How to Get Clients: A Guide for Recruitment Agencies

Working in recruitment is not for the faint of heart. Keeping track of pipelines, worrying about compliance, plus the stress of quarterly targets can be intense.

For a recruitment agency to thrive, there’s one step to sort out first: making sure you’re getting new clients. With the right strategy, that critical step of getting clients for your recruitment agency can be simpler, sustainable, and help your business to scale.

In this guide, we’re going to take you through some tried and tested methods for snagging new business and keeping cash flow coming in steady. Read on to find out our best advice for getting new clients on board.

1. Top 7 tips on finding clients as a recruiter

1/ Choose a niche

The first step in building a client base is to identify a target market. Nobody can be an expert in everything: don’t try to jump into the Accounting, Advertising, and Administrative verticals all at once. Each industry has its own requirements that recruiters need to adapt to if they want long-term success.

When you’re an expert on which type of clients to attract and which roles to fill, you can tailor your agency’s marketing messages much more effectively. And you’ll get a head start on the first power play to find potential leads: developing relationships with businesses in your niche. On top of that, knowing how to market your recruitment business is key.

2/ Learn about your target market

It's essential for any recruiter to know the basic requirements for roles in their chosen industry. If not, prospects probably won’t choose you. After all, nobody wants to be swarmed by consultants sending in random unqualified candidates.

Let’s say you decide to focus your agency on staffing for tech companies. In that case, ensure that teams learn the specific skills your clients are looking for (e.g: JavaScript, Web3 technologies, etc.). Consultants should hone in on these requirements to attract the right talent.

(And remember that in tech, as well as in other industries, requirements change all the time. It’s up to you to stay current.)

When you know the essential skills for roles in your niche, you’ll be better prepared to find the right candidates. That shows clients that you’re a trustworthy partner.

3/ Build your expertise

Knowing requirements is a start. Going on to becoming well-rounded industry experts is a must for consultants to get new clients and grow the business sustainably.

What are the trends in your recruitment niche? Is it booming or struggling? Are there new market changes affecting what companies want from candidates, or how many roles they want to fill?

Take time to figure out how your agency fits into this push-and-pull. Know your customers’ evolving pain points so you can efficiently solve their hiring problems and find them the best candidates.

We recommend a few things for becoming an industry expert:

Stay on top of industry updates with newsletters and news alerts
Get active in industry-specific LinkedIn groups
Attend events to make connections and learn trends

Paying attention to the latest industry changes can give you an edge over less well-informed competitors. Knowledge is power.

4/ Don’t overlook the little guys

Not all business opportunities are created equal. Sure, a big corporation with deep pockets may seem like the perfect target. But in many cases, they already have an HR department that’s more than capable of handling their own recruiting activities. It’s not a good use of your time as a recruiter to chase clients that don’t need you.

On the other hand, small businesses are often much more appreciative of your agency’s services. They can also convert to long-term clients, paying off over time even when the money “doesn’t seem worth it” in the beginning.

Don’t be afraid to go after the so-called little fish. And you never know when or how they might grow.

5/ Learn from job postings

Data from outside job posts can give important information to recruitment agencies looking to win new clients.

First, they show you the skills and experience that organizations are looking for right now. When you read up on these posts, you can go into conversations with potential prospects with more confidence.

Second, they tell you how the talent market is doing. For example, what are the average salaries out there? What skills are in demand?

Based on that info, you can chat with clients and suggest edits to their job requirements. Writing job posts with the latest market trends in mind gives the highest chance of getting qualified candidates. And your clients will appreciate working with a knowledgeable partner, too.

6/ Optimize your pitch

The way you present and market your recruitment agency makes all the difference on closing a deal. Make sure that your pitch is clear, concise, and most importantly relevant to the needs of your prospect.

If you can show that you understand their business and what they’re looking for, they’ll be much more likely to consider working with you. Our strong recommendation is to do your research and put together presentations that are tailored to each client.

7/ Spend time building relationships

In the recruitment industry, success depends heavily on relationships. Focus on building a network of high-quality contacts and you'll be in a better position to identify the best opportunities for your recruitment agency.

Don’t just look outside trying to find new clients for your recruitment business. Keeping in touch with your current clients for the long run is crucial. It’s much easier to sell to existing customers than to find new ones.

Make an effort to keep communicating with clients post-placement, even if they don’t have any immediate openings. Sending interesting articles or getting them to sign up for your agency’s newsletter can keep them coming back.

2. Other ways to find clients for your recruitment business

There are more than just 7 ways to find clients as a recruiter. What do you do when you’ve taken every best practice to its extreme and still want to hunt for more business?

We’ve compiled all of the most creative ways we’ve seen recruiters win more clients. Take a look at some of our other suggestions below.

Guest blogging

Guest blogging is a great way to build your brand name and client base. By writing articles that focus on the needs of your target clients, you can show that you understand their challenges and have the expertise to help.

If you do jump on the guest blogging train, here’s one tip: always include a call to action (CTA) in your posts. Whether it’s a “contact us” button or a “find out more” link to your website, take the opportunity to engage with your audience. And your agency probably needs a website if you want to benefit from that engagement.

Referrals

Like other B2B companies, recruitment agencies have to spend time cultivating connections and maintaining professional relationships. Asking for referrals from past clients is a great way to generate new businesses.

Leads from referrals tend to be higher quality, because your client can report a positive experience with your business and encourage the new client to try your service. Tapping into these networks is an efficient way to find new clients for a recruitment agency.

LinkedIn groups

LinkedIn is a prime source of leads for recruiters. There are thousands upon thousands of a potential prospects to connect with - and public profiles to do a bit of company research. For recruiters looking to get more clients, this is an ideal place to start.

Clients tend to hire agencies they trust. Learning how to interact with a new client and build that trust is key. One way to do this is by having consultants join the company’s LinkedIn groups. It’s a good signal to clients that you have something in common, and a starting-off point for future chats.

Stay active on LinkedIn by regularly updating your profile and sharing relevant content. The ideal is to use this strategy for both the company’s page and consultant profiles. Keeping up the activity brings profiles to the top of feeds, drawing attention when potential clients are ready to make a decision.

In-person networking

In-person networking is a great way to connect with clients and candidates. Say what you want about a digital-first strategy, but face-to-face connections are still mightily powerful.

One of the benefits of in-person events is that they’re unpredictable. Having a simple conversation with potential clients can wind up with them sharing new leads, or maybe revealing some industry secrets that you wouldn’t get otherwise.

Showing up for in-person networking also tells new clients one important thing: you’re active in the industry and willing to learn.

Search engine optimization

When a prospect hears of your agency for the first time, or if they’re just shopping around for recruitment services, the first thing they’ll probably do is a Google search.

That’s why SEO for your recruitment agency website is a high-priority item. Without getting on that first search results page, you’re not getting found by new clients.

Do your research and optimize your site with the right keywords. With a higher ranking, your website can become a magnet for more leads and clients.

P‌ay-per-click (PPC) ads

Pay-per-click advertising is a highly effective method to find clients for your recruitment agency. With PPC ads, you can target exactly the right people: the ones who are searching for staffing services.

And you only pay when someone shows interest in your service. Set a budget and watch the leads roll in - without worrying about wasted ad spend.

Email lists

With email lists, you can put out quality content and agency news that keep your existing clients informed and interested. And the next benefit, of course, is bringing in new clients.

Email lists can be a slow build: offer content over time to nurture interest and build brand recognition. Then when it’s time to pitch for business, there’s a level of interest from your potential client already.

Social media

Social media is clearly here to stay. Platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn are populated with millions of users, and going on a hunt here is a great way to find clients for a recruitment agency.

Having company profiles across several platforms, with consistent agency branding and messaging, is one of the most useful things you can do to keep top-of-mind with potential clients.

Plan your social media strategy carefully. Which platforms are people in your industry using? Are there hashtags or social media trends you can jump on? When your agency offers useful content and frequently engages with the big players in your industry, it can lead to some sweet MQLs in the pipeline.

Phone calls

Many recruitment agencies focus on just that first online contact with prospects, but not many take the time to follow up with a phone call. But this could be the difference between securing a new client or not.

Follow-up calls are an opportunity to understand more about a prospect’s needs, whether your agency would be a good fit, and if they have any concerns that you can address. Taking the extra time to chat can establish strong relationships and help grow your business over time.

3. Final thoughts

These are just a few tips on how to get clients for your recruitment agency. Our main recommendation would be to focus on delivering quality services and building relationships. With those two points as your foundation, you can confidently go out to win new clients and watch your business grow.

If you’re looking to skyrocket your recruitment agency to a new level, Vincere offers a powerful core CRM system that will help you identify, nurture, and convert new clients.

Thinking about making a change? Reach out to our team and find the solution that’s right for your business.

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