Nigel Thomas

David to Goliath

Founder

Alpha Inbound

Consultant

We run custom-built FB and TikTok campaigns for Health and Wellness Brands, decreasing their new customer cost by up to 20% in 90 days or less.

Here's how we help:

◼️ Set custom KPIs for the campaigns in line with your brand growth goals.
◼️ Establish a systematic testing approach, with a heavy focus on content.
◼️ Analyze how paid social is contributing to your entire ecosystem.
◼️ Focus on your bottom line revenue, not just ROAS.

Interested in learning more? DM me or book a discovery call using the form below.

Chief Executive Officer

-Built external relationships with key strategic partners
-Built internal infrastructure & operations to enable efficient scaling.
-Advised owner on core business strategies to drive the company forward.

Chief Growth Officer

Service to Millions

CEO | Founder

RealtyACCEL

Chief Operating Officer

AECOM

Quantity Surveyor

Northen Surveying Services Ltd

Junior Quantity surveyor

DECATHLON FRANCE

Department Manager

I nearly ended my life—now I'm rebuilding and documenting my comeback through my newsletter. Follow me as I share stories, frameworks and tools along the way to 100k subscribers.

I’ll never forget my childhood nickname: “Krusty the Clown”...

Yep, eczema earned me that one.

Fast forward to 26 years old—

Stuck at a corporate job, feeling like I was another cog in the machine.

That’s when I decided enough was enough.

To my parents’ dismay, I quit cold turkey to build my first online business.

A digital marketing agency.

Risky? Absolutely. But it changed *everything.*

Along the way, I met someone incredible—

She saw beyond my quirks, encouraging me to lean into them.

Her gift of self-belief turned me from a guy with zero confidence to someone who:

→ Grew a LinkedIn following to 46k
→ Spoke at events in front of hundreds
→ Led 2 marketing agencies to 7-figures

Then came the high point:

Fulfilling a promise I had made 2 years back to take an agency to $100k in monthly revenue.

To the world, I’d made it.

But on the inside… I was battling my darkest demons after losing my biggest supporter.

Giving up wasn’t an option, though.

Inspired by the story where David defeated the mighty Goliath with a slingshot and a few pebbles…

I realized the power of facing life’s giants with relentless action and self-belief.

This epiphany wasn’t just a lifeline—

It became my mission…

…not only to rebuild, but to:

→ Lead with vulnerability, share my recovery, and come back stronger
→ Inspire others to find their “inner David,” conquering obstacles with courage and conviction

From the brink of taking my life, to attempting to build a community of 100k subscribers to my newsletter, “David to Goliath,” in one calendar year…

I’ve seen first-hand what’s possible when you refuse to back down.

…and this is just the beginning for me.

As I sit back in my rocking chair at 80 years old, I want to look back on a life filled with crazy adventures and think,

“F*ck yeah, that was one hell of a story.”

Winston Churchill said it best:

“History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it.”

Life’s battles aren’t just for fighting—

They’re for winning.

Through “David to Goliath,” I share stories, insights, and strategies to:

→ Give you the tools and confidence to tackle life’s challenges head-on
→ Empower you to break free from conformity and write your epic tale

…because you have the power within to change everything.

So, what do you say?

Shall we re-write the history books?

Join me: DavidtoGoliath.com

900 Comments, 223 Leads, 19 Booked Meetings, $76,000 Pipeline Created
All from one post... (steal it today)

Want more leads for your agency in 2025?

Instead of:

❌ Relying on referrals
❌ Sending 1,000s of cold emails
❌ Posting quote pictures to get likes

✅ Post Lead Magnets

If you know what to do, one post can change everything.

I followed these steps
And created $76k in pipeline…

So I teamed up with Robert Bradley to put together a Notion doc so you can do the same for your agency.

It contains a list of the 26 best lead magnets on Linkedin.

Collected in an easy-to-inspire list with content, images, links, and separated into agency categories such as:

✅ Conversion Rate Optimization
✅ Content Creation
✅ Lead Gen
✅ AI Copy
✅ Ads

And a simple 4 step process so you can build your own.

My agency clients are already using this to sign deals.

Do you want a copy of the lead magnet Notion doc?

Just comment “Magnet” below and I’ll send it over (must be connected)


And please re-share the love for other agencies ❤️

Ex 7-figure Ecom Agency CEO now helping others do the same

Last night someone told me how their friend, a woman aged 30 with 2 kids, unexpectedly died from a cardiac arrest. It really put things into perspective:

There I am worrying about paying taxes, posting content and getting results for my clients…

Whilst some poor little children out there are now growing up in this unforgiving world without a mother.

Life is so precious and in the grand scheme of things most of the concerns you have today really don’t matter.

Just be grateful for the fact you get another chance.

Because not everyone is that lucky.

RIP

Last year I spent way too many days thinking, pondering, and questioning myself. For 2025 I have a new motto:

"You don't think your way into acting.
You act your way into thinking."

When you're an entrepreneur with big dreams and crazy visions you'll never have all the answers.

But the more action you take, the more feedback you'll get and the more answers you'll find along the way.

The only way to keep pushing in the darkness of uncertainty is to believe with 100% conviction you will figure things out.

Day by day.
Month by month.
Year by year.

Forcing your new direction into the light and crushing your insecurities one by one.

Remember: The best gift you can give anyone is the power of belief.

But the best person to believe in is always yourself.

Here's to feeling insecure but taking action anyway. 💪

Happy New Year LinkedIn! Let's make it the best yet.

P.S. What's your 2025 motto?

Last year an Ecom agency I knew grew 525% in 9 months by solving one specific problem (clue: it wasn’t sending more cold emails).

If you don’t book calls with big brands listen up:

It’s harder and harder to stand out in 2025.

‘FB ads for health and wellness’ won’t cut it when the barrier to entry = Wifi connection and a laptop.

But you keep sending more cold emails
You keep writing more LinkedIn posts
You keep searching for the big unlock

Month after month. Same old sh*t.

The big brands don’t respond and you have to settle for bottom of the barrel clients that demand the world for tiny retainers.

Sound familiar?

Well, that’s exactly where this agency founder was in March last year.

But instead of writing more content, sending more outbound or turning on paid ads we stopped and fixed the ONE thing that impacts EVERYTHING.

Positioning.

Think about Liquid Death.

Just sparkling water in a can, right?

Wrong.

It’s sparkling water for millennials and Gen Z who value authenticity, individuality, and rebellion against the norm.

Positioning turned the most boring thing in the world into a billion-dollar company.

So how can you use positioning to help your agency stand out?

2 simple steps:

Step 1: Find The Dream Outcome

- Look at what posts did well
- Think back to your sales calls
- Study the message in your inbox

What is the ONE thing that your prospects want?

E.g. To scale their ads more

Step 2: Your Unique Solution

- Interview your current clients
- Study what inputs got their results
- Write down your strong opinions through experience

You need something different that no one else is talking about.

E.g. Double your adspend in 2 months by split testing 5 headlines per month on your product page.

Very specific. And it relates to the prospect’s desired outcome.

You will have to keep testing and testing your new hypothesis until you get product market fit.

How do you know when that happens?

- Higher responses to your outbound
- More people engaging on your content
- Opportunities to speak on stage/podcasts etc.
- Dream clients are booking calls with you inbound

But please remember: Keep things simple.

The goal of Positioning is to book more calls
Not with anyone.
Only with your dream clients.

So strip back what your agency does down to:

1) The ONE outcome your dream client wants
2) Your ONE unique way of solving it

The rest of the technical jargon can wait until the call.

If you go all-in on positioning for your agency in 2025 I can promise it’ll be the biggest growth unlock bar none.

Find this helpful?

In 2024 I personally helped scale 25 marketing agencies.

Here are 41 things that impacted growth the most:

1: Raise your prices, constantly

2: Put all your clients on autobilling

3: Sell VS how much revenue you generate

4: Win business with insanely good free audits

5: Share all your processes through content (LinkedIn)

6: Build partnerships with upcoming SaaS providers

7: Hire people who can proactively problem solve

8: Build your pipeline 90 days in advance

9: Incentivize referrals from your clients

10: Create rolodex of partners for clients

11: Focus on margins, not just revenue

12: Build up cash so you hire A-Players

13: Meet your remote team in person

14: Let go of old clients that no longer serve you

15: Judge your team by their impact on revenue

16: Always, always, research and leverage technology

17: Network with agency owners 1 step ahead

18: See each client leaving as chance to improve

19: Accept quality is always best when in-house

20: Integrate systems into 1 main tool (we use Monday)

21: Make meeting agendas mandatory for all calls

22: Block out deep work for your creative people

23: Pay more for experience as it saves time

24: Redefine your ideal client profile once per month

25: SOP everything and productize your services

26: Move client calls to bi-weekly, focus on strategy

27: Build out reporting to cover everything else

28: Constantly realign expectations with clients

29: Do business forecasting for your clients

30: Never have 1 client more than 30% revenue

31: Specalise in 1/2 services and find great partners

32: Brand your agency as we help X vertical

33: Visit your best clients in-person

34: Map out your perfect customer journey

35: Always build case studies in line with ICP

36: Figure out ways to upsell existing clients

37: Say NO to companies you can’t definitely help

38: Don’t go against your gut when selling

39: Create environment of safety by being transparent

40: Run co-marketing events with partners (webinars)

41: Have long-term plan (exit or cashflow business)


—

Find this helpful? ♻️ Repost to help others.


P.S. Which tip was your favourite?! 🤔

There were 9 specific problems I needed to solve so my last agency could break through $100K months:

Here are the answers so you can do it 3X faster:


1: You aren’t unique (Positioning)

The agency market is hypercompetitive.
Just being another FB ads agency won’t cut it.

- Focus on a certain type of client (niche)
- OR focus on solving a very specific problem

Pro Tip: If you don’t know where to start ask your current clients what makes you different


2: You don’t book enough calls (Marketing)

If you rely on referrals you won’t be able to scale.
There are two ways to put new calls in your control:

- Outbound (going for 3% of market ready now)
- Inbound (nurturing 97% of market ready later)

Pro Tip: Pipeline is built at least 90 days in advance so keep consistent even when you sign new clients


3: You don’t have a process to convert calls (Sales)

Sales is not a chit-chat. It’s a serious art.
The way to win when small is have a rigid process.

- Use agendas, have an intro, set next steps
- Do more due diligence up front to win trust


4: You don’t charge enough (Pricing)

More cash = cut costs or increase prices.
The latter has way more upside.

- Focus first on tracking client results
- Increase your prices in line with value of results


5: You don’t have leverage (Personal Brand)

People buy from people they like and trust.
Social media amplifies your personality to the masses.

- Either start documenting your journey
- OR tap into the leverage of others (interviews/breakdowns)


6: You don’t have a network (Partnerships)

There are businesses that already work with your ICP.
Solve their problems then they’ll solve yours.

- Figure out the most connected people in your industry
- Provide insane value for them then ask for intros


7: You don’t have systems (Operations)

If you can’t repeat what gets client results.
You won’t be able to scale your backend operation.

- Document step-step how you help clients
- Build checklists for each step then delegate


8: You haven’t got A-Players (Recruitment)

Agency at its core is just scaling people.
If you win recruitment you will win period.

- Focus on volume of applicants (100 per position)
- Ask candidates to conduct a task specific to their role

Pro Tip: Have them record a quick 2 min video prior to interview talking about their skillsets and why they want to work with your company


9: Your team aren’t focused (Leadership)

This is the hardest but the most powerful.
Without direction, your team will be inefficient.

- Build out an organizational chart for your agency
- Define specific responsibilities and 1 KPI to focus on

Pro Tip: The more transparent you are with your numbers the more they will improve (self awareness)


Solve these problems and you'll hit $100k/mo 3X faster.

Hope it helped.

The best business advice in 2024 came from my mum.

At the time though it felt like a punch to the stomach.

So recently I met my mum for the first time in ages.

I was talking to her with excitement. 

Telling her about the network I’ve been building, people I’ve been helping and favours I’ve been doing.

You know when you just want her approval?

A big smile, a hug or “Well done Nigel!”.

I got absolutely none of that.

Nada

Instead, she looked at me sternly and said: 

“Nigel. You’re too nice”.

It hit deep. Like a punch to the stomach. Why? 

Because she was right.

It’s the reminder I needed to hear.

And maybe it's the one you needed too:

She went onto say: “It’s great helping people out but right now you need to focus more on helping yourself. Get paid properly for the time you put in so you can hire people to help you. Then and only then can you help others.”

After working 1-1 with 25 Ecom agencies last year I can tell you with ultimate conviction the single reason they weren’t growing is because they were not charging enough.

“Clients will leave”
“Other people don’t charge that”
“I won’t be able to close any deals”

I’ve heard all the excuses.

3 months later?

They ALL said the same thing to me:

“Nigel, I wish I’d done this sooner”.

So here’s the challenge for your next sales call:

Don’t raise the prices by 100% (I know you won’t do that)

Just add 10%. That’s it.

Suppose you’re charging $2,000 a month. Say $2,200.

One action that has the single biggest impact on the cash that hits your bank account.

And I’ll join you.

Taking my mum’s feedback on board I’m going to raise the prices of my 1-1 agency mentoring at the end of Jan.

Remember: 

Being nice and being kind in business - 2 different things.

Nice guys come last. 
Kind guys come first.

So raise your prices, make more cash, and then help more people.

But don't thank me.

Thank my mum.

Still measuring your agency success by MRR?

Here’s a better KPI (that will make you rich):

Look, I still say I scaled my last agency to $140k/mo because that’s what gets your attention.

But in reality, it’s misleading.

Let me explain with a quick example:

There are two agencies: A and B.

Agency A makes $100k/mo - Wow, incredible!

Agency B makes half - so only $50k/mo.

Let’s say the net margin for both agencies is 40%

So the cost of running Agency A = $60,000 per month

The cost of running Agency B = $30,000 per month

Now for the important part: 

They both have $100,000 cash in the bank.

Let’s say things take a turn for the worse and both agencies lose all their clients.

Unless Agency A somehow fire everyone and cut all their costs immediately they will burn through their $100k cash reserve in just over 1 month.

Agency B however can keep running, cutting no costs, for 3 and a half months.

This gives Agency B a HUGE competitive advantage.

Why?

Because the owner can make his/her decisions from a place of abundance.

Whilst Agency owner A always makes decisions from a place of scarcity knowing if things start failing he/she has no runway to survive.

Hence the KPI that matters most is not monthly recurring revenue.

It's Cash.

It’s your oxygen. It’s the real metric of success.

The one that allows you to sleep peacefully at night.

And the KPI that actually makes you rich.

Apart from being able to flex huge revenue screenshots on social if you have limited cash you’re playing with fire.

I’m pretty confident that you didn’t get into the agency game to build an out of control monster that sucks all of your time and energy only for it to burn to the ground and leave you with nothing.

Right?

So stop only focusing on revenue.

Prioritise stacking up cash.

Then when everyone else is panicking you can sit back quietly and make long-term high quality decisions whilst your team know their jobs are safe.

That’s what you call playing smart, not just hard.

Thank me later. 😘

Agency owners keep telling me they need more sales.

There's a much easier fix (don't share this):

Firstly what's your goal for your agency?

Make more revenue?

Make more cash?

Because more sales won't solve the cash problem if you have poor margins.

No. The only way to fix that is:

1) Decrease costs
2) Increase prices

The exciting part is that with service-based businesses if you can prove the value to potential clients your pricing potential is almost limitless.

How do I know?

At my last agency I used to charge $1k/mo

12 months later we charged minimum $10k/mo.

In 2024 I helped scale over 25 agencies and increasing their prices was the number one thing that helped them grow the fastest.

So instead of trying to chase new leads ask yourself:

Can you increase your prices?

Because the more cash you have:

- The more A-Players you can hire
- The more you can work on, not in the business
- The more you can get even better results

Which allows you to further increase your prices!

Remember: When everyone zigs learn to zag.

Focusing on increasing prices VS more clients will give your agency a huge competitive advantage.

But hey, let's keep this our little secret, right?

Entrepreneurship isn’t worth the effort if you’re not going for gold.
So dream bigger.
And let your actions match your ambitions.

If I was responsible for sales at a B2B marketing agency and wanted to close dozens of extra clients per month, here's what I'd do:


1: Get Attention

I need to make noise to stand out in a crowded market.

- Send cold emails/LinkedIn DM’s
- Post case studies/processes on LinkedIn
- Build alliances with companies that work with our ideal customer

Once a prospect (brand) raises their hand it’s time to hunt.


2: CRM

Great salespeople do boring stuff, every day.

Logging notes into the CRM is the real sh**.

- Enter contact info
- Put in date to follow-up
- Tie to deal size, forecast close date

Then every future step in this process, I update.


3: Qualify

As CEO, protecting my team's time is crucial.

Before going further, I identify if we can help.

- Jump on 20 min discovery call
- Ask Qs to figure out their biggest problem
- Make sure stage of growth + our service makes sense

If they don’t qualify, I give advice. If they do, next step.


4: Audit

Relationships = trust + respect.

Quick way to build trust is value, for free.

- Get access to Shopfiy, FB ads, content
- Break down their entire customer journey
- Identify where it’s leaking and give advice to fix

Our advice increases revenue = deep trust.


5: Pre-Call Video

People are sick and tired of being pitched.

Do something prior to the call to stand out.

- Notify they’ll receive a video breakdown
- Tell them why they need to watch prior to call
- Send a 30min Loom video prior to sales call, breaking down the audit

The video is packed with that much value. 
It does most of the selling for me.


6: Sales Call

Demonstrating you’ve listened is a secret weapon.

- Prepare a custom slide deck
- Focus it on problems from discovery call
- Lay out life with Alpha Inbound on a road map

Then, either close or agree a decision date.


7: Follow-Up

The follow-up is where most deals are lost.

- Check in 2+ times per week
- Provide more value around problems
- Ask direct questions and isolate objections

Don’t stop until they block you or tell you to f off.
Extreme? Yes. I play to win.


8: Seal The Deal

My team works after we get paid.

- Receive signed contract
- See cash hit the stripe account
- Notify ops manager to start onboarding

Remember: The deal is done only once cash hits the account and contract is signed.

Don’t be finishing prematurely.


9: Onboard

This is where the real sales process begins, not ends. First few weeks is where trust is won/lost.

- Get onboarding info out ASAP
- Ensure we’re resourced to fire on all cylinders
- Immediately book a kick-off call to build more trust

Constantly realign expectations to agreed KPIs.


I could go on and on.
There is so much depth to this.
But high level, that’s my 9 step process.

Summary:

Step 1: Get Attention
Step 2: Log info in CRM
Step 3: Qualify
Step 4: Audit
Step 5: Pre-Call video
Step 6: Sales call
Step 7: Follow up
Step 8: Seal the deal, get paid
Step 9: Onboard

Over and out.

A great recruitment strategy will grow your agency faster than any sales or marketing tactic. Here's mine:
 (this took 1,500 interviews to perfect):


Step 1: Predictable Sales

No cash = no resources for salaries.

- Test different channels
- Wait till you consistently book 10+ calls per month
- Figure out how to turn those calls into long-term clients

Then identify the people you need to improve the service.


Step 2: Accurate Forecasting

Recruitment is about being proactive.

- Input sales data into CRM
- Project sales up to 3 months out
- Forecast ramp-up time for new recruits

Foundation set. Now it's time to hire.


Step 3: Applicant Source

Systems are governed by the quality of their inputs.

- Ask other agencies where they hire
- Post job applications across recommendations
- Double down where quality and quality is highest

Then go for volume - ideally minimum 50-100 applicants per position.


Step 4: Process to Filter Applications

Time is precious. Interviews should only be reserved for candidates that have true potential.

- Include a quick questionnaire
- Filter out then ask remaining candidates to complete task
- Filter again and interview those who are left


Step 5: How to Interview

Judgement is based on numbers (quantitive) and intuition (qualitative).

- Short interviews to review past performance (quantitive)
- Filter then conduct long interviews for culture (qualitative)
- Ensure you get on with the individual on a personal level

Then make the final call.


Step 6: Setting Expectations

Hiring the wrong person can be disastrous.

- 1 month trial before offering long-term contract
- Set specific KPIs and standards for what you expect
- Hold them accountable and don’t let things slide

If they don’t work out either offer the second-best candidate the opportunity or start the hiring process again.

 
Step 7: Create an Environment of Safety

People do their best work when they trust you.

- Align their personal goals with the companies
- Take time to introduce them to each team member
- Constantly ask for their feedback (and listen!)

People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.


To Recap:

Step 1: Make sales predicable 
Step 2: Forecast new sales and hires
Step 3: Find a source for new applicants
Step 4: Build an efficient filtering process
Step 5: Interview by quantitive and qualitative
Step 6: Set hard expectations from day 1
Step 7: Create an environment of safety

What would you add?

Taplio

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