Timesheets are not optional
I know there are agency consultants who will tell you that timesheets aren’t necessary. Unfortunately, they’re wrong. I totally get it. No one likes doing them. But they are an important management tool for you as you run your agency. [...]
Employee or contractor?
Before the recession (we when utter that phrase, I suspect we look like old men in overalls, smoking a corncob pipe and rocking on our porches but...) there were many agency owners who swore that they would never work with [...]
Who should be your agency’s voice?
If you’ve heard me say it once, you’ve heard me say it 1,000 times — it’s tough to be a generalist out there. In simple terms, it means your competition is everyone from the 16-year-old kid who builds websites, to [...]
What you measure is what matters
When I started my own agency is 1995 I was about 30 and the perfect combination of arrogant and ignorant. “How hard could running an agency be? If you knocked it out of the park for your clients and delivered [...]
Biz Dev has to stay on the top of YOUR list
I totally get it. You’re busy putting out fires, delivering high-level strategy for your clients and trying to mentor and grow your team. Who has time for new business? This is one of those head versus heart things in agency [...]
Going Digital At Your Agency Isn’t Just About The Tech
While print advertising will likely never die and niche magazines continue to make a comeback, the reality is that most of today’s agencies lean heavily on some aspect of digital marketing. Whether you’re a digital native who now manages a [...]
You have to get the hiring right
There’s a talent shortage in the agency business. I can’t remember a time in recent years when agencies were hiring as much as they are today and having as much trouble finding the right fit employees. You’ve heard the adages [...]
Great work. Great people. Great results. Why isn’t that enough?
You’ve built a successful agency with great people and award-winning work. Your awesome clients love you and have been loyal for years. You’ve received "best place to work" awards every year. You’ve got a team of superstars who keep the [...]
A Recession Is Coming: Is Your Talent Strategy Built to Last?
Economists predict that a new recession will strike by 2021. Marketing agencies and departments suffer greatly during tough times, and if this next recession is anything like the last, marketers could be in for a rough couple of years. Fortunately, [...]
What’s the purpose of your bonus program?
When an agency shows a profit, one of the first inclinations of the agency owner is to pay a bonus to the staff. I applaud that instinct. But I don’t think you should do it simply because you have a [...]