TL:DR
A common challenge among agencies is their over-reliance on referrals and heroic efforts from owners when leads dry up. This creates a host of downstream issues like poor utilization rates, diminishing margins, and morale challenges.
The fix lies in building repeatable leadgen/sales systems into the agency’s DNA.
Start with focused outreach to a well-defined niche. Then employ dedicated team members to handle outreach and leadgen. Finally, build your marketing content pillars around what’s top-of-mind for that niche.
A rollercoaster of frustration
I’ve done a bit of research on digital shops over the last eight years, and something that continually comes up is the boom/bust cycle of sales.
It’s perfectly normal to have lead volume fluctuate with the market, but the way most shops generate revenue is unreliable.
Every time I’ve asked, “how do you generate new leads” in a survey, the vast majority respond with “referrals.”
While they can be a great source of growth, too many shops are overly reliant on them.
80% referrals, 10% organic search, and 10% Clutch isn’t a reliable way to grow a shop, especially when the market gets choppy.
Sales during recessions
If the goal is to have steady growth, regardless of market conditions, we have to examine how revgen works during good times and bad.
The referral strategy tends to work well during solid economic times, but when a recession hits, or the market becomes unstable, referrals dry up. This leaves agencies scrambling to find new leads and relying on the heroic efforts of owners to fill the pipeline.
The consequences of this approach are significant.
Poor utilization rates, reduced profit margins, and plummeting morale are some of the downstream problems that arise from inconsistent revenue.
A framework for sustainable growth
To avoid this rollercoaster of frustration and build a more predictable and sustainable revgen process, owners must embed a lead generation and sales system into the core of their agency operations.
The following three tactics can help achieve this:
- Identify a niche: Concentrate on a particular target market or industry and develop expertise in their needs, challenges, and objectives. This makes the next two more effective.
- Dedicate resources: Allocate team members exclusively to outreach and lead generation activities, ensuring consistency in top-of-funnel initiatives and mitigating referral shortages during challenging times.
- Targeted content: Design marketing materials and content pillars that cater to the specific needs and concerns of your target niche. Account-based marketing (ABM) strategies can be particularly effective in this context, especially when combined with persistent, targeted outreach efforts.
By adopting this framework, owners can establish a robust and sustainable lead generation and sales system that will enable them to navigate market fluctuations and deliver reliable growth.
A more complete revgen guide
I’m working on a full rewrite of our Repeatable Revgen Guide so this is all very top-of-mind for me lately.
As we see more and more headlines of slowing economic growth, it seems pertinent to get this highlight version out now. The niche, dedicated leadgen team members, and targeted content are a great summation of how to build a repeatable revgen system.
Since it’s still in the works, what would you like to see covered in an updated revgen guide?
What have you been successful with?
What do you want more clarity around?
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