How She Wins $100K Placements (Without Chasing Volume)

What if your next placement paid $100,000… …but took two years to close? Most recruiters, especially in contingency recruiting or running a recruitment agency, wouldn’t go near that model. Darci Smith built her entire business around it. She specializes in moving financial advisors between firms, often transferring hundreds of millions in assets. These are high-stakes, long-cycle deals where trust matters more than speed. In this episode, Darci breaks down how she makes it work. From charging a $5,000 upfront fee, to building a social following that generated $150K in year one, to positioning herself so clients find her through AI search. This is a different way to build a recruitment business. Slower deals. Bigger fees. Stronger relationships. What You’ll Learn Chapters 00:00:00 Why $100K placements take years to close 00:04:09 How Darci got into recruiting 00:09:01 Becoming a top biller through in-person meetings 00:14:25 Choosing a niche with no prior experience 00:18:43 Starting her business with cold calling 00:24:49 How financial advisor transition fees work 00:31:01 Building a 300K+ social following 00:32:16 Making $150K from career coaching 00:44:35 The power of niching down 00:47:35 How she gets found on ChatGPT 00:49:49 The $5K upfront “contained” model 00:55:39 Staying involved after the placement This episode is brought to you by: Recruiterflow — an AI-first ATS and CRM that monitors your database and alerts you when contacts change jobs. Book a demo: Trusted Voice Video — a done-for-you video service that helps you create 30 days of content in just 30 minutes a month. Book a free strategy call: Connect with Mark Whitby: * Free 30-minute strategy session: recruitmentcoach.com/strategy-session * Free scorecard: recruitmentcoach.com/scorecard * Mark on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/markwhitby * Follow on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach 👍 If you found this episode useful,

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How She Wins $100K Placements (Without Chasing Volume) is an episode from The Resilient Recruiter by Mark Whitby.

This episode is 66:24 long.

This episode was published on Apr 1, 2026.

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