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Candid conversations with entrepreneurs and thought leaders in the staffing and recruiting industry. Brought to you by Haley Marketing
Episodes
4 hours ago
4 hours ago
In This Episode
- Why staffing firms with bundled benefits plans are accidentally forcing workers to overpay, or opt out entirely, and how unbundling changes everything
- Employees who elect benefits stay on contract assignments four to five weeks longer
- What the collapse of a major benefits provider in early 2025 revealed about how dangerously fragile most staffing benefits programs actually are
- Why Carl Stecker built a full prescription drug platform delivering medications to entire families for under $7 a week, and what pharmacy closures in major U.S. cities made that more urgent than anyone expected
- How an AI-powered predictive enrollment system is flipping traditional insurance logic upside down by telling workers what NOT to buy
Expect to Learn
Most staffing firms spend enormous energy chasing client retention while leaving candidate retention almost entirely to chance. This episode exposes exactly what that blind spot is costing them. Carl Stecker breaks down the mechanics of a benefits model built specifically for high-turnover industries, one where the design itself keeps workers engaged, covered, and on the job longer. By the end of this conversation, you'll never think about benefits as a checkbox again. You'll see them as one of the sharpest competitive weapons a staffing firm can carry into the market.
Timestamps and Key Moments
[00:01] – Benefits: Bigger Than You Think
[02:41] – Bundled Plans Are Broken
[05:22] – Finding a Stable Provider
[07:59] – The 40% Nobody's Serving
[10:22] – Power Back to the Candidate
[12:17] – AI Meets Enrollment
[16:17] – Benefits as a Differentiator
[18:13] – 4–5 Extra Weeks of Retention
[20:03] – Candidates Are Your Inventory
[23:30] – FreeRx: $12 a Week Coverage
[25:38] – What Top Firms Do Differently
[28:05] – Why Drug Prices Are So High
[31:52] – The Pharmacy Desert Problem
[33:37] – About Benefits in a Card
[34:59] – Rapid Fire Round
About the Guest
Carl Stecker has spent more than three decades solving a problem most of the staffing industry didn't know it had: benefits designed for the wrong kind of worker, priced for the wrong kind of market, and built on a model that punishes turnover instead of surviving it. As the founder and CEO of Benefits in a Card and FreeRx, he pioneered weekly coverage cycles, two-year rate guarantees, and most recently, a prescription drug platform delivering medications to entire families for under $7 a week. His perspective is rare because it sits exactly at the intersection of insurance economics, staffing operations, and frontline worker welfare — and after 34 years in the trenches, he has the data and the scar tissue to back it up.
About the Host
Brad Bialy is a trusted voice and highly sought-after speaker in the staffing and recruiting industry, known for helping firms grow through integrated marketing, sales, and recruiting strategies. With over 13 years at Haley Marketing and a proven track record guiding hundreds of firms, Brad brings deep expertise and a fresh, actionable perspective to every engagement. He's the host of Take the Stage and InSights, two of the staffing industry's leading podcasts with more than 2,000 downloads.
Sponsors and Offers Heard
Book a 30-minute business and marketing consultation with host, Brad Bialy: https://bit.ly/Bialy30
Monday Apr 27, 2026
Monday Apr 27, 2026
In This Episode
- Why SEO isn't being replaced by AI — it's actually powering every LLM answer your clients and candidates are getting right now, and doubling down is the only logical move
- How a single blog post about an obscure AI job role drove 3,000 website visitors in five months with zero ad spend
- What "AI knowledge gaps" really are, why a BBC reporter's absurd hot dog claim proves they're real, and how staffing firms can use them to manufacture
authority almost overnight - Why FAQs are secretly one of the most powerful ranking tools available right
now
This episode of InSights, presented by Haley Marketing, will permanently change how you think about content. You'll stop seeing blog posts as marketing obligations and start seeing them as assets that get your firm found in Google, ChatGPT, and every LLM your clients are already using every day. More importantly, you'll walk away with a concrete, actionable framework for finding the exact knowledge gaps that no one else in your niche is filling and a clear strategy for filling them first.
Timestamps and Key Moments
[00:01] – Is SEO Actually Being Replaced by AI?
[01:06] – LLMs Still Run on SEO
[02:17] – Play the Long Game
[03:45] – The Long-Game Case for Owners
[05:20] – Measuring AIO Rankings
[06:15] – The 6-Year Client Breakdown
[08:23] – Building the Site Loop
[09:00] – Why FAQs Rank Separately
[12:04] – FAQs — How Simple Is It?
[13:48] – What Is an AI Knowledge Gap?
[16:10] – The MrBeast Content Strategy
[19:37] – How to Find the Gap
[21:01] – The Blog That Got 3K Visitors
[23:08] – Retargeting That Traffic
[24:02] – Real Gaps in Staffing Right Now
[28:43] – Why SEO Needs a Partner
[30:19] – Social Media Now Feeds Google
[31:59] – Which Platform Actually Wins
[33:54] – Fix the Foundation First
[35:22] – Why Old Content Still Ranks
About the Guest
Shaun Chojnacki is a Senior Marketing Strategist at Haley Marketing, actively
managing 35+ client account services across the staffing and recruitment
industry. He specializes in SEO, AI-driven search optimization (AIO), and LLM
SEO including AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) and GEO (Generative Engine
Optimization).
With more than a decade of experience spanning Staffing, SaaS and eCommerce,
Shaun combines data-driven marketing with creative execution to help staffing
firms turn their websites into high-performing lead generation engines. Connect
with Shaun on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/shaunsavvy
About the Host
Brad Bialy is a trusted voice and highly sought-after speaker in the staffing and
recruiting industry, known for helping firms grow through integrated marketing,
sales, and recruiting strategies. With over 13 years at Haley Marketing and a
proven track record guiding hundreds of firms, Brad brings deep expertise and a
fresh, actionable perspective to every engagement. He's the host of Take the Stage
and InSights, two of the staffing industry's leading podcasts with more than
200,000 downloads.
Sponsors and Offers Heard
Book a 30-minute business and marketing consultation with host, Brad Bialy:
https://bit.ly/Bialy30
This episode is brought to you by FoxHire. If you’re looking for an Employer of
Record partner that helps recruiters confidently grow contract placements and
build recurring revenue without taking on extra risk, FoxHire is perfect for you.
Learn more at FoxHire.com/Haley
Monday Apr 20, 2026
Monday Apr 20, 2026
HEARD IN THIS EPISODE
◼ Why the four-year decline in staffing revenue isn't a market problem — it's a sales behavior problem that leaders are actively making worse by obsessing over the wrong metrics
◼ How COVID didn't just change where salespeople work — it quietly made them lazy, and why most sales leaders haven't noticed yet
◼ What the best staffing firms are doing differently right now that almost nobody else is: pulling recruiters into the sales process before the deal is even close
◼ Why your ICP is probably wrong — and how getting more specific with a smaller target list will generate more revenue than casting a wider net ever could
◼ How one simple mental shift — from account management to pre-client acquisition — could completely rewire the way your sales team operates
EXPECT TO LEARN
This episode will fundamentally challenge how you think about sales activity and what it's actually worth. You'll walk away with a sharper framework for diagnosing what's broken in your sales organization, whether it's your people, your process, or the pressure you're putting on both, and a clear-eyed view of why doing less, more deliberately, consistently beats doing more with less intention. If you lead a staffing firm or a sales team, this conversation will make you uncomfortable in exactly the right way.
KEY MOMENTS
[00:01] – The #1 mistake holding firms back
[01:08] – Chasing shiny objects kills revenue
[02:21] – What to do when business is down
[04:08] – How to prioritize your fix-it list
[05:28] – Did COVID break the staffing industry?
[07:02] – How COVID made staffing sales reps lazy
[08:21] – Outputs vs. outcomes in sales
[09:18] – Rewarding the wrong KPIs [10:48] – What consultative selling looks like
[12:49] – Where firms get their ICP wrong
[14:45] – Messaging by ICP level
[16:38] – The Under Armour sales analogy
[18:58] – Research has never been easier
[23:00] – What top firms do differently
[24:45] – Speed closes deals, not relationships
[27:52] – Fixing staffing's reputation problem
[31:42] – Sales reps as pre-client managers
[33:26] – Optimistic or pessimistic on 2026?
[35:41] – Coach in the moment, not end of month
[37:17] – About AFM Strategic Partners
[42:20] – Rapid fire: book that changed her life
[43:24] – Advice for new staffing professionals
ABOUT THE GUEST
Anna Frazzetto is the Founder and CEO of AFM Strategic Partners and one of the most recognized voices in staffing and sales leadership — named to Staffing Industry Analysts' Global Power 150 Women in Staffing for seven consecutive years. She built her career scaling businesses from the ground up, including growing a solutions practice from $3M to $100M, and has led global sales transformations across some of the most complex corners of the industry. Her perspective is rare because it spans both sides of the table: the strategic and the deeply human, shaped in part by her experience as a cancer survivor who chose to bet on herself and start something new. Her new book, *Sales Leadership in Action*, distills over 100 field-tested tips for sales leaders who want to stop firefighting and start building teams that close.
ABOUT THE HOST
Brad Bialy is a trusted voice and highly sought-after speaker in the staffing and recruiting industry, known for helping firms grow through integrated marketing, sales, and recruiting strategies. With over 13 years at Haley Marketing and a proven track record guiding hundreds of firms, Brad brings deep expertise and a fresh, actionable perspective to every engagement. He's the host of Take the Stage and InSights, two of the staffing industry's leading podcasts with more than 225,000 downloads.
SPONSORS AND OFFERS
Book a 30-minute marketing consultation with host Brad Bialy: https://bit.ly/Bialy30
Benefits in a Card helps staffing firms offer meaningful benefits to their entire workforce through flexible, unbundled plans designed for high-turnover environments—making it easier to control costs, improve retention, and stay competitive. https://www.BenefitsInACard.com
TRICOM partners with staffing firms as an asset-based lender and full-service back-office provider, helping owners scale confidently by reducing risk and easing the operational strain of payroll, cash flow, and administration. https://www.tricom.com
Monday Apr 13, 2026
Monday Apr 13, 2026
In this episode of InSights, Brad Bialy sits down with Steve Gipson to unpack why staffing firms keep day-trading their marketing for short-term wins and how long-term visibility, consistency, and trust-building turn you into the first call when urgency hits.
About the Guest
Steve Gipson is the Director of Sales and Operations at Recruiters Websites, where he helps staffing and recruiting firms build stronger digital ecosystems through smarter website strategy, search visibility, and long-term marketing systems.
In this conversation, Steve breaks down why most firms sabotage growth by demanding instant ROI and why the real winners are the ones willing to compound trust long before an emergency ever happens.
Key Takeaways
- If clients only remember you when you call them, you’ve already lost.
- Day trading your marketing keeps your pipeline permanently fragile.
- The first call in a crisis is earned months (or years!) before the crisis.
- Bad execution is often mistaken for bad strategy.
- The boring basics are where market leaders are built.
Timestamps
- [00:00] – Discipline lessons hidden inside dad life
- [04:37] – The flooded basement story every marketer needs
- [07:06] – Why clients only call names they remember
- [10:38] – The dangerous reset happening in every search
- [12:06] – The day-trading analogy that changes everything
- [17:03] – The ROI obsession quietly killing growth
- [19:00] – Why shiny tactics keep firms invisible
- [23:08] – The trust signal most firms ignore
- [24:45] – The AI search shift firms are missing
- [26:52] – The nurture sequence that wins future urgency
- [31:46] – Why P.T. Barnum still beats modern marketers
- [35:18] – The boring basics that become your moat
About the Host
Brad Bialy is a trusted voice and highly sought-after speaker in the staffing and recruiting industry, known for helping firms grow through integrated marketing, sales, and recruiting strategies. With over 13 years at Haley Marketing and a proven track record guiding hundreds of firms, Brad brings deep expertise and a fresh, actionable perspective to every engagement. He’s the host of Take the Stage and InSights, two of the staffing industry’s leading podcasts with more than 200,000 downloads.
Sponsors
Book a 30-minute business and marketing consultation with host, Brad Bialy: https://bit.ly/Bialy30
This episode is brought to you by FoxHire. If you’re looking for an Employer of Record partner that helps recruiters confidently grow contract placements and build recurring revenue without taking on extra risk, FoxHire is perfect for you. Learn more at FoxHire.com/Haley
Monday Apr 06, 2026
Monday Apr 06, 2026
It's a bonus episode this week, taken from Lunch with Haley.
Top staffing firms aren’t just selling differently — they’re selling smarter.
In this Lunch with Haley, we’ll walk through the essential tools, content, and AI workflows every staffing firm needs in 2026 to shorten sales cycles, differentiate effectively, and empower buyers to make decisions faster.
Expect to Learn:
- What’s changed in the 2026 buyer journey — and how to adapt
- The self-service and buyer-enablement assets every firm should have
- Practical examples of sales collateral that increase conversion
- How to use automation and AI to strengthen follow-up
- Tools that accelerate proposals, presentations, and positioning
Whether you’re refining your process or rebuilding it, this Lunch with Haley gives you a sharper sales toolbox for 2026.
About the Speakers
David Searns, Co-CEO, Haley Marketing
When it comes to marketing a staffing firm, few people know the industry like David. He literally grew up in the business. He has been helping staffing companies create innovative marketing strategies and award-winning websites for more than 25 years.
Brad Smith, Chief Strategy Officer, Haley Marketing
Brad is a Certified Inbound Marketing professional, and he has managed the implementation of digital marketing campaigns for hundreds of staffing firms. Brad stays on top of new marketing and technology trends, transforming them into winning strategies for staffing and recruiting firms.
Rachel Reed, Senior Automation Specialist
Rachel is a recruitment and sales automation expert specializing in marketing automation strategy and execution for clients large and small. With experience in both recruitment automation and B2B sales strategy, she brings a unique perspective to the potential of automation tools in the industry. Rachel excels in making sophisticated platforms accessible and valuable for staffing and recruiting professionals – delivering actionable strategies to drive sales leads, qualified applications and customer retention.
Monday Mar 30, 2026
Monday Mar 30, 2026
In this episode of Take the Stage, Brad Bialy sits down with Emily Burroughs to unpack why reputation, relationships, and human-centered communication are becoming the ultimate competitive edge in a world increasingly shaped by AI, content overload, and brand noise.
About the Guest
Emily Burroughs is the founder of EB Connection, where she helps organizations align communication, culture, and operational clarity so strategy actually scales. With deep roots in staffing, workforce solutions, leadership communication, and brand transformation, Emily brings a rare ability to translate complexity into messaging that moves people and drives outcomes.
Key Takeaways
- Reputation outlasts branding.
- Relationships scale what algorithms cannot.
- Clarity is a translation problem, not a strategy problem.
- Storytelling turns information into trust.
- Quality of message always beats quantity of content.
Timestamps
- [00:03] – Why reputation survives the AI era
- [02:26] – The leadership translation problem
- [04:32] – Simplifying messaging so people buy in
- [09:24] – Why junior recruiters must build relationships first
- [13:49] – Balancing expertise with personal storytelling
- [18:36] – The real psychology behind viral LinkedIn content
- [25:09] – Why great marketing makes people feel
- [33:18] – Cultural nuance and global communication lessons
- [38:28] – Personal branding is never “finished”
- [43:38] – Why staffing firms often miss audience segmentation
- [45:25] – The candidate success story firms should tell
- [48:33] – The mindset shift that changes careers
About the Host
Brad Bialy is a trusted voice and highly sought-after speaker in the staffing and recruiting industry, known for helping firms grow through integrated marketing, sales, and recruiting strategies. With over 13 years at Haley Marketing and a proven track record guiding hundreds of firms, Brad brings deep expertise and a fresh, actionable perspective to every engagement. He’s the host of Take the Stage and InSights, two of the staffing industry’s leading podcasts with more than 200,000 downloads.
Sponsors and Offers Heard
Book a 30-minute business and marketing consultation with host Brad Bialy: https://bit.ly/Bialy30
Benefits in a Card helps staffing firms offer meaningful benefits to their entire workforce through flexible, unbundled plans designed for high-turnover environments—making it easier to control costs, improve retention, and stay competitive. https://www.BenefitsInACard.com
TRICOM partners with staffing firms as an asset-based lender and full-service back-office provider, helping owners scale confidently by reducing risk and easing the operational strain of payroll, cash flow, and administration. https://www.tricom.com
Monday Mar 23, 2026
Monday Mar 16, 2026
Monday Mar 16, 2026
In this episode of InSights, Brad Bialy sits down with David Searns to explore why selling staffing services has become harder and how firms must rethink their product, pricing, and messaging to compete in a changing market.
About the Guest
David Searns is the Co-CEO of Haley Marketing and one of the staffing industry’s most respected marketing strategists. With more than 25 years of experience helping staffing firms differentiate, position their services, and drive demand, David brings a deep understanding of how marketing, sales, and product strategy intersect to fuel growth.
Key Takeaways
-
Selling staffing hasn’t just gotten harder...the product itself may be outdated.
-
Differentiation starts with defining a unique product, not louder promotion.
-
The firms that control performance data will control the future of staffing.
-
Value must be defined from the buyer’s perspective—not the recruiter’s.
-
Specialization creates pricing power where commoditization destroys it.
Timestamps
[00:00] – Is staffing actually harder to sell today?
[02:41] – Why staffing penetration dropped dramatically
[05:24] – Rethinking staffing as project-based work
[07:36] – The consulting model staffing can learn from
[10:55] – Escaping the dangerous “markup conversation”
[12:57] – Using AI as a strategic thought partner
[15:21] – Why HR buyers are risk-averse
[18:01] – The call center story that changed pricing
[20:52] – Why A-players should cost dramatically more
[24:29] – The power of owning performance data
[30:41] – Stop selling to everyone: define the bullseye
[32:08] – The four P’s of marketing staffing firms ignore
About the Host
Brad Bialy is a trusted voice and highly sought-after speaker in the staffing and recruiting industry, known for helping firms grow through integrated marketing, sales, and recruiting strategies. With over 13 years at Haley Marketing and a proven track record guiding hundreds of firms, Brad brings deep expertise and a fresh, actionable perspective to every engagement. He’s the host of Take the Stage and InSights, two of the staffing industry’s leading podcasts with more than 200,000 downloads.
Sponsors and Offers Heard
InSights is presented by Haley Marketing. For a limited time, we're offer 50% off of a brand new staffing website. Just message Brad Bialy on LinkedIn and mention the Crazy Website Promo.
Book a 30-minute business and marketing consultation with host, Brad Bialy:
https://bit.ly/Bialy30
This episode is brought to you by FoxHire. If you’re looking for an Employer of Record partner that helps recruiters confidently grow contract placements and build recurring revenue without taking on extra risk, FoxHire is perfect for you. Learn more at FoxHire.com/Haley.
Monday Mar 09, 2026
Monday Mar 09, 2026
In this episode of Take the Stage, Brad Bialy sits down with Brett Cavanagh to explore why staffing firms must abandon the old transactional playbook, embrace a consultative mindset, and leverage technology like AI while doubling down on the human relationships that truly drive success.
About the Guest
Brett Cavanagh is the President of TempWorks Software and Lone Oak Payroll. With more than a decade of experience working directly inside staffing firms before moving into technology leadership, Brett now helps agencies scale through smarter systems, operational discipline, and deeper alignment between technology and the real-world demands of recruiting and staffing.
Key Takeaways
-
The old staffing playbook is breaking in a changing market.
-
Talent inventory determines who wins in staffing.
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Commoditized staffing always becomes a race to the bottom.
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AI won’t replace recruiters—it will expose weak ones.
-
The future belongs to consultative staffing firms.
Timestamps
[00:00] – Is selling staffing harder than ever?
[01:40] – Why cold calling candidates is fading
[04:05] – What winning staffing firms do differently
[05:49] – The shift from transactional to consultative selling
[08:24] – Why fear drives bad staffing decisions
[10:58] – The danger of competing on price
[16:03] – Building a true candidate-first experience
[21:43] – The “sports agent” mindset for recruiters
[24:45] – How AI will reshape staffing
[32:23] – AI will expose average recruiters
[37:14] – Where growth still exists in staffing
[46:03] – Brett’s advice for the next generation
About the Host
Brad Bialy is a trusted voice and highly sought-after speaker in the staffing and recruiting industry, known for helping firms grow through integrated marketing, sales, and recruiting strategies. With over 13 years at Haley Marketing and a proven track record guiding hundreds of firms, Brad brings deep expertise and a fresh, actionable perspective to every engagement. He’s the host of Take the Stage and InSights, two of the staffing industry’s leading podcasts with more than 200,000 downloads.
Sponsors and Offers Heard
Take the Stage is presented by Haley Marketing. For a limited time, we're offering 50% off a brand new staffing website. Just message Brad Bialy on LinkedIn and mention the Crazy Website Promo.
Book a 30-minute business and marketing consultation with host Brad Bialy: https://bit.ly/Bialy30
Benefits in a Card helps staffing firms offer meaningful benefits to their entire workforce through flexible, unbundled plans designed for high-turnover environments—making it easier to control costs, improve retention, and stay competitive. https://www.BenefitsInACard.com
TRICOM partners with staffing firms as an asset-based lender and full-service back-office provider, helping owners scale confidently by reducing risk and easing the operational strain of payroll, cash flow, and administration. https://www.tricom.com
Monday Mar 02, 2026
Monday Mar 02, 2026
In this episode of InSights, Brad Bialy sits down with Hailey Birkner (Account Manager with Haley Marketing) to unpack why retention is built between deliverables and how intentional account management drives deeper relationships, stronger loyalty, and more revenue from the clients you already have.
About the Guest
Hailey Birkner is an Account Manager at Haley Marketing, where she helps staffing firms turn strategy into sustainable momentum. With a background in automation and client experience, she lives at the intersection of service, clarity, and trust—coaching clients toward consistent, long-term success.
Key Takeaways
-
Retention is earned between the wins.
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Consistency beats intensity—every time.
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Silence is not success; feedback fuels growth.
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Automation supports relationships, it doesn’t replace them.
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Authenticity is your only real competitive advantage.
Timestamps
- [03:25] – “Retention is built between deliverables” reframed
- [04:12] – Why service alone is just table stakes
- [05:08] – Consistency over intensity in client relationships
- [06:25] – Scaling personalization without losing authenticity
- [08:09] – Coaching vs. transactional account management
- [09:52] – Quarterly touchpoints that create momentum
- [11:00] – Using automation to nurture at scale
- [13:42] – Plan your work, work your plan
- [15:05] – Why silence is not success
- [16:54] – Creative follow-ups that re-engage clients
- [18:58] – Writing emails people actually respond to
- [21:06] – Segmenting accounts for smarter growth
About the Host
Brad Bialy is a trusted voice and highly sought-after speaker in the staffing and recruiting industry, known for helping firms grow through integrated marketing, sales, and recruiting strategies. With over 13 years at Haley Marketing and a proven track record guiding hundreds of firms, Brad brings deep expertise and a fresh, actionable perspective to every engagement. He’s the host of Take the Stage and InSights, two of the staffing industry’s leading podcasts with more than 200,000 downloads.
Sponsors and Offers Heard
InSights is presented by Haley Marketing. For a limited time, we're offer 50% off of a brand new staffing website. Just message Brad Bialy on LinkedIn and mention the Crazy Website Promo.
Book a 30-minute business and marketing consultation with host, Brad Bialy: https://bit.ly/Bialy30
This episode is brought to you by FoxHire. If you’re looking for an Employer of Record partner that helps recruiters confidently grow contract placements and build recurring revenue without taking on extra risk, FoxHire is perfect for you. Learn more at FoxHire.com/Haley