Jun 22, 2021
Are you allocating enough time and money to marketing? Recruitment is traditionally a sales-led business. However, the companies who recognize the power of recruitment marketing to amplify their sales enjoy a massive advantage in the marketplace.
In this interview, Matt Walsh reveals why some of the early hires he made in his recruiting business were marketing people. He also shares the specific marketing strategies they implement to attract placeable candidates as well as great clients.
Matt is the CEO, and Founder of Blue Signal, a multi-million dollar, award-winning, Phoenix-based recruitment agency specializing in IT. Some of his agency’s accolades include:
In this fun and fascinating conversation, Matt also delivers tons of insight on how he scaled his recruitment business to 45 people, including best practices for hiring and retaining great people.
Episode Outline and Highlights
Using Marketing to Find the Best Candidates and Fill More Jobs
While talking about how Matt scaled his business, he mentioned that he invested in hiring two marketing people. You will hear in our conversation why this proved to be really valuable to successfully scale his business. He then shared his strategy on how he uses SEO and targeted marketing to get placeable candidates and great clients. This is how Matt described the impact, “I’m this tiny company that nobody ever heard of. Nobody’s gonna go ‘Oh Blue Signal this, Blue Signal that’, but if I go to CareerBuilder, or Monster, or LinkedIn and some of the others, boom! I’m at the top now. If I post it there everybody sees me. That’s not only candidates but also hiring managers.”
Matt also gave details on how they would target candidates for very specific roles using technology. Whenever a new search comes in, the marketing team works hand in hand with the recruiters to fill the job. Listen as Matt describes the whole process and consider how these strategies can be applied to your recruitment business.
Motivation to Becoming a Recruiter and Eventually Scaling His Business
Back in 2016, Matt had a successful lifestyle business which meant he did not work too hard to make a living. So I had to ask, why complicate his life by taking on the massive challenge of hiring, managing, leading and training people? Matt shared motivations that really resonated with me.
Matt also imparted a game-changing lesson that he learned from another guest we interviewed, Monte Merz. Hear this lesson that actually led to Matt successfully scaling his business and making his business life less stressful.
Creating Awareness About Smith-Kingsmore Syndrome
Right after Matt started hiring and growing, his youngest son was diagnosed with the Smith-Kingsmore Syndrome (SKS). This was an extremely difficult and challenging time for Matt but also led him to empower and trust his team more than ever, so he could focus on his family. This leadership philosophy turned out to be one of the success factors that’s had a positive impact on the growth of Blue Signal.
If you wish to learn more about SKS and would like to help, visit the Smith-Kingsmore Syndrome Foundation website link below.
Matt Walsh Bio and Contact Info
Matt Walsh is the CEO, and Founder of Blue Signal, a multimillion-dollar, award-winning, Phoenix-based Recruitment Agency specializing in IT, IoT, Telecom, Wireless, Supply Chain, Food Production, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Accounting & Finance, HR, and Emerging Tech.
Matt has over 15 years of experience in recruitment. Matt was born and raised in a small farm community in Illinois. He received his bachelor’s degree from Illinois State University and landed a job at Management Recruiters International in Chicago. At MRI, he won several awards. Matt left MRI in 2010 to consult and started Blue Signal in 2012.
Matt relocated to Phoenix and started Blue Signal. Early on as an entrepreneur, he was a one-man shop. Since 2016, he has taken the company from one person to over 40 and the company has made almost 1300 placements with over 100,000 LinkedIn followers. Matt still runs a full desk continuing to be a top biller while also being the CEO. He thrives on working in the trenches, closing deals, and leading by example.
People and Resources mentioned