How MiXBS Reached B2B Decision-Makers: A Case Study for Talent Pool

Talent Pool, an HR outsourcing partner. They approached us to better understand how business leaders make decisions when choosing external providers—and whether there’s real demand for consulting services in the B2B sector.

The challenge? Getting founders, CEOs, and operations directors from startups, small, and medium-sized companies to spend 60 minutes discussing their thinking, fears, and logic behind outsourcing decisions.

That’s where MiXBS came in.

Our Approach

Multi-Channel Recruitment

We combined:

LinkedIn outreach with personalized messaging;

Industry-specific Telegram groups and business communities;

Referrals through personal networks — we asked participants if they knew peers who might also be interested.

Our focus: quality over quantity, and relevance over reach.

Compelling Value Propositions

Getting a CEO to join a 60-minute interview requires more than just a polite invitation. We offered:

Participation in a market-shaping study;

A chance to share first-hand experiences with professionals who listen;

A respectful, peer-level conversation;

And a clear incentive system — both monetary and non-monetary.

Flexible Scheduling & Smart Moderation

We respected their time:

Interviews were scheduled early mornings, late evenings — whenever it worked best;

Participants received a brief overview of the agenda in advance;

The conversation format encouraged openness, not scripted responses.

Project Goals

Explore how decision-makers choose outsourcing partners:

What drives their decisions? What concerns or objections do they have? What signals build trust?

Validate the demand for B2B consulting services:

Would leaders pay for strategic guidance—and in what format or context would it be valuable?

Key Takeaways

B2B recruitment isn’t about databases — it’s about relationships.

Interviews with C-levels require credibility, clarity, and a human touch.

Hypotheses aren’t validated with guesses — but with real conversations.

Results

20 in-depth interviews with decision-makers across all target company sizes;

Honest insights into:

Key decision-making drivers and blockers;

Deep-rooted concerns — loss of control, doubts about provider competence;

What really influences choice (spoiler: not just price);

Expectations from B2B consulting — hands-on expertise, not abstract audits.

The Challenge

This wasn’t a mass survey. It was about reaching time-poor executives who rarely respond to research requests. Our mission was to recruit the right people, gain their trust, and facilitate open, insightful conversations.

March 1, 2025

MiXBS isn’t afraid of tough audiences or nuanced topics. We know how to reach the right people and ask the right questions — so our clients can make decisions grounded in truth, not assumptions.