Most people go looking for the cheapest lead gen agency, and end up burnt.
Here's how I'd actually pick one, if I didn't already run one... quick elevator thoughts!!
I think about GTM the way a strat consulting firm would, then execute it. Rather than going volume first (where most people trip up).
Sending at scale and landing in an inbox is the easy part.
THINKING is the hard bit (sounds crazy i know).
Most people confuse that with getting results.
& that's exactly where the cheap option goes wrong.
It's not really one thing that makes a campaign work.
It's a few pieces of a puzzle that all have to fit together:
- landing in the inbox
- finding the right signal
- writing a human message with actual context based on intent signal
- having a real human on the other end when a reply comes through
If I were choosing an agency today, here's what I'd ask to evaluate:
- Ask to see the thinking, not the results behind campaigns.
- Ask if they actually understand your specific market, no 'ai experts'.
- Ask how they find signals, + ENSURE they aren't the same apollo filters everyone else is using (funding, job change etc).
If you've hired an agency before, there's a good chance it failed most of these.
I have too, before LFG existed.
Got sold the dream, signed the contract, and watched the whole thing go dark by month two, while someone kept sending me a "quick update" with no actual update in it.
I built LFG because I'd been burned enough times to know exactly what good is supposed to feel like.
Any other questions I'm missing?