Contracting CornerThe Perm Recruiters Contracting Resource

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Second Quarter 2014

How to Get Contract Job OrdersMarketing tips to help recruiters take advantage of the hot contract staffing market

Copyright 2014 Top Echelon Contracting, Inc.

Getting contract staffing job orders can be as simple as asking your current clients if they

use contractors.

Contract staffing is breaking records every month, most recently achieving record market share of 2.06% and exceeding 2,800,000 active jobs for the first time ever. There is no other way to say it contract staffing is HOT. Any recruiter can take advantage of this trend without any upfront financial investment or additional in-house staff.

If you are apprehensive about the back-office tasks and obtaining contract job orders, let us dispel your fears. Getting started requires very little time and effort when you outsource the employment of the contractors and the associated employment tasks to a contract staffing back-office service, such as Top Echelon Contracting (TEC). Getting contract staffing job orders is also much easier than recruiters may think. Companies are increasingly making contractors part of their permanent business strategies. Therefore, getting contract staffing job orders can be as simple as asking your current clients if they use contractors. You may be surprised how often the answer is a resounding YES! So now you simply let them know that you can do direct hire and contracting.

There are a number of other easy ways to promote your new service. Lets explore five proven marketing techniques that have helped recruiters establish and grow the contract staffing portion of their businesses:

1. Existing marketing messages2. Your website3. Social media4. Blogging5. TECs Contract Staffing Marketing Center

Your Existing Marketing MessagesAs a recruiter, you already have several ways of reaching out to your clients. An easy way to get contract job orders is to add contracting information to these existing vehicles:

Email signature file Business cards Standard fee schedule Newsletters or brochures Automated on hold phone message

These are the most common ones, but you can probably think of many others on your own. The point is, you want to publicize contract staffing just as you would your other services.

Your WebsitePerhaps your most important marketing vehicle is your website. If companies and candidates are searching the Internet for recruiters who place contractors, you want to make sure they find you!

Be sure you have a prominent contract staffing page that lists all the advantages of utilizing YOUR contracting services. Many recruiters have TWO contract staffing pages one for clients/employers and another for candidates.

To help you promote contract staffing on your website, we offer a contract staffing video plugin that explains to clients the advantages of contract staffing and why they should utilize your firm when they need contractors. You can learn more about the video in the Contract Staffing Marketing Center portion of this article.

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Social MediaSocial media offers plenty of ways to spread your contract staffing message even further. Here are some of the most popular social media networks and some easy tips to help you get the most out of them:

LinkedInMake sure you mention contract staffing on both your personal and company profiles. You can also join and participate in LinkedIn Groups in your niche. By participating in discussions and posting relevant content in Groups, you set yourself apart from your competition by positioning yourself as an expert. You can even start your own Group to further expand your name recognition. Just be sure to provide useful information rather than being self-promotional.

TwitterThink beyond job postings. Just like with LinkedIn, you want to establish yourself as an expert by posting relevant, useful articles. And dont forget to use hashtags by putting a # in front of phrases you think people will search on. Hastagify.me can help you find hashtags trending in certain industries.

FacebookAgain, the theme is to post relevant information that your target audience will want to share. The difference here is that Facebook is a little more lighthearted, so you can be more casual and humorous as long as it is still professional. Incidentally, Facebooks new Open Graph search also assists with sourcing by allowing you to search publically available data from the networks vast database.

Google+This site is still the new kid on the block when it comes to social media. It has some good features and will have an impact on your search engine rankings. Plus, it allows you to segment connections into customizable Circles. You can tailor different posts to candidates and clients and even segment contacts into different industries if you have multiple niches. Google+ also has video chats called Hangouts, which could allow you to conduct candidate interviews virtually. This is especially useful for contract placements that need to be made quickly or when the candidate is remote. Google+ is very visual, so be sure to use eye-catching images.

PinterestThis is the last social media network many would think of when it comes to recruiting. It may not be the best way to reach clients, but it may be helpful in sourcing and marketing to candidates. Creative contractors, such as Graphic Artists and Web Designers, often share work on Pinterest. You can find them by searching for terms such as resume, cv," and portfolio. Pinterest can also be a branding tool if you provide useful information to your audience. You will want to think a little outside the box and figure out what tools or information candidates can use to do their job better. For instance, if you recruit Web Designers, they may enjoy posts with uniquely

designed pages. People in education may appreciate classroom tips.

BloggingIf writing is not your forte or you are short on time, you may be tempted to discount this idea. But you should give it serious consideration. If candidates and companies are running Internet searches for recruiters who can place contractors, you want to make sure you show up on the search results. Search engines like blogs because their content is updated regularly.

Plus, you are once again positioning yourself as an expert and setting yourself apart from the competition. Blogs also give you something relevant to post on your social media networks. You dont have to be a Pulitzer Prize-caliber writer to have a blog. The most popular blogs are often written in a more casual, conversational tone. Basically, you can share your own knowledge and expertise. Therefore, maintaining a blog may not be as daunting as you think.

Contract Staffing Marketing CenterTEC was established in 1992 to help recruiters make contract placements. Because marketing is such a critical component of contracting, we have added a Contract Staffing Marketing Center to our website at www.topecheloncontracting.com/contract-staffing/marketing

This Marketing Center provides a number of free tools to help recruiters promote contract staffing services if they are utilizing the back-office services of TEC:

Customized Marketing DocumentsThese documents can be customized with your firms name and contact information. There are documents for both clients and candidates.

Contract Staffing VideoAs discussed above, this 2-minute video can be added to your website to show clients how Contract Staffing Offers the Ultimate in Flexibility. You can see a sample contract staffing page with the video at www.topecheloncontracting.com/contract-staffing-sample-page

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How Can I Market Contract Staffing to Clients Through Cold Calls?

Top Echelon Contracting, Inc. (TEC), the recruiters back-office solution, helps recruiters offer contract staffing to clients and candidates. As a contract staff-ing service provider since 1992, TEC becomes the employer and handles all of the employee paper-work, legal contracts, timesheet collection, payroll processing and funding, tax withholding, benefits, Workers Compensation, invoicing, collection of accounts receivables, background checks, etc. TEC does business in 49 states and special-izes in technical, professional, and healthcare contract placements.

For more information,

Call: (888) 627-3678

Web site: www.TopEchelonContracting.com

Blog:

www.TopEchelonContracting.com/blog

Email: info@TopEchelonContracting.com

President: Debbie Fledderjohann

While the techniques we suggested in the previous article can enhance your marketing efforts, there often is no replacement for the good old cold call. But you may want to consider a different approach for contract staffing cold calls than you use to get direct hire job orders. Contract staffing recruiters have found success utilizing the following questions:

Do you have a special project or critical deadline?These situations often require extra staff or specialized skills that wont be needed afterward. With contractors, your clients can bring on the talent they need and simply end the contracts when the work is done.

Do you have a backlog you cant address due to budget issues?Companies can utilize contractors to pick up the slack, even during a hiring freeze, because the funds for contractors dont come out of the capital budget. Plus, contractors do not create a long-term financial commitment.

Are you concerned about potential tax risks associated with 1099 independent contractors (ICs)?The government continues to step up enforcement and the penalties associated with worker misclassification. Therefore, if there is any chance that a companys ICs are misclassified, it is critical that the