My biggest client just hired a new CMO. What do I do?
Assume the account has reset. Get in front of the new CMO before the first status call, not after it.
Read the answer →Where shall we start?
Four ways in.
There isn't one way to grow an agency. There's only the way you'll actually stick to. We'll find yours. Not a template.
01 · Agency growth
Three ways to grow. That's the lot.
There are only three ways an agency grows. Everything else is a symptom.
01
More leads.
02
Higher sales conversion.
03
Greater client lifetime value.
The best agencies work on them in reverse. Lifetime value first. Then a brilliant sales process. Then they turn the lead tap on.
Most agency growth consultants give you advice. I'd rather give you a lead.
From the answers and Marcus's Mind
Why is my existing client pipeline smaller than my new business pipeline?
Because new feels exciting. It's a bias, not laziness. Give existing clients their own pipeline and their own weekly meeting.
Read the answer →Write down the bad days before they happen.
A simple habit for founders: list what will go wrong this month, in advance. When it happens, it's expected, not a crisis.
Marcus's Mind →02 · Fractional CRO
The system before the seat.
Senior sales leadership that understands marketing too. Without the full-time hire.
01
More and better leads.
02
Higher sales conversion.
03
Greater client lifetime value.
Most CROs come up through sales, so they pull one lever: closing. I've run marketing and sales, so we work all three. Measured every week, so the gains compound.
Are we on target, off target, or ahead of target?
From the answers and Marcus's Mind
Should I hire a head of sales or a fractional CRO first?
For most agencies, fractional first. You need the system before you need the seat.
Read the answer →03 · Fractional CMO
Profit > ROAS.
Marketing measured in profit. The only result that matters.
01
Set the profit target.
02
Work backwards to the plan.
03
Track everything. Waste nothing.
My strategies have helped clients scale and exit. £75m of combined exits across three of them.
From the answers and Marcus's Mind
The book I tell every founder to buy.
Paul Arden's It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want To Be. Small, fast, and it changes how you think about your work.
Marcus's Mind →04 · Introductions
What makes me different is access.
Warm introductions, paid on results. 100% commission. You only pay when a sale lands.
01
Leads.
02
Partnerships.
03
Tech that adds to your bottom line.
For tech companies: introductions to the agencies you want as partners. For agencies: the leads, partners and tools I'd use myself. I'm usually in the room already.
From the answers and Marcus's Mind
The year I decided to plant a million trees.
2020, recovering from long covid, I co-founded the Million Tree Pledge. What a bad year taught me about perspective.
Marcus's Mind →Austin, Texas. October 2026.
Notes from Austin: who I met, what I learned, and the introductions I can make.
Marcus's Mind →