Servicing your customers in the Human capital space has not really changed all that much in the past 23 years with the exception that the customers now want even more for even less from as many of us as they can get it from, and all of us both internal and external have immense amount of pressure on our shoulders to solve our customers’ people problems.
So, whether you are an internal specialist or third party consultant, everything we do begins with a sales process. The question to ask yourself is, “how do I differentiate my service, gain client confidence and provide a better service that will knock my clients socks off? ”
It starts with giving the clients what they need and want, a solution.
94% of companies in American today (if not everywhere else too) are concerned for the future of their human capital. They see the need to build a succession plan yet they are confronted with the reality that they have to do more with less to remain profitable. Many of these companies are investing several of hundreds of thousands of dollars in building programs for employee development, succession planning and talent management.
These same companies are looking for the right people to populate those programs; that is where we come in.
Although I have not spent that much time in the prospecting game for new clients for KeenHire & KeenView; I have been training others in the recruiting industry to make calls and I have been working side by side with these firms in qualifying opportunities and selling a differentiated talent acquisition service. Many of the companies I have worked with so far are operating as traditional recruiting consultants who want an edge, and want to get away from being one of many working on a search.
Again even if you are an internal consultant, every day you need to be selling and demonstrating the value you bring to the organization, so this really does apply to you too.
The past 20 prospect appointments I went on, whether for myself or for one of my clients’ prospects has turned out in a new deal, and it’s not because I have a magic wand. It’s because I am genuinely interested in providing a solution to their woes. This interest, the clients commitment and our solution has our customer’s write generous testimonials about how KeenHire has provided world class human capital & talent management solutions to their companies.
How we achieve these results begins with our customer intake process. We start with a step by step approach that includes the following. An in-depth qualifying process that has us only working with customers who are clear that what they have been doing is not working and they know they need to change their approach and they are willing to work with a consultant who can initiate & implement those changes. Our strong up front contract sets the stage for a win/win or no deal. Lastly, it’s our very passionate stand for the client meeting their long term objectives through the right people.
We start with the sales person making a different type of call to the prospect, a call that discloses in the first 5 seconds that this is a sales call, and has the sales person ask permission to go further. After a 30 second headline, the first call progresses into a 3 pronged qualifier that has the prospect select in or out of having an interest in discussing how we may help them break through their human capital barriers. If that is not enough to have the receiver raise an eye brow, the sales person spends very little time touting their achievements and service offering they instead are only interested in if this potential buyer has a real reason for wanting to have a conversation about a solution.
A great question to ask (or statement you can make) to determine if the company is up for a solution is, We can do this one of two ways