#82: The Vertical Funnel Playbook That Helped This Agency Escape the Red Ocean
Most agency owners think scaling means more clients, more hires, and more hours.
But what if the real unlock is tighter positioning, ruthless process, and the discipline to walk away at 5 p.m.?
In this conversation with Joe Romeo, founder of Aperitif Agency and co-founder of Rocket Fuel Agency, I unpacked what it actually takes to move from freelancer to structured, scalable agency. Not theory. Not hustle porn. Real operational decisions that compound.
Joe went from moonlighting SEO freelancer to leading a 15 person team. He built vertical specific funnels that outmaneuver crowded markets. He systemized hiring. He democratized SOP creation. And he redesigned his time after becoming a father without sacrificing growth.
If you’re serious about agency scaling, operations, client acquisition, and profitability, there’s a lot to learn here.
The First Ceiling: Why Freelancers Eventually Stall
Joe didn’t start with a grand “build an empire” vision.
He hit the ceiling.
As a high performing SEO freelancer, he was making great money. But revenue was capped by time. No matter how good you are, you cannot scale beyond your calendar without leverage.
That’s the moment most operators face:
Stay solo and optimize lifestyle.
Or build an agency and embrace complexity.
Joe chose complexity.
But here’s the important part: it wasn’t about ego. It was about buying back time and breaking the revenue ceiling. Ironically, it took years before he could take a real two week vacation without things breaking.
That’s the hidden cost of agency scaling: the middle phase is harder than freelance life.
You have payroll.
You have hiring.
You have client expectations.
And you still don’t have full operational maturity.
Which brings us to the real unlock
Hiring Is the Hardest System in Your Business
Most founders assume hiring is simple:
Post job.
Interview.
Pick the best resume.
Done.
Joe learned quickly that’s fantasy.
An old mentor told him: “You’ll get 50% of your hires wrong.”
That’s a brutal but freeing stat.
So instead of rushing to fill seats, he slowed down. Because in a boutique agency, quality of people is the differentiator.
Here’s what he optimized for:
1. Learning Velocity > Credentials
He doesn’t care about degrees.
He cares about:
Curiosity
Speed of application
Side projects
Failed experiments
If someone has tried to build something, even if it failed, that signals ownership thinking.
You can teach technical SEO.
You cannot teach initiative.
In fast moving industries (especially with AI constantly shifting search), learning speed is the moat.
2. Practical Assessments (Not Just Interviews)
Every candidate presents a case study using real data.
But here’s the twist: with AI tools everywhere, you can’t just evaluate the output.
So Joe asks:
How did you arrive at this?
Walk me through your reasoning.
What assumptions did you make?
That exposes thinking, not just deliverables.
If you want scalable operations, hire thinkers, not task doers.
The Real Growth Lever: SOPs + AI + Democratization
This was one of my favorite parts of the conversation.
Joe didn’t “pause operations” to build systems.
He built them while working.
The Workflow:
Turn on Loom while completing a task.
Talk through the steps.
Pull the transcript.
Drop it into ChatGPT.
Convert it into a structured SOP.
Store it in Notion.
Link it directly to task tickets in HubSpot.
That’s it.
No three day offsite.
No $10K consultant.
Just disciplined documentation.
And then, this is critical, he democratized it.
Department leads, managers, even execs create their own SOPs.
Why this matters for agency scaling:
Ramp time shrinks.
Quality becomes consistent.
Founders stop being bottlenecks.
Execution becomes repeatable.
This is how you increase profitability without increasing chaos.
When a ticket is assigned, it includes a direct link to the SOP explaining exactly how to execute it.
That’s operational leverage.
Most agencies don’t lack talent.
They lack structured clarity.
The Counter Intuitive SEO Take: Ignore the Noise
SEO is loud right now.
AI this.
AI that.
Search is dead.
Optimize for LLMs.
Google is finished.
Joe’s perspective?
Keep the main thing the main thing.
Yes, adapt.
Yes, track AI referrals.
Yes, evolve.
But:
Write strong content.
Execute technical SEO properly.
Build quality links.
Those fundamentals haven’t changed.
In fact, they matter more now.
He even builds AI referral tracking inside Google Analytics so clients can see the difference between traditional organic and AI driven traffic. Data neutralizes fear.
That’s a powerful lesson for client acquisition and retention:
When markets get noisy, clients crave clarity.
Agencies that anchor in fundamentals while intelligently evolving will win.
The Client Acquisition Pivot That Changed Everything
This is where it gets strategic.
Instead of running generic “SEO agency” ads (which are brutally competitive), Joe built vertical specific funnels.
Example: Dental clinics.
Why?
Because:
E-commerce brands in Australia were getting squeezed.
Margins were shrinking.
Agency churn was high.
Competition was brutal.
So instead of fighting in a red ocean, they carved out a blue pocket.
The Strategy:
Identify an industry cluster with proven case studies.
Build a tailored offer specific to that niche.
Create vertical specific messaging.
Run paid ads targeting only that segment.
Sell a solution aligned with their highest ticket revenue drivers.
In dental:
They focus on acquiring high value treatments, not just cleanings.
That’s smart positioning.
Instead of saying:
“We’re an SEO agency.”
They effectively say:
“We help dental clinics grow high ticket treatment revenue.”
That shift transforms client acquisition, close rates, and perceived value.
If you’re struggling with leads, ask:
Are you marketing an agency?
Or a specialized growth outcome?
Structure in the Quiet Season Wins the Busy Season
This is one of the most overlooked scaling principles.
Joe builds systems in December.
Why?
Because September through November is chaotic.
Most agencies:
Relax when it’s quiet.
Panic when it’s busy.
He does the opposite.
In slower months:
Tighten processes.
Improve documentation.
Clean up ticket systems.
Refine onboarding.
So when growth hits, the machine holds.
That’s how you scale without breaking.
Agency scaling isn’t about pushing harder.
It’s about preparing earlier.
The Identity Shift: Operator to CEO (and Father)
The most human moment of the conversation?
When Joe talked about becoming a father.
Before kids:
Work more.
Push later.
Sleep less.
After kids:
Every hour is a tradeoff.
For six months, he felt like he was failing everywhere:
Not present enough at home.
Not sharp enough at work.
Not leading well.
So he created a rule:
Leave at 5 p.m. for dinner and bath time.
Work later if necessary but protect the anchor block.
That constraint forced higher leverage thinking.
Here’s the insight for agency owners:
Time constraints don’t kill growth.
They force better prioritization.
If you had 30% less time, what would you stop doing?
That question alone increases profitability.
Case Studies as a Growth Engine (Not a Vanity Asset)
Another operational gem.
Instead of asking the team:
“Write a case study.”
They ask:
“What’s a win this week?”
Every Friday, they run a Slack recognition hour.
Team members share wins.
Sometimes those wins reveal:
60% organic revenue growth year over year.
Unexpected breakthroughs.
Major performance lifts.
Those get turned into case studies.
AI helps structure them.
The team supplies bullet point data.
The narrative gets refined.
Result?
They were nominated for 12 awards across 11 categories at a global search awards event in Dublin.
That’s not luck.
That’s systemized visibility.
Case studies drive:
Authority
Conversion rates
Team morale
Premium positioning
If you don’t have a repeatable process for collecting wins, you’re leaking marketing assets.
The Big Agency Scaling Lessons
If I zoom out, here’s what stands out:
1. Hit ceilings early and respond structurally.
Freelance caps revenue. Agencies require systems.
2. Hire for learning speed, not resume polish.
Curiosity compounds.
3. SOPs are a growth lever, not admin work.
AI makes documentation frictionless.
4. Niche funnels outperform generic positioning.
Own a pocket before chasing the ocean.
5. Build structure when it’s quiet.
Growth exposes cracks.
6. Protect time aggressively.
Constraints improve decisions.
Final Thought: Scaling on Purpose
What I respect most about Joe’s journey isn’t just the team size or the awards.
It’s the intentionality.
He didn’t chase shiny objects.
He didn’t overreact to AI hype.
He didn’t grow recklessly.
He built:
Structured operations
Verticalized client acquisition
Learning driven culture
Process backed delivery
Time boundaries that protect what matters
That’s what real agency scaling looks like.
Not chaos.
Not heroics.
Not 16 hour days forever.
Just clarity.
Structure.
And disciplined execution.
If you’re sitting at that ceiling wondering whether to stay solo or build something bigger, the question isn’t “Can I grow?”
It’s:
Are you willing to build the systems that make growth sustainable?
If you want to go deeper, you can run the full version at agencyuplift.co/mini.
Even if you never book a call, the clarity alone is worth it.
