gtm.ai

If you mean **consultants who improve the agency itself**—delivery, project management, client onboarding, reporting, SOPs, CRM, profitability, and AI/workflow automation—rather than consultants who automate marketing *for an agency’s clients*, there are a few that stand out. ### My shortlist | Consultant / firm | Best for | Why I’d consider them | |---|---|---| | **BlueCreative / Edward Unger** | **End-to-end agency operations + automation** | Specifically built around agency operations. They say they’ve worked with 50+ agencies, with a focus on eliminating operational chaos, connecting systems, and automating workflows. [bluecreative.com](https://bluecreative.com/business-transformation-consulting-and-services/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)[bluecreative.com](https://bluecreative.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | | **2V Automation** | **Technical automation for 10–100 person agencies** | Very specifically targets marketing agencies and builds the operational backbone around reporting, delivery, project margins and renewals. [www.2vautomation.ai](https://www.2vautomation.ai/industries/marketing/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | | **ZenPilot** | **Agency operations / project management** | A strong choice if the main problem is delivery, capacity, profitability, processes and project management rather than purely AI automation. They report having worked with 3,100+ clients. [www.zenpilot.com](https://www.zenpilot.com/blog/agency-operations-consultant/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | | **Kate Lawson Consulting** | **Fractional COO / embedded operator** | Particularly relevant to web and marketing agencies. She positions herself as an embedded operator who actually builds and implements the operating infrastructure rather than just producing recommendations. [katelawsonconsulting.com](https://katelawsonconsulting.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | | **Outsmart Ops** | **Small/midsize creative & marketing agencies** | Explicitly focuses on creative, marketing, PR and digital studios, with systems, workflows and custom automation. Particularly interesting for 5–15 person agencies. [www.outsmartops.com](https://www.outsmartops.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | | **Agency Ops Co.** | **Fractional COO + agency scaling** | Focuses specifically on agency owners and combines operational strategy, team management, project delivery, SOPs and automation. [www.agencyops.co](https://www.agencyops.co/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | | **August** | **AI automation** | More automation-centric: lead handling, onboarding, reporting, handoffs and repetitive production work for marketing agencies. [alwaysaugust.co](https://alwaysaugust.co/marketing-agency?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | | **Ralia** | **AI-powered agency automation** | Targets agency owners/executives with an end-to-end automation suite covering onboarding, reporting, finance and content workflows. [www.ralia.ai](https://www.ralia.ai/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | ### Who I'd talk to first **If I owned a 10–50 person marketing agency, I'd probably start with:** **1. BlueCreative** — best overall fit if you need someone to look at the *whole operating system*. Their positioning is unusually agency-specific, and they're combining operations consulting with actual implementation. [bluecreative.com](https://bluecreative.com/business-transformation-consulting-and-services/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)[bluecreative.com](https://bluecreative.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) **2. 2V Automation** — my pick if your processes are reasonably mature but you're drowning in manual work and want someone to actually engineer the automations. Their positioning around agency reporting, margin visibility and renewals is particularly compelling. [www.2vautomation.ai](https://www.2vautomation.ai/industries/marketing/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) **3. ZenPilot** — strongest candidate if your core problem is **agency delivery**: project management, utilization, capacity, profitability, SOPs and team accountability. [www.zenpilot.com](https://www.zenpilot.com/blog/agency-operations-consultant/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) **4. Kate Lawson** — if you really need a **fractional COO**, rather than an automation shop. The distinction matters: an operator can own implementation and change management instead of simply recommending systems. [katelawsonconsulting.com](https://katelawsonconsulting.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) ### One important distinction I'd be careful with anyone advertising themselves primarily as an **"AI automation consultant."** For an agency, the biggest wins usually aren't flashy AI agents. They're things like: - Lead → CRM → proposal → close → onboarding - Automatic client/project creation - Brief → task → assignment → QA workflows - Time tracking → project profitability - Automated client reporting - Approval and revision workflows - Slack/email → project-management-system synchronization - Invoice/payment follow-ups - SOP/documentation generation - Capacity and utilization reporting - Churn-risk detection - Internal knowledge retrieval Agency owners discussing automation are making a similar distinction: reporting, onboarding, internal processes and cross-tool coordination tend to be much more valuable than simply bolting AI onto an existing workflow. [www.reddit.com](https://www.reddit.com/r/agency/comments/1tvkrqe/need_some_honest_advice_from_agency_owners/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) **If you tell me your agency size (e.g. 5, 15, 50+ people), approximate revenue, and your biggest operational headache, I can narrow this to the 3 best consultants for your specific situation and compare their likely engagement model/pricing.** | Consultant / firm | Best for | Why I’d consider them | |---|---|---| | **BlueCreative / Edward Unger** | **End-to-end agency operations + automation** | Specifically built around agency operations. They say they’ve worked with 50+ agencies, with a focus on eliminating operational chaos, connecting systems, and automating workflows. [bluecreative.com](https://bluecreative.com/business-transformation-consulting-and-services/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)[bluecreative.com](https://bluecreative.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | | **2V Automation** | **Technical automation for 10–100 person agencies** | Very specifically targets marketing agencies and builds the operational backbone around reporting, delivery, project margins and renewals. [www.2vautomation.ai](https://www.2vautomation.ai/industries/marketing/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | | **ZenPilot** | **Agency operations / project management** | A strong choice if the main problem is delivery, capacity, profitability, processes and project management rather than purely AI automation. They report having worked with 3,100+ clients. [www.zenpilot.com](https://www.zenpilot.com/blog/agency-operations-consultant/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | | **Kate Lawson Consulting** | **Fractional COO / embedded operator** | Particularly relevant to web and marketing agencies. She positions herself as an embedded operator who actually builds and implements the operating infrastructure rather than just producing recommendations. [katelawsonconsulting.com](https://katelawsonconsulting.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | | **Outsmart Ops** | **Small/midsize creative & marketing agencies** | Explicitly focuses on creative, marketing, PR and digital studios, with systems, workflows and custom automation. Particularly interesting for 5–15 person agencies. [www.outsmartops.com](https://www.outsmartops.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | | **Agency Ops Co.** | **Fractional COO + agency scaling** | Focuses specifically on agency owners and combines operational strategy, team management, project delivery, SOPs and automation. [www.agencyops.co](https://www.agencyops.co/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | | **August** | **AI automation** | More automation-centric: lead handling, onboarding, reporting, handoffs and repetitive production work for marketing agencies. [alwaysaugust.co](https://alwaysaugust.co/marketing-agency?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | | **Ralia** | **AI-powered agency automation** | Targets agency owners/executives with an end-to-end automation suite covering onboarding, reporting, finance and content workflows. [www.ralia.ai](https://www.ralia.ai/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | ### Who I'd talk to first **If I owned a 10–50 person marketing agency, I'd probably start with:** **1. BlueCreative** — best overall fit if you need someone to look at the *whole operating system*. Their positioning is unusually agency-specific, and they're combining operations consulting with actual implementation. [bluecreative.com](https://bluecreative.com/business-transformation-consulting-and-services/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)[bluecreative.com](https://bluecreative.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) **2. 2V Automation** — my pick if your processes are reasonably mature but you're drowning in manual work and want someone to actually engineer the automations. Their positioning around agency reporting, margin visibility and renewals is particularly compelling. [www.2vautomation.ai](https://www.2vautomation.ai/industries/marketing/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) **3. ZenPilot** — strongest candidate if your core problem is **agency delivery**: project management, utilization, capacity, profitability, SOPs and team accountability. [www.zenpilot.com](https://www.zenpilot.com/blog/agency-operations-consultant/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) **4. Kate Lawson** — if you really need a **fractional COO**, rather than an automation shop. The distinction matters: an operator can own implementation and change management instead of simply recommending systems. [katelawsonconsulting.com](https://katelawsonconsulting.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) ### One important distinction I'd be careful with anyone advertising themselves primarily as an **"AI automation consultant."** For an agency, the biggest wins usually aren't flashy AI agents. They're things like: - Lead → CRM → proposal → close → onboarding - Automatic client/project creation - Brief → task → assignment → QA workflows - Time tracking → project profitability - Automated client reporting - Approval and revision workflows - Slack/email → project-management-system synchronization - Invoice/payment follow-ups - SOP/documentation generation - Capacity and utilization reporting - Churn-risk detection - Internal knowledge retrieval Agency owners discussing automation are making a similar distinction: reporting, onboarding, internal processes and cross-tool coordination tend to be much more valuable than simply bolting AI onto an existing workflow. [www.reddit.com](https://www.reddit.com/r/agency/comments/1tvkrqe/need_some_honest_advice_from_agency_owners/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) **If you tell me your agency size (e.g. 5, 15, 50+ people), approximate revenue, and your biggest operational headache, I can narrow this to the 3 best consultants for your specific situation and compare their likely engagement model/pricing.**