Feast & famine: how to break the agency curse

Originally published October 2024 | Updated June 2025

Ah, the dreaded feast and famine cycle. If you’ve run an agency for more than a minute, you know the drill.

One month you’re juggling five pitches, seven deadlines, and three client Slack channels. The next, your inbox is quieter than a LinkedIn poll about cold calls. Feast mode feels amazing—until the famine creeps in, and you’re suddenly wondering where the next brief is coming from.

We’ve been there. As an agency ourselves, we’ve ridden that rollercoaster more times than we’d like to admit. But here’s the thing: the cycle isn’t inevitable. It can be broken—with the right systems, mindset, and yes, a few failsafe strategies.

Here’s how we’ve learned to smooth out the ride—and how you can too.

1. Be proactive, not reactive

Waiting for work to slow down before doing biz dev is like waiting until you’re hungry to plant crops. Too late.

We’ve been there—during those “feast” moments, you’re buried under work, and the thought of reaching out for new business feels impossible. But trust us, if you only start chasing leads when you hit the famine, it’s already too late.

Business development should be a weekly habit, not a seasonal panic. Whether it’s replying to warm leads, dropping someone a line on LinkedIn, or updating case studies—keep doing the small stuff even when you’re slammed. You’re sowing seeds for three months from now.

The key is to always be proactive with your business development, not reactive. Dedicate time every week, no matter how busy you are, to nurture leads, network, and keep that pipeline flowing.

It doesn’t have to be a full-on sales blitz—small, consistent efforts go a long way in keeping the work steady.

2. Package up retainers

One-off projects are fine. But if you’re relying solely on them, you’ll always be stuck in the peaks and troughs.

We’ve found that relying solely on project-based work is a recipe for those famine months. The solution? Retainers. They’re like the holy grail of agency work—predictable income, ongoing relationships, and less scrambling when things slow down.

We’ve helped loads of clients see the benefit of ongoing support—monthly marketing, UX audits, SEO retainers, or design subscriptions. For agencies, retainers mean recurring revenue, better forecasting, and deeper relationships. For clients, they mean continuity, consistency, and a partner who’s already up to speed.

3. Diversify your client base

It’s easy to get comfortable with one big client who’s paying the bills. Until they ghost you, pause the budget, or take things in-house. We’ve been there—learning the hard way that having all your eggs in one basket is a dangerous game.

Avoid the panic spiral by spreading the risk. A mix of big-ticket projects and smaller, dependable accounts is more sustainable—and makes your pipeline less fragile. Don’t just chase whales. Build an ecosystem.

4. Build a content engine

The quiet months? They’re usually quiet because your brand went quiet.

Content keeps your agency visible when you’re not actively selling. Publish smart, useful, personality-filled content that speaks to your ideal client. Blogs, podcasts, case studies, newsletters, LinkedIn rants—whatever fits your tone.

Our most qualified leads have already read our stuff, seen our work, and just want to know when we can start. Content marketing shortens the sales cycle. It also works while you sleep.

We’ve found that putting effort into our own content marketing (yes, even when we’re busy) has been a massive help in keeping the pipeline full. People come to us because they’ve already seen our work, read our insights, or heard us talk about what we do best. It’s like passive lead generation—set it up, and let it work for you.

5. Learn to say no (really)

Feast mode can make you say yes to everything. Which is also how you end up with burnout, bad-fit clients, and Friday night Slack meltdowns.

It’s hard to walk away from money. But in our experience, saying no to the wrong fit leaves space for the right one. You protect your team’s energy. You do better work. You make better hires. And—crucially—you don’t tank your long-term positioning by becoming a yes-to-anything agency.

One of the hardest lessons we’ve learned is the power of saying no. During feast times, it’s tempting to take on everything that comes your way, even when you know it’s going to stretch your team too thin. But burnout isn’t a strategy for long-term success.

We’ve found that saying no to the wrong clients or projects means we’re more focused on delivering our best work to the right ones. It also leaves room for the projects that align with our strengths, values, and long-term goals.

6. Focus on long-term relationships

Repeat clients are the unsung heroes of agency life. Building strong, long-term relationships with your clients is the antidote to the feast-and-famine curse. It’s easier (and cheaper) to keep existing clients than to find new ones, so nurturing those relationships is key.

How do we do it? By being a partner, not just a provider. Regular check-ins, going the extra mile, and offering ongoing value make us more than just a vendor to our clients—we become a trusted part of their team. And that trust keeps the projects coming.

Make it easy for happy clients to come back. Stay in touch. Offer ongoing value. Send ideas even when there’s no active project. Be the one they want to call when the next brief lands.

You don’t need to be transactional to grow. You need to be trusted.

Summing up…

Feast and famine is the reality of agency life, but it doesn’t have to define your business. By staying proactive, diversifying your clients, and building long-term relationships, you can smooth out those bumps in the road.

And remember, we’re in this together. As an agency, we know the struggle all too well. But with a little planning, consistency, and a dash of creativity, you can ride the wave and come out stronger on the other side.

Need help telling your story, pitching your work, or building a site that doesn’t just look good but actually converts? We’re the agency’s agency.

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