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This episode is brought to you by Atlas, the CRMx that captures every call, email, and message automatically and tells you the next move. https://recruitwithatlas.com/
Also brought to you by Well Oiled Machine. Greg Fischer helps recruiting firms hire proven offshore recruiters and sourcers you pay directly, no middleman. https://www.welloiledmachine.co/
Alex deGolia had two doors in front of him. Door one: a roughly $700,000 buy-in to become a partner at the MRI Network franchise where he spent six and a half years. Door two: a line of credit on his house, a $90,000 buyout, and a business of his own. He picked door two, and as he tells it, his first year solo at Al Ki Consultants billed just over $750,000.
In this episode, Alex walks through how he made that call, why he never wanted to build a big team, and how he defines success on his own terms. He goes back to the start: leaving higher education, a $24,000 base, seven months without a placement, and a first check of about $3,000. Then he opens up about “relief syndrome,” the slump that followed his best year.
The second half is a cold calling masterclass, including a live role-play where Alex calls a commercial lender about a deposits producer and works through the objections in real time.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro
2:52 Why cold calling is back
3:43 The fork: a $700K buy-in or bet on yourself
5:24 What a buyout actually takes
7:31 Build to sell vs. staying solo
8:33 Defining success on your own terms
9:43 Who is Alex deGolia?
10:15 From higher ed to recruiting
13:13 Seven months without a placement
16:00 The power of underestimation
17:33 When recruiting started to click
19:01 Lessons from his first mentor
23:34 CSAM of the Year in 2020
26:01 What MRI got right
27:26 The partnership conversation
33:42 Deciding to leave instead
35:15 Year one: the market vs. you
36:05 Relief syndrome
38:57 Why cold calling wins in 2027
39:59 Setting up the cold call
42:31 Live role-play: calling a bank
45:07 Handling objections
47:44 50 dials then vs. now
52:09 When the phone weighs 500 pounds
54:00 Would he pick the same door?
55:08 Quickfire: books and tech stack
56:58 The question he wishes people asked
59:19 Where the drive started
1:01:08 How to connect with Alex
1:02:55 Final thoughts
LINKS
📅 Firm Leaders Summit (Nov 16 to 18): https://firm-leaders-and-owners-recruiting-summit-2026.heysummit.com/
⚡ Atlas: https://recruitwithatlas.com/
🌎 Well Oiled Machine (Greg Fischer): https://www.welloiledmachine.co/
👤 Alex deGolia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-degolia-bankingrecruiter/
🏦 Al Ki Consultants: https://alkiconsultants.com
🤝 Elite Recruiter Community: https://elite-recruiters.circle.so/checkout/elite-recruiter-community
📬 Newsletter: https://eliterecruiterpodcast.beehiiv.com/subscribe
