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Interpreting the Results of the 2016 Agency Workforce Report with Susan Baier

Think you understand the Millennials in your agency? You might be surprised. Think you know what motivates your employees? You might be surprised. Think you know what your best employees want and need from you? You know the answer – they just might surprise you. Here’s the good news – we can give you a very healthy glimpse into the concerns, wants and needs of your team. This past summer, AMI partnered with my podcast guest Susan Baier and her team at Audience Audit to talk to almost 1,000 agency employees about their work. The result was the 2016 Agency Workforce Report. We set out to find the answers to the questions above as well as many others. A lot of what we think we know about our agency employees flies in the face of their truth. So we kept digging to discover what they value, what motivates them and what they want more of down the road. In this podcast, we walk you through the data and provide you with a snapshot of the results. If you want to get to know your employees and learn what you can do to motivate and keep them, this podcast should be illuminating. Come dig into the results with Susan and me:     Our 2016 Agency Workforce Report What made our 2016 research different from other research projects we’ve done in the past How we crunched our data The three types of agency employees that we found in our research: agency advocates, prosperity partners, and “Millennial Mindset” (and why the majority of Millennials don’t fall in the “Millennial Mindset” group) What your agency can do to have less “Millennial Mindset” employees than average Why the opportunity to [...]

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How to Work ON Your Business, Not Just IN It with Ryan Ayres

How much of your day do you spend working ON your business as opposed to working IN your business?  If you’re like most agency owners, you are too busy fighting fires day to day to even think about anything else, let alone focus on the visionary work needed to move your business forward. It’s important to understand how to delegate tasks to let you better focus on the business as a whole. Most of us know how we are spending our days but don’t know how to change it. My podcast guest Ryan Ayres has been where you are and is here to show you how to get out of your own way.  It can’t happen without some hard work on your part but as he says, “Believe it or not, you can get yourself out of the day to day work and if you leverage your team, it can happen faster than you’d think.”   Join Ryan and I as we pave the way with … How Ryan got himself out of the day-to-day and got his team to take things off his plate that he did not need to be doing Why great employees will help you when you reach the point when you’re forced to sell what your business does instead of selling what you do Why — if you can’t get rid of 100% of what you’re doing — that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get rid of any of it Why you need to make sure everyone understands and buys into your vision and why it benefits them Ryan’s employee rating matrix Why people very rarely stay or leave based on money (and why this means you don’t need to give as [...]

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How Partnering with a Nonprofit Can Create an Impact for Your Business

Want to leave a lasting legacy in your community, engage your employees, thrill your vendors and be able to serve and help those who really need it? It’s possible, practical, profitable and probably the last place you would look for a business opportunity – pro bono work for the nonprofits in your community.     As an agency you are inevitably going to be asked by a nonprofit for free work. Make that inevitability a win-win for everyone involved by serving the nonprofits in your community in a way that is bigger and better both in the short-term and the long-term.    Join me in this solocast as I walk you through: Why short term nonprofit projects don’t do much good for your agency or a nonprofit Creating a contest for nonprofits where the winner will become your client for a year How this contest and resulting year-long relationship will bring in a ton of PR How this lengthy commitment with a single nonprofit allows you to gracefully turn down other nonprofits that you don’t have time to work with What to ask for in applications to find the right nonprofit to work with How your relationship with a nonprofit can be a great business development opportunity Why you need to get in front of the nonprofit’s board of directors How this relationship will dramatically change the impact that the nonprofits you adopt can make What your process for setting up this yearly project should look like Why your team will love doing work with a nonprofit Drew McLellan is the Top Dog at Agency Management Institute. For the past 21 years, he has also owned and operated his own agency. Drew’s unique vantage point as [...]

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How to Develop and Execute the Right New Business Program to Attract the Right Clients with Mark Duval

I know you have one in your head – but if I were to ask you to show me your new business development program (diagrams, action plans, actual tools to help with execution) – could you? I know, I know – you get most of your leads through referrals. While those are lovely to have – relying on them means you’re about to get stuck. We’re giddy about referrals because it means we don’t have to sell and most agency owners hate the “S” word. And that’s what I talked with my podcast guest Mark Duval about. He teaches agencies how to prospect and sell.   In this conversation, we work our way through the idea of how to develop and execute the right new business program so you can attract the right clients. Join Mark and I as we share these tangible, actionable steps by focusing on: Mark’s background and how he got into the business of helping agencies Why you need a written new business plan Why you need to work on your differentiation Finding the right new business program for your organization Finding the right number of clients (and finding the right amount to bill them) The danger of sounding desperate to clients The importance of attitude and behavior Questions any agency should ask their prospects Why you need to serve up who you are and what you do on your website Understanding what your prospects consume and figuring out how to position yourself as a thought leader in those spaces Making introductions between prospects and the people you know that they need to know Why you should set up Google alerts on prospects you really want to work with Figuring out [...]

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How to Work with and Manage a Network of Freelancers with Bram Warshafsky

If you were going to build an agency from the ground up today, what would it look like?  For my guest Bram Warshafsky, it was an agency with a lot of technology and a workforce that was almost all contract labor. Bram and his team at 5Crowd don’t concern themselves too much with driving big brand strategy. They use their team of freelancers to take the brand strategy that already exists and find the best way to execute it. Most agencies have augmented their team with some freelancers but many struggle with managing those resources and vetting the potential partners to find the right ones. In this podcast episode, Bram shares his experiences, the trial and errors and his eventual successes and insights that makes it work so well today. Find the best freelance fit for you as Bram and I discuss: Why Bram started his agency, and why he went with the freelancer model What Bram’s internal team is like and how to work with freelancers to offset those positions Why 5Crowd focuses on production rather than strategy What a strong freelancer vetting process looks like Why 5Crowd needed to build their own software How being a production based agency has led to high client retention for 5Crowd What good marketing looks like Why you need to tell the story of how you save your clients money The three questions 5Crowd asks to figure out if they will take on a project Why 5Crowd has freelancers set the price How 5Crowd picks what freelancer to use for the right project Why you need to fully embrace technology to succeed How to get started with freelancers Recently named one of the Top 30 Under 30 [...]

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How to Manage Small Business Finances as an Agency Owner with Jason Blumer

As an agency owner, there’s one thing you learn quickly: It’s not necessarily how much money you make, it’s how much money you keep. And much of that has to do with having a tax strategy that works for you, your family and your agency.   “The money that matters most is the money you get to keep and spend,” says my guest Jason Blumer. Jason is a virtual CPA who specializes in working with agencies. He challenges his clients to grow their agencies while at the same time keeping more of the money they make. From tax strategies to employment benefit plans to the metrics that matter, Jason touches on all aspects of an agency’s financial life and some best practices for protecting what you’ve worked so hard to earn. Join Jason and I as we dig deep into small business and agency finances with: How Jason and his team got into the agency niche Mistakes agencies and agency owners make regularly Why going virtual doesn’t automatically save your agency money How to legally save your agency money in taxes in ways that make sense for your agency How to manage small business finances at your agency Employment benefit plans which benefit agency owners P&L and AGI numbers to know Why you shouldn’t be struggling to make payroll if you have a strong value proposition Why being a successful creative director doesn’t mean you should open your own agency Why you need to be willing to sacrifice services, clients, and your team How to know whether the metrics that you’re tracking are worth tracking Things most if not all agencies should track Why you should outsource your accounting Jason’s recommended resources Jason Blumer is [...]

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How to Make a Profit Doing Website Development with Brent Weaver

Most agencies offer some level of web development – whether you do it in house or outsource it. Unfortunately, most agencies are still having to ask ‘what is a reasonable profit margin?’ when it comes to website development. Scope creep, unexpected technical snags and constant client changes make it tough to build a profitable web department. But it doesn’t have to be that way. My podcast guest Brent Weaver from uGurus is dedicated to helping agencies and web dev shops actually build a sustainable and profitable business focused on creating websites for clients. Brent and I will help you learn what it takes to make money in web development by explaining: Why agencies have a hard time making money creating websites for clients How to make a profit doing website development and design Why bad discovery leads to scope creep Why you should spread discovery over multiple meetings rather than one long meeting Why you need to niche down to find the quality and quantity of clients that you need Why you need to treat your website (and your clients’ websites) like a kid Working with your clients to develop a web strategy that fits their budget Establishing a communication pattern with your clients Not letting clients delay because a website isn’t perfect How to focus on the right platforms How to know whether to bring web-dev in-house or use a partnership What agencies need to know about the web to capitalize on the opportunities out there Brent Weaver became obsessed with creating websites when he was 15 years old. He realized he could create and share information with anyone in the world with the click of a button. His first business was a web [...]

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5 Key Agency Metrics Every Organization Should Be Tracking & Why They Matter

You know my drill – you’ve taken a huge risk in starting or buying an agency. I want to make sure you get the rewards that should accompany those risks. Most agencies have a few KPI (key performance indicators) or agency metrics they track. Unfortunately, most agencies track the wrong ones, like gross billings. I want to make sure you're measuring what actually matters -- the agency metrics that really give you insight into your agency and help you run a more profitable business. In this solocast, I walk you through the five agency metrics that every agency owner should be tracking and why they matter. Why you have to measure inside your agency The AGI/FTE ratio: why you should be aiming for this to be $150,000 (and why many agencies struggle to reach this goal) Measuring over/under on projects: how often are you over, how often are you under, and by how much? Why you need to look at profitability on a client by client basis (and how to know when to fire a client due to profitability) Why you need a minimum standard AGI for all your clients Why you absolutely need to use timesheets inside your agency (and why this doesn’t mean you should bill by the hour) Drew McLellan is the Top Dog at Agency Management Institute. For the past 21 years, he has also owned and operated his own agency. Drew’s unique vantage point as being both an active agency owner and working with 250+ small- to mid-size agencies throughout the year, give him a unique perspective on running an agency today. AMI works with agency owners by: Leading agency owner peer groups Offering workshops for owners and their leadership [...]

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How to Create Content that Converts Leads with Andy Crestodina

I love learning from my podcast guests every week and man did I learn a lot from Andy Crestodina from Orbit Media Studios. During my interview with him, he was sharing gems left and right about creating content that converts and other awesome quotes like: “If you do that and eat your vegetables, you're going to live a long, prosperous life. That is the secret. I believe that is the key.” “That's called Zero Waste Marketing.” “The three Ps - prominence, promise and proof.” “Everybody has an LBOW. You have yours today and you have what will be your future LBOW.” Curious about what that’s all about? I was too! Andy Crestodina has all the answers and is just waiting to share them with you. He has devoted himself to all things marketing, focusing in on content and web strategy. He can help you leverage your sales funnel with content in ways you’ve never thought of before. Join Andy and I as we find out the key to a “long and prosperous life” as well as: Why Andy started his web design company and how it’s evolved since then Doing important tasks before urgent tasks Why you need to write your content marketing mission statement Why delegating is so crucial (and why Andy hired a boss for himself) Why you don’t need to publish every week Why you should publish answers to questions you get frequently instead of constantly writing emails with similar content Measuring the performance of content How to construct and create content that converts leads “Content Chemistry”: Andy’s book about how to repurpose content Building your website with what people are searching for in mind Winning the SEO battle and turning visitors [...]

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