Ideally the meeting will last 60 minutes:
On some occasions we might split the meeting into 2 x 30 min calls – 1 x Client Discovery and 1 x Job Briefing.
Thanks for taking the time to meet today, I’m really keen to hear more about your business and how we might support you going forward. Before we dive into what and who you are looking for, I want to frame this meeting by stating that we 💰recognise that any vacancy in a staffing org is an attempt to increase revenue. Therefore, I’m going to focus this conversation on the way and the how we do that.
🎤I’d like to start by saying we are not a R2R, we are a recruitment talent business.
We don’t fill jobs, we build businesses and probably just like you are a product-based business. We have 3 solutions, ion Site, ion Search and ion Talent. ion Site is our embedded solution, ion Search our guaranteed solution and ion Talent our ad hoc solution. Once I know more about your business and hiring needs I can recommend which solution will add the most value
NOW SELL YOURSELF – what you do, your experience, successful campaigns you have run and with who (use relevant client examples based on who they will know/respect and similar markets)
“That’s enough about me, tell me everything about you and your business…… tell me about you, the business, the story and what made you want to chat today…”
📈 How have the last 2 years been for you from a revenue and growth standpoint?
🧗♂️ What have been the most challenging parts for you as a leader within the business when it comes to growth?
🎯 So what’s next? What’s the company’s mission over the next 12 months?
🚀 What’s your mission over the next 3 years?
🛠️ What is vital for you to have in place to achieve that?
👥 Who is the leadership team that will be driving that? What are you all like?
💬 What would you say your reputation is like within the recruitment market? (If people are speaking negatively, why do you think that is?)
🎁 What do you think are the biggest pull factors for individuals joining the business?
🙅♂️ What are candidates saying about your company when they turn down offers?
🌱 How would you describe your business from a cultural perspective?
📊 Progression wise what are your expectations from a revenue standpoint for each level? (Consultant/ Senior Consultant / Principal/ Managing Consultant/ Manager etc.)
🧱 What’s been your biggest hurdles when it comes to hiring?
✅ What do you think you’ve done well at with your hiring / growth strategy?
🧭 What other areas, other than headcount do you need help with? (eg, some clients need energy into a room, some need more of a culture, some are fine but have a bad name on the market) We can help with all, but where do you think you need help?
🔁 What’s your current hiring process like from start to finish?
👥 Who’s involved in making hiring decisions internally? Has that process worked well?
📥 How do you currently hire, and how effective has that been?
🔎 What other R2R’s? How has the experience been?
⏳ How long is it taking you to fill roles right now? Is that where you want it to be?
📏 How are you measuring success with your hires today?
🎯 If I could remove one hiring challenge for you today, what would it be?
🚫 Are there any roles where you’ve had no luck at all? (could be a retainer opportunity)
📉 How has hiring (or the lack of it) impacted team performance or morale?
🧩 So that I can recommend which solution is going to support you in the best way, can you tell me a bit about what you are looking for now and in the medium term?
👥 How many people are you looking to hire and get started in the next 3-6 months?
📊 What levels? What sector experience is required? Will you cross train?
🎯 If multiple levels & roles – which is of higher priority?
💷 What typical base salary do you pay for this level of experience/billings? We usually work on a 5:1 ratio of billings to base.
🛠️ How will the new hire recruit? Do they work retained as a business? (If they are retained they will work with us retained, won’t they?!)
⚠️ How will it impact the business if you don’t fill this role/roles?
🧱 What’s missing from the business right now? (Could be culture, performance, energy)
🚀 What can I find you that’s going to be game changing for you?
Thanks for sharing all of that, it was really useful and we can definitely help you , we just need to agree what is the best Ion solution to meet your needs.
As you know we have 3 solutions, ion Site, ion Search and ion Talent. Ion Site is our embedded solution, ion Search our guaranteed solution and ion Talent our ad hoc solution.
Contingency agreement, adhoc and flexible, access to broadcast list, regular updates and receive candidates we perceive to be a good fit for the business.
No obligation, no commitment. Not a partnership, we’ll simply be a CV sending service / opportunistic hires.
Cons for client: Candidates won’t be exclusive, all your direct competitors will receive the same candidates, won’t receive a tailored service. We will provide adhoc candidates but won’t be actively working the job, so therefore would never guarantee filling it like we do with an ion Search solution.
Solution is known as our guaranteed solution, meaning if we don’t fill the role, you get your deposit back. This is a dedicated solution that means we work the job every day until its filled.
It’s a product-based solution allowing us to tailor it to the specific needs of your business.
It’s also a Strategic partnership to help not only hire the top 1% of talent, but improve processes, conduct market research, enhance brand image and any other areas a dedicated partnership will benefit from.
There will be a contractual agreement to guarantee fill of this position including an signed SLA.
What you get: consultation on your business and growth plans, dedicated team focusing on this project only, live list of 100 candidates perfect for the role, weekly check ins, brand management and feedback from the market, guaranteed fill of this crucial position.
Products:
Embedded solution that is an extension of your internal team, aligning with you as a business, how you do things, culture and long-term vision.
Not just a one-off recruitment process, this is a long term plan for true growth.
This means that whether you’re scaling rapidly, entering new markets, or refining your organizational structure, we’re there to support you every step of the way.
We can sit on site, in your offices and truly embed as part of your culture.
Can sit off site but still be branded as a member of staff for your business using your branding.
Products
Ask them which solution they think would work best for them and then tell them your opinion and why. Link back to their needs and any hiring challenges and reiterate WHY this solution is the BEST solution.
Get agreement on the solution proposed and confirm you will send a proposal along with terms and as soon as you receive those back signed you can get started on your search.
Book in a time now to take the job brief or / If you have time now take the job brief:
For each job – take the spec as follows:
📌 Reconfirm what the client said they wanted: job title, experience level required, Perm/Contract, desk/market, sector/market experience required.
⚠️ CHALLENGE: If they won’t consider outside of the sector and you can see they have hired outside of that recently, give examples and suggest similar markets to widen the talent pool.
👤 Who does the role report to? Size of team?
🏗️ Would this be a complete build out? Or is there some clients they can leverage off? Can you give me any examples?
🎯 Who do you know that would be the ideal candidate for this role? Or doing the role already / or replacing?
❓ If they know someone, why would these be the ideal profile?
👥 Who was the last person they hired and why did they take them on?
📊 What size teams do they need to have led previously?
🏢 Is this a complete build or is there an established team already?
💷 What is the team currently generating? Who is the top biller and what does the average performer do?
🔄 How does the team override work?
🔝 What is the most senior level you can go to for this role?
💵 Reconfirm base salary.
⚠️ CHALLENGE: Discuss the market and what competitors pay – could they push the base, say for someone billing 300K?
💰 Comms / Threshold / Bonus / Shares?
📍 Location of role and how many days are you in office?
⏳ How much flex do you provide?
⚠️ CHALLENGE: Could you flex to one day a week for a 300K biller? Or could WFH days be earned?
🎁 Do you have any other benefits that people would really value?
⚔️ Your competitors are all looking for the same person, so let’s look at how we position your opportunity to make it stand out.
🗣️ Firstly – How do you pitch your business to candidates at interview?
🚀 What progression opportunities are there for this person?
🌱 How do you develop people?
🏆 What people success stories can you share with me? Who are you most proud of?
🏅 What are your biggest success stories within the business?
🌟 Who are the key performers/successes within this particular team?
📊 What does the average performer look like within the business? What do the top 5 do?
📈 Long-term plans for this team? Where can this role take them?
⏳ When would you realistically need this person to start?
🚫 Are there any businesses that you would want / not want candidates from? Why?
🕰️ How long has the role been open for?
👥 Have you interviewed many people?
❌ Why have these people not proceeded?
📉 When was the last time you offered a candidate, and it was rejected? Why?
I want to set some rules of engagement for both parties and agree an SLA for the project. This is a key part of my process to ensure a smooth, successful relationship. It ensures expectations are aligned and everyone knows their responsibilities. Confirm/reconfirm:
Reconfirm: Interview process: stages, turnaround time for scheduling, who will be involved in this decision
To make this as effective as possible, we both need to commit to a few key principles. The first being the length of process. The majority of our successful processes last less than 14 days, from candidate presentation to candidate signature on contract.
Our role here is to make this as successful as possible and therefore we need to scope a process together that is going to allow for an entrance and an exit within a 14 day period.”
What is the most efficient process in terms of steps and timelines you can commit to? (challenge if it is over 14 days and more then 3 stages)
With in mind, the second principal is being happy to book the first and second stage in when candidates are presented. Are you happy to do that?
And lastly acting with urgency…..
TEST COMMITMENT – If I call and discuss a super star profile, can you move your diary around to speak to them that day? (If not – PUSH ON WHY)
✅ Confirm what they are looking for, what you will do next and by when. Tell them when they will receive the terms and that you will need those signed before you can get started. When is the soonest they can get those back?
📅 Confirm interview slots.
📞 Book in the next call to review sample/long list.Bottom of Form.
📝 Confirm all actions agreed in an email using Quil.
I appreciate that and many of our clients started that way too. What they found, though, was that splitting roles across multiple agencies often diluted accountability and slowed delivery. With a retained model, you gain full commitment, tighter timelines, and strategic partnership. Would it be worth exploring how a retained approach could actually enhance the success of your current agency setup? How are they delivering? Why are we having this conversation?
Then don’t – for us it’s not about the money its more about the contractual commitment. I’m happy for you to put down $1 if that makes you more comfortable,
Absolutely. Trust needs to be earned. Two things, our reputation is strong in the market and I welcome you to go and speak to people we have worked with in the past and get their thoughts. After this, what I’d also propose is a ‘pilot project’—a limited-scope engagement with full delivery focus, but lower upfront risk. That way, you see our process, our speed, and our results before committing long term. I want to be commercial.
That’s great to hear—it means you’re active and hiring. But the question is: are they delivering the best, or just good enough? You want a partner that gives you their top-tier candidates, exclusive market insights, and true prioritization, not just to ‘work your jobs’ but to truly build your business. In contingency, you’re one of many. In retained, you’re the one.
Appreciate that—it shows you value deeper partnerships. Can I ask how that’s going so far? Sometimes, we’re brought in as a secondary retained partner when volume increases or niche roles arise. If there’s even a small gap, I’d love to show how we could complement your current provider.
Thanks for being straight with me. Just out of curiosity, what’s led you to that stance? I’ve found that sometimes it’s based on past misfires or misunderstanding of how retainers really add value. If I could show you case studies where retention led to better hires, faster, would it be worth a look?
First off, I really appreciate the honesty. I’d love the chance to hear what didn’t work so we can address it directly. In every partnership, communication and alignment are key. We’ve made a number of changes since then that have led to huge improvements. Could I walk you through those changes and show how we’d approach it differently?
Completely fair—and unfortunately, you’re not alone. I hear that a lot, and it’s usually because the wrong structure was used or there wasn’t enough accountability. We do things differently: we set clear milestones, provide regular updates, and tie fees to delivery. Could I show you how our model addresses those exact pain points?
Totally fair, and I’d never want to push something that doesn’t make sense. Can I ask—what part of it feels like a blocker? Often, it’s a matter of past experiences or unclear value. If I could clearly show how retention reduces time-to-hire and ensures quality, would you be open to a short trial or hybrid model? It could also be you’re not sold on me, or my solutions, which would you say it is?
If all else fails, agree to work on an exclusive basis just for this one role and once successful revisit the guaranteed solution for the next role.