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Hey agency owner – have you defined your values, mission and vision?

You help your clients do it every day but have you defined your values, mission and vision? As you preach to clients, it’s vital to every business that they have a clear idea of who they are and what they’re all about. Usually the owner has some vague (or maybe very defined) vision for their organization but few have taken the time to distill it down or made the effort to weave it into the fabric of the company. Many people confuse mission and vision. Here’s how I define and distinguish between the three elements. Mission -- what you do best every day Vision – what the future is like because you do what you do best every day Values – guiding principles/beliefs In an environment like an agency – each of these is critical. If you’ve already done this work – revisit it to make sure it’s still on target and meets the following criteria: Are you mission and vision statements a single sentence? Are you values short enough that everyone on your team could memorize and recite them? Are all three components written in common, easy to understand language? Are they unique to you? Could any agency claim the exact same set? Are they all from the client’s/an outside perspective? Remember this is how you want others to see you. As you know, because you probably guide clients through this process, it’s deceivingly difficult. If you haven’t done this or you think the work you’ve done could use a refresh – do it right. Investing in defining your values, mission and vision is one of those important but not urgent quadrant activities that will change the future of your agency. Carve out some [...]

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Painless Prospecting for New Business with Tom Martin

As times change, so must agencies. AMI does some research every summer and in talking to CMOs across the country, it's been very clear that clients are no longer interested in only working with just one agency anymore. In fact, our study showed that over 50% of them want to work with multiple agencies, allowing each other to do what they do best but not letting them run the show. In learning how to be a part of that blended family team, there is opportunity. That’s just one of the topics that I chatted about with my podcast guest, Tom Martin. He helps agencies take advantage of that opportunity. He gets them to the place where the client sees them as the ultimate partner, a consigliere, if you will, versus the guys that just execute ad strategies. He finds that the real money is in becoming a partner who can think, ideate and grow a client's business.   But how do you find those partner clients? He does all of this through his system of Painless Prospecting where you wake up, open your inbox, and there's a lead waiting for you instead of having to go create that lead. It’s investing in your agency to build not tomorrow’s lead, but the lead that’s six months or a year down the road. Tom and I dig into the nuts and bolts of this with: How prospecting for new business has changed over the years Why clients no longer believe in hiring just one agency How to define your value to your clients when delivering ideas instead of “stuff” Correctly positioning your agency in the days when your client first discovers you Painless Prospecting: how to get [...]

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Understanding Customer Value-Based Pricing as a Pricing Strategy with Ron Baker

Everyone in the agency business has a deep hatred for two aspects of your business. The billable hour and the timesheet. My podcast guest, Ron Baker, believes agencies should do away with both. (I disagree with him on the timesheet and you’ll hear why in our conversation). Ron’s philosophy is built around the concept of customer value-based pricing. He’s a huge value-based pricing advocate and a CPA but he’s no ordinary CPA. He and his team are committed to price certainty in all professions, including agencies.  He wants to help you have a conversation with your customer to determine the value of what you're creating, so that you're pricing the customer, not your services or the scope of work. Ron and I help you understand what your customers are trying to achieve and how to assign a value to the work you do to help them get there.  We answer many customer value-based pricing questions like:   Why Ron believes that the billable hour and the timesheet need to go Customer value-based pricing: the differences between different pricing plans Ways to add in additional value that isn’t more “stuff” How to start a value conversation The typical agency objections of value-based pricing and why they’re false How to succeed at the transition to value-based pricing Other kinds of mistakes agencies make when shifting towards value-based pricing The major benefits for focusing on value and the customer Action steps that agencies can take when deciding whether or not to utilize customer value-based pricing Ron Baker is the founder of VeraSage Institute, a leading think tank dedicated to educating professionals internationally, and a radio talk-show host called The Soul of Enterprise: Business in the Knowledge Economy. Ron [...]

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How to Prevent Internal Fraud from Happening in Your Agency

Internal fraud. Two words that strike fear into the hearts of any agency owner. It’s not a subject that we want to talk about but it’s a real danger for agencies. And while most agency owners think that it could never happen to them, I know from my experience with hundreds of agencies that it can and does happen to the best of us.    But have no fear, by following some very simple best practices around your accounting systems and the people you trust with your money, you can take great strides in making sure the right checks and balances are in place inside your agency.   Take a listen to this solocast where I detail out: Common ways internal fraud is committed and ways to prevent it from happening How agencies are targeted with email scams The ways agency employees embezzle hundreds of thousands of dollars from agencies The systems you need to put in place to prevent fraud Drew McLellan is the Top Dog at Agency Management Institute. He has also owned and operated his own agency over the last 20-years. And all through the year, he straddles the fence of working in his agency and working with 250+ small- to mid-size agencies in a variety of ways. He works with agency owners in peer network groups, teaches workshops for owners and their leadership teams, teaches AE bootcamps, and does a lot of consulting. Because he works with a lot of agencies every year — he has the unique opportunity to see the patterns and the habits (both good and bad) that happen over and over again. He has also written two books and been featured in The New York Times, Entrepreneur [...]

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Tips for Creating, Sustaining and Building Your Agency with Mitch Joel

Throughout the entire process of building your agency, you have a lot on your plate. Depending on where you’re at in the life of your agency, you may be struggling to eat something other than ramen noodles or on the flip side of the spectrum, you’re spending all your time servicing your clients and trying to keep up with the demand. Ideally, you are working towards being able to step away from the day to day and focus on big picture of working on your agency. You may have aspirations to sell your agency some day and really reap the reward of all your hard work. No matter where you are at, my podcast guest Mitch Joel can probably relate.   He has taken his Toronto based agency from a small three-man shop to a global juggernaut by doing all the things that AMI preaches to agency owners every day. He quickly moved his agency to specializing in a niche, he focused on what it took to be acquired – growth and margin, he found his sweet spot client filter, and on top of it all, he kept on learning and growing and gave his team the time and space to do the same.   Try to keep up as Mitch and I take you through all of these phases of agency life by showing you: Mirum’s unique structure Generalists vs specialists: the philosophical and financial reasons agencies should specialize instead of generalizing Building your agency so that it is sustainably specialized How to figure out if a client is a good fit for your agency Mad Men vs. Math Men: how to blend creative and data Why it’s more important than ever to stay [...]

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Why the Written Word is More Important than Ever in Business with Jody Sutter

Words matter. They’re often an agency’s go to tool for clients and biz dev. Your prospects spend time on your website, follow you on social media, and read your content long before they ever reach out to you – so your written word is critical. It’s the first thing that your prospects see, so it better be up to snuff.   My podcast guest, Jody Sutter has a long history with the written word. Jody works with agencies helping them develop a more proactive approach to growing their business, with a special emphasis around how they communicate - getting jargon, generalizations, wordiness, and sloppy writing out of their proposals and everything else they use to promote their agency. Through your writing, Jody helps you to differentiate yourself, so that your work stands out from the others by being clear about who you are and what you do best. Jody and I help you find your unique voice by showing you: Why strong writing is more important than ever in our digital age The major mistakes that agencies make when presenting themselves in writing How to avoid making the big mistakes agencies make when responding to RFPs Why editing is so important for improving your team’s writing, how to get good at it, and what you should keep in mind if you are outsourcing the editing How agencies can differentiate themselves through storytelling The Pixar pitch The “5 things that you can do to make your writing better right away” checklist What you need to do to assess whether or not your writing needs improvement Jody Sutter started her career in sales and ended up working in agencies leading the new business teams. Today she runs [...]

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The Evolution of Digital Marketing in the Agency Space with Nick Westergaard

A lot of agencies are still trying to figure out how to wrap their arms around digital since the evolution of digital marketing - what it means, how they deliver the benefits of it to their clients, what parts of digital to embrace internally and what parts to outsource. My podcast guest Nick Westergaard has been down that road already and has blazed a trail for the rest of us to follow.   Nick’s agency transformed from a very traditional ad agency (Westergaard Agency) to the digital powerhouse they are today -- Brand Driven Digital. They saw the writing on the wall with the evolution of digital marketing and decided to jump in with both feet and make some big changes to keep moving their agency moving forward. They even went so far as to launch a live, in-person annual event called the Social Brand Forum to bring all things digital to the Midwest. Nick and I explore all the ways that you too can look outside your box and move your agency forward in the digital space with: How Nick took his traditional agency and transitioned it to becoming a digital powerhouse The evolution of digital marketing versus traditional marketing in the agency space The differences and similarities between traditional and digital marketing and why they really aren’t all that different Social Brand Forum: Brand Driven Digital’s yearly live event The business strategy behind having a live event Why you should get out and attend events The importance of prioritizing your agency as a client Why experimentation is so important for your agency’s success Nick Westergaard is a strategist, speaker, author, and educator. He is the chief brand strategist at Brand Driven Digital, where [...]

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How to Develop a More Profitable New Business Process with Lee McKnight Jr.

“We're a full service integrated marketing agency.” Sound familiar? Trying to be everything to everybody is just one of the big mistakes that agencies today are making when it comes to attracting new business. Agencies hate to leave money on the table, even if it’s “bad money.” But we all know what happens when you chase after or work with clients who aren’t in your sweet spot. They clog your new business processes and cost you time and money. My podcast guest, Lee McKnight, Jr. helps agencies solve this conundrum and many more in the dreaded agency quest for new business. He helps agencies get out of their own way and identify what makes them a unique option and just what certain prospects need. We cover a lot of ground in this podcast including the following: How to prevent your agency from making the major mistakes that agencies make all the time Why agencies need to specialize instead of generalize New business: how to develop a better, simpler new business process How to use a delicately balanced process that uses all different kinds of marketing Why patience is so key in closing on new business The importance of having one person who is the leader on a project Why there needs to be a balance between showcasing the figurehead and the agency The tools you’re going to need to put into practice the objectives discussed in this episode Lee McKnight Jr. is the Director of Business Development for RSW/US in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are a new business development firm that works solely with agencies and marketing services firms. After graduating law school, he ran away as fast possible from that profession and worked for an [...]

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How to Deal with Stale Employees in Your Agency

One of the most heartbreaking realities in agencies today is what I call stale employees. These are employees that usually have been on your staff a long time and were a wonderful fit for your agency back in the day.  But today, they really aren’t pulling their weight, their attitude is slipping or you just don’t have as much use for their skill set as you used to. The other unfortunate byproduct of this type of employee is that the rest of your staff is either working around the stale employee’s lack of skills or they are resentful of them because they have slacked off but are still getting paid a pretty penny. Neither helps your agency be the best it can be.   It’s a tough, emotional situation. These are people who have been loyal to you for a long time. But the truth is, they aren’t worth what you are paying them. In this solocast, I give you some tangible steps to move that stale employee either out the door or back to becoming a productive part of your team again. What you can learn in this solocast: Stale employees: how to recognize them and why they’re holding your agency back Can these employees be saved? It’s a firm maybe How to have the necessary conversation with stale employees — you owe them honesty The kinds of goals to set to see measurable change and growth before determining their place inside your agency The costs to you as an agency owner for working with stale employees to up their game How to recognize if you really do have to let the employee go How to make a decision while realizing that you aren’t [...]

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Strategies for Increasing Employee Success in Your Agency with Art Boulay

Whether you want to improve the skill, leadership and commitment levels of your current team to elevate them to be the best they can be or you need to add a superstar to your roster – you have to be able to assess their skills, attitudes, behaviors and motivations. How do you make increasing employee success happen? Most agency owners are not development or hiring experts. How do you determine if you have the right people in the right seats? How do you know you’re hiring not just the right person, but the right person for your agency? Do you just go with your gut and hope things will work out for the best?   Having the wrong person in the wrong seat or hiring a bad fit employee will cost you about nine months of their loaded salary. And that’s before you factor in the potential risk of losing a client or team members. My podcast guest, Art Boulay can ease some of this angst by offering common sense solutions for hiring better employees and making current employees stronger. He does this through a series of assessments both of current employees and prospective hires to help you keep your agency on track and moving forward. Art and I discuss the ins and outs of employee acquisition and retention.  Amongst other things, we cover: Assessment tools for hiring the right employee lead to more objective and effective hiring How Art’s tools can assess agencies, what makes them unique, and how that will help to find the right future employees From hire to retire: what employers and employees should do to ensure that employees don’t leave right away The strategies for increasing employee success in any [...]

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