Building Software With Clients, Not For Them
Interview: Why Growth in Dev Agencies Is a Relationship Game (Not a Numbers Game)
Behind the Agency Podcast with Steve Hennigan, Chief Growth Officer at 7 Hills Technology
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Prefer the highlights? Key takeaways and summary below.
TL;DR – Key Takeaways
Dev agency growth isn’t a numbers game—it’s a quality-of-conversations game.
7 Hills wins when clients want to collaborate, not just hand over a spec sheet.
Whiteboarding, user story mapping, and strategy sessions are where the real value shows up.
Productization is about clarity for buyers, not convenience for agencies.
The biggest growth lever right now? In-person relationships and trust.
AI and offshoring increase the value of what can’t be automated: strategy, UX, and product thinking.
The best partnerships are specialist-driven, not generic “you send me leads, I send you leads.”
Playing the long game beats chasing quick wins—especially in custom software.
Meet the Guest
Steve Hennigan is the Chief Growth Officer at 7 Hills Technology, a custom software development firm that helps organizations design and build software products collaboratively. With a background in tech sales and marketing, Steve now helps companies build better products by focusing on process, people, and long-term relationships.
Before joining 7 Hills full-time, Steve spent years in the Cincinnati tech scene, building relationships, mentoring teams, and staying close to how real software decisions get made.
Episode Summary
1. From Tech Sales to Chief Growth Officer
Steve started in classic tech sales—where volume, funnels, and close rates rule everything. But when he moved into the custom software world, that mindset broke fast.
Custom software isn’t a repeatable SKU. Every deal is different. Every buyer is different. And trying to brute-force growth with volume just doesn’t work.
2. The Core Tension: Spec Sheets vs. Collaboration
Most agencies struggle because they accept the wrong kind of work.
Clients who just want to toss a spec over the fence? Bad fit.
Clients who want to think, explore, and build together? That’s the sweet spot.
“We really excel when we can roll our sleeves up in a whiteboard session and build the product alongside the client.”
3. The 7 Hills Approach: Build the Plan Together
Instead of expecting clients to show up with everything figured out, 7 Hills encourages the opposite.
They love:
Blank canvases
Half-formed ideas
Big questions
Through user story mapping and collaborative sessions, they help uncover what actually matters—before a single line of code is written.
That’s where the “aha” moments happen.
4. Productization Without Killing Creativity
Steve was refreshingly honest here: productization is hard.
The goal isn’t to turn custom software into a rigid box. The goal is to give buyers something they can understand and enter through.
Think of it like this:
Guardrails, not handcuffs
Structure, not sameness
Design sprints and strategy sessions become a clear starting point—not the entire journey.
5. The Big Mistake: Treating Agency Growth Like SaaS
This was one of the strongest moments of the conversation.
Steve admitted he tried to run agency growth like SaaS sales early on—and it didn’t work.
In SaaS:
Volume wins
Price is the main objection
Speed matters
In agencies:
Trust wins
Fit matters more than price
Time is unavoidable
Trying to shortcut relationships just backfires.
6. Why In-Person Still Wins (Especially Now)
AI is everywhere. Content is everywhere. Noise is everywhere.
Which makes real human connection more valuable, not less.
Meetups, conferences, whiteboard sessions, lunches—these aren’t “nice to have.” They’re strategic.
“There’s always a moment where the light bulb goes off—and it only happens because we’re in the room together.”
7. Long-Term Growth, Not Hypergrowth
Steve isn’t chasing a 500-person agency.
The goal is something closer to 100–150 people, built on:
A clear brand identity
Strong case studies that attract similar work
Flexibility to adapt as AI and offshoring shift the market
Growth, yes—but on purpose.
Notable Quotes
“It’s not a numbers game. It’s a quality-of-conversations game.”
“We love a blank canvas and a good idea.”
“People collaborate with people.”
“If you’re in this industry, you have to play the long game.”
Learn More / Get in Touch
Visit → https://www.sevenhillstechnology.com
Email → steve@sevenhillstechnology.com
LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevehennigan
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