Recently I overheard a discussion among Contract Recruiters around their marketing efforts to find new contract assignments.  It seems many Contract Recruiters are great at finding candidates for a source list but always struggle when it?s time to find that next contract.

The conversation revolved around an old sales training topic I used to teach to my sales group when I was in industry.  It was the concept of filling your funnel with sales ?potential?.  Of course in this case, the concept is to fill your Contract Recruiting assignment funnel with new ?potential contracts?.

The concept is simple but should and can apply to Contract Recruiters in their marketing efforts to always have that next Contract assignment in their hip pocket.  It has a few steps and they are basic but effective.  Here?s how it might work:

�      Step One ? Do your homework ? Survey job boards (ERE), join Yahoo Groups on Contract Recruiting (ContractRecruiterJobs has 2200 members), get involved with Contract Recruiting Blogs (this one is a great start) ? Essentially, increase your visibility as a Contract Recruiter.

�      Step Two ? Make a master list of Contract Recruiter employers (Agencies and Corporations) who regularly advertise and hire Contract Recruiters (this is filling your funnel from the top with a sea of potential).

�      Step Three ? Reach out with a professional resume to as many potential Contract Recruiter employers as possible and let them know you are in the business (even if you are currently employed) ? The funnel is narrowing as you will ?pre-qualify your potential future opportunities.

�      Step Four ? Do periodic follow up calls or emails to potential employers who showed an interest in working with you in the future ? stay current with them and on their ?hot list?.  (The funnel necks down at this point and should hopefully provide you with a large handful of hot leads for future Contract Recruiting opportunities).

�      Step Five ? Go back to Step One and start again!  I know, this does get tiring.  But, if you want to be ready the next time your current Contract expires and you find yourself scrambling, take the time now and every so often, to ?Fill Your Funnel?.  I think you?ll find it pays off.  Good Luck!