Adaptability – Our Prime Directive
SELLING VALUE
–A Thirteen-Part Series–
Part One
The Five Step Plan
by
Bob Marshall
August 26th, 2025
PART ONE
The Five-Step Plan for Winning Clients in Today’s Recruiting Market
If you want to thrive in recruiting, you need more than hustle—you need a system. Too many recruiters wake up each day and “wing it,” hoping their calls, emails, or LinkedIn outreach land in the right place. That’s not how top billers operate.
Big billers run their client development like a well-rehearsed playbook. They know exactly how to prepare, how to connect, what questions to ask, and how to prove their worth. And in a market where clients are flooded with recruiters promising the moon, the ones who stand out are the ones who follow a process.
That’s where the Five-Step Plan comes in. Think of it as your framework for turning prospects into clients—without relying on luck, gimmicks, or “spray and pray” tactics.
1. Prepare
In 2025, ignorance isn’t just a disadvantage—it’s a deal-killer. With so much information at your fingertips, there’s no excuse for walking into a conversation blind.
Study their world. Go beyond the website. Scroll their LinkedIn updates, dig into press releases, listen to podcasts, even scan employee reviews. Are they expanding into new markets? Cutting costs? Struggling with retention? The better you understand their reality, the faster they’ll see you as a strategic partner, not just another recruiter.
2. Connect
Cold outreach still works—but warm outreach works better. Decision makers are far more likely to respond when they see a familiar name attached.
Comb through LinkedIn, industry events, alumni groups, or your own network to find mutual connections. And if you don’t have one, build familiarity. Comment on their posts, share their content, or congratulate them on company milestones. By the time you reach out directly, you’ll feel less like a stranger and more like a trusted voice.
3. Ask Smart Questions
Average recruiters talk too much. Great recruiters listen. The right questions not only reveal a client’s challenges but also position you as someone who “gets it.”
If a prospect says, “We don’t use recruiters,” don’t stop there. Try:
- “Was that always the case, or just your current approach?”
- “What prompted that decision?”
- “Under what circumstances would you reconsider?”
These questions peel back the surface answer and uncover opportunities others miss.
4. Offer Value, Not Features
Clients don’t care about your database, your ATS, or your placement stats. What they care about is fixing the pain you’ve uncovered.
Instead of rattling off generic features, tie your solution directly to their problem:
- “You said losing engineers delayed product launches. Here’s how we prevent that.”
- “You mentioned retention headaches. Let me show you how our process filters for culture fit.”
Your value isn’t in what you have—it’s in what you solve.
5. Provide Proof
In an industry full of overpromises, proof is the ultimate trust-builder. Back up your claims with client testimonials, LinkedIn recommendations, case studies, or before-and-after hiring metrics. Show, don’t just tell.
And remember: never disparage other recruiters. Professionals don’t need to put others down—their results speak for themselves.
🔥 Bottom Line: The recruiters who win in today’s market don’t rely on luck. They follow a process.
With the Five-Step Plan, you’ll have a repeatable blueprint for moving from stranger to trusted advisor—step by step.
In the next installment, we’ll break down how to actually open the conversation with prospects, so you start strong and keep the momentum on your side.
Next week: Part Two – Objections
My Best,
Bob
Bob Marshall began his recruiting career over 45 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
247 Bryans Drive, Suite 100
McDonough, GA 30252-2513
770-898-5550
520-842-5550 (fax)