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Lead Nurturing

The Importance of Candidate Lead Nurturing

June 3, 2014 Lead Generation 0 Comments

Congratulations!Lead Nurturing Your lead generation campaign is a success and you now have the names and contact information for some promising candidates. What your staffing firm does with those leads is going to determine how many of those candidates end up working with your firm and how many choose to work with another staffing agency. Your first step is to score the generated leads to determine which candidates are ready to work with your recruiters immediately and which leads need to be developed further. Your next step must be to develop a comprehensive lead nurturing program in order to create ongoing dialogs with prospects and establish relationships built on trust.

Go the Extra Mile
After you have determined which leads need to be nurtured, you need to go the extra mile and make each candidate feel special. Assign prospects to segmented lists based on their skills and interests to ensure that your team is distributing the most relevant content to each candidate. Different types of leads demand different nurturing tracks that deliver individualized content. Develop a comprehensive database that contains detailed lead profiles and track the progress of your staffing firm’s lead nurturing efforts. Don’t forget to periodically recycle “dead” leads; candidates who were originally scored low on your company’s prospect scale may quickly surge to the top of your talent pool based on an unanticipated change in their employment status.

The Personal Touch
Never discount the power of the personal touch. Although emails are an effective part of any lead nurturing program, a postcard or greeting card is a great way to attract the attention of top talent. Take the opportunity to keep in touch with your candidates by sharing a relevant article or some helpful advice. Send a personal letter that includes details on changes to HR employment laws or insight into upcoming networking events. Follow-up with a thoughtful note after a candidate has met with one of your clients to discuss the open position. A personal call or text every now and then is an important part of building a trusting recruiter-candidate relationship, but be sure not to become a nuisance.

Content Marketing
Based on our current reliance on the internet and mobile devices, your staffing firm’s lead nurturing program must include a content marketing component. Materials such as webinars, case studies and whitepapers are valuable educational materials that provide your recruiting team with a great way to keep in touch with your leads. A strong content marketing program helps to establish your staffing firm as a leader within your industry niche and builds your brand. Differentiate your firm by delivering fresh content each week in your company’s blog and make an effort to address the needs of your candidates by selecting relevant topics.

Email Correspondence
It goes without saying that email marketing campaigns, when done the right way, are a great way to capture the attention of potential leads; however, email is also a great vehicle for keeping in touch with your leads and nurturing those who are not yet ready to sign on with a new staffing firm. Establish a communication schedule that allows you to maintain regular contact with your leads and send seasonal e-cards to denote important holidays. Even if you do not have the perfect position for them right away, make sure your staffing firm’s lead nurturing program includes a component for identifying top talent prospects and assigning them to recruiters for regular follow-up. Send compelling email messages that stimulate a candidate’s interest and gives them a compelling reason to reach out to your recruiters. Email leads a copy of your company’s e-newsletter or a link to a relevant blog article on your staffing firm’s site. Ensure that each email is on point and pay close attention to the frequency of your email contacts. Long, rambling messages that appear in a candidate’s inbox once a week are bound to be ignored and quickly deleted. Don’t forget to include links to your staffing firm’s social media platforms within the body of your email message so interested candidates are able to easily reach out to your recruiting team.

Social Media
Nurture current leads and potentially capture the attention of new leads by sharing repurposed articles, blog posts, industry trends and other relevant information through social media. Establish your firm as an industry influencer by contributing to online forums and LinkedIn group discussions. Social sharing is also a great way to make direct connections with prospects you have already identified. Reach out to potential candidates by sending them relevant information in a tweet or posting a direct message to their LinkedIn account. Although social media is traditionally thought of as a vehicle to reach the masses, it is also a great way to establish and nurture one-to-one connections with potential leads while increasing the visibility and brand image of your staffing firm.

Key Takeaways for Candidate Lead Nurturing:S.J.Hemley Marketing

  1. Make sure your recruiting team understands how important it is to go the extra mile when nurturing leads
  2. Don’t discount the value in a well thought out, personal message to potential candidates
  3. Content marketing is the best way to establish your staffing firm as an industry leader and encourage leads to sign on with your firm
  4. Periodic email messages that provide valuable information help to keep your firm’s name fresh in a candidate’s mind
  5. Social media platforms are a great way to reach out to new potential leads as well as nurturing current leads

About S.J.Hemley Marketing
S.J.Hemley Marketing is a marketing and sales consulting firm focused on driving tangible results for professional services firms. Brand matters, but not without ROI. With over 20 years of sales and marketing experience within staffing and recruiting, we have helped to drive successful branding, sales training, lead generation activities as well as defining marketing strategy for top organizations.



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