Why Most Agencies Fail at Offshore Hiring And How to Succeed, with Greg Fischer

Most recruitment firms stall at $1M revenue. Greg Fischer broke through by building a high-retention offshore team, embedding himself inside client organizations with RPO, and using LinkedIn commenting as a smarter BD strategy.

As Co-Owner of AMI Network, Greg scaled from $1M to $4.2M revenue and $1.4M profit sustaining 30–40% margins. His model: hire offshore staff directly, integrate them as equals, and use a 2:1 sourcer-to-recruiter ratio to free recruiters to bill more. Alongside that, he mastered RPO pricing, transforming a $30K placement into a $1.5M account.

Today, as founder of Well Oiled Machine, Greg helps other firms replicate this approach. In this episode, he shares how to structure offshore teams for 85%+ retention, qualify RPO opportunities, and win clients through LinkedIn commenting.

Episode Outline and Highlights

• 6:42 From solo founder’s first hire to 40-person team.

• 7:40 Breaking the $1M ceiling with offshore hiring after failed BPOs.

• 12:37 Why sourcing was the first offshore function and how it lifted billings.

• 23:18 Landing a $50K/month RPO by reframing a client’s hiring challenge.

• 28:07 How that grew into an $80K/month RPO account with 30–40% margins.

• 30:45 When to pitch RPO: the minimum job volume that makes it viable.

• 33:47 The “open + close” fee model that stabilized cash flow.

• 36:23 How a 2:1 sourcer-to-recruiter ratio frees recruiters to bill more.

• 39:08 Why most agencies fail with offshore—and how to do it right.

• 47:19 Choosing the right country: Mexico vs Philippines vs South Africa.

• 54:51 Greg’s daily LinkedIn commenting routine that built an inbound pipeline.

Key Takeaways

Offshore Done Right Fuels Scale
Greg’s agency was stuck at $1M for four years. BPOs failed, freelancers flaked. The breakthrough came when he hired offshore staff directly, trained them thoroughly, and treated them as equals. Within three years, AMI scaled to $4M+ revenue with 30–40% profit margins and 85% retention. Offshore wasn’t a cheap fix; it was the lever that freed recruiters to focus on revenue-driving work.

The RPO Question That Unlocks Recurring Revenue
A referral asked for an internal recruiter. Greg’s partner asked: “Why now?” The answer—50 hires in six months—turned a $30K placement into a $50K/month retainer that ran three years, worth $1.5M. His rule: RPO only works with 5–10 requisitions/month and $15K+ revenue. Anything less is contingent search. Over time, he moved to an “open fee + closed fee” model that kept revenue flowing and profit margins at 30–40%.

LinkedIn Strategic Commenting Works
Greg built AMI Network through cold outbound. For Well Oiled Machine, he went another route: commenting daily on posts from 60 recruitment thought leaders. Thirty minutes before posting, thirty minutes after. The results? Comments hitting 20,000+ impressions—often outperforming original posts. On LinkedIn, comments are content, and for agency owners this is a repeatable, low-cost BD strategy that beats cold calling.

Greg Fischer Bio and Contact Info

Greg is the former Co-Owner of AMI Network, a healthcare recruitment agency that did $1.4M in Profit on just $4.2M in revenue. His secret? 18 of his 40 team members were Offshore high-performing employees, with annual retention over 85%. Now his firm, Well Oiled Machine recruits Offshore & Nearshore staff for Recruitment Firms & Staffing Agencies.

• Greg Fischer on LinkedIn

• Well Oiled Machine website link

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