Agency Blueprint

Do you believe in yourself enough to make a sale? Selling is a skill that gets better with time, and we all start at an awkward place. More than anything, making a sale requires confidence and an understanding of the value you’re delivering.  

In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, we discuss the power of confidence and value as the best sales tactics. We share our initial experiences with sales and how we developed the confidence to be the great salespeople we are today.  

Don’t miss the episode to learn more about the anatomy of a sale and the power of authenticity in mastering the sales skill.  

Key Questions:   

• [00:45] What is your experience with sales as a creative with zero confidence? 
• [08:24] What does it take for a sale to go from the initial interest to a yes?  

What You’ll Discover: 

• [01:23] We share our initial experiences with sales and how we developed the confidence to become better salespeople.  
• [04:55] The importance of realizing that sales is not about you but the value you’re offering.  
• [08:24] The importance of trust, respect, need, and risk vs. value assessment for a sale to go from initial interest to a yes.  
• [09:48] How to boost your confidence in sales and its impact on you and your prospect.  
• [13:20] How to recognize your prospect’s need in order to remove the pressure of needing to convince anything.  
• [16:03 How speaking with confidence allows you to speak from experience of the value you’re providing.  
• [17:15] Understand that sales is just the first step, plus how to build long-term relationships afterward.  
• [18:39] The power of authenticity that allows you to take on sales without needing to hire right away.

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What have been your experiences in the industry lately? A lot has been happening in the industry in the current economic environment regarding longer sales cycles, greater price sensitivity, and client ghosting.  

In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I’m joined by Jody Sutter to share an update on the state of the industry. Jody is the owner of the Sutter company, a new business consulting company that advises small agencies on organizing and operating their growth strategy. Before starting The Sutter Company, she spent nearly two decades leading business development teams at large global agencies like R/GA and Havas. 

Listen in to learn how to plan around longer sales cycles and manage client ghosting by communicating your value.  

Key Questions:   

• [02:11] What have you seen with longer sales cycles? 
• [10:30] Do you see any economic environment where budgets are being sliced? 
• [16:21] What are your thoughts on client ghosting, and why do you think it’s happening?  

What You’ll Discover:  

• [02:18] How to plan around a longer sales cycle by having a larger pipeline and getting a client started with you faster.  
• [04:02] Understanding how clients determine the sales cycle and how to plan around them.  
• [06:46] Things that work to manage and reduce the sales cycle while benefitting your client. 
• [11:58] The importance of having the outcome/KPIs conversation earlier in the sales process. 
• [13:36] How to communicate your value to the client to have them understand why the risk is worth it. 
• [16:39] The reasons why clients ghost and how to manage it to avoid time killing the deal.  
• [19:58] Understand that client ghosting has nothing to do with you, plus how to approach the client for answers.  
• [22:52] How to leverage ghosting clients as future prospects, which might be fruitful. 

Connect with Jody: 

• Website
• LinkedIn

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Profitability Accelerator Call - If you're looking to make a change today schedule your profitability accelerator call to define what is possible for your agency in the next 90 days.

Change is constant; the industry is constantly shifting. Recently, there has been a migration from boutique to agency of record and back to boutique. How do you then leverage this change and capitalize on the opportunities available?  

In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I discuss why brands are migrating from agency of record to boutique and its impact on agency owners. I explain the importance of asserting your specialization as an agency when working with enterprise clients.  

Don’t miss the episode to learn more about capitalizing on trends happening in the industry while working with either larger or mid-market brands.  

Key Questions:   

• [04:57] How can brands migration from agency of record to boutique impact you, and why is it happening?  
• [08:46] How do you go about generating leads for larger brands with their different sales cycle? 
• [15:06] How do you capitalize on the opportunities and trends happening in the industry?  

What You’ll Discover: 

• [01:44] The reasons why many brands are looking to diversify their relationships with their agencies. 
• [04:01] Why brands are choosing to migrate to boutique and the potential for you to capitalize on those relationships.  
• [05:05] The importance of asserting your specialization when working with enterprise clients. 
• [09:12] Understanding the long sales cycle for larger brands and why you need to be part of it.  
• [13:33] The nuances of mid-market brands and why you should find ways to capitalize on them. 
• [15:06] How to utilize opportunities in every market by capitalizing on trends happening in the industry. 

Free Copy of The Practical Agency Book.

Real Life Agency Success Stories

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Profitability Accelerator Call - If you're looking to make a change today schedule your profitability accelerator call to define what is possible for your agency in the next 90 days.

How often does operational chaos show up in your agency, and how do you manage them? Operational chaos causes many issues for agency growth, scale, profit, and your mental well-being as the owner. 

In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, we discuss operational chaos, how they affect the team and day-to-day, and how to manage them properly. We explain the four causes of operational chaos – self-created chaos, missing or not working process, miscommunication, and client issues. 

Don’t miss this episode to hear us share our experiences with operational chaos and the tools we’ve adopted to manage them.  

Key Questions:   

• [02:19] How does self-created chaos show up for you as the agency owner? 
• [14:28] What types of miscommunications does your team experience often. and how can you manage them?  
• [20:02] How do client issues show up in your agency, and how do you manage them?  

What You’ll Discover: 

• [01:12] The four causes of operational chaos – self-created chaos, missing or not working process, miscommunication, and client issues.  
• [02:19] We share ways self-created chaos shows up for us and how it can impact the team.  
• [06:14] How to manage self-created chaos by leaving a void to allow someone else to rise to the occasion. 
• [07:46] Understanding why your overreaction is self-sabotage and what you can do instead.  
• [09:31] The importance of having systems and processes in place to help you solve problems and get out of your business.   
• [14:28] Types of miscommunications that lead to chaos and things you can do to avoid and manage them.  
• [17:23] The importance of having a standardized way to communicate inter-departmentally and save time.  
• [20:02] How client issues show up and how to correctly manage client expectations to catch issues faster.  
• [21:21] Tips and tricks for timeline and client expectations to avoid chaos. 

Free Copy of The Practical Agency Book.

Real Life Agency Success Stories

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Profitability Accelerator Call - If you're looking to make a change today schedule your profitability accelerator call to define what is possible for your agency in the next 90 days.

How do you grow and sell an agency at four times its original worth? It’s not easy to sell creative work or reposition a brand. Many changes must happen, from how you show up to how the creative team operates. 

In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I’m joined by Jane Bayler, an entrepreneur, investor, top 2.5% global podcaster, and brand and online marketer, who has built multiple businesses, including a London brand identity business, that she grew from £1m to £6m in under 2 years, quadrupling profits and selling to a US communications group. 

Listen in to learn how to leverage a big brand you’ve worked with to get through the door and then build relationships. You will also learn why selling creative is more of showmanship, and the more of a showman you’re in selling agency work, the easier it is.  

Key Questions:   

• [01:33] What is your background story? 
• [06:36] What were you looking at when you repositioned, and how exactly did you reposition? 
• [11:27] Did the case study you leveraged have a lot of numbers behind it?  
• [15:11] What was it like from a team scale perspective in maintaining the quality of work? 
• [19:54] How did the actual sale come about, what did the deal look like, and what did it look like before and after the sale? 

What You’ll Discover:  

• [01:53] Jane on her background in creative design, television, advertising, and how she grew and sold an advertising agency.  
• [07:15] She explains how they leveraged an old case study to specialize and sell their services.  
• [11:46] How to leverage a big brand you’ve worked with to get through the door and then build relationships.  
• [14:16] Why the most articulate, charismatic, and persuasive agencies find it easier to sell agency work.  
• [15:33] The team challenges they experienced moving from small exciting projects to more factory-like work.  
• [18:21] How aggressive agency growth negatively affects your ability to take care of your team. 
• [20:10] Jane describes the agency sale process – the good, the bad, and the in-between before and after the sale.  

Connect with Juliana: 

• Website
• LinkedIn

Free Copy of The Practical Agency Book.

Real Life Agency Success Stories

Weekly agency tactics YouTube Channel

Profitability Accelerator Call - If you're looking to make a change today schedule your profitability accelerator call to define what is possible for your agency in the next 90 days.

Is your offer something that your ideal client really wants to buy? Is your offer something that your ideal client really wants to buy? Is it useful and something they will invest in and pay the price you’re charging? If unsure, you may want to do some market research to validate your offer.  

In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I explain the questions to ask yourself about your offer and how it impacts your ideal client. I also explain how to research your market and use your ideal client’s feedback to validate your offer and potentially make a sale.  

Don’t miss the episode to learn more about validating your offer, positioning yourself, and being confident about your sale!  

Key Questions:   

• [00:38] Is your offer truly resonating with your market, and how can you validate that offer? 
• [01:43] Does your offer solve a major business problem for your ideal client, and is it something they’re currently experiencing pain over? 

What You’ll Discover: 

• [00:38] The questions to ask yourself about your offer to understand how it impacts your ideal client’s life. 
• [03:01] How to contextualize an offer for your ideal client to have them feel what it would look like.  
• [05:18] Reach out to people in the space and ask questions related to your service.   
• [09:08] How to use the information you collect to adjust how you’re positioned, structured, and selling based on the feedback.   
• [09:51] How to curate your pitch based on feedback, present it to your ideal client, and potentially make a sale. 

Free Copy of The Practical Agency Book.

Real Life Agency Success Stories

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Profitability Accelerator Call - If you're looking to make a change today schedule your profitability accelerator call to define what is possible for your agency in the next 90 days.

How do you process-orient to avoid project issues and quality decrease? Do you know that the only way to scale is to have a process? Having a centralized system in place is the only way to ensure you have an operational creative process.  

In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I’m joined by Juliana Marulanda, a business operation expert, speaker, and the founder of ScaleTime. She has over 13 years of experience across Wall Street, the non-profit sector, technology startups, and family-owned businesses; she now helps service-based businesses.  

Listen in to learn how to correctly scope a project and onboard a client in a way that aligns to avoid any potential background project issues. You will also learn about the different systems to bring together to ensure you maintain your service quality and reputation as you grow.  

Key Questions:   

• [01:30] What would you say is happening in the background and the typical root cause of project issues? 
• [23:40] How do you go about getting team buy-in and getting the team to follow the new process?  

What You’ll Discover:  

• [02:00] How to correctly scope a project and onboard a client to align and avoid potential background project issues.  
• [10:52] The benefits of including clients in the project process and educating them about the project.   
• [17:05] The importance of having a process and centralizing everything in place to ensure you stick to what you’ve agreed with a client.  
• [24:30] Power and change – how to get the team to follow a new working process without resistance. 

Connect with Juliana: 

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Free Gift

Free Copy of The Practical Agency Book.

Real Life Agency Success Stories

Weekly agency tactics YouTube Channel

Profitability Accelerator Call - If you're looking to make a change today schedule your profitability accelerator call to define what is possible for your agency in the next 90 days.

What do you do with your current clients when niching down on your services or clients? Niching down your agency makes processes more efficient and effective and is a large part of your growth and transition. 

In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I discuss the impact of niching down on your existing clients and how to handle the shift. I also explain how to manage transitioning clients when you stop offering a service where everything stays under your brand’s look and feel.  

Don’t miss this episode to learn more about methods of transitioning!  

Key Questions:   

• [00:41] What do you do with clients after niching down your ideal clients or the services you offer?  
• [08:38] How is your shift going to impact your agency at large?  

What You’ll Discover: 

• [01:51] Why you shouldn’t worry about your clients finding out about your niching down process. 
• [03:09] Ripping the band-aid method – letting go of everyone outside your focus. 
• [03:40] The transition method – this is about how and when you make adjustments.  
• [05:32] How to manage the transition when you stop offering a service.  
• [07:18] The importance of being open and honest when communicating with a client about the shift.  
• [09:01] Understanding why working with clients outside of your focus won’t make sense over time.

Free Copy of The Practical Agency Book.

Real Life Agency Success Stories

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Profitability Accelerator Call - If you're looking to make a change today schedule your profitability accelerator call to define what is possible for your agency in the next 90 days.

What does strategic partnership mean to you? Strategic partnership is where you and your partner have a shared goal to enhance each other’s aligned services and client experience. To have lasting partnerships that deliver value, you must have shared value with your partners.  

In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I’m joined by Dave Plunkett, a music, football-loving, and dad of three from the South West of England. He’s on a mission to help many businesses use strategic referral partnerships as the best type of lead a business can receive. 

Listen in to learn how to avoid mismatches in business partnerships by managing expectations and having difficult conversations. You will also learn how to find and keep strategic partnerships by focusing on the value you’re bringing to the partnership and building trust.  

Key Questions:   

• [01:26] What does strategic partnership look like, and who would an agency owner want to partner with?  
• [08:55] What can people do to avoid business resentment from happening and potentially ending relationships? 
• [12:03] How do we ensure the partner we’re initially getting in touch with will deliver on an ongoing basis? 
• [14:40] How would an agency find strategic partnerships, and why would anyone want to partner with them? 

What You’ll Discover:  

• [01:42] Strategic partnership – where you and your partner enhance each other’s aligned services and client experience.  
• [04:51] How to avoid overlap in referrals by partnering with people whose services come right before yours.  
• [06:56] The value of commercializing strategic partnerships to take them to the next level.  
• [09:20] How to manage expectations to avoid resentment and potential end of business relationships.  
• [12:38] The importance of working with the right people and building trustworthy relationships to ensure consistent service delivery.  
• [15:03] How to come up with a partner value proposition that enables you to find and keep partnerships.  
• [20:54] How to look for the individual components where a partnership could apply to your business.  

Connect with Dave: 

• LinkedIn

Free Copy of The Practical Agency Book.

Real Life Agency Success Stories

Weekly agency tactics YouTube Channel

Profitability Accelerator Call - If you're looking to make a change today schedule your profitability accelerator call to define what is possible for your agency in the next 90 days.

Are you utilizing AI to make your documentation and processes more efficient? With its ability to classify, regenerate, and label things in operations, AI is a great tool in helping you be more efficient and productive and hit your bottom line.  

In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I’m joined by Juliana Marulanda, a business operation expert, speaker, and the founder of ScaleTime. She has over 13 years of experience across Wall Street, the non-profit sector, technology startups, and family-owned businesses; she now helps service-based businesses. 

Listen in to learn how to use AI in operations for documentation and customer insights to leverage your ability to be more efficient and scale effectively. You will also learn where to get started optimizing your documentation and systems with AI.  

Key Questions:   

• [01:34] How can we utilize AI to be able to change how people utilize documentation and process? 
• [19:17] How well have AI language models been able to follow your organization’s SOP formats? 

What You’ll Discover:  

• [01:51] The things AI is great at in operations and how it can be used for documentation and customer insights.  
• [04:44] How to use AI to help you be more efficient and productive to hit your bottom line. 
• [06:30] Understanding where to start optimizing your documentation and systems with AI.  
• [15:32] SOPs creation process – creating, standardizing, and optimizing with video as the first step.  
• [20:03] Understanding that AI language models are excellent in getting SOP formats right.  

Connect with Juliana: 

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Free Gift

Free Copy of The Practical Agency Book.

Real Life Agency Success Stories

Weekly agency tactics YouTube Channel

Profitability Accelerator Call - If you're looking to make a change today schedule your profitability accelerator call to define what is possible for your agency in the next 90 days.