Is the economy in a downturn? Some experts believe we are already in a recession, others believe one is imminent, and still others believe our economic future will be unlike anything we’ve seen since the Great Depression. Despite the fact that all of these scenarios are unsettling, there is always a chance to gain new customers and thrive, even in difficult times. In a recession, your business strategy is likely to change, but the steps you take now can help you emerge victorious. It’s never too late to start preparing for the future or even for the present.
When it comes to finding new clients, the first step is to identify a few key components. For starters, you need to figure out which fields are flourishing and in high demand. In the second step, identify the industries in which you have both the means and the most potential to succeed. Whether you’ve previously done business with a particular industry or not, or whether you’ve done business with that industry before, there may be new business opportunities for you to explore.
Here is a list of some of the most sought-after industries:
Food/Alcohol/Grocery
Staff and Equipment for Health Care Providers
Delivery Services for Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
Paper Products for Trucking and Railroads
Cleaning and Antibacterial Products
Learning Styles of Health and Sustainability/Wellness in Administrative Online Education
IT/Accounting/Legal \sPrinting/Publishing
Telecommunications/Cable
Do you see any new possibilities as you peruse this list?
Looking for New Customers in Your ATS/CRM
It’s time to use your ATS/search CRM’s capabilities to find specific opportunities once you have a list of industries to target.
Locate potential clients using the Client Industry Code, Status, and Location
First and foremost, you should conduct a search based on the code, status, and location provided by the client (if you are looking to staff in a specific area.) It’s up to you to choose the codes for each industry in the software that you use. If you’re looking for companies that you’re “actively” working with or “inactively” working with, status is critical. A search in either direction is possible. Find out if there are companies you already work with that you can contact. For those clients who are no longer active, conduct the same search. It is possible that these are clients that you have lost or have not had the opportunity to work with in the past. If you’re looking for help in a specific area, consider assisting employees at nearby companies. As a starting point, it can help you focus in on local businesses. Take a look around and see if you can find any potential opportunities.
This is an excellent search option if your software supports “full text search.” It’s possible to conduct a “full-text” search of each client’s personal information using this feature. You can search for “medical” in an email, a text message, a note, or a comment, and it will look for all clients who have the word “medical” somewhere in their profile.