How RE:Signal Built their Growth Engine with a BDM Hire
Re:signal, one of London’s leading SEO agencies, partnered with SEO for Hire to find a Business Development Manager who could bridge sales and SEO.
The result?
A fast, strategic hire who brought structure to their growth function and helped turn a strong inbound engine into a scalable sales operation.
Where Speed Meets Quality
Time-to-Hire Average
Rankings.io were able to hire SEO talent in under a month.
From Client Call to Candidate Interviews
SEO for Hire began delivering vetted candidates to client interviews within a week.
Role Hired For
SEO for Hire hired an A-Player Business Development Manager for RE:Signal
Founded by Kevin Gibbons, Re:signal is one of London’s leading SEO agencies, partnering with enterprise brands to drive sustainable organic growth.
Known for its award-winning culture and deep specialisation in SEO strategy, Re:signal continues to set the benchmark for how agencies can scale without sacrificing quality or team cohesion.
“Great to work with and very strong process from start to finish.
Josh and the team have a very strong approach to talent attraction, which helped us to find opportunities who weren’t necessarily actively looking at job ads.
The candidates stood out and we quickly interviewed people who felt a level above, which led to a successful offer for an important role.”
Kevin Gibbons
Founder of RE:Signal
What are the Challenges of Hiring a BDM?
As Re:signal continued expanding, Kevin and his leadership team identified a major gap: their growth function needed structure.
While their inbound engine was strong, it lacked the consistency and follow-through needed to scale effectively.
Outbound sales, a key channel for agency growth, hadn’t yet been built. They needed someone who could not only develop new outbound strategies but also organise and optimise inbound conversion processes.
The goal was to find a Business Development Manager who could bring both commercial acumen and a deep understanding of SEO, not just a salesperson, but a strategic operator who could align sales with delivery.
The Hiring Bottleneck?
Finding a candidate who could connect the dots between sales strategy, SEO knowledge, and agency operations was crucial.
After their fractional Commercial Director exited, Re:signal faced a major gap in their growth function.
Conversion rates had dropped to just 11%, and there was no clear ownership of inbound or outbound activity.
As Daris Benallal (Head of Recruitment at SEO for Hire) recaps:
“They had the tools, but it was chaos.
Conversion rates were low, handovers weren’t streamlined, and they needed someone who could step in and lead that transformation.”“
Daris Benallal
Head of Recruitment
The Role
To rebuild structure, they created a Senior Growth Manager position, a hands-on commercial role with a £45–60K base (up to £75K for the right candidate).
The role was designed to cover:
50% inbound lead management
30–35% outbound strategy
15% marketing collaboration
The Challenge
Re:signal’s HubSpot CRM was fragmented and poorly adopted, while outbound activity was minimal. The existing growth team lacked consistent processes or leadership.
Progress So Far
Early improvements to qualification raised conversion rates from 11% to 46%, with a 55% target set for the following month.
The Goal
With £527K in new business targets, a £250K marketing budget, and an ambitious £10M M&A goal, Re:signal needed a proven operator who could unify the team and turn scattered efforts into a scalable, revenue-focused growth engine.
“Rather than me giving the answers of what we should be doing, it’s much more interesting to understand where the team sees us going. When they build the plan, they believe in executing it.”
Kevin Gibbons
Founder of RE:Signal
How did Rankings.io Benefit from Our Services?
SEO for Hire partnered closely with Re:signal’s leadership team, Shannon (Head of Growth), Kevin (CEO), and their senior operations lead, to build a fast-tracked, collaborative hiring process.
When their top candidate, Dave, received competing offers, the team acted decisively. Daris and Shannon restructured the interview process to move faster, extending calls and consolidating multiple rounds.
The final two-stage process included:
1. Initial Call with Shannon
Focused on skills, sales systems, and SEO understanding.
2. Final interview with the COO
Who had been with the company for over 14 years, ensuring cultural alignment and long-term fit.
Recognising the candidate’s impact potential, Re:signal moved quickly, raising the offer from £55K to £65K, with a custom commission structure and clear performance roadmap.
Ten days after acceptance, Dave met with Kevin for onboarding, aligning on commercial goals and Re:signal’s long-term growth vision.
“It wasn’t just about finding someone with a proven sales track record.
It was about finding someone who understands SEO deeply, someone who could sit with account managers, understand the product, and sell authentically.
Kevin builds his team with one principle: hire as if you’d put that person in front of your best client.”
Josh Peacock
Founder & CEO of SEO for Hire
Results Summary
- Hired a top-tier Business Development Manager within weeks.
- Streamlined Re:signal’s sales operations, aligning inbound and outbound functions.
- Increased lead-to-client conversion rate from 11% to 54%.
- Reinforced cultural fit and retention, thanks to Re:signal’s values-driven interview process.
Beyond metrics, this hire became a cornerstone of Re:signal’s next growth phase, setting the foundation for scalable business development rooted in SEO expertise.
The Takeaway for Agency Founders
When you’re building a sales function for a specialist agency, hiring a generalist salesperson won’t cut it.
You need someone who can:
- Translate technical SEO and marketing insights into client value.
- Build repeatable systems that scale growth sustainably.
- Reflect your agency’s culture and reputation in every interaction.
That’s exactly what this hire achieved, and why Re:signal continues to grow as one of the UK’s most respected SEO agencies.
Our Podcast with Kevin Gibbons
We had the pleasure of chatting to Kevin on his approach to scaling RE:Signal.
You can find our article with highlights here, or alternatively, give it a watch on Youtube:
FAQs
How Does SEO For Hire Find the top 1% of SEO talent?
We’ve built the largest global network of SEOs—over 52,000 strong—curated through events, content funnels, and referrals. Our vetting process tests real-world skills, communication, and adaptability.
What Roles can SEO For Hire Help Fill?
We recruit across the SEO spectrum—from Junior SEOs to VP and even CEO, covering technical SEO, content strategy, and SEO product management.
How Fast can You Fill a Role?
95% of our roles are filled within 28 days. We often deliver pre-vetted candidates for urgent roles in under 10 days.
What Makes Your Candidates Stick Around?
We ensure long-term alignment on values, goals, and team fit—leading to a 30% boost in retention. All placements include a one-year satisfaction guarantee.
Do You Work with Startups or Large Enterprises?
Both. From nimble startup teams to global SEO operations, we tailor our approach to suit your scale and culture.
How to find SEO talent for legal industry?
SEO for Hire have experience in working with niches such as SEO agencies in the legal niche. We have a great pipeline of vetted talent that is consistently being nurtured and kept warm for new opportunities.