The Client:
An established marketing agency known for running high-converting ads and killer funnels, led by one of the best closers I’ve ever met.
The Starting Point:
While the agency was already successful at generating leads and closing deals, their internal sales process was held together with duct tape and manual effort. There was no automation, no clear documentation of the process, and no scalable systems to handle the increasing demand they were experiencing. Every deal required hands-on attention, and key steps like follow-up, proposal creation, and nurturing were inconsistent at best.
The agency didn’t need help closing deals – they needed help scaling without losing their edge.
The Challenge:
With no automation or clear SOPs, the sales team (including the owner) was spending more time on admin work and process juggling than on actual selling. Proposals were created from scratch each time, follow-up relied on memory or sticky notes, and client onboarding lacked any standardized flow. If they wanted to scale further, they needed a repeatable, efficient, and scalable process.
The Approach:
I started with a deep dive into how sales were actually happening:
- Audited the full sales process from lead generation to close.
- Shadowed sales calls to understand how the team (and the owner) closed deals in real-time.
- Reviewed proposals, follow-ups, and onboarding materials to spot inefficiencies and inconsistencies.
- Documented and improved SOPs, building a clearer process map so the whole team could follow a system, not just improvise.
Once I understood the bottlenecks, we tackled the real work – automation, templating, and system optimization:
- Built templated proposal systems to cut down proposal creation time and improve consistency.
- Implemented strategic automated outreach sequences to warm up leads before sales calls, improving show-up rates and positioning.
- Created automated follow-up and retention campaigns, ensuring every lead and client stayed nurtured without relying on manual outreach.
The Results:
This new system delivered results on multiple fronts:
- The agency secured a high-profile speaking engagement for the owner by closing a large deal using the optimized sales process, ultimately leading to the engagement.
- The agency closed 6-7 figures in new revenue within 12 months, directly tied to the improved process and systems.
- The agency went on to package and sell the sales process itself as a part of a standalone product.
Key Insight:
This project hammered home a critical truth:
- Authority positioning gets you in the door – but scalable systems and follow-up close the deal and keep the revenue flowing.
The Lesson:
- Great salespeople can close deals, but great systems create freedom.
- Without clear processes and smart automation, you become the bottleneck in your own business.
