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Agencies That Build
By TogetherWeShipBusiness
Agencies That Build episodes
- Adding Capacity to an Agency- Aaron M Welch - Episode #32
Managing Partner at Lift Digital Marketing, a Full-Service Digital Marketing Agency specializing in generating leads for businesses.
Discussion Points:
- What myth or bogus strategy do you want to bust? (Myth 1) 1:44
- What type of marketing services that you offer that do not require long-term agreements and How do you define your success metrics? 3:30
- (Myth 2) 12:22
- How does your billing model work? 21:20
- Tell us about how you got into this business. 23:32
- Is there any tip or trick that you can share? 32:50
- How is your business set up now? 35:19
- Tell us more about success and failures on working with freelancers and contractors model. 37:35
- How do you manage your team? 41:59
- What keeps you up at night? 47:03
- How do you see the future of your agency? 49:04
Takeaways
- It can be a leap of faith to sign a contract, a six-month contract, or a year-long contract for somebody you have just interviewed
- 80% of client service is managing expectations.
- Explaining somebody, teaching something to somebody, and then seeing that light bulb come on for them, that's an awesome feeling!
- Everybody wants to hire somebody that's already baked. And that's why there are fewer jobs at the top and a dearth of jobs at the bottom.
- With the willingness to develop people, there's a never-ending potential for talent.
- When somebody says ‘yes’, it means that they're hearing you but not necessarily understanding you. You got to be real clear on conveying that understanding and being on the same page.
Links
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronwelch/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/aaronmwelch
- Company website: https://lift-digital.net/
- Personal website: https://aaronmwelch.com/
Busted Myths:
- The need for long-term contracts.
- You don’t need to collect payment upfront.
55 min - Design and Development are not Separate Disciplines. - Tamara Olson - Episode #31
Tamara is the Owner and Head of Operations at Studio Simpatico. Simpatico is a creative agency based out of Manhattan, providing a variety of services from user experience (UX) design & research, branding and identity, to mobile and web design, WordPress development and maintenance, and packaging/print collateral.
Discussion Points:
- What myth or bogus strategy do you want to bust? 1:25
- What type of system and processes have you adopted? 4:50
- Are there tools that you use specifically to manage your projects? 6:55
- When you started a business, what was your vision? How is turning down the clients and projects helping you grow and scale? 8:52
- How has your small-sized firm helped you and differentiate from other people or competitors? 15:50
- What's the seniority level on your team? 17:30
- What made you quit your corporate job and then start an agency and how did it all start? 19:38
- What is the biggest mistake you made as an agency owner? 20:41
- How have things changed w/COVID? 22:14
- How do you maintain the culture in the team? How do you keep them motivated? 23:10
- What's your favorite kind of sandwich? 25:30
- What's the one thing that clients do that drives you bananas? 28:10
- If you were going to identify a superpower for your agency, what would you say is your superpower amongst you? 33:27
- As a small child, what did you want to be when you grew up? 36:09
- What keeps you up at night? 37:45
- What are you looking at for the future for your agency for growth? 41:11
Takeaways
- Design and development are not separate disciplines. The design affects how you're going to approach development, so is development affected by design.
- Introducing people who aren't on the same page about how that process flow is going to go, can introduce a lot of inefficiencies.
- Saying no, when we don't feel that we can provide, is the name of the game in a lot of respects.
- There are different purposes for why we do what we do, and the way that we do it. -Jessie
- Most things can be sorted out if the clients are asking for something, and maybe they don't quite understand something, that's where a little bit of mentorship goes a long way.
Links
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamaraolson/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/tolsondesigns
- Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/studio-simpatico/
- Company website: https://studiosimpati.co/
Busted Myths:
- When you have a problem, throwing people at the problem will fix the problem.
43 min - To Teach is to Learn- Michael Marsiglia - Episode #30
Co-CEO at Atomic Object, where he works at the intersection of business and technology. Michael’s firm helps clients to research, identify, and create the right software products to suit their unique business needs.
Atomic Object designs and builds web, desktop, mobile and embedded software products for clients ranging from Large scale businesses to SMEs and Startups, in diverse markets spanning automotive, healthcare, financial services, education, distribution and entertainment.Discussion Points:
- What myth or bogus strategy do you want to bust? 2:59
- How has your strategy helped you build your company? 7:09
- What are your thoughts on the misconception in the market around the word sales? 10:47
- Can you give us a quick rundown on your career accelerator program? 21:30
- What did you do to make your career accelerator program work? 26:00
- How have things changed w/COVID? :32:25
- How do you do your pricing with your customers? 38:33
- How successfully or unsuccessfully have you been able to implement EOS in your team? 40:30
- What is one of the biggest mistakes that you've ever made? 51:30
- What keeps you up at night? 1:00:53
Takeaways
- Buyers don't want to be sold, they want someone to solve their problem.
- Process the information on what other people are saying and react to it in a thoughtful manner.
- Listening is a big part of selling. We have one mouth, but two ears, so we should definitely be listening more than we're talking.
- It's a challenge finding the right person, it's finding the right person, that's the right fit for the company.
- “What if I can hire really smart, hungry people now and build a program that can very quickly, accelerate their career?” That was the premise behind the career accelerator program. - Michael Marsiglia
- “Teach and learn”- this is my favorite value mantra. - Michael Marsiglia
- Communicate clearly and effectively and know when and how.
Links
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-marsiglia-0726736/
- Company website: https://atomicobject.com/
- Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/atomic-object/
Busted Myths:
- Designers and developers cannot sell.
1 hr 4 min - How to spend time on your own brand? - Marc Acton - Episode #29
Founder, CEO, and Chief Strategist for Alpha/Echo Agency, is a boutique marketing firm that helps exceptional companies grow, launch, and build. Alpha/Echo Agency is a group of smartisans—an unagency, fighting the good fight against unawesome work.
Discussion Points:
- What myth or bogus strategy do you want to bust? 1:39
- What type of work agencies don't think that they can do for themselves? 4:19
- How do you spend time on your own brand? 7:33 and 48:19
- Tell us about how you got into this business. 28:16
- What was the idea behind going after startups? How did that go? And where are you now? 30:00
- How have things changed w/COVID? 37:25
- How do you do your pricing with your customers? 41:30
- What frustrates you the most with the clients? 49:52
- What is one of the biggest mistakes that you've ever made? 54:40
- What keeps you up at night? 58: 22
Takeaways
- There are two ways to be a product based agency; one is to create your own product and the other is to have a revenue share or partner based model.
- The problem with applying yourself to your own marketing is there's a farther distance between revenue generation.
- If your efforts aren't tied to compensation, or employee success metrics, then they're going to fail miserably.
- The success metrics are really tied to two things:
1: Manageable, achievable goals that you're setting for yourself.2: The overall success of the company (in each budget).- The system is only as good as the execution. - Marc Acton
- There's two things that make a system successful:
1: Are people actually looking at it like that's the value of the system?2: If you make it punitive, you're almost assured of not having success.- The Great work would speak for itself.- Marc Acton
- One of the tricks with clients is giving them two options, give them the one you like, and give them the one they asked for. - Jessie
Links
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fastacton/
- Company website: https://alphaechoagency.com/
- Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/alpha-echo-agency/
- Largest independent RV magazine by Marc Acton: https://iheartrving.com/
Busted Myths:
- Agencies can't work for themselves.
1 hr 3 min - A proposal should not be to convince, it should be to confirm - Michael Lavista - Episode #28
Michael Lavista is the Founder and CEO of Caxy Interactive, a web design and development firm in Chicago specializing in User Experience and Agile-driven software and technology development. Caxy Interactive loves helping clients break new ground, find new customers, and engage the ones they already have in unexpected ways.
Takeaways
- A proposal should not be to convince, it should be to confirm.
- Positioning yourself as an expert, and being very selective about your prospects can save us a lot of time and money.
- If you narrow your focus, you broaden your market.
- I can market anything to anybody, but if I don't know who I'm talking to, there's no point
- Hire them on the basis of how the person operates, how they work, the integrity and humor, and all these other kinds of things, not just the programming skills.
- The number one job of the CEO and kind of how they ultimately get judged and their outcomes are evaluated, is their ability to make decisions about the priority of things they are working on. - Michael Lavista
Links
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaellavista/
- Company Website: https://www.caxy.com/
- Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/caxy-inc-/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/MichaelLavista
Busted Myths:
- The most important thing to do with the client on the front end is find out the Budget.
46 min - A proposal should not be to convince, it should be to confirm - Michael LaVista - Episode #27
Michael Lavista is the Founder and CEO of Caxy Interactive, a web design and development firm in Chicago specializing in User Experience and Agile-driven software and technology development. Caxy Interactive loves helping clients break new ground, find new customers, and engage the ones they already have in unexpected ways.
Takeaways
- A proposal should not be to convince, it should be to confirm.
- Positioning yourself as an expert, and be very selective about your prospects can save us a lot of time and money just due on the opportunity cost.
- If you narrow your focus, you broaden your market.
- I can market anything to anybody, but if I don't know who I'm talking to, there's no point
- Hire them on the basis of how the person operates, how they work, the integrity and humor, and all these other kinds of things, not just the programming skills.
- The number one job of the CEO and kind of how they ultimately get judged and their outcomes are evaluated, is their ability to make decisions about the priority of things they are working on. - Michael Lavista
Links
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaellavista/
- Company Website: https://www.caxy.com/
- Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/caxy-inc-/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/MichaelLavista
Busted Myths:
- The most important thing to do with the client on the front end is find out the Budget.
46 min - Does agency size matter? - Ran Craycraft - Episode #027
Ran Craycraft is the managing partner at Wildebeest, Wildebeest is a boutique tech & innovation partner for the world's most innovative brands. Wildebeest specializes in innovation, idea generation, and rapid prototyping.
Takeaways
- Having a large firm does not imply that you will do more creative work or devote more time to your clients.
- When you are trying to address problems with clients, make sure that creative technology and strategy all have a place at the table.
- “I think it's really important to distinguish between when you're doing campaign work, or when you're building a platform, or product.” - Ran
- When creating products and platforms, keep in mind that your client's success necessitates a holistic strategy.
- You must look for ways to enhance the concepts and whatever it is you're building by taking a creative concept and bringing it all together in a truly unique way.
- We want to stand for empathy, we want something that feels alive, we also want something that feels timeless.
- What is discovery? For us, it often means research. It means analysis of the data that we bring in. It means being creative.
- When we're thinking about discovery, we're trying to come up with as many different ideas as possible. This is an additive process, we're pulling everything on the table
Links
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craycraft/
- Company Website: https://wildebee.st/
- Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wildebee-st/
Busted Myths:
- A bigger agency is a better agency.
48 min - Embracing Agile Culture for Business Success - Mike Stone - Episode #26
Mike Stone is the Co Founder at The Gnar Company, a development company that builds robust products designed for the long haul. They try to turn wild ideas into incredible digital experiences.
Takeaways
- Working with offshore agencies has a number of advantages, the most important of which is cost.
- Using clickable prototypes to allow clients to experience the application can be really beneficial.
- “We really can't just start swinging hammers, we need to provide the engineering team with a blueprint and a sense of what they're going to build.” - Mike
- It's a good idea to create a repeatable process that allows you to move swiftly while still delivering a high-quality output.
- Code audits assist you in determining whether or not to work for a particular client.
Links
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelvstone/#
- Company Website: https://www.thegnar.com/
- Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-gnar-company-inc-/about/
Busted Myths:
- Focus on the ‘Now’.
50 min - Finding Insights amid Information Overload - Ross Patrick - Agencies That Build #025
Ross Patrick is the Creative Director and Founder of XtraBold Agency. XtraBold is a digital marketing and strategy agency that helps brands create exceptional customer experiences, from branding and packaging to digital moments that connect with people on an emotional level.
Takeaways
- Cultural references and knowledge are probably more important than book smarts to do the right thing for the client.
- To make things work, you just have to be willing to trust and to take the failure which is a part of the process.
- You need to be willing to be flexible and change, do your jobs differently, trust your instincts, your experience, and your willingness to take chances. And maybe fail a little bit, that's what's gonna get you through this.
- Make sure you're clear, and that the team is transparent; transparent about who, what, where, when, and how.
Links:
- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosspatrick/
- Company website - https://xtrabold.agency/
- Ross’s twitter - https://twitter.com/brandman3000
Busted Myths:
- You have to be an expert to do things that you want to do.
53 min - Fostering a Design Culture - Agencies That Build #24
Anthony Armendariz is the Partner, Head of Design at Funsize. Funsize is a digital service and product design agency that works with inspiring design and engineering teams to uncover opportunities, evolve popular products, bring new businesses to market, and prepare for the future.
Takeaways
- Enterprise design work is more about understanding people and maturity levels and way less about the actual design work.
- “A good client is one with whom you can work for three years or more, with several workstreams in each account and sustain that.” - Anthony
- Protecting what you consider is vital, such as cultural management decisions, which are made to ensure that the company's workforce number remains constant rather than to make money.
- It's beneficial for designers working in agencies to have the experience of knowing what it's like to work at their clients' companies.
Links:
- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyarmendariz/
- Company website - https://www.funsize.co
Busted Myths:
- Investing in junior designers is too demanding, difficult, or risky.
59 min
About Agencies That Build
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The experiences and best practices from top digital agency leaders.