How a Candidate-First Strategy Built a $1.5M Recruiting Firm

How a Candidate-First Strategy Built a $1.5M Recruiting Firm

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Most recruiters chase clients.
This episode explains why that’s backwards.

In this episode of The Elite Recruiter Podcast, host Benjamin Mena sits down with Sarah Englade, founder of Monarch Talent Solutions, to break down how she built a $1.5M recruiting firm in just 18 months—without a book of business, without hype, and without burning out.

Her secret?
A candidate-first business development strategy that most recruiters completely overlook.

This episode is a masterclass in:

recruiter training

business development for recruiters

scaling a recruiting firm

closing candidates and clients

building long-term, repeatable revenue

navigating an AI-driven recruiting market

🎯 What You’ll Learn in This Episode

Why candidates are your most underutilized source of future clients

How Sarah generated hundreds of thousands in fees from people she helped for free

The 60/40 candidate-to-client BD model that outperforms cold outreach

How niching down actually increases deal flow, not limits it

The 5-3-1 activity framework that keeps BD consistent without burnout

The mindset shift that separates short-term billers from long-term firm builders

How personal branding on LinkedIn turns into inbound hiring conversations

Why “aggressive patience” matters more than hustle culture

If you’re an agency recruiter, firm owner, or talent acquisition leader trying to grow in today’s market—this episode is required listening.

⏱️ Timestamp Highlights

00:03 – Why niching early accelerated trust and revenue
00:07 – The fear recruiters have about personal branding
00:10 – Helping unemployed candidates (and why it pays later)
00:13 – One former candidate → $200K+ in fees
00:16 – Why candidate BD beats cold client outreach
00:19 – The tech stack that actually matters
00:22 – The 5-3-1 BD framework explained
00:25 – “Aggressive patience” and staying in the game
00:27 – The danger of early success
00:30 – Surviving tough recruiting markets
00:33 – Why reputation compounds faster than activity

🔧 Tools & Links Mentioned

Free Trial: PeopleGPT → https://juicebox.ai/?via=b6912d

Free Trial: Talin AI → https://app.talin.ai/signup?via=recruiter

Free Trial: Pin → https://www.pin.com/

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👤 Follow Sarah Englade on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-englade/

🎙 Host: Benjamin Mena
Website → http://www.selectsourcesolutions.com/

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminmena/

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/benlmena/