Smart Agency Masterclass with Jason Swenk: Podcast for Digital Marketing Agencies

How can agencies prove value to their clients and eventually charge more? That's the solution Paul Deraval offers in this episode about founding NinjaCat. After entering the agency world later in his career as a software developer and finding the competition was everywhere, Paul shifted his focus. As Paul says: Who makes money in a gold rush? It's the guy selling the pickax." So he decided to offer his unique data reporting technology to agencies and created Ninja Cat in 2014. They are a digital marketing performance management platform built for agencies, media companies, and brands and help agencies create a . He joins the podcast today to talk about how agencies can prove their value to retain customers and the benefits of having automated reporting. 3 Golden Nuggets The crack in the fortress. Paul found that many agencies were using big black box algorithm platforms for reporting capability that was very limited in scope. Not really designed for that use. And paying a ton of money for it. He decided to focus his business on solving this problem and be the best in the world at helping agencies prove their value to clients by knocking their client reports out of the park. Deliver a story. Know your clients and know their appetite for data. More data isn't always better. So, before delivering an 80-page report that they may not even read, ask what they would like to know and then deliver to them on a silver platter a data story that says here's what we did for you, here's the impact that had on your business. And don't forget to be clear on the point "here's why you should continue to do business with us." Focus on the meaningful. What do agencies get from using Ninja Cat for their client reports? They get to focus on the meaningful instead of the monotonous. Instead of data chaos and data wrangling and client reporting they automate that process and spend more time actually optimizing campaigns and building client relationships. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher | Radio FM Using Data Reporting to Tell the Story of Your Agency's Value Jason: [00:00:00] What's up, agency owners? Got another great, amazing podcast interview coming right up. This guest has a really interesting story and we're going to talk about how can you really prove your value, prove your worth, your ROI? So you can actually charge more and hold onto your clients better. Because a lot of times, if you don't know the value your clients don't know the value and you're probably not going to hold onto them. So let's go ahead and jump into the episode. Hey, Paul. Welcome back to the show. Paul: [00:00:36] Hey, Jason. Thanks for having me. Jason: [00:00:37] Yeah, man. I'm excited to have you on. So, uh, tell us who you are and, uh, tell us a little bit about your background. Paul: [00:00:45] Yeah, sure. Uh, my name is Paul Deraval. Um, currently I'm the CEO and co-founder of a company called Ninja Cat. We help, uh, large scale agencies and media companies prove value to their customers through, um, automated and highly effective, um, data stories as we call it dashboards as well as, uh, automated PowerPoints and PDFs that really help you as an agency prove value to your customers. Jason: [00:01:11] Awesome. Very cool. And so tell us, how did you come about starting this? And, you know, I know it's an interesting story. Paul: [00:01:21] Yeah. So, long story short. Um, my background is a software entrepreneur. Prior to this, built a SAS company called uh, Easy Facility, an all-in-one platform for health and fitness clubs, like a YMCA or yoga studio. The one tool you needed to get all your different jobs done from member payments to personal trainers, scheduling, mobile apps. Everything. Very big product. Um, was fortunate enough in, did that from 2003 to 2009, uh, when we got acquired, and that, enabled me to do some angel investing. And, uh, one of the investments I made through a, a referral from a, a family friend was, uh, to two brothers starting, um, a digital marketing agency primarily focused on auto dealers. Uh, I'm a software entrepreneur and was looking to make software investments. I was like, ah, you know, I don't understand the agency business. Um, you know, really shouldn't invest in what you don't know, but, I'll take the meeting. Um, but what caught my eye during the meeting was, uh, a digital marketing agency focused on auto dealers, but had their own unique selling proposition, which was two parts. One was an ad creation technology that would scrape an auto dealer's website, find out what inventory they had in real-time. Take that 2010 Honda civic and create a Google ad for it and take it down when the, when the, um, car was removed from the site. I thought that was pretty nifty. Um, and another component of some technology that they built to help them differentiate was, uh, some really nice reporting dashboards. Uh, that basically offered transparency to these auto dealers. Showing them exactly here's where yo

Vasa Martinez is the founder and CEO of Growthbuster, a remote marketing agency that has helped food and beverage brands reach new heights with community, creative, and innovation. After years of CPG experience working with many brands, Vasa started building his own company focused on the outsourced marketing department. Today he joins us to talk about his experience with brands, how he positioned his agency as the solution clients need, and why you need to follow your north star. 3 Golden Nuggets Bet on yourself. A lot of times a company might be really attached to "vanity metrics" and turn to buying followers. This is a really ineffective measure, as they usually find out when they hire an expert. Trying to steer clients away from shady practices like bots or buying clients, this company started making bets that they would grow their social media in four months. Trusting their methods has helped them win many of those bets. Follow your North Star. As a rule, Vasa and his team make it a point to work with companies that are solving a problem in the world. This aligns with their core value of "human first, business second". That has led to saying no to brands that could bring in a lot of revenue but don't really fit with the agency's values. For his part, Vasa says their north star is not growth if it comes at the cost of his values or his team's mental health. Don't compromise your team's mental health. This is a very demanding industry but running a solvent business, working with some really cool brands, and scaling your agency shouldn't come at the cost of your team's mental health. Respect people's rest time. As agency owners, we sometimes end up working weird hours but don't expect everyone on your team to do the same. Follow Your North Star and Position Your Agency as a Solution Jason: [00:00:00] Hey, what's up everybody? Jason Swenk here, and I'm excited to have another really good episode, a really amazing guest. He's going to talk about how did they position their agency as an outside marketing solution for companies coming in. So let's go ahead and jump into the show. All right, Vasa. What's going on, man? Vasa: [00:00:25] What's up. What's up? How are you? Jason: [00:00:27] I'm excited to have you on, so tell us who you are and what do you do? Vasa: [00:00:30] My name it's Vasa Martinez. I'm the founder and CEO of Growthbuster, an outsourced marketing department. I'm also the CMO of Outer Aisle, which is a food brand that creates cauliflower sandwiches and pizza crust. Jason: [00:00:43] Very cool. And so with the agency, how'd you get your start? Why did you guys jump into this world? Vasa: [00:00:48] Well, I found that I had some ideas that I wanted to see brought to life, and working as an employee wasn't the best way to do that. So in the back half of 2017, I started consulting rather than being a full-time employee. And that turns into, uh, you know. At the beginning of 2018, I incorporated what became Growthbuster and started building from there. Jason: [00:01:06] Awesome. And talk about kind of, why did you choose to kind of position? Or why are you guys going after the outsource marketing department? Vasa: [00:01:17] For me, it's, it's nice to have a group of specialists and a group of generalists all on the same team when we work with different brands. I'm typically running point on, on the account. So we never pass it off to an account manager that's just out of college or anything like that. So having that team behind you, that support, is the most helpful. You know, having the graphic designer or having, you know, an email marketer or a copywriter, uh, rather than just focusing on being a paid agency or a social media marketing agency. It just wasn't enough for me and part of it was, you know, I treat GB as a CPG company. We work mostly with CPG companies, food and beverage, and I was listening to a lot of our potential clients, what they wanted. And wherever we could, we solely tacked on, you know, those, those resources. Jason: [00:02:00] So, how do you position yourself different than all the other agencies out there? Vasa: [00:02:04] Well, I don't really look at too many other agencies, to be honest. I, I focus on what we do and what we do best. Um, you know what my background is at Quest Nutrition and creative and community was one of our main focuses in the marketing department. We also, you know, as my first stint in marketing, I left a previous industry. Really enjoyed it, and we had our own creative department as well. So we never worked with any agencies. So I've kind of learned like the project management systems, you know, all the copywriting, everything as a generalist at first. And I went into content marketing for one of the arms. That's kind of why we went in that direction, is simply because it's what I started with. It was nice to have and I love it. Jason: [00:02:40] Very cool. And so what are some things that really you guys do really well that you've figured out ov

Jason Yormark realized the job stability he always hoped to find behind a desk was waiting for him as an entrepreneur. That's when he decided to take the risk and founded Socialistics, a B2B social media agency. Three and a half years later his agency, based in Seattle, helps tell businesses stories in ways that not only drive audience and engagement; but more importantly, real business results. Today, he joins the podcast to talk about how you should treat your agency, the benefits of long vs. short-term contracts, and more. 3 Golden Nuggets Don't be afraid to disrupt. When Jason started thinking of ways to disrupt and help get his new agency noticed, he thought about offering clients an option that would get rid of something that they typically hate. Long-term contracts came up as something that clients don't usually love about their experience with marketing agencies, and so he started offering monthly contracts and got good results. In time, many of his clients have opted to change from a monthly contract to a long-term contract. Treat yourself like a client. A lot of agencies don't dedicate enough time to building their brand. They get so busy with business development and clients and that it is the first thing to get pushed aside. Building your brand takes time and consistency when it comes to putting out new content, blog posts, social media, etc. Jason's advice is to make sure that somebody in your team is responsible for treating your business as a client. You can still outsource if you're doing the content. Are you a good writer, or maybe a natural in front of a mike when it comes to recording a podcast? Great! However, that doesn't mean that you have to take care of every step of the process. Get an SEO editor or a video editor that will take on the heavy lifting. This way, you can focus on your expertise and putting that content out there. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher | Radio FM Don't Forget to Build Your Brand and Treat Yourself Like a Client Jason Swenk: [00:00:00] What's up everybody? I have another amazing guest coming for you in just a second. We're going to talk about why you should treat your agency as the number one client. As well as we're going to talk about long-term or short-term contracts, the benefits, the disadvantages. We're going to argue back and forth. This is going to be a really good episode. Now, before we get into chatting with Jason, our guest, I want you to do something. I want you to take a screenshot off your phone of listening to the podcast and upload that to Instagram and tag us because I want to thank you for listening to the show and do a big shout-out to you. So let's go ahead and get into the episode. All right, Jason. Welcome to the show. Jason Yormark: [00:00:44] Thank you for having me. Jason Swenk: [00:00:45] Yeah, man. I'm excited. So let's start fighting. No, I'm just kidding. No, tell us who you are and what do you do. Jason Yormark: [00:00:53] My name is Jason Yormark. I'm the owner and founder of Socialistics. We are a B2B social media agency. Jason Swenk: [00:01:01] That's awesome. And so how did you get started? How'd you fall into this crazy-ass world? Jason Yormark: [00:01:06] Well, I thought, I mean, I've always had an entrepreneurial spirit my entire life. But, uh, I was always searching for stability in my life professionally, and I always thought that that was, you know, a nine to five or sitting behind a desk with my paycheck and my benefits. All that good stuff. But, uh, marketing is a pretty volatile career path, I learned. And once I started to kind of see other folks experiencing the same thing I wasn't. So I didn't feel so bad about myself, you know, jumping around job to job, whether by choice or not. So that's stability I was always looking for was right in front of me all the time. Which was doing my own thing, controlling my own fate. And I just reached a point in my life. You know, I was a little bit later for me, where I could make that leap, take that risk. And get it right. And that happened about, uh, three and a half years ago. Jason Swenk: [00:01:52] Awesome. I love it. Well, let's talk about long-term contracts and short-term contracts. Tell us kind of how you started, where you're at now and what have you seen work? Because, you know, I have my own point of view and we'll see is we come together. If not, that's good. That's probably… that builds interests. Jason Yormark: [00:02:10] I've always been hesitant to admitting this to my other agency, friends. But, and this is going to be a little bit cringy, but, uh, we predominantly up to this point, we've done month to month contracts. And for me, it was a couple of things out of the gate. Number one, everybody's got a different agency story in terms of how they start and what they have to work with. I, you know, I had nothing, you know, I had to. And a lot of folks, I'm not the only one, a lot of folks, you know, start with nothing. You have to scrap and yo

Mike Poznansky was still in college when he started working at Red Bull's college marketing division. Since then, he realized the need for agencies that understand students and deliver at the scale and quality necessary to keep up with large consumer brands. That's why Mike founded Neato and now works alongside the world's best brands to design and run creative marketing programs that bring new value to both brands and students. He's here to talk about pre-qualifying leads so you can separate the good ones from the ones who are just fishing. 3 Golden Nuggets Separate the fishers from the rest. Sometimes clients come in and say "give us ideas" and you may have to if you're a beginner and want to earn their respect. But there will come a point when you need to consider how much work that entails and come up with other options. Mike recommends telling potential clients the agency will interview the target audience and put together a scope. This research involves a payment to make sure that it's at least worth their while. It's a way to separate the fishers from the ones who will actually pay for your services. Involve the client in the process. The times of coming up with an entire concept and presenting that to the client are over. It's better to involve the clients in the process. This way, you can understand their reasoning when they reject something and have a better chance at getting them to believe in your vision. You also have better insight on important things not reflected on a brief. Have real human conversations. This goes for both your audience and your clients. Take the time to regularly speak with your audience to really understand what they need. Also, talk to the people on the brand side, on the client-side. Try to figure out what they're challenged with, because it could be something that they haven't even considered. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher | Radio FM How to Qualify Leads and Stop Wasting Time on the Wrong Ones Jason: [00:00:00] Hey, what's up, everybody? Welcome to another great show. The smart agency masterclass. I have a really good episode today coming up with Mike, who's built a really amazing agency and we'll get into that in a second. Now, before we jump in, I want you guys to take a screenshot of the show. And then I want you to post on Instagram and tag us so then we can give you a shout-out for being a loyal listener. So let's go ahead and jump into the episode. Hey Mike, welcome to the show. Mike: [00:00:33] Hey! Thanks for having me, Jason. Jason: [00:00:35] Yeah, man. I'm excited to have you on. So tell us who you are and what do you do? Mike: [00:00:39] Yeah, my name is Mike Poznansky. I'm the founder and managing director over at Neato. We're a full-service marketing agency that helps brands connect with young audiences with a focus on gen Z and college students. Jason: [00:00:51] Awesome. And so how did you get started in doing this and how did you connect to that particular niche? Mike: [00:00:59] Yeah, I actually was pre-law. When I was in college, I had the, I had every intention of going to law school. I was thinking about being a sports agent or maybe working in intelligence. And through a strange set of circumstances, I connected with Red Bull. My passion work was in the action sports world and a company I was working with partnered with Red Bull on an event. And the employees over at Red Bull said, we have a job for college students that we think would be perfect for you. So, I was a senior, I became a student brand manager for Red Bull. At the time, I wasn't a big fan of marketing. I just saw it to be as something that was too disruptive or annoying, you know, kind of pestering. And through my work with Red Bull, even as a student, I discovered that it could be something that actually doesn't take away from your experience, but adds value to your day or to your life. And I ended up continuing with Red Bull and working for them full time. I spent, uh, over a decade there and eventually was running their college marketing program for North America. While I was at Red Bull, we were one of the first brands to invest in marketing to college students. We had a, a really large program that was very scaled. It was a well-oiled machine. So a couple of things happened that inspired me to get in the agency space. One, we started saying, how could we utilize this program to not only build the brand, but build the business? We had over 300 really capable well-connected students across the country. So we started experimenting with ways we could utilize them. And some of the programs we add to drive traffic into retail or pull product off the shelf or support our business in the on-premise. We were really blown away by the results. And then as we scaled, we needed some external help. And just, I realized that there weren't any agencies out there who were focused on the space that understood our business and that had high standards of quality. So just reali

Kevin Daisey works hard to stay on top of changing trends in digital marketing. He is the founder & CMO of Array Digital, a digital marketing agency specializing in search engine optimization, social media, and digital advertising; and also Rival Digital, a digital agency niched in the HVAC market. Today he joins us to chat about how to create a recurring revenue machine. And also how establishing tight processes will not make you lose clients if they're the right clients, and how his agency benefitted from eliminating the least profitable services. 3 Golden Nuggets Becoming a recurring revenue machine. After his accountant asked what he was predicting for next month's revenue and he had no answer, Kevin realized they needed to get serious about the business. So, he and his partner decided to implement 12-month payment plans and started converting clients to that plan. Clients pay for 12 months, even if the project was done in four months, and they can forecast on collecting that revenue. Figure out which services are bringing in more clients. Investigating all the services that they offered and identifying which ones were recurring and which ones were not, helped our guest make some changes in his agency. A lot of agencies try to do too much and think that to double in size, they need to do double the amount of services. And that's actually very incorrect. In the end, they figured out which services they could eliminate and which ones they should go all in. That helped them grow their recurring revenue in just eight months. Have a tight process. Establish a very solid outreach and communication process to establish clear payment options for your clients. If checks are just not convenient for your business, you can establish other options, like ACH, and offer a discount to encourage customers to use that method. You can also establish penalties for delayed payments. If you clearly communicate the benefits and downsides of each payment method, there are no excuses. Kevin and his team trusted their vision and were happy to see that customers started to comply with this new process. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher | Radio FM Secrets to Becoming a Recurring Machine Jason: [00:00:00] What's up everybody? Jason Swenk here and on today's episode I have an amazing guest from our mastermind who runs a really amazing agency. And we're going to talk about creating a recurring machine, but before we get into it, I want you to do me a favor, take a screenshot of listening to the podcast. And upload it to Instagram and tag us, because we want to reach out to you and give you a shout-out. So make sure you go do that now and let's get into the episode. Hey, Kevin. Welcome to the show. Kevin: [00:00:36] Hey, Jason. Thanks for having me. Jason: [00:00:38] Yeah, man. I'm excited to have you on. So tell us who you are and what do you do? Kevin: [00:00:42] So my name's Kevin Daisey and I run two agencies, one called Array Digital and, Array Digital is a full-service digital marketing agency that primarily focuses on working with law firms. Also, I have another agency that we started in September of 2020, which is niched in the HVAC market. So HVAC contractors, companies around the country, uh, with websites, SEO, social media, and on, on advertising. Jason: [00:01:12] Awesome. I love it. Well, let's go ahead and get into it. How can people listening, how can they create a recurring machine? Kevin: [00:01:21] Well, let me, uh, I guess start with kinda what led to where we are and obviously where we are is a far cry from where we want to go. But, uh, in order to get there, we had to have recurring revenue. And so back about a few years, my business partner, Eric J. Olson, who's actually a member of the mastermind as well. Me and him formed Array Digital together, after both running our own agencies for quite a few years. And we both struggled with one thing, which took us a while to figure out, by the way. We didn't have predictable recurring revenue, we had lots of projects. Now we have some small services and hosting and maybe some support to some degree. But it was never enough to actually operate the company, pay payroll and things like that. So it was really just kind of a way to supplement and maybe have recurrent customers in the future. But on a monthly basis and cash flow, we didn't really have a lot to stand on. And so we were really focused on software and mobile apps at one time and we had a lot of software developers that had $100,000 salaries and up. And we just really saw, when we had a slowdown at one point in sales, which was Eric and I at the time, how are we going to have the payroll is massive and how are we going to pay this if we don't have projects this month? Around the same time, we were meeting with a, an accountant who actually ended up being the worst accountant we've ever had… ever. Like we fired the guy, his, it was a terrible experience. But he did this one life-changing thing, w

Anna Shcherbyna is the CEO of Remotivate. And, leveraging her decade of experience in Business Operations and International Recruitment, Anna's recruitment agency helps online businesses hire remote staff worldwide. They handle all the due diligence relating to candidate communication, arranging interviews, discussing salary expectations, and conducting reference checks. Today, she joins us to talk about how to find and attract your agency's dream team. She shares why some job search platforms are better than people may think, why it's better to invite candidates to apply for your agency, and why you should never hire for the fire. 3 Golden Nuggets Create a process. After going through profiles in some of the job search platforms (our guest recommends a few good ones) instead of going straight to interviewing the candidates, try to have a process in place. Identify 5 requirements for success in the position. You can incorporate that into a questionnaire, a skill test. This weeds out candidates who don't care enough. Finally, ask them to create a video. This will answer so much, from their motivations to what do they say in the video and how they say it. Be in control of the narrative. Something that can really help you be in control of the type of candidates that will go through your hiring process and subsequent interviews is to not just post and wait for candidates to apply. Instead, after searching through some profiles, you can invite some candidates to apply for the position. This way, you'll have much more control over the type of candidate you'll be interviewing and filter out the ones who maybe have the wrong motivations or are just not good quality candidates. Don't hire for the fire. Take the time to truly understand the position you're hiring for. Try to have a clear idea of what success looks like in that position. What kind of background are you looking for? What level of experience would you prefer candidates to have? This will help filter candidates and speed up the process. Anna's advice is "don't hire for the fire, hire for the long term." Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher | Radio FM Jason: [00:00:00] What's up everybody? Jason Swenk here and I have another amazing episode for you where we talk about re, remote recruitment. If I can actually get that out, I don't know why that's so hard. But we're going to talk about how to find the right senior-level managers and hiring them remotely, as well as how can we evaluate and make sure that the right one. So, it's a really good episode. Let's go ahead and get into it. Hey Anna, welcome to the show. Anna: [00:00:32] Thanks so much for having me, Jason. It's a pleasure to be here. Jason: [00:00:36] Yeah, I'm excited. I almost wasn't able to say remote recruitment. I don't know why it's such a tongue twister this morning for me. But for the people that don't know who you are, tell us who you are and what do you do? Anna: [00:00:48] Yeah, absolutely. So my name's Anna Shcherbyna. I'm actually originally from Ukraine and I help online businesses all over the world, help them hire remote staff internationally. Uh, it's been an incredible journey and the experience to work with companies that have all kinds of needs. And I believe, as you mentioned, we do focus on managerial and leadership positions, but we've always get some fun roles and fund requirements. So it's kind of the, uh, the new age of headhunting, so to speak, uh, at times that's what it really comes down to. Jason: [00:01:17] Awesome. Well, let's go ahead and dive into it. Let's talk about where can we find these people, right? So, you know, we're, I'm an agency owner. I'm looking to get some more help, so I don't have to make all the decisions. I need, like I already, I'm maxed out at managing these people. I want to build my team up. I think a lot of times people just default to going to LinkedIn or Craigslist or wherever. So what is your recommendation for people listening of how can they find some of these amazing talents? Anna: [00:01:46] Yeah, absolutely. I do think that a lot of people, when they're transitioning, especially into hiring remote staff, that's where the challenge comes in because they still go back to the old websites. As you mentioned, LinkedIn is very popular Craigslist, things like that. And it just doesn't work for remote stuff. You want people who know what they're doing and really have the right skills and abilities and understanding of the remote space. They're not going to be there. I mean, you can find amazing people on LinkedIn, don't get me wrong, but in terms of what we love to do, Upwork is actually one that surprises everyone. I'll say this because a lot of the times people assume that Upwork is for projects, just for projects for short term. But actually if someone's new to the platform, they haven't really realized how it works properly, and so you can find some incredible people who are just looking for that opportunity. And a lot of

As co-founder and creative visionary at Harmon Brothers, Daniel Harmon uses storytelling and humor to create ads that convert. Since 2014, he has helped create videos that changed the way we do advertising today, and that at the time were confused with funny sketch videos that had to assure audiences "Yes, this is real. This is a real ad." Now, he joins us to talk about how the Harmon Brothers found their comedy niche, how they find the right creative thinkers to write their unique ads, and how the company teaches their entire system through the Harmon Brothers University. 3 Golden Nuggets Hiring unique thinkers. The Harmon Brothers have developed a very unique style of advertising that stands out for its comedy. To build this style, Daniel says they have focused on getting very creative people with comedy backgrounds in the writing room. You're going to be much better off teaching a comedian to be a marketer than a marketer to be a comedian. Creating ads that convert. When it comes to creating great ads that convert, the starting point will always be finding a product or service that you're passionate about, that is offering real value, solving a real problem and on which you're already sold as a customer. That way, you'll me much more effective at communicating the benefits of that product, as opposed to doing it just because that's your job. Stop copying the big agencies. Smaller and medium-sized agencies look at bigger companies and decide that they have to do what they're doing, which is a mistake. Depending on the stage of the company, there's different ways to focus your advertising. Try to model how someone actually got there rather than looking at where they're at now and try to duplicate that, because you may end up looking silly. Sponsors and Resources SweetProcess: Today's episode is sponsored by SweetProcess. If you're looking for a way to speed up processes in your agency, SweetProcess will provide the systemization you need to scale and grow your business. Check out sweetprocess.com/smartagency and get your productivity up. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher | Radio FM How to Create Amazing Ads that Convert More Clients Jason: [00:00:00] What's up everybody? Jason Swenk here and I have an amazing guest on the show. One of the Harmon brothers who is going to talk about how you can turn your poop into gold. Literally. Their videos are so funny and their ads reach so many people. And I'm happy to have them on. So let's go ahead and get into the show. Are you frustrated with how long it takes you to get stuff done in your agency or tired of your team missing steps or falling through the cracks? You know, you may be looking for an easy way to capture SOPs to scale your agency faster and easier. Now, our partners that Sweet Process have created an amazing tool to help you overcome all these frustrations. Sweet Process really lets you create a step-by-step instruction from every task in your agency. From writing proposals to executing client work and responding to client requests. So everything gets done more easily. No more mistakes or missed steps. Plus you'll have a central place where everyone employees, contractors, or even VAs can access your procedures anytime from anywhere. The best way to learn about how suite process really can streamline your agency is to start using it. So exclusively for the smart agency masterclass listeners, you can try it out for 28 days free of charge. No strings attached. Just go to sweetprocess.com/smartagency. To start your free 28-day free trial today. That's sweetprocess.com/smartagency to get your SOPs down and your productivity. All right, what's going on? Welcome to the show. Daniel: [00:01:49] Thanks for having me, Jason. Glad to be on. Jason: [00:01:51] Yeah, man. So for the people that have been kind of hiding under a rock a little bit, tell us who you are and what you do. Daniel: [00:01:57] I'm Daniel Harmon. I'm Chief Creative Officer at Harmon Brothers, and we're known for ad campaigns like Squatty Potty, Purple, Chatbooks, Poo-Pourri, FiberFix Lumē, Kodiak Cakes, Camp Chef, all these different campaigns that have, um, helped companies generate over 1.5 billion views and over $400 million in sales. And anyway, that's, that's kind of what we're known for is mixing some elements of sort of direct response advertising stuff that gets people to act and buy immediately with really traditional branding elements of storytelling. And that's kind of our sweet spot. Jason: [00:02:36] Yeah. And I love that. How did you guys kind of fall into that sweet spot? Because a lot of agencies, they start off and it takes them forever. So how did you guys progress through that? Daniel: [00:02:49] Sure, for us it started a little bit with a company called Orabrush. My brothers were co-founders of Orabrush, Orabrush is a tongue cleaner that, um, helps remove the gunk off of your tongue. And that's where 90% of bad breath comes from is the, uh, is the gunk ou

Duncan Alney made the decision to focus his agency on social media back in the late 2000s when MySpace was still a thing. Now he's running a 7-figure agency and is has niched it down even further. As founder and CEO of Firebelly, Duncan juggles the roles of catalyst, program overseer, problem solver, and strategist within the organization. Today he joins us to talk about how he accelerated his social media agency, the benefits of letting go of your fears, and why you have to let go of your ego to reach the next level. 3 Golden Nuggets Letting go of your fear. When Duncan made the decision to focus his agency on social media, he started rejecting other types of work. It was a scary moment, but he had a "burn the boat" mentality. They would succeed in this new space or they would go down trying. In the end, they committed to following their own compass. Shortly after, they started winning awards by having a clear point of view and claiming their spot in the industry. The phases of running an agency. If you look at running an agency in stages, the first stage will be building. After that's done, the next phase is all about direction, in terms of the values that you will set up for your business and will guide you in the decisions you make in the future. Once you established your direction, you will need to put some systems in place. Many people like to skip this part, and they will regret it. The combination of the direction and the systems is what will help you scale and get to the next phase of delegating. Get past your ego. A lot of agency owners want to be needed, and that can be a problem. Remember that your clients go to you to solve a problem. They are not necessarily reaching out to you because they like you or feel you're the only one that could solve that problem. Learn to delegate. A sustainable business has to be able to run without you. Even Apple was able to continue its mission and vision without Steve Jobs. Sponsors and Resources Agency Dad: Today's episode is sponsored by Agency Dad. Agency Dad is an accounting solution focused on helping marketing agencies make better decisions based on their financials. Check out agencydad.money/freeaudit/ to get a phone call with Nate to assess your agency's financial needs and how he can help you. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher | Radio FM Getting Past Your Ego and Put Clients in the Middle Jason: [00:00:00] Hey, what's up everybody? Jason Swenk here, and I am excited to bring to you an amazing agency owner who's going to talk about how he accelerated his social media marketing agency. He's in the mastermind. He's always a bundle of joy and always makes me laugh when I chat with him. So welcome, Duncan. So, for the people that have not experienced the Duncan effect, tell us a little bit about who you are and what do you do. Duncan: [00:00:28] I am Duncan. Much like Prince or Madonna or, you know, with this Duncan nothing else is needed. I'm the founder of Firebelly, and, um, we were a social media marketing agency. I'm also a dad and a husband/partner and a son. And yeah, I have a lot of joy in my life, so I try to bring it to everyone else around me. Jason: [00:00:51] Awesome. And so talk about how did you get started with your, uh, social media agency? Duncan: [00:00:57] So we started doing social media marketing in the late 2000s, really like 2007, because we were a branding agency and there wasn't any real differentiation. And I already had noticed at that point that SEO was moving very quickly. You know, websites were becoming more and more technical and I really wanted Firebelly to own a space. And so we decided, hey, this social media thing is new, let's, let's jump into it. So that's how we got into it initially and then over the years, you know, my business has, has really gone from being a lifestyle with some employees to being a real business in the last really two to three years has been, you know, with profit incentives and a social impact and thinking about ourselves seriously as a business, as opposed to, hey, get some people in here to do some work. Jason: [00:01:50] So let's kind of dive into that a little bit. So what were you going through at the time when you said, hey, I want to make a switch? And then what did you do? Duncan: [00:01:59] At the time, the company was sort of an extension of myself. You know, I had been like a lot of people a solo player with a bunch of freelancers and contractors. And what I was really good at at the time was actually doing the work. And so I did some exceptional work for brands. You know, whether it was tactics or strategy, well, probably mostly tactics, but you know, if someone wanted PR done for a launch or a trade show, or they needed a video made or email marketing campaign or a website like I was the guy I brought the right people to the table. But what I realized is, with all of that there's a reliability issue when you're working with freelancers and contractors. I mean, I do

Stephan Spencer made himself too essential in his agency, resulting in working to exhaustion. After a much-needed break, he was able to gain clarity on the best way to scale his agency. In the 1990s he founded the SEO agency Netconcepts and in 2010 it was acquired by Covario. Stephan invented an automated pay-for-performance SEO technology called GravityStream. He is co-author of "The Art of SEO", co-author of "Social eCommerce", and author of "Google Power Search." Today, he joins us to talk about how he scaled his agency to the point he could take a sabbatical. Learn how he intentionally worked himself out of a job by building a leadership team that could take over the thought leadership role. 3 Golden Nuggets Figure out what can be automated. We've talked about the importance of getting rid of the more tedious tasks to focus on what you really want to do. One way you could do that is by figuring out what can be automated or scaled with some artificial intelligence technology. For example, GPT-3 is a game-changer that you can incorporate into your product to have a real competitive edge. Don't work yourself to exhaustion. It's important to work yourself out of a job. By being indispensable, you become the biggest roadblock to the growth of the agency. Stephan wanted to be the visionary, not the integrator or the implementer, so he brought on a COO, VPs, CFO, CEO, and built his team to make sure he no longer was the company's only thought leader. Establish authority in a powerful way. You can make a huge impact and put yourself on the map if you can find a niche where you can author a book. Another thing that can make a big impact and get you your first big clients is find a big company and offer your services in exchange for testimonials and the use of their logo on your website. It communicates to other clients that you are preapproved by this larger company and more clients are sure to follow. Sponsors and Resources SweetProcess: Today's episode is sponsored by SweetProcess. If you're looking for a way to speed up processes in your agency, SweetProcess will provide the systemization you need to scale and grow your business. Check out sweetprocess.com/smartagency and get your productivity up. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher | Radio FM Avoid Becoming Indispensable and Working Yourself to Death Jason: [00:00:00] What's up everybody? I have an amazing show coming your way. If you want to know how one agency owner built an SEO agency over $6 million and sold it. And even before that got to a point where they could actually go on a sabbatical and the agency keep running without them. Which is total freedom. And, and to come back. This is the episode for you. So let's go ahead and get into it. Are you frustrated with how long it takes you to get stuff done in your agency? Or tired of your team missing steps or falling through the cracks? You know, you may be looking for an easy way to capture SOPs to scale your agency faster and easier. Now, our partners that Sweet Process have created an amazing tool to help you overcome all these frustrations. Sweet Process really lets you create a step-by-step instruction from every task in your agency. From writing proposals to executing client work and responding to client requests. So everything gets done more easily. No more mistakes or missed steps. Plus, I have a central place where everyone, employees, contractors, or even VAs can access your procedures anytime from anywhere. The best way to learn about how Sweet Process really can streamline your agency is to start using it. So exclusively for the Smart Agency masterclass listeners, you can try it out for 28 days free of charge. No strings attached. Just go to sweetprocess.com/smartagency to start your free 28-day free trial today. That's sweetprocess.com/smartagency to get your SOPs down and your productivity up. All right, welcome to the show, Stefan. How's it going? Stephan: [00:01:52] It's going great. Thanks for having me. Jason: [00:01:54] Yeah, man. So, uh, tell us a little bit about who you are and what you do. Stephan: [00:01:58] Yeah, well, I've been doing SEO since, uh, the nineties. If you can believe it. Even before Google existed, I dropped out of a PhD. Jason: [00:02:07] Yeah. That was probably back when we could, uh, put all the keywords in the background and put it the same color. Stephan: [00:02:15] Yeah. You know, I never did that. I always thought that was a little sketchy, but yeah. That did work kind of for a little while, uh, back in those days. But the idea of having eight or 10 different search engines that you had to optimize for was a little nerve-wracking back then, if you recall, there is Infoseek and… Jason: [00:02:35] Lycos. Stephan: [00:02:36] Lycos, AltaVista Dogpile, MetaCrawler, Web Crawler, Excite. Yeah. It was just… Jason: [00:02:43] I remember all of them. Yeah, it was crazy. Stephan: [00:02:46] Yeah. That was an interesting time, but then Google changed ever

Roger Bryan has worked with some of the world's largest companies as an SEO consultant. He sold his first website in 1998 before he knew what SEO was, and spent years working with nonprofits. His agency Enfusen was recently acquired by Growth Foundry and now he joins us to talk about how he has led agencies to great success and failure, and analyzing both. Roger also explains why generating revenue is the real focus of SEO. He also shares tips from his book and even a few crappy jokes. 3 Golden Nuggets Rebuilding the team is key. After resetting his entire team, Roger started from scratch by filling three major roles. First, he hired an office manager that would handle HR and systematize everything they were doing in the business. After that, he hired a general manager to take care of hiring both divisions of the business. Finally, he looked for someone that could assist him in marketing and sale for tasks like managing outsource vendors and content teams. Pay people what they're worth. As Roger's first mentor used to say, the salary you pay someone is what keeps them at their desk and the money that you pay them after that is what you pay them to help you earn more. Some people will take their salary and sit at their desk, but a few will work very hard to make you money and you should compensate them in return. SEO is not all about ranking. If you're in SEO and you think your job is ranking websites, you've already failed. SEO is about generating revenue, so any task has to be correlated to a data point that leads to revenue. Anything that is not revenue-related it's just busy work and so much of what SEO professionals are doing is busy work. Sponsors and Resources Agency Dad: Today's episode is sponsored by Agency Dad. Agency Dad is an accounting solution focused on helping marketing agencies make better decisions based on their financials. Check out agencydad.money/freeaudit/ to get a phone call with Nate to assess your agency's financial needs and how he can help you. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher | Radio FM Why Did One Agency Owner Fire His Entire Team? Jason: [00:00:00] All right. I have an amazing interview with one of my old clients who has sold a couple of agencies in the past. And we talk about a lot of the mistakes he made in running his SEO agency. Then we go into a lot of different tactics about how he fired his whole team in one meeting and then a year later he was at $3 Million. And what are the three major roles that he brought in to help? What did he pay them? What was the framework that he used for success and how he really positioned his agency from just being an SEO agency, to being a revenue agency for his clients? And that was a huge, huge thing. You're not going to want to miss out this episode. It's really great. Roger did an amazing job. So let's jump into it. Hey, Roger. Welcome to the show. Roger: [00:00:54] Hey, thanks for having me. Jason: [00:00:55] Yeah. I'm excited to have you on, you know, we were reminiscing about how many years ago was when you came out to Atlanta for a workshop with me. Can't believe how long ago that was. But, uh, for the people that don't know who you are, tell us who you are. And, uh, tell us a little bit about the agency. Roger: [00:01:11] Perfect. Uh, my name is Roger Bryan. I'm an SEO consultant. My former agency, Enfusen, was just acquired by a company called Growth Foundry. We do enterprise-level marketing, a lot of multi-location, franchise marketing, a lot of lead gen, SEO pay-per-click, specialized in healthcare, nonprofits, all across the gambit on the different industries that we work with. Jason: [00:01:35] Awesome. Well, let's kind of jump into it and we're kind of trying something new and you're the, you're the first guinea pig. So welcome to being the first guinea pig. And it's really kind of a thing of like a how-to series to figure out, you know, if you're an SEO agency because your agency that you sold was that, talk about how did you specialize in that? Because a lot of times people will start an agency and they start trying to do everything. You know, design pay-per-click, everything under the sun. How did you pick SEO? Let's start there. Roger: [00:02:10] I sold my first website in 1998 and it sold pagers in long-distance service. And what I found was is then I didn't know, I had never heard of SEO. I don't know that I even had met someone that had ever said the term before, but you're putting on content onto those pages to try to get people to find them. Uh, to me, it was no different than making your company AAA in the phone book a hundred years ago, so that people knew, would find you first. It was just as kind of simple. I got into the auto auction industry after that, and we had a website and we were working with nonprofit organizations and it was like, well, how do I get us to come up first so more people find us? I didn't get into paid traffic until 2005. So I spent seven or eight years just living off o

Michael Begg began as an Amazon seller and quickly saw an opportunity in e-commerce marketing. He figured how to successfully sell products online. That led to the idea of creating their own agency, AMZ Advisers, full-service, e-commerce, and digital marketing consultancy partnering with brands to evaluate and develop their e-commerce strategy. Today he joins us to talk about how he started scaling his agency, how he used third-party platforms to get his first clients, and how he stays on top of his niche. He also shares tips on how has had great success near shoring his team. 3 Golden Nuggets Play to your strengths. After establishing an agency and getting your first clients, you are probably thinking about scaling. Agency owners should always play to their strengths by figuring out the high-value and low-value tasks. Hire people that can start taking care of the low-value tasks. The importance of the first 100 days. You got a new client, great! Celebrate, but also make sure to have a plan for the first 100 days to ensure retention. Joey Coleman speaks about the importance of the first 100 days when onboarding a client. In Michael's case, his agency has set up an internal structure where the first 90 days are dedicated to the basics. That will give them enough information about the next steps and will give the client the first results to decide if they would like to continue the relationship. Staying on top of your game. Platforms like Google, Facebook, and Amazon are constantly changing and if you take a step back from the implementation, you'll fall behind, which will negatively affect your ability to train other people. Michael's agency avoids this by selling products on Amazon themselves. This allows them to use their company as a guinea pig to learn things that they can apply to clients. Sponsors and Resources SweetProcess: Today's episode is sponsored by SweetProcess. If you're looking for a way to speed up processes in your agency, SweetProcess will provide the systemization you need to scale and grow your business. Check out sweetprocess.com/smartagency and get your productivity up. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher | Radio FM How Near Shoring Your Agency Team Helps Scale Jason: [00:00:00] I have a great guest today and we talk about how he's grown his Amazon agency. And really he moved down to Mexico, created a team down there, and is really scaling it very fast. Really interesting episode. I hope you enjoy it. Are you frustrated with how long it takes you to get stuff done in your agency or tired of your team missing steps or falling through the cracks? You know, you may be looking for an easy way to capture SOPs to scale your agency faster and easier. Now, our partners at Sweet Process have created an amazing tool to help you overcome all these frustrations. Sweet Process really lets you create step-by-step instructions for every task in your agency. From writing proposals to executing client work and responding to client requests. So everything gets done more easily, no more mistakes or missed steps. Plus you'll have a central place where everyone employees, contractors, or even VAs can access your procedures anytime from anywhere, the best way to learn about how Sweet Process really can streamline your agency is to start using it. So exclusively for the Smart Agency masterclass listeners, you can try it out for 28 days free of charge. No strings attached. Just go to sweetprocess.com/smartagency to start your free 28-day free trial today. That's sweetprocess.com/smartagency to get your SOPs down and your productivity up. All right, welcome to the show. How are you doing? Michael: [00:01:42] I'm good, Jason. Thank you for having me here. Jason: [00:01:44] Yeah, I'm excited to have you on, so tell us who you are and what do you do? Michael: [00:01:48] Sure. My name is Mike Begg. I'm one of the co-founders of AMZ Advisers and we're an agency that specializes in the Amazon marketplaces. We help brands increase their sales, manage their advertising, and just maximize their visibility on the Amazon platform. Jason: [00:02:04] That's awesome. So how did you get started? And then tell me kind of the origin story about how did you transition to Amazon. Michael: [00:02:11] Yeah, so we actually started as, uh, myself and my two partners, we actually all started as Amazon sellers ourselves. Before that, I was actually working in retail. I was working at Sears in retail real estate development. And this was in like 2014, 2015. So it was a very interesting time for the business because a lot of things were, you know, the stores were really struggling, trying to figure out ways to make money. And at the same time, we kind of saw what was happening in e-commerce and saw an opportunity there. So originally we just started selling products for ourselves to make some money on the side. And we found out we were really good at doing that. And we realized that a lot of other companies, a lot of big

With around three decades of experience running professional services firms, Don Scales understands first-hand how to make them successful. He is currently the Global CEO of Investis Digital, a global digital communications company that helps world-class businesses manage their corporate brands. Today this industry veteran joins us to talk about his experience in the business, the reasons behind failed mergers and acquisitions, and share some funny stories. 3 Golden Nuggets If you continue to have to do it all, you'll never scale. So many agency owners are at the million-dollar mark and wanting to get to the eight-figure mark. Don's advice is to learn to delegate. Find people who are great at what they do and then get out of their way. You may make some mistakes if you do, but you'll move on from that. Building a team with staying power. Consistency is the key when it comes to leadership. Your employees won't want to come to work every day if they don't know which version of you they might encounter. Be consistent with your leadership style and make your decision-making process transparent, so they will learn to make decisions in that way as well. Why do some mergers fail? If you look at what people really examine when they look at potentially buying a company, you'll find that they don't spend a whole lot of time looking at the value set of these companies that they're looking to buy. So many times when a merger or acquisition ends up failing you find out afterward that the cultures were off. You need to spend some time analyzing whether there is compatibility and if the values align. Sponsors and Resources Agency Dad: Today's episode is sponsored by Agency Dad. Agency Dad is an accounting solution focused on helping marketing agencies make better decisions based on their financials. Check out agencydad.money/freeaudit/ to get a phone call with Nate to assess your agency's financial needs and how he can help you. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher | Radio FM Avoid a Failed Merger by Staying True to Your Agency's Values Jason: [00:00:00] What's up, agency owners, Jason Swenk here, and I'm excited to have an amazing guest. Now, this guest has been in the agency world for a very long time. He started when he was one and he's grown several agencies and the current agency that he's, a global CEO has over 500 employees. They're approaching $90 million in revenue and they've done over 40 acquisitions over the, his lifetime. And I'm really excited to get into it. So let's jump into the episode. Hey, Don. Welcome to the show. Don: [00:00:39] Hey, good to see you. Glad to be here. Jason: [00:00:42] Awesome. Well, I'm excited to chat with you and learn from you because you've been in it for a long time and you have a lot of experience. So for the ones that have not heard of you yet, tell us who you are and what do you do? Don: [00:00:54] My name's Don Scales. I am the global CEO of a company called Investis Digital, which is a UK-based company. It's private equity-owned by Investcorp. Uh, we just recently exited from, uh, a six-year relationship with the company called ECI out of London. Uh, so we're very excited about our Invest Corp relation. Then prior to that, I was CEO of a company, I'm sure you heard of, called iCrossing, iCrossing, we managed to take that to, um, some $140 million, exited several years back. So I was there for a good eight years, nine years. And then prior to that, I was CEO of a company called Agency.com, which is a pioneer in the web development space. And it's one of the, if you will, one of the founding companies of web development. So that takes me back all the way to 1999 in the digital age, that's kind of like dog years. So I've been around a long time. Jason: [00:02:00] I started our agency in 99 and yeah, I used to love those days. It was kind of like no one knew what websites were, and I could literally go through the yellow pages and go, oh, you don't have a website here, so. Don: [00:02:10] And in fact you'll, you'll get a kick out of this. Back in the day, people would send us RFPs and we, we'd send them an invoice for 50 grand just to read their RFP. Jason: [00:02:25] I love it. Don: [00:24:10] And that was good business. Jason: [00:02:25] I love it Well, I think we're going to get along well, because I always looked at RFP as, um, you know, stands for a couple of things, Request for Punishment as one of them. Other ones, I probably won't name on this show right now. I don't know if I can talk to you that way. But, uh, let's jump into that because that's interesting. Why would you send an invoice for 50 grand to respond to their RFP? Don: [00:02:47] Because, like you said, you could go to the yellow pages. It was just such a demand, and we had very limited resources of people who could do those kinds of work. And so we had to make sure that, uh, every, every minute of every day was, uh, paid for in some way, shape or form. And so if the market would take it, and

Todd Taskey has over twenty years of experience as a founding investor, board member, and management team of several business ventures. Now, as M&A at Potomac Business Capital, he helps CEO's and entrepreneurs develop a successful exit strategy by understanding the mid-market investment banking process. Today he joins us to talk about roll-up strategy, the mergers and acquisitions red flags you should avoid, and what you should be offering as an agency if you're thinking of selling. 3 Golden Nuggets Thinking about selling? A lot of agency owners are thinking of selling at some point in the future. How can they be sure to get the most value? Our guest agrees that you should pay a lot of attention to your EBITDA. A lot of times, buyers won't even consider you unless you have $1 million in EBITDA. Specialization is the key. If you own a small agency and are looking at roll-up mergers as a possible strategy for the future ask yourself "am I providing a really specific piece?" "Am I really, really good at providing that to folks?" There are lots of opportunities out there and, if you're smaller, it's easier if you can solve a specific issue. Red flags you should avoid. The most important aspect that sometimes determines the failure of a merger is culture fit. You should always have that in mind. Another mistake is to think of it not just as two identical companies coming together. If they're smaller, they should add certain capabilities. Sponsors and Resources SweetProcess: Today's episode is sponsored by SweetProcess. If you're looking for a way to speed up processes in your agency, SweetProcess will provide the systemization you need to scale and grow your business. Check out sweetprocess.com/smartagency and get your productivity up. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher | Radio FM Secrets to Implementing a Successful Roll-Up Strategy for Your Agency Jason: [00:00:00] Hey, what's up everybody. Jason Swenk here and I have an amazing guest today. A repeat guest, Todd, where we're going to talk about a roll-up strategy because there's a lot of things out there right now that are going on and this market is growing very quickly with, uh, mergers and acquisitions and, Todd is going to provide a lot of value to you. So let's get into the episode. Are you frustrated with how long it takes you to get stuff done in your agency? Or tired of your team missing steps or falling through the cracks? You know, you may be looking for an easy way to capture SOPs, to scale your agency faster and easier. Now, our partners at SweetProcess have created an amazing tool to help you overcome all these frustrations. SweetProcess really lets you create a step-by-step instruction from every task in your agency. From writing proposals to executing client work and responding to client requests. So everything gets done more easily, no more mistakes or missed steps. Plus, you'll have a central place where everyone employees, contractors, or even VAs can access your procedures anytime from anywhere, the best way to learn about how Sweet Process really can streamline your agency is to start using it. So exclusively for the smart agency masterclass listeners, you can try it out for 28 days free of charge. No strings attached. Just go to sweetprocess.com/smartagency to start your free 28-day free trial today. That's sweetprocess.com/smartagency to get your SOP is down and your productivity up. Hey Todd, welcome to the show. Todd: [00:01:50] Happy to be here, Jason. Thanks for having me. Jason: [00:01:52] Yeah. So for the ones that have not checked out our other interview, which we'll actually link in the show notes, make sure you guys all check that out, but, uh, tell us who you are and what do you do? Todd: [00:02:04] Yes. My name is Todd Taskey, T-A-S-K-E-Y. You can find me on LinkedIn. I'm happy to connect Potomac Business Capital is our group and we do, uh, investment banking primarily in the digital marketing and digital transformation space. Jason: [00:02:18] Awesome. Well, let's kind of jump right into it. You know, there's a lot of crazy things going on at this moment with, you know, different deal structures. What are you guys seeing since you're in the mix of it with a lot of digital agencies? Todd: [00:02:32] Yeah. You know, it's interesting. We've got one client. I'll give you just a couple of anecdotal pieces. I've got a client right now that is small, you know, they're actually under a million dollars of EBITDA, which is usually an important cutoff, but these guys are very focused in terms of the work that they do. They provide email marketing in a very specific vertical. And that becomes a, a really good bite-size piece for an acquirer. And in fact, both of, we expect two LOIs this week for them, and both of those are very sizable companies, but I think they viewed this opportunity as, like I said, a bite-sized piece that they can build out a practice from and then cross sell across to their other brands. We've also

As a Certified Management Accountant, a Certified Internal Auditor, and certified in Strategy and Competitive Analysis, Naten Jenson, co-founder of Agency Dad, is certainly the best person to help you establish a strong business and drive your agency's profitability. Today, he joins us to talk about scope creep, a topic that many agency owners struggle with but should definitely learn more about. Remember that if we can get a hold of scope creep, we're going to increase our profit. 3 Little Nuggets What gets measured gets managed. Many agency owners get so focused on that next client that they forget to measure and they are not managing the profitability of existing clients. First mistake, because you cannot identify a problem when you fail to measure. If you don't have the data, there's nothing to analyze. How to get those numbers. There are three numbers that you need to know. The first one is your bill rate. The second thing you need to know is your gross profit on a client, and finally, you need the number of hours that you spent on a client. The formula you will need is: gross profit ÷ bill rate. So let's say your gross profit on a client in a month is $1,200. If your bill rate is $120 an hour, you get an answer of 10. Now, what if we had 10 hours budgeted and we use 17 on a client? Well, we've now measured our scope creep. It was 7 hours, and 120 x 7 is $840 of revenue that you've lost. Is the problem coming from the client or the agency? Before doubling your rates, you could look at the origin of the problem. If you do this scope creep analysis over three months and clients are consistently using too many hours, then it's time to look internally first and see if the problem is with the agency. Do I have an employee who actually doesn't know what they're doing? Do they need more training? Is it the wrong fit? Are some questions you can ask yourself before taking this to the client. Sponsors and Resources Agency Dad: Today's episode is sponsored by Agency Dad. Agency Dad is an accounting solution focused on helping marketing agencies make better decisions based on their financials. Check out agencydad.money/freeaudit/ to get a phone call with Nate to assess your agency's financial needs and how he can help you. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher | Radio FM Understanding Scope Creep Will Help Drive Profitability Jason: [00:00:00] Hey, what's up agency owners, Jason Swenk here. And I'm excited, I have a repeat guest and a repeat guest where we're going to talk about scope creep. Right? You should hear that tun-tun-tun on scope creep, because a lot of us, we struggle with this and if we can get a hold of scope creep we're going to increase our profit. And we'll be able to afford those people to really come in and do the things we don't want to do anymore. So this is a really important episode and let's get into it. Hey, Nate. Welcome back. Nate: [00:00:34] Thanks Jason. Glad to be back with you again. Jason: [00:00:37] Awesome. Well, uh, for the people that have not checked out the first episode, tell us who you are and what do you do. Nate: [00:00:43] My name's Nate Jensen. Uh I'm with Agency Dad, our website is agencydad.money. And we are an outsource CFO firm, bookkeeping firm, accounting firm. And our focus is really helping agencies to drive their profitability. We do that by good accounting where we can actually measure profitability, measure what's going on and those metrics drive action, drive decision-making that leads to greater profitability. Jason: [00:01:08] Awesome. Well, let's go ahead and talk about scope creep and how to identify this, because I know there's a lot of agency owners. We're busy at bringing in new business and we really kind of take our eye off the ball a little bit. And there's a lot of, uh, what I call profit leaks in scope creep. So tell us how can we identify these? Nate: [00:01:33] Yeah, no, you're absolutely right. What I, what I see is when, when someone's in growth mode, they're, they're so focused on that next client, that next client. That they're not measuring and they're not managing the profitability of existing clients. Peter Drucker is famous for saying what gets measured, gets managed. So identifying scope creep, the first thing you've got to do is measure it, where's it happening with clients is that happening with? And, and how bad is the problem? And so I want to talk today a little bit about how do we measure it? What are the numbers that we need to know? And, uh, after we go through that, we'll get to, what can we then do about it? Jason: [00:02:09] Cool. So, yeah, let's get into how do we measure it? Nate: [00:02:12] Ok, First, how do you measure it? There's three numbers that you need to know. And most accounting systems you should be able to pull at least one of these numbers out of there. You need to know your bill rates, which is, hey, if we think we're going to spend 10 hours on a client project, we're going to bill them, let's say

After deciding to leave the mean streets of LA, where he worked as a police officer for 13 years, Jason Smith started working at the leading Facebook and Instagram advertising agency Tier 11. He eventually moved to create his own company Spotlight Social Media Consulting in 2016. Today, he joins us to talk about the key factors that have helped him grow his team and making the decision to bring a VP of Operations. 3 Golden Nuggets Having a good foundation to grow your agency. For Jason, an integral part of growing an agency is having a great team that have your back and know what they're doing and are team players. People you can trust with the tasks that you're delegating and also, why not, people that you like. On hiring a VP of Operations. Many people are afraid of this step because of the cost it entails. But Jason has seen his agency really evolve since hiring his VP of Ops. Now his agency has SOPs, there are clear steps to bringing new employees and clients onboard, and a new project management system. Definitely worth it. The right Facebook ads agency will be a great partner. Make sure you ask the right questions when looking for a Facebook ads company because the right one will help you triple and quadruple your business and become a great asset to your brand. Sponsors and Resources Oribi: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by Oribi. Check out Oribi.io/smartagency for a free trial. Plus when you sign up for Oribi get 20% off the first three months with promo code: Smart Agency Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher | Radio FM How Hiring a VP of Operations can be the Best Call to Grow Your Agency Jason Swenk: [00:00:00] On this show. I talk with an agency owner who talks about how he has grown his team, how he's grown his agency. And when is the right time to bring in a VP of Operations and how did he do it? So let's sit back and check out the episode. Hey, Jason. Welcome to the show. Jason Smith: [00:00:24] Hey, how are you doing? Thanks for having me on. I appreciate it. Jason Swenk: [00:00:27] Yeah, man, I'm excited to have you on, I've gotten to know you over the past couple of years, but for the people that have not heard of you yet tell us who you are and what do you do? Jason Smith: [00:00:35] Yeah, my name is Jason Smith, owner and CEO of Spotlight Social Media Consulting. We're a, uh, Facebook and Instagram only, I say only because we're not an all-in-one, we're Facebook and Instagram only ad agency. So we do paid media for Facebook and Instagram. Jason Swenk: [00:00:52] Awesome. Now you have a quite interesting story of how you became an agency or really even what you were doing beforehand. So, yeah, I think it's interesting just to tell people kind of where you came from. Jason Smith: [00:01:05] Yeah, for sure. Yeah. Crazy story, actually. When I tell it, people take a 360-degree turn and they're like, wait, what? So I was a, a policeman for the Los Angeles Police Department for, gosh, just about 14 years before I became an agency owner. And the reason why it's kind of crazy is because I went from getting shot at, chasing gang members, getting into shootings, all this stuff, and the mean streets of LA. And literally, I mean that literally, I mean, we're talking about 250 homicides in six square miles in a year, and very violent places in, in Los Angeles. And, uh, went from that to, you know, the thing that kinda drove me to look for something else was number one, I was never home, was in court all the time. My days off were filled with court and overtime and it was just, you know, I never get to spend time with my family and I just, it was getting old, real fast. And it sounds cool when you're up on the stand testifying as a gang expert or weapons expert and all this stuff. But in hindsight, personally, it's not that fun. So, and you know, I've been involved in tons of, and literally tons of stressful situations. I've been in shootings and been shot at and all that stuff. And, man, for making $80,000 a year doing that. I just wanted to start looking for something else. And I stumbled across an opportunity where, you know, running Facebook ads was a core part of one of my friend's businesses originally, like with a supplement company. And he just kind of asked me buddy to buddy, like, hey dude, do you want to help me do these Facebook ads? I'm like, yeah, I don't, I'm a dumb policeman. I don't know how to do this, but let's try it out, you know. So I ended up getting some good results and then I did a little bit more research and ended up finding a certification course. And gosh, the rest is history. And next thing you know, I have, I had 10 clients, not even a year later and making, you know, 30,000 a month, which I never thought possible from home. And yeah, it was pretty cool. Jason Swenk: [00:03:05] So which is more stressful running an agency or getting shot at? Jason Smith: [00:03:09] Man, I don't know. I'm just kidding. Well, it's funny because

True to his gambler style when it comes to making business decisions, entrepreneur Eric Siu bought a failing marketing agency for $2 back in 2014. By refocusing the agency's vision from an SEO agency to a full-service digital marketing agency, Single Grain has grown into a full team of expert marketers who share Eric's vision and passion for constant growth. Now he joins us today to talk about how you can use a game mentality to grow your agency by constantly leveling up. 3 Golden Nuggets Lack of vision leads to making mistakes. Eric talks about the time when he almost lost everything. He says that, at the time, he had no notion of culture and no vision, and it almost cost him everything. Luckily, he was able to turn it around. The game of life. The philosophy he shares in his book and has implemented in his agency is to look at it as a game. You need to be constantly leveling up. There are always new challenges and, if you're not where you wanted to be yet is because you haven't beat the current level. It's a game of resources, he says, you decide how you want to use your resources. Going back to the basics. Sometimes we need to go back to the basics. Some of the smartest agency owners are really good at SEO and use these tools to find websites in their niche that's ranking for all the keywords they want, buy it, and then have that advantage. And let's not forget that these tools can also help grow your agency on a small budget. Sponsors and Resources Wix: Today's episode is sponsored by the Wix Partner Program. Being a Wix Partner is ideal for freelancers and digital agencies that design and develop websites for their clients. Check out Wix.com/Partners to learn more and become a member of the community for free. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher | Radio FM How to Grow Your Agency By Constantly Leveling Up Jason: [00:00:00] On this show, I bring on a past client where we talk about how he's grown his agency and he has a great book called "Leveling Up" and going through the stages and talks about e-sports, and we talk about sports and how you can use this in order to really grow your agency. We talked about Clubhouse, all kinds of stuff. It's a really cool episode. We jump all around and we talk about a $75,000 Pokemon card. Crazy stuff. So, you're going to love this episode. Let's get into it. Hey Eric. Welcome to the show. Eric: [00:00:36] Good to see you, Jason. It's been a while. Jason: [00:00:38] Yeah, man. It's been a while since we worked together. So tell us, uh, for the people that haven't heard of, you tell us who you are and what do you do? Eric: [00:00:45] Yeah, thanks. So my name's Eric Siu. I helped level up the world through marketing. I have a couple of marketing businesses. I have an agency called Single Grain, a software company called Click Flow. And then, uh, we got a whole, you know, marketing education stuff and marketing school and the events tied to it. So a bunch of stuff. And I also invest in different MarTech SAS companies, which is my background. And then, um, other than that, I have a podcast called Leveling Up. I have a book called Leveling Up right here, coming out, and then I have a podcast called Marketing School and that's basically it. Jason: [00:01:12] Very cool. And so how'd, you get started in all this? You haven't been in the agency world too long. And so how did you kind of jump into it? Eric: [00:01:21] Yeah, so it's pretty unconventional. So the agency that I took over and, you know, the story already, I bought the company for $2 out of pocket because it was a failing SEO agency at the time, because the Google algorithm updates basically made the business model invalid overnight. And I was brought in as a number two to help save the company. Because I'd previously had helped turn another company around, which is a startup. And so this was a different challenge, you know, different service, like the plane's going down, right? Like, can you put the plane back together while flying it? I was like, okay, this will be an interesting challenge. About six months into it, the four other co-founders said they wanted out. And Neil Patel was my podcast co-host he was like, hey Eric, you should get out as a friend. There's no brand equity. There's nothing here. And I was like, okay, why don't we do this? I'll give it a shot. I'll buy it. I'll pay $1 for 10% of your shares and another dollar for another 10% of another partner's shares. The rest through the profits of the company, with contingency that the company failed and owned nothing. So asymmetric bet, you know, I'd have unlimited upside with my downside would be it's basically an MBA, right? And so fortunately it worked out, but I almost lost everything. I'm happy to go in that direction, but that's how I got started. First year, had no idea what I was doing dropped all the way down to one employee. Jason: [00:02:28] And so, you know, a lot of people are listening. They're like, what was the point where

With just a little over two years as the CEO and co-founder of The Influencer Marketing Factory, Alessandro Bogliari and his team have built an amazing global influencer marketing agency. They help brands and companies launch influencer marketing campaigns on TikTok, Instagram, and Youtube. Alessandro joins us today to talk about how to identify trends and what to do in order to really separate your agency from everybody else. 3 Golden Nuggets 1. Starting on a budget. Growing his company from just two workers to 20 in a short amount of time, Alessandro highlights the importance of being able to grow your agency on a budget. You can still get amazing results on a budget rather than spending money you don't have. 2. Don't just hop on a trend. Every time you create content for social media you should always take into account the specific medium, demographics, and type of user experience. Don't just hop on the new hot thing before you understand it. 3. Be curious. Dedicate some time to research, listen, and read about what's trending right now. Engage with the new generations and given let them show you how they use social media. You have to keep up. Don't just read about the new thing in the newspaper, because by the time it gets there, it's already been happening for a month and it's old news. YOUTUBE VIDEO AUDIO LINK Sponsors and Resources Oribi: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by Oribi. Check out Oribi.io/smartagency for a free trial. Plus when you sign up for Oribi get 20% off the first three months with promo code: Smart Agency Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher | Radio FM HEADLINE Jason: [00:00:00] On this episode, I talk with an amazing agency owner who's grown his agency to really big and in a very short time for really looking at the trends. And so we go through, how can you identify the trends and what do you actually need to do in order to do that major land grab and really separate your agency from everybody else? It's a really cool story. I hope enjoy it. Hey Alessandro, how are you doing? Welcome to the show. Alessandro: [00:00:30] Yeah. Thank you so much for having me, Jason. Jason: [00:00:32] Yes. I'm excited to have you on and tell your story. So tell us who you are and what do you do? Alessandro: [00:00:39] Sure I am the CEO and co-founder of The Influencer Marketing Factory. We are a global influencer marketing agency. We specialize mostly in TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. Um, we are based in the States, but we also have people in Europe I'm from Italy originally. So I understand the importance of having people both in the US and Europe. And we mostly help the brands and companies from Fortune 100 up to, you know, direct to consumer stuff of companies, get in front and engage with gen Z and millennials on like major social media. So that's what we do. We help them from the beginning of the like, understanding the KPIs up to reporting and digital analysis. Jason: [00:01:17] That's awesome. Now, how did you get started? Alessandro: [00:01:20] Uh, I started a couple of years ago. So the agency is like, you know, fairly new. Uh, started no funding, no VC, just a couple of people. Uh, both Italian and because we started that as a new journey and we understood before I'd say anyone else I think is like, you know, one of the few agencies that understood the potential of TikTok, back in late 2020, early 2019. Although other agencies and companies were still thinking that like, you know, TikToK was a kids app. It was just something for lip-sync and dancing, but I was a big fan of Vine and it was discontinued, but I was so love with it. When I saw TikTok and I was watching so many videos on YouTube about TikTok compilations, it was a different environment. It was a little bit more cringy, let's say that, you know, with furries and gamers and everything, but I saw the potential. I was seeing Instagram going down in terms of organic creation. And TikTok was giving the opportunity in a really democratic way to give like in a meritocratic way for everyone to get the spotlight that they did deserve. And so we said, let's really focus on that and invest on that. And we, we, we have done that. We started growing, we started getting amazing clients on like Sony Music, Universal, Warner Music Group. And then we got Google and some others. And these friends. And yeah, from two people now we're 20. Again, between Europe and the States. And, uh, so again, it started like, you know, uh, just totally like organic and we're actually growing in that way. And I'm so proud of what we have achieved so far. Jason: [00:02:51] Tell me a lot of people listening want to understand, because there's always new shiny red objects out there. Okay. And so kind of what you described is going after the shiny red object and it actually working, which is amazing. And there's always, you know, new apps coming out like clubhouse is out and everyone's talking about it and you know, saying, o

When Ben Childs founded Digital Reach in 2011, his mission was to create an agency that operated with integrity, honesty, and skill. Over the years, he has grown to become a leader in the B2B digital marketing space throughout the country, leading a team of 38 people. Today he's here to talk about the things he wishes he knew in order to scale his agency faster. 3 Golden Nuggets Raising prices is terrifying, but necessary. Ben recalls a time when he thought that raising prices was a risky move. But when a new Director of Sales doubled the company's prices, he found that clients would take them more seriously and expected a higher value service. A little outside perspective makes all the difference. Having a network of other agency owners, like the mastermind, can help you get some perspective. Sometimes the answer you're looking for is right in front of you but you're too close to see it. Sometimes you did not do your due diligence and need to be held accountable. Competition and differentiating yourself. Ben has never considered himself to have competitors. If he's going against others that are too similar to him, then he tries to be different. He asks himself if they are doing what he's doing, how are they different? YOUTUBE VIDEO AUDIO LINK Sponsors and Resources Wix: Today's episode is sponsored by the Wix Partner Program. Being a Wix Partner is ideal for freelancers and digital agencies that design and develop websites for their clients. Check out Wix.com/Partners to learn more and become a member of the community for free. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher | Radio FM How Does Ben Solve Big Agency Problems? Jason: [00:00:00] On this episode, I chat with one of my mastermind members that has grown a really nice size agency. And we talk about culture. We talk about some of the things that he wished he knew about in order to scale his agency, to close to 40 people, and really still enjoy it and create that freedom that he wants, rather than that prison. So. Let's get into the episode. I think you'll enjoy. Hey Ben, welcome to the show. Ben: [00:00:32] Good to be here, Jason. Jason: [00:00:33] I'm excited to have you on. We've known each other a while, you've been in the mastermind. So tell us who you are and how did you get into this crazy agency life? Ben: [00:00:42] Yeah. So my name is Ben Childs. I'm the president of Digital Reach Agency. We're a revenue-focused B2B digital marketing agency focused on SAS, tech, startups and enterprise, search, marketing automation, design development, and Account-based Marketing. How I got into it is not too dissimilar than I think most people. I had a job at an agency that was pretty crappy. I kind of woke up one day and realized they were pretty churn and burn. So I moved up to San Francisco with a lot of my buddies and I got a job, this is dating myself, at a Daily Deal startup back when those were a thing and they ran out of money and didn't have a lot of prospects. So I took the, uh, computer. That was my severance package from that job, went to RadioShack next door and got a Magic Jack. And just started calling people from my grandma's dresser that I used as a standing desk saying that I could do their digital marketing. I had sold it before, but I had never done it, so just, I knew the holes in the market and just said, "Hey, I'll be doing the work. I'm going to undercut everybody on price. And you can trust me because I need the money for rent." Sold my first few people without a website, cause they were like, yeah, I love it. Let's do it. And that was nine and a half years ago. And now we're 38 people and. Doing bigger stuff than that. Jason: [00:02:00] I love it. I always tell everybody when they come to me about starting an agency and they're like, what do we need? I'm like, you need to know how to do something really well. Ben: [00:02:09] Yeah. One of the things I like about the podcast is there's no real like service kind of education, because if you're not good at what you do, there's not a lot that you can learn from an operations or client management standpoint. And so I think that's something that, you know, when I talk to people about starting businesses, I'm like, well, are you like good at it? And they're like, yeah, I guess it's like, well, maybe you should. Look, I learned on the fly and I was up at 12:00 AM, blowing up Adwords accounts, learning on the fly. And I, you know, I wished I had known better, but the fact is, is you're going to learn some hard lessons along the way, either way. Jason: [00:02:44] Yeah. Well, yeah, I mean, you never do it perfect. And especially too, when we look back and we go, oh man, I wish I knew this before I hit the million mark or before I hit the 2 million mark. So, what did you wish you knew back then that you know now. Ben: [00:03:02] I wish I knew that I can raise my prices. Raising prices still is terrifying, but I hired a Director of Sales from a bigger agency. Gosh, like five years ago. An

Chris Dreyer is the founder and CEO of Rankings.io which is an agency specializing in SEO for personal injury law firms. Chris believes in being super niched in order to be successful for his clients. He says it takes extreme focus to deliver great SEO results and therefore his agency does not offer any other services or work with clients outside the legal industry. Chris is on the show to talk about how he's grown his agency beyond the first million and is now looking at an 8-figure revenue. 3 Golden Nuggets What got you to 7-figures won't get you to 8-figures. Referrals aren't scalable. Realizing this, Chris focuseds on marketing and has an employee dedicated to marketing for the agency, rather than just relying on referrals. Revenue doesn't mean anything if you're not profitable. As the agency revenue grew, so did expenses netting the same profit. Chris implemented the principles of Profit First and the agency's profitability has improved because of it. Get and keep the right people in the right seats. Whatever work is being done in-house, constantly evaluate whether those team members are actually contributing to the bottom line or causing a financial leakage. Sponsors and Resources Oribi: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by Oribi. Check out Oribi.io/smartagency for a free trial. Plus when you sign up for Oribi get 20% off the first three months with promo code: Smart Agency Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher | Radio FM How Did One Digital Agency Grow to 8-Figures? Jason: [00:00:00] On this episode, I bring back a repeat guest, friend, member, client on the Masterclass, and we're going to talk about how he went from a million in revenue all the way up to eight figures in the past couple of years. And we go over all kinds of really amazing stuff. So I think you're really going to love this episode and let's get into it. Hey Chris, welcome back on the show. Chris: [00:00:30] Yeah, thanks for having me, Jason. Jason: [00:00:31] Yeah. I'm excited to have you back on. It's been a while since you've been on the podcast. Obviously, we chat all the time in the mastermind and back and forth about Star Wars and all goofy stuff. But for the people that haven't listened to the first episode, tell us who you are and what do you do? Chris: [00:00:49] Yeah, my name's Chris Dreyer. I am the CEO of Rankings.io. We own a personal injury law firm SEO agency. So very hyper niche, both horizontally and vertically, and yeah, just excited to be here and happy to discuss it. Jason: [00:01:05] Yeah. So last time you were on, you were just kind of cresting the million in revenue, and now you're a much further, so kind of take us through that journey a little bit about where you're at now and what are some key things that kind of looking back of going I wish I knew this time and I could have even gotten to your level now faster. Chris: [00:01:30] That's a great question. That's also a really loaded question. Jason, still try to talk about all the areas. I feel like I had my white belt and then I put on, I don't know the jujitsu levels, but I felt like I had my white belt and then you kind of get your brown or whatever the next level is at a million. And I think, you know, we're, we're approaching that. I don't even know that I would say black belt, but. Yeah, we're probably on target for our goal. This year is $9 million, stretch 10. And so it's, it's been a huge change across the entire company. I feel like we have a real business now. I think the difference is when you go to that million mark. The owner can wear a whole bunch of hats and really hustle and get to that million mark and just fill, you know, use their, their sphere of influence and kind of depend upon referrals and get there. But I think that you actually have to do marketing, have to generate your own brand, your own inbound leads to really transition towards that, that eight-figure mark. There are, if you think about the main components of a business, so you've got finance, you've got marketing, you've got sales and you've got operations. Finance wise. We implemented Profit First because I found out the hard way. I took my licks. The first three or four years of my business, we kept growing a hundred percent, but my revenue wasn't increasing now, it was investing back in the business. But for me, it was becoming more stressful in those times. I'm like, well, why do I need a $2 million business when I'm making the exact same? So I had to learn how to be financially healthy. And as we grew, also, our profitability would grow. That was a big one. It took some time. Anyone that's read the book Profit First, it's this lean mentality of working off of less and considering profit. And when you're don't have any profit to create those percentages, it takes a lot of work. So I would say that was a big learning lesson. The second on marketing again, we were depending upon referrals, our entire staff. I think I had one marketing

Brent Weaver is the CEO and founder of uGurus. He leads the vision for the company and creates educational programs that help agency owners work on their business to drive additional revenues, increase profits, and create freedom in their life. Brent is here to share his insight on referrals and the importance of choosing a niche for your agency. 3 Golden Nuggets Niching helps you fish in the right pond. Figuring out a niche where you can be profitable and deliver the best results is "fishing in the right pond" according to Brent. The key is testing out different ponds in order to find the best fit for your agency. Pareto Principle: 80% of outcomes are from 20% of input. Is worthwhile and valuable to determine if you're spinning your wheels on small clients that aren't helping contribute to your revenue. Going through this exercise is key to being more profitable. There are 3 marketing engines agencies need. These are: content, partnerships, and paid ads. Relying on referrals is not scalable. It's like sitting on a one-legged stool. You must add these 3 marketing engines into the mix. Sponsors and Resources Wix: Today's episode is sponsored by the Wix Partner Program. Being a Wix Partner is ideal for freelancers and digital agencies that design and develop websites for their clients. Check out Wix.com/Partners to learn more and become a member of the community for free. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher | Radio FM Is Your Digital Agency Fishing in the Right Pond? Jason: [00:00:00] On this episode, I talk with Brent Weaver about why referrals just aren't scalable and why it's so important to pick a niche. I hope you enjoy this episode. Hey, Brent, welcome to the show. Brent: [00:00:13] Good to be here. Yeah, I'm excited to have you on, so tell us who you are and, uh, a little bit about the agency that you're in and what you do now. Yeah. So, uh, my name is Brent Weaver, CEO, and founder of uGurus. We are a business school for digital agency owners. We primarily work with agencies that are kind of 1 to 10 person range, really helping them to track more leads, win more deals, delivering delight for their clients. They can profitably scale their agency and achieve some freedom in their business in life. Before, uh, we're coming on into the ninth year doing this business. But before that I ran HotPress Web, which is a digital agency based in Denver, Colorado for about, I guess, about 13 years. And, uh, grew that from, uh, my business partner and I from, uh, us in our bedrooms and high school to a 14 person thriving agency in downtown Denver, uh, serving over 300 clients. And, uh, we had clients like Dish Network and Anheuser Busch Inbev and all sorts of, uh, smaller and medium-sized businesses across the board. Jason: [00:01:17] Awesome!. Did you sell the agency? Did you were like, Oh, we don't want to do this anymore? What's the what'd you do? Brent: [00:01:23] Yeah. So we did the business did get acquired by another shop in Denver. We had probably about two years before we sold the business. I started to blog and build some training programs for agency owners, and we had done some deals with Adobe. And so we, um, Kind of started kind of riding two horses at the same time we had the agency business, which was growing really well. And then we had this thing that, uh, myself and my business partner would do, you know, a day or two a week. We'd go and, you know, create videos, we'd go do our own thing. And, uh, and so we kind of felt like we were starting to run two businesses at the same time, but also I think just as I'm sure, you know, right. The impact that we had on. Other agency owners that were like following our processes and our methods, like we were getting all of these, thank you letters in all the time for people that we'd really helped them transform their life and their income and their freedom. And after a while, it was kinda like, Hey, we really enjoyed doing this. And we wanted our agency to go and be in a good place. So we had some really great opportunities to get that business acquired. And so we pursued one of them and it turned out really well. Jason: [00:02:24] Awesome. Let's talk about after high school, um, and do an agency, right? Because I think I know how, how it goes in high school. It's like, dude, I can, I can get some money for a year. Brent: [00:02:37] I was basically working uh minimum wage $6.25 I think an hour, at the time, at a fabric store and somebody paid me $500 to build them an order form for a candy store out of Michigan. And it took me about a day and I was like, cool. When I went to my boss at the fabric store and said, I'm going to go ahead and do this other thing. Cause I basically made like, you know, two months wages in a day. So, so that was that. Jason: [00:03:03] That's awesome. And so if you could go back to when you were starting, what would you have done differently? How would you grow the business? Brent: [00:03:14] I think for me, it's, you

Fran Biederman-Gross has grown her firm Advantages from a local printing business to a global end-to-end communications agency. As the CEO and founder an Inc. 500 company, she leads her clients on an invaluable journey of brand discovery that reveals their 3 keys: Purpose, Values, and Story. She joins the Smart Agency podcast to get really deep with understanding your purpose and communicating it in a way that gets your team and clients behind it. 3 Golden Nuggets The quickest way to become profitable to attach it to your why. There is an overarching commonality in everything that you do. Understanding it and harnessing it for your business is where profitability becomes possible. Company core values don't exist. Values are very individual. They can be shared within an organization or community but not dictated. You want to align yourself with a team that shares your values and can contribute in a way that supports them. Knowing your why will win more agency business. As Simon Sinek puts it, "people don't buy what you do. They buy why. you do it." Don't take the easy way out. When you're identifying your why, go five levels deep and get to the real core of it. Sponsors and Resources Oribi: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by Oribi. Check out Oribi.io/smartagency for a free trial. Plus when you sign up for Oribi get 20% off the first three months with promo code: Smart Agency Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher | Radio FM How to Unlock the 3 Keys of a Values-Based Agency Jason: [00:00:00] Hey on this episode, I talk with an agency owner friend who talks about the real importance of having that North star, that why. And what are some of the things that you can do in order to figure your why out. Or make sure that your North star is the real deal. And then you have that complete clarity to make the right decisions that your team has the right decision. So I hope you enjoy. Hey Fran, welcome to the show. Fran: [00:00:32] Thank you Jason so much for having me today. What a fun time we're gonna have. Jason: [00:00:36] So, uh, tell us a little bit about who you are and what you do. Fran: [00:00:40] My name is Fran Biederman-Gross. And I am the CEO of an agency called Advantages. I'm a co-author of How to Lead a Values-Based Professional Services Firm, wife, mother, all those other titles that go in there. But most proud of my professional work on the Three Keys and the agency that we have that in this demand generation bringing ROI to close the gap between marketing and sales. Jason: [00:01:07] Awesome. Well, the mother is the hardest job. Uh, that's what I've learned. And, uh, the thankless job. Fran: [00:01:17] You know, it gets better as they get older. I'm going to say not easier. Just better. Jason: [00:01:21] Yeah. Well, I'm still waiting for the easy part. Fran: [00:01:26] Yeah. I don't know when that comes. Jason: [00:01:28] Exactly. So tell us, how did you get started in the agency life? Fran: [00:01:32] Oh, in short, my late husband and I started a printing company pretty much out of college. It actually started as like a stationary business of taking overruns and pedaling, if you will, all over the streets of Manhattan and Queens, because there was a stationary corner virtually in every store, you know. There was a store on every couple of corners, if you will. And in the back, there was a printing company where you could order stuff that you need. And then in the early nineties, I'm going to say that Staples opened up and really revolutionized how we bought things and then the internet exploded and how we bought things. So there wasn't really that need, but we really evolved into this incredible agency because I asked a lot of questions. Like, why do you think you need that? Or why do you want that print quote? Or what are you going to do with that? So that whole curiosity of why really resonated, especially when I met Simon Sinek back in 2004 or five. And really, and pretty much as an innovator of taking the golden circle and bringing it to life. And that's how the agency, of course, I bought one and took that apart and created this really phenomenal Inc 500 agency in New York. That's very, purpose-driven. Jason: [00:02:48] Let's talk about why did you buy an agency? You already had a business because you know, I'm always very curious on why people buy when it's pretty easy entry to get in. But I'm also on the flip side, like the agency that we're running now is like, that's all we do through growth is buy. Fran: [00:03:04] So it's, you know, it's actually a really great question and I'm going to say that. If you just isolate my life experience just as a matter of fact, not to get emotional in any way, but my late husband passed in 2001 and he was the debonair, very suave, very emotional, very friendly salesperson, and he would walk all the buildings. We went through 5,000 business cards, literally in every three months and he passed his card out and was so

Mark Sullivan is an agency owner who has also spent over 22 years in public safety. He has seen people in the best and worst of times. When he's not working as a firefighter, he is the founder and creative director of the 7-figure agency he started in 2014. Mark is on the show to talk about the similarities between fighting fires and running an agency. He's also sharing the #1 lesson he wishes he had known much sooner. 3 Golden Nuggets Running an agency can be like fighting fires. Your clients are trusting your agency with their livelihood, the same way firefighters rely on each other to get out of a fire. Everyone has to have trust in order to be successful. Trust your gut when a client doesn't feel right. One thing Mark wishes he had known sooner is that it's OK to walk away from a client that is a bad fit. You don't have to take on every prospect. It's better to take a chance at offending them than add stress to yourself and your team. Empower your team to make decisions. Stand behind your team on the decisions they make. When they feel supported and appreciated, they will make smart decisions that support your agency vision. Sponsor & Resources Wix: Today's episode is sponsored by the Wix Partner Program. Being a Wix Partner is ideal for freelancers and digital agencies that design and develop websites for their clients. Check out Wix.com/Partners to learn more and become a member of the community for free. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher | Radio FM Is Owning an Agency Like Running Into a Burning Building? Jason: [00:00:00] On this episode, I talk with a firefighter who also has an agency and has built a really amazing agency. And we talk about one of the number one lessons that he wished he could go back over. He actually learned the lesson from listening to the show. As well as what you can do in order to really keep and build an amazing team and really be that right leader and what you should really focus on in your agency that can make all the difference, not only in your agency but also in your life. So I hope you enjoy this episode with Mark, the firefighter slash agency owner, and now let's get into it. I'm excited to have you on, so tell us who you are and what do you do? Mark: [00:00:45] Well, my name is Mark Sullivan. I'm the founder, creative director of Lime Biscuit Creative. We're a branding and design agency, just outside of Atlanta. We do a lot of web design, logos. We love to do startups or total rebrands for companies. Have been doing that for six years now, working on year seven. And I also serve full-time as a Lieutenant at a fire department, just outside of Atlanta and been doing that for 23 years. So stay pretty busy. Jason: [00:01:11] Yeah, it's a definitely interesting story. So what made you want to kind of do the agency biz? How'd you get into it? Mark: [00:01:19] Well, it was kind of a backward, a way that we got into it. I ran a music agency where we basically would help bands and speakers get events and get into like car shows, where they would sign autographs and stuff and get reimbursement for it. They would do a concert, or stuff like that. That kind of rolled into us, working with some talent from A&E and the History Channel. And through that process, we learned real quick that, uh, those guys become divas really fast and it's not worth the hassle to work with them. But in that process, we learned that so many of them didn't have any kind of brand awareness. They didn't have any kind of design, uh, understanding of how it worked. And so we pretty much started learning on our own, how to create a brand for someone, a personal brand, a company brand. And from that, we started doing what we're doing today and as they got more difficult to work with, uh, we decided we were just going to kind of abandon that part of our business and strictly focus on the agency side. And, was turned out to be a really good decision for us. Jason: [00:02:23] Very cool. And what made you get into the fire department? Mark: [00:02:26] Well, I was, an ADD sufferer from day one. I knew the traditional school route was not going to work for me. And, uh, I'm one of the kids that, you know, from kindergarten, my mom's got these books. What do you want to do when you grow up? And mine's been a firefighter ever since I can remember being in school. It's always just been attractive to me as something to do. And I love the whole idea of you never know what's coming next. So for somebody with ADD, it works really good. It keeps you changing up things on a regular basis. And, uh, just set out to do that. And I got about two to four more years of that hopefully I should be able to retire from that. So looking forward to that now, especially my body is. Jason: [00:03:07] I bet. I remember when I sold my agency, I didn't know what I was going to do after. And I went to, you know, I was talking about it to my cousin-in-law, being a firefighter is what I've always wanted. I thought that would

Steve Pockross has been the CEO of Verblio for nearly five years. As CEO, he applies leading marketplace and SaaS principles to create an industry-leading content creation platform with 3,000 U.S.-based writers supporting the creation of premium content at scale in every niche. Verblio has grown over 400% in the last four years. So, Steve is sharing his insight on why it's important to lead by putting people first and how that contributes to your agency's growth as a whole. 3 Golden Nuggets Exhibit your agency's values. Don't just say what your values are but actually exhibit them. Lead by example and personify the company culture you wish to set. The key to finding great talent is marketing to them. Treat your recruitment like you would a client. Write a unique job description that appeals to the right person and then market to them. Attract agency talent the way you would attract customers for your clients. Three keys to putting people first: (1) willingness to sacrifice other areas, (2) constantly seek feedback, (3) reward people who identify holes in the culture. [smart_track_player url="https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/jasonswenk/How_to_Lead_Your_Agency_Team_By_Putting_People_First.mp3" ] Sponsors and Resources Verblio: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by Verblio. Check out Verblio.com/smartagency and get 50% off your first month of content creation. Our team loves using Verblio because of the ease in their process and their large pool of crowd-sourced writers. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher | Radio FM Leading Your Agency Team By Putting People First Jason: [00:00:00] What's up beautiful agency owners! I'm excited. I have another amazing podcast guest who actually has been back several times. I don't know why we keep inviting you back. No, I'm just kidding. He's a good friend of mine and, uh, we'll provide lots of value. And we're going to talk about leading with people first for your agency. Now, before we jump into the show, I want you to do something. I want you to take a screenshot off your phone, listening to the podcast, upload it to Instagram, tag us. And give us a shout-out on Instagram. And then I can shout you back and say, Hey, thanks for listening to the show. So let's go ahead and get an episode. Hey Steve, welcome to the show. Steve:: [00:00:40] Hey Jason. Good to be back. Jason: [00:00:42] Yeah. I don't know. Like I said, I keep inviting you back, I guess you do well each time. So now we'll welcome back for the people that have not checked out the other episodes and we'll link those. Into the show notes of the episodes to make sure you guys go to JasonSwenk.com and check those out. Tell us who you are and what do you do? Steve:: [00:00:58] So I'm Steve. I am the CEO of Verblio. Oh, we are a Denver-based marketplace, content creation platform. So we have a network of highly curated, fantastic writers that we put together with our unique business model and put it on our platform so that we can do high quality content at scale for any niche. And we work primarily for agencies. Jason: [00:01:19] Awesome. Well, welcome back. And let's kind of jump into it, right? So, Let's talk about what does it mean to lead with people first and a growing company? I mean, you guys are, I think, 30 plus employees on your team. And I think a lot of agencies will relate to this. Steve:: [00:01:37] We've been fortunate to have some really high power growth in the last. So I took over as CEO four and a half years ago, and we were talking about what are some of the lessons that we could really pass on to agencies to help them with their growth as well, that can relate between the type of business that we do and the type of work that agencies do. And so one of those big strategies is putting people first. And that might sound like the most cliche strategy of all time. Going back to "Good to Great." Put the right people on the bus first. I think we took a really, well, we think about it and brought it to every aspect of our business. And so I think bringing it to life is really interesting. And hopefully, some of these nuggets that helped us can really help others. And has helped us grow 400% over four and a half years as a bootstrap startup. So with no investment in order to fund that growth, all being organic growth. And it's also helped us grow when I first started, we were 11 people for the first three years. And over the last two years, we've gone from 11 to 30. So how do you accelerate that growth with the right people strategy? And then also, how do you ensure that it continues to build, even as you're expanding rapidly? Jason: [00:02:38] Yeah. A lot of times I see kind of people, they get to certain stages of climbing the mountain, and they kind of backtrack. Right? And like, I'm looking at growing any business or really growing an agency. And it kind of like six phases, right? Like you got staging base camp, the climb, the crux, the crest, and then obviousl

Laura Tolhoek is the owner of Essential HR, the business she started three years ago in order to provide HR relief to small businesses. Her company provides an ultra-flexible way of managing HR so businesses can focus on their core operation and growing their business. Laura shares the best practices and tips on how to hire and fire digital agency employees. She covers everything from creating your employer brand to the details of the offer letter and how to protect yourself when letting someone go. 3 Golden Nuggets Building an employer brand is as important as your agency brand. The employer brand is the reputation your agency has as a workplace. It defines the experience you're giving your employees before they even come on board. An interview guide helps guide your internal process. An effective interview guide maintains consistency throughout the interview process as well as helps narrow down who and what you're looking for in the position. A well-written offer letter is essential. The offer letter outlines policies, sets expectations, and even lays out how the end will go. This protects your agency from any potential misunderstanding or potential liability down the road. Sponsors and Resources Oribi: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by Oribi. Check out Oribi.io/smartagency for a free trial. Plus when you sign up for Oribi get 20% off the first three months with promo code: Smart Agency Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher | Radio FM 47 Laura Talhoek Jason: [00:00:00] On this episode, I talk with an HR agency about what's the importance about building your employer brand? What's the importance of the offer letter and how it can actually protect your agency later on. And also making sure you follow a process in your interview process, which, I just said process a couple of times, but that's okay. I think you're really going to like this episode, especially if you're in a growth phase and you're bringing on more team members. So let's get into it. Hey, Laura, welcome to the show. Laura: [00:00:36] Thank you so much for having me. Jason: [00:00:37] Yeah. I'm excited to have you on. So tell us who you are and what do you do? Laura: [00:00:42] Yeah, so my name is Laura Tolhoek. I am the owner of EssentialHR and EssentialHR is a business that was created to help small business owners with their HR systems and structures. So a lot of times when you're growing a business, You would really benefit from the help of a professional person who understands the legal, the risk side of things, as well as best practices. But you often don't need somebody who's there full time. So we come in and we help small business owners with those small retainers and HR projects where they could use an HR professional but don't want to have one on their team full-time. Jason: [00:01:15] Awesome. What's your theory of wind to bring someone in full-time? What's the employee count? Laura: [00:01:22] You know what I would say about 50, you could use somebody, you know, at a moderate level. I don't think you need, you know, the, the pinnacle director of HR. But you could use somebody, certainly, because at that point you already have someone in admin doing a lot of your recruitment things. You probably have somebody in admin doing payroll. And if you bring all of those things together to one, one system, it might be a little bit easier. Jason: [00:01:48] I always looked at a lot of our HR people also did recruiting as well. Not just, you know what I used to think when I would go back and I'd be like, oh, HR is just making sure I don't get sued. Making sure people don't get hurt. Like I didn't really look at it as making sure employee retention's there, you know, recruiting new talents. So I don't have to interview all these people and just try to keep up with the amount of business coming to us. So do you feel the same way, like HR is more than just pushing paperwork? Laura: [00:02:20] Well, of course, yeah. I'm actually not a huge fan of the paperwork side of things. And automation is a big part of what I like to implement, but there's so many facets of HR. You know, you have the benefits side, the compensation side. Are we paying our people appropriately? Is there other things we could do, you know, for a smaller boutique operation, you know, maybe the top salary isn't what's there. What else can we provide in order to build that culture? So we're not competing on price alone? Recruitment, obviously health and safety onboarding, and bringing on new team members. And just the general upkeep of employee engagement is a lot of what we do with our clients and what I did previously in my former life within operations. Jason: [00:03:03] I gotcha. Why is it important for employers to kind of build their employer brand before they go into, you know, kind of scaling their agency? Laura: [00:03:13] So employer brand, we obviously all know what branding is and we put a lot of effort and a lot of time int

Lacie Edgeman is a Partner and VP of Finance at PrograMetrix. She has extensive experience in finance within the marketing and creative industry. Lacie prides herself in helping hold her agency to high standards while keeping their projects on budget without sacrificing vision or quality. She is on the show to share the importance of niching down in order to scale. She also explains the difference between growing and scaling and why both are important. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher | Radio FM 3 Golden Nuggets Grow your profit margins with a niche. Lacie says without a niche, you're looking at 10% margins, but with a niche, it's 25%. With a specialization, revenue increases becoming more efficient, yielding a net profit increase. There is a difference between growing and scaling your agency. It's important to know the difference and know when it's time for each. Growing requires the investment of time and resources. Scaling means bringing in more revenue without additional expenses. Use your right project management tool to its full capability. It's one of the fastest and easiest ways to scale. Rather than just using your PM software for task management, you can automate things for efficiency. That provides true scale. Sponsors and Resources Verblio: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by Verblio. Check out Verblio.com/smartagency and get 50% off your first month of content creation. Our team loves using Verblio because of the ease in their process and their large pool of crowd-sourced writers. Jason: [00:00:00] On this episode, I talk with an agency owner about the difference between growing your agency and scaling. And there's a big difference. And I think all of you will really like this. She comes from a finance background, she's a co-owner at an amazing agency. And so she gives us a really good perspective of what you need to do in order to scale your agency. So, enjoy. Hey, welcome to the show. Lacie: [00:00:30] Hi, nice to be here. Jason: [00:00:00] Yeah, I'm excited to have you on and tell your guys' story. So tell us who you are and what do you do? Yeah, so we are PrograMetrix. Lacie: [00:00:30] We are a PrograMetrix media buying agency and programmatic is such one of those terms that is a little bit confusing to people, but it's really just simply the automated buying of ad space. So think about Hulu. The commercials you see on Hulu or Spotify, or even those display ads you see on forbes.com. And I am a partner here at the agency and I have a background in finance and operations. And I know we're going to be talking about niching today, which is very important. And my career path has been a little bit of a niche as well. So I started out in a traditional creative shop. Moved into a B2B agency, then finally made my way to digital and then niched a little bit further into programmatic, which I'm very excited about. I really do feel like it's the future of advertising. Jason: [00:01:31] Awesome. So tell us, how did you get started in the first agency? Lacie: [00:01:35] What was that story? Yeah. So somebody took a chance on me. I think, uh, probably a lot of the viewers have nonlinear paths into marketing or were into advertising and mine was very similar. So I was actually in the construction industry and was getting my degree in finance and wanted to move to Austin, Texas, and had an agency that kind of just rolled the dice on me with my finance background and, uh, started working there. And I just love, I love agency world. I think people either love it or hate it. And I just absolutely love it. Fast-paced, exciting, never a dull moment. Jason: [00:02:14] That's awesome. So let's kind of jump into it a little bit about specialization. You know, a lot of people struggle with this because they feel that they're going to miss out. But you know, how did you guys go about specializing? And not per se, just picking programmatic, but how did you guys have the confidence, and what were, kind of, some of the steps that you guys went down in order to specialize? Lacie: [00:02:37] Yeah. And I know this I'm probably preaching to the choir here. The specialization is so important. So one of the things we looked at when we specialized is, you know, what were the advantages and disadvantages. And we just felt like we weren't going to be able to scale the business. So there is a difference between growing and scaling and, I want to talk about that a little bit later. But that's one of the reasons we really looked at it and programmatic specifically because it is at the forefront of advertising. And really what we feel like as the future of advertising. We also, our co-founders kind of grew up in the ad tech space. So it was kind of a natural fit, but I think there was a year there where we kind of experimented with the whole full service and it just wasn't working out. So what we found is that it is very counterintuitive that people think, Oh, I want to capture this r

Jacque Spitzer is the CEO of Raindrop, the direct-to-consumer marketing agency he founded in 2014. He's committed to bringing fresh, new creative to his agency and their clients. Jacque's been involved in some of the most creative and entertaining videos on the internet. And he's sharing some of the lessons learned and insider secrets on making great videos for your agency brand. Generate more leads when your video ads don't suck! 3 Golden Nuggets Test your video creative to figure out what messaging resonates. These are solution statements that typically come from the sales or customer service team. Don't assume the target audience already knows something. Instead, test out four or five statements to see which ones stick. Make sure you have the right creative talent. We all think we're funny. But if you're trying to go for humor in videos, copywriters need a comedian's help. There's comedic timing and delivery to consider. Be authentic, be yourself. Don't worry too much about appearing goofy. In order for your video to be entertaining, be less concerned with the perception of silliness and more concerned with energy and animation. The camera adds 10 pounds. and also take away 20% of your energy. Sponsors and Resources Oribi: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by Oribi. Check out Oribi.io/smartagency for a free trial. Plus when you sign up for Oribi get 20% off the first three months with promo code: Smart Agency Jason: [00:00:00] On this episode, I talk with an agency that's been a part of some of the funniest videos on the internet from like Dr. Squash to you, name it. And we talk about how do you not make your video ads suck? How do you really take your videos and make them entertaining? It's a lot of fun in this episode and I hope you enjoy. Hey, welcome to the show. Jacque: [00:00:28] Thanks for having me. It's an honor. Jason: [00:00:29] Yeah. I'm excited to have you on, so tell us who you are and what do you do? Jacque: [00:00:34] So my name is Jacque Spencer. I'm CEO of Raindrop. I started the agency pretty young, about decade in now and, we are D to C focused, about 80% DTC. We do about 20% B to C. So very consumer brand-focused agency. And where we really kind of come into being known nationally is for our top of funnel, social creative. So we created ads for brands like Dr. Squatch and. Crossrope, Omigo, Shady Rays. Jason: [00:01:05] Wait, you did the Dr. Squatch one? Jacque: [00:01:07] Dr. Squash, yeah. We had been on a tremendous journey with these DTC clients over the last three years or so. And it's a thrill. It's amazing to see these companies grow by 10 times, 20 times, 30 times their revenues, and being part of a creative engine behind it. Jason: [00:01:24] That's awesome. Well, let's go back a decade. How'd you get started? Jacque: [00:01:29] Well, I was working at NBC, as a journalist and, um, one of my colleagues now, my wife, asked me if I would help shoot a video for her personal trainer. And I started shooting videos for him. And one thing led to the next, I started getting referrals and I didn't have a plan to own an agency. I didn't, I'd never worked at an agency before. I didn't know anything about marketing per se, but I just followed my instincts for storytelling into problem-solving for businesses. And yeah, I was 24 at the time. I had a bunch of roommates and so I was fortunate to not have a lot of life responsibility and I just went for it and it started slow. To say the least. And, um, you know, this year we're at about 50 employees and I've grown tremendously and have had a lot of fun along the way. Jason: [00:02:19] Well, take me back to the point when, cause there's a lot of different things that we go through from accidental agency owner, like we are right. To you know, actually bringing on a team to growing, thinking that growing is the better option versus scaling. So walk us through some of the phases that you went back. If you can remember, like, I know, I remember when, if I was interviewing myself like about like the first agency interview, I'd be like, I don't remember anything. Jacque: [00:02:49] Yeah. I mean, you know, it's interesting how much, like, just how much self-reflection is involved. Because I think about the fact all the time that I started an agency, well, I started a business, I shouldn't say I started an agency. I started a business. It became an agency. And I didn't have any direct background in the agency world, or life. And in this type of structure, I've never had managed anyone directly. And now I'm partially responsible in some way for all these people. And so for me, there was different like milestones where I was like I remember the first one was when we started having actual overhead. So like an office and health insurance, and starting to realize like, Oh, this is why you can't charge $50 an hour for your time all the time. Jason: [00:03:32] Like what year was that? Jacque: [00:03:35] For me? That was like year t

Building Your Agency Brand Is Easier Than You Think Juju Hook was a corporate brand strategist for over 30 years, both on the client-side, as well as agency-side. She built a successful boutique agency from scratch in 2000. Her agency developed a reputation for smart, creative work with solid results working with big brands in the banking and auto industries. Today Juju shares lessons on the dangers of letting clients negotiate prices and how you can stop it. She also shares how to be more strategic and get paid for strategy rather than allowing clients to treat your agency like a commodity, and why branding your agency based on your values will help land the best clients. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher | Radio FM 3 Golden Nuggets Be invaluable to clients and stop being an order-taker. When you understand the client's financials and goals you move from offering project management to being paid for strategy. Sharing your personal brand helps you align with the right clients. The best branding is built based on values. What do you stand for? What do you believe in? What do you lend your voice for? You already have a brand. It's not a matter of creating it; it's a matter of sharing what already exists. Stop letting clients negotiate prices. You're worth what you're worth based on experience and the value you provide. The only prospects trying to negotiate agency prices are the ones who are not the right fit anyway. Sponsors and Resources Verblio: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by Verblio. Check out Verblio.com/smartagency and get 50% off your first month of content creation. Our team loves using Verblio because of the ease in their process and their large pool of crowd-sourced writers. Jason: [00:00:00] On this episode, we talk about how you get more strategic rather than being an order taker? And how can you build your brand around what you stand for? A lot of us struggle with, how do we start, even though we actually do this for clients, but it's a really interesting conversation. And I think you'll really love it. Hey Juju, welcome to the show. Juju: [00:00:28] Thank you. I'm happy to be here. Jason: [00:00:29] I'm excited to have you on. So tell us who you are and what do you do? Juju: [00:00:33] So I am Juju Hook. I've been a brand strategist for 30 some years. I started out on the corporate side and financial industry and then opened my own agency in 2000. And in 2015, I closed my agency and made a move toward helping women in midlife build theirs. Jason: [00:00:52] Awesome. And so how did you get started in 2000? Like I, I started our agency in '99, so it was kind of like the wild wild west. Juju: [00:01:01] So I worked in the financial industry for some years. And then I became a marketing director for Jacuzzi and ran their brands worldwide, 63 countries. And that was a wild ride. I started in banking and automotive. So yeah. And was raised with car dealers, but hot tub dealers was a whole other deal. That was just a completely different perspective on branding. And then I got pregnant and I had an international job. I was flying all over. It was really, it was just the kind of thing where I knew I was going to either need to take time off work or make a switch on what I was doing. And so I decided to become a free agent and ended up working for Jacuzzi as a consultant and launched an agency. When my son was an infant. Jason: [00:01:50] Oh, that's cool. So Jacuzzi was your first client? Juju: [00:01:53] Jacuzzi was my last job and my first client. Yeah. Jason: [00:01:56] Oh yeah, I've done that a lot. Like they don't want to lose you. They're like, well, just you're a consultant for us. Juju: [00:02:03] And strategy is a funny thing, right? Because if you're the one that's been writing the plan, oftentimes that's what they'll ask you to come back for. Right. It's a plan and somebody else can implement it. And I've always been keen on that. Anyway, I've always been more interested in the 30,000-foot view than, than the minutia. So, which I think helps an agency owner. Jason: [00:02:21] Yeah. And that really separates a lot of people. You know, my background was kind of the complete opposite. Like we started the agency basically from doing websites and it was very hard and I find it very hard for people once they're the doers and they're getting paid to do something it's hard to go to the strategy. They're just like all project-based, even if they do recurring, they're still basically just trading time for money, but they're not really getting that intellectual property. So, for those people listening. How do you think they can be more strategic rather than kind of the order takers? Juju: [00:02:57] First of all. I think that kind of thinking, to be honest is something that you're, you have a proclivity for. So I think interestingly enough, the first time I took the strengths finders, strategy was my number one strength. And it said, this is something yo

Manuel Suarez is the Founder and CEO of AGM. Founded in 2015, AGM is a full-service, social media marketing agency that focuses on helping brands acquire the most valuable commodity today: attention. Manuel is sharing how he rapidly grew his agency over $3 Million in the first five years. He attributes a lot of his success to being the face of his agency and exporting his knowledge both to build authority and to train his client. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher | Radio FM 3 Golden Nuggets Provide value aggressively. Earn trust and build authority by providing through social media, podcasting, speaking publicly. Successful agency owners are the face of the agency. That means you do not service accounts or work on deliverables. You are vision and strategy. You are the "what" but not the "how." Think Gary Vaynerchuk, who is CEO and the face of VaynerMedia but is not working with clients. Your #1 job is to continually learning and training. Stay on top of your game and export all your knowledge to your team. Surround yourself with the right people and put them in the right seats while also making sure they have access to the right training Sponsors and Resources Oribi: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by Oribi. Check out Oribi.io/smartagency for a free trial. Plus when you sign up for Oribi get 20% off the first three months with promo code: Smart Agency Jason: [00:00:00] On this episode, I talk with an agency owner. Who's grown over 3 million in revenue in three years, and we talk about. What you need to do as an agency owner in order to really have rapid growth and how you need to get and be that front face for your agency. I know a lot of you want to sit and back, but what his strategy is and why he has people knocking down his doors. So it's a really good episode. Yeah. I hope you enjoy it. Hey, Daniel, welcome to the show. Manuel: [00:00:33] It was great to be here, Jason. Thanks for having me, man. Jason: [00:00:35] Yeah, I'm excited to have you on, so tell us who you are and what do you do? Manuel: [00:00:39] All right. My name is Manuel Suarez. I'm the CEO of a marketing agency called AGM Marketing stands for Attention Grabbing Media. And I've been doing marketing for probably about seven years now, accidental like many of us agency owners over the last four years. That led me to, I had a lot of success with a couple of businesses, uh, and that led me to create an agency. When I got bored with the ones that I was having success with and said, you know what, maybe it's time to explore disability and help some other companies out there. Jason: [00:01:08] Awesome. So how did you get started? Like what were your first couple of businesses and walk us through that story. Manuel: [00:01:15] First business, I come from a pretty dark background of no career, no path, no future, no potential, a small little Island in Puerto Rico, a lot of criminality, drugs. That was my environment. I got lucky along the way. And I discovered opportunities. Um, I, I think that like all of us, we have a lot of, uh, stories. Uh, in my case I was a part of the subprime mortgage market in the U.S. So in 2007, bought my first property somewhere around the peak of the markets. Lost the house and, um, had three children already. So I had to figure something out that led me to try and try and try things out, fail, fail, fail. Uh, and at one point, somebody talked to me about my first ever business was my brother-in-law coming to me and telling me, you know, there's this thing called FBA fulfilled by Amazon. And you can sell your own products on Amazon. And that was like a big wake-up moment for me. And, my first official business was launched in 2013. Uh, so that was seven years ago as of the time of this recording. And that particular business became a really, big powerhouse that, um, it's a great story for a lot of people that I can summarize in just a few sentences. I saw the opportunity on Amazon. I looked at, uh, one of the guys that work with me, uh, on my 9 to 5, and I saw him that he was selling bedsheets on the road, on the weekend. A brand called Clara Clark. I said, let me look at your bedsheets. I opened them up. I saw no labels attached to the bedsheet and I said, perfect. We're going to create our own brand. I created an idea of a brand it's called Cosy House Collections, c-o-s-y. And I printed a horrible design, which we're still using today on the bedsheet. And, um, I started selling my own private label and within 18 months, a lot of work, a lot of obligation. We were doing $6 million a year and it became a big wake-up call that, Oh, wait a second. I have potential in marketing. And at the same time, I started helping my father, which is basically my it's a big part of the story is, the special side of my story that I worked on making my father a social media massive influencer, and one of the biggest ones in the world of Latin America. So those two things were happened co

Nick Norris is a former United States Navy SEAL, now the CEO and co-founder of Protekt Products. He is a graduate of both the United States Naval Academy and Basic Underwater Demolition / SEAL (BUD/S) Class 247. Upon completion of SEAL training in 2004, Nick assumed progressively higher positions of leadership within Naval Special Warfare. Nick is sharing how his leadership training in the SEALs can help entrepreneurs excel in business. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher | Radio FM 3 Golden Nuggets We are only limited by our minds. Most of what stands in our way is head trash and it just takes a shift in mindset in order to push yourself and succeed. Have humility and be humble enough to know you're not the expert in all things. This gives you the insight necessary to put the right people in the right seats and trust them to do their job effectively in order to grow your business. Preparedness is the key to conquering stress. Training scenarios and mission planning are at the core of what Navy SEALs do so they aren't caught off-guard by any situation thrown at them. Entrepreneurs should tackle business the same way in order to be successful. Sponsors and Resources Verblio: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by Verblio. Check out Verblio.com/smartagency and get 50% off your first month of content creation. Our team loves using Verblio because of the ease in their process and their large pool of crowd-sourced writers. Show Transcripts Jason: [00:00:00] On this episode, I talk with him former Navy SEAL, Nick, who goes through how they would make decisions, how they apply that to the civilian world, how you can be a better leader and get out of stressful situations. It's a really amazing episode. I'm so honored to have Nick on the show and you guys are going to really love it. Hey Nick, welcome to the show. NIck: [00:00:29] Well, thank you for having me, Jason. Jason: [00:00:31] Yeah, I'm excited to have you on, so tell us who you are and what do you do? NIck: [00:00:35] Oh, my name is Nick Norris, I guess I would be known as a former SEAL by a lot of people, right? That's why I've connected with people, but I currently am an entrepreneur. Uh, I have a company called Protekt Products and, and we are in the wellness space, producing supplements and sun care products. And our supplements are geared toward improving people's hydration and helping them sleep better. Jason: [00:01:04] Awesome. Fantastic. Well, first off, thanks for your service, especially for all the people that I've ever served. So thank you very much, but what made you decide to be a Navy SEAL? NIck: [00:01:15] Uh, so I wanted to do something difficult, you know, when people ask me that question and I've thought a little bit about it now because the question comes up often, I always was looking for something that was personally challenging. I wasn't the most naturally talented person athletically growing up, I had to really work hard and I wanted to find something that I could apply myself to that required a tremendous amount of personal discipline and that commitment and personal discipline would be. The thing that would drive success, not necessarily innate athletic ability or just innate talent. So I gravitated towards the SEAL teams because it was really difficult. I knew I could apply myself diligently in a disciplined way and get results. And that happened, I kind of fixated on it early in life or right around seventh grade. When a friend of mine had told me about the community and how difficult it was to enter that community specifically. Did someone tell you if you can never do it, is that what pushed you to do it? So my, the initial friend, a guy named Mike Hurley, who's a police officer in Chicago. He's the one that brought it up to me. He was a big fan of the Marine Corps. He wanted to be in the military and he mentioned the Seal teams and he was always super positive. But the second that I latched onto that concept and I was actually pretty vocal about it, you know, growing up seventh, eighth-grade high school. But I, I definitely had people close to me that told me. Dude, you're crazy. There's no way you're going to do that. And if it added fuel to the fire, right, that's typically what happens, right. People that are very driven get told that they can't do something and then you want to prove them wrong and improve that you're capable of controlling your own destiny. Jason: [00:03:02] Yeah. I remember, uh, I came back from college one time and my dad used to run all the time and we used to run this like one and a half-mile loop. And he was like, Hey, can you with me? I was like, yeah, I'll run with you. And literally, we passed right in the very beginning, we pass this old guy just walking. And when we got back around this loop, my dad was way ahead of me. And I was so embarrassed. I remember walking by the old guy and the old guy was like, well, you better get them next time or something.

Iris Shoor is the founder and CEO of Oribi, a web analytics tool. After two successful startups, she is growing her third startup. Oribi, an AI-based web analytics tool dedicated to making analytics easy for everyone, without the help from analysts and developers. (And, no code needed!) Iris is passionate about simple products, creative marketing, great UX, building a unique culture, and most of all—people. She's on the show talking about how she helps her team aspire to reach their goals with personal development. She also shares how your digital agency can show clients success on their funnels and campaigns by using a new analytics tool. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher | Radio FM 3 Golden Nuggets The best way to inspire your team is by understanding their personal needs for professional development. Understand their career goals and meet them there to encourage growth. Perks like free food and amenities are nice, ultimately not what retains really great team members. Clients don't benefit from reports on their funnels and campaigns. They need to understand where the customers are coming from and why. This helps your clients It's important to set goals with your clients for what success looks like, then measure and benchmark results throughout so clients understand the value you're bringing to the table. Sponsors and Resources Oribi: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by Oribi. Check out Oribi.io/smartagency for a free trial. Plus when you sign up for Oribi get 20% off the first three months with promo code: Smart Agency Show Transcripts Jason: [00:00:00] On this episode, I talk with an amazing entrepreneur that's in her third business. She's a rockstar. She talks about personal development of your employees, how to keep them. But most importantly, we talk about how to prove your value. To your clients, so you can actually charge more. I think all of us need to do that. We're always constantly wondering how do we prove our value to our clients? Well, this is the episode for you and it will prove your worth. Hey, Iris. Welcome to the show. Iris: [00:00:40] Hey Jason. Jason: [00:00:41] I'm excited to have you on and, so tell us who you are and what do you do? Iris:: [00:00:46] Okay. So I'm CEO for Oribi. I'm a serial entrepreneur. This is my third startup for the other two companies that have been leading the product and marketing. Um, I love marketing and I was always amazed that with how difficult it is to measure marketing. And that's why I started the Oribi and we raised 27 million dollars today. And worked with thousands of customers around the world. And we were doing marketing under the tech set, hopefully, better than other tools. Jason: [00:01:19] Oh, it's awesome. Yeah. Definitely check out the tool and it was very cool. But before we get into the tool, I wanted to ask you because a lot of agency owners, obviously everyone listening, we're hiring people, we're always hiring people. And I read a blog post that you had on your blog. And I was like, Oh, that's interesting. Tell us a little bit about, you know, just giving people pizza and feeding them is not really what will keep them. Iris: [00:01:43] Yeah. I feel it's something like I find that baby ironic about this is that we want to hire the best people, the smartest vehicles, the most innovative people and treat them like a small children. And you need to be very cautious with them and you need to give them beer and pizza. And do you want the smartest people? And they usually want to, to lead interesting innovations, they want to grow. They want to learn new things. And for some reason, most of the work environment are mostly about just conquering people and their employees. And it's something that you really trying to do at Oribi, is to focus more on the personal development and giving them more independence. And. The way I see my role as a manager is to really let people shine. And to find their unique voice and to help them do it rather than having like lots of Ben and Jerry's and the kitchen. So, yeah, that's how I see it. Jason: [00:02:48] Yeah. For many years, you know, I thought it was like, Hey, you know, we'll, we'll, we'll bring in lines, you know, like the Googles of the world, right? Like, especially that one movie of the internship with Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson right there, like I can have five bananas it's free. And I think. That will draw in the wrong people. Sometimes it won't keep them. Iris: [00:03:10] Yeah. Also we can like, um, it's all standard. So it's not that you have like a free pizza and ice cream and everybody will stay because of it. So, yeah, I agree with like, we have nice food over here, but this is not the main thing that we do. And they see that people are looking for something more personal and more deep. Jason: [00:03:32] Yup. Let's talk about a little bit about personal development, right? Since we're on the topic of keeping our employees, right? Like we're att

Want to work with big brands? Curious how other agencies get massive opportunities? Wonder how you can find top talent to take your agency to the next level? Amazing opportunities might be right in front of you and you don't even know it. In this episode, we'll cover: How to get opportunities to work with big brands. 3 Strategies to help you win more agency business. 2 Tips for hiring agency team members to help scale. In this episode, I had the opportunity to chat with Colin Moffat, co-founder of Artemis Ward the branding agency he started with a former colleague. The two met while working for a big agency. However, six years ago, they decided to start their own agency after seeing a lot of cool work going to agencies smaller than theirs. Colin is on the show to talk about strategies that have gotten Artemis Ward opportunities to work with big brands How to Get Opportunities With Big Brands Colin says great business development effort comes down to relationships. Strong relationships are the key to success, so don't take any of your relationships for granted. Always be cultivating and maintaining relationships. What kind of relationships can help grow your agency? All of them! Current clients, former colleagues; remember no one stays where they are forever. Keep up with people and be cool to them. Getting a foot in the door with big brands is about having the right relationship and doing good work every single time. Don't Keep Your Head Down Too Long As a small and new agency, Colin says they were dedicated to the work but kept their heads down and grinded away at it. Most people do this thinking the hustle will eventually pay off. But Colin says it wasn't until they lifted their heads that ideal clients started to really take notice. People may know you and like you but they aren't thinking of you every day. Sometimes you have to pick up your head and make sure you're getting noticed. People may think you're great but you're not going to be top of mind all the time. Artemis Ward engaged prospects with an email newsletter, social media and putting efforts into their own marketing. While there isn't an immediate payoff this creates opportunities down the road. Colin's advice: showcase the work, be helpful, and show the world what you can do. 3 Strategies To Help You Win More Agency Business Connect others. When you connect two people within your network, without anything to gain for yourself, you build trust and goodwill. Help others out and they'll remember what you did for them. In return, they'll want to connect you with others too. Low hanging fruit. As a rule, I tell my clients to go through a low-hanging fruit exercise every 90 days. Your low-hanging fruit could be old clients, old prospects, missed opportunities. Re-engage with them in a strategic way. Don't simply check-in, but approach them with a plan on how you can help them now. Stay present. Spend some time scrolling your LinkedIn to see where people are and what they're up to. Out of sight, out of mind. So in order to stay top of mind, interact on social media and build goodwill. Results won't be immediate but you never know what's in store 6-months or 6-years down the road. 2 Tips for Hiring Agency Team Members to Help Scale Artemis Ward makes every effort to stay small and nimble. Therefore, it's important to have really good people on your agency team in order to scale. Colin says he hire for culture fit, keeping two criteria in mind: 1. Smart and adaptable. They want agency team members who can stay fluid. Some people need more structure and that's OK but not a fit for the agency. Colin hires people who can be flexible and embrace unpredictability. 2. Diverse background and experiences. They don't just hire the "typical agency person" or someone with tons of agency experience. Colin wants team members with different perspectives. When you're solving unique problems you need a team that is unique. Looking for a Content Creation Solution? Verblio has been a long-time supporter of the Smart Agency Masterclass and a trusted vendor we've been using for over two years. They are an amazing content creation solution designed specifically for agencies; their writers can help with all your content creation needs across a variety of industries. If you're interested in trying Verblio for yourself check out Verblio.com/smartagency for 50% off your first month of content. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher | Radio FM

Have you ever struggled with upselling? Would you like to expand revenue from your current accounts? Want to get your team more involved in upselling? All it takes is some strategy and a change of mindset to reap the benefits of upsell opportunities. In this episode, we'll cover: #1 worst agency sales mistake. What works for digital agency upselling? 2 ways to make upselling less salesy. Are you selling your agency short? How to train your agency team to upsell. Today I chatted with Daniel Hodge, Head of the Wix Partners. Danny and his team build relationships with digital marketing agencies. Over the years, he has seen and heard it all from digital agencies. Everything from what is work to what doesn't plus all the good and bad strategies for growing digital agency business. He's sharing some great ways you can improve your upsell strategies right away. #1 Worst Agency Sales Mistake There's a ton of experts out there sharing best practices, but Danny said he's actually seen a lot of "worst practices." The top among them is the mistake of making it impossible for site visitors to get in touch. The site design might be amazing, but oftentimes the call to action is lacking. Either it's unclear, buried, or simply non-existent. Sure, the big agencies can get away without a call-to-action because they already have a reputation. However, medium and smaller agencies tend to model them even though what works one doesn't necessarily work for others. What Works for Digital Agency Upselling? Danny says he is seeing agencies the size of 5-50 employees growing fast over the last year or so. He believes this is largely due to their ability to be flexible and work quickly during the pandemic when a lot of businesses need to increase or improve their digital presence. But, how can you take existing clients and turn them into more revenue? It all starts with not disguising the upsell but understanding the opportunity from day one. The best way to do this is to ask questions like: What are their business needs? What will a digital presence do for them? How can we enhance their digital presence to meet their business goals? When you understand early on, you can put together a plan with 3, 6, and 9-month check-ins. Then look at the client's business with an eye to the future. So when you make a recommendation it doesn't sound or feel like an upsell. It's simply executing another part of a long-term plan in order to meet their goals. Then position it like: If we're successful with "this", then you might need "that". Then it's just a natural next step instead of an upsell. 2 Ways to Make Upselling Less Salesy Align on what success looks like. What does a successful engagement look like for the client 6 months down the road? Have them define success and it gives you an idea of how realistic they are. (Plus time to reel them in if needed!) Be proactive rather than reactive. Agencies usually provide dashboards and reporting all the time. But instead of just reporting activity, start making recommendations on what could make the results even better. Are You Selling Your Agency Short? The key to strategic upsells is positioning your agency as an advisor. But, Danny believes agencies are selling themselves short. Clients end up viewing them as a commodity instead of an authority. Agencies often market themselves as being good at web design, development, and SEO. But they leave out the part where they can also remarketing, lead generation, and much more. You don't have to be a full-service agency. However, you can explore different tools and technologies that may help you broaden the success of your service offering. How To Get Your Agency Team to Upsell It's very common that the agency team is resistant to upselling to clients. They feel weird or awkward getting salesy. And let's be honest, Project Managers are finishers or completers. They like to check items off their 'to do' list. They definitely don't want to add more tasks. So it is against their nature to bring on more by suggesting an upsell. They are really good at execution but usually not so good at generating more work or upselling. Danny says you have to make upselling more about client services and less about "selling". Your PMs might be resistant to make a sale, but when you reposition it as enhancing client success they may be more receptive. Another way to get team buy-in is to get them aligned with your agency goals. If they believe an upsell just puts more money in the agency owner's pocket they aren't motivated. But if you have a bigger picture goal about ways your agency can impact the industry your team will care more about sales successes. Agency Partner Program wix.com/partners Want to Learn More About Partnering with Agencies? When you join forces with Wix agency partners, you'll unlock a community of agency partners that can help you grow and scale your agency faster than ever. The Wix Partner Program is ideal for freelancers and digital agencies that design a

Are you still not convinced your agency needs a niche? Are you tired of spending your time on free consultations that don't convert? Converting a lead into revenue for your agency requires careful planning. If you want to convert and retain more clients, beware of these common mistakes. In this episode, we'll cover: 5 most common lead generation mistakes. Overcoming lead generation mistakes for digital agencies. I talked with Bob Sparkins, Sales and Marketing Manager for Leadpages. Known as "Bob the Teacher," he provides instruction to agency sales teams through podcasts and webinars. Bob has a ton to share about the biggest mistakes he sees agencies make when it comes to lead generation. 1. Failing to Specialize If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: Find a niche for your agency. Bob says many new agencies make the mistake of believing they can do all things for all people. However, Bob says beyond the benefit of doing work you are passionate about, specializing in one industry or service offering will actually help increase revenue and attract more clients. Why? Because most clients don't come to your website looking at the big picture of all the solutions you provide. They come looking to solve a single problem with their marketing plan. If you specialize in solving that sort of problem, then you have a foot in the door to provide additional solutions to the client in the future. 2. Overpricing or Underpricing Your Services Bob says determining a fair price for the services provided is a common problem for most agencies. Some agencies underprice their services in the hopes of attracting a client looking for a deal. While others set a higher price without having built the trust and proving the service is worth the investment. The problem with underpricing your services is you're not communicating the value of your team's skill set. Overpricing can lead to making promises you can't keep and could cost you the client. 3. Offering a Free Consultation Bob encourages agencies to remove the free consultation from their website. "A person off the street should not be able to stumble on your website and get access to your calendar," Bob explains. The problem with free consultations is they only have about a 30 percent conversion rate. What this means is when you provide free consultations for ten people, only three of those people will return for more information. That equals a lot of time spent on conversations where the prospect is more likely to say no than to say yes. 4. Ineffective Lead Magnets Instead of providing free consultations, Bob encourages agencies to convert leads to clients through the use of lead magnets. An effective lead magnet is one that considers the context of why the lead is on the web in the first place. Providing a short video or article with information on how to accomplish a task, along with a call to action for more information, is much more effective than simply advertising your services in the traditional way. "Teach people the steps that are involved in doing what you do," Bob says. But, also show them that the task demands a level of knowledge and expertise that you can provide. 5. Holding Your Clients Hostage With Their Website One mistake Bob sees agencies often make after they've worked with clients is holding deliverables hostage. This is particularly true with creative and design agencies. They keep all the information and work under lock and key. If the client leaves, they lose the work. "You need to evaluate if that is really in service to your client," Bob says. He notes allowing a client who wants to leave access to the work they paid for and to exit with a positive vibe provides a better chance of getting a good referral. Additionally, you leave the door open if the client wishes to return. Looking for a Content Creation Solution? Verblio has been a long-time supporter of the Smart Agency Masterclass and a trusted vendor we've been using for over two years. They are an amazing content creation solution designed specifically for agencies; their writers can help with all your content creation needs across a variety of industries. If you're interested in trying Verblio for yourself check out Verblio.com/smartagency for 50% off your first month of content.

The Agency Visionary and Integrator Are you a visionary or an integrator? How do you know, and how do you use it to grow your agency? Check yourself on these: Got big goals for your agency but no idea how to get there? Spending too much time on the day-to-day operations when you would rather be leading? The world is filled with visionaries and integrators. With effort and understanding, you can harness the strength of both to grow your marketing agency. In this episode, we'll cover: What is the difference between a visionary and an integrator? 5 rules between an agency visionary and an integrator. Finding the missing piece to your agency puzzle. I talked to Mark Winters, co-author of the book, Rocket Fuel. Mark is an entrepreneur who has been directly involved in fourteen different businesses of varying sizes and industries throughout his life. He has started, sold, and even acquired businesses. During that time, Mark has learned the importance of having a visionary and an integrator in your agency leadership and how the two can work better together. What Is the Difference Between a Visionary and an Integrator? Many agency owners are visionaries. Visionaries are individuals with big dreams and goals. They're the ones that can look at the big picture and determine where the agency should be in the next five years. However, visionaries often struggle with the day-to-day details of enacting a plan to reach their goals. That's where an integrator comes in. Integrators are individuals capable of focusing on the details of operations of your agency right now. They are usually the general manager or operations manager tasked with building the road between where the agency is now and where the visionary owner wants to be. Can an Agency Visionary and an Integrator Work Together? When they work together, the visionary and the integrator offer a complete management package. One minds the overall mission while the other ensures success of individual tasks. However, these two personality types are so different they often have a difficult time working together. In his book, Mark discusses the five rules between a visionary and an integrator. The rules can help the two accomplish what needs to be done for the agency without driving each other crazy. 5 Rules Between a Visionary and Integrator Get on the same page. Do what you need to do to stay in alignment with the other half of your visionary/integrator coin. If you need to fight it out, do so in a back room and then come together for your team. No end-runs. If the integrator answers to the visionary and the rest of the team answer to the integrator, that is the end of the line. The visionary should not allow team members to disrespect the chain of command. The integrator is the tie-breaker. If there is a disagreement within the organization, the integrator has the ground-level view and is in a better position to consider the plan and make a decision. Rules for owner-employees. Many times the visionary owner also does work as an employee. However, problems arise when this owner-employee decides the rules don't apply. As an owner of an agency, Mark believes you really only have two rights. First, the right to your share of the profits. Next, the right to have your voice heard on major decisions. At any other time, if you're acting as an employee, you should be the most diligent and devoted employee ever. Maintain mutual respect. Many visionary-integrator business relationships fail because one or both parties fail to devote the time and attention to making it work. The visionary can't treat the integrator like a lackey and have success. Ideally, the two individuals will have an eyeball-to-eyeball relationship as equals. Finding the Missing Piece to Your Agency Puzzle So how do you find the right piece to the puzzle? Mark says it is really a three-piece puzzle. You need to understand your business. Then you need the insight to know your strengths and skills. And finally, you need to identify the gaps in your team structure. Only then can you find the right person to close those gaps. Caution: You might not understand this person. The way they think and approach problems will be different than yours. That's the point! And, all of that is less important than the ability for you and this person to work together. The goal is to use your individual superpowers to build the best agency possible. Are you looking for a unique web design tool? Editor X is a platform built specifically for designers, where you can create complex sites while feeling like you're working on a visual design software. Picture stepping into a wide workspace where you get total CSS control powered by smooth drag and drop. 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Do you feel like you are working with tunnel vision? Are you only focusing on one small aspect of the agency? Are you wondering which direction to take your agency? Do you spend too much time on the wrong projects? Time moves quickly in the agency world, and success often rides on your agency continually evolving; otherwise, it could die. In this episode, we'll cover: 3 benefits of surrounding yourself within a niche. Finding passion in your niche. Why staying the same is an agency's kiss of death. I spoke with Scott Addison Clay, the Founder, and CEO of Addison Interactive, a digital marketing agency that works with the entertainment industry. The 10-year-old agency is the culmination of a number of Scott's passions. However, along the way to finding these passions, Scott built the interactive department at another agency from two people to thirty. He's here to offer some tips on how to evolve your agency from a job into a passion. 3 Benefits of Surrounding Yourself Within a Niche Building a team from two people to thirty in a relatively short period of time seems like a difficult feat. How do you create the need to grow so fast? Scott says one of the biggest reasons the agency grew so quickly was because they were in a building full of others in the entertainment industry. Surrounding yourself with others in your niche provides benefits such as: A professional network that can increase opportunities and help get the word out about your agency. Fresh ideas that can prevent you from getting tunnel vision during a project. Resources and knowledge that can help you provide a new service for your clients. Finding Passion in Your Niche Many years ago, a news producer gave Scott a piece of advice he has always remembered: Pick something -- anything -- and just do that thing. However, passion is not simply about having a goal. It is also about the journey you take to get to the goal. For Scott, passion evolved from a love of entertainment and a curiosity about how things work. From there, he went to building an agency that started with website building and evolved to offering services like video editing and social media content for the entertainment industry. While it is important to choose a niche reflecting your passion, it's also important to remember chasing those passions is often a long-term commitment. It usually involves doing jobs you're not crazy about in order to grow your agency. Why Staying the Same Is an Agency's Kiss of Death When Scott started Addison Interactive a decade ago, his first projects involved building websites. Then he started learning to do content for Tumblr. "We just kept figuring things out and then staffing for those things." In order to grow your agency, Scott says, you have to always be evolving. This is particularly true with digital marketing, where technology and trends are changing rapidly. Evolution includes a lot of listening, both to clients about what they need as well as experts in the industry you serve. It also includes the ability and willingness to adapt. "The kiss of death is saying, 'We've always done it that way,'" Scott explains. Through the Agency Playbook, Scott learned being open to possibilities and expanding involves not just asking the question: What do you want to do? It also involves asking yourself what you don't want to do. While there are many reasons for this, perhaps the best reason of all is the point where Scott now is. It's the point where you can start turning down small jobs you don't want because they don't fit into your goals. Looking for a Content Creation Solution? Verblio has been a long-time supporter of the Smart Agency Masterclass and a trusted vendor we've been using for over two years. They are an amazing content creation solution designed specifically for agencies; their writers can help with all your content creation needs across a variety of industries. If you're interested in trying Verblio for yourself check out Verblio.com/smartagency for 50% off your first month of content. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher | Radio FM

Is your team struggling to keep up with client communication? Having a hard time managing all parts of agency projects? Many agencies need project management dedicated to communication and details. How do you know when or if your agency needs a project manager? How can you find a great project manager? Having a project manager is crucial for some agencies and absolutely unnecessary for others. The challenge is determining your agency's need in order to grow successfully. In this episode, we'll cover: When should your agency use a project manager? When project management isn't necessary. Finding the right project manager. I talked with Bea Bonte, Co-owner of Hook Agency, a digital agency that provides services for small to mid-sized businesses in the construction industry. In less than three years, the agency has grown to a team of 12. Project management is part of Bea's job description. Hook also has a project manager for its website design team. Bea says it has been a learning process determining what types of services need project management and which don't. When Should Your Agency Use a Project Manager? Project management is a frequent topic of debate among agency owners, with strong opinions on both sides. However, Bea says the discussion really shouldn't be as much about whether you do or don't need a project manager. It comes down to the types of jobs where project management helps deliver the service more efficiently. For example, Hook uses a project manager for website design because it requires extensive information-gathering with the client. A project manager handles communication while the design team is busy on creative work. Large projects involving the output of different parts of your team are the type for project management. In those cases, the manager is able to coordinate the different aspects of the work. While creative projects often need a project manager, Bea believes in letting her team communicate directly with the client as needed. If a designer has a specific question for the client, it does not make sense to run the question through an extra layer. When Project Management Isn't Necessary For small agencies and agencies that offer very specific services, it is often not necessary to have a project manager. For example, Hook's SEO team requires specific information from the client and without running through a project manager. The rule of thumb Hook uses in determining whether project management is necessary is whether the communication required will take too much time away from the work they were hired to do. If so, then it's time to hire a project manager. However, if there are instances where involving a project manager slows down production and delivery. Finding the Right Project Manager If you decide your agency needs a project manager, how do you go about hiring one? Bea says Hook places a higher priority on tenacity than on a heavy resume. She and her husband took a risk on an individual at the start of their agency who was so passionate about wanting to work for a marketing agency he was willing to work for free. He is now transitioning from the agency's SEO lead to the General Manager. One of the most important things to remember when hiring a project manager or adding other new members to your team is finding a match to culture and values. New skills can be acquired, but finding someone whose goals and work style match those of your agency is a bigger task. Are you looking for a unique web design tool? Editor X is a platform built specifically for designers, where you can create complex sites while feeling like you're working on a visual design software. Picture stepping into a wide workspace where you get total CSS control powered by smooth drag and drop. Editor X's canvas is so intuitive it feels like a physical space where you can move things around as you want. It's a platform where every tiny detail has been considered so you can let your creativity run wild and build your most creative sites yet. I can describe it to you all day but you should really go see it for yourself, at EditorX.com—and discover the new standard in web design.

Are you constantly trying to get prospects to tell you their budget? Do you spend too much time managing client expectations? Not sure which projects to prioritize? Contrary to my opinion, some agencies find success by putting agency pricing on the website. And, there are some benefits. It solves some client budget issues and helps the team prioritize projects. Do you agree? In this episode, we'll cover: Does agency pricing on the website work? The pros and cons of publishing your agency's prices What is more important than pricing to some clients? I talked to Tory Smith, Co-Founder of the Texas-based B2B and SaaS marketing agency, Bay Leaf Digital. He and his partner began the agency without a playbook or even a solid grasp on what their niche would be. However, they were able to turn to their professional connections to get their foot in the door. Tory believes in being transparent with prospective clients about the price of agency services. Contrary to my beliefs, he is here to tell us about the rather unconventional way his agency addressed the issue. Does Agency Pricing on the Website Work? Tory began researching the idea of placing a price page on the agency website during the year before the pandemic. What Tory found is the practice is common with software companies, however, very few marketing agencies display their prices. He and his partner decided to give it a try. They decided f they didn't see a quick benefit, they would take it down. Within two days, Bay Leaf landed its biggest client to date. An established overseas company found the agency's website. The CEO called Tory asking to obtain even more services than what was offered in the highest package price. What Tory learned was the price page worked for the agency and the top-tier package needed to be open-ended. The Pros and Cons of Publishing Your Agency's Prices In addition to disclosing prices on their website, Bay Leaf created a point system for billing their services. The benefits Tory found with the price page and point system include: Placing the pricing structure upfront helps begin the important conversation about budget and helps the client understand how much they can get for their money. The ability to prioritize projects and organize the workload based on the service level tiers and point system for different tasks. The ability to have a greater understanding of the client's needs by using the price page as a starting point for a conversation about which services are most important. The downsides of the price page and point structure include: An increase in record-keeping to track points. Some clients micromanage the points or have difficulty understanding the point system. What Is More Important Than Pricing to Some Clients? During the recent economic downturn, Tory wondered whether his clients would still be able to afford the agency's services and considered lowering agency prices. However, instead, he discovered clients weren't hung up on price, but rather the long-term contract. Because of this, Bay Leaf began offering a six-month service commitment for clients and finds even that is too long for some. Since the pandemic, Bay Leaf had a promising prospect walk away who likely would have stayed with a shorter-term contract. Instead of lowering your pricing, consider lowering the commitment level. Additionally, remind your clients the transparency of your pricing page is just a starting point. It is the stepping stone to a larger conversation that can lead to providing exactly the services the client needs. Looking for a Content Creation Solution? Verblio has been a long-time supporter of the Smart Agency Masterclass and a trusted vendor we've been using for over two years. They are an amazing content creation solution designed specifically for agencies; their writers can help with all your content creation needs across a variety of industries. If you're interested in trying Verblio for yourself check out Verblio.com/smartagency for 50% off your first month of content.

What does it take to truly grow your agency? Could your pricing structure be holding you back? Are you giving away your strategy for free? There's a lot to consider when growing an agency, but it a lot of it comes down to 3 basic things every agency owner struggles with. In this episode, we'll cover: Choosing your agency's niche. Determining your agency's pricing structure. Helping clients understand your agency's value. I talked with Wendy Covey, Co-Founder and CEO of Texas-based Trew Marketing, an agency that works with technical audiences such as small to mid-sized engineering companies. She is here today to talk about three of the issues that often cause a lot of worries and stress for agency owners. 1. Choosing Your Agency's Niche Wendy and her business partner started Trew Marketing after working together in the engineering industry. What they discovered was small to medium-sized engineering companies often have horrible websites. This was a challenge they could help solve. Wendy says the partners had conversations in the beginning about what their niche should be. Just as they were starting their business, the 2008 economic recession hit. A blessing in disguise, the recession placed even more importance on the two deciding what type of agency they wanted. They made a list of who their ideal next five clients would be and it always came back to their past connections in the engineering industry. "As soon as we narrowed our focus to just one type of client, our business took off," she says. Trew Marketing regularly receives interest from potential clients in other industries. The partners do not venture away from their niche, however, due to the inefficiency of trying to learn a whole new market. Instead, they have continued to hone their expertise in one area so they are able to provide the best services for their clients. 2. Determining Your Agency's Pricing Model Determining how to price your services is one of the biggest considerations for a new agency. Like most new agency owners, Wendy says Trew made peanuts off its first client. The partners considered billing hourly, but quickly realized their profits would decrease as their efficiency increased on an hourly structure. Trew's pricing is derived from an hourly rate, but there are considerations given to the market rate as well as the value of their service. Your pricing structure can evolve and change over time. If you're too busy, you're not charging enough. 3. Helping Clients Understand Your Agency's Value It doesn't take a new agency owner long to find themselves in the never-ending debate over whether marketing agencies should pay for the pitches they provide to prospective clients or offer the strategy for free in hopes of landing the project. Wendy is on the side of the debate that says you should never offer strategy for free. Trew's clientele consists of engineering CEOs and executives who often have no idea what marketing really is. A lot of the strategy the agency provides for its prospects includes education on need as well as how it is going to be executed. Wendy believes "strategy sets the tone for everything else." Trew generally requires their clients to participate in the strategic process before delivering services. This is especially important if there is no internal marketing department. Trew finds more success by involving the client early on in the strategy process. When clients are involved in the strategy they understand more about the value of the agency's execution. Growing an agency is not one-size-fits-all. However, Wendy says one thing is true for every agency: they underestimate the value they bring to their clients. Learning that value is one of the biggest keys to thriving as an agency. Are you looking for a unique web design tool? Editor X is a platform built specifically for designers, where you can create complex sites while feeling like you're working on a visual design software. Picture stepping into a wide workspace where you get total CSS control powered by smooth drag and drop. Editor X's canvas is so intuitive it feels like a physical space where you can move things around as you want. It's a platform where every tiny detail has been considered so you can let your creativity run wild and build your most creative sites yet. I can describe it to you all day but you should really go see it for yourself, at EditorX.com—and discover the new standard in web design.

Are you struggling to scale your agency? Is it a challenge getting clients to understand and value your strategy? Do you feel like there's a missing piece that will help you grow faster and easier? Success requires solid systems for positioning, pricing, and selling your agency services to your ideal clients who trust and value your agency's expertise. In this episode, we'll cover: Why digital agencies must be agile. Why your agency should charge for strategy. How the agency-client relationship is a lot like dating. Do you have the right systems to scale your agency? I talked to Dean La Grange, Founder of the direct consumer advertising agency, La Grange Digital. Dean helps brands with Facebook and Instagram advertising. This is Dean's second time on the show and this time, he explains there are two major ways companies attract customers on social media: through organic posts and paid advertisements. Dean focuses on the paid advertisements, freeing up his clients to focus on organic posts. He is here to explain the importance of relying on a system and valuing your own time to grow your business. Why Digital Agencies Must Be Agile In spite of the rumors you've heard, Dean says Facebook and Instagram are still viable ways to reach your audience. He regards these platforms as a way to get his foot in the door with new clients. Even during the peak of the pandemic, Dean and his team were able to meet clients' needs by focusing on consistency in posting on the platforms they use. As a result, they doubled the agency's revenue during a tough financial environment. However, he says digital agencies have to pay attention to the trends and go where the attention is. For example, Tik Tok is widely viewed as the newest fad in social media. In order to ensure that Tik Tok advertising is something he is able to offer to his clients, Dean must familiarize himself with the platform. Why Your Agency Should Charge for Strategy "One thing I've learned," Dean says, "Is to understand what you offer and not accept anything less." What this means for La Grange Digital is that they've quit giving away their strategy for free. It's easy for an agency just starting out to begin offering free work and strategy to get its name out there. In fact, Dean is quick to explain that -- for the right client -- he is still willing to provide free strategy. Most of the time, however, he prefers to work with clients who are willing to pay right from the start. This "trains" the client to place a value on the services they're receiving, and to view the agency team as the experts. How the Agency-Client Relationship is a Lot Like Dating So how do you know if the prospective client is going to work without giving them a bunch of free work to prove yourself? By making your agency's values known from the start. Dean says the agency-client relationship is a lot like dating. If you fail to communicate your values and needs to the other person from the beginning, you cannot really wonder a few years down the road why it isn't working out. Do You Have the Right Systems to Scale Your Agency? Dean says having a successful agency relies on one very important ingredient: a commitment to serving your clients. Having that focus ensures that you're going to do what is needed to keep them happy. He credits the systems in the Agency Playbook for providing his agency's framework. It includes 8 systems for everything from growing your team and determining your offering to building your sales pipeline. Through this, Dean created a repeatable process that not only solidifies the expectations for his team but also for his clients. The pandemic was a good time for Dean and his team to take stock of what they offer to their clients and to move forward with a fresh focus on their commitment. That is important, he explains, as the time is coming when those who are in business for the wrong reasons will be discovered. "Those who love will shine," he says.

Wondering if it's time to hire an agency president? If you're feeling like the burden of the day-to-day is holding you back, it might be time! Are you being stretched in too many directions? Are you wondering how to find the right person to help run your agency? Every agency reaches the point of choosing to stay on that plateau or hire a leader capable of reaching the next level. In this episode, we'll cover: Signs it's time to hire an agency president. How to find an agency president. Onboarding an agency president. I talked to Doug Joseph, the Founder and CEO of Serif Creative. Serif started as a video production company, before adding additional services including brand strategy, creative storytelling, and digital marketing. There came a point in Doug's journey of founding and leading Serif when he realized he needed help with certain aspects of the agency. He is here to talk about why he chose to hire a president and how he found a great person for the job. Signs It's Time to Hire an Agency President Doug's strength and desire have always been creative storytelling. This is what led him to create an agency in the first place. However, "I'm a big picture guy," he says. "I'm not good with the day-to-day details." It's that self-awareness that led Doug to the conclusion that he needed to bring on a president. What Doug realized is by finding someone with strengths opposite of his, each of them was able to focus their time and attention on the aspects of the business that they were passionate about. Meanwhile, there is peace of mind knowing the other parts of the business are being taken care of by someone who is equally passionate about what they do. How to Find an Agency President When Doug decided it was time to hire a president to allow his agency to grow, he was looking for someone to handle the aspects of the agency he was less passionate about. A large part of hiring for the position was giving the person flexibility to create his own position based on the needs they identified. Serif Creative's President brought a keen ability for acquiring new projects and a strength in providing digital services. Both were welcome additions to the business. "It's all about desire," Doug explains. "If a person is passionate about the work they are doing, then there is less management of that position required. When there is less desire, more management and more accountability are required." A great resource for finding someone to help lead your agency is through your professional network. However, Doug says to use caution when hiring friends or friends of your team members as it can create awkward situations if they're not a good fit. Onboarding an Agency President Your Team Will Love Serif Creative's President had mutual friends with Doug and was doing freelance work at the time the two met. Doug hired him to provide consultation on certain agency issues. This resulted in an increase in business, including a retainer from a Fortune 500 client. Doug felt comfortable offering the consultant the permanent position because he was confident in his skills and ability. Additionally, it allowed the team to all become familiar before adding him on at a management level. Bottom line, Stop being Chief Everything Officer. Find a way to do what you're good at, whether that involves acquiring work or producing work. Find someone who shares your goals for the agency and passion for clients but brings different strengths. This can help your agency land new clients, produce new service offerings, or otherwise grow and thrive. Related: https://jasonswenk.com/digital-agency-ceo/ Would you like a 90% close rate on the deals you want? It took my agency years to develop a solid foot in the door offer that converted at a high rate. And, Ian has spent the last 10 years developing his too. That's why we decided to collaborate and create the FITD framework to share with other agency owners. If you want to learn more check out FootInTheDoorFramework.com. You can discover the exact framework that Ian and I created so you can be successful. Close deals faster, stop giving away strategy for free and win the deals you want. When you have the right framework, you will find your sales process is scalable. You can even step away from sales and so you can spend your time working on the best.

Are you tired of losing time and money on RFPs? Do you want to start charging for creative strategy? There's a long-standing debate in the agency world about whether or not we should pitch for free. It all comes down to knowing when and how to position a paid strategy. In this episode, we'll cover: Pitching new clients vs. organic agency growth. How your agency can get paid for the pitch. Should your agency ever work for free? I talked to Aleena Mazhar, Vice President and Managing Director of the Experiential Division of Fuse Create, a marketing and ad agency based in Toronto. Aleena is a self-admitted addict to the fast-paced nature and constant problem-solving of the agency culture. Aleena has experienced both organic growth in her agency as well as growth fueled by pitching the agency's services through the traditional RFP process. She is here to talk about both methods and when it's ok to give your ideas away for free. Pitching New Clients Vs. Organic Agency Growth Aleena says she and her partners at Fuse were fortunate that when they created their agency, they each brought clients with them. This fueled a lot of organic growth, as the agency leaned on these existing clients for input on how to expand their services to meet their needs. This helped build a stronger relationship with their clients. By being responsive to their needs Fuse was willing to grow alongside their clients. It also brought new business through word-of-mouth from those satisfied clients. How Your Agency Can Get Paid for the Pitch Aleena feels you should not be pitching for free. Pitching for free is essentially giving away your creative vision to a company that could ultimately decide they don't want to work with you. Your time and your agency's creativity deserve compensation. How do you get paid for the pitch though, particularly in an industry where free pitches are commonplace? One way involves assisting an existing client in developing a strategy for their RFP on an upcoming launch. By getting your team involved in strategizing with the client on what they are looking for, you ensure your team's work isn't being given away. You also position your agency to win the proposal since you have been involved from the early stages and have helped develop the proposal requirements that you must meet. Additionally, there is comfort for the client in working with a team they have already become familiar with. Should Your Agency Ever Work for Free? While the preference is getting paid for creativity, Aleena says there are projects the agency will pitch for free because they are simply so enthusiastic about the work. They're willing to take the risk just to be involved in it. As a smaller agency, very selective with the clients they work with, Fuse can't afford to do free pitches often. However, if it's the right fit; the right size, the right niche, and the right service needs - it's a no-brainer. "In your heart, you know when it's the right thing to do," she says. With those unicorn opportunities too big to risk putting the client off with a paid pitch, Aleena says it's important to involve all levels of the agency team. This reinforces the feeling of transparency that builds trust between the client and the team and helps the client feel that his or her needs are of the greatest importance to the agency. Would you like a 90% close rate on the deals you want? It took my agency years to develop a solid foot in the door offer that converted at a high rate. And, Ian has spent the last 10 years developing his too. That's why we decided to collaborate and create the FITD framework to share with other agency owners. If you want to learn more check out FootInTheDoor.com. You can discover the exact framework that Ian and I created so you can be successful. Close deals faster, stop giving away strategy for free and win the deals you want. When you have the right framework, you will find your sales process is scalable. You can even step away from sales and so you can spend your time working on the best.

Are you struggling to attract new clients with your outbound marketing? Do you need to build deeper connections with your prospects? The key is creating an outbound strategy that is worthy of prospects' engagement. In a time when we're all bombarded with multimedia and social media, what are you doing to make your agency stand out from the rest? In today's episode, we'll cover: How to send emails your prospects actually want to open. How personalization can help your agency win clients. Should your agency outsource outbound sales research? Today I had a really fun chat with Jonathan McFarlane, Director of Strategy at Hybrid Marketing Company. His agency deals almost exclusively with cannabis and hemp companies. The agency hasn't experienced a lot of the challenges many other agencies are facing during the economic downturn. That said, Jonathan still works hard to look for opportunities to grow his agency. He is sharing what he's done to reignite his agency's outbound marketing strategy and how he's using humor to connect with prospects during this difficult time. How to Send Emails Your Prospects Actually Want to Open Hybrid Marketing Company started three years ago. During that time, the agency has relied heavily on referrals to bring in new clients. But while referrals are great, they are not a scalable approach for continued growth. Recently, Jonathan decided to switch things up. Now, the agency does a lot of LinkedIn networking and cold emails to build up their network. The problem with email campaigns is most people won't even open an email unless they already have a personal connection with the sender. Yet Jonathan averages a 55-60% open rate. How? Jonathan says his goal is to create funny, witty emails. His emails feature his new work-from-home "assistant" — his two-year-old daughter who says, "it's time to build new connections." Each email features a link to a case study and a picture of his assistant doing something cute and irresistible, like "sleeping on the job" :) Jonathan's advice is to get creative, have fun, and try to connect with prospects on a personal level. You also want to do some research and personalized the email. Be relatable and unique so your emails are read instead of ignored. How Personalization Can Help Your Agency Win Clients Even if you can get a prospect to open an email, it can still be a hard sell to get a client to reach out to you, especially in today's climate. This is where personalization can set you apart. Every now and then, Jonathan will check out the websites of prospects who he thinks might be a good fit. Then he'll email them with specific ways his agency can help. Obviously, most agencies don't have the time to personalize every email they send out. Focus on prospects who align with your agency's strengths or those with an existing connection. Even if they don't need you yet, when they do decide to hire an agency, they'll remember the extra work you put in. Should Your Agency Outsource Outbound Sales Research? If personalized emails are so effective, then wouldn't it make sense to outsource your research so you can maximize outreach efforts? The choice is up to you, but Jonathan says he likes to keep the research in-house. When you bring in a third party to gather information, there's an extra level of communication. Think of it like the game of telephone — you risk losing valuable information with every layer that stands between you and your potential client. When your team is doing the research, you'll have a better idea of what makes your agency best suited to meet the client's needs. When you're trying to build new connections, it can be difficult to get people to pay attention. Find ways to stand out and show you're invested. Even if a prospect doesn't reach out to you right away, there's a good chance you'll leave an impression. 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 having trouble scaling your agency? Considering a merger as a growth plan? Have you been approached about merging with another agency? A merger can be a great way to scale up faster by adding a new, complimentary service or a bigger piece of the niche. On the other hand, agency mergers are just as risky as starting the business the first time. If you're considering a merger, there are ways to ensure it is successful In this episode, we'll cover: Three plans you need to make your agency merger successful. Why your some team members might not follow your agency merger. Creating team trust through vulnerability. I talked to Lisa Vielee, who merged her small, 4-person team with a larger full-service agency 15 years ago. Initially, she was seeking a mentor to learn how to scale. He agreed, but also asked her to consider merging the agencies and succeeding him when he retired. The two now have a team of 30 people, and Lisa is President of Well Done Marketing. She is here to explain how the agency has thrived since the merger. Three Plans You Need to Make When Merging Lisa agreed to merge her agency with Well Done Marketing because she had reached the point with her four-person team where she either needed to let them go and return to freelancing or scale into something bigger. She chose a mentor who had successfully grown his own full-service agency. Instead, the two decided to merge agencies. This isn't a simple process, however. It involved developing plans and getting on the same page in three different areas: The 5 to 8-year plan: It is one thing to combine two teams into one. It's another thing figuring out how to move the newly created team forward. You need to find a way to retain their unique connections with clients and provide a greater number of services for all clients involved. The divorce plan: Just as in marriage, most people don't want to think about their brand new merger not working out. However, businesses that merge sometimes fail for any number of reasons. Developing a plan for how to "unmerge" - a sort of prenuptial agreement - is as important as the merger itself. The team plan: One of the mistakes Lisa made in planning a merger was failing to let their teams completely experience all the emotions. Emotions over a merger can range from anxiety about working with new people to sadness over change. Why Some Team Members Might Not Follow Your Agency Merger One of the scary things involved in a merger is the notion that your existing team may not agree with the new direction. Part of Lisa's own growth was learning the importance of giving her team the information they need and letting them decide to stay or not. When Lisa's agency merged with Well Done, she did lose some team members. However, because she was able to realize they had a responsibility to choose their own career path, she continues to partner with those former employees on projects. Lisa turns to them when she needs freelance work and has the opportunity to see them continue to grow and contribute to the creative community. Creating Team Trust Through Vulnerability But wait, the work isn't finished once the merger itself is complete and the teams are working together. Lisa explains you must create cohesion and a unified vision for the team. A few years ago, some young team members requested to add empathy to the team's culture. However, what Lisa realized, was in order to receive empathy, they needed to first become vulnerable to one another. Vulnerability, she says, is the act of letting go of control of the outcome and trusting others in their role. It involves talking to people, not just about the work but about outside things that impact their work. This was something she learned as President of the merged agency -- a role that allows her to step back, view how the agency is functioning, and create a culture without micromanaging the work being done by the team. Would you like a 90% close rate on the deals you want? It took my agency years to develop a solid foot in the door offer that converted at a high rate. And, Ian has spent the last 10 years developing his too. That's why we decided to collaborate and create the FITD framework to share with other agency owners. If you want to learn more check out FootInTheDoor.com. You can discover the exact framework that Ian and I created so you can be successful. Close deals faster, stop giving away strategy for free and win the deals you want. When you have the right framework, you will find your sales process is scalable. You can even step away from sales and so you can spend your time working on the best.

Does your agency have the right people and the right systems in place? Do you want to work smarter, not harder? If it seems like no matter how much time and work you invest, you just stay stagnant, it may be time to review these four basic things. In this episode, we'll cover: 4 things successful agencies are doing right now. Why you shouldn't compare yourself to larger agencies. How do you measure your agency's success? Are you planning to sell your agency someday? Today I sat down to talk with Robert Craven, founder of GYDA Initiative and author of Grow Your Digital Agency. Robert works with digital agencies to help them figure out what they want and the life they want to live. He's here to talk about what he thinks is working right now (and what's not) and why so many smaller agencies struggle. 4 Things Successful Agencies are Doing Right Now There's no doubt many agencies across the globe are struggling right now. While the pandemic has hit some industries harder than others, Robert says there are a few things he has noticed some agencies are doing right to stay afloat in today's economic climate. So what can you do to grow your agency today and when the economy gets back to "normal"? Start with strategy: Where are we going? Do you have a vision? Do you have a plan for success? Focus on marketing: Are you struggling to convert prospects? Trouble generating leads? Don't let your own marketing take a backseat. Make time to work on the business, instead of just in it. Build your team: Hire the right people in the right seats. Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you and be smart about how you grow your agency team. Understand the finances: How is your cash flow looking and how can you improve the situation? Consider: changing payment terms, raising prices, or even firing those PIA clients who aren't profitable. Naturally, Robert has also noticed things that don't work, regardless of the economic climate. This includes: Hiding your head in the sand — just because you don't want it to happen, doesn't mean it won't. Thinking just because you can create a good product/service people are going to buy it. Focusing on you instead of the client. Let them be the hero -- you should be Alfred (the advisor) and position the client as Batman. Why You Shouldn't Compare Yourself to Larger Agencies Robert and I have both worked with many smaller agencies that attempt to replicate the success of larger agencies. They'll go in and copy the website or a marketing campaign because "if it worked for them, it will work for us." This simply isn't true. The successful agencies are the ones who take time to do the boring stuff. They measure time and profitability and have long-term contracts in place. But they're also the ones who are able to be a solution to their client's problems. Remember, your client doesn't want to hear about how great you are or what awards you won, they want to hear how you will make their life easier. How Do You Measure Your Agency's Success? How does your agency define success? Most agency owners look at margins, EBITDA, or how many clients they have. But profits are variable and can depend on a variety of factors. As such, they aren't always the most reliable indicator of success. At the end of the day, most of us got into the business to be able to do what we want and pick and choose who we work with. But you can't just skip to the end and have a million-dollar agency. To find success, you need to go back to the basics. Understand how to manage a business and people and figure out how to get the right systems in place. Success doesn't just come down to the numbers. It's about fulfillment and significance. Are You Planning to Sell Your Agency Some Day? I tell agency owners I work with, start with the end in mind. What do you want to get out of your agency and how do you plan to get there? A lot of the time, the end goal is to sell the agency for a profit. But what if you didn't? If you run a successful agency, selling it isn't your only option. You may be tired of the day-to-day grind now, but as agency owners, we're creators. While the idea of selling your agency and living off the proceeds may seem great, in actuality, it can quickly become boring. Instead, why not take a step back and bring on someone to run the agency while you continue to pull a paycheck? Then when you are ready to sell, you have allowed your agency to grow even bigger. The agencies that have the most success are the ones who have a good understanding of the basics. Understand your agency and make yourself a trusted advisor. When you do, you'll find it easier to have the freedom to pick and choose what you want to do. 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 car

Worried about your agency's future? Do you second guess every decision you make? There's no doubt, things are uncertain right now. But what if you took this moment to focus on the opportunities available right now, instead of the challenges that could get in your way? In this episode, we'll cover: 3 tips to help your agency survive adversity. Why you should build relationships with fellow agency owners. Can your agency grow during an economic downturn? Today I sat down for an informative chat with Rudy Fernandez, CEO of Creative Outhouse. Rudy started his agency in October 2001, right after 9/11. Less than 10 years later, Rudy faced another challenge, the death of his partner during an economic crisis. And now, Covid-19. He's here to talk about how his agency has survived when many people would have given up and what you can do right now to protect your agency's future. 3 Tips to Help Your Agency Survive Adversity Rudy has seen his share of adversity over the past 20+ years. But through every twist and turn, Rudy has managed to push through and grow his agency into what it is today. So what's his secret? Just keep moving: When life hits you in the face, sometimes the only thing you can do is just keep moving. Rudy says this is how he survived the death of his partner in 2009. Focus on what you know you are supposed to do and what you can do. Think about the clients you serve and why they hired you. Above all, keep making the calls and getting out there. Celebrate the little wins. When you're dealing with adversity, the big wins can feel few and far between. When things get tough, don't forget to recognize the simple things. Did you have a great phone call? Connect with a potential prospect? These little wins can build momentum and push you to keep going. Surround yourself with the right people. None of us make good decisions when we let our emotions lead the way. But when you're going through something, it's hard to separate yourself from what is going on. This is why it's important to work with people who aren't afraid to tell you the truth. Why You Should Build Relationships with Fellow Agency Owners When I first started my agency, I had the mindset of 'seek and destroy.' If I won, that meant somebody else had to lose. But this isn't how it has to be or how it should be. In fact, your fellow agency owners can be some of your biggest allies, mentors, and friends. Other agency owners have the same unique perspective and it benefits you to build those relationships, not destroy them. Rudy says the agency owner community is a unique one that is always looking out for one another. Sometimes we compete for a client, but ultimately we want to see each other do well. Rudy and I agree, we're all in this together. If you're facing a challenging time, chances are, one of us has been there. Learn from the mistakes of others. I've grown so much by working with those around me. Create those win-wins and build your network. When you do, they'll be another person there to support you when you need it. Can Your Agency Grow In An Economic Downturn? Believe it or not, you can grow your agency during an economic downturn or challenge. Now is the perfect time to self-reflect and evaluate your agency. Your number one client should always be yourself. Figure out the stuff you like to do (and the stuff you don't). Take a close look at your vision. Are you working with the type of clients you want to and doing what you love? Do you have a clear vision? Your vision is the foundation of everything and yet it is a step so many of us skip. If you expect to have any sort of longevity as an agency owner, inevitably you will face adversity. When that happens, challenge yourself to do what you love and focus on the wins, big and small. When you do so, you'll find it easier to keep moving forward, and not just survive, but thrive. Would you like a 90% close rate on the deals you want? It took my agency years to develop a solid foot in the door offer that converted at a high rate. And, Ian has spent the last 10 years developing his too. That's why we decided to collaborate and create the FITD framework to share with other agency owners. If you want to learn more check out FootInTheDoor.com. You can discover the exact framework that Ian and I created so you can be successful. Close deals faster, stop giving away strategy for free and win the deals you want. When you have the right framework, you will find your sales process is scalable. You can even step away from sales and so you can spend your time working on the best.

Is your growing team in need of more structure? Do you feel like you're too caught up in the little stuff? Or does the small stuff turn real big, real fast? Too often, as owners, we hesitate to give up any sort of control out of fear. The truth is, when you are willing to delegate and bring in support, you free up time to focus on your agency's growth. In this episode, we'll cover: Does your team have the tools to succeed? Is it time for your agency to hire an HR person? How transparency builds trust with your team. Do you need to learn how to trust your leadership team? Today I sat down with Ben Askins, owner and managing director of Verb, a full-service agency based out of London. In the six years since Ben has been with the agency, Verb has gone from a project-based structure to a retainer-based model. The agency has subsequently grown from a small team to a team of about 65. Ben's here to discuss how he keeps such a big team motivated and what he's doing now to make sure they feel comfortable about the agency's future. Does Your Team Have the Tools to Succeed? Any good leader knows, your team is your biggest asset. So it makes sense, if the team is unmotivated or disorganized, you're going to have a problem. Ben says one of the best things his agency did was create an HR department. Here they were able to develop their brand pillars and create incentives to keep their team motivated. While individual programs like peer-to-peer recognition and limelight awards help build morale, one of the biggest investments has been in manager training. Ben says, no one ever sits down with you and tells you, "this is how to be a manager, this is how you train, and this is how you can increase morale." So, when it comes time for annual reviews, there's a disconnect between what the manager expects and how the employee thinks they are actually doing. Verb devotes half of their training budget for the employee to spend on enrichment programs of their choice and half on what the manager deems necessary. This helps everyone be on the same page and allows for self-improvement and re-investment. Is it Time for Your Agency to Hire an HR Person? Not enough agency owners recognize the value of a strong human resources presence. While we often look at HR professionals as paper pushers who deal with insurance and employee discipline, HR is actually a vital part of any organization. Think about it this way, as an agency owner or CEO, you may have two, three, or even four layers between you and your lowest level employee. This makes it hard to know what's going on in your agency. Something may start as a minor problem, but by the time it gets to you, it's too late. The purpose of HR is to sort out these problems and identify them before they become something bigger. So when is the right time to bring in HR? Ben says if he could do it all again, he'd bring on HR as soon as there was more than one layer of seniority away from the team. How Transparency Builds Trust With Your Team Like so many other agencies and businesses right now, Verb has furloughed several members of its team. And while this is never easy, Ben says one of the things that has really helped is transparency. Everyone at the agency has complete access to the business financials. At a time like this, there is no benefit to hiding information. Your team needs to make decisions just as much as you do, so knowing a layoff may be coming can help them prepare. The same goes when you hire people back on. When you support your decisions with margins, your managers can better understand your decisions and what benchmarks they have to meet. Margins become less arbitrary, allowing your managers to appreciate these guidelines are designed to promote agency growth, not pad profits. Do You Need to Learn to Trust Your Leadership Team? Bringing in HR and being transparent only go so far if you are constantly being a toll booth for your team. I've worked with many owners who think everything needs to go through them for approval. Give your team autonomy and let your managers run their departments. When you do this, you'll have time to focus on growing the agency and doing the things that will help your agency succeed. Trust in yourself and the team you've built. When you do this, you'll find everyone is more motivated to help the agency continue to grow. 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.

Would you like to close deals faster? Are you tired of giving away strategy for free and only getting paid for execution? If you want to convert more prospects into agency clients you need a solid foot in the door offer to make it an easy decision to work with you. In this episode, we'll cover: 4 Benefits of selling a foot in the door offer. Components of a great foot in the door offer. 2 mistakes to avoid with your foot in the door. Successfully selling a foot in the door offer. On today's show, I chatted with my friend Ian Garlic who founded Authentic Web and StoryCrews. Ian is on the show to talk about how his foot in the door framework has helped him grow and scale both businesses. If you want to get a 90% close rate on working with the clients you choose, this is the guy to learn from. 4 Big Benefits of Selling a Foot in the Door Offer 1. Speed up your sales cycle. A foot in the door is a no-brainer. It's an easier "yes" and therefore, doesn't take as much time for a client to decide on. 2. Future pacing. It's like dating before proposing marriage. It gives both parties the chance to see what it's like to work together on a small project before committing to a longer-term project at a higher cost. 3. Charge more in the long run. The key is finding the sweet spot for your FITD price point. You want to charge enough that it keeps the time-wasters away, but also charge enough that serious prospects can easily commit. 4. Set up your team for success. When you sell the foot in the door offer it is easy to get your team involved right off the bat. The client can see how awesome they are and will be ready for you to hand them off for the bigger stuff later on. What Are the Components of a Great Foot in the Door Offer? Ian says the best foot in the door (FITD) is a small, low cost, no-brainer offer that provides something of value and is a splinter of your agency's core service. It's an easy and secure decision. The key is keeping it simple, valuable, and affordable. When it is easy to understand the benefit and there's little or no risk involved, it's much easier to say 'yes'. Plus, you get a sense of what it's like to work with each other on a small project before you take on something much bigger. And if they're a PITA client, you'll know sooner than later. ( PITA = pain in the a$$ :) Don't just do an audit and review it with them. You need to build something for them that demonstrates your agency's strengths and makes them want more. However, it needs to also be easily repeatable so you're not reinventing the wheel every time. 2 Mistakes to Avoid with a Foot in the Door Offer 1. Starting a new service. Your FITD offer needs to be a slice off of your existing services. It should be an obvious continuation to the next project with you. If your offer is not a natural lead-in to the rest of your offering that defeats the purpose. 2. Not being hands-on. The point is to give the client a taste of what it's like to work with you. You need to interact with them during the foot in the door process so the client can feel and see what it's like to work with you (and you with them). How to Sell a Foot in the Door Offer that Converts Here's the thing, you can't just go sell a FITD offer. You need to have a solid process in place. You need to help the client build something. Think about how you can get their answers to these questions: Where are they now? Where do they want to go? How can we get you there? I like to tell prospects, there will be one of three outcomes from the foot in the door. Hate it and get their money back. Like it and choose to execute themselves. Like it and want to work together on execution. They literally have nothing to lose. Ian says a successful FITD provides alignment with your prospect's end goals. You need to position it as a small step toward their goals and when you are successful at that small step, there is a natural tendency to continue onto the next step. This positions you as a strategist instead of just an order-taker. Would you like a 90% close rate on the deals you want? It took my agency years to develop a solid foot in the door offer that converted at a high rate. And, Ian has spent the last 10 years developing his too. That's why we decided to collaborate and create the FITD framework to share with other agency owners. If you want to learn more check out FootInTheDoor.com. You can discover the exact framework that Ian and I created so you can be successful. Close deals faster, stop giving away strategy for free and win the deals you want. When you have the right framework, you will find your sales process is scalable. You can even step away from sales and so you can spend your time working on the best.

Does your team come to you for every little decision? Not sure how to empower your employees to take more initiative? A lot of agency owners find themselves in this frustrating position. There's actually an easier fix than you think. The answer may be as simple as setting a clear vision. In this episode, we'll cover: How to build a cohesive agency team. How to create and fulfill your agency's vision. How important are core values during an acquisition? Today I sat down with Luke Kempski, president and CEO of JPL, a marketing communications agency based out of Harrisburg. Luke started at the agency 30 years ago as a production employee and took over the agency roughly 15 years ago. He's here to talk about some of the mistakes he has made along the way and how he has created a team that supports the agency vision. How to Build a Cohesive Agency Team When I asked Luke about some of the mistakes he has made at JPL, one of the first things he brought up is his team. Luke says when you run an agency, you have to be careful about creating hard lines and segmenting departments. Instead, you want everyone on the same team, working towards the same goal. When you divide goals and incentives by department, you inevitably create competition. While a certain level of competition is healthy, it becomes a problem when it interferes with the agency's goals as a whole. Luke says he uses profit sharing based on the agency's profits (not each department) to incentivize his team. This way, each department is more apt to work together instead of against each other. How to Create and Fulfill Your Agency's Vision Do you have a clear vision for your agency? If not, you're not alone. Luke says it took him about 5 years before he realized he needed to create a vision his leaders could follow and buy into. One of the main reasons so many agency owners put off creating a vision is they don't know where to start. The truth is, it's a lot easier than you think. When your team knows and believes in the vision, it will be easier for them to make decisions without you. Luke decided to look at multiple resources to create his agency's vision. Not only did he involve his team, but he also talked to his clients. Luke meets bi-monthly with his team regarding initiatives and progress. Every two years, the agency brings in a third-party to interview the clients about what they expect from the agency, what their experience has been, and how JPL stacks up compared to other agencies the clients work with. Luke says this insight is invaluable because it gives the team a different perspective and makes the agency's vision less arbitrary. How Important are Core Values During an Acquisition? Core values and vision go hand-in-hand. To grow as an agency, everyone has to be on the same page. This is easy when you're building your own agency, but what happens during an acquisition? Do core values of the two agencies have to align? Having gone through several acquisitions, Luke says there does need to be good alignment between the two. When you're bringing creatives together, it can be difficult to find cohesiveness and build collaborative relationships. The more your values align, the easier this process will be. Your success as an agency will be based on the strength of your team and their ability to follow your vision. But your team can't do their job if they don't know what the agency's vision actually is. When you take the time to create and share your vision with the people in your agency, you'll find everyone's job becomes a lot easier. 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 for a way to stand out as "the choice" instead of "a choice"? Do you want your agency prospects to view you as more than just one of the "me too" agencies? In a space where everyone's the same, you have to figure out what makes you different. Then leverage that difference to win more agency clients. In this episode, we'll cover: Stop being one of the "me too" agencies. How your agency's vision can help you land more clients. How you can position your agency as a trusted advisor. Today I sat down for a really important discussion with Robert Pepper, strategy partner and co-founder of PSLondon, a 13- year old digital marketing agency based out of London. After nearly 20 years working on the client side of projects, Robert and his partner decided to start an agency of their own. He's here to talk about what his agency has done to stand out in such a competitive field. How to Stop Being One of the "Me Too" Agencies When Robert and his partner started their agency, they knew they needed to find a way to make clients choose them above everyone else. There's no shortage of options for clients when it comes to choosing an agency. And often, price is the only thing that separates one agency from the next. So what can you do to make your agency stand out from the rest? Be authentic: Robert says he and his partner agreed they had to do something authentic to who they were. They both knew they were interested in client outcomes and wanted to be measured by what keeps their clients up at night. From his years on the client-side, Robert knew he wanted to create a way of existing so clients knew the agency was on their side and focused on the results they wanted. Figure out what your agency stands for. Create a vision, know your values, and understand what type of clients you want to work with. Look forward, not back. PS London created its strategy based on a proposition called future thinking. This means their agency focuses on what their clients want to achieve at the end of the day instead of the obstacles that have stood in their way in the past. Robert uses the analogy of driving a car. You spend more time looking ahead of you in the 6-foot windshield and occasionally look behind you in the 6-inch rearview mirror. Proportionately, that is how PSLondon helps their clients look forward and not back. How Your Agency's Vision Can Help Land More Clients You can go into a pitch meeting promising the world, but guess what, other agencies are doing the exact same thing. However, when you tie your agency's vision and purpose into the pitch, you will stand apart. This is why it is so important to understand who you are as an agency. Robert says he's never had a problem getting clients to buy in at the early stages because everyone is interested in the future. When you can go into a meeting and tell a client "this is what we do and this is how we can help you," they're going to have an easier time signing on. How to Position Your Agency as a Trusted Advisor The real challenge comes when you sign on a client and have to figure out a way to measure and deliver results. A lot of clients don't know what they want or how to define it so it's your job to help them figure it out. The most important goal of an agency is building a relationship which helps your client achieve their goals. You provide a service, and ultimately, it's the client who makes the final decision. Too many agencies focus on themselves when most clients just want to know you share the same goals. When you make the client the superhero and not you, they're more likely to stick around. There are so many ways you can help your agency stand out from the crowd. But ultimately, the most important thing you can do is know who you are. When you understand what makes you valuable and different from anyone else, it will be easier for your clients to see it as well. Ready to See How Your Agency Financials Stack Up? Agency Dad is the accounting and forecasting solution designed specifically for agencies. And for a limited time, Smart Agency listeners can get a FREE AUDIT so you can compare your agency's financials to the industry benchmarks. When you know your numbers you can make smart decisions in order to grow your agency. Agency Dad will take you to the next level with bookkeeping, financial dashboarding, and forecasting built specifically for agencies. Head over to AgencyDad.money/freeaudit/ to receive a free audit on your agency's financials.

Do you want to know what pricing model is right for your agency? Do your clients understand the value of the services you provide? Are you doing enough to make sure your clients stick around? Performance-based pricing can be a great model to help grow your agency, but only when clients understand the real value your agency brings to the table. In this episode, we'll cover: Is performance-based pricing right for your agency? How to help clients understand value compared to performance. Why your agency needs to set big goals. Today I sat down for an informative chat with Justin Buckley, partner at ATTN, a performance and growth digital marketing agency. After spending years working in affiliate marketing, Justin and his partners realized they were spending too much time and money building other people's brands. Two years ago they decided it was time to make something of their own. Justin's here to talk about how their unique pricing model and aggressive goal setting helped grow ATTN fast. Is Performance-Based Pricing Right for Your Agency? One of the most important decisions you'll make is how to charge for your services. Whether you charge on value or performance, there a few things to consider: What type of services do your clients expect of you? What type of time commitment does this mean for your team? How much control do you have over your client's results? When ATTN chose a pricing model, they chose to go with a hybrid approach. What this looks like is a combination of a flat fee and a percentage of ad spend. ATTN chose to build a performance model into their pricing structure since they are a performance agency. Ultimately, when they perform well, their clients perform well and want to spend more. The more their clients spend, the more the agency makes off the ad spend. This helps balance out the lack of control the agency has on the backend of operations as well as offset the cost of working with clients who aren't as focused on growth. As you grow, you'll quickly learn what works for your agency. Don't be afraid to charge what you're worth and be willing to put the measure of your agency's performance on the line. How to Help Clients Understand Value and Performance There's a risk that comes with performance based pricing. If the clients don't get the expected results based on your performance, you aren't going to get paid what you need to. At the end of the day, it's up to you to get your clients to see the value of your services and make sure your agency can achieve the right outcomes. Justin says the number one thing they rely on to help their clients understand what they are getting is communication. If you don't show your clients what you are doing and the results you're achieving, how else are they going to know? While it's important to have regular meetings to review benchmarks and create goals, it's also essential your clients know you're invested in them. Talk to them about what they want to achieve and get a real understanding of their vision. When you know what your client wants and what they are working towards, you'll have an easier time delivering results. Why Your Agency Needs to Set Big Goals If you're not setting goals at your agency, you have nothing to work towards. Whether you're creating an exit strategy, improving cash flow, or building your team, you need to have goals. Don't be afraid to set goals that make you uncomfortable. The best way to meet your goals is to break them into manageable chunks. Want to be at $10 million in profits after 10 years? Where do you have to be at year five to make this achievable? Now break it down even more. What does year three look like? Year one? Finally, figure out what each quarter, each month, and each week looks like. When you do this, not only do you have a way to hold your team accountable, but you can also start putting the right pieces into place and deploying the resources you need to hit your goals. As an agency owner, your job is to provide a service. And with this, you continually have to prove your worth. Talk to your clients, create benchmarks, and schedule regular check-ins. When you and your client are on the same page, you'll both find it easier to find success. 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. Building Your Agency I have advice for challenges you will face building your agency including recognizing common agency mistakes, how to keep great agency employees in your team as well as fostering the connections made with clients. If it's challenging growing your business, I have