We're diving into the real talk about pipeline building. Whether you're riding the revenue rollercoaster of a slow season or building momentum from scratch - we’ve got you. No more sitting around waiting for the next referral to land in your inbox – we're sharing our tried-and-true strategies for filling your pipeline with dream clients and creating sustainable growth that feels authentic (and dare we say, fun?). We’re also dropping our own ready-to-go scripts that you can use to navigate those ‘ghost’ and ‘maybe’ leads, so you can take back control of your pipeline, and your revenue.

What to Expect From This Episode:

Our Three-Tier Approach to Pipeline Building;

• Past clients: Your fastest path to new business
• Past leads: Your next best opportunity
• New leads: Strategic approaches for fresh connections

Key Takeaways:

• How to professionally handle "ghosters" and "maybes" in your pipeline
• Specific scripts for following up with unresponsive leads
• The three essential sources for a sustainable pipeline (retention, content, and initiation)
• Why quality outreach beats quantity every time
• How to pace your business development efforts for long-term success

Real Talk Moments:

We get candid about pipeline building, including:

• Why having a "graveyard" of dead leads gives false hope
• The truth about why most agencies stay stuck waiting for referrals
• How to make business development feel less "icky"
• Why treating business development like a sprint leads to burnout
• The importance of reframing pipeline building as growing your business rather than paying bills

Join the Q1 Biz Dev Challenge! A month-long program designed to help you fill your pipeline with quality opportunities. Limited to 20 participants, get support, creative assignments, and access to a private Slack community. DM Melissa on LinkedIn or Instagram for more information.

Special Offer from Our Sponsor: Thanks to our sponsor Copper, for making this podcast possible. Copper is a CRM that helps agencies attract more clients, streamline communication and deliver projects effortlessly. Exclusive to the listeners of this podcast, Copper is offering 15% off annual plans with promo code AGENCYDARLINGS, all one word.

Check out Copper’s Lead Nurturing Playbook, designed to help agencies nurture leads and grow sustainably.

Connect With Us:

• Instagram @agencydarlings
• LinkedIn
• Join Our Agency Advice Column
• Email: [email protected]

About Your Hosts:

Melissa Lohrer is the Founder of Waverly Ave Consulting, a Growth Consultancy for indie agencies. She partners with agency owners to create seven-figure growth through strategic repositioning, modern revenue models, and relationship-based sales. Connect with her on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Meredith Fennessy Witts is the Founder of Le Chéile, the go-to finance and strategy consultancy for creative agencies scaling beyond seven figures. She helps creative founders clarify their cash flow, restructure niche offers and pricing, and ensure they’re running a profitable business...in a mindful way. Connect with her on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe! New episodes drop every Tuesday.