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Strategies for prospecting 'great employers'
Editorial by Christian Saint Cyr
National Director / Canadian Job Development Network
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Welcome to 'Week 1' of our six-week series on developing the very practices in employer engagement. Throughout the end of June and into July, we'll be discussing, strategies for connecting with employers; best representing clients and students; utilizing discovery to to learn more about local employers; the value of leadership in the business community; turning a 'no' today into a 'yes' tomorrow; and how the job development community can work together to increase employer engagement across the board.
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I hope you'll join us every week for the next six weeks where we provide a comprehensive introduction into the best practices in job development for anyone who is new to the sector and valuable reminders for seasoned job development professionals.
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In this first week, we talk about the valuable activity of prospecting, what job developers can do to be more effective and how success can build on success.
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I'm a huge fan of Jeb Blount, author of 'Fanatical Prospecting' and often refer to his work in promoting job development techniques. While his work is focused on sales, I believe there are important lessons for career professionals wanting to build meaningful relationships with local employers and achieve amazing employment and placement outcomes.
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One of Blount's core beliefs is in utilizing cold calling to establish employer connections and grow influence. This might leave you wondering if 'cold calling' is still effective.
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Blount argues that while your best prospects will probably not be interested in responding to inbound outreach, you can still reap rewards from cold calling. Blount encourages prospectors to make that call, walk through that door, or send that email or text. After all, if we want sustained placement success, then we have to interrupt our qualified prospect. It may not always work on the first try, but cold-calling is still a proven way to eventually start a sales (or in our case, a job development) conversation with prospects.
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The book goes on to discuss five communication channels
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In-Person Prospecting: This is ideal for job development as it allows you to focus on a specific community as opposed to salespeople that might have the entire province or country to prospect.
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Telephone Prospecting: This is a good way to find new leads as you're talking directly to the prospects.
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Email Prospecting: Use personalized emails based on industry verticals (specialized areas), markets and decision-maker roles. This is ideally scheduled after prospecting calls.
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Text Messaging: Once you've built a rapport, texting can be an effective way to communicate with potential employers.
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Social Selling: Don't market job development services directly on social media -- prospects there want connections and useful resources, not to be sold to.
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Similar to my advice to job seekers, while there are multiple ways to connect with employers, some will be more effective than others and you want to try them all.
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Regardless of the point of approach, Blount notes there are four objectives of prospecting. To be effective at prospecting, you need to know what you want and ask for it. Whether you are calling, emailing, cold calling, or networking at events, it is important to have a specific goal for each prospecting effort. These goals will vary depending on the sector and solution areas, but they generally involve:
- Set up a time that works for both of you to meet.
- Collect information and figure out which deals are the best: Consider prospects that are profitable, qualified, ready to hire, have a role to fill, and someone who can make the decision.
- Seal the deal by finding the right moments to engage the employer and make your move at the perfect time.
- Build Familiarity: Stay in touch.
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When it comes to job development, the more action you take, the more confidence and success you will experience. The more you reach out to potential employers, the more high-quality job opportunities you can discover.
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This turns what might seem like luck into predictable outcomes. By consistently reaching out to real prospects, you reduce feelings of doubt and fear, and foster a proactive mindset that keeps your employer pipeline full. Successful job developers keep engaging in prospecting activities, understanding that the prospecting they do in 30 days will pay off 90 days later. This is your 'employer pipeline'.
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The Prospect Pyramid
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Great salespeople think of their prospect database as a pyramid. Job developers should adopt this same philosophy. At the bottom, there are tons of prospects they don’t know much about other than a company name and maybe some contact info. The goal with these prospects is to move them up the pyramid by gathering info and starting the qualifying process. At the very top are highly qualified prospects who are getting ready to hire. These are the top-priority prospects and should be at the top of a job developer’s daily prospecting list.
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Levels in the Prospecting Pyramid
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Level 1: Initial list with little information -- Action: Fill information gaps
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Level 2: Prospect record of the employer, typical roles and potential competitors -- Action: Identify their hiring window
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Level 3: List with complete records -- Action: Implement nurture campaigns, cultivate awareness of job development supports
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Level 4: Highly targeted list -- Action: Build familiarity having constant touch
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Level 5: Hot inbound leads -- Action: Follow-up immediately
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Level 6: Highly qualified prospects -- Action: Close quickly
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Bad Habits in Prospecting: The 3Ps Slowing Your Progress
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It is easy to fall into bad habits that put prospecting on the back-burner. To make the most of your prospecting efforts, it’s important to identify and address common bad habits that can slow your progress. Blount refers to these as the three P’s.
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Procrastination: Remember to prospect every day. It’s easy to put it off, but consistency is key to getting the best results.
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Perfectionism: Overly thinking about making mistakes or not meeting your organization’s expectations can have destructive consequences. It can lead to demotivation and anxiety, ultimately hindering our ability to get the job done. Jeb Blount advises that it’s better to achieve success through trial and error than to strive for perfect mediocrity.
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Paralysis: When prospecting, we can’t be completely sure about the outcome. If we focus too much on uncertainties, it can stop us from taking the first step. Blount encourages us to just go for it and see what happens.
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By consistently and professionally engaging employers, we build our profile in the community and stock our employer pipeline. By utilizing the prospecting pyramid, we engage our best, most likely-to-hire employers first and build the confidence that goes on to achieve greater employer engagement and better employment outcomes.
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For many, prospecting is one of our their least enjoyable activities. Nevertheless, it is the one activity that will most impact employment outcomes today, tomorrow, next month and next year. For those who are intimidated, consistent prospecting will ease the burden and help achieve long-term success.
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We’ll be discussing the value of prospecting and how to best approach it at our #MotivatingMondays meeting of the Canadian Job Development Network, Monday June 23rd at 8:30am Pacific; 9:30am Mountain; 10:30am Central; 11:30am Eastern; 12:30pm Atlantic and at 1pm in Newfoundland.
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On the morning of Monday June 23rd 'Click this Link' to join the session LIVE.
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