To make money as a recruiter, you must have clients. But, generating new clients can be stressful and arduous.
It might seem difficult to get new clients, especially if they aren’t coming straight to you. So, how do recruiters find clients? Sometimes, you have to put in extra effort to bring in new job orders.
Luckily, there are things you can do other than hope people are receptive to your cold calls for recruiting business development. There are several lead generation ideas for recruitment clients.
Lead generation for recruiters
Check out the 10 recruitment lead generation tips below. Try them out and see how many more client leads you can gain for your recruitment business.
Talk to the people you know
Think about all the people you know outside of your business. Specifically, think about your friends and family. All of these people can help you find leads.
Talk to your friends and family. See if they have any hiring needs within their companies. Get a feel for what their workplaces are doing. Are there any current or upcoming openings? Is the company experiencing growth or downsizing? Ask your peers if they know of any other companies, other than their own, that might need your recruiting solutions.
What your friends and family tell you can guide you to businesses and people to contact.
Network with locals
If you primarily recruit for local businesses, local networking can help you find more leads. Attend events and meetings of local business organizations. Check out your chamber of commerce and other local business groups. Talk to local business owners and ask them about their recruitment needs, both current or future.
Contact lapsed clients
Sometimes you start working with a client, but the relationship doesn’t work out. Perhaps the client no longer wanted to fill the job opening. Whatever the reason for the lapsed relationship, old clients can be a great source of lead generation for recruiters in the future.
Contact your previous clients that didn’t work out. Find out what their businesses are doing. If the businesses are growing or have open positions, they might be able to use your services now.
Talk to current clients
Talk to your current clients for recruitment lead generation, too. Your clients might have more recruitment needs than what you are currently working on. Ask them how else you can help them.
You can also ask your current clients if they know of any other businesses that might need recruiting services. For example, a client might be able to refer a company that they work closely with. Recruiting referrals are a great way to gather warm leads without having to call tens of strangers or battle gatekeepers.
Backfill positions
If you place a candidate who had a job, there is now an opening at the candidate’s previous company. You can pitch your services to the prior employer.
Sell yourself as a good fit to fill the position because you are familiar with what the position requires. You did just fill a similar position with their employee, after all.
Use a recruiting network
In a recruiting network, you work with other recruiters to make placements. You can do a split placement where one recruiter has a job order to fill and the other recruiter has a candidate that matches the position. You can check the network to see if other recruiters are working with a client that could use one of your candidates.
Use social media
Both individuals and businesses are on social media. Your recruiting business should be on social media, too.
Social media for recruiting can work as an inbound and outbound lead generation tool. Social media allows you to make your name and brand more visible. People can search for you specifically or find you while searching for recruiters. They can like or follow you, and your posts will regularly show up in their feeds.
You should publish regular posts on social media to stay in front of potential clients. Mention your services so people know what you can do for them. Make sure your profile is up to date so people know how to contact you.
Optimize your website
All businesses should have a website. But, a website isn’t useful if no one can find it.
Use search engine optimization (SEO) methods, such as using keywords throughout your website. SEO for recruiters can help your website show up higher in search results.
Your website layout should be easy to navigate. You want your potential clients to get to the right spot. There should be a clear place on your website where you can capture lead information.
Start online advertising
Online ads can put your recruiting business in front of more people.
You can create ads on LinkedIn. Many businesses and hiring decision makers are on LinkedIn, making the social network an ideal place to advertise.
Pay-per-click (PPC) ads can make your business visible to more people beyond social media. With PPC ads, you pay a fee each time someone clicks on your ad. PPC ads typically show up as sponsored search results when someone does a web search for a specific term.
Set up a recruiting CRM
Recruiting CRM software can help you keep track of all your contacts. You can enter information about clients and their current and future needs. And, you can store information about your leads.
In the CRM software, you can send out and record emails. You can also set reminders to contact leads at a certain time. For example, if someone you contacted didn’t need your services at that time but might need a recruiter in three months, you can schedule a reminder to reach out in three months.
