In this episode, I sat down with the Happy Clients Podcast to talk about what’s working in agency sales right now, without the cringe, without the outdated playbooks, and without turning you into a full-time cold caller.

Most agencies can sell for their clients all day, but when it comes to their growth, things can get messy.

I’ve spent the better part of a decade helping agencies stop relying on “hope and referrals” and start building sales systems that work.

⏱ Timestamps

00:00 – The “spare-time sales” trap

00:29 – Why this matters for client-facing pros

01:19 – My path into agency sales

02:20 – The scaling pain you don’t see coming

04:41 – When referrals run dry

06:10 – Inbound vs outbound today

07:04 – The trust-first approach

09:23 – Making referrals predictable

11:48 – Why cold outreach is harder now

14:13 – Accountability in sales

16:32 – Quick wins with clarity and focus

18:53 – Opportunities hiding in plain sight

20:10 – Where to find me + my book

✨ Key Points

• Why loading sales onto busy account managers fails.
• How to turn your network into a steady pipeline.
• The simple way to make introductions effortless.
• Why agencies should own sales instead of outsourcing it.
• How clarity on your ideal client changes everything.

🔗 Book a strategy call with Dan: Relationship Sales at Scale™

Checked the podcast on @dotandcompany

In this episode, I sat down with Kristen Sweeney, the founder of Every Little Word — a boutique content and communications agency that’s laser-focused on helping complex B2B orgs share what they actually know in ways that actually work.

We got into the nitty-gritty of what it means to build trust with subject matter experts, why most B2B content is fundamentally broken, and how Kristen made a huge decision to walk away from a partner that was 60% of her business.

Timestamps

00:00 – Intro & Kristen’s background

01:03 – From Broadway to freelance writing

03:03 – Business triples during COVID

04:48 – Treating execs like peers, not titles

06:22 – Sales copy and horizontal vs vertical relationships

07:39 – Why so much outreach reads as either bragging or begging

08:09 – Creating content that matches your ICP’s level

09:47 – Executives can smell uncertainty

11:49 – Emotions in B2B aren’t optional

14:17 – Leaving a 60% revenue partnership

16:24 – Selling to enterprise life sciences

17:07 – Building trust through intros and relationships

19:33 – Owning both sides: product and sales

21:56 – The writing on the wall after 10KSB

24:45 – Kristen’s Colby profile and systems for sales
25:50 – Why process builds confidence in sales

28:07 – Trust recession and the power of a real convo

31:43 – Why life sciences felt like home

35:25 – Balancing delivery with marketing

38:18 – Doubling down on strengths with Substack
40:00 – What Kristen’s excited about next

🔑 Some Key Takeaways

Kristen Sweeney walked away from a partner driving 60% of her revenue (on purpose), “Executives can smell fear” — and Kristen shares what actually earns their respect

Links & Resources:

Website: everylittleword.co

Relationship Sales at Scale™

In this week´s episode Stewart Gandolf joins me to talk through what it actually takes to niche down, build a sustainable agency, and scale without losing your sanity or soul. Stewart’s been in the healthcare marketing game for over two decades, and his experience building Healthcare Success into one of the top firms in the space is loaded with tactical insight.

We talk about the trap of project-based work, how to structure your agency around recurring revenue, and why most agencies screw up their first few sales hires.

🕒 Timestamps & Topics

• 00:00 — How Stewart got his start and why he doubled down on healthcare
• 03:15 — Direct mail, seminars, and the early version of inbound
• 06:40 — NLP and the psychology behind language that converts
• 11:20 — What drove their early growth (hint: it wasn’t salespeople)
• 13:40 — Why project work is a trap and how to transition to retainers
• 16:00 — Right-sized clients vs. resource-sucking whales
• 18:20 — Inbound vs. outbound: nets, spears, and the bullseye metaphor
• 21:20 — Stewart’s playbook if he were starting from scratch today
• 25:00 — Authority assets: reports, seminars, and content that build trust
• 29:10 — The daisy metaphor and avoiding entrepreneurial distraction
• 31:45 — What most agencies get wrong with their first sales hire
• 37:10 — Traits of a great agency salesperson (and why most don’t have them)
• 40:00 — When to stop being your own best salesperson
• 44:15 — Strategic partnerships and the next wave of AI opportunity
• 47:45 — Final thoughts on staying relevant when the cheese moves

A few things we covered.

• Most agency salespeople fail, not because they’re bad, but because there’s no clear positioning to sell.

Links & Resources:

• 🔗 Links & Resources
• Healthcare Success — Stewart’s agency
• Relationship Sales at Scale™