Looking to land those bigger retainer clients for your agency but don't know how to get there? I've got you covered in this week's episode.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• Why you might need to work for free.
• 5 steps to landing bigger retainer clients.
• How to implement the foot in the door strategy.
• How to stack the deck to gain more new agency clients.

My guest today is Justin Brooke, founder of IMScalable and also known as “The Traffic Guy.” He’s got an awesome story about how he went from not being profitable, to working for free, to landing a couple huge retainer clients. In this episode, Justin shares his strategy for how to land the big clients you want and leveraging them to land more big retainer clients.

Why You Need to Work for Free

If you don’t have a success story or case study to use in your sales pitches, you might want to consider this strategy just get you one... Justin says he spent a couple years being unprofitable. However what he realized was that he needed one really great success story to ignite his business. That’s when he decided to work for free. It started with research.

Justin did some digging to find the right client whom he knew he could help. Then he posed a proposition to the owner - he would work for free to increase traffic and leads if he could use them as a case study for his own marketing purposes.

They agreed. He succeeded. And BOOM! Justin had his first case study to use for future sales pitches.

This is a great strategy whether you’re just getting starting, or if you want to begin targeting a new niche. You need some sort of “proof” that you are valuable. And when you select a business that you’re confident you can help, you’re setting yourself up for success.

How to Land Big Retainer Clients

A lot of us can relate. You’re doing ok, but you know there are bigger clients out there with issues you can solve. You want to catch the bigger fish you just don’t know how.

The key is to NOT go after the big projects right away. Start small. Prove yourself. Then move up the food chain.

Justin broke his strategy down into 5 steps for us:

1. Identify some of the businesses you know you can help and make a short list.
2. Do your homework to find out how the businesses on your list are spending their digital ad budget. Tools such as AdBeat can help.
3. Look for a hole or gap in your prospect’s digital strategy. Pinpoint one, small but specific thing they aren’t doing, or aren’t doing well.
4. Contact the prospect(s) you identified and tell them what you’ve discovered. Something like: “I noticed you aren’t doing ‘X’ and I think it’s because of ‘Y’. I know I can do ‘Z’ to solve your issue and get you better results.”
5. Be specific. Be confident. And DON’T be afraid to promise results.

Stack the Deck to Gain More Clients

The real trick to building your revenue base is to continue working Justin’s 5 step process.

Keep targeting new businesses and researching to find what’s missing in their digital strategy. Keep going after the smaller projects and providing amazing results in order to earn larger ones. This is how you implement your foot in the door strategy and use it to grow your client base.

You can leverage your results from one client to earn you credibility with the next. It just takes some research, persistence and extra effort in your presentation.

When you’re working with another prospect, use your case study to report results however make it unique and relevant. Nothing generic! Do your homework - know your audience. Make it visually stunning, useful and relevant to a specific prospect... Check out Klipfolio (and the special offer below) to create an amazing analytics report.

PRO TIP: As attractive as it might seem, you do not want just a few large clients. Your client mix should be made of a variety of sizes. If you only have 3 large clients and one leaves, you’ll lose 33% of your revenue.

Analytics Software to Boost Your Business

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For a limited time, Klipfolio has a special deal for my listeners. Get a FREE TRIAL and an amazing offer just for The Smart Agency Master Class listeners at Klipfolio.com/SmartAgency.

Next Steps For Your Agency

Need help with your agency? If you need advice on any topic, I have probably experienced them myself and can help you from what I learned. From what to do with your sales processes, ways to increase your profit margins or how you can build authority for your agency.

I can show you how to stop losing money on projects, why solid processes for performance based pricing can be the best pricing strategy and how having remote working or freelancers in your team can be beneficial and the best ways of managing them.

Learn about my career and different experiences as well as tips, tricks and insights by checking out my blogs that cover a wide variety of topics.

Find more from my Ask Swenk series and more of my videos on my Youtube channel. There you will find advice from myself and other agency experts.

Do you need a sexy web design for your agency website in order to land 6-figure deals? In this episode of Ask Swenk, we hear about what big clients really want from their agency. We also cover the question of can you build your digital agency around your personal brand?

Want the answer? Yes, you can!

Here's how.

How a Sexy Web Design Can Land New Deals

{1:13} Jarrett asked: “My team comes from a design heavy background. We typically build beautiful websites and admire companies like Huge & Firstborn. We came from rsq.com and our website is mightyadvertising.com. But I've noticed a lot of digital shops like Solar Velocity who have less sexy websites are able to sell six-figure deals. Is there an advantage/disadvantage to building a sexy digital website versus on not-so-sexy website? Are those prospects not concerned with that level of design?”

The biggest issue that can occur with a sexy website design can create the wrong positioning on your website and lead you and your agency into the weeds. You need to position your client as the star in the story you are telling them rather than making yourself the star. Be the Alfred to their Batman and get them where they want to go. Be the guide as no client wants to feel as the sidekick.

{5:03} Charles asked: “Can you build your agency around your personal brand?“

Have More Questions?

If you want that bit of extra help in getting your agency in front of potential clients, I can help!

You can find lots of tips, tricks and insights by reading our blogs that cover a wide variety of topics or if videos are more your thing, visit my videos on my Youtube channel!

Discover the best Digital Agency Strategies today. Get Online Training to help you setup the right systems and strategies to help you grow faster.

Are you using value-based pricing within your digital agency? Did you know that through value-based pricing, it can support you in increasing the profit of your agency?

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• Why value-based pricing will keep you from losing profit.
• How to setup a value-based pricing model.
• How to understand your client’s perception of value.

This week on the Smart Agency Master Class, we’ll hear from Dan Mall founder of SuperFriendly, a design collaborative. Dan has spent his entire 18-year career in design and in that time he’s grown to understand a ton about pricing. He’s going to share how to develop value-based pricing so you can stop losing profit.

Why a Value-Based Pricing Model?

You are providing a service based on your unique skill set, knowledge and experience. Value-based pricing takes all those elements into consideration and quantifies. Value-based pricing is the intersection between: what it’s worth to the client and the amount of compensation you’re willing to take.

And if that isn’t enough to convince you -- consider this analogy.

A woman calls a plumber to come to her house and fix a leaky faucet. The plumber is there for 5 mins, tightens one screw and the leak is fixed. He hands her a bill for $1,000.

She asks “Why are you charging me $1,000 when you were only here for 5 minutes?”

He says, “It’s $10 to tighten the screw and $990 for knowing which screw.”

When a client has a problem and you know which screw to tighten your value is priceless :)

How to Setup Value-Based Pricing

Dan’s agency is 5 years old and has been using value pricing since the beginning. Here are 3 steps you can take to get started with building this type of price model.

1. Start with pricing that is easy to understand. You have to be able to explain your pricing structure to a client, so make sure you can easily rationalize it.
2. Determine client expectations and the perceived value of the project. You’ll have to ask a lot of questions to get to the real meat of what they want and why. Experiment with pricing over time.
3. Learn from one project to the next and test out different pricing. Figure out what works and what doesn’t. Then apply a combination of experience and gut instinct to get to the right pricing structure.

How to Determine “Value”

It’s not easy! Dan says it takes time and those 3 steps above won’t can’t overnight. But what you can do is gather as much information as possible from your client so you can fully understand what they need or rather, what they think they need and how you can help.

In his experience as a designer, Dan said he’d often learn information a few days or weeks too late. Some issues are preventable and some problems aren’t solvable unless you get to the core of the issue. To do that, you have to ask the right questions. Go beyond the logistical and go deeper to fully understand the expectations/goals.

Great client service starts with building a relationship. And to build a relationship you have to ask questions.

Questions You Need to Ask

If you’re building a new website - don’t just be an order taker and build the website as instructed. Ask why the client wants a new website. Ask what the goals are for the new site. Is it for a better reputation? Is it for lead generation? What you’re doing and why you’re doing it go hand-in-hand.

The goal for asking questions is to identify what the client needs - which can be different from what they're asking for.

Here’s a few questions to get you started:

• What worries keep you up at night?
• How can my agency ease these concerns for you?
• What is your business model?
• How do you make a profit?
• When was the last time you were profitable?
• What is the problem costing you, in terms of revenue/profit?
• How does a solution translate to your bottom line?

Most importantly, you want to understand the 3i’s: Issue, Impact and Importance. You can this information in developing solutions and in handling objections or pricing concerns.

Don’t let a value-based pricing model worry you. People don’t choose to work with you on price alone. And those who do are viewing you as a commodity. If you are viewed as an expert in your field (think plumber!) and can get the results they desire (think leaky faucet!) price won’t matter as much as you think it does.

Resources mentioned:

• Implementing Value Pricing by Ron Baker
• Pricing for Profit by Dale Furtwengler

Hey, Smart Agency Master Class fans! Save time & win more work

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Check out Qwilr. Sign up now for free by using the coupon code smartagency while upgrading.

What's Next For Your Agency?

Now that you know the benefits of value-based pricing for your agency moving forward, what's next on your list? Why not take the time to take a step back and look at other processes that need attention? No matter what challenge your agency is facing, I can help you get through all of it.

There are many topics I can give advice on from what to do when you want to speed up sales processes, ways to increase your business profit or how you can build authority for your agency.

Growing your agency can be a major struggle for any agency owner and I can show you the different phases of growth you will experience, how placing a process for performance based pricing can be the best pricing strategy for your business and the three questions you need to ask yourself to sell more!

Want more? Learn about my career and different experiences as well as tips, tricks and insights by checking out my blogs that cover a wide variety of topics.

Check out more from my Ask Swenk series and more of my videos on my Youtube channel. There you will find advice from myself and other agency experts.

Do you have trouble making big agency decisions for your business? Do you hesitate to commit because you're afraid to fail? This episode is all about getting out of your own way so you can find the courage to take action that impacts your agency.

Many of my clients tell me they have a hard time making decisions. Whether it's a decision that requires a big commitment or taking action on something that can dramatically impact their business. Some people have trouble pulling the trigger. As a result they stand in their own way of reaching success.

Make Agency Decisions Like Seth Godin or Gary Vaynerchuck

I get a lot of my inspiration from guys like Seth Godin and Gary Vaynerchuk. I was listening to Seth's podcast recently and he talked about making your big life decisions the way you make decisions in the game Monopoly. In the game, you have to decide quickly if you're going to buy property or not. Sometimes you land on Boardwalk and lose a bunch of money. Sometimes you make all the right decisions and WIN. Still other times you lose the game entirely. And that's OK. You learn from it and play differently next time.

#AgencyLife is Like Playing Monopoly

The same is true in real life and with real money. You can't let hesitation or fear stand in your way. Make a move. Use your gut to make a decision. You'll either succeed because of it or fail, learn from it, grow and move on.

When you change perspective you'll see your failures as successes.

Want More Information?

Want extra help in taking your agency to the million level?

You can find lots of tips, tricks and insights by reading our blogs that cover a wide variety of topics or if videos are more your thing, visit my videos on my Youtube channel!

Stuck finding ways to generate new business for your agency? Then the real question to ask yourself is have you ever considered adding video marketing to your online marketing strategy. If not, this is the episode for you.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• The benefits of rich media in your agency marketing.
• Top 3 mistakes to avoid in video marketing.
• How to repurpose your video content and give it legs.

In this episode of The Smart Agency Master Class, Brian Town, schools us on video marketing. After a 17-year career as a high school TV and video production teacher, Brian switched gears and founded Michigan Creative.

Over the past 5 years the agency has grown to a team of 10 which serves clients in web development, video branding and social media. Brian shares some great tips on starting or improving your video content to it becomes a major lead generator.

Why video marketing?

The real question is, why not video?

1. It’s never been easier or cheaper to produce and edit video.
2. Video content lives forever on multiple formats and can be repurposed in many different ways.
3. No one can replicate you on video.
4. One video, genuine and authentic personalities shine through. People buy from people.
5. Developing a great video takes as much time as writing a stellar blog post and gets just as much SEO juice.
6. Videos are more easily consumed than a written blog post. People would rather watch than read.

Mistakes to avoid in video marketing

1. Not using the right equipment. Brian says video still has reputation for being expensive but all you really need is a few inexpensive pieces of equipment - it’s much more affordable than you’d think.

It’s true you can record great video on your tablet or smartphone. (ALL my videos are done on my iPhone or iPad and a ring-light like this one.) The other two pieces of essential equipment that Brian recommends are a tripod and external mic. There’s a huge difference in sound quality when you’re mic’d.

2. Being “birthday mom or dad." You know the type. They’re the person who records the entire birthday party from start to finish. No one ever wants to watch that video. It’s a total snoozer. People just want the highlights. So capture the special moments - not every minute.

Make sure you communicate the goal of the video right away. Then make your point in a direct, brief manner and include a specific call to action. Be brief - like 60-90 seconds, max.

3.  Unclear or too many call-to-action(s). Your video should solve one problem or ease one pain point for your prospects. If you have more to say or more to accomplish create a new video for it.

Think about how/why you search for a video in YouTube… in most cases you have a problem you want to solve quickly. Brian recommends putting yourself in your prospect’s shoes. Determine what they’re searching by making a list of their common questions, issues and problems.

How to repurpose videos for more impact

Once you’ve got a great list of video topics, Brian suggests spending part of day shooting 5-10 at once. They can then be edited into multiple pieces of content to use in a variety of ways across different platforms.

For example: my #AskSwenk videos are usually 7-10 minutes long and answer 3 questions. (I even did one about video marketing for your agency.) The full video get posted in the blog section on my site. I also slice those into 3 separate, mini-episodes and post them socially. The shorter 2-3 minute videos get even more engagement than the full episodes.

Get creative about where you use video… It can live on your site as a vlog, embedded into emails, posted on social platforms. You can also pull GIFS or sound bites to post on social, you can use it on your About page… the opportunities to use and reuse video are endless.

Hey, Smart Agency Master Class fans! Save time & win more work

Replace your proposals, quotes and presentations with interactive + mobile-friendly webpages that plug into your systems and are as easy to build and reuse as they are beautiful.

Check out Qwilr. Sign up now for free by using the coupon code smartagency while upgrading.

Grow Your Agency

I hope this spotlight on how video marketing can transform your agency was beneficial to your marketing strategy moving forward. Don't just stop there but take a step back and really look struggles you need to focus on to improve your business. I have all you need to get through these obstacles.

I have advice on topics from gaining agency exposure in the news, how to build authority for your agency or even ways to use facebook marketing strategies to expand your brand awareness. If growth is your focus, I've discussed the four phases of growth within your agency and how website issues could be holding your business back from reach your potential.

You can learn more about my life and my experience as well as lots of tips, tricks and insights by reading my blogs that cover a wide variety of topics.

If videos are more your thing, don’t worry, i’ve got you covered! You can check out more from my Ask Swenk series and more of my videos on my Youtube channel. There you will find advice from myself and other agency experts.

How to Create the Best Growth Strategy for Your Business

It can be tough to feel you are doing everything you can to bring your agency to the next level but for not to see that growth you were hoping for. Should you be trying something different with the growth strategy for your business?

Did you ever consider taking a closer look at the growth strategy that Donald Trump used to gain his popularity?

In this video we identify Donald Trump's #1 growth strategy that has gained him a record number of supporters and cover how it applies to your digital agency.

It's US Election Day 2016.  Maybe you're an American citizen with the privilege to vote? Or, maybe you're one of my global followers with the good fortune of observing this election from afar? Either way, you'll want to watch this brief video.

I am neither a Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump supporter. However, observing their growth strategies got me thinking. This one single tactic can be a real game changer in your business. Are you ready to "Make Your Agency Great Again"? :)

Let Me Help You

Want extra help in making the best decisions for your business as an agency owner?

You can find lots of tips, tricks and insights by reading our blogs that cover a wide variety of topics or if videos are more your thing, visit my videos on my Youtube channel!

If you are an agency owner, you can also find more information by checking out the help section on my website or get in touch and we can speak strictly confidential. Click here to get my help now.

Do you want to learn how you can use Facebook Ads to create lead generation for not only you but for your clients too? Then you need to keep reading.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• Why you should be using Facebook ads and how to get started.
• 5 Do’s and Don’ts of Facebook marketing for your agency.
• How to know if your Facebook ads are working and key metrics to monitor.

Whether you’ve never tried Facebook marketing or you’re just looking to improve at it, you’ve got to hear from my guest Art Malkov. Art is the co-founder of NeedGrowth.com, a digital agency specializing in using Facebook to supercharge lead generation for themselves and their clients. Art shares some great tips on starting and maintaining Facebook marketing as well as some major mistakes to avoid.

Does Facebook really work?

Heck yeah, it does. Agency owners often tell me their audience is not on Facebook. Art says he hears it from clients, too. There are 1.5 billion users on Facebook. (That’s 3X more users than Twitter and Instagram combined.) Your prospects are on Facebook. They aren’t looking for you there, but they’ll definitely find you if done correctly to disrupt their pattern.

How to get started with Facebook ads

The problem with Facebook ads is that there’s no guidebook. There’s no training and no certification. No one really knows how to do it correctly - it’s all trial and error. So, most people end up winging it, become frustrated and feeling defeated. Art says he and his partner created a statistical approach that has been super successful for their agency and their clients.

Art says to think of Facebook ad management like the controls in the cockpit of an airplane. Each dial you turn or switch you flip has to work with the rest of the dials and switches to create a smooth ride. One wrong move and you can mess up the entire flight.

5 Facebook Ads Do’s and Dont's

1. Do a combination of video and still image ads. Don’t just do all video or all image ads. Art says when one client made the switch to combining the two they went from a 1 share : 50 likes ratio to a 1 share : 1 like ratio. (Pro tip: ‘Shares’ are more valuable than ‘likes.’ When people ‘share’ your content they actually reading/watching it and found value in it. When people ‘like’ your content they might be scrolling right past it.)
   

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2. Don’t use traditional ad copy. Generic adss do not get user engagement. Your ad content must be something of value. The headline must resonate with a specific audience and the content must solve a pain point of theirs. Try questions that start with: “Do you struggle with…?” or “Are you feeling…?”. Avoid anything like: “Click here for…”
   

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3. Do be direct to attract the right people. No matter who you’re targeting, call them out in your ad. My audience is Digital Agency Owners - so I have Facebook ads with the headline “Digital Agency Owner?”. Not only do my ads reach the right people, but I’m even seeing people who aren’t an agency owner tag their friends who are - and those tags are getting my ad in front of the right people without costing me anything.
   

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4. Don’t go in blind - educate yourself. Spend a couple weeks understanding all the options that are available. Not all the default settings will work in your favor. For example, there is a default setting for ads to share between Facebook and Instagram. If you don’t turn off the default option on Instagram you will spend a large chunk of your budget on Instagram without knowing it and you’ll think your Facebook ads aren’t working.
   

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5. Do target specific audiences. You can pinpoint a specific geographic region, even a particular section within a city if you want. In fact, targeting can be so impactful that one agency grew their opt-in rate from 0.3% to 32% just by targeting their Facebook ads properly.

How to tell if your Facebook ads are working

Art says you have to have someone appointed to monitoring your Facebook ads all the time. You cannot just “set it and forget it” - you absolutely have to watch and evaluate regularly.

You can gauge your success on user engagement - likes and shares - not on impressions. The more a post is shared the cheaper it becomes with yields amazing ROI’s. Ad prices can drop 3-5X if managed properly. However, if you aren’t monitoring this you will blow through your budget very quickly.

Key Facebook performance metrics to monitor

Relevance Score: This is how Facebook determines which ads to show a person. When your ad is relevant to your audience, its relevance score is higher, and is more likely to be served than other ads targeting the same audience. The more relevant your ad, the lower the cost to you. Relevance score is on a scale of 0 - 10. Once your post reaches 500 impressions you want your score to be a 5 or better. If it’s not, you need to reset your ad.

Cost per Conversion: What’s a lead worth to you and what are you willing to pay for it? In the beginning you cost per lead will be higher, but the cool thing is that Facebook will optimize your ads for you and you’ll see the cost go down.

Frequency Rate: Some people say that you don’t want your Facebook ad frequency to be over a 2 but Art and I agree if an ad is converting, then more is better. People will scroll past your ad the first few times they see it. Shoot for an 8 if you want to be in front of people as often as possible.

These are just some of the top Facebook marketing tips. But, if you’re interested in using Facebook to generate 25+ leads per day like so many of my clients you have to check out my Generate Leads Every Day program. I’ll cover even more in depth Facebook ad training, as well as more strategies so you can stop relying on referrals and fill your pipeline with more qualified leads every day.

Hey, Smart Agency Master Class fans! Save time & win more work

Replace your proposals, quotes and presentations with interactive + mobile-friendly webpages that plug into your systems and are as easy to build and reuse as they are beautiful.

Sign up now for free and get 50% off for 3 months by using the coupon code smartagency while upgrading.

Discover the best Digital Agency Strategies today. Get Online Training to help you setup the right systems and strategies to help you grow faster.

What Else Do You Need Support With?

Now that i've covered using Facebook ads to create lead generation, what else do you need to know to grow your agency and improve as an owner?

I have advice on many topics from the struggles you may face with failing economies to how speaking opportunities can generate new business and using Youtube to boost your marketing for your agency marketing strategy.

You can learn more about me and check out all my tips, tricks and everything you need to know in my blogs. I have covered a wide variety of topics as well as answering your questions in more from my Ask Swenk series.

If videos are videos more your thing, don't worry, i've got you covered!

You can check out my Ask Swenk series and more of my videos on my Youtube channel for advice from myself and other agency experts.

Everything You Wanted to Know But Were Afraid To Ask

Do you have questions about me and my agency experience that you've been wondering but were afraid to ask everything?

In this episode of Ask Swenk, I take your questions that many you have asked about my journey as an agency owner. Here's everything you've been wanting to know about why I sold my agency, what I'd do differently, what I regret and why I do what I'm doing now.

I've been getting some great questions about my past experience as an agency owner and thought it would be a great #AskSwenk episode to show you I'm totally transparent when it comes to my successes, failures, lessons learned and regrets. Check it out:

{0:30} If you were so successful, why did you sell your agency?

{2:00} If you could do it all again, what would you do differently as an agency owner?

{4:52} What do you regret about the acquisition process?

{7:37 } Why do you do what you're doing now?

What More Do You Want to Know?

I hope you found this instalment of Ask Swenk beneficial and it helps you with any of your business concerns.

If you have more questions about how you can improve your agency, I can help. I have covered topics including how to start an agency from scratch to reasons you should sell your agency.

Have other topics you want advice on? You can check out all my tips, tricks and everything you need to know in my blogs. I have covered a wide variety of topics as well as answering your questions in more from my Ask Swenk series.

Are videos more your thing?  You can check out my Ask Swenk series and more of my videos on my Youtube channel for advice from myself and other agency experts.