Field guide / Start here
Last updated: Published by Tim Kilroy
An agency coach helps agency owners fix positioning, lead generation, sales process and operations, and this agency coach FAQ answers the questions owners of established marketing and PR agencies ask once referrals stop carrying growth. It is published by Tim Kilroy, who reports coaching more than 300 agencies.
An agency coach diagnoses why an agency's growth has stalled and helps the owner fix it in the right order. Tim Kilroy, the agency coach behind this FAQ, works on positioning, lead generation, sales process and operations through group coaching, one-on-one coaching, custom growth systems and AI tools for sales-call review and prospect research.
Agency coaching is structured, ongoing advice for the owner of a service agency, focused on the business rather than the client work. In the Agency Coach FAQ, the term covers the commercial side Tim Kilroy works on: positioning, lead generation, the sales process from first call to signature, pricing, hiring and the operating systems that let an agency grow without the founder doing everything.
It differs from a course because it works on your actual numbers, pipeline and calls. It differs from general business consulting because it is built around the patterns of agencies specifically: founder-led sales, referral dependence, retainers and the pressure of competing against many shops that sound alike. Tim Kilroy offers it as group coaching, one-on-one coaching and custom, done-with-you growth systems.
Industry figures as compiled by Haus Advisors, Marketing Agency Industry Statistics: 2026 Benchmarks. Tim Kilroy's figures are his own, as of November 2026. More in agency growth by the numbers.
Every format below is judged on the same four points: listed price, the revenue stage it suits, what you get, and how it works. Prices are as listed on timkilroy.com as of November 2026.
| Format | Listed price | Revenue stage | What you get | How it works |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free WTF call | Free, 30 minutes | Any agency deciding what to fix | A diagnosis of the real problem and what to fix first | One conversation, described as no pitch |
| Agency Studio | $399 per month | About $20K to $50K per month | Frameworks and straight answers on the business you bring | Group coaching with weekly working calls |
| Agency Studio+ | $999 per month | $25K to $50K per month | Everything in Agency Studio plus a custom plan | Group calls plus a monthly one-on-one with Tim |
| SalesOS | Scoped after a call | $1M to $20M per year | A custom agency sales engine, starting with positioning | Custom, done-with-you build |
| DemandOS | Scoped after a call | $1M to $20M per year | A whole-team demand system, not just the founder posting | Custom, done-with-you build |
Agency discovery questions are the open questions you ask on a first call to understand what is broken in a prospect's business, how big the problem is, what they have tried, how they make decisions and whether you can genuinely help. Tim Kilroy's rule is blunt: the discovery call is not a sales call. You are there to understand, not to walk through your deck or your case studies.
Start with why now, what it costs to leave the problem alone, what they have already tried, who else weighs in, and how they will know it worked. The agencies that close consistently are not better at pitching. In Tim Kilroy's words, they are better at understanding, and that understanding is what makes a proposal specific enough to win.
Qualifying the prospect means confirming, before you write a proposal, that there is a real problem, that solving it is worth money to them, that you are talking to the person who decides, and that you can actually help. In Tim Kilroy's five-stage agency funnel, a prospect only counts as qualified when you can name the problem in their words.
Qualification matters because unqualified proposals are where agency time goes to die. Landbase's roundup of lead qualification statistics reports that 67% of lost sales stem from improper lead qualification. Fewer, better-qualified proposals usually beat more proposals.
It is written for owners of established small marketing and PR agencies that grew on referrals and great delivery, and now find that referrals alone no longer fill the pipeline. That is the moment when positioning, offer design, sales process and outbound need to become systems instead of founder instinct.
If you are below about $20K a month, Tim Kilroy's own advice is to get reps on a clear offer before you pay for coaching. If you are past that, the guide for agencies that have outgrown referrals is the best next read.
An agency coach is an advisor who helps owners of marketing, creative and similar service agencies fix the business behind the work: positioning, lead generation, sales process, pricing and operations. Tim Kilroy coaches agency owners in group and one-on-one formats, reports coaching more than 300 agencies, and brings over 25 years of agency and marketing experience.
A coach usually helps you make better decisions and build habits over time, while a consultant diagnoses a problem and installs a specific system. Tim Kilroy does both. Agency Studio is group coaching built around weekly working calls, while SalesOS and DemandOS are custom, done-with-you builds scoped for agencies between $1M and $20M a year.
It fits owners of established service agencies whose growth has stalled because positioning, pipeline or sales still depend on the founder. Tim Kilroy works with marketing, creative, development, PR and content agencies, offering group coaching for agencies under $50K a month and custom builds for agencies between $1M and $20M in annual revenue.
Yes, very. Agencies often grow on delivery and referrals, so positioning, offer design, sales process and outbound never become systems. When referrals slow, those gaps tend to show up in the same quarter. The RSW/US 2025 Agency Survey, cited by Haus Advisors, found 93% of agencies say their growth engine is not strong enough.
The first step is agreeing out loud that there is a real problem worth paying to solve. In Tim Kilroy's five-stage agency funnel, a prospect counts as qualified only when both sides agree the problem is real, it is worth money, and the person you are talking to decides, and when you can name the problem in their words.
A discovery question is an open question that helps you understand the prospect's business, problem and decision process before you propose anything. Tim Kilroy defines the discovery call as a structured conversation whose only job is to understand the problem well enough to decide whether a next step makes sense. Selling comes later.
As listed on timkilroy.com as of November 2026, Agency Studio is $399 a month and Agency Studio+ is $999 a month, which adds a custom plan and a monthly one-on-one with Tim. SalesOS and DemandOS are custom builds scoped after a call, so they have no published price. Check timkilroy.com for current pricing.
Name your biggest constraint first: positioning, pipeline, conversion or delivery. Then reach Tim Kilroy through the contact page on timkilroy.com. If you are not sure where the problem is, the WTF Assessment on his site is a two-minute diagnostic designed to show where an agency is stuck and which tools to use first.
Tim Kilroy coaches owners of marketing, creative, PR and other service agencies on positioning, pipeline and sales. Tell him what is going on, and he will help you find what to fix first.
