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Search results for: agency management

Retooling and reinventing your agency for the future, with Jason Falls.

[easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,twitter,google,linkedin,mail” counters=1 counter_pos=”topm” total_counter_pos=”leftbig” style=”icon_hover”] Jason Falls is one of the most widely read and respected voices in digital marketing and social media industries today. He leads digital strategy for Elasticity and he also shares his no-nonsense ideas regularly on his own website, www.jasonfalls.com. He is the author of some great books, including “No Bullshit Social Media” and “The Rebel’s Guide to Email Marketing.”   What you’ll learn about in this episode: Why social cannot be an upsell The benefits of putting your pride aside, admitting you can’t do everything, and partnering your agency up with other agencies Why you need to be truly honest with yourself about what your agency’s strengths and weaknesses are How to protect your agency when partnering with other agencies How millennials are changing the entire landscape of our world and what we need to do to adapt The action steps you can take to start partnering up with the right agencies   The Golden Nugget: […]

October 19th, 2015|

Build a Better Agency Podcast

My podcast, Build A Better Agency, is completely focused on helping you do just that.  No matter how strong, big or well-known your agency is today -- I believe it can get even better.  My guests are all agency-centric or have an expertise in an area that I believe agency owners need to know more about. Each podcast is 30-45 minutes long and always ends with some next steps that you can take immediately to implement something you've heard. While my intention is that these podcasts are designed specifically for agency owners, I do believe that any agency leader will gain new ideas, fresh perspective and maybe a kick in the pants or two from listening. We'll release a new episode every Wednesday and here are the links that I believe will be pertinent to you. Download/subscribe to Build a Better Agency on iTunes (for the vast majority of you) Download/subscribe to Build a Better Agency on Google Podcasts (for most Android users) If you have been asked to be a guest - all you need to know is right here (and will be emailed to you) If you think you'd be a good guest - shoot me an email. Also, feel free to sign up for our weekly Podcast Giveaway! You can learn more here. Latest Episode... More Episodes... View more episodes →

October 17th, 2015|

Agency Coaching/Consulting

One of the best things about owning your agency is that you're accountable to no one. It's also one of the worst.  It's easy to let your priorities slip, dismiss your own missed deadlines because you "were putting out a fire" or point to your email inbox and saying "that's why I can't get anything done." But quite honestly -- that's BS.  You aren't taking care of your agency's vital priorities because you let other things get in the way. The essence of our agency coaching/consulting is to help you shine the light on whatever problem you’re facing…so you have the facts. Once everyone can see the salient truths — we use both our own 30+ years of agency ownership, our owner peer network experience, and our access to how it works in agencies all over the world to provide you with advice and options. Our mission is to think, analyze, brainstorm, cajole, and challenge good organizations to become even better by adopting new ideas or abandoning an old one. By being the outsider with insider insights and experience — we’re able to step into ambiguous, sometimes hostile situations and sense what changes need to be made within your agency and help facilitate that change. We believe our respectful but very candid, straightforward style lends itself to new "ah ha" moments and growth. Our agency owner (remote) coaching/consulting is designed to resolve that challenge.  We work with agency owners on: Setting annual goals and building an action plan for accomplishing those goals Setting monthly and quarterly metrics so we can track progress and identify when you need a pat on the back and when you need a gentle boot in the rear Refining new business [...]

August 30th, 2015|

Tech Trends & Tools Every Agency Must Know and Harness

"Every AMI workshop I've ever attended has paid for itself within a couple months. I save more money, make more money and get smarter. Hard to argue with that combination." Marketing and technology have always gone hand in hand and it’s always been the agencies that have led the way — introducing clients to new technologies and showing them how those innovations could impact their marketing efforts and results. But that’s never been more true than it is today. Technology has transformed the work we do for clients and that’s nothing compared to what’s coming. We are living in truly historic times. Never before has humanity unleashed so many groundbreaking technologies that impact our world so profoundly—within so short a time. Whether we’ve yet to realize, we are in the midst of a modern-day renaissance born of remarkable innovation at relentless pace. The agency that stays on top of these trends AND knows how to leverage them for their clients will win the day. Agencies that are readying for these seismic shifts are poised to reap tremendous rewards, while those standing still not only risk losing market share in the short term and relevance in the long run. And whether you as an agency leader find this frenetic, fast-moving environment to be thrilling or overwhelming (or both!), the one thing you can’t do to is to ignore it: the stakes are too high, and the revenue potential equally so. But where these technologies lend us near-magical capabilities, they also demand from us steep learning curves. Which begs the BIG question: With all you that you already manage every single day, how can you catch up, keep up, and get ahead of the breakneck cycles of change [...]

July 21st, 2015|

Hey Agency Owner — are you mentoring for growth?

Agency owners are really good at a lot of things.  Unfortunately, mentoring employees for growth is often not one of them. I get it -- you want self starters. You don't have time to micromanage people. You want someone who can think/behave like an owner. You know how you get employees like that? You create them. You hire smart people and then you teach them how to drive your agency's growth, your client's confidence and your AGI.  None of that happens by accident. It's why you should be spending 20% of your time actively mentoring your team.  So what does that look like? Everyone on your staff should have a weekly (yes weekly) one on one meeting with their supervisor. So as an agency owner -- you'd meet with your direct reports weekly.  Here's what mentoring employees should look like: The employee owns the meeting.  They schedule it and re-schedule it if necessary.  If you're traveling -- do it by phone or Skype.  The employee is expected to come to the meeting prepared.  Use a form that outlines how the conversation should go -- and they should have it completed in advance and bring you a copy and one for themselves.  (Email me if you want to see a sample) The meeting is 20-30 minutes long and focuses on quarterly goals and big picture progress -- not a traffic meeting.  This is their opportunity to pick your brain, run ideas past you, and get your feedback.  It's your opportunity to coach, ask tough questions and encourage them. This aligned beautifully with the EOS process or any system where you as an agency, department or individual are working on quarterly goals. This is your chance to hold [...]

July 6th, 2015|

Hey agency owner — remember monkey see, monkey do

One of the first lessons that I learned as a Dad is that while my words mattered, my actions trumped those words every time. My daughter watched every choice, every action and inaction, every moment – and whether I liked it or not, mimicked me. The realization that I was a constant learning lab actually trained me to make some different choices, like wearing a seat belt which I’d never done consistently, simply because I wanted to model that behavior (and because she was a nag about it!) This same truth holds true in your agency and in creating an “Agency Management System” within your shop. Your employees, the ones who are the carriers of your brand’s spirit to your clients, vendors and prospects, observe you every day. We think of our brand as a logo or tagline but our agency brand comes alive in our words and actions, both internally and with our clients. Are you consciously modeling the behavior that you’d like to see your team adopt? Whether you like it or not – your actions will be reflected in every interaction your employees have. Is that good news or not so much? How do you talk about your customers? Even your agency's best clients can be frustrating sometimes. Maybe they’re being unusually indecisive or making a million little changes that are going to push you off budget. Or, they might be under a lot of pressure from their boss and you’re bearing the brunt of that situation. When that happens – how do you sound? Do you grumble about them or do you help your employees remember that this is the person who helps all of you pay your mortgages? How do [...]

June 9th, 2015|

Hey agency owner — 3 Keys to Working On the Agency, Not in It!

Drew’s Note:  I’m pleased to bring you this guest post.  Meet another  thought leader who shares his insights via the blogosphere. So without further ado…Chris Wilson.  Enjoy! Implementing the proper business growth strategies is tough when you are spending a large portion of your time still working in the day-to-day operations of your agency. If you want it to grow the way it should, you need to take a step back and work on long-term strategies. You’re good at what you do, right? Well, if you’re like the majority of agency owners that we at Function Point interact with, then you’re very passionate about your firm. You started the business because you had a competency for creating great creative work, and your entrepreneurial spirit drove you to make a living out of it. Your friends have probably suggested at one point or another that you’re a little bit of the best kind of crazy — always dreaming bigger and reaching higher! That’s all great, but here’s the crux: For a creative agency to be successful, the owner has to move past all the details of the day-to-day operations. This isn’t easy!  You have to figure out the art of working on the agency, not in it. At the end of the day, though, you need to be dreaming of what you want for the company, setting the big goals and business growth strategies for the future and building up the people around you. In my 18+ years of working with agency owners, I’ve found that those who focus on client profitability, team member contribution, strategy and culture are the ones who have succeeded at getting their business scaled up. Directing your attention to these 4 areas will help [...]

May 18th, 2015|

Hey agency owner – do you REALLY act like a partner?

Building client relationships is vital to the success of any agency -- but -- this doesn’t necessarily mean agencies always treat their clients in such a way that the agency is regarded as a partner in the client’s business. I hang out with agency owners all the time and over and over I hear them say "I want clients who treat us like partners, not vendors." This sentence is usually uttered in the context of the good old days versus running an agency today.  I don't disagree at all -- every agency should be treated like their clients' partner.  They should be marching in step towards the client's business goals.  But I find myself asking these same agency owners -- "okay, but do you really act like a partner?" In building client relationships, I think we have to be careful about what we wish for. I'm not suggesting for a second that it's not a worthy goal.  But you have to be worthy of the title.  Partnership is a two way street, so you can't just get the goodies without doing your fair share. Here are some best practices if you actually want to be your client's partner. Know their business: Not just the marketing side of their business -- but understand it like you're running it. Learn about their distribution challenges.  Look for ways their sales system could be improved. Offer to walk the production floor so you can see the actual manufacturing process.  Get your hands dirty along side them and add value with your observations on the whole of their business, not just their marketing. Be transparent with your pricing: However you are choosing to be compensated -- are you being 100% transparent about it? [...]

May 7th, 2015|

Hey agency owner — it’s time to learn how to share the sandbox and work with other agencies

Building client relationships and working with other agencies can be challenging, but it is vital for your agency’s long-term success. In fact, one of the agency/client trends that is toughest for most small to mid-sized agencies is learning how to and accepting the idea that you’re going to have to work with other agencies.  The whole agency of record model is crumbling and more and more clients are telling the marketplace that they prefer to work with multiple agencies. When AMI partnered with Audience Audit last fall to do some primary research with CMO types, one of the things that popped off the page was how prevalent this attitude is.  Many of our respondents worked with 3+ agencies and thought they were better off for doing so. The reasons they opted for multiple agencies varied but the predominant message was — “no one agency can be excellent at everything. We would prefer to buy subject matter expertise across agencies.” The other thing the respondents told us is that they hate it when agencies bicker and try to throw each other under the bus.  They end up distrusting and often firing the bigger whiner among the agencies.  (You can download the research report here) Who comes out on top?  The agency who finds a way to work well with the others.  The agency who busts a hump to coordinate their efforts and actually recognizes what the other agencies are good at and takes full advantage of those talents. Why?  Because then you are actually building client relationships. You are doing what’s best for the client, rather than worrying about the lost billable hours.  Because then you are acknowledging other agencies has something to contribute.  Because then you are [...]

March 31st, 2015|

Webinar – Beyond Adwords: Using Programmatic Bid Management

Thanks again for signing up for our webinar on how to mov beyond adwords and use programmatic bid management to give your clients and your agency a huge advantage. You can download the presentation PDF by clicking here. And you can watch (re-watch) the webinar in it's entirety below. [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqS_lM1Yxe8

March 11th, 2015|

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