If you run a lead generation agency, you’ve probably heard this sentence 1000 times:

“Your leads are bad.”

And honestly… this is one of the biggest reasons why lead gen agencies churn.

But here’s the twist.

In most cases, the problem is not the leads.

The real problem is that clients don’t know how to convert those leads into closed deals.

They don’t follow up properly.
They don’t build momentum.
They don’t have a system.
They expect leads to magically close after the first call like it’s 2018.

And when it doesn’t happen, they blame the agency.

So in this article, I’m going to show you exactly how you can fix churn and increase retention for your lead gen agency.

This is a process that some of my own agency customers came up with, and it works insanely well because it removes the number one source of churn:
client disappointment due to “lack of results.”

We’ll cover:

• Why churn happens in lead gen agencies (the real reason)

• The only 2 possible solutions

• A done-with-you system that increases retention like crazy

• A step-by-step CRM workflow (real implementation)

• How to push positive replies automatically into pipelines

• The “daily execution dashboard” method that forces clients to win

Let’s go.

The Biggest Retention Problem in Lead Gen Agencies

Most agency founders have the same situation:

• You generate positive replies

• You book calls

• You send leads

And then… a few weeks later:

“Yeah, the leads are dog sh*t.”

But when you zoom out, what’s really happening is:

Clients don’t know how to handle leads

Because not every lead is easy.

A lot of clients think lead gen works like this:

1. Lead replies

2. Call booked

3. Deal closed instantly

4. Money arrives

But real life is more like:

1. Lead replies

2. Call booked but doesn’t show up

3. You follow up

4. Follow up again

5. Follow up again

6. Lead shows up 2 weeks later

7. Deal closes

So the leads are not “bad.”
The follow-up system is bad.

The truth: most clients have no momentum

They don’t know how to:

• reply fast enough

• handle objections

• chase politely

• re-engage no-shows

• stay consistent for weeks

And without momentum, even good leads die.

So retention dies too.

Why This Creates Churn (Even If Your Service Is Good)

Here’s the core issue:

Your agency is judged on results.
And results depend on conversion.

But conversion depends on the client.

So basically, you’re stuck in this unfair system where:

• you generate value

• but the client destroys value

• then blames you for it

If clients are not converting:

• they stop believing

• they start doubting

• they cancel

Even if your lead quality is good.

The Only 2 Solutions (And Why One Is Terrible)

If you want to fix churn, there are only two possible solutions.

Solution #1: You run the business for them

Meaning:

• you generate leads

• you follow up for them

• you close deals for them

But at this point, you’re not doing lead gen anymore.

You’re running their company.

It’s not scalable.
It’s not profitable.
And it’s a nightmare.

So this is not a viable solution.

Solution #2 (The winning one): Teach them how to convert

Instead of doing everything for them, you do a done-with-you system.

You teach them how to:

• follow up correctly

• build momentum

• handle leads with structure

• close deals with consistency

And the best part?

This creates retention because now:

• clients see results

• they stop complaining

• you become essential

It also gives you:

• higher perceived value

• stronger positioning

• ability to charge more

This can be:

✅ an upsell
or
✅ included directly in your offer (recommended)

The “Done-With-You” Retention Framework

This is the framework.

Your agency doesn’t just send leads.

Your agency builds a conversion machine for the client.

That machine has 4 layers:

1) A CRM for the client

2) A clean pipeline structure

3) Automated lead routing (LinkedIn + cold email)

4) A daily execution system (tasks + follow-ups)

Let’s break it down.

What We Want to Achieve (The End Goal)

You want a system with:

• One workspace per client

• A pipeline tailored for their business

• Leads auto-pushed into “positive replies” buckets

• Daily tasks auto-generated by AI

• Leads moving automatically based on conversations

• Client only job = show up daily and execute

This is key:

Clients don’t need motivation.

They need a system that forces them to win.

Step-by-Step Setup (The Full Process)

Now I’ll show you how to implement this step by step.

We’re going to use:

• Breakcold as the CRM

• Smartlead for cold email example

• HeyReach for LinkedIn automation example

And we’ll pretend we have a client called:

✅ Unblock (SEO agency)

Step 1: Create a CRM Workspace for Your Client

First, go to Google and type:

Breakcold

Then:

• click Try Breakcold Free

• register

• and start onboarding like you were the client

In onboarding you’ll do:

• Client name

Example: “Unblock”

• Company size

Select something like “2 to 4 people”

• Acquisition source

Select “YouTube” (or whatever)

• Website

If the client has one, enter it.
If not, skip it. No problem.

Then Breakcold analyzes the business automatically.

Step 2: Describe the Client’s Business

Here’s the structure:

Business description example

“Unblock is an SEO agency that generates B2B content for startups and agencies in the US and the UK.”

Then describe the sales process.

And here you describe YOUR process as an agency:

“We generate leads through Smartlead (cold email) and HeyReach (LinkedIn). We push positive replies into the CRM, then convert them into booked calls and closed deals.”

Then click finish.

Step 3: Let the CRM Auto-Generate Everything

Breakcold will create:

• pipeline(s)

• lists

• tags

• statuses

• custom fields

And it’s tailored to the business.

So you have no boring CRM setup to do manually.

That’s huge because agency founders hate setup.

Step 4: Clean the CRM (Focus Only on Sales Pipeline)

Once you land in the workspace:

Go to:

Pipeline

You’ll see the CRM created different pipelines like:

• Sales pipeline

• Client success

• Partnerships

For this retention system, focus on:

✅ Sales pipeline only

You can delete client success and partnerships for now.

Building the Perfect Sales Pipeline

Now we rename the stages.

This is critical because it forces clients into a conversion process.

Recommended pipeline stages

Stage 1: Positive reply (Cold email)

Name it:

✅ Positive Reply - Cold Email

This bucket receives positive replies from Smartlead.

Stage 2: Positive reply (LinkedIn)

Name it:

✅ Positive Reply - LinkedIn

This bucket receives positive replies from HeyReach.

Stage 3: Conversation Started

Name it:

✅ Conversation Started

This stage = real conversations.

Rule of thumb:

move leads here only after at least 2 replies.

Stage 4: Booked a Call

Name it:

✅ Booked a Call

This stage triggers once:

• Calendly confirmation happens

• or the lead explicitly books something

Stage 5: To Follow Up

Name it:

✅ Follow Up

This stage is where momentum happens.

Important:
Follow-up is where deals are won.

Most people don’t do it.

Stage 6: Closed Won

✅ Closed Won

Stage 7: Closed Lost

✅ Closed Lost

Step 5: Invite Your Client Into the Workspace

Go to:

Settings → Members

Invite your client.

Once your client accepts:

Tell them to connect:

✅ their email
✅ their LinkedIn account

Why?

Because it allows the CRM to auto-aggregate:

• email threads

• LinkedIn threads

• calendar events

That’s how the CRM becomes “alive.”

Step 6: Create the Daily Execution System (Vision Dashboard)

This is where retention really becomes strong.

Because clients stop being chaotic.

They start being consistent.

Go to:

Vision → Configure Vision

Vision is the dashboard where:

• tasks are auto-created

• AI suggests messages

• client just executes daily

Choose a CRM personality (the trick)

Pick one of the existing personalities, or create your own.

My favorite method:

Create a “Follow-Up Psycho Agent”

Yes, seriously.

Because your goal is simple:

Never lose momentum with leads.

Recommended configuration

• Follow-up frequency: every 3 business days

• Email length: short

• Rules: only create tasks when an existing thread exists

This is super important:

You are generating leads from cold email + LinkedIn automation.

You push positive replies.

So there IS a thread.

The AI should not create tasks for random people with no conversation.

Personality description example

Follow-Up Psycho Agent

• follows up every 3 business days

• only creates tasks when there is an existing conversation thread

• adapts to lead writing style

• uses lead social posts in suggested messages

• prioritizes momentum over perfection

Then click generate personality.

Now select it as your default CRM agent.

Step 7: Automate Lead Movement in the Pipeline

Now we configure lead movement rules.

Go to automation settings.

Important: disable auto movement from AI for positive reply stages

Because your agency pushes leads there manually via Zapier.

Configure Conversation Started logic

Rule:

Only move leads to Conversation Started when there are at least 2 replies from the lead.

So positive reply = 1 reply
conversation started = real back and forth

Configure Booked a Call logic

Rule example:

Move lead here when a meeting has been scheduled on Calendly (or similar).

Configure Follow-Up stage logic

Rule example:

Only put leads here if they already had a call, or if they went silent after a conversation.

Closed Won / Lost

Straightforward.

Replicating for Every Client (Agency Scaling)

Once you’ve done it once:

You can replicate it for every client.

You create a new workspace per client.

So your agency becomes a multi-workspace machine.

This is what you want:

• one workflow template

• cloned for all clients

• high retention

• high value offer

Step 8: Push Positive Replies From Smartlead Into the CRM

Now we connect Smartlead.

In Smartlead:

• Go to Webhooks

• Create webhook

• Trigger: lead category updated

You want:

When you mark lead as “Interested” → send to CRM

Zapier workflow (Smartlead → Breakcold)

1. Trigger: Catch Hook

2. Action: Breakcold → Create/Update Lead

3. Assign list: Sales pipeline

4. Assign stage: Positive Reply - Cold Email

Test it.

Done.

Now every positive reply goes in the CRM automatically.

Step 9: Push LinkedIn Positive Replies From HeyReach Into the CRM

In HeyReach:

• go to integrations

• webhooks

• create webhook

• event type: first message reply received

Now build Zapier again:

1. Trigger: Catch Hook

2. Action: Breakcold → Create/Update Lead

3. Assign list: Sales pipeline

4. Assign stage: Positive Reply - LinkedIn

Test it.

Done.

Now LinkedIn replies also enter the CRM.

What It Looks Like When It’s Running (Daily Workflow)

Now imagine you have a workspace full of leads.

This is what happens daily:

Client opens Vision dashboard

Tasks are already waiting.

No thinking.

No guessing.

No procrastination.

They click tasks and get:

• direct access to email thread or LinkedIn thread

• action plan from AI

• suggested message

• follow-up reminders

They just execute.

Meanwhile the CRM does the rest

• detects conversations

• detects booked calls

• moves leads automatically

• updates analytics automatically

• 
  

  

So the pipeline stays clean.

The stats stay clean.

And the client feels like:

“Wow, this system is actually working.”

And guess what?

This makes them stay longer.

Why This Works So Well (Retention Explanation)

Now the system is set.

And now your client has:

• a CRM workspace tailored to their business

• a clean pipeline

• leads pushed automatically

• tasks auto generated

• leads moved automatically

• analytics always up to date

So what does the client need to do?

Only one job:

✅ show up daily
✅ execute tasks
✅ follow up
✅ close deals

This removes excuses.

And retention increases hard.

Alternative Upsell: Sell a Follow-Up VA Service

If you want an even easier retention play:

Instead of teaching the client to follow up…

You upsell:

✅ a virtual assistant
✅ follow-up services
✅ appointment management

So:

• VA handles replies + follow-ups

• client only closes calls

This is an easy upsell and can massively improve retention.

Conclusion

Most lead gen agencies lose clients not because the leads are bad…

But because clients don’t know what to do with them.

So your retention strategy is simple:

Don’t just generate leads.

Build a system that converts.

The workflow looks like this:

1. CRM workspace per client

2. Clean pipeline

3. Push positive replies automatically

4. Auto task creation dashboard

5. Leads move automatically

6. Client executes daily

7. Results increase

8. Retention increases

That’s it.

If you implement this, your agency becomes more than an agency.

It becomes a revenue system provider.

And that’s how you win long-term.