Bluleadz Founder & CEO Eric Baum on the counterintuitive pivot from retainers to projects, building a relentless review engine, and why letting go of what you love is critical for scale
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Eric Baum, Founder and CEO of Bluleadz, shares how an accidental agency owner built HubSpot's consistently #1 ranked Solutions Partner. In this episode, he reveals the 2019 pivot that seemed "completely asinine" to other agency owners—abandoning retainers for project-based work right before COVID—and why it positioned them perfectly for the market shift. He also opens up about the review automation system that generates 3-5 reviews per week, the mistake of holding onto sales too long, and why he's making another major pivot in the next 6 months because of AI.
What you'll learn:
Why Bluleadz pivoted from retainers to project-based work in 2019 (and why other agencies thought it was crazy)
The exact review automation system that generates consistent 5-star feedback at scale—including 14 touchpoint email sequences
Why you should be stubborn about asking for reviews: "If they're happy, they'll leave one. It's just a matter of how many times you ask."
The financial incentive structure that kickstarted their climb to #1 (and why they don't need it anymore)
How to know when to let go of functions you love—and why Eric wishes he'd hired a sales leader 10 years earlier
Why being "not the smartest person in the room" is a competitive advantage when you bet on the right horse
The EOS implementation that transformed a side hustle into a scalable business
Why the Solutions Partner Directory revenue has been cut in half despite being #1—and what that means for go-to-market strategy
Where to find Eric Baum:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericbaumbz/
Bluleadz: https://www.bluleadz.com/
Where to find Brian Garvey:
Profoundly: https://profound.ly/
In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Welcome and introduction to Eric Baum
(05:56) The accidental agency owner: From plumbing franchises to marketing
(07:08) Finding HubSpot as a CMS solution (before it was about marketing)
(08:49) The Friday afternoon HubSpot TV sessions that changed everything
(10:07) "I'm not the smartest person in the room"—betting on Halligan and Shah
(12:16) The risk-taker mentality: Pivoting before others see the need
(13:56) The 2019 pivot: From retainers to projects when everyone said it was crazy
(15:21) How COVID accidentally validated the project-based positioning
(16:08) The ability to "see around corners"—stepping back from day-to-day
(17:17) Building systems early: Why his developer couldn't touch everything
(18:41) The EOS breakthrough: From side hustle to family's future
(20:38) Running L10s through culture issues and the pandemic
(22:04) The full-time Director of Training and the LMS inside HubSpot
(23:39) The review system breakdown: How to become #1 in the Solutions Directory
(24:24) Running the numbers: "If we get to #1, what's the ROI?"
(26:07) Financial incentives for team members (not customers—that's unethical)
(27:49) The 14-email automation that never gives up
(28:43) "If they're happy, they'll leave a review. It's just a matter of how many times you ask."
(29:20) The Slack notification and daily scoreboard
(30:42) The reality check: Partner Directory revenue cut in half despite #1 position
(32:11) Why asking for reviews is closing the flywheel loop
(33:08) The Google reviews experiment that failed (too much friction)
(34:01) Making follow-up emails fun and self-effacing
(35:23) When NOT to ask for a review (unhappy clients)
(36:14) Why waiting until project completion keeps pressure on delivery excellence
(38:06) The AI pivot: From custom agents back to native HubSpot features
(39:25) Being nimble when HubSpot releases agents that get customers "80% there"
(41:09) The balance between systematization and moving fast
(42:09) Pivoting to strategic partnerships when inbound traffic dropped
(43:45) Career advice: Pick what you want (small vs. scale) and commit
(44:46) The biggest mistake: Holding onto sales for too long
(45:37) "I should have hired a sales leader 10 years ago"
(46:05) Stop baking pies, start building the business (E-Myth Revisited)
Key concepts discussed:
Project-based vs. retainer positioning
Review automation systems and persistence
Ethical incentive structures (team, not customers)
Working ON vs. IN the business
EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) implementation
L10 meetings and organizational accountability
Core values alignment and culture fit
Solutions Partner Directory dynamics and ROI
The flywheel approach to client success
Reducing friction in review requests
Strategic partnership development
Loop marketing as inbound replacement
AI agent strategy (custom vs. native)
Letting go of functions you love to scale
Building training systems and LMS infrastructure
Books and frameworks mentioned:
E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber
Traction (EOS - Entrepreneurial Operating System)
Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink
Dichotomy of Leadership by Jocko Willink
Companies and tools mentioned:
HubSpot
WordPress (pre-CMS era)
Joomla, Drupal, Concrete5
Mr. Rooter Plumbing (franchise)
Yellow Pages advertising
HubSpot TV (with Karen Rubin, Mike Volpe)
Google Reviews
Profoundly directory
Production by Profoundly. For inquiries about appearing on Group Chat or partnership opportunities, visit https://profound.ly/
🎯 On betting on HubSpot: "I'm not the smartest person in the room. I was betting on Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah really understanding the market. I was like, these guys are much smarter than I am, and I'm going to attach my agency to their horse and let them guide the trajectory."
🔄 On the 2019 pivot: "At the end of 2019, I said there's a shift happening in the marketplace. We rebranded and said we're going to be a HubSpot onboarding and implementation agency. This was completely asinine to most other agency owners. When COVID hit, companies didn't want to sign up for retainers. We were in the right place at the right time."
📊 On review persistence: "Remember, if your customer is super happy with what you did for them, they're going to leave a review for you. It's just a matter of how many times you have to ask before you get it. So be stubborn, don't give up, and just use automation for that as much as possible."
💡 On seeing around corners: "I have the luxury of having an extraordinary leadership team in place, which allows me to focus on the business and not in the business. I spend most of my time on strategic thinking, working on what's next, not being reactionary to what's going on in the market right now."
⚙️ On systematization: "I didn't want to have to recreate the wheel every time we hire somebody or every time we bring on a new customer, and I don't want to be involved in every single decision at the agency as well."
🎓 On learning: "I am not a genius, but I'm a grinder, and I learn every single day. I'm constantly reading 2 or 3 books at any given moment, watching videos and learning as much as I possibly can."
🚀 On scaling advice: "If you're going to scale a company, you need to put the right people in place so that you can elevate yourself out of working in the business and focus on working on the business. I should have hired a sales leader as one of my very first things. I should have done that 10 years ago, and I didn't."
🎭 On review email tone: "We make light of it, like, hey, we realize this is the seventh time we're asking for a review, but we're pretty stubborn. Reviews mean a lot to us. We try to be fun and a little self-effacing, and be like, we're not gonna go away."