Feb. 26, 2026

$959K in 18 Months: Zero BD Calls, Just LinkedIn

Show Notes

What if you never made a single business development cold call and still billed almost a million dollars in your first 18 months solo? That's not a hypothetical. That's exactly what happened when one recruiter bet everything on owning his niche and letting LinkedIn do the selling for him.

Most recruiters are taught to smile, dial, and grind through cold BD calls to build a book of business. This episode flips that model completely. You'll hear the exact framework behind a recruiter who walked away from his entire book of business, announced his new firm on LinkedIn, and had 3 new clients reach out within 48 hours — without picking up the phone.

If you're building inbound demand, escaping the cold-call hamster wheel, or creating a recruiting brand that sells for you, this is your blueprint.

What You'll Learn

The 3-pillar "Civil Recruiter Brand Model" for building a self-sustaining recruiting business without traditional BD calls
Why guarding your LinkedIn network like a hawk is the single highest-ROI move most recruiters ignore — and how to do it
The exact content batching system that produces 3–4 posts per week in just 2 hours per month
How announcing his solo launch on LinkedIn generated 3 inbound clients in 48 hours — and the groundwork that made it possible
Why he believes his billings would be cut in half or more without his LinkedIn presence
The mindset shift from KPI hunter to trusted resource — and why it closes more deals
How he uses a VA to pre-vet 40–50 candidates per role so he only shows up to call
The real emotional cost of leaving a mentor, losing your book of business, and going 100% commission with a family to feed

About the Guest

Brandon McGill is the founder of The Civil Recruiter, a niche recruiting firm specializing in geotechnical, structural, and civil land development engineering. In 18 months since launching, he's billed $959K, placed over 30 engineers, and built a content engine generating 1.7 million LinkedIn impressions per year, all without a single traditional BD cold call.

Timestamps

[00:02:31] Benjamin introduces Brandon's numbers: $959K billed, zero BD calls, 18 months solo

[00:06:25] How LinkedIn content replaced cold calling as the #1 business development channel

[00:07:33] Can anyone replicate this? What's transferable to any niche

[00:15:37] 48 hours after his LinkedIn announcement: 3 new clients, zero outbound

[00:20:39] "Cut it in half, if not more" — what his billings would be without LinkedIn

[00:42:46] His repeatable process: VA sourcing, Loxo workflows, and showing up ready to call

[00:49:23] Honest reflection: what he'd do differently to hit $1.25M

Sponsors

Atlas – AI-first ATS & CRM Automates admin, syncs resumes and emails, and uses AI to build polished profiles and reports. Try it free or book a demo → https://recruitwithatlas.com

Join the Community

This is Your Year - Recruiter Summit https://this-is-your-year-recruiter-summit.heysummit.com/

Elite Recruiter Community — all summits, replays, billers club + split space https://elite-recruiters.circle.so/checkout/elite-recruiter-community

Tools & Links

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/

Signup for emails → https://eliterecruiterpodcast.beehiiv.com/subscribe

YouTube:

Follow Brandon McGill on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonmcgill/

Benjamin Mena → http://www.selectsourcesolutions.com/

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