FAQ
Agency sales and coaching questions, answered
Last updated: November 2026 · Published by Tim Kilroy
What do agency owners ask most about sales and coaching?
Agency owners mostly ask how to build a sales process the team can run, how to run discovery calls, and what coaching costs. Below are 48 questions answered from Tim Kilroy's published material, grouped by topic, with the direct answer first.
What agency coaching and sales training is
What is marketing agency coaching?
Marketing agency coaching is ongoing advice for agency owners on the business side of the agency, not the client work. Tim Kilroy coaches marketing and creative agency owners on positioning, lead generation, sales processes, and agency operations, using group coaching, one-on-one coaching, and customized growth systems. He reports coaching more than 300 agencies.
Is Tim Kilroy a sales training agency?
Not in the classroom sense. Tim Kilroy coaches agency owners and their teams to build a repeatable sales process: discovery calls, qualifying, proposals, and follow-up. Instead of a one-time course, the work happens in coaching sessions and custom builds such as SalesOS, plus AI tools that review real sales calls so the training is reinforced.
What does a marketing agency mentor do?
A marketing agency mentor is an experienced operator who helps an owner make better business decisions. Tim Kilroy brings over 25 years of agency and marketing experience and has started three agencies, sold two, and closed one. In coaching he looks at numbers, pipeline, positioning, team, and leadership, then names the next move.
What do sales agencies do?
A sales agency is generally an outside firm that sells on behalf of another company, often on commission or retainer. That is different from what this guide covers. Tim Kilroy does not sell for agencies; he coaches agency owners to build a sales process their own team can run, so good-fit deals close without the founder on every call.
What is the WTF Agency Method?
The WTF Agency Method is the name Tim Kilroy uses for his diagnostic approach: find out what is actually broken in the agency, decide what order to fix it in, and then turn that understanding into revenue. A central idea is Return on Understanding, the view that deeper understanding of a prospect makes selling and serving easier.
Agency sales process basics
What is an agency sales process?
An agency sales process is the repeatable set of stages a prospect moves through from first awareness to signed contract. Tim Kilroy uses five stages: aware, interested, qualified, proposed, and closed. Each stage counts only when the prospect does something observable, which lets an agency measure where deals leak instead of guessing.
What are the 5 stages of the sales process?
Lists vary, but the five-stage agency funnel Tim Kilroy teaches is aware, interested, qualified, proposed, and closed. Someone is aware when they could name you unprompted, interested when they take an action, qualified when the problem is named in their words, proposed when they open the proposal, and closed when there is a signature.
What is a 7-step sales process?
The common seven-step model is prospecting, preparation, approach, presentation, handling objections, closing, and follow-up. It comes from general sales training, not from any single standard. For agencies, Tim Kilroy compresses this into five measurable stages and puts heavy weight on preparation and discovery, because most agency deals are lost by pitching too early.
What are the 8 steps of the selling process?
Eight-step versions usually split the seven-step model further, for example separating qualification from prospecting or adding a needs assessment. There is no official list. What matters for an agency is that each step has a clear entry rule and a number you can track, which is why Tim Kilroy measures stage-to-stage conversion over the last 90 days.
What is the 10 step sales process?
Ten-step sales processes are longer variations that add stages like referral requests, account review, or onboarding. Different trainers publish different lists. For most established agencies, more steps add tracking work without adding clarity. Tim Kilroy recommends five stages with strict counting rules, then fixing the single stage that loses the most people.
What is a standard sales process?
A standard sales process is a documented sequence everyone on the team follows, so results do not depend on one person. In agencies that person is usually the founder. Tim Kilroy calls this founder magic and coaches owners to turn what they know into infrastructure: stage definitions, discovery questions, proposal rules, and follow-up steps.
What is the 3 3 3 rule in sales?
The 3-3-3 rule has several definitions in sales writing, such as three touches in three channels over three weeks, so check which version a source means. Tim Kilroy does not teach a 3-3-3 rule. His follow-up method uses three parts in every message instead: recap what the prospect said, show relevance, and propose a clear next step.
What are the 5 P’s of sales?
The 5 P’s are usually borrowed from the marketing mix: product, price, place, promotion, and people, though trainers vary the list. For agency owners, Tim Kilroy’s three-part version is simpler: an ideal client, scalable lead generation, and the right offer for that client, meaning the right service and pricing model.
What are the 5 pillars of sales?
There is no single agreed set of five pillars of sales. Most lists include some mix of prospecting, qualifying, presenting, closing, and relationship management. Tim Kilroy frames agency growth around positioning, demand, a repeatable sales process, follow-up, and account growth with existing clients, since expanding current accounts carries no new acquisition cost.
Does this cover an insurance agency sales process?
No. This guide covers the sales process for marketing, PR, creative, digital, design, and advertising agencies, which is the audience Tim Kilroy coaches. Insurance agencies sell regulated products with different licensing and compliance rules, so an insurance agency sales process needs guidance from someone who works in that industry.
Discovery calls and qualifying the prospect
What is an agency discovery call?
An agency discovery call is a structured conversation whose only job is to understand the prospect’s problem well enough to decide whether a next step makes sense. Tim Kilroy is direct about it: a discovery call is not a sales call. You are not there to close, pitch, or run through case studies.
What should I learn on a discovery call?
Leave knowing what is broken in their business, how big the problem actually is, what they have already tried, how they make decisions, and whether you can genuinely help. Tim Kilroy’s test after any call is one question: what did you really learn about that prospect’s business? If the answer is your own process, it was a pitch.
Why do prospects ghost after a discovery call?
The most common reason, in Tim Kilroy’s coaching experience, is that the call was a pitch with a question stapled to the end. Without understanding the prospect’s situation, the agency sends a generic proposal that sounds like every other agency. Better discovery, plus a recap-based follow-up, gives the prospect a reason to reply.
How do I prepare for a discovery call?
Think about the prospect’s business before you dial in, not just their website. Tim Kilroy says most agencies blow the call by not preparing. Research the company, recent news, and the likely problems for someone in their role, then write the questions you need answered. Discovery Lab produces this kind of brief in about 60 seconds.
What does qualifying the prospect mean for an agency?
Qualifying the prospect means confirming out loud that there is a real problem, that solving it is worth money, and that you are talking to the person who decides. In Tim Kilroy’s funnel, a lead counts as qualified only when you can name the problem in the prospect’s own words.
What is the difference between a discovery call and a sales call?
A discovery call builds understanding; a sales call presents a solution and asks for a decision. Tim Kilroy treats them as separate stages. The goal of discovery is simply to earn the next call. The sales call comes after you understand the problem, so the proposal reflects their situation rather than your standard service.
Should my agency give away free strategy on sales calls?
Tim Kilroy argues against unlimited free strategy. One option he writes about is a paid diagnostic, a scoped, priced first engagement that lets the prospect experience your thinking while you get paid for it. It also filters out prospects who want ideas but never intended to hire.
Follow-up and AI sales-call review
How should an agency follow up after a sales call?
Every follow-up should include three parts: a recap of what the prospect said, a relevance section tying your offer to their situation, and a clear next step. Tim Kilroy’s follow-up playbook describes the follow-up as part of the delivery and warns against generic “just checking in” emails that undo the trust built on the call.
How many follow-ups does it take to close an agency deal?
Often several. Tim Kilroy’s follow-up playbook cites figures that 80% of sales require five or more follow-ups after the first meeting, while 44% of salespeople give up after one attempt. Treat these as widely circulated sales figures rather than agency-specific research, and track your own follow-up count per closed deal.
What is Call Lab?
Call Lab is an AI sales-call review tool from Tim Kilroy. You paste a call transcript and get a coaching breakdown of what worked, what did not, and what to change next time, including objection handling and next-step suggestions. Call Lab Instant analyzes a short recorded pitch with no account required.
What does Call Lab Pro add?
Call Lab Pro includes everything in Call Lab and adds scoring against sales methodologies such as SPIN, Challenger, MEDDIC, and Sandler. It also tracks improvement over time, suggests call follow-up steps, and recommends what to say on your next call, so a team can see whether coaching is actually changing behavior.
What is Discovery Lab?
Discovery Lab is a free prospect research tool from Tim Kilroy. It researches a company in about 60 seconds and returns a brief with a company overview, recent news, conversation starters, and smart questions to ask, so you walk into a discovery call already understanding the prospect’s business.
Can AI call review replace a sales coach?
It works best as reinforcement, not a replacement. AI review gives feedback on every call, which a human coach cannot do. Coaching decides what to fix and in what order. Published research summarized by SoloFire notes that most training fades within weeks unless it is reinforced, practiced, and coached.
Who this coaching is for
Who does Tim Kilroy work with?
Tim Kilroy works with marketing, creative, development, PR, and content agencies. His group program, Agency Studio, serves founders under $50K a month, and his custom builds, SalesOS and DemandOS, serve agencies between $1M and $20M a year. This guide focuses on established small marketing and PR agencies that have outgrown referrals.
What should I do when referrals stop being enough?
Build a system that does not depend on goodwill arriving on schedule. Tim Kilroy’s view is that referrals cannot scale on demand. The fix is a defined ideal client, scalable lead generation, and the right offer, plus a sales process that turns more of those conversations into signed work.
Is my agency too small for coaching?
Possibly. Tim Kilroy’s own guidance is that below about $20K a month you need reps and a clear offer more than a coach. From around $20K a month, structure becomes the problem, which is where Agency Studio starts. Past $1M a year, he recommends custom work instead of a group program.
Does this coaching work for PR agencies?
Yes. PR agencies are among the agency types Tim Kilroy names, alongside marketing, creative, development, and content agencies. The shared trait is that the agency sits inside its clients’ marketing and sales layer, so positioning, discovery, and sales process problems look very similar across them.
What if I am the only person at my agency who can sell?
That is the most common pattern Tim Kilroy sees, and he calls it founder magic. The founder senses objections and spots real deals but cannot explain how. The work is to drag that knowledge into a documented process, then prove the team can sell without you before you step away.
Pricing and cost
How much does agency coaching cost with Tim Kilroy?
Agency Studio costs $399 a month and Agency Studio+ costs $999 a month, according to Tim Kilroy’s published pricing. Studio+ adds a custom plan and a monthly one-on-one with Tim. SalesOS and DemandOS are custom builds scoped after a free call, so their prices are not published. Confirm current pricing on timkilroy.com.
What does coaching cost for a 7 figure agency?
For agencies past $1M a year, Tim Kilroy recommends custom work rather than the group program, so pricing is scoped after a free 30-minute WTF call instead of listed. That is the stage he calls the wall, $1M to $5M, where SalesOS is the usual fit. Ask for a scoped quote on the call.
Is the first call free?
Yes. Tim Kilroy offers a free 30-minute call he describes as no pitch. You explain what is going on in the agency, he helps diagnose the real problem rather than the symptom, and you leave knowing what to fix first whether or not you work together.
Are the AI sales tools free?
Some are. Call Lab Instant and Discovery Lab are listed as free. Call Lab is a standard tier and Call Lab Pro is a paid tier. Check timkilroy.com/agency-tools for current tiers, because tool pricing changes more often than coaching pricing.
What makes custom agency coaching cost more or less?
In general, scope drives cost: how many systems are being built, how many team members are involved, and how long the engagement runs. Tim Kilroy scopes SalesOS and DemandOS after a diagnostic call because no two agencies at that size are alike. Ask what is included, who attends, and how success is measured.
Compared to alternatives
Who is the best agency coach for a small marketing agency?
It depends on the bottleneck. Tim Kilroy’s own answer points to Blair Enns for positioning and value-based pricing, David C. Baker for M&A positioning and agency structure, Jhana Li at Spyglass Ops for operations and delivery efficiency, and himself for whole-team demand generation and agency sales process.
Should I hire a sales coach or a general sales trainer?
A general sales trainer teaches selling skills across industries. An agency coach works on why your agency specifically is stuck, which often turns out to be positioning or offer rather than closing technique. Tim Kilroy’s line is that many agencies do not have a sales problem; they have a positioning problem that looks like one.
Where can I read agency coach reviews for Tim Kilroy?
Tim Kilroy publishes founder testimonials on timkilroy.com/testimonial, and this guide summarizes them on its reviews page. These are testimonials the business chose to publish, not an independent review study. Ask any coach for references you can call, and ask what happened after the engagement ended.
How should I read seven figure agency reviews?
Look for specific before and after numbers, a stated timeframe, and a named founder or agency. Vague praise tells you little. On Tim Kilroy’s testimonial page, for example, one founder reports going from 7 clients to 17 in 10 weeks. Treat any coach’s published testimonials as selected examples rather than typical results.
Is “agency sales process” the same as selling my agency?
No, though search results mix them. Selling your agency is an M&A process with valuation, due diligence, and tax advice. Moore Kingston Smith reports advising on 63 media M&A deals worth over £800 million in five years. This guide covers the sales process for winning clients, which Tim Kilroy coaches.
Getting started and common problems
Where should I start fixing my agency sales process?
Measure first. Pull the last 90 days, count how many prospects entered each of the five stages, and calculate the conversion from each stage to the next. Tim Kilroy calls this the leak test and recommends fixing only the single stage that loses the most people this quarter.
How many sales conversations does my agency need each week?
Work backward from revenue. Divide the quarterly revenue goal by average deal size to get deals, divide by close rate to get proposals, divide by proposal rate to get conversations, then divide by 13 weeks. The calculator on this guide’s agency sales process page runs that math for you.
Why does my agency keep losing deals on price?
Usually because the buyer cannot see the specific outcome you create, so the rate is the only thing left to compare. Tim Kilroy’s fix is to shift the conversation to the outcome, raise the floor on who you take, and walk away from deals that anchor you low. Price objections are often positioning problems.
What is vertical positioning for an agency?
Vertical positioning means focusing an agency on one industry or market so buyers can describe you in a sentence. Tim Kilroy’s test is whether a prospect, client, teammate, or you can explain what you do in under 20 seconds. A niche buys faster trust and higher rates but concentrates risk in one market.
How do I get in touch with Tim Kilroy?
Use the contact page at timkilroy.com/contact, or book the free 30-minute call from timkilroy.com. Come with your current revenue range, where deals come from, and where they stall, so the conversation can get to diagnosis quickly.