Background

Established in 1978, Cumberland Marketing has built a formidable reputation as a digital and creative agency, primarily through referrals, achieving the $1M/year revenue mark. However, this referral-based growth model led to unpredictable expansion and network exhaustion. Recognizing the need for a more sustainable approach, their VP of Sales/Marketing, Tori, sought our expertise to build a consistent sales pipeline.

Challenges

Cumberland Marketing faced a perfect storm of growth obstacles despite their long-standing industry presence. Their over-reliance on referrals resulted in sporadic revenue streams and an alarmingly dry sales pipeline. The agency struggled to initiate effective outbound strategies, lacking both the know-how and the systems to support such efforts. Most critically, their attempts to close deals from non-referral sources consistently fell short, leaving them trapped in a cycle of referral dependency and unable to scale predictably.

Solution

We implemented a multi-faceted strategy to revitalize Cumberland’s lead generation and sales process:

• Targeted lookalike companies to those they had successfully worked with, ensuring a high degree of relevance and increasing the likelihood of engagement.
• Deployed an email infrastructure capable of reaching 500 nonprofits daily, focusing on organizations mirroring their ideal client profile.
• Leveraged Cumberland’s extensive portfolio and industry recognition to craft authority-building outreach, significantly boosting response rates.
• Developed results-driven copy that spoke directly to the unique pain points of nonprofit organizations, identified through AI-powered market research.
• Reconstructed their sales process from the ground up, providing intensive 1-on-1 coaching with Tori for 3 hours weekly over a month to ensure seamless implementation and adoption of new outbound strategies.

This comprehensive approach not only filled their pipeline but also equipped Cumberland with the tools and knowledge to sustain growth independently.