Ask HN: We are a young software agency, how do we acquire good work?

[l0rn]

I have a small (6 people), but very talented team of friends who develop software for a living. We're doing this full-time and already have some engagements that make sure our salaries get paid. Nevertheless I have the feeling we are underselling ourselves, mainly because of us having a hard time to do proper acquisition. We found out that getting projects as an agency seems to be a lot harder than being hired as a freelancer. There are tons of portals that practically overflow with offers. I never had a problem getting a job as a freelance dev. Does anyone here on HN has experience how to effectively advertise a small software agency and acquire good contracts? I also would be pleased by any information where these kinda deals happen in your country as we basically can work for any client speaking German, English or Spanish.