How to Build a Strong Pipeline That Never Runs Dry

Agency life often feels binary: too many leads and not enough people, or too few leads and not enough cash. Most founders live in that cycle for years, scrambling from one extreme to the other.

Here’s the problem: buyers don’t pay for volatility. They pay for predictability.

If you want to sell your agency from a position of strength, your pipeline can’t just “sort itself out.” It has to be engineered.

At Unusual Group, we see it clearly: founders who build resilient pipelines unlock three freedoms:

1. Operational freedom — no more month-end scrambles.
2. Strategic freedom — space to think about offers, pricing, or acquisitions.
3. Exit freedom — buyers see a machine, not a hustle.

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Most pipelines aren’t broken; they’re leaking value. And leaks kill more deals than lack of leads. The usual suspects:

• Stage chaos: CRM stages with no clear criteria. Deals drift in limbo.
• Follow-up failure: founders rely on memory, prospects disappear.
• Qualification drift: chasing anyone with a pulse, clogging the pipe.
• Founder bottleneck: if deals only move when you push them, you don’t have a pipeline. You have a to-do list.

Fixing leaks means bringing discipline into the system:

• Defining clear stage gates (Discovery → Solution Fit → Proposal → Commit → Won/Lost).
• Documenting exit criteria for each stage.
• Assign ownership for moving deals forward.
• Use your CRM as the single source of truth, not a graveyard.

Think of this like plumbing: until you fix the leaks, pouring more leads in won’t help.

Relying on one channel is fragile. Agencies that thrive don’t bet on a single source of leads; they blend inbound, outbound, and expansion into a resilient pipeline engine.

Inbound: the compounders

• SEO & Flagship Content: quarterly content pillars that target high-intent problems and build authority.
• Partnerships: allied firms and co-marketing with platforms that already have your audience.
• Communities & PR: credibility built through owned and earned channels.

Outbound: the control levers

• ICP Lists + Triggers: firmographic profiles combined with change events (funding rounds, hires, tech shifts).
• Multi-touch Cadences: 6–10 touches across LinkedIn, email, and phone in 14 days.
• Referral Systems: structured asks and incentives, not “hoping” clients refer.

Expansion: the money you already have

• Land-and-Expand: quarterly reviews to spot gaps and growth opportunities.
• Cross-Sell Mapping: align services to the client’s growth stage.
• CS to Sales Handoffs: customer success teams trained to flag upsell signals.

The key is balance: inbound compounds, outbound gives control, and expansion drives efficiency. Track by source, win rate, ACV, pipeline velocity, and rebalance quarterly.

A fragile pipeline leans on one channel. A resilient one has three legs to stand on.

Follow-up is where most agencies quietly bleed. Deals don’t usually die from rejection; they die from neglect. Research shows that prospects often need eight or more touches before they buy. Most agencies stop at 2 or 3. That’s not persistence, that’s pipeline leakage.

Automation plugs the gap:

• Cadence templates by stage (cold, warm, hot) keep touchpoints consistent.
• Task queues show reps exactly who to call or nudge today.
• SLAs for high-intent inbound: respond within 10 minutes or risk losing the deal.
• Agentic AI assistants draft replies, update CRM fields, and nudge next steps automatically.

Automation doesn’t replace relationships. It protects them, making sure no opportunity gets lost in the noise of a founder’s inbox.

A bloated pipeline looks impressive on a dashboard. But it’s usually a smokescreen for weak qualification. Buyers and smart founders don’t care about how many logos you chase. They care about two things: fit and velocity.

Qualify early and ruthlessly:

• Problem fit: Are you solving a real pain or just pitching services?
• Authority: Are you talking to the person who can actually sign?
• Timing: Is there urgency, budget, or a catalyst?
• Success criteria: Do they know what “good” looks like?

The metrics that matter:

• Win rate by source and ICP.
• Pipeline velocity = (Deals × ACV × Win Rate) ÷ Sales Cycle.
• LTV:CAC ratio to show efficiency.

Kill bad deals early. A smaller, cleaner pipeline outperforms a noisy one every time, and it’s exactly what buyers want to see when they test for predictability.

Here’s the hard truth: if you’re still the rainmaker, you don’t have a sellable business. Buyers discount agencies that lean too heavily on the founder, because they know the pipeline collapses the moment you step back.

The shift is moving from closing deals to building the system that closes deals.

That means putting in place:

• Sales Playbook: ICP definitions, discovery questions, objection handling, proposal templates.
• Weekly Revenue Cadence: pipeline reviews, deal strategy sessions, forecast vs. actual.
• Enablement: call libraries, peer coaching, and win/loss reviews.
• Handover Discipline: tight sales-to-delivery transitions that protect both margin and NPS.

As a founder, your job isn’t to win every deal anymore. Your job is to make sure the machine wins deals without you. That’s what buyers pay for.

Fragile agencies lean too hard on a single channel. Resilient ones build a portfolio.

At Unusual, we encourage founders to spread their bets:

• 30% inbound: SEO, PR, and flagship content that compound over time.
• 30% outbound: cadences, ABM, and prospecting you can control.
• 30% expansion/referrals: efficiency from the clients who already trust you.
• 10% experiments: events, new platforms, bold bets that might become tomorrow’s core.

Rebalance quarterly. The mix doesn’t need to be perfect; it just needs to be resilient. Buyers don’t care if your pipeline is elegant; they care if it’s predictable.

Most agency forecasts are glorified guesswork built on hope, not discipline. Buyers see straight through that. Forecasts buyers trust are built on four things:

• Stages with enforced criteria: every deal has to earn its place.
• Close dates that mean something: not wishful placeholders.
• Probabilities based on history: data, not optimism.
• Regular inspection: weekly reviews and monthly scrubs to keep the numbers honest.

With a disciplined pipeline, forecasts stop being fantasy. Leaders can plan with confidence, and buyers see a revenue engine they can rely on.

When buyers look at your agency, the core question is simple: Can I trust this revenue?

A strong pipeline makes the answer “yes” by proving four things:

• Consistency: steady deal flow, not sporadic spikes.
• Diversity: multiple channels, no single-point risk.
• Systemisation: documented playbooks and cadences that run without heroics.
• Succession: a sales engine that works beyond the founder.

That combination de-risks the business. And when risk goes down, multiples go up.

Consider two agencies, both at £200k EBITDA:

• Agency A: founder-led, lumpy pipeline, no system. Multiple: 3x. Valuation: £600k.
• Agency B: systemised pipeline, diversified channels, team-led. Multiple: 6x. Valuation: £1.2m.

Same EBITDA. Very different outcomes.

And inside Unusual Group, with roll-up leverage and AI-powered RevOps, those multiples can stretch to 10–12x. That’s the difference between modest cash and life-changing wealth.

Most founders know they should fix their pipeline. Few have the playbooks, tech, and peer support to actually do it. That’s where we step in. With Unusual, you get:

• RevOps playbooks tested and proven across our cohort.
• AI assistants that keep cadences, CRM hygiene, and follow-ups on track.
• Peer learning from agencies at similar scale points.
• Capital support if you need to hire sales talent or invest in outbound.

This isn’t about hustling harder. It’s about building a pipeline machine buyers can trust and pay a premium for.

How many touches should we plan for?
At least 8–10. Deals are usually won by persistence, not charm.

Which CRM is best?
The one your team will actually use. Discipline beats features, prioritise task queues, automation, and reporting.

Should founders stop selling completely?
Not overnight. The goal is to shift from doing the deals to improving the system that wins deals. That’s when buyers stop seeing key-person risk.

A strong pipeline isn’t survival; it’s scale, valuation, and freedom.

The agencies that break out of feast-or-famine don’t hustle harder. They build predictable, diversified revenue engines that buyers trust.

At Unusual, we help founders design pipelines that compound, automate discipline, and turn sales from hustle into a sellable asset.

If you’re ready to build a pipeline investors can’t ignore, this is where you start.