How to Ramp Up Your Billing Results for Part 2 of This Year

Shocking isn’t it! 

The year is half-over, the sun is out, and summer holidays are almost here.  It’s tempting to take your foot off the proverbial accelerator and coast into the break, but the successful recruiter knows that it’s time to make hay while the sun shines to ensure success in the final six months of the year. 

The first step is to look back on your progress so far in 2018. Which of your goals have you met? What has stood in your way? 

Now, what will you do differently to ensure greater success by December? What must you change?  

After all, as the saying goes, ‘The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.  

It’s time to put a plan in place. Here are some strategies to smash your billing targets in round 2 of 2018.  

Set small, actionable goals  

All big goals must be broken down into small, short-term goals if you expect actually to reach them. So what will it be? Don’t just say ‘Improve billing numbers by 10%’, but rather:  

1. Make five more calls each day.
2. Publish one engaging, relevant social media post per day.
3. Attend a new networking event each month.
4. Contact one client or old colleague a day to request a referral or testimonial.  

Assess your work approach 

Are you truly as productive as you can be? Maybe you don’t even know what you’re capable of fitting into a day. Here’ how to find out.

Track your time religiously for a week to assess what tasks always take longer than you predict. Learn your most productive times of day and use them to your advantage by attacking high-payoff activities in this time slot.
Learn how to use the database or software tools more efficiently to reduce time wastage.

Check in with your clients and candidates 

Yep, with all that time you just saved becoming more productive, you’re going to set it to great use by reaching out to all your clients and valued past candidates to check in on them.  

Are they/were they happy with your service? IS there anything you could do better? Is there anything you could help them with right now? How can you assist them reach their goals? (Remember to refer to the notes in your CRM about their original goals so you can sound like you know what they’re looking for.) 

If you don’t remember to check in frequently, they will become very vulnerable to a competitor recruiter who shows more interest in their business. 

Maximise your referrals  

10-12% of sales happen through referrals, and recruitment is no different.  Referrals can make the difference between success and mediocrity as a recruiter, helping you land that VIP client or opening the door to that passive executive candidate answering your call.  

So it’s time to go through your database and mine it for possible referrals. Otherwise, you are just doing the recruiter’s equivalent of ‘leaving money on the table’.   

Know your sector at a SUPER DEEP level 

The best recruiters are gold mines of information about their sectors, leading clients to turn to them for sage recruitment advice based on current trends and data. They then become a trusted advisor, not someone merely hoping to fill some vacancies.  This is what you want to become- but it does take some effort.  

On your summer holiday, what can you read up on? Can you subscribe to HBR Magazine, or study up on the latest recruitment trends? Do you know enough about the rise of Artificial Intelligence or the use of Virtual Reality in recruitment?  

A broad knowledge of the business pages and economic data will also go a long way to making you sound like an expert next time your VIP client asks your opinion about their long term recruitment strategy. 

If you’re a real superstar, you’ll be turning what you’ve learnt into a short blog, or an email blast to send to your clients or candidates. They’ll feel like they’re getting a unique insight into the market, and you’ll be fast-tracking your reputation for expertise. 

Know yourself 

If you haven’t already, it’s time to do an audit of your performance.  You probably know your strengths well but might prefer not to think about your weaknesses.  

However, you might find it useful to cast your mind back over the last six months and see where your weaknesses might be losing you money. Have you ended up losing a prospective client at the last minute, or lost a senior candidate to another recruiter? If this has happened multiple times, there’s a good chance that there’s something in your pitch or service delivery that needs some work. 

Finding out what your flaw is gives you power, it doesn’t take it away. Perhaps you can request feedback from your supervisor or even candidates and clients to build your self-awareness and ‘manage out’ your weaknesses.  

These are just a few of the things you can do to supercharge your performance and smash your goals for the final half of 2018. Where will you start? 

Until next time,  

Cheryl