We get asked for recommendations every day. Honestly — that’s a weighty request for us. Who do we trust enough to actually give them our endorsement? Who do we know that will care for their agency client with the same commitment to excellence, the same compassionate heart, and the same smarts that we try to bring to our AMI offerings every day?
The list is not long, frankly. But there’s an even more elite subset to that list. These are the people we consider to be AMI’s preferred partners. Not only do we know them well, but they’ve been road-tested. And we’ve done our due diligence.
They have to have successfully served at least 10 AMI agencies and received a 4.8 out of 5 rating from those clients, based on conversations we conduct to validate our belief that they go above and beyond for their clients every day. Once they’ve earned that level of confidence and glowing endorsement — we feel very proud to call them our go-to team.
We’re sure this list will grow over time, but for now — it’s a small but mighty list of companies/leaders who are as committed to helping agency owners as we are every day.
In alpha order:
Audience Audit/Susan Baier: Audience Audit partners with agencies to do segmentation research on behalf of their clients or the agency itself. Agency owners say this about AA — “Susan not only helped us define the research but thanks to her marketing mind, she had a ton of good ideas about how we could leverage the data to attract more right-fit clients.”
Craig Cody & Company/Craig Cody: When we talk tax strategy and the ability to keep more of the money you make through sophisticated tax planning, Craig and his team are our go-to resource. Agency owners say this about Cody & Crew — “When I think about how much we used to pay in taxes compared to what we owe now, it’s staggering. If I was going to have another baby, I would name him Craig!”
Legal + Creative/Sharon Toerek: Sharon and her team specialize in working with agencies on IP, contracts, AI implementation, and much more. They keep their clients out of trouble before the trouble arrives and help them maximize future opportunities. Agency owners say this about Sharon and her team — “What we love about Sharon is that she goes beyond understanding the agency business. She brings a practicality to her advice. She also speaks in plain English so we always fully understand our options and the consequences of our choices.”
Kauffman CPA/Doug Kauffman: Doug and his team serve as an outsourced financial department for many agencies. Their dashboards, reports, and smart questions help their agency clients understand their money situation today and down the road. Their responsiveness and depth of expertise is unparalleled. Agency owners say this about the Kauffman collective — “I’ve never had such visibility and clarity into the agency’s finances. Finally, there will be no more money surprises!”
Mercer Island Group/Steve & Robin Boehler: MIG, as they’re known to their friends, works with big brands to help them find the perfect agency. They also coach agencies on how to win more often and win bigger clients. Perennial AMI workshop instructors, the entire MIG team is a fount of knowledge about how agencies can better position themselves, pitch for business, and keep clients happy. Agency owners say this about the MIG team — “We thought we were good but now, thanks to MIG’s coaching, we are so much better. We’ve landed some of the biggest clients in our agency’s 20+ year history thanks to them!”
Predictive ROI/Stephen Woessner & Erik Jensen: PROI comes alongside agencies and helps them follow the methodology that Stephen and Drew wrote about in their book Sell with Authority. They offer coaching/consulting so you can learn how to do it yourself or they’ll do it for you — your call. Agency owners say this about PROI — “We get to learn and grow right with them! They’re incredibly generous in their teaching and they get agency content and sales like nobody’s business.”
Strategic Talent Management/Art Boulay & Sue MacArthur: Candidate testing (so scary accurate you’ll want to hide your test results), screening, recruiting, and employee coaching all fall under the umbrella of STM. They have profiles of rock stars for every agency role so you can rate your candidates against the proven winners. Agency owners say this about STM — “I foolishly decided to ignore STM’s recommendations on whether I should hire a candidate twice. I ended up firing both candidates within 6 months. I’ll never make that mistake again!”
We invite you to reach out to any/all of our preferred partners. If you do, please tell them we sent you!
Note: AMI staff conduct all of the surveys to verify the satisfaction rating. The Preferred Agency Partner status is good for 3 years at which point we’ll go through the vetting process again, just to be sure.
