Our approach
How the recommendations on this site are formed.
Recommendations on this site come from one rule Tim Kilroy applies in coaching: diagnose before you prescribe. Every page matches advice to an agency's revenue stage and real bottleneck, uses only facts Tim Kilroy has published about his own work, and names the source of every outside statistic.
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How does Tim Kilroy decide what an agency should fix first?
He looks at the whole agency before picking a fix: numbers, pipeline, positioning, team, and leadership. Problems in an agency exist in relation to each other, so a fix in one place can cause a fire in another. The first recommendation is the constraint that unlocks the most, which is often positioning, and often subtraction rather than another tactic.
Method
The approach in brief
Tim Kilroy's method, the WTF Agency Method, has three parts that also shape this site. First, find out what is actually going on, using real numbers rather than impressions. Second, fix things in the right order, because positioning problems often look like sales problems. Third, turn understanding into revenue with systems the team can run, not tactics that depend on the founder.
How each page is built
Start from the reader’s stage
Advice is matched to revenue stage, using Tim Kilroy’s published ladder from under $20K a month to $20M a year.
Use only published facts about Tim’s work
Prices, programs, and figures come from timkilroy.com. Nothing is estimated or rounded in his favor.
Source every outside number
Industry statistics are quoted as published, with the source named and linked where possible.
Treat client stories as client stories
Testimonials are presented as each client’s own report, never as audited or guaranteed results.
Say who else might fit
Where another coach or option suits a reader better, the page says so.
How the coach guide was ranked
The agency coach guide lists the coaches and advisors Tim Kilroy names in his own published answer about the best coach for a small agency. Each is judged on focus area, the bottleneck it fits best, and fit for one stated reader. Tim Kilroy publishes the guide and ranks himself first for that reader, which the page says plainly.
Further reading
For the research behind the statistics, see Haus Advisors' agency benchmarks and SoloFire's sales training research, or the by the numbers page. Return to marketing agency coaching for the overview.
Questions agency owners ask
What is the WTF Agency Method?
The WTF Agency Method is Tim Kilroy’s approach to agency growth: find out what is actually going on in your agency before prescribing tactics. It means diagnosing the real constraint, fixing problems in the right order, and turning a deep understanding of your market into revenue. Its core ideas include Return on Understanding, diagnose before you prescribe, and systems over tactics.
What if I am not sure what is actually broken in my agency?
That is normal, and it is the reason Tim Kilroy diagnoses before prescribing. Symptoms like feast-or-famine leads, price-driven deals, or cash flow swings often trace back to one root cause such as unclear positioning. The WTF Assessment takes two minutes, and the free WTF call is designed to separate the real problem from the symptom.
Who is the best agency coach for a small marketing agency?
It depends on your bottleneck. Tim Kilroy’s published answer points to Blair Enns, author of the Win Without Pitching Manifesto, for positioning and value-based pricing; David C. Baker for M&A positioning and agency structure; Jhana Li at Spyglass Ops for operations and delivery efficiency; and his own DemandOS for whole-team demand generation in $1 million to $20 million agencies.
How should I read agency coach reviews?
Look for specific, named results and the stage of the agency involved, because generic praise tells you little. Testimonials published on timkilroy.com name founders and agencies, such as Bostjan Belingar of Hustler Marketing reporting a move from 7 clients to 17 in 10 weeks. Treat any testimonial as one client’s experience, then ask the coach how they work on a free call.
What is the WTF Assessment?
The WTF Assessment is a two-minute diagnostic on timkilroy.com. It is designed to show where your agency is stuck and which tools or programs to use first. It is a useful step if you know something is wrong but cannot yet name whether the constraint is positioning, pipeline, sales conversion, or operations.
Tell Tim what is going on in your agency.
Start with the contact page on timkilroy.com. The first strategy call is free, runs 30 minutes, and is built to find the real problem before anyone suggests a fix.
Contact Tim Kilroy