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February 12, 2025
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There’s a shift happening in the agency world.
It’s not loud. It’s not shiny.
But it’s quietly reshaping how forward-thinking agencies grow.
They’re not endlessly hiring.
They’re not just chasing the next big retainer.
They’re asking a smarter question:
“How do we deliver more, without more overhead?”
Staff costs can make up between 55-70% of an agency’s overhead.
What if you could reduce just 25% of that?
How much more profit would you make - without even landing another client?
Most agencies spend over half of their revenue on staffing. And still can't say yes to more work.
Not because there isn’t demand - but because their team is already stretched too thin.
According to industry benchmarks, many agencies spend the majority of their revenue on people-related costs. Yet despite this, they still find themselves unable to say “yes” to additional work - not because of a lack of demand, but because of delivery constraints.
If you run an agency, you probably feel it too:
Sound familiar? That kind of juggling act isn’t just tiring - it’s unsustainable.
Hiring doesn’t just cost £40–£60k a year.
It also comes with:
Now multiply that across two or three roles.
How much pressure does that put on your bottom line - especially in quieter months?
More agencies and marketing consultants are shifting focus to what they already have:
clients who trust them and want more from them.
But instead of turning away work they don't have the skills or capacity to deliver, or hiring full-time, they’re partnering with structured delivery teams to handle it.
We’ve seen this bring big wins, including:
One agency was turning away website briefs due to lack of dev capacity - now they’ve signed a branding and design contract worth that includes well over £50k in web development value, from just one of their existing clients - and without a single new hire.
Another refused to handle paid advertising for their clients without the expertise, and now they resell campaigns and take over £35k per month in revenue (pain-free) from Meta ads alone.
Imagine this:
You save 40% on delivery, resell it at your usual rate and keep the difference.
Now apply that across just 3-5 clients.
How much extra margin is that each month?
How many hours would that free up for strategy, growth - or just breathing room?
But for many, this wasn’t an easy decision upfront. They had concerns to overcome - and rightfully so.
“Our clients won’t accept remote teams.”
Pre-COVID, that was a dealbreaker.
Now? Clients care about delivery, not location. Quality, not postcode.
“We need people who feel part of our brand.”
That’s where process and team culture matter.
With the right setup, we’ve seen agencies deliver seamlessly through global teams - either white-labelled or introduced as trusted partners.
“We’ve tried outsourcing and it didn’t work.”
That’s a common one. Many partners have been burned by fragmented freelancers and inconsistent results.
That’s why we do it differently:
It’s consistent. It’s accountable. And it works.
“But we offer some of the same services - wouldn’t that be a conflict?”
It’s a valid concern. But the reality is, many of our best agency partnerships do involve some overlap.
What matters is how we structure it.
When we’re brought in, we only operate within the boundaries you define - either as a white-label extension of your brand, or as a named partner introduced by you.
We never cross-sell, market to or upsell your clients.
Your clients remain your clients. Full stop.
This flexibility allows us to support agencies who want to offer more depth in certain services without giving up control - even when there’s overlap.
It works because hiring isn’t always the most efficient or profitable move.
You can have a great team - but if they’re not skilled in what your clients need this month, you’re limited.
You’re either forced to say no or absorb the cost of slow delivery.
Big companies have understood this for years.
They use contractors, consultants and agencies to scale without headcount.
They prioritise flexibility and control - not employment contracts.
Smaller agencies, until recently, haven’t always seen the same value.
But that’s changing - fast.
The agencies we work with are reducing cost, increasing margin and saying yes to more, simply by plugging in the right delivery partner.
To support this model, we’ve structured our agency across the UK, South Africa and India - giving our partners:
And the agencies using this model?
They’re growing - not just in revenue, but in profitability and resilience.
If you’ve ever thought:
…it might be worth having a quiet conversation about what’s possible.
The agencies doing this aren’t broadcasting it.
They’re just building margin quietly.
Delivering more. Burning out less.
And growing with confidence - not chaos.
In the end, everyone wins.
Your clients trust you - and they want to keep everything under one roof.
If you can offer more services without compromising quality, you win.
They win.
And our delivery team wins too.
It’s a win-win-win.
Ross is the Managing Director of Mr Digital, bringing over 15 years of experience in digital marketing and business strategy to the company. He has a proven track record of driving growth and achieving exceptional ROI for clients. Ross's leadership and expertise in the digital landscape make him a valuable resource for businesses seeking to thrive online.
