This case study documents a recruitment lead generation pilot conducted in the Netherlands using hiring signal based prospecting. The test focused on staffing agency business development, specifically whether real-time hiring signals increase commercial conversion rates compared to traditional cold outreach methods.
Hiring Signal Based Lead Pilot
5.6% Commercial Action Rate
Netherlands
Old Way vs New Way
- 15+ hours per week on manual research
- Calling contacts who cannot approve a hire
- Stale contact lists with no intent signals
- Low conversion rates from unfocused outreach
- Leads delivered within 48 hours
- Direct decision maker contacts — verified
- Real-time hiring signals = active intent confirmed
- 5.6% commercial action rate in this pilot
Results Breakdown
The Challenge
A national multi-sector recruitment agency in the Netherlands wanted to test a fundamentally different approach to business development. Instead of working from static company lists, the question was simple: what happens when you only call companies that are actively hiring, right now?
The goal was straightforward: generate meaningful commercial conversations with companies that have confirmed hiring intent.
What Was Tested
- 1,000 verified hiring signal leads over 6 weeks
- Sectors: Industry, Engineering, Logistics, Office & Support
- Each lead included verified company data and direct decision maker contact
- Outreach handled by internal recruitment consultants only
- No email automation. No marketing sequences. Pure direct phone outreach.
How Outreach Was Done
The agency called the leads directly. No additional marketing layers were applied. The pilot focused purely on validating lead quality and hiring intent accuracy.
This is an important detail: the 5.6% result came from phone calls alone. No email sequences. No LinkedIn messages. Just a recruiter with a phone and a verified contact at a company that posted a vacancy that week.
What The Data Confirms
When the timing is right and the contact can say yes, the conversation is fundamentally different. Signal-based targeting removes the guesswork from prospecting.
The objective was to validate whether real-time hiring signals increase the probability of commercial engagement. The data confirmed they do.
That's the difference between prospecting and guessing.
Want to run the same pilot for your agency?
Start with 100 verified hiring managers in your target sector, delivered within 48 hours. Or request a free sample to see the data quality before you commit.