[easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,twitter,google,linkedin,mail” counters=1 counter_pos=”topm” total_counter_pos=”leftbig” style=”icon_hover”] 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 teams Offering AE bootcamps Conducting individual agency owner coaching Doing on-site consulting Offering online courses in agency new business and account service Because he works with those 250+ agencies every year — he has the unique opportunity to see the patterns and the habits (both good and bad) that happen over and over again. He has also written two books and been featured in The New York Times, Entrepreneur Magazine, and Fortune Small Business. The Wall Street Journal called his blog “One of 10 blogs every entrepreneur should read.”     What you’ll learn about in this episode: Why the speed of change is the new normal and why you have to embrace that How what agencies sell has changed from the Mad Men days to today Why you need to tie marketing, sales, and customer service together to be a great agency in 2016 Why data analysis is more important than it ever has been Leads, sales, and retention: why you need to focus on these at a much higher level if you want to keep charging a premium price The importance of making real time decisions and adapting based on data Why we need to work with clients who may be resistant to [...]

[easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,twitter,google,linkedin,mail” counters=1 counter_pos=”topm” total_counter_pos=”leftbig” style=”icon_hover”] Andrew Dymski is a co-founder of DoInbound, a process and project management platform for inbound marketing agencies and GuavaBox, an inbound marketing agency. He is a lacrosse coach on the side and loves doing almost anything outside. He is also the co-host of Inbound Agency Journey, a weekly podcast for agency pros.     What you’ll learn about in this episode: How Andrew and his business partner Gray MacKenzie started their agency while they were still in college and the transformation that GuavaBox has overwent since then How Michael Gerber’s “The E Myth” transformed how Andrew’s agency was ran Using blogging as a method for separating yourself Why clients will leave if communication is poor — even when you’re doing great work DoInbound: a tool for creating templates that power the delivery of services just for inbound marketing agencies How creating DoInbound has helped the way Andrew works with his clients Why you need to figure out your vision and share that with your core team Listing and pruning your agency’s list of deliverables How to create processes with your employees and get them to actually follow the processes created How many processes are too many processes? Why you need multiple iterations of processes What meetings about processes with your employees should look like What you can do right now to put some of the ideas from this episode in place without freaking out your team   The Golden Nugget: […]

[easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,twitter,google,linkedin,mail” counters=1 counter_pos=”topm” total_counter_pos=”leftbig” style=”icon_hover”] Henry Corona graduated from Grinnell College in Iowa, moved to Los Angeles, and earned an MA in Economics from UCLA. He worked as an Economist for the Rand Corporation, and while at Rand, Henry earned an MBA in Finance & Marketing from USC. Upon graduating, he joined the M&A department of a conglomerate. He went to work for Lucasfilm Ltd. in various financial management positions during the first Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark film series. His experience included cash and investment management, comptroller for profit sharing, merchandising, publishing and music. Following Lucasfilm, Henry worked in various film and entertainment companies including 20th Century Fox and New Line Cinema. He went into the Advertising business by working for Dave Martin, founder of the Martin Agency, and has worked in financial and transactional management in marketing, advertising, communications technology ever since. His experience in marketing communications has included mergers & acquisitions, business valuation, and serving as CFO for ad agencies, tech start-ups, film and video production companies, and other communication technology businesses.     What you’ll learn about in this episode: Henry’s transition from the film business to the advertising business Mistakes agency owners make that hinder their ability to sell their agencies Where agencies need to be investing Why tracking hours is critically important What to do about employees that cost your agency money Why your agency should have a profit sharing system AGI numbers you need to know What diminishes the value of an agency Charging brain surgeon prices vs. charging nurse prices Training clients so they don’t feel like they’re getting the “B Team” What agency owners can do right now to improve on the [...]

[easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,twitter,google,linkedin,mail” counters=1 counter_pos=”topm” total_counter_pos=”leftbig” style=”icon_hover”] John Warrillow is the author of books “Built to Sell” and “The Automatic Customer” and founder of The Value Builder System™ where advisors help company owners increase the value of their business. Previously, he founded Warrillow & Co., a subscription-based research business dedicated to helping Fortune 500 companies market to small business owners. A sought-after speaker and popular Inc.com columnist, John lives in Toronto.     What you’ll learn about in this episode: John’s book “Built to Sell” The very easy path for agencies to follow that make it extremely hard to sell What services look like that make an agency sellable Why you can’t confuse the doing with owning a business When is it time to say no to business? What to do after you sell your agency Things to avoid when exiting your agency Services agencies can offer on a subscription model Standardizing a process and giving that process or product a specific name Why you shouldn’t surround yourself with journeymen agency employees How to assess how sellable your agency is and what can be done to make your agency more sellable   The Golden Nugget: […]

[easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,twitter,google,linkedin,mail” counters=1 counter_pos=”topm” total_counter_pos=”leftbig” style=”icon_hover”] 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 teams Offering AE bootcamps Conducting individual agency owner coaching Doing on-site consulting Offering online courses in agency new business and account service Because he works with those 250+ agencies every year — he has the unique opportunity to see the patterns and the habits (both good and bad) that happen over and over again. He has also written two books and been featured in The New York Times, Entrepreneur Magazine, and Fortune Small Business. The Wall Street Journal called his blog “One of 10 blogs every entrepreneur should read.”   What you’ll learn about in this episode: The daily traffic / huddle meeting for discussing daily vital priorities and how to make this meeting work regardless of agency size The monthly all-staff meeting for informing and inspiring your team The twice a year to quarterly meeting for team building and planning   The Golden Nugget: […]