If you’ve been running an owner-led agency for more than a year or two, you’ve probably experienced the dreaded feast-or-famine cycle.
One quarter you’re turning away work because the team is maxed out. The next quarter you’re scrambling to make payroll because the pipeline has run dry.
It’s exhausting. It’s stressful. And here’s the hard truth: it’s largely self-inflicted.
The good news? Once you understand what’s really causing your revenue roller coaster, you can fix it.
(NOTE: This article assumes you are actually doing business development and not just waiting for the phone to ring.)
The real cause of feast-or-famine
Most agency owners blame external factors for their feast-or-famine challenges. The economy. Seasonality. Client behavior. Bad luck.
But as Gini Dietrich puts it in The Truth Behind Agency Feast-or-Famine podcast episode: “The reason you have famine is because you’re not doing the business development during the feast periods, and then the feast period ends and you have nothing in your pipeline. So do business development even when you’re busy and you will never have the famine. The end.”
She’s right. It often really is that simple.
When you’re busy delivering client work, business development falls off your radar. You tell yourself you’ll get back to it when things slow down. But by the time things slow down, it’s too late. Your pipeline is empty, and it takes months to rebuild it.
Why agency owners skip business development during busy periods
If the solution is so obvious, why do so many agency owners fall into this trap?
There are a few common reasons:
You’re maxed out on delivery. When client work is consuming every available hour, it feels impossible to carve out time for business development. You’re in reactive mode, just trying to keep your head above water.
You’re not pricing correctly. Many agencies underprice their services and fail to build in margin for business development time. If you’re billing out at 85-90% utilization to hit your revenue targets, you’ve left no room for the activities that will sustain your business long-term.
You don’t have a system. Business development shouldn’t rely on inspiration or motivation. It should be a consistent, systematic part of your weekly routine—regardless of how busy you are.
You’re confusing activity with results. Networking events and coffee meetings feel like business development, but they’re often not the most effective use of your time, especially during busy periods.
Breaking the cycle: what actually works
The solution to feast-or-famine isn’t complicated, but it does require discipline and intention. Here’s how to break the cycle for good:
1. Price to include business development time
Your pricing should account for the reality that you and your team can’t—and shouldn’t—be 100% billable. Build in margin for business development, strategic thinking, and agency management.
Most healthy owner-led agencies target no more than 50% utilization for owners who are actively involved in delivery (and often a lot less than half of the owner’s time is spent on client service). If you’re not giving yourself the time you need to grow the business, you’re setting yourself up for feast-or-famine.
2. Make business development a non-negotiable habit
Block time on your calendar every week for business development activities. Treat this time as sacred—just as important as client meetings.
Even 3-4 hours per week, consistently applied, will keep your pipeline healthy enough to avoid the famine periods that plague so many agencies.
The key word is consistent. You can’t cram a quarter’s worth of business development into a couple of weeks and expect results.
One thing, done consistently, will have more of an impact than the most creative, elaborate plan that goes unimplemented.
3. Focus on what actually works for you
The truth is that business development isn’t just networking and having coffees. It includes marketing your agency and knowing who your ideal customer is.
Look at the clients you’ve won over the past couple of years. How did you actually win them? Referrals? Speaking engagements? Content marketing? Direct outreach?
Do more of what’s already working. Don’t waste time on activities that sound good but don’t actually generate leads for your specific agency.
4. Get clear on your positioning
One reason business development feels so hard is that many agency owners haven’t clearly defined who they serve and what makes them different.
When you have strong positioning, business development becomes easier. You know exactly who to target, what to say, and why prospects should choose you over competitors.
This clarity is a core part of the AIM-GET Framework—specifically the Identity component. Without it, you’ll struggle to maintain consistent business development momentum.
5. Build systems and processes
Effective business development doesn’t happen by accident. You need systems that help you:
- Track your pipeline and forecast revenue
- Nurture relationships consistently
- Follow up with prospects at the right time
- Measure what’s working and what’s not
These systems don’t need to be complicated, but they do need to exist. Even a simple spreadsheet is better than nothing.
6. Get help when you need it
If you’re genuinely underwater with client work, it might be time to hire help or redistribute responsibilities within your team.
You can’t do everything yourself. And if business development keeps getting pushed aside because you’re drowning in delivery, you need to make changes.
And almost every owner-led agency requires active engagement from the owner in business development to succeed.
The bottom line
Feast-or-famine is a symptom of inconsistent business development. And inconsistent business development usually stems from pricing problems, lack of systems, or unclear positioning.
The good news is that all of these are within your control to fix.
You don’t need to overhaul your entire agency overnight. Start by blocking 3-4 hours per week for business development and protecting that time fiercely. Price your services to give yourself breathing room. Focus on the activities that have actually generated clients for you in the past.
Do these things consistently, and you’ll be amazed at how quickly the feast-or-famine cycle fades away.
Want to dig deeper into this topic? Listen to the full Agency Leadership Podcast episode on feast-or-famine for more insights from Chip and Gini.
