How I Built a $2.6 Million Agency in Year One Without a Sales Team — Using Nothing But LinkedIn

Prior to launching my own marketing business, I worked at athletic apparel company Gymshark, driving our marketing strategy around community. I knew that bringing people together was powerful. I just had to move that concept out of the fitness space and into business. How hard could it be?

So, when I launched my community marketing agency, Butterfly Effect, I took a new approach. I put on my “professional” voice. I tried to stick to business talk and keep interactions transactional. But as I built more authentic relationships with decision-makers, I noticed that behind every corporate email address was a human being facing real challenges.

That’s when I had my biggest insight: B2B isn’t just business-to-business — it’s human-to-human. The approach didn’t have to be cold and calculated. I had to take the community-building playbook I knew well and adapt it to a new platform: LinkedIn. Here’s how I did it.

How LinkedIn Transformed Our Business

I noticed that despite having over a billion users, only 1% actively post on LinkedIn. Yet, that 1% drives 99% of all reach and engagement. By consistently showing up there, I not only built influence but created one of the most engaged personal brands on the platform.

So, instead of treating LinkedIn as a digital CV or occasional broadcasting channel, I made it the center of my business development strategy. This approach wasn’t just marginally successful — it transformed my career and business trajectory completely.

When we launched Butterfly Effect, we weren’t starting from zero — we had some investment. But instead of spending it on a sales team or aggressive marketing, we poured it into the service experience. Our money went into building the kind of agency we’d want to work with. We wanted to be rooted in value, creativity, and community — not cold calls and closing scripts.

So we made a decision that scared most people in the room: No sales team. No cold outreach. No funnels. No performance ads. Just community.

We believed that if we showed up with real value, built trust in public, and put people before pitches, the right clients would come to us. Everyone told us we were mad. But, as the momentum built, our community did the selling for us.

Within 12 months, we hit £2 million ($2.6 million U.S.) in revenue. All inbound. No outbound.

So, I made a decision: LinkedIn wouldn’t be a billboard. It would be the heartbeat of the business.

Three Ways You Can Use LinkedIn to Build Connection

1. Remember: LinkedIn isn’t for corporate updates — it’s for building credibility.

Most B2B brands treat LinkedIn as an afterthought, posting corporate updates that no one engages with. I’ve fallen into that trap too.

My light bulb moment was when I realized that behind every logo was someone trying to solve something. Behind every inquiry was a real person with a problem, a goal, or a dream. LinkedIn was where these people were gathering, listening, and looking for clarity.

So, I moved away from “look-how-great-we-are” updates. Instead, I wrote open playbooks and useful insights. Every post became a conversation starter, and every comment became a connection. Our messages were open doors, not pitches.

This approach allowed the team to build credibility. Each post built on the last, compounding visibility into reputation. When people were ready to work with us, they already felt like they knew who we were and what we stood for.

Action you can take today: Audit your last 10 LinkedIn posts. How many provide genuine value versus talking about your company? Commit to an 80/20 split — 80% valuable insights, 20% business updates — and watch your engagement transform.

2. Leverage your own LinkedIn, not just your company page.

If you only focus on your company’s LinkedIn page, you’re missing out. My business blossomed when I recognized that buyers trust people more than logos. To capture that trust, I needed to leverage my LinkedIn presence.

As the CEO, I gained credibility as an expert in my field, built direct relationships with partners, and turned my personal brand into a business growth engine.

From there, I kept a close eye on who was interacting with my posts. I knew my ideal customer personas (ICPs) and tracked their engagement closely. If I saw an ICP who might be interested in our work, I could then reach out while I was still top-of-mind.

Instead of generic sales pitches, I used DMs strategically, engaging in warm, high-intent conversations that felt natural and valuable. The most powerful shift came when I built genuine inbound demand. My content provided so much value that prospects started coming to me, eliminating the need for traditional outbound sales entirely.

This approach went beyond just me. My whole team engaged actively. They didn’t need to become creators. They became contributors in a different way. Whether it was jumping into comment threads, sharing POVs in DMs, or amplifying the conversations happening on our posts, their presence helped extend the trust we were building.

Action you can take today: Look at your business goals for the next quarter. For each one, ask: “How could community connection help achieve this faster or better?” Then, implement at least one community-driven approach to your most important objective.

3. Transform your LinkedIn into a hub for your ecosystem.

When I noticed the power of LinkedIn, I committed to showing up every day — sharing ideas, telling stories, asking questions, and most importantly being myself.

That consistency changed everything. Over time, my personal LinkedIn evolved into our biggest growth engine. It powered my personal brand and ensured our company page wasn’t just a static placeholder — it functioned like a living, breathing homepage.

People returned to our LinkedIn to understand who we were and how we thought. We became a stop for real collaboration, not just networking. LinkedIn was a town square — the place where we proved our thinking before anyone filled out a form.

With that reputation, we were able to expand beyond the digital realm. We launched Catalyst, a series of events bringing together marketing professionals to tackle industry challenges. The goal? Build trust, exchange knowledge, and forge real connections.

From that foundation, I took an even bolder step with Butterfly Effect — a dedicated space where businesses facing similar challenges could come together to solve problems collectively. This wasn’t just another networking group or shallow forum. It became a space where collaboration led to real outcomes, not just conversations.

Action you can take today: Identify the top problem your customers or industry faces right now. Post your approach, then create a simple collaborative space (even a basic LinkedIn Group) specifically focused on solving that problem together. Don’t sell — facilitate solutions.

Driving Success Through Community

The old ways of using LinkedIn, keeping knowledge proprietary, and maintaining artificial distance are falling behind. The path forward requires:

• Being yourself openly so people trust you.
• Building a community of people who share your values.
• Sharing what you know to help everyone grow.
• Working together to make progress that lifts your whole industry.

The moment business became personal for me was the moment everything changed. By embracing authentic human connection in every aspect of my work, I didn’t just find a competitive edge — I found meaning, impact, and sustainable growth that benefits everyone involved.

And, all of that happened on LinkedIn.