How To Become A Million Dollar Biller

Benjamin Mena [00:00:00]:
The AI recruiting summit is coming back this year, 2026, and my God, things are starting to get crazy. We are seeing the change that we've been talking about for a few years now, but man, you do not want to miss a summit. Registration is free for all the live sessions. It is going to be kicking off July 13th, all the way through the 20th. You do not want to miss as we are going to have tech tools. We, we are going to have operators, we are going to have recruiting engineers, we are going to have recruiters that are actually using tools to make a difference in their recruiting desk, talking about what they're doing. The world's changing fast. This is a chance to see what's happening behind the scenes with a lot of recruiters.

Benjamin Mena [00:00:42]:
You don't want to miss this. Get registered today. I'll see you there.

Benjamin Mena [00:00:46]:
Welcome to the Elite Recruiter Podcast with your host Benjamin Mena, where we focus on what it takes to win in the recruiting game. We cover it all from sales, marketing, mindset, money, leadership and placements.

Benjamin Mena [00:01:04]:
I am pulling this talk out of the elite recruiter community for two reasons. The first reason we are on the edge of the end of Q2 going into Q3. Not just that the year is halfway over. Have you looked up and just asked yourself, where has the time gone? This episode is going to help reset that, reset your goals, reset your work, reset everything to help you frame how important this next quarter is. Because I truly believe that this quarter, you going all in is going to make the difference. You going all in is going to pay dividends for your family. You going all in is going to set yourself up at a completely different place in life. So this is the opportunity.

Benjamin Mena [00:01:43]:
Listen to this episode, listen to this talk, draw the line in the sand and run for it. Secondly, we are actually celebrating with Brent or Suga in the elite recruiter community, doing a celebration for those that did over 100k for the quarter. And going into Q3, we're doing 2 challenges, the 100k quarter challenge and the 250k quarter challenge. Those are going to be the focus. This is your chance to put the blinders on and go all in. This is a chance to run with other people that are making that move too. So whether you're in the community or not, this is the battle cry for this quarter. Make it the most important quarter of your career.

Benjamin Mena [00:02:24]:
Enjoy the talk. You know the resume never tells the full story. Candidates share what really matters during conversations, on calls, in interviews, over email, their motivations, salary expectations, plans to relocate, most of that detail ends up buried in notes and forgotten. Atlas changes that. It's the AI first recruitment platform. Built to eliminate admin, it captures every conversation automatically and turns it into something you can use with MagicSearch. You can ask Atlas questions like who talked about wanting a four day week? Or who mentioned they're open to relocating next year? It searches across your entire database and pulls the answers instantly. No keyword guessing and no digging through old notes.

Benjamin Mena [00:03:02]:
You get insight from real conversations, not limited resume fields. Atlas also makes BD easier with opportunities you can track and grow client relationships. Powered by generative AI and built into your existing workflow. If you want visibility, smart dashboards give you a clear view of the pipeline across your business. And that's not theory. Atlas customers have reported over 40% EBITDA growth and over 80% increase in monthly billings after adopting the platform. It's built for agencies that want to grow without adding more manual work. Don't miss the future of recruitment.

Benjamin Mena [00:03:35]:
Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive listener offer at recruit with atlas. Com. I know you guys have probably heard him on the the podcast. If you haven't. Yeah, you're in for a treat. Brent is a. You get done chatting with Brent and you like want to run through a wall. And we were just sitting there game planning about what to talk about what to do.

Benjamin Mena [00:03:54]:
So I gave Brent some ideas and then like he just jumped on. I was like, hey, what about this? What about this? What about this? And then like the third thing, he was like, just went deep down a rabbit hole and I was like, this is what you're excited to share about? So Brent, the floor is yours, brother.

Brent Orsuga [00:04:09]:
Well, let's do this. Well, first things first. You know, I think this is the third or fourth one that you've asked me to speak on, so I'm always grateful for you putting this together. And you know, as much as I'm here to kind of teach or give experience shares or lessons, whatever you want to call it, equally I'm here as a student. So I'm watching all these sessions myself. I'm learning from other people because I'm a constant student of the game. I want to master my craft. I want to get as dangerous as possible playing this sport.

Brent Orsuga [00:04:37]:
So I appreciate you again doing this and I give kudos to everyone who's on the call today and hopefully I can give some value to people. But for those that aren't familiar with me at the highest level, a quick intro. So Brent or Suga based in Scottsdale, Arizona. I've done recruiting for 23 years, the last 16 specifically within what I'm going to call logistics and supply chain. So very niche, which will tap into. And number three, I've had my own company, Pinnacle Growth Advisors, for 11 years. And I know I've shared the story in the past for those that maybe heard on the podcast or even the summit, but started from nothing, out of a bedroom, from literally zero. And I mean zero.

Brent Orsuga [00:05:20]:
But what we're going to talk about today is really what does it take at the highest level to have a million dollar desk? That's the premise of this call. And so you understand the lens that I'm coming from, really it's threefold. Number one, out of those 11 years that I've been in business, it took me personally four years to hit that number. But now, personally I've done that seven years in a row. It's become the new norm, the new bottom. I've done a lot more than that. But that's just where we stand. And I think it's important because the last couple years everyone wants to talk about what a hard market this is and all the complaining and all the crying, well, what I'm going to go over is going to navigate you through those so called hard markets, number one.

Brent Orsuga [00:06:10]:
Number two, the network that I have established personally with recruiters all over the globe, this is not as abnormal as you think. I talk to people every single day who are putting up these numbers. Those are the people I'm engaging with. Those are the conversations I want to have. And number three, last week, as I'm sure many may have seen, I was out in Kansas City at the Pinnacle Society conference where these kind of numbers only get you in the room. This is very normal. I was talking to people that have done $170,000 placements. One guy was telling me he did an $800,000 placement.

Brent Orsuga [00:06:52]:
So the conversations we had in that room were all around what I'm going to share today. So what I want to do though is I really want to talk to 10 touch points that are going to go into what this looks like and what I want to do through at this talk as well. If you have any questions, feel free to put those in. I know Ben and myself will go through these at the end because every single day and week I get questions by people. Hey, do you coach? Do you mentor? Can I pick your brain? Can I grab 15 minutes? And I try to give as much time to people as possible, but what better time than now? Because the questions you may ask May be universal. And here's the thing too. I'm not really a chatgpt guy. I'm not going to bore you with slides.

Brent Orsuga [00:07:37]:
I'm just going to sit here and talk. But what I'm going to go over is going to be very impactful and important and I would absolutely take some notes, if nothing else, exactly what the 10 items are. So we're just going to dive into this. I'm not going to waste time. Number one, belief. You have got to believe that this is possible. I have always lived off the premise what one person can do, anybody can do. And there's a lot more people putting up these kind of numbers than you think.

Brent Orsuga [00:08:11]:
Now, it's not random and it's very calculated. But you have to understand this is a real thing and it's not as far away or impossible as you think. Think. Here's the other thing. And I learned this last week in Kansas City. There is no secret sauce. There is no magic pill. There is no success fairy that's going to hey, pick.

Brent Orsuga [00:08:30]:
You get to bill a million and you get to bill a million. It's not how this works. But there are certain characteristics and traits that big billers have. And I always live on two things and questions that every single person has should ask themselves. Why not you? Why not? Now you tell me five reasons why you can't bill a million dollars. 5. You can't think of it. Now you could be watching this and you're doing 150, 200, 400, 800.

Brent Orsuga [00:09:06]:
I've lived through all those cycles. But what you have to understand too is you are paid in direct proportion to the value you give to the marketplace. If I'm only billing $200,000, what kind of debt am I making in my industry or niche? And there's nothing wrong with that. I'm just saying this talk is around. What does it take to crank out big numbers? If I'm billing a million plus, think about how many placements I'm doing, the value I'm giving to my industry and marketplace. Again, belief. It's very possible. Get that self limiting nonsense out of here.

Brent Orsuga [00:09:46]:
What one person can do, anybody can do. Number two, there's not one person that I speak to that is not doing this based on either a niche or an identity they have in the marketplace. They're not gunslinging this. They have developed a market, a brand and a messaging around who they are. And here's what you have to understand too. You can either do that around an industry or a certain type of positions that you place. I have seen over the past year more and more people which I love to see claim their identity. You've all seen my LinkedIn profile for years.

Brent Orsuga [00:10:29]:
The top recruiter elite. I just use the new verbiage premiere. Even last week in Kansas City, I had someone come up to me and be like, man, aren't you afraid to claim to be the number one or the top this I said no, because you put me in a room with wi fi and a laptop and I'll go against anybody. I have that self belief. I have a decade of a track record and I'll compete anybody. You have to have this kind of belief. So think about this. I don't care if you're claiming to be the top accounting person in Austin, the top person in wealth advising, the top person in construction elite headhunter within insurance.

Brent Orsuga [00:11:09]:
There's got to be some identity that you're claiming around yourself. Because what I'm trying ultimately to do is become a magnet for that thing. I want to get people, companies and candidates into my fold. People want to talk with the best. They don't want to just talk with an average Joe. Average Joe's bill 200 people gravitate. Never forget this. Money follows attention.

Brent Orsuga [00:11:35]:
When people think of your name, they see your profile. If I log on there right now, is it crystal clear what you do and where you play? Cleo. And again, if you're not going to do it around an industry, why not around specific positions? Hey, I'm the best when it comes to placing HR people. Accountants, CPAs, project managers, engineers. That's where I'm dangerous. But there has to be some kind of identity. This is what big fillers do. The other thing is this.

Brent Orsuga [00:12:10]:
You have to ask yourself, and I've talked about this before, is your identity in the market that of a recruiter or a headhunter? Because to me, they're completely different. See, recruiters play the game of hey, here's 15 resumes, Mr. Company. Why don't you go ahead and pick two and we'll see which ones are the best. I don't play that game. I am a sniper, a headhunter. And you know how often I get from companies, man, you've only showed us one person. But I really like them.

Brent Orsuga [00:12:39]:
Like, yeah, I'm really good at what I do. Don't discount me because of my skill set and matchmaking abilities. I only have to show sometimes three people. Three feels like a lot. If I'm going beyond that, I'm not very good at what I do. That is now the identity of a big builder. And that's the identity that these companies come to you for and are paying a premium for. Spray and pray is lazy.

Brent Orsuga [00:13:04]:
You're not going to build big numbers doing it that way. The thing is this. When you have that identity and that niche, clients know too that you don't send scrubs. They're going to move quick. They're going to trust you. Do you have that identity around yourself? And here's the other thing too. Once you have that identity, you get known for something. You have to understand what this can lead to.

Brent Orsuga [00:13:28]:
This can lead to speaking on panels, at conferences. Maybe it's at your local college or the college you went to. Maybe it's your local business journal, maybe it's podcasts. Gee, don't you think I can use them and their platform equally as much as they're using me? There's instant credibility when you get on a stage and or speak. So all of a sudden I become known as the go to person in my industry or my sector. I'm claiming that you better believe it. Million dollar habits and behaviors and identity shifts that need to occur. Number three, you have got to do biz dev on the right clients and be a partner, not a vendor.

Brent Orsuga [00:14:16]:
One client can change your entire year. 1. A lot of people right now are chasing 10 clients to get one job. Forget that. I want one client that has 10 jobs. That's what I'm doing. From a business development standpoint. I want to be an extension of their team.

Brent Orsuga [00:14:37]:
And hey, we're going to scale this and blow this up. We're going to grow together. Everyone wins. When you get those opportunities as well, you have to ask yourself, how serious are you taking those? See, I've always traveled and visited these companies, especially the ones that I know there's a lot of potential in dollars behind. Because I've always said this. If I can see it, I can sell it. If I can see it, I can sell it. You walk into an office, you know how dangerous I am when I can see the layout, I can feel the culture.

Brent Orsuga [00:15:10]:
I meet the leadership. I know exactly the conference room the candidate's going to sit in. I can close my eyes and use my senses and understand everything going on. Is it quiet? Is it loud? Does it stink? Our people have headphones in. What's going on here? If I can see it, I can sell it. I take these relationships very, very serious. If I do that step as a million dollar behavior and I get that buy in from the company who's coming behind me. I am a partner who's coming behind me.

Brent Orsuga [00:15:43]:
I own this relationship. I'm sticky with you. Just last week in Kansas City I went to do visit a company who told me that one of the guys I placed is going to open a new branch for them in Charlotte. Well, my question was this. How big of an office are you guys going to get? 1 to see 80 or 100 people. Awesome. Let's go. If I get 20 of those, think about that one client.

Brent Orsuga [00:16:07]:
20 seats. I don't need to be go chasing 21 offs. Partner, not a vendor. I'm an extension. How many of those clients do you have when you also have those kind of relationships in so called hard markets? Well, guess what? That allows me to have hard conversations. We all live in reality of the last couple years. This is not hyper growth. Everyone's blowing it out of the water.

Brent Orsuga [00:16:34]:
You know what I've been able to do? Create seats. Headhunters allow companies to upgrade talent. That's what they're paying for. So think about this. You know, I, I've coached companies this way. Hey, you're just like a general manager in sports. You manage a payroll budget. Half a million dollars, million, whatever it is.

Brent Orsuga [00:16:55]:
There's no way that you don't have two scrubs and low performing people on your team. No chance. Everyone does. Let's upgrade those. Let's go get you an elite team of the best of the best. All I'm doing is trading those dollars. I have now created that seat out of the thin air which I'm in turn going to create revenue out of thin air. That's an extension and a partner, not a vendor relationship.

Brent Orsuga [00:17:21]:
I have those conversations. If I called your clients right now, how would they view you? Partner or vendor? Get sticky with these people. Number four. Here's the other reality. You have got to get these big at bats. You have got to have the opportunities to get the 40, $50,000 rips and checks. Do you have those opportunities available to you? Because if I know that a million dollars is 83 grand a month, I need to knock out half of that in one deal. Not only that, but it builds belief, confidence.

Brent Orsuga [00:18:00]:
It changes the identity in the marketplace. I get known for playing at that level. If you want the truth, it also becomes crack. You don't think those checks are really nice because you can do more with it too. Whether it be for your family, whether it be in reinvesting in your company. I, I can do more with 50 than I can with 10. It changes your brand in the market. Clients Believe in you more and they give you more.

Brent Orsuga [00:18:27]:
And here's the other million dollar thing. Speaking on that theme. Everyone knows this. If you've ever played at that level, that process is so much smoother. It's so much easier to go get 50 and 60 than it is 15. Those 15 grand deals are the hardest ones. They are, we all live there. These are base hits that feel really hard at times.

Brent Orsuga [00:18:48]:
Usually I get those. The checks I got to chase too. As you look at $1 million. Keep on that theme. If you break that down into quarters to 50. If I can get three deals, three in 90 days at 40 grand, halfway there. Make these numbers smaller. It's not impossible, but you have to get those at bats number five.

Brent Orsuga [00:19:18]:
That's going to tie into. You have to know your numbers. You have to obsess. Grossly sickly obsess over your average fee. How many people know their average fee right now off the top of their head? I don't even have to think twice. Everything at this level is a math equation. The higher that number, the less deals I have to do. Look at it like this.

Brent Orsuga [00:19:42]:
If my average fee is 20 grand, I gotta do 50 deals. 25 grand, 40 deals. Well, gee, that's only 10 a quarter. That doesn't feel that hard. 30 grand, average fee, 33 deals, 35 grand, 28 deals, seven a quarter. You're telling me I can't bang out seven deals a quarter? I was with people last week, their average fee, they're telling me that one guy was like 67 grand. I was like, geez, I thought I was a hitter, but I'm like, dude, that's next level. Guy doesn't have to do that many deals.

Brent Orsuga [00:20:13]:
There's no right or wrong. But you're never going to get to that number. Constantly doing 12 grand, 15 grand, you're swimming upstream. And here's the thing too. I always work in quarters, not months, because of start dates, process. There's a lot of variables that go into this. All I'm obsessed about is 250. I just got to do 250 over the next 90 days.

Brent Orsuga [00:20:38]:
That's it. And I've always taught this as well, where I'm always working away from the number because I have enough delusion and belief and expect to win that it's already happened. I come from that place every single day. This has already happened. Now it's just formality. So I don't go up to 250. I go down 2502-3817-2152-7632. Away, away, away.

Brent Orsuga [00:21:06]:
Implement this on your whiteboard. You can have two numbers at all given times. I want 250 and I want a million in front of me at all times. Every single deal I work down. You'd be shocked at the end of a quarter and year how much of a dent you've made. Here's the other thing too. Not just about knowing your numbers, but how urgent, really urgent are you plan? You want to be a little freaked out real quick. Guess how many Mondays you have left in 25 to make money, everything's on Mondays.

Brent Orsuga [00:21:38]:
You have seven. How many people do you have starting next Monday, the 20th? What about the 27th? That's two. In October I only have three. In November I have the third, the 10th and the 17th. Don't start in Thanksgiving. I'm at five Mondays. In December I only have the first and the eighth. You think someone's going to start December 15th? Maybe, if you're lucky.

Brent Orsuga [00:22:01]:
You want to understand urgency and intensity and working a certain way. Focus on Mondays. There's not as many as you think. And we all know there's a process too. Number six thing that it's going to take again to build these numbers. There has got to be a referral and reference system in place. You're not going to hit these numbers all through an outbound approach, cold starting every search from zero. Are you even getting referrals or asking for them? See, every time I do a placement, I only ask for two things.

Brent Orsuga [00:22:38]:
Number one, brother, tell all your friends about me. And number two, if you feel comfortable, I would like you to write a recommendation on my LinkedIn page, which I don't know, I have 50, 60 of them. Not even that many, but they're good. Are you doing that? That's all I ask for. I don't need a bottle of wine. I don't even drink. I don't need a gift card. I don't need any of this nonsense.

Brent Orsuga [00:23:02]:
Just tell other people about me and write a nice note. That's it. And guess what? Both are free. Everyone wins. The reason that that's important is because I truly believe if I help one person, I should help five. Because if that individual has a good enough experience with me, he's going to talk to the streets on my behalf. She, if I help one, I should help five. All of a sudden too.

Brent Orsuga [00:23:27]:
Think about this. I want to become the person that is known for helping people transition out of a specific company. Oh, you got to talk to Brent, dude. He's helped like 20 of us. Think how easy it is for me to resonate and relate to somebody when I can name drop. Oh, Jimmy, dude. Glad we have the chance to speak, brother. Dude, I've helped like three other guys that you're going to know.

Brent Orsuga [00:23:48]:
You know Josh, you know Jimmy, you know Billy, you know Sean. Oh yeah, dude. Oh, those are my boys, man. I helped them all. Let's talk about you. Not everything should be a cold start search. Number seven, you have got to remove distractions and noise and negativity. If you don't think there's a lot of time wasted, look up your screen time on your phone right now.

Brent Orsuga [00:24:20]:
You think that million dollar billers are watching people lip sync on TikTok? You really think that's a revenue driving activity? The only thing going in here is positivity. I don't listen to job reports. I don't listen to the people crying on LinkedIn. Woe is me. That's not the lens that I have. Those aren't the conversations that I have on a day to day basis. I control what I can control and it's all positive all the time. Stay off and away from the negative.

Brent Orsuga [00:25:01]:
Do not let that in your sphere. Number eight, you have got to increase your outbound activity. I think people way underestimate how many people they have got to have in process at any given time. Last week at the conference they're beating AI down our throats from an automation standpoint to sourcing and all this stuff. There's nothing more that I don't care who you are, any recruiter wants than to log in and have 10 calls set up and just let me crank and let me close. That's a dream. Whoever figures that out, please let me know. You've got to tap shoulders.

Brent Orsuga [00:25:49]:
You've got to do stuff different than anybody else. I have to send audio messages. One of the big things I've shared that I do so much is I'll do video text to people because there's no way that I text somebody with a 30 second video. They see my face and a play button out of curiosity and don't hit play. No chance. You gotta do things again that other people are not doing. And the reason that most recruiters get emotional is because they don't have enough in the hopper. We've all been there.

Brent Orsuga [00:26:25]:
You go from three to zero like that. Every time you miss, it's a three week restart. Think about that. But if I have 10 people in process, I don't feel the pain when I lose One or two have more people in the mix and touch more shoulders. These are what million dollar billers do. They can juggle a lot. Number nine, you have to evaluate your fee percentages. You have to hold firm on these numbers.

Brent Orsuga [00:26:58]:
If you sell on price, you lose on price. There's people out there that are playing this game at 12%, 10 grand flat fees. Nonsense. They're lowering the bar for everybody else. It's like a curve in school. Why are you doing that and ruining it up for everyone? We have got to stick together and hold the line. Don't be that person that's ruining it for other people. We have the opportunity as recruiters and headhunters to be a premium product.

Brent Orsuga [00:27:29]:
I want to be Rolex. I want to be Hermes. I want to be Four Seasons. I'm not the cheapest, but you're not coming to me for that. I'm not a recruiter. I'm not feeling filling seats with unemployed people. You don't need me for that. You need me to bring someone that you can't get on your own.

Brent Orsuga [00:27:44]:
You're going to pay a premium for that? You better believe it. And if I give you that, you're going to be wanting more. I don't care if you do. Engage, retain, contingent, hold the line. Not just that, but you can get real creative. I saw people last week that were adding in variable compensation. You know, a lot of us, what, 20, 25% base salary, 90 days replacement, all the normal stuff. What if I was able to add in certain bonuses? What if I was to add in a dollar amount equivalent to equity that the person's getting? Well, shoot, I'm just getting more dollars out of the same deal.

Brent Orsuga [00:28:23]:
I was mind blown at some of the stuff that I saw last week. Here's the other thing too. If companies are pushing back on the fees from the start, I don't know that I'm a good fit for you. We haven't even had any wins. You're trying to haggle me right now. We haven't even had any success. What if we do this? What if we do, you know, 25 or 30% for the first three? Let's make sure that this is a mutual fit for both of us. Then we can discuss placements.

Brent Orsuga [00:28:51]:
5 to 10, 10 and on. But I'm not going to negotiate against myself. Right. You push back on price.

Benjamin Mena [00:28:59]:
Cool.

Brent Orsuga [00:29:00]:
Go to someone else, come back to me. Anyways. Hold firm, maximize those dollars. That's what million dollar billers do. They don't bend offense, not defense. I'm in control. You need me more than I need you. Probably right.

Brent Orsuga [00:29:13]:
But again, if I have that identity that I talked about earlier, I can demand that. Number 10. And honestly, probably most important, this is the real talk. That's what Ben asked me to do. I don't know one person who builds these kinds of numbers that doesn't operate with a certain kind of lifestyle. If you want the truth, they're not sloppy, they're not big drinkers, they're not sleeping in. You have got to operate at a very elite, intentional level. The people that I know, guess what they're doing.

Brent Orsuga [00:29:51]:
Living at the gym, not drinking, focused on sleep, focused on their diet, focused on sleep. Being a high performing individual that can crank those kind of numbers. How do you dress? How do you carry yourself? What are you listening to? What am I investing into my skill set? You think you can just go around screwing around on social media and put up these kind of figures? You can't. If you do, maybe you do it once. I'm talking about consistently year after year after year after year. That identity. If I followed you for a day in the life, would it show me million dollar behaviors, real talk? Because in business you have to understand you kind of go through a couple phases. And I would start to think, what phase am I in? A lot of people start off as the underdog, right? Start from nothing, Sitting at a kitchen, chip on the shoulder.

Brent Orsuga [00:30:51]:
No one expects anything. Surprise. Some people get some wins. I love that place. Where I really like to play is what I call the villain area. Villain era, that dark energy space. I'm dangerous. Me against the world.

Brent Orsuga [00:31:06]:
Nothing's going to stop me. I'm coming at your throat. I'm going to win no matter what it takes. Mute the noise. Get out of my way. I'm coming this way. Villain, right? Dark energy. I'm going to lean into that.

Brent Orsuga [00:31:18]:
Dangerous. And you can get real good in that sector. When you lock in. Then you go to the third phase, you become the favorite. That's the hardest place to win. Year after year after year. Just like in sports when the pressure's on is when people get exposed. What phase are you in? Underdog, villain or favorite? Those are questions I'd be asking myself.

Brent Orsuga [00:31:47]:
So again, I know I kind of just shot from the hip, but those are 10 things that I think are very impactful. Who again, play at that high level. So.

Benjamin Mena [00:31:56]:
Hey, Brent, man, I just want to say thank you so much. You know, I think your talk was definitely one of the talks that is needed going into Q4 because once again. How many Mondays are left?

Brent Orsuga [00:32:05]:
7.

Benjamin Mena [00:32:06]:
Talk about a wake up call. You know the resume never tells the full story. Candidates share what really matters during conversations, on calls and interviews, over email. Their motivations, salary expectations, plans to relocate. Most of that detail ends up buried in notes and forgotten. Atlas changes that. It's the AI first recruitment platform that built to eliminate admin. It captures every conversation automatically and turns it into something you can use with MagicSearch.

Benjamin Mena [00:32:31]:
You can ask Atlas questions like who talked about wanting a four day week? Or who mentioned they're open to relocating next year. It searches across your entire database and pulls the answers instantly. No keyword guessing and no digging through old notes. You get insight from real conversations, not limited resume fields. Atlas also makes BD easier with opportunities you can track and grow client relationships powered by generative AI and built into your existing workflow. If you want visibility, smart dashboards give you a clear view of the pipeline across your business. And that's not theory. Atlas customers have reported over 40% EBITDA growth and over 80% increase in monthly billings after adopting the platform.

Benjamin Mena [00:33:10]:
It's built for agencies that want to grow without adding more manual work. Don't miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive Listener offer@reruitwithatlas.com

Benjamin Mena [00:33:25]:
thanks for listening to this episode of the Elite Recruiter Podcast with Benjamin Mena. If you enjoyed hit subscribe and leave a rating.

Here are highlights and an FAQ for the episode. Highlights are pulled straight from the talk (paraphrased, with a couple of Brent's actual short lines), and the FAQ is built around what recruiters would search, so it doubles as SEO for Podpage and YouTube.

Episode highlights

A million dollar desk is just math. Broken into quarters it's 50k a quarter; broken into deals it's three at 40k or seven at a 35k average fee. Brent's point: shrink the number until it stops feeling impossible.

Belief comes first. Nothing else on the list matters if you're quietly convinced the number is out of reach for you, your market, or this year.

There's a difference between a recruiter and a headhunter. One sends fifteen resumes; the other sends three. Claiming a niche and a brand is what earns the right to be the one who sends three.

Be a partner, not a vendor. The biggest billers chase one client with ten openings instead of ten clients with one, and they go after the big at-bats that produce 40k and 50k fees.

Know your average fee cold. As Brent puts it, everything at this level is a math equation, and the higher that average fee, the fewer deals you have to do.

Volume protects you. With three people in process you're one fall-off from zero. With ten in process you don't feel the loss. Million dollar billers juggle more at-bats so a single miss doesn't reset their quarter.

Hold the line on fees and cut the noise. Discounting your percentages and letting distraction and negativity into your sphere are quiet killers of the number.

The real talk is the lifestyle. Brent says he doesn't know one person building these numbers who operates sloppily. They're not big drinkers, they're not sleeping in, and they run at an intentional, elite level.

The reset: half the year is gone. Pick the goal, draw the line, and go all in for the next 90 days. Whatever your target, the framework is the same.

FAQ

What does it take to build a million dollar desk in recruiting?
According to Brent Orsuga, it comes down to ten habits: belief, claiming a niche and identity, doing business development as a partner rather than a vendor, chasing big at-bats, knowing your average fee, building a referral and reference system, removing distractions, increasing outbound activity, holding firm on fee percentages, and operating at an intentional, elite lifestyle.

How many deals do you need to bill a million dollars?
Brent breaks it down as roughly three deals a quarter at a 40k fee, or about seven deals at a 35k average fee. The exact count depends on your average fee, which is why he stresses knowing and raising that number.

What's the difference between a recruiter and a headhunter?
In Brent's framing, a recruiter sends fifteen resumes and a headhunter sends three. The difference is niche, brand, and the trust that lets you operate with precision instead of volume.

Who is Brent Orsuga?
Brent Orsuga is a recruiter with 23 years in the industry and 11 years running his own firm, Pinnacle Growth Advisors, with a background in logistics and supply chain search. His billing track record in the episode is his own account, shared as he told it.

How do you finish the recruiting year strong?
Brent and host Benjamin Mena frame it as a mid-year reset: recognize that half the year is gone, set a clear goal, draw a line in the sand, and commit fully to the next 90 days using the same framework regardless of the size of your target.

Is this episode only for recruiters chasing a million?
No. Brent makes the point that the framework holds whatever your goal is, whether that's your first six figure quarter or your best year yet. The number changes, the habits don't.