How Agency Futures Secured A First Sell-Side Mandate in 60 Days, and Now Averages 8 Off-Market Founder Conversations Per Week
Outbound client Slack message screenshot showing Agency Futures confirming they signed their first sell-side mandate as a direct result of the outreach system.
Client Overview
Company: Agency Futures
Industry: M&A Advisory / Sell-Side Mandates for Agencies
Company Type: Boutique Advisory Firm
ICP: Owners of marketing agencies, creative studios, performance agencies, and specialised service firms exploring a sale, recapitalisation, or strategic partnership
Goal: Build a predictable outbound origination channel that could generate consistent off-market founder conversations — and convert those into sell-side mandates.
The Challenge: Origination in a Fragmented, Noisy Market
Agency Futures operates in one of the most competitive origination environments:
- Agency owners are constantly approached by brokers
- Most outreach in the space feels generic or spammy
- Founder timing is unpredictable — many only consider a transaction once
- Public data is messy: agencies often misrepresent size, headcount, or positioning online
Agency Futures needed a system that could:
- consistently reach qualified agency founders
- segment outreach by agency type and service model
- maintain credibility and trust in a sensitive conversation
- generate real deal conversations — not just replies
Why Outbound Was the Right Channel
Inbound and referrals were valuable, but limited:
- Mandate flow was difficult to scale through network alone
- Agency owners rarely “search” for an advisor until the moment is right
- Off-market conversations require proactive, well-timed outreach
Outbound allowed Agency Futures to:
- control volume and consistency
- reach founders before competitors
- build a repeatable origination engine rather than relying on luck
What We Built (The Actual System)
1) Segmented Agency Targeting (Not Generic Lists)
Rather than treating “agencies” as one category, we broke the market into distinct segments:
- Performance marketing agencies
- Creative and branding studios
- Web development and technical agencies
- Niche service firms with specialised buyer appeal
- Multi-location or scale-ready operators
Each segment required different positioning, language, and triggers.
This segmentation was foundational to keeping outreach relevant.
2) Solving the Agency Size Qualification Problem
One early challenge was accuracy:
Agencies frequently list inflated employee counts on LinkedIn, making it difficult to filter for firms large enough to support meaningful mandates.
We solved this by:
- widening initial filters slightly
- tracking response and qualification patterns
- layering additional validation signals beyond LinkedIn headcount
- iterating the ICP boundaries until mandate-quality conversations became consistent
This dramatically improved lead quality over the first few weeks.
3) AI-Assisted Personalisation at Scale
Agency founders can immediately detect generic outreach.
We used AI-supported workflows to personalise messaging based on:
- agency service focus
- positioning and client types
- founder/operator context
- market-specific language patterns
The goal was not “fluffy compliments,” but clear relevance:
emails that sounded like they were written for that agency owner, in that segment, at the right time.
4) Deliverability & Infrastructure Built for Consistency
To maintain inbox placement while scaling volume, we deployed:
- warmed sending domains
- inbox rotation and provider diversification
- strict list hygiene and bounce control
- monitoring at the domain + campaign level
This prevented the common failure mode in origination outreach: early success followed by deliverability decay.
5) Conversation-Led CTAs (Trust First)
Messaging avoided aggressive deal language.
Instead, CTAs were framed around:
- timing
- optionality
- confidential founder conversations
- exploring strategic paths without pressure
This increased reply quality and kept conversations high-trust.
Results (First 60 Days + Ongoing)
Within the first 60 days:
✅ Agency Futures secured their first sell-side mandate
Over the following months:
✅ Now averaging 8 off-market founder conversations per week
✅ Consistency maintained for 4 consecutive months (and ongoing)
✅ Each mandate represents meaningful six-figure success-fee potential
✅ Outbound has become a reliable origination channel, not a one-off win
For a boutique advisory firm, this created predictable deal flow in a space where most firms rely entirely on referrals.
Why This Worked
Several factors aligned:
- segmentation that matched how agencies actually differ
- AI personalisation used for relevance, not gimmicks
- infrastructure that sustained inbox placement over time
- a conversation-first approach suited to founder psychology
- rapid iteration around qualification signals and mandate fit
Outbound didn’t replace Agency Futures’ advisory work — it became the engine that consistently fills the top of the funnel with the right founders.
What We Avoided
To protect trust and lead quality, we deliberately avoided:
- generic broker-style templates
- volume-first “spray and pray” outreach
- over-reliance on LinkedIn headcount data
- overly transactional language too early
- calendar-heavy flows that create friction
The priority was always: real founder conversations, not vanity metrics.
Next Phase: Scaling Origination With Control
The system is now being expanded through:
- deeper segmentation across agency sub-verticals
- additional intent signals (hiring, client shifts, founder activity)
- improved routing and qualification workflows
- continued iteration to increase mandate conversion rate
The focus is on scaling without losing the high-trust tone that drives replies.
Tools & Stack Used
Clay – enrichment, segmentation, AI personalisation workflows
Smartlead – sequencing, inbox rotation, deliverability monitoring
LinkedIn + web signals – founder and agency validation
Custom qualification logic – filtering for mandate-fit agencies
Key Learnings
- Agencies require segment-specific outreach, not one-size-fits-all messaging
- LinkedIn headcount is unreliable — qualification needs layered signals
- AI personalisation works best when tied to real business relevance
- Deliverability infrastructure is essential for sustained origination
- Conversation-led CTAs outperform transactional deal language early
When This Approach Is a Strong Fit
This model works best for:
- boutique advisory firms sourcing off-market mandates
- fragmented founder-led industries
- high-trust, timing-sensitive transactions
- teams that want consistent origination without building SDR headcount
It’s less suitable for:
- low-ticket, high-volume sales motions
- firms unwilling to invest in segmentation and relevance
- purely inbound-dependent growth strategies
Want Results Like This?
We build system-led outbound origination engines for advisory firms, agencies, and high-trust B2B teams — designed for consistent founder conversations and predictable pipeline.
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