Help!! Client development

I've been a recruitment consultant for 7 years here I have done exceptionally well working for someone else. I had my own clients and candidates and was very self sufficient. At the beginning of this year, I decided to go out on my own and start a search firm. I figured that I had the contacts, the experience and the work ethic to be a success.

I've officially been cold calling and trying to get new clients for the last 2 weeks. So far, I haven't had 1 fee agreement signed. I've gotten very few orders that were solid. I'm old school, so all of my marketing is done through cold calling, emailing and marketing potential canididates with the hopes of generating enough interest to proceed to the actual job order.

On the candidate side, I've had no problems at all. I already had a large database generated and I do most of my headhunting to cold calling them as well. I've been very successful and have been getting a great deal of excellent resumes.

What am I doing wrong on the clent development side? I wuld appreciate any help or ideas any of you can give me.

Thanks,
Elle

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Dale Busbee on February 10, 2009 at 12:17pm

Elle,

In the past, I started an executive recruitment firm in the medical industry after working for 2 other firms. I started my firm with zero clients and zero candidates. I did as you were doing and started marketing my services to potential clients, and it took some time (a month or so) before I landed my first client contract. At the time, it seemed to take FOREVER! In this economy, unfortunately many companies are more looking to hire contract or temp employees, rather than make the investment in direct hires. As you know, there have been massive layoffs by companies throughout the US, which floods the market with candidates. Employers may be thinking that they can capture some of these folks for "free", rather than paying a recruitment fee. Plus, with your firm being new (even though you have prior experience), you may find a client less likely to use your services over a more "experienced" firm. If you have a specific niche market you are targeting, become an "expert" in that market, and become a resource for candidates in your marketplace that clients are willing to pay a fee for. It's tough landing that first contract, but once you do, then leverage that with other potential clients. You may also want to consider blending your business, especially in this economy, with temp/contract workers. Carrying payroll costs can be a burden, but there are funders that can help with that. I hope this helps.

Regards,

Dale Busbee
Sterling Resource Funding
Funding for the Staffing Industry
dbusbee@sterlingresourcefunding.com

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