If It Don’t Make Dollars, It Don’t Make Sense!
2026
–A Seven Part Series–
Part Two
by
Bob Marshall
March 24th, 2026
Part Two – Focus on Activities That Lead to Money
One of the best recruiters I’ve ever known—“Robocruiter”—had a simple, relentless way of thinking. Every morning, he didn’t ask, “What should I do first?” He asked, “What is the first thing I must do to make money?”
That’s a very different question.
He would walk in, sit down, and immediately focus on one objective:
Who do I need to call to get my first Send Out?
Once that was done, he didn’t relax—he doubled down:
Where is my second Send Out coming from?
Only after those two critical actions were in motion would he allow himself to deal with anything else—emails, admin work, database updates, internal meetings.
Why? Because he understood something most recruiters say they believe, but don’t actually practice:
Send Outs drive placements. Placements drive revenue. Everything else is support work.
Another top-producing manager I worked with reinforced this with discipline. He required every recruiter to maintain a “Hot Sheet”—a live list of active, placeable opportunities. His rule of thumb:
- 5 “full fee” opportunities, or
- 10 “split fee” opportunities
That level of activity virtually guaranteed consistent placements. He also pushed for one to two Send Outs per day, because he knew the math:
No Send Outs → No Interviews
No Interviews → No Offers
No Offers → No Fees
It’s that simple—and that unforgiving.
Years ago, when I was consulting with struggling offices, I saw the same pattern over and over again. Beautifully written Job Orders—perfectly formatted, spell-checked, color-coded… and absolutely no Send Outs.
These offices weren’t failing from lack of effort. They were failing from misdirected effort.
They believed they were in the business of writing Job Orders.
They weren’t.
We are in the business of creating Send Outs. Period.
Today, the distractions are even greater—CRM updates, LinkedIn browsing, internal systems, AI tools, endless email chains. All of it can feel productive.
But none of it replaces the core activity:
Talking to the right people and moving them into interviews.
So here’s the question to start every day:
“What is the first thing I must do today to create a Send Out?”
Then do it again.
Because in this business—now more than ever—
Send Outs are still King.
Next week: Part Three – My Value to my Firm is my Ability to Pick up the Phone and Speak into it
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)