2025 has been a challenging year for new business—but you’re not alone. In our recent Finish Strong webinar, we polled agency leaders on how difficult new business has been compared to the prior year. 80% said it’s been harder or significantly harder. That’s up from 76% in May, but the reality is clear: most firms still face headwinds.

Compounding the challenge, 65% of agencies are experiencing longer sales cycles, and the average satisfaction score for agency business development programs is just 48%. The good news? Agencies are thriving right now because they’ve adopted a modern, systematic approach to business development.

In the webinar, I shared the 5 secrets top-performing agencies are using to finish 2025 strong and set themselves up for a record-breaking 2026.

Secret 1: Referrals Are Not a Growth Strategy—Relationship-Making™ Is

For years, agencies have relied on referrals and word-of-mouth to drive growth. While those leads feel great when they arrive, they’re unpredictable and keep you trapped in a feast-or-famine cycle.

71% of agencies still list referrals as their primary growth channel. That means they’re invisible to their dream clients unless someone happens to make an introduction.

Instead, today’s most successful agencies focus on Relationship-Making™, a process for identifying, building, and nurturing meaningful connections with ideal prospects before they’re in-market.

The model has three parts:

1. Identify: Define your Ideal Company Profile (ICP) and buyer personas. Create a named target account list so you’re not casting a wide net, but focusing on high-value companies.
2. Build: Develop thought leadership that addresses those prospects’ challenges, and proactively get it in front of them through awareness and demand-gen campaigns.
3. Nurture: Stay visible and provide value over time, so you’re top of mind when they are ready to buy.

If you rely heavily on referrals, run a quick “referral dependency test.” Look at the last 12 months of new opportunities, and calculate what percentage came from referrals versus proactive outreach. If the former dominates, it’s time to build a system that puts you in control.

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Secret 2: You Don’t Need a Rainmaker—You Need a Repeatable System

Many agencies try to solve their new business problem by hiring a “rainmaker” with a big Rolodex. They hope their contacts will translate into fast wins. In reality, this often fails. 64% of agencies report their last new business hire was unsuccessful, and 76% of business dev directors have a tenure of under two years.

Even if that hire does bring in a project or two, the pipeline often dries up when they leave, because there’s no system to sustain results.

That’s why you need a repeatable framework, like the FOCUS™ Framework that any team member can step into:

• Find & Prioritize Accounts: Identify and target companies with similar challenges.
• Orchestrate Thought Leadership: Differentiate with content that shows your authority.
• Create Awareness & Demand: Warm up accounts before outreach.
• Uncover Buying Signals: Use intent data and engagement tracking to spot when prospects are ready.
• Strike with Precision: Reach out to the right people at the right time.

When your system doesn’t depend on one person’s network, you create sustainable growth that can scale.

Secret 3: In B2B, Brand Is Just as Important as Performance

The old belief that “performance marketing is all we need” ignores a critical reality: 70% of B2B buyers complete most of their decision-making before ever speaking to a seller, and 80% already have a preferred vendor at first contact.

If you’re only chasing in-market buyers with cold outreach or ads, you’re invisible during the research phase when shortlists are being formed.

Top agencies build a Brand + Performance Flywheel:

• Brand marketing creates awareness, trust, and preference before prospects are in-market. This includes thought leadership, sponsorships, PR, and value-first newsletters.
• Performance marketing activates hot prospects ready to buy now, using tactics like outbound sales, retargeting, and event follow-up.

The optimal mix in B2B? Research shows a 46% brand / 54% activation split. Skipping the brand investment means you’re fighting over scraps at the end of the buyer’s journey.

Secret 4: Think Like a Media Company, Not a Vendor

Most agencies treat content as a self-promotional tool, sharing awards, client wins, and team updates. While this is nice for internal morale, it rarely matters to prospects.

Media companies, by contrast, treat their audience as their primary asset. They produce content that educates, entertains, and builds loyalty, even among those not ready to buy. The result? A warm, engaged audience that trusts them over time.

Agencies can borrow from this mindset by:

• Treating their audience as an asset to be nurtured.
• Creating content worth following, regardless of purchase intent.
• Measuring success by engagement depth, not just pipeline.
• Publishing consistently to build habits.
• Using multiple distribution channels (owned, social, partner).
• If you couldn’t sell anything for 12 months, what would keep your ideal prospects coming back weekly? That’s the kind of content strategy that builds long-term market presence.

Secret 5: Content-Based Networking Beats Traditional Cold Outreach

Great content alone doesn’t close deals—and chasing vanity metrics like clicks and downloads won’t get you into the right rooms. Instead, use content creation as a relationship engine.

Content-Based Networking means inviting your dream prospects to collaborate on content—podcasts, virtual roundtables, newsletter features, or joint articles. By making them the star, you start a genuine relationship while producing shareable assets.

Examples include:

• Hosting a podcast with decision-makers from target accounts as guests.
• Running curated roundtables with CMOs in your niche.
• Featuring industry leaders in your newsletter.
• Partnering on co-branded content to tap into each other’s networks.

Why does this work? Because 43% of adults say they’d like to be at least “slightly famous.” Executives are often eager for platforms that showcase their expertise, especially in front of peers.

Putting It All Together

The agencies winning right now aren’t waiting for leads to land in their lap. They’re building systems, investing in brand, creating valuable content, and using it strategically to form relationships.

If you’re tired of over-relying on referrals, chasing cold leads, or seeing inconsistent results from your marketing, it may be time to update your playbook.

That’s where our The Relationship-Making™ Blueprint can help. This 10-week program gives you the step-by-step framework, tools, and coaching to implement these five secrets in your agency—and start landing the 6- and 7-figure opportunities that will help you finish the year strong.

For more information, visit https://christianbanach.com/blueprint.