2 → 20 Retained Clients and Team Tripling in 6 Months
The situation
What was broken before I came in.
A small full-service digital agency in Lisbon had 2 retained clients and a 3-person team when I joined as Head of Sales and Marketing. The product was good — the agency could deliver — but there was no structured way to generate new business and no internal talent pipeline to scale with new clients.
The mandate was straightforward: grow the client base, build the team, and do both fast enough that one didn't outrun the other. I was responsible for sales, marketing, and team development simultaneously.
The approach
What I actually did.
Sales strategy and outreach programme
Built the outbound sales process from scratch — target client profiles, outreach sequences, pitch materials, and a follow-up cadence. Within 60 days we had a predictable pipeline of qualified conversations.
Brand identity and market positioning
Developed the agency's brand strategy and market positioning — clear on who we served, what we did better, and why clients should choose us over larger alternatives.
PPC and SEO capability building
Recruited and trained a team of interns to become PPC and SEO specialists. Ran structured training programmes alongside live client work — each intern worked on real accounts from week 2.
Client retention systems
Built reporting templates, communication cadences, and review processes that kept clients informed and confident in results — reducing churn and enabling upsells.
Content and case study marketing
Launched a content programme and began documenting client results as case studies. Early wins became the social proof that shortened the sales cycle for subsequent prospects.
20+ brand launches for client portfolio
Personally led the creation and launch of brand identities from scratch for multiple clients — combining strategy, positioning, and execution across digital channels.
The results
Six months from the start, the agency had 20 retained clients and a 10-person team. The systems built during this period became the operating infrastructure for the agency's next growth phase.
- 2 → 20 retained clients in 6 months
- 3 → 10 team growth
- 20+ brand identities launched
- Trained PPC + SEO specialist team
- Systematic sales pipeline built from scratch
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