Hiring Based on ‘Who You Know’

Joey Lamon runs Lamon Farms, an agricultural business that also needs drivers and operational staff to keep things moving.

Before working with R&R Development, hiring was almost entirely word-of-mouth and referrals. That meant:

• Candidate volume was unpredictable.
• There was no dependable applicant pipeline.
• There was no way to control how fast positions could be filled.
• Manual follow-up dragged out the interview process.
• Qualified candidates could lose interest before anyone reached them.
• There was limited visibility into applications, interviews, offers, and hires.

Lamon Farms didn’t just need more names. It needed qualified, local applicants who understood the work and could move quickly into interviews.

The Turning Point

The turning point was when Lamon Farms stopped waiting for referrals and started actively generating applicants.

R&R Development:

• Launched a localized Facebook recruiting campaign targeting candidates within a realistic driving radius.
• Added pre-qualification questions so only candidates who met basic requirements entered the real pipeline.
• Connected the campaign to a recruiting workflow that triggered instant text messages, immediate email responses, internal notifications, and follow-up tasks.

The new flow: Facebook Ad → Application → Pre-Qualification → Instant Follow-Up → Interview → Offer → Hire.

This gave Lamon Farms consistent, pre-screened candidates without burying Joey’s team under unqualified applications.

The Result

Over roughly 10 weeks, a single primary campaign produced:

• 437 applications.
• $1,066.96 in ad spend.
• $2.44 average cost per application.
• 92,285 impressions.

Operationally, the farm gained:

• A steady stream of pre-screened local applicants.
• Faster application-to-interview times.
• Fewer candidates lost to slow or missed follow-up.
• A recruiting engine that can be turned on whenever new hires are needed.

Instead of wondering when the next referral might show up, Joey can now generate candidates on demand.

The System We Built

Launched a Localized Recruiting Campaign

Used Facebook ads to reach drivers and workers within a practical radius of Lamon Farms.

Focused Messaging on Qualified Candidates

Spoke directly to people who understood the nature of the work and wanted local opportunities.

Added Pre-Qualification Questions

Screened for basic fit before a candidate ever hit Joey’s main pipeline.

Built Instant Text & Email Follow-Up

New applicants received immediate communication so interest didn’t go cold.

Created Tasks & Notifications

Assigned follow-up to the right team members with clear next actions.

Standardized the Recruiting Pipeline

Created clear stages: New Applicant → Qualified → Contacted → Interview → Offer → Hired.

Improved Speed-to-Interview

Designed the system to move strong candidates into interviews before they took other jobs.

Established Weekly KPI Reviews

Tracked applications, qualification rates, interviews, offers, hires, and cost per applicant.

Final Thoughts

Lamon Farms didn’t need to abandon referrals. It needed a system that didn’t depend on them.

By pairing localized Facebook ads with pre-qualification, CRM automation, and instant follow-up, the farm generated 437 applicants at $2.44 each and turned recruiting into a repeatable switch it can flip on whenever more drivers or staff are needed.

What used to be ‘hope someone good hears about the job’ is now a measurable pipeline Joey can control.

“We went from relying on word-of-mouth to having a consistent flow of qualified applicants.”

— Joey Lamon, Lamon Farms

If you’re still betting your hiring on who happens to hear about you, this is the kind of recruiting engine we set up.