The Resilient Recruiter Recruitment Coach Mark Whitby

Being a high biller requires a combination of hard work, skills, and strategies. But what does it really take?
My special guest, David Bradley, is a 29-year veteran who averaged $750k in annual billings his entire career! In this episode, David shares the strategies and mindset that make him a very effective recruiter! On top of that, David also manages high-volume accounts with a team of 60 headhunters. If you are a recruitment leader like David, you will find insightful takes on how he manages KPIs and how they drive a culture that is geared towards performance.
In 2009, David helped start Movement. He is a partner with Movement and has been an instrumental part in helping the firm grow from 3 to 65 plus headhunters over the past 14 years.
Movement has 5 brick and mortar offices across the United States.
Episode Outline and Highlights
[02:29] How David got into the recruiting business. [07:14] Top recruiter secrets & grinding on a 10-5-2 formula. [10:32] Structuring daily activities & time management best practices. [17:52] You need to get three critical pieces of information when speaking with a candidate. [24:26] The foundation of what makes David a successful recruiter. [26:50] Movement’s culture and mission. [34:30] Striking the balance when managing your team’s KPI. [37:40] Retaining the momentum in 2024 - key to continuous growth and eight-figure billings. [45:20] How Movement’s owners play different roles? [52:29] David’s future growth plans.  
What it Takes to Be a Top Recruiter
What does it take to become a top recruiter? It certainly involves grind and hard work. David’s 29-year experience provides him with a credible perspective on what it takes to be successful. This also gives him an advantage as a recruitment leader - his capabilities are a testament to how his team has been performing. Below are the critical topics that David and I discussed:
 
10-5-2 Formula
Being cognizant of your time
Planning ahead of your phone time
Mindset
 
If you are listening, as a recruiter or recruitment leader, David's insights are inspiring!
 
The Foundation of Being a Successful Recruiter
 
Being consistently successful in a long time requires more than hard work. There is something else and David generously shared his secret sauce:
 
“So I think having that gratitude, understanding that we get to talk to people for a living and have just an incredible life, incredible income opportunity, incredible balance, we can manage our life any way we want it… And I think that fuels getting up in the morning and saying, you know what? This is gonna be another great day. It's gonna be a great year. It's gonna be a great month. Well, if it's not been a great month, next month's gonna be great. So having that sort of mindset, I think, is really, and factor a lot of fun into this.”
 
This fantastic mindset is an invisible but highly influential factor that determines your success as a recruiter or recruitment business owner. Possessing a positive mindset enables us to navigate the favorable and unfavorable changes we encounter with resilience.
 
The Keys to Continuous Growth and Eight-Figure BIllings
 
David shares how Movement produced $20M in billings around 2022-23. It was a great year for them post-Covid, and the systems and frameworks they had at the time enabled them to retain the momentum even when things appear to slow down in 2024. I wanted to pick David’s brains on the culture and systems they have in place, given that not many recruiting firms get above 8 figures. 
 
My takeaway is how they emphasise creating and enabling a culture geared towards high performance.  They have annual trips for the top 10% of producers, on top of regular social activities and loyalty bonus programs. They also have annual meetings where they fly everyone in, including their staff’s spouses. Doing so contributes to relationship-building and as David said, “an essential part of

In the evolving recruitment landscape where LinkedIn and ChatGPT dominate the conversation, one tool stands resilient: the humble phone call. 
Is cold calling still a critical part of your recruitment and selling process? Can you be a successful modern recruiter while making zero cold calls?
I am thrilled to be joined by a veteran and successful recruiter, Danny Cahill. You will enjoy his insights based on his decades-long expertise in recruitment approach with a spotlight on the importance of using the phone for cold calls. 
Danny started his recruiting career right out of college at Hobson Associates. He became its rookie of the year and went on to become a top producer and the general manager by the age of 26. At 27, he bought the company and built it into one of the country's largest search firms. Danny was the educational chairperson of the Pinnacle Society, 75 of the highest achievers in the industry.
Episode Outline and Highlights
[02:12] “Phone: Friend or Foe?” – insights on Danny’s talk at the last Pinnacle Society Summit.
[09:50] Recalling the good old cold calling days.
[13:08] Approaching the current landscape of a 5% call response rate.
[22:09] Why must modern recruiters understand and maximize the phone's power?
[32:33] “The phone call is a birthday card.” - Danny explains why effort toward candidates and clients can be a strong differentiator.
[39:35] Can you be a successful recruiter nowadays without making phone calls?
[45:39] Flipping the order – why the phone should come before email.
[52:40] Thoughts and insights on AI.
 
How Veteran Recruiters Should Approach the Current Industry Landscape
 
I have known Danny for decades - he is a legendary recruiter and you can just imagine my delight when I had the chance to meet him in person at a Pinnacle Society conference last year. We discussed the talk he gave about using old-school cold-calling. Danny believes that using the phone is a critical skill for recruiters, especially before the advent of the internet. We recalled how exciting it was to not know in detail who you would be talking to, how skillful you should be when carrying conversations, and of course, going through gatekeepers before reaching your actual target.
 
But the landscape now changed. On average, you will only reach 5% of your prospects by phone. Danny believes that although it should be a combination of tools and platforms, making phone calls is more relevant than ever, as it can be a differentiator. This is how Danny puts it: 
 
“If this helps you with your identity crisis, the thing that made you great is going to be more important than ever because you're not someone who just makes phone calls. The phone is your conduit to who you are, which is a storyteller, a persuader, an enabler of aspiration. We sell dreams. That's what we do. And companies are going to always use us. If you have a level of contact and subject matter expertise so that I feel like you can get candidates I can't get in a faster way.”
 
Flipping the Order – Why the Phone Should Come Before Email
 
On Hobson Associates’ website, you will see the line “We’re Always Available to You. By Phone. Online. Or in person.” This is aligned with how Danny wants the order in which their recruiters would reach out to prospects via phone before mail. I tried to pick Danny’s brain for this approach, and he explained the logic. 
 
“Yeah, well, because I think the phone has some real advantages and it is direct. You know, people often say, well, email is faster. Oh, no, it's not. I see email exchanges all the time between clients.”
 
Danny also emphasized that the phone has some power to engage with prospects. “The power of the pause; the power of someone sighing. The thing about text, is that young people like text, because text can be filtered, text can be edited, right? You can wait and you can make a draft of it. Whereas with the phone, y

Building a scalable recruitment business that operates seamlessly even without recruiters' direct involvement should not be just a dream—but a tangible goal. Balraj's achievement with Envision Education serves as a testament to what can be accomplished through strategic planning and execution.
Today’s episode explores how recruiters can build high-performing teams and a scalable business with a special guest, Balraj Guraya. As the founder and director of Envision Education, Balraj has not only grown the company into a high-performing team of 23 individuals but also strategically positioned himself to focus solely on scaling the business by replacing himself in the hands-on role in 2022
Tune in to gain valuable insights from Balraj's unique approach and what's working and not in building a scalable business that can thrive even when the founder isn't in the driver's seat.
Episode Outline And Highlights [01:46] Why Balraj got into recruitment and started Envision Education 
[05:20] How Balraj began his business and how things worked in the first year
[08:07] The biggest challenges Balraj encountered before building a team
[12:04] The key milestones of growing a team from 2 to 23 people 
[15:06] How to structure the interview process and get the right people onboard
[22:37] Ways to structure your team and create an excellent candidate journey 
[20:45] Steps to building a recruitment business that runs without you 
[33:20] What contributes to creating a high-energy environment  
[44:23] How to hire right and create a smooth transition into your culture
[48:28] The key to building successful business partnerships with Rec2Rec 
[55:42] What candidate's journey is all about, and how it works 
[59:11] How to design, roll out, and improve processes for scale 
[01:02:04] Tip to conquer staff turnover and self-doubt as a business owner
How to Become a Manager and a Leader and Build Confidence in Your Effectiveness During our discussion, Balraj and I discussed his recruitment strategies at Envision Education. Founded in 2014, Envision Education addresses staffing shortages in Primary, Secondary, and Special Schools across London and the home counties. Balraj's vision has led Envision Education to become a high-performing team of 23 individuals. His journey includes transitioning from a hands-on role as a builder in 2022 to focus on scaling the business.
 
Balraj shares six key principles for recruiters aspiring to become effective managers and leaders in their business. 
 
Self-motivation: As a recruiter, Balraj shares that you have to be very self-motivated and have the drive, energy, and focus to grow your business in the beginning to build a strong foundation for growth and expansion.
Be consistent: Balraj emphasizes maintaining a steady workflow and understanding that success takes time and effort. It’s not going to be an overnight achievement. So be consistent, produce the right quality and quantity of activity, and stay motivated. 
Willingness to make mistakes: Recruitment takes work. It takes resilience, courage, and a willingness to put yourself out there, try uncomfortable things, make mistakes, and embrace them as learning opportunities.
Get the right people on board: Balraj emphasizes the pivotal role of team composition in driving success. He explains the importance of recruiting people who align with the company's values and attributes and possess the necessary skills to contribute meaningfully to the team's objectives. Having the right people on board is a game changer. It’s the difference between success and failure.
Structure your team: Structuring allows individuals to maximize their strengths and enhance overall performance. According to Balraj, structuring your team will help the team keep up and improve your turnover.  
Coaching and development. Balraj highlights the importance of ongoing coaching and development in building a gr

Every successful recruiter will tell you success is born out of the grind, not the glory. Mastering the grind is the key to unlocking growth. Whether building a robust network, honing communication, or leveraging technology, recruiters must navigate the ups and downs with resilience and determination.
 
Today’s episode explores how recruiters can embrace the grind and build successful businesses with a special guest, Matt Ballema. Matt is the founder of Pioneer Search Group. With a track record of consistently surpassing the million-dollar revenue mark for the past three years, Matt brings over two decades of executive search experience. He specializes in material handling automation space and has placed professionals at all levels, from general manager, president, and COO to sales reps and engineers all over North America.
Tune in to gain insights on elevating your firm to unprecedented success. Matt's insights will inspire and enlighten you whether you're a seasoned recruiter seeking to optimize your operations or an aspiring entrepreneur looking to carve a niche in the industry.
Episode Outline And Highlights [02:19] How Matt got into the executive search business space 
[04:13] When Matt started the Pioneer Search Group
[10:40] The difference between burning out and embracing the grid 
[18:34] What it means to work hard and be consistent as a recruiter 
[20:03] Three important metrics to track in a recruitment business 
[25:24] Key tools to adapt to stay with the times and leverage technology
[35:07] How to stay relevant as an executive recruiter in the digital environment 
[39:10] How to create an in-house team structure for building your database 
[42:58] The rainmaker model and how it works in a recruitment firm 
[48:23] Leveling up your team and scaling back direct workload Vs retiring 
[50:58] How recruiters make people multimillionaires, changed lives and family trees 
[54:47] How recruiters can harness fear as motivation rather than a detour
[01:02:04] The mindset of successful recruiter and thinking of the long game 
  How Recruiters Can Navigate the Grind and Scale Their Recruitment Firm During our discussion, Matt and I discussed his recruitment strategies at Pioneer Search Group, which has been instrumental in building and scaling the firm. Pioneer Search Group specializes in executive search within material handling, power generation, and oil and gas industries across North America, placing top talent in various roles, from sales and sales management to director and VP/C positions. 
 
Matt outlined six essential steps crucial for recruiters looking to establish or expand their executive search firm:
 
Entrepreneurship grind: Matt emphasizes the importance of embracing the search business grind mentality, regardless of the revenue goal. Whether it's a million dollars or $250,000,. It doesn’t matter; you must be willing to grind and embrace the grind to achieve.
 
Alignment: Before embarking on becoming an executive recruiter or starting a search firm, Matt highlighted the necessity of ensuring alignment with one's partner, as the pursuit can be very demanding.
 
Hard work and consistency: Hard work and consistency are the hallmarks of a successful recruiter. Recruitment is an activity-based business, and Matt encourages recruiters to focus on data analytics, planning, and tracking metrics.
 
Build your database: According to Matt, as a recruiter, diligently working on and growing your database is the foundation for turning leads into lead generation, both on the candidate and client sides.
 
Stay relevant: From a marketing perspective, Matt advised recruiters to brand and package their services effectively, leverage team efforts, technology, and persistence to maximize engagement and seize opportunities.
 
Turn fear into motivation: In the placement world, there are many things that recruiters have no cont

Scaling a recruitment firm to 10x growth in a challenging market demands a strategic approach focused on innovation, adaptability, and talent development. All of which Tom has mastered and has been able to 10x his firm's growth over the past decade. Tom scaled Fraser Dove International from 5 employees to a workforce of 50 employees spread across two offices in the UK, one in Switzerland, and another in the US. 
 
In this episode, we discuss strategies for success and capitalizing on new opportunities in the recruitment industry with a special guest, Thomas Dove. As the co-founder and CEO of Fraser Dove International, a leading global search firm and talent consultancy specializing in Life Sciences, Tom brings a wealth of experience to the table. He started his recruitment career in the early 2000s in a large, corporate, multinational environment and transitioned into the global executive search world before starting his own recruitment firm.
 
Tune in to gain invaluable insights from Tom on achieving exponential growth and staying ahead of the curve in an ever-changing market.  Whether leveraging innovation, promoting adaptability, or investing in talent development, Tom provides valuable perspectives to help recruitment firms thrive amidst evolving challenges and emerging opportunities.
 
Episode Outline And Highlights [02:38] How Tom got into the recruiting space
[04:52] What it takes to start and 10x a recruitment firm 
[09:42] How to refine your roles in a partnership for scale 
[11:50] How to unpack your job and hire people with the potential to grow
[20:33] Ways recruiters can stop being the bottleneck in their businesses 
[24:38] Tips on how to drive high-performance standards hands-off 
[26:42] How recruiters can create processes and pathways for excellence 
[34:15] How to play to people's strength in a challenging market 
[37:10] Practical steps to becoming a great recruiter in a tough market 
[41:27] How to generate your production at a high level while developing others 
[49:11] The 360 business development for turning candidates into client 
[52:28] What OKRs are and how to use them within a recruiting business 
[01:04:04] How to develop a unique language and integrate it into a business culture 
How Recruiters Can Unpack Their Job and Find More Opportunities During our conversation, Tom and I discussed Fraser Dove's remarkable growth, expanding globally by 10x over the past decade. Tom describes how refining his and his partners' roles and constantly reevaluating their jobs has been pivotal in unlocking new opportunities and perspectives. He emphasized the importance of periodically stepping back, assessing tasks, and delegating effectively. For Tom, recognizing when he's overwhelmed with tasks outside his core focus signifies an opportunity to recalibrate priorities, leading to the discovery of fresh avenues for growth and innovation.
 
Tom also shed light on their thought process and hiring approach at Fraser Dove. Over the past decade, they've reviewed and refined job descriptions a notable 15 times, two times a year, when onboarding new leaders. They adopt a dual hiring strategy, defining immediate roles while envisioning how these positions will evolve over the following 12 to 24 months. This forward-thinking technique ensures alignment between organizational needs and individual aspirations, fostering a dynamic and adaptable workforce.
 
As a scaling company, Fraser Dove understands the importance of articulating its mission and vision to potential hires, positioning itself as an employer of choice within the competitive executive search landscape. Tom underscored the importance of communicating career trajectories and growth opportunities to prospective employees, as this distinguishes recruiters as visionary employers. This approach attracts top-tier talent and serves as a guiding principle for recruiters and leaders within the organi

Growing a recruitment business to 7 or 8-figure portfolio companies might be much simpler than you think. Few firm owners achieve this, but Aaron Opalewski stands as an example of this entrepreneurial success. He co-founded his first staffing company at just 24 and has nurtured his second venture into a portfolio of seven staffing companies across various industries. Remarkably, three companies consistently make 8-figure revenues, while one of them, Spark Packaging, hit 7-figures within its first year.
 
In this episode, we discuss invaluable insights on how recruiters can fortify their businesses for growth with a special guest, Aaron Opalewski.  Aaron is the CEO and founder of Spark Talent Acquisition, a company he launched in 2013 at the age of 29. He is also a partner in two other companies outside of staffing and holds investments in the food and beverage industry. 
 
Join us as we explore strategies for structuring businesses, optimizing operations, boosting gross profit, delegating tasks, nurturing client relationships, and building successful partnerships. Tune in for a wealth of wisdom and actionable advice from Aaron's journey of entrepreneurial triumph.
Episode Outline And Highlights [02:38] How Aaron got into the recruiting space
[03:59] What it takes to start and launch a staffing company 
[08:00] The keys to a successful business partnership 
[09:54] How delegation and promotion have helped Spark Talent excel 
[15:18] How to structure a recruiting company for lifetime customer value 
[24:33] Tips on how to nurture clients and maintain good relationships
[30:10] How the contract and direct side of a recruiting business works 
[32:35] Why GP is the most important metric for growth 
[38:06] How to identify target companies for merger and acquisition 
[41:27] How to get alignments and nurture clients on social media 
[44:57] How mergers work in improving GP to over the million dollars range
[48:25] Growth loops and profit strategy to level up business operations
[57:15] What is the difference between recurring and contract revenue flow
 
How Recruiters Can Structure Their Firms for Lifetime Value   
During our conversation, Aaron and I discussed Spark Talent and how he has steered it into a thriving portfolio comprising seven staffing companies across different sectors over the past decade. Aaron shares that everyone assumes the role of recruiters within his business. As the founder, he personally interviews prospective team members, positioning himself as the primary recruiter across all his ventures. He emphasized the importance of this role, asserting that as a business owner, one must take charge of internal recruitment, honing recruitment skills as diligently as serving clients.  Aaron firmly believes that sourcing and nurturing the right talent through extensive training, coaching, and support makes success almost inevitable. He stressed that while failures may occur in other aspects, assembling the right team and fostering their growth ensures a solid foundation for success.
 
Discussing the organizational structure, Aaron outlined the various roles within their teams and business setup, which include recruiters, account managers, business developers, internal and external apps teams, and portfolio managers overseeing the seven companies. Aaron underscored that recruiting forms the cornerstone of their operations, extending to every area of their business, even extending to the front-end relationship with business development personnel. However, in the early stages, Aaron recalled a time when salespeople juggled multiple roles, from accounting to business development and recruitment. However, he acknowledged that this approach diluted the customer experience and diminished lifetime value, prompting them to restructure and specialize roles for optimal efficiency and client customers' lifetime value.
Nurturing Client and Building Longterm Rel