This case study documents a hiring signal based lead pilot for Orion Hiring, a boutique recruitment agency focused on placing marketing professionals at MKB companies in the Randstad. The test validates whether niche-filtered, signal-based leads produce higher commercial conversion rates than traditional cold outreach from static company lists.
Marketing Role Lead Pilot
9% Commercial Action Rate
Randstad, Netherlands
Generic Lists vs Niche Signal Filtering
- Calling companies without a confirmed active vacancy
- No sector or role filter — wasted conversations
- Hitting companies with internal HR or TA teams
- Receptionist or general landline, not the decision maker
- Only companies with active marketing vacancies in the Randstad
- MKB only, no internal TA or HR teams in place
- Direct mobile number for the hiring decision maker
- 9% commercial action rate from 200 leads
Results Breakdown
The Challenge
Orion Hiring is a boutique recruitment agency specialising in placing medior+ marketing professionals at MKB companies in the Randstad. Their consultants were spending significant time prospecting without knowing whether an active need existed at the companies they were calling.
The question was simple: what happens when every contact on the list is at a company that posted a relevant vacancy that week?
What Was Tested
- 200 verified hiring signal leads, filtered for medior marketing roles
- Randstad geography only
- MKB segment, companies without an internal TA or HR function
- Each lead included verified company data and a direct mobile for the hiring decision maker
- Outreach handled entirely by Orion Hiring's own consultants
How Outreach Was Done
Orion Hiring's consultants called the leads directly. No email sequences, no LinkedIn messages, no additional marketing layers. The same outreach method they were already using, applied to a significantly better-filtered list.
The 9% result came from phone calls alone. The only variable that changed was the quality and specificity of the underlying data.
What The Data Confirms
For a specialist agency operating in a defined niche, filtering matters more than volume. Orion Hiring worked with 200 precisely targeted leads instead of a broad company list, and produced a conversion rate well above what cold outreach typically delivers.
When you call a company that posted a marketing vacancy last week, in the region you cover, at an MKB that has no internal recruiter, the conversation is different. The need is real. The timing is right. That is what the data confirms.
Want to run the same pilot for your agency?
Start with 100 verified hiring managers filtered for your niche and region, delivered within 48 hours. No commitment beyond the pilot.