Are you looking for better ways grow your agency? Tired of the status quo? Missing easy targets and low hanging fruit opportunities? Then take some lessons from an agency owner who's doubled revenue every year for five consecutive years and growing at a crazy fast rate!

In today's episode, we'll cover:

• Finding your agency's share of the market.
• What to expect in your agency's first year.
• 4 simple actions to grow your agency.
• 3 easy ways to maintain agency growth.

Today I chatted with Tony Delmercado, co-founder and CEO of Hawke Media. With only five years in business, Hawke Media has grown from a 5 person team to 100+ employees and has doubled it's revenue every year, looking to hit the $18 million mark this year. With that kind of success, I couldn't wait to pick Tony's brain on how he was able to start and maintain growth of his agency. From his start to present day, Tony walks us through some simple tips and strategies he found successful.

Finding Your Agency's Share of the Market

Tony says you need to find a hole in the market and respond to demand.

The catalyst for starting a company, whether you want to grow a brand or do marketing well, you need to either:

• Build a team in-house
  • Multitude of challenges
• Work with an agency
  • cost prohibitive - straight up expensive

Unfortunately there isn't a good intermediate option. So Tony and his business partner turned to qualified friends that checked off necessary boxes. As their clients wanted more things, they built their agency's internal competency and hired more people with the necessary talents and skill sets.

What To Expect Your Agency's First Year

Work, work, work...and more work. Lots of hours and hard work. In the beginning, your agency says "yes" to everything whether it's speaking engagements, meetings, committees, public appearances, anything and everything to get your agency name and brand out there.

Hawke Media, didn't take on investors or debt, they simply bootstrapped on the cash coming in. In that first year, because of this model, they were very judicious with their spending.

Tony says his personal mantra is three-fold:

1. Get shit done.
2. Learn quickly.
3. Be cool.

He and his partner hustled hard that first year, living this mantra every single day. That's why it was easy to realize these needed to be their agency's core values. Since then, they have hired their team around these values.

Your agency NEEDS to nail down and define core values and build a company culture.

One of the best things about being an entrepreneur, is that you get to pick who you want to work with. Your agency needs to make sure that it picks well, that it gets the right people, good people, to keep a good cultural vibe.

As an agency owner, Tony says, "it will never all be done". Your agency to-do list will always and continuously grow. Stop worrying about checking off the last box, instead start prioritizing and allocate  time to the important stuff.

Your agency, but also you, will need to learn how to say "no" to those things that aren't necessary or can be better managed by a team member. Get rid of time-sucks, like recurring meetings that aren't necessary.

4 Simple Actions To Grow Your Agency

Growth might not be easy, but it can be made simpler when you model after someone who's doing it the right way....

1. Use a CRM and some form of follow-up or reminder.
   • You don't have to use an expensive service
   • There are cheap options out there.
2. Create some basic email automation
   • Have a form to capture information.
   • Develop a system to drop prospects into funnels for your agency.
3. Use Google retargeting or GDN
   • Don't underestimate the abilities of this service.
   • This is still a powerful tool when done correctly.
4. Pick up the phone.
   • A call back or follow-up phone call, keeps lines of communication open.
   • Build solid personal relationships while your competition is automating everything.

PRO TIP: Don't forget about the low-hanging fruit. These are old or stale leads right at your fingertips. Create a system for routinely checking those out, too!

3 Easy Ways To Maintain Agency Growth

1. Don't become complacent.
2. Always look to do better and to improve.
3. Be aggressive in marketing your agency.

Looking for a Payroll and HR Solution for your Agency?

Payroll and benefits are hard. Especially when you're a small business. Gusto is making payroll, benefits and HR easy for small businesses. You no longer have to be a big company to get great technology, great benefits and great service to take care of your team.

For a limited time, Gusto is offering a deal to Smart Agency Master Class listeners. Check out Gusto.com/agency for 3-months FREE once you run your first payroll with them.

Are you looking to get your agency revenue to the $1 million mark? Already at $1 million and struggle to get beyond it? What got you where you are now, isn't what's going to get your agency to the next level. Have you lost focus or just don't know where to look? Then it's time your agency explored the power of content and started making investments into it's future.

In this episode, we'll cover:

• Growing your agency from the first million to the next million.
• One growth strategy often forgotten.
• 5 simple tips to help scale your agency.
• #1 Technology your agency should be using.
• How to find your agency's focus.
• Know yourself and build a solid team.

Today I got to talk to John Hall, CEO and co-founder of the content marketing agency, Influence & Co. He's also a keynote speaker and author of the best-selling business book, Top of Mind. Considered a content marketing guru, John shares with us tips and tricks he has learned along the way, as he grew his company from just 2 people in 2007 up to 130 employees in 2018. Implementing John's strategies will help scale your agency and position you as a thought leader and influencer in your agency's niche.

Growing Your Agency from the First Million to the Next Million

The biggest challenge your agency will face when scaling is taking on clients and employees you shouldn't.

To avoid this classic pitfall, use these two tips in your agency process:

1. Take time to hire the right person. Having the right people in the right seats will make all the difference.
2. Really look at potential clients and ask "why?". Make sure you are only taking on the right clients for the right reasons.

Having processes in place is important when scaling.

One Growth Strategy Often Forgotten

Simply put -- CONTENT

Content is more than a  lead generator or marketing vehicle, content is the core of the company. Content allows your agency to share it's culture, industry trends, leadership, vision, and more.

Your agency wants to generate content in "themes" to outline the environment and to attract people, whether it's employees or clients. You can't just say the words in an interview or pitch, you need to be continually communicating it as a company. This allows potential clients or employees to see what your agency is all about and makes them want to work with you.

Define your agency's core values and live them out.

5 Simple Tips To Help Scale Your Agency

1. Amplify your agency's services on your website with an excellent user experience.
2. Make an investment in what your agency does.
3. Utilize technology that can help your agency scale by saving you time.
4. Create efficient practice that will lead to higher margins.
5. Leverage content across the company by multi-purposing it.

Differentiation can be hard, but it is important. Don't be like the competition - stand apart from them!

#1 Technology Your Agency Should Be Using

Technology needs depend on the agency, but to have the absolute best tech for your agency's needs, you need to create it. Creating your own technology allows customization towards your agency's needs. If there is a problem you're experiencing, and you can create a tech tool as the solution, that's the ultimate benefit.

How To Find Your Agency's Focus

Where is the biggest opportunity for your agency?

It's not about what is most exciting, it's about what is going to drive longterm success. What are the things that your agency can say no to and what are those things that your agency needs to say yes to?

Owners typically jump quickly and this can lead to a loss of respect from your team, as well as opportunity costs. Don't put your agency in a position where it is no longer doing productive work, because you're too busy "chasing butterflies."

Know Yourself And Build A Solid Team

Who you get into business with and how you treat the people around you is key! Your agency needs trust at the core. John and his two partners are in sync with another and he attributes it to total transparency. Although I usually say: "you either know the bad partner or you are the bad partner,"  I've seen some really successful agency partnerships too. However, having an out clause and operating agreement in place can keep things from getting messy if someone wants out.

And most importantly, your personal brand is important. You are a vehicle to create opportunities for your agency and you need to invest in it and in yourself.

Looking for a Payroll and HR Solution for your Agency?

Payroll and benefits are hard. Especially when you're a small business. Gusto is making payroll, benefits and HR easy for small businesses. You no longer have to be a big company to get great technology, great benefits and great service to take care of your team.

For a limited time, Gusto is offering a deal to Smart Agency Master Class listeners. Check out Gusto.com/agency for 3-months FREE once you run your first payroll with them.

Thinking of vlogging but doesn't know where to start? Don't think you're any good on camera? Afraid you don't have the right equipment? With these simple tips and tricks you'll be able to  get started right away. You will become an authority in the marketplace and build trust with your ideal clients so you can win more new agency business.

In this episode, we'll cover:

• #1 reason your agency should be vlogging.
• More benefits of vlogging.
• Why video views and subscriber numbers don't matter.
• How to get started and what equipment you need.

Today I got to talk with Cody Wanner, daily vlogger and co-founder of the video production company CAP Collective. After watching and being inspired by another vlogger, Cody thought about creating his own daily video series. Over a year of thinking about it, he finally decided to just do it and it's been a major game-changer for his video agency. With Cody's simple tips and easy style, he shares how your agency can start vlogging immediately.

#1 Reason Your Agency Should Be Vlogging

It Builds Trust!

Just getting a face in front of people, in front of possible clients and talking to them is building trust. Consistent face time will build trust between your agency and your audience and trust is everything. People buy from people they trust. And, with that trust comes authority.

Trust + authority = more new agency business

More Benefits Of Vlogging

Sharing content via a vlog will help position your agency as an expert in the marketplace. Your audience will look to your agency for answers. There's a serious ROI when you vlog on a consistent basis.

For Cody, his vlog has also become a constant follow-up tool to help keep his agency top of mind. His consistent (daily) video content serves as a reminder to his prospects, and works SO MUCH BETTER than a "checking in" phone call.

Why Video Views And Subscriber Numbers Don't Matter

Cody has a cool movement he's pushing right now, which he's calling No Small Creator  #nosmallcreator... he says there is no such thing as a small creator or small subscriber.

He believes anyone who's creating content is a big deal. There's no such thing as insignificant content because you never know who is going to be inspired by something you say or create... your content could be influencing the next Oprah. You never know who your viewers are, who they're sharing with or who they're affecting on a daily basis. Influence them to be great and let the domino affect happen.

How To Get Started and What Equipment You Need

Your agency needs to commit to uploading content every day - even if it's not great. Even if it's downright bad. Once you commit to that, you can trust the process and yourself.

Once you start vlogging, it is in your entrepreneurial nature to make things better. If your agency just starts uploading content, the process will take you to reviewing, analyzing and improving on it because that is what you do.

Perfection is the enemy of good. Your agency's vlogging is probably not going to be perfect at first but upload it anyway. As my friend Ian Garlic says,

What Type Of Equipment Your Agency Needs To Start Vlogging

Check your pocket.

The best equipment is the equipment you already have... meaning, don't let equipment be an excuse that keeps you from vlogging!

If all the video equipment you have is a smart phone - use it. Vlogging on a smart phone can be just as successful as with expensive equipment. As you get more experience and more comfortable you may want to buy other equipment, but it's not a necessity.

And if you really want to know more about equipment, here's a video about what I use now. Just note - I started by using my iPhone and iPad! :)

Vlogging is not about the technical quality of the footage, it's about the story you tell. The way you document growth or change and how your agency is helping others. You can check out my evolution as a vlogger... and seriously, it was pretty rough when I first started. This was my first vlog episode and it's pretty terrible!

Cody and I agree; just start by documenting what your agency is doing and get it out there. Find a main focus and go do it. And be sure to make it your own - modeling other vloggers is ok as long as your end product is genuine to who you are.

Looking for a Payroll and HR Solution for your Agency?

Payroll and benefits are hard. Especially when you're a small business. Gusto is making payroll, benefits and HR easy for small businesses. You no longer have to be a big company to get great technology, great benefits and great service to take care of your team.

For a limited time, Gusto is offering a deal to Smart Agency Master Class listeners. Check out Gusto.com/agency for 3-months FREE once you run your first payroll with them.

Are you great at creating but seem to fail with execution? Do you have a hard time delegating tasks and get lost in the day-to-day of working in your agency instead of on it? Then it's time your agency makes a marketing plan for your agency! When you get your team on board and delegate to a lead in charge of the execution, you are freed up to create the longterm vision. Learn how to step away from being the Agency Owner and become the Agency CEO.

In this episode, we'll cover:

• Simple lessons to grow and scale a business.
• 3 easy mindset shifts to grow your agency.
• How to stay consistent and treat your agency like a client.
• 3 buckets to have in your agency's marketing plan.
• The importance of implementing your agency's core values.

Today I got to chat with Derek Champagne, founder and CEO of the full-service marketing agency, The Artist Evolution and author of Don't Buy A Duck: Stop Wasting Money & Only Do Marketing That Works!. With a mantra of "without fail," a vision and some failures in his pocket, Derek built his current agency to a 30+ employee business. Today he shares with us the importance of having a vision and marketing plan for your agency. In order to grow and scale you need to make sure you're treating your agency with the same consistency and level of attention you give your clients.

Simple Lessons to Grow & Scale a Business

Derek says some of his failures have taught him some great (yet, simple) lessons about business growth and scaling. These are key to transitioning from Agency Owner to Agency CEO:

1. You need to have the right people around you to grow effectively and get the advice you need.
2. You don't need to hold your cards so close. Collaborating with other agencies can bring great success.
3. You need to have a longterm focus and vision for your agency.

3 Easy Mindset Shifts To Grow Your Agency

1. Have a vision and set goals to achieve it. Don't get lost in the weeds of the day-to-day grind.
2. Let your agency team understand your clear vision:
   • How can a team get behind you if they don't know the plan or where the agency is going?
   • Communicate your agency marketing plan and vision.
   • Empower your agency employees to make decisions that help achieve your vision.
3. Know what you're good at and where/when you need to delegate.
   • Get out of your own way and don't be the smartest person in the room.

How To Stay Consistent & Treat Your Agency Like a Client

Much like your clients, your agency's growth is also dependent upon having a marketing plan. If you haven't niched down yet, it's time to do that. Know who you are, who you target and what you're best at - then go after it.

If your marketing isn't going according to plan... maybe you don't really have a "plan" after all?!

Having a marketing plan is crucial. Map it out. Not just you, bring in your agency team. Whiteboard it out. Hold a strategy session and answer "what does our marketing plan look like and why." The "why" is important - your team needs to know and understand why you're doing what you're doing. Don't just do it because you think you should, knowing the why makes it much more effective.

3 Buckets To Have In Your Agency's Marketing Plan

A marketing plan isn't just for clients.... it is critical to have an agency marketing plan, too.

1. Customer Acquisition
   • How is your agency gaining new clients?
   • How are marketing dollars spent?
2. Client Retention
   • What is your agency doing to retain existing customers?
   • What are you doing to cross-pollinate services and build partnerships?
3. Agency Reputation
   • What is your agency doing to stay top of mind and tip of tongue?
   • How are you present and interacting with those in your community and client base?

Also... assign, don't assume! Along with a marketing plan your agency needs to also know who is doing what. Be sure that every marketing plan has a point person who is responsible for the execution and results.

Being able to present a solid marketing plan to your agency clients will help build trust.

Creativity and strategy are great, however they sit on the cutting room floor if you don't have implementation and execution figured out!

Implementing Your Core Values

Go back and take a look at your agency's core values. Are you implementing them consistently?

If you're doing core values right, you should be able to focus on building the team, holding the vision and gaining resources towards that vision. When you make this things a priority for your agency, then the client-side will come together. Your focus should be on finding and keeping a solid team. You can always get more clients, but it will cost you more to rebuild a quality team.

Ready to Discover the Best Agency Strategies Working Today?

[Invitation-Only Group for Digital Agency Owners]

Most agency owners struggle to scale. We’ve developed a process that will guide you through the journey of implementing the right systems so you can scale your agency — instead of feeling overwhelmed by it.

We do this by bringing together agency thought leaders to share strategies, offer advice, and reveal what’s working (and what’s not working) in their agency. The truth is, whatever you want to accomplish in life, nothing will help you go further, faster than getting the right adviser in the context of motivated peers. If you want to GROW fast and smart, here's how Agency University™ Mastermind will HELP. Request your personal invite here.

It's tough making decisions as an agency owner! From your first hire to knowing when it's time to sell. Here's advice from an 11-year agency owner veteran on some of the key attributes to look for in your agency's first hire as well as some simple considerations to help you know if it's time to sell your agency.

In this episode, we'll cover:

• The #1 thing to look for in a first hire.
• Is it time to sell your agency?

Today I chatted up Kathleen Booth, VP of Marketing at Impact, a resource for inbound marketers, and host of the Inbound Success podcast. After growing her own digital marketing agency for 11 years, from startup to a HubSpot platinum level partner, Kathleen read the signs that it was time to move on and sold her agency in a merger. She shares with us how she made big agency leadership decisions, from her first hire to selling the agency.

The #1 Thing To Look For In a First Hire

A burning, insatiable desire to learn and figure things out! The digital marketing landscape is ever-evolving and your agency needs people who will evolve with it.

Your agency wants people with a good marketing presence. Remember, this could be a person with any number of marketing-type backgrounds, so don't limit your interview process by job title.

Kathleen suggests hiring someone who can take tasks off your plate. (In most cases, I advise hiring a Project Manager - here's why.) As an owner, you need to be able to focus on strategy and building your agency, not on tedious tasks that could be handed off. Be sure your candidate can manage a client, so you don't have to. It's time for you to step away from managing agency clients and details.

Clients value that to which they don't have easy access. Meaning, if you're accessible all the time, clients won't value your time and they won't pay as much for it. Keep your interactions consistent, but spread out.

Time To Consider Selling Your Digital Agency?

Are you still having fun? You need to love what you're doing. Kathleen was having fun for the first 10 years, but the 11th year was draining.

Is your agency scalable to the level you want to be? In Kathleen's case her agency's growth was tied to being an early Hubspot partner. But as their program grew her agency's lead generation suffered.

If you answer "no" to either of these questions it might be time to consider selling.

Kathleen was faced with either pushing ahead, doubling down to grow and scale OR selling her agency and moving on.

If you're thinking of selling, use your network and start putting out feelers. It was easier for Kathleen to make her decision, because she found an interested party.

Be self aware. Don't let money and ego get in the way of making the right decisions for you and your agency. The best entrepreneurs know when it's time to walk away and can do so fast.

Ready to Discover the Best Agency Strategies Working Today?

[Invitation-Only Group for Digital Agency Owners]

Most agency owners struggle to scale. We’ve developed a process that will guide you through the journey of implementing the right systems so you can scale your agency — instead of feeling overwhelmed by it.

We do this by bringing together agency thought leaders to share strategies, offer advice, and reveal what’s working (and what’s not working) in their agency. The truth is, whatever you want to accomplish in life, nothing will help you go further, faster than getting the right advisor in the context of motivated peers. If you want to GROW fast and smart, here's how Agency University™ Mastermind will HELP. Request your personal invite here.

Thinking about doing a podcast, but don't know where to start? Overwhelmed by the prep work like booking guests and developing questions? Here's some insight, helpful tips and actionable strategies to have your agency stay top-of-mind and build relationships.

In this episode, we'll cover:

• Why your agency needs to start a podcast.
• How to get over the first hurdle.
• 2 easy steps to secure great podcast guests.
• #1 tip to develop strong podcast questions.
• Tips and tools to build relationships after the episode airs.

Today I talked with social dynamics expert, Jordan Harbinger. As host of the podcast, The Jordan Harbinger Show and contributor to the website Advanced Human Dynamics, Jordan uses his great questioning skills to delve into strategies, techniques and habits of some of the most successful people on the planet. He's had the opportunity to interview huge guests like Larry King, a CIA agency, a military General, even Shaquille O'Neal! Jordan understands the influence of podcasting and shares some great nuggets of knowledge on how to start and maintain a successful podcast to keep your agency top of mind.

Why Your Agency Needs A Podcast

A podcast is a great way because:

1. It is an outreach tool to create relationships.
2. Your ideal audience is searching for your content.

Check out this related interview with Pat Flynn on Starting a Podcast

How To Get Over The First Hurdle

The #1 objection to starting a podcast is usually that people hate the sound of their own voice. Jordan says there is a simple way to get past this -- edit your own show.

Having to listen to your own agency show over and over will provide you with some great insight on things to work on:

• What filler words are being used too much (such as "like" or "ummm").
• How to be dynamic in your tone and inflection.
• How to use a microphone and test/track sound quality.

Once these are corrected, listening to your own voice won't be so bad.

2 Easy Steps To Secure Great Podcast Guests

To get great guests you need to simply:

1. ASK!
2. Be persistent.

People are more accessible than you might think. Just be brave and reach out because you'll never know if you don't ask :)

Utilize and create network connections that your agency can leverage to bring on podcast guests.

Make a list of who you want. Create a system to reach out, and be sure you doesn't just focus on one guest at a time. Reach out to multiple potential guests and follow-up consistently until you get a yes.

#1 Tip To Develop Strong Podcast Questions

Be well prepared! Out-prepare everyone else.

Do the research on the guest, read their book, watch their videos, listen to their podcast... learn about them before the podcast.

Keep the questions insightful and don't focus on being super witty or clever.

Your goal for a successful interview should be that you run out of time, not material. Set up the questioning to last double the amount of time as the actual podcast. This will allow for editing to really hone in on the most valuable nuggets of information and get rid of all the "fluff" that is not of vital interest to your listeners.

Tips And Tools To Build Relationships After the Episode Airs

Follow-up, reach out, stay in touch. Just because someone was a guest, doesn't automatically make them a solid contact. Make an effort to continue communication to build the relationship. Jordan's website Advanced Human Dynamics offers a free mini-course on things like:

• How to keep in touch
• reengaging contacts
• reach-out text drills and exercises

These tips require very little investment of your time, but can drastically impact your relationships with guests, sponsors, and potential clients. It is worth the time! Visit the website here and click on Level 1.

There are also 2 great tools for your agency to use:

1. Boomerang
   • A useful tool that works with Gmail and allows you to control when emails are sent and received as well as schedule reminders.
2. Contactually
   • A CRM program that can organize and prioritize contacts and communication with them. Set reminders and store information so remember to touch base with potential guests, pasts guests, etc. at a predetermined increment of time (30 days, 45 days, etc.)

Ready to Discover the Best Agency Strategies Working Today?

Most agency owners struggle to scale. We’ve developed a process that will guide you through the journey of implementing the right systems so you can scale your agency — instead of feeling overwhelmed by it. 

We do this by bringing together agency thought leaders to share strategies, offer advice, and reveal what’s working (and what’s not working) in their agency. The truth is, whatever you want to accomplish in life, nothing will help you go further, faster than getting the right advisor in the context of motivated peers. If you want to GROW fast and smart, here's how Agency University™ Mastermind will HELP.  Request your personal invite here...

Wondering how to adapt to all the Facebook changes? Upset your Facebook ads aren't getting the ROI you expect? Wondering if Facebook is a dying platform for lead generation? Facebook is evolving with the demands of it's users and we know Facebook isn't going away anytime soon. Learn from an expert on the best way to position your Facebook ads as well as utilizing Facebook live and videos to build relationships.

In this episode, we'll cover:

• Is Facebook a dying platform for lead gen?
• How to use Facebook ads to generate leads.
• 3 strategies for using video on Facebook.

Today I chatted with Curt Maly, CBDO at Black Box Social Media, speaker and primary voice of Social Media Ad Genius. With over 8 years experience working with Facebook Ads, Curt shares some insight on the current Facebook landscape and how your agency can adapt. With the focus being on building relationships, Curt shares some tips on Facebook Live and videos that will help your agency achieve a like, know and trust factor that is so important for building a sales pipeline.

Is Facebook a Dying Platform for Lead Gen?

The current news media surrounding Europe's GDPR has definitely scared some from using Facebook, but this won't necessarily last.

Curt says Facebook ads definitely aren't for every industry. You and/or your clients might perform better on another platform. For example, Instagram is showing success as it emerges as a more popular platform. However since it's photo-centric you need to make sure you're smart about relevant content to build your agency brand on Instagram.

If we look at the history of Facebook it can help see where the future is going. It's similar to the early years of Google Adwords, when they weren't focusing on customer service. Facebook has struggled with privacy issues as well as customer service. (Like, how hard is it to get a Facebook contact on the phone?!) But Facebook is stepping up their game by working with agencies and focusing on customer support. So, they're coming around... and Facebook is far from "dying" :)

How To Use Facebook Ads to Generate Leads

Your agency needs to build a human relationship and that's going to cost more in ad dollars. It is time to focus on content vs. relevance.

Facebook is currently the largest publishing platform. And, if your agency want to use the largest publishing platform to generate leads, then you need to publish really good content and follow-up accordingly!

A current Facebook analysis says that clicks and/or click-thru rates don't necessarily mean someone is going to increase brand awareness or intent to purchase. This goes against the common ideology, so the industry needs an ideology change. We need to adapt to change, social media platforms are still a bit of the wild wild west.

Facebook is ever changing their algorithms. Right now Facebook is looking at the engagement on business profile pages and their posts. Facebook is dinging business for "click bait" if people are clicking your link to a landing page and then come right back to Facebook. This is why using Facebook for organic reach with direct response won't work if your agency isn't playing in the game of Facebook. A successful business plan includes engaging posts and relationship building, not just running ads. You won't have scalable traffic or a predictable pipeline if you're just focusing on ROI and not the personal relationships.

3 Strategies for Your Agency's Videos on Facebook

Video allows a viewer to relate to you, get to know you and build a rapport with you. This is a much better business building strategy than a "good hook" in your ad copy.

When looking to create a video, Curt says he likes to think of structure of infomercials. That's right, infomercials. Infomercials last the test of time and follow a basic formula: every 3-5 minutes, there is a call-to-action. Many of us only give a CTA at the end of the video. But for those who don't want all the way through, they miss out on the their next steps.

There are three types of videos your agency can use:

1. Short one minute video. Use this video to address a cold audience.
   • Generally, this video is to build awareness.
   • Provide 2-3 bullet points and then a call-to-action.
   • Hint: Instagram can support a 1-minute video too, so why not multipurpose?
2. Facebook Live. Use this type of video to help people get to know you and your agency brand.
   • Facebook Live videos can help grow engagement to score points with Facebook.
   • As much as 80-90% of views are from Facebook live replays.
   • Apply infomercial structure and split your video into 4 equal parts with a CTA after each part.
   • In the first 30 seconds give them: what you're going to cover or why they should watch and a CTA or where to find out more info.
3. Long, 10-15 minute videos. Use these videos to provide great value to the existing followers. as well as to announce or promote something new.
   • Apply infomercial structure and split your video into 4 equal parts with a CTA after each part.
   • You can have more than one CTA and take them multiple places, such as a landing page, an early bird list, or even point them to "like" and "follow" you on Facebook.

Ready to Discover the Best Agency Strategies Working Today?

Most agency owners struggle to scale. We’ve developed a process that will guide you through the journey of implementing the right systems so you can scale your agency — instead of feeling overwhelmed by it.

We do this by bringing together agency thought leaders to share strategies, offer advice, and reveal what’s working (and what’s not working) in their agency. The truth is, whatever you want to accomplish in life, nothing will help you go further, faster than getting the right advisor in the context of motivated peers. If you want to GROW fast and smart, here's how Agency University™ Mastermind will HELP.

Wondering how you can get PR and media coverage a for your agency? Afraid your agency isn't newsworthy? Then it's time to learn some simple tips to get your agency the media coverage it deserve so you can generate interest and leads organically, plus amplify your brand. Today's show guest is talking ways to jump-start your agency's publicity.

In this episode, we'll cover:

• 3 tips to achieve media coverage.
• The #1 thing to do for a media interview.

Today I chatted with Emily Richett, founder and owner of Richett Media. In 2013, Emily left her job as a TV news reporter to start a new venture and naturally leaned towards publicity. Over the past five years her agency has grown from a solo act, to now 5 full time employees. Emily shares some great advice on working with different media outlets and how to start getting your agency in the news.

3 Tips To Achieve Media Coverage

Your agency is newsworthy, even if you don't think so. There are always ways to be newsworthy if you understands what the media outlets are targeting, what they care about and the natural ebb and flow of the news cycle. Emily shared 3 big tips for getting noticed by the media:

1. Make it easy for the media to want to cover your story.
   • The media is going to cover seasonal and holiday trends, based on their annual calendar. If you can connect the dots for them and align with a season or time-sensitive current trend you're more likely to get noticed.
   • Create the hook for the media. Often times reporters are too busy, so if you do some of the leg work for them it's a much easier sell.
2. Tie into what the media outlet's viewers care about.
   • People care about people (not businesses) and their impact on society.
   • Outline how your agency is making an impact, whether on a local or national level.
3. Utilize social media as a media lead generation tool.
   • On Twitter search #journalrequest, where journalists request information and quotes for stories.
   • On LinkedIn, use Dux Soup as a lead generation tool to leverage for media lead generation.
   • Check out other resources, like H.A.R.O. ("Help a Reporter Out")

The #1 Thing To Do For a Media Interview

Prepare in advance!

You want to leverage this media opportunity, so you MUST do your homework in order to make your media coverage great.

• See if  you can find out what questions they will ask. A great way to do this is to study past interviews.
• Create a list of questions you want to be asked in order to touch on the important topics; provide the list to the media outlet.
• If your agency will be in print, provide professional pictures and /or headshots.
• If you agency will be on TV, shoot a hi-res B-roll and provide it.

Remember to be yourself. Find your agency's voice.

[clickToTweet tweet="Fifty-percent of a great PR opportunity is getting the press. The other 50% is leveraging the media exposure." quote="Fifty-percent of a great PR opportunity is getting the press. The other 50% is leveraging the media exposure."]

Always have a call to action with media coverage. Make sure the viewers can find your agency or your client.

For Emily's free entrepreneur's publicity guide, click here.

Ready to Discover the Best Agency Strategies Working Today?

[Invitation-Only Group for Digital Agency Owners]

Most agency owners struggle to scale. We’ve developed a process that will guide you through the journey of implementing the right systems so you can scale your agency — instead of feeling overwhelmed by it.

We do this by bringing together agency thought leaders to share strategies, offer advice, and reveal what’s working (and what’s not working) in their agency. The truth is, whatever you want to accomplish in life, nothing will help you go further, faster than getting the right advisor in the context of motivated peers. If you want to GROW fast and smart, here's how Agency University™ Mastermind will HELP. Request your personal invite here.

You know video marketing is where it's at right now, but are you struggling to get started? Do you want to generate leads using video but not sure how to get the right viewers? Wondering how to grow a YouTube channel and leverage it for your new business pipeline? It's time to learn how to utilize YouTube to grow new relationships, make connections, and build your authority.

In this episode, we'll cover:

• #1 thing to grow your YouTube Channel.
• How to leverage YouTube as a search engine.
• How is YouTube ranking videos?
• 3 steps to a successful video.

Today I chatted with Sean Cannell, YouTuber at Think Media and Video Influencers, international speaker and coach. Sean spends his time helping entrepreneurs build their influence through online video. Today he is providing us with insight and tips on building a YouTube channel and generating leads with video.

#1 Thing To Grow Your YouTube Channel

Clarity -  your agency needs to know:

• Where your agency wants to go.
• Who your agency is, in the marketplace.
• Who your agency wants to reach.

To find this clarity, answer these 2 questions before posting videos:

1- Who is your target audience?

• Remember, broader is not better
• The riches are in the niches (yes, really!).

2- What is your value proposition to the target audience?

• What consistent value are you going to deliver?
  • Articulated messages to get viewers to think: "Wow, this is exactly what I am looking for!"
• How often will your agency deliver content?
  • Start out with at least a weekly video, then increase from there.

How To Leverage YouTube As A Search Engine

YouTube is less crowded than Google, as a search engine, so there is a lot of white space and opportunity.

Just like with Google, the search bar in YouTube will predict phrases, based on common searches. So position your agency videos on the other side of people's questions. This will set your agency up to get "views while you snooze."

How do you do this? It's simple:

Take the top 20-30 FAQ's your agency gets and make a video answering each question. Position the videos to leverage search by embedding them in your agency blog or linking to your agency website. Create a library within YouTube, for easy linking access. By pushing people to YouTube, this encourages 'likes' and subscribers.

Video content is powerful. It builds the important Know, Like, and Trust Factor. And Sean says it is 53% more likely to rank on the first page of Google (than written content is). Video is most people's preferred content format, which leads to a higher level of engagement and can help grow your agency!

How is YouTube Ranking Videos?

Minutes Matter Most!

Originally YouTube would track views as a success metric. But, as click-bait started popping up, YouTube started to see the benefit of measuring minutes. YouTube learned that just because viewers where clicking on a video, it didn't mean that they were actually viewing the content. Impressions don't necessarily mean impact. However, a minute of someone's time, is a big deal. So, when you go into the metrics on your agency's YouTube channel, you will see analytics of minutes, views, and subscribers.

YouTube values these metrics because, first and foremost, it is a business and makes money from advertising. So, they reward people and businesses that create lengthy content that get viewers to linger longer on their platform.

3 Steps To A Successful Video

Step 1- The beginning. There are 3 parts to the beginning and should all work in unison.

1. Title - this is what gets viewers to stop scrolling. Keep it straightforward. Having numbers is powerful, so consider things like: 5 Tips, 3 Reasons, etc.
2. Thumbnail - this is what gets viewers to click on your video. The biggest mistake Sean sees is thumbnails with too much text.
3. Hook - this is what gets viewers to stay and watch. The first couple minutes of your video should make them want to keep watching. Another great tactic is to include a teaser for a "bonus tip" at the end, to ensure longevity.

Remember: online interaction is linear and progressive.

Step 2 - the middle. Videos should be as long as they need to be, but as short as possible.

Data has shown that the ideal video length is between 7-16 minutes. A video within this length performs 50% better than videos shorter or longer. But remember, minutes matter, so you want to get viewers to watch to the end. (That's where those "bonus" teasers become helpful.)

If your agency wants to use "i" cards, you will not be penalized if you link away. On the other hand, YouTube will note the end of the viewing session. So be sure this use is intentional and strategic. Don't link away in every video.

If viewers watch your videos to the end and increase the amount of minutes in your channel's metrics, YouTube will help grow your channel by suggesting it more often.

YouTube analyzes the ultimate impact of what your agency's channel is putting out, but also understands that some viewing is programmatic (like with a TV network). It will not penalize if one "show" performs better than another.

YouTube also rewards for an additional metric. This one is hard to achieve, but...

When you get over 50% of your audience watching to the end of your videos (the "end" is considered to be anything >80%), YouTube will provide an algorithmic advantage to your channel.

Step 3 - the end. Every video should include a call-to-action that keeps the viewer engaged. 

There are 2 ways you can approach your CTA.

1. Create a call-to-action, such as a lead magnet, that takes the viewer off platform but grows your agency email list.
2. Utilize YouTube's free end cards to create clickable buttons that link to other relevant videos. Hint:  Create 2 clickable buttons... the first birst button links the viewer to a relevant video of your choice and the second button uses a back-end feature that lets YouTube decide what video the viewer should watch next based on viewing habits and relevancy.

To learn more strategies, check out Sean's Tube Influence masterclass replay.

Related:  https://jasonswenk.com/video-marketing/

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency 3X Faster?

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency 3X Faster? Are you overwhelmed by all the information out there on various ways to grow your agency? Do you want direction on how you can grow your agency faster and easier?

Then you’re in luck! I've created an innovative agency owner mastermind called Agency University.

Agency University is a program which provides 1-on-1 mentorship, coupled with the ongoing group support that is crucial to the success of your agency. Click here to see if it’s the right fit for you!

Are you ready for GDPR? Wondering how it will affect your agency and/or your clients? Even if you’re not in Europe, you are required to be in compliance with these new data privacy regulations. In this episode, learn what you need to do to protect your agency and stay in compliance with GDPR.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• What is GDPR?
• What does GDPR mean for agencies?
• 3 Steps to GDPR compliance.
• What happens if your agency is non-compliant?

I’m super excited to talk to today’s guest, Suzanne Dibble the small business law expert based in The UK. She’s got 20+ years experience and has worked some big time entrepreneurs, like Richard Branson. She has been living, breathing, and consuming everything related to GDPR and how it affect small businesses for the past 3 months. Suzanne is on the show today to explain the ins and outs of GDPR so you can keep your agency in compliance and continue to generate leads despite stricter guidelines.

What is GDPR?

The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is a set of rules imposed by the European Union (EU) who seek to create a harmonized data protection law framework across the EU and aims to give back to data subjects, control of their personal data. GDPR imposes strict rules on businesses hosting and processing this type of data, anywhere in the world.

Suzanne says GDPR comes from a place of good intention, and isn’t just a new set of regulations to make our lives miserable. The good news is that there’s just a few steps to take that will keep you compliant by May 25, 2018. And the really good news is that there’s no enforcement agency waiting to haul you off to prison for non-compliance. :)

What Does GDPR Mean for Agencies?

Basically, this will affect your lead magnets and automated marketing campaign sequences. It’s all about transparency. Under these regulations, when people opt-in for something (like a lead magnet) that’s the only thing you can send them. If you want to continue to use their email address for marketing purposes, this will require additional consent.

3 Steps to GDPR Compliance

Compliance does not have to be an overwhelming process. Suzanne top lined the three steps we can take to make sure we stay compliant:

1. Decide whether GDPR is relevant to your agency.

It affects businesses who either (A.) process data of people in the EU with the intent to offer goods or services, and (B.) businesses monitoring the behaviors of those in the EU. If you’ve answered yes to either of these criteria, then you need to send a re-consent email to your lists to those recipients in the EU.

2. Determine if you have lawful grounds of processing data.

There are 6 criteria that fall under the definition of being lawful under GDPR, though most small businesses will fall under one of the first four.

1. Consent. The real issue is obtaining re-consent after May 25. With that, you have lawful grounds.
2. Contractual agreement. If you’re already under contract with a client, you’re all set and new consent is not required.
3. Compliance with the law. Record keeping or maintaining data on clients, employees, and contractors is consensual and therefore no new consent is required.
4. Legitimate interest. Many of us will fall into this category, where you’re marketing to someone with legitimate interest in your service you can lawfully process their data with consent to do so.
5. Vital interest.
6. Public interest.

3. Write a new privacy policy and a cookies notice.

Under GDPR you must be completely transparent about what you data you’re holding and why. Additionally, you must rationalize what you’re doing with any data, where it comes from, where you’re transferring it to, etc. GDPR has 13 points that must be addressed in your privacy policy so be sure you’re fully covered.

Cookies are considered an extension of personal data. Therefore, businesses are also required to be transparent with their use and handling of cookie data with a cookies policy.

What Happens If You’re Non-Compliant?

As Suzanne explained, there’s no governing agency that’s enforcing these regulations or hunting down offenders. Basically, it just all comes down to a risk analysis.

The real risks are to your brand reputation. Breaking compliance may upset people who are knowledgable on the subject. They may choose to take direct action and make a legal claim. And even if they don’t take action, you risk losing their trust and respect.

There are over 250 pages to the Articles and Recitals of GDPR. If you are unsure whether this relates to you, or you’d like to dig in deeper you can learn more in Suzanne’s exclusive GDPR for Online Entrepreneurs Facebook group. She also has a ton of information on her website here: SuzanneDibble.com/GDPR

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency 3X Faster?

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency 3X Faster? Are you overwhelmed by all the information out there on various ways to grow your agency? Do you want direction on how you can grow your agency faster and easier?

Then you’re in luck! I've created an innovative agency owner mastermind called Agency University.

Agency University is a program which provides 1-on-1 mentorship, coupled with the ongoing group support that is crucial to the success of your agency. Click here to see if it’s the right fit for you!

When you think of Artificial Intelligence, do you think of sci-fi movies? Do you wonder or worry if AI can take over some of the data driven work your agency does for it's client? Don't let Artificial Intelligence scare you! AI can be your competitive advantage when you learn how it really works and what it can do for your agency growth.

In this episode, we'll cover:

• What exactly is Artificial Intelligence (AI)?
• The two types of AI.
• How your agency can embrace AI and use it to grow.

Today I got to talk with Paul Roetzer, author, CEO and founder of the inbound marketing agency, PR20/20. He is also founder of the Marketing Artificial Intelligence Institute. Paul got his start in PR, but started questioning the agency model, specifically billable hours. His goal was to figure out ways to achieve economics of scale and profitability, so he set up shop with PR20/20 and created standardized services with set prices. Paul's interest in AI first piqued when he watched the Jeopardy episode featuring IBM's Watson supercomputer which beat out the humans. He has been researching and writing about AI, ever since.

What Exactly is Artificial Intelligence?

It's easy to go to images of science fiction movies and Will Smith, when thinking of Artificial Intelligence (AI), but that's not accurate. AI is the science of teaching machines to be smart.

It's more like when Netflix suggests another show or movie for you to watch after learning what other shows/movies you like. The machine's abilities revolve around very narrow tasks that are data driven, such as what time to send an e-mail, what content to write about, A/B testing of landing pages and predicting conversions, to name a few. They excel at things that are hard or time consuming for humans to do.

When used within data driven areas, AI helps your agency make better decisions.

[clickToTweet tweet="'80% of what we do as an agency will be intelligently automated within five years.' Says @paulroetzer, found of Marketing Artificial Intelligence Institute" quote="80% of what we do as an agency will be intelligently automated within five years. ~ Paul Roetzer, found of Marketing Artificial Intelligence Institute"]

The Two Types Of AI

1. Machine Learning - This is the AI that we are talking about. This is where your agency uses machines to solve data driven problems with superhuman skill.
2. Deep Learning - This is the AI that falls in the sci-fi realm. This involves getting machines to think like a human brain works, by processing through neurons. Facebook has a hand in this type of AI with the facial recognition feature they're developing.

How Your Agency Can Embrace AI

Don't let it overwhelm you, AI is happening.

It's time that your agency starts learning and understanding he capabilities of AI. Then look for ways you can apply it to your business and use it to grow.

For example, Paul says you can utilize AI when automating e-mails. If your agency wants to send emails at a certain time, does it take into account different time zones or the receiver's opening habits? AI can make adjustments to automated sending habits, based on predicative information. As the data comes in from the email blasts, the AI tool gets smarter on it's own and will make the necessary adjustments, based on it's learning. If your receiver usually opens emails at local time of 9AM, there's no sense in sending the email at 3AM, right?

Another great application to use AI for your agency growth is with chatbots. You can let chatbot AI engage with your prospects until a human can take over.

AI is currently all around us, it is present in much of the technology we use every day.

So be aware. Don't define your agency on one little thing. Now that you can see this coming, it's time to pivot, use AI to support and build upon the systems your agency already has so you can grow easier and faster.

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency 3X Faster?

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency 3X Faster? Are you overwhelmed by all the information out there on various ways to grow your agency? Do you want direction on how you can grow your agency faster and easier?

Then you’re in luck! I've created an innovative agency owner mastermind called Agency University.

Agency University is a program which provides 1-on-1 mentorship, coupled with the ongoing group support that is crucial to the success of your agency. Click here to see if it’s the right fit for you!

Are you looking to become the authority in your agency’s niche? Writing a book can have a tremendous affect on your business by helping you build authority. You can also use your book to start conversations with potential clients and generate new agency business. Check out this simple strategy that is getting one digital agency owner some amazing results.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• Who has time to write a book?
• 3 easy steps to writing a book.
• 4 tips for using your book to generate new business.

I had the opportunity to chat with Marty McDonald, co-founder and CEO of the full-service social media marketing agency, Bad Rhino. Marty has also authored the book, Great Beer Is NOT Enough. With over 12 years industry experience Marty found his agency's niche at a speaking engagement, where he realized the craft beer industry was underserved in the marketing arena. After building relationships (and a craft beer brand himself which he used as a testing ground), Marty found that he had acquired a ton of information. He decided to use this information to build authority within the niche by simply writing a book. On today's show he shares how he tackled this seemingly daunting task and how he uses it for lead generation, and relationship building. (P.S. It's not as daunting as you might think!)

Who Has Time To Write A Book?

The quick answer is, you do. (Yes, you!)

Does your agency already produce e-books, and you think that’s good enough? It’s not.

Using an e-book as a lead magnet is crap. No one digests them and they are easily overlooked or avoided. BUT an actual book, that a potential client can hold in their hands, that is something. It brings with it a sense of credibility and authority that no e-book can give you or your agency.

3 Easy Steps to Writing A Book

The process can be broken down in a few easy steps:

1. The longest part of the process comes in the front end, answering lots of questions in order to acquire enough content. Marty did his on audio, that he broke up into two hour chunks.
2. If writing isn’t your thing, then get yourself a ghostwriter. Determine what size of book you are looking to create and hand over the audio with an outline to your writer.
3. Edit the ghostwriter's copy making sure it matches your style and voice after each chapter, until your book is complete.

4 Tips for Using Your Book To Generate New Business

1. Know your niche. When you find potential clients, send them a copy of your book. Do your mailings in short, little bursts.
2. Do your research. Learn about the company your agency is going after and let them know you did your homework. Marty will place his business card in the chapter where he wants the potential client to start reading. The chapter he selects is based on the information he gathers beforehand.
3. Build relationships. Use your book to start a conversation and be sure to add a personal touch. Marty includes a Bad Rhino branded thank you card in the book, with a hand written note. He also very rarely sends a book out if he isn’t familiar with the targeted prospect.
4. Be reachable. Consider including your cell phone number on your business cards, if you don’t already, so book recipients can shoot you a text, if they are more comfortable. (Because even a text message can open up a conversation - and that's all you need :) )

These three easy tips has netted Marty with an approx. 70% response rate!

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency 3X Faster?

Are you overwhelmed by all the information out there on various ways to grow your agency? Do you want direction on how you can grow your agency faster and easier?

Then you’re in luck! I created an innovative mentorship called Agency University.

Agency University is a program which provides the 1-on-1 mentorship and ongoing support that is crucial to the success of your agency. Click here to see if it’s the right fit for you.

Wondering how you can use Instagram to generate awareness and build your agency's brand? Look, not all social media platforms are the same, so don't treat them all the same. Are you struggling to build a following and find Instagram success for your agency brand? Then it's probably because you're committing some of the biggest Instagram mistakes. In this episode, learn some tips and tricks on how to utilize Instagram to build a culture and drive new business for your agency.

In this episode, we'll cover:

• The #1 mistake agencies make with social media.
• 2 Strategies for Finding Success on Instagram.
• Rules for using direct message on Instagram.
• What to post and share for Instagram success.

Today I chatted with Sue B. Zimmerman, entrepreneur and Instagram expert who consults others on upping their Instagram game. With 18 businesses under her belt and having taught social media, Sue has unlocked and embraced the power of Instagram for your marketing agency.  Today she shares with us how your agency can have success in order to start building a culture that cultivates relationships, with both prospective clients and potential employees.

The #1 Mistake Agencies Make With Social Media

Every platform is NOT the same and should not be treated as such. Your agency should be choosing platforms that serve your audience and which you enjoy engaging in.

Social media, as a tool, should not be a "post and dash," scenario. For success with social platforms, your agency must hang out, show up and engage.

Automating posts might seem efficient, but it can be your biggest downfall. Interactions need to be personal in order to start building relationships.

2 Strategies for Finding Success On Instagram

The magic of Instagram are the micro-communities that exist within. When you invest the time to seek out these micro-communities you'll find more and better opportunities to engage.

1- Search Hashtags

Use the explore tab (magnifying glass icon) and type in a word or phrase of relevance for your prospective clients.

Tap on 'People' to see who is using that word and view the profiles of people your agency or client would want to do business with. Check out their posting habits and what hashtags are they using. Find out what they want, not what your agency thinks they want!

2- Follow Hashtags

When you find hashtags that resonate, you should be following them so they show up in your agency newsfeed. Tap on the hashtag and then hit 'Follow.' Event or conference hashtags are important because it opens a door to connecting ahead of time. You can then use Instagram's direct message to make personal connections prior to an event.

Rules for Using Direct Message On Instagram

Direct message used to have a bad reputation with people thinking it was spammy, but not anymore. Instagram direct message is an intimate way to connect to people. But, it shouldn't be the first place you go.

First, engage. Tap 'Photos' and then like photos and comment on photos. Be sure that your agency is interacting with relevant content you enjoy. Start the conversation in the feed. Then, if you've earned trust and can provide something of value, then engage via direct message. Direct message is where you can get personal by sharing links or sending a video. Add a personal message and, most important, no automated messages!

There are two ways your agency can share a video via direct message:

1. On the Left - Record a video message using the camera icon, from 8 seconds up to 1 minute. This video can be viewed once or twice and then it goes away
2. On the Right- Upload a video using the picture icon, from a camera roll. The person receiving the video can then download the video to their camera roll.

What To Post and Share For Instagram Success

If your agency has built a solid reputation on another platform and is an authority or thought leader, then you have more freedom on what you can share. There still needs to be consistency and the content should align with your core values. The benefit is your agency can reference the account, and what to expect from the content, from the other platforms, where you have credibility.

If your agency wants to have Instagram success and doesn't have another platform where you're crushing it, then you will need to start with a more polished look and feel. Build the account around content that showcases your agency and it's point of differentiation. Think of buckets and put what people say about your agency into separate buckets, like:  customer service, your processes, and even your culture or humor. Then show all of this on Instagram so followers can get a taste of who you are and what you do.

Remember, the photos don't have to be a literal match to the description. Get creative. The images you share need to capture attention and be relevant to the description. And don't forget about the description, if relevant, it can be treated as a micro-blog.

Use the hashtag search function for agencies, and check out what other businesses are doing, get inspiration. Figure out what is and isn't working or what your agency likes or doesn't like. The search function is a great place to do market research. Remember, there is SEO on Instagram, in your bio, so be sure you are using "agency" in your name. Your agency can use its Instagram account to build a culture.

If your agency has a physical location, this is an advantage. Be sure you're using geotags in your stories and Instagram posts. Use geolocations can score up to 72% more engagement... and social media success is all about engagement.

Speaking of engagement, hit me on on Instagram @jswenk

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency 3X Faster?

Are you overwhelmed by all the information out there on various ways to grow your agency? Do you want direction on how you can grow your agency faster and easier?

Then you’re in luck! I've created an innovative agency owner mastermind called Agency University.

Agency University is a program which provides 1-on-1 mentorship, coupled with the ongoing group support that is crucial to the success of your agency. Click here to see if it’s the right fit for you!

Wondering how you can use LinkedIn to generate new business? Are you sending out generic connection requests that lead with a pitch? Disappointed that you're not getting the results you expected? LinkedIn can be an amazing platform for capturing the attention of your ideal clients if you do it right. Here's what your agency is probably doing wrong and the three simple steps to turn-it around right away.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• 3 step strategy to LinkedIn success.
• One simple lead generation hack for gaining new prospects.

Today I chatted with Dennis Brown founder of Ask Dennis Brown, a LinkedIn marketing and social selling agency. As a serial entrepreneur, Dennis was admittedly a social media naysayer. While starting his third company he decided to try out LinkedIn and with some persistence, he landed a 6-figure client and became a believer. Today he shares his simple and successful strategy for LinkedIn that you can implement for marketing agency immediately.

3 Step Strategy To LinkedIn Success

The most important thing with any social media strategy is to have a system and be consistent with it. Dennis’s strategy is simple: The 3 C’s: Create, Connect and Convert.

1- CREATE

First create a profile or customer avatar for the perfect prospect. Then, create a compelling LinkedIn profile. Don’t treat this like a resume, instead this should be built like a personal or agency branding page. Follow these 5 steps for creating your agency's LinkedIn profile.

2- CONNECT

Use your agency’s customer avatar to find new clients and then use the advanced search options in LinkedIn. Research, research, research. Compile sales intelligence, such as personal information, what are their ping points, where do they get their information? Use this sales intelligence to create a customized connection request and make it personal. The key here, is in customizing this connection request, which can double or triple the response rate vs. a blind, automated connection request.

3- CONVERT

Do not think of this as converting to a sale but instead convert them into a fan. Get the prospective clients to engage with you, either through content your agency is publishing or through LinkedIn messenger. Put together hyper-focused content and remember, this is not a sales pitch. Your agency wants to create content relative to the prospect, or directly related to that market, so use language the client speaks, and provide information they care about. Think of it in the lines of a drip sequence, without the automation. Lastly, provide value and offer to connect your prospect with someone of value to them and their business. Leverage your agency’s network, while ultimately giving value to both parties.

Remember: It's not about you, it’s about them.

One Simple Lead Gen Hack For Gaining New Prospects

Do you find when you ask for referrals they don't usually pan out? This can be for one of two reason. Either the client is uncomfortable because you put them on the spot. Or, they are not ready to start referring your agency because you haven't proved yourself yet. That's OK because referrals are not scalable! But, if you have a premium LinkedIn account try this simple lead generation hack.

With a premium account:

Take a look at your clients LinkedIn connections and see who they know, that you wish you knew :) Search for decision makers of other brands, based on what your agency is looking for and who you hope to work with.

Next, create a list of prospects you're interested in and share the list with your client. Then, ask for an intro/referral. By doing the work for them and bringing them specifics it increases your  chances of your client passing along the referral or helping make the connection.

Mine for the connections --> Create relevance --> Ask for the introduction

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency 3X Faster?

Are you overwhelmed by all the information out there on various ways to grow your agency? Do you want direction on how you can grow your agency faster and easier?

Then you’re in luck! I created an innovative mentorship called Agency University.

Agency University is a program which provides the 1-on-1 mentorship and ongoing support that is crucial to the success of your agency. Click here to see if it’s the right fit for you.

Are you avoiding third party apps for social media posting? Do you want a better, faster, and easier way to schedule your social media marketing? Do you feel automated social post scheduling negatively affects your reach? Then it’s time to hear some surprising and encouraging results from the guy who knows all the ins and outs. Don’t stop scheduling, reposting, and automating until you hear all about it.

In today’s episode, we’ll cover:

• Should your agency repost your content marketing?
• 3 tests on the big 3: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
• Does automating your posts hurt your agency’s reach?

Today I chatted with Emeric Ernoult, Co-founder and CEO of Agorapulse, an international social media management software company, serving over 3500 clients around the world. With over 17 years experience working within communities and social media, as well as SAAS, Emeric brings interesting data and insight into how we should be managing our agency’s and/or clients social media accounts.

Should Your Agency Repost Your Content Marketing?

That is the question, and you’re going to hear arguments on both sides of the discussion. Some say reposting content makes sense and keeps a more recent engagement. Some say it is totally worthless and not the point of social media. So what’s the right answer? There isn’t one.

But, that doesn’t mean there aren’t tests that can be done and data to be had, so that’s what Emeric and his team at Agorapulse did, they tested.

3 Tests On The Big 3 Social Media Platforms

Facebook

Test: Repeat a specific piece of content, 7 times across a 6-7 week period.

Findings: The level of engagement on the posts in weeks 6 and 7, were the same as the posts in weeks 1, 2 and 3.

Twitter

Test: Analyze 3 months worth of data on a Twitter user, who has an extensive schedule of tweeting every 15 minutes and repeating those tweets, every 4 days.

Findings: The average number of impressions, the average number for engagement and the average amount of link links were very steady, so much so, that if you look at the data over the span of a year, there was no decrease and the variations being minimal.

LinkedIn

Test: Take an insightful post, written by Emeric, and repeat the content at the exact same time every 5 days.

Findings: The amount of engagement was small at first, but over the course of weeks, the numbers for engagement would spike. The post could go from 139 clicks on day 2, to 1995 clicks on day 5. This just reinforced that you never know when someone will bump into your agency’s post on LinkedIn.

Do Third Party Posting Applications Hurt Your Agency’s Reach?

After getting feedback from a group of social media managers, and having 80% of them confirm their fears of utilizing third party vendors for posting, it was time to run another test:

Emeric decided to run a test through the Social Media Lab by Agorapulse, with the end result being that a third party management application does NOT affect reach. You can read about his findings here and here.

Knowing that kind of information definitely helps put a mind at ease and allows you to start exploring a third party application, like Agorapulse, to help simplify your social media posting needs and so much more.

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency 3X Faster?

Are you overwhelmed by all the information out there on various ways to grow your agency? Do you want direction on how you can grow your agency faster and easier?

Then you’re in luck! I created an innovative mentorship called Agency University.

Agency University is a program which provides the 1-on-1 mentorship and ongoing support that is crucial to the success of your agency. Click here to see if it’s the right fit for you.

Wondering how you can use Instagram to drum up new business? Want to break through social media clutter and build your agency’s brand and authority? Then it’s not too late to get on the Instagram train. This is one simple, easy inbound marketing strategy you can start implementing right now to build your community and fill your new business pipeline.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• One easy approach to niching down.
• Can Instagram work for marketing agencies?
• A simple Instagram content formula.

Today I chatted with Steve Larosiliere, founder and president of the non-profit, Stoked, as well as founder and owner of SawmillBusiness.com, a super-niched marketing agency. With an extremely focused industry specialization, Steve has been able to become the authority in the portable sawmill, wood and lumber industry. He has an easy tactic to find the niche for his agency and a simple Instagram strategy to build a community that comes to him for their marketing needs. Steve shares tips with us on building authority, community and brand through Instagram.

One Easy Approach to Niching Down

We’ve discussed niches before and we’ll probably discuss this again. Does your agency have a niche? Do you know why you need one? Is your agency holding out, because you just don’t know where to start?

Steve has an easy approach:

• Think about an industry that is important to you or your family/friends - something you can relate to.
  • Pick a niche that people are fanatically obsessed with.
  • Encourage great user-generated content.
• Start calling people, lots of people, in that industry, CEO’s, marketing directors, etc
• Gather information about the #1 problem they are facing.
• Build your agency’s business around solving that problem.
• Stay super focused on the industry - learn their special nuances, terms of the trade, etc.

Think of your agency as the media outlet for this specific field. Make it your agency’s business to promote, celebrate and highlight that industry.

Can Instagram Work for Marketing Agencies?

YES! Building a brand takes a lot of work. Be patient.

Your agency can build a lot of authority on Instagram. Combine different mediums and cross-promote, such as use posts Instagram to support your podcast. Use that to filter down into the niche and supplement with back channel conversations, either through direct message in order to find out how you can help people. Use DM to build relationships and trust.

Share the best work, the most beautiful things. Repost and use the hashtags your audience is using so they can find you. This will help build a community and a brand.

3 Simple Steps to Growing Instagram Followers

1. To encourage growth, connect with influencers in the niche. Go to a certain set of hashtags and start engaging with the top followed.
2. Put out goodwill content first and foremost. Engage, converse, share/repost.
3. Occasionally drive traffic to a landing page. Grow your lists with a lead magnet to capture the leads you’re generating. Put out an offer that solves a problem. A low-ticket foot in the door offer works best.

Remember, with Instagram you’re creating a story to share. Create memories. Highlight the things that mean something.

Be where your agency’s clients are. Put out good stuff. Be innovative. Don’t compare your agency to what others are doing. Instead build upon what you think is right and create your own path to success.

Check out Steve’s on Instagram at @stevelaros

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency 3X Faster?

Are you overwhelmed by all the information out there on various ways to grow your agency? Do you want direction on how you can grow your agency faster and easier?

Then you’re in luck! I created an innovative mentorship called Agency University.

Agency University is a program which provides the 1-on-1 mentorship and ongoing support that is crucial to the success of your agency. Click here to see if it’s the right fit for you.

Ready for your agency sales to takeoff? Want to drive traffic, generate leads, and create new opportunities that will grow and scale your agency? Digital marketing agency guru Neil Patel shares his #1 outbound strategy for scoring the clients you want to work with.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• 3 Steps to growing new agency business.
• One big growth challenge and advice to overcome it.

Neil Patel is a serial entrepreneur focused on helping businesses grow through digital marketing. He is well-known in the digital marketing space as an author, speaker, and agency co-founder at Neil Patel. I’m honored to have him as a guest on the show so he can share his experience as a startup agency owner. Today Neil shares some really valuable tips on getting scrappy so you can scale your agency.

Beginning as a self-taught marketer at the age of 16, Neil has become one of the best digital marketing. Like many of us, he’s an accidental agency owner who knew how to do something cool that people are willing to pay for, and turned it into a business. In Neil’s case, he “something cool” is SEO.

3 Steps to Grow New Agency Business

#1- Make your hit list.

Make a list of your ideal clients and be specific with who you want to work with. Who can you help that is within your niche and area of expertise? Then use a source like Crunchbase to find out the CEO, investors and decision-makers.

#2 - Do targeted research.

Use industry resources to know what they’re spending on the services you provide. Neil suggested tools such as: Google keyword planner, SEMrush, and his own UberSuggest to research spend amounts.

#3 - Reach out.

Once you’ve done the research on your prospect, then make contact. Neil says it’s important not to sell services, but instead sell a solution. To do this, explain what they’re doing wrong, what could be done better and how you would fix it. I know it’s hard, but go old school and PICK. UP. THE. PHONE. Cold calling as an outbound strategy can be a total game changer.

Advice for Digital Agency Owners

“It’s not easy to grow an agency. If you’re willing to do the grind, great. If not, you’re not going to do well.” ~ Neil Patel

It’s all about the hard work and the hustle. I always tell agency owners that if you’re building an agency just to create a job for yourself, you’ll struggle the entire time. You’ve got to be passionate about the agency space, the niche you’re in and the clients you’re helping. That’s the only way you’ll succeed and thrive.

Neil says his biggest challenge in the beginning was knowing how to scale with a team. He felt the entire hiring and training process was completely trial and error. In hindsight he would advise his old self to hire people who know how to fill their role instead of training up.

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency 3X Faster?

Are you overwhelmed by all the information out there on various ways to grow your agency? Do you want direction on how you can grow your agency faster and easier?

Then you’re in luck! I created an innovative mentorship called Agency University.

Agency University is a program which provides the 1-on-1 mentorship and ongoing support that is crucial to the success of your agency. Click here to see if it’s the right fit for you.

Are you worried about your digital agency's competition? Don't be! Instead focus that energy on building your agency brand and improving your authority. Learn how to become a major influencer, so you can eliminate the competition and develop collaborative relationships with them instead.

In today’s episode, we’ll cover:

• Which type of agency owner are you?
• 4 benefits of building your agency’s authority.
• 3 things you should be doing to increase your agency’s authority.
• Why you need to stop competing and start collaborating.

Today I talked with Josh Elledge, consumer expert, speaker and Founder/CEO of his PR program Up My Influence. He understood the importance of the media and harnessed that to $6 million in revenue for his other startup venture, Savings Angel, while spending less than $500 in advertising. He talked with me about some tips and insight to upping your influencer game so your agency can build its brand and authority in the your niche.

Which Type of Agency Owner Are You?

• Artists... These are the agency owners who love to solve problems and create solutions.
• Leader/Manager... These are the agency owners who love the operations of business. They have an ability to lead people.
• True Entrepreneur... These are the agency owners who love venture capital and money. They love the ups and downs of owning a business.

To find out what type of agency owner you are, Josh recommends this simple litmus test inspired by Tony Robbins:

Ask yourself, if you had all the money you needed and you had to pick something to do with your agency/business, what would your gravitate toward?

Nearly 80-85% of people will gravitate toward Artist, but it is good to have that Leader/Manager and Entrepreneurial characteristic within your agency.

4 Benefits of Increasing Your Agency’s Authority

1. Improves your agency’s conversion rate.
2. Decreases the amount of time your clients are in the sales pipeline.
3. Attracts more people/clients to the top of the sales funnel.
4. Builds trust quicker with clients.

3 Things You Should Be Doing To Increase Your Agency’s Authority

1. Be helpful on the internet to up your searchability. Blog, do podcasts, have a social media presence, and get involved. Clients will search your agency to gauge its relevance and status in the industry.
2. Get active on Twitter and LinkedIn. It is most important to build up your agency’s position in the industry. Do it organically (don’t buy followers). Having a limited social media footprint can affect your agency’s image in the the eyes of prospective clients. Vanity metrics are important, so you need followers as social proof.
3. Build an impressive website. Make it look amazing - even though you're really busy with client work. It needs to be impactful in the first 3 seconds and indicates your agency is professional.

According to Josh, the most valuable currency for agency owners is authority. If you aren’t sure where your agency stands, Google yourself and gauge it.

Stop Competing and Start Collaborating

In the competition game, you’ll never win. Your agency can’t be all things to all clients and getting OK with that is healthy.

Focus on you. When you’re busy focusing on the competition, you’re not focused on your agency’s strength and growth. Concentrate on making your business, team and clients shine without giving a second thought to the competition.

You don’t need to add additional agency services to grow. Ask yourself: What’s the purpose of your services? Who is your agency trying to help? 

Then, once you know what your agency is all about and have become the authority in that niche you are in a great position to collaborate with agencies also in that space.

Partner with other agencies who are strong in areas your agency doesn’t cover, to make your services appear more valuable. Find collaborators who offer complimentary services and become strategic partners.

When you learn to collaborate, you stop the competition. As you work with agencies, ask if you can refer them. When you build up those contacts, you become very resourceful and clients love that!

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency 3X Faster?

Are you overwhelmed by all the information out there on various ways to grow your agency? Do you want direction on how you can grow your agency faster and easier?

Then you’re in luck! I created an innovative mentorship called Agency University.

Agency University is a program which provides the 1-on-1 mentorship and ongoing support that is crucial to the success of your agency. Click here to see if it’s the right fit for you.

Related:  Using Influencer Marketing to Win New Agency Clients

Is your employee training process non-existent or too cumbersome? Do you want your team, contractors and clients to understand the fundamentals of what makes your agency unique? Then don’t overlook the power of a solid training process! With these three easy steps you can start onboarding your digital agency’s new hires and provide them with a consistent set of experiences and expectations on how you want to work with them.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• Helping your new hires with systemized onboarding.
• 3 easy steps to build your agency’s training process.
• Measuring the success of your agency’s training process.

Today I chatted with Tom Kulzer, CEO and founder of AWeber, the successful email marketing platform agency he started over 20 years ago. Tom has built his business to over 100 employees and has helped over 100,000 clients.He is a well-respect expert in building a strong business with core values that are ingrained in every employee. Today he shares three quick tips for building your agency’s employee training process so you can grow.

Helping Your New Hires By Onboarding

Making that first hire, or tenth hire, or beyond, can be scary but it’s totally doable!

Implementing a solid onboarding process is important to get your new hire(s) acclimated from day 1. This is a way to get everyone on the same page with the value your agency delivers to people.

And, since AWeber is an email platform guess what they use for onboarding new hires? That right - a sequence of welcome emails with bite-sized nuggets of information, placed in the right order and sent at the right time.

Tom also has all of his new hires participate in a two-week training program. The focus is mainly on customer service but it also allows new employees to understand the fundamentals of what makes AWeber unique. It’s similar to the training methods of Zappos.com who’s known and globally recognized for their company culture and core values.

3 Easy Steps to Build Your Agency’s Training Process

1. Identify your agency's biggest problem.

You need to figure out where your agency has hang-ups or issues most regularly. Think of a checklist, like airplane pilots have their preflight check. What would need to be on your agency checklist, so everything runs smoothly?

2. Come up with the training around the identified problem.

When you figure out your agency’s biggest trip-ups, start documenting a process on how to avoid tripping over them again. It can be as simple as a Word document, or whatever internal tool your agency uses. Your agency just needs to start somewhere. You can’t change anything if you don’t start somewhere. Then as you gain time and experience, layer on more expertise.

3. Create “bite size” content that is given slowly, over a period of time.

A new employee isn’t going to read a one hundred page manual, and even if they do, how much will they really retain? You want to break down processes into easily digestible nuggets of information. Then feed them this information over a period of time, be it 2 weeks or 6 months, just NOT all at once. This “small and slow” method is more likely to be read, retained, and allow your agency employees to grow from it.

Also, you can use this type of onboarding for your agency’s clients as well.

Is Your Training Process Successful?

Your agency will need to look at each job function separately. Different roles will have a different measurement for success.

Use internal metrics to develop a quality score. Then have your agency team leaders review calls, emails, conversions, quality assurance, etc. and actually assign a grade. As you track this information and see how the grades change over time. Wherever you see improvement needed, then you know where there may be holes in your training and you can adjust accordingly.

Assessment areas could include:

• Customer Service - Consider product knowledge and customer interactions
• Engineers - Escape defects found through quality assurance.
• Marketing - Conversions, success of split-test launches, etc.

Remember, measuring the success of your agency’s training process is not a one-size fits all approach.

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency 3X Faster?

Are you overwhelmed by all the information out there on various ways to grow your agency? Do you want direction on how you can grow your agency faster and easier?

Then you’re in luck! I created an innovative mentorship called Agency University.

Agency University is a program which provides the 1-on-1 mentorship and ongoing support that is crucial to the success of your agency. Click here to see if it’s the right fit for you.

Do you lack the knowledge on how to grow and scale your digital agency? Overwhelmed by not knowing what role to hire first? Afraid to niche down, and afraid what might happen if you don't? You're not alone! Learn how to tackle these very important tasks in order to grow and scale your digital agency.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• Overcoming common challenges of starting an agency.
• Hiring based on your agency’s needs.
• Why and how to choose your agency’s niche.
• Benefits of an agency mastermind.

On today’s show, I talked with Jeremiah Smith, President and CEO of Simple Tiger, a digital agency which focuses on SEO for SAAS clients. With over 12 years of SEO experience, Jeremiah has watched Simple Tiger go through many changes and has had to face the difficult decisions we all face with our agencies. He shares some of his big challenges and decisions with us and some guidance on how he knew, it was time to act. He is, admittedly, still working on some aspects, so don’t beat yourself up if your agency has some tough calls to make. Let’s just get your agency to a place, where you start making the right calls.

Overcoming Common Challenges Starting Your Own Agency

Jeremiah shared his two main challenges starting Simple Tiger and what you can do to overcome or avoid them...

1- Starting out as self-taught SEO consultant and then moving on to build an agency was difficult. It’s tough going from a “lone wolf” freelancer to building a team. It was a transition that took time and has grown the agency because of smart hiring choices.

2- It can be hard to separating your personal life from your business. When you work for yourself you can spend your money on what you want. When you start a business, this isn’t the case. It’s important to be careful and keep business income and expenses separate, particularly in regards to taxes. (You can even check out this podcast with Jason Blumer CPAs.)

Hiring Based On Your Agency’s Needs

Understanding what your agency’s needs are, will then point you in the direction of who your agency needs to hire and when.

In most cases, you will hear consultants recommend hiring a sales team first. (Although I tell my clients to hire a Project Manager first!)

However, Jeremiah’s main role is sales, and the sales role is his baby. He says SEO sales can get scammy and shady, so selling it in a truthful manner is the most important thing. He wants his agency to be seen with integrity and that starts with sales.

That’s why Jeremiah’s first hire was someone who could produce the work he was selling. Hiring the right people can be the difference between feeling like you’re a prisoner to your agency, or enjoying running your agency.

Why and How to Choose Your Agency’s Niche

There are many benefits of niching down. Jeremiah says he finally did it because:

1. Your agency’s marketing gets easier.
2. You will attract more of other types of businesses.

The beauty is you can still say ‘yes’ and service clients outside your niche if you choose. But, your marketing is targeted at just one specific audience. Instead of casting a wide net, you’re getting really specific.

Picking a horizontal niche should be based on your background and pretty easy. With Jeremiah, SEO was a no-brainer. Selecting a vertical niche can prove more difficult and can even be terrifying.

What got Jeremiah thinking was a client who couldn’t identify their target market and instead said “we service everyone.” It made him start looking inwardly at his own agency.

When you specialize in a particular niche, you become an authority in that segment of business. By becoming a member of my Agency University Jeremiah learned the value in declaring a niche.

He starting by asking himself these 3 questions:

1. Who are my agency’s most profitable clients?
2. Which clients were an easy sell, they just get you?
3. Who do I love working with?

Benefits of an Agency Mastermind

Speaking of Agency University…. :) Jeremiah felt like he knew a lot about agencies and how they operate, so he was apprehensive to join Agency University. However, by participating in our mentorship program he realized he was making things harder and more complex than they needed to be. And, he realized he had a lack of focus.

He says he learned some real game changing strategies that helped his agency grow and scale. And hey, that’s why I do this - so it’s a win-win.

What’s Agency University All About?

Are you overwhelmed by all the information out there on various ways to grow your agency? Do you want direction on how you can grow your agency faster and easier?

Then you’re in luck! I created an innovative mentorship called Agency University.

Agency University is a program which provides the 1-on-1 mentorship and ongoing support that is crucial to the success of your agency. Click here to see if it’s the right fit for you.

Want to build your agency’s authority in your niche? How about a content marketing strategy that delivers high return with little effort? Then adopting this combo blogging/podcasting strategy could be the shift to get quality clicks, organic backlinks and make your agency’s service offering more attractive to your ideal clients.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• 7 benefits of being a podcast guest.
• The blogging strategy your agency needs to implement.
• 7 easy steps to building a blog strategy calendar.
• A bonus lead gen strategy.

Today I talked with Phil Singleton, founder and CEO at Kansas City Web Design & SEO and co-author of SEO for Growth. With over a decade of experience, Phil has a passion for SEO and has learned the need to include it into a holistic marketing plan to help his clients move the needle. Phil has implemented a really interesting strategy for personal branding and authority campaigns for his clients and today he shares how your agency can do it too, in order to build authority and attract the right clients.

7 Benefits of Being a Podcast Guest

1. Get exposure and quality backlinks on someone else’s website in a niche.
2. Be perceived as an expert in the niche because they have been contracted by someone else to speak on a particular topic.
3. Get exposed to someone else’s trusted audience.
4. Podcast show notes are all about your agency.
5. Interviews build your agency’s brand (or the owner’s personal brand) and authority.
6. Receive organically earned backlinks that Google loves.
7. Do a 20-30 minute phone interview and the host does all the work.

The Blogging Strategy Your Agency Needs to Implement

If your agency doesn’t have a steady stream of content marketing, then it is time to start making some adjustments. Guest blogging is getting spammy and harder to do, with all the competition out there. It’s not bringing your agency the quality clicks you need.

That’s where Phil’s Personal Branding and Authority Campaigns Strategy comes into play.

Blogging is still a cornerstone of inbound marketing, it’s benefits are:

• Growing out your agency’s website organically.
• Targeting long tail keywords.
• Feed your social media (with proper setup).

But blogging isn’t going to work if it’s one-off guest posts that stand alone. That’s why your agency needs to build a blogging strategy around a content calendar and set it up as steps. Ultimately, this should tie in with doing podcast interviews. With all moving parts working together your agency can truly reap all the benefits listed above.

7 Easy Steps to Building a Blog Strategy Calendar

1. Create your agency blogs in a batch of 10-15.
2. Create the blog posts so they can be stitched together into an ebook.
3. Utilize the ebook as a call-to-action on your agency’s website.
4. Spin the ebook to Kindle on Amazon.
5. Having an Amazon presence gives the agency/owner the new title of "author."
6. Utilize the author page on Amazon to feed your RSS, which will get your agency’s blog posted on the author page.
7.  Use this author status to start a podcast guest campaign now that you’re viewed as an authority in your niche market.

You don’t want to use your ebook as a lead generation source. Instead, use it as a branding exercise and let it snowball from there.

Building a blog strategy calendar will help your agency avoid the dreaded “SEO fatigue.” You know it…. It’s that 3 to 6 month period where clients start to panic, because they aren’t seeing results fast enough.

Providing clients with a set strategy that can reach twelve months out, helps set the tone for allowing enough time for results to come. Your agency is also is providing the bonus of a nice, shiny author page which feeds into client egos and makes them happy.

A Bonus Lead Gen Strategy

Do you have multiple clients in a niche market? You can use those existing clients to pull in more clients, by teaming them up.

Phil says, approach your current clients about authoring a book on their specific niche market. Maybe each client would write a chapter to cover their specialty and they could invite others in the industry (your potential clients) to participate with their specialty and write additional chapters.

Then utilize a platform like Amazon and Createspace to publish a physical book for you and your clients to promote. Then, throw a launch party where your agency can work on relationships and building a referral channel for future projects. It’s a win for your existing clients, a win for your potential clients and a win for you!

Related:

https://jasonswenk.com/lead-generation/

https://jasonswenk.com/bs-best-practices/

Want to know the key to finding and retaining the best agency employees? Looking for ways to find and hire top talent? Your team is your agency's #1 most valuable asset. Turnover and training is difficult and expensive. So in this episode, you'll discover some simple tips to hiring, managing and keeping loyal employees who want to stay and grow with your business.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• Hiring top agency talent.
• 3 Steps to developing loyal employees.
• How to retain talent that wants to grow with your agency.

Today I talked with Scott Love, former Navy leadership trainer (thank you for your service) and current high-stakes headhunter. With over two decades experience recruiting professionals, Scott shares some simple tips you can take build and continue to retain your team. You can start implementing his tips immediately and start building a loyal team that will never want to leave.

Hiring Top Agency Talent

When going through the hiring process the main thing that you want to think of is hiring based outcomes vs. duties and responsibilities. Ask candidates questions on how they have accomplished outcomes in the past and how they will in the future. Once you find someone that exhibits outcomes you’re looking for, remember that there is an emotional context to a potential employee’s decision making process. As they decide to work with you, consider two things:

1. What does your agency have that is unique or distinct? We’re not talking about desirable culture or team collaboration - every agency has those things. But what really makes you different and desirable?
2. How does this uniqueness improve their situation on an emotional/personal level?

To help get these two questions answered go into sales mode. (But not “our agency is so great, let me tell you all about us” sales mode!)

Try these 2 sales tricks:

1. Ask the candidate about their current situation and current company. Find out their complaints, challenges or problems.
2. Ask what an ideal situation looks like to alleviate their stated concerns? You are trying to find their intrinsic motivations and speak to those… make it about them!

BONUS: Here are the 3 core competencies to look for in an eligible candidate:

1. Influence: How do they effectively influence others?
2. Resilience: How do they bounce back from adversity?
3. Achievement: What makes them keep going?

3 Steps to Developing Loyal Employees

#1. Make them feel good by being true and sincere. Nothing puts up walls faster than negative comments and/or criticism.

#2. Build up their emotional equity. Do this by making them feel like they have a stake in the agency business. (Not a financial stake, but help them feel some ownership of their projects and clients.)

#3. Utilize insights and feedback by obtaining cross-departmental ideas. Allow your employees to not only feel like, but also actually BE part of the solution.

How to Retain Amazing Employees

Meet their needs!

Ask yourself how you can help them achieve fulfillment in what it is you are doing as an agency. How can you show them their work makes a difference in your agency’s goal… the noble goal, that goal that goes beyond profit?

Find the emotional context of your agency’s goal and then show them how they contribute.

Remember: As Agency CEO, you are in the business of leadership.

Be followable.

Your employees need to trust you, so don’t let allow walls to go up.

These two simple exercises will set you on the path of building a loyal team:

1. Get clear on your core values.
2. Get clear on your personal mission.

Figure those out first, write them down, then strive to be that person every day.

Check out Scott’s book: Why They Follow

Related: Where to Find the Right Digital Agency Talent & Creating a Vision and Culture to Attract Top Agency Talent

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency 3X Faster?

Are you overwhelmed by all the information out there on various ways to grow your agency? Do you want direction on how you can grow your agency faster and easier?

Then you’re in luck! I created an innovative mentorship called Agency University.

Agency University is a program which provides the 1-on-1 mentorship and ongoing support that is crucial to the success of your agency. Click here to see if it’s the right fit for you.

Are you frustrated working with freelancers? Does your agency experience high freelancer turnover that leaves you stuck, or sometimes screwed? The struggle is real! Learn the 5 big mistakes agencies make using freelancers and what you can do to avoid frustration.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• 5 big mistakes agencies make using freelancers.
• How to avoid pitfalls of working with freelancers.

Today I talked with Nathan Hirsch, CEO and founder of FreeeUp, the agency he formed after numerous frustrating accounts with the freelance/hiring process. FreeeUp connects businesses, of all sizes, with vetted freelancers. Today he shares the five mistakes he sees agencies make when using freelancers and is here to help us avoid those pitfalls.

5 Big Mistakes Agencies Working With Freelancers

MISTAKE 1: Hiring one freelancer to do a multitude of tasks.

It can seem like a great idea to hire one talented person with a large skill set to manage a large portion of the agency work, but what happens when they leave? You are left scrambling.

INSTEAD: Diversify. This is important with your clients, finances and also with your freelancers. Split things up and diversify your delegation of tasks as much as possible. This will make replacement costs minimal when a turnover does happen.

MISTAKE 2: Sticking with one freelancer for all things.

It is easy to get comfortable with employees but freelancers do not hold loyalties. They are working for others so their availability and loyalty varies with their workload.

INSTEAD: Build up your agency’s freelancer rolodex. It is beneficial to have two to three freelancers available to your agency. That way if a large project comes down the shoot, you can request time from whomever has the bandwidth. When you rely on just one freelancer, you could be left scrambling if he/she is booked when you need them.

MISTAKE 3: Treating a freelancer like an inessential outsider.

It can be easy in the bustle of agency life to hand over projects to freelancers, get them back and move on; treating the freelancer like a commodity.

INSTEAD: You should have a goal of bringing them on full-time. Freelancers are, usually, freelancing until they can get something more stable. So when that opportunity comes along, they’re going to say yes to a permanent position. You’re goal should be let your agency be the one they say yes to.

Turnover is expensive and painful. Anything you can do to reduce it is in your agency’s best interest.

• Until you able to offer a freelancer permanent employment, keep them engaged.
• Treat your freelancers well and let them know how they’re contributing.
• Keep freelancers involved and a member of your agency community so they want to stay with your agency.

MISTAKE 4:  Being vague with timing and due dates.

A lot of times we unintentionally leave deadlines up to interpretation. Ten hours be one ten hour day, or ten one hours days. You can’t know the freelancers current workload when receiving their estimates and sometimes it's unclear which leads to disaster.

INSTEAD: Manage expectations up front. Get these two numbers from your agency’s freelancers when estimating a project for you:

1. Estimated hours. How many hours it will take to complete and at what hourly rate?
2. Due date and time. Make sure you’re clear with the client’s due date and build in your buffer. Make sure the date is clear and what time of day you should expect the work to be handed over.

MISTAKE 5:  Assuming the freelancer knows what you want.

Just because they are a freelancer in the agency industry, does not mean they know what your agency or clients expect. Remember, most freelancers are working with multiple agencies, all with different processes and procedures.

INSTEAD: Set expectations right off the bat. Days and hours of availability, preferred method of communication,etc… all those things your agency expects to see in it’s employees. Have these expectations written down and get the freelancer’s sign off.

Related: Solving Sucky Staffing Issues

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency 3X Faster?

Are you overwhelmed by all the information out there on various ways to grow your agency? Do you want direction on how you can grow your agency faster and easier?

Then you’re in luck! I created an innovative mentorship called Agency University.

Agency University is a program which provides the 1-on-1 mentorship and ongoing support that is crucial to the success of your agency. Click here to see if it’s the right fit for you.

Does the thought of committing your agency to a niche market makes you nervous? Are you worried your agency will lose clients and miss out on revenue? Stop the madness of trying to be everything to everyone and start focusing on what it is your agency does best. You will reap major benefits of having a niche market, including increased clients and revenue.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• Finding your agency’s niche market and niches within niches.
• 3 benefits of choosing a niche.
• Is your agency charging enough?

Today I spoke with Raman Sehgal, founder and managing director of the super niche agency, Ramarketing. With over a decade of experience in his agency’s niche market, Ramarketing is still servicing their very first retainer client, eight years later. Raman provides great insight into the importance of niching down and the benefits it can bring to your agency.

Is It Time To Declare A Niche Market?

Has your agency had a painful project with an unrealistic client ultimately ending in dissatisfaction? Were you able to walk away with insights on how to move forward? If  not, you need to learn from these experiences and start to understand:

• How to spec a project properly.
• How to manage client expectations.
• How to value what your agency does and communicate that to prospects.

Raman offered up a great idea of a “red flag system” that his agency uses when prospecting clients. It could be criteria such as demographic or size, it could be attitudinal or behavioral.

Whatever it is, figure out what will and not will not work with your agency and be prepared to say no. Don’t force the fit just to make a buck. Most of the time it'll bite you in the ass. Go with you gut when something doesn't feel like a good fit.

This just reinforces that you cannot be everything to everyone successfully. Your agency can’t know every sector. So find the sector you DO know and stick with it. Learn the ins and outs.

Money isn’t the best indicator for taking on clients, even if the amount is large, the costs to properly manage the account will probably be large as well.

Remember: Once you get your niche market, you can always expand. And, choosing a niche only means targeting your agency's marketing to a specific audience. You are still free to take on work outside of the niche. Therefore, it's a win-win.

When Do You Know It’s Time To Expand?

Finding clarity is key.

When your agency is focused, finding clients and hiring talent will all start to click because you will be doing these things with purpose and intention. Expanding can happen within your niche market - you will find niches within niches.

Raman uses an 80/20 model, dedicating 80% of agency resources to their niche market and 20% of resources are for fun projects outside the niche. This model allows for some flexibility and keeps things fresh with the ability to change things up once in a while.

3 Benefits of Finding Your Agency’s Niche Market

1. Free up time for opportunities that closer align to your agency’s expertise. Stop being afraid to niche down because you might push one or two clients away. Losing those clients will free up time to work on better ones.
2. Providing focus allows you to become an expert. If you totally get your clients business, they’ll trust you more and when they trust you, it makes it very easy for them to choose to work with you.
3. Finding your niche market will help keep your competition at bay. If you become the authority in one segment of the market, then your competition of "generalists" will be left in the dust.

Are You Charging Enough?

Having a niche market raises your stock in what you can charge. Being competitive with your rates is important. If you are too cheap, this could cause the client to worry that there will be something wrong with your work. When you know what the market is expecting, you can adjust your agency rates accordingly. Pricing models will vary based on who you are talking to… and that’s ok.

You probably aren’t charging enough. This is the case with most of the agencies I work with, and it’s because they don’t fully understand the value they provide.

My challenge to all listeners is to consider increasing your rates by 25% right now!

Related: Start With One Niche At A Time,  Being A Leader In Your Agency's Niche

Grow Your Agency 3X Faster!

Are you overwhelmed by all the information out there on various ways to grow your agency? Do you want direction on how you can grow your agency faster and easier?

Then you’re in luck! I created an innovative mentorship called Agency University.

Agency University is a program which provides the 1-on-1 mentorship and ongoing support that is crucial to the success of your agency. Click here to see if it’s the right fit for you.

Want to find a way to interact and engage with your prospects? If you’re relying on an old-school “chat box” you could be missing out. Chatbots are the best way to generate more agency new business. They create interact conversational experiences with your prospects so you can engage with them when it matters most.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• What is a chatbot?
• Why use chatbots?
• 2 key features of bots.
• How to use chatbots to generate more agency new business.

Today I chatted with Peter Lisoskie, founder of Bot Nation the innovative chatbot agency he created in 2017. He’s also the CEO of inViral, a business and product incubator. He has a background neurological research as well as development of hardware, software and firmware for companies like Hewlett-Packard and Nike. Peter's here to bring us great insights into the shift toward chatbots for the ultimate user-experience so you can capture more leads for your agency… No ifs, ands or “bots” about it! :)

What Is A Chatbot?

A chatbot is a software service or application that allows you to have an interactive conversational experience with your prospects or clients. A chatbot has the ability to take them on a conversational journey far beyond the typical automated chatbox, which usually ends up unread in the user’s email inbox.

Why Use Chatbots?

Did you know more people are using instant, private messaging apps than are using big 4 social networking apps, including Facebook?

As agencies, we tend to focus on email marketing, websites, webinars and social media marketing. The problem with these is that they’re passive and reactive. For an email campaign, your prospects have too many steps to take: check email, open the email, read the email, click-thru the email… (you see where this is going?)

As we know, email marketing has a 20% open rate and maybe a 1-2% click-thru rate, at best. And if you’re using a pop-up chat box messaging to capture leads on your website, it’s even lower. If that chat isn’t answered before your prospect leaves the site, it goes to their email inbox.  And we know what happens to email open and click-thru rates.

However, chatbots are instant and our society is addicted to instant results. Chatbot messaging interfaces with the users Facebook instant message and has upwards of a 95% open rate!

2 Key Benefits Of A Bot

1. It’s user driven. The user choose their journey. Bots are set up with a series of questions and the “conversation” develops based on the users' responses. It’s a “choose your own adventure” approach to marketing.
2. It’s engaging. Your agency prospects like to be engaged and entertained. Using bots will captivate your audience and keep the conversation alive as they connect or identify with the bot.

Using A Chatbot to Generate New Business

To do it the right way, use a chatbot to get the conversation started with agency prospects in a fun and engaging way but have a live human take over at some point.

Let the bot ask the questions, then use those answers to get the prospects to the right place or as a primer for when a live person can respond.

Be honest and let the user know it’s a bot. Many brands and agencies will pretend it’s a live person, but that’s just an insult to the user. Instead, let them know upfront that it’s a bot. Heck, I’ve even named mine Don (as in Mad Men’s Don Draper). Giving it a name and a personality helps the user identify with it a bit more.

Then, ask a series of questions to gain understanding of where your prospect is at in their buying journey. You can use this as a pre-qualification sequence and/or to get them in to the right place and able to access the right helpful content.

The key to using bots to keep the conversation alive and continue to nurture the relationships.

Peter’s innovative technology has also added in an element of artificial intelligence that can really be mind blowing. You can check it out using the demos at the bottom of the page at: www.botnation.tech

Would you like to scale your agency? Is the thought of hiring a full-time employee overwhelming? Does your agency have a speciality that other agencies might need? Consider this tactic of collaboration and contractors as a means to grow your agency.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• Growing your agency without hiring.
• Maintaining quality, without overseeing everything.
• Managing contractors and inspiring the good ones to stay.

Today I talked with Mandy McEwen, Founder and CEO of Mod Girl Marketing, which not only manages their own client base in healthcare and technology, but also provides services to other agencies looking to stand out and scale. Not hiring her first full-time employee until over four years of being in business, Mandy found the beauty and benefit of collaboration. Today she shares with us tips on using collaboration and contractors as a growth tactic.

How to Grow Your Agency Without Hiring?

Collaborate, Collaborate, Collaborate

When you are in the beginning stages of growing your agency, it should be pretty easy to realize what you are good at and what you love doing. And with that, you’re also able to realize what areas might not be your strong suit, or shouldn’t be taking up so much of your time.

If you’re doing it all, it’s time to realize that there are other vendors and freelancers that could be doing some of it for you. This is how the work can start to be broken out, without having to invest in a full-time employee.

You can also consider working in partnership with other agencies who white label their services. I’m not typically a fan of straight up white labeling, but it can work if you leverage it into a partnership with mutual benefit.

As Mandy points out, “why compete with agencies, when (we) can collaborate? They can hire (us) and (we) can hire them.”

How Do You Manage Contractor Quality?

Vetting, Vetting, Vetting

Don’t hire a white label agency or contractor based solely on reviews or price. Finding good people is key and will save you money in the long run.

Check on their capacity before starting with them. Ensure they have the bandwidth to dedicate the needed time to the project they will be working on.

Mandy assigns trial projects, whether directly working for her or one she made up, to get a feel for the person and their work product.

It’s kinda like going on a date with someone. You need to see if you and that person click before you would ever enter any type of partnership. My former guest, Melinda Byerly, talked about  tactics of a contractor courtship.

How Do You Keep Great Contractors?

Culture, Culture, Culture

People will stick around if they are enjoying themselves.

Bring in people who not only have the skill set you are looking for but have the personality and vibe that is going to mesh well with the rest of your agency team. Create a desirable agency culture so there’s nowhere else they’d rather work; and no one else they’d rather work with.

There is something to be said for working with people that you would also enjoy hanging out with.

Who Manages The Contractors?

Divide, Divide, Divide

Divide and conquer. This can depend on the size of your agency, client profile, and definitely, the project itself.

One of the best first hires you can make is a project manager. I know a lot of agency owners have a hard time justifying this type of hire because their hours aren’t billable, but their skill set is invaluable. My advice is to hire a PM early in the game and adjust your fees accordingly. It’s worth it in the long run!

If you are doing it all, you can’t focus on the growth aspects of your agency. Trust and delegate so you can grow and scale.

Are you asking your client questions? Are you asking the right one? Do you listen in client meetings more than you talk? If you want to land more agency clients, it’s time to start asking a lot of questions and identifying what your clients need, rather than just giving them what they think they want.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• Getting over the hump of hiring.
• Getting to the bottom of what the client really needs.
• What questions you should be asking every client.
• When is the right time to hire?

Today I talked with Pete Polgar, partner at Clikz Digital which started just a mere 6 months before this interview and is already at a team of five. Pete brings a background of consulting with agencies struggling with operational problems. He sheds some light on those early struggles at Clikz Digital and walks us through the steps he has taken to overcome them and grow his agency.

Getting Over the Hump of Hiring

There is a high turnover in this industry. You need to stop hiring based on an immediate need and start hiring based on what your company needs in order to achieve long term goals.

Ask a lot of questions

Vetting your candidates better will allow you to hire people that make you and/or your agency better. Don’t aim to hire “mini-me’s” and instead find the “yin” to your “yang.”

Pete is a frequent listeners of our show and recalls this episode where I advised listeners to “always try to be the dumbest person in the room.” And that’s what he has done whens it comes to hiring for his agency. He tells us we can accelerate agency growth by surrounding ourselves with people smarter than us.

Getting to the Bottom of What the Client Really Needs

As an agency, your #1 job is to be the trusted advisor your clients need in order to achieve their goals. They rely on your experience and expertise to guide them to the solution to their problem.

The thing is, you have to be able to identify the right problems and start solving them. You can’t do this if you aren’t asking the right questions. Think: “What does the client actually need?” vs. “What do they want?”

Keep asking “why?” and keep digging until you get to the root of the problem. Once you find the problem and its impact on the business, that is when you can present what the client actually needs, not what you want to sell them.

Asking questions keeps the focus on the client, because, really, this is about them and not you.

Learn their business, listen to what they tell you and take lots of notes. This will allow you to visualize the information. Pete’s uses his meeting notes to build a process flow that he can later share with the client.

Clients are looking for a trusted advisor. They already made the choice to work with you, they don’t want to make more choices, so stop giving them so many. Be the expert. Know what their business needs and be able to tell them why. Then they will become your champion.

In the beginning it is all about learning - don’t sell first, just learn.

What Questions You Should You Be Asking Every Client

Did I mention that you should be asking a LOT of questions?

The types of questions are going to vary based on the client and the problems you start to uncover. But some good baseline questions are:

• What do you want?
• Where are you now?
• What is your struggle?
• Where do you want to be?

Ultimately you need to just keep asking questions so you can drill down to the biggest problem.

[clickToTweet tweet="Remember, the client's biggest problem is not necessarily the first problem." quote="Remember, the client's biggest problem is not necessarily the first problem."]

If thinking on your feet to ask the right questions isn’t your strong suit...then hire someone who is good at it. It’s that important.

Pete likes to use a whiteboard and draw out a map as they are solving a client’s problem. He says to focus on one problem at a time to solve and nurture it to build trust with your client.

Asking the right questions upfront also helped Pete start implementing a MAP (Marketing Action Plan) into his client engagements - which is something he learned from my podcast episodes on the 3 core elements of the agency sales process.

When Is the Right Time to Hire?

Learn from your employees. Find that one employee who is most resourceful, who is able to get things done quickly and do more with less. Then learn from them and incorporate that resourcefulness into your agency operations.

Listen to your employees when they feel overwhelmed or frustrated, but don’t let them dictate resolutions… because their resolution is usually going to be to hire more people. With that, make sure you are hiring based on asking the right questions, figuring out what is needed and best for the company and using measurable indicators to justify the hire.

Are the unknowns of the agency industry overwhelming? Do you sometimes feel like maybe it’s time to close shop? Learn about the 4 phases of successful agency growth from an owner with over two decades of experience. Hear all his ups and downs plus learn what to expect as you scale and grow.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• 4 phases of successful agency growth.
• How to manage a growing agency.
• Deciding whether to bring on a partner or not.

Today I talked with Chris Emergui, CEO of BAM Strategy, the agency he founded in 1996. With over 20 years of agency ownership experience he's seen his agency grow, deplete and grow again. He learned a couple things along the way and shares with us some of those nuggets of knowledge as well as the 4 phases his agency went through to get to reach the success they enjoy today. Sometimes just knowing what other agency owners have gone through can provide the encouragement and support we need in this lonely entrepreneurial world.

4 Phases of a Successful Agency Journey

Phase 1: The Start-Up

This is the time when you get things going. You could take this on alone or with a partner (although I don’t recommend partnerships - more on that later). This phase lends itself to being more ambitious and more willing to take some risks. This can be a time of quick prosper and scaling quickly, but can also include a downturn in business and can be messy.

This is when you learn lessons.

Phase 2: Switching It Up

This could be when you and your partner part ways. When you realize you have different visions. It’s a time when a business model change might take place. If you’ve been dealt the hardship of budgets getting slashed, this is when you anchor yourself with your client. Start servicing clients in areas that will not be affected if their marketing budget is cut.

This is when you are getting more experienced at knowing what to offer.

Phase 3: The Romantic Phase

This is the time when you have fun. You are at that 20-25 employee marker and you know them inside and out. You are experiencing growth and have a good, solid culture. You understand the impact you can have on the business.

This is the phase you would stay in if you could.

Phase 4: Continuation of Growth

A lot of agency owners think Phase 3 is ideal and want to stop growth there. But, you can’t stay there forever, no matter how much you’d like to. You don’t have a choice in this industry. You need to constantly go after new business and have a goal to grow. Because in this business, because you’re only one client-decision away from being shattered.

Phase 4 is where you start laying your infrastructure. Bring in the people to start handling the things you might not be so good at and start empowering them for success. In Chris’s case he brought in a new partner at this point.

If you hire the right people, put them in the right role and give them the right systems. Then you can start doing less and focus on growth goals.

This is the phase when you get out of the day-to-day and take on a new role of heading the ship.

How to Manage a Growing Agency

When we empower our agency employees we set them up for success. And that is really our biggest role in agency management - helping our people succeed. If they aren’t coming to you for all the answers, that’s a good thing. It means you are providing them with the right upfront direction so they can make decisions.

It feels good to be needed but you need to remember that being their “hero” isn’t a long-term solution. You want people who can run things on their own; you don’t want your agency to crumble if you get hit by a bus.

The transition from Agency Owner to CEO can be tough. And doing so can create both a freedom and a void. However, as CEO one of your five main roles is to mentor your leadership team, giving them confidence and direction. You are there to help them become more successful and grow. This is when you can really start scaling your agency, because now they are making decisions that are good for the agency and not just for themselves!

Your number one asset is your team. So invest in them, because that is an investment that will pay for itself.

Deciding On A Partner: Should You or Shouldn't You?

I always advise against bringing on an agency partner because you either know the bad partner, or you are the bad partner.

But, I know it’s pretty typical to bring on a partner when you are looking for a lead person to manage an area of business where your skills are lacking. An agency partnership or part-ownership provides a vested interest for that person while strengthening the agency leadership.

Chris’s advice is to make sure you are hiring someone you can empower, and someone who is smarter than you. Don’t be blinded by their prior experience and large network or influence.

Most importantly, you and your partner have to have the same view/reaction to any given event. While you can complement each other’s weaknesses, your vision needs to be the same.

Key Takeaways:

• No one has all the answers.
• Learn as you go is the nature of the business.
• You’ll make mistakes along the way.
• It only takes one big client to get on the map.
• Keep on pushing! You will get that one break.
• Don’t try to compare yourself to the larger agencies, but have the confidence that you can complete with them and can service the larger brands.

A mindset of perseverance is how you’ll find success for your agency. Things can change on a dime in this industry! You will find the hard stuff is what you’re going to remember, you’ll appreciate it more, when it’s in hindsight. And it will always remind you that you can handle it, you can get through. Let the tough times make you smarter and move on!

Would you like to grow your agency faster by increasing recurring revenue? Do you feel like your agency is on a constant roller coaster gaining and losing clients? Then learn about innovative agency pricing,  a licensing model, that can set you on a stable path. Plus, turn the tables on the industry standard of always fearing losing clients. Instead, discover how to make your clients fear losing you.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• What is an agency licensing pricing model?
• How and why does a licensing model work?
• 5 Benefits of the licensing model.

Today I chatted with Andrey Polston, a man who has been obsessed with marketing and sales since he was 11 years old mowing lawns. He ended up self taught in SEO and web design, and his motivation and knowledge is impressive. Andrey now plans and operates his own virtual summits, including The Agency Summit. On today’s episode, he shares his ingenious licensing model and the benefits it can bring to your agency.

What is a Licensing Pricing Model?

In short, a licensing model is taking what you do, niching it down in a way that you can flip it on it’s head and license it for exclusivity.

This model was born from Andrey trying to solve the main challenges agencies face, including:

• Financial instability and fear of losing clients.
• Providing all the creative work upfront.
• Relinquishing ownership of completed assets to the clients.
• Difficulty proving value later in client relationships.

These challenges are what spawned this idea of creating a process that will make the clients fear losing the agency instead of always the other way around.

How Does the Licensing Model Work?

Generally agency clients have a broad range of customers they could go after. As the agency, you must understand your client’s clients. Then select a niche customer that you are going to help them go after. In other words, identify a single type of customer that is ideal for your client.

Once you determine this niche customer, pre-build high converting funnels, marketing assets and conversion pathways that will absolutely crush it for that one specific channel of customers.

Then charge your clients a monthly licensing fee for the funnel and its accompanying assets.

There is also the ability to nano niche the ideal customer you identified and then create even more streamlined funnels, as well as a possible IP that can be included as an add-on to the client. You can also sell an add-on of your marketing services.

Why the Licensing Model Works

“People will do more things to avoid pain, than they’ll do to gain pleasure.” ~ Andrey Polston

Agencies can play the game of constantly trying to report their worth and value, but the greater incentive here, is the fear of loss. You want the client to fear losing you, your talents, and your expertise.

With the licensing model, this is embedded in the beginning. “If you leave, that’s fine, but you’re losing all this work because it isn’t yours to keep.” And with that fear comes the underlying understanding that if they leave, you will probably walk next door to their competitor and offer this service to them.

When prospecting a target client you lead with the licensing model, exclusive to the niche you have determined.

This doesn’t work if you don’t have a niche and don’t identify specific categories of customers your client wants.

5 Benefits of a Licensing Model

Andrey has identified five major benefits to a licensing model.

1- Automated Recurring Revenue

When you’re dealing with a service, you go out there, chase the work down and then try to get them to pay for it. With the licensing model, they’re put on a subscription and billed at the beginning of each month.

2- Accumulated Advantage

When you start playing deeper into a niche you will start finding new pockets of opportunity you can take advantage of, such as “nano niches” or niches within a singular niche. This is where you can create even tighter funnels and an IP that can also be licensed out to a client or provided as an add-on.

3- Productizing of a Service(s)

In order to productize your agency service, look up the ladder to tap into a potential client that would want to sell your license as an add-on to what they are selling. This provides value to them in that you’re exclusive to them and their product takes a competitive advantage, because they’re now providing a proven marketing system, as a value add-on, with their client. By doing this, you are harnessing somebody else’s distribution channel, marketing, and sales efforts and piggybacking off of it.

4- Taking On Multiple Clients

Some agencies feel restrained by geographic location. However, you can take on multiple clients within the same location by niching down to those nano niches and licensing all those nano niches out. So different clients can pay per nano niche license, or one client could pay a large licensing fee for exclusivity within their city or location.

5- Potential for Referrals & Partnership

A lot of agencies start out as “full service” so they can compete against everyone. But, what that really does is just cut them off from referrals/partners, because they are competing with everyone. It’s simple - when your agency has one specific niche, you can partner with other agencies offering complimentary services.

With a licensing model your specialization becomes so narrow that you can now cross sell/upsell those different services or white label them out, and take a cut.

You can now go to every category of companies, that would have been a competitor, and work with them as a referral partner because you aren’t competing against them anymore. AND because of the high margins of licensing you can pay out a lucrative, recurring monthly affiliate rate :)

Are you "that" agency? Do you tend to talk a lot about how smart you are? The awards you have won? It’s easy to fall into this trap of trying to sell your agency as the best, but sometimes it’s to the detriment of the client /agency relationship. Not anymore. Learn how to scale your agency by collaborating with your client to make their lives easier. Be the agency that keeps things simple and lets the client shine.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• The best way to scale your agency.
• Which clients you should be paying attention to.
• How to make your client shine.
• How to prove your agency’s worth.

Today I chatted with Melinda Byerly, founder of her digital consultancy Time Share CMO. She’s got over fifteen years experience in Silicon Valley working in tech with start-ups and becoming an expert in digital marketing and analytic attribution. She’s also learned a thing or two about clients needs when it comes to data and analytics, as well as how to manage those expectations. Melinda is sharing all this and more with us so you can learn how to set your client up for success and ultimately, setting yourself up for success as well.

The Best Way to Scale Your Agency

There is a danger to scaling too fast. If you’re a service business, it’s so important to find the right people that will help you move towards your goals. Instead of proposing marriage first, maybe it’s time to try “going on a date” instead?

When you’re looking for the right person, it can take time to see if you will work well together, so that’s when you “go on a date.” Don’t do a contract, do a project - just one, minimal-commitment-type project together first. If that goes well, do another project together. This will allow you to get a feel for that person, how you work together and how they fit into the agency.

Build your agency one person at a time and take it slow, so that it’s the right fit.

“Dating” is a great concept with clients as well. Find out what keeps them up at night, do they wish they had somebody doing X?” Then focus on X first. Take it one problem at a time to make sure it is going to be a true client/agency partnership.

Taking on a bad client can be like a cancer. I like to say: there are no bad clients, only bad prospects or a bad process. If you don’t qualify your prospects, you could be letting in the wrong ones. And, if they aren’t following your process in the beginning, they are not going to follow your process under contract. Pay attention to those red flags!

Either bad clients never should have been let in, or you created them.

Clients You Should be Paying Attention To

Think about your prospects... Are they responsive? Pleasant and respectful? Do they listen and take your feedback into consideration? These are the clients you want.

An agency/client relationship is a collaboration. You need to be respectful of your clients requests, but it’s a collaborative effort and they should respect your experience and expertise as well.

Agencies tend to talk a lot, touting their awards and boasting their accomplishments. In a desire to impress, agencies are constantly selling themselves. Stop. It’s better to listen and ask questions, make the client the focal point. Focus on the needs of the decision maker in order to achieve their goals and ease their pain points.

Is Your Direct Client the Hero?

They should be.

You need to make your day-to-day client contact look good. Don’t make the mistake of always trying to make yourself look good and in the process throw your sponsor under the bus.

Before doing a presentation to a larger group, meet with your direct client contact. You are presenting on their behalf, so position things the way they would like them positioned and be sure to create moments for them to step in and be the expert. Establish moments to help them shine; allow them to be the hero.

People are loyal to people. There is a high turnover in this industry and if your client-sponsor leaves their, make them want to take you with them.

Are You Effectively Proving Your Worth?

Have you ever had a project where you’re totally killing it? But… you’re getting great results and all of a sudden your client wants to change directions?! You weren’t effectively communicating those great results.

First, you need to be sure you are setting expectations with the client. Don’t set yourself up to fail by setting unachievable expectations. Let them know what results can and cannot be tracked or quantified. Not everything will be trackable so be honest with them about this and most importantly, help them understand so that your agency is held to reasonable expectations.

At the same time you want to make sure you are being authentic and have high integrity about this. Don’t just regurgitate analytics reports -- make sure you are providing useful analytics that can help navigate the course of your client’s digital marketing.

Tell them what those analytics mean and provide them with a recommendation - that is your value add. By doing this, you’re preparing to justify yourself. You’re educating your client and managing their expectations so they can manage their manager’s expectations… which circles back to making them the hero.

Remember:  there is a difference between what you do and what you provide.

How to Know What Your Clients Want

Do you know what your clients really want? Your client hired you to do work for them and make their job easier. Don’t put more work on them. The more options someone has, the harder they have to work to make a decision. The harder, their brain has to work and the more you risk them shutting down or walking away. Remove that friction from your client’s decision making.

Keep it simple, such as saying:

• “Here is option A and B. The data suggest option A” ...OR...
• “The data is silent so it’s a judgement call... Here is our opinion on the judgement call.”

This is what they want! Their biggest decision is hiring you and then after that, answering “which of these things are you going to do?” Keep it simply “yes” or “no.”

Are Your Agency's Presentations Powerful?

Are you doing the work ahead of time but saving the presentation for the night before? Don’t.

Give data presentations they can’t ignore - make it easy for them.

For as much as you do the work ahead of time, you should be dedicating the same amount of time to preparing your client presentations. Be prepared with the material, so that you don’t need your slides. This gives you the ability to look the decision makers in the eyes, really listen to their questions and thoughtfully answer them.

When you put time into your presentation, you will present with more confidence. More confidence makes you more believable. When you’re believable things are less likely to sit on the shelf and clients are more likely to take action.

The action is what you’re looking for! When a client takes action, they’re happy. When they’re happy, they are more likely to re-engage you! And that makes you happy, right? :)

Do you feel stuck in a rut? Overwhelmed or uncertain? You are not alone! A lot of agency owners feel the same way. If you need help finding clarity or getting focused, check out this episode. This is the perfect time of year to look at where you’re at and where you’re headed. Get re-energized and meet your goals in the new year.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• 3 characteristics you need to build a successful agency.
• Finding clarity in your agency life.
• How to find and keep your focus.
• #1 thing holding you back.

Today’s guest is Aaron Walker, successful businessman and life coach at the third business he’s built, View from the Top. Through his mastermind, Iron Sharpens Iron, Aaron helps people be their best selves and how to carry that into their professional lives. Aaron’s passion in coaching and today he shares with us some advice and nuggets of knowledge on how to take that first step towards clarity and success.

3 Characteristics Necessary To Build A Successful Agency

Lots of us who are out there trying to build our agency and make a name for ourselves are creators/developers, not maintainers/managers.

This can be where the problem is: you can’t get clarity.

Today we have more opportunities than ever before. It paralyzes us and clouds our judgement. The overwhelm can even cause a leadership crash.

That is why you need to have:

1. Determination, Tenacity, Grit to persevere.
2. Be Organized and Intentional to lead.
3. Most importantly, you need FOCUS.

With that focus you also need consistency. If you aren’t willing to devote two years to your venture, don’t even start it.

Stay focused on the long game and do what you set out to do. Every. Single. Day.

Aaron shares a little phrase his mom used to say to him, that he hated, but now is part of his mantra: “Can’t couldn’t do it, and Could did it all.”

You know, inspiration isn’t forever, it’s really about finding your purpose -- that thing that gets you out of bed every morning. That’s what is going to keep you going.

How To Find Clarity In Your Agency Life

For entrepreneurs, a lot of our clarity is muddled by constantly looking over our shoulder, wondering if we should have done that other thing instead. Stop worrying if the grass is greener on the other side and realize the grass is greener where you water it.

Realize that you will never get to a point where you will feel a sense of security, so stop looking for that. Instead, fill yourself with confidence.

The first step is -- you gotta launch. Whatever it is - just do it. As my friend Ian says, “Version done is better than version none.” He’s so right!

You need to realize that it’s never going to be perfect, so just take that first step and go from there. You will figure it out.

Once you find your purpose, it will help bring you clarity. Your purpose will become the thing that really drives you, steers your ship and it’s guides your decision-making. When you start doing this, then you will find your significance.

How to Find and Keep Your Focus

First, if your focus is on making money, then it’s not going to keep you focused long-term. You need a purpose for that! Sure, there’s definitely a portion of our focus that is tied to money. If it weren’t of any importance, we’d be giving everything away for free.

It’s not wrong to want to make money, just make sure you own your money and your money doesn’t own you.

You can, however, use money and finances as a measurement tool, not based on how much you make, but on the fact that if people are paying for the products/services you provide, then you’re helping people and are providing a valuable resource. Besides, if you gave your stuff away for free, nobody would pay attention to you.

It’s the same thing if you underprice yourself. By underpricing, you will cause people to undervalue what you provide; thinking what you have to offer isn’t very good because it’s too cheap.

Having a hard time scaling your agency? Finding it difficult to stop doing it all, all by yourself? Thinking of building an agency team but don’t know where to begin? Learn how to find and hire the right people for your agency and how to set them up for immediate success.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• How to avoid common pitfalls of a virtual agency team.
• How to find top agency talent that fits with your core values.
• What to look for when hiring and building your team.

Today I was excited to talk to Ralph Burns, founder and CEO of Antares Enterprises, Inc. As one of the premier Facebook direct response marketers in the industry, he has built an agency around an interesting business model. Ralph’s agency team is entirely virtual, and everyone is certified in his agency’s processes before they even start on the job! Learning things the hard way, or the long way, Ralph shares how he overcame challenges by building and leading a successful team.

How to Overcome Common Pitfalls of a Virtual Agency Team

The biggest challenge, and one where it’s easy to get stuck, is getting past the "1-man model" and allowing yourself be OK not doing everything yourself.

Once you get someone on board with you and you’re able to realize that you both bring unique abilities to grow the agency in different directions, from there you can begin the talent search.

The hardest part about bringing on virtual talent is:

• Teaching them the ways of your agency.
• Building systems and documenting processes.
• Passing on the knowledge so someone can duplicate what you’ve been doing.

Once you get through that, you will be able to scale up from there. 1-on-1 Method - personally train the new employee, be in daily contact, coaching and mentoring them. While this can be effective, it also takes a long time and can be inefficient. Mentorship - utilize your current staff to build out documents such as Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to utilize moving forward with future new hires. SOPs are so important and should really become the basis for everything you do.

Documenting can be painful, but it’s the first step you have to take.

Listen, without SOPs -- you’re SOL :)

A Unique Method for Discovering Agency Talent

It is important to have an educational platform on what you do in the agency...

Ralph actually took it a step further and decided to use his agency’s certification program as a pool for finding ideal candidates to hire as his agency grows. Get this...

Their rigorous 5-day training course is a stand alone program for individuals who want to get certified in Facebook Ads, with a practical test at the end. With access to the test results, this gives Ralph and his team a way to identify the best of the best and has opened up a new avenue for potential agency talent candidates.

Essentially, these people are trained on the agency’s processes and SOP, which eliminates a lot of the learning curve of a typical new hire, which could take another 3-5 months. Now, candidates are ready to roll and can get acclimated much faster to working with actual paying customers.

The beauty of this unique recruitment system is that they know people's intentions because they are paying for the training and know how to do things, right when they start!

Plus as an agency, you owe it to your clients to have people who not only know how to run Facebook ads (whatever your speciality), but also know how to do it the way you do it - within your systems, inside your agency. Because ultimately, your clients are paying you for your expertise, including those systems you’ve developed.

What’s the #1 Account Manager Dilemma?

We all know this story... you have a great account manager on a large account and something happens that takes them out of commission, which means you and your clients are screwed.

The solution? Large accounts, those that are unwieldy or have a lot of moving parts can be co-managed. You have a lead account manager and a secondary account manager.

Another solution is to create smaller teams within your account management department. Have these teams meet once a week, even if they’re virtual, and talk through issues going on with their accounts. That way, if an account only has one manager, there are still two or three other managers familiar with that client.

What to Look for When Hiring Agency Talent

When you are in the process of recruiting agency talent people, don’t just go after the folks that are the best with a technical skill.

Consider your agency’s culture and core values. Then think of some key characteristics that are important to have. Technical skill can be taught, but culture and value is either there or not.

Things to consider in your recruitment efforts:

• Able to collaborate and innovate
  • Collaboration is huge, especially if virtual.
• Be solution-oriented
  • Hire people to solve problems for your clients.
  • Problems are ok, but need to also work on solutions.
• Hungry and humble
  • Have the drive to get better and improve without a cocky attitude.

ALSO: Consider creating your own agency manifesto as a vision to guide your decisions and get you through the tough times. It takes time to create, but it will become your compass and worth the investment of time.

Do you feel like your agency sales needs to grow beyond you, the owner? Are you having a hard time recruiting and training successful salespeople? Then it’s time to start putting the right systems in place in order to build a scalable agency sales team.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• 2 things to be aware of before a sales hire.
• Is it the right time to hire for agency sales?
• Key traits to look for when hiring a salesperson.
• How long until a new salesperson is successful?
• Top 7 take away tips.

Today I got to talk with Wayne Herring, owner of Herring Coach, where he specializes in coaching and consulting business owners who are looking to scale their agency sales team. Wayne is the guy who teaches business owners to hire, train, hold accountable, and basically build their sales team. Today he’s giving us tips on how you can do the same for your agency.

2 Important Things To Be Aware Of Before You Hire

1. Owner’s advantage. Even if you aren’t stating it when you’re selling, if you’re the owner and you’re selling - you have an advantage. Remember that your salespeople will not have this advantage.
2. There are very few superhero salespeople. It is unrealistic to think you’re going to hire someone who is going to come in and kill it, right off the bat. Don’t look for it, you may never find it.

Is It The Right Time To Hire?

It’s hard to know when it’s the right time to hire for agency sales, as all agencies are in different situations.

But, I can tell you when not to:

DON’T hire your first sales rep if you’re already overwhelmed. If you can’t spend time with a new sales hire and you’re not prepared to invest a significant amount of time into their on-boarding, coaching, role playing, etc. then you aren’t ready to hire.

DON’T hire a sales rep if you don’t have systems in place. If you're not prepared to hire, train and retain good salespeople you're setting up for failure.

What You Need In Place If It Is The Right Time To Hire:

You need to have a strong foundation, including a definition of who you are as an agency and where you are going. You need to know this so you can give direction and keep everyone on the same page.

Have a set audience for them to sell to. Every business is not your ideal customer, define this for your new salesperson and set them up for success.

Start small... Give them one thing, one goal, to focus on. Don’t overwhelm by throwing the whole shebang at them.

Getting someone oriented and quickly on-boarding them to sell a small first step (such as your foot in the door offer) does a couple of things:

• It helps to prove if this person is going to make it within your agency.
• It helps them feel successful quickly and give them a win to start off.

Traits to Look for When Hiring for Agency Sales

Again, don’t go looking for a sales superhero. Instead, help them grow into one.

Another trip-up can be hiring based on gut, without really defining the type of person you are looking for. Think ahead about qualities you need, and don’t completely focus on likability and personality, this can get you stuck.

Pay attention to how they interview. Are they running the show? Are they asking a lot of questions? A good salesperson will do both these things! A lot of times we feel like we need to sell our agency to the candidate by telling them how wonderful it is. This is where there needs to be a shift in mindset...

Treat yourself and the interview process as a prospect you would want them to go after. Let them run the conversation, see how they lead and if they follow-up. Let the process demonstrate how they would work with a prospective client. Then decide if there's a fit and a future.

Salesperson recruiting is a marketing activity. It is something that deserves serious attention.

How Long Until a New Salesperson is Successful?

Everyone needs a little time to prove their worth, but for agency sales it usually depends on two things:

1. The length of your sales cycle.
2. Past experience and observations.

If you have a long sales cycle then you might benefit from creating “ramp up" report, which breaks down the early steps of the sales process, (contacts, meetings, audits, etc.) and charts them in a grid format and plots progress over time. With this data, eventually you’ll discover that salesperson’s “ramp up curve” which indicates whether they’re following a path you know is going to lead to long term success.

Measuring activity can tell you a lot. If they don’t start off coming out the gate fast and hard, it’s a tell tale sign they’re going to struggle.

Be sure to avoid “happy ears” or overly optimistic situations. I’ve been guilty of hanging on to someone because of all the big deals they have “in the works” but never actually come to fruition. See things for what they are and measure the activity.

Ask your salespeople the questions: who, what, where why, and when… “What’s the next step?” or “When’s that going to happen?” When you’re consistently coaching it will become abundantly clear whether they’re going to be successful.

Top 7 Take Aways

When you’re going to start building a sales team:

1. Remember owner’s advantage and there are no sales superheroes.
2. Clearly define work that needs to be done.
3. Clearly define the role, key accountabilities.
4. Be willing to work hard through the entire hiring phase and have a process for phone calls, interviews, assessment, etc.
5. Be prepared to spend time to onboard intentionally, track the activity/progress, and help sell the smallest engagement first.
6. Using a CRM isn’t optional.
7. Understand the importance of coaching and role playing, even if it’s uncomfortable.

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency 3X Faster?

Are you overwhelmed by all the information out there on various ways to grow your agency? Do you want direction on how you can grow your agency faster and easier?

Then you’re in luck! I created an innovative mentorship called Agency University.

Agency University is a program which provides the 1-on-1 mentorship and ongoing support that is crucial to the success of your agency. Click here to see if it’s the right fit for you.

Ever had a client that just didn’t feel like a good fit right off the bat? Ever taken on the wrong agency projects out of desperation to pay bills and meet payroll? If it doesn’t feel right or there are some red flags, pay attention and go with your gut. Listen to the hard lesson this 25 year agency owner learned, how it knocked him down, and how he got back up again.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• How to avoid the wrong agency projects or clients.
• Setting up a successful agency structure.
• Tips on improving your search for inbound leads.

Today I got to talk with Jim Stewart, industry pioneer and CEO of StewArt Media and SEO/Digital Marketing Evangelist on his YouTube channel, Jimboot. With more than 25 years experience, Jim has good insight into both the struggles on the business side as well as great information on maximizing search.

Avoiding the Wrong Agency Projects or Clients

Jim’s biggest piece of advice is: Trust your gut instincts!

If something doesn’t feel right or there are some red flags, pay attention, listen to your gut. If your gut says run - then run!

And if you're white labeling or on the receiving end of an outsourcing situation, beware:

• Being white labeled is tough and you get little to no credit for your work.
• You don’t get direct interaction with the client and receive information through a third party.
• You’re being sourced for your processes, yet the larger agencies don’t want to follow your processes.
• Getting the work done on time can be challenging when your agency isn’t the main point of contact.
• Determining how to charge isn’t clear cut when white labeling.

Using this type of structure in the beginning for small agencies is not uncommon, I did it. Just make it work for you by:

• Letting the big agency know up front that you will credit them as a client name.
• You will have direct contact with the client.

Sometimes in these situations, the big agency will start failing on the project and the client could start approaching your agency directly. Don’t burn any bridges. Being up front with the big agency is key, but you will find that sometimes, they are aware of their shortcomings and tell you to just go ahead and help the client with what’s needed. This can be a great opportunity to build your client base.

Creating a Successful Structure

You can’t change your first hire but if you could, would you? I sure would. Bringing someone into the fold that has the skill set to handle all the stuff you can’t, or aren’t very good at, is key... So, who should you hire first?

It really starts with self awareness. What are you good at? What do you like doing? Where do you want to  take the agency? Take all that info and hiring accordingly. Then...

• Invest in those people.
• Train those people.
• Educate those people.

As the agency CEO it is important to know your five roles - and daily operations isn't one of them.

And, if you have you been thinking of yourself more as an owner than a CEO, it might be time to transition from Owner to CEO.

Be the leader. Communicate the plan. Make sure everyone knows the direction the agency is headed. Set goals and clearly outline them. This provides the team the freedom to work within their goal structures and figure out the best tools to utilize to achieve those goals. Even though ours can be a transient industry, we still have to invest in good people.

With the client, clearly outline the plan for them as well. Many clients have been burned before which is why outlining and communicating goals is crucial. Tell them what you’re going to do, when they can expect it and follow through.

Improving Search for Inbound Agency New Business

There is one major factor in Search: Trust

The way to build trust is by having a strong brand. The best thing you can do for search and your overall business is: Build That Brand.

There is no silver bullet when it comes to building your brand. It takes hard work and consistency. You need to be putting out valuable content that either educates or entertains. This content creates an impression of you and your brand; it is what your brand becomes.

The ultimate goal is to get people to associate your content, or brand, with keywords in your category and viewed as the authority in the industry.

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency 3X Faster?

Are you overwhelmed by all the information out there on various ways to grow your agency? Do you want direction on how you can grow your agency faster and easier?

Then you’re in luck! I created an innovative mentorship called Agency University.

Agency University is a program which provides the 1-on-1 mentorship and ongoing support that is crucial to the success of your agency. Click here to see if it’s the right fit for you.

Are you avoiding video? Afraid you’re not interesting enough or don’t have enough content to produce? Does it look too hard or are you worrying about production quality? Find out how to build your digital communication with a video presence. It’s more accessible and approachable than you think!

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• Understanding the importance of vlogging.
• Finding a style that works for you and/or your client.
• How to avoid getting discouraged.
• How to turn viewers into subscribers.

Today I’m chatting with Amy Schmittauer, a media triple threat as a successful YouTuber, with her channel Savvy Sexy Social, best selling author of Vlog Like A Boss and keynote speaker. If anyone understands the power and importance of video in digital communication it’s Amy. She's looked to as the authority in the how-to vlogging space and actually one of the influencers of my vlog, SwenkToday.

Understanding the Importance of Vlogging

Digital communications is becoming a big need for businesses, both large and small. This need started with social media but is now moving towards video. It is difficult to survive online communications or digital marketing without some form of video.

Understanding the way people are consuming content is going to decide your digital communication. People are trying to find the better, faster way of what they want… video accommodates that need.

Video and vlogs are growing because they make the host seem approachable. The platforms, such as YouTube, Instagram Stories, Snapchat, etc. are growing and video is becoming more accessible. Because of this, it’s time to step outside your box and start asking, “How can we, as an agency, better consider what our customer wants when it comes to video?” Sit down and have a conversation with clients because using the visual of video is going to make a much deeper connection. This will help your agency make more money and serve your clients better, because this is a necessity in business today.

Finding a Style That Works for You

People can get caught up in feeling uninteresting, but that is the beauty of video… you can make ANYTHING look and sound interesting with video, IF you think about what it’s like for the end user!

So when you think about your video style you need to ask yourself these 3 questions:

1. What is the Brand of You?

How do you want people to be talking about you? Get creative. Stay consistent so your audience can get to know you and care about you.

2. Who are You Talking To?

Know your audience. Know what your audience wants. This will make you more interesting and keep them watching!

3. What is Your Audience Size and Loyalty Level?

If you are new to vlogging and have little or no audience, you have a lot of work to do to earn trust and interest. This will help you build a solid base audience, which can allow you to take things to another level and take some liberties with your content.

If you are more concerned with the number of views than the quality of viewer… you’re in trouble.

How to Build a Solid Video Presence

Don’t get discouraged! I get it, entrepreneurs are impatient (myself included!).

Remember: It’s not about the number of views or number of people you reach, because it just takes one person -- the perfect customer. Don’t lose focus on who that person is.

It’s tough, vanity metrics on Facebook can make it hard to choose a platform. Facebook feels like your content is getting more views, but in reality, the context of that view is not as valuable as on, say, YouTube.

Facebook pushes content into a newsfeed, can come without audio, and is logged as a view if it's watched for 3 seconds or more. So of course, views can look higher on Facebook.

YouTube viewers are more intentional. They come looking for the content you are providing and a view isn’t ticked off until 30 seconds is viewed. Every platform has a different algorithm to make more money and keep people happy. But remember, you are working with the same algorithm as top YouTubers. If you get that one person, that perfect customer to watch you and can build a connection through advising them on something that will help them in a positive way… that’s all that matters.

Keep ‘Em Coming Back

The BEST thing to do to get people to come back is: Ask them.

• DO ask for them to subscribe - the ask makes them more likely to do it.
• DON'T assume if they watch your video they will subscribe.
• DON'T assume if you put a visual, without actually calling it out, they’ll subscribe.

Technology is always trying to get better for the viewer and also the vlogger, but sometimes they conflict.

You have to be explicit. Lead off with it, but make it short. You don’t want to spend too much time or you will lose them.

You want to keep your viewer until the end. If you get them to watch your video all the way to the end, you are considered their thought leader. So tell them what to do next, whatever the natural next step might be (i.e. subscribe, opt-in with email, or visit your site). Say it. You have to say it.

Use visuals and create features that make for a nice user experience. This also encourages more action.

Related: Want to get better at producing video? Check out this episode: https://jasonswenk.com/video-marketing/

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency 3X Faster?

Are you overwhelmed by all the information out there on various ways to grow your agency? Do you want direction on how you can grow your agency faster and easier?

Then you’re in luck! I created an innovative mentorship called Agency University.

Agency University is a program which provides the 1-on-1 mentorship and ongoing support that is crucial to the success of your agency. Click here to see if it’s the right fit for you.

Is your agency using the Foot in the Door strategy? Are you keeping all the clients you want to? Learn the three core parts of a proven sales process that is working to renew client contracts and improve recurring revenue.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• The 3 core parts to every agency sales process.
• How to create a successful renewal process.
• How to get out of your agency so it can be a successful agency.

Today my guests are Rob Murray and Paul Demarco, cofounders of Intrigue Media, a full-service digital agency servicing B2C clients. In the 11 years they have been working together, they’ve grown their agency from a $50 project fee to $3 million in revenue this year. They credit their growth to a proven sales process and to always sticking with the process.

3 Core Parts of a Proven Sales Process

1- The Sales Process Itself

The key to this part is how you interact with people, i.e. your client or customer. There are two main philosophies to consider:

• Two ears, one mouth, use accordingly. Listening to your clients, let them do the majority of the talking. Ask lots of questions, your client wants to be understood.
• Avoid writing a prescription without a diagnosis; that is malpractice. You cannot properly pitch them a successful idea without understanding them.

Be mindful and open to needing help. Your sales is what drives agency growth. Rob and Paul realized early on that they couldn’t afford not to get help. If you are in the same boat, then check out my Agency Sales Makeover.

2- Financial Commitment for Proposals

Traditionally, Intrigue’s proposals or plans had been provided up front for free, or virtually free. However, this is where you want to implement the Foot in the Door strategy, and create a fee-based proposal that is clearly outlined. This is the first step in the direction of a long-lasting client relationship.

Proposals require work, outlining this work with your fee is totally acceptable. Intrigue's Marketing Action Plan (MAP) includes the research and education necessary to understand what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, how it will be done and creating a plan around that.

Thinking the proposal “seals the deal” is looking at it the wrong way. Charging a low, set fee will:

• Help you win the deal faster.
• Make the deal less risky.
• Provide you incentive and enjoyment through the process.
• Help make it an easier decision for the client to trust you.
• Can be a qualifier on your merit.

Using the Foot in the Door strategy will also help define the type of clients you want to be working with. If the partnership doesn’t feel right, you can walk away with little loss, rather than taking on a large retainer and becoming stuck.

3- Provide a Plan that Defines Expectations

You need to develop a crystal clear plan that defines crystal clear expectations. Something like:

• "This is exactly what we are promising you."
• "This is exactly how we will go do it."

This plan needs to be shared with your CLIENT as well as your TEAM so that it can be properly executed. With this thinking, you need to make sure that the team you intend on doing the work is the team you are having scope the work up front. This can prove to be a huge win.

Creating a Successful Renewal Process

Keeping your clients satisfied can be achieved with making sure they are delighted on a regular basis. They implemented “delightful client moments,” where they get to know their clients better. It’s those soft touches that make the business relationship more personal.

Taking a binary look at satisfaction creates a more black & white answer:

• If they don’t renew they aren’t satisfied.
• If they do renew they are satisfied.

Everyone can say your stuff is great, but if they pay you for it, then you know it is great.

Using the Foot in the Door method is a stepping stone towards a 1-year retainer. A month or two before the retainer is up, bring the client back in for a renewal. This is when you go for the longer term because you have built up a relationship of trust.

How to Get Out of Your Agency So It Can Be a Successful Agency

Consider a successful business being a business that can run without you. Leave the details to the team who specialize in the details. Success is all about:

• The focus you provide for the team.
• The focus you put on the team.

Bring consistency in what they do everyday:

• Create structure inside the organization.
• Put your priorities in focus.
• Get those priorities accomplished.
• Do updates frequently so everyone is in the know.

Providing clarity and context to team members ensures that everyone knows what is going on and can roll in the same direction... sticking to the process and growing your client base.

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency 3X Faster?

Are you overwhelmed by all the information out there on various ways to grow your agency? Do you want direction on how you can grow your agency faster and easier?

Then you’re in luck! I created an innovative mentorship called Agency University.

Agency University is a program which provides the 1-on-1 mentorship and ongoing support that is crucial to the success of your agency. Click here to see if it’s the right fit for you.

Is your agency stuck in a "best practices" rut? Are you following so-called industry best practices without seeing results? If you’re in a place where excitement and momentum have puttered out and you think your agency has plateaued, you’ve hit what my guest calls your “crapping point” :) It's time to start asking the right questions and creating your own best practices.

In this episode we’ll cover:

• Understanding your context and its three components.
• How to create your own formula for best practices.
• How to not fall into the best practices trap.

Today’s guest is Jay Acunzo, is Sorry for Marketing and shares it all as a keynote speaker, blogger and host of the podcast, Unthinkable. Jay has an impressive background in the tech world and with start-ups, including a career at Google and Hubspot. He also did investing in start-ups for a firm, so his experience and insight comes from both sides of the aisle.

Jay understands the importance of asking a lot of questions, the right questions, and turning away from conventional thinking. Today he is in a fight with best practices because “it has never been easier to be average.”

If you aren’t seeing the results you expected and your agency has “Crapped Out,” Jay is here to give us some tips on how to better find your best practices by asking the right questions so you can stand out, rather than blend in.

Understanding Your Agency’s Context

Your context consists of three things:

1. Those doing the work - yourself, your agency, your team
2. Those receiving the work - your audience, the customer or client
3. Your resources - the means to make things a reality

If you find yourself asking “Why isn’t this working?” don’t forget to start adding the word “us” to the equation…. Such as: “Why isn’t this working… for us?” The best practices that might work for one company, may not for yours because your context is different.

“Success leaves clues.” ~ Tony Robbins

Success might leave clues, but it doesn’t leave answers. Best practices are simply a possibility that still need to be put through the filter, that is your context and then add your details to, and find, a best practice that will work for you.

It is time to start thinking for yourself and not just following a list. You are the expert of your agency’s context.

How To Create Your Own Formula for Best Practices

One word: INTUITION

We aren’t talking about the gut feeling you get from emotion and running with it. We are talking about the defined word, Intuition, which has roots in Latin that mean: Knowledge from within

In other words, this circles back to knowing your stuff -- knowing your context

The best way to know your context is to make sure you are asking the right questions for the three things that make up your context, listed above, Yourself, Your Audience and Your Resources.

Visualize your intuition as a thing or tool that is on par with a list article. Understand that Intuition is that compounding return you experience from, constantly asking questions and understanding your context, and making the right call.

Trust your INTUITION.

How To Avoid the Best Practices Trap

It all starts with a shift from the desire of knowing the answer, to caring more about how to find answers. This mindshift begins with asking the right questions of your context points. Each component has two questions and we can look at it like a funnel...

The TOP Level is where all the confusion and all the excessive information is found.

Sublevel 1 - YOU

1. What is my aspirational anchor? Meaning, your intent for the future and hunger for today.
2. What is my unfair advantage? Do an audit on your team to determine strengths and figure out how to best utilize them.

Sublevel 2 - YOUR AUDIENCE

1. What is my first principle insight? Understanding your clients needs/wants and knowing what you can bring to the table to help them achieve those.
2. Who are my true believers? These are the people (even if just a few) who are passionate about what you're doing. Find your super fans.

Sublevel 3 - RESOURCES

1. What are my constraints? Is it money, size, time? Understanding these constraints will help you innovate within them.
2. How can I expand? Think big, but understand that you have to start small. Putting a lot of boxes on a field will still cover the field and can build something big

The BOTTOM Point is where you find your CLARITY.

Be the exception. By identifying and acknowledging your specific context you are in a category of ONE!

Related: Creating content that speaks to an audience of one.

How does your agency fit into your life? Are you being very honest and clear on what it is that you want and what success means to you? If you feel like a prisoner to your business or you're struggling with passion for your agency, it might be a time to look within.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• 3 simple questions to gut check whether your agency is working for you.
• How to reinvent your agency.
• How to understand your recurring revenue needs.

Today I talk with Pia Silva, Founder and Brand Strategist at WorstofAll Designs, speaker, Forbes contributor and author of BadAss Your Brand. Pia and her partner (who also happens to be her husband) had their lightbulb moment over 6 years ago when they’d fallen into a huge funk and some serious business debt. She’s here to share with us how to avoid those same mistakes while being true to yourself and your business goals.

It was then they realized their agency model wasn’t working and that they were trying to front an agency model and be something they weren’t and have now come to realize they have had so much more success just embracing what they did have that was different.

3 simple questions could change everything

Do a gut check with these three simple questions:

1. Is it UNIQUE?
2. Do you ENJOY IT?
3. Is it PROFITABLE?

Does your current business model work for you?

Pia uses these three questions as a foundational point of helping other small business owners with their branding issues. She believes your business should really be “the intersection of what you love and what’s most profitable.” It’s that outside-of-the-box thinking that will set you apart and put you on the path of a business model that will work.

Is it time to reinvent your business?

“If you’re gonna spend all your time on this, you better LOVE it!” ~ Pia Silva

If the answers to any of those 3 questions are ‘no’ then it’s time to reinvent yourself. You need to attack this and look at it going: “This is us. This is what we want to do. This is what we enjoy doing. This is what we’re going to do”...and then figure out how to do it.

For Pia and her partner, it meant letting go of employees and redefining their measure of success.

Now, instead of being a traditional agency trying to play hardball with the big guys it’s just the two of them. By their choice. Instead of taking on lengthy projects and retainer clients their agency runs intense full day workshops with one client at a time where they “badass their brand” through a BrandUp session.

How to Reinvent your Agency

First, go back to the basics.

Look within. You can’t compete with the big guys if you think the same as the big guys. Instead, think:

• What makes us unique?
• What do we want to do?

Next break it down, step-by-step to go after it.

If you look backwards, then you are just reacting to the market. Instead be proactive and break down your business growth into smaller decisions. Drill down by determining answers to these:

• How can I buy an ideal client?
  • How can I buy a pitch?
    • How can I get their attention?
      • Who do I want to go after?
        • Understand yourself and your core service

Understanding Your Recurring Revenue Needs

Honesty is key. Ask yourself why you're in this and possibly, what your end game looks like.

Are you comfortable with a lifestyle business? Are you looking for enough revenue to live your life and afford you extra time to do other things you enjoy? Or, are you looking to catapult your business or eventually sell it? What do you want? What does success mean to you?

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency 3X Faster?

Are you overwhelmed by all the information out there on various ways to grow your agency? Do you want direction on how you can grow your agency faster and easier?

Then you’re in luck! I created an innovative mentorship called Agency University.

Agency University is a program which provides the 1-on-1 mentorship and ongoing support that is crucial to the success of your agency. Click here to see if it’s the right fit for you.

Related: A $3 Million Agency with a Unique Business Model

How can you create an agency culture that continually inspires your team? After all your team is your #1 asset, so keeping them energized and motivated is key. Agency culture and brand are two sides of the same coin. So, it all starts with defining your on core values. Easier said than done, right?

In this week’s episode, we’ll cover:

• Who to hire first at your agency.
• How to create a desirable agency culture.
• One example of core values that set the tone for amazing agency culture.

Today’s guest on the show is Brad Flowers, founder of Bullhorn Creative. Like many others, Brad and his partner “accidentally” founded their agency. What was just the two of them and some freelancers in 2008 has grown to 2 offices and 14 employees. They learned fast and hard in order to grow, and Brad is on the show to share his tips on creating a desirable agency culture.

Who to Hire First at Your Agency

Their first hire was a Project Manager which is ideal, because PM's:

• Pay attention to details and follow-up/follow-through.
• Create and implement agency systems and processes.
• Keep track of projects, keeping them on time and in budget.

All this frees up the owner(s) for higher level, business growth activities. Things like: identifying your ideal clients and proactively going after the business you want in order to grow.

How To Create a Desirable Agency Culture

It clicked for Brad when he read a line in Tony Hsieh’s book, Delivering Happiness.

“Our belief is that a company’s culture and a company’s brand are just two sides of the same coin. The brand is just a lagging indicator of the culture.” ~ Tony Hsieh

Meaning, culture is the outside world’s perception of the people within your agency. And since the people on your team are a reflection of your agency’s core values you need to hire the right people in order to have the culture you want. So, it all starts with  setting core values. Here's how:

1. Do honest inward reflection to determine your (and your partner’s) personal core values.
2. Write your core values and live them by example every day.
3. Begin hiring based on core values in order to mesh them into your culture.
4. Consider incentives or awards in line with the core values.

For more on Zappos' highly acclaimed company culture and core values check out: How to Define Your Agency’s Core Values and Set Up Your Team for Success Like Zappos.

Core Values that Set the Tone for Agency Culture

Bullhorn has 3 pairs of core values they bring to life in their agency’s culture. Like Zappos, these aren’t just a motto to aspire toward, they’re a way of life.

1. Empathy & Honesty

• Understand where someone else is coming from but be honest enough to keep things on track.
• Relevant both internally among the team and externally with clients.
• Empathy is a unique way of demonstrating authority to your prospects and clients.

2. Dissatisfaction & Improvement

• It’s OK to be unhappy but also important to help be part of the solution.
• Always look for ways to make things better.

3. Creativity & Decisiveness

• Agency teams are presumably creative, but creativity is encouraged and celebrated in every role - including bookkeeping, business development etc.
• Indecisiveness is the enemy of good work.

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency 3X Faster?

Are you overwhelmed by all the information out there on various ways to grow your agency? Do you want direction on how you can grow your agency faster and easier?

Then you’re in luck! I created an innovative mentorship called Agency University.

Agency University is a program which provides the 1-on-1 mentorship and ongoing support that is crucial to the success of your agency. Click here to see if it’s the right fit for you.

Do you want to grow your digital agency with amazing talent, but worried you can’t pay top dollar? This unique “reverse recruitment model” for finding, training and keeping incredible talent might make it more doable than you think.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• Why and how to implement a reverse recruitment model.
• How to develop agency talent with an entry level team.
• 2 big benefits to reverse recruitment.

Today’s guest is Morgan Lopes, CEO of Polar Notion, the web and mobile app development agency he co-founded 5 years ago. Like so many of us, he’s an accidental agency owner who shares with us some valuable advice about hiring a team to grow your agency. He has created and implemented a new recruitment model that’s netting fantastic results.

Why Hiring Entry-Level People Can Grow Your Agency

Morgan had an amazing mentor when he was young and new to the industry. He developed his craft through the generosity of an older, more experienced person who would not accept payment for his time. Instead, he asked Morgan to pay it forward. Years later, the solution is Polar Notion’s reverse recruitment model.

How the Reverse Recruitment Model Works:

• Skills are teachable, personality is inherent.
• Hire entry level candidates, typically right out of school.
• Hiring process focused on personality and character instead of skill level.
  • Character traits to look for: teachable, curious, thoughtful, actionable
  • Skills are teachable, character is not.
• Train skills and develop the craft in people who are already a culture fit.

How to Develop Agency Talent from the Ground Up

• At first Polar Notion had no process and it was messier than it should’ve been.
• Now there’s a process and curriculum in place.
• New hires are onboarded and trained based on specific guidelines.
• Employees follow process/steps and their appointed mentor makes daunting tasks more bearable.
• Expectations for new hires and existing team are clear so the program is more successful.

2 Big Benefits of Reverse Recruitment

1. A Company Mission Transitions to a Way of Life

This isn’t a “thing” Morgan wants to talk about all the time or force his team do. They’re starting to create habits of mentoring and teaching each other - which is the ultimate goal. Instead of mentorship just being a company mission he aims for it to be something that is naturally ingrained in their culture and lived out.

2. A Super Low Employee Turnover Rate

Morgan's agency has only ever let one person go. Ever. When you’re hiring based on personality and character everything clicks and people stick. Also, if/when issues arise the team is more apt to talk to leadership and work through a solution.

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency 3X Faster?

Are you overwhelmed by all the information out there on various ways to grow your agency? Do you want direction on how you can grow your agency faster and easier?

Then you’re in luck! I created an innovative mentorship called Agency University.

Agency University is a program which provides the 1-on-1 mentorship and ongoing support that is crucial to the success of your agency. Click here to see if it’s the right fit for you.

Have you thought about productizing your SaaS idea or tech solution? Is a SaaS company the way to go? It might be! As agencies, we provide solutions and create tools for clients every single day. So, why not monetize them? But first, learn the right way to build a profitable SaaS company.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• How to create a profitable SaaS product.
• What agencies are doing wrong when it comes to productizing.
• How to avoid common mistakes creating your SaaS product.

This week’s guest is Dan Martell, a former agency owner and current coach to SaaS companies. His passion has always been in the tech space and he’s here to share insights on how you can get your incredible SaaS idea off the ground and be profitable at it.

How to Create a Profitable SaaS Product

Successful SaaS creates a technology solution for:

• customers, so they can do something themselves.
• the industry, so they can do something easier.

B2B SaaS is the most tried and true type.

There are 5 categories:

1. Alerting or monitoring tools
2. Reporting tools
3. Workflow tools
4. Collaboration
5. CRM (customer relationship management)

4 Steps to getting your SaaS idea off the ground (without going broke!)

Step 1: Create a clickable prototype - create a spec model, no coding necessary in order to test your idea.

Step 2: Identify early adopters - techies crave innovation and like to be first to jump into new using new solutions and tools.

Step 3: Accept pre-orders - take advance orders from the early adopters by offering an amazing deal (like 50% off) if they order and pay in advance.

Step 4: Build your team - usually once you have taken the first three steps, the team falls into place.

3 Mistakes Agencies Are Making with SaaS

A lot of agency owners stumble into the business accidentally. When they are struggling or unhappy they often think the “grass is greener on the other side” and want to develop a SaaS product. If that’s the case for you, that’s OK. But remember: the grass is greener on the side you water.

1- Product: Make sure the idea is something you can get behind. The best products are at the intersection of what people will buy + something you’re passionate about + your area of expertise. So the goal is to find a sweet spot between all three elements.

Mistake to Avoid: Don’t spin your wheels on something you don’t love or don’t know enough about.

2- People: A lot of agencies decide to productize a solution so they start using their existing team to develop it. This is a bad idea because that same team is also responsible for working on billable projects. Given the choice, billable work will always take priority over the new SaaS project causing a major stall.

Mistake to Avoid: As tempting as it is, keep the teams separate. And, find the right person to be in charge of it. Use what you know as a springboard but bring on the right person to actually push the boulder up the hill.

3- Profit: With little to no resources to start, agencies tend to pull funds from the existing business in order to get the SaaS up and running. While focusing on SaaS they neglect the growth of the agency. The end result, is two struggling businesses.

Mistake to Avoid: Keep agency and SaaS funds in separate silos. Follow the steps for launching SaaS to the early adopters in order to fund the project.

Related:  The Ins and Outs of Going from Agency to SaaS Company

Software Idea for Agencies?

If you would like to talk to me about your software you are developing for your agency or the software idea, click here and fill out the form.

So what can you do when a client refuses to pay? I mean, absolutely refuses! That’s the dilemma this new agency owner has with a nightmare client who owes him almost $10K. Listen to his story plus my advice on how to get through it and the processes he needs in order to prevent it from happening again.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• Why you need a prospect qualification process.
• What information to get in an initial client meeting.
• 2 ways to get the client’s budget every time.
• How to protect your agency against slow pay or no pay clients.

Today’s guest is Mike Volkin, a long time freelancer turned agency owner when he founded 800lb Marketing in early 2017. Mike’s agency specializes in fractional CMO services for startups that don’t have marketing leadership. He was about 8 months into the business when I interviewed him. He caught my attention with a post in our Digital Agency Owners Facebook group about a client who wouldn’t pay. In this episode, Mike candidly shares his story about a client who stiffed him on almost $10K while I give him advice to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

How a Good Client Turns Bad

So here’s the gist of Mike’s horror story... His agency was working with a new client who was investor-funded. They assured him there was plenty of funding - they were even turning investors away. So money wasn't going to be a problem. The deal was going to be 800lb Marketing’s second largest contract with multiple-thousands of dollars in recurring revenue.

Well, fast forward several months and now the client refuses to pay. Their reason for nonpayment is because they didn’t receive investor funding. And they didn’t get investor funding because ~ get this~ because, the agency didn’t meet their traffic goals. But wait… WHAT TRAFFIC GOALS? The agency was never given traffic goals yet their success and payment are tied to them?

[clickToTweet tweet="There’s no such thing as a bag agency client. Just a bad prospect or a bad process" quote="There’s no such thing as a bag agency client. Just a bad prospect or a bad process"]

Why You Need a Qualification Process

You might have a similar story. Sooner or later, every agency owner has at least one nightmare client story. In hindsight, usually you look back and realize the signs were always there... Agency owners have to understand they have the right and duty to screen prospective clients. It’s not a one-sided process. Agencies need to ask the right questions and really dig deep to understand if the client is the right fit for them, and not just the other way around.

Since Mike works with startups, he typically asks about the source of funds -- whether self-funded or investor-funded but rarely… hardly ever... will they give him a budget.

In most cases he doesn’t budget info until the second meeting, after he presents a proposal. Mike says typically, in the first meeting, prospects ask him to create a plan and they’ll “find” the budget... Sound familiar?

What Info Do You Need in the Initial Meeting?

I always advise my clients to think of N.B.A.T. before engaging in a new project conversation with a new prospect.

N- Need. Find out what the client’s desired goals are. What do they believe is the specific need in order to achieve the goal? What they think they need might not be what they actually do need. How does this goal tie into the company’s vision? And how will success be measured?

B- Budget. 99% of your prospects know their budget but rarely will they share it. They don’t understand it makes a huge difference in knowing whether you can help them reach their goals or not. Below are my 2 strategies to get the budget from clients who aren’t forthcoming with the information. And the 1% who don’t know the budget? Those are usually the really big clients who have the money to spend -- you’ll know who they are :)

A- Authority. Who’s involved in the decision-making? Make sure you’re working with that person or group of people. You don’t want to spin your wheel with people who don’t have the authority to give approvals or make decisions.

T- Timing. What is the timeframe for this project and how soon does the client expect results? Is the time frame realistic? Can you achieve the desired results in the period of time they’re allowing?

2 Ways To Get the Client’s Budget Every Time

In order to get the client’s budget I like to have a little fun… it depends on your personality as to which one of these strategies work best. You could even use:

1. Jokester:  If a prospect tells you there is no budget, you can respond with a little sarcasm. Like, “No budget? That’s great! I love working with client’s who don’t have limits on what they can spend. Then we can do a bunch of testing and see what works!” Of course, there is a budget and they’ll soon end up giving you a ballpark of it. If not, you can try #2.
   

   ---

2. Reverse Auctioneer:  Start with an obscenely high number and just keep dropping it until you land on a number they’re comfortable committing to. Say something like, “What’s the budget? $100,000? $50,000? $40,000?…” Just pause for a brief second between throwing out numbers until you can get them to lock in a range.

How to CYA Against Clients Who Are Slow Or No Pay

Mike says he’s going to binding arbitration to try and recoup the loss. I think he should chalk it up to a lesson learned. It’s just not worth investing his time and energy. Learn from it and spend that time building processing to make sure it can’t happen again. This will protect the agency from future potential issues and improve cash flow.

Get paid in advance.

Literally you should have the cash in hand before you start a project. Either 100% paid in full or, depending on the size of the project, at least 50% upfront. Your salesperson will probably want you to start as soon as there’s ink on the contract. Don’t do it! Cash first is the way to go.

Change payment terms.

A lot of agencies like to do 50% upfront and 50% on completion. That’s not the best idea because if the client drags out the project, you’re stuck. Instead, get the client’s credit card on file and let them know you’ll be billing on certain dates over the course of the project. Also, put language in your contract about a penalty for charge-backs (and of course, consult your attorney about your contract.)

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency 3X Faster?

Are you overwhelmed by all the information out there on various ways to grow your agency? Do you want direction on how you can grow your agency faster and easier?

Then you’re in luck! I created an innovative mentorship called Agency University.

Agency University is a program which provides the 1-on-1 mentorship and ongoing support that is crucial to the success of your agency. Click here to see if it’s the right fit for you.

Looking for a new way to monetize your agency’s content marketing? Check out how you can use interactive content to personalize the user experience, engage with your prospects and gain trust by making the content more relevant. Learn what interactive content is all about and how you can use it to acquire new agency business.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• What is interactive content?
• How can agencies use interactive content?
• What types of interactive content works best for agencies?

Today’s guest is Randy Reyess, cofounder of Outgrow, a growth marketing platform that enables marketers to build interactive content that increase customer engagement. He’s on the show to share strategies on how you can create interactive content that captures more leads and helps convert them into clients.

What is Interactive Content?

You know those clever quizzes on Facebook that test your movie knowledge? Or calculators you find online to recommend what type of mortgage loan you need? That’s interactive content. It content that requires the participants' active engagement -- more than simply reading a blog post or watching a video. It helps the creator gather information about the user and move them along within the funnel.

How Can Agencies Use Interactive Content?

Randy says agencies should reflect on all the common questions their sales and support teams always seem to get. The best interactive content usually answers those types of questions. They are the questions that take a lot of explanation, rely on several variables and could not be easily explained in something as simple as a blog post. These are the types of things agencies can handle with a quiz or calculator.

[clickToTweet tweet="Everyone is unique but they have common criteria. Use interactive content to understand them quicker." quote="'Everyone is unique but they have common criteria. Use interactive content to understand them quicker.'"]

When you offer all your options to prospects it can be overwhelming and confusing. And when you confuse - you lose. Interactive content helps you build a solution and make the recommendation that best suits a prospect’s specific needs.

What Type of Interactive Content Works for Agencies?

Agencies and SaaS companies are loving interactive content for capturing leads and acquiring new clients. Here’s how they’re using them:

• Calculators: ROI is huge for your prospects and clients. They want to see what kind of bang they’re going to get for their buck. Agencies can use ROI calculators to help clients determine where and how to spend their budgets. Calculators provide useful information and build authority by not only providing a result but also explaining it.

• Quiz: Agency prospects often think they need one thing, but in reality actually need something completely different. A short quiz can help them (and you) understand their goals and determine how to meet them. It eliminates the confusion and guesswork while also keeping the focus on the client and their needs. At the conclusion of the quiz, you can make a recommendation on which product or service they need based on quiz results.

Mistakes to Avoid When Creating Interactive Content

1. Not having a promotion strategy. Some marketers create calculators without any plan for getting it to it's users. Your interactive content can't generate leads if there's no plan for distributing the content.
2. Not fully experimenting enough. If you want your content to be a lead generator it's important to test the effectiveness of the lead gen form. Run testing on having different numbers of fields on the form, as well as where, when and how much information you require from the user.
3. Not understanding where the user is in the buyer's journey. Understand what type of person you're targeting and where they are in the funnel. Randy suggests starting with your end goal in mind and then determine your target and whether you want to be educational (calculator strategy) or entertaining (quiz strategy).

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency 3X Faster?

Are you overwhelmed by all the information out there on various ways to grow your agency? Do you want direction on how you can grow your agency faster and easier?

Then you’re in luck! I created an innovative mentorship called Agency University.

Agency University is a program which provides the 1-on-1 mentorship and ongoing support that is crucial to the success of your agency. Click here to see if it’s the right fit for you.

Wondering how you can get the attention of your ideal clients? It's a noisy marketing world out there, but you can break through the noise. Learn how one digital agency owner is growing a social community with tens of thousands of prospects. In this episode, learn the ins and outs of creating a Facebook group that provides value and connects people so you can beat out your competition and stay top of mind.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• 2 benefits to building a Facebook community.
• Tips on creating and managing an engaging group.
• How to avoid common pitfalls when creating a Facebook group.

Today’s guest is Arne Giske, a digital agency owner whose business sky rocketed after creating a Facebook community has over 29,000 members in just one year (and still growing!). He’s here to share tips on creating and managing an engaged group plus pitfalls to avoid so you can generate new agency business.

2 Big Benefits to Building a Facebook Community

It took Arne 6 months to take his Facebook group from 0 to 1,000 members but just another 6 months to jump from 1,000 to 18,000! (It's called Millenial Entrepreneur Community - check it out here.)

It’s better than an email list because people choose to see and engage with their Facebook communities every day.

1- Eliminate Your Competition

Creating a community and helping to connect and serve others. In a very busy, digital world your prospects want to feel seen and heard. You can help them by creating a community of like minded individuals where they can ask questions and idea-share. The best way to break through the noise and clutter of your competition is to help, not hype. Doing this will make you stand out from the “me too” agencies.

2- Member Development Builds Revenue

As your community grows it’s members are more likely to work with you. Members become aware of you and your brand. As an active member of the group you’ll be building trust and authority with your comments, answers and helpful posts. When you provide value first, it will come back to you.

Tips on Creating an Engaging Group

So, there are millions of Facebook groups out there. What can you do to make sure yours is different? The key is making sure people want to join and engage in the group. You can’t even begin to monetize your group until you have active members participating in it.

First, set the mission for the group. What is the intention for bringing these people together? Why would someone want to join this group? Arne says he has started some other groups that flopped entirely. Looking back, it’s because his other groups were self-serving. People could see through his motives and chose not to be involved a sales platform.

Also, understand the basics of Facebook’s algorithms and use it to your advantage. Facebook groups grow because of engagement. Every like, share, comment and post counts! The more engagement, the more Facebook suggests your group to non-members. It becomes very cyclical: member growth = more engagement = more growth = more engagement, and so on.

Naming is important, so take your time. The first three words in the group name will determine whether people want to join or not. Arne suggests making the group name keyword heavy. People will join groups that are relevant to their life, so reach your target audience by identifying them in the group name. (This is another reason why your agency must have a niche!)

How to Manage a Successful Facebook Community

Arnes says the best way to manage a Facebook community to to give the members freedom while providing them structure. Here’s how:

• Be selective. Consider your criteria for membership. Facebook allows you to ask new members a few screening questions before they’re allowed to join. Determine how you’ll screen group members in order to keep the integrity and intentions of the group.

• Set guidelines. Set rules and make sure you or community manager enforces them. For example, you want to keep your group spam-free. So set a rule about no self-promotion and then make sure there’s a system in place for enforcing it. Decide what kind of penalty rule breakers will receive and then follow through: Will you delete their post? Will you block them from the group?

• Pin important posts. A pinned post is the one that stays on the top of the group discussion at all times. It can only be pinned or unpinned by an group administrator. You can use pinned posts to explain rules and guidelines, draw attention to Facebook Lives, make special announcements, or provide special member offers, such as affiliate links.

How to Avoid Common Pitfalls

Low membership: Some groups just never take off and membership doesn’t grow beyond a couple hundred. That’s because the creator is relying on organic growth. Instead, Arne says to update backlinks from your other social channels and point people toward the group through other media. Help grow membership by promoting it.

Branding the group: You are connecting and serving like-minded people. Remember, Arne learned the hard way that people will see through selfish motives. So it’s ok to stick branded, content in the group so long as it’s relevant and helpful. But you can’t push your services or brand on the members. And most definitely do not make your brand name part of the group name. People will get to know you within the group after they click the “join” button.

Misunderstanding the platform: There’s a misconception on how different messaging works on different platforms. A Facebook group is not for sales or marketing. It’s simply a place to start a conversation or a place where people can raise their hand to indicate interest in learning more. When it’s times for marketing and sales, your job is to lead them off that platform and take them somewhere else (like your website) to learn more.

Being an agency owner can feel isolating and lonely. But it can be a whole lot better when you hear from others in the same boat.  So, check out the stories of not one but two super successful agency owners as we cover everything from overcoming their biggest challenges, to increasing prices and growing their teams.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• Overcoming the pipeline problem.
• 4 tips on increasing prices.
• What agency role to hire for first.
• What to do about a weak link on your team.

I could not be more excited to share this episode with you because it’s my first three-way! :) Today’s show guests are two digital agency owners Zach Williams, of Venveo, and Todd Earwood, of Money Path Marketing. These guys have been super successful - Todd’s agency doubled their business in 4 months and Zach’s did 4X revenue in one year, so listen close! They’re here to talk about the similarities and differences in their journeys as agency owners, as well as share some golden nuggets of wisdom and inspiration.

Overcoming the Pipeline Problem

One of the biggest challenges as an agency owner is continuing to find new clients and sell, while serving your existing clients. Both guys agree, it like it’s a vicious cycle! You’re a marketing agency, but there’s never enough time to practice what you preach…

You work hard on your own marketing to attract new clients, then you get busy with them and end up neglecting your own marketing, so when those projects dry up you end up scrambling to procure new clients again… and the cycle repeat itself over and over.

The solution? Todd and Zach both say defining a specialization and positioning the agency to a specific audience greatly helped their pipeline problems. Todd said it made a major impact on business when he identified and communicated: who they are, the market they serve, and what they stand for.

4 Tips on Increasing Prices

Are you charging enough? Zach says he didn’t fully understand the value his agency was providing to their clients… in some cases it was up to 100X! They were under valuing services  by not charging enough.

1- Measure and quantify value

Chances are, you’re not charging enough! Clients should see a 10X return on their investment working with you. So, the key is to work backwards to determine the value of your work and divide by 10.

One of the best ways to determine value is to understand their 3 I’s - issue, impact and importance. Once you know what a project is worth the client, you can better estimate it’s value.

2- Ask the right questions upfront.

As Todd said, there’s nothing worse that estimating a project at $50,000 only to find out the client was prepared to spend triple. So you’ve got to ask all the right questions to qualify your client, scope the project and determine what the outcome is worth to them.

You can’t fully understand the scope of a project without all the right information. You have to 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. Here are some of the questions you should ask new clients to determine value.

3- Sell outcomes and ROI.

A lot of agencies try to sell based on their portfolio and what they’ve done for others. Zach adds says past work can very subjective but outcomes and ROI are concrete evidence of value. It’s so much easier to sell on black and white facts.

4- Report and remind often.

Clients usually have short term memory, right? They tend to forget where they started and have a hard time remembering or realizing the value your agency provided.  Todd says it’s super important to report results to clients regularly. Help them remember where they were and where they are now so they can realize your value. Do this often and in person, rather than just via email. Data reporting can be your secret weapon to growing your revenue.

When to Hire (and Fire) for Your Growing Agency

What Role to Hire for First?

In the early stages of agency growth, it’s hard to know when and who to hire first. Most owners want to get out of the account management and project management work… how did Zach and Todd do it?

Zach says he’s horrible with process and he knows it. Know your strengths and He knew right away that he needed to hire someone who was process driven and his first hire was a Project Manager. Todd agrees, and says it’s important for the owner to know their own skillset then hire what’s missing. His first hires were specialists and he learned the hard way that he needed people to own the accounts.

It’s hard to give up that control but when you do it can be oddly refreshing. As Todd put it, “there’s pleasure in knowing people pay our firm money and I don’t have to personally work with them.”

Recognizing a Weak Link on Your Team

Hiring is hard - firing is even harder. That’s why they say: hire slow, fire fast.

Growing from 0-5 employees is different than 5-10 and 10-20… When your team is small each person needs to be nimble. As your agency grows, the people who got on board early have to adapt to the changing environment.

As an owner you have to recognize the employees who cannot make the future journey and grow with you. There are ones who will be dead weight, so you’ve got to make decisions about them quickly. Todd says, in those cases he sees two choices:  confront the issue and coach up -or- coach out.

Have you ever considered closing your agency because you feel like you’re failing? Cash flow problems, employee issues, bad clients… the struggle is real! You don’t have to throw in the towel. Just check out what this agency owner did to turn things around to become profitable and happy again.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• How an agency goes from good to bad.
• 6 Steps to turning around a struggling agency.
• One regret from an agency owner.

Our guest today is Jack Jostes, President and CEO of Ramblin Jackson, the SEO agency he started in 2009. In his video The Good, The Bad and The Ugly he talks about his eight year journey as an agency owner and the valuable lessons he learned in order to go from almost close to thriving. Jack’s on the show to talk about the steps he took to turn around his agency so he and his team could enjoy it again.

How Does an Agency Go from Good to Bad?

Like many entrepreneurs, Jack fell into the business by accident. He was working in sales and started to learn SEO as a trade from someone in the business. He decided to start a digital agency to marry those two skills but he admits he had no idea what he was getting into.

The Good

At first, things were great and it was super fun taking on new clients, challenging new project and hiring contractors to help with all the new work. After a couple years, though, he decided to bring on a partner with 20 years experience in the agency business. It turned out to be a great decision because they grew 50% for several years after forming the partnership.

The Bad & The Ugly

Jack says it was fun and growth at great at first. But then things got bad - and ugly. Cash flow was terrible. Jack and his partner went months without getting paid and vendors were paid late. The team morale was low and clients were getting frustrated. Jack got to the point where he considered closing. That’s when he reached out to me the first time and told him not to give up!

I told Jack about the Navy Seal’s 40% rule which is, when your mind thinks you’re done, you’re really only 40% done. And that was Jack’s turning point.

6 Steps to Turning Around a Struggling Agency

So how did Jack turn things around? Here are the six steps he took.

1- Get really clear about company vision.

Jack was unhappy and ready to throw in the towel. I get it. I considered closing my agency when we were struggling too. When things are hard and it’s not fun it seems like giving up is the answer.

However, Jack said he took a step back and got really clear about what he wanted and didn’t want for the agency. Then he had an honest, respectful conversation with his partner where they realized they wanted different things. That’s when they made the mutual decision to part ways. Jack bought his partner out and since it was an amicable split, they still work on some projects together.

2- Understand and be transparent about financials.

Jack says part of the reason they had such bad cash flow was because he was embarrassed of the state of the financials and kept it a secret. He used to feel as President, the accounts receivables and collections were his responsibility. No one was aware or incentivized to help achieve better cash flow.

After going through my Agency Playbook he discovered ways to incentive his team. Now there are key employees are get bonuses based on accounts receivables and attaining agency financial goals.

3- Change payment terms.

Like most agencies, Ramblin Jackson’s payment terms were 50% to start and 50% upon completion. However, the problem with this payment structure is when the client stalls on a project the final amount can’t get billed. That means the agency is stuck holding the bag while the client drags their feet on providing information, feedback or approvals.

Now, they require full payment up front for smaller projects or use my date driven payment terms for larger engagements. As a result they’re they’ve reduced project cycles since prepaid clients are motivated to receive the value they’ve already paid for.  

4- Hire slow. Fire fast.

It’s imperative to have a A players on your team - even in roles that might not seem integral to the outward success of the agency. In Jack’s case, it was the bookkeeper who was awful and incompetent. He was always slow to send invoices and didn’t have a pulse on agency finances.

Once Jack fired the bookkeeper and hired a new one things turned around quickly. In fact, the new bookkeeper found over $10,000 of unsent invoices! She has also streamlined bookkeeping and created systems to make it easy.

5- Tie others to the same bomb.

By holding everyone accountable to the same goals, there is more cohesiveness among the internal departments. For example, Sales doesn’t get commission until the client pays the invoice. With common goals everyone is motivated to work together to achieve them.

6- Invest in mentors.

Agency ownership can be lonely! Jack says he has worked with some incredible coaches over the years who each specialize in different aspects of business. He had worked with a sales coach (at different job) and now pays that coach to help his sales team at Ramblin Jackson. He also works with a sales management coach and an executive coach to help him hone his skills in those areas.

Jack also says it’s been key finding a coach who has owned and sold a successful agency. (Hint: it’s me)  The Agency Playbook and our Agency University have been invaluable resources for the mentorship from someone who’s been there and done it.

As Agency CEO one of your 5 roles is to be the face of the company. A great way to do that is to use speaking engagements and presentations to build your brand and grab the attention of your ideal clients. Here are 9 tricks to keep the audience engaged and leave them with an unforgettable first impression.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• What makes the best presentations?
• 9 Tips to a unforgettable speech

Today’s guest is Mike Pacchione, one of the public speaking experts at Duarte. As Mike puts it, he gives “workshops on giving workshops” and “talks on talks.”:)  No matter how you explain it though, Mike is the pro on giving memorable speeches. He knows what to do to keep your audience engaged so you can use your presentations to build your agency business. Mike shares his experience and advice on making the most of your speaking opportunities.

What Makes the Best Presentations?

Two things. It might seem obvious but most importantly you need to start with a good idea. It doesn’t have to be earth shattering but it does need to be somewhat thought provoking and worth sharing.

Next, you have to understand your audience. Like, really understand them. Why are they interested in your topic? How can they relate to or use the information you’re presenting? You also have to be relatable, like not to using technical language to a non-technical audience.

9 Tips to an Unforgettable Speech

1- Grab attention with a strong first line. Mike says you want to say something that makes them put down their phone and pay attention. A great technique is to start by dropping them in the middle of a story and then frame the rest of your presentation around filling in the blanks.

How NOT to start:

• Don’t start with your name and the title of your presentation. Super boring! Besides, they already know who you are and why you’re talking.
• Don’t start with “I’m really nervous”. Your audience will focus on your jitters the entire time and could undermine your authority.

2- Be a little vulnerable. You can share personal experience or say something like “I used to think this but now I realize that’s wrong because of that.” Just insert something that shows the audience you’re human and not perfect. This creates empathy between you and your audience, which can have a major impact on how they react to your talk.

3- Build evidence based authority. Too many people give advice based on what worked for them. Everybody is not everybody and not everything works for everyone. Avoid anything that sounds like: “Here’s what I did and you should too...” Instead add data or case study evidence to back the advice/strategy in your presentation.

4- Share anecdotes and stories. The best, most memorable presentations are those told in story form. You can use personal, real life stories or even industry case studies. Did you know the most viewed TED Talk is Sir Ken Robinson “Do Schools Kill Creativity?” with over 42 MILLION views? His talk is simply a collection of stories strung together to make a point.

However, don’t just tell a story for the sake of storytelling. Use it to demonstrate transformation or change mindset.

5- Craft short and long term calls-to-action. Most presentations end with a closing statement and a CTA, such as: “Text 123456 to receive my PDF of XYZ,” but that’s such a finite ending. Mike suggests adding an additional long term goal or CTA which leaves the discussion more open ended. Challenge the audience to be doing “X” by next week or give them a 90 days to achieve “Y”. You want to have two CTAs to leave a longer lasting impression.

6- Warn the audience about traps. No one wants to fall victim to a trap but everyone loves a good story about it. Point out potential pitfalls, mistakes or traps to create a little tension in your talk. Pointing these out and explaining the resolution can be another way to build your credibility. Saying things like, “you might be tempted to X, but here’s why you shouldn’t…” or “one of my clients did Y and here’s why that didn’t work.”

7- Develop an impactful closing statement. A lot of people end their talks with Q&A. This is great for credibility but you can’t control the final question which means the last thing the audience hears may not be on point. Mike says to craft a closing statement that leaves a lasting impression. Then, deliver the closing statement before and after the Q&A

8- Have fun. Your audience will mirror your emotions when you’re on stage. Your demeanor will set the tone for the entire time you’re up there. If you’re nervous, fidgety, distracted, etc. it will transfer to your audience. So just have fun and they will too! (There’s a difference between fun and funny. Only be funny, if you are a funny person. Forced humor is not fun or funny.)

9- Rehearse until it becomes part of you. Some people practice until they get it right. I think you should practice until you can’t get it wrong. You want your speech to become second nature and flow easily. When it does you’ll notice you’re far less nervous and you can adjust your presentation to fit your crowd. The more times you give a certain talk, then better it becomes.

How can you turn your agency into a highly sought-after brand? Today’s guest knows how because he’s done it for the OxiClean and the George Foreman Grill. In this episode, learn the 5 key strategies to build a brand that gets clients beating down your door.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• How the right positioning can drastically change your business.
• 5 things you can implement right now to build a successful brand.

Today’s guest on the show is Rick Cesari of Cesari Media, the agency he founded over 20 years ago. They specialize in building brands that sell products direct to the consumer. Over his career, Rick has worked some amazing brands such as OxiClean, George Foreman Grill, Rug Doctor, and Sonicare to name a few. He’s here to share the secrets to building these amazing brands so you can apply them and grow your agency.

“Figure out a good way to position so you’re different than everyone else.” ~ Rick Cesari

Why You Might Need to Reframe Your Brand Positioning

Have  you ever heard of The Fajita Express? No, you haven’t. But I’ll bet you have heard of the George Foreman Grill.

When Rick was first approached to help with branding it was for grilling product called The Fajita Express. It was a slanted grill so the meat could slide right into taco shells. It didn’t sound too groundbreaking to Rick but with his help repositioning, that grill became the George Foreman Grill. As you probably know, it is marketed for its ability to drain grease away from the meat. They’ve sold over 30 million grills since then!

5 Keys to Building a Better Brand

With over two decades in the direct response business Rick has discovered some consistent themes to building brands. These are easily adaptable from product to service-based agency business.

1- Develop a Unique Selling Proposition

A USP is the foundation of building a better brand. It’s the single most important factor clients use when deciding to work with you over your competition. The best type of USP for an agency is a niche or specialization that helps you stand out. When you show expertise in a specific area you develop a reputation for being the best. You will become “the choice” rather than just “a choice.”

2- Position to Stand Out

Rick says he tells his clients to sell benefits or results rather than features. In the agency industry that means you should be marketing the ways your agency can serve your clients. Show clients what you can do for them and how you are the trusted advisor who helps achieve their desired results.

3- Deliver More Value

When you are laser focused on particular niche you can drill down and really understand the intricacies of that industry. Then use that understanding to exceed expectations. For example, when Rick’s agency was helping OxiClean he says they always sent a larger container than what the customer expected and included free samples of other products. This is a great strategy for growing revenue from your existing client base.

4- Always Listen to Your Clients

Speak to satisfied clients - the people who have already had success working with you - and see what they liked and disliked. Use the positive feedback when crafting your marketing messages, in your new business proposals, etc. When you get input from existing clients you can use that information to understand and then market toward the benefits of working with you.

5- Procure and Use Authentic Testimonials

Today’s decision makers want to hear from others in their same boat. Talk to your clients that are getting great results and ask them to share their story as a testimonial. Social proof such as testimonials (particularly video testimonials) will go a long way with your prospects. It’s a very powerful message when existing happy clients share their story of success.

Above all else, Rick’s best advice is to be unique. You can’t be everything to everybody so focus on an industry or segment of the population that you help best.

If you know a ton about your agency but aren’t winning all the clients you think you should be, you might be plagued with the curse of knowledge. In this episode, you will learn how you can clarify your message and use it as a competitive advantage. Win more clients when you communicate in a way that makes clients feel educated and helped.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• What is the curse of knowledge?
• How to break the curse of knowledge.
• How to use explanation to separate your agency from the competition.

Today’s guest on the show is Lee Lefever founder of Common Craft and Explainer Academy and author of The Art of Explanation. His businesses and his book center around the idea of making explanation a business growth strategy. He’s on the show to share ways to clarify your agency’s message so you can win more clients... because when you confuse, you lose.

“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” ~ Albert Einstein

What is the Curse of Knowledge?

Ever wonder why no one “gets” what you do? Do you get puzzled looks when you describe your agency work in detail? That’s the curse of knowledge. It’s the theory that the more you know about something the harder it is to understand what it’s like not knowing.

You spend all day engrossed in the technical side of the industry, surrounded by people speaking a language very specific to your agency’s skill set. However, outside of the agency setting you might continue to use technical jargon that makes other people (like prospective clients) feel confused, overwhelmed, or inferior. It’s not intentional but it happens!

Lee compares it talking to a mechanic when you have car trouble. They use technical phrasing to explain the problem but you don’t understand most of what they say. You don’t want to look stupid by asking questions so you smile and nod... Then, you either trust them and agree to the repairs or shop around to find someone you can understand. That’s what your prospective clients are doing when you don’t clearly explain how your agency can help them.

Working this way might makes you (and your agency) feel and sound smart but creates a set of problems:

1. It makes clients feel inferior when you talk above their level of understanding.
2. When you water it or simplify too much, it sounds condescending.
3. Your client doesn’t want to ask questions for fear of sounding stupid.

How Can You Break the Curse?

The goal is to explain in a such a way that it makes your client feel a sense of familiarity. You can adjust your assumptions on what you think people might know about your business. Lee says you have to avoid getting stuck in a loop where your client doesn’t understand and is afraid to ask questions, so you continue to use language they don’t understand and they continue to be confused.

What you can do is start using phrases like: “I don’t know how much you already know about XYZ…” before you simplify an explanation. Framing the conversation this way allows you to “dumb down” the explanation without sounding condescending.

How to Use Explanation as a Competitive Advantage

There’s a difference between “understanding” and “convincing.” Understanding is a higher level concept and it’s not the same as convincing someone they need your service. Your agency’s job is to help your prospects/clients think conceptually and understand why. When they understand how you can help they are more apt to want to buy.

For example, if you’re an SEO agency… clients might not care about SEO but they do care about what SEO can do for them.

If you have the curse of knowledge it seems obvious to you why someone should work with you. However, when you have a shift in mindset and break the curse you will win more clients. Take a step back and think about what questions you can answer for your clients before they even ask them. Things like: “Why is this relevant to me?” or “How will this affect me?” Consider the struggles and pain points your clients have, then explain how you can help ease them. People don’t buy what they don’t understand - so help them understand!

You will stand out from your competition when your agency tackles the WHY for more directly. Win more clients when you help them understand why your agency’s work is important instead of just convincing them it’s something they need.

3 Questions Your Agency Website Must Answer

Your website is the central hub of everything you do. Your homepage is where your prospects go first and how they’ll compare you against other agencies. STOP worrying about what other agencies sites look like and make sure yours answers these 3 questions:

1. Who do you help?
2. What do you offer?
3. How do you help?

Too many agency websites skip answering #1 and assume their services are for everyone. Be a specialist and announce it on your website. Use language that is familiar to your clients and phrases that are specific to their industry. You will win more business when your prospects realize you “get” them and the nuances of their industry.

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 or head to JasonSwenk.com/proposalsoftware. Sign up now for FREE and get 50% your first three months using the code smart agency while upgrading.

Are you trying to land bigger clients for your agency? It’s hard to communicate value when a lot your agency work invisible to clients. In this episode, discover how you can build better relationships and win bigger agency clients by stepping up your communication game.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• 4 Ways to communicate to win bigger clients.
• How to avoid feeling like an imposter when you land big clients.

Dylan Baskind is today’s guest on the show. He’s here to share ways agencies can step up their game to land bigger clients. Dylan is the CEO and Co-founder of Qwilr, a software solution for for creating attractive proposals and sales documents. He's on the show to share ways to notch up your client services and win bigger agency clients.

Dylan spent 8 years in the digital consultancy space growing his business from small, local clients to larger, multinational ones. He found the one consistent pain point was always the time suck of creating impressive proposals. So he created Qwilr as a solution for replacing aggrevating, time consuming cut and paste PDF or Word doc proposals/presentations with interactive and trackable web pages.

4 Ways to Use Communication to Win Bigger Agency Clients

It all comes down to better communication with your existing clients. Dylan says when you put more effort into your existing clients you will start getting noticed by bigger ones. Disclaimer: you cannot rely solely on referrals because they aren’t scalable! However, if you’re giving excellent service to existing clients you will build a reputation… and sometimes small fish know dolphins, and some dolphins know whales.

1. Communicate beyond expectations. Be concise, prompt and polite. When a client asks 3 questions in an email, respond to all 3. Don’t sit on emails too long, be prompt by replying in a timely manner. And keep a friendly but professional tone in all communication.

2. Consider the client’s user experience. Digital agencies spend so much time considering their clients’ customers UX that they sometimes forget about their own users... the client. Little things can really wow your clients in big ways. For example, I’ve seen amazing results just by sending my new new clients a personalized video (using a tool like Covideo).

3. Demonstrate value. A lot of agency work is invisible to the client. However, if you outline the invisible tasks and correlate them to results, the client can connect the dots and have a better appreciation for your work.

4. Eliminate the mystery. Clients tend to view agency’s as a magic box where they put money in, wait awhile and hopefully, eventually get results. Use reporting tools to communicate analytics regularly. Clients can get a better understanding of what and why you do what you do when the see regular updates of the results.

How to Avoid Feeling Like an Imposter

It’s totally normal to feel like an imposter the first time you take on bigger project or bigger client than you’re accustomed to. You feel like you’ve got to fake it until you make it and just pray no one figures you out.

If you’re at the point where you’re ready to jump a rung on the ladder it’s time to step up the quality your communications. You can and bigger clients and increase your agency’s perceived value. Your agency’s reputation rests on your confidence and ability - you DO NOT need to fake it :) Avoid feeling like an imposter by leading conversations and presentations in a more professional manner. Consider your prospects experience and knock it out of the park from day one.

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 or head to JasonSwenk.com/proposalsoftware. Sign up now for FREE and get 50% your first three months using the code smartagency while upgrading.

Grow as a Business

I hope you found this information helpful in finding the best ways to land those bigger agency 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!

Do you feel like your agency spends more time being an order taker than providing insight and value to your clients? If so - listen up. It’s time to show your clients how much value you bring their business. You can increase revenue by measuring your client's success and finding new opportunities for them. Data reporting done right can be your secret weapon to growing your agency.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• How agencies can retain their clients.
• What KPI’s agencies should measure in their data reporting for clients.
• How to use data reporting to grow agency business.
• Steps to acquiring and growing retainers.

Today’s guest is Peter Caputa CEO at Databox, a SaaS tool to simplifying analytics and reporting for agencies. He joined Databox after serving as the VP of Sales at Hubspot, so in this interview he brings us a ton of knowledge on retaining and growing clients.

How Agencies Can Retain Clients

It’s all about reporting. And we’re not talking about just going through the motions of reporting. More like, actual face time with the client to present them with an analysis of metrics and provide insightful value.

Most agencies start out a new client relationship by going over their analytics reports but after a few months it turns into a mundane task, the client loses interest and no one pays much attention to it... That’s where agencies are losing out!

Pete says it’s super important to start every client relationship by selecting the metrics that are important to the client and show them a return on their investment. He suggests agencies also benchmark where the client is at the beginning of the engagement and measure changes that are resulting from your work. That’s how you’ll prove your agency’s worth and value.

Data Reporting: The KPI’s Agencies Should Measure for Clients

Most agencies are pulling data from several sources. Then, they do a cut and paste of data into their own slides or template, which is a major time suck. (And a big reason why most agencies just “go through the motions” when it comes to reporting!) Databox offers a unique solution to that problem by integrating with CRMs and marketing automation tools to pull and format data from several sources all into one place. KPI’s most agencies are pulling for clients are: traffic, leads, customer counts, revenue, and CRM stages.

How Can You Use Data to Up-Sell Existing Clients?

Don’t just pull the data - analyze it. Good agencies pull and present data every month. Really great agencies go a level deeper and show the impact of their activity on the data. Report the effectiveness of blog and social posts, Adwords and landing pages to set your agency apart from others. The key is to analyze the data, find holes or areas for growth. Use that information as a springboard to pitch areas for improvement. Turn monthly reporting from a chore into an up-sell opportunity.

Pete says you do have to be comfortable having the “it didn’t work” conversation. Don’t be afraid of it - agencies don’t get fired for campaigns that don’t work; they get fired for not catching it or not owning up to it.

It happens. Sometimes email campaigns don’t get any clicks, blog posts don’t rank high, etc. An agency should always have a pulse on what’s happening and know about issues before the client. Be truthful and have integrity. If the report isn’t good, the client probably already knows it and just needs to hear it from you. Glossing over bad news only makes matters worse in the long run. It’s your job to report the good and the bad, the innovate a solution to overcome the bad.

[clickToTweet tweet="Don’t just sit idle with blog or social posts for your clients. Use innovative technology to add value!" quote="Don’t just sit idle with blog or social posts for your clients. Use innovative technology to add value!"]

How to Prove Your Agency’s Value to a Client

Too many agencies don’t know the results they’re achieving because they aren’t benchmarking from the beginning. Clients care about one thing - their bottom line. So, the agency has the burden of proof and must to tie activity to results. Pete says agencies need to ask the tough questions from the start, such as:

• “How much is a lead worth?”
• “What’s the average deal size?”
• “How many deals are you getting per month?”
• “What are you trying to achieve? Why?”

To skirt around some the tough questions, you can use an inbound marketing calculator. But it’s SO important to get a baseline at the beginning of an engagement so you can document improvements. Equally important is frequent conversations with the client about results. Agencies are good at selling visions but not always good at revisiting the topic. Prove your agency’s value by showing them a direct correlation to their ROI.

Steps to Acquiring and Growing Retainers

1. At the beginning of an engagement, meet with the client and agree on the key metrics to measure and monitor success.
2. Get a benchmark on the key data from the beginning and measure success against it.
3. Meet with the client regularly to present changes in key metrics and suggest areas of opportunity.
4. Introduce new ways to improve client metrics and stand out among the “me too” agencies….

Marketing technology has come a long way in a very short period of time. It is incredibly sophisticated and as an agency, you can become indispensable black box agency by deploying your knowledge and use of information. Using software like Databox to pull, analyze and interpret data is a step in that direction of improving the data reporting of your agency.

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency Faster?

Most agency owners struggle to scale. We’ve developed an amazing mastermind to guide you through the journey of implementing the right systems so you can scale your agency — instead of feeling overwhelmed by it.

We do this by bringing together successful agency leaders to share strategies, offer advice, and reveal what’s working (and what’s not working) in their agency. The truth is, whatever you want to accomplish in life, nothing will help you go further, faster than getting the right adviser in the context of motivated peers. If you want to GROW fast and smart, Digital Agency Elite mastermind will help.

What can you do to stand out from your competition? How can you avoid costly business mistakes that make it harder to grow and scale your agency? In this episode, you’ll get some great advice on this and more from an amazing pro who’s owned three successful agencies over the past two decades.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• How the agency space has evolved over time.
• How to avoid costly business mistakes in your agency.
• Why specializing is more profitable for agencies.
• What is 48in48? So get this!

Today’s guest is Jeff Hilimire who also happened to be my guest on episode #2 of The Smart Agency Master Class more than three years ago! With nearly 20 years of experience owning 3 different agencies, he says his worst mistakes were made over the past 3 years. He’s back on the show this time to tell us how you can avoid those mistakes to successfully grow, scale and enjoy your agency.

Jeff started his first agency in 1998 and sold it 10 years later. He stayed with the acquiring agency until it sold again another 5 years later. In 2014 Jeff started Dragon Army, a mobile gaming and app studio. A couple years later, he added an agency component to it. Today, Jeff and his team of 25 employees work with some amazing brands such as Coca-Cola, Red Bull and The Home Depot.

How Has the Agency Space Changed Over the Years?

There’s been an evolution in the industry. Full service agencies just aren’t a thing anymore (except the really huge ones who truly can offer a full range of services). Due to differing client needs and new technologies, there’s a larger demand for specialty shops. Most brands are moving away from having one agency manage everything.

The real opportunity lies innovation. I always tell my clients to make decisions based on the future, not just what’s happening today. That means always trying new things and not being afraid of making a mistake.

As Wayne Gretzky put it... “skate to where the puck is going, not where it has been.”

How to Avoid Costly Business Mistakes

Jeff has made plenty of mistakes over the years, but the 3 biggest came within the last 3 years owning Dragon Army. It all boils down to clarity and having a long term vision for your agency… In hindsight, that’s what was lacking and lead to these big business mistakes:

Mistake #1 - Upon entering a new industry, Jeff didn’t do enough research. If he could do it all over again he would have started the agency side at the same time as the studio. His prior experience is with the agency model and he knows how to operate and scale an agency. Jeff estimates this decision set Dragon Army back about 2 years.

Mistake #2 - Dragon Army took on a project (a new mobile game) that took 3X longer than he expected. This means all their resources were tied into one huge engagement. Looking back, Jeff realizes he didn’t do his due diligence on what would be involved in completing the project and how much it would tie up his team.

Mistake #3 - Jeff acquired a partner agency as a means to grow but didn’t dig enough into their financial and operational systems. He says he trusted his gut without the purchase with a business mindset.

What's the common theme here? It's lack of clarity and vision. Jeff's advice - take your time to and look at decisions from all angles. Entrepreneurs can be impulsive (i.e. like chasing the next shiny red object!) but it’s important to hold back a little, research a ton and understand the impact your big decisions have on the long term vision and goals.

And, once you have a vision the values, principles and beliefs fall right into place - consider Zappos.com. They operationalize their core values and use them to set company culture.

Why Specializing is More Profitable

Dragon Army is super specialized and it’s working. Jeff says the best way to separate yourself from the other “me too” agencies is to be the very best at one thing. Know your strength and only sell that service. A lot of agencies are so afraid of turning off potential clients or turning down a potential sale they end up saying yes to things that aren’t in their wheelhouse.

If you’re saying ‘yes’ to the wrong things, you won’t have time for the right ones. And if you don’t have time for the right things - you can’t grow or scale your agency.

Can you use your professional skills to do good for the community?

In addition to his agency, Jeff is also the co-founder of 48in48. The premise of the organization is building 48 non-profit websites in 48 hours in a hack-athon style event. In 2015 the team of volunteers built 48 sites in 48 hours in Atlanta. In 2017 it’s grown to 4 U.S. cities and by 2018 it’ll be an international event! And, the ultimate goal is to eventually growing to 48 cities worldwide, 48 websites in 48 hours.

It literally takes thousands of designers, developers, content writers and other marketing professionals. If you’re interested in learning more, sponsoring or volunteering check out 48in48.org.

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency Faster?

Most agency owners struggle to scale. We’ve developed an amazing mastermind to guide you through the journey of implementing the right systems so you can scale your agency — instead of feeling overwhelmed by it.

We do this by bringing together successful agency leaders to share strategies, offer advice, and reveal what’s working (and what’s not working) in their agency. The truth is, whatever you want to accomplish in life, nothing will help you go further, faster than getting the right adviser in the context of motivated peers. If you want to GROW fast and smart, Digital Agency Elite mastermind will help.

Become a Better Agency Owner

Business mistakes can be costly to not only your profits but your reputation. I hope this insight into Jeff's experience as well as my own helps you avoid making these business mistakes within your agency moving forward. However, you should also be evaluating other areas of weakness within your agency. No matter what challenges 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.

Are you overwhelmed with tasks that keep you in the weeds instead of working on growing your agency? Are you paying salaried team to do things an hourly assistant could accomplish? STOP IT! Learn how you can increase productivity and save boatloads of time and resources. Plus, learn how to help your sales team be more effective so you can grow.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• Ways to save time and increase productivity.
• How to help your sales team be more effective.
• How to get unstuck from doing everything yourself.

Today’s guest on the show is Jeff J. Hunter, founder, and Chief Freedom Officer at VA Staffer, the outsourcing agency he created to help businesses build virtual teams. With a background in IT and virtual project management he knows the ins and outs of getting projects done virtually. He’s here to give us strategies on saving time and ways to help salespeople be more effective.

How to Save Time and Increase Productivity

Agencies are always trying to land more clients, right? However, there always comes a point where they can’t take on more new business because they’re too busy servicing the clients they already have.

Jeff’s a big proponent of “don’t hire until it hurts” so his advice is to make more time for servicing clients and growing your business by understanding what you do and how it impacts your business. He compared it to Pareto’s 80/20 Principle from 1865 ~ the trivial many 80% and the vital few 20%.

However 150 years later, in a technology age, Jeff believes it’s more of a 90/10 split. He advises his clients to list out all the tasks and activities they do. Then decide which are the trivial many and which are the vital few. The vital few are the ones making the most impact on the business. For most entrepreneurs, Jeff finds  90% of what they do can be delegated while they focus on the 10% which impacts their business.

Similarly, I tell my clients to make a list of everything they do and then rank each item as to how much it impacts the agency - low, medium, or high impact. This is how you can find the major time sucks (check out my productivity worksheet here). and then work on becoming more productive with daily tasks and increase productivity overall. I find that most will usually tackle the low-impact items first because they offer immediate gratification and make us feel good in the short term.

The hard stuff usually seems to get procrastinated, yet that’s the stuff that makes the most impact on business growth.

How to Make Your Sales Team More Effective

A solid outbound strategy is one of the three sales channels you need to grow your agency. (The other two are inbound sales and strategic partnerships, by the way.) But are your or your sales team spinning their wheels on mining the information and making connections? That’s a major waste of time and resources. Why spend your own time or pay the sales team top dollar to do the leg work, when you could use a $7-$8 per hour VA?

Instead, let a VA do the mining. They can do the research, make contact and set up introductions. This frees you or your team up for setting sales strategies and building relationships.

Jeff says knowing what not to outsource is just as important as knowing what you should outsource. And relationship building is definitely not something you can farm out.

How to Get Unstuck from Doing Everything

Stop doing the things you suck at by eliminating, delegating or automating. Try doing the 90/10 exercise above outline above or check out Jeff’s webinar at 9010Life.com. Jeff says he guarantees you’ll find that 10% of what you do is actually the stuff you should focus on.

Also, a lot of the things you’re stuck doing because you’re the only one who knows how. So, start documenting what you do and how you do it. Use a tool like Screencast or TinyTake to record the what and how you do things. Because, the first step in delegating what you do is teaching others how to do it.

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency Faster?

Most agency owners struggle to scale. We’ve developed an amazing mastermind to guide you through the journey of implementing the right systems so you can scale your agency — instead of feeling overwhelmed by it.

We do this by bringing together successful agency leaders to share strategies, offer advice, and reveal what’s working (and what’s not working) in their agency. The truth is, whatever you want to accomplish in life, nothing will help you go further, faster than getting the right adviser in the context of motivated peers. If you want to GROW fast and smart, Digital Agency Elite mastermind will help.

Improving as a Digital Agency Owner

When you increase productivity, you will be surprised at what you can achieve for your digital agency and it will help you improve as an agency owner. Is this the only struggle you are facing at the minute? No matter what challenges your agency is facing, I can help you get through all of it.

Through my experience running my own digital agency and helping other digital agency owners, there are many topics I can offer guidance on whether you are an established agency facing struggles to new agencies unsure of what the different phases of growth you will experience will look like.

Growing your agency team can also be a major struggle for any agency owner and I can show from knowing 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.

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.

Hopefully you already know your agency employees are your biggest asset. But, is your agency “employee-centric”? Do you have the right people in place to find, lead and retain an awesome team? In this episode we’ll hear from a 15-year agency owner about why and how he brought in an HR Director and an agency President to accelerate agency growth.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• How to know when it’s time to hire an HR Director.
• Why you might want to bring on an Agency President.
• When and how to get help growing your agency.

Today we have our first ever three-peat guest on the show! Founder and CEO of BrightWave Marketing, Simms Jenkins is making his third appearance and this time he’s sharing the strategies he has used to make sure his team remains his #1 most valuable asset. (You can find his first and second interviews here.)

Since the first couple times he was on the show in 2014, Simms says BrightWave has continued to innovate in the email marketing arena. His agency business has doubled and he’s authored two books on the subject. Today, BrightWave is working with huge brands like Chick-Fil-A, Panera Bread, CarMax and Mattress Firm. He’s the first to admit their success is largely due to having and keeping the right people on his team, plus adding a few key people in his executive team.

When to Hire an HR Director

Simms says the real key to his agency’s success is the team and company culture. Those were the driving forces behind bringing in someone dedicated to attracting, engaging, and retaining agency talent. He hired for an HR position when his team reached about 25 and it’s been a great investment. In my case, I hired an HR person when my agency got to 50 employees but in hindsight, we’d have done better to have one as we reached 15 employees.

“We hired at a key turning point in the business. We needed to position [our agency] as an employer and make it a great workplace.” ~ Simms Jenkins

Most agencies are completely client-focused as they climb the growth ladder. However, they forget their biggest asset is their human capital. An HR position is particularly important when your agency is in a growth phase. In most cases, human resource functions fall onto the owner and/or office manager which is time suck. And aside from saving the agency owner’s time and energy, having a dedicated HR person creates a better experience for candidates and new hires, leaving a favorable impression and smoother transition.

Besides, as an agency grows it’s important to have a process for finding, hiring, engaging with, and retaining talent. Even though it’s a non-billable position, this role is huge for agency growth.

Why Hire an Agency President?

Simms didn’t set out looking to add an agency president, it just sort of made sense. He had hired a consultant to counterbalance some of his own leadership weaknesses. After 6 months of consultancy, it was a natural fit with the team and culture, so Simms brought him on permanently.

Simms remains the CEO, focused on external factors such as: developing strategy, positioning and sales. His agency president is focused on internal processes like delivery, operations and creative. He says they collaborate very well together and having clear, defined roles helps the team understand the individual roles.

The Main Roles of an Agency CEO

CEO Simms says his role as CEO is threefold:

1. Set the strategic vision for the agency. Also, communicate the vision, goals and values to the team.
2. Provide resources to execute the vision. This includes providing the necessary leadership, skills sets and tools to get the job done.
3. Understand agency financials. Provide a stable business environment by understanding where they’re at and where they’re headed financially, as well as identify potential obstacles in achieving financial goals.

I couldn’t agree more! In fact, I’ve found there are actually just 5 roles for an agency owner to transition into an agency CEO.

Simms' final piece of advice for all agency owners is to know what you don’t know. He says it’s important to have some sort of trusted advisor to help you make decisions and get your agency to the next level. Whether it’s a Board of Directors, business coach, or mastermind group he stresses that every agency owner needs help knowing how to get where they’re going. And, if you need help, I might know a guy :)

Ready to Discover the Best Agency Strategies Working Today?

Most agency owners struggle to scale. We’ve developed an amazing mastermind to guide you through the journey of implementing the right systems so you can scale your agency — instead of feeling overwhelmed by it.

We do this by bringing together successful agency leaders to share strategies, offer advice, and reveal what’s working (and what’s not working) in their agency. The truth is, whatever you want to accomplish in life, nothing will help you go further, faster than getting the right adviser in the context of motivated peers. If you want to GROW fast and smart, Digital Agency Elite mastermind will help.

How can you protect yourself and your clients from brand copycats? I recently had some major issues with a copycat and had to take action FAST in order to protect my business and brand. In this episode, learn what you can do to proactively defend your agency and clients’ intellectual property.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• What is and what isn’t intellectual property?
• Why register your agency’s brand assets?
• Tools and tips to keep your assets protected.

Today’s guest is Cheryl Hodgson, founder of Hodgson Legal and BrandAide.com. She’s an attorney, advisor, author and expert on everything related to brand protection. Cheryl specializes in intellectual property and brand assets. And, she shares advice protecting your and your clients' brand assets. Cheryl touches on everything from copyrights and trademarks to goods/service names and domain names.

What Is and What Isn’t Intellectual Property?

Cheryl says often the term “Intellectual Property” is misunderstood. Legally, this term only applies to assets in five specific areas:

1. Brand Names: This is one of the most important assets a business owns. It’s a unique identifier with a long life and requires protection. Cheryl says most businesses don’t put enough time into developing names. They settle on it with little thought. But Cheryl advises seeing what’s already out there to avoid conflicts before you settle on a brand or business name.
2. Copyright: Any artistic expression of an idea is copyright protectable and includes things such as programs and content. Without the registering you have rights but no remedy.
3. Patents: Things like inventions and software are patentable. Patents are exclusive rights granted for a product or a process that provides a new way of doing something or offers a new technical solution to a problem.
4. Confidential Information: Any private or classified business information can be intellectual property - things like lists, non-disclosure agreements, confidentiality agreements, etc. that should not be shared without your permission.
5. Domain Names: In most cases, a web address is more important than a physical address. Domain names are a business asset and need protection.

Why Register Your Agency’s Brand Assets?

The biggest reason to register is because it adds value to your agency. No matter whether you’re considering selling in the near future or the long distant future, owning your intellectual property increases your agency’s value. That’s what buyers care about most - sales, revenue and assets.

Another great reason to register is to protect your turf. Cheryl shared a story about a former client who failed to register his brand and lost out big time! He started AmazonNetworks.com back in the early 90’s on the cusp of the internet boom. A short time later, a business named Amazon Book Sellers was founded. Initially there was no conflict but as Amazon Book Sellers grew they decided to register their brand. As you can imagine, eventually AmazonNetworks.com was sued and forced out of business.

[clickToTweet tweet="Why register your brand and services? Without a trademark, your brand identity becomes diluted." quote="Why register your brand and services? Without a trademark, your brand identity becomes diluted."]

Tools and Tips to Protect Your Agency

Your brand assets and intellectual property are your unique identifiers. When it becomes popular the value becomes diluted and it no longer distinguishes your goods or services from others. Registering and monitoring use of your brand names protects your brand’s identity. When naming goods or services, do your due diligence to see what else is already out there:

• Search the United States Patent and Trademark Office database and find what is already registered.
• Monitor Google Alerts with brand/product names or terms specific to your brand.

If you discover a copycat (like I did) of your registered assets, there’s a few different courses of action you can consider:

• Simple, careless plagiarism can start with a direct phone call or email to the offender.
• Handle blatantly egregious or fraudulent activity with a letter from an attorney.

Can You Force Someone to Release a Domain Name?

This is always a tricky topic. Cheryl says a domain name on it’s own is just like your street address... You can't do about anything if someone is just parked on it. However if someone is using a name you own for commercial use, you do have rights and protection. Likewise if you have a successful product or service, competitors or related businesses will try to duplicate what you’re doing by using a similar domain name with a different extension (.net, .org, etc.)

A Domain Dispute Resolution is a cost effective way to recapture your rights and avoid expensive court proceedings. Cheryl suggests speaking to a law professional or checking out the National Arbitration Forum or WIPO.

#1 Biggest Branding Mistake Agencies Are Making

There’s one major mistake Cheryl sees over and over -  a lot of marketing agencies and brands do not use trademarks correctly in their marketing materials. In fact, Cheryl says it's so common that she has created a PDF guide to help you. You can grab Cheryl's Marketing Professionals Guide to Brand Use, her Brand Protection Assessment and a FREE chapter of her book by clicking here.

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency Faster?

Most agency owners struggle to scale. We’ve developed an amazing mastermind to guide you through the journey of implementing the right systems so you can scale your agency — instead of feeling overwhelmed by it.

We do this by bringing together successful agency leaders to share strategies, offer advice, and reveal what’s working (and what’s not working) in their agency. The truth is, whatever you want to accomplish in life, nothing will help you go further, faster than getting the right adviser in the context of motivated peers. If you want to GROW fast and smart, Digital Agency Elite mastermind will help.

Building Your Digital Agency Better

Protecting your intellectual property is just one important aspect of creating the best business possible, you need to look at your agency in the bigger picture to find your strong areas as well as weak spots and then think of how you can fix them. No matter what challenges your agency is facing, I can help you get through all of it.

Through my experience running my own digital agency and helping other digital agency owners, there are many topics I can offer guidance on whether you are an established agency facing struggles to new agencies unsure of what the different phases of growth you will experience will look like.

Growing your agency team can also be a major struggle for any agency owner and I can show from knowing 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.

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.

Leadership is seriously hard work. There’s a ton of pressure, juggling and personal sacrifice. Don’t let burnout get the best of you! Learn the signs of a major leadership crash before it happens and how to be a better agency leader by knowing how to stop self-sabotaging.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• What is a leadership crash?
• How to identify the signs of an impending leadership crash.
• How to be the leader your agency needs.

Today’s guest is Stephen Mansfield, a leadership consultant to CEO's, celebrities and politicians in crisis. He is also a speaker and author; and his specialty is helping with the recovery of leadership crashes. After years of handling things like major corporation CEO’s affairs and politician’s misuse of power, he has identified 10 signs of a pending leadership crash that will help us stop self-sabotaging traits. Stephen’s on the show to describe some of these signs in a proactive attempt to help us identify and avoid our own leadership crash.

What is a leadership crash?

A leadership crash, in Stephen’s words, is a high profile mistake - an affair, embezzlement, misuse of authority or credentials, etc. - that sabotages the career and life of someone in a leadership role.

Stop Self-Sabotaging: What are signs of a leadership crash?

1. Being out of season. A “season” is a predetermined, self-imposed period of time. Continuing to work in the same capacity outside of your season sets you up for a crash. Stephen’s examples of a season include: a retirement age, a political term, a period of time living abroad, etc. He says to abide by your commitment to your season.
   

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2. Choosing isolation. Friends know you best, so right before a major crash people tend to isolate themselves and avoid the issue. Isolation may be due to shame, insecurity, or embarrassment. If you find you’re starting to isolate, figure out why and prevent your own crash.
   

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3. Harboring an unresolved episode of bitterness. We all have issues from our past that have shaped who we are today. However, harboring unresolved issues with intense bitterness can lead to a serious crash. Holding onto issues only breeds resentment and anger, so Stephen’s advice is to reconcile it and learn how to move beyond it.
   

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4. Forgetting fun. The pressures of leadership can be soul crushing and mind numbing. It’s important to sprinkle some fun within your intense, hectic schedule. Stephen says boredom causes most crashes (particularly by men). So make time for vacations, adventures, sports or activities you love in order to build in some fun.
   

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5. Evading confrontation. Those who do not engage in low level confrontations end usually primed for a huge blow out in the form of a leadership crash. According to Stephen, many crashes are a result of no one speaking up when early signs indicate an issue.
   

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6. Serving artificial images. Social media can play a big role in your perceived image. All it takes is one exaggerated social post or embellished article and the bar gets set so high, you can’t live up to it. The result is tons of pressure that lead to disastrous decisions causing a leadership crash.
   

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7. Loss of poetry. Leadership starts as a vision but usually turns into being about processes. The loss of vision, passion and poetry is what leads to a crash. An uninspired leader cannot inspire his/her team. Stephen’s advice is to stay engaged in your business; remember your passion and your “why”.

Read more about the 10 Signs of a Leadership Crash in Stephen’s ebook for on Amazon (it's just $4).

How To Be the Best Agency Leader

“Great leadership is a connection between vision and possibilities with the practical processes to see those possibilities fulfilled.” ~ Stephen Mansfield

Your main job as your agency’s leader is to inspire your team. There’s a big difference between inspiring and motivating...  An inspired team doesn’t need motivation :) Stephen's best example of a great leader is Winston Churchill in WWII. During the war, Churchill first rallied his troops around his vision for winning it and then showed them how it could be done by embodying the vision and enabling them to achieve it.

Inspiring your team and communicating vision is one of the 5 roles of an agency CEO. The key is not to inadvertently de-inspire them. One bad decision can destroy years of building inspiration.

[clickToTweet tweet="A leader is someone who is not only showing what can be done but inspiring and enabling people to do it." quote="A leader is someone who is not only showing what can be done but inspiring and enabling people to do it. ~ Stephen Mansfield"]

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency Faster?

Most agency owners struggle to scale. We’ve developed an amazing mastermind to guide you through the journey of implementing the right systems so you can scale your agency — instead of feeling overwhelmed by it.

We do this by bringing together successful agency leaders to share strategies, offer advice, and reveal what’s working (and what’s not working) in their agency. The truth is, whatever you want to accomplish in life, nothing will help you go further, faster than getting the right adviser in the context of motivated peers. If you want to GROW fast and smart, Digital Agency Elite mastermind will help.

Growing Your Business When You Stop Self-Sabotaging

When you can identify the signs of a leadership crash, you will be able to stop self-sabotaging behavior and improve as a digital agency owner. In order to build as an agency owner and grow your business, you need to be able to recognize other issues within your agency that needs your attention.

Look for weak spots in your business and then think of how you can fix them. No matter what challenges your agency is facing, I can help you get through all of it.

There are many topics I can offer guidance from the different phases of growth you will experience 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 from knowing when it’s time to hire a sales manager or expand your sales team, creating a process for performance-based pricing which can be the best pricing strategy for your business and learning 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.

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 what you need to do to stay relevant and significant to your clients? Let’s face it, marketing is an ever-changing industry. And in the agency world, it’s survival of the fittest. So we must adapt or die! Here’s a great story about how one agency transitioned their business model in order to continue to thrive. Think about Blockbuster video - they didn’t adapt to the needs of the industry and are now extinct. Don’t be the next Blockbuster -adapt or die.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• Why it’s important to adapt in the agency space.
• 3 Keys to an agency transformation strategy.
• Why and how you can use vlogging to generate leads.

Elizabeth Sosnow is Managing Partner at Bliss Integrated Communications, a 50 person agency in New York City. She’s on the show today to tell us how Bliss transitioned from PR to an Integrated Marketing agency in order to stay relevant in a changing industry. Plus, she shares some great tips on vlogging.

Why It’s Adapt or Die in the Agency Space

Bliss was founded over 40 years ago as a PR agency with a specialization in health care, financial and professional services. Elizabeth says, though, in recent years they faced challenges during the collapse of the traditional news media industry. They quickly released it they needed to make a change in order to adapt to the needs of the industry. That’s when Bliss reinvented themselves from traditional PR to Integrated Marketing.

Their game plan was to use their in-depth knowledge and insights in their niche to pivot the agency. If they’d been generalists, they’d never have the expertise to fall back on. Consider this just another reason why your agency should have a niche :)

3 Keys to an Agency Transformation:

It’s hard to change - especially when you’re already an expert at what you do. But, along with the decision to transition the agency from PR to Integrated Marketing, came the realization that Bliss was entering a new playing field.

Elizabeth says the theme of the transition was “know what you don’t know.” Meaning, they weren’t going to bulls*t themselves, their clients/prospects, or competitors into thinking they could do things they couldn’t do. Instead, she says agency leaders did these 3 things:

1. Hired an outside source to educate their team on everything from operations to pricing.
2. Worked hard and put in additional non-revenue generating hours for agency growth.
3. Understand their limitations and concentrate on keeping control of the top level marketing.

How a Vlog Can Be an Agency Growth Strategy

People don’t want to read anymore. That’s why I’ve had a lot of guests on the show talking about the importance of video marketing and live streaming videos. But what about vlogging? It’s a smart content vehicle that isn’t being used much. I just started my vlog - you can check it out here. Elizabeth recently started one too, so she and I chatted about why and how.

Why vlog? Well, people like to consume information in multiple ways, all at once. Think about it - do you usually watch TV while also on your tablet or smartphone? So we have to reach and garner awareness when and how we can, right? This interview alone can be watched in video form, listened to in podcast form or read as a blog post so we are able to reach people in a variety of formats.

The goal of a vlog is to give your audience a authentic and genuine glimpse into your world. Elizabeth compares it to a lesson she learned as a high school actor. She says actors are translators for the audience trying aiming to tell a story and garner a reaction. The same is true of a vlog - if it’s done well you’ll get attention or a reaction from your audience.

How to Structure an Agency Vlog

Very few agencies are vlogging. In fact, the only one I know of who’s doing it right is Gary Vaynerchuck and his show, DailyVee. Gary vlogs to promote his personal brand as a growth strategy for his agency, VaynerMedia.

If you’re working on building your personal brand, it might mean footage of your daily activities and what makes you, you. Like my new vlog here. If you’re using a vlog strictly to promote your business, it might mean more of a candid and unrehearsed snippet full of business tips, like the one Elizabeth does for Bliss. Her vlog, Marketing Espresso Shots, is a 90-second bi-weekly, “quick jolt” of integrated marketing tips.

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency Faster?

Most agency owners struggle to scale. We’ve developed an amazing mastermind to guide you through the journey of implementing the right systems so you can scale your agency — instead of feeling overwhelmed by it.

We do this by bringing together successful agency leaders to share strategies, offer advice, and reveal what’s working (and what’s not working) in their agency. The truth is, whatever you want to accomplish in life, nothing will help you go further, faster than getting the right adviser in the context of motivated peers. If you want to GROW fast and smart, Digital Agency Elite mastermind will help.

What's Next for Your Digital Agency?

No matter what your agency specializes in or the services you offer, you must have the ability to adapt as the industry and technology change.

Through my experience running my own digital agency and helping other digital agency owners, there are many topics I can offer guidance on whether you are an established agency facing struggles to new agencies unsure of what the different phases of growth you will experience will look like.

As you continue to grow your agency team, I can show you how to recognize when it’s time to hire a sales manager or expand your sales team to perfect your business strategy by 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.

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.

If you’re looking for a unique, innovative and low-cost lead gen strategy check out this story. Live events can go far but one agency is using Meetup to find new prospects and turn them into leads while building the know-like-trust factor. Best part is, it’s totally FREE.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• What is Meetup and how does it work?
• 6 Steps to creating your own Meetups for lead gen.
• Using Meetup to capture the attention of big brands.

Our guest today is Ali Salman, co-founder of Rapid Boost, a lead gen agency in western Canada. He’s here to share a unique lead generation strategy that generated over $165K in just a few months and continues to keep their pipeline full with new prospects.

What is Meetup and Why Use It?

Meetup is a social network that facilitates in-person group meetings in various locations worldwide. It’s primarily used to connect people with common interests so they can idea-share, network and help one another. Meetup groups get together in their specific geographic location for social gatherings as well as educational and workshop-style events.

Meetup members join for free and find groups that align with their personal areas of interest, spanning everything from politics to pets to careers. By entering their postal code the Meetup system suggests events and groups and helps find place/time to meet.

There are a bunch of benefits to using Meetup but the biggest one is that you’re it’s an innovative way to build your list. As members join your group(s) you’re essentially creating a list of warm prospects who have an interest in or need for the services you provide.

[clickToTweet tweet="With Meetup, you can build relationships with people who are already interested in your topic." quote="With Meetup, you can build relationships with people who are already interested in your topic."]

6 Steps to Using Meetup for Lead Gen

1- Create a regional group. First, determine what type of group you want to create (this is an example of why niching is so important!). You’ll also have to decide on the purpose your group - is it a mastermind, workshop, etc.?

2- Name your group. Start by researching what groups already exist in your city. The group name should be creative but also specific to your target audience. Think about what type of group they’ll search for and what types of events they’ll attend.

3- Join groups and attend events. Ali suggests getting a feel for what’s out there by attending some local events. Get your toes wet first before jumping in! Look at groups and events both in and outside of your niche.

4- Plan and schedule your first event. Consider the topic(s) that will be of most interest to the attendees. Ali says he gets 30-40 people to attend his events, of those 4-5 have serious potential. The key is to provide value at the event. Try different styles to see what works for your group - presentations, workshops, partners/guest speakers, casual mingling, or a mix of any/all styles.

5- Promote your events. Use social media channels to promote your events in advance. You can also promote your event for free using Eventbrite and creating a Facebook event. Post photos from the event during/after for added emphasis and to gain interest in future events.

6- Be patient while your group gains momentum. Ali says it takes patience and lots of practice. But, it does take awhile to build momentum and he cautions us to stay patient and focused. Like anything else, consistency is crucial to success. The whole point is that you’re putting yourself out there and it takes time to get it right.

7- Work smarter, not harder. You can do the same presentation in multiple cities. This will help your lead gen efforts grow exponentially.

Don’t Start by Pitching!

Ali says he’s hosted dozens of Meetup events and learns a little more each time. The #1 most important lesson is not to sell right off the bat. The people who are in attendance are not there for your agency’s infomercial. Ali suggests preparing a couple of different presentations that provide value to your target audience by helping them with a common problem. Whether they’re interested right away or not, you are building a relationship.

Instead of pitching - what you can do is follow up after the Meetup by pulling the group member list. You can send an email with more information - like a cheat sheet or other takeaways from the event. Or, you can introduce a Foot in the Door offer to this select target.

You Can Target Big Brands Using Meetup

Ali says often times younger Marketing Coordinators or similar will join Meetup groups and attend events looking for the next big thing to show their boss. They want to learn new strategies and innovative ways to solve their problems. That’s where you come in and save the day! Remember, big brands aren’t just a logo - they’re people too. Be specific in who you’re targeting, and be authentic and genuine at the event. Provide enormous value without selling or pitching. Then you will stand out against the “me too” agencies and land bigger brands.

Ready to Discover the Best Agency Strategies Working Today?

Most agency owners struggle to scale. We’ve developed an amazing mastermind to guide you through the journey of implementing the right systems so you can scale your agency — instead of feeling overwhelmed by it.

We do this by bringing together successful agency leaders to share strategies, offer advice, and reveal what’s working (and what’s not working) in their agency. The truth is, whatever you want to accomplish in life, nothing will help you go further, faster than getting the right adviser in the context of motivated peers. If you want to GROW fast and smart, Digital Agency Elite mastermind will help.

Keep Improving

Creating a strategy for lead gen for your agency can bring in more clients, particularly big brand clients and bring your digital agency to a whole new level but this can be a recipe for disaster if you don't work on the other challenges you have within your business. Don't worry, I can help you get through all of it.

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’ve the different phases of growth within your agency and 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.

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.

Top 5 Tips to Accelerate Agency Growth

If you have your sights set on your agency breaking 8-figures this episode is a must. Do you want to know how you can accelerate agency growth? Today's guest is an agency owner who's gone from $0 to over 8-figures and he shares his top 5 tips so you can grow too.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• Why you must niche down to accelerate agency growth.
• How to reward key employees without giving them ownership.
• Ways to stop doing all the agency stuff you hate.

Our guest today is Chris Spears, co-founder of Arke Systems the agency he started in 2006. Eleven years into the business he's seeing steady growth, has 80+ employees and loves his job! Chris and I go way back to my digital agency days when we were working as strategic partners. His agency has crushed the 8-figured ceiling and he’s on the show to share how you can do it too.

1- The More Niched, the Faster the Growth

Chris attributes a lot of his agency’s growth to an early appreciation of niching down. If he could do it all again, he’d specialize even sooner. Once Arke became #1 in a specific technology and marketed themselves as the pros in that arena, they had a full pipeline with tons of inbound prospects.

A lot of agency owners are afraid to become too specialized because there’s a fear of “losing” clients or “turning off” prospects. However, Chris believes buyers are much more sophisticated than we give them credit for. They won’t be your guinea pig for a project you’ve never done - they want an agency that's proficient in a specific skill or experts in an industry.

2- Get the Right People in the Right Seats

Surround yourself with people smarter than you and you will grow. Most entrepreneurs don’t think any one can do it (whatever “it” might be) any better so they end up being control freaks about everything. But when you get the right people in the right positions their skills and experience will help your agency grow beyond what you could do alone. When you have key people in the right roles, you can stop doing the things you suck at and spend time on your business, instead of in it.

Equally important to having the right people, is empowering them to do their good job. First, make sure they understand their role within the agency. Next, make sure they’re educated on all facets of the business so there are no missed opportunities for up selling, cross selling or obtaining referrals.

3- Keep Your Team Motivated

Once you’re surrounded by all the right people it’s important to keep them motivated. Chris says it goes beyond just having fun together at happy hour. An engaging culture plays a big part in keeping a team motivated. And a motivated team produces efficient, effective work yielding faster agency growth.

In terms of employee incentives, Arke Systems has a Stock Appreciation Rights Program. This program protects both the agency and the employee with built in contingencies if either party terminates the relationship. It’s also a great way to publicly recognize stellar employees without offering regular equity in the agency. (That’s a BIG no no!)

4- Stop Doing Things You Hate

How many hours do you spend doing things you hate? Invoicing, chasing payments, scheduling meetings, etc. Whatever those things are - eliminate them by delegating to your team or outsourcing. And if it’s something you can automate, even better! Chris also says not to build things from scratch if they already exist. Don’t make more work creating a solution for a problem if a solution already exists elsewhere. Things like this are a distraction and derails your focus from the important things. You can’t grow your agency when you’re spending time reinventing the wheel.

5- Know Your Exit Plan

Getting focused and staying focused is important. What does your end game looks like? If you know your long term goals and avoid distractions while trying to achieve them, you can grow your agency much faster. I like to tell my clients: build your business to sell, but treat it like you never will.

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency Faster?

Most agency owners struggle to scale. We’ve developed an amazing mastermind to guide you through the journey of implementing the right systems so you can scale your agency — instead of feeling overwhelmed by it.

We do this by bringing together successful agency leaders to share strategies, offer advice, and reveal what’s working (and what’s not working) in their agency. The truth is, whatever you want to accomplish in life, nothing will help you go further, faster than getting the right adviser in the context of motivated peers. If you want to GROW fast and smart, Digital Agency Elite mastermind will help.

What Happens After You Accelerate Agency Growth?

With these tips, you should be able to make changes and accelerate agency growth for your business. However with this increase in growth, unless you are prepared it can cause more issues for your agency. This is why reviewing your agency consistently for areas of weakness or improvement will allow you to become a better agency owner and run a better business.

During my time in the industry, I have had my own experience running my own digital agency and 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.

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.

Facebook Live is one of the hottest ways to generate new agency business. You can spend tons of time and resources sending a hundred emails to your perfect prospects but you’ll earn more trust in just one live video than all those emails combined. Live streaming video is where it’s at... and your competition is not doing it yet, so you will stand out from all the “me too” agencies. So what are you waiting for?

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• Why you need to be on Facebook Live.
• 6 Steps for starting live video.
• Tips to set you up for successful live videos.

Today’s guest is THE expert on Facebook marketing, Amy Porterfield - an entrepreneur, bestselling author, and social media marketing trainer. Following an amazing career at Harley-Davidson and working with Tony Robbins, Amy decided to give it a try on her own. After overcoming tons of obstacles, she’s become one of the most well-respected Facebook marketers today. She’s on the show to tell us all about why Facebook Live is one of the hottest new ways to generate new agency business.

Why You Need to Be on Facebook Live

When you put yourself out there in video format, you build trust with your clients so much faster than with the written word. You’ll get more traction with 1 video than in 100 emails or blog posts.

But recorded video can be overwhelming, stressful - the equipment, scripting, lighting, editing. Ugh! The difference with live streaming video is most of the overwhelm and stress is eliminated. It is what it is - no script, no editing. And your viewers get to know the real you. Sure, it opens you up to vulnerability and criticism but the more you practice the better you get.

There aren’t many people who love seeing themselves on video but still, Amy says you’ve got to embrace it. Social media channels like Snapchat, Instagram Stories, Facebook Stories, Facebook Live, etc. are not going away anytime soon!

And, your competition isn’t there yet so now’s the time to jump in and build your following!

The best part is, Facebook prefers video right now. Your live videos will jump to the top of your prospect’s news feed and you’ll be seen far more than regular social posts by your competition.

BONUS - When you are doing Facebook Live videos, you’re also creating amazing audiences for Facebook retargeting. You can segment your audience based on the percentage of videos watched and then market to them accordingly. There is a super low barrier to entry and the rewards are huge!

6 Steps to Starting Live Video:

1. Go live from your business page, not your personal profile. (A typical rookie mistake!) That’s where your prospects will be watching you and where you want the videos to live forever.
2. Do some prep work in advance by creating a rough outline of what you’re going to talk about. This will prevent you from losing your train of thought or rambling :)
3. Give the post a descriptive title so your audience knows why they need to watch. Name it something like: “How to Do {something cool} Without Doing {something that sucks}
4. Take your time. Facebook seems to prefer longer videos, like 20-30 mins. It might seem long, but it’s easy to do if you prepare in advance. Just share a few nuggets of advice, a story and answer questions/comments. If questions aren't posted by viewers, just ask and answer typical ones yourself!
5. Be patient while you build an audience. Don’t worry about the number of people who are watching the live stream… just act like people are watching and eventually they will.
6. Go live on a predictable schedule and at least weekly. Promote your live videos in advance with social posts so people know when to tune in. Going live regularly will help create a watching habit for your audience.

Tips to Set You Up for Live Video Success

Facebook Live is for everyone - no fancy software or equipment is necessary! Here are Amy’s tips for success:

• Go live from your desktop through your web browser, instead of your smartphone.
• Use your smartphone or tablet to read questions/comments that pop up during your live video.
• Have someone on your team give you a signal (like text or PM a thumbs up) when the audio and video is up.
• Use a window for natural lighting instead of messing with artificial light.
• Technology glitches are going to happen. Keep your emotions in check and handle it with grace. Don’t let tech issues hold you back from trying again.
• When you’re ready to go pro - Amy uses a Logitech webcam and subscribes to Wirecast screen sharing software.

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency Faster?

Most agency owners struggle to scale. We’ve developed an amazing mastermind to guide you through the journey of implementing the right systems so you can scale your agency — instead of feeling overwhelmed by it.

We do this by bringing together successful agency leaders to share strategies, offer advice, and reveal what’s working (and what’s not working) in their agency. The truth is, whatever you want to accomplish in life, nothing will help you go further, faster than getting the right adviser in the context of motivated peers. If you want to GROW fast and smart, Digital Agency Elite mastermind will help.

How Can You Improve Your Agency Further?

So using Facebook Live for your agency is now ticked off your list of promoting your business on social media buy what's next? How can you improve further to take it to the next level?

Take a step back, look for weak spots in your business and then think of how you can fix them. No matter what challenges your agency is facing, I can help you get through all of it.

From my experience in the industry, there are many topics I can offer guidance from the different phases of growth you will experience 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 from knowing when it's time to hire a sales manager or expand your sales team, creating a process for performance-based pricing which can be the best pricing strategy for your business and learning 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.

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.

We have all gotten them. The bad cold email that makes you feel better about yourself :)

Here's a fun interview I did with a buddy of mine from Proposify about the WORST and the BEST email he has ever received when it comes to lead generation.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• Mistakes to avoid making in your cold sales emails.
• How to write an amazing cold email.
• 4 Tips to crafting an effective cold email.

Today’s guest is Kyle Racki co-founder of Provposify, a SaaS product for helping agencies streamline proposal writing, get approvals faster and close deals quickly. He tells us how to improve the effectiveness of cold emails in order to keep the conversation alive.

Mistakes to Avoid in Cold Sales Emails

We’ve all been on the receiving end of some pretty terrible sales emails, right? Whether in your inbox, LinkedIn mail, or similar space they tend put us off. Here’s one from Julie, which Kyle shared as a typical bad sales example…

This is one of the WORST cold emails because:

• It’s too vague. The email says they were referred by a digital agency but doesn’t mention which one. It says it’s from a tech company but doesn’t mention which one. It also says doing business together could “...create a significant revenue stream…” but what’s the measure of “significant”? This email contains too much generic information with no regard to the intended recipient.
• It’s irrelevant. Kyle received this email and he runs a SaaS company for agencies, yet the email mentions the company’s positioning with attorneys and schools. This information is immaterial and has no bearing on the sales decision.
• It’s too presumptuous. The closing in this email assumes the recipient has learned enough and is interested in a phone call. It’s a giant leap to go from introduction to a phone meeting in one email. The purpose of a cold email is to see if there’s a fit, not close a deal. Making assumptions like that can be a real turn off.

How to Write an Amazing Cold Email

Here’s another example Kyle shared in comparison. This one has all the attributes of a great cold sales email….

This is one of the BEST cold emails because:

• It’s direct. There’s no guesswork - you know exactly who sent the email and what they want you to do. The next steps are clear and there’s a specific call-to-action. (It’s the opposite of vague!)
• It’s personalized. The sender did their research and . The email is not only targeted but Notice the thumbnail of the video? That’s Proposify’s site embedded into the customized video.
• It’s short and to the point. Just four sentences is all FullStory needed. This email says in just 30 words what the other one takes 102 words to say.

4 Tips to Crafting an Effective Cold Emails

1. Know who you’re targeting. Be narrow and specific instead of broad and generic. You’ll get more traction by sending custom emails to 10 solid leads rather than form letters to 100 cold leads.
   

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2. Do your homework to pull data and research on your target. You can use tools such as Rapportive to determine a business’ size, revenue, etc. and then import it into your CRM.
   

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3. Create an intriguing email or lead magnet provides unique or innovative information. What clients really want is for you to bring something new to the table. So, create a custom report or branded email. (Hint: you can use Proposify templates to do this!
   

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4. Use your CRM to monitor your leads’ engagement with your email. Then circle back to follow-up based on their level of interest and/or to handle objections.

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency Faster?

Most agency owners struggle to scale. We’ve developed an amazing mastermind to guide you through the journey of implementing the right systems so you can scale your agency — instead of feeling overwhelmed by it.

We do this by bringing together successful agency leaders to share strategies, offer advice, and reveal what’s working (and what’s not working) in their agency. The truth is, whatever you want to accomplish in life, nothing will help you go further, faster than getting the right adviser in the context of motivated peers. If you want to GROW fast and smart, Digital Agency Elite mastermind will help.

How Can I Help You Grow Your Digital Agency?

If you have more questions about how you can improve your agency, 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? 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 answered your questions in more from my AskSwenk 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.

Are you worried that defining a niche will limit your agency’s potential? Don’t be. Check out one agency’s story about how they grew past 7 figures in a very specific horizontal and vertical niche. Think: if you got paid on performance alone, what’s the ONE THING you do best to get you paid the most?

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• Why your agency needs a vertical or horizontal niche, or both.
• When and how to expand your niche.
• How to get bigger clients and retainers.

Today’s guest is Chris Dreyer, founder of Rankings.io (formerly Attorney Rankings). He’s a client of mine who did a private, full day workshop with me. We were able to supercharge his agency business and since then he’s had amazing growth! Agency leads have increased to 50-60 per day and they broke the 7-figure mark! Chris shares some of the strategies that helped his agency grow easier and faster.

Why Choose a Vertical and Horizontal Niche?

Chris is a school teacher by trade and was doing some SEO on the side. After a couple years of side jobs helping small businesses with SEO he quit teaching. He says it was an easy decision to choose a specific vertical niche because he knew he already had success stories, would build authority quicker, and stand out from the competition. To Chris, it seemed like an easy and logical decision.

Focusing on a horizontal was a more difficult decision. Chris says they are awesome at SEO and their happy clients would requests other services, like social media, PPC, email marketing, etc. He says they were “OK” at these types of projects and were profitable. However they made the difficult decision to focus only on their core service of SEO - and it paid off! Zeroing in on a horizontal makes you super searchable, and your ideal clients can find you right when they need you.

[clickToTweet tweet="When you make the decision to be the best at one thing, other decisions become easier to make." quote="When you make the decision to be the best at one thing, other decisions become easier to make."]

When and How to Expand Your Agency’s Niche

It was their goal to provide the best SEO for law practices - staying true to the goal was key. It wasn’t easy though. Naturally, law firms have relationships with a lot of medical providers. So, Chris’s agency’s satisfied law clients would often refer physicians to them. As tempting as it was, he often turned down those projects because he was so committed to the original goal in his vertical niche.

In fact, it wasn’t until just recently that Chris’s agency, formerly AttorneyRankings.io, rebranded to Rankings.io in order to draw a broader client base. The rebrand comes after 3.5 years of establishing their vertical niche. They’ve found a lot of their strategies easily transferred from legal to medical practices. However, 90% of their business still comes from attorneys.

How to Get Bigger Clients and Retainers

Not to pat myself on the back… but I’m gonna :) Chris said he attributes a lot of their success to implementing my Foot in the Door strategy. That’s when they saw conversion rates explode! Once they started offering a $995 SEO audit, it became so much easier for clients to commit to bigger projects.

The Foot in the Door allows Rankings.io to showcase their knowledge and educate their clients based on research and fact. It also allows the agency to qualify their prospects by working on a smaller project before signing on for a higher value, long term project. It serves as a vetting process and helps avoid potential headaches. (Translation: weed out the bad prospects before they become bad clients!)

From One Agency Owner to Another

Chris is a big fan of educating yourself and always trying to improve. His best advice to any agency owner no matter what stage they’re in, is to take action. Learning means nothing if you don’t put it into action.

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency Faster?

Most agency owners struggle to scale. We’ve developed an amazing mastermind to guide you through the journey of implementing the right systems so you can scale your agency — instead of feeling overwhelmed by it.

We do this by bringing together successful agency leaders to share strategies, offer advice, and reveal what’s working (and what’s not working) in their agency. The truth is, whatever you want to accomplish in life, nothing will help you go further, faster than getting the right adviser in the context of motivated peers. If you want to GROW fast and smart, Digital Agency Elite mastermind will help.

How Can You Improve Further?

Do you still have more questions to improve your business? I can help.

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 and 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.

Growing your agency means hiring great people to help you get there. And hiring top talent shouldn’t be limited by geographic boundaries. On today's show, one agency owner tells us why his agency's increased productivity and sales are the result of having a remote team.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• Is it time to get an office for your agency?
• How to be productive with a remote team.
• Must-have technology for a remote team.
• Balancing a remote team business model.
• How to hire remote employees.

Tim Cameron-Kitchen is the founder and Head Ninja at Exposure Ninja, the UK-based digital agency he started four years ago. In addition to growing an amazing business in a very short time, Tim has also written four bestselling books on digital marketing. Today, Tim’s here to tell us why his agency’s office space has been vacant for three years and how that has increased productivity and helped him scale his agency.

Is It Time to Get Office Space?

Starting as a freelancer and occasionally farming out work to other freelancers, it was a no-brainer for Tim to work 100% at home. However, as he grew to a network for 15+ he was getting nudged by others into working from a “real office.” So he signed a 5 year lease and started commuting to it every day. The result was disastrous…

Tim hated his commute, he hated interruptions, and he hated being pulled into office politics. In addition, he had hired some local talent which turned out to be convenient but not awesome in terms of skill-level and effectiveness. Creativity, productivity, and sales were all down which Tim attributes to the new mandate of working in the office.

So naturally, Tim chucked the office… after only 6 months. As a result, productivity increased in the first month and sales increased the next.

How to Be Productive with a Remote Team

When you’re working remotely you can work around your lifestyle, which ultimately optimizes productivity. More work gets done in less time when there are fewer interruptions and distractions. It means working smarter, not harder. (It doesn’t necessarily mean you’re laying on a beach working… but you could :) )

Thanks to technology, we can work collaboratively without being in the same physical location. Advanced technology allows us to work differently now than just 5 years ago. The software tools Tim and his team love to use are:

• Hubstaff - time tracking and accountability
• Teamwork - project management software
• Slack - communications, messaging and archiving software
• Email ticket system - filters, organizes and assigns tasks based on incoming emails

Even weekly department meetings are held remotely. Tim says internal meetings are done via Skype audio and meeting notes are posted to Slack. They’ve found it to be the most efficient way to keep each department on the same page.

Creating Culture with a Remote Team

It’s not an easy thing to create culture among a group of people who’ve never met. But, Exposure Ninja has a pretty strong culture, nonetheless. It can get lonely working from home full time, so they’ve found ways to alleviate that problem. Tim explained how they turned typical “water cooler talk” about TV shows, hobbies and pets into Slack channels. Co-workers can get more personal by sharing and communicating in group-chats on topics that interest them. They also do an annual holiday party or meet-up in order to socialize in person.

Balancing a Remote Team Business Model

Some love it, some hate it. There are people who thrive from working on their own terms and there are some who just can’t do it. Typically introverts like to work in solitude. Those with different personality types usually miss interacting with others during their work day, or aren’t self-motivated enough to work independently. This work style doesn’t suit everyone.

I actually once interview another agency that offered a hybrid of the traditional office/remote business model. The team has the option of work remotely or working in one of their multiple, global “creative spaces." Using this business model, this other agency grew to $3 Million Agency with NO Employees.

Conversely, the remote business model doesn't work for all clients, either. Some can’t handle having a remote agency. They want face-to-face meetings and personal contact. The remote business model can become an issue. But, if/when that’s the case then they weren’t the right client anyway.

Hiring a Remote Team

People are amazed that Tim has hired people he’s never met or even talked to… But their hiring process works and maintains productivity.

The formula for a successful remote employee = self-motivated + organized + think independently + work with very little management

So when it’s time to hire Tim doesn’t waste a bunch of time on rounds of interviews. Instead, they assign candidates an open-ended demo task. This helps filter out people who don’t fit the criteria, which is usually about 95%. There are lots of people who cannot demonstrate the necessary criteria, don’t handle the task as expected, don’t communicate as required, etc. Once they have it narrowed down then they’ll talk specifics on hiring.

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency Faster?

Most agency owners struggle to scale. We’ve developed an amazing mastermind to guide you through the journey of implementing the right systems so you can scale your agency — instead of feeling overwhelmed by it.

We do this by bringing together successful agency leaders to share strategies, offer advice, and reveal what’s working (and what’s not working) in their agency. The truth is, whatever you want to accomplish in life, nothing will help you go further, faster than getting the right adviser in the context of motivated peers. If you want to GROW fast and smart, Digital Agency Elite mastermind will help.

Building Your Digital Agency 

When you are in the early stages of working with a remote team, you may be concerned with the levels of productivity but there are many benefits from remote teams and it's also good to ensure a high level of productivity overall.

Through my experience running my own digital agency and helping other digital agency owners, there are many topics I can offer guidance on 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.

As you continue to grow your agency team, I can show you how to recognize when it’s time to hire a sales manager or expand your sales team to perfecting your business strategy by 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.

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.

A Full Pipeline Isn’t All You Need to Grow Your Agency

Scaling and growth is not just about filling your pipeline. New business won’t mean a thing if you don’t have the right systems in place to support it. Check out the advice from a white label agency that literally exists to help other agencies scale.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• Why you need more than a full pipeline to grow.
• 2 crucial systems necessary for scaling.
• One mistake agencies make trying to scale.
• How to make decisions for agency longevity.

My guest today is here to share with us a few big secrets about scaling. Ryan Meo founded his agency, Scale Squad, nine years ago. His agency white labels in order to help digital agencies scale. So that pretty much makes him the authority on scaling. He tells us what processes and systems are absolutely crucial for growing and how they are more than just having a full pipeline when looking to scale your agency.

2 Crucial Systems Necessary for Agency Scaling

If Ryan could travel back in time, he says the one piece of advice he’d give his former self is to have the right systems before trying to scale.

1. A solid foundation for the Operational System. Meaning, you have to have a good grasp on your service offering as well as boundaries for them. What do you do? What don’t you do? It’s also important to know how to guide your clients into your offering without overcomplicating it.
   

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2. A methodic Sales System. It’s imperative to have a process for finding, winning and keeping the right clients. Without a repetitive system for prospecting, it’s feast or famine with new agency business. Agencies find themselves on a roller coaster instead of a steady stream of work and cash flow.

One Mistake Agencies Make Trying to Scale

A lot of agency websites are too vague, leaving it unclear what they do and who they help. Why is that?

For one thing, they painting broad strokes in the hopes of capturing the attention of more clients. They’re afraid to turn off potential clients by being too descriptive when in fact, the opposite is true. Being too general is the turn off!

The solution is selecting a niche. It’s critical to know who your best customers are and gear your marketing toward them. The misconception about declaring a niche is that it means turning away anyone outside your niche. But you’re not… Declaring a niche is really just a marketing strategy. You are just concentrating your market on a particular niche but you can still work with anyone. And don’t worry - there’s plenty of business for everyone!

Another common reason for vague websites in the scarcity mentality. Agencies are worried that if they get too specific about a specialty they’ll run out of potential clients. There’s so much more business out there than we realize. We aren’t confined to the local geographic area anymore. So whatever your niche - there’s tons of potential out there.

How to Make Decisions for Agency Longevity

Forecasting is everything. It’s important for keeping tabs on agency resources as well as goal tracking.

Without forecasting, we end up making dumb decisions (working with the wrong clients, taking on the wrong projects, letting go of the wrong people) in order to save cash flow. Don’t let a cash crunch force you into making the wrong decisions.

When you forecast sales and monitoring agency’s KPI’s you can get a better understanding of agency revenue and profitability. (And you want to know profitability because top line revenue doesn’t mean sh*t if you’re not profitable:) ) If you’re using a CRM it can be super easy to also use it for cash flow projections - here's how.

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency Faster?

Most agency owners struggle to scale. We’ve developed an amazing mastermind to guide you through the journey of implementing the right systems so you can scale your agency — instead of feeling overwhelmed by it.

We do this by bringing together successful agency leaders to share strategies, offer advice, and reveal what’s working (and what’s not working) in their agency. The truth is, whatever you want to accomplish in life, nothing will help you go further, faster than getting the right adviser in the context of motivated peers. If you want to GROW fast and smart, Digital Agency Elite mastermind will help.

Taking Your Digital Agency to the Next Level

So I have now shown you why a full pipeline isn't all you need to grow your agency so what do you need? Are there weaknesses within your agency that are causing everything to break down?

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 you how to recognize when it’s time to hire a sales manager or expand your sales team to perfecting your business strategy by 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!

8 Figures in 8 Years: Achieve Agency Growth from 0 to 8 Figures

Wonder what it takes to get to your agency to 7- or 8- figures? Today’s guest tells us all about how his agency has grown to 8 figures in 8 years, plus the challenges he’s faced and how he got over them in order to succeed and grow.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• The challenges/solutions of growing to 7- and 8 figures.
• Healthy agency profit margin ranges.
• Challenges of  managing at the 20+ employee level.
• How to stay relevant as your agency grows.

My guest on the show this time is Matt Bertulli, owner of Demac Media, in Canada. Over the last eight years his agency has grown to 95 full-time employees and just crested the 8 figures mark. In Matt’s interview, he was very candid about the struggles and challenges they faced getting to various milestones of growth and how he pushed past them in order to success.

What Does Healthy Growth Look Like?

Right off the bat, Matt knew in order to cut through the noise his agency needed to specialize. He took the leap of faith and did it. Rather than competing for a piece of the pie, Matt (an engineer by trade) took a more strategic approach to growth and capitalized on a niche right away. That meant in their early years, Demac Media grew an aggressive 45-50% each year. Today their growth is in the 25-30% range.

Going from Startup to $1 Million Revenue

CHALLENGE: Matt says the getting to the one million mark was super challenging. In the early days of owning his agency he felt like he was faking confidence and stability in order to win clients... His favorite line from back then: “We’re a real agency!” He had a lot of doubts and it was a very unsettling time period. Crossing over that $1 million in revenue was shocking and amazing.

SOLUTION: We’re in a golden age of agencies and there’s never been a better time to to build and grow one. Small and mid-sized agencies can compete with the big guys. We’re capable of much more than we give ourselves credit for… The struggle to grow to $1 million is not external - it’s the head game you play with yourself.

When you take a step back and look at who you’re working with and what you’re charging, is it getting you closer to your financial goals? Early on, agencies tend to fall into a trap of spinning their wheels on a pain in the ass client spending $10K on a project. That client sends referrals for similar work at similar budget levels.

[clickToTweet tweet="You can’t grow by acquiring business at the same levels ~ scaling requires you to do more and better." quote="You can’t grow by acquiring business at the same levels ~ scaling requires you to do more and better."]

Increasing from $1 Million to Multiple Millions

CHALLENGE: According to Matt the journey from $1 to $5 million actually wasn’t too hard. It was much more difficult to break the ceiling into the $1+ million than to leap from $1 to $5 million. The hardest part was his own resistance to adopting processes and systems. Despite his background as an engineer, Matt didn’t understand how systems would leverage his agency’s ability to scale.

SOLUTION: First, it’s important to create systems that can help you acquire the clients you want to work with - and you don’t need to wait until you’re at the $1-$5 million mark. Processes and systems will expedite growth regardless of where you’re at now. And, know your numbers. As I like to tell my clients, it just takes some backwards math to figure out your goal and then work backwards using the number of clients and pricing you’ll need to reach the goal. An especially important figure is your agency’s profitability.

What’s a Good Target for Profitability?

In a service business, profitability can be really good but you have to work at it and focus on it. As they were reaching the $5 million revenue milestone, Demac Media’s profit margin was anywhere between 35-40%. Few realize it, but that’s exactly where it should be!

Profitability within this range means:

• Pricing is right where it should be.
• The agency is working efficiently.
• The agency is not over-delivering or allow scope creep.
• The right people are in key roles at the agency.

Profitability is the best measure of financial success. Top line revenue doesn’t matter if your profit margins aren’t healthy.

Hiring as Your Agency Grows

I have had a lot of agency owners tell me they don’t want to grow too big because they having upwards of 20+ employees creates more work. And Matt says that is partially true… but probably not for the reasons you think.

From the beginning, Matt had his mind set on not having an org chart. He felt like defined lines of responsibility would stifle creativity. So he just had everyone report to him. (Uh, oh! If that’s your approach then sure, having more than 20+ employees definitely will be a nightmare.) Matt explained that when he realized the need for agency management and structure, growing the team was much less of a burden.

As you grow it’s imperative to hire a management team. Now at 95 employees Matt only has 5 direct reports, which is the leadership team. He says having the right people in place has freed him up to spend time where he wants and work on what he enjoys.

Cresting the 8 Figures Revenue Mark

CHALLENGE: The road from $5 to $10+ million is the toughest; Matt even calls it Death Valley. It can be lonely and isolating - it was a really challenging time for my agency too. At that level, you feel sort of stuck and might even want out. The demands for your time lessens and your inbox shrinks. You’ve grown your team with all the right people and they can run things without you, which can be really depressing!

SOLUTION: This is the time to redefine your role within the agency. It takes clarity and self-awareness to find your new role. You aren’t needed for the daily operations, it’s more about creating and communicating the vision to support your team as well as these other four roles of a Founder/CEO. When you do an awesome job of communicating the agency vision you will earn your employees buy-in. When they believe in it, your clients will too. And when employees and clients all believe in the agency vision the financial success follows.

Another great solution is to find peer groups or a mastermind. I might even know a good one you can check out :) In a group setting you can problem solve and idea share with like-minded entrepreneurs. You can make connections, receive input and advice from people who’ve been (or are) in your shoes.

Matt’s final piece of advice is to keep trying new things and taking risks. He says no matter what growth level you reach, it’s key to stay a little uncomfortable. Getting too comfortable makes us complacent and complacency causes insignificance.

Don’t be the next the Blockbuster… adapt, change, and innovate - especially when it’s a little scary - in order to avoid becoming irrelevant.

Avoid getting left in the dust! Check out the Agency Playbook, the online video training to help you acquire your ideal clients, increase your profit, and grow your agency.

Build Your Agency

Now you know how to build your agency and go from zero to 8 figures, you need to look at your agency in the bigger picture to find your strong areas as well as weak spots and then think of how you can fix them. No matter what challenge your agency is facing, I can help you get through all of it.

Through my experience running my own digital agency and helping other digital agency owners, there are many topics I can offer guidance whether you are an established agency facing struggles to new agencies unsure of what the different phases of growth you will experience will look like.

Growing your agency team can also be a major struggle for any agency owner and I can show from knowing 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.

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.

If you’re not using video in your own agency marketing, or if you aren’t getting any traction from your videos check out this episode. Today’s guest tells us why video is one of the best lead generators out there - and how to set yourself up for successful video marketing campaigns.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• 4 benefits of using video in your agency marketing.
• #1 mistake agencies make in video marketing.
• The equipment and pre-planning you need for making great videos.

My guest today is Dee Dee deKenessey, Agency Partner Program Manager at Wistia. If you don’t already know about Wistia - it’s time to get out from under that rock. Wistia provides professional video hosting with amazing viewer analytics to help you achieve your video marketing goals. Dee Dee tells us how you can set yourself up for success by weaving video into your marketing.

In just one year, Wistia’s Agency Partner Program has grown to 700 agencies with varying levels of experience, from beginner to seasoned veteran. Dee Dee also manages a private partner online community where everyone can collaborate, idea-share, and help one another.

4 Big Benefits of Using Video Marketing

1. There’s an over saturation of emails, blogs, and social posts. Your prospects are on information overload. Video breaks through the rest of the noise.
2. Video is easier to consume and digest. A lot of people prefer watching over reading because it’s usually faster and simpler.
3. Viewers feel like they can relate to you in video. It’s more authentic than written content, and it allows your personality to come through.
4. Every video is unique and hard to duplicate. Your video content is all yours - blog posts can be stolen but no one can imitate you on camera.

Not convinced yet? There’s tons of other reasons you should be using rich media in your agency marketing.

#1 Mistake in Video Marketing

Sure there’s rookie mistakes like lighting, scripting, etc. but those issues are easily solved over time and with experience. But no matter what the level of experience, Dee Dee says there’s one huge mistake people make in their video marketing, and it’s totally preventable. The biggest mistake is jumping right into production without a plan or goal in mind.

[clickToTweet tweet="Make sure you have a single goal in mind; then determine how video can help achieve the goal." quote="Make sure you have a single goal in mind; then determine how video can help achieve the goal."]

How to Set Yourself Up for Successful Video Marketing

Before you film anything, ask yourself these questions:

• Who is watching this video? Where are they within the sales funnel?
• What’s the context around the video?
• How will the viewer engage with the video?
• What is the next step or call-to-action?
• Where will the video live - and why?

Then based on your goals for the video, decide where it will live. House your video…

• On Facebook... if you goal is to promote your brand or entertain without sending traffic back to your site.
• On YouTube... if your goal is to make the video searchable, or if your video solves a problem.
• On your website... if your goal is to educate or increase sales.
• In an email... if your goal is to drive traffic or promote a service.

INSIDER TIP: You don’t need fancy equipment to produce great videos. I do all mine on my iPhone or iPad, and I have one O-ring light. Check out Wistia’s resource library for more tips.

Plus, if you use Wistia’s hosting you receive analytics that show you how each video is performing. You’ll be able to find out who’s been watching your videos, how much they’ve watched and which videos are providing the most value.

What's Next for Your Agency?

After generating leads using video marketing for your agency, you need to ensure you have strong processes in place. This will allow you to provide high quality work, save time on projects and build your authority as an agency. 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 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.

Are you finding you agency growth moving to fast that you are worried of it burning out or do you think it's moving too slow? In an ever-changing agency environment, does sustainable growth really exist? One of the main questions should be if should agencies concentrate on growing as much and as fast as possible, dealing with the fallout as it occurs?

In this episode of Ask Swenk, I take a closer look into what you need to do to achieve and maintain sustainable agency growth and cover all your questions to give you a peace of mind and more...

Christian asked:

"Do you think there is such a thing as sustainable growth, or should you just aim for as much/fast growth as possible and deal with the new business/onboarding of staff?​"​ ​

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 Know to Maintain a Sustainable Business?

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

As well as ensuring that you create a sustainable business, as your agency grows, you may come across challenges and knowing how to adapt will ensure a successful agency. From who you should 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.

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.

Today’s episode is packed with tips and advice on solving some of the most common obstacles in agency new business sales. My guest, Tim Sanders, covers everything from getting in front of the right prospects to establishing authority, speeding up your sales cycle and getting the contract signed.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• How to improve agency sales.
• How to increase your close rate by 300%.
• The 4 stages to every agency new business sale.

With over two decades in the marketing arena today’s guest, Tim Sanders, is here to share of TON of information about agency new business sales. Tim is considered a technology-pioneer, as well as a speaker, author and the founder of Deeper Media. Tim draws on his extensive experience - working with Mark Cuban in internet TV, working as a top Yahoo executive, and as an agency owner himself - to bring some great insight on agency new business sales.

How to Improve Agency Sales

Tim says Sales is a lot like Creative Design. That’s why agencies are (or should be) absolutely crushing it with their new business sales.

He describes Design as “the constant act of problem-solving.” In Design, you keep trying until you get it right. The same is true for Sales. When you’re selling to a prospect, you are problem-solving for them. And, you keep at it until you get it right. (Remember, the goal of sales is NOT getting them to buy what you sell. Instead, sell them the SOLUTION needed for their existing problem.)

In the agency space, the greatest competitive advantage is rapid problem-solving. So, when you rethink your approach to sales using Tim’s definition, your agency wins.

How to Get a Contract Signed & Increase Your Close Rate by 300%

In Tim’s fifth and most recent book, Dealstorming, he covers the importance of collaboration across the various agency disciplines. It’s no longer just the salesperson that closes a deal. You can increase your new business close rate by 300% when you involve different types of people with different areas of experience and expertise.

Tim says it’s “the myth of the expert” that kills a sale. The old mentality of “leave it to me - you don’t know what you’re talking about” does not promote rapid problem solving.

“We must champion the thought that great ideas can come from anywhere.” ~ Tim Sanders

The problem with going solo at sales is that problem solving is limited to just that person’s experience. Tim says everyone has their own series of constraints (things that won’t work) and their set of greatest hits (things that always work). When you bring 3 different perspectives together, problems are solved 3X quicker. So when creative, sales and finance collaborate, the result is rapid problem solving and a speedier close rate.

The other benefit -- no one goes down alone! No lone wolves. When your team collaborates, everyone owns the successes and the failures.

3 Sales Personas to Overcome Obstacles

Generally speaking, every sale goes through the same four stages. Each stage comes with it’s own problems and issues. The key is understanding how to work through the issues and come out on top by getting a contract signed. The best way to handle those issues is by wearing the hat or playing the right role.

Tim has identified 3 personas that every sales team needs:

• The Hacker - someone who uses unique tricks or clever solution (aka “a hack”) in order to get the desired result.
• The Chef - someone who acquires the right ingredients and knows how to use them to create a successful finish.
• The Artist - someone who displays or demonstrates a solution to accomplish a specific outcome.

The 4 Stages to Every Sale

1- Make contact with the right people.

It’s important to know who you’re targeting and I can’t emphasize it enough - specialization is KEY! No more spray and pray method. No more buying call lists. Be specific in what you do and who you help. Then use that knowledge to create a list of the top 100 companies you want to pursue. This is when you use the Hacker persona and use a hack to get noticed. Bring something innovative to the table by calling their attention to a new technology they’re not using.

2- Gather information and conceive the deal.

This is where a lot of agencies get stuck. You need to define what the ideal relationship will look like with a specific client. Do you want to be the agency of record? Want to handle a specific piece of their marketing? Execute one idea, roll out one product, etc.?

A lot of agencies just want to sell off the shelf, making them nearsighted. They have one thing they’re trying to sell and work hard on trying to get the client to buy into it. Usually this is because they don’t have enough strategic insight on what the client is trying to achieve. With the end in mind, use the Chef persona to discover the ingredients for success.

“It’s twice as easy to make an unprofitable service profitable than it is to wedge your existing service into the client.” ~ Tim Sanders

3- Convince the client to make a change and to work with you.

According to Tim, your biggest competitor is status quo. What this means is that most clients are either solving their problem on their own or working with another agency. When they don’t choose you, it’s because they’re satisfied with status quo. The best way to get beyond this obstacle is by using the Artist persona and developing creative device that paints the picture. Tim says people can argue facts and figures, but they’re drawn into stories.

If you arm your salesperson with a device - some sort of analogy, metaphor, illustration - it goes so much farther than simply spouting off facts and figures. Finding a simple way to showcase your services is much more impactful.

4- Get the contract signed.

There can be a variety of obstacles when it comes time to ink the deal when getting a contract signed. It comes down to fundamentals… it’s the difference between how you do business versus how they do business. The best way to overcome these type of contract-related obstacles is to figure out where you’re getting stuck and then come up with a work-around for it. Use the Hacker, Chef or Artist mentality to come up with a creative solution for getting any contract signed.

If you love all this information from Tim Sanders, you can get a FREE chapter of his book. Check out Dealstorming.com/free to download the chapter titled “Sales Genius is a Team Sport.”

Need to up your staffing game?

Agency workflow is constantly in flux, making it a real gamble to bring on full-time staff. And, freelancers can often be difficult to manage. That’s why Agency Boon has simplified the process and cost of building a great creative team.

Check out Agency Boon as an amazing alternative to full-time or freelance staff. The Agency Boon team will integrate as members of your team and you’ll love their commitment to making you look good in your clients’ eyes.

If your agency’s workload is constantly in flux you may have considered agency outsourcing... but, giving up control on a piece of a project can be a little scary. Today’s podcast guest is here to explain some of the best practices for managing partnerships and ensuring success for everyone.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• 4 tips to successful agency outsourcing.
• Managing difficult agency partner relationships.
• When to call it quits with an agency partner.

My guest today is Tim Barsness, founder and President of Fjorge Digital. Tim got his start as freelancer and from there turned his business into an outsourcing agency with a giant network of partners. He on the show to share outsourcing best practices to ensure solid and profitable relationships.

Tim’s agency has handled development for dozens of creative agencies. Over the years, he’s learned what works (and what doesn’t work) in successful agency partnerships.

4 Tips to Successful Outsourcing

1. Communicate early and often. It’s important to treat an outsourcing agency like a true partner, in every sense of the word. Loop them in on the project right from the start. According to Tim, a lot of agencies don’t involve their outsourcing partner early enough in the process which results in misunderstandings right off the bat. You can avoid this by involving them on client meeting and emails throughout the life of the project.
   

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2.  Have a plan and stick to it. As you identify the client’s main goal and develop a plan for achieving it, it’s super important to stay on track - especially when there’s multiple parties involved in the process. Tim says there’s huge margin for error and frustration when a project moves from creative to development and there are changes midstream.
   

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3. Clearly define your terms. Details are everything. Having a clearly defined Statement of Work prior to the start of a project can alleviate potential issues. A great SOW includes everything from timelines and sign offs to number of rounds and revisions. Set up a successful partnership by having everything spelled out in advance. This will benefit both agency partners as well as the client.
   

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4. Don’t over promise. Make sure everyone on the team knows the value in the statement: “let me get back to you.”. When you’re outsourcing you should defer to the partner when there are questions or issues which involve their area of expertise. Tim says in an effort to the please the client, sometimes an agency will make a promise about something technical and it ends up causing issues for everyone. Instead, say to the client “let me get back to you” and then get info straight from the source to avoid confusion or frustration.

Managing Difficult Partner Relationships

It happens. You’re working with a vendor or partner and all of the sudden they become difficult or unresponsive. If this is the case, Tim advises stepping into their shoes to figure out why. Some people just shut down in order to avoid conflict. So think about what reasons they might have for going dark… Are they unclear on what you’re asking? Have they over-promised or under-delivered? If you can get to the root of the problem you’ll be able to put them at ease and work through a solution.

But what if there is NO solution?

Sometimes a partner relationship goes too far south and you’d love to call it quits but you feel trapped because you’re in too deep. When this happens, you feel like you have no choice but deal with a crappy situation. According to Tim, doesn’t have to be that way…

Asses the overall risk of severing ties. Ask yourself things like: How much is their work negatively impacting the project? Is the client aware there’s an issue? If so, does the client think they’re part of your team? Who’s managing the project/process? Is there a breakdown in communication between the two teams because the PM or AM doesn’t speak in tech terms?

Using clear and direction communication you can usually diffuse a situation before it gets to the point where you’re backed into a corner.

Cashflow or Bookkeeping Issues?

FreshBooks is the solution with their ridiculously easy­-to-­use cloud accounting software for agencies.

Freshbooks helps you work smarter and become more organized. Most importantly, it gets you paid quicker. Check out FreshBooks.com/SmartAgency and enter SMARTAGENCY in the “How Did You Hear About Us?” section for a FREE 30-day, unrestricted trial.

Transforming Your Business

Using the best practices possible from outsourcing to other aspects of your agency will help you transform your business but this may only be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to improvements that are needed. 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 a Bad Agency Prospect?

Have you ever ignored that little voice telling you to turn away a bad agency prospect? It's hard to walk away, even when you know they're going to be a really bad client. Do you struggle with knowing when or how to say 'no'? All that and more is covered in this episode...

Phil asked:

"Today I took on a client I know will be a bad one. I have struggled with knowing when to say: I don't think we're a good fit for you.

When a client is motivated and wanting to do business with you, but you know they aren't your ideal client - how, when and what do you say to get out of it without sounding like a schmuck? I'll take this guy on, but I've got to get a grip on how to get out of a bad deal."

Advice For Your Agency

I hope this episode of Ask Swenk was helpful and brings you clarity to any potential bad agency prospects your agency is currently dealing with. 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.

Tired of relying on referrals? Teaming with right strategic partners is an effective way to scale your agency. The trick is knowing how to find, leverage and maintain the right strategic partnerships.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• How agency owners can get out of their own way of agency growth.
• Finding, approaching and maintaining beneficial strategic partnerships.

As a serial entrepreneur, Vincent D’Eletto has learned all about rapidly scaling startup businesses. He owns multiple revenue-generating websites, as well as WordAgents.com, a content and ghostwriting agency. Vincent shares the best ways to find, leverage and maintain highly beneficial strategic partners. And, I know what you’re thinking but I’m not talking about just having other businesses refer you out. Real strategic partners are much more than just referrals. When strategic partnerships are done right, both partners can generate some serious revenue!

Systems & Processes Win (Again)

Hands down, the fastest way to grow and scale is having the right systems and processes in place. This is especially true in businesses where there is a lot of repetitiveness. Vincent and I both agree; your business will grow when you take advantage of efficiencies and systemize routine tasks.

Yet, despite having the right systems and processes, a lot of agency owners stand in their own way of growth.

Vincent says the common theme among his businesses is his constant struggle to give up control. He is afraid to hire employees or hand things off for fear they’ll “mess up” what he’s built. This is actually pretty common for most entrepreneurs. A lot of agency owners think they’re the best, and it’s that mindset which holds them back from real growth. What most of us need to remember is: you’re not the best, you’re just the best you have right now.

Over time, Vincent has come to realize the solution to this struggle is having the right systems and processes in place. Training people in your systems and processes leaves very little margin for error and significantly lowers the possibility that they’ll “mess up”.

Identifying Strategic Partners

You’ll get the most traction from a strategic partnership if your agency has a specialization or niche. When you are known for helping a specific audience you’ll be more attractive to other businesses who are targeting the same.

There are 3 categories where you’ll find strategic partners to align with:

• industry leaders
• agencies with complementary offerings
• industry-specific technology tools or SaaS products

Approaching a Strategic Partner

After identifying a few partners, the best way to get them to notice you is to just be helpful. Follow them on social media, share and retweet them. Comment on their posts and tag them on relevant posts. Develop a relationship where there is mutual value... Whatever you’re hoping for from them, do it first. Make a deposit before you make a withdrawal.

Vincent says once he has built a rapport over social media, then he’ll reach out with a direct message or email. He’ll usually offer free content or provide a solution to a particular challenge of theirs. Depending on your comfort level, you can also try a direct approach and tell them exactly what you want and why. I find that being direct eliminates suspicions like wondering, “what’s the catch?”. Tell them why you’re doing what you’re doing… explain what’s in it for you.

Maintaining Strategic Partnerships

It takes time to establish and grow these relationships. You have to be committed to the long game. Once you do, it’s an amazing way to get in front of new people within your target audience. Vincent’s best advice about maintaining strategic partnerships is to be a friend. “Keep giving and it will come back to you.”

Need to up your staffing game?

Agency workflow is constantly in flux, making it a real gamble to bring on full-time staff. And, freelancers can often be difficult to manage. That's why Agency Boon has simplified the process and cost of building a great creative team.

Check out Agency Boon as an amazing alternative to full-time or freelance staff. The Agency Boon team will integrate as members of your team and you'll love their commitment to making you look good in your client's' eyes.

Transform Your Agency

I hope you now know how strategic partnerships could take your agency to a new level. However, if there are other struggles you are experiencing in your agency, I can help you get through all of it.

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’ve the different phases of growth within your agency and 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.

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.

Frustrated by Agency Prospects?

Are you sick and tired of agency prospects blowing you off after presenting a proposal? Frustrated when they string you along or send mixed signals? Wondering what you could do differently? You are not alone and this is a hurdle that many digital agency owners face when it comes to new clients and potential agency prospects.

I have put together a video with advice on how to deal with getting proposals blown off by agency prospects, excuses clients can make and how to make it stop happening.

Here's exactly how to handle it next time...

Shannon asked: “I need help finding a better way to close a deal!

...I had a great first call with a prospect who said he was ready to go. I put together the proposal and set up another call to present it. After I went through the entire proposal, the prospect said he wouldn't be ready to do anything for another 3 weeks. So I scheduled the next call for 3 weeks out and again he says he's not ready to pull the trigger. This is the third time in a row this has happened. It's frustrating to say the least!

My questions are: Why do these prospects act like their ready to go when they're not? Why can't they just be up front about their timing? What can I do or say to get them to start now?"

Are You Ready to Learn More?

I hope you found this helpful and it opened your mind to improving your agency life. If you are looking for advice with your current agency or learning how to start your own digital agency, I can help.

Find lots of tips, tricks and insights by reading my blogs that cover a wide variety of topics. And if videos are more your thing, you can check out the videos on my Youtube channel!

If you’re looking for new ideas to generate new agency business and attract new clients, you might want to hear what today’s guest tells us about branded web TV and influencer marketing.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• How to use branded web TV for agency new business.
• 4 Steps to positioning your agency or client as an influencer.

Mark Fidelman founder and CEO of Fanatics Media is here to tell us -- branded web TV is the next big thing. According to Mark, video content is heading away from one-offs in favor of series or episodes. As an agency you can use this influencer marketing strategy for building new agency business, and as an innovative idea for your clients.

Why Branded Web TV?

At Mark’s agency they’re seeing an upswing in the popularity of branded web TV series. You might be familiar with Celebrities in Cars Getting Coffee or YouTube’s First We Feast. These are examples of branded series’ where viewers get a small dose of entertaining content while also being marketed to… and that’s where Fanatics Media has found their niche. They’re matching influencers and celebrities with brands to create a series of branded episodes.

In fact, Marriott has started using this marketing strategy. They have Bill Rancic (winner of season 1 on "The Apprentice") as their celebrity influencer on Open Invitation. This series of episodes entertain and inform while Bill and his celebrity wife, Julianna, tour a vacation destination. However the series is obviously branded by Marriott as he engages in property amenities.

You can use branded web TV for your agency as an inbound strategy by creating a series or episodes of valuable, helpful videos. You can bring idea to your clients who look to your agency for unique, innovative solutions and develop business building ideas. Even if video isn’t your thing, by providing a new lightbulb idea your agency will be valued and respected as an advisor rather than just a commodity.

4 Steps to Position Yourself or Client as an Influencer

1- Have laser focus. Know exactly who you can help and get very specific with who you will target. Afraid to specialize and turn-off potential clients? Don’t be! When you niche down you aren’t eliminating or turning away business. You’re just aiming it in a particular direction. You can’t influence on what you don’t know but when you concentrate on what you do know, you’ll find confidence and success.

2- Know your customer’s platform. It’s super important to know where your prospects are congregating and become a servant to that community. Don’t go broad by smattering your content everyone, but instead concentrate it and talk to an audience of one.

3- Create relevant video content. Determine what your audience needs or wants to know. What are common questions or challenges they have? Produce a series of content to answer their questions and aid in their challenges. To maximize effectiveness, create a reliable and predictable content schedule.

4- Get out of your own way. Most of us hate how we look on camera or can’t stand our own voice. It’s OK and you’ll learn to get over it. The key is to just start. Mark says he recorded 1-2 mins every day for 30 days to get over his hang ups. And me? I look like an orange Oompa Loompa in my early videos. Even pros like Gary Vee and Casey Neistat started somewhere. Just practice - you’ll find your voice and comfort zone.

Cashflow or Bookkeeping Issues?

FreshBooks is the solution with their ridiculously easy­-to-­use cloud accounting software for agencies.

Freshbooks helps you work smarter and become more organized. Most importantly, it gets you paid quicker. Check out FreshBooks.com/SmartAgency and enter SMARTAGENCY in the “How Did You Hear About Us?” section for a FREE 30-day, unrestricted trial.

Improve Your Business

With this blog, I hope it has given you an insight into the world of influencer marketing as well as how it could benefit your business. However, if there are other struggles you are experiencing in your agency, I can help you get through all of it.

I can give you advice on how to recognise new client opportunities to the different ways of building authority to improve your agency.

If you are having issues with growing your agency, I’ve the different phases of growth within your agency and the three questions you need to ask yourself to sell more of your digital agency services.

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.

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.

If you want to grow your agency like some of the big guys but you’re not sure how to get there, you’ll want to check out this episode. Our guest has grown four (almost five!) 8-figure businesses. He shares ways to increase your profitability so you can grow and scale too with the best growth model for your agency.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• 2 tips to building an 8-figure agency.
• The right way to create a growth model after the big agencies.
• 2 ways to increase profitability and eliminate scope creep.

Today’s guest is on in the process of building his 5th eight-figure business. Vinnie Fisher is the authority on profitability and growth. He’s an attorney by trade but left his law career to fulfill his dreams as an entrepreneur. Currently, he is the founder and CEO of Fully Accountable, a back office accounting and HR solution for service-based businesses. Vinnie shares the two big secrets he attributes to his 8-figure success with the right growth model, plus how an agency can become more profitable.

2 Tips to Building an 8-Figure Agency

1. Invest in developing people.

Vinnie says through out growing five different businesses he’s come to notice that the company flourishes when he doesn’t trap himself in a primary role. He spends time nurturing his team and trusts them to take the company to the next level.

2. Understand the marketplace.

We have an innate desire to be all things to everybody. However, defining an area expertise is imperative to growing your business. When you dive deeper into a specific target market, you can really zero in and get a comprehensive understanding of it. There is often resistance to specialize because owners are afraid of trapping themselves in their business. But those who don’t specialize end up wasting time and money.

How to Create a Growth Model Like Bigger Agencies

Naturally, if you’ve got a growth mindset you want to model what the big agencies are doing. And that’s a great idea, but you have to make sure you’re looking at the right season of that business. The big agencies didn’t always start with a broad business. Look at their early years and notice how they grew.

With his law background, Vinnie compared it law practices. He says all the successful law offices have specialize in a particular type of law: Family Law, Class Actions, Mergers & Acquisitions, etc. He says general practitioners can build a nice business but the big, well-known firms are the ones with an expertise.

[HOMEWORK] When you’re looking at a bigger agency to model, I challenge you to do this exercise as homework:

• Select a couple big agencies you’d like to replicate and check them out on The Wayback Machine. Notice the evolution of their site and note the changes.
  

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• Create a timeline of changes to their site and what might have been going on in the industry, technology, financial market, politics. See if you can draw connections between their online presence, their business growth and the outside influences.
  

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• Don’t actually replicate what they’ve done - remember, they made mistakes along the way, too. Instead, use this exercise as your inspiration and an agent of change.

Target Profitability Rate for Agencies

In the debate over growth vs. profitability, Vinnie and I agree. Growth doesn’t mean sh*t if you’re not profitable. As a general rule for businesses that operate strictly with a service model (for example, agencies without any productized business), the magic target is 33% profit. Vinnie quoted this statistic from US Census data. Generally, agencies should see their revenue equally split in these three buckets: ⅓ Overhead, ⅓ Expenses and ⅓ Profit.

Remember, 33% is just a target for service businesses. You can micro-analyze your profit margin based on your agency’s uniqueness. However, Vinnie says no agency in a growth phase should be at less than 20% profitability.

How to Increase Profitability

Believe it or not, there’s a good chance you’re guilty of sabotaging your own profitability. If you are under charging, over delivering or doing too many “quick little favors” for free that is scope creep. It is absolutely the #1 agency profit killer.

Vinnie advises us to understand fair market value for the services we provide. Sometimes that means raising your prices. However, you may be priced just right but giving away work or doing extra work that goes unnoticed or unappreciated.

One of the best ways to prevent scope creep, is to understand why it’s happening in the first place. Sometimes the client asks for “favors” to get more value than what they’re paying for. The agency complies because they are trying to create goodwill and build the relationship. Other times, agencies are going above and beyond on technical components of a project, which goes unnoticed and unappreciated.

2 Ways to Minimize Profit Leaks

1- The $0 Change Order.

Document all changes you make on a Change Order Form. This is especially helpful for those "favors" and out of scope requests that you do for free. Make sure the form indicates the value of the work, then zero out the amount and have the client sign it. This shows the client what their “favor” is worth and serves as a reminder later when they ask for more. Once you assign a value to it, the client will be reluctant to ask for many more changes or favors in the future.

2- Communicate with the client.

If you’re going above and beyond, make sure you explain it them. Clients don’t know exactly what their agencies are doing behind the scenes. However, when you involve them they’re able to appreciate the extra energy you’re putting into their projects.

FREE Agency Accounting & HR Resources:

Vinnie and his team at Fully Accountable has a gift for our podcast listeners. Check out FullyAccountable.com/smartagency for an ebook, HR resources and more.

Need to up your staffing game?

Agency workflow is constantly in flux, making it a real gamble to bring on full-time staff. And, freelancers can often be difficult to manage. That's why Agency Boon has simplified the process and cost of building a great creative team.

Check out Agency Boon as an amazing alternative to full-time or freelance staff. The Agency Boon team will integrate as members of your team and you'll love their commitment to making you look good in your clients' eyes.

What Happens After Your New Growth Model?

Creating the best model growth strategy for your business can elevate your agency to the next level but you need to be prepared for a potential influx of business this growth model can create. By evaluating other areas of weakness within your agency. 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.

Profiling Ideal Clients to Attract New Agency Business

If you are pulling generic data and basing your entire client persona off of it, you’ve got to catch this interview. To attract and qualify new agency business you need to be profiling ideal clients. This episode is all about how you can really zero in on how to start profiling ideal clients and your client’s clients.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• What “attitudinal segmentation” is and why you need to be doing it.
• 2 problems with the way agencies are strategizing now.
• 3 ways of profiling ideal clients and getting better data on your prospects.

Our guest today is Susan Baier, founder of AudienceAudit.com has spent 30 years in the marketing space. She’s worked both agency-side and client-side as a strategist until eight years ago when she founded her agency specializing in attitudinal segmentation and research. Susan tells us all about using custom research and data to avoid being a “me too” agency.

Profiling Ideal Clients: The Key Factors

WTF is "Attitudinal Segmentation"? (And why should your agency care?)

Since the dawn of time, agencies have been using research and data to hone in on their clients needs, and using the same for their client's clients. However, as things change we need to start considering more than just geographic and demographic information. Attitudinal segmentation is a fancy way of using customers preconceived notions and attitude in order to market to them better. With this type of research and data, marketers can tailor their campaigns with regard to customers’ attitude toward an industry, business or product. Marketers can also learn more customers’ thoughts and feelings about a particular industry, product, service, brand etc. by using this type of data. The result is more efficient and effective marketing that provides the service and value their prospects desire most.

2 Problems with Status Quo

Susan says agencies and clients think they understand what their customers want. However, without considering attitude and emotion, we’re not getting the whole picture. Gone are the days of marketing to a particular demographic (i.e. white females 25-40, on Pinterest), so most small and mid-sized agencies are doing a combination of going with their gut and buying packaged data. The problem is:

1. The data is irrelevant. Agencies and client execs spend hours upon hours developing their customer persona based on what they “believe” is going on in the marketplace. They are using their own personal experiences, underlying beliefs and anecdotal information to make assumptions about their customers.

2. The research is unhelpful. Generally, pre-packaged data is pretty accessible to everyone and doesn't identify anyone in particular. It is only industry specific, but not customer or brand specific. The data is vague and only gives insight into a type of person (based on age, race, interests, etc.) but nothing specific.

3 Ways to Get Better Data

1. Surveys

Surveys can help you understand what content is more relevant and valuable to the people visiting your site. For the past year, I have been using a Progressive Profiling Page for my lead magnet opt-ins and it is getting a 94% response rate. Progressive profiling is a series of 3-4 questions that helps me understand who is visiting my site as well as helps me qualify and tag them into the right automated marketing campaign. You can also survey your existing customer base to gather and interpret the data on why or how they feel about your business, offerings, industry, etc.

Pro: People are programmed to answer questions when asked. When you require a few answers before delivering on your lead magnet promise, you’ll get a really good picture of who’s visiting your site and why.

Con: Identifying the right questions to ask can be tricky. There are still some assumptions involved and it’s hard to pinpoint the exact questions to ask in order to get a the data you desire.

2. Personal Outreach

It might seem old fashioned, but talking to your existing clients can give you keen insights. This means picking up the phone and actually speaking to someone - no hiding behind email. Ask all your questions and get honest feedback to use in your marketing strategies.

Pro: One on one conversations can be highly effective and beneficial for gaining an understanding of your clients thoughts, attitudes and emotions.

Con: This type of research is not statistically valid. While you can gain information and insight, personal conversations cannot be used as mathematical data. It’s also really hard to reach a large sampling when making personal calls, therefore you can’t drive all your marketing strategy based on conversations with a handful of people.

3. Statistical Study

This is the best and most valuable way of securing data full of with attitudes, thought and feelings. A statistical study involves a large sampling with custom filters for demographics as well as specific questions about habits, opinion, mood and mindset of a distinct group of people.

Pro: This approach yields the best results and gives a very clear picture of what’s really going on. You can use it to obtain custom information and create a very clear persona for your content and marketing strategy.

Con: Fear of the results… it’s not really a “con” but some are afraid of getting super specific research because it might make results may show that your marketing strategy isn’t working. Don’t be afraid of results. Do a good job of selling in the need for research and the benefits of it’s accuracy. Then use it to learn what is and is not working. Don’t shy away from accountability. Instead use it to your advantage. You can analyze data and make it work in your and your clients’ favor.

With good data and research your “good” work will be even better. Clarity on who you’re talking to and what’s important and valuable to them means getting it right, right away. Less testing and tweaking means more efficiency and faster results.

[clickToTweet tweet="Marketing is a one-to-one conversation. Having good data gets you closer to a one-on-one, a lot quicker." quote="Ultimately, marketing is a one-to-one conversation. Having good data gets you closer to a one-on-one, a lot quicker."]

Cashflow or Bookkeeping Issues?

FreshBooks is the solution with their ridiculously easy­-to-­use cloud accounting software for agencies. Freshbooks helps you work smarter and become more organized. Most importantly, it gets you paid quicker.

Check out FreshBooks.com/SmartAgency and enter SMARTAGENCY in the "How Did You Hear About Us?" section for a FREE 30-day, unrestricted trial.

Building Authority for your Agency

When profiling ideal clients for your agency, you could be at the beginning of increasing the workflow for your team and increasing revenue. However, what happens if this happens and there are weaknesses within your agency that causes 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.

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

Solutions for Staffing Issues

Are you trying to grow your agency while keep a tight lid on staffing? Busy chasing freelancers, all the while worrying they might go rogue or MIA? Over and understaffing can cause a ton of stress, but so can relying too heavily on freelancers. Today’s podcast guest has a solution for those staffing issues and more.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• Solutions to common agency owner struggles and staffing issues.
• #1 staffing mistake agency owners make.
• One service that makes agency owners’ lives easier.

Today’s guest is Ryan Crozier, founder of Agency Boon - an agency that provides creative agency talent to U.S. agencies. In other words, it's the agency that helps agencies.

Like many agency owners Ryan stumbled into the agency business. However, Ryan’s story has a different twist. He was a U.S. missionary in Romania where he started a nonprofit. He discovered his team’s creative talents and started farming out those talents to make ends meet for the nonprofit. They began assisting U.S. agencies on a project-basis and used all their profits for their charity work.

That was three years ago... today Agency Boon is a team of 20 with a variety of talents. One thing that has not changed over time is Ryan’s vision for the agency. They’re still in existence for nonprofits and they reinvesting all the agency profits back into Romanian charities.

Common Agency Owner Struggles

Ryan says his goal has always been to add value and serve his clients. The problem is that he has ZERO agency experience. There’s been a massive learning curve and a lot of second guessing himself, like:

• Feeling isolated. Running an agency can be very lonely. Prior to founding the agency, Ryan worked at a church and managed volunteers. Being an American leading an international agency has a completely different set of challenges. Mixing cultures with different work styles and work ethics can be really difficult.
  

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• Growing a team. Under and overstaffing is a concern of every growing agency. You want to keep people busy enough but not too busy or overworked. Ryan says he has tried to grow smart. Starting out with a small team of 1-2 is one thing but knowing when, how and which people to add is always a difficult decision.
  

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• Growing the agency. Finding new business can be challenging. Finding new business in the States when you’re in Romania is a completely different set of challenges. Since outsourcing to international companies has a certain stigma and a reputation for delivering shoddy work, . Overcoming these preconceived notions about his Romanian-based agency has been a major struggle.

Overcoming Agency Owner Struggles

1- Engaging in communities. Online communities and networking organizations can be a great resource. Ryan says advice and guidance from other agency owners is a huge help in solving some of his agency’s issues. It’s also reassuring to hear that other agency owners are experiencing similar struggles and facing the same challenges. If you’re a digital agency owner, you can request membership in our Facebook community with over 2,000 other agency owners.

2- Adding structure with systems and processes. There are resources and programs like our Agency Playbook that can provide a framework for running your agency. Ryan says he learned that having systems in place to streamline his business left him with time to concentrate on growing it rather than dealing with the day-to-day stuff.

#1 Staffing Mistake Agency Owners Make

You know there’s a saying about putting all your eggs in one basket. The same is true for relying too heavily on freelancers.

There are benefits to using freelancers - no employee overhead, schedule flexibility, etc. However there are staffing issues and also risk involved. There’s not much accountability. And, if you’ve got a lot of work tied to them and then you can’t track them down, it’s a nightmare. Every agency owner has or knows a “freelancer disappearance” story, right?. It happens. You can’t scale and grow an agency under those circumstances.

It’s also really difficult to juggle multiple freelancers. Managing projects gets really pretty tough when you’re bouncing work between a couple different freelancers with different skill sets. That alone can create major issues.

Working with Agency Boon is the best of both worlds. They make agency owners’ lives easier without the commitment of a permanent employee. Agency partners that work with Agency Boon find the experience an improvement over working with freelancers. Their Project Managers work with the talent, oversee projects, and can even integrate into the client’s PM software (Asana, Slack, etc.) Plus, since they’re in Romania, they’re working while the U.S. market is sleeping, so turnaround is often less than 24 hours. BONUS!

Check them out at AgencyBoon.com or hit up Ryan on Twitter @RyanCrozier and tell him you're a friend of mine :)

Becoming a Better Agency Owner

I hope this has provided you solutions to your staffing issues as well as any other struggles you are experiencing. Through my experience running my own digital agency and helping other digital agency owners, there are many topics 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.

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.

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.

What Do You Need to Do to Quit Losing Clients

Have you ever lost a client even though you’ve done great work for them? Puzzled as to why your “bad client” is so bad? This episode is all about what clients really want, from the woman who literally wrote the book. Learn all about maintaining good client relationships, how to quit losing clients, plus managing and training an amazing account service team that helps grow agency business.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• Why great work isn’t enough to keep clients happy.
• What clients actually want from their agency.
• 3 ways to make agency clients’ lives easier.
• Hiring and managing a team that grows your agency.

There’s no such thing as a bad agency client... only a bad prospect or a bad process. In this episode my guest, Chantell Glenville, goes in depth on the bad agency processes that are killing your business. Chantell spent a number of years working both the client side and agency side of the business. She’s the author of best-selling book “What Clients Really Want (And the Sh*t that Drives Them Crazy), the first of it’s kind written from the client's perspective.

Why Great Work Isn’t Enough

Chantell says over the span of her career on both sides of the business in agencies of varying size and specialties she witnessed lots of breakdown in communication between agency team and clients. There seemed to be a common thread among them. A breakdown in client relationships is what gets an agency fired - even when they’re killing in with great work. So how do you quit losing clients and maintain good relationships?

So, What *DO* Clients Want?

Of course they want great creative, innovation and the expertise of the agency. But here’s the part no one tells us… Clients want their agency to make their lives easier and to not make their lives harder.

[clickToTweet tweet="Agency Acct Service Golden Rule: Make your clients lives easier. Do not make your clients lives harder. " quote="Agency Account Service Golden Rule: Make your clients lives easier. Do not make your clients lives harder. "]

The problem is, agencies usually make the assumption that a new client starts at level zero on the unhappiness scale. We assume the client’s life is already relatively easy, when in fact they might already be at a -3 or -4 on the scale. Then we end up inadvertently doing things that tip the scale and make their lives even harder.

3 Ways Agencies Can Make Clients’ Lives Easier

1- Understand the client’s work life. What pressures are they under? Who do they report to and what is their supervisor’s work style? What is the structure of their day? If possible, go to their office and shadow them for a day to see what they “normal” looks like. Then adjust your style in a way that makes all things easier.

You might be surprised at what you learn when you get a glimpse into their world. (Especially if you’ve never worked client-side.) For example, if a large part of the client’s day is spent in meetings, it explains why you don’t get a quick reply to your “urgent” emails. So ask them if it’s OK to text them first when you’re sending something urgent. Figure out what makes the client’s life easier - without making it harder.

2- Pay attention to detail. If your client is often pressed for time but feels like you aren’t good at details that just creates extra work for them. Double and triple checking your work piles more on their to-do list. And, it is the exact opposite of making their life easier! If you’re client feels like they’re always catching your mistakes and needs to inspect every aspect of your work it adds an unnecessary amount of suckiness in their day.

For example, if your client has to send your work for a round of revisions based on things the agency missed, it negatively affects the agency by eating hours. However, think about it from the client’s point of view. It also adds another round of proofing for them, which eats hours into their day and… makes their life harder!

3- Ask them. Be direct and ask how you can make their life easier. Then alter your work style to accommodate their needs - if you're more of an email person and they're more of a phone call person, adjust accordingly to service their needs. Find out the easiest and preferred method of communication by asking them. Ask how much advance notice they need for approvals and sign-offs. Who else needs to sign off? Should you include that person on your emails, as well? Who else gives input on projects? How can you help simplify that process so your client isn't chasing their own internal approvals?

Another tip - consider using automation to on-board for new clients, then follow-up with human contact. Use automated emails to set expectations and establish workflow. However, always be sure there is a human for your client to connect with.

How to Hire & Manage a Team that Grows Your Agency

Chantell says the best AM’s are not only creative and organized but they also have a vast amount of empathy. Really amazing account people can put themselves in the client’s shoes and then adapt accordingly.

At my agency, I liked to say Account Managers are “client ambassadors”. They should consider themselves an extension of the client’s team; always thinking and acting in the best interest of the client. Account Managers should know and understand their client’s business and financial goals and objectives. They should know their clients problems and challenges in order to offer solutions.

In order to nurture client relationships and grow agency business, it’s up the account manager to communicate with the agency team. It can be hard for the rest of the team to know what’s going outside of a specific project. Meet regularly with your account managers to look at the broad scope of the client’s business and collaborate on big picture ideas.

Last, make sure your Account Managers feel empowered to present ideas to clients. Not just ideas that serve the agency, but any ideas that show care and passion for the client’s business. AM’s should know their client’s better than they know themselves. They should have a pulse on the industry and the competition. Set up Google alerts and be aware of what’s trending in their business even before they are… be client ambassador in every sense.

Quit Losing Clients: Defining Team Roles That Keep Clients Happy

Sales Team vs. Account Manager

Chantell says the best flow, in favor of the client, is to keep everyone involved but within their specific silo. That means the Salesperson doesn’t just “hand off” a client to an Account Manager. It’s a risky decision and makes the client feel like a commodity. Instead, have Sales involve the AM in strategy and planning meetings right off the bat. Let them gain trust and credibility, then gradually amp up the account person’s involvement while backing off the Sales involvement and quit losing clients.

Account Manager vs. Project Manager

Chantell also says it’s not a good idea to overlap duties and have the same person act as Account Manager and Project Manager. When you mix the roles it’s easy to miss opportunities for growth and added value. Typically, someone who’s good at one role is not good at the other. PM’s are task-oriented and like to feel accomplished. They’re in it for the short term. They are super organized and like to see a project from start to finish, which is good for the agency but not necessarily good for finding new business opportunities. AM’s are best at nurturing and growing relationships. They’re best at the long-haul and the big picture.

Cashflow or Bookkeeping Issues?

FreshBooks is the solution with their ridiculously easy­-to-­use cloud accounting software for agencies. Freshbooks helps you work smarter and become more organized. Most importantly, it gets you paid quicker.

Check out FreshBooks.com/SmartAgency and enter SMARTAGENCY in the "How Did You Hear About Us?" section for a FREE 30-day, unrestricted trial.

More Advice to Build the Best Agency

Now that you know how to quit losing clients, what are you other hurdles within your agency? When trying to grow or make the best decisions for your business, it can be challenging and I hope you found this advice beneficial and it helps you with any of your concerns.

No matter if you are considering selling your digital agency or you want to grow your agency to the next level,  knowing how to adapt will make you a better agency owner. I cover all topics from how to increasing traffic to your agency website to who you should hire to grow your agency team and more to help you kick your team into action.

You can check out all my tips, tricks and insights in my blog covering a wide variety of topics including more about client relationships, tips on what to avoid to quit losing clients as well as answering your questions in more from my Ask Swenk series.

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

Legal Protection: Which Areas of Your Agency Need It?

It’s not a matter of if but when a legal issue arises for your agency, are you prepared? My guest today is an Intellectual Property attorney who focuses on helping marketing agencies with their legal protection to ensure all aspects of their agency stays protected.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• What legal mistakes to avoid.
• Which areas of your agency need legal protection.
• 3 contract loopholes you need to watch for.

Your agency’s biggest asset (other than your team, of course) is your intellectual property. This episode features Sharon Toerek, attorney at Toerek Law and founder of Legal+Creative. Sharon shares the processes to have in place in order to cover your ASS(ets). :) As an attorney specializing in marketing agency law, Sharon tells us exactly what mistakes to avoid and how to plan for potential sticky situations.

2 Big Mistakes to Avoid

According to Sharon, one the biggest mistakes she sees from marketing agencies is not understanding, undervaluing and not protecting their intellectual property. Everything your agency touches, does or creates is intellectual property. This is the product you’re selling. It’s absolutely imperative to adequately protect it.

The other common mistake is not having a process in place for the occasion when (not “if”) a legal situation arises. Issues such as: freelancer management, client contracts, brand protection and copywriting/social media content compliance can cause friction. The absence of a process for these things can make it even worse.

Areas that Need Legal Protection

Legal protection for your agency is so important and Sharon has identified 6 legal silos every agency should be concerned with; she covers 3 of them for us:

New Business: Whether you do a lot of pitches or not, at some point you must show your hand in order to land new clients. Agencies need to know how to protect themselves from the potential of a client taking their ideas to a competitor or in-house.

Solution: Avoid having your work stolen by having a non-disclosure agreement in place, or intellectual property and copyright notices in your proposal.

Contracts: Somewhere along the way, the word “contract” got a bad rap. People don’t like the stigma around contracts because they fear breaking them or wanting out. Sharon says a contract is simply a written set of promises both parties agree upon. Contracts are a MUST.  Run away from any client who doesn’t want to sign one.

Solution: Have a contract template, non-disclosure agreement, MSA or statement of work. Even if you end up using the client’s contract forms, having your own and knowing it’s contents will make you a smarter negotiator in the end.

Freelancers: With the ebbs and flows of agency workflow there’s often the need for freelancers. Managing the relationships and expectations with your freelancers is an area that can require special attention.

Solution: Be sure you have a strong independent contractor agreement in place that protect both parties, as well as a non-disclosure agreement.

3 Client Contract Loopholes to Close

In the event that a client requires you to sign their contract (instead of them signing yours), it’s super important to make sure it’s mutually beneficial. After reviewing hundreds of client-generated contracts, Sharon has identified some common areas to watch for:

1. Intellectual Property Provisions

These assets are your biggest form of capital but often times client-generated contracts provide for ownership by the client upon creation. Sharon tells agencies to protect themselves by allowing your intellectual property to transfer ownership to the client upon approval and payment. When you legally turnover assets before receiving payment, you’re essentially giving way your leverage for payment.

2. Liability and Indemnification Provisions

In most client’s contracts, they hold the agency responsible and liable for all outcomes. However, sometimes the outcome is reliant on information provided by the client. The agency should only be held liable for what they do, make and create. Even better, hold the agency only liable for gross negligence or purposeful wrongdoing and cap limits to the amount the client paid or to the amount of your insurance policy.

And speaking of insurance… Errors and Omissions coverage is necessary, no matter how small your agency may be. It’s typically very reasonable to add this coverage and can save you tons of headaches down the road.

3. Payment terms

First of all, make sure you have the right payment terms. (Hint: it's not 50% upfront and 50% upon completion!) Next, make sure phrasing in the contract protects your agency and gets you paid in a timely manner. Sharon has reviewed contracts which promise payment after the invoice is approved. This means you could be waiting months for someone to approve an invoice. No way! Check that contracts clear and fair payment terms.

Protect your agency from the liability of missed deadlines. Be sure there is language in the contract that allows for charging rush fees and passing along costs associated with delays caused by the client’s inaction.

Being aware of these areas will make you a better negotiator. It will also help you resolve an issue more smoothly when (not “if”) one arises. Having the right documents and processes is the only way to do it. You can check out the agency documents I used here.

Cashflow or Bookkeeping Issues?

FreshBooks is the solution. FreshBooks makes ridiculously easy­ to ­use cloud accounting software for agencies. Using it will help you work smarter, become more organized, and most importantly, get you paid quicker.

Check out FreshBooks.com/SmartAgency and enter SMARTAGENCY in the "How Did You Hear About Us?" section for a FREE 30-day, unrestricted trial.

Next Level Digital Agency

Ensuring you have legal protection for every aspect of your digital agency not only protects you as the owner and your team but also prevents stress and financial issues in the future.

To create the best business possible, you need to look at your agency in the bigger picture to find your strong areas as well as weak spots and then think of how you can fix them. No matter what challenge your agency is facing, I can help you get through all of it.

Through my experience running my own digital agency and helping other digital agency owners, there are many topics I can offer guidance whether you are an established agency facing struggles to new agencies unsure of what the different phases of growth you will experience will look like.

Growing your agency team can also be a major struggle for any agency owner and I can show from knowing 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.

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.

Stop Doing Things You Suck At & Improve Your Team Leading Skills

Want to improve your team leading skills? Just can't stop doing the things you're no good at? If you’re looking to break through the plateau of running a solo agency, this episode is for you.

Today’s guest is Pia Larson is the Chief Imagination Officer of Fingerprint Marketing, the digital agency she founded ten years ago. Pia shares stories and lessons learned about successfully building and leading her team.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• Solutions to 3 challenges every agency owner faces.
• The difference between being a leader and being a boss.
• How to stop doing the things you suck at.

3 Challenges Every Agency Owner Faces + Their Solution

1. Are you constantly chasing clients? The agency business is about relationships. And Pia says her company vision included long term clients. However she felt like she was always chasing the next client, which left her no time to build relationships with existing ones. When you can’t focus on current clients and make them feel special, they have no sense of loyalty.

2. ---

   Do you try to do everything yourself? As an entrepreneur we’re wired to wear many hats - even if something you don’t know or haven’t learned. One of Pia’s big challenges was the time of suck of educating herself in areas she didn’t know, like SEO or copywriting. (She’s a designer by trade.)

   ---

3. Do you find yourself doing things you hate or suck at? Lots of business owners end up doing things outside their wheelhouse because they don’t think anyone else can do it better. That’s a pretty common mindset but truthfully you’re standing in your own way.

The solution to ALL these challenges is to add to your team. If you’re a one-person show, you really can’t grow and scale without hiring. When you ignore your gut and hold off on hiring, you’re actually sabotaging your potential for growth. You’re at max capacity - it’s time to bring in some help.

Pia says she dragged her feet for a year on hiring, but when she resigned to it and hired two people she saw results within a week. She admits there’s huge risk when you hire… What if they don’t work out? What if you can’t keep them busy? What if clients don’t like them? What if you can’t pay them? BUT, the payoff is so much greater than the risks.

Team Leading: How to Be a Leader, Not Just a Boss

Once you commit to hiring, you’ll will discover a shift in your role and focus. But you’ll also have a new role as a leader.

Being a leader is not the same as being a boss. I like to tell my clients, if you’re their biggest cheerleader your team is more likely to walk out on a limb for you, even if they’re afraid it will break, because they know you’ll catch them. Team leading is different to leading a business.

Pia has experienced the same over the last decade running her agency. Rather than dictate decisions and responsibilities, she likes to find the special talents and gifts within her staff and nurture it. She has had great results by asking people what they want to do, versus telling them what they have to do. This management style gets a great response and can be very motivating.

How to Stop Doing Things You Suck At

It starts with self-awareness. You need to have an ‘ah ha’ moment when you realize what you DO want and DO NOT want to be doing. It means taking a good, hard look at your skill set and being honest with yourself about what you enjoy doing.

Then, make a “No List” and tell yourself these are the things you aren’t going to do anymore. Next: eliminate, delegate or automate tasks on the No List.

Whatever you suck at - eliminate, delegate or automate.

Pia took it a step further by asking her mom and childhood friends to tell her the attributes and characteristics they remember about her as a child. She says she got some really great insight into her strengths by taking this approach, then applied it to her role in the agency.

#1 Tip For Dealing with Bad Clients

First of all, there are no bad clients - just bad prospects or bad processes.

But every once in awhile a bad one does sneak in. Usually bad clients are just bullies with a budget. If you’re being treated poorly, it’s not worth it - cut them loose.

Pia is competitive by nature. However, when she let her guard down and accepted that there’s plenty of new business out there for every agency it opened her agency up to a ton of new opportunities.

Being able to turn down business is a major milestone. In addition to your formal qualification process, you should also interview prospective clients. Prospects aren’t the only people who should be asking questions in an initial meeting :)

Cashflow or Bookkeeping Issues?

FreshBooks is the solution. FreshBooks makes ridiculously easy­ to ­use cloud accounting software for agencies that will help you work smarter, become more organized, and most importantly, get you paid quickly.

Check out FreshBooks.com/SmartAgency and enter SMARTAGENCY in the "How Did You Hear About Us?" section for a FREE 30-day, unrestricted trial.

Build Your Agency Authority

I hope this has given you an insight into improving your team leading skills, how to face challenges that may come your way and how to stop doing things you suck at. 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.

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 DigitalMarketer Increased Traffic by 1125%

Do you think your content strategy is the obstacle in brining increased traffic to your agency's website?

If your agency’s content marketing strategy is blogging - and just blogging - you’ve got to catch this episode. My guest is Russ Henneberry, Editorial Director at DigitalMarketer and he’s here to tell us how he has increased traffic on their front end by 1125%. That’s not a typo - you read it right - 1125%!!!

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• How you can enjoy increased traffic with a content strategy.
• The 3 elements to a successful content marketing funnel.
• How to uncover your marketing agency’s black box.

Russ is All-Pro at the content marketing game. Prior to working at DigitalMarketer, he was on the content team at Salesforce.com. He  also launched a blog for a well-known marketing SaaS where he grew visitors from 0 to 120,000/month in under a year.

Content is where it’s at in digital marketing. The problem is too many people think content just means random blogging. Russ says the solution to is to create your content with purpose and strategy behind it. A successful content funnel will carry your prospect through the various stages of their buying decision. There are three levels to an effective content funnel: Awareness on top, Evaluation at middle, Conversion on bottom.

Content that Raises Awareness

According the Russ, the very first step in a great content marketing strategy begins with prospect awareness. They must become aware there’s a problem. Then they need to be aware that your agency’s service offering is the solution. To create content that raises awareness and increased traffic, ask yourself:

• What do I need prospects to believe or what doubts do they have?
• What do my prospects need to understand, learn or know before they’ll work us?
• What objections might the prospects have to working with us?
• What are my prospects researching prior to hiring an agency?

When you figure all this out you can create all your content around the answers. And remember to be specific - speak to your niche using industry-specific words and phrases. Successful content marketing makes the reader/viewer feel as though it was created specifically for them. Therefore, speak to an audience of one to really nail it.

Content that raises awareness should educate, entertain and inspire so vehicles for this type of content include: blog posts, social media updates, infographics, photos, e-books, podcasts.

Content for Evaluation

This type of content is a level down from Awareness content and is useful for helping a prospect decide between their options. When a prospect is considering working with your agency, this type of content helps facilitate the decision. Prospects have choices and your obligation is to educate on the pros and cons of those choices. Evaluation content should answer things like:

• How does your agency stack up against the competition?
• What are the consequences if the prospect chooses not to solve the problem at all?
• How will working with your agency differ from solving the problem in-house?

Your responsibility with this type of content is to weigh the options and help facilitate a decision. It’s important to be honest and fair with these content pieces because they aren't smarmy sales content. You can use a lead magnet or opt-in, or even retargeting to drive back to your site. The goal is to give your prospect the opportunity to re-evaluate your process compared to their other options. Another effective strategy for Evaluation content is a testimonial where someone walks through the before, during and after process of working with your agency.

Some great vehicles for this type of content is lead magnets such as: educational resources (case study, white paper, etc), useful resources (swipe file, checklist, templates, etc.), webinars and live events.

Content that Converts

So now it’s sale time. What do you need to do or say to tip the scale in your favor? Content that Converts is the final piece. It’s all about making them feel good about signing with your agency. Things like customer stories with results, webinars, live events, mini classes and a great Foot in the Door offer all make great Conversion content.

To create this type of content, you’ll need to ask yourself: “what’s missing?”. Russ says every business has a Black Box that causes mystery or confusion. Creating content that solves the mystery is the final element in a successful content marketing strategy. The key is uncovering our your agency’s black box and eliminating the problem.

How to Uncover Your Agency’s Black Box

You’re too close to identify it right away but it’s there, and mystery and confusion are the #1 things that hinder conversion. When a prospect leaves your site with questions or confusion that is a lost opportunity. They will ultimately go to a competitor, do the work in-house or do nothing. So ask yourself: “what’s missing?” then create content that fills that hole.

Ready to Discover the Best Agency Strategies Working Today?

Most agency owners struggle to scale. We’ve developed an amazing mastermind to guide you through the journey of implementing the right systems so you can scale your agency — instead of feeling overwhelmed by it.

We do this by bringing together successful agency leaders to share strategies, offer advice, and reveal what’s working (and what’s not working) in their agency. The truth is, whatever you want to accomplish in life, nothing will help you go further, faster than getting the right adviser in the context of motivated peers. If you want to GROW fast and smart, Digital Agency Elite mastermind will help.

Cashflow or Bookkeeping Issues?

FreshBooks is the solution. FreshBooks makes ridiculously easy­ to ­use cloud accounting software for agencies that will help you work smarter, become more organized, and most importantly, get you paid quickly.

Check out FreshBooks.com/SmartAgency and enter SMARTAGENCY in the "How Did You Hear About Us?" section for a FREE 30-day, unrestricted trial.

Need More Advice?

So we’ve taken a closer look at ways of improving your content strategy for increased traffic to gain that exposure and lead building for your business but what other advice do you need right now?

To improve your agency, you should 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 to share with you 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, did you know I have a Youtube channel?

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.

You aren't alone if you've considered transitioning into a SaaS company; or launching a separate company to sell SaaS. The challenge is educating your team, your clients and yourself on how to go about it.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• Reasons why you might want to develop a SaaS product.
• 4 steps to developing and launching a SaaS company.
• How to roll out your SaaS product and transition your agency.

If you’re thinking about developing or selling a SaaS product, this is the episode for you. My guest is Ethan Denney, founder and CEO of ConvertFlow. Ethan took his company from a service-oriented digital agency to a product-focused SaaS company. He shares the story of his agency’s transition including the steps he took to get there.

Why develop a SaaS product?

As a digital agency, Ethan’s company was focused on driving site traffic and lead generation. However, they found many clients needed site redesigns and lot of other, deeper services were more involved. These issues often decreased profitability and increased the sales cycle. (Not to mention that it created a major time suck.) Clients were not seeing results right away and Ethan’s agency was having difficulty proving their value right away.

In order to solve this issue they created a product that would provide more immediate value and shorten their sales cycle. It would also deliver faster results and more ROI to their clients. This cleared the way for ConvertFlow to charge on value and increase their profits.

Transitioning from digital agency to SaaS company

Often times the logistics of a product business sound much more appealing than a service business, am I right? Product companies have fixed costs, shorter engagement periods, and higher profit margins. But the grass is not always greener on the other side.

“The grass is greener on the side you water.”

Cashing in your digital agency and replacing with a productized company is not for everyone. In order to do be successful, it’s got to be done right. Ethan cautions us - it didn’t happen overnight and it wasn’t easy.

4 BIG steps to developing a SaaS company:

1- Determine your agency’s core service. Then figure out what’s keeping you from doing it. What obstacles do you face? For Ethan’s agency it was cumbersome site redesigns that were keeping them from driving traffic and generating leads for their clients.

2- Develop a solution. Once you’ve identified what’s keeping you from doing what you love doing, play around with possible solutions. Look at it from all angles. What solution can you create to will solve these issues for you or eliminate the obstacles?

3- Decide on the goal for your tool. Will you keep this solution in your arsenal and have it be your competitive advantage? Or will you sell this tool as a stand alone product? There isn’t a right answer - in fact, it’s a very individual decision.

4- Strategically launch your solution. In Ethan’s case, they chose to rollout a product-based solution to their clients that would be a shorter engagement and allow clients to see more immediate value. This included a multi-step launch to their existing digital agency clients.

Rolling out SaaS for your Digital Agency

As Ethan’s agency developed more of the productize business they were able to use it as a low-end “icebreaker” service. They discovered that charging $1,500 - $2,000, they were earning steady recurring revenue. Other benefits are a shorter sales cycle and shorter engagement period with new clients.

Transitioning bigger, long term clients took a little longer and a bit more thoughtful strategy. Digital agency service clients were first transitioned to a productized service where the product was introduced to the client but managed by the agency. Eventually, they transitioned those clients from a productized service to a product they could manage themselves.

Overall, Ethan is thrilled with the entire transition. Now, ConvertFlow is able to concentrate on doing what they love, without getting weighed down by doing the necessary stuff they don’t love.

Analytics Software to Boost Your Business

Klipfolio is a tool that is helping agencies continuously monitor and report analytics. Define KPI’s based on your preferences and filters in this cloud-based software. With 50+ built-in marketing metrics, you can create a dashboard for yourself and your clients which can be viewed on desktop, mobile or old-fashioned PDF.

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.

Are You Ready to Learn More?

If you are looking for advice with your current agency or learning how to start your own digital agency, I can help.

Find lots of tips, tricks and insights by reading my blogs that cover a wide variety of topics. And if videos are more your thing, you can check out the videos on my Youtube channel!

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.

If you're struggling to build the agency or creating the agency vision that you want or having issues taking it to the next level, it could be a lack of clarity.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• #1 Struggle of building an agency team
• How to create and communicate your agency vision
• An on boarding process that sets expectations from day one.

Today’s guest on the show is Danny Gonzalez, co-founder of Perception, the digital agency he and his partner built over the past fifteen years. Danny talks about how they communicate their vision in order to attract and keep top agency talent.

You’ve probably seen some of Perception’s work if you’ve watched Iron Man 2 or Batman vs. Superman. They’re the team responsible for the fictitious technology your favorite superheroes use. They also develop real-world tech solutions (for us non-superhero types), such as UX and UI designs for automotive and technology companies. Pretty cool, right?

#1 Struggle of Building a Team

The most difficult thing about building a team is getting your established clients to trust them. When you operate solo or as a partnership for a long time, your clients are accustomed to leaning on you. Although when you’re growing it becomes necessary to hire. The challenge is getting your existing clients to transfer their trust in you to your new team.

"Hiring the right people frees you up to concentrate on building the business instead of spending time in the weeds."

The key is to start slow. It takes time to educate your current clients and have them accept a reorganization. Be sure display complete confidence in your new hires and over time your clients will feel it too.

With new clients, it’s much easier. Get your team involved from the start. Let go of your need to be involved. Assure the client that you are available if there’s an urgent need or large scale issue but their day-to-day contact is super capable of handling everything.

How to Create and Communicate Agency Vision

For the first few years, it was just Danny and his partner. But as they started growing and hiring, they began making notes about what they wanted for their company - expectations, culture, values and goals. With an agency name of “Perception”, for them it is all about internal and external perception and the senses.

Eventually these bullet point notes of expectations, values and vision turned into a handbook. The handbook is given to new hire candidates before they're even hired. It includes “rules” things like:

• We don’t bullsh*t each other.
• We don’t shoot down each other’s ideas.

As well as the lifecycle of a project with a variety of scenarios that lead to different actions: “If this happens, then do X. If that happens, then do Y.”

This is definitely something that has evolved over time and it’s only one part of Perception’s on boarding process.

In my interview with a Zappos executive, she described their process for communicating Zappos Core Values. As a result, Zappos has increased productivity and creativity, reduced turnover and sick time and has topped many Best Workplaces Lists for several years.

On Boarding Process That Sets Expectations from Day 1

In addition to receiving the handbook, the partners give new hires their “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” presentation. They walk through past projects, clients and situation to go over what went right, what went wrong, what was learned and why sometimes you just have to walk away (that's the ugly stuff :) )

Other aspects of on boarding include communicating very role-specific expectations. Setting very clear expectations from the start also sets your team up for success.

Analytics Software to Boost Your Business

Klipfolio is a tool that is helping agencies continuously monitor and report analytics. Define KPI’s based on your preferences and filters in this cloud-based software. With 50+ built-in marketing metrics, you can create a dashboard for yourself and your clients which can be viewed on desktop, mobile or old-fashioned PDF.

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.

Creating the Best Agency Possible With Your Agency Vision

Creating the agency vision you aspire to will allow you to create the best agency possible moving forward. To maintain this high level of authority and your reputation as an agency owner, you should review if there are other weaknesses within your agency that are causing challenges that need to be resolved.

Don’t worry, i’m here for all the advice you need.

From my own experience running my own digital agency as well as helping other digital agency owners, I can provide advice on many topics. It can be anything from changes you want to make within your established agency or if you are a new agency, you might be unsure of what the different phases of growth will look like. These are just a few topics I can give guidance on.

If it's not the agency itself but your agency team, don't worry as I have you covered. Growing your agency team, I can show you how to recognise when to expand your sales team to perfecting your business strategy with creating a process for performance based pricing as well as keeping big clients happy.

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!

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!

Increase Business: How One Digital Agency Doubled Business in 4 Months

If you're trying to grow an agency, you know you're going to need a foot in a door strategy to increase business and get you to the next level of success. The trouble is, you're selling the wrong service first.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• #1 strategy to increase business with new clients for your agency.
• Why you need a Foot in the Door offer.
• What makes a great Foot in the Door offer?

My guest on the show today is represents every reason why I love my work. Todd Earwood is the founder and CEO of MoneyPath Marketing. We first met when Todd attended one of my two-day workshops. A few months later he called me to share the success story on how his business doubled in just 4 months. Todd shares with us the #1 reason his agency was able to increase business so drastically and how he’s on track to do 3X business within 6 months of the workshop!

MoneyPath Marketing targets SaaS companies and like many agencies they have a hard time getting their foot in the door. Todd attended my workshop hoping to glean a little useful knowledge that he could implement right away. Ask and you shall receive...

#1 Strategy to Increase Agency New Business

Todd wanted more opportunities to get his foot in the door with prospects and that’s exactly what he got on Day #1 of the workshop. We discussed the principle behind the Foot in the Door offer and how one agency did $252K at a tradeshow using this strategy.

(A Foot in the Door offer is a slice off your core services. It is something a prospective will find informative and valuable, but does not solve a problem or involve a large investment.)

Todd found so much value in the Foot in the Door lesson that he implemented it right there during the workshop. That day, he jumped on a call with his salesman and a new business prospect. He offered the prospect a paid discovery (instead of going right away for a full scale project). They landed the paid discovery and nailed it, which lead to another project and eventually retainer business allowing him to increase business overall for his agency.

Why You Need a Foot in the Door Offer:

1- It offers a low cost point of entry. When you are pitching a prospect for a project that is $20K or $50K it’s a huge commitment. And although you are fully committed to being successful, the price tag can make it a tough sell. A Foot in the Door offer is just the bottom rung on your offer ladder. You’ll find you actually make more money when you start small and have your clients stairstep their way up.

2- It’s the courtship before the marriage. I get it - you want the bigger paid projects and retainers. But going for those higher price tags first is like proposing marriage on the first date. A Foot in the Door offer is a great way to get to know each other. You can build your authority and gain more trust, as well as get a glimpse of client’s work style.

3- It helps to determine what the client really wants. Let’s be honest. What the client thinks they need and what they actually need are often two completely different things. That’s why a blueprint or discovery is so valuable. It allows you to dig into the current situation to see what’s missing and provide insight as to how you can help.

4- It pre-qualifies your prospects. Think about it this way. If you have a prospect who balks at spending $2,500 for a paid discovery, how do you think a full scale project proposal will play out? Maybe something like this? By selling a Foot in the Door first, you’ll get the opportunity to qualify your prospects. You can find out if they have the budget to work with you. In addition you can determine in advance if you can help them.

5- It speeds up the sales cycle. When you have a lower price point of entry it’s much easier for your prospects to make the decision to work with you. After you fulfill delivery on the Foot in the Door and wow them with your expertise you’ll find subsequent sales decisions and are made much faster. Why is that? Because once a client buys from you they are 20X more likely to buy again in the future because they already know, like and trust you.

What Makes a Great Foot in the Door Offer?

First and foremost, it needs to be super simple. Make sure you are managing expectations as to what your prospect is getting from the Foot in the Door offer. Call it a discovery, blueprint, consultation or whatever you want... Just be sure it’s something you can explain pretty easily.

The process for proposing and delivering a Foot in the Door offer should be pretty turnkey. No fancy, lengthy proposal necessary. Todd says his agency sells theirs in a two page PDF that documents the timeline, process, deliverables and price.

Don’t over deliver. This was something Todd learned the hard way. He said he was used to doing free consultations, so the first time they did a paid discovery they felt the need to give an abundance of information so he could justify charging for it. He says the prospect actually told him it was too much information and needed a couple days to think about it. That’s not the goal. The goal of a Foot in the Door offer is to provide value and give just enough information that leaves the client wanting to do more.

Your goal is not to make a money on your Foot in the Door offer. Instead you’ll see exponential growth, revenue and profits by the increased business it brings in. Your goal is to build relationships, increase business and move prospects through your offering ladder.

How to Be Viewed as an Expert

Todd says another big takeaway from my workshop was the importance of standing out and not being a “Me Too” Agency. Another contributor to his agency's success is the declaration of a specialization. Although it's counter intuitive, marketing to a specific audience will make a real impact on your business.

When you have a specialization, you are able to create better content that speaks to a specific audience. When you niche down, you are able to use language specific to that particular industry. Focused marketing campaigns show prospects that you understand their problems, issues and challenges. And you will be viewed a subject matter expert.

Don’t be afraid to choose a niche and focus your energy there. This doesn’t mean turning away business. It just means targeting a specific group and saying: “I only help guys like you, I know what I’m doing and I know we can be successful.”

Give it a try... because the only thing worse than not trying is the regret you’ll feel if you don’t :)

Have You Hit a Plateau With Growing Your Agency?

Do you feel that you don't have what it takes to really scale and grow your agency? As you may have noticed, the agency world is definitely going through some changes. If you would like to attend the same workshop that Todd attended and talked about in this article, click here.

Analytics Software to Boost Your Business

Klipfolio is a tool that is helping agencies continuously monitor and report analytics. Define KPI’s based on your preferences and filters in this cloud-based software. With 50+ built-in marketing metrics, you can create a dashboard for yourself and your clients which can be viewed on desktop, mobile or old-fashioned PDF.

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.

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

Next Level Digital Agency

Now that you have heard from Todd, are you ready to increase business for your agency and take it to the next level?

In order to build as an agency owner and grow your agency to the next level, especially when you are looking to increase business, you need to be able to recognise other issues within your agency that needs your attention.

Look for weak spots in your business and then think of how you can fix them. No matter what challenge your agency is facing, I can help you get through all of it.

There are many topics I can offer guidance from the different phases of growth you will experience 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 from knowing when it’s time to hire a sales manager or expand your sales team, creating a process for performance based pricing which can be the best pricing strategy for your business and learning 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.

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.

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!

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

Klipfolio is a tool that is helping agencies continuously monitor and report analytics. It's cloud-based software allows you to define KPI’s based on your preferences and filters. With 50+ built-in marketing metrics, you can create a dashboard for yourself and your clients which can be viewed on desktop, mobile or old-fashioned PDF.

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

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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

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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

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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.

Multi-Million Dollar Agency Building: How One Agency Owner Built Three

Every digital agency owner dreams of building a multi-million dollar agency and what better way to learn how than from an owner that didn't just make one, but built three multi-million dollar agencys.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• 3 lessons on scaling your business into a multi-million dollar agency.
• How to have growth-minded hiring practices.
• Attracting, hiring and keeping top talent.

Lance Hollander is my guest this week on The Smart Agency Master Class. He’s the owner of his third multi-million dollar agency, Delphic Digital. Yep, you read that right. He's been owner to three successful, 7-figure agencies. He profitably sold the first two agencies, but can’t stay away from the business and earned partnership in another. Lance swears this is the third and last… but we’ll believe it when we see it :) Today he's here to share the lessons he’s learned climbing to the top 3 times and his secrets to scaling each multi-million dollar agency.

3 lessons on scaling a successful agency

1- The right partner is critical to success. Lance says service businesses are best held by multiple people with different skill sets. And in his words - any single who would run an agency alone is both incredibly smart and incredibly crazy.

2- Strive to always be the dumbest person in the room. Surround yourself with people who are the best at what they do. You can achieve success by working with people who are better than you at what they do.

3- Always be seeking new business - even when you’re busy. Lance’s advice is 50-60% revenue from existing clients and the balance from new business. It’s very common to get so busy that you just don’t have time to fill the pipeline because you’re concentrating on delivery only to find yourself eventually un-busy with an empty pipeline.

[clickToTweet tweet="Hiring #agency talent is like Tetris. Every piece that falls dictates your next move. Learn via @jswenk" quote="“Hiring is like Tetris. Every piece that falls dictates your next move.” ~ Lance Hollander"]

How to have growth-minded hiring practices

When you’re first starting out, you need to hire people who can be the Swiss Army knife of your business. Your business needs people who can many different jobs with the common goal of growing. As your agency gets larger, you can begin to hire specialists in their field who just want to wear one hat.

Lance has learned if you approach hiring wanting to save money, you will not save money. You need people who can run the show without you. And in order to do that you have to be willing to pay senior staff salary. After you have a good team of lieutenants running things you can afford to hire junior staff members and save some money. And more good news - you’ll already have senior staff in place to train them well.

Ways to find & attract ideal agency talent

One hugely helpful resource is LinkedIn. Lance says he used to spend up to 30 hours per week scouring LinkedIn, familiarizing himself with who’s out there and looking for the right talent to match his agency’s needs and culture.

Then Dephic Digital went through a period of rapid growth, with 50% increases year over year for several consecutive years. The lesson they learned is rapid growth means spending time recruiting, paying recruiters or asking your senior people to recruit - none of which is ideal.

So when the agency reached about 50 people Lance hired a full time Head of Talent who is responsible for identifying and recruiting new talent while keeping the existing team happy. He says it’s the best non-billable position they have… in fact, he says they should have created the position when they were at 30 people.

2 Secrets to getting beyond the plateau

Align expectations & value. When you’re in a service business like ours, it’s important to make sure expectations and value are aligned. Do your clients have reasonable expectations? Are you showing them results they can attach value to?

Reporting is a great tool to achieve this but that doesn’t mean pulling a report and reading it to your client. It means monitoring analytics and using it to tell a story to your client.

Account Management isn’t the star. Lance’s agencies are known for keeping happy clients on retainer for 5+ years. In fact, his first couple agencies were bought by clients! He says the secret to keep clients happy is by making them the star.

Do a great job at making your key client contact a star. Complete projects on time, under budget and occasionally over deliver… when they look good because of you, they’ll remember it and want to keep you. Your end goal is to get your client promoted and start all over with the newbie.

Moving Forward

I hope this was beneficial and transforming your business into a multi-million dollar agency now seems like a goal that can be reached. However, moving forward you won't be able to accomplish this unless you identify areas within your agency that needs work. So what's next on the list?

If you need support and advice on any topic, I have most likely experience them myself and can help. 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.

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.

When looking to improve the lead generation strategy of your digital agency, you might find it difficult in identifying the ways you can do this. One of the ways you can improve your lead generation strategy is by contributing to podcast content by being a guest.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• 3 Benefits of being a podcast guest.
• How to get find shows and rock an interview like a pro.
• How to turn other podcast listeners into your clients.

My guest today is Tom Schwab founder of Interview Valet, an inbound marketing agency. Tom’s background is in engineering - he even ran a nuclear power plant in the Navy - which means he’s brilliant at building process and systems that generate maximum output for minimum input. Tom shares the genius of being a podcast guest as a lead generation strategy, as well as the secret to getting more bang for ($0) bucks.

Why Being a Podcast Guest Is Important for Lead Generation Strategy?

Fresh content is still a thing, but blogging just isn’t. People want to consume information in different ways, on their terms and in their own time. That’s why podcasting is so awesome. I chatted with podcast master Pat Flynn about starting your own podcast. In addition to hosting, it’s also a great idea to get yourself out there to be interviewed as a guest.

Think of being a podcast guest as a way of having more content out there. Podcasts are evergreen. Make sure your interview content is something that is going to earn awareness, respect and trust.

Podcasts are also more convenient to consume. Reading blogs or watching videos isn’t always convenient, however people are downloading podcasts to listen to on the go. They can even be listened to on 1.5X or 2X speed for quicker consumption.

People also really love podcasts because they are more conversational in nature. Videos tend to feel scripted and “perfect” but podcasts are natural with more of a human touch.

3 BIG benefits of being a podcast guest.

1. A captive audience. The host show has an established audience that is already tuned in to hear the valuable content the being serves up. They are voluntarily listening to what you have to say!
2. Pre-qualified leads. You’re getting targeted reach to your specific market, which means your ideal customers are the ones listening and leads are pre-qualified. Be selective with the podcasts you choose.
3. Shorter sales cycle. Prospects earned from a podcast already know your story and enter into the sales cycle educated. They aren’t the tire kickers - they’re already interested. Your sales cycle is shorter because you don’t have to spend as much time convincing.

Getting started as a podcast guest.

It’s the same marketing principles that we’ve always known: Marketing is just a conversation with your ideal clients. So you need to find them, connect with them, and make it easy for them to become a paying customer.

1st - Identify podcasts to target.

Find the right podcast audience. Identify shows that have listeners with the right buyer persona. Start by searching shows by keywords in iTunes or SoundCloud. Do your homework to find out the size of the podcast and density of listeners that fit your target audience.

Some other things to look for:

• Age of the podcast - many die by episode 10.
• Show notes - important for SEO and backlinks.
• Explicit rating - decide if your brand/audience will be OK with offensive language.

Start by making a list of podcasts to target. Then check out Tom’s infographic on getting booked as a podcast guest.

 2nd - Be a superstar guest.

Your job is to make the show’s host look like a genius for having you on the podcast. Do that by being your charming self and providing super valuable content.

Be genuine in your interview to attract the right clients. Draw in the people who are entertained and excited by the thought of working with you. Be yourself and let your personality shine through in the interview.

Make sure you’re providing valuable information that will stay relevant in an evergreen platform like a podcast. This will all contribute to improving your lead generation strategy.

3rd - Turn listeners into leads.

Use your interview like a lead magnet. Remember, podcasts are just more content so you need to provide a call-to-action. The tricky part is that your leads are listening on the go, so you have to make it very easy. Send them to a dedicated page on your site, invite them to listen to your podcast, or give simple instructions to sign up for a webinar. Simplicity is key.

Also, make sure you help promote your episode once it goes live. Tweet it, share it - do your part to get it out there. You can also transcribe the interview and tweet out key phrases, or take a piece of it and expand on it in a blog post. Be creative about repurposing interview and all your content. Not everyone sees everything you put out there, but the more you have out there the better odds that everyone will see something.

4th - Avoid these mistakes.

Don’t just go for the shows with the biggest numbers. Spend some time interviewing on smaller shows first so you can fine tune your interview style and topics.

Make sure you’re prepared. You don’t want to be caught off guard with surprise questions/topics. Prepare for the interview like you’re giving a keynote on stage.

Be sure you’ve got the right equipment and that it’s in working order. Test your connections and mic before every interview.

Would you like to be a guest on my podcast?

I'm looking for people willing to share their amazing stories to help our agency community. Agency owners only, and you must be over $1 million in annual revenue.  Click here for details. 

Are you losing out on improving your agency profitability why having the wrong internal processes for your business?

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• How to fix the #1 problem every agency experiences.
• 3 ways to standardize your internal processes and increase profits.
• 2 strategies to upsell to existing clients.

This week’s guest is the expert on creating systems and processes. (Which means I’m a big fan because you already know how I feel about systems and processes.) Anthony Chatfield has an extensive background in the agency space and is the founder of Lead Connect, an agency specializing in inbound marketing. He also consults with agencies that are great with lead generation and closing deals, but struggle with delivery. Anthony shares strategies for making your agency operate more efficiently with some key process documentation.

The Gap In Agency Internal Processes

The biggest problem Anthony sees in agencies is the breakdown in communication between sales and fulfillment. So many times a salesperson promises the moon and stars, but the account team delivers something far less. This leads to frustration on the client’s part and resentment internally.

There’s a three-part fix to this problem that Anthony says in crucial in for every agency:

1. Formalize a checklist for your core services.

Operations standard are a must. Creating a document that you can share with the client about what is (and what is not) covered in a project fee manages expectations and minimizes or eliminates profit leaks.

2. Develop a master document for the engagement.

Include everything from target demographics to KPI’s. Understand the client's definition of success and spell out how the client will measure the success of your agency’s work. This should be in place by the end of the first meeting. It’s good to have a template or standard document that can be customized on a project/client basis. If you want access to the exact agency documents we used, click here.

3. Get everyone on the same page from day #1.

Get sign-offs from everyone involved - external and internal. This is another important way to manage expectations and maintain accountability. Have the client sign everything from the checklist, to the brief, to the proposal, to zero dollar change orders.

When you have a standard process in place the client learns off the bat how you operate. You manage them and the project instead of allowing them to manage you.

2 Strategies to Upsell Your Agency Clients

1. Meet more. 

No one wants to add more meetings to their calendar but when those meetings are revenue generating you better believe they’re worth it! Anthony says a lot of agencies aren’t talking to their clients frequent enough. When you increase communications there are natural opportunities for upsells. He says account teams should be holding weekly status calls with clients. This keeps everyone accountable - especially the client who might be holding up a project. When you’re ahead of schedule and the client is seeing results, they’ll start asking you what else they can pay for to get more results.

2. Tell a story. 

When you deliver results, don’t just email them a spreadsheet or report. Analyze the results and give it to them in story format. Present what happened, what was learned and what else you can do with the data to drive more or better results. When you frame it this way you are opening up dialogue for next steps, more projects, etc. And whenever possible present these results face-to-face. Hiding behind email does not allow for discussion - personal meetings are going to open up more opportunities.

Cashflow or bookkeeping issues?

FreshBooks is the solution. FreshBooks makes ridiculously easy­ to ­use cloud accounting software for agencies that will help you work smarter, become more organized, and most importantly, get you paid quickly.

Check out FreshBooks.com/SmartAgency and enter SMARTAGENCY in the "How Did You Hear About Us?" section for a FREE 30-day, unrestricted trial.

Build Your Agency

Revising the internal processes of your business can create benefits not only for business but for your teams and you as an owner.

Are there other areas of your business you want to improve? By evaluating other areas of weakness within your agency, you can create a better business and improve as an agency owner. And the best thing about it is, I can help you get through all of it.

I can give you support and advice on many topics from what to do when you want to speed up sales processes, ways to increase your business profit margins or how you can build an 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!

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.