Perry Nalevka is the CEO of Penguin Strategies. They’re the largest HubSpot Partner Agency in Israel. They’re also one of the fastest growing HubSpot partners of all time, hitting Platinum partner status in just 10 months. They’re large and getting larger, but things weren’t always that way.
Back in 2013, the agency was just Perry. Coming from a background in SaaS startup space, Perry had decided it was time to start his own business. Lessons learned from 6-7 different start up experiences allowed him to learn on someone else’s dime. He now felt prepared to open up a shop of his own.
Over the years, he had seen bad management, poor product-market fit, and loose spending destroy potential. Taking these lessons, he decided to move.
His entrepreneurial journey started with solo consulting. In this experience, he crossed paths with his future co-founderNili Molvin Zaharony. Nili had experience with content marketing and Perry was experienced with sales. Together they decided to help start ups with inbound before they even knew the name.
They settled on a three partner mix: technical operations, marketing, and sales. The mix created a great team.
How did you find HubSpot?
Perry and Nili started the agency because they noticed a need for the marketing and sales service on the start up scene in Israel. The agency grew, thanks to their deep connections in the start up space and their commitment to high quality work.
As the agency grew, they turned into digital yes-men in the space. They couldn’t stop the incoming business, but things ended up getting crazy.
Around this time, they started working with a new client. This client had just one condition: they needed to use HubSpot. Perry and the team didn’t need much convincing at the start. They liked the software and set to learning it inside and out. This led them to learning more about the partner program.
The HubSpot VAR program stood out to Perry becasue of the value it offered. They were blown away by the support they received from the sales process right into partnership.
Joining HubSpot and adopting the inbound retainer model was transformational for their agency. Through this transition they fired 10 customers. The remaining 3 customers only stuck around because they agreed to join this new inbound movement.
This move was hard. A dramatic shift like this means cutting costs, firing people, and on-ramping to the retainer agency model. There was a lot to learn.
Things started out slow, but began to gain speed with time. After a few months of learning the ropes, business took off.
Today, Penguin Strategies has seen 3X growth from their team. They have also seen a 6X growth in their monthly retainer size. This growth is amazing, but it takes detailed processes and an agency framework to fully implement.
An Agency Framework is Key to Success
Any company that shows interest in their services is shown two things. First, Penguin Strategies shows the potential client what they want to build for them. To illustrate this, Perry shares a picture of the inbound funnel. The key to this phase of the sales process is connecting the tactics of inbound to what the impact would mean for the client.
Second, they show the engagement process. This is the Agency Framework that Perry and the team follow each time they on-board a new client.
It starts with Discovery. This is a 4-6 week process where they’re digging deep and building an Inbound GamePlan. This moves into Build the Engine. The length of this phase varies on what the client needs. Typically it is just a few weeks, but if they’re redesigning a website it can take longer. The third phase kicks content into high gear. The team is devoted to creating a high volume of high quality content for clients.
How have you built a team to support 24 retainer clients?
Supporting a client base of 24 inbound retainers isn’t easy. It takes a global team to pull it off!
To set up their team, they employ a hybrid model. This is a mix of employees and full time contractors. They also use specialized contractors if a client has a specific pain. This model gives them the flexibility to service a large amount of work without over leveraging the company. It also allows them to service clients across a lot of timezones.
Perry treats his customer-facing team like executives. Perry gives them the flexibility to mix up deliverables to make their clients happy. He wants his team to feel in control. This gives the team the confidence to treat customers well. When they’re empowered, they’re going to take ownership.
How have you created demand for your service?
Penguin Strategies found the start up hot-spot in the country. People talk. In such a close community, you need to make sure you treat customers really well. That is one area that Perry is really proud. They have only one client who hasn’t left on happy terms. Day to day, they want to do all they can do to make their customers happy.
Perry and the team have stumbled into something special in the start up scene in Israel. Timing worked out in their favor, but they were up to the opportunity. They have put in the hard work and determination needed to grow a strong agency.
The same opportunity can exist for you. Look for areas where you’re the first.
- Are you the first HubSpot partner in your city?
- Are you the first HubSpot partner with a focus on the COS in your city?
- Are you the first inbound agency with a focus on a specific vertical in your state?
There are so many companies out there that need our help. Do yourself a favor and build a brand that sets yourself apart. There is plenty of room for growth, but you need to find something that sets you apart from everyone else. Perry and the team became the go-to start up sales and marketing agency in Israel.
What will you become?
