StepStone / TotalJobs

Context

StepStone is the world’s 3rd largest job board and online careers site. In the UK it runs a portfolio of 10+ brands, including cross-sector brands like TotalJobs and Jobsite and niche boards like CWJobs, Caterer and CityJobs.

The challenge

• Standard job listings and CV database products were becoming commoditised.
• Aggressive competition for market share, both from international players like LinkedIn and Indeed and from local rivals like CV-Library and Reed.
• Buying decisions often driven by price, a “race to the bottom” with pressure to discount.
• Low average deal size, even for large enterprise employers, e.g. under £10K per brand.

What I did

I ran an account analysis with StepStone UK’s leadership team. We found:

• duplicated effort between brand account executives trying to reach the same decision makers
• competition between our own brands harming market share, making it easier for local rivals to claim budget
• price competition driving discounts: “robbing Peter to pay Paul”.

Based on that, I:

• redesigned the sales story to show differentiated value against competitors, with “challenger sale” style data insights that positioned the sales and customer success teams as trusted consultants
• simplified buying by giving new strategic account executives the ability to sell a bundled, multi-brand solution, with simpler “unlimited posting” pricing for larger contracts
• built trust and credibility by emphasising StepStone’s market-leading position in the UK and internationally, compared with smaller local rivals: “Trust in bigger and better technology to deliver!”

Results

• +300% increase in sales pipeline
• +200% increase in contract value (ACV)