Theme: Launch week – Education + Value
After Working With 400+ Recruitment Leaders, I’ve Identified the 5 Categories That Predict Account Expansion Potential
Most recruiters know which accounts bill the most. Almost none can tell you which accounts have the most potential for growth.
That’s because they’re tracking revenue, not relationship strength.
Last week I shared why strong accounts plateau and how the blindspot costs you £200k+ per year. This week, I’m giving you the diagnostic tool to fix it.
It’s called the REACH Framework. Five categories. 100 points total. 5 minutes to score any client relationship.
The Five Categories
R – Rhythm (20 points)
How consistent is your contact with them?
This isn’t about how often you reach out – It’s how often you connect with them. Are they talking to you regularly, or only when they’re desperate to hire?
High score signals:
You meet weekly or fortnightly, not just when there’s a spec
You have recurring calendar slots with key stakeholders
Low score signals:
All communication is reactive, never proactive
You haven’t met face-to-face in 3+ months
Why this matters: Rhythm is the foundation of everything else. Without regular touchpoints, you can’t deepen engagement, build alignment, or create hero moments.
Real example: One of my clients had a £120k account they thought was strong. Rhythm score: 6/20. They’d gone from weekly check-ins to quarterly “catch-ups.” Within six months, the client gave a major role to another supplier. The relationship didn’t collapse overnight. It decayed slowly because rhythm disappeared.
E – Engagement (20 points)
How openly do they communicate and how commercial are your conversations?
Engagement is about the quality of your interactions. Are you having strategic conversations or just transactional exchanges?
High score signals:
They’re asking you questions about market trends and salary benchmarks
Response times are fast (hours, not days)
Low score signals:
All communication is one-directional: they send specs, you send CVs
No strategic questions, no curiosity about your insights
Why this matters: Engagement reveals where you sit in their hierarchy of suppliers. Low engagement means you’re a commodity. High engagement means you’re a trusted advisor. And advisors don’t get replaced by cheaper options.
The shift: Moving from “Send me three candidates by Friday” to “What are you seeing in the market right now? We’re planning to hire four roles in Q1 and I want your take.”
A – Alignment (20 points)
Do you have influence?
Alignment means you have some control over how hiring happens and are working together to help each other make it work.
High score signals:
You’ve adapted your process to fit their internal workflows
Multiple stakeholders know who you are and what you do
Low score signals:
You don’t know why they’re hiring, just what roles they need filled
You’ve never met anyone beyond the hiring manager or HR coordinator
Why this matters: When you’re aligned the process shapes around your advice. Hiring improves. You fill roles faster and more effectively and they love you for it.
How to improve this: Ask one question in your next meeting: “What are your top three priorities for the next six months, and how does hiring support those?” Then listen. Most recruiters never ask. The ones who do immediately stand out.
C – Commitment (20 points)
Are they invested in the relationship?
Commitment shows up in behaviour, not words. It’s about loyalty, priority, and trust.
High score signals:
You have exclusive or retained arrangements on key hires
They’ve increased fees or agreed to better terms over time
Low score signals:
You’re one of five suppliers on their panel
Everything is contingent with no exclusivity
Why this matters: Low commitment means you’re competing on price, not value. High commitment means they trust you enough to invest in the relationship. And trust is what unlocks long-term revenue growth.
Real example: I worked with a consultant who had a £180k account with zero commitment. Every role went to three suppliers. No exclusivity. No retained terms. We focused purely on commitment for six months. They moved 60% of roles to retained agreements. Revenue jumped to £280k the next year, and profit margins doubled because they stopped competing on every placement.
H – Hero Moments (20 points)
Have you delivered beyond expectations?
Hero moments are the times when you’ve gone above and beyond. They’re the stories clients tell about you when you’re not in the room.
High score signals:
They’ve given you testimonials or case studies
They refer you to other departments or external companies
Low score signals:
No referrals, no testimonials, no advocacy
They’ve never introduced you to anyone else in their network
Why this matters: Hero moments turn clients into advocates. And advocates are worth 3-5x more than satisfied customers because they open doors you can’t open yourself. No hero moments means you’re doing the job, but you’re not creating memorable value.
How to create hero moments: Solve a problem they didn’t hire you to solve. Deliver a candidate in half the expected time. Give them market intelligence that changes their strategy. Go beyond the transactional work and create moments they remember.
Putting It Together
Each category gets 0-20 points. Add them up. Total: 0-100.
What your score means:
70-100 points: Strong relationship with expansion potential. Focus on monetization: retained terms, fee increases, cross-selling to other departments.
50-69 points: Stable but transactional. You’re doing good work, but you’re not strategic. Focus on deepening alignment and creating hero moments.
30-49 points: At-risk. Revenue might look fine today, but this relationship is fragile. Focus on rhythm and engagement immediately.
0-29 points: Declining or dormant. Make a decision: invest heavily to turn it around, or exit and reallocate your time to higher-potential accounts.
The Quadrant Map (Step 2)
Scoring is just the beginning. Once you have your score, you need to know what to do with it.
That’s where the quadrant map comes in. It plots your accounts on two axes: current score (0-100) and trajectory (declining, flat, or growing).
The four quadrants:
Protect & Re-engage: High score, declining trajectory. These are your best accounts losing momentum. Drop everything and diagnose why.
Maximize & Harvest: High score, growing trajectory. These are your strongest accounts getting stronger. Focus monetization efforts here first.
Nurture & Invest: Low score, growing trajectory. Weak relationships that are improving. Accelerate the playbooks and invest time here.
Divest or Transform: Low score, declining trajectory. Weak relationships getting weaker. Either make a final intervention or exit gracefully.
I’ll cover the quadrant strategy in detail next week. But the key insight: different accounts need different strategies. And you can’t know which strategy to use until you have the score.
Start With 5 Accounts Today
You don’t need to score your entire desk. Start with five:
Score them across all five REACH categories. Be honest. Don’t inflate the numbers.
By the end, you’ll have total clarity on where you stand, which accounts are genuinely strong, which accounts are at-risk even if revenue looks fine, and where to focus your time next.
The Account Expansion System
The REACH Scorecard is the diagnostic. But knowing the score is only step one.
The full Account Expansion System gives you the complete treatment plan: five proven playbooks (one for each REACH category) to improve any score, quadrant mapping to prioritize your portfolio, and monetization strategies to turn stronger relationships into predictable revenue.
It launches this Sunday, October 26th.
What’s inside:
- Complete REACH scoring methodology
- Account quadrant mapping framework
- 5 tactical playbooks (Rhythm, Engagement, Alignment, Commitment, Hero)
- Monetization strategies: retained agreements, fee increases, cross-selling
- 30+ videos, templates, and tools
Get early access here: axs.beresonant.co.uk
Free Live Training: The £200k Revenue Leak
Before the course launches, I’m running a free live training on Thursday, October 24th at 12:30 PM GMT.
I’ll walk you through the REACH framework, show you how to score your top accounts live, and share four immediate actions you can take this week to start improving your scores.
Register here: LinkedIn Live – Thursday 26th October, 12:30 BST
15 minutes. 5 accounts. Total clarity.
Let’s fix the blind spot.
