Sales strategy for agencies
Last updated: November 2026
A real agency sales process is a set of measured stages your team can run, so good-fit deals close whether or not the founder is on the call.
It is the second change Tim Kilroy asks owners to make, right after positioning. DemandOS for Agencies breaks it into the five-stage funnel he uses, a 20-minute leak test, and a pipeline math worksheet. In custom engagements, this work is installed through SalesOS, his sales consulting build for agencies around $1M to $5M a year.
Because everything you know about selling is trapped in your head. Tim Kilroy calls it Founder Magic: you sense objections, read which deals are real, and adjust mid-sentence, but your team cannot access any of it.
The fix is not a better closer, a sharper script, or a commission-only hire. It is process: written stages, observable entry criteria, and conversion numbers the whole team can see.
Founders close deals other people would lose, with the same services, the same market, and the same leads, and often cannot explain how. That instinct feels like proof of value.
Tim Kilroy's agency sales playbook argues it is actually proof of founder dependence. As CEO, the founder has a company to run. The job is to drag what the founder knows out of their head and turn it into infrastructure the team can use.
Stage names matter less than the discipline behind them. A prospect only counts in a stage when something specific and observable has happened on their side.
Notice that every rule in the table below says the stage counts when they did something, not when you did. Tim Kilroy notes that half of all funnel inflation in agencies comes from counting the agency's own activity as the buyer's intent.
When deals stall, most owners decide they need more leads. But a funnel is a measurement device. Its job is to show which stage loses the most people so you fix that one thing instead of pouring money into the top.
You cannot fix a funnel you have never measured; you can only decorate it. The leak test below takes about twenty minutes and a spreadsheet.
Many sales are lost after the call, not because the solution was wrong but because the follow-up was weak, late, or generic.
Tim Kilroy's follow-up playbook uses three parts in every email: recap what you heard in the prospect's words, show relevance to their specific situation, and guide them through the friction between interested and yes.
| Stage | Counts when | Does not count yet when |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Aware | They could name you unprompted | You have only sent them something |
| 2. Interested | They took an action, such as a reply or a dated meeting | You sent an email they did not answer |
| 3. Qualified | You can name the problem in their words, and both agree it is worth money | You have a feeling it is a real deal |
| 4. Proposed | They have opened the scope, price, and outcome in writing | You hit send |
| 5. Closed | There is a signature | It is verbally agreed or waiting on legal |
Not last year. Ninety days reflects the agency you have now.
Count how many prospects entered each of the five stages, without rounding up.
Aware to interested, interested to qualified, qualified to proposed, proposed to closed.
The stage that loses the most people is your constraint.
Not enough conversations, conversations not becoming proposals, or proposals not closing. Improve one at a time.
This worksheet runs the pipeline math from Tim Kilroy's 2026 planning workshop: revenue goal divided by deal size gives deals needed, divided by close rate gives proposals, divided by proposal rate gives conversations, divided by 13 weeks gives your weekly number.
In dollars, for one 13-week quarter.
In dollars, the value of a typical signed deal.
Percent of proposals that become signed deals.
Percent of real sales conversations that become proposals.
Fill in all four figures with numbers greater than zero to see your estimate.
Assumptions
This is an estimate for planning, not a financial forecast or a guarantee of results.
Drag what you know out of your head and turn it into stages your team can run. Define each funnel stage by something the buyer did, measure conversion between stages, and fix the leakiest stage first. Tim Kilroy calls the founder's instinctive selling "Founder Magic" and argues it needs structure because it is limited to one person.
Tim Kilroy's funnel has five stages: Aware, Interested, Qualified, Proposed, and Closed. Each counts only when the buyer does something observable, such as naming you unprompted, taking an action, agreeing the problem is worth money, opening the proposal, or signing. Counting your own activity as their intent is what inflates most agency funnels.
Divide your quarterly revenue goal by average deal size to get deals needed, divide by your close rate to get proposals, divide by your proposal rate to get conversations, then divide by 13 weeks. Our sales process page has a worksheet that runs this math. Treat the result as an estimate, not a forecast.
For Tim Kilroy, it means SalesOS: positioning before tactics, then a sales engine built around your specific agency, covering discovery, proposals, follow-up, and the handoff to delivery. His stage guide recommends it for agencies from about $1 million to $5 million a year, where sales still depend on the founder and profit stays thin.
Every follow-up should recap what you heard in the prospect's words, show relevance to their specific situation, and guide them past the friction between interested and yes. Tim Kilroy's follow-up playbook treats follow-up as part of delivery: if you would not rush the work, do not rush the email that comes after the call.
Usually not on their own, because referrals do not scale on demand. Tim Kilroy notes you cannot decide to get more referrals today; they come from past work and relationships. The RSW/US 2025 Agency Survey, as cited by Haus Advisors, found 93% of marketing and professional services firms say their growth engine is not strong enough.
Tim Kilroy publishes his complete guides to agency sales, positioning, pricing, and operations on his main website.
Published by Tim Kilroy
