How do I grow revenue faster?
The situation
You want revenue to grow—faster than it is now. You're not sure whether to chase new clients, raise prices, or do something else. The ceiling: you're either capped by your own capacity (every new client = more hours) or by a pipeline that doesn't convert, and "grow faster" feels like "work more" or "hope for more leads."
What changes
Revenue growth doesn't have to mean only new clients. The fastest gains often come from existing relationships and better unit economics. A consultant at $15k per project who adds one upsell per client (e.g. "Implementation support" at $5k) adds $5k per project without a single new lead. A coach who keeps clients for 6 months instead of 3 (via client retention—check-ins, outcomes, clear renewal path) doubles revenue per slot. A designer who gets two referrals per project from happy clients grows pipeline without doubling ad spend. And a founder who expands into an adjacent segment (market expansion—e.g. same offer for a new vertical) can add a second revenue stream—if they don't dilute positioning. Faster growth = better retention, more revenue per client, and referrals, before you double down on acquisition.
Levers
You get there by treating growth as a mix of levers, not just "more leads." Four levers:
- Upsell — Sell additional services to existing clients who already trust you. Implementation, ongoing support, or a next-phase package. Usually easier and higher-margin than acquiring someone new.
- Client retention strategy — Keep clients longer. Retention is typically 5–10x cheaper than acquisition. Renewals, outcomes, and clear "what's next" reduce churn and increase lifetime value.
- Referral marketing — Grow through word-of-mouth and client recommendations. For domain experts, referrals are often the highest-quality leads and lowest CAC. Make it easy to refer (one clear ask, one link, one sentence).
- Market expansion — Sell existing services to a new segment or industry. Risky if you lose focus; useful if you have a repeatable offer and a clear niche in the new segment. Depth before breadth—don't dilute expertise.
Why it feels hard
"Faster" can feel like hustle—more outreach, more content, more hours. The shift: the biggest gains often come from doing more with who you already have. Asking for referrals feels salesy until you frame it as "who else would benefit from this?" Upselling feels pushy until you tie it to their next outcome. Retention feels passive until you make it a system (check-in, results, clear offer to continue). Start with the lowest-friction lever—retention or one referral ask—then layer in upsell and expansion.
Where to start
Pick the one that's already biting:
Then pick the one lever—one upsell, one retention touchpoint, or one referral ask—you can implement this month.