Get Better Clients for Your HR or Recruitment Business

Why Most HR and Recruitment Marketing Fails

If you run an HR consultancy or a recruitment agency in Brisbane, you’ve likely felt the frustration of being treated like a 'necessary evil' rather than a strategic partner. You spend your days LinkedIn messaging people who don't reply, or worse, competing on price against massive agencies that treat people like numbers.

Most of what you hear about marketing for professional services is rubbish. You don't need a 'viral' TikTok or a complex funnel that takes six months to build. You need a system that makes the phone ring with business owners who actually value your expertise.

I’ve seen this work for dozens of Brisbane businesses, from boutique recruiters in Milton to HR advisors in Chermside. The ones who win aren't the loudest; they’re the ones who stop acting like a cost and start acting like a solution.

Stop Being Seen as a Cost

The biggest hurdle for HR consultants is that many business owners view you as an overhead—an expense to be minimised. When you are viewed this way, you are always one budget cut away from losing a client.

To grow your profit, you have to stop being seen as a cost and shift the conversation to the money you save the business. Whether it’s avoiding a $50,000 Fair Work claim or reducing the $20,000 cost of a bad hire, your marketing needs to lead with the financial impact of not hiring you.

In 2024 and beyond, the trend is moving away from generalist 'we do HR' messaging. If you want to charge premium rates, you need to specialise. A 'Generalist Recruiter' is a commodity. An 'Engineering Recruitment Specialist for QLD Infrastructure Projects' is an expert. Experts get paid more.

Prediction: The Death of the "Cold Reach Out"

Let’s be honest: nobody likes getting those templated LinkedIn messages. "Hi [Name], I saw you were hiring..." It’s lazy, and it’s becoming less effective every single day. People are putting up walls against cold outreach.

Instead of chasing people who aren't ready to talk, you need to set up your business so that the best clients call you first.

How do you do that? By being visible where they look when they have a problem. When a business owner has an employee issue at 9:00 PM on a Tuesday, they don't wait for a LinkedIn message. They go to Google. If you aren't showing up there, you don't exist to them.

What to do first:

The "Best Choice" Strategy

In professional services, people buy from people. But before they call you, they’re going to snoop on you. They’ll look at your website and your social media to see if you actually know what you’re talking about.

Most HR websites are boring. They use stock photos of people shaking hands and talk about "synergy" and "compliance." That doesn't win business. To win, you need to prove you’re the best choice by sharing real-world results.

Instead of saying "We offer recruitment services," say "We helped a local manufacturing firm find a Floor Manager in 14 days after they spent 3 months trying to do it themselves."

What’s a Waste of Money?

I’ll be blunt: most small HR firms waste thousands on things that don't move the needle.

Fancy Brand Agencies: You don’t need a $10,000 logo or a brand style guide that specifies what shade of blue represents your 'inner peace.' You need a website that turns visitors into customers. Generic Content Subscriptions: If you’re paying a service to post generic "Happy Monday" or "5 Tips for Wellness" posts on your LinkedIn, stop. It’s white noise. It doesn't get phone calls. It just makes your page look like a robot runs it. Massive Job Board Ads: If you’re a recruiter, stop relying solely on Seek. Everyone is there. Your value is in your database and your ability to find people who aren't looking. Market your process, not just your job ads.

The Quick Win (1-4 weeks): Fixing your Google profile and asking for reviews. This costs $0 and can result in phone calls almost immediately. The Foundation (1-3 months): Updating your website so it actually works on phones and tells people what to do next. You might spend $2,000 to $5,000 here, but it’s a one-time cost that pays off for years. The Growth Phase (3-6 months): Starting to show up on Google for terms like "HR advice Brisbane" or "Recruitment agency near me." This requires consistent effort, but once you rank, the leads are essentially free.

If someone promises you 50 new clients by next week for $500, they are lying to you. Professional services marketing is about building trust, and trust takes a little bit of time to bake.

Expert Insights for Brisbane HR Pros

The Brisbane market is unique. We’re big enough to have major opportunities but small enough that reputation is everything. If you screw over a client in Fortitude Valley, word will get to North Lakes faster than you think.

My advice? Focus on being the local expert. Refer to local legislation changes, mention specific Brisbane industry challenges (like the current skills shortage in construction or tech), and show that you’re part of the community.

Summary of Your Action Plan

1. Niche Down: Pick an industry or a specific problem and own it. Stop being everything to everyone. 2. Show the Money: Change your marketing to focus on the costs you save your clients, not the tasks you perform. 3. Be Findable: Make sure when someone searches for help, your business shows up on Google with great reviews. 4. Ditch the Fluff: Stop spending money on pretty things that don't make the phone ring.

Running an HR or recruitment business is hard enough without having to worry about where your next client is coming from. By focusing on these practical steps, you can stop chasing leads and start choosing which clients you actually want to work with.

Want to get more phone calls without the headache? At Local Marketing Group, we help Brisbane professional services firms get real results—more enquiries, more bookings, and more profit. We don't do jargon; we just do what works.

Contact Local Marketing Group today to see how we can help your business grow.