Cold Calling in Recruitment: Where You Might Be Going Wrong

Is There More to Recruitment than Cold Calling?

If that short introduction to cold calling has filled you with fear, then you’ll be pleased to know that the answer is yes.

In recent years, many recruiters have gone off the idea of a classic ‘cold call’ in favour of more constructive and informed prospecting conversations with a potential client. Statistics show that whilst in 2007, it only took an average of 3.68 cold calls to get through to a prospect, in 2013 this had risen to an average of 8 calls (Source). This number has only continued to rise in the last seven years.

If those statistics haven’t depressed you enough, you should also note that 90% of decision-makers in B2B never respond if they are connected through cold calling (Source: Freshbusinessthinking). It’s also been found that only 1% of cold calls actually lead to appointments with a potential client (Source: Keller Center Research Report).

It’s easy to understand why the majority of recruitment agencies are taking a different approach to prospecting. Now, a recruitment sales pitch focuses more on introducing yourself, engaging more with the person you are speaking to and building a strong relationship over time. Instead of hundreds of calls each day, recruiters are pursuing quality over quantity and seeing far more success in the process.

Of course, there are some instances where you will have to make a few cold calls for the sake of your agency. It’s just part of the job. And to help give you the best possible chances of success, we’ve identified where many recruiters are going wrong when it comes to prospecting calls and offered our advice on what to do instead.

However, there are many alternatives to cold calling that offer much better ways to get new clients and candidates working with your agency, without any aggressive phone calls.

So read on to find out the mistakes you may have been making in recruitment cold calling, and what you can try instead, along with discovering some of the best recruitment consultant cold calling tips.

Recruitment Cold Calling: Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

1. You’re approaching with the wrong attitude

Every good recruiter knows that numerous different factors influence the success of a prospecting call. But did you know that a big part of this success is the mood you are in yourself?

Everything from your posture to the pitch of your voice can make a difference when you are speaking to potential clients, which is why it is so important to make sure you’re in the right mindset before approaching a call. Nobody is going to warm to you if they can sense your stress, worry or reluctance down the phone.

Solution:

Ensuring a good attitude for your prospecting calls can be as simple as identifying the time of day when you are feeling your most productive and enthusiastic. Consider standing up or changing how you are sat when you talk, take steady, relaxed breaths and speak slowly but confidently so that you come across as friendly but assertive.

2. You’re not preparing for your calls

The saying ‘By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail’ is a bit of a cliché, but there is certainly truth in it. You might think that some of the most successful cold callers in recruitment have relied purely on natural talent, when in fact their secret is a thoroughly planned approach to every conversation.

Perhaps the number one mistake you can make when it comes to prospecting calls is failing to research the company and individual you are speaking to beforehand. You’re going to appear much more professional and trustworthy if you demonstrate that you’ve taken the time to read up on the company, and you can tailor the call to be much more personal if you already know who you’re speaking to and what makes them tick.

Solution:

Come up with a recruitment cold calling script and make a note of all the points you want to make during your call, including key facts about the individual company you are prospecting. This will give you guidance on what to say next if the conversation pauses, meaning that you can better focus on what the other person is saying, engage more with your potential client, and build better rapport.

3. You’re focusing on numbers instead of people

There was a time when all that mattered in recruitment was getting the most money and placing as many candidates as possible. Of course, these things are all still important, but what many recruiters tend to forget is that they are dealing with people and not just data.

You want to gain as many new clients as possible, but this won’t get you anywhere if the majority of these clients end up dissatisfied and leave your agency after a few months. When you are cold calling, you want to start building a relationship with a company right from the beginning, as this is far more likely to lead to a more fruitful and long-lasting relationship for both of you.

Solution:

Don’t just focus on what a new client will do for you; identify how your recruitment agency can help them and ask where in particular they would like to see improvements. Not only will this greatly improve the quality of your prospecting calls, but it will also ensure that your clients are more satisfied in the long run

4. You’re starting with a weak opening statement

In recruitment, impressions are everything. Often, you have less than a minute to grab a new client’s attention and persuade them that what you have to say is worthy of their time.

If your opening statement is poor, nothing you say afterwards can redeem yourself. It’s tough, but it’s true. Potential clients aren’t going to sit around and wait for you to arrive at your conclusion; they want to know right away why your recruitment services are going to benefit them.

Solution:

The biggest mistake that you can make is immediately trying to sell what you do. Instead, focus on the benefits and outcomes that you can offer a potential client to immediately get their attention, along with the details of your company.

Don’t feel self-conscious when you are talking; rehearse your opening speech on your own until you feel confident with it. As we’ve already discussed, feeling more confident = more successful calls!

5. You’re talking instead of listening

As we’ve already stressed, the key to building good client relationships is through meaningful conversations. We doubt that you need it spelling out for you, but a meaningful, successful conversation is always two-sided.

Solution:

You’ll make a better impression if you appear genuinely interested in the person you are talking to by asking open-ended questions and giving them ample opportunities to speak. Completing your sales pitch is important, but so is listening to their response and discussing what benefits in particular you can bring to them.

If you’re nervous about a call or in a bit of a rush, it can be easy to end up hogging the conversation as you get through everything you want to say. The solution to this is simple: plan ahead, give yourself lots of time and focus on listening to your potential client instead of planning what you are going to say next.

6. You’re not playing the long game

In an ideal world, you’d be able to make one call and a client would be yours. Unfortunately, in the world of call calling in recruitment that is rarely the case. If you’re approaching potential clients with the mindset that everything must be done in a single call, you won’t get very far.

Solution:

If you’re really committed to getting a new client on board, you have to be prepared to work at it over time and build a relationship of trust. If the first time you speak, they tell you that they’re not currently looking for help from a recruitment agency, that’s fine! Contact them again later down the line, and see if their hiring position has changed.

When you’re playing the long game with potential clients, it’s also very important to be reliable. Make sure that you end every call with a plan of what you are going to do next or a promise of when you will get back in touch with them. This way, you have allotted time to prepare for your next conversation, and they won’t be surprised when you call again.

It’s also always worth sending a follow-up email after a call that details what you talked about, and what your agreed next steps are. Not only does this provide you with a conversation record that you can reference in your next meeting, but it also reminds the potential clients what you talked about and will keep you in their thoughts until next time. That way, your next conversation won’t be a cold call, it will be a warm one!

7. You’re giving up instantly

Some days, recruitment can be demoralising. We get it. You’ve been talking to people all day, and each of these conversations has ended with a ‘no’ or a ‘not right now’.

The biggest mistake you can make however is to give up. Like we said above, prospecting calls in recruitment are all about playing the long game, and if you fall at the first hurdle you’re not going to get anywhere.

Solution:

Accept that rejection is part of the business. Remember not to take anything personally.

Then, dust yourself off and try again. Analyse the different approaches you are taking and identify which ones are the most successful. Try and target companies that are similar to ones you have already had success with, and use these successes to build your reputation.

How to Turn a Cold Call into a Warm One

Reaching out to potential clients and candidates over the phone is still a great way to make contact and start the ball rolling towards getting them to work with your recruitment agency. But instead of a sudden phone call without any build-up, you want to warm your prospect up before you speak, so they’re a lot more receptive to what you have to say.

Here are some top tips for making cold calls warm before you pick up the phone.

Choose the Right Prospects

Cold calling at random is the number one way to get nowhere when trying to source new clients. Instead, before you start making prospecting calls, think strategically and come up with a plan of which companies and business sectors you are going to target. Whether you specialise in a specific area of recruitment or not, identifying the kind of clients that will want your services is the key to successful prospecting.

Don’t prioritise large numbers of calls over-informed and targeted conversations. Ensure that you’re speaking to potential clients who have a real chance of working with your agency and stop wasting time on calls that are doomed to fail before you even pick up the phone.

Connect Online

If a potential client has seen your recruitment agency online, they’re going to already know who you are before you get in contact. And if they’ve already heard of you (even better if they’ve found you through a positive review), they’re going to be a lot more open to having a conversation.

Instead of making calls out of the blue, you should always try to connect or interact with a potential client online, through your agency’s social media profiles. Following an account or giving a ‘Like’ to someone’s most recent Tweet or Instagram post, is a great way to start, as is leaving a positive comment on something they have written.

LinkedIn is also a brilliant platform for interacting with potential candidates, and if you’ve been working in recruitment for a reasonable amount of time you’ll likely already know your way around engaging with others on the platform. As long as your agency’s name has appeared on a client’s radar before you pick up the phone, they’re going to be much more likely to answer.

Get an Introduction

The best way to make yourself known to a potential client before you get in contact with them is by having another one of your existing clients introduce or recommend you. This is harder to orchestrate, as you need to find a current client willing to do this in the first place, but it’s the best way to make a positive first impression.

Client introductions work best when the company you are targeting already engages with your existing client, as this will make the introduction feel a lot more genuine and come with an added level of trust. You don’t have to contact your existing clients specifically to ask for introductions; just consider dropping it into conversation the next time you speak (because if you’re a successful agency, you’ll be speaking to each client regularly) and see what response you get.

Alternatively, you could just ask your existing clients whether they know anybody else in the industry who might benefit from your recruitment services. If you’re doing a great job they might already be recommending you to other agencies, but it certainly won’t hurt to ask if they’d consider making a couple of introductions.

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Alternatives to Cold Calling in Recruitment

Whilst there are many ways that you can contact and engage with potential candidates and clients without having to make cold calls, you can also attract a lot more business to your recruitment agency in a passive way. Inbound recruitment marketing strategies work by bringing customers to your agency instead of you having to go out and search for them, and we’ve outlined some of the best techniques below.

Reach a Wider Audience with SEO

Search Engine Optimisation is the process of increasing organic traffic to a website through elements such as link building, keyword research and content production. By improving the ranking of websites on search engine results pages (i.e. in Google), SEO can increase the visibility of your recruitment agency online and bring more clients and candidates to your website, which in turn will generate more business for you.

You can teach yourself the basics of SEO, or there are numerous general and specialist SEO companies for recruitment out there (ahem!) who can help to optimize the content already on your agency’s website and suggest other ways to improve your traffic. It has a reputation as being a long-term process, but we’ve worked with clients who have seen the benefit within weeks.

One objection we see a lot to SEO is that recruiters don’t think their clients are searching in Google. We can put that one to bed straight away, as we can see how many people are searching for phrases and so what the potential market size is. We’ve also been through the process with clients who have seen a direct upturn in enquiries from new clients which we can track back to people finding them in Google.

Improve your Presence on Social Media

Social media is rapidly becoming one of the most effective ways to generate more interest in your recruitment agency and improve your reputation, so it makes sense that one of the best ways to attract more business is by having an active social media presence. Which platforms you use will depend on your target market, but each will allow you a new way to engage with both candidates and clients.

Having a better social media presence can be as simple as increasing how much you engage with followers and other accounts on things like LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram, or can develop into hiring a social media manager for your agency. A strong presence will not only do wonders for your image, but it will also open up more channels for sourcing new clients and candidates.

Set Up Email Marketing

Email marketing is one of the most effective forms of online marketing for recruitment agencies, as it’s the best way to get information about your services in front of precisely the audience you are trying to target. By offering exclusive job opportunities, advice and original insights into the industry, your emails set up a stream of communication with potential clients and candidates as well as establishing you as an expert in your field.

Not only is email marketing relatively inexpensive and easy to set up, but it’s also one of the best ways to keep in touch with your client and candidate database even when they’re not directly working with you. Cold calling was once a part of the process for maintaining this relationship, but now email marketing does a lot of the hard work for you, with far better results and in an automated way.

Follow Up on LinkedIn Interactions

LinkedIn notifies you whenever someone new looks at your profile and allows other users to send each other invitations. These notifications indicate that a potential client or candidate is interested in your agency, so it makes sense that your next step should be to get in touch and use this interest to your advantage.

Following up on LinkedIn interactions is much more effective than cold calling because your prospect already knows who you are and might have already researched what your recruitment agency does. Even if you just send them a message instead of making a phone call, you’re a lot more likely to make headway in persuading them to join your agency as a client or candidate.

Build a Reputation with Content Marketing

Content marketing is another inbound marketing technique that can be much more effective than cold calling at attracting and converting your audience into clients and candidates for your recruitment agency. Instead of actively pursuing individuals, content marketing creates useful and informative content for your target audience such as blog posts, recruitment resources and even podcasts, which all increase awareness of your agency and can generate more leads further down the line.

Creating content as part of your agency’s offering is also another good way of establishing a good reputation, as by producing quality material about recruitment you are demonstrating that you are an expert in the area. Having a company blog, running webinars or producing e-Books are all forms of content marketing, and all offer another touchpoint for potential clients and candidates to interact with you.

Invest in PR

Just as improving your presence on social media can be an effective method of bringing more clients and candidates to your agency, investing in PR work for your agency will also massively boost your reputation and image. By getting widespread, online coverage, PR boosts your visibility to attract more business and helps to build an outstanding reputation for your recruitment agency.

PR work can also involve launching creative campaigns for your agency that offer more opportunities for coverage, as well as helping you to stand out more from your competitors. The wider the audience that you reach, the more potential clients and candidates you’ll make yourself known to, and the better your reputation, the more people will want to work with you.

Summary

Prospecting calls are an important part of recruitment, and we’re not saying that you should abandon the practice altogether. However, with the newfound knowledge that this blogpost has leant you, you should have ensured that all future calls you make as a recruiter are well-prepared, mutually beneficial conversations that play a part in your broader business strategy, instead of just random phone calls out of the blue.

Recruitment is an industry that continues to expand, and there is an ever-growing list of new strategies to increase your client and candidate database that cold calling is quickly sinking to the bottom of. And the data shows it. Honing your prospecting call skills is still an important part of your role as a recruiter, but don’t get too bogged down trying to attract new business this way. There’s a wealth of different approaches out there that are much more successful, and will help your recruitment agency to grow at a much faster rate.

About the author

Tom Mcloughlin is the Director of Growth Recruits. A passionate marketer, he loves sharing his ideas with the industry and helping people take that knowledge and use it to get extraordinary results.

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Cold Calling in Recruitment: Where You Might Be Going Wrong

Is There More to Recruitment than Cold Calling?

Recruitment Cold Calling: Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

1. You’re approaching with the wrong attitude

2. You’re not preparing for your calls

3. You’re focusing on numbers instead of people

4. You’re starting with a weak opening statement

5. You’re talking instead of listening

6. You’re not playing the long game

7. You’re giving up instantly

How to Turn a Cold Call into a Warm One

Choose the Right Prospects

Connect Online

Get an Introduction

Struggling with cold calling?

Alternatives to Cold Calling in Recruitment

Reach a Wider Audience with SEO

Improve your Presence on Social Media

Set Up Email Marketing

Follow Up on LinkedIn Interactions

Build a Reputation with Content Marketing

Invest in PR

Summary

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