LinkedIn is genuinely a candy store for recruitment founders.
The problem? Most of us are standing at the window, looking in.
We connect. We wait. We wonder why nothing happens. And then we either pitch too early and kill it, or we’re so careful we end up being a LinkedIn pen pal forever with zero business to show for it.
There’s a better way. And it’s a lot more human than you might think.
Think about dating for a second
(Bear with me on this one.)
You meet someone new. You don’t walk up and say “Hi, want to get married?”
You start light. Easy.
You get a feel for each other. The conversation gets a little deeper over time. You meet the friends, the family.
And eventually, when the moment is right, someone pops the question.
LinkedIn works exactly the same way.
The question staircase
Start with short, easy questions.
Give value before you ask for anything. And only “pop the question” (a call, a meeting, a role you want to work on) when the relationship has actually earned it.
The founders who do this well aren’t being manipulative. They’re just being genuinely interested. And people can tell the difference.
Your prospects absolutely can sense when you’re running a script on them.
Set the intention that when the time is right, you’d like to do business. Until then, be curious.
Be relevant. Be useful.
The rules of engagement
When someone connects with you, please don’t pounce.
A simple “Thanks for connecting Sam, looking forward to reading your content” is plenty.
Warm, giving, asking for nothing. Then follow up with a light question a day or so later.
Match where they are. If they write two sentences, don’t reply with six. If the conversation starts to open up, you can go a little deeper.
Look for something specific to them.
What are they posting about? What matters to them? What’s unique to their story?
“I see you’ve worked across a few different markets, Sally. Do you have a favourite?”
They might say something like “They were all great, but Munich was my favourite city.”
Now you use the formula.
Acknowledge. Add. Ask.
That’s it. That’s the whole thing.
ACKNOWLEDGE: “Munich sounds amazing!”
ADD: “I’ve only been as a tourist but I’d love to go back.”
ASK: “Any favourite spots?”
Keep it easy to answer.
You haven’t earned their deep thinking time yet.
A question like “What did you find most challenging about the cultural differences in your work there?” is way too heavy too soon. Save that for later.
Offer value before you ask for anything
Once a light conversation is flowing, look for ways to give something useful.
A connection who could help them. A tool you’ve been using. A piece of research relevant to their world.
If you have a resource that’s genuinely useful, like a salary guide or a market snapshot for their niche, even better.
That’s value and a soft signal about what you do, without it feeling like a pitch.
How to avoid the friend zone without becoming a pitch slapper
This is the tightrope a lot of founders struggle with.
The fix is simpler than you’d think. Don’t go too far down the personal path before you bring in a work or business question.
Using the Munich example, after a couple of exchanges I might ask: “Did the language make things tricky at work?”
That one question starts moving things in the right direction without forcing anything.
From there, just stay interested. Stay relevant. Stay human. If there’s a fit, a call or a meeting will happen naturally.
Here’s the honest truth about getting business on LinkedIn in 2026
Thewindow of advantage is still open, but it’s changing.
The founders winning right now aren’t the ones with the biggest networks. They’re the ones who have a consistent, repeatable system for turning connections into conversations, and conversations into clients.
That’s not luck. That’s a process.
If you want to build that process properly, with the frameworks, the tools, and the support to make it stick, that’s exactly what we work on inside The New Client Intensive.
It’s a 90 day program built specifically for recruitment founders who want a consistent client pipeline without cold calling, expensive ads, or hiring a team.
The goal is simple: 1 to 3 extra placements every month. Guaranteed, or your money back.
If that sounds like what you need right now, reach out and let’s have a chat to see if it’s a fit.
Have a great week.
BK
