AMI Videos

One two punch

I've been thinking a lot about accountability lately as I've been building out our new Sales Momentum Learning Lab, which is all based on this idea of baking in accountability, where the participants have to respond to me and give me an update every week on what they're doing and the power of knowing that you have to sort of be held accountable by someone. I've been thinking about that, and about what I'm watching, what I'm observing, and what I know from my own experience, and I know that accountability is a one-two punch. The first part of that punch is the plan that you've got to have a system, a plan, a commitment. Like, I have to state what I'm going to do, when I'm going to do it, and how I'm going to get it done. So part one is you have to have a plan. You have to know what I need to deliver. When do I need to deliver it by? And most importantly, how am I going to get that done? And when I say it's not just an intellectual exercise, I mean baking it into your calendar. It tells people you're carving out time for it. Whatever it is, in many cases, we need a wingman who will help us set and accomplish that goal. So this week, I want to focus on the first half, which is what's the plan? What is that thing on your to-do list? That is really pretty mission critical to your business, but it's probably mission critical in a bigger way, in a more substantial direction-changing way. It is writing the book. It is launching a podcast. It is getting the documents ready to apply to speak at a big conference. It's something big that, if you don't do it, nobody but you will notice. But the business will see. So what is it? When does it have to be done by, and give yourself some grace? What's my plan? What do I need to deliver and when? And who's my wingman? Who's already done it before or can coach or encourage or nag me along the way to make sure that I actually honor how I'm going to get it done? And then how do I bake it into my day, my week, my month, and make sure that nothing gets in the way of me getting that done? That's part one! Watch »

Hang tough at the plate

2025 has been a challenging year for many of you. And I think that you are looking down the barrel of 26 and wondering, how do you show up? How do you bring AI into your business? How do you stay relevant to your clients? How do you level up your presence for them? And I want to remind you that this year's World Series is a perfect example of what we need to do, which is you keep going up to the plate. You just keep taking those swings. You keep playing the game. And you experiment. You experiment with different pitchers. You experiment with different batters. You experiment with how the other team is playing, or in our case, how clients in the marketplace are reacting. But you, you absolutely stay tenacious. One of the traits that is true about almost every agency owner I meet is that they're stubborn. You won't give up. You are not going to walk away. You are not going to throw the game. You are – you're going to hang in there, and you are going to figure out a way to win the game. And that's what I want to say to you this week: you will figure out a way to win the game. Surround yourself with other agency owners. Join our Facebook group and participate in the activities we have going on. But lean in. Connect with different owners. Learn what other people are doing. And stay tenacious. Just keep swinging the bat. Sooner or later, you, just like Freddie Freeman, will hit that ball out of the park, and you will win the game. Watch »

We want to participate

While we were in London, we got hooked on this crazy show called Google Box. The premise of Google Box is straightforward. Basically, the show is you watching people watch television and react to it. And so they would have two best friends sitting on a couch watching 90 Day Fiancé. Or they would have mom and dad and a daughter watching Squid Games or whatever it was. They had everything, from reality shows to game shows, talk shows, dramas, and more. But the fascinating thing was how engaging it was to watch regular people reacting to something that you were responding to. So they'd show you a clip of the show, and then they would show all these different people reacting to the clip. So you're reacting to it, and then you're seeing how different people respond to it. There are a couple of key takeaways from this that are meaningful for both clients and our team. Watch »

Can I keep growing?

One of the things that employees are asking for in very specific language is they want to know what's next. One of the challenges for small to mid-sized agencies is that, often, when you don't discuss a career path, trajectory, or growth path with your employees, they look at your 10, 12, 15, 20, or 25-person agency and see a lot of longevity. They also see a lack of upward mobility for themselves. And so, you must have intentional conversations with every employee about their opportunities over the next 2, 3, or 4 years, or else you're at risk of losing them because they mistakenly believe that the only way to grow is to leave. Watch »

A different take on strategic planning

It feels a little disruptive out there right now. Between AI and some economic challenges, we're in a moment where we have to reinvent a bit. That the status quo —the same thing—is not going to hold well in 2026. And so, as we come into this fourth quarter of 2025, many of you are holding your year-end retreats and strategic planning sessions, and we believe you need to ask some questions that will get you thinking a little differently about the business and how you want to show up in 2026. It's not just about thinking differently. We want you to think more boldly. Please ask more complex questions this year. It feels like this is a year when the status quo won't be enough, and I want to make sure you're ready for 2026. Watch »

Don’t avoid the hard conversation

We're human beings. We're going to make mistakes. But how we handle those mistakes determines how the client feels about the agency and our brand. One of the best skills that your account people and other client-facing folks need to have is the ability to face bad news, hard news, and mistakes with clients with as much candor as possible. We have to know that the relationship is much bigger than whatever the situation is in the moment, and we have to take care of the relationship first and the situation second. And by doing that with respect to the audience, with understanding that we're going to disappoint them, frustrate them, or make them mad. Our job is to do that as kindly and as early as possible with respect, and to treat them like grown-ups. That's what saves the day. Let's make sure that when there are problems in our agencies—because they're bound to be—we handle them with grace, respect, and candor so that we don't damage the relationship much deeper than the situation calls for. Watch »

Biggest Bang for Your Buck

We are in the fourth quarter, the final days, the last stretch, 90 days left to make 2025 a significant year for our agencies and to tee us up for a great 2026. So what do we do that will have the most impact in these last 90 days? Many of you are familiar with the 80/20 rule or the Pareto principle, which says that 80% of our results will come from focusing on 20% of what matters most. So, that might be the 20% of your clients that generate 80% of the revenue. That might be the 20% of your team that you get the most bang for your buck, and that are delivering exceptional results. That might be the 20% of your new business effort that seems to be catching on and bringing you new opportunities. But this video reminds you that it is time to narrow your focus. You need to invest more energy in a finite group of people, activities, focus areas, content creation, whatever it is for you that you know you're going to get the biggest bang for your buck. Watch »

Reciprocity

One of the most powerful laws out there is the law of reciprocity. And the law of reciprocity says that when someone gives us something of value — genuine value, not with a hook, not with a string, but true genuine value — that we immediately do two things inside. Number one, it elevates our level of trust in them. And number two, it triggers a social desire to give back. So agencies and brands have known for years that if they are generous with something, their audience, whoever that may be, responds well in kind. So I've seen a lot of agencies try to do things like a free audit or other things like that that allow someone to sample them. But the challenge with reciprocity is that it's a well-oiled machine and a well-used tactic. And so the trick is that reciprocity has to be literally no strings attached. So when you offer me a free audit, what do I expect? I expect that you're going to try and sell me something, which diminishes the value of not only what you've given me for free—“for free”—but also makes me wary. So instead of going into that relationship with trust, I'm suddenly on guard because I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. I'm waiting for you to say, "Well, now that I've given you the assessment, here's what we can do for you for money, or here's what would be the next logical step." You have to remove the hook when you offer something in your new business efforts that is a free sort of hook. It has to be given without any hooks or an ask. You absolutely can leave a door open for whoever gets that free audit, or whatever it may be, to ask you for more, or to say, you know what, tell me more about your services. But you have to stop short, one step short of going in for the sale. And that is tough for agencies. So if you're thinking about doing something, as a free offer, you're offering a free Q&A, you are doing something like a free audit. You are willing to do a strategy session with someone. You're willing to have an initial call about their business rather than your business. Whatever it is, catch yourself before you ask for the sale. Next time, stop one step short of where you normally stop and watch the good things that happen. Watch »

Creating Scarcity

Some agencies are doing some very interesting things with the scarcity principle—this idea of FOMO. We hate to miss out on something. And if something is a limited release or only available for a certain amount of time, we've seen in our own consumer lives that that can motivate a purchase. So some agencies are combining their desire to experiment with AI or other technologies with the idea of scarcity. They're reaching out to clients and offering a limited number of seats in a “beta test” or an experiment that only runs for a certain period of time. Only so many clients are allowed to take advantage of this. And what they're doing is they're actually able to sell some new projects to clients by packaging them as something new, a beta or an experiment. But number two, they add the scarcity model by saying that we're only going to do this through October, or we only have room for 3 or 4 clients to do this beta test. How might you use the scarcity model and the fear of missing out to get some of your clients or prospects to move quickly to a buying decision? Watch »