Content marketing is all the rage but most of it is just packaging. Frankly -- agencies have been using content marketing for decades for their clients. It's not new. But what I think is new is the idea that agencies should use content to attract prospects for themselves. This type of content management strategy was [...]
This article discusses client retention strategies, and explains what clients are truly looking for from their ad agency. In our AE training (both the bootcamp and the Account Service Advanced Training) we ask the participants to make a list of what they think their clients want from their advertising agency. It's a rare AE that [...]
Be honest agency owner, you know that your account executive team is great. But sometimes they struggle when it comes to actual sales. Enter our account executive sales training workshop. 67% of an agency's new business revenue comes from existing clients (on average). The people who are (or sadly -- are not) going to bring [...]
A non-compete agreement form is like fire insurance. It's a sickening feeling to see the smoldering ruins of your just-burned house, and wish you'd bought the insurance policy. The time to create your non-compete agreement is before you get burned. There's a widespread belief among the advertising agencies that we meet in our workshops and [...]
Several years ago I ran across a little ditty by Joe Adams that I've kept around just to re-read and remind myself of what business I'm in. Joe called it his Commandments for Running An Advertising Agency. It's a good reminder to all of us that it takes is a little common sense, enthusiasm and [...]
If you were being truthful about account executive training in your agency -- you just said, baptism by fire. We hired them and on their first day...took them to a client meeting and it was off to the races. The good ones thrive and survive and the ones who can't cut it, fade away. But [...]
For the past 12 years, Agency Management Roundtable has conducted an annual salary and benefits survey looking at the trends in small and medium sized agencies. The survey results report allow agency owners to compare their salaries by position with how the rest of the country's salaries. The results are also presented by agency size [...]
Awhile ago, we received a call from an agency in upstate New York. "I was looking through a back issues of Money Magazine," he said, "and I saw your letter to the editor mentioning that one of the things you do is work as an advertising agency consultant. You might be the kind of person [...]
Every advertising agency says they have a new business program. Most, I've discovered... have the "oh crap, billings are slow, we need to work the phones, networking events and call some dormant clients" model of prospecting. Over the next month, we're going to delve into advertising and marketing agency new business efforts in a much [...]
I know I'm not telling you anything you haven't already figured out. An agency's employees are so much more than the life blood. They are the walking, talking embodiment of your company. And when they leave -- you can learn a great deal, if you conduct exit interviews. I've been really fortunate. In the almost [...]
