everywhere, and I am recording a series of podcasts looking out at some amazing colours.

[Excuse any strange typing errors as this is  a direct transcription for those of you who prefer to read.]

I have been having various conversations with some of our clients recently, which has spurred a lot of ideas around content that I want to record.

And today, I want to talk about the LinkedIn feeds, some changes that have happened, some things that you may have noticed, but before I get into that, if you’re new, here, welcome. I have a few things for you that might be useful.

There will be a transcription of this particular podcast over on the Superfast website. If you go to Superfast Recruitment Blog, you will find transcriptions for the majority of our podcasts.

We’re going to be talking about a particular social channel that is very important for most recruiters and staffing owners, and that’s LinkedIn. If you are not leveraging social as you would like to, and I respectfully suggest many people don’t download our social media marketing guide. It gives you some advice and top tips, and different sorts of content to be sharing. You can find it at, again, at superfastrecruitment.co.uk/smm. Just pop your name and email address in, and we shall whizz over a copy to you.

LinkedIn Has a New Algorithm

Now, your LinkedIn feed. I don’t know if it’s anything like mine. It’s been a little bit all over the place recently, and there are many reasons for this.

Yes, it’s highly likely that LinkedIn is changing their algorithm and how they prioritise things. It changes all the time, and we need to be mindful of that before we go into a blind panic about what’s happening here.

We’ve been chatting with some of our clients recently about LinkedIn and how engagement seems to have changed. I just wanted to speak to this for a while in this particular podcast and give you some ideas to consider.

One of the first things is it’s always good to have a ‘reboot’ every few months. Sometimes we can get into a particular pattern of doing things. If we’ve got into that pattern and become a little bit used to what we’re doing, it’s possibly not going to impact our candidates and our clients in the same way if we want to stand out and gain attention. And remember first, always base your decisions on data, not drama! Let me explain.

Consider the Metrics

We were chatting with one of our clients about this recently on one of the Superfast Circle calls. One of the first things that came up was looking at the data before you change anything.

Though it’s not always easy to think on a platform like LinkedIn or Facebook, “Have I made a direct sale? ” because there are so many different nuances in marketing. You can’t always guarantee that sales came from this specific action.

The only way you made a sale is somebody clicked a buy button. Everything else that you’re doing is leading to that sale, and it’s nurturing clients or candidates that haven’t quite said yes.

What I would suggest you do is, first of all, look at the content that you think is not performing well. Don’t expect lots of shares and likes when working in the recruitment and staffing sector.  Let’s be frank about it; a candidate isn’t necessarily going to want their current employer to know that they like a recruiter’s website or social media.

Conversely, clients don’t always want to show that they’re engaged with a recruitment company or that they like and share content from someone that could indicate they are expanding or that they are going to get a load of recruiters contacting them!

Just remember, don’t always base everything on that. I like to look at views because a friend of mine once said, “Likes and followers are vanity metrics,” but when you’ve got somebody viewing your content, that is something different to be looking at.

Check out what exactly is working and what isn’t working. It’s great to see these viral posts that get hundreds and hundreds of likes, follows, and shares, sometimes thousands. Just remember, though, how many people are they connected to? What was the topic area that they were sharing? Which we will come on to later. So, check what’s working, what isn’t working. Also, have a look at the times you posted things. Sometimes that can make a difference.

Post On Different Days

I often find whatever I post on a Friday seems to get a lot more views than other times. Just think about that. First of all, get some context around it, about what is working, what isn’t. Then, as you’re doing this, look at some of the posts getting a lot of traction.

What is it they might be doing differently? What have they posted about? Is it something about their team? Is it something else they’re posting that can make a difference?

I’m not saying copy what they have done, but does that stimulate what your version of that may be? That’s the first point that I would consider.

The other thing is, depending on who you are, whether you’ve got a marketer helping you, how much social media are you using? Are you using it consistently?  People will respond when they see a consistent approach rather than a one-off hit.

Let’s make sure you’re basing your data on a good volume of content. Think about, “Am I sharing enough here to be getting some interest in what I’m doing? Next, let’s consider switching up your styles.

Mix Your Types of Content

Are you sharing other types of content? Maybe it’s time that you mix it up and mix it around. Animated gifs can be created quite inexpensively on Canva.

You’ll notice that I write a lot of what I call long-form posts on LinkedIn. You can write up to 1,300 characters, and I do these quite regularly. It gives people insight, and it helps to build authority.

Think about all those different styles of posts that you can do. The other thing is that people love people. It was fascinating, during the pandemic, that all the social media channels, their memberships went through the roof as people, for the first time, in some cases, started using social media more.

I think a couple of years ago, there was something like 600 million people on LinkedIn. I think the last time I looked, that figure now is approaching something like 770 million people.

Remember, more people on LinkedIn, more people sharing content; it will get a bit busier. One of the things about being on social media, people like to see a little bit about you. I know when God rest her soul, we used to post pictures of the Superfast Staffy, it always got a lot more likes than some of my content, which I was gutted about, but hey, you can’t beat sharing a picture of a dog on social media.

Make It Personal (Sometimes)

When you think about that aspect, what about using personal pictures of you, personal pictures of where you’re based, personal pictures of what you’re up to? Again, it could just be a scene, it could be a picture of a building in your local town, anything like that, and you can make some context around it. The other thing to remember is that people do get unconscious around imagery.

So, if you are using the same images repeatedly, people get bored with them. People stop noticing them because we are wired as human beings; we are always looking out for attack. We’re always on alert to see things that might be different. Once we think, “Ah, that thing there isn’t going to kill us or drag us off to a cave to be eaten”, then we view things differently because that is the way that the human brain works.

If you have been using the same style of images for a long time, maybe it’s time to change them and mix up the colours you use.

Get (And Keep) Attention

A while back, Sharon and I did a webinar for one of our partner groups; it was APSCo, on the science of getting attention, how you must have this short, medium, and long-term attention. There are different ways of grabbing attention from a marketing context.

One of the ways is to use different images, and different colours and different fonts. Something else that always gets traction on LinkedIn is local news. So, no matter where you are in the country, there’ll always be local business news. People like local businesses. They want to know what’s going on.

Share Your Testimonials and Case Studies

You will notice that we share a lot of testimonials and case studies.

When someone considers working with you, they like to know if you work with people like them. Sharing testimonials will make a massive difference. There are lots of social media marketing tools out there. I’m sure we all have our favourites, and they do help with the process.

We automate some of our marketing, particularly around social media, but not all of it. Every day, I will physically share at least one post on social media, as in LinkedIn, Facebook. I will also share something in our Recruitment Marketing Mastery group. If you’re not a member on Facebook, come and join us because we share a lot of great content there and sometimes content that we do not share on LinkedIn and other places.

Regularly Re-evaluate Your Social Media

If you’ve been struggling a little on LinkedIn and not gaining traction, perhaps it’s time to do a bit of a reboot and ask yourself:

• What am I doing here?
• Do I need to be sharing more content?
• Do I need to be sharing at a different time?
• Do I need to be using a slightly different style image?
• Do I need to use an image and some text?
• Do I need to use some video?

These things are areas you could consider, and I would almost guarantee that it will make a difference in the eyeballs on you and your brand. Of course, the whole thing about using social media is to help you with your positioning.

You are positioning yourself as an authority in your sector. Though you may not make a sale like that from your social media efforts around LinkedIn, it gives people brand awareness. We’ve had a couple of members join our Superfast Circle recently. Both of them said, “Oh, I’ve been listening to your podcast, and I’ve been watching all the videos that you’re sharing on LinkedIn. Oh yeah, I like that analogy that you used in these about fishing lines”. There are all these different things going on that people notice that then make some more likely to want to have a conversation with you or to pick up the phone and say, “Hey, I’m interested in working with you”.

How We Can Help

We have many clients on track for their best year ever because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we give them. If you want a quick chat to see how Superfast Circle can work for you, book your call and demonstration here.

Thanks,

Denise

The post Standing Out on an Everchanging LinkedIn Feed appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Today it’s about you, and something that often goes unexamined in many recruitment organisations. That is the fact that you are appealing to an audience, and that is currently candidates, clients, and possibly talent that you want to bring into your organisation.  

Therefore, if you aren’t doing that, how do you put yourself across in the best possible way so that people say: 

• “Yes, they do what I want.  
• What do I do now?  
• Can they help me?  
• How do I take this further?” 

Your value proposition delivers the answers to these questions to the market. 

Get Clarity on Your Value Proposition  

The topic of value propositions has been coming up quite a lot with our new Circle members and people we’re talking to about joining  Superfast Circle now as they plan to move their marketing forward next year.  

What we notice is that lots of people are very unclear when it comes to their value proposition.  

It’s very generic, there’s very little data, and there’s very little sticking to “This is who we are. This is who we serve.”  

Now, I understand that many people want to keep generic, so they appeal to more people. 

However, if you communicate your offer to your ideal market, you will be amazed at the difference that will make in that clarity because if you try and appeal to all of the people, you’re going to appeal to none of the people.  

So much better to appeal to specific groups in the way you talk about what you can do for them, what you can do for their career, what you can do when you build their talent pipeline.  

Before we jump into giving you five reasons why it is a good idea to revamp your current value proposition, let’s define exactly what we are talking about. 

What is a Value Proposition?  

A value proposition is a clear statement of tangible results that a customer, be that candidate or client, gets from using your product or service, and to make it powerful, backed up by reasons to believe.  

That could be data that you have; it could be testimonials, it could be case studies, it could be years in service. How many candidates you have placed over the years. 

Pretty straightforward: However, most people don’t seem to do it. 

I was researching online before I recorded this podcast and checked a few different websites. It’s fascinating, but I probably came across seven or eight sites, and less than half of them had any form of this is who we are, what we do, and how we can help.

There was one particular website, which was for sales and marketing recruitment, that had nothing.  

It just said, “We provide a recruitment service. We can provide sales and marketing people for your company.”…….. yes, buddy, and so can another few hundred recruitment companies. 

They gave no reason why I would want to use them as opposed to anyone else, what skin they had in the game, and how long they’ve been around. Nothing like that at all. 

Your Value Proposition Helps You to Stand Out  

Let’s say that you are a sales recruiter, and on your website, you could have as your value proposition, “We recruit sales professionals for the South West of England for the automotive industry. We have got 15 years experience, and for every three CVs we send you, you will interview two candidates, and you will make an offer to one of them.”  

Using that as an example, that’s quite clear. If I am looking for a sales job down in the South West of England, then I would know that this particular organisation is one that I should contact. 

Now, this may seem simplistic. However, have you ever been onto a website and you’re trying to find something that you want, and you can’t work out, “Who is this website for?”  

Because most websites don’t necessarily have recruitment in the title, they often can sound like a firm of solicitors or estate agents. Unless you can read on the home page who they are, who they serve, then it’s likely that you’re going to jump off the website.  

If you can be clear, “We do X for Y, and we do it really well, and here’s some data,” that will make a difference because people will then actually start to look deeper into who you are and what you might be able to do for them. 

If you need any more convincing about value propositions, then let me give you five very, very straightforward reasons why now would be a good time to review your current value proposition.  

 

1. Do You Have a Value Proposition?

Do you have a clear value proposition on your website and social media and all your sales material?   

Doing this will create some buzz in your company with the consultants you have, the marketers, and everybody in the team; you’ve got some new messaging because you’re doing something different. You’ve thought about who you are, who you want to serve, and how you communicate this.

As we know, sales and marketing are all about exchanges of energy. That energy that you bring to the whole event will make a massive difference. 

When one of our Superfast Circle members has updated their value proposition, I always notice that they are sharing more. 

I see them sharing their homepage everywhere, which is fabulous because they’re putting it on memes, they’re sending it out, they’re communicating, getting emails, and they’re communicating it on their social media.  

 

2. Is Your Value Proposition UpTo Date?

Secondly, does your value proposition still communicate who you are and what you do? 

Over the last couple of years, I know that some of the clients we’ve been working with, their actual recruitment product, their recruitment service, and who they work with, have significantly changed. 

There’s nothing like a weird event like a pandemic in the world, a major crisis to make us all stop and think, “Mm. Am I working in the right sector? Could I be doing something else? Should I go to retained?” 

Think about, does your message communicate what you now do?  

It’s very easy to forget that you may have created your value proposition some time ago, and you haven’t been on your website and changed what you are now communicating to people on your home page about who you are and what you do.  

Ensure that you do this, particularly if you’ve got a revamped offer or a revamped service, or you’re embellishing your recruitment service now, and you’re doing slightly different things. I know many people that we’ve spoken to provide a recruitment service and are also doing some consultancy. If that is all part of the mix, is that now being communicated? 

 

3. Are you Differentiating Your Service?

Now, the third thing is we’re in a very competitive market at the moment. There’s a lot of recruiters around; we’re in a candidate short market. How are you differentiating yourself and your service compared to other people? You could say all recruiters are the same. Now, I know they are not; you know they are not, but sometimes clients and candidates don’t appreciate that. 

Does your value proposition stand out and communicate what you do? 
 

For example, we carry out a talent conversation and mapping with every client we work with. We do X with Y. If you communicate who you are and what you do, we will work with you, do X, and do Y. All of the different things you could potentially deliver for an organisation.  

Are you communicating so that you stand out head and shoulders above other recruiters in your sector than the rest? 

When I buy something, I look at all the different features and benefits, and then I make a value decision on who to work with. 

“That one could do Facebook ads, and they could do Google AdWords.” Or, “Well, this one can’t do that,” or, “This one can only do retargeting.” I make that decision on which person should I be working with. 

 

4. Create Your Value Proposition for Clients AND Candidates

Here’s something else you might want to consider. When you create your value proposition, you can create it for your recruitment brand, but how about you create your value proposition for the candidates you now want to attract? Maybe you are going to offer a career consultation. Perhaps you will represent them exclusively. Maybe there’s something else that you provide as a service for candidates. If that resonates with you, you should be communicating this out to the market. 

Remember, your message needs to be communicated in absolutely everything you do. That might be your email footer. It might be the emails that you send out. It might be you’re your are sending out reports so that people are getting a consistent message time and time again about your level of service. 

What is great in today’s environment is there’s nothing to stop you from doing that too. It’s very inexpensive to get your message and your marketing out onto social media and via email. 

 

5. Does Your Messaging Attract or Repel?

Now, the final reason is messaging will attract or repel.  

That is a good thing.  

We talked about the biscuits in the tin before and that some recruiters don’t want to hedge any bets. They want an opportunity to work with anybody. When you’re considering this, if you’re going to work with anybody, you’re probably not going to work with anyone because your message is too dilute, and you’re not honing into the people that you want. 

Make sure that you communicate your message clearly and concisely and speak into your ideal candidate or client avatar. 

Earlier today, we worked with a marketeer around their avatar and business persona. We gave them some suggestions on certain age groups that would respond to different messages; they react to different platforms. Consequently, the message that you want to communicate to these people is different too. 

Think about your value proposition related to the individuals that you want to attract, and of course, the ones that you want to repel. 

Value proposition. People don’t spend enough time thinking about their messaging. My mentor often says to me, “Your offer’s great; what you need to do is think about how you are communicating it!” 

 

How We Can Help 

We have many clients on track for their best year ever because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we give them. If you want a quick chat to see how Superfast Circle can work for you, book your call and demonstration here. 

 

Thanks, 

Denise 

The post 5 Reasons Why You Need To Revamp Your Value Proposition appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

The Background to Ice Recruitment

Ice Recruitment is a small boutique IT sales recruitment company that is a specialist recruitment partner for the IT channel. They work exclusively partnering with VARS, LARS, IT Resellers, Distributors, Vendors, Specialist niche resellers and software & services businesses.

Rachel and Neo Pedrithes, the company’s directors, came to us for help and guidance with their marketing.

As a Recruitment business owner, what was “it” like before you joined Superfast Circle?

We started in 2008, and we ran the company as a lifestyle business around the family. It was what we wanted to do. As time progressed and people grew up and developed their independence, it gave us an opportunity to become serious about what we wanted and start talking about strategy, processes, and planning to take the business to the next level.

We didn’t have any marketing in place at all. I don’t think it’s until now that we realised how much we didn’t have! We’ve learnt so much over the last few years. We were running our business, which was doing ‘ok’, but there was no marketing around it.

We would do very basic ads out, gain candidates and make placements; that was it. Now, that was the point where we thought, “We need to do something. This is fine at the minute, but this is not something we could continue to do forever. We had to get some structure in place.”

 

What specific marketing problem were you looking to solve?

At the time, we didn’t realise what we needed to solve. We needed the knowledge around what we were missing and what we needed.  During some of our very first conversations, you were talking to me, Sharon and establishing, “Do you have this? Have you tried that?” Most of it, we hadn’t even considered.

We’d maybe discussed things here and there, but that would have been it.

We didn’t have any processes or anything in place.

Superfast Circle was beginning when I joined. We were originally thinking, “Well, you can teach us the basics, and then off we’ll go.” It’s developed into a lot more than that, but that was the premise initially, was just, thought “How can we set some basic marketing structure to our business? Because we have none!”

 

How did you find Superfast Recruitment?

We were introduced to you through someone I’d been meeting regularly because our background wasn’t recruitment, and their background was all recruitment. They were kind with their time and their information, and everything else. They recommended that we speak, and that’s what we did.

 

What made you decide to join Superfast Circle?

I think after talking with you, there was a connection, and we liked you and Denise. We liked what you were saying. You seemed to be talking in an understandable way to somebody who’s not a marketeer.

Too often, we had come off a call with a person in another technical area, and we would have no idea what they had been talking about. I was expecting our conversation to be a little bit like that.

Instead, it was so clear and concise.

It was, “We will help you every step of the way; we will talk you through it. If you ever have a question, put it in the group, and one of the team will come back to you.”

Being just a two-person band at the time, having someone we could ask questions to, and knowing that the knowledge was there was so important to me because I was an alone person needing that support and help.

Neo: I thought your values were aligned as well. If we feel we will be a commodity to a company, we won’t work with them.

If two products are similar, we’re going to go with the person or the company that we feel more aligned to form a warmth perspective; from a value-add perspective, people you can call up, and it’s not time on a fee. People that will call you back.

You build a relationship with people because that’s how we work with our clients and our candidates. We wanted something to replicate that. I think that was important.

 

What have you been able to achieve while being a member of Superfast Circle? – your most significant benefits /results?

The bottom line result is our turnover has trebled, which is what I suspect most people want more revenue in, and that has happened because of what the circle provides.

Because we’re involved in the SFC programme, where you’ve got lots of other people, you’re able to bounce ideas around, and you get a lot of reassurance about what’s worked and what hasn’t. As opposed to what we would have done without it, we would have been going through YouTube videos and reading.

The amount of time saved not getting things wrong is invaluable – we still get things wrong, but we get fewer things wrong!

For example, When we moved over to our new CRM system, not only did we get the idea from someone in the group, they spent time talking to us offline.

Our CRM is part of our marketing, as we learnt with Denise and Sharon. Our CRM system has a drip campaign element to it, which we’re then able to tie in with our database and go forward. That has then added incremental revenue, which wouldn’t have happened!

It has also allowed us to use the marketing campaign collateral that you provide.

We sent a campaign out yesterday using content from you. Then on the back of it today, I’ve had a call for a prospect who wants us to do some work for them.

I’ve been talking to this prospect for about eight months, maybe a year, and they were never quite ready.

Because the collateral went out, it was almost like a memory jogger. I’m not saying that the collateral goes out; someone sees it, they think you’re amazing, they’re going to use you. Sometimes it can work that way; sometimes, it’s the little nudge that helps. I think we’ll sign terms today to get a new client from sending out those emails yesterday from your content.

 

How has the company and our Superfast Circle helped you reach your marketing, business growth, financial, and even personal goals?

It’s easily added six figures, probably much more, to our number since working with you. Either directly through our work with you guys and getting candidates and opportunities that we may not have reached.

This morning, we engaged a new client through the drip campaigns you create in the circle and a candidate campaign from you has provided the perfect candidate to fill the role.

We have a vision about what is possible that we never had before. This is surrounded by all the training, consulting, and collateral we need to move forward; everything supports us.

The other thing for us is being around other recruitment business owners with similar values. When you are small like us, it can be lonely. Being part of the circle has given us a trusted community; it’s inspiring too.

Some companies are much bigger than us, and it makes us realise what is possible for us.

The other benefit is our personal growth.

Neo: I have to say watching Rachel grow over the time we have worked with you has been nothing short of phenomenal.

If we’d had invested in a personal development program over the last couple of years, you would have developed at half the rate that you’ve developed, through SFR, in my opinion. It’s independent of everything else. I’ve seen a massive, massive growth, which has been reflected in the numbers as well. The belief the follow through the process. Rachel has tripled her results, and she isn’t working any harder though a lot smarter.

When we came to you, our lives were at a turning point, where our kids were leaving school, and it was a very different time for us. It was perfect timing for our lives, because like Neo said earlier, we had a lifestyle business, and then we wanted to ramp it up now. With your help, that’s exactly what we’ve done, and the numbers are showing now.

 

What has exceeded your expectations while working with us?

The level and amount of help you have access to. There are well over a hundred training videos we can go and watch. There is even a technical expert on hand, and Denise and Sharon, because of their experience, can answer the questions we have. Denise will even develop a new email campaign for circle members if someone is struggling with writing something. The volume of marketing materials, campaigns, scripts and resources we have access to saves time. I had never expected all of that.

 

What is it like to work with Denise and Sharon? How is the company aligned with the values that drive your business?

Oh, it’s been fantastic because it’s almost like we are part of the same business. We’re not just clients; we’re not just people on the end of the phone getting a fee.

To me, I’ve never been treated like that by you two and your team, ever. I’ve always felt like you were an addition. You are part of our business. We are one business, and you are that knowledge, and we’re doing this. I’ve always felt I could reach out. The values you have, match with us so well; honesty, integrity, adding value always-I’ve never felt like I was asking a silly question ever.

 

What’s the main reason you recommend Superfast Circle to other business owners/marketers?

Whether you are a business owner doing the marketing or whether you have a marketer, no matter how much experience you have, there is nothing like having the support of other people who know more, have made the mistakes and found out what works.

It is easy to think you are doing the right thing when you are working away on your own, and you can waste so much time without getting the perspective of people that ‘do’ marketing for a living in your sector.

In his previous life, Neo managed teams of over 100 people, and something he always say’s he learnt is that no matter how much you think you know, you don’t! There is always another angle or perspective you can pick up from the SFR team and all the circle members.

There’s nothing like having that comfort of knowing you can ask someone else, and it’s not about whether you’re the MD, the marketing director or marketing exec; it’s about having that support and that accountability and that help whenever you need it.

I would recommend it highly because the benefits are fantastic. You get the community, and I love the events we have in the Lake District. Even though we couldn’t have them last year, Denise and Sharon ran them virtually for us.

There’s so much more to it than just turning up on a Zoom and turning it off an hour later. It is knowledge, information, and content virtually ready to use straight away; it is a community and friendship. I would certainly highly recommend it.

 

What would you tell someone who is considering joining Superfast Circle?

Do it! Our business is in a very different place financially than when we joined. The circle does over-deliver. You get training on every aspect of the marketing mix, and then what is unique is you get campaigns and resources to use, which are being added to all the time at no extra charge.

From day one, Denise and Sharon are helping you move forward. Being in a community is very important to us, and the circle is a safe place to share your thoughts and ask for help and support when needed.

It has helped us grow as business owners, and the results are showing in our business too.

 

Recommendation

Our business has trebled since we joined the circle. The level of help, training, support and marketing materials you have access to is outstanding. Literally, everything thing is provided for you so you can move forward. You can ask any question, and you will get support. The community of people in the group is outstanding.

 

How We Can Help

We have many clients on track for their best year ever because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we give them. If you want a quick chat to see how Superfast Circle can work for you, book your call and demonstration here.

 

Thanks,

Denise

The post How Rachel and Neo Trebled Their Revenue appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

A story about past events and future success! This is a direct transcription for your benefit, so excuse any weird typing errors.

I’ll let Sharon take it away!

I promised you a story, and it’s a famous Sharon one. Imagine. Let’s go back, probably 30 years now, which is a frightening thought. It’s the early days of my sales career. I was a pharmaceutical salesperson, and I was going for my first promotion. And that meant that I potentially could enter the world of selling all day to consultants, to pharmacists, to professors in hospitals. And it was a big step up at that point, two years into my career.

And I remember the day, I can even tell you the hotel where this conversation took place. It was on the M62 at Brighouse. And my boss at the time said these words, and they’re almost like ingrained in me. It stayed with me. I was affected by them for quite a while afterwards, but I have binned them, but they have stayed with me because it’s very meaningful. Because this person said to me, “Some people, Sharon, have higher aspirations than their abilities allow.”

And the outcome of my conversation was that I wouldn’t apply for this hospital representatives position. And at the time, as a naive 23-year-old, I initially thought, “Well, he’s done an okay job of managing my expectations.” Until I went away and thought about it that night, and I suddenly thought, “Some people have higher aspirations than their abilities allow.” So here, this person was saying to me at 23 that actually, I peaked. And I didn’t have the potential to go any further.

Don’t Let Your Past Determine Your Future

Now, if I had allowed myself to be defined by that statement 30 years ago, there were so many things that I wouldn’t have done. I would not have ended up managing a team. I would not have ended up being a national trainer. I would not have ended up being an external trainer, coach and consultant, creating leadership training programmes and delivering them across the world for one of the biggest online hotel accommodation booking companies. I would not have left the corporate world and set up a business. I would not still be here 15 years later in business.

If I had allowed that one statement to define me, I certainly would not have allowed myself the opportunity to be Pfizer’s top salesperson selling Viagra, which I still dine out on today. We all have success, don’t we, that we’re particularly proud of. And that’s one of mine. Now, why am I sharing this story? Because as business owners, as we go through our life generally, and as we go through our business journey, we have highs, lows, and challenges.

Living in the Past Limits Your Ability To Live in the Future

Now, if we spend too much time focusing on what went wrong, what the failures were, what the challenges were and how we overcame them and have the fear around, “I don’t want that to happen again.” If we spend too much time living in the past, potentially, that limits our ability to focus on the future, on what we want, and to have that clarity around how much I want to grow the business? What will that mean financially in terms of the numbers that I want to achieve? Do I want to go from 1 million to 5 million in a certain timeframe, or is it 5 million to 15 million? It doesn’t matter really what the number is. It really doesn’t.

Make Decisions From Your Future Self

What matters is where you focus your energy and your time. And when you’re reading and listening to various entrepreneurs who are massively successful, there’s a consistent thing that they share, and that is when they realised and made the decision to focus their decision-making and their actions on their future self; that’s when things really started to shift for them.

Let me explain a bit more about that.

The person you are today in your business, whatever level of turnover and profitability you have, you think in a certain way, do things and have a certain kind of role. And you are successful today getting your business to that point.

However, whatever your growth trajectory is, however big you want your company to be, how many people you want to employ, you will need to think differently. You will probably have a slightly different role in your business, and you will do different things.

If you start to make decisions today from your future person, your future self, rather than who you are today and what got you to where you are, you will put yourself in such a strong position to create that as a reality. As opposed to making decisions about where you want to be from who you are today.

So, Denise and I will often have conversations as we’re doing our planning and looking at where do we want to be? What do we want? What is that going to look like? All that kind of detail. And then we start making decisions about investments and resources, et cetera, et cetera. One of the things that we say is, “What would the Sharon in five years time, say? What would Denise say? What would that decision be?

And that piece of advice was given to us by our first mentor many years ago. And it’s one of the best pieces of advice I think we’ve ever had.

So, make decisions from your future self, be clear about who your future self is and stop making decisions and reflecting and spending too much time in the past. Good luck!

 

How We Can Help

We have many clients on track for their best year ever because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we give them. If you want a quick chat to see how Superfast Circle can work for you, book your call and demonstration here.

 

Thanks,

Denise

The post A Little Known Fact That Will Impact Your Future Success appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

I hope you and yours are well as we move into the last quarter of the year. And today, I want to talk about an amazingly useful topic and strategy for business owners: journaling.

Before we do that, if you’re new here, welcome; great to have you. [There will be a direct transcription on the website; excuse any weird typos for those who like to read.]

If you are new here and ready to make marketing a priority download our marketing checklist here – www.superfastrecruitment.co.uk/mcl; pop your name and email in there, and we will wing it over to you. Thirty pretty straightforward questions, which will inform where you are as a starting point with your marketing.

Do not be fooled by its simplicity. By actually printing this bad boy or bad girl off and filling it in, it really can help to inform you on, “I’m doing okay on this bit, but what about these bits I’m not doing so well on. I wonder if that is why I’m not achieving some of the things I want to achieve.”

Let’s talk about one of the most useful tools to create your business success, and that is journaling.

What is Journaling?

Let’s get into talking about journaling. As many of you will know, I am a writer; I do a lot of content writing for our clients, our content in Superfast Circle and various other things. However, I want to be really clear on remembering that journaling isn’t just for writers; journaling is a superpower.

I’ll be honest and say I am a human being. I have journaled at various points in my life, and I can trackback to my biggest successes around the time I have been journaling, where I’ve been using it as the superpower that it is, and getting my thoughts onto paper. I can point my brain in the direction that I want to go in, that I want my life to go in, that I want my business to move forward in as well.

I first started journaling back in the day when I studied for my NLP practitioner qualification. That is, neurolinguistics programming, a lovely jargon word, all about working with your mind and achieving the results you want to achieve.

As part of that course, it was suggested that we might want to journal because if we journaled, it’s a way of thinking on paper, which has always stuck with me. It’s a way of getting what’s going on in our heads out.

Have you ever had that situation where you think my head is so full, it’s going to explode? I used to have that a lot, particularly in my corporate days. Then someone gave me this gift and said, why don’t you think about journaling, Denise? I could get my thoughts out of my head and onto paper.

Journaling Can Help With Future Planning

One of the things I focused on by doing this was looking at what I wanted my future to be like; what exactly did I want to achieve in my life? How much money did I want to earn? How successful did I want to be?

I started my journal thinking about my role. At the time, I was a sales manager, and I knew I’d been pretty good. I would often be given the team that nobody else wanted to manage or the team that wasn’t performing. I remember at the time; I had a team that wasn’t exactly doing well.

I journaled a lot about being successful with this team, about what we would achieve. It was very much future-orientated, future-focused.

Journaling Helps You Recognise Negative Thoughts

I also had a few negative thoughts when I could see them on paper; it helped me dismiss them because I realised what rubbish they were, which is one of the real benefits of journaling.

You start to look at the words, and for me, I asked myself the question is this real Denise?

When you start writing things down, it gives you some perspective. I started doing that, and over the years, I became the number one sales manager in the UK. I was one of the top three sales managers in the whole of the EMEA region, and life was tickety-boo. Then I started journaling about other things that I wanted, which didn’t involve working with my current employer. It involved creating my own business.

Journaling Helps You Build The Future You Want

Journaling has worked for me, as I shared; I managed to exit my corporate career. I started my business in my late forties, where most people thought I was bonkers, but I used to journal about why I wanted the life that I wanted, where I wanted to live, and this went on and on and on. Cycle to today, am I a multimillionaire? No.

Do I have a great business and a great life? Absolutely.

I put my actions down to writing down what I wanted in life, so  I was able to start to direct my brain to start looking at the things that I wanted.

I wanted to live in the country. I wanted to work for myself. I wanted to have this type of lifestyle that other people only dream of. That’s how I started with journaling.

The Evidence For Journaling

Now, interestingly, I stopped journaling about a year or so ago for various personal reasons. I started again this year, and wow, what a difference it is making. But let me share with you some of the data and facts around journaling and the evidence around how useful it is for you to direct your thoughts—a little bit of a brain physiology lesson for you here.

For those of you that are maybe a little bit cynical about journaling, as you will be aware, you’ll have heard me talk about it before; our brain has that conscious element to it, which is the Prefrontal Cortex. The conscious brain is the seat of our decision-making and something we want to channel and get focused on what we want in our lives.

We also have the lovely, amazing habit brain, which keeps us alive. It keeps our liver livering; it keeps our heart hearting; it keeps our breath breathing. It keeps us going.

The challenge is that our habit brain’s key role in life is to keep us safe. As it’s our habit brain, it hasn’t come on an awful lot over the years because its function keeps us safe.

Back in the cavewoman days, if I were a cavewoman, my habit brain would want to make sure that I wasn’t going to be killed by the sabre-tooth tiger and that when I went out picking berries off the tree, I would choose the good berries, not the poisonous berries. That I wouldn’t drink the terrible water that was going to kill me, but I would drink the right water.

What happens with our brain is that it’s very much default thinking in how it works, and it’s there to protect us. But if we are not careful, this habit brain takes over. I think we have just over 60,000 thoughts a day, and because our habit brain is trying to control us and keep us safe, a lot of those thoughts tend to be a tad negative, as many of us have experienced.

Journaling Gives You Clarity

Now, as you get into journaling and you start free-forming and writing down your thoughts, you will notice that quite a few of them are pretty negative and that they need to be switched around and they need to be directed. That is the amazing power of journaling because it gives us that element of controlling what we want.

We all know about the law of attraction, and what we focus on grows. Journaling about what we want to do and what we want to achieve starts to draw ‘things’ into our awareness that we probably hadn’t considered before.

One of the reasons it does this is that it gives us real clarity and focus because when you are, and I suspect if you are a business owner or a marketer, you will have a lot going on in that head of yours. When you can get things down on paper, you can start to get clear on what you want and options for achieving that.

Because, here’s the thing, when you think about the default thinking that many of us go into, that’s the whining part of the brain starts saying to you;

 “Oh, let’s wait. Let’s not move on marketing just yet. Let’s wait until we’ve got this quarter out of the way, or let’s wait until the new website goes live. No, we’re not going to do anything now because we’re alright now we’re all nice and safe, we’re in the cave, we’ve got jobs on the board, we’ve probably not got many candidates, but this is happening. We’re all right; really, I’m okay.

Unfortunately, our brain does this to us all the time, and it’s our default thinking, and the challenge is that unchecked, it will just continue to do that. I was chatting to a friend the other day, and you think, my God, it’s September, what’s happened? How did we get here? It’s like we get into autopilot, and we don’t start thinking and putting some control on our lives.

There are multiple ways to do this, but actually, getting your thoughts down on paper and journaling about your business, your life, what exactly you want and how you want it to look makes a huge difference.

Journaling Challenges Your Thoughts

It’s funny; I commented on somebody’s post the other day in a Facebook group – he was talking about some of the classic mistakes people make, and often people think they’ve got ‘everything’ sorted.

Oh, how our minds like to deceive us!

Usually, the challenge is that with a lot of our sales calls, when you start to talk to people, they say, yes, we know how to do social media, emailing, etc.

Yet when we start to drill down, there’s a lot of smoke and mirrors going on. People realise that actually, they don’t know about social media and well, oh, my word, I didn’t realise it was two years since we uploaded a blog, and oh yes, all our social media is just, oh, well, it’s just job ads.

This thinking, which is our habit brain, takes over, and it tries to tell us, look, we’re okay, don’t put yourself out there, don’t do things like that.

But imagine if you’ve got a process that journaling will give you, where you can start planning for your future. That is something worth investing some time in, don’t you think?

Journaling Works and is Backed Up By Endless Research and Data

I’m going to give you some practical tips. It’s very easy to do, and there is a lot of documented evidence and research about the many things it will help you with, for instance, reducing stress and anxiety. There’s a lot of data recently about the fact that it’ll help you strengthen your immune system, something that might be important for all of us currently with what’s been going on with the coronavirus for the last couple of years.

It’s well documented that journaling helps you improve your memory. It will also help you sleep better and quite a few other things apart from that. It helps you get clarity on your thoughts; it’s good for stress management, it enables you to learn from your experiences because when you see things on paper, you’re going, ah, right it seems to be when you engage with the conscious mind, it starts to trigger more things.

It’s even helped people who are suffering from various illnesses.

Journaling helps you get clear on where you are and where you want to go.

Imagine that this is an inexpensive way to put new thoughts into your brain and start rewiring what you’re thinking and what’s possible for you. I’ll probably do another podcast on this, or Sharon might do a video around how as human beings, we’re very past focused. It’s very easy because, of course, all those memories are there to keep dragging up the past.

Oh, when I was a sales manager at Bristol Myers Squibb.

Oh, when I worked for AstraZeneca.

Oh, when I lived here.

All that data is there clogging up our brains, to be quite frank. Whereas thinking about our future self, we have to engage with the prefrontal cortex, and we have to start thinking about it, and we have to start planning it, and that is the real gift of journaling.

How Do I Journal?

Let’s think about some practical things around journaling, what you want to consider; how could you start, what do you need to do? What are some of the things you want to journal about?

I journal about various things, but here are three areas that I strongly suggest that you consider.

1. Gratitude

One is gratitude. The evidence around gratitude journals – if you’re having a bit of a, I call it a whiny bitch moment, if I’m having a whiny bitch moment, I’m a human being, yes, it happens to me. Journaling about, well, actually I’ve got hot water, I’ve got a lovely fire, I’ve got steps down to the river bank, I’ve got beautiful trees surrounding me, I have money in the bank. I can go to Mark’s & Spencer; I can go and book a holiday. I can do this. I can do that. When we embody gratitude, there are so many things that can make a huge difference and shift our mindset.

2. Creating Your Future and Achieving Your Goals

The next couple of things are combined. One is creating your future, and one is about how you’re going to achieve your goals. It’s amazing: as you do this more and more and more, you get more clarity, you start to move forward. The brain’s reticular activating system kicks in, and all these different ideas begin to appear for you.

Now, don’t tell me you can’t create your future because you absolutely can.
If you’ve ever booked a holiday, and I know it can be a little bit challenging in the UK at the moment, but you start to future-plan. The other night I was looking online. We want to have a holiday around Easter in Scotland, and go to a part that we’ve not been to before, to the west coast and already we’ve got it booked. This is something I was journaling about as well, and I’m starting to plan. I need to take this day off work, and then we’ll do this, and then will we need to buy more internet when we’re up there? Where will we buy the food from? I talk about what we could eat. You may think she’s a madwoman, but I’m planning the future. I’m writing it down; I’m making lists.

Our brains are more than capable of planning our future. If you plan a holiday, you can plan your future. Imagine if you could tap into that and start planning what you want to happen in your life.  It could be about how you are going to achieve your goals? What goals do you want to achieve? How will you create the future you want? Because we all know we can create what we want in our lives. We need to have an idea about what that is and why we want it.

3.     Use Journal Prompts

Now, our brains are designed to answer questions, and this is where journal prompts come in – you can always Google journal prompts and see which ones resonate with you. I’ll give you some of the ones I use that you can also use to answer those questions.

I like to ask open questions like who, what, why, where, when because that drives me to write more rather than less because it’s easy to write a yes/no answer. That is a top tip, a hot journaling tip from Denise. I’m just looking at some of my different journal prompts here – what do I want now from the business?

How will the business look in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 years, whatever you want to do, whatever timeframe you want to add there, what can we do to attract more clients? What can we do to be recognised as a player in the market? What can we do to attract more candidates? What can we do to attract more recruiters?

You can see the theme here in the questions. You’re asking your mind, and your mind is going to go in there and help you come up with some answers.

I write my goal down every day—the goal that I have for this year, what I want to achieve. There’s a health goal for me, and there’s a financial goal. I write that down, journal around that, and start to ask questions about my future self.

What would the future Denise think when she achieved a goal? What would the future Denise be doing daily?

These are all journal prompts that will work for you around business. If you’re not sure, just Google’ journal prompts’. You will find a lot on Pinterest. Though I can give you mine, some of them might resonate with you; I would encourage you to look for your own and see which ones resonate with you because that will be a much more useful exercise. Let me finish up here because people are saying, “What do you journal on? Can I journal on my iPad?” You can journal on whatever you want. How long should I journal for? However long you want.

It is not about getting into the deep, deep, deep parts of your soul and journaling about that. Of course, you can do that, but if you have never journaled before, let’s start with some basics around asking those questions, journaling what you want your future life to be like. I would like to have a home in Carlisle; I would also like to have a lodge up on the west coast of Scotland. I would like to have X amount of money in the bank. I want a Volkswagen Touareg. I want a business where I could operate it from anywhere in the world. Do this in intense detail. Those are things that you can be journaling about.

4. How Long Should I Journal For?

Take as long as you like or as short as you like, but I would say start with a couple of minutes a day if you’ve never done it before. If you’ve not got a couple of minutes, you’ve got problems. You’ve got bigger problems than what you should journal about? Take the time. Some days, I have a set of questions, and I journal around those questions because I’m getting more and more clarity. I’m sending that signal to myself that this is what Denise wants; this is where we’re going. Some days, if I’ve got a bit more time, I spend 10, 15 minutes.

Now, I journal because I like the feeling, and I like that hand-brain connection of writing. It’s really weird. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of a tool called Remarkable. These are electronic journals. They allow you to upload things online and various other things, but they’ve managed to get the feeling of actually writing on paper. I don’t know; there’s something about that.

I have a nice journal. I bought my journals from Beechmore Journals; you can get them on Amazon. They’re expensive, but they’re beautiful, and they are made in vegan leather. Being a writer, of course, I have a fountain pen. I have a very expensive pen. I like writing; it’s my time to do that. That’s what I use.

  Journaling is a Super Power

Journaling is one of those counterintuitive things that people think doesn’t work, but it’s like a secret power for those who do journal. I’ve gone back and looked at some of my journals and gulped when I’ve seen how far I’ve come.

You remember Dan Sullivan always talks about the gap versus the gain. We’re always looking for what we haven’t done.

I remember writing that I would love to have a home in the Lake District. Five years after writing this, I ended up with a home in the Lake District. I wanted a home that looked out into the water. I probably should have got a little bit clearer because it’s a river I’m looking out onto at the moment when actually I wanted the sea!

That’s in my journal for the next place

I want an online business, and that’s what we have. Journaling, I strongly suggest that you consider it as you take your business even further forward.

How We Can Help

We have many clients on track for their best year ever because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we give them. If you want a quick chat to see how SuperfastCircle can work for you, book your call and demonstration here.

Thanks,

Denise

The post Journaling A Superpower To Improve Your Business Results appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Paul Card is the MD and Owner of Paul Card Recruitment.

Having spent his corporate career with Hays specialising in the Finance, Accountancy and Credit Management sector, Paul established the company in 2013.

The company are based in Teesside in the Northeast of England and focus on accountancy and finance recruitment in the key geographical market areas of the  North East and the Southern Home Counties.

During the pandemic, Paul has grown from a team of three at the start of the pandemic to six by July 2021.

As a business owner, what was life like before you joined Superfast Circle regarding marketing and what you were doing in the business?

It was poor! Our marketing, meaning our website, was outdated and required improvement.

Our website was seven years old, and we have never updated or refreshed it. It was a simple six-page brochure site. It did link to our CRM, but the logo had never been refreshed. We had never done any marketing other than outbound business development calls, the occasional spec CV, but without any marketing processes, systems or procedures. We had no associated collateral to enable us to market ourselves more effectively either.

I am still the principal fee earner while managing the business, managing the staff, and wearing multiple different hats. The marketing hat was one that never got put on, unfortunately. I was aware that we needed to do something about it and the pandemic probably highlighted that.

It’s a typical story of a small recruitment business owner.

What specific marketing problem were you looking to solve?

Even in late 2020, we were already experiencing a shortage of candidates. We’d restructured our business away from a 360 model to include 240 and 120. Our fee-earning consultant, if you’d like, would look after client delivery and business development, and then we’d hired a resourcer who would look after candidate research.

We had also then hired an additional consultant who works in public practice, ( chartered accounting) recruitment, which has always been notoriously scarce for candidates.

The balance of our fees in previous years has been between the private sector and commercial industry. I wouldn’t say candidates are plentiful, but they were in reasonable supply, which meant we didn’t usually have to worry about any more marketing other than job board advertising, a bit of LinkedIn posting, and a small amount of ad hoc work here and there.

We hired a colleague, Catherine, to look after the chartered accounting world. She’s also very candidate-driven, and it became apparent that if we were going to generate more inbound candidate inquiries and more inbound client inquiries to continue to grow the business, we needed to market ourselves better.

How did you find Superfast Recruitment?

It was a recommendation. I’m working with other recruitment trainers as well, specifically on the development part of the business. As part of that peer group, I met Steve Merrit, who runs an accountancy and finance recruitment firm in Sydney.

I knew that Steve had worked with yourself and Denise and spoke highly of the marketing collateral and support that he’d received, and yes, it was just natural to explore that one step further.

What made you decide to join Superfast Circle?

It was the whole package that Superfast offers. The reports, the blogs, the pre-written material, the access to the training and the implementation of those strategies as well.

I like the fact that it’s not only giving you the tools but teaching you how to use the tools and the collaborative nature of the circle. There’s the peer-to-peer learning, as well as the weekly coaching calls and Q&A sessions. It’s a premium package to elevate every aspect of your marketing.

On reflection, hindsight’s a wonderful thing. Maybe engaging with Superfast before embarking on a web redevelopment project would have been the right thing to do, but we certainly were able to receive some advice before the website went live from you.

What have you been able to achieve while being a member of Superfast Circle? What are your most significant benefits /results?

You realise that most people face similar challenges, worries and anxieties about growing their business or surviving a pandemic. The ability to ask any question without judgment because we’re all in the same boat is unique. I think that’s one of the things I’ve come to learn over the years.

If, like me, you leave the corporate world of recruitment, you’re led to believe that every other small recruitment business owner is the enemy and the competition.

Then you quickly realise the fact that there are massive opportunities for collaboration, learning and shared experience. When you take the blinkers off, you appreciate how important it is to have that network around you.

How has being a Member of Superfast Circle enabled you to reach some of your goals even in this short time?

We now have a number of strategies in place, such as:

• Lead magnets in the form of downloadable reports so that people will share their details with us to enable us to add them to our database and continue to market to them using an email funnel journey. Our CRM had sequential marketing and email funnel capability, but we hadn’t had the time or marketing expertise to develop those.

• We have email journeys that we can take people on to build our brand awareness and engagement.

• We have blogs, which we accessed through the Circle, and it has enabled us to put relevant added-value content onto our website immediately.

• Our social media presence has developed. Using automated scheduling tools, we are now sharing relevant content across all platforms, so we are hopefully more visible and valuable in front of our clients and candidates than we ever were before.

• By using the re-ignite email campaign, we have created new job opportunities that have resulted in placements.

What, if anything, has exceeded your expectations while working with SFR?

I think it’s certainly exceeded them. I think we’ve been able to implement faster than I expected. The level of support and access to yourself and Denise is exceptional. Sometimes with other recruitment trainers, the person that sells you the idea isn’t the one that you end up dealing with.

What is it like to work with Denise and Sharon? How is the company aligned with the values that drive your business?

With yourself and Denise, it’s a very personal service, very accessible, quick to respond to any queries, and wrapped up in a package that is easy to access, straightforward to understand, and easy to implement.

What’s the main reason you recommend Superfast Circle to other business owners/marketers?

I think you and most business owners recognise they need to do these things but don’t know how to do it. When you become aware of what Superfast can offer, it provides all the tools that you need to be able to execute a marketing plan.

What would you tell someone who is considering joining Superfast Circle

If somebody’s teetering on the edge of making a decision, I can guarantee you will be pleased with the investment that you make.

How We Can Help

We have many clients on track for their best year ever because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we give them. If you want a quick chat to see if we can work for you, book your call and demonstration here.

 

Thanks,

Denise

The post How Paul Card Recruitment Uses Marketing to Grow His Recruitment Company appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

A lot has happened in the marketplace over the last eighteen months. We’ve had multiple conversations with our clients around what they now want to do, the candidates and the clients they want to attract. [As usual, excuse any weird typing errors; this is a direct transcription for those of you who prefer to read.] 

All good news provided you get your positioning right. 

That’s why I thought this particular topic would be relevant for many of you who want to end the year strong while planning for an epic 2022. 

We work on the positioning area consistently with our clients at Superfast Circle, but I wanted to share some ideas and thoughts that might help you guys around how you now start to attract the people you want, the people you can place.  

Before we do that, you know the drill.  

If you’re new here, welcome; it’s great to have you.  

If you are reviewing your marketing currently, it’s always good to do an audit, what’s working, maybe what’s not working, what could work better. A good place to do this is to ask yourself some questions. We have a report that you can download. It’s a great checklist; 30 very straightforward questions to answer that will inform you of your next steps.  

You can grab a copy of that by going along to www.superfastrecruitment.co.uk/mcl.  

Now let’s talk about this particular topic that I think is as relevant today as ever. Let’s start talking about positioning you and your brand.  

Decide On Your Ideal Candidate and Client   

Over many years Sharon and I have been consulting and coaching recruitment business owners. 

There’s one concept that we teach repeatedly, and that is deciding on your avatar.  

It’s relatively straightforward and practical. It’s probably why people need consulting services in the first place.  

It pulls together many business, marketing and sales ideas into one cohesive force. 

When you get it right, you have the successful formula for your recruitment business, and let’s be frank, any business at all. You may need to experiment overtime to get your positioning in a place that works. 

However, it’s well worth pursuing when it comes to scaling and moving your brand forward.  

What I’m talking about here is the connection between who you serve, that’s the sector that you’re in, the clients, and candidates, what you sell, as in your recruitment offer.  

I know for many of you listening to this podcast, you will have reworked your offer or are thinking about; 

 “How do I improve what I’m offering to candidates and clients?”  

Then finally, how you market and distribute your new recruiting offer to candidates and clients you want to work with. 

This is the age-old concept of positioning, and it’s one of the first marketing concepts I ever learned as a sales representative and business owner. 

I was taught about positioning in the context of competition.  

Back in the old pharma days, I used to sell a product called Voltarol. Some of you may even know it over the counter now as Diclofenac.  

Ciba Geigy, the company I worked for, had a massive competitor called Naprosyn, another anti-inflammatory product, so we had to position our brand against their product. 

Now, in today’s marketplace, it’s not always the same, particularly when it comes to services versus products. In the context of recruitment, the point of positioning is really to make sure that a certain group of candidates and clients come to a decision and then, particularly in today’s marketplace, that it’s your recruitment company they want to work with because your offer is the right fit to solve the problem that they have.  

You could be selling something similar; your current recruiting service could be similar to another recruitment company. However, how are you communicating what you do? Could you frame it in another way? 

Create Your Recruiting Offer  

It’s interesting because we’ve had a few conversations with some of our clients about their positioning and offer over the last couple of days. After all, if you don’t have your positioning developed in such a way, then you become a commodity; you become the same as everyone else in the market.  

That’s when you get into price battles, where people will only pay 15%. They don’t consider it worth paying more 

Here is where you need to communicate your position; you communicate that you are a specialist. You demonstrate that you work differently. 

Now, it depends on your market; you may have to add different things into your service. Yes, there may be a cost attached to that.  

However, if that means that you can raise your fee level to 25, 30%, you might have to up-level your website.  

It might be that you have to add personality profiling as a standard. I’m saying personality profiling – I’m talking about testing, it could be McQuaig, it could be MBTI – whatever it might be, you might want to use that. 

In addition, use some of the video interviewing platforms. All of this will position you in the service you offer as something different, but of course, your positioning has to look at what your clients and candidates want?  

How can you identify what their big issue is that you can solve? Because the more you can solve for them, the better it is.  

To get your head around this concept, I’ll share the positioning of our Superfast Circle Brand. 

Many recruitment business owners and marketers came to us for training which they loved. Then they wanted coaching and consulting that went along with it, and they also wanted some content and campaigns. 

What we did is we looked at, “Okay, so how do we give our clients everything they need, so it’s a one-stop-shop for people?” This has attracted more people to the Circle and us because they know that their bases are covered, and they’ve always got somebody on hand that they can have a conversation with.  

Now, what is your equivalent when it comes to positioning your recruitment brand because the issue and the challenges around candidates shortages will not disappear in 2022.  

You have to move towards that; 

• Okay, so what can I do to stand out differently?  
• What can I do to be front of mind for candidates? 
• What added value can I bring so working with me is the logical choice? 

Marketing is the key driver. 

Yes, it’s great that you’ve got clients now coming to you, but how do you position yourself to candidates in the market?  

Are you standing out head and shoulders above other people because of you and the service that you offer?  

Positioning is a key area that many recruiters who want to grow are looking at now. I hope that’s you. If it is, you know what to do.  

Get in contact with one of us; let’s have a conversation, and we can show you how we can help you with your positioning so that you get your brand out in front of the people that are important to you.  

 

How We Can Help 

We have many clients on track for their best year ever because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we give them. If you want a quick chat to see if we can work for you, book your call and demonstration here. 

 

Thanks, 

Denise 

The post Is Your Positioning Losing Placements For Your Recruitment Brand? appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Today’s topic is about a social network, and that is LinkedIn. If you weren’t aware, LinkedIn is the biggest social network for business in the Western world.

It’s approaching 870 million members globally, which will increase before the end of the year.

Most recruiters have a paid membership, but for many people, this is a great free platform to use to get in front of your market.

Now, what’s been happening recently, and to allay anybody’s fears, this happens with every social network. For some reason, our reach on LinkedIn—and I’m saying our reach as members of LinkedIn—our engagement, number of comments, shares, and impressions are down at this point in the year compared to the end of 2023.

Is that disappointing? Yes.

However, it’s not a reason not to use LinkedIn because, for some of us, we’ve got 25- 30% less reach on our posts, and maybe fewer people view from an impression point of view.

It’s not the end of the world, though you would think it, reading some of the posts on LinkedIn

As I mentioned in the intro, you must remember that some of the people talking about this are big LinkedIn “influencers”.

Their business is LinkedIn. They sell programs around LinkedIn and teach people about LinkedIn. They want to be ahead of their market.

They are not small business owners like you and I who want to get in front of our clients and candidates on LinkedIn so people can see we’re there.

Several people have asked us if it’s still worth posting on LinkedIn.

The answer is YES!

Why? Because there are so many advantages to posting on LinkedIn, particularly now, because you’re going to get some people thinking, “Oh, well, it’s not worth marketing on LinkedIn,” and they’ll stop, which means it’s better for you.

So here are eight reasons why posting on LinkedIn is useful and how you can get your mindset around this.

1. Most People Don’t Post On LinkedIn

Let’s start with number one: posting on LinkedIn more than once a week. It’s interesting because when we have our demo calls for Superfast Circle and talk to business owners, we have a discovery call with them to see if we can help them understand their goals.

I am fascinated by the number of people who rarely post on LinkedIn. If they do post, it might be a job, or once a week or a couple of times a month.

Data shows that only about 3% or 4% of the LinkedIn population posts more than once a week.

If you look at that as an opportunity, how can you stand out on LinkedIn? Simply posting consistently makes a huge difference because, remember, you want to work with candidates and clients, and people can’t work with you if they don’t know who you are.

Social media is huge, and over 4.6 million people have social media accounts. Social media is key for connecting with people, and with LinkedIn, you’ve got 850 million people plus who have accounts you can get in front of.

2. You Can Be Present In Front of Past Clients

Now, number two, posting will get you back in front of past clients again. Interestingly, one of our Superfast Circle members, the lovely Rachel, got an additional CTO role because she had been posting regularly on LinkedIn.

One of her past clients was one of those out-of-the-blue requests that said to her, “Look, I’ve got a CTO role. Can you help me with it?”

Rachel was delighted about this, and logically, as we teach people, she asked, “What was the reason you reached out to me? How did this happen?” She said, “I can’t miss you. You’re all over LinkedIn, and I’d forgotten about you. I thought, oh, Rachel would be the person to contact about this role.”

This is key to remember. We are human beings who live in a very distracted world. Our brains get full, and we forget about things. We forget about people. Have you ever had that experience where you just thought, “God, I’ve not heard from such a body in ages.”

You’ve gone on to Facebook, and you’ve Googled the name. “God, they’re still there. I don’t see a lot from them anymore. I wonder how they’re doing.”

It’s the same in business.

We forget about suppliers that we used to work with. “Oh, they were really good. I should get back in contact. I wonder if they could help me. I wonder if they know somebody.”

It’s the same on a platform like LinkedIn. You start getting out in front of your market again because, remember, we’ll come on to people you’re not connected to in a second, but if you are connected to these people, your first-degree connections, they will see your content again.

3. You Can Be Present In Front of Past Candidates

This brings me onto, logically, and I’m sure you know where I’m going with this, number three, and posting gets you back in front of past candidates again. We have another Superfast Circle member, the lovely Steve, who has been with us for several years. One of the first things that he noticed as he was posting more on LinkedIn was that he was getting more connection requests, but also, he was back out in front of his candidates again, who were reaching out to him saying, “Steve, you helped me get a job X number of years ago. I noticed you’re on LinkedIn again. Can we have a conversation?”

How could that work for you?

It’s one of the things that lots of people forget about. For those of you who have attended different webinars, we have one particular webinar called the Lead Generation Triad. We talk about how you can work leads. I think one of the things that a lot of people forget is you have a database, and there are people on your database you are not speaking to, and connecting with and posting on social media helps to get you back in front of these people.

Imagine all the followers and connections. I know that some recruiters have thousands of people to whom they are connected on LinkedIn. Suppose you can start to get your content in front of them, which, because they’re a connection, you will do. Then what a difference that can make because it will raise their awareness level about you. That is just purely posting on LinkedIn.

4. Branding Yourself as an Expert In Front of New Connections

Next, let’s discuss how posting gets your content in front of new connections. We always recommend maxing out the number of connection requests you can make on LinkedIn, and I’m sure you’re doing this anyway.

You want to bring new people into your sphere of influence. You want to be connected to new people. Have you ever noticed that people view your profile when you make several connection requests?

Imagine if they go and view your profile, they see that you’ve not posted in months; they don’t see any content on your profile at all. They’re not seeing much of you. That is possibly a reason not to connect with you, but when they accept your connection requests, they will suddenly start seeing your quality content.

They will validate why it’s important to be connected to you. They will experience your knowledge and expertise in the market they’re dealing with, yet another reason why it’s important to post.

5. Short Videos Will Help You Stand Out

The next one I want to talk about is videos. We have noticed that some of our views on posts have dropped. However, there’s one modality: I love my technical words.

One modality it hasn’t done that with is video. Interestingly, we post some of what are known as short-form videos.

Generally, videos are about a minute long. Sometimes, they’re a little bit less. That way, we can upload them to YouTube and other places. Videos engage people because they give you a visual experience. They’re hearing you and listening to what you’re saying.

The way LinkedIn works, you don’t have to hear the sound because you can see the text across their screen. Videos will help you because not many people do them, and they help you stand out and be recognised.

It’s interesting when we talk to people, and they have a conversation with us, many will say, “Oh, yes, I’ve seen your videos on LinkedIn. I find them useful. They’re just little snippets that get me focused. I like them. That’s one of the reasons why I’m having a conversation with you.”

For recruiters, it’s so important to get your brand out there. If you are considering video, and I hope you are, get them out onto LinkedIn and do it consistently because that will help you.

6. Share Value-Based Content That Answers Questions

The next one is content. It is not any content but what I like to call value-added content. Some of you may have seen I posted a version of this podcast as a short post on LinkedIn. It adds value. Many people—and I say people, sometimes other marketers—love to bamboozle and confuse people.

We like to keep things simple. That was one of the reasons for writing this post and recording this podcast: to stop people from worrying and think, “Okay, I know things are changing, but what can I do?”

Here, I am giving you eight things you can do that will help. I think the thing about it is you can write really short content snippets that will help your market.

Be that candidates or clients, give them some value bombs.

You have so much value to share; you will not give away the crown jewels. You are giving away information that will support and help people. So, who do you think that person will go to when they’re ready to move roles or when they want to bring on board a new recruiter to help them?

Content makes a huge difference because it profiles you as the expert.

7. Posting on LinkedIn Leverages Your Time

Relating to something I’ve just said, I wrote a short post and posted it on LinkedIn. I appreciate I am a writer. I have many ideas and am very used to doing them, but this post took me less than 10 minutes to write and post using the LinkedIn scheduling tool.

The whole process probably took me 12 minutes. What if it took you 15 minutes? Imagine doing that, even if you did it three times a week, and what a difference that would make.

People consistently use time as an excuse. We all have the same number of hours in a day, but if you focus and plan your activities, you will achieve more.

Here’s a tip.

If you post something like this on LinkedIn, nothing stops you from posting it again in a few months because people ‘ll have seen other posts and forgotten about it.

Potentially, you could connect with over a few hundred new people each month in your LinkedIn feed who haven’t seen your content. If you post it at a different time of day, a different person will see it.

Posting More Leads To Connections and Business

There are many reasons to post on LinkedIn. It’s interesting that I decided I’d write the post for LinkedIn when I wrote this very short version of this podcast. I needed to do more on this because many people are concerned about what they do next.

It is not about overcomplicating things; it’s about posting more, and you’ll still get views on your content.

I posted a picture of Gabi Preston-Phypers. Many of you will know her from Tooled Up Raccoons, a good connection of ours. I came across Gabi because of a post that she’d made on LinkedIn. I contacted her and asked if she would come on our podcast.

Gabi then presented at our client event last year and did a great presentation. On the back of it, good for Gabi, she sold several people in our membership her Tooled Up Raccoons process and software. I was very pleased because she made a great offer, and clients used it to help with sourcing.

She added huge value, and that came because I saw her post on LinkedIn. Imagine if that was the same for you. Imagine if someone sees you on LinkedIn and decides to reach out to you, and maybe it’s one of those people.

When we start working with people, we often ask them, “How much contact have you made with your first-degree connections?” Often, there’s a blank look, and the question is, “Not a lot. I could do a lot more.”

I hope that’s been useful. Multiple ways and multiple reasons to post on LinkedIn and the benefits it will give you.

Thanks

Denise

How We Can Help You

As members of Superfast Circle, Sharon and I are your outsourced marketing directors. We help you plan your marketing and determine what will work for you, and we also provide marketing collateral you can use.

If you want to learn more, book a quick call with us here.

The post LinkedIn Marketing: 8 Reasons Why It Is Still Worth Posting on LinkedIn appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

I thought it might be good to share a few thoughts I’ve had as I’ve reflected on what’s been happening over the past few years. I’ll tell you the story because it’s always good to look at where you’ve been as you’re moving forward. [Remember this is a direct transcription, so excuse any weird typos lurking about!] 

I know that sometimes we can spend a little bit too much time thinking about our past and how it’s affected us rather than thinking about our future and what we want.  

I think that’s probably a topic for another podcast.  

Today, I want to reflect on some of the messages that have landed with me as I’ve thought about what has worked with the podcast and the lessons I’ve learned along the way. 

Before I do that, it would be remiss of me if I didn’t give a shout-out to our checklist and our social media marketing report as well.  

You can download both of those; it will help you get started with your marketing and help you identify where you are.  

You can find them at www.superfastrecruitment.co.uk/mcl, for marketing checklist, and www.superfastrecruitment.co.uk/smm, for social media marketing.  

Of course, if you would like to give us a shout-out or a review, it’s so much easier now on iTunes to do that and on Spotify, and Google, and all the other places where we are. We would really appreciate it. 

 

1. From the Beginning  

Let’s talk about 300 plus podcasts and a few lessons over the last eight years. The very first podcast that I recorded was in 2013. I’m recording this in 2021, so I’m sure for the majority of you who are pretty good at maths, you can work out that this podcast has been going for eight years. 

I decided to record it back in the day because I wanted to do something that was part of, at the time, more of the rich media movement.  

Podcasts were starting to appear, and I wondered about sound versus video.  

In honesty, I just thought, which is likely to be the easiest to do? At the time, I decided that you know what? I guess I’m going to go with podcasting. 

It seemed a little bit less – what’s the word? I’m not going to say confrontational, but with the best will in the world, it’s not always easy to stand up and be out there in front of a video.  

It wasn’t for me at the time.  

Obviously, I’ve managed to navigate that fear now; well, most of the time  

At the time, it was like, “Okay, this seems a good thing to do.” I decided to choose it because, at some point, you’ve got to pick something if you want to move forward.  

I focused on what I thought I would be good at because I’d done a little bit of voiceover on various things back in the day in my corporate days, so I thought, “Well, let’s give this a go.” 

I’ll be honest and say, I hadn’t a clue how to get it to work. A friend of mine who was in the same mentoring was a bigger techie than I was at the time. I said to him, “Look, could you just create a product for me, and I’ll buy it off you.”  

He was talking about how he wanted to create a product for some time on how to get a podcast together. I was his first purchaser. I got the podcast information, went through it, and learned how to do my first podcast,  and everything around putting it on iTunes, getting it approved, getting the visual done, looking at the music, and all that sort of thing.  

That’s where I started; by looking at something I was good at. 

 

2. Just Make a Start  

The second lesson was, everyone starts as an amateur. I can honestly say that the first few podcasts had multiple takes because (and even to this day, occasionally), I’ll leave the ringer on my iPhone, or I won’t put the phone on “Do Not Disturb”, or Flo would bark!! 

There are multiple minefields in anything that you do. Podcasting is no different. You start as an amateur, and I think our American friends say, “You’re probably going to suck at the first few”, and I most certainly did.  

When I go back and listen to the first podcast we ever did, it was okay, but they are a lot better now; I’m a lot more natural in them now. 

That’s the same with everything. You have to accept that if you want to be successful, you have to do the hard things, and sometimes the hard stuff is stepping outside of your comfort zone, doing something you’ve never done before and practice, practice, practice, and you will get better. 

 

3. Set Up A Process  

The third lesson that I got is, work out your format and have a process. We were talking to some marketeers in our Superfast Circle call the other day about the fact that, as a marketeer, you will always have multiple things that you need to do. It’s a busy role; it’s got many outputs and inputs and all of those lovely things.  

You do need to map out the process. I decided on the format of this podcast. I’ve stuck to it for the majority of the ones that I’ve recorded.  

I decided to make it harder for myself because I decided to use this podcast as a teaching mechanism. 

There are very few of these podcasts where I have a guest because the format of this is to help people with marketing their recruitment company. We also talk about sales and how to improve sales through marketing.  

This is a tutorial format. It probably would have been a lot easier if I’d interviewed people because then I don’t have to come up with the content or write the content, research it, or put it all together. Instead, I could have asked someone else a few questions, and then those questions are formatted into a podcast, and that’s how it goes. 

That is a good starting point. If I were to do this all over again, maybe I’d do a little bit more interviewing, actually getting a bit more help with the podcast.  

Anyhow, it’s worked for me.  

Many people are amazed that I’ve still managed to keep doing this every week, which we’ll come on to.  

The format you’ll notice we have – I will do a very hooky intro at the beginning. If you are a marketeer, always hook people in so they want more. I will share a little bit about the number of the podcast and the topic area. Then I have a voiceover. I recorded a couple of different podcasts, and the voiceover on this happens to be a lovely Scottish lady with music when you listen to this. 

There’s a voiceover with the hook about what you will get from listening to the podcast. Then we get into it. What I do with this podcast, because, as they say, it’s a marketing tool; there is no free lunch.  

I have set up two separate landing pages. At the moment, we’re promoting the marketing checklist, and we’re also promoting the social media marketing report. I share the URL at the start of this podcast, which is useful for other people.  

If you’re thinking about doing a video channel or having your own podcast, what could you do? Mention where people can find more information. Of course, for me, many people find the podcast on iTunes, on Spotify, they may have come across a link that we’ve shared on LinkedIn, or they may have come across our blog, which is optimised for the search engines, but they might not be on our email list. 

My goal is to get people to join our email list because once people join our email list, we can have a more intimate relationship with them. That’s why I always share opportunities to come further along the line with us and become a subscriber.  

That is a great lesson that I’ve learned, is always have a call to action. There is also a call to action at the end of this podcast. We have a format; we have a process. I record the podcasts. They are transcribed, and then Ana, one of our team members, puts them all together. She puts the intros together. We also have an outro at the end where we talk about Superfast Circle and what you need to do if you want to find out more. 

That’s a process that we go through. I record them. I am batching this at the moment. I am recording this at the beginning of September, and today, I am recording five podcasts. I often do that because it makes it easier for me to batch because I’m a marketeer. I also train. I also do some writing for clients. I have a busy schedule. I find it much easier to batch everything. 

One of the things that I got around marketing through doing the podcast is batching. It becomes so much easier, and because you get into a flow, your voice sounds better, you become more confident, and it works well. Once I have recorded the podcast, it is then sent it off to be transcribed. The transcription ends up on our website, and it’s used in multiple ways and shared on social media and shared with all of our different partners as well. 

 

4. Adopt A Value-Based Approach  

A value-based approach always works. Now, I share and reveal a lot on this podcast, probably more than people realise. If you went through all the back recordings on this podcast, a lot of your marketing and marketing funnel information that you need is mapped out. I do reveal a lot. I also use this as a vehicle to seed more information about us and our products, which I strongly recommend everyone does so that people I know for a fact will listen to this podcast. If they’ve listened to it on iTunes, they’re going to go over to our website and have a look at things. 

I use it as a value-based tool because it’s what works in business now. Give them value, and at some point in time, when they are ready to come and work with you, that is exactly what they’re going to do because also this is all around the preeminent strategy that I shared last week with you. It helps to build your authority in the market. It just plain works when you’re giving value to people. As Frank Kern always says, “Show them you can help them by actually helping them.” 

The other thing about this particular podcast is that you appreciate what people like to listen to. They want to listen to you and your story, and the more you share stories in your marketing, the more it works.  

I’ve had people that have said to me, “Oh, I remember that story about the Wigan Athletic T-shirt.” I’m thinking, “Oh, which one was that?” Or, “I remember that story about pharmaceuticals.” Or, “I remember that story about the Abba Tribute Band.” Or, “I remember that story about you going to the dentist.” People love stories. One of the things that I always remember as people talk to me, they would say, “I feel like I know you.” Because obviously, they’d been listening to my voice on the podcast for some time. 

 

5. Utilise Search Engines  

Now, the next thing is search engines work. Many people have said that they found our podcast just by Googling podcasts about recruitment or podcasts about marketing in the recruitment sector, and we appear. Now we are also on multiple platforms. Our podcast, you will find on Google podcasts now. We appear on the first page of Google. If you Google the Recruitment Marketing and Sales Podcast, you will see our last three podcasts on Google Play there. 

We’re also on Spotify. We’re on all the major channels, and when you think about the search engines that iTunes and  YouTube are if you are going to use a rich media like podcasting or video marketing, think about, “How do I work with the search engines to make this work for us?” We have many listeners in the States and Australia, all of whom have found us by jumping onto iTunes or Googling things like podcasts for recruiters. Think about whatever you do, whatever marketing strategy you do, “Could this work for me from a search engine perspective as well?”. 

 

6. Recognising The Gain over the Gap  

Now, we talked about stories. We talked about the fact that it’s good to do hard things. I think something else thing that I would say about this particular podcast and what I’ve learned is around the gap and the gain because back in the day, it was a real push for me to do this podcast along with everything else I was doing.  

Nobody at that time in the sector was doing a podcast. I’ve seen many new recruitment marketers out there talking about the podcasts they’ve been doing for ages. Then I go and look, and they’ve got 50 episodes. 

I’ve been doing this for a long time, and it’s very easy to become complacent, but hopefully, I don’t do that. I always like to look at how far we’ve come because it’s very easy to think, “Oh, I still need to do an awful lot more.” It’s good for me to sit here and think, “Okay, where am I now versus where I started?” Well, we’ve had thousands and thousands of downloads, probably well over 100,000 downloads now on this particular podcast. We regularly have hundreds and hundreds of people listening to each podcast that I create. 

 

7. Do More and Stay Consistent  

I think the final thing is to talk about consistency and the do more strategy. One of my mentors always says, “How many offers have you made, Denise?”. How many offers have you made? Your success is directly proportional to how consistently you’re out in front of your market and how often you are.  

You might be trying to work out, “I wonder when they did all the podcasts then?” We’re over 300 podcasts now. When we first started, we only used to do one a month because that’s what people did then. They only did once a month. 

That’s what I did. I followed that process. Then I thought, “Do you know what? I think I need to do a bit more of these.” I was getting positive feedback, and people were, “Oh, I always look forward to your podcast.” Then over the last two or three years, we have ramped up how many we do.  

There will be at least one podcast a week. In fact, during COVID, I did a special series, ‘Handling what is Happening’, and I think I did something like 21 podcasts over 21 days. Every day, I did a podcast to help people navigate where they were both emotionally, mentally, and from a lead generation point of view in handling what was happening in their business.  

Consistency is key. I’ve already given one clue around the fact that I batch everything, but for you, think about what channel could you choose? What idea, what strategy would work for you? Something that you can be consistent with. 

I hope you’ve enjoyed a little ramble around 300 podcasts and some of the things that have landed with me over time.  

 

How We Can Help 

We have many clients on track for their best year ever because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we give them. If you want a quick chat to see if we can work for you, book your call and demonstration here. 

Thanks, 

Denise 

The post Lessons Learned From Recording 300 Podcasts appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Before we start, there are a couple of things that will be useful for this whole process.  

[First, remember this is a direct transcription for your benefit, so excuse any rogue typos.] 

I did mention them last week, but I’m going to mention them again, just in case you haven’t grabbed them. If you’ve not downloaded the latest Recruitment Marketing Checklist, then do that because as you are moving forward towards the end of the year, I’m sure many of you are thinking about your strategy for 2022 already.  

You do need to know where you are. If you haven’t got a copy of the checklist, or if you’ve downloaded it before, go back and print it off again and fill out the 30 questions. At least you have a sporting chance of knowing where you are versus where you want to be. 

That’s number one. Number two – social media. We’re going to be talking about content in a second, but social media is pivotal for your brand awareness, particularly at this point in time, because of what’s happened over the past couple of years. You can download another of our reports. It’s going to help you, and they’re all complimentary. Just go along to www.superfastrecruitment.co.uk/smm. If you’ve not downloaded the audit checklist, that’s, again, www.superfastrecruitment.co.uk/mcl.  

The Many Benefits of Content Marketing  

Let’s talk about content marketing and its many benefits for you as a recruitment and staffing company. Today, I’ve highlighted 10 specific ways that utilizing content marketing will help you and your recruitment brand. Let’s start with number one. 

1. Content Marketing Improves Brand Awareness  

Number one is that content marketing is the most cost-effective way to improve your brand awareness. Now, content comes in many forms. It can be distributed in different ways, which we’re going to come on to. As a first premise, always remember that in today’s marketplace, one of the fantastic benefits of using content is that as an SME business or as a micro-business, you can compete in ways that don’t cost you an awful lot of money. You can get your brand out and in front of candidates and clients – your ideal candidates, your ideal clients – in a very easy way.  

Now, you can outsource the writing of content. We have provided writing services in the past, and we provide them for our Superfast Circle members. Just imagine that this is something that anyone can teach themselves to do. A lot of people say, “Oh, I can’t write”. You might be surprised how good you could be at writing if you follow a specific process. We train people to write content in such a way that you could position yourself in front of your market and in a way that makes a huge impact on you and your brand. 

2. Content Marketing Give You Greater Exposure  

The second thing about content marketing is that it gives you more ways for people to find you.   

There are multiple ways that you can use content for people to find you.  

One is through Social Media, and the other is by optimising content for the search engines.  

So, social media – LinkedIn and, depending on what sectors you’re in, on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. You can post updates and information about developing a career and recruiting. You can write up to 1300 characters on LinkedIn and even more on Facebook and Instagram. Here is an example from a recent LinkedIn post of mine.

Another way is to optimize your website for the search engines, so you appear for the people searching for you. If you are writing a regular piece of content on your website, each time you post, that is another page on your website. Another page where people can find you and a signal to Google you are an authority in the sector.  

A couple of years ago, we had an event in the Lake District for our Superfast Circle members. One of the members was lamenting that his website didn’t appear as he wanted it to on Google.   

When was the last time you Googled your website? Just look at how many links appear for your website? Are there multiple links? Are you struggling to find it? One of the ways to change that is to have additional pages on your website, so additional content. This particular client of ours at the time hadn’t got any blog content at all. He had what I would class as a very ‘thin website’. It just had a few basic pages, and he had his jobs page.  

Google wasn’t seeing him as an authority brand in his particular sector, and that was quite easy to rectify. He started to produce more content, and lo and behold, his website appeared. If you have more content on your website, it will be much easier for people to search and find you.   

I don’t know about you, but if I go and Google a supplier by name of any description and I can’t find them on the first page, or I can’t find multiple links for them, I can’t find a Google places a piece of content around them, I’m always a bit sceptical – are they the real deal? That is one thing about content; it will increase traffic to your authority website and will help in your positioning. 

3. Content Comes in Many Forms  

Content can be created in multiple ways. It can be reused, and it’s really easy to do. Some of the technology around recording, videoing, and writing has become available in the last few years, making marketing easier. The next podcast that I will be recording is about my lessons from recording over 300 podcasts over the last eight years and how easy it’s become relative to when I first started recording The Recruitment Marketing and Sales Podcast.  

Think about all the multimedia you can now use, from podcasting to video to live streaming.  

The good news is there are so many ways that you can use content. It doesn’t have to be in the written word. You could record something and have it transcribed. There are multiple ways to use content that will also impact how people consume you and your brand. Some people prefer to listen. Listener numbers on all the podcasting platforms are increasing exponentially now. You’ve got all these different ways that you can use content to your advantage. 

4. Content Creates Connection  

Creating content using many different modalities creates a connection with you. Content allows you to connect, and as you connect with people, they get to know you, and people, as we all know, want to work with people they know, like, and trust before they hand over money. People can get a sense of you, who you are and your personality because we all have so much choice in today’s market.   

Some people probably won’t work with Sharon and I. We might not be their cup of tea. There are other people where I’m certain we are their cup of tea. They get to know that through the content we write, through the videos we create, and through the podcasts we record. That is available to you. It’s an easy way for you to start attracting your tribe through the things that you do and say. 

5. Content Creates Omnipresence  

One of the advantages of utilising content marketing for you and your brand is that it creates omnipresence. The famous marketeer, Jay Abraham, came up with the original quote around omnipresence related to marketing.

His thoughts are that we can be everywhere because we now have access to multimedia as an SME business. Content that you create can be shared across multiple channels. A lot of people say, “Oh, well, you need to put something different on Twitter. You need to put something different on YouTube, something different on Facebook”. To be honest, you don’t need to do that. You can share your content across multiple channels.  

I think one of the things about this — and remember, email as well, we’re not even touching email a lot in this particular podcast, but of course, email is your content for making a connection with people. Just think about it, over the last couple of years, social media has gone through the roof with the number of people present on different channels because people were craving connection. I think there’s now something like 3.4 billion members on Facebook. Something like 2.6 billion people on YouTube.   

Even LinkedIn is now up to just shy of 800 million members. You can see the difference that would make – if you are on all of these channels – some of your clients will be on these channels too. You can see how being present in front of people and the opportunity that could bring you; the way you do that is fundamentally through utilising content. 

6. Content Builds Authority For Your Brand  

Number six links to what we were just talking about when it comes to omnipresence. That is around building your authority brand for your market. You don’t need to be the authority on recruitment, but you need to be an authority in recruitment in your specific sector. Of course, that’s easier to do because your tribe is much smaller, but you can do that by using all these multiple channels. If you’ve ever had that experience where you watch an advert on the TV, and then you see it again, and then suddenly you’re opening a magazine, and that advert is there again. Or you go and look up their website, and suddenly you get re-targeted, and that person appears to be everywhere.  

Our primitive brains then think, oh, well, if that person’s in all these different places, then maybe they’re okay. You can link to how our human psyche works when you start to build your authority. Of course, you can do this with the content that you create. You could write a blog post that then gets made into multiple images that you share. It’s recorded as a podcast; it’s recorded as a video. There are so many things you could do that help build your authority and opportunity in the market. 

7. Content Plays Into The Buyers’ Cycle  

Coming on to number seven now, we have talked so many times about the buyers’ cycle, about how people move from the awareness that they have a problem, through to wanting that problem solved, to identifying a supplier recruiting partner they can work with.  

One of the things that content can do for you ahead of time is answer the questions in your clients’ and your candidates’ minds. I am certain most, if not all, of you will have a client and candidate pathway mapped out. Then, when they start to work with you, what’s the journey they take? There are lots of questions going on in people’s minds.  

Now, imagine you are building your authority. One of the ways you build your authority is by answering all those questions going on in people’s minds. You know what it’s like; you have something pop up. The first thing you do, you jump onto Google, and you Google it, or because you are connected to somebody on LinkedIn, you just happen to see that piece of content. Our brains can do really good things for us; it searches out where all these things are, which helps. You can answer questions ahead of time for your people through the content that you create. 

8. Content Warms Up Your Contacts  

Number eight is it warms people up to working with you. We’ve touched on this briefly a little bit earlier on in this podcast. People get to know you as an individual, and then, if you are the type of person they resonate with, your content is warming them up even more as they’re moving down the buyers’ cycle to start working with you. There are lots of different ways that you can do that in the content that you write. 

9. Content Can Be Used To Answer Objections  

The next thing is the elephant in the room – people have objections. People have objections to working with you. It’s not the right time; it’s too time-intensive, you charge too much as a recruitment company, anyone can do it now, all these things that go on. You can create content that answers people’s objections. Imagine somebody is in your funnel. Maybe they’re on your email list; they’re a candidate considering whether they work with your recruiting company or not; you can answer a lot of their objections even before you get on the phone and speak to them.  

It’s probably more likely that people, once they’ve read some of the content you’re sharing, will then take a call from you or maybe sit down and have a chat about their future career. All that can happen because you’re answering their objections. 

10. Case Studies Can Be Used As Content  

The final one I want to talk about that people don’t always consider is content can be used in the form of a case study, or it can be used in the form of a testimonial. We share testimonials as memes (visual graphics) on LinkedIn, Facebook, and in all these places that we hang out.  

We also have written testimonials all over our website. Would that make a difference because people search for things like that? Think about your content there. It is a great convincer as people are moving down the buyers’ cycle and consider working with you because people don’t want to make a mistake. If they can go and read one of your client case studies or candidate case studies or testimonials, that will make a difference for them.  

So there you have just 10 of the many benefits of using content marketing for you and your recruitment organisation. Get to work on these and get some of them moving before the end of the year; you will be amazed at the difference it will make with your connection and the rapport with candidates and clients and how many you can convert. 

How We Can Help 

We have many clients on track for their best year ever because they implement what we teach and utilize the content and campaigns we give them. If you want a quick chat to see if we can work for you, book your call and demonstration here. 

 

Thanks, 

Denise 

The post 10 Benefits of Content Marketing For Your Recruitment and Staffing Company appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

The incredibly powerful thing about marketing automation is that it can be utilised in so many areas of your business. To get you started, I am going to share five of them here.  

 

1. Brand Awareness

“Nobody knows about us. We need to stand out more!” 

I feel your pain. 

People won’t use your recruiting service unless they know who you are and understand how you can solve their problems.

One of the easiest ways to do this currently is by utilising social media and content marketing. 

Did you know that less than seven per cent of people are ready to buy from you now?

This is normal, by the way. All of us, no matter what we are purchasing, go through the buyer’s cycle. We go through becoming aware of our situation, and then we look out for people who can solve our problem, and we consider if what they have to offer can help us. 

One of the first places this can happen is on social media; and here is the even better news. You can automate a lot of the process to your advantage. Yes, you will need to create some initial content, and then you can use this over time. I’ll cover more about the automation tools you can use later on in this report. 
 

2. Lead Capture   

Once your audience becomes aware of you, the next stage is to capture their contact details so you can build an ongoing relationship with them as you ‘lead’ them through the buyer’s cycle.  

Earlier on, I shared a story about the concerned client and candidate and how their midnight surfing ended up with them downloading a report of yours.  

This process can be automated by having lead capture boxes on your website.  

Here you can offer something of value that only requires a name and an email address. Take a look on our website to see this in action on multiple places here.  

I’ll cover lead capture in more detail when we share with you how to create your first funnel.  

 

3. Lead Nurture

Once you have that individual’s details, you can then nurture them with an email campaign. They’ve downloaded something of value, potentially a report or white paper or the opportunity to watch a video of yours. 

After this, they’ll receive a series of emails, designed to nurture them through the buying cycle – the great news here is that the emails that you write can be used on multiple occasions for different campaigns.  

One client we work with is still using the same client and candidate report and email campaign we helped her write over three years ago. 

Ever since then, she has been using the same automated funnel because it continues to warm up both client and candidate leads for her consultants.  

 

4. Conversion   

It might surprise you, but marketing automation can help your conversions in many different ways, from Google software which tells you which part of your website is working well to automating a candidate or client booking a call.   

Did you know you can even combine email marketing automation with SMS texts to make sure a candidate is reminded about their interview?  

What if you have a marketing campaign where you send out the latest ‘hot’ candidate to your email list every week. Imagine loading up a series of ‘hot’ candidates into a campaign that gets sent out and everything is automated? 

 

5. Retention  

Though often as business owners, we have a focus on new business, what about retaining and upselling your current clients or candidates?  

In a recent article in Forbes, Fredrick Reichheld of Bain and Co, a respected market research company, shared the fascinating data that increasing customer retention rates by only 5% increases profits by 25-95%.  

I don’t know about you, but a 25% increase in profits as a starting point is something we would take any day.  

What if you created an automated campaign to clients you are working with, or candidates you have placed to remain front of mind?  

What if you used this subtlely as a way to upsell and cross-sell too? When it comes to retention, it is about being front of mind.  

These five areas continue to deliver for our Superfast Circle clients month after month. If you want to find out more about how this will work for you, book a call for a quick chat here.  

 

How We Can Help 

We have many clients on track for their best year ever because they implement what we teach and utilize the content and campaigns we give them. If you want a quick chat to see if we can work for you, book your call and demonstration here. 

 

Thanks, 

Denise 

The post Five Marketing Processes You Can Automate In Your Recruitment Business appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Automating your marketing will make you more money: period.  

It saves you both time and resource. Finally, SME businesses can compete thanks to A.I. and the amazing tech stacks we can all buy at a fraction of the cost they were only a few short years ago. 

So here are three critical benefits you will receive when you automate your marketing. 

 

1. Marketing Automation Allows You to Compete  

Marketing is a huge leverage point for any business. And now we have the capability and technology to automate many parts of the marketing process. So where do you start and what should you consider?  

There’s a myth that marketing automation is only about lead generation; it’s not.  

We are going to share with you five key marketing processes where you can start building in automation.  

As S.M.E. businesses, we have access to technology and software that allows us to reach out to bigger and broader audiences of potential clients and candidates. 

 It allows us to engage in a way that we haven’t been able to do before so that we can compete with companies of any size, whether that’s locally, nationally, or across the globe.  

 When people phone us up and say, “Can we talk to you about marketing and automation? I want to look at marketing automation in my business”, one of the key things they want to do is save time. 

 Yes, absolutely, it will save time. 

 However, you have to be prepared to put the hard work in upfront to get the benefits you want further down the line. 

 You will improve and increase your conversion with automation. Michael Gerber, who wrote The E Myth for S.M.E.s, talks about organising around systems if you plan to scale. 

 To scale: get your systems in place and let the people run the systems. 

 One thing I admire about the recruitment industry is that business owners are so good at implementing systems that allow you and your teams to match the right candidate with the right company and the right job. 

 Now it is about mapping over that skill to mastering marketing automation. 

 

2. Marketing Working for You 24/7  

Marketing automation can ensure your brand, and your business is potential clients, existing clients, future candidates, and current twenty-four hours a day – every day of the year. 

 Here is how it can play out. 

 Imagine the scenario: somebody leaves the office at half six at night frustrated after a long busy day because one of their star employees resigned, and it’s a pivotal role, which needs to be filled fast. 

 They go home. They have some family time. They go to bed. They can’t sleep. They get up at two o’clock, and they’re racking their brains about how they are going to fill that role, and they jump on Google. 

 Or there could be a candidate who has just been made redundant or one who is frustrated at not progressing because everything that’s happened this year has slowed down their career plan. They can’t sleep, so they’re up, and they’re on Google too! 

They find your website, they read an article, or watch a video, and then they download your latest report; it’s 3 am, and they are now considering what their next steps should be.  

Now they are on your email list in an automated campaign as you nurture them through a client or candidate journey. 

Automation is allowing you to engage with these individuals, who are now connecting with your brand, and what you might do for them. 

They are receiving your emails, and because of the power of A.I., they might be seeing your adverts on Google or Facebook, and they see your updates on social media too. 

 Perhaps something in your system now generates a letter in the mail. 

Your recruitment consultants go into your CRM, and NOW they have a warm list of clients and candidates to get in contact with.  

 Fact: you can have your marketing working like this for your business all the time, every single day.  

 Let’s come back to saving time, because when you automate activities like posting on social media or sending ‘keep in touch’ emails, not only can you save time by scheduling all your posting, suddenly everything becomes consistent. I’ll explore the relevance of this in a minute. 

 

3. How Marketing Automation Helps You Maintain Consistency 

Marketing automation allows consistency to build. 

 Over twenty-five years ago, Professor Robert Cialdini published his ground-breaking work on the psychology surrounding influence and persuasion. 

 We translated how this plays out in the recruitment sector in a blog I wrote here. 

 If we think about Dr Cialdini’s work and the principles of influencing, consistency is one of six critical influencers. 

 All good? However, maintaining marketing consistency is a challenge for all S.M.E. business owners – us included. 

You set out with all the best intentions; you start implementing a certain strategy. Then you get side-tracked because different parts of the business require your attention. 

A marketing campaign you have been running lands, and suddenly you have six roles to fill with a tight deadline and the consultant who normally works that desk has broken their leg and is off work sick. 

 Your immediate focus is now somewhere else. 

 The good news is if you have automated marketing campaigns already running in the background, everything is still moving forward for you, and you consistently continue to be in front of your recruiting sector. 

 This is just one of the upsides of automated marketing. When people get in touch with us to talk about different aspects of marketing their recruitment company, they will often say, “I’ve come to you today because of what you’re doing. I have been opening your emails, I see you on social media, I am in your Facebook Marketing Group, and now I am on the phone with you. I want to be able to do that with my audience.” 

 If we had only sent a couple of emails, or posted on LinkedIn once a week, our marketing would not have been consistent enough to register in the awareness of this potential new client.  

 Of course, it takes work… though here is the thing.  

 The emails this person was referring to were written over a year ago, so was the social media. Many of the posts in the Facebook group were created months ago ahead of time, and the automation software we use is delivering them at regular intervals.  

 The good news is all of this is possible for you too.  

 

How We Can Help 

We have many clients on track for their best year ever because they implement what we teach and utilize the content and campaigns we give them. If you want a quick chat to see if we can work for you, book your call and demonstration here. 

 

Thanks, 

Denise 

The post 3 Critical Benefits of Marketing Automation For Your Recruitment Company appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

We are continuing our series on social proof, and today we’re discussing testimonials. How you can set them up and what you can do with them, which I’ll lead onto in a second. 

Excuse any weird typos, as this is a direct transcription we have had created for you. 

But first, if you haven’t downloaded our marketing checklist then, you’ll find it here. There are 30 questions, and they will help you identify exactly where you are on your journey. 

Let’s talk about testimonials – getting them and using them as part of your marketing plan. 

Ask for a testimonial in The First Place  

The first top tip is to ask for testimonials in the first place! #notetoself. Quite often, we get emails from people sharing that, by listening to this podcast, reading our content and downloading our reports, they’ve been able to implement things, move forward in their marketing and make placements, which is great. I often think, “I should email that person back and say, ‘Can I just use that as a snippet in some of our testimonials?” And I forget to do it. Slap hands to Denise. However, you don’t need to be like me. 

If you dial in a system, it can make all the difference. You’ll have heard me talk about Mr Michael Gerber before – the great guy that wrote The E-Myth Seminar – if you’ve not got his book, well worth downloading. There are some real juicy nuggets in there. One of the things he always talks about is that successful businesses are built on systems. If you don’t have a system for getting reviews, I strongly suggest you work on that almost immediately. 

When people join our Superfast Circle, we ask them, “What have you got in place? What systems have you got?” That way, it can help us accelerate their progress. Think about systems. The second thing is also to remember reciprocity. We’ve talked about this before – Cialdini’s principles of influence. The great influencing strategy is I do you a good turn; you do me a good turn. 

For the majority of the population, if you’re in a local pub and Paul buys you a drink, likely, you will then return the favour and buy him a glass of wine or a pint or whatever he’s drinking because that’s how we are wired as human beings. This is the case when it comes to delivering a great service for candidates and clients. If you say, “You’ve had really good service from us. Would you be willing to record or write a testimonial for us?” Often, they will say yes. 

Using a Testimonial  

Think about how you can use this. Some people say, “Oh, I don’t want to ask for a testimonial.” Ask away because, 99% of the time, they are more than willing to shout about it and share it with other people whenever they have had good service. Thinking about all these things in context, let’s look at how you can get started. We recommend using a five-step process that will cover all the bases for you and avoid dropping balls during the process. 

Ask Permission to Use a Testimonial 

When you start working with someone, a great way to convince them and show them that they’re going to get fabulous service from you, whether it be a client or candidate, is to say, “Look, as we go through this process, as we find you this really good role, we always ask people for a testimonial.” You can then use this testimonial in different ways.  

Describe what’s going to happen. If you would like a video, an audio or a Word document that will cover some questions, you will ask around what they think about your service and how it worked with you. Different companies have different processes. I remember doing some testimonials and case studies for a client of ours who worked with Harley-Davidson. 

Unfortunately, the client didn’t check with Harley that they were happy to have a case study used in marketing for this particular recruitment company; what a huge time drain for the client. 

This is something I would strongly suggest you do. Before you start using testimonials and case studies, check with the company concerned whether it’s okay that you create a testimonial and that you can use it for marketing purposes. It will save you so much time. 

It can be a challenge for those of you who work with bigger corporate organizations because you often send off that case study or testimonial, and it will disappear into the ether, never to arrive back or arrive, maybe six months later when it’s lost its impact. Think through this. Like, “Who would I like to get a testimonial or case study from? Are they likely to say yes?”  

Clarify the Details  

Remember, clarify the process, ask if you can use their Name. 

If you can use a picture or an image of them, all the better, but, again, this is something that you need to check because, remember, it makes a huge impact if you’ve got a picture of somebody. That is an even greater convincer. Think about, “Can I use all of this?”.  

Video testimonials are great because people like to work with people they think will do a good job and work with people like them. 

We’ve talked many times about avatars and how important it is to know who you’re working with. Imagine that you were trying to convince your avatar (that may be a 35-year-old person), and they’ve got certain things going on in their life. If they happen to see a video testimonial of someone similar to them, it is much more convincing than seeing somebody completely different. 

Where to Use a Testimonial  

The great way to use videos as well, of course, is to have them transcribed. If you don’t use transcription services in your business, it’s a great tool in your marketing, and it helps you leverage so many things. I’m recording this podcast, and the minute I finish it, it will be whizzed off to a transcription service. It will be back within 24 hours. We’ll do some very basic editing. Of course, the written word and the spoken word are quite different, but we put it there for those who like to read. 

Imagine, if you’ve got a video testimonial, how impactful that can be because you can use it in multiple ways. We’ve looked at framing the fact that it’s going to happen; that’s number one. Number two is to let the company know that you will use it in your marketing process. We’ll come on to that in a second and give you some ideas around that. 

Diarise the Process  

The third thing is to set a time frame related to your delivery and diarise the process. Let’s say that you delivered a candidate. The candidate is really happy that one month after they’re in their new role, you will diarize that you’ll get in contact with them because, remember, people will be working on their time frames. Getting a testimonial from someone might fall down their area of priority. You could have it back within a week or a month; it could be two months. Make sure you diarise that process so you’ve got testimonials constantly dropping that you can use. 

Make it Easy  

When it comes to a testimonial, often people will say, “Well, I don’t know what to say.” Again, as that great guru, Seth Godin, told us, “People love to be led.” Here’s a bit of secret sauce that we always recommend to our clients in Superfast Circle – use questions. Give people a set of questions to answer.  

So much easier. 

Also, you’re pulling out the information that you know is important because much as it’s great if someone says, “Oh, yes. I liked working with Paul. He was fantastic.” but it isn’t giving any specific detail. It isn’t saying, “Exactly why did you decide to work with Paul in the first place? What was he like? What were some of the benefits? How has your career progressed?” or “How are you now you’ve got this job that you’ve always wanted? How did Paul help you with that?”  

Give them some specific questions that they can answer, and then create a testimonial from the answers they give. 

Align It To Your Avatar  

I would always say here to make sure that this aligns to, and this is, number four, your avatar. You want to get testimonials from people that you would love more of. No point getting a testimonial from your best mate that you’ve helped, who isn’t your ideal avatar. You have to use real people. You have to use those people that you want more of in your business. 

The final thing is to make sure, in this process, that you clarify with people that you are going to use this and you aren’t going to use this information in all of your marketing out to prospective clients and candidates, whatever that might be.  

Where To Use Testimonials  

When it comes to using testimonials in your marketing, it’s only curtailed by your imagination. Let me give you six pretty obvious things that you can do. I’m sure you might have thought of them, but get these dialled in and make a list of them. 

1. The first one is to use them on your website. You should have testimonials on your website, and you should be adding them regularly. You can have a slider bar on the front page. Somebody’s landed on your front page, and it would be good to have some testimonials there. If you’d like to see this in action, go to our website, superfastrecruitment.co.uk. You can see our slider bar, and you’ll see different testimonials from clients who have worked with us over many years. That’s a great convincer if somebody’s on your homepage.
    
2. Importantly, share and distribute your testimonials on all of your social media channels. You can use different images to do this; you can have sound bites from the testimonial; you can have a picture of the client or the candidate if you want to. As I said before, you need to check that you’ve got their permission to do that. Of course, there are multiple pieces of software that you can use to do this—Canva’s great. The professional version of Canva will even let you set up templates that you can use.
    
3. Share links to your testimonial pages on your social media. I would recommend that you have lots and lots of testimonials on your website. You can put them on different pages, if you can, with case studies and recommendations. Share these constantly on social media so that if people are checking you out, there are multiple ways to find you.
    
4. The other thing I would suggest is to use your testimonials in all of your reports, lead magnets, whatever you want to call them. I would recommend that everyone has content like this. We are now in the land of value-based marketing, so make sure that you’re using testimonials in lead magnets and reports constantly.
    
5. Also, of course, you can use them in different parts of your business. You can use them on your About Us page; you can use them in email signatures and email campaigns. I would recommend that your consultants have a spreadsheet with all of your different testimonials from all the other people so that if they are having a conversation with somebody, they say, “Look, after this call, I’ll send you a link to one of our testimonials because John is exactly like you and I think you’ll see how we work with him that that would be useful for you.”
    
6. Of course, in your proposals, in documents, in presentations, always have some testimonials. It always helps. Then what I would do, and many of our clients do this, is create a separate document with all your testimonials and links to your website so that when you’ve had a conversation with somebody, you can send this as a follow-up document. It works well when you’re having a conversation with the client. They want to see what sort of relationships you have with people, wondering whether you are the person they want to work with from a recruitment context, send them a nice glossy PDF with everything listed in it.
    

Finally  

Testimonials, if it’s not on your to-do list and you haven’t got any at the moment, I’m sure you’re a great recruiter, get out there and get some testimonials. It’s really easy to do. You can get them up and running on your website as soon as you get them back, and what a difference that will make in your social proof.  

 

How We Can Help 

We have many clients on track for their best year ever because they implement what we teach and utilize the content and campaigns we give them. If you want a quick chat to see if we can work for you, book your call and demonstration here. 

 

Thanks, 

Denise 

The post How To Use Candidate and Client Testimonials In Your Marketing appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

I wanted to share today’s topic about social proof with you because it has been an ongoing conversation with our clients recently.  [Excuse any weird typos as this is a direct transcription we had created for you.]I know that many of you will be thinking about leveraging your marketing as you move towards the end of the year.  

What are you missing; possibly this piece? 

I wanted to talk about social proof and how critical it is today, as this could well be a gap for you. 

A reminder if you haven’t downloaded our audit checklist, then please do so. It is a simple but incredibly powerful checklist that will help to give you some sense of where you’re at with your marketing and where the gaps might be.  

When it comes to social proof, let’s talk about the convincer triad. 

Social Proof is All About The Convincer Triad  

The convincer triad fundamentally is three convincers that you can use from your current clients and candidates to let new prospects know why working with you would be a good idea. Those three things are: 

• Case studies (I have recorded  a podcast about this before, which you can find here) 
• Testimonials (which we’re going to cover next week) 
• Customer reviews (which is the easiest thing to get into place and the easiest things for your candidates and clients to do). 

So, starting with the easiest thing to get: reviews. 

Reviews Inform our Purchase Decisions  

We now live in a review society. I don’t know about you, but normally, before buying anything, even if it’s a book on Amazon, I tend to go and look at the reviews.  

Here is a recent personal example. 

We have many trees at our new home, and I know this is a first-world problem, but we’ve been looking at leaf blowers and hoovers. I’ve been on a few websites, looking at the customer reviews. It was interesting because I looked around and thought, oh, this one has only got a three-star review. I don’t think I’m going to bother with that one.  

Then I looked at another and thought, wow, that has almost a five-star review. Yes, a bit more expensive, but, ooh, let’s dive a little bit deeper into that. 

Sound familiar? 

Hopefully, by looking at reviews, we cannot make a mistake in our purchase. One of our human drivers is to avoid pain and to make the right decisions. Of course, reviews help us do this. 

 

Review Data You Can’t Ignore 

There are some fascinating stats around the power of reviews that I wanted to share with you because if you’re not convinced about getting customer reviews for you and your organisation, then I’m sure you will be when you listen to some of these facts.  

• According to Inc, 91% of people check reviews on products and services before purchasing.  
• Now, 84% of people will trust an online review as much as trusting their friends.  
• 87% of people are so convinced about reviews that they won’t consider buying something with a low rating. I’ve just given you the example of the leaf blower that we’re about to purchase; because we saw one with a low review rating, we thought, “Mmm,” not sure that we want to do that. 

Using Reviews in your Marketing  

When you look at that data, you get an appreciation of how important it is for reviews to be present in your marketing collateral and how you can use them with your consultants as you’re talking to candidates and clients. We look at many of our client’s websites, and something I noticed is that one of the most viewed pages is often their testimonial, case study or a “Why work with us” page.  

In today’s environment, we can check people out so we DON’T waste time and money. 

When it comes to you and your staffing and recruitment organisation, where would it be an idea to have your reviews? Let me give you a few places to consider.  

Depending on where you are on the globe, there are key places where you want your reviews posted, which I’ll give you.  You can, of course, use your reviews on your own website as well by getting screen grabs and captures of them. 

 

1. Google My Business  

The first one is Google My Business. When people Google your organisation, if you have claimed your Google listing, you’ll have all your links to your website on the left-hand side and on the right-hand side, you’ll have your Google My Business information. You will also have your Google review there. 

People can go and check you out. Now, that’s a great piece of marketing collateral online that you want to leverage.  

 

2. Facebook  

Secondly, Facebook, it’s one of the biggest social networks on the planet. It’s easy to direct people to give you a review, and that can make a really good brand impression for you too.  

 

3. Yelp  

Yelp – probably not quite as relevant in the recruitment space.  It tends to be used for restaurants, smaller tradespeople and things like that. If you have got a Yelp page or are a local recruiter, that could help you.  

 

4. LinkedIn  

Get recommendations on LinkedIn. Recommendations are aligned to reviews and will do a similar job. Now, on LinkedIn, it’s not a review; it’s called a recommendation. It does the same thing. Often it’s a very reciprocal process. If you or your consultants have had a good experience working with a client or candidate, there sometimes can be a synergy around that. You give them a recommendation, and they provide you with one. Remember that LinkedIn is the key social platform for many of you, so if you haven’t automatically got reviews on LinkedIn, then I’d strongly encourage you to do that.  

 

5. Feefo and Trustpilot  

Then the other two you want to be thinking about are feefo and Trustpilot. Both of these have free and paid-for-services.   

You will see them used by a lot of bigger organisations. If you use them to it creates something called a brand halo effect.  

If you’re using them too, people assume you are a bigger organisation. You’re a bigger player in the market.  

The fact that you can use their reviews in pay-per-click adverts and can even increase your conversion by well over 300% if you’ve got a feefo review, that’s all part of your pay-per-click campaigns. 

We’ve got Google My Business, Facebook, LinkedIn, Yelp, feefo, Trustpilot, all pretty impactful places online that you can get you and your brand out and the level of service that you offer.  

 

Requesting Reviews From Candidates and Clients  

Then the final part of the equation is asking people for reviews. Where a lot of people fall down here is, they forget to ask because this part of the process isn’t dialled in as a system in their business. 

We were chatting with some of our Superfast Circle members the other day about different things that they were missing, and then they realised, oh, we’ve stopped doing that, we should be asking for referrals.  

We should be doing this. We should be doing that.  

I think what happens is we’re so busy as business owners and as leaders of our organisation that we can forget to do those small things that can be big leverage in the business. 

Asking for reviews is one of them because it’s very easy for people to give you a review. All you need to do is make sure that it’s part of your process. It could be that in your system, CRM or activities, whichever way you structure your day or your week with the consultants, part of their objectives is that when someone’s been in place for a month, you have a conversation with them. Part of that conversation would be, are you happy? Would you be willing to give us a review? 

Then you can create some great email templates that you can send out to people. You can have a script that people can use. If this is done consistently and regularly, you will get more and more people who say yes and are willing to give you a review.  

Now, the data around that is quite interesting. Again, I was looking online, and on the Search Engine Land blog, they shared that of the people who are asked for reviews, almost 50% of them are willing to give you a review. 

Use Your Reviews in Different Scenarios  

Remember, let me take you back to the start of this podcast and the impact you can make with positive reviews because they can be used everywhere. You can create memes from them and share them on different social channels consistently. You can have a whole list of them in a PDF that you then send to a candidate you’re thinking of working with or with a client you’re working with. 

We have a thank you page that people are directed to once they have registered. They can then be taken to a page with a video, and underneath is hundreds of reviews that people have given you on different platforms across the internet. That’s a great convincer for people that you are the person to work with.  

A task list then to be getting on with this week? 

Next time, I will take it one step further and share a little more about testimonials.  

 

How We Can Help 

We have many clients on track for their best year ever because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we give them. If you want a quick chat to see if we can work for you, book your call and demonstration here. 

 

Thanks, 

Denise 

The post Why Using Customer Reviews is A Great Sales Conversion Tool appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Today we’re going to talk about all things LinkedIn marketing. It still fascinates me that more recruiters do not leverage LinkedIn as a fantastic marketing platform.

If you would like some more ideas around social media, then we have a great report that you can download. The only cost is your email address. If you go along to superfastrecruitment.co.uk/smm, we’ve put together a report on using social media post-COVID and what you need to be thinking about.

I do a deep dive into why social media has become so important in the last 12 months. I also share eight pieces of content styles that you can use now to help position you in the market. I talk about brand voice and also about automation, what to automate and what not to automate.

Let’s get into LinkedIn and how you can use it.

LinkedIn’s Pandemic Growth

Now, initially during the pandemic, LinkedIn shot off the scale when it comes to usage and people jumping online. I think there was one particular month where it had a 2700% increase in daily visitors. That’s pretty significant. Once something moves so much in a certain direction, yes, there’s going to be a shakedown, but it never goes back to what it was before. Consider this when thinking about using social channels as a marketing medium for your staffing company.

Today, I’m going to share with you seven marketing monsters that I do probably every day, maybe one of them I don’t do all the time, but I’ll explain that when I come to share it. I guarantee that if you do this, it will elevate your brand presence, it will build over time, you will get more people wanting to connect with you, and also your visibility will start to increase. There’ll be more people looking at your profile. Nothing but positive things can happen if you follow what I’m going to suggest to you today. If you feel a little bit cynical about it, let me share some data with you that you might not be aware of.

Why Post on LinkedIn?

We want to capture our audience; we want to demonstrate our authority within the market, increase our brand awareness, of course, we can do that if we are in front of people who are likely to use our products and service. The latest data reveals that there are over 722 million people on LinkedIn. That’s actual members. They’re not all within the US either. The majority of people are outside of the US. Now, you could think, “Oh, well, is that relevant when you’ve got a billion people on Instagram and you’ve got two-point-whatever billion on YouTube and Facebook’s even approaching three million.”

All of these platforms are important, and I always suggest that you have a presence on the big platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram. However, what you have to remember is, it’s all about quality. LinkedIn is the main business-to-business social network in the Western world. Therefore, you will get more bang for your buck if you have a presence on LinkedIn, and you are leveraging it in the way that I’m going to suggest to you.

There are 55 million companies registered on LinkedIn as well. They’ve all got multiple employees, and they are there. You can get your message out in front of them. A couple of other things just to demonstrate how important this is, is that of that 722 million, 40% use LinkedIn daily. Now, I know that means 60% don’t. However, think about your marketing messages, that if somebody is not there every day, they’re probably going to be there at some point that week, and they’ve got an opportunity to see you and what you are sharing.

That figure around the 40% means that you’ve got literally, I think, clocking up like a billion interactions and views that are going on because they’ve got that daily usage. Finally, let’s just get really mercenary about this, that the average take-home salary of people on LinkedIn, I think more than 40% have a salary of over 75,000 a year.

Seven Strategies for LinkedIn

Just think about your market and who is there. Let me share with you seven things I do every day.  I jump onto LinkedIn, and I have a process that I go through. It takes me anywhere between 15 and 20 minutes. I plan this into my diary, and no matter what happens, no matter what hits the fan, I can always find 15 minutes a day to do this. I tend to do it first thing in the morning.

1.      Send invites

Let me share the seven things that I do. First, I go to the LinkedIn company page, and you may have noticed that on that particular page, you can actually, I think it’s every month, you get 100 invites that you can use. My target market is business owners, and my experience is that they tend to be on LinkedIn very early in the morning, so I stand a greater chance of my content coming up in front of them.

It’s great to have people on your company page visiting your profile because if you share content on your company page, and you share content on your personal profile, which I’ll come on to, then people are more likely to have an opportunity to interact with you. If people like your company page and share what you’ve got on your company page, your content will appear in the feeds of people who like and share, which is also important.

If people accept your invite, and they go and like your company page, you get that credit back; so that’s a top tip going to your page. It will default to whoever is on that page and the connections that you have. Even though you may already have a connection in your personal profile, it’s great to have them looking at your company page too, who you are and what you do. The more opportunities you get, the more fishing lines you can have out there, the better. That’s number one.

2.      Accept Connection Requests

The second thing I do is accept connection requests if they are relevant to me and my brand. I remember once working with somebody in one of our programs, and it astounded me that he hadn’t quite got into LinkedIn and used it as a sourcing tool. He’d got hundreds and hundreds of people connection requests; some of them may have been a bit spammy. But let’s be honest, there’ll be a lot of people that weren’t, and he just hadn’t accepted them.

Make sure that you accept connection requests.

3.      Reach Out

The third thing is, I reach out to people. I know some people don’t like that terminology, reach out, but I make a connection request to people in my market. I do it in a certain way. At Superfast, we have a whole training module on LinkedIn. We’ve even got messaging campaign templates that you can use, but I connect with my target market. I stick within the LinkedIn boundaries, and I do this every single day. The next thing that I do is share content.

4.      Share content

Now, I share content in different ways. First of all, I share automated content, for example, blog posts, an image, or a meme. It would be different categories, for example, a client testimonial or a relevant blog post. I will share a piece of content in an automated way every single day.

5.      Write a post

The other thing that I do is share a piece of content that I have written that day. It might only be a hundred words. It will be a tip about marketing, or sales, about being a business owner. It’s a way of adding value. Now, I do this, and I don’t overthink it; I don’t spend too long doing it, but my objective is to show people that I’m on LinkedIn all the time and not all automated.

I do it to elevate my brand. I also do it to give people a peek into my thinking process, experience, and what I’m doing. I use story, so if you do not use story, then use story, e.g. when I placed a candidate in X; when I worked with this particular client and built their talent pipeline, etc. Stories work incredibly well on LinkedIn. I will post something on my profile and share the same thing on the company page.

I think you can get something like 1,300 characters in your LinkedIn profile. I think that equates to roundabout 200 and a bit words. I will post something like that. I will put some hashtags. And maybe drop a link in the comments, and that helps to brand me. I am a writer, so that’s what I do. I’d recommend it, and we’ve had a lot of our clients doing this successfully too. We had one client that had something like 20,000 views on something that they’d done.

6.      Poll

Now, within the realms of what you share on LinkedIn, you could always do a poll, which works well. They get more engagement, and you get some data – I wouldn’t say it’s always statistically significant, but it gets you eyeballs on your posts.

7.      Send messages

That’s what I would suggest that you do in your daily process on LinkedIn. The final two things I do, which have a more active element to get in front of people, are two things. One is I send messages to people on the LinkedIn platform. Of course, you can do this in an automated fashion. You can use certain tools when it comes to this, or you can do it manually.

I have a messaging campaign that I’m using. I connect with people, add massive value, and start to get into a conversation, and then I take people through this messaging campaign. Some are automated; some are just in time. I have a set group of people that I’m doing this with as I’m building relationships.

There are plenty of tools out there that you can find that will still keep you within the LinkedIn boundaries if you use them properly because I know LinkedIn often changes its automation. One that I particularly use is Octopus CRM. I found that useful, and it works. I send messages in a campaign.

8.      Like, Share and Comment

Then the final thing that I do is like, share, and comment, and it doesn’t take long to do that because people will see in their feed and LinkedIn profile if someone has shared, liked, or commented on something.

You will get on people’s radar by doing this. Depending on our clients on LinkedIn, I always like, share, and comment on their content. Also, I am reaching out to people that I want to have as clients; my targets, prospects; I do the same with those guys too. Again, you’ll get comments, and you’ll get people to comment and like.

I wrote a long post during LGBT month.  I got a lot of traction from that post. I commented on a couple of other people that had written LGBT posts as well. They looked at my profile, and I think I made a huge number of connections there because of that. Think about like, share, and comment.

We’re living in a connected world; people want more and more connection. Don’t be a faceless name on LinkedIn that is very flat that doesn’t interact. Make sure that you interact more, that you comment, that you get involved in the conversation. It doesn’t take hours and hours.

That’s my daily regime. Yes, there are other things that I do, of course, on LinkedIn. I don’t always do them daily. I may do them weekly. We share a lot of this in our LinkedIn training module as part of the Superfast Circle.

I haven’t mentioned video here because I don’t do a video every single day. If you get into that habit, I’m sure that would be amazing, it’s all about time. What I wanted to do here is give you a level of must-do activities that will help to elevate your brand that are easy to deliver and that you can do relatively quickly too.

How We Can Help

We have many clients on track for their best year ever because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we give them. If you want a quick chat to see if what we do can work for you, book your call and demonstration here.

 

Thanks,

Denise

The post Daily Marketing Must Do’s For LinkedIn appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Today we’re discussing trends; and important trends that will mean massive growth for you if you just take some action on them. Often, people will look at B2B and B2C marketing principles and what will work in their business. The recruitment and staffing sector are unique because there are elements of both present.

A couple of weeks ago, I recorded a podcast around why perhaps you’re not getting the candidate engagement and the candidate placements you want and how you can think about this and the marketing strategies you’re implementing now.

1.      Marketing Planning

You’re probably asking yourself some questions. Where am I now? What am I doing? What are the results that I’m getting, and what might I need to do differently to make things truly work for me?

Start with consistency.  One of the things we work with our clients on in Superfast Circle is getting them to have a consistent marketing approach. Having a marketing plan where you plan each quarter makes things so much easier because once you have an area to focus on, it’s more likely to activate the things you need to do.

As we all know, with everything that has happened, the market is flipping around quite a lot currently. You get busy, you get a load of jobs in, you need to resource those jobs, and sometimes marketing takes a back seat. Then, of course, you get feast and famine again, and you realise you should have been doing some marketing. Whereas, if you have a consistent approach, that will make a huge difference. You can dial this in by creating a marketing plan with objectives so that you know what you’re going to be doing at different times and your approach – how you’re going to use marketing collateral and materials. When you have a plan, you’ll be amazed at what a difference it makes.

2.      Invest in a Marketeer

Secondly, and I would suggest this to everyone listening to this podcast, if you have got the financial resource to do this, to invest in a marketeer. This person does not need to be full-time, but if you can have a full-time marketeer, that’s amazing. Where our clients in the Superfast Circle have a marketeer, they make a big difference for them.

It might be a marketing manager or a marketing exec, or it might be an administration person that wants to learn marketing. Incidentally, if you join our Superfast Circle, there is no additional fee for the two of you joining. You need somebody that is on it all the time because marketing is about creating demand. You need to be able to stand out above the crowd because everything changed last year.

People are looking at different suppliers. Maybe you’ve got candidates that you can’t get hold of. You need to make sure that you have everything dialled in to do the best that you possibly can. I know it’s quite classic for recruiters to think, “Oh, consultants pay their way, marketeers don’t pay their way.” You are wrong. Marketeers are worth a huge amount of revenue to your business in what they can do for you, the campaigns they can create and the strategy they can put in place. If you have not got a marketeer and you’re not thinking about it, then think again, my friend.

3.      Client and candidate consultative selling

Number three is client and candidate consultative selling. Think about how you are approaching both clients and candidates with the way you are selling to them and how are your marketing materials changing? Just think about, “Okay, if we’re doing consultative selling, how are we going to do this? What materials do we need? What are the features and benefits that we need to deliver to our prospects? What are we going to do with these individuals?” Think about how you are going to pull that into your marketing and how it works.

4.      Creating Connections

Number four is creating deeper connections across an organisation because if you don’t have multiple connections within an organisation, you will probably struggle. Think about having an account-based approach. When it comes to client acquisition, we often advise our clients to have an account-based approach so that they can have multiple contacts when running a campaign.

5.      Human Networks

Think about your human networks. Referrals probably went off people’s radar last year, and they are very much back on people’s radars now. If you are not using referral campaigns to connect with a wider and broader reach of candidates, then this is something that you need to be considering? Who else do you know? Could you recommend someone to us? Which of your friends are looking to move? All of that can make a massive difference.

We recorded a podcast on logical reasons why you’re not attracting candidates. Have a listen to that because that will also give you some guidance on how your candidates have changed and need a better experience. If they’re getting a better experience from you, they will refer you to all their friends.

6.      Marketing Automation

The other day, I was reading some data that 44% of organizations have some form of automation in their marketing. What’s fabulous in today’s market is that there is so much software that you can use at a pretty reasonable fee that will help you automate your marketing. For example, I am recording all these podcasts in a batch. We have a specific process that we go through with everything that we do, and these will all be lined up on the website, lined up in our email campaign, all automated, ready to drop.

Our podcasts go out on a Wednesday, and our emails go out on a Friday morning, and that all happens like clockwork because we have an automated system. We automate what we do. There are so many different things you can do. You may have downloaded a report from us, and you’re receiving emails from us at different points over a long period of time, and that is happening 24/7. I’ll have written those emails probably last year because they were relevant for you, and they’re adding value, but I did that once, and that’s been used time and time again.

How can you automate campaigns so that you always keep in touch with clients and candidates so that you are always front of mind?

7.      Customer Delight

One of our clients recruits customer success managers for different organisations. Where before we’ve talked about the transactional sale in recruitment, people want an experience now. They want a better experience because they’ve had a better experience during the pandemic of different organisations in the different ways that they were serviced. Of course, you can do this in many ways. You can have chatbots or have a dedicated team member to ensure that your clients and candidates have resources and receive lots of TLC.

It makes a massive, massive difference. We’ve changed cars recently, and we used Cazoo, one of the new online car retailers. It feels very weird when you’re spending all that money online, but they have customer success managers. Where we live, we have this massive drive where you need to come down a steep drive.  It’s quite challenging. We didn’t think the Cazoo lorry would get it down there, so we went to the lovely Bishop Auckland to pick it up, and a customer success manager was waiting there for us. It was quite a positive experience.

Think about how could you do something like that. It would make a real impact with clients and candidates as you move forward. Just look at what some of the big boys are doing. What could your alternative be so that your clients and candidates would get a positive experience? Of course, lots of this can be delivered to your marketing campaigns too.

8.      Value-based nurture campaigns

Number eight is value-based nurture campaigns. As many people are discovering now, there is a buyer’s cycle. We harp on about this a lot, and I will continue to do it because there are always new people joining all the time, but the buyer’s cycle identifies the fact that not everyone is ready to buy just yet. They need nurturing. They need to find out more about you. They want some value before they decide to work with you. This is where value-based nurture campaigns are key.

If you are struggling, whether it’s clients or candidates, create a nurture campaign. Over time, if people are being drip-fed your content and you’re adding value to them, they will experience you as an authentic recruiter, an individual or company that they could work with. All this, by the way, can be automated. We’ve talked about that in number six, alongside obviously the phone calls and the interaction you have.

If you’ve never experienced anything like that, go along to Superfast Recruitment, go and download one of our reports. Join one of our webinars, and you will experience emails, you’ll experience connections, you’ll experience us talking to you on LinkedIn. All these things will happen because you are then in our funnel. This is a long nurture because we know that not everyone will convert straight away; people will come to us when they’re ready. If you haven’t got a candidate and a client, and also a talent nurture sequence on a nurture campaign in place, make that a priority this year.

9.      Video Marketing

We’ve had many conversations about this recently with our Superfast Circle members. There is no excuse now after all the Zoom and Team meetings we’ve all experienced not investing in or implementing video marketing. If you don’t like being on video, tough. I’m not as keen on being on video, but I do it because it’s my company, and I need to do it. People are more interested. Yes, some people are going to judge you, what the heck, who cares? Other people’s opinions are irrelevant to me.

Video marketing, for me, is important to get my message out and help my market. It will communicate your authentic brand. More and more people are doing LinkedIn Live, I’ve noticed. Get onto LinkedIn, get onto different platforms, be on your website, and communicate to your market. Video creates a different experience for people because they get to see you, they get to hear you, so they’re all the different modalities. People are impacted by the visual media, the audio sounds, and how they feel when you’re talking to them.

What’s great about video is that it can do all of these. People who are seeing you think, “Yes, they look like a professional outfit. I want to work with them,” and you will strike a connection up with them.

Here’s some data from Econsultancy. Did you know that 70% of B2B will watch a video on a service or from a service provider before they make that final decision? Video can be face-to-camera, or it could be screen capture. Some of you will have seen on our website or LinkedIn – I’ll be doing something, and you’ll see an instructional screen capture video. Whatever you do, get yourself on video.

10.  Social Media

I like to call it social media on steroids. We did a whole section at one of our virtual events recently on social media. Think about the buyer’s cycle. There are great pieces of software now out there that help you with your social media. Often this will be the first place that people come across you. It’s the first place they get to experience your recruiting and staffing brand. Sometimes it can turn them off, and sometimes it can turn them on, so think about your social media.

I was chatting to someone the other day about LinkedIn, and 80% of this particular individual’s leads came from LinkedIn. If you are leveraging LinkedIn not just as a sourcing tool but also as a way to elevate your brand and get it in front of people, that will make a massive difference to you and what you can achieve this year.

If you haven’t downloaded our Social Media report, go to superfastrecruitment.co.uk/smm. There’s a full report on how to leverage social media marketing.

11.  Podcasting

It’s fascinating how many people are now podcasting. I know a few people have whipped things from me, but I’m okay with that. We’ve had this podcast going for six years. I started doing it back in the day when podcasts weren’t as popular, and I have committed. I think I’ve only ever missed one or two podcasts. We normally do them every week. The only reason I’ve ever missed it has been when something happened at home, like a family death, or I’ve just been ill and not been able to speak.

Podcasts are a great medium. People listen to podcasts all the time, and again, podcast consumption shot through the roof last year. It’s a great way to interview people, elevate your brand and have a conversation. One of our clients interview all the key players in their market, and they get what’s known as the halo effect. They can track getting clients from their podcasts as well. Think about that. If you want some help with podcasts, then obviously talk to us. We have a training program on how to podcast as part of our Superfast Circle membership.

Think if that would work for you because one of the things about podcasts is that it is an easy way of making content. It’s much easier to set up than you realise. The equipment’s quite inexpensive, and it can make a great difference to your brand because you’re out on platforms like Spotify, Google Play and Apple, and you’re in front of more and more people.

12.  Artificial Intelligence

It would make such a massive difference if you can get data around people you can use in your marketing? There are so many platforms out there, e.g. Loxo and SourceBreaker. These different AI platforms can work in your marketing if you use them properly.

AI is the email marketing software you use or the social media automation software that you use. All of these can add to the impact that you can make with your brand.

13.  Paid Advertising

You will be used to using paid advertising when it comes to job boards, but what about Google AdWords? What about using Facebook advertising? What about retargeting and remarketing? You know when you’re searching online for that present for your significant other, and then it pops up everywhere you browse because you were targeted? What if you did that for you and your brand?

Imagine if someone visited your job page, and you could make your advert, maybe a nice, friendly video of you, appear in front of them; what a difference that would make. Think about paid advertising and how you can use that to market because that will be a trend. It’s not going away. It’s going to have more and more impact as time goes on.

 

How We Can Help

We have many clients on track for their best year ever because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we give them. If you want a quick chat to see if what we do can work for you, book your call and demonstration here.

 

Thanks,

Denise

The post Marketing Trends That Will Mean Massive Growth This Year appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Today we’ll be exploring more creative ideas for our marketing campaigns. 

So let’s look at the world of e-commerce for our next marketing idea. [This is a direct transcription for your benefit, so excuse any typing errors!] 

We have just moved house, and as you do, when you move somewhere, you want to enjoy yourself and invite people over to have a look around…….  And you might go along to your local wine store and purchase some wine so that you can have a nice drink together. 

 

Use Direct Mail To Specific Groups 

This is exactly what I did. And in fact, I am a regular customer of a wine warehouse store in the UK called Majestic. Now, over the past few weeks, I have bought, I think, two lots of wine from this particular place.  

Then miraculously, I receive through my letterbox a brochure that is targeted directly at me. It’s called Black Book Wines. So imagine that this is being sent to a client to encourage that client to purchase more.  

The marketers and business owners listening to this will understand that quite often, if people purchase once, they will purchase again. So what you’ve got here is an upmarket brochure called; “Black Book Wines”. I mean, there’s a clue in the title that if something’s in a black book, it’s normally meant to be good.  

And then they have “rare and special finds for the summer ahead”. I purchased some wine in early summer, so this is pre-framing me to buy more as the summer goes on. They also have “limited quantities of exciting wines sourced exclusively for our best customers”.  

Now, if that isn’t going to pull me in, nothing’s going to pull me in. We’ve spoken about Cialdini’s principles of influence many times before. So they have a nice bit of scarcity going on here because they’re “limited”.  

Re-engage Previous Clients 

So who isn’t going to want to look at that? It seems like a very classy brochure. And they start with wines. The first wine I’m looking at is £18 a bottle, which is not an insignificant purchase to make, particularly when you have to buy a minimum of 6 of them. 

So if you imagine this particular campaign is delivered to a current client, who is much more likely to respond, the cost of sending a direct mail versus the sale you could make would work.  

How could this work for you as a recruiter?  

 

Offer a Different Yet Connected Service 

Maybe, if you’re not using retained as a service, you could send out some form of communication, an email or a physical item to one of your clients about how you could work with them on a retained basis. And because you’ve worked with them in the past, you understand them, and you know the market.  

Maybe you could come to a different service arrangement with them. 

So this was an idea randomly from the e-commerce world. And I’m sure as you start to look out there, you will see more examples of this that maybe you could use too.  

And if you would like more ideas about marketing, you want to know how to get your strategy together, then come along to SuperFastRecruitment.co.uk/call Book a call with either Sharon or me and let’s have a conversation about how we might help you too. 

 

How We Can Help 

We have many clients on track for their best year ever because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we give them. If you want a quick chat to see if what we do can work for you, book your call and demonstration here. 

 

Thanks, 

Denise 

The post Recruitment Marketing Ideas From The Ecommerce World appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Today’s podcast is all about candidates and where they have all gone, and a few logical things that you need to start considering when it comes to your approach with candidates. Now, we’re going to get into that in a second. [As usual, this is a transcription for you, so excuse any strange typos.] 

If you’re new here, welcome. Great to have you. We have many podcasts that you can listen to, and you will find them all on the usual platforms. 

The Current Hiring Market Has Changed-Drastically  

Let’s talk about this weird thing that’s happening in the market at the moment. We’ve come out of the pandemic, and the pandemic has affected most countries in the world. It’s affected our economies, and naturally, it’s affected recruitment. Pre-February 2020, many recruiters did have a candidate short market; maybe not as desperate as it appears at the moment. A lot of you were pretty okay with clients. You had your good old service. Your clients had been working with you for years, and that wasn’t an issue. 

It was quite transactional. Your clients came to you with roles, and you filled them in the majority of cases, and then, of course, the pandemic happened, and everything changed.  

Let me talk about what has happened because the market has flipped again. It’s flipped in a way that probably will never return to how it was.  If you think about it, it is Newton’s third law where once something has changed beyond recognition, it rarely goes back to its original state. 

And The Changes are Here to Stay  

Nearly 50% of the workforce in the western world was suddenly working remotely; people were on furlough in the UK supported by the government, people had time to reassess their careers. There’s been a lot of instability in the market, so a lot has happened. If you think that this is just a natural flip-flop that occurs in the recruitment market, think again, my friend, because it really is going to change. 

We did a virtual event with our Superfast Circle members because, at the moment, we obviously can’t do a physical event; we are hoping that we can run one later on in the year. We did a deeper dive into this, but I wanted to highlight five things to give our subscribers and podcast listeners a steer on things you need to consider. 

Your Mindset is Ruining Your Results  

The first one is your mindset. Have you ever had that experience where you’re in the same market as somebody, or you’re a parent, and you’re having a conversation with somebody, and they have an opposite experience to you? When you think about it, you both had the same inputs, the same pressures; yet you seem to be doing well, and somebody else doesn’t. 

If you’d like to know more about the way our minds work in this way, then have a look at Carol Dweck’s work, where she talks about the growth mindset. So often, when we’ve gone through a bit of a tough time, we can tend to get into a negative downward spiral. We just think, “Well, it’s always like that,” rather than thinking, “Okay, if this is happening, what could it be about, and what could I do about this? Am I looking at this in the right way?”. 

The reality is that the market is buoyant. I think with, what was it? APSCo were saying in their latest newsletter that the market is more buoyant than it’s been in the last couple of years. Microsoft did a report which had approximately 30,000 responses – you can find it on their website – where they looked at people considering moving. They talked about the fact that over 40% of the global workforce would consider moving in the next 12 months. 

So if you look at it in terms of a full pond to fish in, maybe it’s the rods or the lines that you’re using that aren’t working. Go and have a look at the Office of National Statistics. It is UK data, but it will be very similar.  

I think it’s even more dramatic in the US and Australia. They talk about the fact that the majority of the population they’ve surveyed say that people tend to move every four to five years, and that, obviously, last year people didn’t move as much, so you’ve got a swell of people. 

So there are candidates out there. I would be asking myself, “Why am I not connecting with these people? What am I doing wrong?”. So that’s number one – give your mindset a good clear out if you’ve got all this negative rubbish going on there. 

Desperation in 2020 Made You Work With The Wrong Clients  

Are you working with the wrong clients? Let’s step back and have a look at this. What jobs are you taking? What clients are you working with? Twelve months ago, when clients were disappearing, and you were looking for clients, you were probably thinking, “Yes, that’s fine. That’s money in the bank. I’ll take that. We’ll clear that client out in the future. We’ll take them on-board now.” 

Do you now have clients that might not be your ideal avatar? The wrong client is almost certainly going to give you the wrong job. You’ve taken on a job that isn’t ideal, isn’t worth working with. My good friend, Nicky Coffin, talks about this a lot. She talks about working with specific types of roles or specific jobs and how, quite often, you really shouldn’t take a job. You can check out Centred Excellence if you want to find out more about that.  

So now you’re working with a different group of clients, and you’re thinking, “Well, this is a challenging role to find, but I’m going to have a go with it,” but trust me, it’s probably not going to work. So it’s no surprise that you’re struggling to find the right candidates if you’re working with the wrong clients. 

Your Candidate Psyche Has Changed  

Number three is your candidate’s psyche. I don’t want to get too deep here but think about the candidates you’re working with. I don’t know about you, but the pandemic affected me in different ways. I had lots of thoughts about the business and what I wanted to do.  

As I cycle forward, we’ve moved house. We’ve sold a house in the Lake District, which we’d thought about but not seriously considered. We’ve moved to a different part of the UK, a beautiful part of the UK, farther up the road in Cumbria. So we’re realigning what we’re doing with the business. 

That’s happened to me, and I’m a very logical business owner. I have friends who’ve suddenly changed careers. They’re retraining. They’re doing different things. Think about where your candidates are. Some of them may have been put in very vulnerable positions. Not all employees, as we’re now discovering, were as positive as others. People were not supported in remote working. They weren’t given any equipment. 

Again, go back to the Microsoft report I mentioned. Something like 46% of people felt unsupported by their current employer. They weren’t given any compensation for working from home. With all these things going on, people start to reevaluate themselves, reevaluate their skills and their abilities and think, “Hang on a minute here, I’m worth more.”  

Naturally, they’re thinking a lot more about who they are, where they’re going to work, and who they want to work with. Approaching candidates with a much more open conversation about what they want is where I’d strongly suggest you need to be going now. 

Your Approach: Transactional Versus Consultative and Nurturing  

Number four is your transactional approach. Recruitment has been on a massive growth curve over the past few years. In lots of ways, it’s become quite transactional. You speak to a client. They have two or three roles that need filling, and you fill them. You go out and find these individuals, and then you send your clients a bunch of CVs. 

One of the things we have a conversation with our clients around is that, because the market is shifting, you need to shift too. We’re moving from the transactional sell to the consultative sell because you’re not an order taker anymore. You really might have to work for the sale. You need to work for the candidate just as much as the client because the candidate is a rich resource for you.  

Yes, you may have a client that can give you four or five different roles in their organization to fill. But you also need to start thinking about using the consultative approach that you’ve been using with clients over the last few months with candidates, so you get a much better way forward to work with them, and they start to appreciate you and what you’re doing.  

Because if there’s some connection and engagement, you will not get people ghosting you because they’ll have a relationship with you that they value. 

Candidate Marketing Campaigns 

The final thing I want to talk about is your lack of candidate marketing campaigns. When we talk to people that want our help about what’s going on in the business, they will say, “We don’t need any client campaigns, or we don’t need any candidate campaigns because we’re fine with that.”  

We had one particular client last year who said, “Oh, I wish I’d listened to you ages ago.” The market flipped completely. They thought they got all the clients that they needed, and it just changed. It’s the same now. 

If you are the sort of organization that wants to scale and grow, you have to market to both sides of the coin. You have to have marketing campaigns for clients. You also need to have marketing campaigns for your candidates. We were chatting with a really good friend of ours who’s a recruiter.  

We’ve become friends over the years. She says that sometimes it can take her two years to nurture someone before they decide to move. Think about how that can happen for you. 

In a podcast that will air in a few weeks, I will be talking about trends. We talk about automating some marketing campaigns. What can you do to network and build connections with individuals so that when they are ready to move (and Microsoft data says they will be ready to move)?  

Who do you think they’re going to come to first? They’re going to go to the person that’s been engaging with them, keeping in touch and helping them. 

If you have not got campaigns aligned for your candidates just as you have for your clients, you need to do that now. We do this as part of the campaigns we create for our clients. If you want to know more about that, then obviously talk to us. For you as an individual, go back to your marketing plan, and look at what you’ve got in there.  

If you’ve not got candidates, and you think, “Well, I’m going to be okay”, trust me, you’re not going to be okay because this will only change more and more as people are looking for that right role.  

They’re looking for their next career move, but they’re going to want a recruiting partner. It’s not just a recruiting partner with a client now; it’s a recruiting partner with a candidate who will help them. 

Finally  

Five things important to remember – always keep your mindset clean. I remember my first mentor used to say, “80% mindset, Denise. It’s 20% tactics and strategy.” Number two, if you are working with some clients that are a little bit iffy that you took because you needed to, you need to be building campaigns to bring the better type of clients and that you can work with. Remember, your candidate’s psyche has changed a lot in the last year, and you need to be aware of that. Recruitment is no longer a transactional approach and sell. It’s a consultative sell, and it’s a consultative sell on both sides of the equation. 

Finally, make sure that you have candidate and client campaigns. If you would like our help, of course, you know where we are. Just Google “Superfast Recruitment”, and we’ll be there. Book a call with one of us, and let’s have a conversation about how we might help you. 

How We Can Help  

If you would like more marketing ideas or want to know how to get your strategy together, then come along to SuperFastRecruitment.co.uk/call. Book a call with either Sharon or I, and let’s have a conversation about how we might help you too. 

We have many clients on track for their best year ever because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we give them. If you want a quick chat to see if what we do can work for you, book your call and demonstration here. 

 

Thanks, 

Denise 

The post The 5 Logical Reasons Why Your Struggling To Find The Right Candidates appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

One important thing to understand if you want to create more demand for your recruiting and search service is why clients and candidates decide to work with you.

Why?

Because these are the questions they need answers to before they decide to buy.

One of the reasons I wanted to record this podcast is that we’re having various conversations with our clients who are part of Superfast Circle about their messaging and how they communicate with their audience.

Some of you may have noticed that you will see different promotional messages on our various feeds, where we answer client comments and questions. Each message will include an image and content that answers one of the four drivers of people’s decision to work with us.

The good news is these reasons are universal and they are exactly the same for your candidates and clients.

When your clients and candidates are considering working with a recruitment or search company, they may have several unconscious questions; answering these in multiple ways can make a huge difference to your results.

4 Reasons Why People Say Yes

Here are the four reasons clients and candidates choose to work with you.

• You solve a pain that they have that is particularly uncomfortable.
• You save them time.
• You make life easier for them.
• Working with you makes them feel good.

Let’s go through each of these in turn.

1. Solving a Pain

First, you are solving a pain for a client or a candidate. If it’s a client they have a vacancy, is building a team, and wants the right person in the role.

For many of your clients, recruiting is a lottery because they never quite know who they’ll get if they recruit themselves, whether they’ll be skilled, or whether they’ll fit into the company culture.

You add huge value to this because you can identify the right people for them. You’ve been doing it for years. You’re a really skilled recruiter or search consultant, and you know what they need. You know where those people are, and you can really give them some guidance.

It is the same for candidates. I am a candidate; I want a new role. I know that if I send my CV or my resume to somebody, it might not even be seen!

Yet if I work closely with a recruitment consultant and there’s a clue in the title, a consultant, they will help me identify the right company to join.

Knowing how to help solve that problem and communicating how you can help make a difference.

How often are you communicating how you can help?

Are you communicating it through your testimonials, through your case studies, through the promotional content that you share on LinkedIn, on Facebook, on Google, on your website?

Does this come across in your messaging? Sometimes, it’s important to highlight to people not only, “I’m an amazing recruiter.” It’s, “These are the problems that you are having, and you will continue to have unless you work with someone who can help.

2. You Save Them Time

The second thing is time. We all complain, moan, and groan about not having enough time. The truth is that there are 24 hours a day, yet some people manage to do more with the time they have than others because they get help and develop new skills.

However, if you lack skills in reviewing a person’s resume, CV, video interviewing, or knowing the right questions to ask, then it will save you a lot of time if you use a professional to do that for you.

Have you noticed when you get somebody who’s a real pro to do something for you, it happens so fast, and it takes them like a third of the time it would take you?

That’s where the beauty of skills comes in.

Recruiting is a time-consuming process. Are you communicating how much time you can save somebody?

3. You Make Life Easier For Them

That leads to how much easier it would be for them to work with a recruiter. Let’s say you’re a client. You know that you’ve got two particular key roles to fill. You’re working with an experienced recruiter who has seen and read all their testimonials and case studies. You’ve been all over their website.

You can see that they are very experienced. You know that you can say, “Look, I need these types of people.” As a recruiter, you will have a shortlist for them within a couple of weeks. How much easier is that for them?

Sometimes it’s these really obvious things that you might not communicate in your promotional copy and posts.

Are you communicating the problems your clients and candidates have that you can solve on your social posts and website? Here is an exercise for you.

Grab a pen and paper or open a Word doc and write down each of these four areas: solving a pain, saving time, making life easier, and making them feel good.

Under each section, brainstorm what that means for you and the service you deliver, the problems your clients and candidates have, and the stories you’ve got about that you could share. Because when you are answering all these questions for people, that is going to make a huge difference.

4. Makes Them Feel Good

The final one is that it makes them feel good. That probably sounds counterintuitive, so here is an example to explain the point. One particular person that we work with helps us with our tech; I always feel good that I have him working with us because I know that I give Jason all the tech to do, and it will happen exactly when I need it to.

I’ve written all the copy, and I know he’s very magical in how he manages to get all our campaigns and landing pages working, talks to the email system, and things pop up, and all of those things that he helps us with.

That makes me feel good because I like to give our clients and subscribers a seamless, really positive experience of Superfast. It’s part of my value set.

Again, think about your clients and your candidates. It makes them feel good that they know they are working with somebody who’s a real pro in the market and that if anyone can find the talent they need, it’s that particular recruiter. For candidates, it means they know that the people they’re working with will care about them and find them the right role in the right company.

We have people who work with us at Superfast, and I know they love that they get really good written content. They get reports, social media, and everything that help them stand out, making them feel really good.

There’s nothing wrong with that. Remember that this particular emotion that people feel is important to include in how you approach people and how you sell.

That is episode 425. We have shared four things with you. Please go back and listen to this because it is really important to ensure that you communicate these messages to the market.

Because many of these drivers for purchase, hang around at an unconscious level for people. It’s about how you are bringing this to somebody’s conscious awareness so they can move forward.

Think about the last time you purchased something significant yourself. Go back through your decision-making process. You obviously were in some level of pain. You knew that it was going to save you time and make life easier for you—I’m absolutely certain of that.

Reflect on this, and you will really understand that this is how human beings work. These are some key fundamental decision drivers that we all have that you need to tick when you are working with somebody.

Thanks

 

Denise

How We Can Help

Imagine having direct access to someone who can help you craft messages that convert the clients and candidates you want to work with. This is just one of the areas where we can help.

If you want to learn more, book a quick call with us here.

The post 4 Reasons Why Clients and Candidates Decide to Use You appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Today we are talking about some elements that might be missing from your website. Now we’re in a fascinating market at the moment. We have some clients who have no problems getting candidates, but they don’t have clients.  

And we’ve got the converse happening as well where some of our clients have loads of clients, but they’re struggling to get candidates. So, whichever camp you are in at the moment, it’s vital that you are pulling people in, in such a way that they want to get in contact and they want to start working with you.  

Make it Easy To Find Your Telephone Number  

Now, number one, it will be a good idea if you had a phone number on your website; remember, most interactions – when you start talking to somebody – happen on the phone. You will be amazed how many recruitment websites do not have their phone number easily accessible on their homepage.  

So, just before I started recording this video, I jumped online, and I googled “sales recruitment companies”. And many results came up; some of them were agency central as well as various other companies. So I opened up the links, and only one of them had their telephone number easily findable on their homepage! 

Now, depending on what software you are using, this is so easy to do. You could say, yeah, but it’s on the contact page. But, honestly, a lot of people have zero patience these days. And if they’re to act now and can’t find a telephone number, they’re not going to bother.  

So, check out your website and make sure you have your telephone number listed in multiple places. Only one out of the four websites that I looked at had a visible phone number, and these were websites that were ranking relatively well. So they’ve done all the hard work of getting onto a good ranking on Google, yet they didn’t have a telephone number.  

What Is Their Next Step? Always a Call to Action  

Another thing I noticed is something is the lack of CTAs; that’s jargon speak for calls to action. You might have some information about how you work with candidates and clients; you’ll hopefully have a blog or an insights page where you’re sharing regular content – you put all that work in, and yet you don’t do the next step of suggesting to the client or candidate what to do next. 

Let’s say it’s a candidate page that you have on your website. There should be a call to action that says, if you are looking for your next, e.g. engineering, manufacturing, sales, whatever role that might be, this is what to do next. Download this report, send an email to Jane, our friendly sales recruitment consultant, or pick up the phone and call us on 0161 678 2222, whatever that might be. This CTA needs to be in every conceivable place on your website so that you don’t miss any opportunities.  

 

Remember the Candidate and Client Buyer Cycle  

And the final thing – might be a little bit more advanced – but remember the buyer cycle. There are only 3-7% of people ready to act now. And it could be the disgruntled candidate;  hybrid working isn’t quite working for them, their employer doesn’t agree with that, they think everyone should be back at work.  

We’re in the UK; we’ve nearly all been vaccinated, all sorts of things that are going on and going through people’s minds at the moment, and they’re surfing, they’re looking, but they’re not quite ready to move yet.  

What have you got on your website that will help them and enable you to get their contact details? Depending on where people are in the buying cycle, you need to have different elements on your website that can work for them.  

I would suggest one would be a free report or a free download, or a free video they can watch. We provide all of this collateral in Superfast Circle for our clients, but there’s something that you can do too. So have something like that on your website.  

And what about those people that are ready to act now? How about a box or a button that says, “Book a call with one of our consultants” because people do use those buttons, and they will book calls with you.  

So, three really easy, quick fixes for you and your recruitment company that you just might not have dialled into yet, and it could really simple fixes. It could be one of the reasons why you’re not getting people coming to you.  

A Quick Summary  

So, your phone number needs to be on every page of your website, and easy to do if you have WordPress. The second thing is a call to action everywhere; what is the next step you want a candidate or a client to take? And then finally, what’s the next step they can take? Can they book a call with you? Can they download a report? Can they watch a video? All of these are designed to get a name and email address.  

How We Can Help  

If you would like more marketing ideas or want to know how to get your strategy together, then come along to SuperFastRecruitment.co.uk/call. Book a call with either Sharon or I, and let’s have a conversation about how we might help you too. 

We have many clients on track for their best year ever because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we give them. If you want a quick chat to see if what we do can work for you, book your call and demonstration here. 

 

Thanks, 

Denise 

The post Missing Elements on your Recruitment Website appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Hi there, everyone. This is Denise from The Recruitment Marketing and Sales podcast. Welcome to today’s episode, which I hope will be useful for many of you. We often get people emailing about marketing, about working with us and about how our program actually could deliver results for them?

So I thought it would be a good idea because often, at this time of year, people start to think, “Okay, what’s next? How am I going to end the year strong?” So let me answer some of the most common questions we get before people start working with us, giving you more sense of what exactly we can deliver for you.

Where Do I Start With Marketing?

The most common question for starters is, “My marketing is pretty rubbish, and I don’t do enough of it. Yes, I know I should. I feel overwhelmed, and I don’t know where to start.”

That is one of the most common questions, and of course, what our brains do? It has a pattern that kicks in when we know we should do something, and then we end up procrastinating and moving back and forth and back and forth. So, let’s be honest, if you’ve got this question going on for you, you’re not the first person that said this to us.

Though it sounds cliched, it is like anything.  If you have a process or a blueprint, then you can follow that step by step by step. Now, this is the same in all areas of our life. I’m recording this as we near the end of a pandemic, and if you consider that, for many recruitment and staffing businesses, things went a bit weird last year, and you lost clients, what was the first thing you did? You did your classic process of getting in contact with clients. You use your traditional lead generation process that you probably have been using for years.

It is the same when it comes to marketing. Yes, it’s a very creative process; however, it’s a step-by-step process. If you follow the steps and follow the system that we teach, you will get leads; you will get more candidate attraction, your brand will stand out more because we’ve mapped it all out. We are confident of this because we’ve been delivering services for recruitment and staffing companies for coming up to 15 years now.

We know what works and what doesn’t work because we get paid to deliver it for clients, so we’re not going to teach anything that doesn’t work. But, of course, when you work with us, we help you save more time because we provide collateral and different resources. So that is often the first question that people want an answer to.

But I Already Do Marketing

The next question at the other end of the spectrum – one which is always a little bit more uncomfortable for people to hear the truth about – is that people come to us and say, “We’ve got our marketing covered. We’re absolutely fine. We do have some social media, we’ve got blogs, we’ve updated our brand and website, everything is in hand.”

If only that were true. It is very easy when we think about our favourite brands out there, and we watch their content marketing, social media, read the odd email, probably look on the website. It does look so simple and easy, and it is very natural to think, “Oh well, that’s it. That’s marketing.”

That isn’t always true because what often will happen, and this is what we find when we talk to business owners, are that they look at things very much at a surface level. So, for example, “I’m doing social media” could mean posting twice a week when you need to be posting a lot more than that. It could be, “Well, we send out an email once a month,” or “We send out a newsletter,” all of which are just scratching the surface because the fact is that you’re only really touching the tip of the iceberg.

Remember, the recruitment sector has doubled in size in the UK over the last few years, and I appreciate that some organisations either scaled down or disappeared in the previous year.

However, what is even scarier is I think there are even more new recruitment companies registered in the UK in the last few months than ever before. Suppose you look at some of the latest data from McKinsey. In that case, there are so many vacancies coming to the fore that many recruitment companies are being extremely competitive and going out there to grab business.

If you want to have new clients, you want to attract more candidates, which has proven a challenge. When clients first come to us and shine a light on what they are doing and their results, they think that they are working. But trust me, likely, it isn’t because even though you have a blog and you have a bit of social media, ‘build it, and they will come’ doesn’t quite work.

You have to have a combined sales and marketing plan that works together. Because even though you may have a presence on social media, how are you pulling that through? That’s where we come in. We give templates, resources, and instructional videos to make social selling work for you.

All of that is part of your membership of Superfast Circle. Don’t assume, in a very competitive market in which you are now operating, working for you just because you are ticking one or two boxes. If you haven’t downloaded our checklist, I strongly suggest you go and look at our marketing audit checklist. You will find it at superfastrecruitment.co.uk/mcl. Go and download your copy of it and have a look. Print it off. There are 30 simple questions to answer. It will inform you about how you are doing when delivering your marketing strategy across all the different platforms.

Will Marketing Work for Me?

People get the value of marketing. Interestingly, I did a recent poll on LinkedIn and asked several questions. One of the options was, “I do no marketing”. Nobody said that they didn’t do any marketing.

So many people get the value of marketing, but they’re at a point in their business where they don’t know whether it will work for them, and they’re not necessarily willing to invest in a marketing person.

They’re not sure of the best way forward and how to resource their marketing, and what they might achieve.

Now, I appreciate it’s the same in every business. It’s a catch 22 situation. “When will I get the money? When will I not get the money? When should I invest?” That is a question that every business owner has to navigate at some point.

That’s why it’s even more vital that you invest your valuable time and resources in proven marketing activities that work. That is what we deliver through the different elements of our programme.

We have a training part of the program. There are over 120 training videos, and we also deliver a marketing campaign every single month. On top of that, we have four or five different email campaigns to adapt that you can use in your marketing. So we give you many resources as well as training.

We even have a tech expert who can demonstrate how to set up an email campaign after setting up your social media. All these different things that you can move forward with right now.

I suggest you do not wait until you get a marketing exec or a marketing manager to start doing something. One of my mentors always says, ‘Do the hard things now if you want to grow and stop complaining about it.

As you start doing those hard things and start implementing, you need to think about where you can get resources to use now that has been tested and works. Well, you can get those from us. If you want to know more about our resource section and everything we do, get in touch with us. You can book a call with either Sharon or me by going to superfastrecruitment.co.uk/call.

Do I need a Marketing Strategy?

People often say, “We’re doing a few marketing things, but we need a plan. We need to know what’s going to work in our specific sector.” Now, here’s the thing. Marketing is marketing, and it’s about creating demand. The majority of strategies we teach and provide resources for will work in any sector.

Over the past 14, 15 years, we’ve worked with recruitment companies to build marketing plans across a multitude of sectors from FinTech to hospitality, to leadership, to consultancies, to the legal sector, to people that wanted contractors, interims, and contracting staff and temps. We have worked across the whole spectrum. Trust me, the campaigns that we’ve developed work across all of these sectors. That is a straightforward answer to your question. Of course, because we have experience working in all these sectors, come and have a conversation. We will let you know and say, “Yes, we can help you there.” Or “No, we can’t.” Again, very simple. Just book a call with one of us.

Marketing Doesn’t Work for Us

People often tell us that they’re doing blogs and social media, they’re sending occasional emails, they’ve created a report, they’ve sent some paid traffic to it, and nothing’s worked. We get a classic line of, “It’s not working”. It’s not your fault; it’s very easy to think that marketing is very simple and I need to do one or two things.

If you’ve read a couple of random blogs online, it would be easy to think, “This is easy.” But, as I mentioned earlier, you need a process; you need something that you follow.

So often, we will find that people have got the pieces of the puzzle all wrong because many people will say, “Well, this message isn’t landing.” It’s because you are delivering the wrong message to the wrong person at the wrong time.

We have a whole section where we help you hone your value proposition for your brand. Think about companies like Microsoft and Apple, who spend a huge amount of time, energy and resource getting their messaging right.

That’s why they can scale and grow. However, for many SME businesses, their challenge is that they don’t do that. Instead, they think, “Well, I’ll just go out and say I’m a recruitment company and I can provide you with candidates.”

Well, yes, you can, but you need to make it a little bit more sexy than that so that you get under the skin of what’s important to them and how you can help them. If you’ve done some things up to now and it hasn’t worked, that’s okay because there’s probably a reason for it.

You might have done them in the wrong order, or you’ve not done the right amount of activities in the right places, in the right channels. So that is something else that we can help you with.

Are You Marketing Consistently?

Something else that often happens is the “I” word appears. That’s inconsistency. We get many people saying, “Well, look, I get that I need to market, but we’re a relatively small organisation. There’s only three or four of us. So it’s all hands on deck.

How do we get the consistency going because we’ll get a load of jobs, and they have to be filled?” There are different aspects to that. Maybe the way that you’re structuring how you work from a 360-perspective compared to others.

Here’s the thing, if you have a marketing process dialled in, if you are provided with templates and resources and a step-by-step framework, you can follow that; you can implement that, you can automate that. We teach you how to do all of this so that when the proverbial hits the fan, your emails are still going out, your social media are still going out, your brand presence is still increasing. You’re still front of mind in the market.

Because what is key here — and funny, we were talking to one of our clients the other day about filling the pipeline because your pipeline needs to be consistently brimming over. If it isn’t, what happens is you take your foot off the gas and then suddenly the penny drops that there is nobody in the pipeline.

If you have a consistent marketing process – which is, of course, what we help you do because we provide you with all the resources to do that in all our different types of campaigns.

Then that makes a massive difference so that if you are distracted and you are filling jobs, then we can help you with that.

Because again, it’s about the systems that we have built over the years because we know that this is a common pattern with recruiters. That’s why we developed them in such a way to help you.

What do I do?

Now the final couple of questions that we get are all around, “I don’t know where to start, and I don’t know what to do.”

That’s fabulous because that’s why you come to somebody that understands and is an expert in their niche. Just like you might be a Fintech recruiter or a legal recruiter, or a healthcare recruiter and your clients and candidates come to you because they know that you understand the market, you know what needs to happen to help people move forward.

So if candidates come to you and want the next role, you can help them hone their CV because of what your clients are looking for now.

It is the same when it comes to marketing. We have been working with recruitment and staffing organisations across the globe for approaching 15 years now. One of the things that’s different about us is we’re both marketing and sales directors, so we understand what needs to happen. We have built teams ourselves, so we know the whole recruitment process, but also, we have been delivering marketing services for people for many, many years.

Now, when you’re delivering the service and that service doesn’t work, people don’t work with you. People stop working with you. People continue to work with us, and we have now expanded into our training platform, Superfast Circle, to leverage more of what we do for people because we’ve tested everything. We know whether it works or it doesn’t work.

So, therefore, we can demonstrate to you, we can give you the training, and we can tell you exactly where to start.

When you start at Superfast Circle, we even have a new starter course. You get some private one-to-one time with Sharon and me, and we map out your “Where do you need to start?”.

We have multiple calls each week that are aligned for people across the globe at different times so that you can come on a call and ask your questions. There is no way that you will get stuck and not move forward. We are always there. We are always there to answer questions. We are always there to help with resourcing.

I hopefully have answered some questions that we often have from people before they jump on a call with us and have a conversation.

So, why don’t you book a call with either Sharon or me? Simply go to superfastrecruitment.co.uk/call, and then we can have a conversation. We will let you know if you’re a fit and a match.

We don’t work with two people in the same geography and the same niche because that’s not ethical. So, come and have a conversation with us, and we’ll let you know, “Yes, we can work with you. Yes, absolutely, we can help you, and when do you want to get started?”.

How We Can Help

We have many clients on track for their best year ever because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we give them. If you want a quick chat to see if what we do can work for you, book your call and demonstration here.

Thanks,

Denise

The post Answers to Common Questions About Working With Superfast Recruitment appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.

Today, this podcast is tinged with some sadness.  

Last week we lost the Superfast Staffy. Regular listeners will know that she has been my constant companion over the years. She probably appeared on 95% of podcasts; she’s been sitting in her little bed behind me. She’s been battling for a couple of years with back problems, but the last couple of months, unfortunately, she’s gone downhill, and we had to make the hardest decision ever. If you are an animal lover or owner, you will understand what I’m talking about. From now on, it’s going to be me, no snoring in the background, but I am sure stoic Staffy that she was, she would want the show to go on. 

Let’s talk about today’s podcast, and that is Coming Up with Creative Ideas. We’ve talked about multiple campaigns over the last few podcasts; we’ve given you many different ideas.  

Today, we want to talk about developing your own ideas for your particular sector and your market that you can implement. You never know what’s going to work in marketing; you’ve got to try lots of different ideas, and if you can come up with your own consistently, you will dial in more than you ever thought possible. 

Let’s talk about seven specific things. What could you do to have a whole plethora of creative ideas that you could use? Let’s start with the most obvious one – to read more. 

Make Reading a Daily Habit  

Some of you may have heard of a gentleman called Brian Tracy, quite a recognised expert in the sales field. One of his books, Advanced Selling Strategies, is one of the most downloaded books of all time in the sales sphere. One of the things he talked about is that if you were to read every day on a specialist subject, you would be an international expert on your subject by the fifth year of doing this. This is quite true when you think about it; the more you read, the more information you get, the more it stimulates your mind, the more connections you can have. 

I think in today’s internet-driven world, though I’m a great lover of physical books, there is no excuse not to have something at your fingertips. I download a couple of books from Amazon every week and read many of them, to be quite honest, because it helps to stimulate my thoughts and give me different ideas. Then one idea leads to another, and then to another, and so on. You will be astounded at the levels of information that you get. 

Here is a great tip for you that I often do.  I will share a couple of books that I’m reading on LinkedIn; business books, or whatever that might be. Then ask people’s opinions. “What other books might you be reading? Any recommendations?” You will have a plethora of ideas and suggestions outside of your realm of thought, which can then stimulate even more ideas for you.  

Another element, of course, is blogs. What blogs do you read regularly? If you follow particular people or mentors in your niche or your sector, they might have great ideas and suggestions. It’s about taking the context of that and thinking, “I wonder if there’s another angle on this that I could explore?”. 

Listen to Podcasts  

The second suggestion is positive podcasts. There are so many podcasts out there that you could listen to that could stimulate ideas for you. This podcast might be one – I’m talking about marketing and sales all the time. What things do I share with you that could be useful in a campaign that you could implement in your recruitment staffing organisation? There are other recruiters out there that have podcasts; maybe there’s something that they do that could stimulate thought and that you could take a concept or an idea even further. 

Search Out and Analyse Competitor Activities  

The next thing that I would suggest is looking at what your competitors are doing. Look at what they’re posting; look at what is going viral on LinkedIn that you could have your own angle. Share some ideas or campaigns around that that might work for you. You do not have to reinvent the wheel. You might have a different take on something that would add value to your audience, so think about that one as well. 

Use the Power of Your Conscious and Subconscious Mind  

The other thing that I would suggest is, use the amazing power of your subconscious mind and ask yourself questions like, “How could I do this better? How could I explain this particular concept more? What is it that my audience wants to know?”. Ask yourself these questions. 

What I often do is, if I’ve got a challenge or some creative ideas, I allow my subconscious mind to work on it overnight. I’ll ask myself a question before I go to sleep, and quite often in the morning, surprise, surprise, you have an answer. Have you noticed this happens? You wake up, and you’ve got a whole raft of ideas that you could use. It’s always good to have a notepad and pen with you, or whip out our phone and make some notes on there. It’s amazing how many things happen. You think, “Do you know what? That’s a great idea for some content or a campaign.” 

Study the e-Commerce World  

The next thing I want to talk about is studying the e-commerce world – I’m probably going to do another video on this.  

We have recently moved into a new place and are meeting our family and friends again and having them around. So, I decided to go into Majestic and get some wine. I went in twice in quick succession to get some particular wine at Majestic. Then, through my letterbox, dropped a great direct mail. It was about Blackbook wines. I think I’d posted about this once before, but this was interesting because it was another take on it. 

They have sent this to me reminding me that we are in the summer. Yes, in the UK, this is the summer, the sun is out. It was a suggestion on different wines that maybe I might like to purchase. Several different Robert Cialdini’s Principles of Influence were used throughout the copy. So thinking about this, is there a specific campaign that you could run to particular candidates? People that you have worked with in the past – maybe you have a new retainer service –  and because they’re a current client, there might be a bonus that you could add for them. 

Often, I will go on to the email list of multiple e-commerce sites because they have to generate sales consistently. Look at the sort of things they do and deconstruct them. Maybe you could use them too as you move forward. 

 

Find Like-Minded People in Your Tribe

Finally, join a community of like-minded individuals. We have our Superfast Circle membership, and there are a number of different conversations that go on in that group that help stimulate ideas. I am the coach for a number of people along with Sharon, so we share ideas there.  

Also, we have the Facebook group, if you’ve not joined, Recruitment Marketing Mastery. come along there, join that group; it’s free, and we share multiple ideas there. Even if you just look at some of the longer posts that I make in there, they will stimulate ideas for you on what you can do. Then, of course, you can always ask questions, and we can answer them there. 

 

Work With a Coach Or Mentor if You Want Faster Results and More Ideas 

I would always recommend that you have a business coach or a business mentor to bounce ideas off. They’re working with so many different people. They will give you some ideas that you can use. That is something else to consider.  

You’ve got some things there to go away and think about. Read more, listen to positive podcasts, research your competitors, and do something even better than they’re doing. Ask yourselves questions; always keep that notepad and pen handy. Of course, study the e-commerce world and always be in a community of like-minded individuals because that will make a massive difference for you. 

 

How We Can Help 

We have many clients on track for their best year ever because they implement what we teach and utilise the content and campaigns we give them. If you want a quick chat to see if what we do can work for you, book your call and demonstration here. 

 

Thanks, 

Denise 

The post Coming Up With Creative Ideas For Your Marketing appeared first on Superfast Recruitment.