How RE:Signal Built their Growth Engine with a Senior Growth Manager Hire
RE:signal, London’s leading SEO agencies, partnered with SEO for Hire to find a Senior Growth Manager who could bridge sales and SEO.
The result?
A fast, strategic hire who brings 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
RE:Signal were able to hire an SEO Leader 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 Senior Growth Leader for RE:Signal
Founded by Kevin Gibbons.
RE:signal is London’s leading SEO agency, partnering with enterprise brands to drive sustainable organic growth.
They’re known for their 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 Growth Manager?
As RE:signal were 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 the ‘follow-through’ needed to scale effectively.
Additionally, outbound sales hadn’t been established.
They needed someone who could:
- Develop new outbound strategies
- Organise and optimise inbound conversion processes
The goal was to find a Senior Growth Manager who could bring both commercial acumen and a deep understanding of SEO, not just a salesperson.
The team needed a strategic operator who could align sales with delivery.
The Hiring Bottleneck?
RE:signal faced a major gap in their growth function.
This led to conversion rates declining, and there was no clear ownership of inbound or outbound activity.
The mission was clear; find someone that could establish, stabilise & expand their internal growth function.
As Daris Benallal (Head of Recruitment at SEO for Hire) recaps:
“We talked about their plans for the next 5 years which really impressed me & helped align candidates who were equally ambitious.”
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 £65K for the right candidate).
The role was designed to cover:
50% inbound lead management
30–35% outbound strategy
15% marketing collaboration
The Challenge
To establish & re-align the current CRM function, introduce fresh SOPs for in bound and outbound strategies.
Progress so Far
They set out with a clear goal: dramatically improve lead qualification and push conversion rates higher.
With the new hire now onboard helping this initiative move forward, they could confidently aim to reach their goals next month, and continue climbing.
The Goal
With an ambitious 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 RE:Signal 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 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 the Head of Growth
Focused on skills, sales systems, and SEO understanding.
2. Final interview with the COO
The COO 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 +£10k, with a custom commission structure and clear performance roadmap.
Ten days after acceptance, the candidate 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 Senior Growth Manager within weeks.
- Streamlined RE:signal’s sales operations, aligning inbound and outbound functions.
- Confidently aiming to hit conversion rate goals in the new month, and continue climbing, with the new hire onboard.
- Reinforced cultural fit and retention, thanks to RE:signal’s values-driven interview process, in collaboration with our team.
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 can SEO agencies scale their growth without losing focus on delivery?
By hiring commercially minded leaders who understand both SEO and sales. RE:signal’s Senior Growth Manager connected inbound and outbound activity, creating structure that scaled growth sustainably.
Why is hiring a Senior Growth Manager important for agencies?
A Growth Manager bridges the gap between sales and operations, ensuring that leads convert consistently and delivery teams stay aligned. It’s a role that turns demand into predictable revenue.
What makes a great Growth Manager for an SEO agency?
The best Growth Managers combine sales strategy, CRM structure, and SEO literacy. They understand how to translate technical value into business outcomes – exactly what RE:signal needed to hit conversion targets.
How can agencies speed up hiring for senior commercial roles?
Streamlined, two-stage interview processes focused on cultural and technical fit help agencies move fast. RE:signal filled their senior role in under 25 days through structured collaboration with SEO for Hire.
What can agencies learn from RE:signal’s approach to building a growth function?
Growth is a system, not a department. By hiring strategically and aligning commercial processes with delivery, RE:signal proved that scaling can be achieved without losing cultural integrity or quality.