How to get clients for a recruitment agency.

Start with the employers you already know

Before adding another way to find clients, review the conversations already in progress. Past clients, employers who delayed a hire, and referrals awaiting a reply give you a specific reason to get in touch.

If an employer mentioned a second warehouse opening in November, ask when recruitment needs to begin. Record the answer and agree when to speak again. A useful follow-up should refer to their hiring plans.

I would start here before committing more time to cold outreach. You can see which relationships need attention and give each consultant a manageable list of next actions.

Show how you would handle their hire

Help the employer assess your experience with the role they need to fill. Explain which roles you recruit, the markets you cover, and how you assess candidates.

Use a relevant placement example where you have permission. Describe the hiring problem, how you approached it, and the result you can support. If you discuss shortlist timing, explain what affected the previous hire and what you would need to confirm for this one.

A current candidate may provide a reason to talk. Get their permission before sharing details, and keep the first approach focused on relevant experience and availability.

If you are still preparing to trade, the checklist for starting a recruitment agency covers the marketing setup.

Give recruitment business development time each week

Set aside time for contacting employers and asking satisfied clients for introductions. Choose a level of activity your team can maintain alongside candidate work.

Review which approaches led to useful conversations and meetings. If calls get answered but meetings rarely follow, read the notes before increasing the call target: the employer may have no current need, or the offer may need to be clearer.

How to approach companies as a recruitment agency

Contact the person responsible for the hire with a specific reason for speaking. That could be a candidate who has agreed to be introduced, a referral, or a hiring question within your specialisation.

Explain the relevance in a few sentences and suggest a next step. For example, ask if they would like an anonymised candidate summary or a short conversation about a role they have advertised.

Answer the hiring questions your clients ask

Your website can help an employer prepare a hire and assess your agency. Start with questions your consultants hear: what salary to offer, which experience is essential, and what tends to delay a shortlist.

Choose one role your agency knows well. A useful guide could explain salary expectations in the market you serve and the trade-offs between different levels of experience. Date the advice and identify the evidence behind any figures.

Use the page in client conversations as well as search. Add a clear way for an employer to discuss their vacancy, and give candidates a separate route to available roles.

A salary guide may attract both employers and candidates; the topic alone cannot tell you who visited. Ask about the visitor’s needs when they enquire. The SEO for recruitment agencies guide explains how to choose useful pages, while employer branding for recruitment agencies covers how to present the employment offer.

Agree the next step before a conversation ends

An interested employer may be months away from a vacancy. Record what they expect to hire, who will make the decision, and when they would welcome another conversation.

Keep a shared record so another consultant can pick up the relationship if needed. A spreadsheet can serve a small team; use your existing contact management software if it already does the job.

• Assign one person to each employer relationship.
• Record the next action and its date.
• Review overdue follow-ups each week.
• Agree who replies to new website enquiries during working hours.

For contacts who want to stay in touch, share a market update when you have something relevant to say. A change in salary expectations for their team is a useful reason to write.

If business development depends entirely on the founder, how to grow a recruitment agency considers how to share that responsibility.

One recruitment client reached more people through search

Multiply built the positioning, website, and content for AI Talent on Demand, an Australian AI and technology recruitment specialist. It recorded 22 clicks through unpaid Google search results in February 2026 and 557 in July 2026.

Source: Google Search Console, all countries. The site launched in November 2025, and the SEO programme began on 24 March 2026. The comparison starts with a small audience. These are search visibility metrics, not placement or revenue results.

This example shows increased visits through search. To judge the commercial result for your agency, also record which enquiries lead to employer meetings, briefs, and placements.

Review meetings, briefs, and placements together

Keep a monthly view of employer meetings booked, briefs received, and placements made. Record how each employer first heard about you where you can establish it, and include the time your team spent on business development.

Use that record to decide where to focus. Plenty of meetings with few briefs calls for a review of the conversations; briefs that rarely become placements call for a closer look at the work accepted and how it is delivered.

Use the first 90 days to establish a routine

Treat this as a suggested work schedule. The timing of new briefs will depend on employers’ hiring needs and your agency’s offer.

1. First month: review past employer contacts, agree follow-up dates, and protect weekly time for business development. Check that website enquiries reach a named person.
2. Second month: publish one guide based on a recurring client question. Share it in relevant conversations and ask which questions remain unanswered.
3. Third month: review meetings and briefs alongside the effort spent. Improve the approaches that produced useful conversations, and decide which page to work on next.

Multiply’s recruitment marketing work covers the website, content, and enquiry follow-up that support this routine.

Source note: the search result above uses the AI Talent on Demand case study. The suggested work schedule is editorial advice, not a forecast of client wins.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get clients immediately?

Start by reviewing past clients, referrals, and employers who postponed a hire. Contact those with a relevant reason to speak and ask about their current needs. A signed brief depends on their hiring plans, so keep expectations tied to the conversation.

How do I approach companies as a recruitment agency?

Give the person responsible for hiring a specific reason to speak. Explain how your experience relates to their role, or ask if they would like an anonymised summary of a relevant candidate who has agreed to an introduction. Suggest one clear next step.

How long before search produces employer briefs?

There is no fixed timetable. Your starting position, the pages you publish, and employers' hiring needs all affect the outcome. Review search visits and employer enquiries separately, and keep relationship work active while you assess progress.

What should a brand-new recruitment agency do first?

Define the roles and employers you can serve, prepare the business to take a brief, and contact relevant people in your existing network. Build a clear website that explains your specialisation and gives employers a way to speak to you.