What does business development for recruitment agencies look like? 

Hi, I’m Harvey, Co-founder and CEO at Zileo – the ultimate business development system built exclusively for recruitment agencies & B2B sales teams. Before Zileo, I successfully ran Pearson Carter for 10 years, where I saw how hard it is to scale outreach and close clients. 

Let me kick off this business development guide with a quote, something to make the article easier to digest. 

“Great things in business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people.” – Steve Jobs

And that’s exactly what business development is about, it’s not just sending more emails or making more calls. It’s about building a repeatable system that brings together the right people, the right tools, and the right strategy to consistently win clients.

In this guide, I’ll talk about:

• Common mistakes recruitment firms make
• What business development really means for agencies
• Proven strategies to secure more clients

By the end, you’ll have a clear picture of how to transform business development from something overwhelming into something predictable, scalable, and effective.

But first, let’s look at why traditional business development tactics don’t work anymore. 

Why Traditional Business Development Doesn’t Work

When I was running Pearson Carter, I saw the same problem over and over again: business development was mostly failing because the system itself was broken. 

In that scenario, most teams are forced to work with: 

• Multiple job boards just to find vacancies
• Emails ending up in spam (this was a huge issue)
• Spreadsheets full of outdated contacts
• CRMs that don’t sync with outreach tools
• Email platforms that don’t talk to LinkedIn
• Endless admin just to keep everything updated

That fragmentation slows everything down and creates gaps where opportunities are lost. 

In fact, I read this article where Salesforce found that 53% of sales leaders admit they find it harder to sell in 2025 than they did last year.

I’ve been through this myself with my team: wasting hours every week moving data between tools, calling numbers that didn’t work anymore, and asking recruiters to update spreadsheets instead of talking to clients.

The irony is that teams often end up working harder, which is not ideal. 

Recruiters spend their energy fighting bad processes when what they really need is a simple, integrated way to source leads, find live contacts, and get outreach running without all the admin.

(That’s exactly the gap we built Zileo to close.)

Now, let’s move on to what an effective business development process looks like, since that is our main topic 🙂

1. Build a Credible Brand

Credibility is a huge, huge deal for anyone in recruitment. These days, its importance is growing faster than ever.

Clients don’t buy from agencies they don’t trust. And a strong brand is your first layer of credibility.

The following points are what we’ve seen work for our brand:

• Website & case studies: Don’t hide behind vague promises. Show the industries you cover, the roles you nail, and the proof (placements, testimonials, and case studies).
• Consultant profiles: Before a prospect ever replies, they’re stalking your LinkedIn. Every consultant should make it clear what niche they own and back it up with real numbers.
• Thought leadership: Stop sounding like every other agency. Share insights, like hiring trends, salary data, market shifts. 

One piece of advice: be the trusted advisor who gives useful insights that AI can’t. 

2. Focus Warm Outreach

Cold calls alone “rarely” convert anymore. That is because decision-makers prefer engaging with recruiters who already have context. 

Bring that context into your call through: 

• Research prospects: Use LinkedIn, company websites, and industry news to understand their hiring challenges before outreach.
• Make good use of mutual connections: Warm introductions from existing clients or candidates increase response rates significantly.
• Engage online first: Comment on posts, share relevant content, or congratulate them on company news before sending a message.

This is something relevant to multi-channel outreach, which I’ll discuss below. 

That means instead of pitching “we can help with hiring,” show awareness of their situation: e.g., “I saw you’re opening a new office in Manchester, other firms in your sector have struggled with talent shortages there. Can I share how we’ve solved that?”

3. Strengthen Your Existing Deals 

Many recruitment agencies focus on new revenue instead of client retention or upsells. What they forget is that long-term relationships drive recurring revenue. 

Strong existing accounts not only generate steady income but also lead to referrals and word-of-mouth opportunities.

Here’s how to maximize them:

Winning a client is only the start. Long-term relationships drive recurring revenue.

• Expand within current clients: Look beyond the one role you filled. Offer to handle multiple departments, new geographies, or different seniority levels.
• Upsell value-added services: Provide salary benchmarking, workforce planning insights, or diversity hiring strategies. These position you as a partner, not a vendor.
• Schedule regular check-ins: Don’t just contact clients when they have a vacancy. Proactively update them on market shifts, candidate pipelines, or hiring best practices.
• Track client satisfaction: Send quick surveys or ask for feedback after every placement. It shows commitment to improvement and prevents silent churn.
• Leverage referrals from happy clients: A satisfied hiring manager can open doors to other departments or even other companies in their network.

You’ll reduce churn and build a more predictable revenue stream than constantly chasing new logos. 

4. Develop a Clear Business Development Strategy

Random outreach produces random results. Recruitment agencies that succeed consistently follow a structured plan. 

Without it, teams put their focus on roles outside their niche or competing for low-value vacancies.

Here’s how to build a clear strategy:

• Define target sectors and roles: Be specific about which industries and job functions you serve best.
• Set measurable activity goals: Track leading indicators like outreach volume, meetings booked, proposals sent, and response rates (not just placements). These show whether your pipeline is progressing.
• Have clear documentation: Document clear processes for prospecting, pitching, and follow-ups to make sure every consultant sells in the same effective way.
• Score opportunities by value – Prioritize accounts and vacancies based on revenue potential, urgency, and fit. This keeps your team focused on high-value clients instead of wasting time on low-yield roles.

Make sure every outreach activity drives toward the right kind of growth.

5. Use Multi-Channel Outreach

Let’s expand on the concept we touched on in point #2. 

Clients rarely respond on the first attempt or through a single channel. Successful recruiters coordinate a mix of touchpoints to stay relevant and top-of-mind:

• Email + LinkedIn: Start with a personalized email, then follow up on LinkedIn referencing that email. This approach keeps your outreach contextual and professional.
• Calls at the right time: This one is subject to experimentation! Try a few times every day of the week (not the weekends) and see what works. I’d recommend not to call on Mondays or Fridays, though! 
• Content touchpoints: Sharing useful insights, like market reports or salary benchmarks, gives prospects a reason to engage beyond a standard pitch.

The challenge for agencies is keeping all these interactions organized and ensuring no lead falls through the cracks. 

Without a centralized system, teams often lose track of which touchpoint happened last, leading to missed opportunities or duplicate outreach. 

Platforms that sync leads, contacts, and outreach sequences from multiple sources can help maintain consistency and save time. 

6. Share PROOF That Actually Converts

Case studies and testimonials work, but only if you present them in a way that feels real, specific, and tied to outcomes. 

Too many agencies hide them away on a dusty page of their website. I’ve found the best approach is to build what I call the PROOF Stories framework:

Placements

Show the critical hires you’ve delivered. Don’t just say “we filled X role”. Explain the challenge, the process, and the impact that hire had for the client.

Relationships

Talk about the long-term client partnerships. These prove you’re not just chasing one-off deals, but building trust and recurring value.

Outcomes 

Lead with measurable results. They can be the time-to-hire, retention, cost savings, or growth outcomes. Numbers make your credibility unshakable.

Obstacles 

This is an important one. Share how you overcame hurdles in a search: niche roles, tight timelines, or tough markets. Clients relate to the problems more than the polished result.

Feedback 

Use testimonials and pull quotes from hiring managers. You can do these from customer calls or sales calls, but remember to get permission. 

Bring your story to life in their words, not just yours.

And lastly, I’d say use everything to its full potential. This is something my team helped me a lot with. Here’s what I’ve learned: Focus on mixed formats depending on the channel:

• Short video clips for LinkedIn and your website.
• Visual snapshots of testimonials and metrics for social posts.
• Full case studies for sales decks and pitches.

When you structure stories around PROOF, you stop sounding like “just another recruiter” and start showing prospects you understand their challenges and already know how to solve them.

7. Track Data and Continuously Improve

Lastly, measure the results you’re getting. 

Double down on what works and remove what’s not working. Here are two metrics I’d recommend tracking: 

• Pipeline visibility: Track each stage, from first contact to signed agreement, to see where drop-offs happen. For example, if many leads respond to your LinkedIn outreach but don’t take meetings, you may need to refine your messaging or timing.
• Activity analysis: Which channels and messages deliver the best response rates?

The goal is a self-learning system: one where every interaction teaches you how to approach the next better. 

When done consistently, data-driven business development turns outreach from guesswork into a repeatable, scalable engine for growth.