150+ brands won through a guarantee, a referral loop and a 40% higher close rate
We made the decision to work with us almost risk-free, delivered fast enough to prove it, and let our clients do the selling.
Flax LabsCOO & AdvisorDec 2024 – May 20263 min read- 150+
- Eight- and nine-figure brands managed
- +40%
- Close rate
- 3x
- ROAS guarantee in month one
- 925+
- Team size
Context
Agencies are a crowded, low-trust category. Most brand founders have been burned by one before, and every pitch sounds the same. Winning eight- and nine-figure clients meant giving them a reason to believe us before we had earned it.
The answer was to put our money where our mouth was, and then build the engine so that every client we delivered for brought in the next one.
The thesisWhen value is easy to understand and takes little effort from the client to achieve, a yes is easy to earn.
How we changed the offer
- A 3x ROAS guaranteeIf we did not hit 3x ROAS or higher after the first month, the client did not pay for that month.
- A new pitch and discovery callExecutives joined discovery for every major prospect, and the conversation centred on the client’s numbers rather than our services.
- Pricing that rewards scaleA lower base fee with much more upside as the client grew, so our incentives matched theirs.
- Top-tier talentWe hired the best people we could find and bet on the team to deliver what the guarantee promised.
Each of these removes a specific reason to say no. The guarantee removes risk. Executive involvement removes doubt about whether senior people will actually care about the account. Pricing tied to growth removes the worry that the agency is paid regardless of results.
The client growth loop
Read this as a loop rather than a funnel. The guarantee gets a client in the door with almost no risk. Fast results in the first month earn trust, transparent reporting keeps it, and new services grow the account.
The last step is the one that compounds: happy clients became our most effective sales channel, introducing us to peers who trusted their recommendation more than any ad.
Where clients came from
| Channel | How it worked | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Referrals and word of mouth | Clients we delivered for introduced their peers | Primary engine |
| Partnerships | Marketing personalities ran social, inventory and web; we ran ads, SEO and creative | Complementary reach |
| Paid ads | Our own campaigns, run with the same system we used for clients | Steady top of funnel |
Most clients came through organic and word-of-mouth loops. Paid acquisition and partnerships filled in around them. The partnerships worked because each side did what it was best at: we ran ads, SEO, creative and ecommerce management, while partners handled social media, inventory and websites for the same brands.
Results
Changing the pitch and putting executives in the room for major prospects raised the close rate by more than 40%. With the guarantee in place, the conversation shifted from whether to trust us to how quickly we could start.
The model scaled: Flax Labs reached eight-figure monthly revenue with a team of 14, then added 13 more people shortly after.
The best sales channel is a client who got more than they expected. Remove the risk of saying yes, deliver fast, and let results do the selling.