Build self-reinforcing systems across demand generation, funnel conversion, sales pipeline, and customer value that create continuous momentum.
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A growth engine is a self-reinforcing part of your business that, once running, continues to generate revenue with less and less manual push. My framework has four engines Demand Generation, Marketing Funnel, Sales Pipeline, and Contract Value. Each engine handles a stretch of the customer journey, and together they form one continuous loop: attract the right people, convert them, close deals, then expand and retain accounts. Improve any single engine and revenue rises; improve all four and the gains compound.
Growth engines matter because they transform random marketing activity into systematic, compounding progress. Most organisations operate with disconnected tactics LinkedIn campaigns here, email sequences there, ad-hoc sales follow-ups that don't reinforce each other or create momentum. The engine framework forces you to see how components interconnect mathematically: leads × conversion rate × win rate × average deal value = revenue. This reveals where growth actually breaks down. Perhaps you generate abundant leads (strong demand generation) but few convert to opportunities (weak funnel), making additional lead generation wasteful until you fix conversion. Or perhaps your funnel works brilliantly but deals stall in pipeline (weak sales process), indicating that more top-of-funnel investment helps nothing. By treating each stage as a distinct engine with measurable throughput, teams can diagnose precisely where effort yields highest returns. The discipline also enables experimentation velocity: you can test improvements to individual engines whilst holding others constant, cleanly measuring impact. Organisations that implement the four-engine model report 25-35% faster growth because they systematically address actual bottlenecks rather than guessing where to invest. The framework also clarifies ownership different teams naturally own different engines improving accountability and coordination across marketing, sales, and customer success.
Track leads generated, funnel conversion, win rate, and average contract value. Multiplying these four numbers shows current revenue potential.
Whichever metric drags the total down is the first focus. For example, strong lead flow but low meeting bookings points to a funnel issue.
As one engine improves, re-calculate the full equation. Even modest lifts 10 % more leads, 5 % higher win rate stack into meaningful revenue jumps.
Once an engine performs at benchmark, shift focus to the next weakest link. Maintaining this rotation keeps the whole growth machine humming and protects against future plateaus.
Get a grip on what's actually working and what needs course correction. Use data and experiments to make decisions instead of opinions. See how changes in one part of the system affect everything else. Random tactics don't compound, coordinated ones do.
Select tools across your growth stack using clear evaluation criteria. Avoid common pitfalls, ensure integrations work, and build a system that scales with your business.
Uncover specific pain points, validate assumptions, and reveal what actually drives buying decisions. Run research that produces actionable insights, not just interesting quotes.
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Run quarterly business reviews that assess current state, set ambitious but realistic goals, build actionable roadmaps, and define key results that keep everyone aligned.
Analyse monthly performance data across all four growth engines. Identify what is working, what is not, and make tactical adjustments using a structured decision framework.
Sean Ellis
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A practical framework for experiments and insights. Build loops, run tests and adopt a cadence that ships learning every week.
Sean Ellis
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A tour of growth case studies. Identify engines, spot patterns and design experiments that fit your context.
Verne Harnish
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Practical tools for scaling a company. Use rhythms, scorecards and priorities to keep a growing team aligned.
Install tracking infrastructure that shows which metrics drive revenue. Build your scorecard and launch your first cycle with the right foundation.
Interpret experiment results to understand the probability that observed differences occurred by chance rather than because your changes actually work.
Track predictable monthly subscription revenue to monitor short-term growth trends and make faster decisions than waiting for annual revenue reports.
Assign credit to marketing touchpoints that influence conversions to understand which channels work together and deserve budget in multi-touch journeys.
Turn satisfied customers into active promoters who systematically bring qualified prospects into your pipeline at near-zero acquisition cost.
Assemble tools that manage pipeline, automate outreach, and track performance to help reps sell more efficiently and managers forecast accurately.
Distribute conversion credit across multiple touchpoints to recognise that customer journeys involve many interactions and channels working together.
Enable tools to exchange data programmatically so you can build custom integrations and automate processes that vendor-built integrations don't support.
Analyse profit per customer to determine if your business model works at scale before investing heavily in growth and customer acquisition.
Navigate competing priorities and secure buy-in by systematically understanding, influencing, and aligning internal decision-makers toward shared goals.
Build self-reinforcing systems across demand generation, funnel conversion, sales pipeline, and customer value that create continuous momentum.
Track revenue growth from existing customers through expansion and contraction to prove your product delivers increasing value over time.
Select metrics that reveal whether you're achieving strategic goals to track progress and identify problems before they become expensive to fix.
Plan how you'll reach customers and generate revenue by choosing channels, pricing, and sales models that match your product and market reality.
Choose one metric that best predicts long-term success to align your entire team on what matters and avoid conflicting priorities that dilute focus.
Document your ideal customer's role, goals, and challenges to tailor messaging and prioritise features that solve real problems they actually pay for.
Deploy fast, low-cost experiments to discover scalable acquisition and retention tactics, learning through iteration rather than big bets.
Send a series of scheduled emails that educate prospects over time to stay top-of-mind without overwhelming them with aggressive sales pitches.
Store information in browsers to track user behaviour across visits and enable personalised experiences without requiring login for every interaction.
Drive acquisition and expansion through product experience where users discover value before sales conversations and upgrade based on usage.
Block extended time for cognitively demanding tasks requiring sustained focus, maximising valuable output whilst minimising shallow distractions.