There are certain shortcuts when it comes to generating leads, and recently I stumbled across another one. Just because a prospect isn’t actively seeking your offerings doesn’t mean they don’t genuinely need them. This is the case when it comes to safety in the workplace. In fact, I recently spoke to a student who says she gets all of her leads by looking up OSHA safety violations. Another sales manager told me that he would find leads by looking up “lighting-related accidents in industrial settings” by state.
Think about it. If there is an accident, an environmental incident, or similar regulatory compliance issue, these companies have been alerted to a pressing need, and they may still have a problem that needs a solution. If they have other facilities, those other sites could be in the same boat. It wouldn’t be such a bad idea to reach out and offer a solution to their problem.
Another ingenious route to ferreting out promising leads is the staffing agency. You could share coffee or a meal with one of their headhunters and ask, “What companies have the greatest need for workers in this region, and is there a particular time of year when they experience the highest turnover?” You can get hints on whether a company’s employees are having problems with thermal comfort, air quality or eye strain. These aren’t in the same category as safety issues or violations; however, these employment specialists could definitely give you insights into what your prospects might be missing. As just one example, think about the company that has suffered 30% churn in its workforce every May or June just before the factory temps rise above what’s humanly tolerable. Once you sense a correlation between staff churn and working environment, you have a thin edge of the wedge to open a conversation with that employer... and by the way, given that payroll is 100 times as significant as utility expense, and that employee churn is very expensive, you’ll have the CFO’s attention if you offer an approach to optimizing workforce comfort, productivity and retention.
If the staffing agency’s performance rating (and/or overall compensation) is dependent on worker retention, collaborating with you to reduce churn could lay the foundation for a win-win-win for you, the staffing agency and the employer.
