Crawford Thomas Case Study | Signal-Based Staffing

🚨 Challenge

Crawford Thomas Recruiting is a nationwide staffing firm with a strong reputation for quality placements. Despite their track record, they faced persistent challenges that limited growth:

• Burned out sales team — reps were making hundreds of calls to find a handful of qualified opportunities.

• Inconsistent results — strong quarters followed by slow periods with no predictable pattern.

• Wrong conversations — too much time spent with HR coordinators and gatekeepers rather than hiring managers with authority.

• Timing issues — often reaching companies after they'd already engaged other staffing firms or filled roles internally.

They needed a way to focus on the right conversations — companies with active, urgent hiring needs — rather than casting a wide net and hoping for the best.

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💰 Results

Within 90 days, we helped Crawford Thomas achieve:

• 39 placements — nearly a placement every other day.

• $100K+ in revenue — from introductions to companies with active hiring urgency.

• Reduced sales burnout — the team went from hundreds of cold calls to focused conversations with qualified prospects.

• Higher conversion rates — introductions were made to decision-makers actively struggling to fill roles.

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✅ Solution

Our approach focused on identifying hiring urgency signals — indicators that a company wasn't just hiring, but struggling to hire — then positioning Crawford Thomas as the solution to an active problem.

1. Mapping Hiring Urgency Signals

We identified the signals that indicate a company has active, urgent staffing needs:

• Extended job postings: Roles that had been open for 30+ days, indicating difficulty finding qualified candidates.

• Multiple similar postings: Companies posting the same role across multiple job boards — a sign of desperation.

• Production scaling indicators: Manufacturers or logistics companies showing increased output that would require additional workforce.

• Seasonal demand patterns: Industries approaching peak seasons with visible hiring gaps.

• Labor shortage signals: Companies in regions or industries experiencing documented workforce challenges.

2. Positioning as the Solution

Instead of cold calling HR departments, we connected Crawford Thomas with hiring managers at companies actively feeling the pain:

• Introductions happened when urgency was highest — not just when a job was posted, but when filling it had become a business problem.

• Messaging acknowledged their struggle: 'I see you've had [role] open for 6 weeks — here's how we've helped similar companies fill these positions in half the time.'

• Conversations started with empathy and understanding, not a pitch about services and fees.

3. Bypassing Gatekeepers

Signal data helped us reach the right people:

• Identified hiring managers and operations leaders — people feeling the pain of unfilled roles directly.

• Bypassed HR coordinators who were simply collecting resumes without decision-making authority.

• Focused on companies where staffing gaps were creating measurable business impact.

4. Restoring Sales Team Energy

We transformed the sales process from exhausting to energizing:

• Reps stopped making 200 cold calls to find 2 opportunities.

• Every conversation was with someone who had a real, immediate need.

• The team could focus on what they did best — building relationships and making placements.

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🏹 Breaking Free from the Cold Call Grind

Before working with us, Crawford Thomas operated like most staffing firms — high-volume cold calling, hoping to catch companies at the right moment. The result was burned out sales reps and inconsistent results.

By shifting to signal-based introductions, we helped them connect with companies where hiring had become urgent. The conversations changed from 'do you have any staffing needs?' to 'I know you're struggling to fill [roles] — here's how we can help you solve that this month.'

The result? 39 placements in 90 days. $100K+ in revenue. A sales team energized by meaningful conversations instead of exhausted by cold call rejection.

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If Crawford Thomas's success resonates with your staffing firm, let's talk. We help recruitment agencies connect with companies showing active hiring urgency — so your team spends time on conversations that close, not calls that go nowhere.

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