You’ve heard me say it time and time again and my podcast guest John Fricks is singing the same tune about client business. “I think the CEO of an agency today really has two primary functions. One is to head up new business development. And the other one is to foster relationships internally that allow [...]
Keep it simple. Sounds easy, right? Not so much. It’s one of those things that’s so much easier said than done. But until you begin to simplify your business, as well as the way you think about your business, it’s really difficult to maximize your performance. Simplicity is the common thread that runs through [...]
Public speaking is the number one fear in America. Death is number two. From sweaty palms to cracking voices, speaking in public can be terrifying, yet it is a crucial skill to have in the agency world. As agency owners, our speaking skills are in the spotlight, be it in presentations, pitches, at conferences or just in front [...]
"We are the average of the five people that we hang out with the most." Jim Rohn is famous for making that statement and I believe he was absolutely right. But most business leaders won’t take the time to be thoughtful about the people they surround themselves with and I think that’s short-sighted. Who are [...]
My podcast guest Phil Gerbyshak is the walking, talking definition of a social connection. Phil takes great delight and is a master at using all things social to help businesses gain that next great client by making authentic connections. For Phil, it’s not that Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn are the end all and be [...]
In the research that AMI does every year, one of the things we hear is that clients are looking for agencies that can bring them fresh concepts, big ideas and innovative solutions. So, what do these kinds of innovation initiatives look like and how do agency owners inspire that kind of thinking inside their shop? [...]
A lot of agencies want to grow and scale but it really gets to be a problem when they lack the proper workflow and systems and are unsure how to streamline business processes. Agency owners can sometimes need help learning how to manage workflow in office. Many agency owners bristle when they hear these words [...]
“There’s a hair in my soup.” Not the kind of review that any business owner wants to hear. Worse – to have it broadcast to other potential customers all over the web. But that’s exactly what is happening with the rise of Yelp, Citysearch, Google reviews and a million other sites out there. The [...]
The only constant in life is change, and man, does that apply to our world and agency life. The truth is – it’s not going to suddenly get easier, slower or less jarring. If anything, it’s just going to get a little quicker. So buckle up. I have been in a unique position, because of [...]
“We were kind of just flying by the seat of our pants, to be honest. We weren't operating off of a tight scope. We were just out there creating stuff that we knew we should be making, but there was no structure or order to it at all. We aren’t sure how to streamline processes [...]
