Lead generation for recruitment agencies
Client meetings with hiring managers at companies that are hiring right now. Signal-led outreach on email, LinkedIn and calls, built and run by an ex-recruiter.
Why BD is hard for recruitment agencies
Hiring managers get more agency pitches than almost anyone. Most of them sound the same, and most of them arrive after the role is already on every job board.
Everyone sees the same job posts
By the time a role hits LinkedIn, ten agencies have already emailed the hiring manager. Being first matters more than being loud.
Hiring managers ignore generic pitches
"We place top talent" means nothing to a busy hiring manager. They reply when you mention their team, their role and the problem they're trying to solve.
BD stops when the desk gets busy
When you're running five live roles, prospecting is the first thing to slip. Then the roles close and the pipeline is empty again.
What you get
One system that finds companies with a hiring need, reaches the person who owns it, and puts the interested replies in your inbox.
Hiring signal lists
A fresh list every week of companies in your niche showing a real need: new leaders, funding rounds, new teams forming and roles that won't fill.
The right hiring manager
Not the HR inbox. The person who owns the role, with a verified email and LinkedIn profile.
Messages that sound like a recruiter
Every first message opens on the signal and mentions the team or the role. Written the way a recruiter talks, not a marketer.
Email, LinkedIn and calls
Multi-channel sequences, with LinkedIn sent from your own account so the relationship stays yours.
Safe sending setup
Separate sending domains, warmed up and kept within safe daily limits. Your main agency domain is never used for cold email.
Replies where you work
Interested replies go straight to you. Recruiterflow can be set up end to end, including the BD side, and Bullhorn can be connected through its API.
The hiring signals we watch
Job posts are the loudest signal and the most crowded. These quieter ones usually show up weeks before a role is advertised.
A new leader in the role
New leaders reshape their teams in their first 90 days.
A funding round
Fresh money and pressure to grow mean hiring plans follow.
A first hire in a new function
A first hire in a new team usually means more hires are coming.
A new office or market
They're hiring somewhere they don't have a network yet.
A role open 45+ days
The internal search is stuck, and every week costs them.
A key person just left
A gap that hurts right now, often with nobody ready to step in.
How it works
Four steps on us. One step on you.
- We map your nicheOn a 30-minute call we agree the roles you place, the markets you cover and the companies you'd love to work with.
- We build the signal listEvery week, companies in your niche that show a hiring need, scored so the strongest signals go first.
- We find the hiring managerThe person who owns the role, with a verified email and LinkedIn profile. No generic inboxes.
- We write and run the outreachYou approve the messages once. Then email, LinkedIn and calls run every week, and we tune them based on the replies.
- You take the callInterested hiring managers land in your inbox, ready to talk about the role.
Who it's for
A good fit
Contingent agencies, retained search and executive search firms in any niche, from IT and engineering to finance, healthcare and sales. You make placements every month and want more clients without doing all the BD yourself.
Not a fit yet
Agencies that only want job board ads, or want thousands of generic emails a day. This is targeted outreach to the people who own the hire, and it takes a few weeks to warm up properly.
How it compares
There are three common ways recruitment agencies win new clients. Here's how they stack up.
| Zorexo | General lead gen agency | Doing it yourself | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who writes the messages | An ex-recruiter, in your voice | A copywriter who covers many industries | You, when the desk is quiet |
| How targets are picked | Hiring signals, refreshed weekly | Usually a static database list | Job boards and gut feel |
| Channels | Email, LinkedIn and calls | Often email only | Whatever you have time for |
| Recruitment knowledge | Has sat on every side of the hiring desk | Generic B2B language | Strong, but no time |
| Who owns the setup | You, on "We build it" | Usually the agency | You |
| Keeps running when you're busy | Yes | Yes | Rarely |
Built on real implementation work
I've implemented this kind of BD system inside a leading UK executive search firm: Clay for hiring signals, the BD side of their CRM, and outreach workflows the team could run every week.
Two ways to work together
Same system in both. The only difference is who runs it.
We build it
For agencies with someone in-house who can run it. Signal lists, sending domains, scripts and a handover session, all set up inside your own accounts.
We run it
For busy desks. Everything in "We build it", plus new signal lists every week, weekly tuning, replies routed to you and a simple weekly report.
Questions agencies ask
Which recruitment niches do you work with?
Any niche where you make placements every month: IT and tech, engineering, finance, healthcare, sales, and more. Contingent agencies, retained search and executive search firms all fit.
Do you work with executive search firms?
Yes. The system was built and implemented inside a leading UK executive search firm, and it works just as well for contingent agencies.
Who do you contact at each company?
The person who owns the hire. Usually the department head or manager who owns the role, never a generic HR inbox.
Will this hurt my email domain?
No. Outreach goes from separate sending domains set up just for this, warmed up properly and kept within safe daily limits. Your main agency domain is never used for cold email.
How fast will I see meetings?
New sending domains need a few weeks to warm up before outreach starts. Depending on your branding and marketing efforts, you can start seeing results somewhere between 45 and 90 days, then we tune every week based on the replies.
Can replies go into Bullhorn or Recruiterflow?
Yes. Recruiterflow can be set up end to end, including the BD side most agencies never switch on. Bullhorn can be connected through its API. Read how Clay and Bullhorn connect.
Who writes the messages?
Asra, the founder, in your voice. You see and approve every message before anything goes out.
See it on your own niche first
Get a free client hit list: 10 companies hiring in your niche right now, the hiring manager at each one, and the exact first message I'd send. I'll walk you through it on a 30-minute call.
Get my free hit list