In an ever-changing agency environment, does sustainable growth really exist? Or should agencies concentrate on growing as much and as fast as […]

The post Is Sustainable Agency Growth Possible?…. #AskSwenk ep 64 appeared first on Smart Agency Masterclass: Podcast for Digital Marketing Agencies.

Have you ever ignored that little voice telling you to turn away a bad agency prospect? It’s hard to walk away, even […]

The post How to Say ‘No’ To A Bad Agency Prospect… #AskSwenk ep 63 appeared first on Smart Agency Masterclass: Podcast for Digital Marketing Agencies.

Are you sick and tired of prospects blowing you off after presenting a proposal? Frustrated when they string you along or send […]

The post Stop getting blown-off by agency prospects… #AskSwenk ep 62 appeared first on Smart Agency Masterclass: Podcast for Digital Marketing Agencies.

Do you have a hard time marketing your marketing agency because you're too close to it? Do you question your own branding and creative, even though you do a killer job of it for your clients? You're not alone.

Here's how you can step outside of your business, market to the right clients and really crush it in sales!

{1:07) Rob asked: "I'm really struggling with marketing my own agency. We are crushing it with clients but when it comes to marketing my company we get smashed in the face by a huge wall.

I've started the process again looking to re-design my website, create e-books and automate emails but then I get to a point where I've got a finished design and I start to doubt everything before finally hating it.

I'm now considering outsourcing it to a close friend with their own agency in another town... Any thoughts on overcoming this?"

Marketing Your Own Marketing Agency

First and foremost, don't create e-books.

It's hard to look at your agency outside the box of your marketing agency but one step that can help you with promoting your business it to take a good, hard look at your audience. Knowing your audience and understanding what they want, you can create a list of what they want, what problems they are facing and then think of what they want most/biggest challenge makes them feel.

Don't position yourself as the star in someone else's story in your marketing because if your visitor feels like a sidekick to your Batman, they aren't going to feel important. Always position your client as the star and turn the focus on them.

Demonstrate your methodology to your audience and how you will walk them through it. It shows your prospect that you have a plan on how you can give them what they want and to provide a solution to their problems. This will help take your agency to the next level.

You find more of my Ask Swenk series by clicking here or why not visit my Youtube channel for more of the series and lots more videos that can help you as an agency owner improve your business.

How to fire yourself from a key role in the business and transition from Agency Owner to Agency CEO. You built your business on skill and passion. You're the best at a certain aspect of it and giving that up can be really difficult. I can totally relate!  Here's how to  say 'yes' to the right things and 'no' to the wrong things so you can scale.

Lisa asked: "In the Agency Playbook, I watched the video on leadership where you outline the roles of an agency owner. Creative direction was not on that list.

Here's the thing -- and I'm not being arrogant -- but my company has grown because I'm best at being creative. I've experimented with backing off on smaller projects. But it's obvious the projects I work on are more creative and innovative than the ones I don't touch.

My question is, how do I successfully back out of the Creative Director role and shift into the (boring but important) role of a CEO? Or should I stay in the Creative Director role since my agency relies on my talent for it's success?"

I relate to this question as in the beginning, I was always the most creative person. It's challenging for a client to tell you what they want until they see it but this isn't scalable. To fix this, you need to set up a process and document the process from the beginning of a project for your team to follow along.

You should figure out a system if you are going to continue in your role or if not, find the next person you feel will suit the role and find what suits you best.

Did You Enjoy This Week’s Episode on How to Become an Agency CEO?

Find more of my Ask Swenk series by clicking here or why not visit my Youtube channel for more of the series and lots more videos that can help you as an agency owner improve your business.

Today I'm answering some great questions about taking a one-man, or very small agency to the next level. Here's some great advice for building your business and agency scaling to a sustainable level and creating the role you want to be in.

Agency Scaling: From One-Man to Next Level

{0:22} Jeff asked: "I'm currently offering: site design, development and support, SEO, hosting/domain management, digital marketing, social media management, email marketing and some video production. First, I know that's a LOT to offer as a one man shop. Most of this has grown organically from WP website clients who asked for additional services. What advice do you have for me as one person who is building this business and doing all the work?

• Is partnering with white labels a good move? If so, how have you done that?
• Is outsourcing a better move? If so, how did you get started with outsourcing?
• Given that I'm on a tight budget, is there ONE software platform I should buy for marketing and running my own business? Something you just can't do without?"

Software/tools mentioned in the video include: Infusionsoft, Freshbooks and Wave.

Tired of Being Restricted in the Career Path You’re On?

Are you the owner of a small agency under $300,000? Or a freelancer, marketing professional or agency employee who thinks you can run your own agency better?

Jump Start My Agency is a program that covers everything you need to start a profitable agency and land high paying clients of over $20,000.

This 4 week course is designed to help you find the ideal clients, charge what you’re worth and learn how to build a team.

There are clients waiting to work with you! Let me help you by requesting an invitation to the program.

Growing Your Digital Agency

If you found this video helpful but are searching for more advice especially looking to get your business to that next level, I can help.

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

What to Consider in Your Hiring Practices

What do you do when during a phase when you are hiring new team members, you discover they hope to eventually own their own agency?

In this week's episode, I cover some important questions about hiring practices. Should you hire someone who tells you in the interview that they hope to someday run their own agency? If they're otherwise qualified, should that be a deal breaker? Also, if you find a great new hire but they don't live close, should you pay for relocation?

{0:30} Jack asked:  "Say you're interviewing candidates for a sales position at your agency. When asked what they want to be doing in five years, the candidate says they want to run their own agency some day. Is this a deal breaker? We both know how hard running an agency is! Chances are, they won't be. But even if they did -- should that be an issue? I'm thinking it's kind of inevitable in our industry and I'm leaning towards being OK with it but I'm curious about your perspective."

{3:13} Aaron asked: "Would you suggest paying relocation costs for new hires? If so, under what circumstances would you offer it... Junior level or only Mid/Senior level? Would you stipulate they had to be a certain distance away in order to pay for a move? And would you reimburse certain kinds of moving expenses or just do it as a lump sum signing bonus?"

Growing Your Agency Brand

If you found this helpful but are searching for more advice especially looking to get your business to that next level, I can help.

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

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.

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!

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.

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.

Why I Charge for Agency Programs

Ever wonder why I charge for my programs? Asked and answered right here! Also, how to quit being dragged into client work so you can grow your agency. Plus what do to when a client refuses to sign a contract and questions why you even have one.

{0:52} Simon asked: Everyone says a business owner should work on the business and not in the business. However, we’re a very small team of 5 people. The biggest challenge we have is hiring talented senior people who can run and grow the clients' businesses. Simply put we don’t have the money to pay the huge wages they command. And our clients don’t and won’t pay that much to have someone manage their account. So I get dragged back into client work and can't work on my own business. How can I prevent this from continuing?

{4:07} Simon asked: Just out of curiosity, if you sold your agency for 8-figures I'd assume you’re set up for life and can live off the savings. If that’s the case why aren't you giving away your Playbook for free and just charging for 1-on-1 sessions?

{7:23} Tim asked: I’ve got a local client who is taking issue with my contract. Nothing IN the contract, but the fact that I have one at all. In their words, "We do relationships, not contracts." The entire document is essentially a T&C agreement that covers liabilities and outlines a work process so that once signed, it stays on file. How do you handle contracts in a way that makes them approachable to clients?

Advice For Your Agency

I hope this episode of Ask Swenk was helpful and brings you clarity on agency programs and how to get those contracts signed.

If you want to know how to improve your digital agency, you may come across challenges and knowing how to adapt will make you a better agency owner. I cover all topics from the struggles you may face in your agency to creating the best agency proposals and more. I hope you found this helpful and can put it into action.

Have other topics you want advice on? You can check out all my tips, tricks and insights in my blog covering 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.

Every agency owner has the goal of growing their agency to a level that they can target the bigger potential clients. This is because with bigger clients comes creating proposals for bigger budgets.

This week is we are going to talk all about budgets...  more importantly, we are going to talk about client budgets. In this episode of Ask Swenk, I take a closer look into what you should do when clients lower their budget during a project, the strategies for getting an increase in budget and how to land bigger clients with bigger budgets.

Bigger Budgets

{3:17} MJ asked: What do you do when a client won't give you the budget promised?

{6:21} Carl asked: What are the best strategies and tactics for a digital marketing agency to increase the budget of key clients?

{9:29} Andrew asked: As a small video agency, what is your best advice for acquiring new clients, moving up the food chain and commanding bigger budget projects?

Special Offer

Did you realize this is the 50th episode of #AskSwenk? To celebrate this milestone and thank you for the awesome questions, we've got a special offer! CLICK HERE to get $500 OFF my Agency Playbook, which includes the systems every agency needs to be easier to run and scale to the next level.

Grow Your Agency With Your Clients

I hope you found this episode of Ask Swenk and that your questions about achieving those bigger budgets have been answered.

Growing your agency can be a major goal for many agency owners. 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!

You can also learn about my career and different experiences as well as lots of 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.

Should You White Label the Services That Your Agency Provides?

In this episode of Ask Swenk, we talk about all things to do with white labeling agency services. This is from whether you should white label in order to work with big brands, to charging for it and who's responsible for liability insurance on white labeled services.

{1:20} Phil asked: "I currently white label my services for another company and they are dealing with some pretty big clients.... What are your thoughts on white labeling?"

{5:34} Phil also asked: "I know the agency I'm white labeling for is adding a large chunk of money on top of what I am charging. For example, I charge them 5k for a website and they are charging the client 25k. I would otherwise be happy with the prices I charge them if I didn't know they were charging so much on top of it. Should I up my rates to them and risk them going elsewhere? Or do I carry on with them taking the lion's share of the profit?"

{7:38} Meg asked:  "In instances of white labelled services, which party is responsible for liability insurance for the services rendered? The company that is white labelling a service, or the actual service provider?"

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.

If you want to read more about how you can improve your agency and yourself as an agency owner, find lots of amazing information by reading our blogs or if videos are more your thing, visit my Youtube channel!

Figuring out the right level of transparency to have with employees about agency finances. How much should they know in order to motivate them and how much is too much?

Transparency of Agency Finances With Your Team

Jack asked:

{1:35}  "I like the idea of bonuses based on profitability. How much info should I share with my team? Do they need to know everyone else's salary/wages so they can monitor project budgets, costs, profits, etc.?"

The short answer is you shouldn't share everyone's salaries as they don't need to know this information. A great way to create a process for bonuses leading by my personal experience would be to create a budget with the project managers as a buffer and provide bonus opportunities for completing the project under the budgeted time.

{3:47}  "How much financial info should I share, and how much is too much?"

This is a great question and completely depends on where these employees are in the business. Everyone wants to contribute and feel like they are making a difference within an agency and we personally shared top line agency finances to show the impact of work within the agency.

Sharing salaries can create conflict if they differ which can depend on many different aspects leading to employees within the agency feeling undervalued.

{6:59}  "Will employees get resentful knowing how much the CEO/Owner make?"

Not necessarily. From personal experience, we shared with our employees our salaries but withheld distributions and dividends that come with the perks of being an agency owner like tax relief and credits. This is what I would recommend doing for your own agency.

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

Replace your proposals, quotes and presentations with interactive + mobile-friendly web pages 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 smart agency while upgrading.

Want More about How You Can Improve Your Agency and Yourself as an Agency Owner?

You can read our blogs that cover a wide variety of topics or if videos are more your thing, visit my Youtube channel!

Become a Better Owner

Sharing your agency finances and perfecting processes can help elevate not only your business but improve you as an agency owner. This doesn't mean that this is the end of your struggles but I can help you get through all of it.

From my own experiences, I can give you advice on recognising new client opportunities to different ways of building authority to improve your agency. If you are having issues with growing your agency, I can show you how performance based pricing can be the best pricing strategy for your business as well as the three questions you need to ask yourself to sell more!

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

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

Discover the pros and cons of a merger with an agency that has complimentary services. Determine if you are competitively priced in your market, and is it possible to scale a creative agency?

{1:35} Rikki asked: "We are a digital marketing agency considering merging with a design and development agency. We think this will be a good move because the services are very complimentary. What are the pros and cons?"

{6:03} Imani asked: "How do you know if you are competitively priced? I thought about getting proposals from my competitors for the type businesses that I would like to work with... should I?"

{9:29} Peter asked: "How do you scale a creative agency ? Can it even be scaled? Some say agencies, in general, cannot be scaled."

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.

What’s Next After a Merger?

If you have more questions, I can help. Whether you have been an agency owner for some time or have just taken the leap and started a new agency, I have covered topics including bringing in big clients for your agency to leverage the use of Youtube for your agency marketing strategy.

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.

Facing Challenges as a New Agency Owner?

Answers to some great questions from a new agency owner about starting and growing an agency still in it's infancy stage. We'll cover everything from knowing when and how to hire, to generating leads and setting up all the right systems when you are still a very small agency.

Gillian asks...

{1:50}  "Right now I'm doing everything (lead generation, sales, project management, design, development, etc). How big should I get before I start hiring, and what are the first steps I need to take to replace myself?"

{6:20}  "I'm primarily a developer and I don't have as much experience in sales or lead generation. Do I need to reach some level of competency in these areas before taking the plunge, or should I "fake it 'til I make it"?"

{8:46}  "You talk a lot about having set up the right systems in place, and it's fascinating to hear you talk about roles of the CEO, sales people, etc. but what kind of systems do I need to have in place right now as I get started? How far ahead should I be looking?"

Tired of Being Restricted in the Career Path You’re On?

Are you the owner of a small agency under $300,000? Or a freelancer, marketing professional or agency employee who thinks you can run your own agency better?

Jump Start My Agency is a program that covers everything you need to start a profitable agency and land high paying clients of over $20,000.

This 4 week course is designed to help you find the ideal clients, charge what you’re worth and learn how to build a team.

There are clients waiting to work with you! Let me help you by requesting an invitation to the program.

Want to read more about how you can improve your agency and yourself as an agency owner? You can read our blogs that cover a wide variety of topics or if videos are more your thing, visit my Youtube channel!

Whether you are starting an agency or you're an established agency that has potentially hit a plateau, finding the best team especially your sales team is important. In this episode of Ask Swenk, I discuss everything you need to know about finding, hiring, paying and managing great sales reps to CRUSH IT in your agency new business.

I talk about everything from skill criteria and previous experience to salary and commission.

{1:42} Ramzi asked: “I was wondering if you have any great strategies to get referrals from current clients?”

{4:15} Myles asked: "Should I let my full time staff freelance in their own time? If so, what measures do I need to put in place to protect myself and my business?"

{7:02} Blake asked: "I am a big fan of your content. I own a 6 man agency and we’re going through that process right now. We’re trying to build our following with video marketing but it’s just tough getting started! Any advice you could share would be appreciated."

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

Let Me Help You

I hope you found this episode of Ask Swenk helpful for your business but what are the other challenges you are facing in your agency? How can I help?

I have covered topics from facing failing economies and recessions or how a speaking opportunity can create business for your agency. Or maybe you want to know the four phases of growth within your agency and want extra help in taking your agency to the next level and sell your agency for a larger profit? I have all the information you need to help you through it.

You can learn more about my life and my experience as well as lots of tips, tricks and insights by reading our 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.

Whether you are starting an agency or you're an established agency that has potentially hit a plateau, finding the best team especially your sales team is important. In this episode of Ask Swenk, I discuss everything you need to know about finding, hiring, paying and managing great sales reps to CRUSH IT in your agency new business.

I talk about everything from skill criteria and previous experience to salary and commission.

Finding, Hiring, Paying & Managing Agency Sales Reps

{1:03} Simohammed asked: “I’m thinking of hiring a sales rep for my agency. I know it's good to make the salary based on the representative's performance but from your experiences do you give a small salary as a base if there is no performance or is it always based on performance like project commissions and percentages?"

{3:48}  “What are other criteria that you look into a sales rep, besides being good in communication and a good sales person?”

{7:39}  “Is it possible to look for people with an existing network or previous experience in the same field etc?”

Grow as a Business

I hope you found this information helpful in finding the best sales reps for your agency to bring in those bigger clients and achieve the business growth you aspire to.

If you are looking for advice on what you need to do as an agency owner or learn how to fast track growth for your agency, I can help.

On my website, I have a bank of tips, tricks and insights that as an agency owner, you might find helpful. Head on over to the blog section of my website where you can find everything you need covering a wide variety of topics. If videos are more your thing and you find the more beneficial, you can check out the videos on my Youtube channel!

Curious about selling your agency? In this episode of Ask Swenk, I cover how to determine your agency's current value and what you can do to increase it. I also take a real look at the process to eventually sell your agency and gain profit.

{0:48} Tim asked: "What is my digital agency worth if I sold it today?"

{4:10} Bree asked: "What does the process look like when you sell your agency?"

{7:32} Tony asked: "How can you increase your agency valuation?"

Tim asked: "What is my digital agency worth if I sold it today?"

The short answer is it's worth whatever someone will give you money for it, and whatever you're willing to take. The thing I want to debunk right now is if you can get over $5 million, that you'll get tons and tons of money, or get over a million. It doesn't matter on your gross. I know agencies that are over $10 million in revenue, and they're like at 4% profit, which is horrible. Your goal for a profit margin should be 40% and more than that. If it's not, you're doing something wrong. There's a lot of people doing something wrong, but the cool thing is, know there's something wrong, and you can make it darn change. Through doing this and making that change, you can focus on how your agency can gain profit. Right? I don't want to cuss.

To answer your question, to give you kind of a baseline, it's all about looking at the past three-year track record. As a possible acquirer wants to know is, they want to make sure you're going up. If you're going down, it's going to be like a fire sale. They're going to be like, "Well, we'll just acquire your assets, and we'll give you this amount of money, and that kind of stuff." You really want to look at has my revenue grown, and by what percentage year over year in order to figure that out. On a low end, it would be 15% gross every year. On a high end, it might be 50%. Then you also need to look at the profit. That's really where it is. Who cares if you're a $10 million agency. You should be making mad bank on the profit. Then you can base your margins ...

On a small side, I'll give you a low, and a small, just to give you some kind of range. If you were 15% gross, or growing every year for the past three years, at 15%, and then 15% profit, you'd probably have a 5x multiple on profit. If you were at $1 million profit, you would get 5 million valuation for your agency. That's not saying you're getting $5 million cash, that's just what they evaluate it at, and then you can go through all the other stuff that I'll cover in the next question.

On a high end, let's say you're at 40% on both ends, 40% growth, 40% margins, then it could be 11x. Let's say you were $1 million profit, then you would get $11 million valuation.

That's just a rule of thumb to give you kind of low, and the high, and then you can calculate if you really want to sell it or not. A lot of times, I tell people not to sell their agency, because a lot of agency owners, and tell me if I'm wrong, they go, "Well, the grass is greener on the other side. I want to go build this product." This was me. "I want to go build this product, because it's so much easier, and I don't have to do all the hard work, and deliver, and all that kind of stuff. What they find is that the grass is greener on the side you actually water. If you did actually want to do a product, you can actually use the agency as an incubator, or this kind of system that just keeps producing these amazing products and technologies. Keep the agency, since you're not getting the huge multiples that you would on a Saas company. Build up these amazing Saas companies, and then you're off to the races, right? You get the money that you want, if that's what you want. If you're doing it just for the money and to gain profit, you shouldn't be doing it.

Bree asked, "What does the process look like when you sell your agency?"

The first thing is is an acquirer is going to reach out to you and ask you a number of different questions. They're just trying to get a baseline to figure out, "Am I going to give you a letter of intent," which will basically give you an idea of what they evaluate your agency worth, and kind of a high level structure of a deal. Maybe I evaluate your agency a $5 million. I'll give you $1 million cash up front. The other $4 million will be tied up in equity, and earn out over time. Something like that.

You have to be happy with the letter of intent. If you're not happy with the letter of intent, you don't want to go to the due diligence phase, because it's going to be a waste of time. You want to kind of negotiate back and forth, be like, "How did you come up with that valuation?" That kind of stuff. The other thing I want to tell you is when you actually start going through an acquisition process, whatever the acquirer asks you, ask them back. A lot of people do not know that, and they do not ask the right questions. They're just so excited someone wants to give them a bag of money, they're like, "Cool!" Sometimes they're just prying to figure out what's your strategy, and who are some of your clients, so you've got to be careful.

One of the things that I would recommend you do is set up an escrow account, or have them set up and escrow account saying ... After the letter of intent. Let's say you agree on the million cash up front, and then $4 million over time in equity. What I would do is I would say, "Let's put 25/50,000 in escrow. If everything you've asked me so far is true, when you actually start going through everything, and you back out, we keep the escrow. If it does go through, then you get that money back." It just keeps a lot of the time-wasters at bay. You'll see if they're really serious.

After the letter of intent, and you start going through the due diligence phase, then they'll actually draft up kind of a term sheet. This is the legal document. This is telling you everything. What you're really looking for is cash up front. The one thing I'll tell you, be happy with the guaranteed cash. Expect kind of the earn-out, the equity, all that that it won't ever happen. If it happens, great. But I want you to be happy with the cash. A lot of people, they'll get a $5 million valuation, they'll sell their agency, but they only got like $100,000 in cash. Then they never see the other $4.9 million. It's happened to so many people. Be happy with the cash up front. You have to figure out why you're selling as well.

After the term sheet, then you're sold. Then you've got to figure out am I staying on with the acquirer? What do I need to do? Am I going to have a non-compete? All of that other stuff. Then you can actually celebrate, because congratulations, you just sold your agency. Now what? I struggled for two years trying to figure out what the heck am I going to do next? I was just lucky enough that a lot of you reached out for help, and I truly loved it.

Tony asked, "How can I increase my agency's valuation?"

Well, there's a number of different ways you can actually increase it. The first one is looking at your assets. What assets do you have? Assets could be your client contracts. You want to make sure you have long-term contracts, not clients can cancel at any time. If you're month to month, that's not good. You want it fully extended. Also, too, you want to make sure that you can transfer those agreements with just written notice, that you don't have to get their approval. A lot of acquisitions, agencies will be an asset purchase, meaning if someone wanted to buy you, you actually have to go to your clients, get them to sign off ... You being able to sell that contract to them. You want to put that in your contract now. Just chat with your lawyers on that. It's just a transferable contract with written notice. That's about it.

Then you want to make sure that you don't have too much revenue tied up in one or two accounts, right? If you lose that account, you're going to lose a ton of money, and you don't want that either. You've got to make sure.

The other thing is kind of the profit. You want to make sure you're charging enough, you're not over-delivering, and is actually kept at a minimum, because that increases your profit, so you can keep growing, keep going up and gain profit. They also want to make sure you have multiple channels for your business development, right? I always tell people that I work with, and this is what we had: inbound strategy, outbound strategy, and strategic partnership strategy. I'm not talking about you give me a referral, I'll give you a referral. It's more about who is my strategic partners, how can I align with them, how can I help them out, and move forward?

Other things are, you want to really have a good snapshot of all your KPIs, right? My profit. How much does it take to acquire a client? What's the lifetime value of the client? What's my burn rate? All of these, you want to make sure you have a really good understanding of it. We've all watched Shark Tank. It's one of my favorite shows. I love when an entrepreneur comes in there, and they're not prepared knowing their numbers. That's what you look like if they start asking you questions, and you take a while to get back to them. We had everything ready. When they asked us questions, we're like, "Boom! Boom! Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom." Just giving it to them. They knew we were prepared. We knew our stuff.

The other one is really, a lot of times, getting outside perspective. You want that outside perspective to see through the trees. That helped us increase our valuation, because when you're in it, running it every day, that's hard. If you want to set up an advisory group, or board of directors, work with me, hint, hint. I'm winking, if you can't see me. Gives you that outside perspective in order to really get to the next level.

Want to Know More About How You Can Gain Profit as an Agency and Become a Better Agency Owner!

If you want extra help in taking your agency to the next level and want to gain profit or become a better 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 Youtube channel!

Employee Profit Sharing, Referral Commission & Hourly to Retainer

Is employee profit sharing a good idea? In this episode of Ask Swenk, I answer your questions about if and how to compensate clients for referral business, how you can convert a longtime hourly client to monthly retainer and profit sharing for your team of employees.

{1:58} Geoff asked: "What are your thoughts on profit sharing for key employees?"

{4:50} Ryan asked: "I know you've talked about sales people and compensation before but, what about referrals? Flat fee or percentage? One time or for the life of the project/client?"

{7:28} Kirk asked: "I have a great client we do work for at an hourly rate -- this is the only client we have like this. We want to transition that client to a long term contract for a flat rate. Any suggestion on the best way to have that conversation about making the transition?"

Improving Your Agency

To bring your agency to the next level, finding ways to improve is always important. Through my years of experience, It's allowed me to provide advice on many topics from the struggles you may face with failing economies and recessions to how accepting a speaking opportunity can create business and the four phases of growth you may experience within your agency.

Want extra help in taking your agency to the next level and sell your agency for a larger profit? Or want to become a better agency owner?

Learn more about me and my experience and find lots of tips, tricks and insights by reading our blogs that cover a wide variety of topics!

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

First Pitch to a Client

On the first pitch to a client, it can create different obstacles for you as an agency owner as well as your team. Understanding your agency, resources you have and those you can bluff can make the difference in any first pitch with a potential client.

In this episode of Ask Swenk, I talk about understanding cash reserves for your agency, why clients leave and how to avoid it, PLUS how to respond when prospects ask for an success story that you don't have yet.

{3:01} Alina asked: "How much money should we have in reserve for a rainy day to run our agency successfully?"

{6:12} George asked: "We just lost a major long term client. We never saw this coming because we've won a lot of awards on their work and they've seen traffic and sales growth every year we've worked together. Why do you think they left and what could we have done differently?"

{9:11} Phill asked: "When you're pitching for that first big project that you have not done for anyone yet, what is a good approach when the prospect asks, "Do you have an example of this that has been successful for another client?" And this being your first pitch for this type of project, you don't have any examples to give them. So, what's a solid comeback?"

Agency Owner Advice?

Want extra help in making the best decisions for your business as an agency owner  to get those potential clients on board?

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, let me know if you would like to chat about your possible EXIT plan – strictly confidential. Click here to get my help now.

Do you want to learn more about the best way to build relationships, streamline your deliveries and the best way to critique proposals? In this episode of Ask Swenk, I answer these questions and share more insight into how you can improve your agency.

In this episode I discuss:

• How to streamline processes without being too cookie cutter.
• What to do when you're new in town and need to build relationships.
• PLUS, watch my critique of another agency's actual proposal.

{1:52} Tara asked: "I feel like every time we get a new client we are on '50 First Dates.' How can we change this problem?"

{4:16} David asked: My biggest challenge is that I've moved from Atlanta from New York and I have to build my network from the ground up. I've been able to do this over the past year, however I still don't have enough relationships to bring on the net worth clients where I can build an agency."

{6:44} Aman asked: "Can you review my marketing proposal and tell me what I am doing right and wrong?"

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 Do You Need to Do When You Build Relationships?

Whether you need advice on starting an agency, how to plan who you hire for your agency or how to bring your agency to the next level, I can help. I hope you found this helpful and can put it into action to build relationships with clients, partners and your team.

Please find all my tips, tricks and insights in my blog that covers a wide variety of topics. Videos more your thing? You can check out the videos on my Youtube channel for advice from myself and other agency experts.

We chat about landing your first client as a creative agency, how you go from initial contact to a paid consult, […]

The post Landing 1st Client, Initial Contact to Paid Consult, & Charging to Restart a Project #AskSwenk ep 39 appeared first on Smart Agency Masterclass: Podcast for Digital Marketing Agencies.

How to close a pitch and how to accurately calculate profit. Plus, managing your team priorities when it comes to training and continuing ed within the industry.

Closing a Pitch

{0:38} Yasser asked:  Just a quick question... how do you end a pitch?

Calculating Agency Profits

{2:02} Myles asked: I was wondering what your thoughts are on trying to work out the profit we make on a deal? I feel it’s a bit of a guess at the moment, as I’m not sure exactly what we should factor in to the cost of sale? Same goes for the monthly retainers, I’m not sure how we try and work out what it’s costing our business in terms of supporting the client?

What are your team priorities?

{4:23} Phil asked: Say you found a fantastic video course that offers in-depth training on one of your core services. You get excited about it, and purchase it for your team to watch. You can't wait for your team to watch it, so you can start a conversation about the course... But 7 days later, you find that no one on the team has "had time" to watch the course. Do you scream, cry, force them or just give up?

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

Build Your Agency Authority

I hope this episode of Ask Swenk has given you an insight into the best way to close pitches, calculate revenue and recognise team priorities. Have you taken the time to see what other challenges you are facing within your agency? Now is also a great time to 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 to 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.

How to BONUS the Creative Team, Prospect Selection & Sales Process, Sales Team Model?

#AskSwenk 37: How can you bonus and incentivize your creative team? What to do when the prospect is controlling the sales process and expects some "free" work. PLUS, how to structure your agency's sales team.

{0:32} Meny asked: "How can we build an incentive program for our creative team members, and what would that look like?"

{3:53} Jared asked: "How do you address prospects who want to control the sales process? We're talking to someone right now that is putting us through their selection process with very little regard to our process and getting the information we need to put together a proposal. Normally I would go through their motions, but some of the questions they're asking are very tactical and would almost cross over into the 'working for free' zone."

{6:22} Jack asked: "Selling has always come natural to me. I know some agencies have the CEO do ALL the sales, but I don't think that's as scalable as having Account Managers who can sell. What's the best business model for a sales team:

• The hunter/farmer model?
• The account manager does both model?
• CEO does all the sales, hands off to account manager?"

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

Build a Better Agency

Through my life in the industry, I have gained so many experiences that allows me to share 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 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.

What Makes Good Lead Magnets and How Can You Engage with Prospects?

In this instalment of #AskSwenk, I discuss what exactly makes good lead magnets and how can you engage with prospects. I also share how to handle clients who approve work without reviewing and whether telesales companies are a good option for the outbound sales of your agency.

{0:33} Frank asked: "What are others finding are good lead magnets to generate new contacts/leads? Beyond that, what are good ways get contacts to engage your firm once they are in your database?"

The best lead magnets in my opinion are case studies. Headlines are the most crucial part of a case study to use them as lead magnets and I like to stick to the template in my headlines of "How to do something cool without doing something that sucks" to grab the attention of your audience.

Once they are leads, ensure to provide them with good content with call to actions to get your prospects to move to the next stage.

{2:43} Kelsey asked: "Does anyone have any experience with clients who approve work without actually looking at it? I have a client who has approved all of my work, but who just admitted to not actually taking the time to read any of the content I am posting on her behalf. Any thoughts?"

Yes, I have had this experience. Sitting down with a client and explaining to them and sharing all the information to walk them through your process as an agency. Creating a signed paper work trail will support you when you need to go back to a client to show they approved an aspect of a project and additional changes will come at additional costs.

{4:22} Oscar asked: "I see outbound marketing as a key component to growing the agency. Having tried this already with a couple of companies recommended by others with mediocre results (and I am being generous), I thought of asking you for your experience in this respect and any recommendations you may have on telemarketing/appointment setting companies."

Most agencies have used telemarketing companies at some point. From my own personal experience for my own agency and for clients, I haven't seen any benefit from them. There's no value for your outbound marketing of a telemarketing company that doesn't know your business or understand your audience's businesses making a thousand calls trying to organise marketing audits.

Better to create a targeted hit-list after research into your audience and then call them and offer them something of value for their business.

Looking for More on How You Can Improve Your Agency and Yourself as an Agency Owner?

Are there weaknesses within your agency that are causing everything to breakdown? Don't worry, i'm here for all the advice you need.

I have been in the industry for a long time and I have had my own experience running my own digital agency as well as helping other digital agency owners so there are many topics where I can offer guidance. Whether you are experiencing challenges as an established agency or a new agency unsure of what the different phases of growth you will experience will look like, I've got you covered.

As you continue to grow your agency team, I can show how to recognise when it’s time to hire a sales manager or expand your sales team to perfecting your business strategy with creating a process for performance based pricing and how to keep your big name clients happy.

Are you ready to create something cool and want more advice? 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. Or if videos are more your thing, visit my Youtube channel!

Payment Schedules, Payroll for Owners, & Yearly Reviews

In this episode of Ask Swenk, i'm talking all things payment and payment schedules. The best client payment schedule and how to get your clients to stick to it. Plus, whether the owner should be on payroll and how to handle those dreaded annual employee reviews.

{1:14} Stuart asks: "We have tried to implement your payment schedule of 50% upfront, then 25%, 25%, based on milestones or timelines. However, we haven't had any success with this, and clients have pushed back hard to get this upon them signing off on the work. Aside from not working with these clients, how have you handled push backs like this?"

{4:44} Adina asks: "Do you pay yourself a salary on payroll? My accountant says I need to pay myself like an employee and then remit payroll tax ...for myself! Just wondering if this is common practice.

{6:37} John asks: "Should my company keep doing yearly reviews for my employees?"

How You Can Improve Your Business

I hope this provided you with a clearer idea of payment schedules when it comes to your own team and your client projects in the future.

If you have more questions, I can help. Whether you have been an agency owner for some time or have just taken the leap and started a new agency, I have covered topics including bringing in big clients for your agency to reasons you should sell your agency.

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.

What You Should Do (And Shouldn't Do) When Selling Digital Agency

In episode thirty four of #AskSwenk, I discuss what you should do (and shouldn't do) when selling digital agency, plus how to compensate referral agencies and how to follow-up when a prospect goes dark.

{1:08} Amy asked: "I'm in negotiations to sell my marketing agency. What should I be aware of? Pitfalls to avoid?"

You need to determine why is the other agency or business interested in buying your agency?

• Revenue?
• Location?

It's important to figure this out for the leverage of your agency and make sure to ask them the same questions they ask about your business to evaluate if they can afford you. You should also keep the fact you are considering selling confidential to avoid potentially losing clients.

{5:57} Scott asked: "What are your thoughts on paid referrals or partnerships between agencies? For example, your agency refers me work I pay you x% commission. "

This can be done a couple of different ways but depends on how big projects or retainers are. For a good strategic partnership to work, it should work both ways when it comes to referrals with a sliding scale for commission percentages.

{7:38} Stuart asked: "We are walking our clients through the proposals, in person, as per your advice. However, we still find that once we have done this, the client then goes quiet on us (never a good sign). How do we persistently, yet politely, follow up to expedite this last stage of the sale and to find out if we are their preferred supplier?"

A client going silent is a bad sign but you can probably trace it back to the first conversation you had with the client.

• Do they have the budget for the project?
• Do they have the authority to make decisions for the project?
• Do they have realistic timing?

This will help you with your follow up strategy by following the three I's: Issue, Impact and In meeting scheduling.

Check out Ask Swenk Episode forty three for more related questions!

Improve Your Agency and Become a Better Agency Owner!

Want extra help in taking your agency to the next level and become a better 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 Youtube channel!

Agency Case Studies, Team Accountability & Avoiding Client Changes.

On this episode of #AskSwenk, we'll cover: How you can use case studies to attract agency new business, how to improve your team accountability, and what do you do to stop your client from requesting a zillion changes.

This Week's Questions:

{0:51} Christian asks: "How can I use a successful case study to attract more business within the same niche?"

{3:01} Eric asks: "What can I do to hold my team accountable to their goals? More importantly, if they don't hit them... what kind of repercussions should there be?"

{5:26} Steve asks: "How can I handle a client who wants a zillion rounds of changes? We are constantly making changes only to find out they want more changes on top of their changes. It's killing us in hours. Is there a more efficient and profitable way to handle it?"

Would You Like To Work With Me LIVE & In Person?

I'm doing a live workshop here in Atlanta, GA in July, and I wanted to see if you'd like to come. This is an exclusive opportunity to WORK DIRECTLY WITH ME, IN PERSON, and I'll teach you the agency strategies that have helped me build a very successful digital agency.

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 Are Your Agency Concerns?

So we’ve covered how you can improve your team accountability, use case studies for success for your agency and handling changes from clients but these might not be the only concerns you have for your business.

It doesn’t matter if you have been an agency owner for a while now or have just taken the leap and started a new agency, I have covered topics from the struggles you may face within your agency to leveraging Youtube in your marketing for your agency marketing strategy.

Learn more about me or 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?  Don’t worry! 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.

Do you find it hard to keep up with developments in technology and getting client contracts just right? In this episode of #AskSwenk, I answer your questions and cover these topics for you: What KPI's your agency should be measuring, how to keep up with all the latest technology and what key info you need to include in client contracts.

Agency KPI's, Technology, & Client Contracts

This Week's Questions:

What You Need to Know When Starting an Agency

When starting an agency, it can be intimidating from building the best team to creating your portfolio of clients to make your business profit. But as the agency grows, you may find yourself outgrowing clients that you had when you initially started and needing to consider growing your team or outsourcing content for different projects.

On this episode of #AskSwenk, we'll cover:  what to do when your agency has outgrown a client, all about starting an agency (like when and how), and whether you should outsource your content writing.

(0:21) Jojo asked: "My question is, how far do we need to go for these clients before it is time to think about politely passing them off to a more suitable freelancer or smaller agency? I appreciate that they were part of our business growth up to this point, but some of these clients are "loss-making" for us and get in the way of other work."

(2:46) Nancy asked: "What will I be ready to start an agency? Should I start one now and leave my job?"

(5:25)  Enoch asked: "Do you think outsourcing content makes you more productive?"

You can also find more of my Ask Swenk series as well as my other videos by checking out my Youtube channel!

Tired of Being Restricted in the Career Path You’re On?

Are you the owner of a small agency under $300,000? Or a freelancer, marketing professional or agency employee who thinks you can run your own agency better?

Jump Start My Agency is a program that covers everything you need to start a profitable agency and land high paying clients of over $20,000.

This 4 week course is designed to help you find the ideal clients, charge what you’re worth and learn how to build a team.

There are clients waiting to work with you! Let me help you by requesting an invitation to the program.

On this episode of #AskSwenk, we'll cover:  How to handle clients who think you have a conflict of interest because you're specialized in a niche. Also, ways to get your foot in the door with new clients, plus getting better business leads for your sales team.

This Week's Questions:

Tackling Conflict of Interest

{0:29}  Giles asked: "We specialize in design and marketing for the bar and restaurant sector. We've recently had a couple of meetings with prospects who were concerned about a conflict of interest as we already do work for one of the largest players in this sector in the UK. How would you tackle their concerns?"

Getting Your Foot in the Door

{2:36} Bobby asked:  "What assessments would you use for getting a foot in the door with a client?"

Finding Better Business Leads

{5:16}  Phil asked:  "There's one thing I consistently hear from my sales team and that is 'it's just bad timing for the client right now.' Have you found a good way to overcome this objection? "

Related:  http://jasonswenk.com/askswenk50

Improve Your Agency

Now that you have strategies for getting your foot in the door and bringing in better business leads for your digital agency, what's next on your list? What other challenges and obstacles are you facing preventing you taking your business to the next level?

I have covered topics from how to handle a recession or how to increase your profits without losing customers for your agency. Or maybe you want to know the four phases of growth within your agency and want extra help in taking your agency to the next level and sell your agency for a larger profit? I have all the information you need to help you through it.

You can learn more about my life and my experience as well as lots of tips, tricks and insights by reading our 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.

On this episode of #AskSwenk, we'll cover: What awards you should be looking at nabbing to attract big brand clients, whether you should be putting your published pricing on your website, and how to protect the concepts you've pitched.

This Week's Questions:

Do you know how to ensure you are guaranteeing leads for your business? If you are struggling with this as well as growing your team or how to prevent time lost to bad clients, this episode of Ask Swenk is the one you need.

In this video, I’ll cover:

• What to do when a prospect wants you to guarantee leads.
• My #1 struggle in growing my agency team and 3 ways we overcame it.
• How to fire a terrible client so you can quit wasting time.

Guaranteeing Leads in a Proposal (0:23)

Lawrence asks:  "A prospect is asking for us to guarantee the number of sales leads our digital marketing will create -- which is impossible and could change over time. How would you go about putting this into the proposal?"

Don’t shy away from guaranteeing performance! Take pride and back your work.

I have NO issue with guaranteeing leads... DO IT! But, you cannot guarantee sales. Lead generation in your control, converting leads and the sales process is not.

3 steps to guaranteeing leads:

1. Determine a very specific criteria for qualified leads. Be very definitive on what a quality lead looks like.
2. Look at similar, past clients as a benchmark for your past performance.
3. Establish compensation at both a fixed level and performance level. For example, you get paid “X” rate for deliver “X” fixed amount of leads, and an additional “Y” rate for every lead thereafter.

Here’s an interview with an agency owner who runs his business totally on a performance-based pricing model. He has over a 50% margin and a 95% close rate. Talk about qualifying leads!

#1 Struggle of Growing My Team (2:22)

Christina asked:  "What were your biggest pain points in growing your agency from a just few people to more and how did you overcome them?"

The biggest struggle I had with growing my team was worrying about being able to afford them. Cash flow and making payroll was my #1 concern.

3 things that helped us overcome cash flow worries:

1. Project receivables. We looked for holes to forecast where cash flow would be an issue and then we could be proactive instead of reactive. We use these “holes” as deadlines to motivate the sales and leadership teams.

2. Change payment terms. We made recurring revenue (retainers) due upfront with incentives for prepayment for the entire contract period. Project payment terms changed to: 50% upfront, 25% due on a specific date or at a specific point in the project (whichever comes first), and 25% due upon completion or at a specific point in the project (whichever comes first).

3. Increase pricing. We increased our prices for both our existing and new clients. Once you make the decision on what agency you want to be, make the moves to act and charge like it.

Firing a Terrible Client (5:18)

Glenn says:  "We need to get rid of a terrible client. They're not taking the hint, so I need to formally drop them. A lot of thought went into this decision and they must go.  How would you go about it?"

Congratulations! I’m so proud that you’ve realized it time to get rid of this client.

I have a motto: There’s no such thing as a BAD agency client - just a bad prospect or bad process. It’s OK that your process let a bad prospect sneak it and it’s awesome that you’re ready to get rid of them. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Check the language in your contract to see how much lead to time you need in order to end the relationship. Abide by the contract at all costs.
2. Make a phone call, not an email and definitely not a text message, to talk to them. In the call explain that it’s not working out and that your need to sever the relationship.
3. End on good terms by giving them all their files and even a refund if you think it’s necessary.
4. Draw up a letter that details everything that was discussed on your call and all the assets you’ll be releasing to them. Send this letter to them USPS Certified so that you can prove it’s been received. And, keep a copy for yourself.
5. Consider setting up an introduction between your newly fired client and your biggest competition :) 

After it’s all said and done, forget it. Good riddance! You’ll notice a huge difference in your team and your culture when you eliminate this baggage.

In fact, take a look at the rest of your client roster. Are there other clients that are causing distractions or making it harder to become the agency you want to be? Quit wasting time on the wrong prospects and concentrate on the right ones.

Do you like this NEW  3 question format?

Give us some feedback below. And, make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel so you’re getting the newest video advice each week!

Build Your Agency

Now that you know how to improve on guaranteeing leads, growing your team and more, this may be only the tip of the iceberg. But don't worry, I have all you need to get through these obstacles.

I have covered topics from how to handle a recession or expanding your brand awareness with a social media community. Or maybe you want to know the four phases of growth within your agency and want extra help in easing through agency growing pains? I have all the information you need to help you through it.

You can learn more about my life and my experience as well as lots of tips, tricks and insights by reading our 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.

Do you know how to ensure you are guaranteeing leads for your business? If you are struggling with this as well as growing your team or how to prevent time lost to bad clients, this episode of Ask Swenk is the one you need.

In this video, I’ll cover:

• What to do when a prospect wants you to guarantee leads.
• My #1 struggle in growing my agency team and 3 ways we overcame it.
• How to fire a terrible client so you can quit wasting time.

Guaranteeing Leads in a Proposal (0:23)

Lawrence asks:  "A prospect is asking for us to guarantee the number of sales leads our digital marketing will create -- which is impossible and could change over time. How would you go about putting this into the proposal?"

Don’t shy away from guaranteeing performance! Take pride and back your work.

I have NO issue with guaranteeing leads... DO IT! But, you cannot guarantee sales. Lead generation in your control, converting leads and the sales process is not.

3 steps to guaranteeing leads:

1. Determine a very specific criteria for qualified leads. Be very definitive on what a quality lead looks like.
2. Look at similar, past clients as a benchmark for your past performance.
3. Establish compensation at both a fixed level and performance level. For example, you get paid “X” rate for deliver “X” fixed amount of leads, and an additional “Y” rate for every lead thereafter.

Here’s an interview with an agency owner who runs his business totally on a performance-based pricing model. He has over a 50% margin and a 95% close rate. Talk about qualifying leads!

#1 Struggle of Growing My Team (2:22)

Christina asked:  "What were your biggest pain points in growing your agency from a just few people to more and how did you overcome them?"

The biggest struggle I had with growing my team was worrying about being able to afford them. Cash flow and making payroll was my #1 concern.

3 things that helped us overcome cash flow worries:

1. Project receivables. We looked for holes to forecast where cash flow would be an issue and then we could be proactive instead of reactive. We use these “holes” as deadlines to motivate the sales and leadership teams.

2. Change payment terms. We made recurring revenue (retainers) due upfront with incentives for prepayment for the entire contract period. Project payment terms changed to: 50% upfront, 25% due on a specific date or at a specific point in the project (whichever comes first), and 25% due upon completion or at a specific point in the project (whichever comes first).

3. Increase pricing. We increased our prices for both our existing and new clients. Once you make the decision on what agency you want to be, make the moves to act and charge like it.

Firing a Terrible Client (5:18)

Glenn says:  "We need to get rid of a terrible client. They're not taking the hint, so I need to formally drop them. A lot of thought went into this decision and they must go.  How would you go about it?"

Congratulations! I’m so proud that you’ve realized it time to get rid of this client.

I have a motto: There’s no such thing as a BAD agency client - just a bad prospect or bad process. It’s OK that your process let a bad prospect sneak it and it’s awesome that you’re ready to get rid of them. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Check the language in your contract to see how much lead to time you need in order to end the relationship. Abide by the contract at all costs.
2. Make a phone call, not an email and definitely not a text message, to talk to them. In the call explain that it’s not working out and that your need to sever the relationship.
3. End on good terms by giving them all their files and even a refund if you think it’s necessary.
4. Draw up a letter that details everything that was discussed on your call and all the assets you’ll be releasing to them. Send this letter to them USPS Certified so that you can prove it’s been received. And, keep a copy for yourself.
5. Consider setting up an introduction between your newly fired client and your biggest competition :) 

After it’s all said and done, forget it. Good riddance! You’ll notice a huge difference in your team and your culture when you eliminate this baggage.

In fact, take a look at the rest of your client roster. Are there other clients that are causing distractions or making it harder to become the agency you want to be? Quit wasting time on the wrong prospects and concentrate on the right ones.

Do you like this NEW  3 question format?

Give us some feedback below. And, make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel so you’re getting the newest video advice each week!

Build Your Agency

Now that you know how to improve on guaranteeing leads, growing your team and more, this may be only the tip of the iceberg. But don't worry, I have all you need to get through these obstacles.

I have covered topics from how to handle a recession or expanding your brand awareness with a social media community. Or maybe you want to know the four phases of growth within your agency and want extra help in easing through agency growing pains? I have all the information you need to help you through it.

You can learn more about my life and my experience as well as lots of tips, tricks and insights by reading our 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.