Sales and recruiting are two different functions, but they do share some similarities. Both are focused on identifying and engaging with potential leads or candidates, with the goal of ultimately persuading them to take a desired action. Both require strong communication, relationship-building, and persuasive skills.
Sales Vs. Recruiting
In sales, the goal is to convince a potential customer to purchase a product or service. This involves identifying the customer’s needs and demonstrating how the product or service can meet them. In recruiting, the objective is to identify and persuade potential candidates to apply for a position. This involves understanding the candidate’s skills and experience, and demonstrating how the position and company can meet their career goals.
Both sales and recruiting require a deep understanding of the target audience, including their motivations, pain points, and hopes for the daily jobs or careers. In both business functions, it is important to build trust and rapport with the prospect, and to tailor the messaging to their specific needs and interests.
How Sales Tactics Can Help Your Recruiting Reach Success
Making a sale can be a challenging task, but we’ve seen cleared recruiting be a tough landscape for a number of years. Could sales tactics help your recruiting reach success? There are several tricks that you can use to improve your chances of making a sale.
Here are a few, and how you can modify them to recruiting:
1. Listen to the customer (or candidate).
One of the most important tricks to making a sale is to really listen to the customer. This involves paying attention to their needs, wants, and preferences. By listening carefully, you can tailor your pitch to meet their specific requirements. This is no different from hiring – ensure you are asking candidates about what their motivations are for their career and ultimately to sign and offer with you.
2. Offer a solution (or killer benefit).
Customers are looking for solutions to their problems. Therefore, it is essential to offer them a solution that meets their needs. In sales, you highlight the benefits of a product or service and how it solves a prospect’s problem. In recruiting, ask what a candidate’s current employer is missing, and how you can fill the gap.
3. Use social proof.
Social proof is a powerful tool that can help you make a sale or hire a new employee. This involves showcasing positive reviews, testimonials, and case studies from satisfied customers (or current/former/boomerang employees). This can help build trust and credibility with individuals.
4. Create a sense of urgency (or NOT).
Creating a sense of urgency can help encourage customers to make a purchase. Limited-time offers, exclusive deals, and promotions are all effective ways to create urgency and encourage customers to act quickly. This looks a little bit different in recruiting – in a passive candidate market, you want to make sure NOT to do this too much and scare off a potential candidate.
5. Follow up.
Following up with potential customers and candidates can help you close a sale for the future, or keep your candidate pipelines active for future work. This involves reaching out to after initial contact and multiple touchpoints and including a marketing strategy. By following up, you can answer any questions they may have and address any concerns, ultimately increasing your chances of making a sale or starting a conversation back up with a candidate.
Overall, while sales and recruiting are distinct functions, they share many similarities in terms of the skills and approaches required to be successful. Sales and recruiting require persistence, as it often takes multiple touchpoints and interactions to close a deal or secure a new hire.
THEÂ CLEARED RECRUITING CHRONICLES: YOUR WEEKLY DoD RECRUITING TIPS TO OUT COMPETE THE NEXT NATIONAL SECURITY STAFFER
