Storytelling, Trust, and the Long Game of Agency Growth (with Alex Marshall)

What actually drives agency growth when pipelines are noisy, buyers are skeptical, and everyone sounds the same?

In this episode, Dan Englander sits down with Alex Marshall, a longtime agency growth leader with two decades of experience across holding companies and independents, to unpack what really moves the needle. They explore why trust and relevance matter more than tactics, how storytelling shows up late in the sales cycle, and why relationships compound over time even when results aren’t immediate.

This is a grounded conversation about growth as a discipline, not a hack. 

🧭 What You’ll Learn

• The real differences between growth at holding companies vs independents
• Why agency specialization can both help and hurt sales
• How storytelling works after the first sales call
• Why “just checking in” emails fail
• What actually reactivates dormant or boomerang clients
• How to stay relevant to skeptical CMOs
• Why relationship-building beats short-term metrics
• How agencies should think about referrals and alliances

🕒 Timestamps

00:00 – Alex’s background and global agency experience 
 04:30 – Holding companies vs independents: growth tradeoffs
 06:00 – Relationship-building across regions and cultures
 10:20 – When specialization helps — and when it limits you
 16:45 – Storytelling as a sales tool, not just marketing
 20:40 – Coalition-building in complex B2B sales
 23:30 – Re-engaging dormant and boomerang clients
 26:40 – Why timing and relevance matter more than frequency
 29:20 – Managing time across the full funnel
 32:10 – Measuring progress without over-relying on metrics
 35:00 – Selling to skeptical CMOs in uncertain markets
 38:00 – Why referrals and trust compound over time
 41:00 – Strategic partnerships and being “something to someone”
 45:45 – Making referral asks easier — and more effective