Diversity in the workplace is the cornerstone of running a modern and successful agency. Without it, you’re not only selling your agency short, but you’re also passing up on an immense pool of talent and ideas that you won’t find by staying in a comfort zone. […]
With agency ownership comes big ideas, a lot of creative energy, and infinite passion for your work. Chances are you have a million ideas floating around your head with nowhere to put them. Why not compile them into a book? […]
When I left my last agency job to start my own shop, I was the perfect combination of ignorant and arrogant. I assumed that if my doofus of a boss could run an agency, I could too. I found out many years later that he ran it right into the ground. So perhaps, not the best yardstick. And I thought the hard part of agency life was the client facing stuff. I’d taken a few business classes as an undergrad, so how hard could it be? Ignorant and arrogant. When the shingle got hung, I learned very quickly how hard it could be. I was great at the client facing side but the back of the house stuff? Forget it. I didn’t understand what a P&L should look like or tell me I didn’t know how to price the work so we always made a profit I had no idea what financial metrics were unique to agencies and how they could help me run my agency better I was clueless when it came to how to hire objectively and for the long term I didn’t understand how I would influence the culture as an owner (I was awesome at influencing culture as an employee…wouldn’t it be the same?) I didn’t know how to use the tax laws to my advantage and for years — we paid through the nose because of my ignorance I had no idea I was supposed to use my agency as an ATM machine and build my wealth outside of the agency itself We did okay…some months and years better than others. And then I took a workshop. It was like I had been hit by a truck. Where had all [...]
Business development will always be necessary for keeping your agency alive. Many agencies are great at marketing for clients but historically fall flat when it’s time to market themselves to prospects. […]
Jeff Salzenstein says we can feel balanced and less like we’re about to snap. Learn good habits for agency leaders with Jeff Salzenstein. Weary is a great word to describe a lot of agency leaders right now. It comes up again and again that we’re just tired, overworked, and running on fumes. It’s not our fault, but there are things we can do to get back to feeling a little more balanced and less like we’re about to snap. […]
Whether we like it or not, the end of the year is fast approaching and a new one is close behind it. Have you started thinking about your agency’s new business plans for next year yet? I’ve seen—and created—my fair share of annual new business plans. Some were good, some not so good. The good ones were more recalibrations than wholesale reinventions. They built on successes, plotted a clear direction, course corrected away from mistakes, and had just enough stretch goals to keep things exciting. Plus, they actually offered a plan, not just a statement of hopes and dreams, and everyone understood their role in the plan’s success. The bad ones? They were overly complicated, sank too much time in navel-gazing analysis of the marketplace and competitors, lacked clear direction, and were overly ambitious. And they were likely to be under-executed or not executed at all. What a waste. I sometimes wonder if agency leaders hide behind the activity of planning. It sure feels like you’re moving forward, but there’s a point of diminishing returns where the planning becomes an excuse to postpone the doing. I’ve always been curious about why that is—I’ve seen this tendency in myself as much as I have in others. What holds agency leaders back from the doing part? Time, or lack of it, is the usual suspect. There always seem to be myriad priorities that get in the way of those commitments to pursuing agency business development goals. But I think there are also some powerful mental blocks that we don’t consider enough but should. Here are three that might be standing between you and those big, hairy, audacious goals for growing your agency next year (plus some strategies [...]
Creating content and having a content marketing strategy have become the bread and butter of marketing agencies, and we have the research to prove it. In fact, many agencies are now saying that 75% of their revenue is coming from content. […]
One of the best ways to establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry and get more right-fit clients is by publishing a book. Often, the people who don’t want to publish a book fall into one of two categories: those who don’t think they know enough (or think everyone knows what they do) or those who think they have the “secret sauce” and don’t want to give it away willingly. […]
Today on the podcast, we’re challenging how you approach B2B prospecting. If you’ve ever been afraid to openly advertise your pricing, roll out a free offer for new customers, or try something completely different from the agency norm, I hope this conversation inspires you to take the risk. […]
What do you think of when you hear about Disney? Fireworks, castles, and happy families all probably came to mind for a moment. But you probably didn’t think of dishware — and we’re not talking about those cups from the 90s with Lion King characters on them that were in every family’s kitchen cabinets. […]
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