How to Build a $5.5M Recruitment Business Almost Entirely Through Referrals

The Resilient Recruiter

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This chapter explores the journey of the speaker in creating a successful recruitment business, highlighting the significance of equal worth and authentic relationships. Through personal experiences, the speaker illustrates the importance of referrals and effective communication in their 16-year progression.

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How do you build an endless stream of referrals to sustain your recruitment business during an economic downturn?

Brandon Glyck relies on this strategy: relentless follow-ups. This doesn’t mean harassing a client or candidate to do follow-ups; in fact, it is the other way around. I am sure you will find Brandon’s insight on this topic interesting!

Brandon is the CEO of Quantum Search Partners in Virginia, where he leads a passionate team of tech and executive recruiters.

They’ve been recognized three consecutive years on the Inc.500 list of fastest-growing companies (2021-2023) and have twice been a Washington Business Journal Best Place to Work (2023 and 2024).

Episode Outline and Highlights

[03:15] How Brandon got into recruiting at the young age of 18.

[11:24] Doing things differently to adapt to the 2008 recession.

[15:24] The strategy of leveraging relationships and constant referrals via relentless follow-ups.

[33:12] “Those who appear hungry will starve.” - Know Brandon’s conversation approach.

[37:46] Dealing with the 2023 Tech downturn by upping their outbound business development.

[44:02] Discussion on Tech Stacks, AI, and automation - what are the key things to personalize?

[53:48] Brandon’s plans and what the next 18 years will look like.

[56:49] Building a culture aligned with a common vision and shared values.

[1:01:30] Why lean towards retained and executive search?

Age is Not a Differentiator

Brandon shared an astonishing story about making his first placement when he was 18, while attending school. Inspired by his father, being young was never a differentiating factor that hindered him from building a solid foundation as an effective recruiter and eventually a business owner.

He shared, “I saw my dad doing it. My dad would close deals like sitting on a lounge chair in the middle of our living room… I'm like, well, if he can do it, you know, why can't I do it? You do the research on the companies you're representing. You learn about the skill sets, and you just dive into it. And I don't think age is a differentiating factor. I think sometimes it's confidence or like. Yeah, I think that's a big part of it.”

There are at least three factors that contributed to his success as a young recruiter:

His humble learning attitude: by observing his father and other seniors “educate” him, he easily learned the tricks of the trade.

His confidence: his drive to succeed gave him the mindset that age is never a differentiating factor

His perspective and mindset: knowing that all men are equal, he treats everyone the same. How he would treat a CEO is how he would also treat a janitor.

Building a Stream of Referrals Through Relentless Follow-Ups

Another stunning fact: Brandon and his team built a $5.5m business almost entirely by referrals.

All recruiters and recruitment business owners aim to deliver their best to clients and candidates to build a stream of referrals. Brandon's strategy is heavily reliant on relentless follow-ups.

What exactly does this mean?

Consistency over intensity: It’s not about hounding people, but staying top-of-mind over a long period.

Genuine care: The intent is to show real interest in people’s well-being, not just to chase business.

Long-term mindset: Understand that value and referrals can take years to come to fruition.

Controlled intensity: Stay focused, don’t obsess over results—just stay consistent with outreach.

Relationship-first approach: Business follows when trust and familiarity are built.

Brandon shared a pragmatic approach that they use to execute the above, such as using different contact options (email, text, phone calls), tracking systems, segmented contact lists, MPCs, and others. He also emphasized the importance of adding value to the community by doing acts of goodwill, such as reviewing resumes and committing to it regularly.

Showing Resilience - 2008 Recession & 2023 Tech Downturn

You will also admire Brandon’s story on how he and his dad dealt with the 2008 recession. He was just starting as a recruiter back then, and when they lost their biggest client (AIG), he started making cold calls:

“He ended up effectively losing that client. And it's now this summer before I'm going back to school. He buys me a book of computer executive contact info. So this is again, pre-Zoom info, like true cold calling from a book. So I'm doing a hundred cold calls. I have my little cold call script, 19 or 20 at this time, and I start landing us business. It was pretty cool. Like, looking back on it at the time, I didn't know what the heck I was doing, but it was working.”

The same approach worked in 2023, during the tech downturn when Brandon and his team had to up their outbound business development. Brandon elaborated on four action points:

Diversifying into new industries.

Focusing on relevant and personalized outreaches.

Testing multiple business development tactics, and

Building a repeatable, scalable process.

He also shared their tech stacks and how they are using them not to automate outreaches, but rather to personalize them.

Indeed, a recruiter’s resilient mindset is the key to remaining relevant and successful in a market where nothing can be certain.

Brandon Glyck Bio and Contact Info

CEO at Quantum Search Partners, where I lead a passionate and talented team of tech and executive recruiters.

Creative, driven, and competitive executive and technology talent leader who is willing to go above and beyond for clients, candidates, and team members. Passionate about affecting the future success and bottom line growth of our clients by connecting them with industry-leading and impactful talent and leadership.

Former college athlete (football) and graduate of Princeton University with a major in Psychology.

Outside of Quantum, I enjoy spending quality time with my family and have personal interests in fitness, performance psychology, travel, and start-up investing.

Brandon on LinkedIn

Quantum Search Partners website link

People and Resources Mentioned

Charlie Saffro on LinkedIn

Brent Orsuga on LinkedIn

Jeremy Jenson on LinkedIn

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