Inbound leads are not a growth strategy.
They’re a gamble. And most agencies don’t even realise it.
5 reasons why relying on inbound leads will kill your agency:
1. You lose control over your pipeline.
2. Quality varies and often, it’s bad.
3. You can’t scale predictably.
4. You waste time chasing weak leads.
5. You’re reactive, not strategic.
Inbound is passive.
You wait, you hope, you refresh your inbox.
But outbound?
1. It’s controlled.
2. You choose who you speak to.
3. You target industries, budgets, timelines.
Want real growth?
- Treat outbound like a skill.
- Set up inbound-led-outbound tool.
- Build systems.
- Get uncomfortable.
- Be proactive.
You don’t need 100 inbound leads. You need 10 perfect-fit outbound conversations.
PS: Are you still relying on inbound to grow your agency? Or do you have an outbound system in place?
Love this, Mitchell! You're right, relying on inbound leads can feel like a gamble. Outbound gives you control and lets you target the right people. Treating it like a skill to develop and building systems around it makes total sense
As a solo founder I've been mostly relying on inbound while I was building the product and maturing it, but now that it's in a great place with early positive feedback and paying customers I'm starting to navigate that switch. I've also gotten much clearer on my ICP over time which I think is important for effective outbound
Have you found that having a strong outbound strategy has changed the way you approach inbound?
Thanks so much and yes, you’re absolutely right: getting clarity on your ICP is half the battle. Once that’s locked in, outbound becomes way more surgical and way less draining.
Funny enough, building a strong outbound system actually improved how we think about inbound too. Because now, when someone comes in organically, we can quickly see if they match our ICP, what pages they viewed, and even surface the right person to follow up with, that feedback loop helps a lot.
We use a tool we built internally (Leadsourcing.co) to bridge the two, kind of turns inbound traffic into outbound signals. Happy to swap notes if you’re in the thick of that transition!
"You don’t need 100 inbound leads. You need 10 perfect-fit outbound conversations."
Well said. Of course, the ideal is perfect-fit inbound leads. A money magnet.
High quality referrals. Best of both worlds.
perfect-fit inbound leads are the dream. When your positioning, brand, and content align just right, they act like a magnet. But for most growing teams, that level of inbound consistency takes time. Outbound lets you create momentum while you build the magnet. Thanks Jay for the comment!
Yes, good point Mitchell. Win from both types of marketing!
This hits home, Mitchell! Multi-channel engagement is definitely the way to cut through the noise and avoid getting ghosted.
In the compliance space we work in at CompliAssistant (focused on HIPAA for SMBs), we’ve found that adding personalized, compliance-specific content—like tailored checklists or mini-guides—to follow-ups really helps keep prospects engaged and educated.
Especially when compliance can feel overwhelming, providing actionable value upfront builds trust and keeps conversations moving.
Curious how others in regulated industries keep their follow-ups personalized and effective? Would love to learn!
If anyone’s interested in how we’re helping SMBs stay compliant more easily, here’s our site: https://hipaaassistant.com
Thanks for sharing! :)
Appreciate it, Mitchell — if you ever come across agencies dealing with HIPAA headaches, feel free to send them my way. Always happy to help - compliassistant@gmail.com
agreed
💪
Totally agree , inbound is great when it works, but it’s unpredictable and mostly out of your control.
So you will need both inbound and outbound. It gives you the control lever, so even when inbound slows, the pipeline doesn’t.
Preach! Inbound feels safe until the inbox dries up...
Exactly:) Inbound feels great when it’s working, but when the tap turns off, there’s no fallback. Outbound gives you that control and repeatability, especially when paired with the right targeting and systems. I learned that the hard way.
There should be mixture of both inbound and outbound leads. Inbound leads are results of strong organic growth or a interest in your product or company
Spot on! inbound can be gold when it’s from genuine interest or organic traction. But relying on it alone can be risky. That’s why I’m a fan of the hybrid play: using inbound to spot intent signals, then scaling with outbound to drive momentum. Best of both worlds.
By this (intent signals), do you mean following up with those particular inbound leads or using them as a reference for the kind of accounts to target with outbound?
Exactly both, actually. Intent signals from inbound can guide your outbound in two ways:
- Prioritize who to follow up with right now (they’re already warm).
- Spot patterns, industry, regions, behavior and build outbound lists that mirror your best inbound leads.
It’s like using inbound to train your outbound aim and also you can measure the results by doing different a/b testings with content and targeted list.
"using inbound to train your outbound" is a brilliant way to put it! Thanks for answering my question.
Not a problem at all, always love sharing :)