Agency Tips

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 »

It starts with being known

For many of our agencies, we're hearing that the flourishing new business conversations they were enjoying in the spring and even early summer have dried up. Their pipeline is dry. They are having a hard time getting a hold of anybody and having meaningful conversations. They're not writing proposals, they're not participating in pitches, and they are not winning new business. When you think about it, for our prospects, it is the dog days of summer. They have probably planned out the rest of the summer, and they have sort of put it on, set it, and forget it because they, too, are going on vacation and doing all the things that we like to do in the summer. So, most of them are not thinking right now about hiring an agency, and they probably won't be available until Labor Day unless they have a need. The problem is the way most agencies prospect; the way most agencies sort of hang up their shingle and announce that they are open for business is very random, right? We're out there. We hang up our shingle, we're knocking on doors, but we have no idea if the people that we're approaching have any interest in talking to us right now. Good news -- there's a better way. Watch »

Doing hard things

The work you do as an agency owner is hard. One of the prices we pay for the opportunity to own the agency is that we have to do hard things. For many of you, you know what you need to do, yet somehow you convince yourself to delay it. You delay it because you don't want to have a difficult conversation. You delay it because you know it's going to impact some of your team members or be unpopular. Or you delay it because you hope that some magic is going to change the circumstance. Owning a business is about managing and understanding the risks and making good choices. And I will tell you, in the almost two decades of consulting with agency owners, I can't recall one time when an agency owner said to me, “You know what? I am delighted. I am grateful that I delayed that difficult decision.” Watch »

Do what you love!

I think we are the privileged few. We all got into this business – nobody got into owning an agency or working at an agency to be wealthy. So we got into this because there was something about the work we loved. And I want to remind you to make sure that whatever it is that drew you to this work—for me, it was the writing; for you, it might have been something different—you bake some of that into your day and your work. We are privileged. We get to control how we spend our days. Yes, there are things we have to do. We have to do team meetings. We have to look at the books. We have to pursue new business. And for some of you, that may be precisely what you love. But for others, there's some other element of the work that really fuels your passion. And I want to remind you that you don't let the burden of owning or helping run an agency keep you from doing the parts of the work that fill your heart, give you passion, fire you up, and inspire you and your team. Make sure you bake that into your day because we're the lucky few who get to do that. Watch »

Your agency owner summer learning program

How are you going to use this summer to sharpen your saw? That might mean some downtime, some family time, some vacation, catching your breath, getting inspired again, and getting all of the minutiae of the day out of your brain so you have a chance to really think about the business. For others, it might be some digging into some classes or learning or books. For other folks, it might be watching some videos, some TED Talks, some educational materials, or some new podcasts. But one thing I do know is that we, as leaders and owners of agencies, cannot slow down in our focus on getting smarter and better. We have to keep adding to the repertoire of what we know, what we know how to do, what we wonder about, what makes us curious, and what we're learning about. Agency life is all about lifelong learning. And I always think of summer as a chance—remember when we were kids, and we did the book reading clubs through the summer, and you got credit for how many books you read? Maybe that's why. But I always think of summer as this opportunity for us to deep-dive into some learning. So my question for you is, should you spend some time this summer really elevating your game and sharpening your saw? Watch »

Butterflies are good

We have our big event, the Build A Better Agency Summit coming up. One of the things that makes me anxious about this event is that I have to do a keynote. Danyel and I teach workshops throughout the year, and I teach in videos like this and on the podcast, and I'm super comfortable with that. But a keynote: 45 minutes, no slides, it's supposed to be aspirational and inspirational. That makes me nervous. And somebody asked me today, does that make me feel like I'm not prepared? And I was like, no, actually, it's part of my prep process. I welcome the butterflies. So back when I was pitching, when I was playing baseball and pitching, before a big game, I got nervous, anxious, and had butterflies. Why? Because the game was important. Because my performance was important to me. I didn't want to let my team down. And I look at stepping on a stage exactly the same way. It's a team sport. Not just me on the stage. It's me and the audience. It's us working together to create an experience, and I want to do my part to ensure we win the game. Watch »

Timesheet specifics

Let's talk to you about timesheet codes, the function codes you use to track and define how time is being spent when you do your timesheets. Many agencies have these big black holes, particularly around your non-billable time. It's uper important that you track both billable time and non-billable time. Why? Timesheets aren’t really about billing. They're about understanding what your team is doing. How long it takes. It's about looking for efficiencies and effectiveness. Who needs more training?Are our estimates accurate? It answers a ton of questions that actually have nothing to do with billing. But it starts with A) doing your timesheets every day and B) having the right function codes so you know how people spend their time. Watch »