There’s a weird loyalty to InMail in recruiting. Even when it doesn’t deliver, we stick with it.
Why? Because it feels safe. Polite. “Scalable.” But safe doesn’t win offers. Safe doesn’t speed up conversations. And safe definitely doesn’t help when your client wants results yesterday.
Let’s be honest: InMail has become a bottleneck.
If you’re running a recruiting agency or building pipeline for tough roles, here’s the uncomfortable truth: you’re not losing to better recruiters, you’re losing to faster ones.
Let’s fix that.
The InMail Illusion
On paper, InMail looks great. You can send it at scale. The candidate gets a professional-looking message. And you wait.
That’s the problem: you wait.
The average InMail response rate sits somewhere under 15%, and it’s dropping. The ones who do respond? Usually days later, after the best candidates are already in someone else’s interview loop.
And let’s be honest, if they didn’t respond to your first message, are they really going to reply to your 3-paragraph bump with “Just bringing this back to the top of your inbox”? Unlikely.
What Agencies Are Actually Competing On?
Agencies love to say they’re “relationship-driven.” But speed to contact is the real differentiator today.
Clients aren’t paying you to send messages, they’re paying you to start conversations. Fast.
If it takes three days just to get your first response, you’ve already lost the edge. If it takes one phone call to book the same person for a call that afternoon, guess who wins?
Time-to-first conversation is where real recruiting leverage lives. Especially in executive search, senior tech, or revenue roles—where the best people are passive, picky, and in high demand.
The Call Nobody Else Is Making
There’s one thing most recruiters won’t do: pick up the phone. Which is exactly why you should.
Direct dials aren’t new. But most recruiting teams either:
- Don’t have them
- Don’t know how to operationalize them
- Or assume “cold calling” doesn’t work anymore
All three are false — or at least outdated.
Direct dials are how the best recruiting teams are collapsing their outreach timelines. They’re using verified contact data to skip the InMail waiting room and go straight to conversation.
And when used responsibly, this isn’t some Wolf of Wall Street script. This is a sharp 30-second intro that cuts through the noise and gets you a live read:
“Hey, quick one—I’m reaching out because your background in [XYZ] stood out for a role that’s not publicly listed, and I’d rather give you context than drop another LinkedIn message into the void. Got a sec?”
That’s not pushy. That’s professional. That’s how real conversations start.
Direct Dial vs InMail: The Numbers Don’t Lie
Let’s look at what actually happens:
| Metric | InMail | Direct Dial |
|---|---|---|
| Avg response rate | <15% | 25–40% reach rate |
| Time to first conversation | 3–5 days (if lucky) | Same day |
| % who ghost after reply | High | Low (post-call rapport is sticky) |
We’re not guessing. We’ve seen the shift.
Agencies using direct dials for outbound sourcing are filling roles 20–35% faster. And not because they’re better recruiters, but because they got there first and framed the conversation early.
Operationalizing It (Without Adding More Tools You’ll Never Use)
You don’t need to rebuild your entire stack to get started.
Here’s a basic workflow that just works:
- Source as usual on LinkedIn, GitHub, wherever
- Enrich the contact with a tool like Reachfast that gives you verified mobile numbers (CSV import or Chrome extension, keep it simple)
- Call first, then follow up with a short email or InMail referencing the conversation
- Track response and conversion in your ATS or CRM
- Tweak based on role and channel response — some verticals may prefer voice, others text
Keep it lean. Don’t over-automate this. The point isn’t to spam dials; it’s to have faster, better, more human conversations.
Pushback? Sure. Let’s Talk About It.
“But candidates hate phone calls.”
No, they hate irrelevant ones. If your outreach is lazy, it won’t work on any channel. But if it’s sharp and well-timed, voice cuts through faster than any template ever could.
“Cold calls don’t scale.”
Neither does waiting five days for a reply that never comes. If you’re serious about quality and speed, voice scales just fine with the right process.
“Our team doesn’t have time.”
Then they’re wasting time on the wrong things. One live call = 10 follow-ups saved. And better candidate insight from the jump.
What Agencies Should Start Measuring Instead?
Most recruiting teams measure output. But high-performing teams track outcomes.
Here’s what actually moves the needle:
- Time-to-first conversation
- Voice contact rate (how often do calls reach a human?)
- Conversion rate to interview from voice vs text-based channels
- Role fill time
- Candidate feedback on outreach experience
These metrics force clarity. They reveal channel effectiveness. And they help you coach your team on what actually matters.
Wrap Up: It’s Not About Tools. It’s About Speed to Relevance.
Look: this isn’t about being anti-InMail. It’s about understanding when to use what.
When speed matters (which is most of the time), you can’t afford to wait. You need to reach the candidate, not their inbox.
The agencies winning right now? They’re calling. They’re personalizing.
And they’re getting in first, while everyone else is still crafting the perfect third bump message.
Want Direct Dials Without the Bloat?
If you’re looking for a clean way to plug verified direct dials into your workflow, Reachfast.ai is one of the simpler, recruiter-friendly options out there.
No bloated UI, no long training ramps. Just search, find, and start conversations faster.
Because speed isn’t optional anymore. It’s your edge.
