Limitless Learning Edition #37

Step 1: Data is king: assess how much each of your clients are spending and group them into A, B, and C.

A = Biggest spenders

B = Average spenders

C = Spot business

All the clients in group A should then be graded into the following sections:

Consistent: This is a client that uses you on a monthly or bi-monthly basis as a minimum.

Sporadic: They may spend a lot of money with you, but no more than once a quarter or even a couple of times a year.

Then, look at group B and do the same. 

Group C probably won’t formulate your watertight client roster until you bump them up to B or A and have them in the “consistent” bracket.

Step 2: Look at who you’re connected to within the business and how you can improve it!

You’re vulnerable if you only have one key contact with a client.

Ideally, you want three to five solid contacts with your clients, not one.

Once you’re aware of this, map it out …

Visually see the annual and quarterly spending, how many hiring managers you’re connected with, and the business terms.

It should be a beneficial exercise enabling you to see what you’re currently doing with these clients and where you could improve. 

Whether it’s slightly improving the terms of business or increasing the time you reach out to these clients (or the number of hiring managers you’re connected with), you’ll start to build some solid foundations for your dream client roster. 

*Top Tip* We had this shared by a top performer in one of our recent sessions at Recruitment Mentors.

Have you ever asked your clients for their company org chart?

If you haven’t, ask; you will be surprised how many yes’s you get. 😅

Step 3: Who can you move on to a retained, long-term or exclusive agreement model?

It may only be possible for some of your clients, but consistency comes from creating agreements that secure your business and enable you to be a true long-term partner for a client. 

Whether this is moving onto a retainer model or even something resembling an embedded or RPO model, look at something consistent for both parties.

If you can’t do this, look at who you can agree on exclusivity with and what you can get in writing! 

Step 4: Look at your “spot business” (tier c) section and see what improvements can be made.

Now, this is where people can go wrong with their client roster – don’t ever neglect clients who give you spot business. 

Sure, there will be some clients that you’ll never be able to move up to the “next step”, – but the vast majority you should be working on in the background. 

Just because your “A” client is great now doesn’t mean that things could drastically change by tomorrow. 

Repeat the same process using the table above and create a sustainable plan that will enable you to work on tier C clients in the background consistently.

Step 5: Review your efforts quarterly

Recruitment as we know it has drastically changed over the past five years. 

And, more so now than ever, you must keep up with the pace. 

Reviewing your efforts quarterly and looking for incremental improvement across all your clients will enable you to keep a watertight and fresh client roster.

Don’t underestimate the power of having a plan.

If you ever enter a month or a quarter with the nonchalant approach of “I’ll put more work in”, – you may experience limited success.  

Review, plan, and take action.

You’ll feel more confident – and you have a much higher chance of success.

What a great time to do an exercise like this as we close in on a brand new year as well! 👊🏻