Agency Journey

John Heritage is the President at Evenbound, A Diamond-level HubSpot Solutions Partner, in 2012. Evenbound specializes in growth marketing and technical consulting.

John discusses the benefits of professional EOS implementation and the importance of aligning your organization's goals and processes.

Topics discussed in the episode:

• Evenbound's journey
• Evenbound's team and expectations
• How covid changed the way agencies work
• John's story on discovering EOS
• Their journey to self-implementation and some realizations along the way
• The pros of hiring a professional implementer
• The challenges with implementing EOS
• The benefits of having EOS implemented at Evenbound
• The process of finding your EOS implementor
• John's process for determining who to choose as their implementor at their agency
• Evenbound's plans for the future
• John's advice to leaders wanting to implement EOS.

Presenting Sponsor: ZenPilot

Check out ZenPilot, where we help agencies optimize their operations using our proven systems and processes.

ZenPilot knows that you are tired of wasting time on trial and error — that's why we provide tried-and-true solutions that will help you grow and scale quickly and sustainably.

So, what are you waiting for?

Go to zenpilot.com to learn more.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• John Heritage's LinkedIn
• Evenbound's Website
• Gray MacKenzie's LinkedIn
• The Entrepreneurial Operating System Website
• EOS Tools

In this episode of Agency Journey, Paul joins Gray to discuss what EOS is and how it significantly contributed to Fuelius' growth.

Paul Earnden is the Managing Director at Fuelius, an agency that works with scaling companies to provide end-to-end customer journey solutions. Fuelius offers a full suite of services, including CRM enablement, inbound marketing, and web development, designed to help scaling companies grow.

Topics discussed in the episode:

• How Fuelius started and why it is a sub-brand of Prodo.
• Fuelius' journey as a sub-brand and the challenges they faced as an agency.
• Paul's role at Fuelius as a Managing Director and Integrator.
• The difference between a visionary and an integrator and the importance of each role.
• The story of how Paul was first introduced to the EOS at the HubSpot Inbound Conference.
• A brief explanation of what is EOS?
• Their experience with the EOS survey and the start of their journey implementing EOS for their agency.
• Fuelius' implementation timeline, mistakes from implementing EOS, and the importance of involving the right people in the process.
• What is an accountability chart, and how does it differ from an organizational setting?
• How does the ROCKS setting look like for Fuelius, and what are ROCKS?
• How Fuelius creates a scorecard and sets KPIs
• The project management tool that Fuelius uses when they pivoted away from spreadsheets.
• Fuelius' Tech Stack - what tools are they using that are unknown?
• Launching Fuel Your Funnel Podcast and what's it about
• Plans for Fuel Your Funnel Podcast

Presenting Sponsor: ZenPilot

Check out ZenPilot, where we help agencies optimize their operations using our proven systems and processes.

ZenPilot knows that you are tired of wasting time on trial and error — that's why we provide tried-and-true solutions that will help you grow and scale quickly and sustainably.

So, what are you waiting for?

Go to zenpilot.com to learn more.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• John Aikin's LinkedIn
• Web Canopy Studio's Website
• Paul Earnden's LinkedIn
• Fuelius' Website
• Prodo's Website
• Riverside's Website
• Harvest Website
• Subtrack Website
• Ninety.io
• Atlassian
• Jira
• Fuel Your Funnel Podcast

Free 47-page Guide to Implementing ClickUp:

This guide is packed with step-by-step instructions (and checklists) to help you implement ClickUp for your agency.

We've put together a 47-page guide to walk you through the 5-step ClickUp implementation process that we've taken thousands of agencies through.

On this episode of Agency Journey, Shama Hyder, CEO of Zen Media, joins Gray to discuss what dark social is, the impact of dark social on your agency's buyer journey, and why it is important to pay attention to it.

Topics discussed in the episode:

• The story behind Zen Media's and ZenPilot's name
• Zen Media's journey
• What is dark social?
• How dark social works and 
• How dark social impacts your buyers' journey
• What the b2b buying journey looks like

Presenting Sponsor: ZenPilot

Be sure to check out ZenPilot, where we help agencies optimize their operations using our proven systems and processes.

ZenPilot knows that you are tired of wasting time on trial-and-error — that’s why we provide tried-and-true solutions that will help you grow and scale quickly and sustainably.

So, what are you waiting for?

Go to zenpilot.com to learn more.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Zen Media Website
• Shama Hyder Website
• Shama Hyder's LinkedIn
• The Zen of Social Media Marketing

Free 47-page Guide to Implementing ClickUp:

This guide is packed with step-by-step instructions (and checklists) to help you implement ClickUp for your agency.

We've put together a 47-page guide to walk you through the 5-step ClickUp implementation process that we've taken thousands of agencies through.

After every project, we collect feedback, brainstorm ideas, and discuss how we can improve our services. Back at the beginning of 2021, we transformed our client journey and added in a discovery project called "The Blueprint".

Why did we do this?

The Blueprint is the discovery project that allows us to fully understand the agency's pains, frustrations, challenges, and goals for the project.
 

We've received a lot of amazing feedback, and many agencies have even reverse-engineered our process and implemented it at their agency. 

On this episode of Agency Journey, Gray joins Andrew Dymski, CoFounder at ZenPilot, to discuss our Blueprint process and what agencies have learned from it and implemented it in their organization.

Topics discussed in the episode:

• ZenPilots Client Journey - Blueprint, Implementation, Optimize
• The ZenPilot's promise - "Move from chaos to clarity"
• 3 core systems every agency needs - technical, procedural and behavioral
• The purpose of the Blueprint and why agencies need to implement a discovery project
• Using Savvy Call to enable clients to book calls on their own
• Creating Checkout pages for easy payment and onboarding
• Standardize intake information with forms
• Creating a welcome page with instructions
• Standardizing a kickoff deck 
• Centralizing communication and leaving breadcrumbs to show value
• Training client to transform market utility
• Benchmarking clients with surveys
• Implementing discovery projects

Presenting Sponsor: ZenPilot

Be sure to check out ZenPilot, where we help agencies optimize their operations using our proven systems and processes.

ZenPilot knows that you are tired of wasting time on trial-and-error — that’s why we provide tried-and-true solutions that will help you grow and scale quickly and sustainably.

So, what are you waiting for?

Go to zenpilot.com to learn more.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Gray Mackenzie - LinkedIn
• Andrew Dymski - LinkedIn
• ZenPilot - BluePrint Process
• ClickUp
• Savvy Call
• Miro
• Lucid Chart
• Slack
• Make

Free 47-page Guide to Implementing ClickUp:

This guide is packed with step-by-step instructions (and checklists) to help you implement ClickUp for your agency.

We've put together a 47-page guide to walk you through the 5-step ClickUp implementation process that we've taken thousands of agencies through.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, demand for labor is at an all-time high. Earlier this year, there were on average 40 more jobs available than unemployed workers.

And to make matters worse, most agency owners don't even begin the hiring process until they are well beyond capacity. They wait until their employees start to feel overwhelmed before they even write the job description. Hence the reason why burnout has become an even bigger factor in today's work environment. 

This leads to current talent leaving, and now adding an additional replacement hire that needs to be made.

JobRack is a company that helps agency owners through this process. Their mission is to help online business owners hire amazing remote team members from Eastern Europe.

On this episode of Agency Journey, Gray sat down with Noel Andrews, Owner and Founder at JobRack, to discuss how agencies can improve their hiring process to bring better team members on board and keep them around for longer.

Topics discussed in the episode:

• Noel's Journey to aquiring and growing JobRack
• How Noel increased JobRack's revenue 4,000x
• JobRack's mission and who they serve
• JobRack's internal team structure
• The 5 steps to creating an amazing hiring process
  • Defining the outcome
  • Defining the tasks needed to be done
  • Crafting the job description
  • Crafting an amazing applicant experience
    • Setting clear expectations
    • Injecting yourself into the process
    • Providing social proof
    • Creating take home tests 
    • And asking for references
  • The Negotiation, offer, acceptance and leading up to day-one
• Additional resources for hiring 

Presenting Sponsor: ZenPilot

Be sure to check out ZenPilot, where we help agencies optimize their operations using our proven systems and processes.

ZenPilot knows that you are tired of wasting time on trial-and-error — that’s why we provide tried-and-true solutions that will help you grow and scale quickly and sustainably.

So, what are you waiting for?

Go to zenpilot.com to learn more.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• JobRack
• Noel Andrews - LinkedIn
• Gray Mackenzie - LinkedIn
• "The Who" - A great book on The A Method of Hiring
• "Die With Zero" - A great book on personal finances and life
• Workable - An awesome Applicant Tracking System

They take ownership of:

1. The system's design
2. Habits and behaviors of the team inside the system
3. Being a ClickUp expert to answer the team's questions

Regardless of the platform you run on. You need to have an internal champion - Monday champion, Asana champion, Teamwork champion, etc. 

So, are you...

• A, an agency operator that has claimed the throne of [fill in the blank] champion?
• Or B, looking to hire or promote within to champion your project management platform?

On this episode of Agency Journey, Gray joins Andrew Dymski, CoFounder at ZenPilot, to discuss the who, what, why, and how behind ClickUp Champions.

Topics discussed in the episode:

• Purpose behind having a ClickUp Champion
• Roles and responsibilities of a ClickUp Champion
• Experiences and traits they should have should have
• Selection criteria for finding a ClickUp Champion
  • Not an owner or leadership team members
  • Thick enough skin to be a referee
  • Comfort managing up
  • General understanding of the teams processes
  • Capacity 
  • Analytical minded
  • Innovative and tech savvy
• The four main work cadences of a ClickUp Champion
• How to find a good ClickUp Champion

Presenting Sponsor: ZenPilot

Be sure to check out ZenPilot, where we help agencies optimize their operations using our proven systems and processes.

ZenPilot knows that you are tired of wasting time on trial-and-error — that’s why we provide tried-and-true solutions that will help you grow and scale quickly and sustainably.

So, what are you waiting for?

Go to zenpilot.com to learn more.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Gray Mackenzie - LinkedIn
• Andrew Dymski - LinkedIn
• ZenPilot - BluePrint Process
• ClickUp

Free 47-page Guide to Implementing ClickUp:

This guide is packed with step-by-step instructions (and checklists) to help you implement ClickUp for your agency.

We've put together a 47-page guide to walk you through the 5-step ClickUp implementation process that we've taken thousands of agencies through.

ClickUp 3.0 is bringing:

• 500% increase in speed
• Supercharged reliability
• Universal search
• and 99.99% uptime

As ClickUp's largest implementation partner we were super excited to bring Zeb Evans, CEO at ClickUp, to discuss ClickUp's journey to get here and his goal for ClickUp 3.0.

Topics discussed in the episode:

• The phases of ClickUp's evolution - Product, Business and Scale
• How to enjoy the journey while you're in it
• Zeb's personal journey since the beginning of ClickUp
• ClickUp's focus on customization, flexibility, and transforming communication
• The summary of ClickUp 3.0
• The importance of rebuilding and rewriting the foundation of ClickUp to build the next-generation platform
• The revamp of ClickUp goals
• How ClickUp plans to build a source of truth and a command center
• ClickUp's goal of becoming a place where all your work and connected products are in one place
• Empowering customization with an app developer platform in ClickUp
• ClickUp's growth strategy 
• Building ClickUp with community - evangelists, influencers and partners
• ClickUp's 70% efficiency increase in paid marketing
• Fun facts about Zeb
• Releasing of ClickUp 3.0

Presenting Sponsor: ZenPilot

Be sure to check out ZenPilot, where we help agencies optimize their operations using our proven systems and processes.

ZenPilot knows that you are tired of wasting time on trial-and-error — that’s why we provide tried-and-true solutions that will help you grow and scale quickly and sustainably.

So, what are you waiting for?

Go to zenpilot.com to learn more.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

At ZenPilot, we help agencies transform the system in which they operate on a day-to-day basis - the place they find their tasks, collaborate with their team, communicate with clients, and take their notes.

Transforming a project management platform may be one of the biggest areas of change an agency goes through. It impacts the daily workflow of every individual in the organization - and their clients!

Is it easy? Nope. Is there friction? Yup! 

If you're looking to implement change at any organization, you need to be willing to embrace the pain for a period of time. Lean into this and push through, because the view on the other side is always worth it. 

After helping thousands of agencies with massive transformations, we've learned a few lessons. 

On this episode of Agency Journey, Gray joins Andrew, CoFounder at ZenPilot, to discuss how agencies can effectively manage change.

Topics discussed in the episode:

• The purpose behind change at agencies
• The difficulties of change management 
• ZenPilot's model for change
• The 6 steps for effectively managing change
  • Giving people a platform or channel to express their pain or frustrations
    • Forms
    • Surveys
    • 1-on-1s
    • All-hands meetings
  • Making the decision
  • Mapping the journey
  • Setting clear expectations and participation efforts
  • Launching and monitoring team adoption
  • Optimizing (but only system issues)
• Nominating and assigning an internal champion

Presenting Sponsor: ZenPilot

Check out ZenPilot, where we help agencies optimize their operations using our proven systems and processes.

ZenPilot knows that you are tired of wasting time on trial-and-error — that's why we provide tried-and-true solutions that will help you grow and scale quickly and sustainably.

So, what are you waiting for?

Go to zenpilot.com to learn more.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Andrew Dymski's LinkedIn
• ZenPilot Website
• Gray MacKenzie's Linkedin
• ClickUp

Free 47-page Guide to Implementing ClickUp:

This guide is packed with step-by-step instructions (and checklists) to help you implement ClickUp for your agency.

We've put together a 47-page guide to walk you through the 5-step ClickUp implementation process that we've taken thousands of agencies through.

 The Email Marketers help eCommerce brands flourish through Email and SMS marketing.

Topics discussed in the episode:

• Melanie's journey from traditional consulting to starting her own agency.
• The power of combining email and SMS to grow eCommerce brands.
• How Klaviyo empowers marketing teams to drive their email and SMS marketing efforts.
• Klaviyo vs. Attentive
• How Melanie structures her team, so they don't get overwhelmed during a hyper-growth stage.
• How The Email Marketers have grown 4.07x through referrals, events, social content, and SEO.
• LinkedIn content strategies to increase lead generation.
• Increasing friction in the discovery call process to minimize low-quality leads.
• How hiring an agency coach (Nick Eubanks) has helped Melanie.
• The Email Marketers plans to build a "well-oiled, German machine" by focusing heavily on process development and refinement.
• Creating a workplace people love to work by being proactive for clients and minimizing ad-hoc requests.

Presenting Sponsor: ZenPilot

Be sure to check out ZenPilot, where we help agencies optimize their operations using our proven systems and processes.

ZenPilot knows that you are tired of wasting time on trial-and-error — that's why we provide tried-and-true solutions that will help you grow and scale quickly and sustainably.

So, what are you waiting for?

Go to zenpilot.com to learn more.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• The Email Marketers Website
• Melanie Balkes LinkedIn
• ZenPilot Website
• Gray MacKenzie’s Linkedin

When Lauren's not shoulders-deep in ClickUp at Hawke, she's likely finding something to add to her cookbook collection or looking at new parts for her next mechanical keyboard build.

Topics discussed in the episode:

• How Hawke managed projects using Wrike and a disparate array of tools prior to implementing ClickUp in 2020.
• Lauren's experience of using ClickUp for 18 months and developing a strong expertise in the platform prior to undertaking the Hawke migration.
• Lauren's intense 6-month implementation project which involved countless hours of team interviews, process building, research, data migration, team training, and support.
• The results and sentiment of the Hawke team as they moved from a state of "general chaos" to more clarity as a result of implementing ClickUp and Lauren and the team's hard work developing process templates and documentation.
• The opportunities for improvement in Hawke's ClickUp implementation and the roadmap to improving internal operations.

Presenting Sponsor: ZenPilot

Be sure to check out ZenPilot, where we help agencies optimize their operations using our proven systems and processes.

ZenPilot knows that you are tired of wasting time on trial-and-error — that’s why we provide tried-and-true solutions that will help you grow and scale quickly and sustainably.

So, what are you waiting for?

Go to zenpilot.com to learn more.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Hawke Media Website
• Lauren Makielski's LinkedIn
• ZenPilot Website
• Gray MacKenzie's Linkedin