The surprising power of events

Are events the secret sauce to scaling your agency?

If you ask SMB Team’s CEO Bill Hauser, events can take you beyond where you even dreamed of. But it’s not easy. In fact, there are only a handful of agencies that have mastered scaling their business through events.

SMB Team is an 8 (soon to be 9) figure agency that offers law firms marketing, intake, CFO, and business coaching services. He joins the show to break down how his agency leverages events to accelerate its growth.

This episode dives into topics like verticalization, executive coaching and leadership, and why you should set extreme goals without fear.

Here’s what Corey and Bill cover in this episode:

• Why executive coaching is a non-negotiable for Bill.

• Why vision setting is an essential leadership task for company growth.

• How to differentiate yourself if you’re being commoditized in the market.

• What marketing tactics helped SMB Team grow, specifically event-led growth

• Listening to feedback and why it matters, and other business growth best practices.

Here are some actionable key takeaways for agency founders:

• If you lead a company, you need to be a stellar communicator to lead effectively.

• Verticalization requires emotional discipline but allows you to cut through clutter faster.

• Turn early successes into social proof and sell it.

• Bringing your authentic self to marketing is a powerful tool to convert people.

• 10x your goals to get where you want to be.

🎧 Listen to the episode now:

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Best,

CQ

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Bill Hauser consider events a powerful but difficult growth lever for agencies?

Because only a handful of agencies have actually mastered scaling through events, discussed directly as a strategy with real potential but significant execution difficulty, not a quick or easy tactic.

Why does Bill Hauser treat executive coaching as a non-negotiable?

Because leadership development directly supports the kind of communication and vision-setting needed to lead a growing company effectively, a foundational investment rather than an optional extra.

Why does Bill Hauser say verticalization requires emotional discipline?

Because narrowing focus to serve law firms specifically means turning away opportunities outside that vertical, a discipline that pays off by allowing the business to cut through market clutter faster than a broader approach would.

How can turning early successes into social proof actually help an agency grow?

By actively selling the proof of those early wins, rather than letting them go unused, early social proof becomes a tool for building credibility with future prospects rather than just a private milestone.

Why does Bill Hauser recommend setting extreme, 10x goals?

Because aiming significantly higher than what feels comfortable pushes growth further than more conservative goal-setting would, a mindset discussed as core to how SMB Team approached its own scaling.