How to leverage your track record to win business and build trust.

Winning business has been front of mind for all of us this year, especially in the recruitment industry.

It's no secret that 2023 has come with its own set of challenges, the main one being winning clients and maintaining momentum in a tricky market.

A track record is something that you start building as a recruiter from day #1. From the moment you make your first placement, your track record is secured.

We're going to unpack how you can leverage your track record to win business and build trust, even in a tough market.

Build a track record "portfolio".

We've already spoken about the importance of having collateral and marketing documents created as a reference point, as this can help you to collate all of your track records in one place.

However, if you don't have access to this or don't have the time to create something from scratch, you can always build a written portfolio in the form of an email.

Sure, it may not be as glamorous, but at least you've got a reference point (and a template document) which you can send as a follow-up after every business development call.

You can also create three or four different templates which can be tailored to the specific areas that you're targeting.

Including a couple of testimonials, case studies, and information on roles that you've filled is an excellent starting point.

If you have access to designers or you're confident in your own capabilities, building a capability document (like we spoke about in a previous edition) should be front of mind, ensuring that you have everything in one centralised place.

Ascertain how to leverage effectively.

With business development, it can be easy to create a list of companies that are all similar to one another and sell on the basis that you're working with competitors (or that you've placed with a competitor).

Although this is a great way to utilise leverage, it isn't the only way that leverage can work.

Here are some options you can start using:

• Placed candidates

• Projects you know about

• Relationships/friendships in the industry

• Name-dropping and market information

1) Placed candidates

Placed candidates are a great source of leverage.

Not only can they give you opportunities within an organisation once they're settled, but they can also be a source of recommendation.

Let's say you're on a new business development call, and a client starts talking about a company that you had placed with in the past.

Now is the time to talk about your placed candidate(s) on a first-name basis.

Not only does this demonstrate your track record without you having to explain/pitch it physically, but it also demonstrates a certain level of relationship with the candidate and the company.

Often, this technique can get lost in the abyss when on a business development call as we're obsessed with getting a role rather than building a picture for the prospective client on what we've done in the past.

You may never get the opportunity to mention candidates on a first-name basis (as it isn't something you'd do over email).

You can use this time on the phone to leverage your placed candidates and use it as a vital business development tool.

2) Projects you know about

This part is where your leverage skills can get really interesting.

It's crucial to know what is going on across all areas of the recruitment company that you work for.

Knowing what projects and clients other teams are working on can enable you to win business not just for yourself but for others too.

For example, let's say your team are really struggling to find roles at the moment - but another team is placing with a client whom you would also like to work with.

How can you both work together to leverage the existing relationship and create opportunities for you as a team?

3) Relationships/friendships in the industry

You don't just have to rely on placed candidates or signed client relationships as leverage tools.

Over your time as a recruiter, you're going to make friends with people in the industry - and you shouldn't be afraid to nurture those relationships and ask for help!

Whether it's a candidate that you never got around to placing, or someone that you previously worked with who has now gone in-house with a client, utilise your relationships and friendships in the industry to your advantage.

4) Name-dropping and market information

This ties together everything that we've already spoken about really nicely.

There can sometimes be a bit of a stigma with name-dropping as you don't want to sound pompous or like you "know everybody" in the industry- however, when done effectively, it can be a great tool to leverage your track record and build trust.

For example, someone hearing a familiar name during an introductory conversation with you enables them to make a link, creating an opinion on you and developing a certain degree of trust purely from the association.

This forms the building blocks of relationships and can make your business development efforts a lot more fruitful as you can create these links quickly and effectively.

It's even better if the person you're name-dropping can vouch for you as someone good to work with!

And finally, remember that building trust takes time.

You can't expect trust to be built overnight and for you to win tons of business. In an ideal world, we'd all need to work very little to generate the best results.

However, it's important to be patient and give yourself enough time to build and nurture relationships and use your leverage cleverly!

Download our free testimonial portfolio template.

Download It Here

Get access to three ready-made templates in Canva. You can use these as a basic outline for your testimonial portfolio and update them with your company’s brand kit.