Quit the Pond. Own the Ocean. Out-Hire Everyone.

Chris Lawson

28d • 📣General discussion📣

A shop owner recently asked me about our "pool of technician candidates." He wanted to know how deep is our bench?

In other words, how many techs are in our database?

Classic recruiter questions.

Asking about a ‘talent pool’ is natural—but it’s the second question.

The first is: What system turns employed techs into interested applicants for your shop this month?

THE RECRUITER'S DEATH SPIRAL

Traditional recruiters are like fishermen working from a stocked pond. They brag about having 200, 500, or 1,000 techs in their "database."

Sounds impressive, right?

Wrong.

Here's what they don't tell you: That pond is shrinking every single day.

Every placement depletes it.

Every tech who finds a job elsewhere drains it.

Every retirement empties it further.

A pipeline is only as real as its weekly refresh rate and reply-to-conversation conversion.

It's like trying to heat your shop in winter by burning your own furniture.

Sure, you'll stay warm tonight—but what happens when you run out of chairs?

THE OCEAN VS. THE POND

At Technician Find, we don't fish from a pond. We fish from the ocean.

The difference?

Recruiter thinking (The Pond):

"I have 200 contacts"
"My database has 500 techs"
"Let me check my pipeline"
Dead when the pond runs dry
Limited to whoever answered their last Indeed ad

Technician Find thinking (The Ocean):

Access to every technician in your market
Fresh candidates discovered daily through strategic sourcing
On-demand attraction of employed techs not even looking
Unlimited potential through authentic storytelling
Never runs dry because we're creating interest, not depleting inventory

THE PIPELINE SOLUTION

When shops ask about our "candidate bench," they're asking the wrong question entirely.

It's like asking a master chef how much leftover food they have in their fridge.

The chef doesn't succeed because of leftovers—they succeed because they know how to source fresh ingredients and create something irresistible every single day.

Your next A-tech isn't sitting in someone's database waiting for your call.

They're currently employed, probably content, definitely not browsing job boards—and they've probably never heard of your shop.

The magic isn't in having them pre-collected.

The magic is in knowing exactly how to:

Find them where they actually are
Capture their attention with something different and unique
Create genuine interest in YOUR specific opportunity
Build trust before they ever apply

THE REAL QUESTION YOU SHOULD ASK

Stop asking: "How many technicians are in your pool?"

Start asking: "How will you help me grab attention in a noisy world and become the shop that technicians choose over every other option?"

The solution isn't a bigger database.

Or relying on a recruiter's leftover candidates.

It's becoming a talent magnet.

OUR ANTI-PIPELINE APPROACH

Spoiler alert...

We're building a brand new community exclusively for technicians.

And it will have hundreds of engaged techs by mid-2026.

But that's not where your next hire comes from.

Your next hire comes from:

Strategic online sourcing across 20+ platforms
Targeted outreach to employed technicians
Referral activation systems
Cultural storytelling that spreads organically
Positioning that makes techs reach out to YOU

Ready to stop thinking like a recruiter?

Drop a comment below sharing your biggest "aha" moment from this post.👇

P.S. Quick preview for 2026: we’re launching an active technician community—not a static database. It’s a place where skilled, employed techs compare notes on growth, respect, and compensation. It complements our attraction system with real-time insight and relationships—great for retention and future hires, even if your next A-tech comes from targeted outreach.

We do all this because good techs do their best work when they connect with great shops and we all benefit from safe and reliable vehicles👊🏽🔧

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