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If you’re looking to partner with the best headhunters for sales and marketing jobs, you know your sales skills will be on the line. But you may not have considered yet that the first thing you must do to make this collaboration work is to sell yourself.

Your skills and abilities are the single most important “product” you will ever sell, and convincing a recruiter or employer to bring you on board is the biggest “sale” you will ever make. It pays to prepare for this sale just like you would any other.

Here are five tips for a successful “sales” call with your recruiting firm:

Know your goals.

When you make a sales call, your goals include closing the sale and maintaining a relationship with the buyer that will encourage more sales in future. When you call a recruiter, your “sales goals” include convincing the recruiter to work with you both now and in the future.

To do this, you not only need to know your own skills and abilities inside and out, but you also need to know what kind of work you’re looking for and in what industries. By knowing your needs, you can determine whether the recruiter is right for you.

Be honest.

Sales go more smoothly when a salesperson genuinely believes in his or her product and knows when it is right or wrong for a particular customer. Likewise, when you call your recruiter, be transparent about your job history, previous pay, and other recruiters you may have contacted. This honesty helps both you and your recruiter determine whether you’re really the right “product” for this staffing firm – or if you’ll both be happier elsewhere.

Develop a sense of urgency.

When a tough customer calls, you call back immediately, before the customer can have a change of heart. While your recruiter probably won’t drop you for a 24-hour delay, job openings can disappear quickly, making this same sense of urgency essential when your staffing firm calls. Treat your recruiter like a customer you don’t want to lose.

Do your research.

It’s hard to sell a product’s benefits when you don’t know your customer’s needs. The more you learn about your staffing firm’s specialties and about the needs of each employer, the better you can tailor your personal sales pitch. Improve the quality of your applications and stand out in your recruiter’s and potential employers’ minds by learning everything you can.

Maintain the relationship.

Just as you network with customers even when they don’t have an immediate need, don’t forget to reach out to your recruiter periodically even after you’ve landed a job. A quick email update every few months is a great way to keep your recruiter in your professional network, so you can refer colleagues to a top-notch connection – or reconnect yourself if you decide it’s time for a new job.

At SMR Group, our recruiters specialize in placing top sales candidates in great jobs in the fields of biotech, pharmaceutical, and medical industries. Contact us today to “sell” your expertise and learn more.


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