Preview Mode Links will not work in preview mode

Small Spark Theory: a marginal gains approach to new business and marketing


New business is one of those subjects guaranteed to get a reaction from agency owners everywhere. Many will have a nagging feeling they should be doing a bit more, wonder how other agencies manage to land the accounts they covet, have moments of wild inspiration and energy then falter because the day job just, well gets in the way.
Gunpowder’s Lucy Mann has worked in agency new business for over 25 years and has witnessed these scenarios, and many more like them, as an outsourced new business telemarketer, a new business recruitment consultant, in house new business developer, in house head of marketing, and new business mentor across multiple disciplines and agency shapes and sizes.
Regardless of size and discipline, many agencies encounter the same new business challenges, and more and more, the solution is not necessarily an ambitious marketing plan, or expensive sales resource, but instead a forensic application of process and a marginal gains approach to performance improvement.
Gunpowder’s podcast, Small Spark Theory® explores the small changes we can make to our sales and marketing process to achieve better new business results. With contributions from a range of experts, each episode will examine a single element of the process in detail, providing manageable tips for improvement.

Find our more about Gunpowder Consulting, please visit gunpowderconsulting.com
Follow us on Twitter @gunpowdertweets and join the conversation #smallsparktheory
Music from Jukedeck - create your own at http://jukedeck.com.
Host - Lucy Mann
Producer - Isabelle Jarvis

Jun 1, 2026

Ask most agency owners how profitable their last project was, and you'll get one of two answers: a rough guess, or a long pause.

This kind of data is rarely readily available, and when it is, it's usually buried in a spreadsheet that someone else built, that nobody's updated since for months, with a formula that breaks in the click of a mouse. 

And whilst there are a multitude of agency management platforms available, finding one that works for your agency, at your size, and providing ALL of the functionality and data you need in one place is almost impossible.

This is exactly the gap that Anna Appleton set out to close. Anna is co-founder of We Create Digital a small digital agency specialising in design, development, and accessibility, and the driving force behind Rofinery, an all-in-one agency management platform built by a small agency, for ALL agencies.

In this episode, we talk about:

  • Why data is one of the most overlooked components of winning and growing new clients
  • How Rofinery brings together pipeline, proposals, time tracking, resource planning, and profitability in one place
  • The hidden cost of "profitability leaks" — and why agency leaders are often the worst offenders
  • Building proposals grounded in real data, not finger-in-the-air estimates
  • Rofinery's refreshingly straightforward pricing model — and why it's staying that way

Of course there's a brilliant book recommendation: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. Join the conversation on LinkedIn using #smallsparktheory and we'll pick a winner and send you a copy.

Also mentioned in this episode:

Design Business Association In Focus Report

 

Get in touch with Anna:

Book a demo: rofinery.com Email: anna@rofinery.com