Client outreach is a top priority for the staffing industry right now. In fact, according to recent research by SourceWhale, 90% of staffing businesses list business development as a critical focus for 2025 – even higher than filling jobs.
Tapping into over 100 million data points from the recruiting firms that comprise their client base, TechServe Supplier Member SourceWhale has unique insight into the outreach techniques that work … and those that don’t. Below are some insights developed from that data that can help your team win more business this year and beyond.
Know your targets
Imagine if your team could spend most of their time working with clients that generate more revenue, more quickly. Unrealistic? Not necessarily. Understanding your ‘Ideal Client Profile’ (ICP) is the key.
Scott Littrell, Vice President of Sales with SourceWhale, recommends segmenting your client base into three tiers based on two factors: fill rate and time to fill.
A client with a high fill rate and a short time to fill? Top tier. A mid-tier client is one for which one of those two metrics is average. Clients where both the fill rate and time to fill are average form your third tier.
Then look for similarities. What are some of the things your first-tier clients have in common? Those are the characteristics of your ICP. Focus your outreach efforts on companies that share those features.
Just as importantly, identify things that your third-tier companies have in common, so that you can appropriately prioritize companies that share those characteristics.
According to Littrell, fewer than half of firms surveyed by SourceWhale have a good understanding of their ICP. And the payoff is significant. According to the company’s data, when working with companies who fit the ICP mold:
- Client win rates are 56% higher
- Time to fill is 36% less
- Client retention rate is 82% (versus 61%)
Persistence is key
An outreach campaign based on a single touchpoint to each prospect will never be as successful as a multi-touch approach, no matter how many prospects are in the funnel.
SourceWhale data shows that three touchpoints will result in 50% more meetings than a single contact. In fact, 71% of meetings are booked on or after the third contact.
Littrell suggests that for the best results, cold outreach campaigns should plan for eight separate touchpoints. “We’ve found that the response rate and the meeting rate go up by each step in the campaign, up to eight. Once you get to nine, the curve starts to flatten out. It still goes up, but more slowly, and there’s a diminishing return.”
Leverage the multi-channel advantage
An outreach campaign based on eight touchpoints doesn’t mean eight emails. The most successful campaigns contact prospects using multiple channels. According to SourceWhale data, a campaign using three or more contact methods results in double the meetings booked, as compared to only a single channel.
Channels may include:
- LinkedIn connection requests
- LinkedIn InMails
- SMS text messages
- Phone calls
When it comes to the highest win rate for meetings booked, you might be surprised to learn that the humble phone call wins the day, with a conversion rate of over 30%.
The timing of those phone calls is also a critical factor. SourceWhale data shows that meetings are booked at a 37% higher rate when a phone call is used to follow up within 24 hours of an email.
Show me you know me
In this age of mass automation, it’s easy to believe that quantity trumps everything else – that the firm who sends the most outreach messages will win.
Not so. In fact, one could argue the reverse – that in this age of AI-driven mass communication at scale, personalization is more important than ever. SourceWhale data suggests this is the case: personalized messages generate two and a half times the results as compared to generic messaging.
“You’re going to stand out if you’re using different approaches,” Littrell says. “That’s just a level of persistence that people aren’t used to right now. They’re used to these AI automated emails. If you’re reaching out with multiple channels, they’re going to realize that there’s a real human on the other end that’s trying everything in their power to get in touch. You’ll be recognized.”
When it comes to phone calls, quality drives conversation. Respectfully giving control to the prospect simply by asking for permission to take a bit of their time drives far better results. And according to SourceWhale data, the cast majority of prospects – about 80% – willingly give that permission.
How else can you show that your call to that prospect is meaningful, and intended specifically for them? Do your research. Show that you know something about the company and what their pain points are when it comes to recruiting talent.
MPC (Most Placeable Candidate) campaigns generate six times the responses as general outreach. They’re an additional way to show you’ve done your homework on the prospect company, plus they offer more ways to ‘pivot’ from the initial reason for the call to a broader conversation.
Win, assess, repeat
Developing a winning outreach strategy isn’t a one-time project. The best prospectors on your team have a process … whether they realize it or not. That process can be defined, and it can be replicated. Once again, doing so separates you from the pack. Only 18% of teams, according to SourceWhale data, have a repeatable process in place for business development.
Secure more business in 2025
Is your sales team positioned to book more meetings and win more client business this year? These tips and data points were shared in a recent TechServe webinar that you can watch here. Don’t miss the role that video outreach, text messages, and even gifs and memes can play in your outreach strategy!
