For many of you, the biggest pain point you are facing today is attracting and retaining talent. Agencies are really struggling to find strong prospects for their open positions and to keep their best players. I’ve even had agency owners tell me that they’re taking their foot off the new business gas pedal because they’re [...]
Most agencies struggle with sales. Honestly, I think one of the challenges of business development is that many agencies blur the lines between marketing and sales. Many agencies are getting better at marketing. Technology and social media, and all of that make it easier for you to create content or do an e-newsletter, or have [...]
No one buys homeowners insurance because they actually expect to have a fire at their house. But they know if they wait until there’s a fire, it’s too late. So, on the very first day of homeownership — they buy the insurance as well, hoping they never have to use it. For some reason, agency [...]
When I talk to agency owners about their employees, one of the common frustrations I hear is that they’re not strategic enough. Many owners feel like they have to stay in the day to day mix with clients because they’re the only ones who can develop fresh strategies and direction. In our AE Bootcamps, I [...]
You might be wondering if love really adds value to a business.” Warren Buffett sure thinks it does. You’ve probably heard of him. He’s done pretty well financially by making a few wise investments in companies. Indeed, he’s generally regarded the best ever at making savvy investments. One day I came across a video interview [...]
I believe that one of the most challenging aspects of our work is the forced creativity. We have no time to wait around for a muse or to stand in the shower all day, hoping that inspiration will strike. Every day we need to be creative. Now. And I mean that in every sense of [...]
The world was supposed to end in 1954. It didn't, obviously. But that didn't seem to matter much to the people who believed it would. Remember that. It's important, especially if you want to change people's opinions or behavior. Looking back at 1954, though, you might not be surprised that some folks thought we were [...]
I have yet to meet an agency owner who did not have a generous spirit. Whether your clients live in your community or not, every agency I know does a ton of pro bono work for the non-profits in their area. My agency has always been that way too. But I have to admit, I [...]
When digital was a novel offering, we saw agencies with that narrow focus receive extravagant valuations. Today, digital expertise has become a given rather than a point of differentiation. I heard the comment at an AMI event that basic online digital services are part of the “table stakes” that every agency must put up in [...]
Last week, one of my mornings was consumed with podcast recordings and interviews. In some cases, I was the subject matter expert but in most, I was the host, asking questions of other agency- centric subject matter experts. By sheer coincidence every conversation danced around some aspect of business development, retaining clients and creating a [...]
