How to Work a Blended Desk
In 2026
–An Eleven-Part Series–
Part Two
by
Bob Marshall
August 11th, 2026
Defining Your Marketplace
I hope you’re enjoying this series, but more importantly, I hope you’re putting these ideas into practice.
Because knowing how to work a blended desk doesn’t increase your billings.
Working one does.
In Part 1, we established the foundation for the blended desk. Now let’s move into one of the most important habits you can develop as a recruiter:
Consistently planting your field.
If you want a stronger Job Order and Candidate pipeline, you can’t wait until you have a qualified Position Description to start looking for candidates.
You have to build the pipeline before you need it.
That’s where prospecting, marketing, recruiting, and follow-up all come together.
The Planting the Field Analogy
Accept that most of the companies and candidates you contact are not going to be ready to work with you today.
That’s OK!
In fact, that’s exactly what you should expect.
The purpose of prospecting isn’t to close a sale
The purpose is to open a relationship.
Every conversation gives you an opportunity to learn something, establish credibility, and add another potential relationship to your network.
Think of it like planting a field.
When the farmer plants a seed, he’s not depressed the next morning because there isn’t a crop.
He knows the process takes time.
He plants.
He waters.
He cultivates.
He follows up.
And eventually, he harvests.
Recruiting works the same way.
Every quality conversation is a seed.
Some seeds will produce quickly.
Some will take months.
Some may take years.
And some won’t produce at all.
That’s OK.
Your job isn’t to predict which seed will grow.
Your job is to keep planting.
Write this down:
“No” now is not “No” forever.
A hiring manager may not have an opening today.
A candidate may not be interested in making a move today.
A company may already have preferred suppliers.
A contractor may be perfectly happy with their current assignment.
None of that means the relationship has no value.
Circumstances change.
People change jobs.
Projects begin.
Projects end.
Budgets get approved.
Employees resign.
New managers arrive.
And suddenly, the person who wasn’t interested six months ago may have a problem that you can solve.
That’s why recruiting is a relationship business.
Build the Habit, Not the Emergency
One of the biggest mistakes recruiters make is treating recruiting as an emergency activity.
They get a requisition and suddenly start making calls.
They need five candidates, so they start looking for five candidates.
They need a contractor, so they start searching for a contractor.
That’s not building a recruiting business.
That’s reacting to one.
The strongest recruiters I’ve known don’t wait for the job order.
They’re always working in their marketplaces.
They’re constantly adding Hiring Managers to their network.
They’re constantly talking to candidates.
They’re constantly learning who’s available, who’s moving, who’s hiring, who’s leaving, and where the next opportunity might come from.
That’s a habit.
And habits compound.
One conversation doesn’t create a pipeline.
Ten conversations don’t create a pipeline.
But consistent activity, repeated week after week, creates something incredibly valuable:
A database of relationships.
And that database becomes your competitive advantage.
You Only Have to Make One Cold Call
Here’s another concept I want you to remember:
You only ever have to make one ‘cold’ call.
Why?
Because the next time you call that person, it will be a ‘warm’ call.
You’ve already introduced yourself.
You’ve already had a conversation.
You’ve already learned something about them.
You’ve already begun building the relationship.
The second conversation isn’t starting over.
It’s continuing.
That’s the power of planting your field.
Every day, you’re adding another seed.
Every week, you’re nurturing the ones you’ve already planted.
And over time, your field becomes more productive.
The 2026 Reality
During a typical marketing campaign, you’ll speak with approximately 14 live people out of every 100 calls you make.
The other 86 will go to voicemail.
That’s not failure.
That’s not bad luck.
That’s simply the recruiting environment we’re working in today.
Accept it. Plan for it. Keep moving.
Don’t measure your success by how many people didn’t answer the phone.
Measure it by how consistently you’re creating new conversations and developing existing relationships.
Because the recruiter who keeps planting will eventually have something the recruiter who only reacts to openings doesn’t have:
A pipeline.
And when that pipeline is full of qualified, engaged candidates, you don’t have to start from scratch every time a new requirement hits your desk.
You already have people to call.
That’s what a strong recruiting habit produces.
You plant today so you can harvest tomorrow.
Next week: Part 3 – The MPC and the FAB
My Best,
Bob
Bob Marshall began his recruiting career over 46 years ago at MR in Reno, NV. In 1986 he established The Bob Marshall Group, International, where he has trained recruiters throughout the United States and also in the United Kingdom, Malta and Cyprus. With a dedication to executive recruiting, he continues to offer his proven training systems to individuals, firms, and private corporations both domestic and in select international territories. To learn more about his activities and descriptions of his products and services, contact him directly @770-898-5550/470-456-0386(cell); bob@themarshallplan.org; or visit his website @ www.TheMarshallPlan.org.
Bob Marshall
President
TBMG, International
205 Elliott Road, Suite 100
McDonough, GA 30252-2704
770-898-5550
520-842-5550 (fax)