Case Study
OUTBOUND BUILT FROM ZERO

How a referral-only design studio built a $660K pipeline

industry

Marketing & Advertising

duration

12 Months

new customers

14

Impact

61

Qualified Meetings

Pipeline

$660K

Pipeline Created

EFFICIENCY

54%

Meeting-to-Opp Rate

Outcome

33

Opportunities Created
Overview

A graphic design and visual identity studio grew entirely on word of mouth — no list, no sequences, no SDR motion. FunnL built its first structured outbound engine from scratch. 

Why It Stalled

Buying

Design is judged on feel — buyers need to see the work before they trust it.

Pipeline

Growth came only from referrals — unpredictable, capped by network size.

Market

Countless studios and freelancers compete on identical promises.

Sign-off

Rebrands touch marketing, product, and the C-suite — many approvers.

Timeline

Identity decisions take 3–6 months, timed to launches or funding.

Motion

No list, no sequences, no SDR function — outbound was built entirely from zero.

Full Performance Metrics

Program Actuals - 12 Months

Contacts Engaged

6,450

Meetings Delivered (SQMs)

61

Opportunities Created (SQLs)

33

New Customers

14

Opportunity-to-Close Rate

54%

Overall Close Rate

42%

Meeting-to-customer

23%

Closed Deal Value

$18K

Revenue Won

$252K

Pipeline Created

$660K

Average Opportunity Value

~$20K

"FunnL built outreach that led with our craft, not a template. We finally have a pipeline that doesn't depend on referrals."

FOUNDER — DESIGN & VISUAL IDENTITY STUDIO

WHAT WE BUILT — AND WHAT IT MOVED

The motion, and the lift.

Four moving parts, running for twelve months. Here is what existed before FunnL, and what existed after.
THE Approach

ICP & persona mapping

Pinpointed founders, CMOs, and brand leads with a rebrand already on the roadmap.

Portfolio-led outreach

Led with real identity work and outcomes, never cold credentials or a template.

Timeline-aware nurture

Email, social, and follow-ups tuned to the 3–6 month identity decision window.

Decision-ready meetings

Qualified hard-only conversations with real intent, real budget, and real authority.

THE LIFT — THE OUTBOUND MOTION, BEFORE AND AFTER

MEASURE

BEFORE

AFTER — 12 MONTHS

Contacts engaged through outbound

0

6,450

Meetings sourced through outbound

0

61 (5.1/mo)

Qualified opportunities in play

0

33

New clients won through outbound

0

14

Sequences running

None

Multi-channel, always-on

Pipeline visibility

Referral-dependent, unforecastable

$660K qualified, forecastable

Scope — every figure above is outbound-sourced. Referral business continued alongside the programme and is excluded throughout
MEETING VELOCITY — RAMP TO STEADY STATE
funnl-case-study-creative-graph-MEETING VELOCITY — RAMP TO STEADY STATE
Reading the two dollar figures. They come from different sets of deals and should not be compared directly.
The first quarter is the build. Months 1–3 ran below average while the list, the sequences, and the messaging were tested against live replies. From month 4 the motion held between 5 and 6 meetings every month with no month below 5 — that consistency, not the peak, is what made the pipeline forecastable.

Referrals got you this far. Structure takes it further.

We built this studio’s outbound engine from zero in twelve months. Tell us who you sell to, and we’ll analyse where your pipeline is leaking and show you what the first ninety days would look like.

Download Case Study

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