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In the previous blog post, I discussed some ways staffing companies can use Linkedin to develop their sales and staffing professionals.  The first step is building a Linkedin profile, followed by joining and participating in professional groups with valuable discussions taking place.

Recently, when gearing up for a cold call campaign, I posed the following discussion question in the SalesBlogcast.com group, “When cold calling, how do you handle voicemail? Do you leave a message - if so, what type of message? Do you also send a follow up email? Or do you just hang up and try back later?”

The response was overwhelming as 50+ sales professionals added 61 thoughtful and valuable comments to the discussion - some wrote borderline essays in response.  Here are some of the highlights from the discussion:

·         Many people found the voicemail-email combo to be effective in getting a response. Make sure the message stays consistent between the voicemail and the email.

·         Emails and voicemail should be brief, to the point, and about the prospect.

·         The point of the phone conversation is to advance or move the relationship forward – get an appointment – not to sell them a product or service within that phone call.

·         Know what you are going to say on the voicemail and make sure you believe it.

·         Come from a mind-set of trying to help and solve problems instead of trying to sell products and services.

·         It is best not to mention the past, like “I called you last week and now I’m following up…” Just get your name and message out there and into the forefront of their minds.

·         Key is to peak the prospects interest with valuable information that can do something for them – solve what they perceive to be an important problem.

·         In the voicemail, include something personal showing that you are familiar with them/their company – something from their website, location, industry, etc…

·         Standup and maintain good posture when delivering the message – even smile.

·         Leave something short that is provocative and gets them thinking.

·         Put yourselves in their shoes before you call and then look to appeal to their desires, motivations, and values.

Discussions like this one with other staffing professionals in the trenches can give you and your staff critical and timely feedback to meet specific challenges, strategies, and issues you’re facing.  Linkedin discussion groups, webinars, and podcasts should be just as much a part of your staff development toolkit as more traditional (and often more expensive) resources such as books, conferences, and video and audio training courses.

Everett Reiss

Business Relationships Development
The Staffing Cooperative
Check me out on Linkedin:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/evreiss
Check us out on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/StaffingCo_op

We encourage you to keep your staff and temporary employees informed about the Swine Flu.  Below are the main contents of an email that a staffing company who happens to be a member of the Staffing Cooperative sent out to their employees.  Feel free to use the contents of this entry in your email:

“The US government has announced a Public Health Emergency for the Swine Flu (it is a warning to be prepared, not an epidemic).  The government has started to prepare by administering vaccines to the military and will be making available vaccines to hospitals and other first responders.

The five states that have shown an outbreak are:  New York, Ohio, California, Kansas and Texas.  It’s not clear how many people truly have this particular strain, or why all countries but Mexico are seeing mild disease, nor is it clear if the new virus spreads easily, one milestone that distinguishes a bad flu from a global crisis.

How do people get infected?  About one case of swine flu in humans is reported to the CDC every one to two years, but from December 2005 through February 2009, 12 cases were reported to the agency. According to WebMD.com, 11 of those people had direct or indirect contact with infected pigs. Human-to-human infections do occur similar to the way the human seasonal flu virus is transmitted — through coughing, sneezing and coming in contact with a person or object with the virus.  People cannot become infected by eating pork or pork products. Cooking pork to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit kills the virus as well as other bacteria, notes the CDC.

What are the Symptoms? Symptoms are similar to those of the regular human influenza virus: fever, lethargy, lack of appetite and coughing. Some who have been infected with the swine flu also reported having a runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

How is it treated?  Tamiflu, http://www.tamiflu.com, the generic name for oseltamivir, appears to be effective against the new strain when taken early, says the CDC. There is currently no human vaccine for swine flu, but the flu vaccine may provide some protection against the H3N2 strain, though not the H1N1 strain.  Tamiflu only be acquired through a prescription.

The best precaution is to Stay Healthy, Health officials recommend people continue to take the same precautions to protect themselves against a potential influenza pandemic as they would from colds and seasonal flu.  Make respiratory etiquette a habit.

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze
• Throw the tissue away after one use – do not keep on your desk or in a pocket
• Cough or sneeze into your elbow or upper sleeve it you don’t have a tissue
• Try not to touch your eyes, nose or mouth, germs often spread this way
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze.  If you are not near soap and water, use an alcohol based hand sanitizer.
• Keep your distance from individuals that are ill
• If you are ill stay home from work “

You’ve probably seen a few hundred if not thousands of cars over the past few days and hardly took note of them unless one cut you off, flipped you off, or was driven head-first into the ground.  That’s what’s so attention-grabbing about the Cadillac Ranch (http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2220) in Amarillo, TX, which has become a national attraction for its rows of junkyard Caddies planted into the ground front-first with their rear two-thirds protruding into the air.

Let’s do the same with some “everyday” staffing industry numbers - flip ‘em around, upside down and on their side and see what eye-catching results we come up with.

• Exhibit A: In the beginning of March, Staffing Industry Analysts reported that the temporary staffing market was down 22.7% over the last twelve months – ouch, depressing.  But wait, let’s flip it and look at the 77.3% of the remaining staffing market that’s still whispering “take me, please capture me!”

• Exhibit B: Recently, I spoke with a staffing company based in Cleveland who estimated they had 1% of the Ohio staffing market. Let’s say your staffing business is in a similar situation with a 1% share of its staffing market – wow, that’s just a drop in the bucket. You know what to do; that’s right, let’s flip it and think how you’re going to take a significant bite out of the 99% you don’t have of the remaining 77.3% of the staffing market.

• Exhibit C: Take 5%, for example; that’s the percent of the US workforce that temporary labor accounts for ( http://www.articlesworld.com/how-temp-agencies-has-evolved/ ). Push the 5% aside and focus on the remaining 95% of US jobs as fertile land waiting on innovators of staffing solutions to come along and start sowing seeds. Much of this land has been lying dormant for temporary staffing agencies to return to and surpass their peak share of the workforce, which reached 10.8% early 1980s ( http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123680920862100627.html).

Think about some other numbers, figures, or staffing metrics you’ve been looking at and try flipping them upside down – stand on your head if you have to!  Please comment about some new discoveries you’re making as you look at your staffing business and potential market differently.  Also, contact The Staffing Cooperative to take advantage of the tools, approaches, and resources we offer to help you see real opportunity, set goals and benchmarks, and gain market share and step into new markets.