SI Review: March 12, 2015

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Power Seller: Planting Seeds

Putting the client first will automatically yield more sales, short and long term

By Mike Barefoot

There are many subjective sales techniques professionals use to make themselves successful. The two types I hear about the most regarding staffing are relationship versus transactional selling.

Both can be effective, but I believe one, relationship selling, accomplishes more than the other in the long term. First, let’s define them. Relationship selling is taking a prospect and turning this employer/manager into a business partner in which you build a foundation and long-term bond based on trust, consistency and continuity. Transactional selling is more of a shotgun-based approach focused more on metrics and going on the law of averages theory that the more calls, visits and other quantifiable activity you utilize to get your name out there yields success.

I’ve always gone with a blended approach that leans more heavily toward relationship-based selling. Many of my clients are people I’ve built strong ties with, but the continuous touches help develop trust and a cycle in which clients reach out to me more often with needs than I do them. This doesn’t occur with a few self-serving calls asking if they have a job order that I can work on. That is derivative of the transactional method that I’m not a huge fan of.

The old adage is that customers would much rather conduct business with someone they like than just someone who finds a person to do work for them or complete a task. This doesn’t mean you can lessen your competency level, though. Each opportunity you have to get in front of a customer is a chance to show your expertise, experience as well as display these qualities with a consultative approach. Instead of being an “order taker,” try to find out the client’s goals, hurdles and what they’re trying to ultimately accomplish.

An example of this comes in talking clients out of hiring some candidates that showed their less-than-attractive colors during the placement process. I once had a client who was hiring an executive who had been unemployed for a long period of time. The candidate initially showed a great amount of talent, humility and interest in the job. When the offer was verbally extended, though, the candidate made a 180-degree turn and started making non-negotiable demands, including a corner office, three weeks of vacation, the ability to work remotely when needed and several other egregious requests.

Finally, on a conference call that included the candidate’s recruiter, I made it explicitly clear that the candidate should pick one to two items that he really wanted without labeling them as demands. The candidate then said there were other companies he felt would comply with these terms if the company I was representing wouldn’t. My intuition told me this was a negotiation tactic, but I told him I would execute his request. I went to the client’s CIO and told him that I had a bad feeling regarding the candidate’s eleventh-hour demands and thought it was in the best interest of his company and ours if he rescinded the offer.

The CIO was thoroughly surprised that I would try to talk him out of making the offer because he mentioned the permanent fee was worth at least $20,000 and he had never seen a recruiter do this. I told him my goal with every company I work with is to partner with them and if it was someone I wouldn’t hire, I wouldn’t want my client to either. He agreed and said that was why he worked with us. We eventually found the right candidate and the company was very happy with their choice. This example shows putting the customer first, relationship selling, is like planting seeds that will yield results not only now but in the future as well.

Mike Barefoot is senior account executive at Red Zone Resources. mikeb@redzoneresources.com