Running a digital agency?

It can feel like juggling flaming swords on a tightrope, blindfolded — while Slack pings and the inbox screams.

Welcome to Tuesday.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve had the same conversation repeatedly with agency founders.

Different agencies. Different sectors. Different levels of ambition.

Same sticking point.

They’re trying to break the £1m revenue barrier.

They’re trying to grow beyond 8–10 people.

And they’re stuck.

If you lead a digital agency, the last two years will have tested you.

Or the One Thing You Can’t Afford Not to Invest In?

There’s a useful piece of research from Harvard Business Review that quietly dismantles one of the most persistent myths in B2B growth.

The myth goes like this:

“If our sales team is good enough, we’ll win the work.”

The reality is far less comforting.

There’s an uncomfortable truth in the world of consulting, coaching, and mentoring for digital agencies

Different agencies. Different stages. Different people around the table.

But the same conclusion, delivered with the same quiet confidence.

(And Why Most Agencies Are Solving the Wrong Problem)

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been speaking with groups of agency founders and leaders: smart people, ambitious people, people with years of experience under their belts.

Every few months, the same request pops up in agency circles:

“Just give me the playbook.”

You’ve heard it.

Create the playbook so we can hand it to clients.

“Ten ways to get more customers.”

“Ten ways to put your prices up.”

“Ten ways to close deals faster.”

In Simplify, Richard Koch argues that the world’s most successful companies become “star businesses” because they do one thing exceptionally well: they simplify. They make life easier, cheaper, or more delightful for customers, so compellingly that the market reorganises itself around them.

Running an agency with fewer than ten people can feel like being trapped in a difficult middle ground. You’re too big to be small, but too small to be big. At Gyda, we call this stage the sub-10 challenge, and it’s one of the toughest phases agency owners ever face.

If you run a design and build agency, chances are you’ve had that week.

The one where a client misses a sign-off, scope changes for the fifth time, and the project you thought would be wrapped by Friday is still crawling along next Wednesday.

Three years from now, digital agencies will face a reckoning.

You started your agency to do great work - not to become an accountant.
And yet, if you avoid the financial side of your business for long enough, it starts making decisions for you.

If you're looking to grow and scale your agency, you probably need to sharpen up a few key competencies. I've worked with hundreds of agencies over the years, and the following are the areas that separate the high-performers from the rest.

Like so many lists of “what the high-performers do…”, you cannot expect to master all these skills overnight. But, slowly but surely you start to master each of these skills as you grow the agency.

As a published author and creator of the ARISE™ Go-to-Market methodology, Paul spent over 15 years shaping GTM strategies for tech and service companies. This experience led him to develop ARISE™, a comprehensive framework that combines proven optimisation techniques with cutting-edge technology to drive growth for B2B SaaS, Fintech, and technology-enabled businesses. Its comprehensive nature ensures that no aspect of your go-to-market strategy is overlooked, giving you a sense of security about its thoroughness.

One of the top questions we are getting asked right now in our Mastemind groups is: “How can we speed up the time it takes for agency clients to make a decision?” How do we move from endless back-and-forth to a swift, confident “Yes”?

Amanda Sokell is a process and productivity expert who helps companies thrive. She’s also a popular speaker, author, entrepreneur, creative, polymath and educationalist; lover of learning, chocolate, dancing and difference.

In a 25-year career spanning public relations, software development, coaching, mentoring and training, Amanda has helped transform the productivity culture of organizations from global pharmaceuticals to family-run microbusinesses.