In the latest 300 Seconds on Agency Growth, designed for agency leaders looking to build holistic growth, we sit down with Robin Skidmore from Journey Further.
1. Sell the growth problem
Robin stopped calling Journey Further a performance agency because clients rarely have a “search problem”. Search is the symptom of something further up the chain, in their data, technology or operations.
Labelled as a channel specialist, you get treated as an executional partner. You’re brought in to fix a problem the client has already diagnosed, and you rarely reach the senior stakeholders who own the bigger challenges. Leading with the growth challenge and choosing channels afterwards changed that. Since repositioning, Journey Further is winning bigger brands, selling more services from day one, and signing two to three-year contracts instead of landing one service and bolting on extras.
With digital-only agencies averaging under three years’ tenure, against seven for integrated agencies, that matters commercially.
2. Efficiency isn’t a differentiator
Every agency is using AI to cut costs and protect margin. Robin’s point is that clients won’t pay more for that, so efficiency alone just keeps you level with everyone else.
The commercial value sits in two places. First, technology that is genuinely yours and makes your proposition harder to copy. Second, giving the curious people in your business the tools to solve problems themselves, freeing up time for better conversations about outcomes rather than delivery.
That changes who you hire. You need fewer people on the keyboard and more T-shaped generalists, strategists and relationship builders. Journey Further had no client service team for seven years. It’s now one of the fastest-growing parts of the business.
3. Stop scaling by headcount
Robin’s old advice was to build for the next size up: at 10 people, operate like 50; at 50, like 100. He no longer believes it. Headcount used to be a badge of honour. It isn’t anymore.
His advice to agencies at 50 people is to stop and take stock. Where are the pinch points? Is the current operating model good enough to get you where you want to go? Change it at each milestone rather than carrying on with what you have.
The same discipline applies to acquisitions. Buy a capability when its buyers look different from your current buyers. If clients don’t see you as that kind of agency, building it in-house won’t get you on their shortlist.
The common thread: sustainable growth doesn’t come from doing more of the same. It comes from being clear about the value you create and building the commercial model around it.
Listen in full here.