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Exit interviews – don’t miss this opportunity

I know I'm not telling you anything you haven't already figured out.  An agency's employees are so much more than the life blood.  They are the walking, talking embodiment of your company.  And when they leave -- you can learn a great deal, if you conduct exit interviews. I've been really fortunate.  In the almost 20 years of owning my agency, I've had (and have) some incredible employees.  They've gone on to do amazing things like start their own agency, work for Dow Jones, opt to stay home and raise three wonderful boys, work for Meredith Publishing, BBDO and many other fine companies. Of course, there's the other side of the coin too.  Some self-destructed, others...I mis managed or put into the wrong position and set them up to fail.  Some of them are still friends.  Others curse my name, I'm sure.  Honestly, that's one of the most painful elements of owning an agency for me.  I know I preach that we should have have thick skins, but I can't say I have that mastered. But no matter how/why someone leaves your agency, don't miss the opportunity to to conduct an exit interview.  You probably won't like everything you hear, but you will learn from it.  Every time. Exit interviews can deliver important inside information. The way departing employees view your organization might be the way things really are.  You can do this in a few different ways. If the employee is leaving on good terms, as the agency owner, you might be able to sit down and have a frank conversation.  But if there's still a final paycheck pending or they don't want to burn any bridges, you might find them less than truthful. [...]

June 14th, 2012|

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 [...]

May 18th, 2012|

The economy is pushing agencies into vendor roles

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 work around the economy issue. In the current economic climate, ad and marketing managers on the client side are trying to keep their jobs and cut costs. They're seeing fellow employees being downsized are doing everything they can to make themselves look more indispensable to their bosses. One obvious way for them to do this is to bring a lot of the work they normally farmed out to agencies back  in house. Some marketing managers even go so far as to set up an in-house agency, not knowing or not heeding the fact that no in house agency has ever been proven to save money in the long run. (Don’t waste your time or your breath trying to argue them out of this dumb idea. It's one of those "you have to live it to believe it" deals.) It's tough to deal with someone who is operating from a place of fear but that's where a lot of our clients are right now.  They kept waiting for the economy to go back to normal and now they're realizing that this is the new normal.  Now, every dollar they spend is scrutinized and performance expectations are huge.  Human nature drives them to clutch [...]

May 16th, 2012|

Advanced AE Bootcamp

Send your AEs to Advanced AE Bootcamp! “Your advanced training for account executives was exactly what my senior team needed.  They came back ready to demonstrate ROI for our clients and the agency!  With the methods you taught, we just scored the biggest AGI win we’ve had in two years!”  Over the years, many Account Executive Bootcamp attendees and their agency owners requested that we establish a second level of training for them. As a result, our Account Executive Advanced Bootcamp Workshop was created. While our AE Bootcamp provides an overview of the role of an account manager, the AE Advanced Bootcamp is a training program focused on developing strategies based on the marketing mix and the client’s business goals. We will focus on improving your account executives' skills to meet your unique business needs and objectives, giving them the tools to be the best at their position. The workshop is an opportunity to advance your account executives to the next level, polish their skills, and make them experts! Note: Attending an AE Bootcamp is not a requirement for enrolling in the AE Advanced Bootcamp workshop. The requirements for attending our advanced workshop is four+ years experience in account management; a competitive approach to developing strategic solutions to clients’ business problems; curiosity and a drive to solve problems; a professional attitude and the willingness to do the work to get the job done and help drive the client’s business. What AEs learn during our 2-day Advanced workshop: Agency math How your agency makes (or doesn’t) money The AEs’ role in new business The AEs’ role in profitability Running your accounts like a small business Maximizing profitability Five ways to grow existing clients every year Creative ways to bring the end-users into the mix [...]

April 28th, 2012|

AE Bootcamp

“I don’t know how you did it, but the two people who returned from your advertising agency account executive training are not the same two people I sent. They’re ready to take on the world.  Both have delivered incredible results in the last few weeks, getting stalled clients off the dime and bringing new revenue into the agency.  Thank you!”   Do you want to improve your agency’s client service and maximize your profitability? Then improve your AEs with Account Executive Training! Account Management is a multifaceted obligation to build client relationships and company profitability. The Account Executive is a liaison between the company and the client. They’re a salesperson, a relationship builder, a business mentor, and a psychologist all at the same time! It is essential to your growth and profitability as a business that your account executives are the best of the best. ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT BOOTCAMP Training Account Executives to Manage for Profit, Client Retention, and Efficiency in a Changing World. Account Management Bootcamp is a 2-day workshop for agency account executives that will teach them both the tactical and strategic sides of working with clients and the agency. This is an “in the trenches” boot camp where your account executives will work hard and be given the opportunity to engage with experts who are eager to pass on their extensive knowledge. Attendees will participate in discussions and work as a team to solve difficult case studies, allowing them to apply what they’re learning to real situations. Participants will also have the chance to get all their questions answered through a great dialogue session. They will leave anxious to apply what they’ve learned to help you grow and improve your business through an outstanding relationship with your clients. The two-day training boot camp with AMI has high ratings for significantly improving [...]

April 28th, 2012|

Social Media Training For Agencies

“The timing was great for this social media training for agencies workshop. It gave, even those of us who have been engaged in social media marketing a while, a vision for how all of our marketing and sales efforts tie together. Plus Drew delivered a lot of practical, applicable things to do that will kick up our own efforts and enhance our client work. I love that it all ties back to business goals – an owner’s nirvana.” The odds of winning a new client are significantly higher if they're the ones who call you.  Learn how to "do" social media so it drives leads to your door. It's time for your social media efforts to result in real, qualified new business leads. Agencies -- Don't do social media because you think you have to. Do it because it's generating new revenue for your agency! Your agency needs the Social Media Training for Agencies workshop if: Your agency want better inbound leads You want SEO results that are relevant and will drive sales You want to leverage your social efforts into speaking engagements that position your agency as the expert You want to be able to use your results to sell social media to clients You don't want your clients to call you out on the fact that you sell social media but you don't really do social media Train with an agency owner who has taken his agency from being a nice boutique shop in the Midwest to being quoted in the New York Times and having The Wall Street Journal call their blog "one that every entrepreneur should read." Best of all -- learn how they leveraged their social media efforts into a [...]

April 28th, 2012|

Owner Workshops

Our owners workshops bring agency owners of small and medium sized marketing communication companies together to learn and discuss their most important challenges. Our focus is on best business practices in building and operating a better company. These workshops are like no other meeting you have attended. You will walk away with fresh ideas, feeling excited about your business' possibilities and re-charged to take on the day to day challenges of running an agency. We cover topics you've always wanted to talk about -- but didn't know who you could trust or share this sort of thinking with. All roundtables are comprised of non-competing participants from all parts of the marketing communications industry—B2C and B2B ad agencies, graphic design, media, interactive and public relations firms. We don't teach you how to create better advertising, build a better website or how to put together a public relations program. Our primary goal is helping you with your company structure, staffing, operating systems and financial success. Each session is two full days of meetings with your peers in a managed discussion about how to operate your company for maximum profit. We've always said that we help companies move up to the next level. That means we can help you grow bigger and/or grow your financial portfolio for a robust retirement. It is your goal. We help you get there. Many of our clients come from secondary markets. Yes, we have clients in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City, Boston, Seattle, St. Louis, and Atlanta, and we have helped them grow and prosper too. But, the majority of AMR agencies are from small cities from Washington to Florida and Maine to California and everywhere in between. Eighty [...]

April 28th, 2012|

Staff Workshops

Account Managers/Executives/Strategists (or whatever you happen to call them!) are the primary client facing members of your staff.  Each AE basically runs a division of your company and that's division's success is resting on their shoulders. They create, hold and ideally grow the client relationship and your agency's profits. They have to understand: Marketing (not just advertising) Sales (for both the agency and the client) Your client's industries Finance (yours and the clients) Business operations and how to solve business problems All 4 Ps and the 4 Cs of digital marketing How to lead a team And be part salesperson, part relationship builder, part business mentor and part psychologist! That's no small feat and the truth is -- they sure don't learn it all in college. And let's be honest, when you hired them -- it was baptism by fire! Now they've been on the job for a bit and you'd like to groom them to be even better.  That's where our three workshops come in.  They will leave your place thinking they're advertising executives and come back understanding that they're business builders (yours and the clients!). We offer two AE workshops, based on the level of the employee's experience and responsibilities. AE Boot Camp:  This two-day workshop is designed specifically for client facing agency employees who have been in the business for less than three years.  They might be an account coordinator or AE who shows incredible promise and clients already love.  We'll give them the core skills to understand their role in making your agency money and making themselves so valuable the clients can't imagine not working with you. (Learn more) Advanced AE Boot Camp:  This two-day workshop is for your agency's more [...]

April 28th, 2012|

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