I think the problem is that, in the U.S., recruiters have captured that market. Since they captured it, they also capture 20-40% + of the rate because of this "added value." And I say that with the maximum possible cynicism.

How do individuals compete against recruiters? Why would this marketing person take a few grand from me, when they can be a recruiter and take 20-40% + of my rate for doing nothing but the intro?

I'm a tech copywriter and have had a couple of developers reach out to me with similar needs. It was unexpected, but it's been interesting exploring the issue with them and I'm curious if other developers are interested in chatting about it too. If that's you, then please feel free to hit me up -- email is in my profile :)

Can somebody recommend a person or company that they like for this task? I have a company brand, good enough customer flow to stay afloat, but extra hours I could put towards more work.

We offer cybersecurity services and due diligence for financial institutions, healthcare and acquirers, so it's a pretty specialized target market.

This sounds like a really interesting idea, have you done this yourself or seen any good examples of it?

Yes, I know companies but do that very well, but they are in France and work only in French. Distinctive features to look for : small companies (2-3 is best for their focus on you, 10 max) but it's just my opinion. Once they grow, they tend to lose their initial verve. It doesn't seem to scale well.