True networking

Rachel Grannan has always been a social butterfly, while at the same time being extremely competitive.

In college, she had a difficult time dropping chemistry because no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't meet the expectations she set for herself. Not to mention the thought of sitting alone in a lab all day just didn't sit well. That's how she ended up in sales. Sales fired up her competitive spirit, and put her social skills to good use.

Grannan is just one of Kforce's 2,000 sales and recruiting consultants, but during her last five years with the staffing company, she's built a following that now has her ranked as one of Kforce's top 10 sales consultants nationwide for clients seeking staff for IT, finance and accounting positions.

Her competitive nature has likely been an asset in her success with a company that has endured extensive restructuring over the last couple of months. Despite reporting strong growth in both revenues and net income, Kforce has laid off more than 50 individuals, including a couple C-level executives, in the last quarter.

With corporate headquarters in Tampa, Kforce has grown to more than 60 offices nationwide, bringing in $299.7 million in service revenue last quarter, up 10.9% from the same quarter the year prior. Net income for the quarter ending Sept. 30 remained about steady with the same quarter in 2012, at $9 million.

To keep ahead of her competition, Grannan tries to find ways to remain in front of her clients. “It's not about just taking people to lunch, it's about helping people,” she claims. One of Grannan's specialties is helping her clients network.

Knowledge transfer is a powerful tool in business, and introducing two people to share stories of successes and how they've overcome challenges provides value above a traditional sale, Grannan says. “It's not about the immediate sale,” she adds. “It's all about building relationships, they carry through.”

The 32-year-old client development manager says a Dale Carnegie training she attended in 2005 opened her eyes to developing profitable business relationships. “If you are genuinely interested, they will want to work with you,” she says. You have to listen to your clients' needs, and then find a way you can provide value, she says.

Grannan is goal-driven, consistently surpassing the company goal of meeting with at least 15 clients each week. She says follow-up conversations vary by client. “It may be as simple as a thank you email and keeping in touch every once in a while. It might be as complex as knowing that they've got an immediate challenge and providing a resource or providing some other type of information that helps them with that challenge,” she says.

Grannan says organization plays a big part in not letting a client or prospect fall through the cracks. She tracks all of her clients and action items through Kforce's proprietary database, which can issue reminders to follow up. She takes notes on each person she meets: “It's all about listening to them and taking that information and repackaging it to show them that you were listening,” she says.

Grannan networks through various groups including the Tampa Bay Technology Forum, Tampa Bay Association of Financial Professionals, Financial Executive International (FEI), Health Care Financial Management Association, and various IT and Microsoft user groups. Networking not only allows her to keep a pulse of what's going on in the industry, but also introduces her to potential clients, new consultants, and a new referral network.

After making a new connection at a networking event, Grannan says she always follows up with an email. If it makes sense, she'll push to set up a first meeting on the spot.

She believes strongly in not just attending networking events, but finding the piece of the group she's passionate about, and volunteering her time and resources to contribute to the group. “Even just taking an hour of your time and volunteering at the sign-in table pays off,” she says.

Sales Tips
Listen: According to Grannan, listening is the key to building relationships. “If you're not listening to your clients, you're not going to know what they need,” she says.
Assist Networking Groups: Grannan advises to find something you're passionate about in the networking groups you join, and make yourself available by volunteering. This will help you identify others who have similar values or passions in the industry.
Set Goals: “It's all about having an action item and holding yourself and your team accountable for them,” Grannan says. A competitive person by nature, Grannan believes in the mantra, “With goals you want to meet or exceed them.”
Be candid: When asking for references and referrals, be direct with your clients, Grannan says. Let them know why you want it, why you need it, and what they'll need to do.