Episodes
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Would you consider a merger or acquisition as a growth strategy? What does it look like to acquire another agency? How can you ensure success for the buyer, seller, and existing clients? Todayâs featured guest demonstrates how this approach can be highly effective when executed thoughtfully. He started his agency after realizing he would never get the recognition he deserved while working for somebody else, which drove him to establish his own agency where he now thrives.
Recently, he expanded through the strategic acquisition of three agencies, focusing primarily on their client portfolios. His acquisition strategy emphasizes the importance of relationship continuity, specifically seeking arrangements where previous owners remain involved during the transition period, allowing his team to gradually build trust with the inherited client base. Learn from his valuable insights on entrepreneurship and the strategic use of acquisitions for agency growth.
Luke Szkudlarek is a founding partner of What., a Zurich-based consultancy and growth hacking group focused on helping SMEs and startups with growth, digitalization, and product development. Heâll share the pivotal moment that sparked his decision to pursue entrepreneurship after an encounter with his boss, highlighting the importance of ownership and recognition in the workplace.
In this episode, weâll discuss:
Spotting trends that lead to agency success.
The mind shift needed to break the glass ceiling on growth.
Using agency acquisition as a growth strategy.
Ensuring a smooth merger and acquisition for agency clients.
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Sponsors and ResourcesE2M Solutions: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by E2M Solutions, a web design, and development agency that has provided white-label services for the past 10 years to agencies all over the world. Check out e2msolutions.com/smartagency and get 10% off for the first three months of service.
How a Dismissive Boss Sparked an Agency JourneyLuke's entrepreneurial journey began in Zurich with what seemed like a straightforward 'easy' role helping an agency acquire new clients. As he sharpened his skills he soon started working with giants like Nestle and Victoria Knox.
After closing a few lucrative deals, Luke approached his employer about receiving company shares as compensation for his valuable contributions.
His boss's dismissive responseâoffering a spa treatment instead of equityâbecame a key moment in his career. Rather than viewing this as a setback, he recognized it as a sign that it was time to venture out on his own. Confident in his ability to attract and maintain relationships with major clients, he started to plan his next move with a colleague. Six months later they were ready to start building their own business.
Spotting Trends as the Secret to Early SuccessWhile many startup agencies start out relying on referrals, Luke attributes his success to an ability to identify and capitalize on emerging market trends. Firstly, he benefitted from starting out in a market where growth hacking was still relatively unknown, allowing his firm to establish itself as a pioneer in its niche. Rather than simply focusing on website visibility, they differentiated themselves by creating valuable digital assets for their clients.
Luke was also quick to spot the benefits of having a hybrid team, which gave him access to talent from all over the world. It also allowed him to undercut the competition with lower prices, and he had a hybrid structure already set when the pandemic hit.
Furthermore, while many agencies still thought that working with startups was a waste of money, Luke focused only on these businesses. Bigger agencies had no interest in working with a $50,000-$60,000 budget, but it was just what his agency needed to start building their brand. This led to many obscure projects, but as one of few agencies working with startups it was pretty easy to jump from an initial project to a much larger one and opportunities to build relationships with investors.
Outsourcing Tasks as a Strategic Growth PlanOne of the critical decisions that significantly influenced his agencyâs growth was delegating administrative tasks. Neither Luke nor his partner are very fond of admin work and didnât want any part of the invoicing. However the invoicing process is a fundamental one in an agency and a focus when it came to a basis for success. They recognized their strengths lay in selling and project delivery, not in repetitive administrative work so that was the first choice when it came to start hiring to delegate.
This approach is about more than offloading work, it is a strategic decision with significant advantages. By outsourcing administrative tasks, it frees up valuable time and resources, enabling founders and key team members to focus on strategic planning, client engagement, and product development.
The Mind Shift to Break the Glass Ceiling to Real GrowthMany founders find themselves trapped after hitting a glass ceiling, unsure of how to break through to the next level. You need a fundamental mindset shift before you can get past this stage.
This mindset shift requires you understand that growth is not solely about increasing revenue or expanding service offerings. Instead, it requires a clear vision and the ability to communicate that vision effectively to the entire team. Founders must ask themselves not just where they want to go, but how to empower their teams to make decisions that align with that vision.
Moreover, itâs about hiring strategically to build a team that can take the agency further than you can done by yourself, while also working on improving yourself to set the vision and be the face of the agency. Luke has recently started working with coaches to get inspiration and it has made a big different in his goal of getting to the next level.
Acquisition as an Agency Growth StrategyBy now, Lukeâs agency has acquired three other agencies and continues to learn about these transactions. All three processes were different, with the first one being a merger with an agency that initially came in as a strategic partner and the last two being more asset purchases focused on their client portfolios.
According to Luke, itâs quite difficult to convince Swiss clients to leave their agency, even if you present an opportunity to save them a lot of money because personal relationships often hold more sway than the merits of a compelling pitch or a well-crafted campaign. Consequently, itâs easier in his view to acquire the portfolios to start a relationship with those companies. This approach not only facilitates expansion but also enhances the value proposition offered to clients, ultimately driving profitability and market presence.
How to Ensure a Smooth M&A Transition for Agency ClientsIn agency acquisitions, understanding the seller's post-sale intentions is crucial for establishing a successful transition. Try to get a clear response of what theyâre hoping to get from the sale.
Do they want to completely separate themselves from the agency and do something else? Do they prefer staying and focus on sales and growth? Or maybe focus on profitability and growth? There are scenarios where each of those options could work but there needs to be a clear understanding from the beginning for it to work for both parties.
Luke's approach to acquisitions specifically acknowledges the relationship-based nature of agency businesses. He personally prefers for the founders to stay for a while as he works to earn clientsâ trust. If a seller walks away immediately, the client list becomes worthless since their relationship is with the previous owner. Until the trust is built, itâs best to keep sellers on board.
Do You Want to Transform Your Agency from a Liability to an Asset?Looking to dig deeper into your agency's potential? Check out our Agency Blueprint. Designed for agency owners like you, our Agency Blueprint helps you uncover growth opportunities, tackle obstacles, and craft a customized blueprint for your agency's success.
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Would you like access to our advanced agency training for FREE? https://www.agencymastery360.com/training
Are you prepared to sell your agency if the right opportunity presents itself? Making your business sale-ready requires more than just financial preparationâit demands emotional readiness and the ability to set ego aside.
With pleasure, we are featuring a long time mastermind member on the show who, after recently selling his agency, now describes himself as a ârecovering agency ownerâ. It was an unexpected opportunity that turned into an amazing deal for the seller and buyer. Jordan discusses the way he took control of his agencyâs future by pursuing the sale, what heâd change about the process, and the importance of having a plan for post-sale integration.
Our guest is Jordan Choo, a recovering agency owner who previously founded, built, and sold Kogneta, a digital marketing firm focused on helping local businesses grow effectively. He is a longtime friend of the podcast who was mastermind member for sixy years before selling his agency. He is here to talk about the acquisition process, which began through an introduction from another agency owner rather than a typical unsolicited acquisition offer.
In this episode, weâll discuss:
Turning a potential partnership into an acquisition
If you want to sell, leave emotions and ego at the door.
Overcoming 2 common agency owner struggles.
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Sponsors and ResourcesFREE Training: Feeling stuck in your agency? Youâre not alone. Running an agency can be isolating, overwhelming, and downright exhausting. But it doesnât have to be. At Agency Mastery, weâve been thereâwhich is why we now offer free training resources to transform your agency from a liability to an asset.. Check out our FREE RESOURCES on Lead Generation and Sales Systems. No strings attached. Just the tools you need to grow smarter, not harder. Get started today at agencymastery360.com/training. Donât let your agency hold you back. Letâs build the future you deserve.
Turning a Potential Partnership into an Agency AcquisitionIf you run an agency, and especially if youâve grown beyond a certain point, you should be really clear about your why and what you have in mind for the future.
Thereâs a chance you started as a lifestyle business. In that case, there isnât much to worry about beyond maintaining profitability. However, if you started it with the intention to grow that business to eventually sell, then that will dictate how to grow your agency.
At some point, most agency owners have gotten the typical pitch email expressing interest in buying their business. In Jordanâs case, it all started with an introduction from another agency owner. The contact wasnât specifically looking to purchase his agency, but for a white label partner to provide marketing services in order to expand their value to clients.
After a few conversations with this agency, Jordan realized it would make more sense for them to acquire his agency rather than getting into a longtime partnership. It was a pretty good fit in terms of their cultures and how their agencies were structured. Hence, he was encouraged to bring the matter up and ask them their thoughts about a potential merge.
What started as Jordan's curiosity about the buyer's serious intentions evolved into meaningful discussions about merging the businesses. The organic nature of these conversations led to a deal that benefited both parties, with the entire processâfrom initial talks to signing a formal letter of intentâtaking approximately five months.
Selling Your Agency? Leave Ego and Emotions at the DoorUnderstanding that ego can be a deal-breaker in business transactions, Jordan approached his agency's sale by being pragmatic and emotionally detached. He established a realistic valuation range and minimum acceptable offer before negotiations began. Fortunately, his expectations aligned well with the buyer's assessment, which streamlined the negotiation process.
In the best case scenario, both parties are adequately educated on how the business should be fairly valued. But for that to happen, you need to separate the part of your identity that is closely linked to the business and have a clear path for what comes next after the sale. What are you looking for to doing post sale? Do you have plans to start a new business or follow a new interest? If you canât answer these questions, maybe itâs not your time to sell.
In his case, Jordan wants to rest, take some time off, and then go back to focusing his time and energy on growing a brand, instead of focusing on several brands at the same time, like he used to do with his agency.
Overcoming 2 Common Agency Owner StrugglesReflecting on his agency journey, Jordan identified two critical challenges that influenced his business's growth trajectory: team building and role transition. In the early stages, he struggled with making effective hiring decisions and came to realize that the team you choose defines how quickly or slowly you grow.
He also understands building the right team requires absolute clarity about the business's objectives. Without a clear vision, you cannot guide your team in the right direction and build the right foundation so they can make decisions without you. By investing time in the hiring process and ensuring alignment with the agencyâs values and goals, owners can cultivate a team that is competent and motivated to drive growth.
As the agency expanded, Jordan faced another common challenge: the difficult transition from working IN the business to working ON it. While he was naturally drawn to sales activities, his role as owner demanded focus on strategic initiatives like business growth planning, marketing strategy, leadership development, and creating standard operating procedures (SOPs) for effective delegation.
This all goes back to delegation, a common struggle often stemming from a fear of losing control. Delegation, in this sense, should be not just about offloading work but about strategically positioning the right people in the right roles to achieve collective success.
Why You Shouldnât Skip the Integration PlanJordan has no regrets about how the acquisition went down. In fact, he wouldnât change anything about the negotiation process. However, he does wish he wouldâve spent more time structuring an integration plan. To him, the first 90 days post sale should be laid out and planned for to ensure a smooth transition.
For agency owners considering a sale, Jordan recommends thoroughly understanding the buyer's motivations and intended use of the acquired agency. This understanding is crucial because it directly impacts the post-sale relationship. He advises against committing to lengthy employment agreements if the acquiring company doesn't have a clear need for the owner's continued involvement.
In his case, Jordan treated the purchase agreement and the employment agreement as two separate entities and two separate negotiations, which proved to be the best course of action.
Do You Want to Transform Your Agency from a Liability to an Asset?Looking to dig deeper into your agency's potential? Check out our Agency Blueprint. Designed for agency owners like you, our Agency Blueprint helps you uncover growth opportunities, tackle obstacles, and craft a customized blueprint for your agency's success.
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Could an internal succession be the right choice for your eventual agency exit? What could that sort of deal structure look like in order to ensure youâre leaving the agency in the best hands possible? As one agency owner transitioned to out of the agency day-to-day, an unexpected result was an organic exit from the business with an employee buyout.
A shining-star employee with the potential to be a great owner was the buyer in mind. Now the challenge was helping him get to a place where he could make the purchase. Listen to the inspiring story of adaptability and structuring the right deal to sell your agency to the right person.
Eric Holter is the CEO of Cuberis, a specialized web development firm focused on the museum industry. He shares his journey from studying traditional illustration to working in web development and launching his first web company, the reasons he decided to sell and follow other dreams, and how he ended up owning another agency years later.
Eric is also the author of Blazing the Freelance Trail, a roadmap for creatives just getting started that will walk them through five main principles: money, minutes, management, marketing, and motivation and explains their role in creating and running a business.
In this episode, weâll discuss:
Client diversification for agency survival.
Building a bridge from employee to ownership.
The five roles of a CEO.
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Sponsors and ResourcesE2M Solutions: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by E2M Solutions, a web design, and development agency that has provided white-label services for the past 10 years to agencies all over the world. Check out e2msolutions.com/smartagency and get 10% off for the first three months of service.
Going from Freelancer to Agency Owner, Twice!Eric first entered the advertising world as an illustrator using the traditional methods. He was looking for something new after freelancing for a while and knew his skills in letterpress printing and wood engraving wouldnât pay the bills.
However, in 1995 he was quick to adapt to the new era brought by the internet and started his first business. Back then, all his clients were just scrambling to get a website for their businesses. Finding clients was as easy as sending them an email offering his services. This agency grew quickly to 12 employees and then was hit by two major events throughout the years: the dotcom bubble burst and 9/11, prompting a dramatic downsizing.
Though the agency gradually recovered, Eric ultimately decided to sell in 2013 looking for a fresh start doing some consulting work. He wanted to help business owners learn how to run their business.
One of his clients was Cuberis, whose (then) owner needed guidance in managing the business. What began as a consulting relationship evolved into an unexpected opportunity and Eric eventually purchased the agency. With this, round two of agency ownership began.
Learning to Diversify Clients as the Key to Agency SurvivalThat first blow during the dotcom bubble burst helped Eric see the initial model of direct client engagement was no longer viable. Whereas before the referrals just poured in as everyone tried to beat the competition to get a brand new website, he now needs to forge strategic alliances allowing him to continue generating business.
He also needed to rethink his focus, so far marked by working primarily with small, brick-and-mortar clients. Instead, the experience gained during several difficult times and subsequent economic downturns taught him that a diverse client base can serve as a buffer against market volatility.
An Unexpected Exit: What Decisions Led to Selling the Agency?Eric's decision to sell his agency emerged organically from a series of strategic decisions that began in 2000 when he hired an consultant to enhance his business management skills. In hindsight, investing in professional guidance was the beginning of a journey he hadn't anticipated.
Following the consultant's advice, Eric started transitioning from an active role in his agency to developing a resilient organizational structure and empowering employees to operate independently.
Initially, this move didnât have an exit strategy in mindâjust sound business practices aimed at improving the agency's efficiency. However, by 2008 he felt there wasnât much for him to do at the agency, which made him restless.
While he contemplated changing up things in the agency to satisfy his entrepreneurial drive, he knew it would just divert from the things that were already working. Ultimately, it became clear that instead of introducing changes just to scratch his entrepreneurial itch, it would be better to sell and move on to new things.
Building a Bridge from Employee to Agency OwnerWhen Eric decided to sell his agency, he identified an employee with the ambition and capability to take over the business. The challenge then became structuring a deal that would make the purchase feasible for this successor.
The plan was a five-year buyout with an element of ownerâs financing. Basically, Eric increased the employeeâs salary so that he could take a portion of this new salary each month and buy shares according to a distribution schedule. Over a five-year period he continued to buy shares as his equity increased. Once he hit a 45% ownership, he would buy the rest all that once through a loan.
This structure not only provided the employee with a clear pathway to ownership but also allowed him to acclimate to the responsibilities of ownership without the pressure of an immediate buyout. He was able to learn about the business and develop his leadership skills under Ericâs mentorship. For him, the key to succeeding with this type of structure is to take your time with the process.
Ultimately, this was the best decision for the agency and for himself. Eric knew the business was in good hands and he also knew there were other things he wanted to do. He wanted to focus on helping other people run their businesses more efficiently.
Not Your Time to Sell? Here are the 5 Roles of a CEOFor Eric, not working in the business and feeling isolated from the work being done helped him realize he wanted to sell and move to other things. However, this doesnât have to be the case for all agency owners. You can successfully make the transition from owner to CEO and find meaning in your new role as long as you understand what that role is. The 5 roles of a CEO are:
Grow and mentor the leadership team.
To be the face of the company.
To set vision and direction.
Manage the financials.
Be available for key relationships.
Whatever youâre doing, make sure they are part of these five roles. If itâs something outside of these, you need to assess whether or not you are the one that should be doing it.
If this is something youâre ready to do for your agency, then selling is not the right move and you can continue being part of the business growth. If not, and you already have a plan for what youâll do after selling, then an acquisition is the best path for you.
Do You Want to Transform Your Agency from a Liability to an Asset?Looking to dig deeper into your agency's potential? Check out our Agency Blueprint. Designed for agency owners like you, our Agency Blueprint helps you uncover growth opportunities, tackle obstacles, and craft a customized blueprint for your agency's success.
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Would you like access to our advanced agency training for FREE? https://www.agencymastery360.com/training
How do you measure your agencyâs success? Awards and accolade? Top-line revenue and big name clients? What if we told you a more focused and lean approach could be the best path. Todayâs featured guest realized the importance of finding a "sweet spot" in the agency world, so he moved to focusing on quality over quantity. He talks about the challenges of maintaining a small client roster and the benefits it brings. In his business model, his agency is providing consistent, high-quality work and building strong partnerships. Learn valuable insights on leadership, innovation, and the importance of a good relationship building.
Nick Francis is the Chief Visionary Officer of The Franchise Group, a strategic marketing and creative agency that does a comprehensive range of services, including video production, web design, graphic design, and event production. He recounts his journey into the agency world, beginning with the support of a boss who became a mentor and surviving the housing market crash and the pandemic. Nick discusses how he built a culture that has created remarkable retention rates at his agency and why his network is his most important tool to keep a full client funnel.
In this episode, weâll discuss:
Adapting and innovating in uncertain times.
Redefining success instead of chasing awards.
Retaining talent longer than the industry average.
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Sponsors and ResourcesSmart Pricing Table: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by Smart Pricing Table, an award-winning proposal software built just for marketing agencies and designed to handle your unique challenges and cut down the time you spend on proposal as much as 90%. Go to smartpricingtable.com/smartagency to see if this is the missing piece your agency needs. Schedule a demo and get 50% OFF for the first two months.
Building an Agency with the Right MentorshipNick began his career working in the film industry, later transitioning to the ad world, and eventually ending up at a company that blended both worlds working in video production and events.
As part of a small team of five people, Nick worked on the creative development side from writing scripts to pitching ideas. His work attending events led him to form a network of people in that space who needed similar services. Soon he started bringing in new clients for the agency.
Nickâs boss noticed he' had mastered nearly every aspect of the business except financial management. He took the unusual step of sharing budgeting expertise with Nick and actively encouraging his independence.
In 2006, Nick launched his own agency, bringing along a big client that sustained his business through its crucial first five months.
Itâs a very unique case scenario to start your agency with your former bossâs support and even taking a big client with you, but that relationship was pivotal in Nickâs journey, with him continuing to be his mentor to this day.
Adapting and Innovating in Uncertain TimesRunning an agency that focuses mostly on the events industry, Nickâs business practically disappeared with the pandemic and the lockdowns. Suddenly, the agency lost a devastating 35% of its revenue that year.
Instead of panicking, they quickly adapted to online events for a while. They moved to building a full broadcasting suite at their office to help clients get their message out in a time when they couldnât do so at live events. Initially, they faced resistance with clients still being more interested in traditional event experiences. However, as they persisted in promoting the benefits of virtual engagement, they found success in reaching a wider audience.
It was a bold move that took some time to gain interest but it was the right call to keep the business going during those uncertain months.
Redefining Success Instead of Chasing AwardsThe agency industry tends to be heavily focused on growth and competition, which affects how owners see their own milestones and overall success.
The pressure to grow fast and beat their competition leads many owners to chase awards over personal fulfillment. But why should success be defined by outside metrics rather than personal satisfaction? For some, a lean, focused approach yields greater satisfaction more than a huge, impersonal operation.
In Nickâs case, after navigating the turbulent times of the housing market crash, he and his team adapted by becoming an extension of their clients' teams rather than merely functioning as external vendors. This shift allowed them to forge deeper connections with their clients, emphasizing collaboration and shared goals.
After years of growth, he and his team started to consider the advantages of focusing on bigger clients who sign longer contracts and usually represent less hassle for them. On one hand they were thinking strategically about the future of the agency but on the other the agency just naturally moved in that direction based on what clients were looking for.
Retaining Talent Longer Than the Industry AverageMany owners believe if the business isnât growing employees will see stagnation and eventually leave. Instead, Nick advocates for balancing professional development with personal wellbeing as a different metric of success. His approach has yielded remarkable results, particularly with entry-level hires who typically remain with his agency for three to four yearsâfar exceeding the industry standard.
This success in retention stems from a deliberate focus on creating a fulfilling work environment. Nick has found that employee satisfaction most commonly correlates with feeling valued and finding meaning in their work.
Career goals are important, of course, but as long as you continue to challenge your employees and innovate theyâll stay inspired and motivated to do good work.
You Never Know When Youâre Building a RelationshipAfter nearly two decades in the industry, Nick has cultivated a powerful professional network that serves as his agency's primary source of high-value clients.
In his view, a good network is everything and building and nurturing relationships should be not just a supplementary aspect of business but a fundamental aspect intertwined with growth, opportunity, and resilience.
Nick advises agency owners to remember that genuine engagement with others leads to unexpected opportunities. By being fully present and attentive, it fosters deeper connections that later evolve into fruitful collaborations.
You never know when you're building your next relationship, so approach networking not as a transactional but as an organic process of connection-building.
Do You Want to Transform Your Agency from a Liability to an Asset?Looking to dig deeper into your agency's potential? Check out our Agency Blueprint. Designed for agency owners like you, our Agency Blueprint helps you uncover growth opportunities, tackle obstacles, and craft a customized blueprint for your agency's success.
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Would you like access to our advanced agency training for FREE? https://www.agencymastery360.com/training
Are you integrating AI in your agency processes in the most effective ways? What sort of opportunities are you missing by not integrating AI into your agencyâs systems and processes? Thereâs no going back from AI, so you might as well embrace it as it continues to evolve the ever changing agency landscape.
While many agencies have begun incorporating AI tools, numerous opportunities remain unexplored, and the technology's full potential is still emerging. Today's featured guest brings unique insights as an agency owner who has fully embraced AI's transformative power. Through his continuous study and practical implementation of AI solutions, he has gained valuable perspectives on how this technology is fundamentally altering agency operationsâfrom team structures to client expectations. Tune in for practical insights for agency leaders looking to harness AI's potential while adapting to the evolving demands of the digital marketplace.
Manish Dudharejia is the founder of E2M Solutions, one of the largest white label partners for digital agencies that has established itself as a trusted resource for agencies needing support in website development, e-commerce, SEO, and content creation, particularly in WordPress.
Manish is a good friend of the podcast and a repeat guest of the sharing insights on hiring tips for agencies, advice on how to level up your agency, and the right time to use acquisition as a strategy for growth.
In this episode, weâll discuss:
AIâs role in agency evolution.
Why your agency should stop charging hourly rates.
2 big opportunities for agencies to integrate AI.
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The Transitional Phase Agencies Face with the Rise of AIIt seems as though things shift rapidly in the agency space ever since 1999 when the arrival of the internet forever transformed how we market.
One of the biggest shifts in the agency model in recent history is the use of AI. This technology has come to completely revolutionize the internet and, as Manish points out, itâs impossible to ignore.
The launch of user-friendly platforms in the early 2000s marked the beginning of a paradigm shift. Businesses quickly became aware of these alternatives, leading to increased competition and a downward pressure on prices as businesses became more informed.
Today, we find ourselves in a similar transitional phase. The integration of AI technologies into agency workflows promises to enhance efficiency by automating repetitive tasks, streamlining project management, and optimizing client communications.
A more informed and discerning consumer expects personalized experiences and immediate responses. Agencies must adapt their strategies to meet these expectations, leveraging data and insights to create tailored campaigns that resonate with their target audiences.
AIâs Role in Agency EvolutionThe rise in the use of AI technologies in the industry does not mean this technology will replace agencies. However, agencies that integrate AI will replace those who donât.
What AI can do in agency world is not merely about automation or replacing human effort; rather, it is about enhancing capabilities and redefining the agency-client relationship.
Historically, agencies had relied on large teams to execute projects and meet client demands. However, as technology evolves, the need for extensive manpower diminishes and agencies must position themselves as strategic advisors rather than just service providers. Clients are increasingly looking for partners who can address their biggest challenges, not just execute tasks.
Additionally, AI is also having an impact on the dynamics of team structures within agencies. Traditionally, growth was synonymous with hiring more staff. However, the advent of AI challenges this idea. Today, agencies can achieve growth without necessarily increasing headcount. This shift encourages a leaner, more agile approach to business operations, where technology complements human expertise rather than replaces it.
Why Your Agency Needs to Stop Charging Hourly RatesThe advent of artificial intelligence (AI) presents a transformative opportunity for agencies to streamline their processes, reduce delivery times, and ultimately increase their bottom line. This reduction not only improves operational efficiency but also contributes to increased profitability. However, this also means you should reevaluate how youâre charging and how youâre choosing to present the value youâre bringing to clients.
With AI's ability to streamline processes and enhance productivity, agencies can significantly reduce the time and resources required for project completion. For instance, if a website that once took 100 hours to develop can now be completed in just 10 hours, agencies risk losing substantial profit if they maintain an hourly billing model.
Bottom line, by charging hourly you are losing money by become more efficient.
2 Big Opportunities for Agencies to Integrate AIFractional AI consultants. Manish sees huge opportunity for agencies that embrace AI consultancy as a crucial strategy to enhance their services, streamline operations, and ultimately drive revenue growth.
By hiring fractional AI consultants, agencies can offer specialized guidance to their clients without the burden of fulltime hires. This approach not only allows agencies to enhance their service offerings but also enables them to assist clients in integrating AI into their daily operations. As AI continues to evolve, the demand for expertise in this area will grow, making it a timely investment for agencies looking to differentiate themselves in a competitive market.Responsive SOPs. Traditionally, SOPs serve as static documents that guide team members in their tasks. But how could AI improve this? For his part, Manish is testing dynamic SOPs powered by AI. By feeding existing SOPs into an AI agent, agencies can create a responsive system that provides real-time insights and recommendations. This approach not only enhances the relevance of SOPs but also allows teams to ask specific questions and receive tailored guidance.
Using Ai in this way opens up many possibilities like identifying efficiencies as things change. For instance, you can use it to streamline the onboarding process, making it faster and more efficient. Additionally, it could provide valuable insights into client challenges, enabling agencies to respond more effectively and proactively address client needs. This adaptability is crucial in an environment where client expectations are constantly evolving.Furthermore, AI models trained on both public and private data can enhance the quality of SOPs and operational processes. By leveraging the insights generated from these models, agencies can refine their strategies and make more informed decisions, ultimately leading to better outcomes for both the agency and its clients.
Do You Want to Transform Your Agency from a Liability to an Asset?Looking to dig deeper into your agency's potential? Check out our Agency Blueprint. Designed for agency owners like you, our Agency Blueprint helps you uncover growth opportunities, tackle obstacles, and craft a customized blueprint for your agency's success.
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Would you like access to our advanced agency training for FREE? https://www.agencymastery360.com/training
Have you defined the who in your agencyâs growth journey? What are you using to guiding the type of team that will grow your agency to it's full potential? In todayâs episode, our featured guest shares his experience of co-founding a digital agency two decades ago with a group of former colleagues. By bringing clients from their previous agency and leveraging a steady stream of referrals, they were able to launch and grow their business. However, he quickly discovered that attracting the right talentâespecially individuals excited to join a small, fledgling agencyâwas far more challenging than expected.
Learn the valuable lessons heâs learned about hiring, the qualities he looks for in candidates to drive his agencyâs success, and why he emphasizes the importance of acting swiftly when a hire isnât the right fit.
Justin Hall is the co-founder and managing partner of Voxus PR, a B2B tech PR, social media, and content agency based in South Seattle. He shares the story behind how he and his partners transitioned from a larger agency to launching their own, the uncommon support from their former employer during their transition, and whatâs heâs learned since about hiring and scaling.
In this episode, weâll discuss:
Why asking âwhoâ matters more than âhowâ in agency growth.
Balancing experience vs. potential in agency hiring.
Be quick to act if a new hire is not the right fit.
SubscribeApple | Spotify | iHeart Radio
Sponsors and ResourcesSmart Pricing Table: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by Smart Pricing Table, an award-winning proposal software built just for marketing agencies and designed to handle your unique challenges and cut down the time you spend on proposal as much as 90%. Go to smartpricingtable.com/smartagency to see if this is the missing piece your agency needs. Schedule a demo and get 50% OFF for the first two months.
An Intentional Agency Backed by the Old BossJustinâs path to agency ownership was more deliberate than the typical accidental agency owner. He worked at a big agency twenty years ago, where he joined a group of workers who set out on their own to build an agency.
Motivated by the idea that they could figure out a better way to do things, this group ventured to start their own business. They had built a reputation for exceptional work, which earned them not just their former boss's blessing, but also the opportunity to bring several existing clients with them. In fact, Justin acknowledges that their old bossâ support played an important role in their eventual success.
Itâs an extremely rare case scenario and one that was a result of the great work that these workers had done for that agency.
Why 'Who' Matters More Than 'How' in Agency GrowthWhen it comes to choosing a niche, Jason believes itâs a mistake to make this decision based on your personal preferences. âDo I love this particular niche?â Is not necessarily the best question to ask yourself when choosing a path for your agency. Instead, this would be a good moment to ask yourself: âWhere?â and âWho?â
These questions serve as guiding principles for agency leaders, enabling them to empower their teams to make informed decisions autonomously. When agency leaders focus on the destination rather than the minutiae of the journey, they create an environment that fosters initiative and proactive problem-solving among their employees. In this sense, instead of asking HOW can I get my agency to the next level? Ask yourself WHO could help me reach that goal? And WHO do you need to become to not hold the agency back?
This mindset of surrounding yourself with the right people who can contribute to the agency's vision and help navigate the complexities of growth should also align with your recruitment strategy. As Justin has learned, leaders should be hiring for initiative and communication rather than merely filling positions based on specific skill sets.
Balancing Experience vs Potential in Agency HiringOnce the business was set up and some clients were secured, Justin and his partners faced the challenge of scaling and adding new business responsibilities to the client work they usually handled.
Fortunately for them, the referrals poured in during the first several months, so new business was not a concern. On the other hand, finding talent willing to join a small agency was not easy. Unlike larger corporations with specialized roles and departments small agencies require employees to wear multiple hats. As Justin explains, the ideal candidate must not only excel in project management and writing but also be adept at pitching media and communicating effectively.
This recruitment challenge prompted a fundamental strategic question: should they prioritize experienced people who could immediately contribute, or invest in developing new, young talent with the right potential? Each approach has its merits. Initially, the partners sought seasoned professionals who could make an instant impact. Yet they quickly discovered that these experienced hires often required significant support and integration.
Hence, they now expand their search to also find talented young individuals fresh out of college with the right attitude and potential that could be trained to become valuable team members. The agency has adapted to offer these individuals what they would need to thrive: invested mentors and the right processes to make them the best they can be.
Making Hard Choices in Small Agency LeadershipThinking about past hiring mistakes, Justin goes back to the need to fail fast when youâre running a smaller agency. This is true for clients and also for employees. In both cases, youâll need to say no sometimes and be quick to find out whether or not theyâre the right piece in your puzzle.
The balance between nurturing talent and recognizing when to make tough decisions is a delicate one that agency leaders must navigate. You may recognize the signs that an employee is just not right for your team but fail to act quickly and hold on to them thinking you can turn things around. Itâs human nature to want to fix the problem.
For Justin, it depends on whether or not the employee is 100% invested in trying learn and get better. At the end of the day, however, if theyâre not capable of fulfilling certain functions in a time-effective manner, then theyâre probably the wrong fit. This philosophy is compassionate yet pragmatic. It recognizes that sometimes, the most supportive action is to acknowledge when an employee's skills and the agency's needs are fundamentally misaligned.
Do You Want to Transform Your Agency from a Liability to an Asset?Looking to dig deeper into your agency's potential? Check out our Agency Blueprint. Designed for agency owners like you, our Agency Blueprint helps you uncover growth opportunities, tackle obstacles, and craft a customized blueprint for your agency's success.
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Would you like access to our advanced agency training for FREE? https://www.agencymastery360.com/training
Have overwhelm or frustration ever made you want to sell your agency? When youâre burned out, the grass might look greener â but one agency owner learned that itâs not. Discover why he sold after just two years plus why the acquisition was dissolved and he grew his original business back to 5X within the next four years.
Learn more about his reflections on why his initial burnout came to be, the reasons that partnership failed, and how he managed to rebuild his agency even stronger by surrounding himself with the right people.
Alex Polamero is the founder of Ninestone Partners, an agency focused on the middle of the funnel. They build marketing and sales automation systems that help clients scale and effectively nurture prospects to closing. He discuss the evolution of his career, going from solopreneur to building and selling his agency and remaining as an equity partner. Alex also dives into his mindset and reasons behind his agencyâs sale and the events that led to him taking back ownership of its name and original clients.
In this episode, weâll discuss:
Selling as a way out of the burnout trap.
Cashflow issues and not making payroll.
Lessons after buying back his agency.
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Sponsors and ResourcesE2M Solutions: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by E2M Solutions, a web design, and development agency that has provided white-label services for the past 10 years to agencies all over the world. Check out e2msolutions.com/smartagency and get 10% off for the first three months of service.
Building an Agency by Filling the GapAlex has over 20 years of experience working with CRMs, beginning as an Oracle superuser with an extensive network of contacts and later becoming a Marketo-certified expert managing marketing for a billion-dollar real estate firm. Seven years ago, he took the leap to start his own venture, Ninestone Partners.
When he first launched his business, Alex viewed other agencies as competitors, seeing them as rivals in areas like website development and paid advertising. However, years of experience shifted his perspective. Today, his agency operates as a collaborator, working alongside other agencies and specializing in the middle of the funnelâwhere their expertise truly shines.
According to Alex, most people donât know the nuances of every automation system, which one to use in each industry and how to help businesses grow quickly. This knowledge gap is where his team excels, helping businesses grow quickly by leveraging the right automation strategies tailored to their needs.
Escaping Burnout by Selling the AgencyTwo years after starting his agency, Alex had two full-time employees and several contractors, even managing automated marketing solutions for a larger 25-person agency. Despite this success, he found himself overwhelmed and burned out.
Looking back, he realizes the root of his struggles was that he hadnât chosen between being a solopreneurâtaking most of the profits to fund his lifestyleâor committing to being a true business owner. Straddling both worlds, he continued accepting new projects for quick profits without building the necessary team infrastructure. His fear of hiring and potential failure led to increasingly unsustainable workweeks filled with late nights and weekends.
This approach inevitably led to stagnation. Alex faced a classic dilemma: unable to handle more clients alone, yet afraid to bring on additional help. Like many inexperienced business owners, he had initially prioritized money over time and it took years before he learned to value time with his employees, family, and himself.
His mindset reflected a common misconception among agency owners: that leadership means outworking everyone else and that constant busyness equates to productivity. Exhausted from this unsustainable approach, Alex ultimately sold his agency in a deal keeping him on as an equity partner. The arrangement promised relief from the administrative and management duties he disliked, allowing him to focus solely on sales.
Post-Sale Breakdown: Cashflow Issues and Not Making PayrollThe first weeks post-sale were great for Alex. He finally had time for himself and even went on a skiing trip with some friends. However, eight months later, the reality of balancing multiple roles began to take its toll. Juggling his sales responsibilities, equity partnership duties, and technical operations proved far more challenging than he had anticipated.
Around this time, Alex and his partners discovered a critical issue: their invoicing process had completely broken down, resulting in six months of unpaid invoices, an oversight that left them without the funds to pay their 25 employees.
With no money to cover payroll, Alex was forced to take out a high-interest loan, a decision that weighed heavily on him and his family.
It became clear that not everything was going as well as heâd initially hoped. After this, Alex and the other partners reached the conclusion that there were some aspects of running the business in which they just didnât agree.
Why Clarity is Key: Growing 5x in Four YearsThe heart-to-heart with his partners culminated in an offer to buy back his agency. Under the terms of the deal, his partners would retain his equity and any new clients acquired during that year, while Alex regained his previous clients and rights to the Ninestone name. Though he restarted with only half the business he had before the partnership, Alex viewed it as a fresh start.
Four years later, his agency had grown to five times its size at the time of the split. This period was a lesson in humility and forced Alex to confront the reality of his situation and acknowledge that he didnât have all the answers. It also underscored the inherent uncertainty of the entrepreneurial journeyâa reality he had to embrace rather than resist.
Furthermore, the experience taught Alex an important lesson about having clarity as you start to build your business. Do you want to be a consultant working only with contractors and never having to build a team? Or do you want to build a business that you can sell in the future? The pathway is different; the mentality and systems are different for each approach.
Once he committed to a clear direction, he Alex understood he needed to surround himself with experts. The founder does not need to do it all and be a lone wolf. Instead, being part of a pack brought him much more joy and helped him grow much more than heâd expected.
Embracing Collaboration and Uncertainty to Unlock Your Agencyâs PotentialWhatâs the biggest bottleneck holding your agency back at the moment? As Alex learned with experience, he had been the bottleneck stifling his agencyâs growth by trying to juggle multiple responsibilities without a clear delineation.
During his second run with the agency, he knew that as the visionary leader, he needed an integrator that would handle operations, freeing him up to focus on sales. By collaborating with others and delegating tasks according to expertise, owners can focus on their strengths, ultimately leading to a more efficient and successful operation. Basically, Alex figured out where he wanted to go and who he needed to hire to get there.
Ultimately, the journey of building a business is not just about reaching a destination but about embracing the process as an ongoing experiment. Adopting a mindset that values experimentation and collaboration can lead to both personal fulfillment and professional success. Entrepreneurship is inherently uncertain. However by acknowledging this, you can cultivate a culture of innovation within your team, encouraging creative problem-solving and the exploration of new ideas.
Do You Want to Transform Your Agency from a Liability to an Asset?Looking to dig deeper into your agency's potential? Check out our Agency Blueprint. Designed for agency owners like you, our Agency Blueprint helps you uncover growth opportunities, tackle obstacles, and craft a customized blueprint for your agency's success.
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Would you like access to our advanced agency training for FREE? https://www.agencymastery360.com/training
Have you hit the limit of the growth you can single-handedly bring to your agency? What steps are you taking to ensure you continue to be your organization's MVP? For many agency owners, reaching hitting a glass ceiling on growth signals the need to bring on a skilled operator to help eliminate low-value tasks from their schedule.
Today's featured guest specializes in operations hiring and has developed a systematic approach to identifying and delegating low value tasks that consume CEOs' time and energy. As an expert in operational efficiency, she trains operators to create effective processes that free founders to focus on strategic growth. She shares her secret to a great hiring funnel, what results to expect from an operatorâs first 90 days in your agency, and the #1 thing an operator does for their agency founder. Learn actionable insights on breaking through operational bottlenecks and building a strong operational foundation through strategic hiring and training.
Jhana Li is a former COO and the founder of Spyglass Ops, an Operations Hiring Agency, working on behalf of digital businesses to find and hire operations positions. She discusses the challenges agency owners face when trying to scale their businesses and share insights on breaking through the common glass ceiling that many entrepreneurs encounter.
Jhana emphasizes that growth stagnation often occurs when founders reach their personal limits in creativity and productivity. She provides valuable strategies for developing new skill sets and building a capable team to propel business growth beyond personal capabilities.
In this episode, weâll discuss:
The secret to a great hiring funnel that attracts A-players.
The crucial first 90 days that determines an operatorâs success.
The #1 thing an operator does for a CEO.
SubscribeApple | Spotify | iHeart Radio
Sponsors and ResourcesSmart Pricing Table: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by Smart Pricing Table, an award-winning proposal software built just for marketing agencies and designed to handle your unique challenges and cut down the time you spend on proposal as much as 90%. Go to smartpricingtable.com/smartagency to see if this is the missing piece your agency needs. Schedule a demo and get 50% OFF for the first two months.
Scaling Your Agency Beyond the Founder's Glass CeilingAs a former COO, Jhana has seen the glass ceiling many founders encounter at some point in their growth occurs once theyâve hit the limit of the growth they can personally create. Itâs no longer about showing up and single-handedly working out every problem or how innovative they can be. Breaking through that glass ceiling requires both personal transformation and strategic team building.
The path forward demands founders step back from their hands-on approach and focus on developing a trusted leadership structure. This includes establishing middle management positions across all functional departments, ensuring each area has dedicated decision-makers and strategic thinkers. Central to this evolution is hiring an operations manager who can unify the team and create organizational cohesion, transforming disparate departments into a synchronized whole.
Do You Have a Hiring Funnel That Consistently Attracts A-Players?For Jhana, hiring A-players is not about fishing in the right pond but rather using the right fishing rod. Great talent is available everywhere but does your agency have a hiring funnel that will consistently extract the right A-players for the right role?
A strategically designed hiring funnel serves as both an attractor and a filter, automatically screening out 95% to 98% of applicants before they reach the interview stage. This efficiency comes from carefully crafted criteria that not only draw in ideal candidates but also discourage those who wouldn't be a good fit, saving valuable time and resources.
This approach contrasts sharply with the common scarcity-driven hiring mindset, where employers cast wide nets and hesitate to filter out any candidates. According to Jhana, a well-structured hiring system achieves better results by focusing on quality over quantity, ultimately leading to conversations with only the most promising 3% of candidates who truly align with the role requirements.
Whatâs the Secret to a Great Hiring Funnel?Building mousetraps in your job post and hiring process is one thing â for instance, Jhana and her team add a codeword to the job description that theyâll ask the candidate to repeat during the job application process. However, she only uses that type of strategy for roles that require a high level of attention to detail.
Other than that, she has a secret weapon that has consistently given her the best results: performing a skill assessment before sending a candidate to interviews. Skill assessments can take up to two hours, which is exactly the point. Itâs a way to stress test the candidate to see if they already have the experience for the role. Jhana likes to include very specific questions to get candidates to think about how they would tackle a major challenge associated with that role, which experienced candidates will have no problem doing.
Moreover, the effort a candidate puts into completing a skill assessment can be telling. A candidate who submits a thorough, well-structured response demonstrates a commitment to excellence and an understanding of the expectations of the role. In contrast, a lackluster submission may indicate a lack of motivation or a superficial understanding of the job requirements.
Candidates who have genuine experience in a given area will articulate their thoughts with clarity and assurance, while those who are less familiar may struggle to provide coherent answers. By designing assessments that require candidates to draw on their past experiences, you can better identify those who are truly equipped to handle the challenges of the role.
The First 90 Days: A Guide to Integrating New OperatorsJhana has learned that an experienced operator will take their first 30 days with a company to observe, learn, and listen before they jump in and start fixing things. They understand that what they see at first glance might not be the root cause issue at play. Therefore, if they jump in and start tacking inefficiencies right away they might be missing the actual issue.
From a founderâs perspective, it may be frustrating, as they expect immediate results. However, it is essential for operators to familiarize themselves with the intricacies of the business to address the root causes of inefficiencies effectively.
To prevent these frustrations, Jhana recommends scheduling a âsuccess meetingâ at the second-week mark. By that time, your operator will have had two weeks to observe the inner workings of your agency. During this meeting, the operator presents their findings and aligns with the founder on priorities moving forward. The result of this meeting should be a clear understanding of what the operator is expected to accomplish within their first 90 days so the founder knows this is in fact the right person for the job.
How much time should you invest in training a COO? Jhana knows of cases where the founder is still training their ops manager six months later. To her, you should always keep in mind that any time spent on training is an investment on that person and they wonât return on that investment until they are fully functional in their role. She prefers to do a 14-day boot camp before seeing ROI. During that time, she makes herself available every day for a minimum of 30 minutes so they can ask any questions or run something by her.
The #1 Thing an Operator Should Do for the CEOThe most important thing an ops manager should be doing for their CEO is help optimize their time to maximize their contributions to the organization and ensure that they focus on high-value tasks that drive growth.
The CEO is supposed to be the agencyâs MVP and yet they constantly undervalue themselves when they spend time doing low-value tasks. This is why Jhana trains her operators to do a time audit on their CEO during their first 30 days in the organization. As a result, they can determine how much of the founderâs time is going to low-value tasks and prepare a game plan to get them out of day-to-day operations.
This misallocation of time detracts from the CEOâs ability to innovate and lead and costs the organization in terms of lost opportunities and diminished productivity.
Why not start now? Even if youâre not at the point where you can hire an operator, do a time audit, locate the low-value tasks taking up too much of your time, and then delegate them to an assistant. That alone would make a huge difference in ensuring youâre spending more time growing the business.
Do You Want to Transform Your Agency from a Liability to an Asset?Looking to dig deeper into your agency's potential? Check out our Agency Blueprint. Designed for agency owners like you, our Agency Blueprint helps you uncover growth opportunities, tackle obstacles, and craft a customized blueprint for your agency's success.
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Would you like access to our advanced agency training for FREE? https://www.agencymastery360.com/training
Do your employees have a clear path for growth within your agency? Do they feel supported, empowered, and fulfilled in their role? Today's featured guest shares insights from his journey transforming his agency team structure that resulted in thriving for the business, his team, and himself.
After years of struggle, this agency CEO took ownership of his role and developed a strategic approach to employee motivation and development. By reimagining annual reviews and creating meaningful growth opportunities, he shifted from an environment of stagnation to one of continuous improvement. In this interview, learn the benefits of offering a clear path for growth within your agency, and how to improve your teamâs experience during annual reviews. He also shares how to get yourself out of sales â if thatâs something you want â and why you need to keep doing what you love.
Warren Wilansky is the president and founder of Plank, a Montreal-based digital agency specializing in arts and culture, nonprofit, and higher education projects. He shares his agency ownership journey and discusses the challenges of navigating the early days of the agency, including the learning curve of running a business and the evolution of his role as a sole owner.
In this episode, weâll discuss:
The mindset shift that allowed for team retention and growth.
Redefining employee reviews and how to have them review you.
Maintaining purpose as your agency grows.
SubscribeApple | Spotify | iHeart Radio
Sponsors and ResourcesE2M Solutions: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by E2M Solutions, a web design, and development agency that has provided white-label services for the past 10 years to agencies all over the world. Check out e2msolutions.com/smartagency and get 10% off for the first three months of service.
A Traditional Story of Accidental Agency OwnershipWarrenâs journey is a pretty traditional accidental agency owner story. Starting with a communications degree, he transitioned from freelance website design to founding an agency with two partners. However, the partnership proved unstableâone left after six months, and the other departed after five years, ultimately leaving Warren as the sole owner for years, until his first employee became his current partner.
Initially, Warren viewed his agency more as a collaborative collective among friends rather than a structured business. This perception shifted dramatically when his second partner departed, forcing him to fully embrace his role as a CEO. For the first time, he recognized the need to take complete responsibility for every aspect of the agency.
While continuing to engage in website designâhis original passionâWarren realized that his most critical project was the company itself and its strategic development.
A Mindset Shifts that Allows for Employee Retention and GrowthAs he navigated the early stages of his agency, Warren quickly recognized the importance of hiring people who could outshine him in their respective roles. For instance, the agency hired its first creative director once he discovered someone who was a better designer than heâd ever be. This realization marked a turning point in his business strategy. Instead of attempting to be the best at every task, Warren embraced the idea that the success of his agency depended on assembling a team of skilled professionals who could bring their expertise to the table.
Another important milestone in his hiring structure was the introduction of director-level positions. Initially, Warren adopted a model where all team members were viewed as equals, believing this would promote collaboration and creativity. However, he soon realized that this lack of hierarchy left employees with limited opportunities for advancement. Without clear pathways to grow within the organization, talented individuals often felt stagnant, leading to disengagement and, ultimately, turnover.
A structured hierarchy with a path for career progression allows individuals who excelled in their roles to take on new challenges and responsibilities. It also serves as a chance for team members to figure out whether they liked the feeling of running a company, fostering a sense of ownership and accountability among team members.
Redefining Employee Reviews - and Having Them Review YouMost employees have a love-hate relationship with the annual review. On the one hand, they fear the feedback but on the other they also await the meeting in order to discuss a raise. At Warrenâs agency, the team conducts annual and quarterly reviews for more regular check-ins.
Although theyâre still called âreviewsâ at Warrenâs agency, Jasonâs advice is to change the term to something that doesnât evoke feelings of judgment and scrutiny, redefining this process by labeling it as a "coaching session." This emphasizes the supportive nature of the interaction, framing it as an opportunity for development rather than an evaluation of past performance.
Overall, the biggest challenge is finding the right balance of positivity while still offering areas of improvement without demotivating employees in the process. As Warren points out, traditional reviews often begin with critiques, which can overshadow positive feedback. By reorienting the conversation to highlight accomplishments first, followed by constructive suggestions for improvement, employees are more likely to retain and act upon the feedback provided.
Agency Sales: Freeing the Founder & Empowering the Team
In addition to reviewing your team, as a CEO or founder you should also want to know your areas of improvement. It can be hard getting that information out of employees, who might feel intimidated. A good framing to get the information you want is to ask "What do you want me to start doing?" "What do you want me to keep doing?" and "What do you want me to stop doing?" In this way, you will get provide enough context for valuable insights without putting your team in the awkward position of formally reviewing you.As CEO, Warrenâs current role is mostly looking for ways to support his strategy team, tapping into his network to bring more opportunities for the agency, and being the face of the agency. The CEO is also the person who has all the relationships and all the stories that shape an agencyâs identity and are a great tool to converting a new client.
Having all the stories can lead a CEO to believe no one could possibly replace them in sales, after all, only they have the necessary narratives to engage clients. However, then the agency would fall apart if the founder ever decided to retire. Instead, if you can share those stories with your team to use on different case scenarios, you will free up your time to focus on the agencyâs growth and empower your team to share their own client success stories.
In the end, are the stories from 10 or 20 years ago the only ones worth telling in your agency? For Warren, the stories being created today are just as important and even more so. Instead of romanticizing old stories, give your team the chance to use them to engage clients as they gain experience instead of just selling on features. Eventually, theyâll have stories of their own and they will take full ownership of sales, which in turn will free you up as agency owner to dedicate to the businessâ growth.
How to Maintain Purpose as Your Agency GrowsAs CEO you should do what you love and delegate or eliminate the things you donât. In Marcâs case, he enjoys sales, which he views as relationship building rather than a transactional process. He advocates for founders to carefully distinguish between tasks they love and those they want to delegate.
Completely removing yourself from sales can lead to professional dissatisfaction, so Marc recommends creating processes flexible enough to allow strategic involvement. While the team should be capable of handling most sales independently, founders can still contribute by joining initial or final calls to add depth and personal connection.
Just be mindful of the things you hate doing and want to delegate and the things that really bring you joy and wish to keep doing. Only with that clarity youâll be able to prioritize and choose a path that wonât kill your love of the work.
Do You Want to Transform Your Agency from a Liability to an Asset?Looking to dig deeper into your agency's potential? Check out our Agency Blueprint. Designed for agency owners like you, our Agency Blueprint helps you uncover growth opportunities, tackle obstacles, and craft a customized blueprint for your agency's success.
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Would you like access to our advanced agency training for FREE? https://www.agencymastery360.com/training
Is your agency in need of a rebrand? Many of us are accidental agency owners who threw together a brand without fully understanding our niche or service offering; starting with just a basic name and logo. As the agency evolves this may signal the need for a strategic brand refresh. Todayâs featured guest runs a rebranding agency and shares the scenarios that could justify a rebrand, the difference the right will name make for clients to differentiate you, and share some rebranding strategies to keep in mind.
Jim Heininger is a seasoned agency owner based in Chicago who runs two agencies: Dixon James, a strategic communication and change management firm, and the rebranding specialists known as the Rebranding Experts. With over 25 years of experience in the public relations industry, Jim discusses the importance of building a strong agency presence, why your name matters, and when is the right time to think about a rebrand.
In this episode, weâll discuss:
2 big reasons agencies rebrand
Why names matter for brand differentiation.
Things to consider before renaming your agency.
SubscribeApple | Spotify | iHeart Radio
Sponsors and ResourcesSmart Pricing Table: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by Smart Pricing Table, an award-winning proposal software built just for marketing agencies and designed to handle your unique challenges and cut down the time you spend on proposal as much as 90%. Go to smartpricingtable.com/smartagency to see if this is the missing piece your agency needs. Schedule a demo and get 50% OFF for the first two months.
What Does Brand Mean?Jim built his career in the agency environment, spending 25 years in public relations working for some major agencies like Bushman Hillard and Ketchum. Later on, he worked for McDonaldâs as a communications strategist tasked with helping them get through some brand issues they faced at the time. His time at McDonaldâs taught him a lot about the perspective on agencies and how to form great client relationships to get the best work out of your agency.
This time proved transformative for his career, it was when he had the opportunity to start his own agency and also when he started learning more about branding.
Jim defines a brand as the comprehensive collection of experiences and assets that define a company, extending far beyond visual elements like logos to encompass customer experience, brand promises, and their fulfillment.
While a brand ultimately exists in customers' minds, and youâll never be able to control how customers perceive it, you can influence that perception. Influential figures like Steve Jobs understood the importance of brand narratives and greatly admired Nike, which has mastered the art of branding by creating a strong identity that transcends their products.
Businesses should actively manage their brand perception rather than allowing external forces to dictate it. Hence, it is only logical they consider rebranding once the brand no longer represents their business.
2 Big Reason to Consider an Agency RebrandAccording to Jim, agencies are the business category that most frequently undergo rebrands. It makes sense, given so many are accidental agencies. Many agency owners begin as skilled practitioners who establish a business in response to growing client demand, often resulting in a created brands that may not stand the test of time.
There are two common reasons why founders consider a rebrand:
Make it all about the business, instead of yourself. Many agencies initially build their brand around the founder's expertise. As the business grows, however, there's often a strategic need to highlight the broader team's capabilities, reducing client expectations for direct founder involvement in every project.
Niching down. Another common scenario prompting a rebrand is when an agency decides to niche down its services. While owners might worry about alienating existing clients through rebranding, Jim notes that clients typically focus more on service quality and results than brand aesthetics.
Rebranding is not merely a cosmetic change; it is a strategic decision that requires careful consideration. If your current brand fails to differentiate you from competitors or clearly communicate your value proposition and target audience, it could be time to rebrand. Success lies in approaching it as a strategic initiative, involving key stakeholders, and maintaining focus on innovation and market relevance.
Ultimately, a well-executed rebrand not only revitalizes an agency's image but also reinforces its commitment to delivering exceptional value to clients in an ever-changing environment.
Why Names Matter for Brand DifferentiationIf we look around, weâre surrounded by big brands with names that didnât necessarily mean much before their success gave it meaning. For examlpe, did âgoogleâ even mean anything before 1998? Itâs natural to ask ourselves then if a name is really that important.
For small businesses, yes, a name is very important because itâs your opportunity to put something compelling out there, capture the audienceâs attention, and differentiate your business. Nowadays itâs getting harder to name a corporation, as it seems the good names are all taken. This has led to a trend of using unconventional names, which, while potentially memorable, risk confusing potential clients. The balance between distinctiveness and clarity has become a critical consideration in the naming process.
Jimâs approach to rebranding starts with a name that is packed with meaning, is exciting to the client, and inspires them to put together a cohesive elevator pitch. A well-chosen name should serve as a foundation for effective storytelling, enabling businesses to communicate their value proposition clearly and memorably.
Things to Consider Before Renaming Your AgencyA name serves as the first point of contact between a brand and its audience and should encapsulate the essence of the agency's mission, values, and unique offerings. Thereâs a lot of work to be done before landing on the perfect name, like understanding your differentiators, your promise to customers, and the legacy you want to leave. Understanding these elements correctly will help you come up with a clear brand promise and a word that represents that promise and brings it to light.
Additionally, think about the type of word you want. Do you want a descriptive word? Do you want to coin a term? Or maybe borrow meanings from existing words that can be contextualized within the industry? Naming, therefore, becomes a strategic endeavor that requires a deep understanding of the agency's strengths and the value it offers to clients.
Just remember the approval timeline associated with trademarking a name can take up to a year, which is why agencies should be confident in their chosen name and conduct a thorough review process, ensuring that it not only resonates with the brand's identity but is also legally viable.
Do You Want to Transform Your Agency from a Liability to an Asset?Looking to dig deeper into your agency's potential? Check out our Agency Blueprint. Designed for agency owners like you, our Agency Blueprint helps you uncover growth opportunities, tackle obstacles, and craft a customized blueprint for your agency's success.
-
Would you like access to our advanced agency training for FREE? https://www.agencymastery360.com/training
Do you need to get yourself out of agency operations so you can work ON the agency rather than in it? Are you stuck in processes and fulfillment when you should be looking at growth? It might be time to hire for the role of COO to ensure your agency's success. A Chief Operating Officer plays a pivotal role in an agency's development, significantly reducing the CEO's operational burden. However, timing is crucial â agencies should carefully consider their growth stage before initiating the search for a COO, and thoroughly understand the position's complexities to ensure an ideal match.
Our featured guest brings a unique perspective to this discussion. Having served as both COO and now CEO at her current agency, she offers valuable insights into the essential qualities needed for the role. Her experience illuminates the delicate balance required between the visionary (CEO) and the executor (COO), demonstrating how this partnership can drive optimal agency outcomes.
Brittany Filori is the CEO of 51Blocks and several other white label agencies serving agency owners and entrepreneurs. She discusses the crucial role of a Chief Operating Officer (COO) in agency management and shares her unique journey from starting at the bottom to becoming a CEO, providing valuable insights into the relationship dynamics between CEOs and COOs.
In this episode, weâll discuss:
Do you need a COO or an Ops Manager?
The most important roles of a great COO.
The crucial CEO-COO dynamic.
Preventing COO burnout.
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Sponsors and ResourcesE2M Solutions: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by E2M Solutions, a web design, and development agency that has provided white-label services for the past 10 years to agencies all over the world. Check out e2msolutions.com/smartagency and get 10% off for the first three months of service.
Should You Hire an Operations Manager or a COO?The decision to hire a Chief Operating Officer (COO) marks a critical turning point in an agency's growth journey. Brittany recalls transiting to a COO role once her agency was big enough to need department managers. Of course, this can vary from business to business but for her it comes down to whether the owner was ready to hand off the keys of the businessâ growth, and whether they needed a second hand to get the agency to the next level.
Unlike an Operations Manager, whose role is managing the team, the COO is often seen as the backbone of an organization, responsible for ensuring day-to-day operations align with broader strategic goals. According to Brittany, bringing in a COO could be the best or worst decision you make, depending on who you put in that seat.
Itâs certainly a tricky role to hire and Brittany urges agency owners to clearly define their needs. Are you seeking someone to manage personnel, or do you need a strategic thinker to drive business growth and operational excellence? These fundamental questions can mean the difference between a successful hire and a costly misstep.
Strategic Operations Staffing for Growing AgenciesFor growing agencies not yet ready for a COO, an operations manager can provide crucial support by taking on team management responsibilities. Given the high-stress nature of operations and its potential for burnout, finding the right person requires careful consideration of both management skills and operational expertise.
Agencies usually pay a pretty penny for someone who comes in with that talent. However, for smaller agencies that donât have the budget for an Operations Manager just yet, Brittany recommends training the best account manager to start to fit into that role.
A great Ops Manager should be a great leader with attention to detail and the ability to see the big picture. This internal promotion strategy provides a cost-effective path to filling a critical role while also creating growth opportunities that can boost team morale and retention.
3 Most Important Roles of an Amazing COOA COO serves as the backbone of an organization, balancing multiple critical responsibilities that directly impact both the company's success and its culture. Here are three key attributes that define an exceptional COO:
Comprehensive knowledge of the agency. A great COO must understand how each department functions independently and how they interconnect to support one another. This understanding extends beyond internal operations to encompass the client perspective, as every strategic decision must account for both team capabilities and customer experience.
Strong financial intelligence is crucial for effective operations management. COOs must constantly evaluate agency profitability, assess resource allocation, analyze client contribution margins, and monitor employee costs. For example, an experienced COO like Brittany learns to view every decision through both a financial and customer-centric lens. Whereas earlier in their careers, they might have focused primarily on client satisfaction without fully considering the financial impact on the agency.
Leadership excellence stands as a fundamental yet often overlooked requirement. Many mistakenly believe that a COO's role revolves solely around numbers and processes. However, the position demands someone who can effectively guide and inspire teams toward organizational goals. Strong communication skills and leadership abilities are not optional extras but prerequisites for success in this role.
The Dynamic Between the CEOs & COOsThe relationship between CEO and COO is more nuanced than many realize, according to Brittany. At its core, it's a partnership between a visionary and an integrator, where the greatest challenge lies in maintaining distinct roles despite overlapping talents. Rather than seeking a mirror image of themselves, CEOs should look for COOs who complement their strengthsâeven if that means partnering with someone who seems like their opposite.
With these inherent differences, CEOs and COOs must learn to manage conflict, which instead of being avoided, should be embraced as a necessary element of collaboration that can serve as a mechanism for clarity. In her case, Brittany and her COO find the most constructive way to navigate conflict is to stick to facts and remove emotion. You want a COO who will complement you while also challenging you to think differently about issues to obtain the best possible results.
In an effective CEO-COO relationship, the foundation is trust and communication, anchored by shared core values and commitment to the organization's mission.
Brittanyâs advice to CEOs is to let your COO fail. If you donât fully agree with how theyâre planning to execute something give them a shot to try it their way. If they fail, your job as CEO is to help pick them back up, not criticize them, because otherwise they wonât feel confident bringing forward innovative ideas in the future.
Preventing COO Burnout: Building a Sustainable Leadership StructureAs Brittany highlights, finding the right COO is just the beginning; ensuring their longevity within the organization is equally vital.
The COO often bears the brunt of operational stress, alleviating burdens from the CEO and other leadership roles. Therefore, it is crucial for agency owners to actively support their COOs by ensuring they have all the tools they need to execute efficiently and feel supported. Implementing structured platforms for dialogue, such as regular check-ins and performance reviews, can facilitate healthy discussions about workload, expectations, and career aspirations. This not only helps in managing stress levels but also reinforces a sense of partnership and collaboration between the COO and the rest of the leadership team.
COOs can get overwhelmed and stressed too. Finding one that matches your organization well is already hard enough so once you do, make sure you can find a way to retain them.
Do You Want to Transform Your Agency from a Liability to an Asset?Looking to dig deeper into your agency's potential? Check out our Agency Blueprint. Designed for agency owners like you, our Agency Blueprint helps you uncover growth opportunities, tackle obstacles, and craft a customized blueprint for your agency's success.
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Would you like access to our advanced agency training for FREE? https://www.agencymastery360.com/training
Is artificial intelligence revolutionizing business operations or threatening the carefully crafted storytelling techniques developed over decades? As many businesses struggle with integrating AI while maintaining authentic connections, today's featured guest offers valuable insights from his perspective as both an agency leader and AI advocate as well as someone who can see some of the fatigue caused by the ever-growing demand for constant information that has been aided by AI and the availability to create content faster and efficiently. He shares the ways he is integrating AI technology into his own agency, and why he believes it wonât work when it comes to replacing the human touch. Learn about his vision for AI use in business, the trends he sees changing in consumer preferences in social media, and how agencies can adapt to AI.
Marc Beckman is the co-founder and CEO of DMA United, a New York City agency specializing in style and design, with a broad reach into fashion, art, music, sports, and entertainment. He shares the pros and cons of building great relationships with company CMOs, his agencyâs challenges improving at self-promotion, and how he sees AI has affecting the very human art of storytelling.
In this episode, weâll discuss:
Building a reputation that attracts big brands.
The double-edged sword of CMO relationships.
AI integration done right; the framework agencies need.
Did AI kill storytelling?
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Sponsors and ResourcesSmart Pricing Table: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by Smart Pricing Table, an award-winning proposal software built just for marketing agencies and designed to handle your unique challenges and cut down the time you spend on proposal as much as 90%. Go to smartpricingtable.com/smartagency to see if this is the missing piece your agency needs. Schedule a demo and get 50% OFF for the first two months.
Building a Reputation That Attracts Big BrandsOver thirty years ago, Marc, then the owner of a cosmetic company, met a branding specialist who had carved out his niche in the luxury sector. Their initial collaboration proved so successful that when Christian Dior acquired Marc's cosmetic company, the two of them saw an opportunity to create something bigger together and joined forces as DMA United.
According to Marc, their agency's approach has never been about self-promotion or chasing after marquee clients for the sake of reputation. Instead, Marc and his partner built their reputation on letting the work speak for itself. By focusing on the work rather than the accolades, DMA United has built a reputation that attracts clients organically, including industry giants like Sony Music, Warner Brothers Entertainment, and Pepsi.
Pros and Cons of Getting in Bed with a CMOStarting with their first big clients, Kerastase (a L'Oreal subsidiary), Marcâs agency was able to move to working with other big names thanks in part to the relationships they built with CMOs. As CMOs move from one company to another, they often bring their trusted agency partners, creating a network of opportunities based on proven performance. Some of these CMOs have worked with his agency for their entire careers from big brand to big brand.
This dynamic also presents challenges. When a CMO leaves, the new leadership may seek to reinvent their brand strategy, often leading to the loss of established partnerships. Marc acknowledges this double-edged sword but suggests agencies can mitigate this risk by diversifying their offerings. By expanding their skill set beyond traditional marketing and into emerging technologies like blockchain, Web3, and artificial intelligence, his agency has created a unique value proposition that makes it harder for people to let go of them.
AI Integration Done Right: A Strategic Framework for Agency InnovationAs a proponent and an author on AI integration in agency operations, Marc has developed a nuanced approach to incorporating artificial intelligence into his agency's work, focusing primarily on two areas: data analysis and content creation.
In the fashion and lifestyle sectors where Marc's agency operates, traditional data analysis often poses significant challenges. Executive teams typically struggle with multiple data sets and time-consuming reporting processes, making swift market responses difficult. AI technology addresses this pain point by enabling real-time data analysis, allowing executives to make informed decisions instantly. CEOs and CMOs can now evaluate marketing campaign performance across platforms immediately and adjust budget allocations dynamically for optimal results.
However, Marc's enthusiasm for AI comes with careful consideration of its limitations, particularly in creative work. While AI excels at generating quick visual content and creating operational efficiencies, his agency maintains a balanced approach. The technology's current state, still in its infancy, serves best as a complementary tool rather than a replacement for human creativity. The core of effective storytelling and branding, Marc argues, remains rooted in human insight and emotional intelligence.
Overall, his vision isn't about surrendering creativity to algorithms but rather about leveraging AI's strengths while preserving the irreplaceable human element in creative work and that, rather than a threat, businesses should focus on harnessing its potential to enhance their operations and drive innovation. Therefore, the future of creativity lies not in the replacement of human input but in the collaboration between human ingenuity and AI capabilities.
Did AI Kill Storytelling?While artificial intelligence excels at producing high-volume, short-form content for our attention-starved digital landscape, he questions whether this marks the end of meaningful storytelling or perhaps signals an impending shift in consumer preferences.
The current media environment, saturated with brief clips and advertisements, has created a paradox: content is more abundant than ever, yet authentic engagement seems increasingly rare. Although AI helps meet the demand for constant content production, its output often lacks the emotional resonance and nuanced understanding that human creators naturally bring to their work.
There are growing signs of content fatigue among audiences which suggests a potential revival of long-form storytelling that weaves narratives that consumers can relate to. Brands can certainly benefit from this return to long-form that allows them to become educators and storytellers, providing insights that empower consumers in their decision-making processes.
AI can still be a center component in the creation of this longer content, of course, Marc just emphasizes itâll always need human overseeing to give it the relatability that will really engage people and keep them coming back.
Do You Want to Transform Your Agency from a Liability to an Asset?Looking to dig deeper into your agency's potential? Check out our Agency Blueprint. Designed for agency owners like you, our Agency Blueprint helps you uncover growth opportunities, tackle obstacles, and craft a customized blueprint for your agency's success.
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Would you like access to our advanced agency training for FREE? https://www.agencymastery360.com/training
Are you leveraging public speaking to grow your brand? Have you considered expanding your reach by having team members represent your company at events or interviews? Todayâs featured guest has transformed public speaking from a marketing tactic into a primary source of new business leads. In just three years, he went from getting most of his business from webinars to getting most of his leads from his speaking engagements.
In this episode, learn the common fears that keep agency owners from speaking at more events, the type of speaker you should be to attract more business, and why you should consider building a team willing to share their expertise and promote your agency at events or interviews.
Dale Bertrand is the founder of Fire & Spark, a Boston-based SEO agency with a team of 25. He shares his journey from being a software developer to diving into the world of digital marketing. He also shares about transforming his love for public speaking into a key agency tool to promote his business and getting new leads. With a busy schedule of 30 conferences annually, he shares how he built his speaking career and what lies ahead to keep the momentum going.
In this episode, weâll discuss:
Where to start in public speaking.
Should you give away your secrets? Why the âgiverâ speaker sees results.
Converting speaking engagements into business growth.
The benefits of sharing the spotlight.
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Sponsors and ResourcesE2M Solutions: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by E2M Solutions, a web design, and development agency that has provided white-label services for the past 10 years to agencies all over the world. Check out e2msolutions.com/smartagency and get 10% off for the first three months of service.
How Public Speaking Transformed an AgencyFrustrated with his previous career as a software developer, Dale sought to learn more about digital marketing. Already dabbling in website development and affiliate marketing in his spare time, Dale found the digital marketing field appealing enough to leave his coding career behind. This transition led him to consulting and eventually founding his own agency, which has grown into a seven-figure business.
Until 2023, most new business came through webinars and strategic partnerships. However, an unexpected shift occurred as speaking engagements began generating the majority of his leads. This transformation was particularly notable by 2024, when conference appearances became his primary source of new business.
Before the pandemic, Dale had only attended a few small events, enough to discover his passion for public speaking. Once restrictions lifted, came his big opportunity. Many conferences were now looking for speakers, as many dropped out due to the reduced audiences. Dale took the chance, said yes to everything, and started a new unexpected stage in his career where he now travels most weeks doing something he really enjoys.
How to Easily Gain Confidence as a SpeakerUnderstandably, many people fear getting on stage as an expert, especially if theyâre not very familiar with the subject. When Dale first started making taking the stage at these events, he spoke about his own case studies. It was a subject he knew well and felt comfortable talking about. This helped when it came to gaining confidence as a speaker and was something audiences loved because it was like pulling back the curtain on his processes and what he does.
For Dale, this is the ideal place to start, because instead of a dry informational speech youâre providing insights and tips based on something you actually worked on and are passionate about.
How to Prepare for a Speaking Event:You should never just show up to an event without previously researching and preparing for the subject youâll be covering. Dale has a comprehensive "event playbook"âa detailed spreadsheet outlining thirty specific preparation tasks for each speaking engagement. This tool outlines key strategies and actions tailored to the specific conference, which includes researching other speakers, understanding the audience demographics, and identifying potential opportunities for networking.
Understanding his audience allows him to craft targeted content that resonates with attendees, while additional initiatives like hosting dinner events create valuable opportunities for deeper connections in a more relaxed setting.
While the process itself isn't complicated, Dale clarifies this is not a process he completes on his own. He has three people on his team who help him execute this playbook starting from the planning and execution to following up with attendees afterword.
Why Being a Giver Delivers the Best ResultsIn public speaking, you may encounter two types of speakers, the givers and the takers. The takers often approach speaking engagements with a transactional mindset, focusing on what they can extract from the audienceâbe it attention, leads, or salesâwithout offering substantial value in return. In contrast, givers prioritize the audience's needs and interests, sharing insights and methodologies generously.
Dale firmly believes itâs better to be a giver and often ends up sharing more than he had intended to. As a representative for an SEO agency, he advocates for a strategy of sharing even the most intricate details of their methodology, dubbed "SEO for Revenue."
By openly discussing their framework and providing actionable insights, Dale empowers his audience to understand the complexities of SEO while simultaneously positioning himself as a credible expert. Some people may think heâs sharing too much, but most of the time what happens is that half the people try execute his recommendations and the other half decide they donât have the time to do it themselves and contract his services.
This tactic not only builds confidence in the speaker's capabilities but also encourages potential clients to seek their assistance when they realize the challenges involved in executing such strategies independently.
Converting Speaking Engagements into Business GrowthSpeaking at events can be an excellent way to grow your business by getting yourself in front of your audience and establish your expertise. However, it can also be quite expensive. In his case, Dale doesnât pay to get a spot in these events. Half of the time he gets paid to speak and the other half he pays for his airfare and hotel.
As long as it nets out to zero, heâs willing to attend as many conferences as he gets invited to. Speaking engagements offer not only a platform to share knowledge but also a unique opportunity to build credibility and foster connections that can lead to significant business growth, in addition to the visibility it can offer, as one speaking engagement can serve as a stepping stone to further opportunities.
Pro Tip: Include a Call to ActionTo ensure youâll get the most of your time on stage and go home with new leads, Dale recommends adding a call to action that can get some audience members to send you their contact information. He makes sure to include a slide in the middle of his presentation with a QR code for anyone who wants to download the slides. This way, they fill out a form offering him a way to follow up after a few days. This call to action can vary depending on the topic of discussion. For instance, it may be a piece of content pertaining to the topic discussed or slides with prompts he mentioned during the presentation.
In the case of smaller groups, like a webinar, he already has their contact information and focuses on getting people to sign up for a strategy session.
The Benefits of Sharing the Spotlight with Your TeamWith a few years of public speaking under your belt, you may start to recognize the importance of being selective with the events you attend to throughout the year. You may not want to travel as much and consider not attending the smaller events. In these cases, Dale encourages a team member to participate in speaking engagements as a strategic way to amplify his agencyâs presence.
As he sees it, nowadays everyone can be an influencer in their own right and can contribute to the brand's visibility. This is something heâll consider for future hires with a view to cultivate a team of individuals willing to share their insights and expertise to attract clients and enhance credibility. By fostering a culture that encourages and supports public speaking, businesses can cultivate a diverse array of voices that contribute to their growth and visibility.
Do You Want to Transform Your Agency from a Liability to an Asset?Looking to dig deeper into your agency's potential? Check out our Agency Blueprint. Designed for agency owners like you, our Agency Blueprint helps you uncover growth opportunities, tackle obstacles, and craft a customized blueprint for your agency's success.
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Would you like access to our advanced agency training for FREE? https://www.agencymastery360.com/training
Have you dedicated time to ensure the health of your email list? If you've built a 15,000-person email list for your businessâthat's a huge accomplishment! But what if that list isn't performing? If your open rates are as low, that number becomes meaningless. It's not about the quantity of subscribers, but the quality of your engagement. Moreover, if youâre not consistently delivering valuable content that keeps you top-of-mind as a problem-solver, then you're not maximizing the potential of your list.
Today's featured guest shares his insights on effective email marketing strategies, including optimal content delivery frequency, list maintenance best practices, and how his agency has evolved over the past decade. Drawing from his experience, he advocates for email marketing as a reliable channel that doesn't depend on unpredictable social media algorithms. He believes many companies are overlooking a gold mine by fixating on new client acquisition while neglecting their existing client base.
Reade Milner is the co-owner of Rogue Pine, a digital marketing agency focused on the middle of the funnel and email marketing. Reade shares his journey into the world of digital marketing and discusses why many agencies are actually sitting on a gold mine when theyâre searching for new clients. Reade also shares how often you should be sending value content to your lists, and more.
In this episode, weâll discuss:
Why most agencies are sitting on a gold mine.
How to build a newsletter people will actually want to read.
Why 40% is the new 20% in open rates.
SubscribeApple | Spotify | iHeart Radio
Sponsors and ResourcesSmart Pricing Table: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by Smart Pricing Table, an award-winning proposal software built just for marketing agencies and designed to handle your unique challenges and cut down the time you spend on proposal as much as 90%. Go to smartpricingtable.com/smartagency to see if this is the missing piece your agency needs. Schedule a demo and get 50% OFF for the first two months.
How Real-World Experience Shaped a Marketing CareerReadeâs digital marketing journey began as a high school student, when he worked at a family business and was tasked with figuring out how to build a digital strategy to attract customers online. Looking back, he doesnât know how serious they were in trusting such a young person with an important component of their business. However, Reade took it very seriously since it seemed like a smart thing to learn.
The abilities he gained from that experience and then starting and crashing his own business in college helped him continue down the path of marketing and content, working at an agency right after college. According to Reade, going through college taught him nothing about digital marketing or the skills he would continue to develop to succeed in that industry. Instead, it was the Hubspot certifications he completed during his time at that agency what helped him learn the marketing terminology he needed. At that time, he also started to take side projects, which led to eventually starting his own agency.
Why Most Marketing Agencies Are Sitting on a Gold MineMany businesses focus heavily on client acquisition while overlooking the valuable opportunity of growing their relationships with existing clients. These established relationships represent untapped potential for growth, as current clients already understand and trust your services, making them more likely to engage with additional offerings.
To remain relevant in these clientsâ minds, Reade emphasizes the importance of consolidating client contacts from various sourcesâCRMs, spreadsheets, and databasesâinto a comprehensive email list and establishing consistent, meaningful communication through targeted content creation.
What is stopping most people from grabbing this low-hanging fruit? Many fear that emailing clients too often leads to them unsubscribing from their list. However, the risk of being irrelevant to them is far worse and gets you nowhere. Remember, if you donât ask, the answer will always be no.
Regular engagement will ensure customers are aware of your continued growth and ability to address their evolving business challenges. Moreover, satisfied clients often become brand advocates, providing referrals and testimonials that can be invaluable for attracting new business.
3 Key Sections to Build Newsletters People Actually Want to ReadWhen it comes to client communications, Reade believes thereâs no such thing as too long, just too boring. If the information you offer is useful to people, they wonât mind skimming through it to get to the most important aspects. If itâs useless, however, theyâll ignore it even if itâs just a paragraph.
If youâre just getting started with a newsletter or are trying to establish consistency in your content, Reade recommends having three sections:
Original section, where youâre leading with value by offering an original piece of content.
Curated section with recommendations of social media posts, articles, or videos you recommend.
Highlight section, where you can highlight case studies or products or services you offer.
Itâs enough to keep people informed about your services and milestones while not being too overwhelming.
Reade also dives into the effectiveness of subject lines and why it lies not in its consistency but in its ability to pique curiosity and draw the reader in. While establishing a recognizable brand can be valuable, he believes in the need for experimentation to generate curiosity. So instead of leading with your company name (ie: The XYZ Newsletter #45) try to create curiosity by leading with a particular piece of information that may be very useful for your audience.
Furthermore, testing various subject linesâfrom intriguing questions to bold statementsâcan yield insights into what resonates most with the audience. The goal is to spark interest and drive opens, which ultimately leads to deeper engagement with the content itself.
Why 40% is the New Standard for Email Open RatesFor Reade, 40% is the new 20% in terms of the goal for open rates. Aiming for a 40% open rate might be more appropriate nowadays considering the changes in email platforms and clients that often auto-open emails for security purposes, which can artificially inflate open rates. This is why he recommends recalibrating expectations and focusing on achieving higher engagement metrics that reflect the true interest of your audience.
In addition to content quality, list management plays a crucial role in optimizing your email engagement. For Reade, itâs worth it to prune your email list to remove subscribers who are no longer interested in your content and thus refine your audience. This improves engagement rates and ensures you communications are reaching individuals genuinely interested in you offerings. Itâs essential for maintaining a healthy email list that drives meaningful interactions.
Interestingly, Reade places less emphasis on clickthrough rates compared to open rates. He recommends embedding complete content within emails rather than relying on external links. While low clickthrough rates aren't necessarily concerning when paired with healthy open rates, they can signal an opportunity to optimize content strategy. This might involve refining newsletter language and call-to-action elements to better guide readers toward desired interactions, especially when specific clickthrough targets exist.
The Power of Direct: Why You Shouldnât Overlook the Impact of EmailWhile email marketing might not be considered the most glamorous marketing channelâsome even see it as outdatedâthe data tells a different story. People are forty times more likely to make a purchase after receiving an email from a company than after seeing a social media post.
This highlights the power of direct communication. Email marketing allows businesses to connect with their audience personally, fostering engagement and driving sales in a way that social media often can't. Unlike the ever-shifting algorithms of social media platforms, email provides a stable, owned channel for nurturing leads and ensuring consistent outreach to an audience that has already expressed interest in the brand.
Do You Want to Transform Your Agency from a Liability to an Asset?Looking to dig deeper into your agency's potential? Check out our Agency Blueprint. Designed for agency owners like you, our Agency Blueprint helps you uncover growth opportunities, tackle obstacles, and craft a customized blueprint for your agency's success.
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Would you like access to our advanced agency training for FREE? https://www.agencymastery360.com/training
Do you face a lot of skepticism from clients who have been disappointed by agencies before? How do you go about gaining their trust? After seven years running his agency, todayâs featured guest still lists that mistrust as one of his primary challenges and talks about his strategic approach to overcoming this hurdle: combining client education with precise problem identification to deliver time-saving solutions that truly impact their businesses. This approach not only helps rebuild trust damaged by previous agency experiences but also positions marketing as a genuine catalyst for business growth.
Join us as we explore how agencies can move beyond surface-level marketing solutions to become trusted partners in their clients' success stories.
James Loomstein is the managing partner of Rogue Marketing, a digital agency based in Dallas that serves mostly mid-market B2B companies across various sectors. They are business builders committed to solving client problems, whether it's entering a new market, seeking acquisition, or launching new products. James reflects on his journey into the marketing world and the biggest challenges he faced while building his agency.
In this episode, weâll discuss:
Rebuilding trust and overcoming skepticism.
The secret to agency longevity.
SubscribeApple | Spotify | iHeart Radio
Sponsors and ResourcesE2M Solutions: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by E2M Solutions, a web design, and development agency that has provided white-label services for the past 10 years to agencies all over the world. Check out e2msolutions.com/smartagency and get 10% off for the first three months of service.
A Winding Path into the Digital Agency IndustryJames began his career journey in the early 2000s with a clear goal: to work in marketing. Initially starting in consulting, he found the path to marketing restricted, with an MBA in marketing and strategy as one of the few avenues available. During his studies, he noticed his classmates worked at companies like Kimberly Clarke and American Airlines, which have them a significant advantage and positioned them for immediate brand management roles upon graduation.
James realized early on that the way into the agency world was to start his own agency. However, he still needed the experience so he interned at a big company and after graduation he started to work at Omnicom as a business analyst. Over the years, he worked at different companies and startups.
During the economic downturn of 2008, frustrated with job instability and slow career advancement, James established Digital Space. Over the next four years, he refined his business model, carefully selecting clients and defining his service scope. Eventually, he ended up working for the company where he met his future partner Chip.
Once both he and Chip resigned two years later, their collaboration seemed natural. Chip's agency, Rogue, and James's Digital Space frequently worked together, leading to their official merger in 2016. This partnership marked the beginning of a successful joint venture that continues to thrive.
Rebuilding Client Trust and Overcoming SkepticismSeven years post-merger, James identifies two major challenges theyâve faced in their growth journey. First, he's learned that accepting unsuitable projects benefits only the client or hired freelancer, never the agency. While difficult to implement, this selective approach has become crucial to maintaining the agency's integrity and fostering meaningful client relationships.
Second, heâs had to face the challenge of the damaged reputation agencies sometimes have among mid-market companies. Having been disappointed by previous agency experiences, these clients often approach marketing services with skepticism. James frequently finds himself rehabilitating the industry's image while diving deeper to uncover the true nature of clients' challenges. Often, what is labeled as a "marketing problem" may actually stem from underlying issues within a company's operational framework. Agencies must strive to understand the specific challenges their clients face and tailor their strategies accordingly. It is the way to create tangible value and measurable results for their clients.
James attributes these agency failures to the low barriers to entry the marketing industry where anyone can claim expertise in marketing with minimal experience. He strongly advocates for aspiring agency owners to gain corporate or agency experience before launching their ventures, arguing that understanding business fundamentals is crucial for success with mid-market clients. Without this foundation, agencies risk failing both themselves and their clients.
The Secret to Agency LongevityFor James, new agencies should start by mastering a specific, well-defined service that delivers clear value to clients. What is something you can take off their plate? What is an area with a specific outcome to achieve? It might start with something very small but if you do it well youâll not only solve a problem, youâll also build trust, have a story to tell, and find a way to move forward.
Additionally, donât just look to solve the clientâs problem. Ask yourself whether or not youâre saving them time. If youâre solving problems but clients are constantly telling you what to do, then youâre replaceable. People will always trade time for convenience so itâs to your advantage to do what you can to take the pressure off the client.
For emerging agency owners, James outlines three essential steps:
define your target audience
identify their core problem
establish clear performance metrics.
If potential clients can't articulate their success metrics, they're likely not an ideal fit. Clear expectations and accountability from the start build the foundation for lasting partnerships.
Do You Want to Transform Your Agency from a Liability to an Asset?
This focus on measurable results has led James' agency to move away from traditional retainer models, which often lead to diminishing client satisfaction over time. Instead, his agency has adopted a performance-based approach that emphasizes consistent value delivery throughout the relationship. This results-oriented strategy helps prevent client churn by maintaining clear accountability and demonstrating ongoing value.Looking to dig deeper into your agency's potential? Check out our Agency Blueprint. Designed for agency owners like you, our Agency Blueprint helps you uncover growth opportunities, tackle obstacles, and craft a customized blueprint for your agency's success.
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Would you like access to our advanced agency training for FREE? https://www.agencymastery360.com/training
Are you leveraging the power of podcasting to grow your agency? Whether through guest appearances on industry shows or hosting your own podcast, this medium offers unique opportunities to showcase expertise and connect with potential clients. However, while appearing on established podcasts can help spread your message, creating your own show ultimately provides greater control over brand messaging and client conversion.
For marketing agencies, podcasting has become an essential marketing tool that can drive significant conversions. Today's featured guest, a podcast expert, specializes in helping clients navigate the complex balance between audience value and revenue generation. She tackles crucial questions many business owners face in their podcasting journey: optimal timing for monetization, strategies for brand partnerships, and most importantly, maintaining focus on audience benefit. Her insights reveal how to build a podcast that not only generates revenue but also provides lasting value to listeners.
Traci DeForge is the founder and CEO of Produce Your Podcast, an award-winning podcast and marketing agency that is well-known for helping clients leverage their podcasts for revenue growth. She discusses the significant role podcasts play in driving revenue for business owners and consultants and shares her insights on best practices for pitching to get on podcasts, tips for being an effective podcast guest, and why the best call to action is leading people back to your own podcast.
In this episode, weâll discuss:
The easiest way to be a great podcast guest.
The importance of storytelling to capture your podcast audience.
AI-generated podcast content and itâs limitations.
How to re-energize a stale podcast.
SubscribeApple | Spotify | iHeart Radio
Sponsors and ResourcesSmart Pricing Table: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by Smart Pricing Table, an award-winning proposal software built just for marketing agencies and designed to handle your unique challenges and cut down the time you spend on proposal as much as 90%. Go to smartpricingtable.com/smartagency to see if this is the missing piece your agency needs. Schedule a demo and get 50% OFF for the first two months.
Don't Be That Guest: Listen First, Pitch LaterAs a professional who helps clients maximize their podcast opportunities, Traci emphasizes that while podcasts can be powerful platforms for business owners to share expertise and promote their ventures, success requires a strategic approach. The most critical step before pitching yourself as a guest, she insists, is to actually listen to the show you're targeting.
Nothing frustrates podcast hosts more than receiving pitches from people who clearly haven't invested time in understanding their show or audience. A potential guest can immediately stand out simply by demonstrating familiarity with the podcast's format, tone, listener base in their outreach, and more importantly, what value they can bring to that audience. Each show has its unique style and requirements, making a one-size-fits-all approach ineffective.
The rise of AI-generated mass outreach has only heightened the importance of personalization. Many people send automated messages with text easily identified as something drafted by AI to be sent to maybe hundreds of people. A personalized approach reflects genuine interest and sets you apart from the countless generic pitches that inundate podcast hosts daily while also establishing rapport. This initial investment of time and effort significantly increases your chances of securing a guest spot and creating valuable content for the show's audience.
Tips to Prepare to Be a Great Podcast GuestOnce you get in and are set to be a podcast guest, there are ways you can ensure youâll be a great guest who provides great value to the show while making sure you also drive business.
First, you want to be prepared for how a host usually runs their show. Ideally, Traci recommends you listen to a few episodes so youâll be familiar with the most important questions they ask and be prepared to answer in a thoughtful way.
At the same time, you want to make sure you can come across to the audience as someone who is sharing relevant information about yourself and your business without it becoming an entire infomercial about your business. In this regard, Traci also mentions the importance of having a good call to action. Donât list fifteen different ways people can get in touch with you, but rather one specific request that enables you to continue the conversation with your audience after theyâve consumed the podcast. Ideally, send people to listen to your own podcast, since thereâs no better way to grow a show than appearing as a guest on other shows and being exposed to an audience whoâs already consuming podcast content similar to what you share.
Using Storytelling to Captivate Your Podcast AudienceAs a podcast guest, another good way to get the audience interested in what you do is to sprinkle some relevant stories throughout the conversation in a way thatâs not staged or phony. People like to hear stories, and if theyâre success stories this steps up a way for you to connect with someoneâs pain points or aspirations.
This is something that will also greatly help you as a podcast host. At its core, podcasting is about storytelling. Listeners are drawn to narratives that evoke emotions, inspire, and offer relatable experiences. The ability to weave personal stories into discussions creates a sense of intimacy and relatability.
Even if you donât consider yourself a natural storyteller, the key is to identify a few authentic stories that you feel comfortable sharing. This approach fosters a genuine connection with listeners who may be grappling with similar pain points or aspirations. When a host shares a success story, it not only provides hope but also establishes credibility, allowing listeners to envision themselves achieving similar outcomes.
Why AI-Generated Content Can't Replace Authentic PodcastingNowadays with AI itâs possible for someone to just save a couple of interesting articles about a certain topic, have an AI read it while replicating their voice and tone, and then post it as a podcast episodes after adding their intro and outro music. Thatâs how far the technology has come. However, Traci warns that although these tactics to get episodes out quickly with the least amount of effort can get you into the top of the funnel itâll never replace the trust you build by having an authentic conversation with a guest.
Listeners crave authenticity, and the fear remains that reliance on AI-generated content could lead to a robotic and impersonal experience. The podcasting community thrives on the unique perspectives and experiences that individuals bring, and it is this authenticity that sets successful podcasts apart.
The ability to engage in sincere conversations about your expertise and passion creates an environment where listeners can truly understand what it would be like to work with you. Unlike written blog posts or advertisements, a podcast allows for a more nuanced and dynamic exchange of ideas. The natural energy of a host's voice, along with their unique inflections and pauses, conveys emotions that text alone cannot replicate. This authenticity becomes a powerful vehicle for connection, enabling listeners to feel as if they are part of a shared journey.
How to Reenergize Your PodcastAs more creators enter the space, the challenge of standing out and reaching new audiences has intensified. The podcasting world is no longer just about producing quality content; itâs equally about ensuring that content is accessible and easily found by potential listeners. This is why if you feel your show is in need of a boost Traci recommends digging into the discoverability, which refers to how easily listeners can find your podcast.
As a creator, you must consider how your content appears in search results and how it can be promoted across various platforms. The key elements which affects your podcastâs appearance to new listeners goes from simple elements like its name and accompanying description, to how youâre utilizing podcast platforms. One of the first steps in enhancing discoverability is conducting a thorough podcast audit.
A well-rounded audit should spend a significant amount of time analyzing the state of the podcast, including its format, production value, and how potential listeners are searching for content similar to what the podcast offers. This perspective shift can illuminate gaps in the podcastâs visibility and provide a roadmap for improvement.
Once youâve optimized your content, you could turn to surveying your audience to ensure the content youâre putting out is the content theyâre interested in listening to. You can also look at the way youâre putting out that content, paying attention to aspects like whether you should prioritize short-form content over long-form content and what are you doing on each side to convert listeners to the other.
Can Small Creators Monetize Their Show?The short answer is, yes. The question of when to monetize a podcast often creates anxiety among creators, particularly those with smaller audiences. However, Traci challenges the common assumption that successful monetization requires massive download numbers. Instead, she emphasizes the importance of strategic planning from the outset â understanding your content direction and identifying potential brand partnerships that align with your message.
The power of podcasting as a marketing tool is backed by compelling data: 73% of podcast listeners take action based on their favorite hosts' recommendations. This remarkable statistic highlights both the significant influence podcasters wield and their responsibility to their audience. Understanding this impact should guide creators to prioritize meaningful, high-quality content while strategically integrating promotional elements in ways that feel natural and valuable to listeners.
Traci's experience has shown that successful monetization is possible even for podcasts with seemingly limiting factors, such as niche subjects or geographic restrictions. She's witnessed effective pre-launch monetization strategies and profitable small podcasts, proving that audience size isn't the only path to success. The key lies in developing a comprehensive strategy that addresses both audience growth and monetization opportunities. In her view, the only real limitations are those imposed by outdated thinking about what makes a podcast commercially viable.
Do You Want to Transform Your Agency from a Liability to an Asset?Looking to dig deeper into your agency's potential? Check out our Agency Blueprint. Designed for agency owners like you, our Agency Blueprint helps you uncover growth opportunities, tackle obstacles, and craft a customized blueprint for your agency's success.
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Would you like access to our advanced agency training for FREE? https://www.agencymastery360.com/training
Would your agency be ready for an unexpected acquisition opportunity? Could you make it work if the time and offer were right? One boutique agency owner faced this question when an unexpected offer transformed her lifestyle business into an acquisition prospect. Though she and her partner had no immediate plans to sell, they recognized the potential and methodically prepared for a successful transition. Learn about their experiences finding their niche in the industry, preparing for acquisition, their âno regretsâ attitude regarding the sale, and the reason why they approached negotiations with a thoughtful mindset that would benefit everyone involved.
Kelsey Dixon is the co-founder of Davies and Dixon, an organic social media agency based in Seattle. She shares her journey into entrepreneurship, highlighting the transition from the events and hospitality industry to digital marketing, the way her agencyâs niche organically changed as she and her partner found the right audience, and more recently, her agencyâs acquisition process, including why she chose to lead negotiations with kindness and their successful earn-out story.
In this episode, weâll discuss:
Going from full service to finding focus.
An unexpected opportunity to sell.
Negotiating with kindness and thoughtfulness to ensure future success.
How to negotiate an earn-out.
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Sponsors and ResourcesE2M Solutions: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by E2M Solutions, a web design, and development agency that has provided white-label services for the past 10 years to agencies all over the world. Check out e2msolutions.com/smartagency and get 10% off for the first three months of service.
Accidental Agency: When Adaptability Meets OpportunityKelsey never saw herself as an entrepreneur and had no plans of starting her own business. a chance meeting during an internship in New York would change her career trajectory. There, she met Mackenzie, a fellow intern who years later, would convince her to move to Seattle and start a business with her.
As an agency owner, Kelsey found there were new surprises around the corner every quarter and every year. At age 24, she started out with no idea what she was doing; everything seemed new and unexpected. However, she believes this worked to her benefit since she approached the experience with naiveté and willingness to learn.
With Kelsey's background in hospitality and travel, and Mackenzieâs expertise in digital marketing, the two women initially planned to build an agency serving the hospitality sector. However, upon arriving in Seattle, they faced the significant challenge without a network in their new city. Their proactive networking efforts unexpectedly led them deeper into the local tech industry, naturally evolving their agency's focus and creating a new niche that differed from their original vision.
Finding Focus: From Doing It All to Intentional HiringIn their early days, Kelsey and Mackenzie approached client acquisition with an eager, full-service mindset, taking on everything from PR to organic social media and branding. While they managed these diverse projects through talented contractors, Kelsey now realizes their determination to win clients' trust sometimes led them into areas beyond their expertise.
As their agency evolved, they naturally discovered their true strengths through client feedback and successful outcomes. The organic process of finding their niche allowed them to recognize and pursue opportunities where their work could truly stand out. For eight years, both partners remained deeply involved in every aspect of the business, from client work to day-to-day operations.
The preparation for acquisition marked a significant turning point, prompting them to narrow their roles as founders and delegate responsibilities. Though both partners initially struggled with the emotional challenge of stepping back from daily operations, their strategic approach to hiring made the transition successful. They built a team of talented individuals who often exceeded their own expertise in specific areas. This decision proved transformative â by placing trust in their capable team and focusing on their own areas of expertise, they not only improved the quality of work but also created a more efficient organization.
Embracing the Opportunity to Sell Their AgencySelling the agency was not initially part of Kelseyâs overall vision, at least not at the eight-year mark. However, a buyer agency reached out with an interest in acquiring Davies and Dixon, which prompted a thorough evaluation of their current circumstances and future aspirations.
With two co-founders, Kelsey admits itâs difficult to get on the same page in any decision. They were at a crossroads, having invested nearly eight years into building their agency so they laid out the pathways and concluded that, although they were looking for an exit along the ten-year mark, they could push to be ready before that. It was 2021, they were coming out of a tumultuous year with the pandemic and had lost key team members to offers they couldnât match as a small boutique business.
Faced with burnout and the strain of navigating an unpredictable economy, they weighed the potential benefits of pursuing the acquisition against the option of pushing through to a planned exit around the ten-year mark.
As they explored the acquisition, they concluded the move would align with their overarching goal of supporting their lifestyle while also presenting solutions to the challenges they faced. The integration promised enhanced opportunities for their team, addressed immediate concerns, and positioned the agency for long-term success within a larger framework. So they decided to embrace the opportunity.
Maintaining a âNo Regretsâ Mindset About an Agency SaleThe decision to sell their agency came at a pivotal moment. Unlike many agency owners who accept acquisition offers out of exhaustion or overwhelming pressure, Kelsey and her partner approached the opportunity strategically. While the loss of key team members influenced their timing, the decision wasn't made in haste. It was grounded in careful data analysis and thoughtful consideration of future opportunities.
Looking back, Kelsey believes there wasn't truly a wrong choice to make, as both paths â selling or continuing independently â offered potential for success. She maintains a strong belief in trusting her gut, embracing a no-regrets mindset that has consistently served her well throughout her career. The acquisition proved to validate their decision-making process: the integration proceeded smoothly, their team found new growth opportunities, and their clients received enhanced services.
Lead Negotiations with Kindness to Create the Foundation for SuccessKelseyâs acquisition deal had an âacqui-hireâ portion, which means Kelsey and her partner would continue to serve in leadership for two years following the purchase to be a key element in the integration process and in helping scale the agency.
According to Kelsey, this changed the negotiation process a bit since she had to consider that sheâd be working with the acquirer for some time once a deal was reached. For her, this unique scenario required a thoughtful approach to negotiation where she led with kindness and thoughtfulness, keeping in mind the future success of the agencyâand the well-being of its employeesâdepended on the relationship established during the negotiation process.
However, this doesnât mean she said yes to the first offer, they just negotiated with the greater good in mind. They negotiated not only for their own interests but also for the cultural values and benefits that defined their agency. By advocating for policies that prioritized employee welfareâsuch as PTO policies, work-from-anywhere options, and signing bonusesâthey ensured that their team members would continue to thrive in the new environment.
By treating the negotiation process with respect and integrity, recognizing that their legacy would be tied to the success of the agency they were joining, Kelsey and her partner were able to create a foundation for success that would extend far beyond the immediate financial implications of the deal.
Walking a Fine Line to Negotiate Earn-Out Terms CarefullyKelseyâs acquisition deal did include an earn-out, which thankfully they were able to meet after a successful first-year integration. In their case, they decided to maintain open communication with both their team and clients during the earn-out process, which contributed to an impressive retention rate post-acquisition. By fostering trust and transparency, they were able to ease the transition and ensure that clients felt secure in their ongoing relationships with the agency.
However, while earn-outs can provide a financial incentive for sellers to ensure the success of the acquired business post-sale, poorly structured earn-out terms can lead to frustration, financial loss, and strained relationships between the parties involved.
To avoid this scenario, secure control over client relationships and business operations until the earn-out conditions are met. This involves negotiating terms that keep the acquisition confidential until the seller has fully transitioned and received the agreed-upon compensation. By maintaining control, sellers can ensure that their clients remain engaged and satisfied, which is crucial for achieving the performance metrics tied to the earn-out.
Do You Want to Transform Your Agency from a Liability to an Asset?Looking to dig deeper into your agency's potential? Check out our Agency Blueprint. Designed for agency owners like you, our Agency Blueprint helps you uncover growth opportunities, tackle obstacles, and craft a customized blueprint for your agency's success.
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Would you like access to our advanced agency training for FREE? https://www.agencymastery360.com/training
Do you struggle to write proposals? Do you know the 2 keys to winning more clients in the proposal stage? Mastering the art of creating fast, high-quality proposals remains crucial for agency growth. The best way to guarantee your proposal has a chance to stand out from competitors is to ensure speed and accuracy. That is why our featured guest is sharing how he went from owning an agency to creating the tool for overcoming proposal anxiety.
He spent years thinking about ways to turn what was often the worst part of the job for him into an easier and more enjoyable process and eventually launched a software that does just that. Learn more about Joe's entrepreneurial journey and insights into the agency world.
Joe Ardeeser is a former agency owner and entrepreneur who ran a web design shop and high-end WordPress shop for twelve years. He shares his journey from agency owner to launching his latest venture, Smart Pricing Table. Joe discusses his early experiences in the agency business, highlighting his desire for independence and the challenges he faced, including developing RSI and chronic back pain, which led him to hire his first employees out of necessity. He reflects on the things that took away from his agencyâs growth and the way to keep improving your proposals until youâre yielding the expected results.
In this episode, weâll discuss:
2 keys to drafting a successful proposal.
Learning from past mistakes to continuously improve your proposals.
The solution to overcome proposal anxiety.
SubscribeApple | Spotify | iHeart Radio
When Setbacks Become Stepping Stones in Agency GrowthJoe's story begins with a common entrepreneurial struggle: the desire for independence. Truth be told, he didnât like having a boss. After working in a corporate environment that stifled his creativity and autonomy, Joe ventured into freelancing. However, an unexpected challenge arose when he developed an injury that hindered his ability to perform tasks like typing. This setback, rather than derailing his ambition, became the catalyst for hiring.
Enlisting help helped Joe realize that delegating tasks could free him to focus on higher-level strategic thinking. The first time he realized the critical role played by that initial hire was during a simple errand. Upon his return, he realized his employee kept everything running smoothly in his absence. He was hooked. The experience highlighted the power of collaboration and the importance of building a team that could share the workload.
As his agency grew, each strategic hireâfrom developers and designers to a pivotal sales managerâfreed Joe to focus on broader business strategy. The decision to hire a salesperson, though questioned by some who thought the agency was too small, proved particularly transformative. By delegating the pressure of closing deals, Joe could finally step away from the day-to-day stress of revenue generation.
Little by little his hires and careful delegation led to the big day when a client was onboarded without his input at any level and not even knowing the client prior to that moment. It was the moment he knew he had transitioned from an owner to a CEO.
2 Keys of a Successful Proposal: Speed and PrecisionAs for so many agencies, Joe recognizes lead generation as a significant pain point for him. Luckily, the agency got tons of leads from Clutch back in the beginning. Still, they did a lot of one-time work and hadnât cracked the code on landing retainers.
#1 - SpeedBack then, Joe hated writing proposals, because of the urgency that came with it. In his experience, every day that went by meant the odds of getting picked went slimmed. In his experience, clients often go with the first-engaged vendor. By reaching out immediately, an agency demonstrates its commitment and also capitalizes on the momentum of the prospect's interest.
#2 - AccuracySecondly, the proposal, scope, and expectations must be accurate. If not, the project could blow up post-sale and become a nightmare. These two proposal conditions, it having to be ready quickly but also be high-quality, are two elements that come together to create what Joe calls âproposal anxietyâ which is one of the bigger stressors in agency life.
Your proposal should be detailed to avoid painful mistakes like greatly underestimating the time and resources youâll be investing on that project. According to Joe, it should be detailed enough to provide âhandles to grab ontoâ without being obnoxious. Vagueness will lead to situations where all your resources keep getting sucked into that project without the proper limits to stop at a certain point.
Why You Should Record All Issues with Previous Proposals to Yield Better ResultsIdeally, agency owners should keep a repository of all the learnings from previous projects. Record all the issues youâve ran into that couldâve been avoided by clearing it up in the proposal. In this sense, Joe recommends having reusable items that can be improved over time as you test through agency work. Many things might change in these documents as you get better and better but Joe makes two main recommendations for making successful proposal drafts:
Make it visually appealing. Even if you are making very detailed proposals, donât underestimate the importance of the layout. If it basically looks like a wall of text the prospect will be overwhelmed and be less likely to read it, and that will inevitably lead to expectation issues. Lay out your proposal so it is digestible by creating bullet points as visual clear representation of the work included, limitations, and upsales available.
Define the âSpirit of the workâ. Joe particularly recommends taking to the time to define this as something you can always come back to if you feel the scope of the project is getting out of hand.
As you continue to test and improve upon this document it will become a proposal thatâll help you yield the expected results.
The Solution to Proposal AnxietyJoe became obsessed with the idea of creating a more structured and efficient approach to proposals to streamline and agencyâs proposal processes. His goal was turning what is often the worst part of the job into something actually enjoyable.
With this mission in mind, three years ago he took his vision to the market in the form of Smart Pricing Table, a proposal software built for marketing agencies. As someone who ran an agency for many years, Joe knows his software offers the type of features agencies want and can provide the structure to provide quick and accurate proposals.
By focusing on the needs of agencies and incorporating feedback from users, the software has evolved to meet the changing demands of the industry. This adaptability is vital, as it allows agencies to continuously refine their proposal processes and stay ahead of the competition.
Do You Want to Transform Your Agency from a Liability to an Asset?Looking to dig deeper into your agency's potential? Check out our Agency Blueprint. Designed for agency owners like you, our Agency Blueprint helps you uncover growth opportunities, tackle obstacles, and craft a customized blueprint for your agency's success.
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Would you like access to our advanced agency training for FREE? https://www.agencymastery360.com/training
What are your goals for your agency this new year? Which new heights are you hoping to reach and what needs to change in order for you to get there? As we step into a new year, agency owners start setting ambitious targets. But achieving these goals requires more than just wishful thinkingâit demands a clear understanding of three critical elements: where you want to go, who you need on your team to get there, and perhaps most importantly, how you need to evolve as a leader.
Today, we're joined by a special guest who has witnessed countless agency journeys firsthand. As a key member of the Jason Swenk team, she's become a trusted companion to our mastermind members, guiding them through their growth challenges and celebrating their victories. Her unique perspective comes from years of observing what makes agencies thrive, understanding their common hurdles, and helping create environments where both businesses and people flourish. Tune in for an engaging conversation about teamwork, growth, and the importance of a community that can help you evolve as a leader.
Stacey Green is the Director of Happiness for the Jason Swenk and Agency Mastery team. After ten years working side to side with Jason, sheâs on the show for the first time to share the insights into her unique role, which encompasses client success, event planning, and keeping the team organized amidst the chaos. As she celebrates her 10-year anniversary with the team, Stacey reflects on the evolution of her position and talks about some of the changes sheâs seen over the years. Listeners will gain a behind-the-scenes look at how she ensures the smooth operation of the podcast and the agency's mastermind calls.
In this episode, weâll discuss:
10 years of shaping agency success.
Identifying your agency domino.
The mastermind advantage.
SubscribeApple | Spotify | iHeart Radio
Sponsors and ResourcesE2M Solutions: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by E2M Solutions, a web design, and development agency that has provided white-label services for the past 10 years to agencies all over the world. Check out e2msolutions.com/smartagency and get 10% off for the first three months of service.
How a Director of Happiness Shapes Agency SuccessAs Director of Happiness at the Agency Mastery and Jason Swenk Team, Stacey has spent the last decade wearing many hats. This unique title, crafted collaboratively with Jason, encompasses everything from ensuring client success and orchestrating events to keeping Jason focused :)
Through her regular interactions with mastermind members, Stacey has gained a profound insight into the agency landscape: while the industry constantly evolves, the fundamental challenges agency owners faceâand their approaches to solving themâremain remarkably consistent. The industry, however, is rather mercurial in its constant change and only those willing to adapt will thrive.
The mastermind program itself reflects this philosophy of adaptation. When Stacey first joined, the membership process was simply transactionalâpay the fee and you're in. However, experience taught us that cultural fit is crucial for the community's success. This realization led to the development of a more sophisticated vetting process, ensuring new members align with the group's goals, ethics, and lifestyle values. The result has been the creation of a more cohesive and effective community of agency owners who truly support each other's growth.
The Agency Domino: Identifying Your Agency's Critical Success FactorTowards the end of the year, Jason challenged his mastermind members to identify their critical "domino"âthat singular element that, when properly aligned, sets everything else in motion for their agency's success. This exercise isn't just theoretical; it's born from real-world experience, as Jason and his team face many of the same challenges they help other agencies overcome.
Take marketing talent, for instance. Over the past two years, the team has struggled with finding and retaining the right marketing person, cycling through several mismatched hires. Yet this challenge has offered valuable lessons, helping Jason and Stacey better understand the essential qualities they need in their ideal candidate.
As we enter the new year, agency owners should approach their goal-setting with three crucial questions: Where do you want your agency to go? Who do you need to hire to get there? And perhaps most importantly, who do you need to become as a leader? This final question is critical because an agency can only grow as far as its leader's capabilities. Personal growth isn't just beneficialâit's essential for pushing your agency to new heights.
The Mastermind Advantage: Accelerating Agency Growth Through Collective WisdomWhile one-on-one coaching can be valuable, many business owners eventually hit a ceiling in their growthâa point where individual guidance no longer provides the momentum needed to reach new heights. This is why Jason shifted away from traditional one-on-one coaching toward the more dynamic approach of mastermind groups.
Unlike the linear relationship between coach and client, masterminds create an ecosystem of shared experiences and diverse perspectives. Agency owners learn not just from a single mentor, but from peers who are actively tackling similar challenges from different angles. This multiplicity of viewpoints often reveals solutions and opportunities that might never surface in traditional coaching.
As we enter the new year, consider how you're approaching your agency's growth. If past coaching experiences haven't delivered the results you sought, a mastermind group might offer the fresh perspective you need. As Stacey emphasizes, what brought your agency to its current level won't necessarily propel it to the next. Sometimes, the key to breaking through plateaus lies in embracing new approaches to learning and growth. Success in the agency landscape demands constant evolution and the willingness to learn from others.
Do You Want to Transform Your Agency from a Liability to an Asset?Looking to dig deeper into your agency's potential? Check out our Agency Blueprint. Designed for agency owners like you, our Agency Blueprint helps you uncover growth opportunities, tackle obstacles, and craft a customized blueprint for your agency's success.
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Would you like access to our advanced agency training for FREE? https://www.agencymastery360.com/training
What is the one key thing that is holding you back from know your agencyâs value? For many itâs having the financial literacy necessary to build an agency worth buying. Todayâs featured guest learned that financial literacy can make or break an exit strategy. Despite his early start in business and formal education, it was the guidance of an outsourced CFO that truly transformed his understanding of business finances. This knowledge proved invaluable years later during acquisition negotiations and his successful exit.
From his teenage ventures in website development to building a thriving digital agency, and ultimately, to negotiating a successful exit on his own terms, join us as we explore the beginnings his agency and essential lessons on the importance of financial literacy, knowing your worth, and preparing for life after the sale.
Brian Rodriguez is the founder of Gatorworks, a digital marketing partner that helps clients reach their goals and keep them informed. He recounts how he stumbled into agency ownership while in high school in 2001, a time when many businesses lacked an online presence. Brian discusses balancing his agency while pursuing his business degree, how hiring an outsourced CFO completely transformed his understanding of how to run a business, and how knowing his agencyâs value helped him negotiate a favorable exit deal.
In this episode, weâll discuss:
Boosting confidence and clarity by understanding the numbers.
Negotiating a successful strategic exit by knowing your agencyâs value.
Why knowing when to let go is important in a successful exit.
SubscribeApple | Spotify | iHeart Radio
Sponsors and ResourcesAgency Owner Training: If running your agency is leaving you feeling isolated and trapped, itâs time to get a little FREE help to take back control. That is why we are offering free resources HERE at agencymastery360.com/training. You will find free courses on generating more leads and converting more clients. No strings attached, just a few helpful resources get you out of the weeds and back to growing your agency.
Boosting Confidence and Clarity by Understanding the NumbersBrian started his agency as a high school student back in 2001, when he was just a kid experimenting with new technologies.
Though he soon found clients and started to charge $200 for building a website, he quickly realized his strengths lay not in design or development, but in the business aspects of the work. Hence, he started recruiting freelancers to handle the technical work while he focused on client acquisition.
Throughout college, Brian continued running his fledgling agency, applying his business studies to strengthen its foundation. After graduation, with youth on his side and nothing to lose, he decided to dedicate himself fully to growing the business. Yet success didn't come overnight â it took five years before he started seeing meaningful momentum.
The early years proved challenging, marked by financial struggles and an evolving business model. This changed in 2011 when he hired an outsourced CFO, a decision that marked a turning point in his understanding of the financial dimensions of his business.
During their first four-hour session together, Brian gained crucial insights into his agency's financial workings that transformed his perspective as a business owner. This newfound financial clarity not only boosted his confidence but also provided him with a clearer vision for his agency's future direction.
Pivoting to Stability by Changing Projects to Predictable RevenueBrian's monthly meetings with his CFO became a cornerstone of his professional development, transforming his approach to business management. Through these sessions, he developed a deep understanding of crucial KPIs: top-line revenue, cost of goods sold, gross profit, overhead expenses, and net income. This knowledge enabled him to set concrete financial targets, including a 50% gross margin and 15% net margin, shifting his focus from simple revenue growth to sustainable profitability.
During this period of financial enlightenment, Brian also recognized a fundamental challenge in his business model: the instability of project-based work. This realization prompted a strategic pivot to SEO and Google Ads services that would provide the predictable revenue streams necessary for stable, long-term growth. This way, slowly evolved to an entire suite of digital marketing services that ended up being a game changer for his agency.
How Financial Literacy Led to a Successful Strategic ExitBy 2016, Brian had built his agency into a thriving business generating nearly $1 million in revenue. With stable profits and predictable growth, he wasn't actively seeking to sell, after years of receiving offers that simply werenât the right fit. This changed once a respected local media company, owner of five radio stations and boasting a century-long legacy, made an unexpected approach.
Brian approached the situation with cautious optimism. Despite the allure of a potential deal, he remained grounded, taking meetings with the mindset of learning rather than selling and viewing the process as an opportunity for growth rather than merely a transactional exchange.
The company's representatives consistently aligned with his vision, supporting his desire to maintain his brand identity, retain his team, and preserve his autonomy in steering the agency's future. However, when negotiations began in earnest, their initial offers failed to meet his expectations.
After eight months of back-and-forth, the breakthrough came when they asked Brian to specify his desired price range. Though initially hesitant about meeting his terms, they returned within two days ready to negotiate. The subsequent discussions led to a proposal that matched Brian's valuation.
Brian's experience underscores the importance of financial literacy for entrepreneurs, whether you seek it through formal channels or mentorship. Had he not taken the time to understand his business's financials and what he deemed a fair valuation, he might have accepted an offer that did not reflect his hard work and dedication.
Knowing When to Let Go is Just as Important as Knowing Your ValueSeven years after selling his agency, Brian remains with the acquiring company â a rare outcome that extends well beyond his initial four-year employment contract.
The acquisition process itself, while intense, proved surprisingly accommodating. During the 90-day due diligence period, the buyers demonstrated flexibility by considering not just financial metrics but also intangible assets like goodwill, ultimately strengthening the deal's value.
After that, it took him a while to realize it was time to let go. For some time after the sale, he operated exactly as he would while still being the owner. It was only once the pandemic started that he realized there were things he could let go now that his role has changed post-sale.
His experience offers valuable lessons for agency owners contemplating a sale. While having a clear valuation number is crucial for effective negotiations, equally important is defining your desired post-sale lifestyle. Whether you envision staying on as an employee-shareholder or pursuing an entirely new path, the key lies not just in securing a favorable deal, but in being prepared to adapt to your new role once the papers are signed.
Do You Want to Transform Your Agency from a Liability to an Asset?Looking to dig deeper into your agency's potential? Check out our Agency Blueprint. Designed for agency owners like you, our Agency Blueprint helps you uncover growth opportunities, tackle obstacles, and craft a customized blueprint for your agency's success.
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