43. How to Stop Being Transactional in Recruitment

43. How to Stop Being Transactional in Recruitment

From Jeremy Snell's Big Ideas by Jeremy Snell

April 14, 2026 · 28 min · Episode 43

About this episode

Jeremy Snell discusses how to build genuine partnerships in recruitment by moving beyond transactional relationships.

Recruiters are told the job is about relationships. Nobody explains what that means or how to build one with intent. In this episode, Jeremy Snell breaks down the difference between being liked and being trusted, and gives you a five-level roadmap for moving clients from casual contact to genuine partnership. The Five Levels of Trust Level 1: Entry Trust. Access without influence. Small talk and common ground. Most "good relationships" sit here. Level 2: Functional Trust. Execution permission. You get jobs with conditions attached and compete against two or three others. Level 3: Diagnostic Trust. They seek your judgment. Exclusivity and retained work start here. Level 4: Inner Circle Trust. Full influence. You frame decisions and challenge thinking before the brief is written. Level 5: Partnership Trust. Shared ownership of outcomes. Extreme loyalty and long-term value. The Diagnostic Test Write down your ten strongest client relationships. Then ask each of them for theirs. If you are not on their list, you have work to do. Subscribe for weekly episodes on recruitment performance and building agencies that compound…

People in this episode

Host: Jeremy Snell

Topics covered

  • recruitment
  • relationships
  • trust
  • client partnerships
  • agency building

Keywords

  • recruitment
  • trust levels
  • client relationships
  • partnership
  • agency development

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