“I have a way to bring you three clients and you won’t pay a cent. Interested?”

This was a real email I received last week. I get these often as I know many agency leaders do as well. 

At SUPR, when we engage with agencies around growth, the conversation often starts tactically around leads. Sometimes a client has unexpectedly cut a budget or paused a project; or revenue numbers aren’t being met; or an agency isn’t winning pitches.

So when you are feeling the intense pressure to hit your numbers, there is a fear (and sometimes, panic) that opens you to promises you normally may not entertain.

Whenever I receive one of these emails, I have three questions I would like to ask the sender:

Do you know anything about my business?

• My services?

• My strong suit?

Do you know anything about my clients?

• Category?

• Size?

• Deliverables?

Do you know anything about my growth strategy?

• Ideal client?

• Revenue goals?

I know these emails are often pay-to-play (and that they are often sent via automated systems), but it’s a promise that we have found does not usually bear fruit. Additionally, pitch consultants will put you on their roster but may never include you in a pitch; you may get some introductions to brands from other consultancies, but an introduction is not a project opportunity.

To be clear, good lead generation can be a powerful component of an overall strategy. But at SUPR, we believe growth is a whole agency solution. Not just leads. Not just introductions to brands. You can do this on your own on LinkedIn: it’s not hard to find the CMO of any company. But to grow over time is company-wide, consistent work. 

Sometimes an agency is so focused on hitting current quarterly revenue numbers that there in a leads frame of mind. That is fine too. We have provided tactical guidance on how to solve for this in some of our previous newsletters. We can't solve next week's revenue challenge for you, but we can set you up to build sustainable growth.

What sustainable growth really takes is a holistic approach that correctly states both your problem statement and end in mind, evolves your positioning and capabilities, your readiness for growth and service, your full funnel go-to-market, and your ability to grow current clients. It takes all of these. This is our Whole Agency Growth Playbook. It works.

There is no silver bullet. Relying on external companies to throw you leads will not teach you how to fish. We will. 

THE SUPR PROJECT is a newsletter dedicated to teaching ad agencies how to build modern, powerful growth organizations that win. If you like this, please consider subscribing and sharing with your colleagues.

Todd Lombardo is the founder of SUPR, the agency growth company and an ad leader at both independent and holding company agencies for over two decades, responsible for winning pitches and renewing clients worth well over $50 million.