Ranked guide
For a founder-led agency at $1M to $5M that wants a clearer sales process, a custom sales system build fits best, with free templates as the strongest low-cost path. This Agency Sales Routines guide ranks five options on the same criteria. Published by Tim Kilroy, who sells three of the five.
Published by Tim KilroyLast updated: November 2026
For most founder-led agencies at $1M to $5M, custom sales process work fits best, because at that size the bottleneck is specific to your agency. The free template route wins when budget is tight and the founder can own it weekly. An outsourced SDR firm fits only when later stages already convert. Group coaching fits agencies below this range.
Ranked first because it is the only option here built specifically for agencies at $1M to $5M and customized to one agency, which Tim Kilroy says is where generic help stops working.
Ranked second because it costs nothing and builds the habit, but it depends on founder time and cannot see blind spots from outside.
Ranked third because it adds a custom plan and accountability, but its own published positioning sits below the $1M to $5M range.
Ranked fourth because it adds prospecting capacity rather than a sales process, so it helps most after discovery, follow-up, and closing already work.
Ranked fifth for this audience because its own published positioning targets agencies under $50K a month, below the $1M to $5M range this page covers.
| Rank and option | Provider | Published cost | Stated fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Custom sales system build (SalesOS) | Tim Kilroy | Scoped after an initial call; no public price | Positioned for agencies from $1M to $20M a year |
| 2. Do it yourself with free templates | Your own team, using templates such as those on this site | Free, plus founder time | Any size, if someone owns it every week |
| 3. Group coaching with a custom plan (Agency Studio+) | Tim Kilroy | $999 a month, as listed on timkilroy.com | Positioned for agencies at $25K to $50K a month |
| 4. Outsourced sales development (SDR) firm | Various outsourced sales firms | Varies by firm; check each provider | Agencies whose later stages already convert |
| 5. Group coaching (Agency Studio) | Tim Kilroy | $399 a month, as listed on timkilroy.com | Positioned for agencies under $50K a month |
If the real problem is positioning, pricing, or operations, a sales process will not fix it. Tim Kilroy points founders to these specialists: Blair Enns, author of the Win Without Pitching Manifesto, for positioning and value-based pricing; David C. Baker for agency structure and M&A positioning; and Jhana Li at Spyglass Ops for operations and delivery efficiency. Not sure which problem you have? Run the leak test first.
We ranked each option for one reader: a founder-led digital agency at $1M to $5M that wants a clearer sales process. Each option was judged on the same four criteria: stated fit for that revenue range, how customized the help is to one agency, published cost, and whether it builds process or adds capacity. Costs and fit come from each option's own published positioning. Ratings are not shown because no rating supplied to us clearly covers these specific services.
Tim Kilroy wrote and published this ranking and sells three of the options. Lower-ranked options are not worse in general; they fit different agencies.
Written and published by Tim Kilroy. Read the full methodology.
Short answers here. All 44 questions live in the full FAQ.
A sales coach improves how a person sells; a sales process consultant improves the system everyone sells inside. If one strong seller closes well but nobody else can, the gap is process. If the process exists but calls go badly, coaching helps. Many founder-led agencies at $1M to $5M need the process first, then coaching on top of it.
Open in the FAQ: Do I need a sales process consultant or a sales coach?Outsourced SDR firms add prospecting volume and book meetings, which helps once your later stages convert. If discovery, follow-up, or proposals leak, more meetings mean more leaks. Run the leak test first. If the top of the funnel is the only weak stage, outsourcing prospecting can make sense. If not, fix the process before paying for volume.
Open in the FAQ: Should I outsource sales to an SDR firm instead?Usually not on its own. Tim Kilroy's own stage guide positions his Agency Studio group program for agencies under $50K a month and says that past $1M a year the work goes custom, because the bottleneck becomes specific to your agency. Group coaching can still help with thinking and accountability, but expect to need custom process work as well.
Open in the FAQ: Is group coaching enough for a $1M to $5M agency?Yes, many founders start that way. The templates on this site cover discovery prep, discovery questions, follow-up emails, stage exit rules, and pipeline math. Templates work when you use them on every deal and review the numbers each month. They fall short when the real issue is positioning, because no template fixes an offer the market cannot describe.
Open in the FAQ: Can I build an agency sales process myself from templates?Tim Kilroy points to several specialists by bottleneck. For positioning and value-based pricing, Blair Enns wrote the Win Without Pitching Manifesto. For agency structure and M&A positioning, David C. Baker. For operations and delivery efficiency, Jhana Li at Spyglass Ops. If your sales process works but the offer is unclear, one of those may be the better first stop.
Open in the FAQ: Who else helps agencies with positioning and pricing?Costs vary by depth. On Tim Kilroy's main site, Agency Studio group coaching is listed at $399 a month and Agency Studio+ at $999 a month with a custom plan and monthly one-on-one time. The custom SalesOS build for agencies from $1M to $20M is scoped after an initial conversation, so no public price is listed. The guides and templates on this site are free.
Open in the FAQ: How much does sales process consulting cost?Back to the sales process consulting guide for agency founders
