4 Criteria For Doing Business with Your Clients

What criteria must be met before you consider doing business with a client?  In any economy, accepting business that has not been properly measured against an established set of realistic criteria is inviting a misappropriation of your firm’s limited resources.

Remember:

Most firms do not suffer from an absence of resources.  Rather, they suffer from a lack of focus for those resources.

Every company, in order to be successful, must have in place a set of criteria against which they judge the business opportunities that are available to them.  Only in this manner can they properly focus their resources.  Experienced business professionals understand this reality.  As staffing industry professionals, we should, as well.

Therefore, consider utilizing the following criteria as a guide for doing business with your clients:

#1—Measure the client’s sense of urgency about receiving the recruiting solutions you can provide.

This is the most important criteria because typically, the higher the client’s sense of urgency, the higher their level of cooperation and flexibility.

#2—Measure the value the client places on the recruiting solutions that can be provided by your firm.

This has a direct impact on your fees and/or bill rates.  The cost of your service is always linked in the client’s mind to their estimation of the value received (whether perceived or real).

#3—Determine whether or not you will be working with the client’s key decision makers and measure the decision makers’ attitude about receiving your services.

While a positive attitude on the part of a decision maker can go a long way toward ensuring positive results, correspondingly, a bad attitude may compromise the outcome.

#4—Measure the nature and scope of the process that will be followed in providing your services, including the level of competition, both internal and external.

Commitment from all parties to following an appropriate process can help ensure a positive outcome that exceeds expectations.

By following these four criteria for doing business, you can improve your quality ratios, increase client share, and when reviewed with prospects during the sales process, help position you as a business equal.

However, these criteria must be properly quantified and qualified, and you and your staff must be trained on how to effectively utilize them for maximum results.

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Terry Petra is one of the recruiting industry’s leading trainers and business consultants.  A Certified Personnel Consultant since 1975 and a Certified International Personnel Consultant since 1989, Petra has extensive experience as a producer, manager, and trainer in all areas of professional search, including retainer, contingency, and contract, as well as clerical/office support and temporary.  For more information about his services, visit his website or call 651.738.8561.