B2B SaaS Client Acquisition Advisor

Description: We run a productized creative service: done-for-you video ads for e-commerce/DTC brands and in-house growth teams. Think "a dedicated video ad team that learns your brand once and never forgets" — clients go through a paid onboarding engagement, then a monthly retainer for ongoing ad production. We just finished building the product — a working prototype of the full service, with the positioning and website live — and we're now at the very start of customer acquisition. We're currently invite-only, selling through a founder-led intro call, and we're going from zero to our first paying clients. That's exactly the stage we want advice on. What we need We are NOT looking for someone to run lead generation for us. We're looking for an experienced advisor — someone who has personally grown a creative agency, productized service, or similar B2B service business — to advise us on our client acquisition strategy and tell us where to focus. How this will work Short intro call first (before hiring). We'll invite shortlisted applicants to a brief call on Upwork to hear about your previous experience and see whether we're a good fit for each other. No preparation needed. If we're both in, we hire you and start with a paid working session (60–90 minutes): who our ideal first clients are, which 2–3 acquisition channels fit a founder-led service going from zero to its first customers (outbound, Upwork, partnerships, communities, content, paid — we want your honest ranking, not "do everything"), and what to say/show to convert calls into paying clients. We'll share our website and materials for you to review beforehand. Where it goes from there depends on how useful the first session is — we'll decide together, one step at a time. You're a great fit if: You've acquired clients for a service business yourself — agency owner, productized-service founder, or fractional growth lead for agencies. First-hand experience matters more than certifications. You've been through the zero-to-first-clients phase and can point to specific results: "I took X agency from A to B clients using channel C." You give direct, opinionated advice and are comfortable telling us our current approach is wrong. Bonus: experience with video/creative services, or with selling retainer engagements. Please do NOT apply if: You're an agency pitching appointment-setting, "guaranteed leads," or done-for-you outbound. We're buying advice, not a campaign. Your proposal is a generic template. We'll skip it. To apply, answer these in your cover letter: What service business have you grown (yours or a client's), and what did client acquisition look like in the early days — channel, numbers, timeframe? Based only on the description above, what's the first question you'd ask us on the call? What's one acquisition channel that's usually a waste of time for a service business trying to land its first clients, and why? Engagement: hourly, starting with a single working session