Evergreen Archives - Page 13 of 13 - Agency Management Institute

Why Getting New Business Doesn’t Have to be a Mystery with Peter Levitan
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Why Getting New Business Doesn’t Have to be a Mystery with Peter Levitan

Evergreen, New Business

Why Getting New Business Doesn’t Have to be a Mystery with Peter Levitan

I don’t care how big or old your agency is — you want to win more new business. If I could bottle business development success — I’d be a billionaire. Honestly – getting new business for your agency is not as mysterious as we make it out to be. There is a methodology that works. But it requires work. That’s why agencies struggle. They wrestle with being disciplined enough to do the work consistently. That’s why I knew I needed to get Peter Levitan on the Build a Better Agency podcast. Peter’s book, Buy This Book, Win More Pitches, is a brilliant read on how to get your agency noticed and pursued by clients you’d love to work with. Peter has spent his career building successful brands, digital technologies, publishing and advertising environments, and highly effective marketing programs for Fortune 500 companies. He has 30 years of experience running Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising Worldwide, his own Portland Agency, and as the CEO of two Internet start-ups. On the podcast, Peter and I talk about truly differentiating your agency, how successful agencies prospect and what you need to do right now to get your new business program in high gear. We also delve into personas and how inbound has changed the agency new business model. You’ll probably listen to this one more than once when working on getting new business. Peter’s straight to the point style and 30 years of success in the field success make for an incredible interview. To listen – you can visit the Build A Better Agency site (https://agencymanagementinstitute.com/peter-levitan/) and grab either the iTunes or Stitcher files or just listen to it from the web. If you’d rather just read the [...]

By Drew McLellan|

Essential Business Building Strategies You Need to Grow Your Agency with Jason Falls
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Essential Business Building Strategies You Need to Grow Your Agency with Jason Falls

Agency Management, Agency Smarts, Evergreen, Industry Trends

Essential Business Building Strategies You Need to Grow Your Agency with Jason Falls

As an agency owner, you know that if you're not ready to evolve your agency with business building strategies, you'd better get ready to retire. The agency business is undergoing an incredible metamorphosis and most agency owners are running at full speed to keep up. That's where my conversation with Jason Falls, Senior Vice-President, Digital Strategy at Elasticity and author of several books on social media and email marketing, started. (listen to the podcast here) From there we move to agency hierarchy and structure, the impact of millennials on current day politics and the importance of building strategic alliances. It's a whirlwind hour of debate, stories and a few good laughs. I think you'll not only enjoy it, but you'll also get some business building strategies you can put into play right away. To listen – you can visit the Build A Better Agency site (https://agencymanagementinstitute.com/jason-falls/) and grab either the iTunes or Stitcher files or just listen to it from the web. If you’d rather just read the conversation, the transcript is below. If you're going to take the risk of running an agency, shouldn't you get the benefits too? Welcome to Build a Better Agency, where we show you how to build an agency that can scale and grow with better clients, invest in employees, and best of all, more money to the bottom line. Bringing his 25 plus years of expertise as both an agency owner and agency consultant to you, please welcome your host, Drew McLellan. Drew: Hey everybody, this is Drew McLellan, and I am really excited to be with you today. As an agency owner, I know all too well the risks we take every day. This podcast is about making sure if we're going to take [...]

By Drew McLellan|

Effectively Managing the Client-Agency Relationship with Scott Monty
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Effectively Managing the Client-Agency Relationship with Scott Monty

Client Relationships, Evergreen

Effectively Managing the Client-Agency Relationship with Scott Monty

As an agency owner you know how valuable effectively managing the client-agency relationship is. But it's getting tougher every day, as clients choose to work with multiple agencies and push for measurable metrics that proof that they money they invest with you is turning into leads and sales. So how do you earn that loyalty with your clients? That's part of the conversation I had on my podcast, Build a Better Agency, with Scott Monty, from Scott Monty Strategies, who used to be Ford Motor Company's Global Digital & Multimedia Communications Manager. Along with how you go about managing these relationships with your clients, Scott talked about his days at Ford and how he dealt with his multiple agencies and how they did/did not earn his trust and loyalty. We also dug into how agencies can bring a different level of digital strategy to their clients and where professionals can look for strategic inspiration. You'll love his candor and his hard-earned client side advice. To listen – you can visit the Build A Better Agency site (https://agencymanagementinstitute.com/scott-monty/) and grab either the iTunes or Stitcher files or just listen to it from the web. If you’d rather just read the conversation, the transcript is below. If you're going to take the risk of running an agency, shouldn't you get the benefits, too? Welcome to Build a Better Agency where we show you how to build an agency that can scale and grow with better clients, invested employees, and best of all, more money to the bottom line. Bringing his 25 plus years of expertise as both an agency owner and agency consultant to you, please welcome your host, Drew McLellan. Drew: Hey, everyone. Thanks for tuning in to another episode [...]

By Drew McLellan|

Agencies need to stop hiring “nice”
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Agencies need to stop hiring “nice”

Account Team, Employees, Evergreen

Agencies need to stop hiring “nice”

One of my pet peeves is the hiring practices of agencies -- we need to stop hiring "nice". Earlier this month, we kicked off a conversation about why agencies find themselves relegated to vendor status. If you remember, we identified 3 causes. The economy — workforce reductions, budget cuts and overall fear (out of your control) Agencies willingness to behave like a vendor just to get the project (within your control) Agencies hiring “nice” account executives who are order takers rather than smart business people (within your control) In this post, we'll tackle the hiring "nice" issue that many agency owners and Directors of Client Services seem to struggle with. Every agency owner worries about how solid their client relationships are and who is tending to those clients. We want clients to feel like they're the agency's only focus. As a result, we've often hired people who are relationship nurturers and good at customer service delivery. There's nothing wrong with those traits. But they don't match up with what clients tell us they want. In our AE Bootcamp workshops, we teach AEs what their clients expect from them. Here's what our research revealed clients want in an AE: Knows the client’s industry and markets Makes their job easier Is organized and dependable Is empowered to make decisions Demonstrates a passion for solving problems Is willing to be treated as a consultant and a vendor Is not learning on the job I don't see nice, friendly or even a good relationship builder on that list. It doesn't mean those traits don't matter. It means those traits are tables stakes -- the givens. Clients think of those as a "duh" not a point of difference. What they're [...]

By Drew McLellan|

Should my advertising agency take on debt?
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Should my advertising agency take on debt?

Evergreen, Money Issues

Should my advertising agency take on debt?

All debt is not bad debt -- the question you need to ask yourself is 'should my advertising agency take on debt?" Every business faces the issues surrounding cash flow and keeping the money moving in and back out the door. Advertising agencies are no exception. Until I actually owned my own agency, I didn't really wrap my head around the differences between how much income a business generated and the daily cash flow issues. As many of you have experienced -- you can have incredible billings but that doesn't mean you have enough money to make payroll. Sooner or later an agency owner is going to be faced with the question -- should I borrow some money? Here are some reasons NOT to borrow money: Work is slow and you're over staffed. Billings won't cover payroll but you don't want to lay anyone off. Your computers are a few years old and the creatives are starting to complain. You've had to toe the line for the past couples years and not bonus yourself. Your husband is making not so subtle hints about Hawaii. In other words -- don't borrow to avoid tough decisions, to keep staff the business does not warrant, to pay for disposable items (sadly computers now fall into that category) or to line your own pockets. Those are emotional, short term feel good decisions that you will regret. Over and over. On the flip side, there are times when borrowing makes sense. None of these are absolutes of course. To buy a building that will house your agency for years and appreciate in value over time. (Do it as a separate LLC) To invest in an opportunity that could pay off [...]

By Drew McLellan|

Do you see a vendor when you look in the mirror?
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Do you see a vendor when you look in the mirror?

Client Relationships, Evergreen

Do you see a vendor when you look in the mirror?

Earlier this week, we kicked off a conversation about why agencies find themselves relegated to vendor status. If you remember, we identified 3 causes. The economy -- workforce reductions, budget cuts and overall fear (out of your control) Agencies willingness to behave like a vendor just to get the project (within your control) Agencies hiring "nice" account executives who are order takers rather than smart business people (within your control) In this post, we're going to look at what you can do to change your mindset (and choices) so you don't look like a vendor to prospects and clients. None of us like the word "vendor." Vendors sell stuff. They sell umbrellas on the beach, hot dogs on Time Square and truckloads of parts. But the truth is -- many agencies behave like a vendor. They: Charge by the hour rather than use value pricing They set their prices based on the "stuff they make" like brochures and websites They talk tactics, rather than strategies If you recognize yourself, even a little bit, in that description -- here are some things to consider as you wrestle with getting away from the vendor label. Take business with your prospects and clients: Don't limit your interest or your conversations to marketing or advertising. Talk about their pricing strategies, how they go to market with their product/service, sales goals and even operations. Your job is to stick your nose into their business and help ferret out solutions that can change the game. You want to identify and talk about the metrics that matter to your prospect or client. Price like an advisor, not a vendor: Vendors price by the pound, the item and by the hour. Advisors price by the [...]

By Drew McLellan|

Tired of being treated like a vendor? Stop acting like one.
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Tired of being treated like a vendor? Stop acting like one.

Client Relationships, Evergreen

Tired of being treated like a vendor? Stop acting like one.

Agency owners and staff alike have been complaining to us for several years about the growing number of clients – including existing clients – who insist on employing the agency as needed, rather than maintaining a long-term working relationship. In other words, using the agency as a temporary source of specified services, rather than as a valued advisor. If you're tired of jumping through purchasing department hoops or being one of many agencies at the table -- there's a way out. This doesn’t have to happen to you. But you need to be willing to make sue changes. It's time to start acting like an advisor and resist being mistaken for a vendor. How many times have you heard that if you look like a duck, act like a duck, etc., people will treat you like a duck? Maybe it's time for us to stop walking around, quacking! There are three key reasons why agencies are being treated like vendors today – one largely beyond your control and the others totally within you control. What you can't control The reason that's largely beyond your control is what's happening in businesses today. Many of them are experiencing workforce reductions and cost cutting because of the economy's ongoing struggles. Unless you have a magic bullet for the economy -- you're going to have to find work arounds for this challenge. What you can control The reasons totally within your control are the willingness of agencies eager for income to behave like transient vendors, rather than being and presenting themselves as valuable long term advisors. The second reason that your agency gets stuck in vendor mode is that agencies have been hiring “nice” account managers whose focus in [...]

By Drew McLellan|