Podcasts

[easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,twitter,google,linkedin,mail” counters=1 counter_pos=”topm” total_counter_pos=”leftbig” style=”icon_hover”] Peter Shankman is a spectacular example of what happens when you merge the power of pure creativity with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and a dose of adventure, all to make it work to your advantage. The New York Times has called him “a public relations all-star who knows everything about new media and then some,” while Investor’s Business Daily has labeled him “crazy, but effective.” He founded Help A Reporter Out (HARO) in 2010 from his apartment before selling it to Vocus. Peter is the also founder of ShankMinds: Business Masterminds, a series of small business entrepreneurial-style masterminds in over 25 cities worldwide. Additionally, Peter is also the founder and CEO of The Geek Factory, Inc., a boutique Social Media, Marketing and PR Strategy firm located in New York City, with clients worldwide.     What you’ll learn about in this episode: Innovation through exploration Why you need to hold your ground with clients and force them to trust your expertise How to get your customers to tell your story for you Peter’s book “Zombie Loyalists” Peter’s company The Geek Factory How agencies can make customer service attractive for their clients Why rewarding someone for being your 10,000th follower is an insult to the rest of your followers Why everything you create has to have value for someone How to create invested customers with the way you respond through email How Peter carves out time in his schedule for everything Peter’s preferred methods for professional development What Peter’s agency of the future would look like How Peter helped his employees with professional development The things that get in the way of corporations hearing their customers Things agencies can […]

[easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,twitter,google,linkedin,mail” counters=1 counter_pos=”topm” total_counter_pos=”leftbig” style=”icon_hover”] Paul Roetzer is founder and CEO of PR 20/20, a Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and HubSpot’s first Agency Partner. He is author of “The Marketing Performance Blueprint” (Wiley, 2014) and “The Marketing Agency Blueprint” (Wiley, 2012); creator of Marketing Agency Insider and Marketing Score; a regular contributor to leading marketing industry blogs; and a frequent speaker on content marketing, inbound marketing, performance and strategy.     What you’ll learn about in this episode: Why Paul started PR 20/20 Standardizing pricing to prevent scope creep Paul’s point system for pricing How to create a content strategy that works today Top of the funnel content vs. bottom of the funnel content Using the point system for professional development Where to find the great content writers that you will need to hire How PR 20/20 decides if a client is a good fit The Marketing Score Automated Insights Steps agencies can take right now How to keep employees around and enthusiastic   The Golden Nugget:

[easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,twitter,google,linkedin,mail” counters=1 counter_pos=”topm” total_counter_pos=”leftbig” style=”icon_hover”] Michael Gass is the founder of Fuel Lines Business Development, LLC, a firm that provides business development training and consulting services to advertising, digital, media and PR agencies. Since 2007, Michael has pioneered the use of social media, content and inbound marketing strategies specifically for agency new business. Michael has originated a system that makes targeting, positioning, and differentiation easier and helps agencies to find, attract and engage their best prospects online. He has trained over 200 agency CEOs and their senior management teams in all 50 states here in the U.S. and agencies in over 21 foreign countries.     What you’ll learn about in this episode: Generating new business through niche blogs Making these niche blogs truly niche (hint: “healthcare” is not a niche) Why these blogs need to be written by one or two visible authors The pace these blogs have to be written, at least initially Why you should start out with just one niche blog Why a person should be the face of only one blog How to keep this process running smoothly and consistently Why agencies have to add consulting as a service line The differences agency websites and niche blogs have to have The time commitment this kind of program requires The steps your agency can take right now to get this program up and running   The Golden Nugget:

[easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,twitter,google,linkedin,mail” counters=1 counter_pos=”topm” total_counter_pos=”leftbig” style=”icon_hover”] Michael Farmer grew up in the Midwest and was the first child in his family to go to college. He went to Princeton on an NROTC scholarship and worked at various jobs to pay the difference. After that, he spent 5 years as a naval officer, 3 years at sea, and 2 years teaching NROTC at Iowa State University. Then he was off to Harvard Business School and a one-year research assignment writing cases and teaching marketing in Lausanne, Switzerland. He then joined some consulting firms and worked all over the globe. Eventually, he ended up at Bain & Company where he spent three years in Boston, and then nine years in London, Munich, and Paris. Bain then started his own consulting firm, Farmer & Company, specializing on solving agency / advertiser problems. He stayed in London until 2001, and then returned to the States and continued his work. He wrote Madison Avenue Manslaughter between 2009 and 2015, and the book was published in 2015.     What you’ll learn about in this episode: Some of the big problems agencies face today Why the future is bright for small to mid-sized independent agencies Why your agency needs a uniform approach for working with clients and an example of what that looks like The documented scope of work document: what should this look like? Why it’s harder than ever for agencies to make money Michael’s “price for the work” metric Creating accountability with client heads Why agencies probably will have an easier time fixing scope of work than they think What agencies can do right now to start fixing some of these mistakes   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. He has also owned and operated his own agency over the last 20-years. And all through the year, he straddles the fence of working in his agency and working with 250+ small- to mid-size agencies in a variety of ways. 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 a lot of 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: Gross Billings vs. Adjusted Gross Income How agencies lose money when pricing Why scope creep leads to little or no profit Why your agency needs to issue change orders and how to turn this into a process Why you need to use the one page business plan How to know if you need a better new business plan (hint: you probably do) Why you need a tax advisor not a tax preparer   The Golden Nugget:

Jason Swenk shares how to scale and sell. If you got a call with an offer, would you be ready? It happened to Jason Swenk. But, he had a plan and shares the details in this episode of Build a Better Agency. Jason Swenk calls himself the defender of truth, justice, and effective business practices. 16-years ago, he founded a digital agency and they worked with clients like AFLAC, AT&T, Coca-Cola, and LegalZoom. He sold that agency and is now working with agencies, teaching them to use cutting-edge business strategies to defend themselves against the competition. His website, www.jasonswenk.com, has a plethora of information dedicated to educating agency owners including Agency Insights, his weekly newsletter.   What you’ll learn from Jason Swenk in this episode: How Jason prepared his agency for sale The importance of systems inside an agency What to do when the systems you put in place make you nonessential for day-to-day operations Lead generation: why Jason believes this is the biggest pain point for agencies and what can be done about it How agencies can deliver exceptional value to clients willing to pay a premium price and how to get those clients in the first place How to recognize which clients to seek out and which to avoid Jason’s “Agency Playbook” Things agencies do to get in their own way Agencies and niche: why you need to start very, very small What can agencies do right now to take action on the ideas in this episode   The Golden Nugget from Jason:

[easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,twitter,google,linkedin,mail” counters=1 counter_pos=”topm” total_counter_pos=”leftbig” style=”icon_hover”] Joe Pulizzi is the founder of Content Marketing Institute, the leading education and training organization for content marketing, which includes the largest in-person content marketing event in the world, Content Marketing World. Joe is the winner of the 2014 John Caldwell Lifetime Achievement Award from the Content Council. Joe’s fourth book “Content Inc.” was just released. His third book, “Epic Content Marketing” was named one of “Five Must-Read Business Books of 2013” by Fortune Magazine.     What you’ll learn about in this episode: What agencies and clients need to do to develop a content marketing strategy that actually succeeds Why you need to focus on your email list more than people you are connected with on social media How agencies can leverage their own content better Why you need to focus on content in specific platforms over trying to be everywhere What differentiates the agencies that do content marketing extremely well Old school deliverables that still work today Why you need content marketing mission statement Why the editing process is a crucial part of content marketing The ways smart agencies get smart enough to create valuable content Things agencies can do right now to get the content marketing techniques discussed in this episode rolling Joe’s events   The Golden Nugget:

[easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,twitter,google,linkedin,mail” counters=1 counter_pos=”topm” total_counter_pos=”leftbig” style=”icon_hover”] Donya Powell has been a CPA and consultant for 23 years in the advertising/marcomm industry. She learned the industry working as a contract CFO for an agency early in her career and continues to serve as a remote CFO for agencies today. She has worked through several merger and acquisition deals with agency clients as she consults with agencies across the US on operations, agency compensation agreements, merger and acquisitions and succession planning.   What you’ll learn about in this episode: Misconceptions agency owners have about the value of their agency Donya’s spreadsheet for assessing your financial picture during retirement Understanding your agency’s normalized EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) Factors that severely impact your agency’s value in a negative way What you may need to change in your agency’s books Things on the financial statement that agency owners often ignore that they really need to pay attention to What financials agency owners should be looking at every week, month, and quarter Budgets: can modern, project-based agencies use them? Mistakes agencies make in regards to taxes and tax strategies to take advantage of How to know if your agency is structured as a corporation in the correct way Things to think about when planning the selling your agency Factors that play into an agency sale falling through Things agency owners can do right now to start improving their agency’s financial health with the idea of an eventual sale   The Golden Nugget:

[easy-social-share buttons=”facebook,twitter,google,linkedin,mail” counters=1 counter_pos=”topm” total_counter_pos=”leftbig” style=”icon_hover”] Don Beehler has worked with news media from local to international levels and has won numerous professional awards throughout his career. He also has co-authored or ghostwritten three books for clients and has a blog called The Art of Telling Your Story.   What you’ll learn about in this episode: The dramatic changes PR has seen over the years How agencies can use PR as a strategic tool to drive new business How to determine what stories to pitch Ways you can become discoverable so that reporters can find you The kind of news that is truly newsworthy for agencies Why you shouldn’t think about using PR with the expectation that people will write stories about your agency How agencies can get the right kind of attention Incorporating PR into your business plan How to correctly use PR in relation to speaking engagements How to use Google Alerts to capitalize on PR opportunity The steps to take right away to boost your PR   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. He has also owned and operated his own agency over the last 20-years. And all through the year, he straddles the fence of working in his agency and working with 250+ small- to mid-size agencies in a variety of ways. 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 a lot of 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 employee shortage: why it’s happening right now What agency employees want most (and how to use this to attract and retain them) Things that will cause employees to leave The best benefits you can offer to attract and retain employees How you can compete with the corporate world for employees Why you need to be actively looking for employees, even if you don’t need them right now   The Golden Nugget: