Newsletter Archive
Strategies, frameworks, and stories to help you escape founder-led sales and scale through specialization.
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728 articles in the archive
Avoiding the commodity trap
Companies perceived as the same become commodities, and commodities only compete on price. Learn why avoiding sameness matters and what question to ask yourself.
Why specialize in a vertical market? (for real)
Why specialize in a vertical market? Steve Martin's advice to "be so good they can't ignore you" explains why mastering one domain beats spreading thin.
Do yourself and your teams a favor
"I will stop saying yes to bad-fit clients." A simple daily affirmation for agency founders, and why marketing, sales, success, and family will all thank you for it.
Grammar tip from President Lincoln
President Lincoln read all his important letters out loud before sending them. Learn why doing the same with important emails catches errors and sounds more human.
Outbound for your agency: Quitting too soon
Outbound isn't hard, sticking with it is. Learn why treating outbound like a marathon, tied to your buyer's actual shopping cycle, is what actually wins deals.
5 Ways Empathy Drives Business Wins
Is client empathy your competitive advantage? Learn 5 tangible ways empathy translates into real business wins, from differentiation to word-of-mouth referrals.
Word of mouth for agencies
Word of mouth is the holy grail of marketing. Learn why vertical agencies have a structural advantage generalists don't, and why it drives 15-20% of new business.
Outbound for your digital agency: do more or do better?
Most outbound advice is about doing more, rarely about doing it better. Reflect on whether you're personalizing outreach to high-value prospects or just spamming the TAM.
The Specialist and the Expert
See the contrast between a typical digital marketing agency and a legal-focused one, and why specific beats generic across expertise, content, and differentiation.
How To Find Your Next Vertical Market
How do you pick the next vertical to expand into? Learn how Scorpion chose home services after attorneys, by finding a vertical with the same underlying problem.
AI for Marketers
An interview with Mark de Grasse, president of DigitalMarketer
The science of scaling a niche agency
An interview with Erik Clausen, Managing Partner with CG Life
Niching down on associations
An interview with Brad Gillum, CEO of Willow Marketing
Amy's advice for scaling a business
Amy Porterfield's top scaling advice is less is more. Learn how her approach to pruning and focus maps directly onto vertical specialization for agencies.
Get connected with industry leaders in your vertical
If you're not already in the game, what are you waiting for?
Can you sharpen your positioning + messaging? Part 5
Part 4 in a series on buying criteria: mapping how and where prospects research alternatives before choosing a new agency, and why that path shapes marketing strategy.
How to take a small step towards verticalizing
Stuck in the battle over whether to niche down? Try imagining your agency three years from now, already specialized. This small exercise can open your eyes fast.
How to maximize Word of Mouth
The best marketing is word of mouth, and 82% of it happens face-to-face. Learn why choosing a vertical that regularly meets in person maximizes that advantage.
Beyond Claims: Discover the Proof
"We're the #1 dental marketing agency" isn't credible alone. Learn why backing claims with real client data, proof points, is what actually overcomes skepticism.
Can you sharpen your positioning + messaging? Part 3
Part 2 in a series on buying criteria: uncovering the rational and emotional consequences buyers face from their old way of doing things, and why it builds trust.
Can you sharpen your positioning + messaging? Part 4
When the pain of staying the same gets too great.
Can you sharpen your positioning?
Can you sharpen your positioning and messaging? Yes, everyone can. Start by identifying the specific clients you want more of, then interview them to find out why.
Learn from a $6M niche agency founder
Tim Brown, CEO of Hook Agency, niched down from generalist contractor work to roofers with 5-15 employees, growing to $6M in annual revenue. Here's how.
Struggling to find a vertical?
Where people struggle with finding a vertical to specialize in: intuition alone, data alone, or never really going deep at all. Do any of these sound familiar?
“Is this a good fit for my agency?”
I partner with founders who want to build something meaningful, not just a busier agency, but a stronger, more scalable business.
You’re likely a strong fit if:
- You’re generating $1M–$20M+ annually
- You want to lead your market, not blend into it
- You’re thinking about long-term scale, not short-term tactics
- You want a growth engine that doesn’t rely on you
- You value clarity over complexity
- You’re open to advanced growth levers, including acquisitions
Escape Founder-Led Sales With My Free Book
My bestselling book Anyone Not Everyone reveals the positioning and outbound system that helps founder-led agencies create predictable, scalable growth.
Endorsed by Aaron Ross, Alan Dibb, Dr. Benjamin Hardy, and many other top thinkers in the agency world.