Define the assignment you want to win.
Describe your useful target in operational terms: job family, seniority, location, sector and company profile. Include the reasons you would decline a search, not just the criteria that create a match.
For example, a specialist agency can focus on a particular function and level instead of treating every open position as a sales opportunity. The brief should reflect searches you can credibly deliver.
Separate hiring demand from buying intent.
A vacancy establishes a visible hiring need. It does not establish a willingness to pay an agency. Check the company and role, then use your first exchange to learn whether external support is useful.
Exclude companies you should not approach, including your own client exclusions. Avoid promising that a job-board list is a list of guaranteed buyers.
Find the person who can discuss the brief.
The relevant person may be a business leader, HR decision-maker or functional leader. Choose based on the company and type of hire. Addressing a generic inbox and reaching an accountable person are different routes to a conversation.
RecruitScout lets you set target decision-maker functions and finds company email addresses and LinkedIn profiles as part of the workflow.
Make the reason for the approach specific.
Reference the hiring need, explain why your agency is relevant and ask a clear question. Claims about candidates or similar clients should be true. A personalised opening cannot compensate for an offer that does not fit.
After a reply, qualify the need, timing and relationship. Track useful conversations and assignments, rather than treating the number of messages sent as the result.
Direction
“We've been using RecruitScout for a couple of months and have already started several collaborations with new clients. The biggest advantage has been getting in touch with companies we probably wouldn't have reached through traditional channels, even when they operate in our own area, despite our market presence dating back to 1989. In the past, we had already tried to build more consistent business development activities, but with limited results. With RecruitScout, we're able to connect with companies that are facing a real hiring need and start a conversation with the decision-makers.”

Alessandro GabrielliPartner
Individual customer experience. Results vary.
By the RecruitScout team · Updated
Product information: RecruitScout FAQ. Customer evidence: Direction case study.