What actually drives agency growth when pipelines are noisy, buyers are skeptical, and everyone sounds the same?

In this episode, Dan Englander sits down with Alex Marshall, a longtime agency growth leader with two decades of experience across holding companies and independents, to unpack what really moves the needle. They explore why trust and relevance matter more than tactics, how storytelling shows up late in the sales cycle, and why relationships compound over time even when results aren’t immediate.

This is a grounded conversation about growth as a discipline, not a hack.

🧭 What You’ll Learn

• The real differences between growth at holding companies vs independents
• Why agency specialization can both help and hurt sales
• How storytelling works after the first sales call
• Why “just checking in” emails fail
• What actually reactivates dormant or boomerang clients
• How to stay relevant to skeptical CMOs
• Why relationship-building beats short-term metrics
• How agencies should think about referrals and alliances

🕒 Timestamps

00:00 – Alex’s background and global agency experience
04:30 – Holding companies vs independents: growth tradeoffs
06:00 – Relationship-building across regions and cultures
10:20 – When specialization helps — and when it limits you
16:45 – Storytelling as a sales tool, not just marketing
20:40 – Coalition-building in complex B2B sales
23:30 – Re-engaging dormant and boomerang clients
26:40 – Why timing and relevance matter more than frequency
29:20 – Managing time across the full funnel
32:10 – Measuring progress without over-relying on metrics
35:00 – Selling to skeptical CMOs in uncertain markets
38:00 – Why referrals and trust compound over time
41:00 – Strategic partnerships and being “something to someone”
45:45 – Making referral asks easier — and more effective