7 Ways to Get More Agency Clients When Growth Slows Down

You’ve built a successful marketing agency with some great clients. But now growth has slowed down. Those client acquisition strategies that worked so well before? They’re just not delivering the same results anymore.

This happens to so many agency owners. Competition gets tougher, clients become more selective, and those reliable lead sources start to dry up. But here’s the good news – you can restart your client acquisition engine and take your agency to new heights with proven strategies.

Want to explore seven practical ways to attract more clients and grow your business? These aren’t just theoretical concepts – they’re battle-tested approaches that address real challenges you’re facing today.

30 Ways to Get More Agency Clients: The Complete Checklist

Before we dive deep into the seven most effective strategies for scaling your agency’s client acquisition, let’s look at the full landscape of client acquisition methods. This checklist covers virtually every approach you could use to find new marketing clients.

Review this list and check which ones you’re already using consistently. The goal isn’t to implement all 30 – that would spread your resources too thin. Instead, identify gaps in your current approach and opportunities you might be missing.

Now What?

Looking at this list, you might feel overwhelmed by all the potential ways to get more clients for your marketing agency. The reality is that most successful agencies don’t attempt to do all of these at once. Instead, they select a handful of approaches that align with their strengths and client acquisition goals.

The seven strategies we’ll explore next are the highest-impact methods we’ve seen work consistently across hundreds of growing agencies. These approaches combine multiple tactics from the checklist above into coherent systems that reliably generate new business.

Let’s explore these elite strategies for getting more agency clients, even when your traditional lead sources start to dry up.

1. Expand Into New Industries With Your Existing Skills

You’ve probably become really good at marketing for one particular industry. That’s fantastic! But this expertise might also be creating a growth ceiling for you. The solution? Apply these skills to related industries where your expertise creates immediate value, even without specific experience in those sectors.

How To Use Your Current Expertise In New Markets

Do you excel at direct-to-consumer ecommerce marketing? Many B2B companies need exactly those skills as they build out their online sales channels. The core marketing principles stay the same, but suddenly you access a whole new pool of potential clients.

Effective vertical expansion targets markets where the fundamental challenges match problems you already know how to solve. Your conversion optimization skills for retail sites will work brilliantly for SaaS signup flows. Your content expertise for financial services translates perfectly to fintech startups.

A Step-By-Step Framework To Enter New Markets

The GROW framework makes expansion manageable through clear, actionable steps:

This structured approach prevents pursuing too many verticals at once, which maintains focus and establishes credibility in each market.

How To Win Your First Clients In Unfamiliar Industries

Adapt your existing marketing materials to speak directly to these new industries. Show exactly how your proven approaches solve their specific challenges, and translate your case studies to highlight outcomes that matter to their business models.

Secure those first few clients in each new vertical as proof points for attracting similar businesses. Try offering introductory rates or specialized packages to reduce perceived risk for pioneer clients. Their success stories become the foundation of your expanded market positioning.

2. How To Land Premium Clients With Account-Based Marketing

Standard marketing approaches often fail with high-value prospects. Enterprise-level clients require strategies as sophisticated as their organizations.

How To Build Your Dream Client Wish List

High-value organizations receive countless pitches from agencies daily. Account-based marketing (ABM) treats each target account as a market of one.

Create a highly focused list of 10-20 target accounts matching specific criteria. Select companies in industries where you deliver exceptional results and face challenges your services address. Focus on businesses with sufficient budget and cultural alignment with your agency.

Are you targeting companies at the right growth stage where you can access decision-makers? Use LinkedIn to get more clients by identifying the right people at these companies, sending personalized messages, and starting conversations based on relevant business challenges.

This targeted approach maintains the depth of personalization needed for ABM success.

Find Every Person Who Can Say Yes Or No To Your Deal

Map every stakeholder involved in marketing decisions for each target. Include C-suite executives setting priorities, department directors managing channels, and practitioners handling day-to-day tasks. Don’t forget to account for technical and financial gatekeepers, procurement teams, potential internal champions, and external advisors.

Understanding this decision ecosystem matters because enterprise decisions rarely involve a single person. Who influences the process? Who has veto power? Who manages implementation? And who approves the budget?

How To Surround Decision Makers With Your Message

Create coordinated multi-channel campaigns surrounding decision-makers with personalized content. Develop research reports addressing specific industry challenges. Send tailored messages highlighting relevant case studies. And why not invite key stakeholders to exclusive events focused on their business problems?

Physical marketing materials create impact in our digital world. Send high-value direct mail to key decision-makers with organization-specific insights. Create customized microsites addressing company challenges. Run targeted ad campaigns reaching only employees at your target accounts.

Core ABM tactics include:

• Customized industry research reports
• Personalized case study outreach
• Exclusive executive-level events
• High-impact direct mail campaigns
• Account-specific digital experiences

This comprehensive approach establishes your agency as a knowledgeable authority before sales conversations begin, increasing your chances of winning premium clients.

3. How To Build Partnerships That Deliver Warm Leads

Establishing trust with potential clients requires considerable time and resources. Strategic partnerships provide shortcuts, transforming your lead generation from cold outreach to warm introductions that convert at much higher rates.

Find Partners Who Share Your Clients But Don’t Compete

Trust with potential clients takes time to build. Strategic partnerships tap into trust others have already established, creating warm introductions that convert much better than cold outreach.

Ideal agency partnerships come from organizations serving the same clients without competing directly. Marketing technology platforms offer natural partnership opportunities, as do business consultants who create strategies without handling execution. Complementary service providers like SEO firms or web developers address related client needs, creating natural collaboration opportunities.

Have you considered industry associations where target clients participate? They provide credibility and event access. Media outlets reaching your ideal audience make excellent content partners. Event organizers convening your target audience offer speaking and sponsorship opportunities with engaged audiences.

The most productive partnerships create non-competitive, symbiotic relationships where both organizations benefit from shared resources, expertise, and client relationships.

How To Structure Win-Win Partner Relationships

Successful partnerships need clear value propositions strengthening both parties’ client relationships. Joint content creation showcases complementary expertise through webinars, whitepapers, or research studies neither party could create alone. This shared content provides valuable marketing assets while demonstrating collaborative capabilities.

Bundled service packages deliver comprehensive solutions addressing broader needs than either partner could satisfy independently. These packages create natural cross-selling opportunities while simplifying procurement for clients. Formal referral programs with transparent incentives ensure consistent lead flow between organizations.

Some relationships evolve into white-labeled service arrangements where you provide backend capabilities partners offer under their brand. More advanced collaborations include joint ventures combining expertise into new service products with shared investment and revenue.

The most productive partnerships establish clearly defined expectations, processes, and compensation structures creating accountability for both parties.

Five Partner Types That Can Feed Your Agency Pipeline

Formalize partnerships with clear agreements covering referral processes, revenue sharing, and collaborative delivery responsibilities. Amplify these relationships through coordinated marketing initiatives leveraging both organizations’ credibility.

Regular communication and performance reviews maintain active and productive partnerships. Successful agency partnerships evolve into deeply integrated relationships generating consistent business for all parties involved.

4. How To Grow Revenue From Your Current Client Base

Acquiring new clients attracts most marketing attention, yet existing clients often represent your greatest growth opportunity. Expanding services with current clients costs less, converts faster, and yields higher profitability than new client acquisition.

Create A Clear Path From Small Projects To Big Retainers

Growth often accelerates through your existing client base. Many agencies focus on chasing new logos while missing significant expansion opportunities with current clients.

Map service offerings as a progression clients follow, creating a clear “ascension ladder” from initial projects to comprehensive engagements. Start with low-risk entry points like assessments or audits establishing initial value with minimal client commitment.

Position targeted implementation projects as logical next steps after successful initial work. Develop ongoing retainer relationships showcasing the value of continuous optimization. Create integrated partnership offerings for clients ready for comprehensive marketing solutions.

This strategic approach transforms client relationships from one-off projects into long-term partnerships growing in value over time. How can you proactively guide clients through this progression to create natural growth opportunities benefiting both parties?

Use Quarterly Reviews To Uncover Growth Opportunities

Quarterly business reviews (QBRs) function as strategic check-ins uncovering expansion opportunities. Start each QBR documenting measurable results achieved, establishing a foundation of proven value. Explore evolving business challenges and shifting marketing goals. Present logical service expansions with projected ROI calculations addressing emerging needs.

Support recommendations with concrete examples from similar clients who expanded their engagements. Analyze upcoming market trends affecting their business and demonstrate new capabilities your agency has developed. Move beyond tactical execution to provide strategic recommendations, positioning your agency as an essential partner rather than a vendor.

These structured sessions create environments for strategic conversations about future opportunities. Transform your client relationship from reactive service provider to proactive business advisor.

How To Bring Former Clients Back Into The Fold

Former clients represent significant acquisition investment many agencies write off completely. Segment churned accounts by reason for departure – budget constraints, personnel changes, perceived results issues, or relationship challenges. This segmentation enables tailored outreach addressing specific concerns that led to disengagement.

Highlight new capabilities and recent client successes relevant to their business challenges in reactivation communications. Create compelling incentives for reengagement with time-limited offers facilitating easy returns to your services. Share relevant industry insights demonstrating continued expertise in their space. Reconnect through personalized outreach acknowledging previous relationships while focusing on future opportunities.

Past clients understand your work process, culture, and capabilities – making them easier to re-engage than cold prospects. A successful reactivation program recovers significant revenue from relationships you’ve already invested in building.

5. Stand Out In Crowded Markets With Unexpected Tactics

Digital channels grow increasingly saturated. Creative offline and experiential approaches help your agency break through the noise. These unconventional tactics create memorable impressions standard digital marketing cannot match.

How Physical Marketing Materials Cut Through Digital Noise

Digital channels cost more while yielding less. Creative offline and experiential marketing tactics help you stand out and capture attention from ideal prospects.

Physical marketing materials create memorable impressions in our digital-overload world. Develop custom product mockups demonstrating specific improvements to customer experience for high-value prospects. Pair these with personalized video analysis of current marketing performance. Include detailed recommendations with projected business impact calculations translating ideas into concrete revenue opportunities.

Provide customized market research addressing competitive position for industry-specific challenges. Create executive-focused books with personalized insights positioned as exclusive pre-release copies to capture C-suite attention. Develop custom decision frameworks for specific industries demonstrating expertise while providing immediate practical value.

Decision-makers holding your insights physically differentiate your agency from dozens of competitors filling their inbox.

High-impact physical marketing options:

• Custom product mockups with improvement demonstrations
• Personalized video analysis on branded devices
• Detailed recommendations with ROI projections
• Customized competitive analysis reports
• Industry-specific decision frameworks

How To Connect With Executives Outside The Sales Process

Invitation-only experiences for executives create powerful relationship-building environments outside traditional sales contexts. Executive roundtables featuring recognized industry experts position your agency as a valuable connector. Tours of innovative organizations demonstrate your connections and provide attendees with tangible examples of innovation they can apply.

What about curated dining experiences with thoughtfully selected attendees to facilitate meaningful peer connections in relaxed settings? Exclusive previews of proprietary research before public release provide compelling value while demonstrating thought leadership. Small-group workshops tackling common industry challenges showcase your problem-solving approach while delivering immediate practical value.

These exclusive gatherings create opportunities for meaningful conversations impossible in typical sales environments. Position your agency as a valuable connector and thought leader rather than another vendor seeking business.

Make Your Agency Unforgettable With Experiential Marketing

VIP experiences at major industry conferences create distinctive impressions during events your prospects already attend. Include private sessions with keynote speakers, exclusive networking opportunities, or premium accommodations distinguishing your invitation from standard conference activities.

Access to closed networks of peer executives provides ongoing value beyond single events, positioning your agency as the gateway to valuable professional relationships. Facilitated mastermind groups for industry leaders create ongoing engagement structures with potential clients, providing genuine value through peer insights while establishing your agency as an essential connector.

These experiential marketing approaches create emotional connections digital tactics rarely achieve. Demonstrate your agency’s value through direct experience rather than claims or case studies, making you significantly more memorable in a crowded marketplace.

6. Turn Client Referrals Into A Predictable Lead Machine

Referrals consistently produce the highest quality leads with the shortest sales cycles for most agencies. Few treat referrals as a systematic business development channel, viewing them as random windfalls that occasionally happen when clients feel particularly pleased.

How To Make Referrals Part Of Your Client Onboarding

Client referrals produce the highest quality leads with the shortest sales cycles. Most agencies treat referrals as happy accidents rather than systematic lead generation channels.

A structured referral program starts with clear expectations from day one of every client relationship. Specify which types of businesses you best serve and explain the unique problems your services effectively address. Communicate how referrals impact your business model and define what constitutes an ideal referral for your agency. Include this information in your onboarding process so clients understand referrals as a standard part of working with your agency.

Create simple processes for clients to make introductions without significant time investment. Train account managers to identify potential referral opportunities through client conversations and provide templates for making appropriate requests. Include subtle referral reminders in regular client communications, maintaining visibility without becoming pushy.

Establish referrals as a standard part of your client relationship from the beginning to normalize the behavior rather than making it feel like an unusual request later in the engagement.

Reward Systems That Make Clients Want To Refer More

Acknowledge client contributions meaningfully when they provide referrals. Send personalized appreciation gifts that show genuine thoughtfulness rather than generic corporate items. Provide public recognition through case studies or social media mentions that enhance their professional reputation when appropriate.

Express genuine gratitude in personal communications from senior leadership, showing that referrals receive attention at the highest levels of your organization. Create a structured rewards program offering service credits or enhancements tied to successful referrals. Share the results generated from their referrals, creating a positive feedback loop that demonstrates the value of their introductions.

This positive reinforcement increases the likelihood of repeat referrals and establishes a culture of active recommendation among your client base. Behavioral psychology shows that recognized and rewarded behaviors tend to repeat, making recognition a critical component of systematic referral generation.

How To Run Referral Sprints That Generate Fast Results

Concentrated “referral accelerator” campaigns generate significant activity spikes several times yearly while ongoing referral cultivation builds a steady pipeline. Contact every client with specific referral requests tailored to their network during these focused periods. Name target companies where appropriate to focus their thinking on specific connections. Offer compelling limited-time incentives that create urgency for successful introductions within the campaign window.

Create themed campaigns tied to business cycles or industry events that provide natural conversation starters. Host referral-focused events that facilitate warm introductions in comfortable social settings. Develop co-marketing opportunities with successfully referred clients that benefit all parties involved.

These concentrated efforts create urgency that stimulates immediate action, generating significant new client opportunities through trusted introductions. A well-executed referral campaign can generate more qualified leads in a few weeks than months of traditional marketing efforts.

7. Use Data To Find Your Most Profitable Client Sources

Gut instinct and creative hunches no longer cut it as marketing strategies. The most successful agencies apply the same rigorous analytics to their own business development that they deliver for clients.

The Key Metrics That Show Where Your Best Clients Come From

You wouldn’t run client campaigns without proper tracking, so why do it for your own marketing? It’s time to apply that same analytics rigor to your own business development efforts. Let’s connect your marketing activities directly to your revenue outcomes.

Think about this – do you really know which lead sources bring in your best clients? Most agency owners have a general idea, but when I ask them to show me the data, things get a bit fuzzy. You need a clear picture of your entire client acquisition process.

Start by tracking where your leads actually come from. Is your best source referrals, or do you just think it is because those leads are easier to remember? Maybe your SEO efforts are quietly bringing in more qualified prospects than you realize. You won’t know unless you track it.

Then look at how leads move through your pipeline. Some sources might give you tons of leads that go nowhere, while others deliver fewer prospects but they convert like crazy. Which would you rather focus on? Your CRM should show you exactly how leads from different sources progress from initial contact to signed client.

What about the actual value of those clients? Let’s say you get clients from social media and from speaking engagements. But have you noticed that the speaking gig clients typically sign bigger contracts and stay with you longer? That’s the kind of insight that changes where you invest your time and money.

Don’t forget to factor in your true costs. Maybe those trade show leads seem great until you add up booth fees, travel expenses, and all those hours your team spent away from billable work. Suddenly your “successful” lead source doesn’t look so hot anymore.

How quickly do different leads close? Speed matters too. Would you rather chase a potential client for six months or work with someone ready to sign next week? When you track your sales cycle velocity, you’ll see which channels bring in clients who are ready to move.

This is how you make truly data-driven decisions about growing your agency. No more following hunches or copying what the agency down the street is doing. You’ll know exactly where to focus for maximum results.

What Metrics Should You Actually Track?

Here’s a practical framework for the key metrics that will show you where your best clients come from and how to get more of them:

How To Actually Start Tracking This Stuff

So you’re convinced you need better data, but where do you actually begin? Start small and build from there.

First, make sure every lead in your system has a source attached to it. This is really just basic housekeeping. Add a required “How did you hear about us?” field to your contact forms. When you get on sales calls, ask how they found you and actually record the answer. No source attribution means no useful data.

Next, set up a simple dashboard in your CRM. Most systems like HubSpot, Salesforce, or even Pipedrive have basic reporting features. Create a report that shows conversion rates by lead source. Run it weekly and actually look at it. You’ll start seeing patterns pretty quickly.

As your needs get more sophisticated, consider using an automated reporting tool like Swydo to consolidate all your marketing and sales data. It connects with your CRM, Google Analytics, ad platforms, and more to give you a complete picture of your client acquisition funnel. This makes it much easier to see which channels are performing best across all the metrics we’ve discussed.

For tracking client value, do a quick analysis of your current client base. Sort them by total revenue and then note where each one came from. This doesn’t need to be complicated – even a simple spreadsheet will do the job. Are most of your top clients from the same source? There’s your first insight.

Calculating acquisition costs takes a bit more work, but it’s worth the effort. Take your marketing spend by channel for the last quarter and divide it by the number of clients you acquired from each channel. Include estimates for your team’s time too – that’s a real cost that most agencies overlook.

The key is to start somewhere, then refine as you go. You don’t need perfect data from day one. Even rough numbers will highlight major differences between your lead sources. And those insights will help you make smarter decisions about where to focus your client acquisition efforts.

Ask yourself: If you had to double down on just one or two client acquisition channels tomorrow, would you know which ones to pick? When you track these metrics consistently, that answer becomes crystal clear.

How To Build A Foolproof Lead Management System

Effective lead management requires systematic processes that maximize conversion potential at every pipeline stage. Train your team to use qualification frameworks like BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline) that prioritize opportunities based on readiness to purchase and fit with your ideal client profile.

Establish clear protocols governing lead handoff between marketing and sales teams, with explicit criteria for what constitutes a qualified lead and accountability for follow-up timing.

Train account managers to consistently identify expansion opportunities within existing clients. Develop standardized discovery processes for different types of opportunities that uncover true business needs beyond stated requirements. Create value-focused proposal templates for different client types that emphasize outcomes rather than deliverables.

These systematic approaches transform random sales activities into a predictable revenue machine. They ensure no viable opportunities fall through the cracks and that each prospect receives appropriate attention based on their potential value and conversion likelihood.

Build A Culture Of Testing To Stay Ahead Of Competitors

Allocate a dedicated portion of your marketing budget specifically for testing new approaches that could unlock growth opportunities. Experiment with emerging channels and platforms before they become saturated, gaining early-mover advantage while costs remain reasonable. Test different messaging approaches and value propositions with similar audience segments to identify what resonates most effectively.

Develop and test various service packages that bundle your offerings in different ways, potentially unlocking higher deal values or addressing previously untapped needs. Explore different content formats and delivery mechanisms that might engage prospects who don’t respond to your current approaches. Test various pricing models and engagement structures to optimize both close rates and profitability.

This commitment to continuous experimentation prevents stagnation and identifies new growth channels before competitors recognize their potential. Each test generates valuable insights that refine your understanding of your ideal clients and how to reach them effectively.

Which Strategy Will Fix Your Agency’s Growth Problem?

You don’t need to implement all seven approaches simultaneously. Start with the method that addresses your specific client acquisition challenges.

If lead generation volume presents your primary challenge, focus first on unconventional outreach tactics or account-based marketing for high-value targets. If you have a solid client base but limited growth, why not prioritize systematic service expansion and quarterly business reviews? If you have deep expertise in one vertical, target adjacent markets where those specialized capabilities create immediate client value.

The agencies that achieve sustainable growth continuously refine their client acquisition approach as market conditions change. Implement these strategies systematically, measure their impact rigorously, and you’ll develop a reliable growth engine that powers your agency to new levels of success.

The most effective path becomes clear once you identify your specific constraints and apply the right solution. Which of these strategies aligns most closely with your agency’s current situation?