Why Personal Branding won’t kill cold calling!

But it will make it easier!

Over the past few months, I’ve seen a growing number of posts on my LinkedIn feed, suggesting cold calling is ‘old’ and personal branding is the future. Those who have been bold enough to make such claims (typically Personal Brand Training Providers) and pulled on the emotion strings of frustrated or tired recruiters looking for quick fixes to their BD and sourcing challenges, have sparked plenty of debate amongst the recruitment community, with everyone from recruitment leaders to service providers either applauding or fiercely opposing this stance!

So, having found myself regularly being asked by our clients and potential clients what my personal standpoint is on this topic, I thought I would wade in on the debate.

“Not another marketer having an opinion on personal branding and jumping on the bandwagon in the pursuit of some engagement and clout!” I’m not going to proclaim this isn’t my intention, but by sharing this, it does give me something documented that I can share with those that ask in the future and perhaps will spark some more conversations on the future of the industry.

Here we go!

Let’s be real!

Cold calling isn’t going anywhere in recruitment. Sure, it’s about as popular as the meeting that should’ve been an email, but picking up the phone is still an essential part of the game.

As much as I appreciate that there are thousands of recruiters out there who hope that by jumping into the personal brand game, they will no longer have to dial hundreds of prospects a week and then awkwardly introduce themselves if they’re lucky enough to get through, unfortunately this is not the case.

Personal brand content won’t replace cold calling, but it will certainly make it less of a slog. When done properly and not follow the recent trend of simply adding noise over value, it’s a powerful weapon in your armoury, making you a lot more memorable when you do make that call.

Here’s how I feel personal branding and content come into play:

Owning the space in the minds of your target audiences

Imagine you’re scrolling through LinkedIn (again) and you come across the same recruiter posting valuable content on industry trends, insights, or having an amusing or unique take on the challenging situation in the market. Over time, that recruiter becomes familiar, knowledgeable, trustworthy, even… likeable.

When you’re consistently posting valuable, engaging content, you’re essentially camping out in your target audience’s mind. You’re owning that little corner of their brain reserved for “people I might need one day.” So, when you finally make that call, they’re more likely to know who you are. It’s not a cold call anymore; it’s a “Oh yeah, I’ve seen you on LinkedIn!” call. And trust me, that’s a whole lot warmer.

Content is the soft sell that softens the hard sell

Nobody likes being hit with the shamless hard pitch out of the blue. That’s equivalent of walking into a shop and being offered an extended warranty before you’ve even decided to buy anything. But personal branding and company content? They’re the soft sell. You’re planting seeds.

When your target audience reads your content, they’re getting a sense of your expertise, your personality, and, most importantly, how you can solve their problems. So, when you call, it’s not a surprise sales pitch—it’s a continuation of a conversation you’ve already started with them through your content. You’ve warmed them up without them even realising it.

Your content reaches people who aren’t looking (yet)

One of the sneaky benefits of personal branding is that it reaches people who aren’t actively looking to hire or switch jobs (yet). Maybe that CTO or Head of HR scrolling through LinkedIn doesn’t need your services now, but they’re absorbing your content and associating your name with recruitment expertise.

When the time comes, guess who they’ll remember? Not the 100 other recruiters spamming their inbox and InMails with cold “buy my stuff” messages—you, because you’ve been subtly showing up in their feed, proving your value without even asking for their business.

Cold calling tactics aren’t outdated; they’ve just had an upgrade

If you think of personal branding as cold calling’s cooler, often more attractive friend, the two together are unstoppable. Your personal brand makes the cold call feel less intrusive, more like a natural next step in a relationship you’ve been building without even speaking.

And when that cold call finally happens, the response is warmer. You’ll hear fewer “Who are you again?” and more “Oh hey, I’ve seen your posts!” It’s not about replacing cold calls; think of personal branding as your pre-heater—you’re warming up the prospect before you even pick up the phone.

Your personal brand is what people are saying about you when you aren’t in the room

Personal branding and even your company’s content don’t just work directly—they also spark conversations offline. Your target audience is full of people who talk to other people. Let’s say a potential client or candidate follows your content, enjoys your insights, but doesn’t need you in their professional lives at the moment. A few weeks later, their colleague or friend is complaining about a hiring challenge they have and is reluctant to pick up the phone to talk to ‘one of those typical recruiters’. Guess who they’re going to mention? You, the person consistently sharing helpful tips and advice.

This type of brand advocacy is gold, and it spreads your name far beyond your direct network. Sometimes, your biggest supporters are the people who’ve never worked with you before, but believe in your value because they’ve seen it over and over again through your content.

Personal branding isn’t a replacement; it’s your cold-call’s trusty wingman!

Personal branding and company content won’t put cold calling out of business, but they will absolutely make your life easier. When done right, they create trust, familiarity, and that all-important brand awareness that makes people think of you when recruitment pops up in conversation.

Cold calling? Still necessary. But now it comes with a side of recognition and warmth that makes each call less of a shot in the dark and more of a “Hey, I know you!” moment. In recruitment, that’s the difference between a flat-out “no thanks” and a genuine conversation.