Before the internet, truck driver recruiters were able to place an ad in the newspaper or run a radio ad and the applicants would come pouring in. Then as things began turning digital carriers started purchasing multi carrier leads from online companies that generated trucking applications and sold them to all their clients. Branded, or direct leads, are now the hot trend.
Multi-Carrier Leads are Wasteful
If your company is still purchasing multi-carrier leads from driver recruiting agencies, you are wasting your time and money. Your recruiters are forced to race against all of the recruiters from competing companies just to call the driver.
The drivers don’t even want to hear from the recruiters that are competing to call. Recruiters are rushing to be rejected immediately when you fill your ATS with multi-carrier leads.
Multi-carrier leads kill recruiter-morale.
Every time your company purchases a list of multi-carrier leads you are wasting your money on the list, wasting the recruiter’s time, and wasting salary spend on recruiters that are set up to fail.
Branded Leads Improve Everyone’s Performance
Branded leads are drivers applying directly to your company because they like your brand.
Loading your applicant tracking system with branded leads for your recruiters to call is going to improve everyone’s performance. Your recruiters will hire more drivers, the drivers hired will want to work for your company, and your company will become more profitable.
Place yourself in the driver’s shoes. Would you rather hear from tens of recruiters, even after starting a new position, that all got your number from the same multi-carrier list? Or would you rather speak with the one recruiter that works for the company you specifically chose to apply to?
In sales terms, multi-carrier leads are cold leads. Branded leads are hot leads. Fueling your company with hot leads is always going to lead to better results than cold leads.
How are Branded Leads Generated?
Branded leads are not easy to obtain. They require a high level of expertise. Carriers can generate branded leads with a dedicated in-house team or by hiring a trucking company advertising agency.
Either way, your company must have a team solely dedicated to branded lead generation.
A dedicated team is going to focus on three areas: digital driver recruitment, referral programs, and rehires. Those three areas should be the three main contributors to your applicant tracking system.
Digital driver recruitment is going to focus on things such as social media marketing, job board management, and google advertising to spur driver applications and build your employer brand.
To a trucking company, their most valuable asset is their truck drivers. Because there is a driver shortage your company is likely experiencing some turnover. You can not fill empty seats with multi-carrier leads. The true value of branded leads is that their ability to turn into drivers solves the driver shortage for your company.