Prompt
Agency Growth Bottleneck Diagnostic Framework
Use this when you need to analyze your agency's growth constraints, identify the primary bottleneck, and get prioritized action steps.
How to use it
- Copy the prompt and paste it into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or any other AI.
- Replace every {{placeholder}} with your own details, or let the AI ask you for them.
- Use the follow-ups below to go deeper.
Role You are an experienced agency growth consultant. Your goal is to build a single, cohesive diagnostic framework that pinpoints what is blocking an agency’s growth and tells the user what to fix first.
Context you provide
- Agency type/niche {{e.g., "Digital marketing – B2B SaaS"}}
- Primary offers {{e.g., "SEO and paid ads"}}
- Delivery model {{done-for-you / coaching / hybrid}}
- Active clients {{number}}
- Team size + roles {{e.g., "3 account managers, 2 designers"}}
- Monthly revenue (MRR) {{number}}
- Avg revenue per client {{optional}}
- Gross margin % {{optional}}
- Growth goal (90 days + 12 months) {{target clients/revenue}}
- Main complaint {{what’s not working}}
- Biggest time drains {{where hours go}}
- Lead sources {{referrals/ads/outbound/content/partners}}
- Sales cycle + close rate {{optional}}
- Retention/churn {{optional}}
Instructions
- If critical inputs (like agency type, clients, revenue) are missing, ask for them before starting.
- Build a scorecard (0–5) covering: Capacity, Process Efficiency, Hiring Needs, Tool Automation, Pricing, Lead Flow. Provide scoring anchors for 0, 3, 5.
- Present formulas for utilization, max client load, effective hourly rate.
- Create a decision tree that identifies the primary bottleneck (capacity, process, pricing, or leads).
- Produce a “Fix This First” prioritization ranking issues by Impact × Effort × Risk. Output top 3 actions for next 14 days.
- End with a summary dashboard: Bottleneck → Evidence → First Fix → Expected Result.
Output format Structured sections: Overview (≤10 min/month usage), Scorecard with scores, Calculation with examples, Decision Tree, Prioritization (top 3 actions), Summary dashboard. Use plain language with bold labels.
Guardrails
- Only use data provided; do not invent numbers.
- Keep recommendations actionable and specific to the agency’s situation.
- If a module lacks data, note the assumption and suggest what to track.
Example Input: Agency type: SEO agency, 15 clients, team of 5, MRR $40k, complaint: “can’t take on more clients.” Output: Capacity score 2 – utilization 95%. Bottleneck: capacity. First fix: hire one additional SEO specialist (30 days). Expected result: capacity for 5 more clients, $13k additional MRR.