Stop Treating Biz Dev Like a Vending Machine (and Start “Selling Through Social”)
Interview: How LinkedIn Live Can Turn Relationship-Building Into a Repeatable Agency Growth System
Behind the Agency Podcast with Joseph Lewin, Creator of Sell Through Social
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Prefer the highlights? Key takeaways and summary below.
TL;DR – Key Takeaways
Most agencies say they grow through relationships… then try to “scale” with transactional outbound and wonder why it feels gross.
Joe’s core claim: in B2B, relationships drive deals (faster cycles, longer retention, better referrals).
LinkedIn Live is the “cut the fat” version of content-based networking: you can start next week, not in 6–9 months.
The fastest early-stage “ROI” is more conversations, not perfect repurposing.
If you approach it like a pitch fest, it dies. If you approach it like “make the guest look good,” it works.
Great interview questions do 3 things: unique perspective + real stories + practical steps.
Introverts often love this format because it’s one-on-one, purposeful, and avoids awkward networking small talk.
A surprisingly powerful move: send clips to the guest so they share it internally (instant exposure you can’t buy with ads).
Don’t over-plan. Launch messy, get feedback from the market, and improve as you go.
Meet the Guest
Joseph (Joe) runs Sell Through Social, a system built for agencies and B2B service firms that want to grow through relationships without relying on “spray and pray” lead gen.
He’s done marketing in small business, worked in-house at a B2B engineering software company, then moved into the agency world helping $20M–$100M companies launch shows, build relationships, and create pipeline through social.
His through-line: the tactics change, but the real unlock is the same—relationships.
Episode Summary
1. The misconception: “More leads = more growth”
Joe’s main beef is with the standard B2B growth story:
“If we can just generate more leads, we’ll grow exponentially—so let’s scale cold email / cold calling.”
He’s not saying those tactics never work. He’s saying agencies often abandon the thing that actually built the business in the first place:
relationships
referrals
events
“real conversations” with real people
And then they call that “scaling.”
It’s like ditching the thing that feeds you… because it’s not trendy.
2. The real pattern he sees in the data
Joe’s worked inside client accounts from small businesses up to $100M orgs, and his consistent observation is:
Most consulting firms and agencies grow through relationships and referrals.
Not because it’s cute. Because it creates:
faster trust
faster deal velocity
longer client retention
better warm intros
In other words, relationships don’t just “feel better.” They usually work better.
3. His origin story: everything kept pointing back to relationships
Joe connected dots across marketing disciplines that people usually treat as purely tactical:
PR works best when you know reporters and they trust you.
SEO is heavily influenced by backlinks—often earned through relationships.
He kept hearing “relationships” at the end of every “tactical” training.
That led him to start interviewing subject matter experts on video as part of content creation… which led him to content-based networking… which led him to launching his own podcast (The Strategic Marketer)… which literally helped him interview his future boss.
One of my favorite parts of this episode is how un-mystical this was. It wasn’t a lightning bolt. It was slow, steady iteration. Tortoise energy.
4. Why LinkedIn Live: “Cut out the fat”
Joe made a really clean argument:
Traditional podcasts have a huge barrier to entry:
show name + premise + branding
tech setup
consistent cadence
months of prep
He said most clients take 3 months minimum to launch a podcast, and more often 6–9 months before episodes even go live.
Then you’re still months away from results.
So his move was: treat LinkedIn Live as the fast-start version.
You can:
invite someone you already kinda know
put it on the calendar for next week
make a simple graphic in Canva
go live
And in the same time someone spends “planning a podcast,” you could do 20–30 interviews and let the market tell you what the show should become.
5. Mindset: it’s biz dev… but it can’t feel like pitching
Joe framed this as a business development tool, not a branding vanity project.
But he also warned: if you do it to pitch people, it flops.
The reason it works is you make it about the other person:
“Come on and share your expertise.”
“Help the audience learn from you.”
“Let’s shine a light on what you’re doing.”
People like feeling valued. (Shocking, I know.)
But the key is: no bait-and-switch.
He used a “go-giver” vibe: detach from the outcome, genuinely serve the guest, and the opportunities tend to flow naturally if you’re intentional about who you invite.
6. Tactical advice: do less, ship faster
Joe’s honest shift was great here:
He used to be conservative and want everything planned.
Then he shared a painful lesson: he once built a full course + membership site (3 months of work)… and nobody bought it.
The takeaway: planning without market validation is how you waste time and money.
So his advice now is basically:
use StreamYard (or any tool)
DM a guest
write a few questions
hit “go”
Your first time might take 2 hours. After a few reps, it’s easier.
7. Repurposing: don’t let it steal the main prize (conversations)
I loved how practical this was.
If you’re a solo founder with no time and you need sales now:
Don’t repurpose. Do more interviews.
Because the biggest early return is the conversations and relationships—not turning one interview into 17 pieces of content.
But if you have budget or a team, repurposing can be huge:
3–5 clips per interview (and potentially more)
tools like Descript, Opus Clip, etc.
Best repurposing move he mentioned:
Send clips to the guest.
If the guest shares it, you can get exposure inside their company (and network) that you’d struggle to buy with ads.
8. Introverts: this is secretly an introvert-friendly system
Joe shared a note from someone who’s an introvert and said this approach is not just effective—it’s fun.
His reasoning made a ton of sense:
it’s one-on-one
you handpick who you talk to
you skip awkward networking events
you have a clear purpose for the conversation
It’s “networking,” but with guardrails and fewer weird vibes.
9. Question sets: the cheat code to not having boring interviews
Joe said question sets are what separates great interviews from brutal ones.
His 3 goals for questions:
get a unique perspective
get stories from the trenches
get practical steps for the audience
And he gave 4 ways to build a question set:
One question set to rule them all (same core questions, different answers)
Quick question set (skim their content + draft questions)
Collaborative (ask what they want to cover, then draft)
Pre-interview (best content + deeper relationship, but more time)
He also gave a great host tip: you don’t have to be silent the whole time. Good follow-ups and short anecdotes make the convo feel human.
Notable Quotes
“Most consulting companies and agencies grow through relationships and referrals.”
“People get caught up in… ‘What am I going to call my show?’ … and it slows them down.”
“You can legitimately today launch a show that you do the first episode next week.”
“If you don’t have time and you need to make sales right now, don’t repurpose.”
“The primary point… is to make that other person look good, feel good.”
Learn More / Get in Touch
Website: sellthroughsocial.com
LinkedIn: DM Joe
Offer mentioned:
Launch Your Show in 30 Days cohort (Joe mentioned $497, starting August 5 noted in the transcript)
1:1 support starting at $1,500/month
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