He nearly quit after 7 months. Zero placements. Nothing working. He packed his things into a cardboard box, walked toward the door, and heard his colleagues talking about him behind his back. What they said stopped him. He turned around, sat back down, and made two placements by the end of that week. That was 1982. He never left. In this episode, Rich breaks down the daily habits behind 44 years of consistent billings. He’s used the handwritten planner for nearly 40 years. Why does he track talk time instead of call volume? And the old-school business development strategy most recruiters have abandoned. Rich is the founder of Team Bradley and a Pinnacle Society member for nearly 30 years. He’s billed $28 million personally. At 67, working solo alongside his wife, he’s still going strong. This isn’t about talent. It’s about cadence, commitment, and building a career you actually want to keep. If you’re wondering whether you can sustain this long term, this episode will change how you think about the business. Resources Mentioned 👉 Find out exactly where your recruitment business is getting stuck. Take the free 7-Figure Freedom Scorecard in under 10 minutes: https://recruitmentcoach.com/scorecard Sponsors 👉 Same team, same market — but 30% more productive. Recruiterflow is an AI-first ATS and CRM built for recruitment agencies and search firms. Book a demo: https://recruitmentcoach.com/recruiterflow 👉 One 30-minute session per month gives you 30 days of LinkedIn video content — fully edited and ready to post. Built for busy recruiters: https://recruitmentcoach.com/video What You'll Learn Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:59 44 years in recruiting and $28 million billed — he nearly quit after 7 months 00:05:10 Growing up with abusive, alcoholic parents and running away from home at 15 00:06:21 The voice that drove him for years: "You're never going to amount to anything." 00:17:08 Six months with no placements, and the manager who refused to let him quit 00:19:38 The cardboard box moment, what he overheard walking out the door 00:21:33 Two placements in one week and what total commitment actually looks like 00:25:15 Success is cadence, not luck, the daily planning habit he's used for 40 years 00:32:09 Filling jobs versus placing applicants: the philosophy behind a client-driven business 00:39:02 Why he measures talk time, not call volume, and his daily target 00:42:22 Why reference checks are his primary business development strategy 00:53:25 Polite, professional, persistent, and why that's enough 00:56:18 The cancer diagnosis that reshaped everything and why it happened twice 01:10:28 Still targeting $600K-$700K a year, working solo, at 67 About The Resilient Recruiter The Resilient Recruiter is hosted by Mark Whitby and is one of the top recruiting podcasts in the world, with over 520,000 downloads across 34 countries. Every week, Mark interviews recruitment agency owners, executive search leaders, and top billers to uncover what's actually working in today's market. Connect with Rich Bradley LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richbradley/ Team Bradley website: https://teambradley.com/ Connect with Mark Whitby Free 30-minute strategy call: https://recruitmentcoach.com/strategy-session/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mwhitby/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/recruitmentcoach/ 👍 Subscribe if you’re serious about building a recruitment career that actually lasts.
