Start a Recruitment Agency
Companion to "Finding your first clients" and "The fee agreement."
Conventions: short beats long, specific beats impressive, a question beats a brochure. Fill-in fields in brackets. Volume rhythm: outreach to around one hundred potential clients a week, grouped by niche, personalized as a batch; rework the same list every three months.
Hi [Name], saw the [role title] opening on your careers page, it has been up about a month. I place [role type] in [niche], and I am working with several right now who fit what your posting describes. Would it be worth twenty minutes to see if I can shorten the search? If the role is already close to filled, no pitch, just tell me and I will check back next quarter.
The moves: specifics prove you looked, the candidate pool proves half the work is done, the exit ramp makes replying safe.
Hi [Name], quick one from my side of the market: are you finding [niche] candidates easier or harder to close this quarter than last? I ask because my clients are split on it and I am collecting takes from hiring managers I respect.
| Touch | Channel | When | Done |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Email (first-touch pitch above) | Day 0 | ☐ |
| 2 | ~3-4 days later | ☐ | |
| 3 | Phone / second email | ~1 week later | ☐ |
| 4 | Next-quarter recycle (the message lands on a foundation the first one built) | quarterly | ☐ |
Multi-touch across email, LinkedIn, and phone: familiarity across channels builds trust even when no single message gets an answer. Expect most touches to produce nothing, and expect the replies to skew toward the fourth contact rather than the first.
I have started a recruiting practice in [niche]. If a role ever lands on your desk that is dragging, I would like to be on your short list.
Former colleagues who are now hiring managers know your work; the fastest first fee agreement most career-changers sign comes from that list. Book conversations as calls, not messages.
We are a finder's fee, same as the agencies you already use. The difference is you pay nothing unless this person signs and starts. Your own team interviews, references, and decides. The fee buys the candidate you could not reach, not the decision you already own.
I will extend the guarantee to ninety days with a free replacement. What I will not do is refund in full, and here is why: once your candidate starts, you own their experience, their manager, and their workload. If the role changes or the budget moves, that should restart the search, not invoice me for work I completed.
Hold the fee: never below fifteen percent (your personal floor), and any discount carries a stated condition (more roles, prompt payment, named partnership treatment). Kind and immovable. A client who bullies you on the fee in week one will bully you on guarantees in month three; that is information about the client.
| Their website, job descriptions, LinkedIn presence | ☐ |
| One or two roles picked that you will say you can fill (claiming everything reads as specializing in nothing) | ☐ |
| Call questions ready: the role's history, why it is open, what happened to the last person, what a great first ninety days looks like | ☐ |
| Notes into the tracker during the call | ☐ |