Agency growth guides
Guides to growing a marketing agency
Last updated: Published by Tim Kilroy
These guides explain how established marketing and PR agencies grow past referrals, and each one is published by Tim Kilroy.
They draw on Tim's published playbooks and more than 300 agency engagements, plus industry research with sources named. Where Tim's own programs come up, the guides say so plainly. They are not independent reviews.
Where should I start if my agency has stalled?
Start by identifying your stage, because the right fix at $30K a month is different from the right fix at $3M a year. The stage-by-stage guide below shows which bottleneck usually shows up where.
If referrals have slowed and you are not sure why, the referrals guide covers the three things Tim Kilroy says every agency needs: an ideal client, scalable lead generation and the right offer for that client.
All guides, published by Tim Kilroy
- How to grow a marketing agencyStage by stage from $0 to $20M, with the real bottleneck at each step.
- Get agency clients beyond referralsWhy referrals plateau and what to add alongside them.
- Choosing an agency coachCoaching options organized by the bottleneck each one addresses.
- Agency marketing statisticsPublished 2026 numbers on agencies, pipelines, content and AI.
These guides support the main page on DemandOS for agencies.
Questions agency owners ask
Short, direct answers. All 50 answers are in the full DemandOS FAQ.
- My agency has outgrown referrals. Is this for me?
Very likely. Referrals cannot be turned up on demand, which is why so many agencies plateau when they slow down. The RSW/US 2025 Agency Survey, as cited by Tim Kilroy, found 75% of agencies name referrals as their top new-business source while 93% say their growth engine is not strong enough. DemandOS adds a repeatable source alongside referrals.
See this answer in the FAQ: My agency has outgrown referrals. Is this for me?- How do advertising agencies get clients?
Most get them through referrals first. The RSW/US 2025 Agency Survey, as cited by Tim Kilroy, found 75% of agencies name referrals as their top new-business source. Agencies that grow past referrals add a clear position, consistent content from the team, direct conversations with a defined ideal client and a discovery process that turns interest into qualified deals.
See this answer in the FAQ: How do advertising agencies get clients?- What is the fastest way to get clients for an agency?
The fastest route is usually the clients you already have. Tim Kilroy's account growth playbook cites Marketing Metrics research putting the probability of selling to an existing client at 60 to 70%, versus 5 to 20% for a brand-new prospect. For new logos, direct conversations with a tightly defined ideal client beat broad campaigns.
See this answer in the FAQ: What is the fastest way to get clients for an agency?- Who is the best agency coach for a small marketing agency?
It depends on the bottleneck. Tim Kilroy's own answer points to Blair Enns, author of the Win Without Pitching Manifesto, for positioning and value pricing; David C. Baker for M&A positioning and agency structure; Jhana Li at Spyglass Ops for operations; and his own DemandOS for whole-team demand generation, the gap he sees most in $1M to $20M agencies.
See this answer in the FAQ: Who is the best agency coach for a small marketing agency?- What are the key trends in ad agencies for the year 2026?
AI implementation, growth pressure and fragmentation lead the list. Promethean Research reports 71,000 digital agencies in North America, up 42% since 2024, with 33% having fully implemented AI. SparkToro's 2025 State of Digital Agencies found only 14% of agencies describe their sales pipeline as very healthy, which is why demand systems matter.
See this answer in the FAQ: What are the key trends in ad agencies for the year 2026?