Build a Better Agency Podcast

This has happened at my agency and I'm sure it's happened at yours. You start a huge client project and are excited to keep things rolling – both to protect your agency's production schedule and to exceed the client's expectations in terms of delivering on time and on budget. But then, you hit the roadblock. The cold silence you hear when you ask your client for the assets you need. Whether it's i...

Every agency has a culture. The question is – is it intentional? And when I say culture, I'm not talking the beer thirty or holiday party aspects of culture. I'm really focusing in on the shared beliefs and agreed upon "rules" of engagement in terms of how we work together, deliver for the client and push towards our goals. In too many agencies, this is not as intentional as it needs to be. The ag...

The results are in, and 2018 was clearly a good year in agency life. On this episode, I unpack and dig deep into the findings of our most recent Salary and Benefits survey. Employees are reaping the benefits of the continued tight labor market. Agencies that want to attract and keep the best and brightest are paying better and providing some robust benefits. We all know it's hard to compete agains...

Let's admit it. Agency owners are reluctant salespeople. However, biz dev should be a significant part of how we spend our days. When I hear agency owners say that they don't have to prospect because they get so much business via word of mouth, I always ask, "Are those the clients you would choose to work with or are you simply working with them by default?" When we're honest with ourselves, the t...

For 95% of all agencies, referrals and word of mouth are the #1 method of gaining new clients. On the one hand, that's great. It means your clients, friends, and peers love and trust you enough to introduce you to their friends and colleagues. Unfortunately, they're not always the right clients for our agency.  What if they aren't a good fit? What if they are the furthest thing from a sweet-spot c...

When you think about or define a global agency, do you think of those giant conglomerates that started on Madison Avenue and have mushroomed into marketing behemoths? Well, that's one model – but certainly not the only one. What if your global agency was set up more like a series of regional micro-agencies still under one banner? On episode #182 of Build a Better Agency, I talk with Josh Steimle,...

We talk to clients about positioning every single day. We walk them through differentiation strategies. When they don't take our advice, we walk away shaking our heads. However, guess who is lousy at taking our own medicine! I say this all the time, but it bears repeating: Being a generalist is not going to cut it in today's marketplace. Getting clear on your subject-matter expertise – the heart o...

Agencies have an accountability problem and it starts at the top. Every day, as owners and team members we make promises to our team. I'll get the copy to you by 5." Or, "I'll have my part of the RFP done by Tuesday." You've heard yourself making those commitments and then you hear that voice in the back of your head say, "I hope." If we as owners can't honor our promises, how on earth can we expe...

The number one barrier to growth for agencies in 2019 is staffing. Agencies are struggling to find and keep good talent. And that conversation always leads to the topic of culture. When we think about culture – we often think about the fun stuff – parties, bonuses, and recognizing people for going above and beyond for clients. All of that is super important but it is also equally critical to insti...

Agency owners are notoriously ill-informed (and uncomfortable) when it comes to their agency's finances. Which means they make important decisions in the dark. Not ideal and we're trying to change that at AMI. That doesn't mean you need to understand all the fine-grain details. But you do have to understand where you stand financially at any given time. On episode #178, I talk with Jenn McCabe, wh...

Staying on top of the social media landscape and what it means in terms of going from engagement with fans to ultimately generating new opportunities and sales is one of those ongoing tasks in agency life. Algorithms are always evolving, so what got you reach last year – or even last month – might not get you the same reach today. We are creating social content for clients every day. Add to that t...

This is one of those episodes that proves that you don't know what you don't know. We're tackling the subject of health insurance – how to manage costs as an employer since it is such a big-ticket cost for most agencies. I've been an agency owner for the past 25 years or so, and health insurance is something I want to offer because I value my team and want to provide a generous benefit package. Bu...

When I talk with agency owners, there's one topic that often comes up in conversation. They say, "I wish my employees would think and act more like owners!" And my question back is, "why would they – they aren't owners." Think about it. As the agency owner, you run the business, and you understand clearly what's at stake every month. You stand to win or lose something each month when you make or d...

Agencies are creative spaces. Especially as owners, we may bristle at the thought of being managed. But as your agency grows, there a definite need for systems and processes that ensure that things get done on time, on budget, and as promised. I understand that even as the owner I get managed in order to keep tasks and projects on track. As agencies grow and need more structured management of task...

Maybe things run smooth as silk at your agency. I know that's what I hope for in mine. It's more likely to happen on a Saturday or Sunday! One of the ways that we all try to evoke that sense of efficiency and calm is by creating processes that systemize and manage work flow. Not that many agencies do this (if anything, we are system adverse, not system advocates) you can take it too far. There's a...

Before the '08 recession, most agency owners couldn't fathom the idea of remote employees, let alone working with a virtual assistant they'd likely never meet. But with sites like UpWork and elance teaching us that sometimes it makes good business sense to source work from with someone we've never met, the concept of working with virtual assistants has grown in popularity. In my world, on both the...

For most people, especially the creative types that tend to inhabit the agency world, time management is a hodgepodge of post-it notes, paper to-do lists, and several online tools – all used haphazardly and resulting in missed deadlines, meetings and a sense of being overwhelmed. I know for me time management has been a series of constant improvements. While I am 95% happy with the system I have t...

It's something we all dream about – retirement. Selling our agency for big bucks so we can sip Mai Tai's on the beach. The agency's name and reputation carrying on with another generation. Or just locking the door and calling it done. All are worthy ends for your shop. Whatever your dream is – I know that it's very personal and important to you and I want you to achieve it. But no matter which end...

On this episode, we delve into the unconscious mind and the concept of "limiting beliefs." It's the idea If I say to you, "I'll meet you there in five hours" what is the first question you're going to ask me? Right, meet you where? Finding our way without knowing the destination is impossible. But too often, that's how we run our agencies. Both short and long-term planning often gets sidelined in...

On this episode, we delve into the unconscious mind and the concept of "limiting beliefs." It's the idea that our unconscious mind can hold us back without us even realizing it. So, how do we stop something we're not even conscious of? The good news is that it is possible, and while it does take hard work, the steps themselves are pretty simple. This limiting beliefs stuff may sound a little new-a...

When you started your agency, it was probably pretty exciting and somehow any worries you had were squelched before they could get in the way. But as our agencies get a little more established and we get a little more comfortable, taking a risk seems scarier, doesn't it? My guest thinks that's a problem and he recommends that we re-acquainted with being uncomfortable. In some ways, I'd like to thi...

Back in my early days of agency life, there was a production or traffic manager in every agency. Their job was to make sure all of the work was in the pipeline and delivered on time and on budget. Somewhere along the way, as agencies streamlined, that position went away. But now it's back. And it's making a huge difference in agencies client retention and profitability. Back then, the production m...

Content marketing is growing up. It's no longer about throwing out random social posts, random blog posts, or making an infographic once a quarter. Instead, we need to begin asking the questions (for our own agency and our clients): What are we building? What can we become as a brand that is of value to this audience of people we care about? Who can we be for our prospects, our customers, and our...

In last week's encore interview with Robin Boehler — we talked about the biz dev practices that she and the team at Mercer Island Group see when they're sitting on the client's side of the room. If you listened to that episode — you heard me say that if you implement the best practices Robin shared, you're going to see the difference in your win rate. And because I want you to be as prepared as po...

Business development is a topic that is always front-and-center for agency owners. So I'm welcoming back one of our most popular guests, Robin Boehler from Mercer Island Group, to talk to us about the observations she and her team have made as they work with both agencies and clients who are asking to be matched with agencies. From those observations, Robin will outline some of the best practices...