Small Spark Theory: a marginal gains approach to new business and marketing

EP105: Saving the Client–Agency Relationship | Nigel Sarbutts | Structured Mediation

09 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of Small Spark Theory, we're continuing our exploration of the true value of client relationships, but this time, we're asking: what ...

EP104: A Deeper Dive into Client Development | Catherine Allison | Master the Art

03 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In a market where new business feels harder, slower, and more competitive than ever, agencies can no longer afford to overlook the opportunity sitting...

EP103: Unlocking Growth Through Client Leadership | Kim Lawton | Enthuse Marketing

16 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Here we are at the end of 2025 and our last episode of the year. I know this year has been a tough one for many agencies, for many reasons. So I want...

EP102: The Evolution of Business Development | Nicky Rinks & Rich Banham | Daylight Bureau

10 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

New business, business development, lead generation, prospecting. Call it what you will – for agencies, the practice of attracting and winning new c...

EP101: AI and the Law: What Agencies Need to Know | Sharon Playford | Excello Law

05 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Finally – an episode dedicated to AI! Not the big "future of our industry" debate, but a practical look at the contractual and IP implications of o...

EP100: UK Design Agency Positioning Audit | Emily Penny | BeColourful

31 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to the 100th episode of Small Spark Theory! You may have spotted that earlier this summer, Emily Penny and Joel Stein released the Fully Satur...

EP99: A new agency marketplace | Pete Sayburn | StudioSpace

10 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

I'm always fascinated with innovations in the space that exists between agencies and their potentail clients, whether that's new marketing channels (h...

EP98: A client perspective | John Gleason | A Better View

27 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Against a backdrop of news disproportionately full of business headlines, this month felt like the perfect opportunity to bring a client perspective t...

EP97: Why independent agencies matter | Amar Chohan | DCA

12 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

One of the most exciting developments I've spotted so far in 2025 has to be the launch of the Department of Creative Affairs (DCA). So, I was delighte...

EP96: What to measure and why | Lucy Mann

18 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Can you believe we're already in February? In this episode, we're diving deep into one of the most crucial (yet often overlooked) aspects of agency sa...

EP95: Thriving as An Agency in 2025 | Jim Hawker

16 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

  Kicking off our 2025 line-up, we catch up with previous guest Jim Hawker. Since discussing client development with us back in 2019 (se...

EP94: Empowering your people to drive growth | Zoe Tuffs | Times Ten

09 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As we wrap up 2024 with this final episode, I've been reflecting on the many conversations I've had with agencies throughout the year, as well as the...

EP93: Managing sales and marketing as you scale | Alisha Lyndon | Momentum ITSMA

08 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As we discussed in episode 92 with Stephen Kenwright, a solid sales and marketing strategy is crucial for agency growth. However, realising that growt...

EP92: How to scale fast | Stephen Kenwright

09 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The thing with marginal gains is that it feels small. And we could be forgiven for thinking that applying this approach to agency growth is simply abo...

EP91: An agency M&A update | David Blois | M&A Advisory

04 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It's been 6 years since Tony Walford from Green Square joined me on Small Spark Theory to discuss the practicalities of selling an agency.  To say a...

EP90: Unlocking the power of agency newsletters | Jamie Woodbridge | The Inbox Club

07 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Of all of the marketing tools available to agencies, I'd wager that one of the most effective, yet most overlooked, is the humble email newsletter.  ...

EP89: Agency lessons from an ultra-runner | Clair Heaviside | Serotonin

03 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Small Spark Theory has always been about a mindset. When I started this podcast back in 2017 I wanted to harness the marginal gains thinking that was ...

EP88: Beyond creativity - the commercial skills you need to succeed | Tim Perry

05 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Early on in my agency career I often used to hear the expression 'great creative work will sell itself', and its close cousin 'do great work and the c...

EP87: Why we need to stop 'doing' new business | Lucy Mann

08 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Over the recent months, I have observed how agencies have been experiencing the impact of economic uncertainty - including the stalling of client deci...

EP86: In-house creative teams. An agency threat or opportunity? | Emma Sexton

03 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Over recent episodes we've referenced many of the macro issues facing brands which have in turn slowed down or stalled new business opportunities for ...

EP85: Changing Perception | Steve Garside | TMW

05 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

EP85:  Changing perception | Steve Garside | TMW            Have you ever felt that your agency is pigeonholed by clients and prospects as ...

EP84: Reposition, rename, rebrand | Rachel Cook | ThreeTenSeven

08 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Here we are at the beginning of 2024 and it feels fitting for our first episode of the year to celebrate change. Last Summer, 40 year old agency Thom...

EP83: Winning proposals | Joe Ardeeser | Smart Pricing Table

01 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

December 2023 marks seven years of Small Spark Theory. Mindblowing then that's it's taken this long for a dedicated episode on the topic of proposals ...

EP82: How to improve performance and reduce stress | David Meikle | HTBAG

03 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Regular listeners to this podcast will know that we spend a lot of time here talking about relationships. Of course there is much to say in our indust...

EP81: Launching an agency product | Paul Halfpenny | Filter

09 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

I have met many agencies over the years who have had ideas for spinning out their own products.  The outcomes have been varied. From those who have s...

EP80: Winning new business in the US | Kat Thay | Katalyst

04 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How much of your agency revenue comes from overseas clients? Did you know that the US is the largest recipient of UK exports, receiving £3.9bn worth ...

EP79: An intermediary perspective | Dominic Glenn | Ingenuity

11 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Understanding how clients are buying agency services is fundamental to how we shape our new business and marketing strategies and processes. In recent...

EP78: Managing digital capacity | Manish Dudharejia | E2M

10 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Winning new clients has never been straightforward. But after the upheaval of the last few years, last year in particular we saw an added complicatio...

EP77: AI, Web3 and the agency | Warren Hutchinson | Else

12 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

I feel as though we've been skirting around the edges of a beast of a topic for some time on this podcast, namely emergent technology and its impact o...

EP76: A buyer perspective | Tina Fegent

04 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In recent episodes, we've talked a lot about change and uncertainty, the persistent undercurrents unsettling our new business efforts and impacting ou...

EP75: Mastering uncertainty | Matt Watkinson | Methodical

06 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When I saw the title of Matt Watkinson's new book, Mastering Uncertainty, earlier this year I jumped at the chance to interview him on the podcast.  ...

EP74: New business trends | Alex Sibille | Future Factory

13 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The recent acquisition of new business agency Future Factory by their leading competitor Ingenuity has been headline news in the new biz community. Fo...

EP73: Market relevance | Mark Wilson | Futurestate Design Co

05 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Any regular listeners to this podcast will know that I love agencies. I have a deep fascination for the dynamics of what are often small businesses, a...

EP72: What to expect in 2023 | Steve Parks | Convivio

11 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How do you feel about the year ahead? Confident? Concerned? Uncertain? Wherever you are on this spectrum, one thing we must be, is ready.  I particul...

EP71: Managing mindset | Wendy Bollard

04 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Whichever way we cut it, 2022 has been A LOT. The last few years have seen so much change; for individuals, businesses and our industry. Many of us ar...

EP70: A client perspective | Gareth Turner | Big Black Door

07 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It's been a little while since we had a client perspective on this podcast, and given the current economic wobbles, now feels like an excellent time t...

EP69: New business talent | Adam Graham | BD Matters

30 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It's been a while since we talked about new business talent on this podcast. But after a bumpy couple of years, it seems like the right time to shine ...

EP68: Marginal gains in practice | Joe Perkins | Chaptr

08 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The theme for this series has always been to explore how we can use a marginal gains thinking to improve agency new business and marketing performance...

EP67: The Summer Reset | Lucy Mann

09 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

There is no doubt these are troubling times. As the economic storm clouds gather, we are all bracing ourselves for some pain in the months ahead as ma...

EP66: Building a prospect community | Kelly Molson | Rubber Cheese

01 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Over recent episodes we've been taking a deep dive into some very specific elements of agency marketing and prospecting.  We revisited agency positi...

EP65: How to master relationships | Trenton Moss | Team Sterka

06 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

After a tough couple of years, I've been spotting some really positive signs in agencies over the past six months; clients seem to be spending, delaye...

EP64: The Agency Growth Challenge | Daniel de la Cruz | Polymensa

04 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Whether your agency has a fast track growth plan or a more modest desire to maintain the status quo, there are innumerable challenges that can derail ...

EP63: Agency positioning 2022 | Roland Gurney | Treacle

19 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Within the ecosystem of agency new business, marketing, client development and the wider sphere of agency growth, there are certain topics which we wi...

EP62: Mastering thought leadership | Mark Wellings | Grist

07 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Thought leadership – in its various forms, is a topic we have covered in a number of episodes over the years. Done well, it can be a game-changer fo...

EP61: Small agency, big profile | Dr Kat Arney | First Create The Media

07 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

I have a constant fascination with the power of agency marketing. I'm sure it's my age - having cut my new business teeth in a pre-digital era, but my...

EP60: What can we expect in 2022? | Rory Spence | The Wow Company

10 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

So here we are in 2022. I'm not really one for resolutions, but there is something about a new year that makes me want to clear the decks, remove dist...

EP59: Can we still win without pitching? | Blair Enns

06 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

There has been much written on the subject of agency new business, but I'm not sure there has been a book which has resonated so deeply with agency fo...

EP58: How to be a become a new business catalyst | Louisa Clarke & David Kean

01 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In my work with agencies I witness a great deal of discomfort about the new business process. Of course there are brilliant, natural new business prof...

EP57: How to lead an agency | Steve Parks | Convivio

03 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We've talked a lot about leadership on this podcast, and rightly so. Sustainable new business performance starts with a growth mindset and that has to...

EP56: New Business Leadership | Claire Humphris | Iris

06 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this year, Claire Humphris was named CEO at Iris, the agency she co-founded with five other colleagues in 1999. Iris now numbers over 1000 pe...

EP55: How to scale at speed | Felix Velarde | 2Y3X

09 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In 2017 I interviewed Felix Velarde for this podcast to discuss agency growth planning. It was our 4th episode. Lots of people got in touch to talk ab...

EP54: Overcoming adversity | Sarah Yeats | Sledge

12 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

I've said many times that the people in business I admire the most are independent agency leaders. And over the past 18 months, as our industry, large...

EP53: Understanding client context | Jennifer Crowley | Kin + Carta

07 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In the discussions we've had on this podcast, and in the work I do with agencies, the theme of walking in the clients' shoes has been a recurring one....

EP52: Bringing in expertise | Andrew Southcott | Captivate Group

03 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It's always a good day when someone gets in touch to pitch a podcast episode idea. Even better when that someone is a client. Andrew Southcott is Mana...

EP51: Raising your profile - part three | Ash Jones | Great Influence

04 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

There are so many reasons for me wanting to do an episode on personal brand. Let's go back to the beginning. At the start of my agency career, I worke...

EP50: Raising your profile - part two | Laura Hannan | Pitch121

05 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We've talked a lot on this podcast about LinkedIn over the years, and specifically the often untapped potential of Sales Navigator. From the conversat...

EP49: Raising your profile - part one | Sarah Paterson | CommsPeople

07 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Many of the conversations I've been having with agencies over recent months have centred around marketing and new business resource. This is good news...

EP48: Habits | Clare Rees

11 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It's safe to say that for most of us, 2021 arrived without the usual fanfare, excitement and expectation but instead, with an exhausted sigh and a res...

EP47: The power of community | Ian Harris | Agency Hackers

07 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

I can't imagine finding an agency owner, who since March, hasn't tuned in to at least one of the myriad of webinars or zoom chats that have been made ...

EP46: Presentation materials | Shan Preddy | Preddy & Co

08 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In previous episodes we've tackled various aspects of pitching and presenting, specifically with Tony Spong from AAR (episode 10) and Catherine Alliso...

EP45: Client Satisfaction | Alisha Lyndon | Momentum

08 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Back in April this year, Claire Beale wrote this brilliant Campaign article about the client/agency dynamic. It was a rallying cry for cultivating de...

EP44: The agency podcast | Isabelle Jarvis

11 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The podcasting juggernaut shows no sign of slowing. Four years ago, when we started planning the idea behind Small Spark Theory I thought we were too ...

EP43: Business planning for agencies | Deepa Shah | Lab Eight

10 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

One of the biggest challenges we face for the remainder of 2020 and beyond is undoubtedly our ability (or inability) to plan ahead. Almost daily, we a...

EP42: Design industry outlook | Deborah Dawton | Design Business Association

19 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Regular listeners will have noticed a slight change to our usual programming. A global pandemic has shifted our focus from the very specific, detailed...

EP41: Positioning v proposition | Robin Bonn | Co:definery

01 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

There aren't enough podcasting hours to do justice to the agency positioning and proposition debate. We've explored this before in episode 13 with Dav...

EP40: Agency leadership | Sally Henderson

07 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Across the world, leadership is under scrutiny.   Citizens are looking to their politicians, employees are looking to their employers. Amid continued...

EP39: Maximising agency cash | Michelle Cook

07 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Over the past six weeks I've been speaking to lots of agency leaders. Those one-on-one conversations have highlighted to me, just how many variables t...

EP38: The first new business hire | Dave Corlett

26 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

I've spent a lot of time recently thinking about small agencies. Typically, those with headcount up to 10/12 and/or annual revenues under £1m. It's w...

EP37: New agency models | Emma Sexton | MYWW

03 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

There is no doubt there has never been a better time to rethink the way that agencies deliver their services to clients. With endless technology optio...

EP36: Agency messaging | Roland Gurney | Treacle Copywriters

06 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

For marketers, brand positioning, proposition, messaging and tone of voice are no less fundamental than a visual identity. However, as we've discussed...

EP35: Agency Awards | Stef Brown | On Pointe Marketing

02 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Whatever your planning cycle, at this time of year we are naturally drawn to consider our goals for the year ahead and begin shaping our marketing cal...

EP34: Northern Agency Focus | Phil Gripton | Waypoint Partners

07 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

For a variety of reasons I've had the opportunity to travel across the country more than usual this year, speaking on behalf of the Design Business As...

Introducing the Small Spark Theory Institute

04 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Over the last three years we have received so much wonderful feedback from Small Spark Theory listeners, telling us how they have been putting the adv...

EP33: Listening | Catherine Allison | Master the Art

04 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Throughout this series we have been exploring the notion that by focusing on relationships, rather than a smash and grab for revenue, we build a more ...

EP32: Benchmarking performance | Peter Czapp | The Wow Company

01 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Almost every agency owner I meet will, sooner or later, ask the question "how does this compare with other agencies?" They could be talking about any ...

EP31: A Client Perspective | Julia Howe |20th Century Fox

06 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

With 30 episodes under our belt if feels like the right time to get another client perspective on all things new business and the client and agency re...

EP30: Rethinking Procurement | David Meikle | How to Buy a Gorilla

01 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We've touched on the subject of procurement over a number of episodes in this series so far, and it's a topic I wanted to come back to and delve a lit...

EP29: Fear | Hillary Gallo

02 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This may not seem like the most obvious episode for what, to all intents and purposes is a podcast providing practical tips for making marginal gains ...

EP28: Client Development Part Two | Jim Hawker | Threepipe

30 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

I've spent a lot of time thinking about client relationships recently. Generally speaking our growth objectives will start with the financials – the...

EP27: LinkedIn | Alex Low | Digital Leadership Associates

03 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

"Whatever you do from here, even if you choose to ignore everything I'm about to tell you, please be good at LinkedIn." This is a phrase I have repea...

EP26: Client Development Part One | Iain Johnston | Hill Dickinson

04 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

It's easy to think that the secret to agency growth is cracking the holy grail of new business acquisition, but in most cases there are untapped oppor...

EP25: Agency Thought Leadership | Pip Stocks | Brandhook

15 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

I'm calling this episode 'thought leadership' for the sake of brevity, and SEO but in reality this is about so much more.  Pip Stocks runs Brandhook,...

EP24: The new business email | Kimi Gilbert | The Future Factory

07 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Dear prospect, my name is Lucy, I'm writing to introduce……. And so it goes, the new business email, putting the fear into agency folk across the l...

EP23: The Christmas Cracker

13 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Just in time for Christmas we bring you a very special episode of Small Spark Theory. Across the series, we have asked all of our contributors to shar...

EP22: Rethinking the Client Experience | Nick Phipps | Rawnet

05 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

I'll admit it, I'm slightly obsessed about the experience that clients and prospects have when they work with (or are considering working with) an age...

EP21: The New Business Leader | Jemima Monies | adam&eveDDB

11 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this summer, Jemima Monies, Head of New Business & PR at adam&eveDDB wrote an article in Campaign about why new business leaders need to figh...

EP20: Agency Revenue Models | Erica Wolfe-Murray | Lola Media

02 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Finding an alternative revenue model to the billable hour, is a topic we touched on with Erica Wolfe-Murrayof Lola Media,back in Episode 14,as we exp...

EP19: Planning for exit | Tony Walford | Green Square

25 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Right at the beginning of this podcast series we talked about the importance of setting objectives for growth that in turn, guide the new business & m...

EP18: Small Spark Theory Live Part Two

29 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Small Spark Theory Live was recorded in front of a live studio audience at White City Place in May. In Part One, we were joined by agency board advis...

EP17: Small Spark Theory Live Part One

15 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

On a balmy evening in early May, we took to the stage at White City Place to host Small Spark Theory Live along with our friends at YCN. This was an o...

EP16: Pricing Creativity | Blair Enns

02 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Following the success of the Win Without Pitching Manifesto, Blair Enns' much anticipated book – Pricing Creativity: A Guide to Profit Beyond the B...

EP:15 Social Media | Alex & Claire Blyth | Red Setter

08 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Anyone who has been to one of my talks, listened to Small Spark Theory or worked with me on increasing new business performance will know my feelings ...

EP14: Intellectual Assets | Erica Wolfe-Murray | Lola Media

06 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Let's be honest. These are uncertain times. Even those agenciy owners who are highly proficient in keeping the new business pipeline bubbling, will pr...

EP13: Agency positioning | David C Baker

13 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In previous episodes we've touched on the importance (or not) of agency positioning and over the last year it's a subject that's been popping up more ...

EP12: A client perspective | Katie Pattison | Hammerson plc

05 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

In episode 10 we gained some fantastic insight into best pitch practice from Tony Spong at AAR. Tony's intermediary experience - seeing the process fr...

EP11: Negotiation | Hilary Gallo

06 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Whether going into battle with procurement to defend agency day rates, or agreeing the scope of a project for the available client budget – our abil...

EP10: The pitch | Tony Spong | AAR

07 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Losing a pitch is just bad news all round. It costs an agency big; in time, money, resource, morale and confidence. So as new business performance imp...

EP9: Culture | Katz Kiely

06 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The people part of our business can so often get overlooked in our efforts to generate new business. Yes, we might think about chemistry once we are f...

EP8: Productivity | Robert Kelsey

16 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

So far in our Small Spark Theory podcast series we've been exploring the ways we can make marginal gains in our agency new business and marketing perf...

EP7: Events

03 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Getting in a room together with clients and prospects is undoubtedly the best way to foster good relationships. But creating the opportunity to connec...