The Art of Client Delivery: Allie Millbrath Shares Her Proven Process

Benjamin Mena [00:00:00]:
You are going to rock the year and we're going to help you do that. Here at the Elite Recruiter Podcast, we have the Rock the Year event, the recruiting growth Summit, kicking off on March 10. It is going to be awesome. We're going to be focusing on mindset. We're going to be focusing on sourcing. We're going to be focusing on AI. We're going to be focusing on operations and high performance and BD and sales. Every single thing that you need as a recruiter to make sure that you can rock 2025 and make it the year of abundance.

Benjamin Mena [00:00:28]:
Make it the year that that works for you. Make it the year that you crush every single one of your dreams. Let's go get it. Coming up on this episode of the.

Allie Millbrath [00:00:41]:
Elite Recruiter Podcast, something changed for me professionally just because I had kids. And I mean, ultimately that is what led me to say, I've got to do something different. I remember very specific conversations I had with colleagues where I felt this big. I wish people would ask me that because I think people think like, oh my gosh, she's just got it made. Everything's really easy for her. And it's not like I. I have my moments where I am scared to death. Welcome to the Elite Recruiter Podcast with your host, Benjamin Mena, where we focus on what it takes to win in the recruiting game.

Allie Millbrath [00:01:19]:
We cover it all from sales, marketing, mindset, money, leadership, and placements.

Benjamin Mena [00:01:25]:
Foreign. I am so excited about this episode because first of all, this speaker, this guest, is going to be speaking at Rock the Year. But secondly, the recruiting business is absolutely life changing. If you work it. And what she did, she worked it. And she just recently retired her husband because of the recruiting business, because she decided to chase her dreams, decided to do something different, decided to jump on a path for herself. And we're going to get into the story, but it's a story that, like, I think we all resonate with. We need a shift and it's time to make a decision and go shift and grow.

Benjamin Mena [00:02:04]:
So, Ally, welcome to the podcast.

Allie Millbrath [00:02:06]:
Thank you very much for having me. I appreciate it.

Benjamin Mena [00:02:09]:
All right, so real quick before we start doing a deep dive on how you ended up in this wonderful world and were as able to retire your husband, like, real quick, tell us a little bit about what you're doing right now.

Allie Millbrath [00:02:19]:
Yeah, so I have been running the Quinn Roberts company for almost 10 years now. And we are a firm that is pretty focused on the middle market. Most of the work we do is private equity backed middle market. Organizations, and we focus on the hr, finance, sales, and operations function.

Benjamin Mena [00:02:37]:
Awesome. And we'll get into the story of how you even started your own business. But let's take a few steps before that. How did you even end up as a recruiter?

Allie Millbrath [00:02:46]:
As most. I don't know if you've ever met a recruiter. That said, I went to college and my sights were set on being a recruiter. Like, I've never met anyone who said, I'm going to be a recruiter. So my story is the same. I just kind of fell into the position. And what happened was I had graduated from college, had no idea what I wanted to do, love business, and found myself going on a lot of interviews for sales and marketing roles. And most of them were, like, the early 2000s sales and marketing schemes.

Allie Millbrath [00:03:20]:
So I caught myself in a few of those. You know what I'm talking about, right?

Benjamin Mena [00:03:27]:
So bad. You have no idea.

Allie Millbrath [00:03:29]:
So bad. So bad. And so, gosh, I was just becoming so frustrated. Like, what is this working world? Like, how does anybody navigate this? And so my mom suggested. She's like, well, you should, you know, maybe go talk to a recruiter. And in my mind, and kind of this perception I had as staffing agencies was, staffing agencies are for people that didn't finish high school and are looking for temporary jobs. Like, that's what I thought recruiting was. But I think a good lesson in life is to always listen to your mother.

Allie Millbrath [00:04:03]:
I like to tell my kids that because. Because that's really what started this whole journey. So I found a recruiter and went to see her very reluctantly, and I left that meeting, and I was like, man, what she does is so cool. Like, we just sat down, we talked about what I wanted to do, what my skills were, and she was just going to help me navigate what this looked like, how to find a job. And it just so happened the very next day, that staffing agency posted for a recruiter. And so I called her and I said, you know, hey, I. What you do, I want to do that. You know, can you consider me for this? I know I'm so unqualified, but would you consider me? And a few interviews later, I landed the job.

Allie Millbrath [00:04:50]:
I spent two years in staffing. I knew staffing wasn't going to be my ultimate. And then I went into an executive search firm at a very young age, and I spent almost a decade there, and then started Quinn Roberts Company.

Benjamin Mena [00:05:01]:
Okay, so I'm kind of still laughing at that. The part about all those fun, like, sales jobs that you had Actually right after college.

Allie Millbrath [00:05:06]:
Yeah, yeah.

Benjamin Mena [00:05:07]:
Like it's not, it's not on my LinkedIn profile, but like I had a degree in economics and got sold this amazing position using my econ degree on like market trades and that kind of stuff. Got through the training in the first day. They actually saved me. It printed out things of the different, like brokerages in the area and said just start smiling and dialing. And I was like, wait, I thought we were talking about. No, it's like, no, it's just a pump and dump.

Allie Millbrath [00:05:29]:
I'm like, what? Totally. Yeah, yeah. I almost got hooked into one of those where you think you're getting into like this awesome world of marketing and it's like so flashy and it was like standing in a Walmart selling promotional items and then you are stuck with them all day. So that's where the confusion of what is this professional lurking world and what are these interviews I'm going on. But it all led me to going to see a recruiter. Having the recruiter tell me that's not real life. Here's the track that you, you know, you need to be focused on and how I ended up in recruiting.

Benjamin Mena [00:06:04]:
Yeah. And okay, so going from the staffing to working in executive search firm, like how different was that?

Allie Millbrath [00:06:11]:
Oh my gosh, Completely, completely different. I was fortunate in the fact that this was a startup that I was with early on in my career so that I got to see growing from. I think I was employee number seven. We grew multi state. I think we had upwards of about 250 employees. So that in itself was a super cool experience. But I went from staffing where it was very reactional to kind of learning this world of passive recruitment. And mind you, this was the early 2000s.

Allie Millbrath [00:06:43]:
LinkedIn was new. I was still taking a phone book. I was like going through association list. So I learned process on my own, figuring out how do I get a hold of these people picking up the phone. Like literally I was sort of the pursuit of happiness, picking up the phone, not putting the phone down, clicking and dialing again. So it was a very, very different world in many respects, but an awesome.

Benjamin Mena [00:07:10]:
Overall experience and you watch them grow to like a large organization. You were a part of that growth. You were actually one of their top producers, right?

Allie Millbrath [00:07:20]:
Yep.

Benjamin Mena [00:07:20]:
What were some of the things that you were doing at that point in time to be a top producer out of like a staff of hundreds?

Allie Millbrath [00:07:28]:
Yeah, I think number one, I sought out mentors.

Benjamin Mena [00:07:31]:
Okay.

Allie Millbrath [00:07:31]:
I had no business working on the searches that they were giving me. And I think that was the product of a startup and you're running really lean and Allie had capacity. So we're going to give Ally a role that she has no business working on. But I found mentors within the organization, mentors in my market to help me. And I think some of it was just my blind stupidity and ignorance of like, why wouldn't I work on this? I can figure it out. But you know, part of it is just this inherent. I have a really strong work ethic, no fail mentality. I've been a lifelong athlete.

Allie Millbrath [00:08:10]:
And so I think just some of those core characteristics I had helped me. But more than anything it was surrounding myself with the right people and helping me gain confidence in whatever search I was working on.

Benjamin Mena [00:08:24]:
When you're talking like executive recruiting, like, what were the types of like deals and the type of positions you were working on there?

Allie Millbrath [00:08:31]:
It ranged quite a bit. I mean, I could be working on a sales manager to supporting, working on a VP level role. And I was 24 years old, so that's what I'm talking about. I should not have been working on a VP search. And then I would get hyper focused into these niches where, you know, I was working on an architect search. I had no idea anything about architecture, but I was able to figure it out because I would ask the right questions, never afraid to reach out to somebody to help me understand. But I think it was just that core, like, I'm going to figure it out and I'm going to be a top performer. It's just that mentality.

Benjamin Mena [00:09:06]:
Okay, so you were crushing it there, but then you decided to kind of go out on your own. Why did that conversation even start?

Allie Millbrath [00:09:13]:
It was a few different things, I think that led to this. Number one, I've always wanted to be an entrepreneur. My dad was an entrepreneur. I saw the difference that it made in our family's life once he made that leap. But at that time it was sort of the perfect storm. Our search firm, we had gone through the recession and we never really totally bounced back from it. 2008, 9, 10 were pretty tough. We started to build back up, but then we had a lot of leadership changes and they started to build up in a way I'm like, wow, we're really losing that relationship driven business that we had built prior to the recession.

Allie Millbrath [00:09:54]:
And it was more like going like, like a Korn fairy route, right? Like you sell like, oh, Ali is going to be working on your search, but then you have a bunch of associates that are really working on it. And then I felt like we were just losing touch with client relationship and how things should work in the world of search. So with leadership changes, they changed the business model. I'm like, you know what, I don't think I like where the business is going. In addition to that, at that point I had two of my four kids and man, does that ever, you know, change your life and how you want to structure your day and your time and it all just kind of came to a head. So I actually think I might have even been pregnant with my third when I officially went out on my own. It's all kind of a blur at this point, but I knew something needed to change and so I left and I went contract for a year just to let my non compete run its course and tried to figure out what to do. And I got a call one day and it was from a very well known company.

Allie Millbrath [00:10:50]:
And the Chro said, you know, hey, I heard you started your own business. And I had it. But in that moment I was like, yes, I did. And like, literally from there, like within a week I had established my business and that's kind of how it all started.

Benjamin Mena [00:11:06]:
That is wild.

Allie Millbrath [00:11:08]:
Yeah, yeah. It was a stroke of chance a little bit that I got this phone call to be what pushed me over the edge. But again, I always kind of knew I could do this on my own. And it took a little bit of a nudge from the market and it happened.

Benjamin Mena [00:11:22]:
Well, I mean, nudge from the market, like a chro just doesn't randomly call up anybody asking, hey, I heard you started your business, I need some help with the search. Like this is a, like the work and probably like years of relationship.

Allie Millbrath [00:11:34]:
Oh yeah, a hundred percent. And I've grown my business 100% through referrals. And so I think that's what's really important for people to understand is the power of your network. And every interaction that you have, every connection that you have is an important connection. And I always took that very seriously.

Benjamin Mena [00:11:53]:
And how do you like in the recruiting business? We talk about relationships, relationships, relationships all the time. It's relationship business. But like for you to be able to have that kind of call, what are you actually doing with these people when you're chatting with them?

Allie Millbrath [00:12:09]:
I don't try to pretend, I don't try to be an expert without experience. And I think that was from early on in my career, you know, when I was saying I was working on searches I had no business working on. I've never been afraid to ask questions. And I think just through Conversation, People respect that. People respect the fact if you're like, you know what, I'm not quite sure what that is or can you tell me more about that? How does that impact the business? Just being inquisitive and being genuine about it. I think a lot of recruiters, they try to act like they are relationship driven but they are so tactical and they are trying to come across as somebody who knows everything when they don't. People, people feel that right? And they don't think you're genuine and they don't remember you. So I think for me it's been really just coming from a place of I want to learn and through that process of I want to learn, I get to know that person and they come to mind.

Allie Millbrath [00:13:08]:
It's not like I have this systematic like you need to follow up with this person in three months and make sure you're touching base. And all of my reach outs and all my connections are genuine and authentic and I think that comes through on the other side.

Benjamin Mena [00:13:20]:
Okay, so you started your own business. We're going to spend some time like around the start of your business. How did you end up focusing on the niche that you are in now?

Allie Millbrath [00:13:30]:
That's a good question. Because for the longest time, you know, everyone says you have to like hyper niche. And I came from this world of a startup where I was working in every functional area, every level in the organization. And what I loved about it was I was learning about organizations as a whole. And so for me, I feel like hr, sales, finance and ops, they work so closely together that if I'm on a sales search, I'm asking questions about delivery and operations and how they support the sales team. And I feel like if you don't have that and you're so hyper focused on one functional area, you're just so siloed that you don't understand the impact of this hire across the business. And so I felt like those four functional areas, they intertwine so much and allow me to be a generalist versus like it and engineering. You know, you have to be pretty focused on those because things are changing so quickly within those functions that I decided those were the four that I felt I had the strongest knowledge base.

Allie Millbrath [00:14:33]:
And I just love middle market. I love being able to tell a story. I don't want to work with, you know, the top. You know, I don't want to work with Fortune 50, Fortune 500 because for me it's about telling a story and how these people are going to be able to truly impact the Business. And that gives them fulfillment. It makes them happier at home. So I look at the trickle effect, and for me, it's the middle market.

Benjamin Mena [00:14:56]:
Okay, so you had your first call. Your first client was like a random phone call. How did you get your next two clients then?

Allie Millbrath [00:15:03]:
Gosh, you're. You're taking me back a few years, but from there, I, you know, discussing with my husband at that time, like, hey, I got this call, like, I think I could do this. And we were at a point. We had two young kids, two of four, mind you. We were not in a place financially where this made sense. It would have been way easier for me just to go work for another agency and have that, you know, consistent pay, paycheck, and whatever we got in bonus on top of that was like, oh, my gosh, like, we're so rich now. We were not. We were not in that place.

Allie Millbrath [00:15:36]:
So it was a tough decision, I'll tell you that. And it was risky for our family. But my husband has always had just this relentless confidence in me and what I do, and he's like, let's just go for it. So got that client and just kind of set up, like, hey, I'm officially open for business. And I started getting calls from old colleagues that had moved on, whether it was to different organizations in Wisconsin, where I am, across the country. And it just started like, people were connecting the dots, like, hey, Allie went out on her own. You should give her a call. I would work on a search, and I would work that search, make connections, and get referred into different businesses.

Allie Millbrath [00:16:16]:
So it all just started building on referrals, and that's how I've grown.

Benjamin Mena [00:16:23]:
Okay, so before we start talking about the recruiting stuff, and I know we talked about this offline, but I think this is super important for the listeners. You coach, your kids games, your kids sports. Like, you're actively involved. How do you like. Plus running a recruiting business, how are you juggling all these things on top of successful delivery?

Allie Millbrath [00:16:44]:
Yeah, it's very important to me. And, like, my mission is in life, and this is what I teach my kids, is that to be in a position where you can spend the time where it's truly most important for you to be spending that time in that moment. And it's really funny because I think, like, I'm on our school pto. I coach my girls basketball team, volleyball team, my son's soccer team. I volunteer. Like, I am very, very involved in the community on top of this business. And I think how I do it is being so hyper focused in what I'm doing, when I'm doing it, work is always in the back of my mind. Right.

Allie Millbrath [00:17:22]:
Like if I am coaching a game, yes, I'm in that moment. But my clients are really important to me and so I never really let that waver. There's not like this magic formula of like, here is how you do it all. I don't think there is a such thing as doing it all. But I think when you prioritize your time and you can hyper focus, you get more done, you're productive, your activity leads to results. If you have a process, you follow that process. So for me it's like what's most important in that moment. I'm going to give that a hundred percent.

Allie Millbrath [00:17:54]:
And then when I quick make the, you know, 90 degree turn to something else, I'm going to be hyper focused on that. I don't know if you remember growing up the cartoon called Gem where a little bit she would like, like one moment like she would be in a flight attendant outfit and she'd be a flight attendant and then she would spin around and the next moment like she was a mom at school and the next moment she was like rock star. I feel like I channel gem. I think that there's parents at my kids school that have no idea that I run my own business and I work, you know, a ton of hours with it. And my clients, most of them don't even know I have four kids and I'm coaching and I'm totally involved. I've been able to kind of silo just being hyperfocused at what I'm doing in that moment.

Benjamin Mena [00:18:39]:
Mm, that's important. Did you, I'll just say it. You know, kids absolutely change your life and change your schedule.

Allie Millbrath [00:18:45]:
Yeah.

Benjamin Mena [00:18:46]:
You starting your own business, was there any impacts of you having kids with your old job?

Allie Millbrath [00:18:52]:
A hundred percent.

Benjamin Mena [00:18:53]:
Can you talk about that?

Allie Millbrath [00:18:54]:
Yeah. I mean, I could still feel to my core just the horrible feeling of feeling judged and that something changed for me professionally just because I had kids. And I mean, ultimately that is what led me to say I've got to do something different. I remember very specific conversations I had with colleagues where I felt this big because, you know, at a drop of a hat, like I, I, I couldn't, I couldn't do things maybe in the way that they were used to me doing things. But I was still a top producer, I was still totally engaged. But it was almost just this like underlying judgment of or even an expectation that, oh, her life's going to change now because she had kids, and it was like this label that was put on me that I wasn't showing any signs of that happening, but it was like just this label. And I think it's because people knew. People knew I was very involved with my nieces and nephews before I had kids.

Allie Millbrath [00:19:56]:
Like, they were my life outside of work. And so I think they saw that that was what was important to me in life. So once I had my own kids, I think they thought it was game over. And so I just remember colleagues and my boss having these conversations with me, like, what are you. I don't even know what you're talking about. Nothing has changed. Nothing has changed with my performance. If I'm not responding to an email that you sent to me at 8:25 until 9:00pm When I used to get back to them in five minutes, like, to me, that wasn't, like, altering, but I felt this pressure and this judgment and I hated it.

Allie Millbrath [00:20:31]:
So I was like, I'm not. We're not doing this. I can pave my own way and I can do both.

Benjamin Mena [00:20:37]:
Ooh, yeah, that's powerful right there. Let's fast forward to kind of like, just recently, you shared that you retired your husband.

Allie Millbrath [00:20:45]:
Yes.

Benjamin Mena [00:20:46]:
I love that. Like, when you guys sat down, I was just like, you know, you shared like, can we do this? And he'd literally just like, I believe in you.

Allie Millbrath [00:20:55]:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've been so blessed with a husband that cheers me on. And I think as a dad, he takes on a lot more than a lot of dads do, because we need to allow my time. When my time is working, I have to be working. So he does take on a lot. And he's always been my cheerleader and always my confidence builder. And so we actually, we started having the conversation a couple of years ago, and, you know, we got the firm to a financial spot where it did not make sense for him to work anymore. He was still traveling, and those weeks were pretty tough on me when he was traveling.

Allie Millbrath [00:21:31]:
And it was like, what are we doing this for? We don't. We don't need this. And so it took probably about 18 months for us to pull the plug, because it's a big deal. It's a big deal to turn off that, you know, that steady cash flow. But we know we can do this. And he's going to come work with me, which I think is important to understand. Like, we're going to go into this, you know, in a partnership, if you will, but we don't have to deal with the corporate grind that he was in because we were able to grow this or, you know, I was able to, with his support on the back end, to grow this. And we're moving forward.

Benjamin Mena [00:22:08]:
How did you guys celebrate hitting that goal?

Allie Millbrath [00:22:11]:
We have four kids, Ben. Like, it's not like we like go on a trip or we're like in the midst of sports seasons. But it's funny, on his last day, I mean, I decorated the house, we had champagne, we had a little party. And our kids are fully aware of what's going on. They're just as excited as we are about the whole thing. So we just, we made it a family affair. Like, dad just ended his corporate career. And here we are on this kind of next journey of Quinn Roberts.

Benjamin Mena [00:22:38]:
That's so exciting. But we are going to jump back to. My eyes are sweating a little bit. We're going to jump back to like, you know, looking at, like, what you're doing and why you're successful with your business. And I know some of the most important things that you talk about is the client delivery and the client delivery system that you have put in place. What is like for a recruiter listening? What does that even mean?

Allie Millbrath [00:23:04]:
So again, nobody intends on going into recruiting. There are not college courses or college degrees, and there's very little training out there. And I find a lot of the training is very compliance driven. It's not really like a system of delivery. And so I am in a world of recruiters that have just had to figure it out. And I don't think that's changed in the history of the world. Like, recruiters are figuring it out on their own. And so for me, it was about implementing a system, a repeatable process that I use for all of my clients and all of my delivery.

Allie Millbrath [00:23:40]:
Because as you know and everybody listening to this, when you are a recruiter, it is like you are shifting from different roles. You're on a phone call for one role, and then the next minute you're on a phone call for another role, and then you're on a business development call, and then you're on a networking call. Like, your day is all over the place. So if you don't have a system in place to keep track and to be able to make those pivots, it's really easy to let things fall through the cracks. And I think that's where delivery fails and where clients get frustrated and where our industry as a whole has a challenge with reputation. Because it is. If you don't have a system and a method in place that's reflected to your client. And I just think that's the downfall of the recruitment industry.

Benjamin Mena [00:24:27]:
What's like the basics of a system in place that's set up for success for a recruiter?

Allie Millbrath [00:24:33]:
I think every search, every search has not only milestones, but, like, how you get to those milestones. So, you know, you start with your client scope and your discovery, whatever you want to call it, and then you're moving to, you know, your own research and putting together job descriptions and putting together your litmus and interview and then your sourcing from sourcing. Then you're going into your actual interview and qualifying your candidates to creating the profiles and client management and going through the closing and making sure that you're going to have an accepted offer. And I literally have. And I've used this for 20 years. It's a workbook that I have for each one of my searches. So I can go back at any time. I could be in the thick of working on another search.

Allie Millbrath [00:25:18]:
And my client calls me and is asking me a very specific question about a candidate. I'm not like, oh, hold on, let me try to remember. Let me go into my system. Let me figure this out. It's, oh, yeah, like, let me click on here. Here's where we're at. Here's what I can tell you. So it's about, like, having this system and following it so you don't have those moments of like, oh, my gosh, I was moving so fast, I, you know, I missed that.

Allie Millbrath [00:25:42]:
Let me go back. So it has worked for me. It keeps me organized and it keeps me, I guess, accountable to myself of where I am in the search.

Benjamin Mena [00:25:50]:
Does it work for people with adhd?

Allie Millbrath [00:25:52]:
I have adhd. So yes, it absolutely does. And I think that's important because I think a lot of recruiters fall into that category. Like, we kind of have to. To live in this world to, like, hyper focus and then to pivot and then hyper focus. But 100% it does. Tried and true.

Benjamin Mena [00:26:11]:
Okay, so with this workbook that you work through for every search, so it's a repeatable process. I wonder how many people, recruiters have repeatable processes set up. That's outside of their heads. It's a whole other story. Yeah, but you've said, like, pretty much 100% of your business has been through referrals. So you're not sitting there cold calling. You're not sitting there door knocking. You're not sitting there cold emailing, cold looming, cold sense sparking, setting up advertising, pixelizations, clay tables.

Allie Millbrath [00:26:41]:
I don't even know what half that means.

Benjamin Mena [00:26:46]:
Clay workbooks. How do you get these referrals?

Allie Millbrath [00:26:52]:
I ask the right questions.

Benjamin Mena [00:26:55]:
What is the question?

Allie Millbrath [00:26:56]:
So if you. Yeah, so if you are finding yourself in a drought, you all have a network. Whether you think you do or not, you have a network. And it could be people that you have in your community to your professional LinkedIn network. You have a network. I will send a ping to somebody I've been connected with for years and say, hey, curious what you're seeing in the market. Would you mind getting on a 10 minute call? I'd love to share with you what I'm hearing. It's a no brainer and it could be people I haven't talked to in five years.

Allie Millbrath [00:27:30]:
Curious what you're hearing in the market. I'd love to share, you know, what I'm hearing that works really well in a down economy because I think we hear a lot in the media and there's a lot of noise out there of what's going on and I don't care if you are in a down economy and whatever noises in the market. Like my business has always been growing. Like 2020 was a steady year for us. We didn't lose. But aside from 2020, we have grown. So I hate when recruiters are like, oh my gosh, it's a down market. There's, you know, there's no job, there's people always hiring.

Allie Millbrath [00:28:02]:
So it's about making these connections. Hey, would love to hear what's going on in your world. This is what I'm hearing. This is what I'm hearing in the news. It's not what I'm hearing in the market. Would love to compare notes. People are open to these conversations. And then from there you have these conversations, they remember you when they're hiring and they say, you know, hey, you might want to ask this person or who have you talked to lately? It's simple.

Benjamin Mena [00:28:25]:
It's simple. But I feel like a lot of recruiters forget.

Allie Millbrath [00:28:28]:
Yes.

Benjamin Mena [00:28:29]:
Because are you like actively asking for referrals too?

Allie Millbrath [00:28:33]:
Not really.

Benjamin Mena [00:28:34]:
Okay. It's just based on everything that you do.

Allie Millbrath [00:28:37]:
Yeah, I should probably be asking for more referrals. But the business follows. If you are genuine in your approach, the business follows.

Benjamin Mena [00:28:47]:
Love that. Okay, so I want to in a minute talk about like why recruiters struggle. But you know, I want to kind of like still spend a little bit of time talking about like clients, delivery, referrals. Is there anything that, like any questions that I should be asking you that you want to kind of like go deeper on within that side of the space?

Allie Millbrath [00:29:07]:
I don't think specifically, I don't think so. I think we're just going to naturally get there.

Benjamin Mena [00:29:13]:
Okay, cool. Awesome.

Allie Millbrath [00:29:14]:
Yeah.

Benjamin Mena [00:29:14]:
Based on what you've seen, because you started a staffing firm, you started at an executive search firm, spent a good decade there, hundreds of recruiters, you have your own business, you now talk to recruiters all the time. What do you think is causing recruiters out there to struggle and maybe what are some of the things that within those struggles that you're doing different and why you're succeeding?

Allie Millbrath [00:29:35]:
I talk to a lot of recruiters, I'm in a lot of different forums. And the constant, the common denominator is you can feel this almost lack of confidence and almost like an imposter syndrome. And it can be from recruiters that range from a couple years of experience to they've been recruiting for 20 plus years. I think even like seasoned recruiters, it's like they don't know if they're doing it right. And they're always comparing themselves, wondering, is there a better way? Is there a quicker way that I'm just not aware of? Am I out of touch? I think that's part of it. I think that there are so many recruiters that are so eager for the business that they hesitate to ask the right questions. And I hear this a lot from calls that I have with hiring managers and HR recruiters are so easy. Yep.

Allie Millbrath [00:30:29]:
I can find that no big deal, like sign the contract, like they just want the job order, if you will. But they're not asking the right questions and educating their client. You're not going to find this person. They're scared to push back. And I will push back all day long. And clients appreciate that. So I think it's lack of confidence, imposter syndrome, hesitant to push back, lack of process and training and kind of being in their head like this is all a race. And because they feel like it's a race, like clients can feel that energy.

Allie Millbrath [00:31:04]:
And so I think that's where the struggle is.

Benjamin Mena [00:31:06]:
How do you think recruiters can go about, like, you know, breaking apart those struggles, fix those and get over and overcome?

Allie Millbrath [00:31:16]:
I think number one is putting process in place. Like, it's funny because, like, I'm a process person, but I'm not. But I think if you, if you don't have a method and a process that you can use every time and find success with every time, you're not going to get anywhere. You're going to continue to Feel this struggle and this frustration. So I think that's number one. I think don't hide behind your computer and tech stack. The most valuable tech you have is your phone. Period, end of story.

Allie Millbrath [00:31:49]:
All roads lead to connection and conversation. So I think not hiding behind, which I think a lot of recruiters do, I think gaining confidence and gaining confidence comes from having mentors. It comes from, you know, having conversations, not being afraid to ask the questions. There's like, literally, there's no stupid question. So, like, don't let your ego get in the way and don't be afraid to push back. Once you start doing that, it becomes a habit. And then you look back at your old self and you're like, Jesus, like, why was I not doing this five years ago? It comes like, I've been in the place at the start of my career where I was learning on my own. I did these things and had I not done these things, I think I would probably be one of those recruiters that feels like they're on a hamster wheel and feeling the burnout.

Benjamin Mena [00:32:37]:
You saying that there's no stupid questions, I'm sure somebody's going to be now like, hey, can I see that workbook?

Allie Millbrath [00:32:44]:
Yes, you can.

Benjamin Mena [00:32:46]:
Well, there we go.

Allie Millbrath [00:32:48]:
So part of this, part of a journey I'm on, and I start this because I am horrified at what I hear from clients on just the reputation of the recruitment industry. I hate it. Like, part of me hates being part of this industry because of what people think about this industry. There is no code of ethics, there is no regulation. Again, no real tried and true training. And I want to change that. And so part of this journey I'm on to help recruiters is I actually did create a digital online course that is purely focused on delivery. And within that, we certainly talk about how to infuse business development into your delivery process.

Allie Millbrath [00:33:36]:
It's not a sales training by any means. It is purely focused on delivery, but within delivery, you can be developing business. So that's something that I am working on putting together.

Benjamin Mena [00:33:46]:
And if it's done, we'll add it to the show notes.

Allie Millbrath [00:33:49]:
Yes, well, it's not done quite yet. We're a couple weeks out from being able to formally launch it, but it should be ready very soon.

Benjamin Mena [00:33:56]:
I mean, I think you get a point. I know it's sales training is sexy because, you know, clients and stuff like that. But what do they say? What is it? The. I think the staffing. The staffing industry, one of the big staffing industry groups says, like, direct placement Searches only have a 16 or 18% close ratio.

Allie Millbrath [00:34:15]:
It's disgusting.

Benjamin Mena [00:34:16]:
Like, what if we could just close more work?

Allie Millbrath [00:34:18]:
It's disgusting. Yeah. And you know what? Like, I'm. I'm very big on retained search. Like, we are 100% retained. And I think part of the issue with the recruitment industry is this hunger for sales and, like, just getting the order and then seeing what you can fill. And I do, like, with this training, I do think contingent recruiters are going to fill more positions. But that is part of the mentality, like, I'm just not a big fan of is let's overload with sales and.

Allie Millbrath [00:34:46]:
But have no idea what we're doing on delivery. Like, literally shooting darts. Like, let's just. Let's see if we get lucky here.

Benjamin Mena [00:34:52]:
That's true on that. Well, before we jump over to the quick fire questions that don't require quick answers, is there anything else that you want to go a little deeper on?

Allie Millbrath [00:35:01]:
I think maybe not. Maybe this might be part of your quick fire. So we'll just move on.

Benjamin Mena [00:35:05]:
Okay, cool. So with everything that you know now and you're. Was it two decades in the. In the recruiting space?

Allie Millbrath [00:35:12]:
Yeah.

Benjamin Mena [00:35:13]:
If you have somebody that's actually sitting down with you, gave you a call, they're brand new to recruiting in 2025, so they have, like a clean slate and haven't gone through crazy stuff, what advice would you have for them to succeed in our space?

Allie Millbrath [00:35:26]:
Number one, get a mentor or two or three. By far my number one piece of advice. I had some really great mentors. And I mean, it's like, literally taken me through the last two decades. And I think in addition to that is the power of your network. If somebody is brand new, they need to realize that you have to leave every interaction on a positive note. Your network is everything, you know? And I would say again, I would remind them, don't be blinded by all the fancy tech and methods. It is helpful.

Allie Millbrath [00:36:01]:
You have got to leverage it. I certainly leverage it, but it is about actual connection. You cannot be afraid to pick up the phone.

Benjamin Mena [00:36:11]:
Same question, but let's just say, like, somebody, you know, been in the groups, been around the block, you know, 5, 10, 20, 25 years, they want to get off the hamster wheel. What would you tell them?

Allie Millbrath [00:36:24]:
I would tell them to get out of their own head, block out the noise. If they've been in it this long, they know what they're doing, but they are so impacted by the noise. It's like, crazy to me. Like, at this point, like, you you gotta have your confidence and you need to speak with authority. So I would say get out of your own head. Cut the noise. And I think seasoned recruiters kind of have the same level of fear. I don't know if fear is the right word.

Allie Millbrath [00:36:52]:
Insecurity, maybe, that new recruiters have. It's like it doesn't go away. I don't know if you've noticed that with seasoned recruiters. It's like you can just kind of feel this insecurity that they have. Like, am I doing this right? Is somebody else better than me? Comparing themselves? Where I come from, a place of like, we can all help each other. Like, there is enough business out there because somebody that resonates well with you, Ben, might not resonate with me. Like, you are going to be successful on searches where you have a good relationship and a good rapport with your client, and it's different for everyone. So stop comparing yourself because there's a whole subset of work out there for you that's going to resonate with you and it wouldn't with me.

Allie Millbrath [00:37:34]:
So, like, let's stop comparing. Let's work together to just create a better perception of our industry. And then I would think, you know, another thing that they struggle with is that we don't have standards, we don't have formal training. And so it's kind of this constant wondering, am I doing this right? How could I be doing this better? So I think those are the struggles. I think that, you know, the training that I'm coming out with, I think can certainly help with that. This is not like a plug. I truly think it is. Like, I'm super passionate about helping recruiters and changing how recruiters work, work so we can be, you know, more valued in the marketplace and not this feared phone call that hiring managers get.

Benjamin Mena [00:38:15]:
It's one of those things. I think most recruiters got their two weeks of training, and after that, it's just like, what you absorb, what you are around and that's it. I remember, like, when a few times, like when we got our first clients, it was just pure chaos. What are we doing now? I don't know. We'll figure it out.

Allie Millbrath [00:38:28]:
Figure it out? Yeah. It's always been like, oh, we'll just figure it out mentality. And that's always going to be part of recruitment because the market shifts and skills and everything, it changes really quickly. You have to be agile and be able to figure it out. But there are tools and resources to be more educated, to gain more business acumen, to have a Process to have it be repeatable. There's tools out there and it's just about utilizing them.

Benjamin Mena [00:38:54]:
You said a few times, don't get stuck on the shiny object of all the brand new tools because they're literally coming fast and furious at us. Not. Yeah, but do you have a favorite tech tool that you love?

Allie Millbrath [00:39:03]:
I feel like it changes every other month. Like, what is my new favorite tech of the month? You know, like I said before, I love trying new tech. I love it. Besides the phone, like, you've got to use your phone. I do a lot in private equity, so if I have to name one, I would say Crunchbase. I think it's a great resource for just seeing what's going on in the market. I'd love to see who's buying and selling, who's acquiring who. I think it's really fun.

Allie Millbrath [00:39:26]:
So Crunchbase is a good one.

Benjamin Mena [00:39:28]:
Coach Base is awesome.

Allie Millbrath [00:39:30]:
Yeah.

Benjamin Mena [00:39:31]:
Do you have, like, I see a whole bunch of books back there and I recognize, like, I think, like, half of them based on what I can, like, see the little squinting. But you have a book that's had a huge impact in your career.

Allie Millbrath [00:39:42]:
So many. I'm a person. Like, if I'm in a funk, like, there's a few books that I'll open up to get me out of that funk. Atomic Habits. Because we are in an industry where your habits are your success. So I will page through that. I'm a big fan of extreme ownership because everything is back on you and you have to feel that responsibility. And then the third one is called what does your fortune cookie say? Yeah, what does your fortune cookie say? This is an awesome one.

Allie Millbrath [00:40:13]:
This one is a good page turner. And it's one of those again, if you're feeling stuck in a rut, you need some quick motivation. It's like my go to. It's an awesome book.

Benjamin Mena [00:40:24]:
What does your fortune cookie say? I think I need to grab that on audible. Do you think that's like an audible one or is it definitely like a pick up and read?

Allie Millbrath [00:40:31]:
I like to pick up and read. I am like, you probably could, but this is a good one because it's one of those books you just page through and it has like a short story and it's super inspiring, very motivational. And it kind of goes back to that extreme ownership. It's motivating in the fact, like, you are in charge of your own destiny. Oh, and the other book that I'll mention, and this changed my life. The subtle art of not giving a fuck. Yeah. That changed my life.

Allie Millbrath [00:41:01]:
I actually read that in the midst going between working for the search firm and starting on my own, because I felt such. It's just that shift and like, caring that people felt that I had changed just because I had kids. And I read that book and I'm like, oh, my gosh. Like, yeah, I don't give a shit. Like, you can think what you want to. I'm going to do my thing and I'm going to have success doing it.

Benjamin Mena [00:41:24]:
And it's so weird, like, when they go after, like, top performers for stuff like that.

Allie Millbrath [00:41:29]:
Yeah.

Benjamin Mena [00:41:29]:
Like, it is just mind blowing.

Allie Millbrath [00:41:32]:
I think a lot of times agencies are just so filled with unhealthy competition. And when somebody has a life change like that, it was almost like maybe not wanting them to fail, but, like, get out of their way.

Benjamin Mena [00:41:48]:
We're taken there. That kind of goes back into, like, your agency days. Like, you crushed it. You're crushing it with your business. You just retired your husband. You know, if you're listening to this, do like a quick, like, clap on that. And I know recruiting has, like, downtimes, and we'll talk about that in a second. But, like, do you think there's a reason why you have just seen success after success after success building through your career?

Allie Millbrath [00:42:11]:
I think I am super consistent, reliable, and authentic to my clients. I've never wavered on that. I mean, I. I feel such a sense of responsibility to my clients. Sometimes I think recruiters forget, like, we are infusing talent into an organization that can change their organization. And I don't care at what level. I really don't. If you're hiring admin assistants or if you're hiring the CEO.

Allie Millbrath [00:42:43]:
Every person in an organization is extremely valuable in the big picture. And I've always taken that really seriously. You can change the trajectory of a business by the person that you place. So just the immense. I feel immense responsibility for that. I feel equal immense weight on the candidate side. You are changing their life. Like, this is one of the top, you know, biggest changes that somebody can make in their life is changing jobs and what that is going to do to their career and how that's going to trickle down to their family life, their overall happiness and fulfillment and their ability to make an impact.

Allie Millbrath [00:43:25]:
Like, there is a very profound impact that we have on both sides. I take that really seriously. I think everybody should take that seriously in the market. And maybe they don't. I don't know. But for me, I think that's what's made me successful, is I feel that on every search that I'm on.

Benjamin Mena [00:43:46]:
And this question, I know you've alluded to it like books and consistency and tracking and everything and your systems. But it's recruiting. Recruiting 101. Everybody goes through like hell weeks. How do you get out of those funk days or those funk weeks or a funk month.

Allie Millbrath [00:44:03]:
Oh, those are the worst. Like we all can feel it. We can just like feel it, right? For me it's just the mantra, activity leads to results. And you have got to like, sometimes like the weight of your phone feels like a hundred pounds or like opening your computer, it's like, oh my gosh, like I can't take another, another bad day because we're dealing with people and the unknown is going to happen, right? I always go back to activity leads to results. And slowly you see yourself getting out of the funk. If you wallow in it, like you're just going to get further down in that funk. So it's activity equals results and you gotta just lace up those shoes and activity.

Benjamin Mena [00:44:44]:
And this next question, I normally have it like ask it at the very start of your recruiting career, but I want to fast forward like that past that two years in the staffing because you spend a lot more time on like the retained search world. So based ON like your 10 years of your own business, the 10 years of like you working for that exec search firm, if you had the chance with everything that you know now to go down and have like sit down and have a cup of coffee with yourself, what would you give yourself? Advice wise?

Allie Millbrath [00:45:12]:
Don't be scared. I think that, you know, even though I was already working on things that, you know, were above my pay grade, not to be scared, I think that I would have gone back and I would have put myself out there more, probably reaching out to just different business leaders that I thought would never give me the time of day. Because now I find that people who are in leadership positions really want to help. They're really open to conversations. And had I early on in my career made some more strategic connections, that would have been really powerful. So I think just not being scared and I think going back I would have just challenged myself more on things that I was uncomfortable with. And I've done that, you know, slowly throughout my career and I've seen the fruits of that. I'm like, man, I've got a 25 year old working with me now and like, I just seem like, man, like you do what I'm doing now and you are going to be way more Successful than me.

Allie Millbrath [00:46:13]:
And I hope you are awesome.

Benjamin Mena [00:46:17]:
Well, and, you know, fast forward 10 years. You just started your search firm, you pulled the trigger, you got the call, you filled all the paperwork, got your llc. Start smiling and working away. What advice would you give yourself at that point in time?

Allie Millbrath [00:46:32]:
Ooh, that's a good one. What advice would I give myself? Man, I feel that's a tough one because, gosh, we were in such a place where it made no sense for me to do this financially, and I just did it. And so I feel like I did everything I could to make this work. And I did, even at that point, because I was coming out of agency world, and that just kind of that weird level of competition is just to not worry what other people were doing and what other people thought. Because going back, I probably did have those voices in my head of, you know, am I getting enough business? Am I doing things right? I did have those voices, and I. I got out of it. But I think maybe just getting out of my own head.

Benjamin Mena [00:47:12]:
And you talk to a lot of recruiters. You're in a lot of recruiting groups. I've kind of seen you around, like, just networking. And with you talking with a lot of recruiters, I'm sure they're asking you a lot of questions, right? You know, how do you do this? How do you do this? How do system? Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Is there a question that you wish they would actually ask you?

Allie Millbrath [00:47:31]:
Yeah, I wish they would ask me, like, I know I'm super confident. I come across confident, but do I have my moments of being insecure? Like, I wish people would ask me that, because I think people think, like, oh, my gosh, she's just got it made. Everything's really easy for her. And it's not like I. I have my moments where I am scared to death. It's really funny because I. I was on a business development call recently, and I was referred in, but, I mean, it was totally cold. Like, I had never met these people before.

Allie Millbrath [00:47:58]:
Usually you at least, like, meet over the phone and kind of understand what's going on in the business. It was completely cold, minus the fact that they reached out to me. They, you know, heard about me, whatever. I sat in the parking lot and I called my husband, and I'm like, I don't want to go in. I'm like, I can't do this. I have those moments, too. And so it's not. I think that, you know, a lot of people are like, gosh, it's just so easy for you 100% referral.

Allie Millbrath [00:48:20]:
Like, good for you. No, like, I still, like, I still get that I still have to be talked off the ledge. So those moments still happen, but at the end of the day, it's like you just, you have to talk yourself out of it, you know, dig deep for that confidence and know that you know what you're doing and you are going to be able to deliver for your clients and move ahead.

Benjamin Mena [00:48:42]:
I think we all just sometimes need to get talked off the ledge, so. Yeah, definitely. Thank you for sharing that. Well, two things before I let you go. If anybody wants to follow you, how do they go about doing that?

Allie Millbrath [00:48:54]:
Probably best is on LinkedIn. Follow my personal page, Allie Millbrath and would love to connect and I'm always open to a conversation.

Benjamin Mena [00:49:02]:
Awesome. And before I let you go, is there anything else that you want to share with the recruiters?

Allie Millbrath [00:49:06]:
Yeah, I would love to share. You know, definitely. Let's connect. If you are interested in the training that's going to be coming out in a couple of weeks, would love to talk with you about it. I am going to have a kind of quote unquote beta group that I already have 12 spots filled. I'm probably going to take 20 where you're going to get a discounted price because I want real time feedback. This is going to be an evergreen training. So if there's anything that you feel like we need to dive deeper into any adjustments that you suggest, I'm going to take those really seriously.

Allie Millbrath [00:49:35]:
So we're going to have some spots open for that. So if you're interested, just shoot me a note and I'll make sure to get you on that list.

Benjamin Mena [00:49:40]:
And you're going to be speaking at Rock of the Year.

Allie Millbrath [00:49:42]:
I don't think he's taking a Rock the Year, which I'm really excited about.

Benjamin Mena [00:49:46]:
Awesome. Well, I'm so excited. Like, you know, this has been an awesome conversation, but, like, I just absolutely love the power of recruiting. You getting a chance to like, be a coach for your kids, retire your husband, like, start building the life that you want to live. But on top of that, like, sharing the systems of how you have set yourself up for success to minimize the chaos of recruiting.

Allie Millbrath [00:50:08]:
Absolutely. Yeah. It's not just your confidence and, you know, in the background, the systems in play that have allowed for the success for sure.

Benjamin Mena [00:50:16]:
And I love that you're kind of like sharing that because so everybody talks about system, system, system, but very few people are actually like, here's all my cards.

Allie Millbrath [00:50:23]:
Yeah, yeah.

Benjamin Mena [00:50:25]:
Well, excited to have you here. And for the listeners, I want you to absolutely just crush 2025. The market is shifting. The market is changing. If you are literally sitting on the beach with your surfboard, go jump in the water now. It'll go change your life. So thank you, and let's crush 2025.

Allie Millbrath [00:50:41]:
Let's do.