“Anthony, we’re down to Pursuit and one other firm. You both recruit across go-to-market. You’ve both been around a while. The fees and terms are pretty much the same. Why should we go with you?”

Fair question. I get it a lot.

In Part 1, I covered what a GTM recruiter costs. In Part 2, I walked through when to use contingent, contained, or retained search. So let’s say you’ve figured both of those out. Maybe you’re down to two firms. Maybe you’ve used the same firm for years and you’re wondering if it’s still the right fit. Either way, here’s what I’d ask.

1. Do you specialize in the function and level I’m hiring for?

“GTM recruiting” covers a lot of ground. Hiring an SDR is a different search than hiring a CRO. A demand gen manager is a different search than a CMO. A RevOps analyst and a VP of Revenue Operations need different networks and a different idea of what good looks like.

Ask the firm how many searches they’ve done for that function at that level. Say you need your first VP of Customer Success. Can they explain what they’d look for in someone who has to build the playbook from scratch? Someone who ran an established team well might have a great résumé and still be the wrong hire for that job.

For context, Pursuit recruits across sales, marketing, customer success, account management, partnerships, and revenue operations. Whoever you’re talking to, ask them to get specific.

2. How much experience do you have in my industry?

Say one firm does 150 searches a year, all in tech. Another does 1,400, with 30% in tech. That’s 420 tech searches. I’d want to know how many of them looked like mine.

If I’m hiring someone to sell or market enterprise software to hospitals, I’d ask the recruiter what they’ve learned from searches with that kind of buyer and sales cycle. That tells me more than the industry label alone.

3. Who’s actually going to work on my search?

I’d ask who’s going to run the search and what experience they bring. What GTM roles have they recruited for? Have they worked on a search like yours? How recently?

A firm might have years of experience. I’d want to know what the people assigned to my search have done. Ask for a recent example and find out what those recruiters were responsible for.

4. Where will you find candidates I’m unlikely to reach on my own?

A lot of the best people in GTM are doing well where they are. The AE hitting their number. The CS leader whose accounts keep renewing and expanding. The marketer whose pipeline numbers sales actually trusts. They’re probably not looking at job postings.

So I’d ask how the firm goes after those people. Who are they already talking to? How do they reach someone they don’t know yet? What would they say about your opportunity that would get someone who’s happy in their role to take the call?

Our team talks with about 500 GTM candidates a week, and we have close to 400,000 candidates in our database. We also use tools like LinkedIn Recruiter to reach people outside that network. Whatever firm you’re evaluating, ask how they’ll use their relationships and tools on your search.

5. How do you decide who’s worth interviewing?

I think about recruiting like a funnel. You want enough of the right people coming in at the top, and you want to know why each person who makes it through is worth your time.

Say you’re making your first marketing hire. A candidate from a well-known brand might look great on paper. I’d ask the recruiter how they figured out whether that person can deliver without a big team or budget behind them. Have they built pipeline from zero? Did sales actually use what they produced?

6. How fast can I expect to see qualified candidates?

Most hiring leaders I talk to want two things: quality talent, and they want it fast. An empty GTM seat costs you something whether it’s an open territory, a CS team spread across too many accounts, or a pipeline gap nobody’s filling. Get the hire wrong and you can lose a few more months before you’re back out looking.

Ask the firm to walk you through the timeline of a recent search like yours. How long until the client saw the first candidates they wanted to interview? How long until the hire? What moved quickly, and where did things slow down?

7. What do you do when the search stalls?

This is probably the question I’d spend the most time on.

Say the candidates you want are taking the call, then dropping out once they hear the comp. Or you’re asking one marketer to own brand, demand gen, and product marketing. Or one sales leader to build the team and carry a full quota. What does the recruiter bring back to you, and what do they recommend you change?

At Pursuit, we check in weekly and talk through what we’re hearing from candidates. Sometimes the comp is off. Sometimes the scope is too broad. Sometimes the real conversation is whether you’re hiring for the right role first. I want those conversations early, while there’s still time to adjust. They also help you figure out who to hire next as you build out the team. If you’re not getting that from your current partner, ask for it.

Check out our breakdown of top GTM recruiting firms here.

When the fees are similar, I’d spend less time comparing proposals and more time asking each firm to show me how they work. That goes for a firm you’re considering and for the one you already use. Walk me through a search like mine. Tell me how you found the candidates, how you evaluated them, and what you did when things got difficult.

You’re hiring the people who build, sell, and keep your revenue. You need someone who can get quality talent in front of you quickly and tell you straight when something needs to change.

That’s what I’d want in a recruiting partner. Someone I can count on for this hire, and someone I’d call again when it’s time to build out the rest of the go-to-market team.

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