Chats with Chip

Chats with Chip

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Chats with Chip episodes

  • How to make conversations with your agency employees less difficult (featuring Allyns Melendez)
    If you dread difficult conversations, Allyns Melendez of HR Transformed has some great tips to make them easier — or perhaps to head them off altogether with better communications. In this episode, Chip and Allyns talk about ways that you can solicit ongoing feedback from agency employees and build a management structure that encourages meaningful two-way conversations. Of course, difficult conversations can't always be avoided. When you need to have them, Allyns suggests a framework for those meetings that will make them less painful and more productive.
    31 min
  • Process matters for agencies (featuring Juliana Marulanda)
    In this episode of Chats with Chip, Juliana Marulanda of ScaleTime explains why creating and documenting repeatable processes for your agency can make a big difference in outcomes for your business and your clients. Juliana helps agency owners understand how to get started and what pitfalls to avoid as they begin to implement a process-driven approach.
    31 min
  • Co-authoring a book with an all-star team (featuring Kami Huyse)
    Have you ever thought about writing a book to leverage as a tool for demonstrating your expertise and building the profile of yourself and your agency? Kami Huyse, CEO of Zoetica Media, teamed up with a group of talented communicators as a co-author of The Most Amazing Marketing Book Ever. In this episode, she explains how it all got started, the process they followed, and what she has taken away from the experience. She also offers up advice for others thinking about writing a book, especially with collaborators, and talks about how the book can be helpful to her, not just in terms of marketing but also the professional development that it has fostered.
    25 min
  • Building a strong financial foundation for your agency (featuring Ryan Watson)
    In this episode of Chats with Chip, Ryan Watson of Upsourced discusses the critical role that financial planning has in growing a successful agency. Ryan explains that the fundamentals that you need to follow will help you in good times, as well as in any possible recession that may (or may not) be on the horizon. He notes that the impact in an economic downturn varies from one agency to the next, so your best bet is to prepare for any outcome. Chip and Ryan also talk about the difference between tax accounting and business financial planning. They explore some of the things that you should be focused on (as well as a few things that may be misleading indicators of true success).
    34 min
  • Should Chip stop blindly hating RFPs for agencies?
    In this episode of Chats with Chip, Simon Erskine Locke of CommunicationsMatch joins for a discussion about agencies and RFPs. Regular listeners know that Chip doesn't disguise how much he despises the RFP process that many agencies subject themselves to. He has argued that agency leaders should simply hit the delete key whenever an RFP shows up in their inbox. Simon takes a more nuanced view of RFPs and explains how they can be done better. He also suggests that if an agency does its due diligence before responding, they might be able to more strategically evaluate each opportunity instead of blindly hitting delete. Listen in to the conversation and see if it helps clarify your own view of the role of RFPs in your agency's growth plans.
    39 min
  • Jumpstarting your agency's business development (featuring Adam Graham)
    Adam Graham, Founder of both Gray Matters and BD Matters, brings a wealth of agency business development expertise to the table in this episode of Chats with Chip. When agency owners focus on sales, it tends to be because they are looking to quickly grow or rapidly replace lost revenue. Adam explains the importance of having a plan and a process in place instead of launching haphazardly into an outreach program. Chip and Adam also discuss the importance of proper positioning for the agency and why having a clear focus and specialization makes sales business development much easier. Finally, the pair talk about how small agency owners can get help with growing the business without removing themselves completely from the responsibility of business development.
    31 min
  • Going from agency coach to agency leader (Part 2 of 2)

    In this second part of a two-part series, Zach Hyder explains what it has been like to transition from agency coach to president of the agency founded by Ward Hubbell. Zach and Ward explain how they transitioned from an advisory relationship to one in which Zach joined the firm to help lead the day-to-day operations and give Ward a chance to begin to phase out. There are also some interesting insights into what it was like to make the transition just as the world was shutting down in 2020 — and what the future looks like for Zach, Ward, and Hubbell Communications.

    23 min
  • Transitioning your agency to new leadership (Part 1 of 2)

    In this episode, Hubbell Communications founder Ward Hubbell talks about the agency he founded, and how he decided to approach the transition when he no longer wanted to manage the business day-to-day. Ward talks about how he was working with Zach Hyder as his agency business coach when it struck him that Zach would be the right fit to take over Hubbell. In this first episode of a two-part series, Ward introduces us to Zach and explains the journey he has gone through to make the transition as smooth as possible. In part two, we will hear more from Zach about why he decided to leave the ranks of agency coaching to re-enter the agency world directly — along with what lessons he learned from being an advisor.

    22 min
  • Grow your agency by developing relationships at scale (featuring Dan Englander)

    Manageable agency growth doesn't come from mass communication, but rather by developing real relationships with prospects. In this episode of Chats with Chip, Dan Englander of Sales Schema explains how agencies can develop these relationships at scale — even with limited resources. Dan has recently written a new book, Relationship Sales at Scale, that explains how to balance the right amount of automation and personalization to achieve the kind of agency growth you are seeking. Chip and Dan talk about the challenges that small agencies have when it comes to business development and how his book offers practical solutions to help them overcome those hurdles. They also emphasize the need to customize the approach to your own agency, including its resources and targets, in order to achieve the most desirable results.

    30 min
  • Leveraging overseas talent to grow your agency (featuring Noel Andrews)

    Agencies in the United States and elsewhere are faced with a challenging labor market that makes hiring for needed roles more difficult than ever. Finding the right talent at the right time is never easy, so what options do agencies have? In this episode of the Chats with Chip Podcast, Noel Andrews of JobRack explains how talent from Eastern Europe and other parts of the world can supplement your workforce. With agencies more comfortable than ever with remote workers, commute time to an office is no longer a limiting factor in most hiring decisions. Why not look globally to fill the roles that you need to deliver excellent results for your clients? Noel talks about what works and what doesn't, as well as the best approach to finding good people in geographically diverse places.

    29 min

About Chats with Chip

From the publisher's feed

Chip Griffin hosts conversations with PR and marketing professionals, journalists, and other experts about business, communications, and technology.