Sign clients for your firm
HR leaders get ten calls from recruiting firms a week. Yours has to be about one specific role they are struggling to fill, not about your “tailored approach”.
Target companies that are actually hiring
The simplest signal is public: a job posting online for more than six weeks on a role in your specialty. It says the company is looking, has not found alone, and for which role. Add funding rounds, office openings, new executive appointments: each signal gives a reason to call and a date.
Fifty companies with a signal are worth more than the whole directory of HR leaders. For each one, two contacts: the HR lead or head of talent, and the manager waiting for the hire. The second is often more receptive: they are the one suffering from the vacancy.
The opener: the role, not the firm
“Hi, this is Ines Garnier from Talentis Search. I am calling about your maintenance manager role, online for seven weeks: do you have applications moving forward, or is it still open?” Twenty seconds, one fact, one question. The HR lead knows why you are calling and can answer without committing.
What you do not say: “specialised firm”, “tailored approach”, “network of qualified candidates”. Every firm says it. What sets you apart is knowing the role and having a precise question.
The mandate: clear, bounded, with proof
In the meeting, the goal is a mandate on one role, not a framework agreement. Describe what you deliver and when: three qualified profiles within two weeks, with an interview summary for each. Give proof: a comparable placement, with the timeline and the pay level, anonymised if needed.
The mandate is discussed on three points: exclusivity (temporary, on the role), the fee and what triggers it, and replacement if the candidate leaves during the guarantee period. Raise them yourself: an HR lead who does not have to ask trusts you more.
- A dated deliverable: three profiles within two weeks, summaries included.
- Comparable proof: role, timeline, pay.
- Temporary exclusivity, fee, guarantee: you raise them before being asked.
Follow up without becoming the firm people avoid
After a first call with no mandate, the cadence is the same as for any prospect: an email with an anonymised profile that matches the role, a call at day 7, a LinkedIn message at day 14, then a monthly rhythm with a new signal each time. The site’s cadence generator builds the sequence and skips public holidays.
What makes you valuable between two mandates: sending an interesting profile without being asked, once a quarter. The HR lead remembers the firm that brings, not the one that chases.
Key takeaways
- The best signal is a job posting online for more than six weeks in your specialty.
- Two contacts per company: the HR lead and the manager waiting for the hire.
- The opener is about the role and asks a question; never about the firm.
- The mandate is won with a dated deliverable, comparable proof, and you raise exclusivity, fee and guarantee yourself.
- Between two mandates, bring a profile without being asked.
Check what you remember
Question 1 of 4One correct answer per question. The explanation appears after your choice.
What is the most useful signal for calling a company?
Go further
A term you are not sure about? The cold calling glossary
