Agencies are brilliant at helping their clients differentiate themselves from the pack.  And yet, this is the Achilles Heel for most agencies.  You look and sound just like everyone else on the block, in the pitch or online. It’s not easy to find the kernel of what makes you unique and the right fit for your clients.  And you can’t use the same trite language (full service, integrated, we love to partner with our clients, etc.) and sound different. Maybe it’s not about how do you differentiate yourself from everyone else in the pack.  Maybe it’s about creating a new category so you truly stand alone? That’s the premise of my podcast guest Christopher Lochhead. He’s a longtime CMO, entrepreneur and author who has had just enough of the right mindset, courage and faith to unlock the key to differentiation. His book, “Play Bigger: How Pirates, Dreamers and Innovators Create and Dominate Markets” details the method to his madness -- what he calls “category design.” He explains it as “creating your own niche to become nouveau riche.” If you want to drive growth on both the agency and client side, follow along as Christopher and I go through the steps of adopting category design with: Chris’ career journey that took him from Silicon Valley CMO to coach to podcast host Chris’ book: “Play Bigger: How Pirates, Dreamers, and Innovators Create and Dominate Markets” What category design is and why every agency needs to get great at it Why “category” is as important as “product” and “company” How to position your agency in a category that you can dominate The two kinds of problems that need solving The three questions to ask to start creating your [...]

Running or owning an agency is not easy. And it seems that these agency problems and challenges are getting tougher to face every year. Many agencies are watching their workloads grow while their fees and profits seem frozen in time. My podcast guest Michael Farmer has been tracking the evolution of agency work for the past 25 years. He says that the challenges of modern agency owners can largely be traced to the industry turning a blind eye to the issues of scope creep while at the same time, not evolving their fees or payment structures. While this issue can seem overwhelming, Michael has a proven model that will show you how to get a handle on your scope creep and a way to figure out the appropriate charges for that work. Michael and I will walk you through it all as well as: Some of the big problems and challenges agencies face today Why the future is bright for small to mid-sized independent agencies Why your agency needs a uniform approach for working with clients and an example of what that looks like The documented scope of work document: what should this look like? Why it’s harder than ever for agencies to make money Michael’s “price for the work” metric Creating accountability with client heads Why agencies probably will have an easier time fixing scope of work than they think What agencies can do right now to start fixing some of these mistakes Michael Farmer grew up in the Midwest and was the first child in his family to go to college. He went to Princeton on an NROTC scholarship and worked at various jobs to pay the difference. After that, he spent 5 years [...]