By: Shari Dalton
How do you create value? Value is a funny thing. It is very personal and different for everyone. For your customer, it is based on what is important to them and their perception of what you have to offer. So how do you know when you’re “providing value”?
I think a good place to start is by asking one simple question. Would your clients or customers pay to work with you? Not your product or your company, but you. Would your customers pay to specifically work with you for their needs? I have had the pleasure of working with several recruiters and client managers in the healthcare staffing industry. What I can tell you with certainty is that every company has their “top performers” that stay at the top of the leaderboard with head count. Then they have their real “top performers” whose customers would pay to work with them over every single other agency.
Let’s look at reasons why your customers may work with you, but wouldn’t pay to work with you. I mean, you’re nice, you’re fair, you’re accessible, and you can offer a good pay rate at good locations. What you’re saying, is that you’re just like 80% of the other recruiters and client managers in the industry. But then you stop there. Maybe you spend your weekends watching Rounders and Wolf of Wall Street a million times so you are a strong closer? Good for you slick! But let’s not forget that in 13 weeks….the process starts all over again for you and your customer.
And then there are your recruiters and client managers whose customers would literally fork over cash just for the opportunity to work with them. What is so different and special about these guys? Value! They have created value for their customers and have taken the time to really find out what their customers needs are, not just their wants. They are spending more time during the qualifying process to find what is important to their customers. But they don’t stop there! Once they’ve established what’s important to their customers, they evaluate if that customer is a good fit for them as well. They are looking for mutually beneficial value. Is this relationship going to be a two-way street? After all, in 13 weeks, the process starts all over again. And if there is value, they have a much better chance of not only retaining that customer, but creating a loyal, long term, mutually beneficial relationship with that customer.
So…would your clients or customers pay to work with you? What small steps can you start making today to guarantee that they would? Do you need to start spending more time in the qualifying process?
