Referrals aren't a pipeline

Every IT recruitment firm grows the same way: a founder, a network, word of mouth. It works — until you need growth on a schedule.

A pipeline means knowing how many sales conversations will happen next month, because you created them. For recruitment firms, that comes down to two channels done properly: LinkedIn and cold email.

The proof is in the numbers: one recent campaign reached 609 prospects with a 59.61% open rate and 25 positive replies — and most arrived after the third or fourth follow-up, the messages manual prospecting never sends.

So measure three things: replies, positive replies, and meetings booked. Referrals are a bonus. A pipeline is the business.