BuildingReach Scaled to $2M ARR Generating $884K Weekly Pipeline with Smartlead

Heading
Key Highlights
- $2+ million ARR powered through Smartlead-based outbound campaigns
- 300+ total clients served in 1.5 years, with 120+ active clients currently
- 266% surge in lead volume: from 37 to 136 qualified leads per week
- $884K weekly pipeline opportunity value (up from $240K in Q3)
- 90%+ growth driven by outbound and referrals using same system sold to clients
- Marketing volume exceeded sales capacity—had to throttle campaigns
Summary
BuildingReach (formerly Socials for Trades), an outbound agency specializing in commercial trades and facility services, scaled from zero to over $2 million ARR in just 18 months using Smartlead.
By developing message-market fit through rapid campaign testing and leveraging email as their primary growth channel, founders Ethan Chamish and Neil Bali grew from initial concept to serving 120+ active clients; all while their own lead generation overwhelmed their sales team's capacity.
Client Background
Ethan Chamish and Neel Bali founded BuildingReach approximately 1.5 years ago after extensive experience in the commercial trade space.
Ethan specialized in marketing and lead generation, while Neel brought expertise in sales and customer success. Together, they identified a significant opportunity: owner-operator organizations in facility services, from elevator repair to HVAC and plumbing; needed better systems to connect with property and building managers.
"We saw a real opportunity for an outbound agency focusing specifically on this sector, the commercial trades and facility services side of things, helping owner operator orgs connect with more property and building managers," Ethan explained.
BuildingReach's core philosophy centered on "eating their own dog food"—using the exact outbound systems they sell to clients to power their own growth. This approach proved their methodology while scaling the business.
The agency currently serves trades businesses exclusively through email outbound, with LinkedIn automation systems in development. All 120+ active clients are hosted and managed through Smartlead.
Challenges
- Scaling affordably while experimenting
- Achieving message-market fit quickly
- Managing growing client infrastructure with 120+ active clients
- Proving their own methodology and demonstrating exceptional results
Our Solution
BuildingReach chose Smartlead as their foundational infrastructure after evaluating the competitive landscape.
"At the end of the day, you have to take a bet on one tool or another. It was a no-brainer taking that bet on Smartlead," Ethan stated.
Rapid Message-Market Fit Development
Leveraged email's speed and affordability to ship "tens of 20 of campaigns to different targets and test different messaging" until finding offers that generated healthy inbox metrics and strong reply rates.
Scalable Multi-Client Infrastructure
Hosted all 120+ active client campaigns within Smartlead, managing hundreds of email accounts, domains, and sequences from a centralized platform with clear visibility and control.
Internal Growth Engine
Built sophisticated campaign sequences for their own lead generation, launching major campaign waves (particularly in November) that dramatically increased inbound lead flow to their sales team.
Global Analytics for Optimization
Utilized Global Analytics to spot problems faster, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions across all client accounts—calling it "a big unlock" for agency operations.
SmartProspect Integration
Began integrating SmartProspect for lead sourcing, recognizing its potential as "a very big unlock for our agency" despite not yet fully utilizing all capabilities.
Process Standardization
Developed repeatable systems proven through their own success that could be replicated across diverse commercial trades clients, from HVAC to elevator repair companies.

Results
Explosive ARR Growth
Scaled to over $2 million ARR in just 18 months, all powered through Smartlead-based outbound campaigns and referrals from satisfied clients.
Massive Client Base Expansion
Served 300+ total clients since launch, currently maintaining 120+ active client relationships simultaneously—all managed through Smartlead infrastructure.
266% Lead Volume Surge
Internal campaigns jumped from 37 leads per week (7.4 per day) in Q3 to 136 leads per week in November after launching new campaign sequences—a 266% increase.
Pipeline Value Explosion
Weekly pipeline opportunity value surged from $240,000 in Q3 to $884,000 in November—a 268% increase demonstrating campaign quality, not just quantity.
Sales Team Overwhelm (Positive Problem)
Marketing campaigns generated more volume than the sales team could handle:
"We had to even turn down the volume of our marketing campaigns... Smart Lead was capable of driving more volume than our sales team was able to fulfill."
Methodology Validation
Successfully proved their approach by achieving exceptional results with the same systems sold to clients, creating powerful social proof and referral momentum.
Sustainable Growth Foundation
Built scalable infrastructure supporting continued growth without proportional increases in operational complexity or tooling costs.
Why Smartlead?
Ethan identified several critical factors that made Smartlead the foundation of BuildingReach's success:
Fastest Path to Message-Market Fit
"Without a doubt, in my opinion, the fastest and most affordable channel to achieve message-market fit. We've only been able to reach a state where any channel could work for us now because we've found message-market fit through email."
Unbeatable Scalability Economics
"Once you have an offer that lands, it's hard to find a cheaper or more scalable channel to reach all of your TAM than email... it's like controlling your own private ad network."
Betting on the Team
"From the top down and every single team member there... it was betting on the team and not just the tool."
The decision to build a $2M+ business on Smartlead came from confidence in the people behind the platform.
Global Analytics Unlock
"Global Analytics is a big unlock. It can help us make better decisions, spot problems faster, spot trends and opportunities as well."
Exceptional Support Experience
"Smartlead has an amazing support team. You can tell they actually have the customer first in mind and they actually do care and want to solve your problems," with special recognition for Akash and Vijay.
Valuable Community
The Slack community provides validation of issues, inspiration for new campaigns and integrations, and connection with like-minded professionals in a niche space.
BuildingReach continues expanding its Smartlead implementation, rolling out LinkedIn automation while maintaining email as their primary growth and client fulfillment channel.
Conclusion
By betting on Smartlead, BuildingReach scaled from concept to $2+ million ARR in 18 months, serving 120+ active clients in the commercial trades space.
The platform's ability to facilitate rapid message-market fit testing, scale affordably, and manage complex multi-client infrastructure enabled founders to prove their methodology while building a thriving agency, ultimately generating so many leads they had to throttle their own marketing.
This case demonstrates how specialized agencies can leverage Smartlead's infrastructure and economics to build substantial businesses by "eating their own dog food"—using the exact systems they sell to achieve remarkable growth for both themselves and their clients.
Ready to scale your agency like BuildingReach? Sign up for Smartlead's 14-day free trial and build your own $2M+ ARR success story.

Author’s Details

Wajahat Ali
Wajahat Ali is a Technical Content Writer at Smartlead, specializing in the B2B and SaaS sectors. With a talent for simplifying complex concepts, he crafts clear, engaging content that makes intricate topics accessible to both experts and newcomers. Wajahat’s expertise spans across copywriting, social media content, and lead generation, where he consistently delivers valuable, impactful content that resonates with a global audience. His ability to blend technical knowledge with compelling storytelling ensures that every piece of content drives both understanding and results, helping businesses connect with their target markets effectively.
Edited by:
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
People will also read

Growthlynk Generated $20M in Revenue for Recruitment Clients Using Smartlead

GrowthSet Achieved Lead Generation Success with 62% Positive Replies Using Smartlead
Frequently asked questions
What is Smartlead's cold email outreach software?
Smartlead's cold email outreach tool helps businesses scale their outreach efforts seamlessly. With unlimited mailboxes, fully automated email warmup functionality, a multi-channel infrastructure, and a user-friendly unibox, it empowers users to manage their entire revenue cycle in one place. Whether you're looking to streamline cold email campaigns with automated email warmups, personalization fields, automated mailbox rotation, easy integrations, and spintax, improve productivity, or enhance scalability with subsequences based on lead’s intentions, automated replies, and full white-label experience, our cold email tool implifies it in a single solution.
What is Smartlead, and how can it enhance my cold email campaigns?
Smartlead is a robust cold emailing software designed to transform cold emails into reliable revenue streams. Trusted by over 31,000 businesses, Smartlead excels in email deliverability, lead generation, cold email automation, and sales outreach. A unified master inbox streamlines communication management, while built-in email verification reduces bounce rates.
Additionally, Smartlead offers essential tools such as CNAME, SPF Checker, DMARC Checker, Email Verifier, Blacklist Check Tool, and Email Bounce Rate Calculator for optimizing email performance.
How does Smartlead's unlimited mailboxes feature benefit me?
Our "unlimited mailboxes" feature allows you to expand your email communications without restrictions imposed by a mailbox limit. This means you won't be constrained by artificial caps on the number of mailboxes you can connect and use. This feature makes Smartlead the best cold email software and empowers you to reach a wider audience, engage with more potential customers, and manage diverse email campaigns effectively.
How does Smartlead, as a cold emailing tool, automate the cold email process?
Smartlead’s robust cold email API and automation infrastructure streamline outbound communication by transforming the campaign creation and management processes. It seamlessly integrates data across software systems using APIs and webhooks, adjusts settings, and leverages AI for personalised content.
The cold emailing tool categorises lead intent, offers comprehensive email management with automated notifications, and integrates smoothly with CRMs like Zapier, Make, N8N, HubSpot, Salesforce, and Pipedrive. Smartlead supports scalable outreach by rapidly adding mailboxes and drip-feeding leads into active campaigns Sign Up Now!
What do you mean by "unibox to handle your entire revenue cycle"?
The "unibox" is one of the unique features of Smartlead cold email outreach tool, and it's a game-changer when it comes to managing your revenue cycle. The master inbox or the unibox consolidates all your outreach channels, responses, sales follow-ups, and conversions into one centralized, user-friendly mailbox.
With the "unibox," you gain the ability to:
1. Focus on closing deals: You can now say goodbye to the hassle of logging into multiple mailboxes to search for replies. The "unibox" streamlines your sales communication, allowing you to focus on what matters most—closing deals.
2. Centralized lead management: All your leads are managed from one central location, simplifying lead tracking and response management. This ensures you take advantage of every opportunity and efficiently engage with your prospects.
3. Maintain context: The "unibox" provides a 360-degree view of all your customer messages, allowing you to maintain context and deliver more personalized and effective responses.
How does Smartlead ensure my emails don't land in the spam folder?
Smartlead, the best cold email marketing tool, ensures your emails reach the intended recipients' primary inbox rather than the spam folder.
Here's how it works:
1. Our "unlimited warmups" feature is designed to build and maintain a healthy sending reputation for your cold email outreach. Instead of sending a large volume of emails all at once, which can trigger spam filters, we gradually ramp up your sending volume. This gradual approach, combined with positive email interactions, helps boost your email deliverability rates.
2. We deploy high-deliverability IP servers specific to each campaign.
3. The ‘Warmup’ feature replicates humanized email sending patterns, spintax, and smart replies.
4. By establishing a positive sender reputation and gradually increasing the number of sent emails, Smartlead minimizes the risk of your emails being flagged as spam. This way, you can be confident that your messages will consistently land in the primary inbox, increasing the likelihood of engagement and successful communication with your recipients.
Can Smartlead help improve my email deliverability rates?
Yes, our cold emailing software is designed to significantly improve your email deliverability rates. It enhances email deliverability through AI-powered email warmups across providers, unique IP rotating for each campaign, and dynamic ESP matching.
Real-time AI learning refines strategies based on performance, optimizing deliverability without manual adjustments. Smartlead's advanced features and strategies are designed to improve email deliverability rates, making it a robust choice for enhancing cold email campaign success.
What features does Smartlead offer for cold email personalisation?
Smartlead enhances cold email personalisation through advanced AI-driven capabilities and strategic integrations. Partnered with Clay, The cold remaining software facilitates efficient lead list building, enrichment from over 50 data providers, and real-time scraping for precise targeting. Hyper-personalised cold emails crafted in Clay seamlessly integrate with Smartlead campaigns.
Moreover, Smartlead employs humanised, natural email interactions and smart replies to boost engagement and response rates. Additionally, the SmartAI Bot creates persona-specific, high-converting sales copy. Also you can create persona-specific, high-converting sales copy using SmartAI Bot. You can train the AI bot to achieve 100% categorisation accuracy, optimising engagement and conversion rates.
Can I integrate Smartlead with other tools I'm using?
Certainly, Smartlead cold email tool is designed for seamless integration with a wide range of tools and platforms. Smartlead offers integration with HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Clay, Listkit, and more. You can leverage webhooks and APIs to integrate the tools you use. Try Now!
Is Smartlead suitable for both small businesses and large enterprises?
Smartlead accommodates both small businesses and large enterprises with flexible pricing and comprehensive features. The Basic Plan at $39/month suits small businesses and solopreneurs, offering 2000 active leads and 6000 monthly emails, alongside essential tools like unlimited email warm-up and detailed analytics.
Marketers and growing businesses benefit from the Pro Plan ($94/month), with 30000 active leads and 150000 monthly emails, plus a custom CRM and active support. Lead generation agencies and large enterprises can opt for the Custom Plan ($174/month), providing up to 12 million active lead credits and 60 million emails, with advanced CRM integration and customisation options.
What type of businesses sees the most success with Smartlead?
No, there are no limitations on the number of channels you can utilize with Smartlead. Our cold email tool offers a multi-channel infrastructure designed to be limitless, allowing you to reach potential customers through multiple avenues without constraints.
This flexibility empowers you to diversify your cold email outreach efforts, connect with your audience through various communication channels, and increase your chances of conversion. Whether email, social media, SMS, or other communication methods, Smartlead's multi-channel capabilities ensure you can choose the channels that best align with your outreach strategy and business goals. This way, you can engage with your prospects effectively and maximize the impact of your email outreach.
How can Smartlead integrate with my existing CRM and other tools?
Smartlead is the cold emailing tool that facilitates seamless integration with existing CRM systems and other tools through robust webhook and API infrastructure. This setup ensures real-time data synchronisation and automated processes without manual intervention. Integration platforms like Zapier, Make, and N8N enable effortless data exchange between Smartlead and various applications, supporting tasks such as lead information syncing and campaign status updates. Additionally, it offers native integrations with major CRM platforms like HubSpot, Salesforce, and Pipedrive, enhancing overall lead management capabilities and workflow efficiency. Try Now!
Do you provide me with lead sources?
No. Smartlead distinguishes itself from other cold email outreach software by focusing on limitless scalability and seamless integration. While many similar tools restrict your outreach capabilities, Smartlead offers a different approach.
Here's what makes us uniquely the best cold email software:
1. Unlimited Mailboxes: In contrast to platforms that limit mailbox usage, Smartlead provides unlimited mailboxes. This means you can expand your outreach without any arbitrary constraints.
2. Unique IP Servers: Smartlead offers unique IP servers for every campaign it sends out.
3. Sender Reputation Protection: Smartlead protects your sender reputation by auto-moving emails from spam folders to the primary inbox. This tool uses unique identifiers to cloak all warmup emails from being recognized by automation parsers.
4. Automated Warmup: Smartlead’s warmup functionality enhances your sender reputation and improves email deliverability by maintaining humanised email sending patterns and ramping up the sending volume.
How secure is my data with Smartlead?
Ensuring the security of your data is Smartlead's utmost priority. We implement robust encryption methods and stringent security measures to guarantee the continuous protection of your information. Your data's safety is paramount to us, and we are always dedicated to upholding the highest standards of security.
How can I get started with Smartlead?
Getting started with Smartlead is straightforward! Just head over to our sign-up page and follow our easy step-by-step guide. If you ever have any questions or need assistance, our round-the-clock support team is ready to help, standing by to provide you with any assistance you may require. Sign Up Now!
How can I reach the Smartlead team?
We're here to assist you! You can easily get in touch with our dedicated support team on chat. We strive to provide a response within 24 hours to address any inquiries or concerns you may have. You can also reach out to us at support@smartlead.ai



