There’s a huge amount of focus in recruitment right now on generating more leads.

More data. More signals. More automation. More email sequences. More people going into the top of the funnel.

But I think there’s a danger that we confuse having more people to contact with actually creating more business.

Because ultimately, recruitment is still won through conversations.

So today I want to look at one simple question:

How many genuine prospective-client conversations did you have last week?

Not emails or LinkedIn messages sent. 

Actual two-way conversations with people who could potentially become clients.

1. Start with the number

Think about last week.

How many genuine prospective-client conversations did I have?

• A phone or Zoom conversation
• A proper back-and-forth in DMs
• A meaningful email exchange
• A conversation with an existing contact about what’s happening in their business
• A conversation with someone who could introduce you to a potential client

The point isn’t the channel. The point is that another human being engaged with you.

Is that number high enough to produce the amount of new business I want?

2. Work backwards from the outcome

Let’s say you want one new client this month.

Instead of starting with: “How many leads do I need?”

Start with…

How many genuine conversations usually create one real opportunity?

Maybe for you: 10 conversations → 3 opportunities → 1 client.

Your numbers will be different. But suddenly your BD target becomes much more useful.

You don’t need to “do more business development.” You need to create 10 conversations.

3. Where could those conversations come from?

Here’s where I think recruitment founders often make BD harder than it needs to be.

When we think about getting more conversations, our instinct is often: Who new can I find?

But your easiest conversations may already be sitting inside your business.

• Existing clients. Who haven’t you spoken to properly recently?
• Past clients. Who used to hire through you but has gone quiet?
• Old prospects. Who did you have a good conversation with six or twelve months ago?
• Candidates. Who has moved into a hiring role?
• Your network. Who knows the kinds of companies you want to work with?
• LinkedIn. Who regularly engages with your content but you’ve never actually spoken to?

Before adding another 500 people to a database, there may be 20 people you already have a reason to talk to.

4. The conversation test

Look at the BD activity you’re currently doing.

For each activity ask: Is this creating conversations?

If you’re sending 100 emails and nobody replies, that’s activity, not traction.

If you’re posting on LinkedIn five times a week but never starting conversations with the people engaging, you’re creating attention, but potentially wasting the opportunity.

If you’ve got 5,000 people in your CRM but haven’t spoken to 95% of them for two years, you’ve got a database, not relationships.

The goal isn’t necessarily to do more BD. It may be to get much better at turning the activity you’re already doing into conversations.

Are you up for a challenge?

How many genuine prospective-client conversations will you create over the next 7 days?

Then choose where they’re going to come from.

Don’t start by finding hundreds of new leads. Start with the people who already have some reason to know, trust or respond to you.

And at the end of the week, don’t just measure: How much BD did I do?

Measure: How many conversations did I create?

Because leads don’t hire recruiters. People do!

And if you want help turning more of the people already in your network into clients, you might like to check out our new program – The New Client Intensive.

Success!

Helen Buchan – 2 inbound jobs in here first 2 weeks

Helen Cramp – Secured a retainer in her first week and a spike in inquiries

Did I mention our FULL money back guarantee? 😊

Have a top week.

BK