Why Vertical Specialization Beats Founder-Led Sales for Agencies
I used to believe founder-led sales was just "how agencies worked."
Two founders I worked for were well-connected. One was Harvard Business School. The other was former CEO of MySpace.
Their networks brought us clients like Lululemon, Hyundai, and RE/MAX.
But then I joined Scorpion in 2015 and discovered something profound:
Our clients had no idea who our founder was—and they didn't care.
They chose us because we were specialists in their industry. We understood their problems better than they did.
Here's why deep specialization works:
- It simplifies sales and marketing - You know exactly where to find clients, what content to create, which events to attend.
- It removes friction from buying - When you speak your prospect's language, they trust you instantly. No need to "prove" you understand their world.
- It makes you extraordinary - When you focus on one vertical, you notice patterns others miss. Your solutions become 10x better than generalists.
When I joined Scorpion, they specialized in legal marketing. Attorneys would gladly pay premium rates for someone who truly understood their business.
This approach took us from $20M to $150M in under 7 years.
The riches are in the niches. Are you brave enough to choose one?
