Is Recruitment a Sales Job… or a Marketing Job? | Kris Holland (EP 77)

What if recruitment isn’t just a sales job anymore… but a marketing job?

In this episode, I’m joined by Kris Holland, Founder of Kitto, to unpack a debate that’s dividing recruiters right now, has recruitment fundamentally shifted from pure sales to sales enabled by marketing?

Kris works with growth-focused recruitment agencies on brand, positioning, demand generation, and revenue enablement. That gives him a front-row seat to how agencies are actually winning business in 2026, and why cold calling alone simply isn’t enough anymore.

This is not a “sales is dead” episode. We break down how marketing supports sales, why multi-touch outreach is now essential, and how recruiters can move from being transactional CV senders to trusted, consultative partners.

If you’re a recruiter, leader, or founder trying to stand out in a saturated market, build inbound demand, and create trust before you ever pick up the phone, this episode will challenge how you think about business development.

We cover:
✅ Is recruitment a sales job or a marketing job?
✅ Why cold calling alone doesn’t cut it anymore
✅ The 20-touchpoint reality of modern business development
✅ Sales enablement and marketing’s real role
✅ Why most recruiters don’t truly understand their ICP
✅ How to uncover real client pain points
✅ Building personal brands that actually generate inbound
✅ Why posting only jobs damages your brand
✅ Trust, positioning, and long-term differentiation
✅ Why recruitment is now a team sport
✅ What recruitment agencies must rethink for 2026
✅ Kris’s 1 Percent Better tip for recruiters and founders

⏱ Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro and the sales vs marketing debate
03:00 – Why recruitment has changed
08:00 – Multi-channel outreach and trust building
14:00 – Sales enablement explained
21:00 – ICP clarity and client pain points
29:00 – Email, LinkedIn, and content strategy
38:00 – Personal branding done properly
47:00 – Differentiating as a recruitment agency
55:00 – Marketing mindset vs sales mindset
01:03:00 – What agencies need to do in 2026
01:10:00 – Kris’s 1 Percent Better tip

🐋 Podcast Sponsor – SourceWhale

This episode is sponsored by SourceWhale, the multi-channel outreach platform I personally use and recommend to recruiters and founders.

SourceWhale helps you combine email, LinkedIn, calls, and tasks into one structured, consistent BD workflow, without relying on spray-and-pray automation. If you want better conversations, not just more activity, this is worth a look.

👉 Book a demo here:
https://sourcewhale.com/book-demo/?utm_source=partner&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=&utm_term=charles_kyriakou&utm_content=book_a_demo

Mention The 1 Percent Better Recruitment Podcast or my name, Charles Kyriakou, when you book.

🔗 Connect with Kris Holland
💻 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kris-holland/

🔗 Connect with Charles Kyriakou
💻 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charleskyriakou1/
📲 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@charles.kyriakou
🎙️ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/46LjJfw
📰 LinkedIn Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7244346543967731712/
🌐 Website: https://www.inf1nitelearning.com/

👇 If this episode resonated, follow the show and share it with a recruiter who still thinks recruitment is “just picking up the phone.”