The Biggest Marketing Mistakes Recruitment Owners Make (and How to Fix Them)
In this episode of RecTalk, Nitin Sharma is joined at Kitto Towers by Kris Holland, Founder of Kitto, and Rich Evans, to unpack one of the most common (and costly) problems in recruitment businesses today: getting marketing completely wrong. Together, they dive deep into why so many recruitment founders struggle with marketing, the outdated assumptions holding agencies back, and why treating marketing as a “tick-box” or junior hire almost always ends in disappointment. From the dangers of hiring a single junior marketer and expecting them to be a graphic designer, copywriter, strategist, and CMO all in one, to the real reason recruiters still over-index on cold calling and outdated KPIs, this conversation challenges how recruitment businesses think about growth. You’ll hear honest perspectives on: * Why recruitment owners undervalue marketing as a core business function * The false belief that marketing must show immediate, linear ROI * Why sales and marketing are no longer separate in modern recruitment * The shift from cold calling as a closing tool to a top-of-funnel activity * How marketing should exist to make sales easier (not harder) * When outsourcing, fractional support, or agencies make more sense than in-house hires * The role of personal brand, content, podcasts, and community in winning future work * Why recruiters are still running their businesses like it’s 2010 * How better systems, tech stacks, and education change everything This is a no-fluff, real-world conversation for recruitment leaders who know the market has changed—but aren’t quite sure how to adapt their go-to-market strategy. 🔗 Connect with the guests Kris Holland: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kris-holland/ Rich Evans: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richarde1/ Check out Kitto: https://www.rectools.io/product/kitto/ 🔗 Connect with the host Nitin Sharma: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nitin-rectools/ Discover recruitment tools and services: https://www.rectools.io/ New episodes of RecTalk, including Founder Diaries and Talking Talent, drop every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Look out for new episodes of The Mixed Grill — the official podcast of the Recruitment Curry Club — dropping on Thursdays. https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-recruitment-curry-club/ Listen on another platform: https://rectalk.co.uk/
