I would like to introduce you to my pal Al. Al is a hard working, ambitious guy who is not shy about doing what it takes to become successful, and is not averse to making a buck or two along the way. Of course Miss J has a soft spot for a chap in need so when she received his simple but poignant question, she felt she just had to help. Dear Miss J,
I am just starting to recruit on my own and the biggest problem is finding clients. My background is retail management. Any ideas or tips on how to find clients?

Al from Huntington Beach, CA

Dear Al from Huntington Beach,
There are a number of things that you can do. But let’s start with a little cautionary message. When you are beginning to build business and territory it is easy to just call every company in a 100 mile radius regardless of size, industry, niche, or geography. Doing it this way just makes your World too big, resulting in loss of focus. Carry on like this and you will be struggling around with your own particular globe on your shoulders like an arthritic Atlas. So remember ‘He who hunts two hares, leaves one and loses the other’. So there you go, a handy little tip not just for staffing but for all you hare hunters out there.

So take a little time to think about where your focus is going to be. Will it be in a particular industry or business sector? Or maybe a nice little niche within that industry or business? Gotta love a nice niche. And while you are at it, it is important to consider whether you can find people relatively easily to work in this sector. Don’t want to go chasing purple squirrels… or should that be purple hares?

So now you are focused with your nicely sized World, a nice niche, and not a sign of a purple hare anywhere. Why not try a couple of the ideas below?

• Join a leads club, such as LeTip and Leadsclub.com. There will also be other leads clubs in your local area.
• Post your profile on Linked In. (Linkedin.com)
• Partner with relocation companies. These will always know of companies coming into the area as well as new executives being brought in by existing companies.
• Partner with commercial real estate companies, who also know of companies moving into the area.
• One of the very best ways is to ask for referrals.
• Join the Chamber of Commerce.
• Hoovers, TrueAdvantage, SalesTrax, InfoUSA, Microsoft bCentral, etc.
• Events, Trade Shows, Conferences to attend or even to present. Nothing like a little public speaking to get things rolling.
• Take a looky loo at trade, trade associations, and business journals and specialty publications (no, your favorite Truck magazine will not do, unless you are recruiting truckers).
• Use the Business Periodicals Index.
• Résumés:
  • Identifying clients in your area that you did not know about.
  • Asking candidates for references so that you can call hiring managers in those companies.
  • Identifying users of contract/temp resources in your nice niche.
• Get reading. Use the media and you will find out about:
  • Potential clients moving into your area.
  • News of promotions, executive hires, etc.
  • News of acquisitions, mergers, and awards won.
• Also look at Bizjournals.com, Newslink.org, Newsdirectory.com, Yp.lycos.com.

And remember you don’t want nits in your nice niche so consider the characteristics of your dream client:

• The client is in your business/industry area and/or niche.
• Is likely to have requirements now or in the future.
• Is likely to have requirements that you can fill.
• Will need the solution that you can provide, i.e., direct hire, contract to hire, contract or other solutions on a time and materials basis (no expectation on deliverables).
• Will take staffing/recruiting advice from you, seeing you as a subject matter expert/consultant.
• A client who will agree to pay a good fee or gross margin.
• A client that can and will pay.
• One who will work with you in a relationship where you are a partner and where they are looking for a long term partnership with a great staffing professional.

Happy hunting!

Miss J

HireAbility.com