Agency Tips

Decide

What would it be if you could wave a magic wand and something would be different? Would it be possible for you to get more new business? Would it be a different relationship with your clients? Would it be a shift in the culture of your agency? Would it be something about profitability? Would it be something about you having clarity around your succession plan? Whatever it is, there's actually a straightforward solution. We overcomplicate things all the time. We create these big, elaborate Gantt charts and reasons why something is or isn't the way it is. This is the reality for most of us, and Danyel and I see this weekly as we coach agency owners and leaders. The reality is that when you are very clear about what you want and you're very clear about what you have to do to get it, the answer is actually straightforward. You have to decide. You have to determine that it's no longer acceptable for it to be how it is. Whatever it may be, you must decide it is no longer acceptable. And that the work you have to do to change it is no longer optional. The solution is simple. Executing the solution is hard. If somebody wants to lose 50 pounds, the solution is simple. Exercise more. Eat different. Be thoughtful about how much you sleep. All the things that we know. But doing it is hard. Solution – simple. Execution – hard. So I want you to think about the one barrier, burden, obstacle, goal, whatever it is that you want to be different in 2025. I want you to look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself, am I willing to decide to change this? Am I willing to do what it takes to have this no longer be a problem? And then actually decide. Watch »

Words are like burrs

When I was a kid growing up in Minnesota, there were many places to hike and be in the woods. And one of the things that I still distinctly remember was what we called stickers or prickers or burrs. You would walk through the woods and they would stick to your clothes. Right? They were these thorny parts of a plant. I don't even know where they came from, but they would get all along your pant legs and your sweaters or your shirts. They were sharp and sticky, and they stuck around. Sometimes, you would find them for days. I can remember going out in the woods with the dogs, and you would find the burrs under their bellies days after you had been out of the woods. Our words are like those stickers long after we have delivered a message. So often, we think that we are being directive or prescriptive, especially if we're frustrated with a team member or a client. Or we're angry, and we say something, and we have been building it up. We've been planning it in our head. We've been practicing it. Or maybe just in a moment of anger, it comes out, and we feel better. We feel better because we've expelled that emotion. But we forget that long after we feel better, long after the conversation is done, and long after we think we've delivered the message and moved on, the recipient hasn't moved on. That sticker, that burr is still on their pant or under their belly, and they can't take it off. They can't shake it. They can't forget it. And that leaves a mark. And it leaves a mark that sometimes is permanent. And even if it's not permanent, it lingers much longer than we think. Watch »

AI is not optional for agencies

Any agency that shuns all AI and stays completely old school, whatever that means today, is an agency that most clients will feel is out of touch. They'll believe their agency is not bringing them all the resources they can and feels dated. It would be best to decide what AI means for your agency and how you use it to serve clients. How do you use it internally for systems and processes? How do you use it to crunch data, gather facts, and research? It can do many things; you don't have to do all of them in your agency. But not understanding AI, not experimenting with AI, not having a policy inside your organization about internal use, and not having a client-facing policy about how your views about AI will translate to your clients and prospects down the road means that you are out of touch. Watch »

Autumnal Truths

Are there things in the fall season of their life cycle in our agency? Maybe it's how we work, maybe it's where we work, maybe it's the kind of clients we serve. Maybe it's an employee or two who have been amazing, but maybe it's their autumn season, and we need to help them figure out how to have a good last chapter through the winter of their career. Maybe it is the way we do billing; maybe it's the way we do new business. But I want you to challenge yourself as agency owners. It's so easy because there's so much chaos always going on around us. We want some stability, I get it. We want something that stays the same. But I think sometimes we cling to the past or things that we feel are evergreen, and maybe they're not. Watch »

Ask more questions

Don't be afraid to ask questions. I've always thought that the smartest people in the rooms are the people who are asking great questions. One of the greatest compliments I think we can get as agency people is when a client or a prospect says to us, “Huh. Nobody's ever asked me that before. That's a fascinating question.” So don't be afraid to ask questions, whether publicly, so everyone can see your question and the answer, or privately, to either the prospect or the search firm. Do not be shy about asking questions. Questions don't make you look stupid. When you have thoughtful, deep questions, they actually make you look pretty smart. Watch »

An Endorphin Boost

This is it — fourth quarter. It’s go time! Here are some ways you can boost your endorphins so you can fire up your team, fuel the passion you need to get to the finish line, and enjoy the journey. Watch »

Details matter

We usually cover the big items, but we don't take the time to think about the tiny details that will surprise and delight our clients or our team. So, as you prepare to make a new business pitch, welcome a new employee to the team, or plan your agency get-together or retreat, I want you to think about the big things. But I also want you to give a lot of time and attention to the tiny details you could add, probably at minimal cost or extra effort. It's just – it's not that we don't want to do them, it's that we don't think about them. I want you to stop and ask yourself, where are some little things I could do to surprise and delight -- could be a meeting. It could be an event like an agency retreat. Again, it could be onboarding a new client, they’re coming into your office for the first time, or you're going to their office for the first time. It could be a conference. But take time to think about the tiny little details and what you could do to make that moment memorable and special, and something that people will take pictures of, brag about, or talk about those brag-worthy moments that we can create with a little extra effort. Watch »

Annual contracts?

One of the conversations we've been having with agency owners is the pros and cons of annual contracts, especially for ongoing offerings like web maintenance, SEO packages, or any other product or service. The conversations have circled around the idea that annual contracts invite clients to reconsider the purchase. Do they really want to renew for another year? A couple of agencies have talked about the success they've had with evergreen contracts, which have the annual increase built in, and there's a 30-, 60-, or 90-day out, but they are perpetual contracts that just keep going. So the question is -- are annual contracts really your smartest option? Watch »

Values guide decision making

As agency owners and leaders, we have to help our employees participate in decisions every day. Do your time sheets. Treat clients a certain way. Show up on time. How you dress for a Zoom call—these are just a few of the millions of decisions that impact our business. But if we don't come at those decisions, many of which are made independently of us, we can talk about how we want them to behave or the decisions we want them to make. But at the moment, our employees are making hundreds of decisions a day that impact the way the world sees our business. And I believe that one of the foundational tools that we should and could use to help our employees make better decisions is for them to understand the core values, foundational elements, and beliefs that our business is built on and that we really want to be defined by. We want to be graded on that. Watch »