Holiday Thought Exercise: "Is it Me or the Market?"

if you're using the holiday break to plan for a strong Q1, this conversation will reshape how you think about pipeline.

[this is an Encore Episode originally aired December 3, 2025]

Nick Petroski, founder of Promethean Research and the industry's go-to source for agency market data, spent years studying what actually drives growth for digital agencies. Not best practices or guru advice, but real numbers from real shops.

What he found challenges conventional wisdom. The agencies getting the most predictable growth aren't the ones with the slickest outbound machines, they're the ones who've built systems around relationships they already have. Nick breaks down the ownership gaps, comp structures, and tactical frameworks that separate random referrals from repeatable revenue. If you're heading into 2026 wondering whether your pipeline issues are a "you" problem or a market problem, this conversation will help you see which levers you actually control.

What You'll Leave With:
-The "is it me or the market?" framework for diagnosing your real pipeline problems
-Why shrinking total addressable markets make relationship-based growth less optional and more strategic
-How to structure account manager compensation to drive growth, not just retention (70-30 vs 60-40 splits explained)
-A tactical approach for asking clients for specific introductions without feeling pushy or salesy
-Why your Fortune 500 "locked down" account might actually be your biggest referral opportunity
-The consultative mindset shift that makes asking for referrals feel like service, not sales
-How to identify which accounts actually have referral potential worth pursuing

Mentioned Resources / Links:

-Video Training: How to Scale Your Agency with Systematic Referrals and Strategic Partnerships (30 min)

-From Random to Repeatable: The Digital Agency Referral Playbook - Nick's research report on systematizing referrals