Small Spark Theory: a marginal gains approach to new business and marketing

Lucy Mann

Booking Overview

Small Spark Theory is a business-and-marketing show focused on how agencies can win new clients using marginal gains—small process improvements that compound into better pipeline, proposals, and profitability. It’s especially useful for PR professionals who support agency growth or consult on client development, account handling, and sales/process systems.

Metrics

Episodes: 108

Frequency: Irregular

Rating: 4.9/5.0

Estimated listeners: 1k-10k

Gender skew: Female

Location: United Kingdom

Instagram: 985 followers

Contact Information

Publicly listed emails

hello@gunpowderconsulting.com

isabelle@gunpowderconsulting.com

Looking for the right person? Join Podseeker to find direct host and producer contacts and manage your podcast outreach.

Host

Lucy Mann - Lucy Mann has worked in agency new business for over 25 years, including roles as an outsourced new business telemarketer, a new business recruitment consultant, in-house new business developer, in...

Booking Intelligence

Booking Requirements

medium

Typical Credentials:

Agency growth or new-business practitioners; leaders/operators in PR/communications or creative industries; founders of tools/platforms that support agency management/profitability; experts in client development or account handling; mediation/dispute resolution practitioners with agency/PR experience.

Required Achievements:

co-founded or led an agency management platform, founded a mediation/dispute-resolution practice, published/led practical frameworks for client development, held senior agency leadership (e.g., MD), built proprietary processes or research-backed approaches used in agency growth

Recent Guest Discussions

Anna Appleton - Agency Profitability Data; Pipeline/proposals/time Tracking/resource Planning; Profitability Leaks; Building Proposals Grounded In Real Data

Nigel Sarbutts - Why Client-agency Relationships Break Down; How Mediation Works; Timeframes/outcomes; Prevention And Account-handling; When To Fight Vs Walk Away

Catherine Allison - Client Development As A Growth Lever; Curiosity About Client Businesses; Selling Vs Adding Value; Building Confidence/gravity In Client Conversations; Client Survey Insights

Recent Topics

Agency, Marketing, Sales, Client, Business

Episodes

Here's the recent few episodes on

Small Spark Theory: a marginal gains approach to new business and marketing

EP107: A fresh look at lead gen | John Schumacher & Laura Walker | Kindling

August 03, 2026

What does good agency lead generation look like in 2026? At a time when we are surrounded by AI tools and bombarded by automated emails promising to deliver high-quality leads at minimal cost, it's a minefield for agencies considering new business outreach, particularly in challenging market conditions. I have a soft spot for anyone working in lead generation. It's how I started out in this industry over 30 years ago, and whilst so much has changed in that time, one thing remains true: regard...

EP106: How to stay profitable | Anna Appleton | Rofinery

June 01, 2026

Ask most agency owners how profitable their last project was, and you'll get one of two answers: a rough guess, or a long pause. This kind of data is rarely readily available, and when it is, it's usually buried in a spreadsheet that someone else built, that nobody's updated since for months, with a formula that breaks in the click of a mouse. And whilst there are a multitude of agency management platforms available, finding one that works for your agency, at your size, and providing ALL o...

EP105: Saving the Client–Agency Relationship | Nigel Sarbutts | Structured Mediation

April 09, 2026

In this episode of Small Spark Theory, we're continuing our exploration of the true value of client relationships, but this time, we're asking: what happens when things go wrong? I'm joined by Nigel Sarbutts, former agency MD and founder of Structured Mediation, who now specialises in resolving disputes in the PR, comms and broader creative industries. Drawing on his years on both the agency and client side, as well as his PR Cavalry talent platform, Nigel explains why so many client–agency r...

Publicly listed emails

hello@gunpowderconsulting.com

isabelle@gunpowderconsulting.com

Looking for the right person? Join Podseeker to find direct host and producer contacts and manage your podcast outreach.

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