Today we talk to a husband and wife team, Audrey and Gus Granger, the co-founders of the Dallas-based boutique advertising agency, 70kft. Their combined experience creates an excellent and often very rare business partnership. They spoke to me about how their boutique company of only 40 people was able to attract and cater to big giants like Verizon and Hewlitt-Packard.

How did they do it? What are their secrets to success? They reveal to me that it’s all in the team and how you attract talent. Audrey has a vigorous vetting process for potential hires. She asks everyone to complete a DISC survey and gets 4 to 5 people from her current team to interview the potential new hire. This helps define whether or not the talent can collaborate and work with others in the team. She admits that hiring from the gut is a huge mistake and has been the cause of some of their blunders in the past. In such a small environment, your current team can instantly tell whether or not you’ve made a mistake in hiring new talent and bad people always seem to cause friction in the team.

As owners of a boutique but highly competitive and quickly growing company, Audrey and Gus realize they cannot be there for every single client. Increasingly they rely on the team to take control and work well cross-functionally to create a well-crafted branding campaign for their clients. By trusting in their team, these owners have developed an excellent work environment where everybody is delivers the highest quality service for the client. The result? Big companies develop an affinity and loyalty for the boutique service but “big agency” outcomes that 70kft provides.

 

Show Notes

[2:40] How did Audrey and Gus come up with the name for their company?

[4:35] The strategy behind the naming of their company.

[5:50] Audrey and Gus approach their business as a boutique marketing company, creating a personalized yet integrated branding service for their clients.

[6:35] Audrey talks on finding the right talent and how it has shaped their business.

[7:25] In a small company, if you hire wrong, the team takes notice of that right away.

[7:45] Don’t hire based on your gut. Audrey explains further on what she looks for in a new hire.

[8:30] How does Audrey accurately screen for potential hires that will gel well with her team?

[8:45] Potential hires complete a DISC survey and Audrey says that it’s not just a personality survey. It’s a behavioral indicator of how people respond.

[9:30] Between 4-5 people take their time to interview the potential hire, which helps tremendously.

[12:15] Despite being labeled as boutique, they’re doing big agency work.

[12:25] What kind of work have Audrey and Gus been doing lately?

[15:15] What does business to business enterprise cloud really entail?

[19:50] By positioning themselves wisely, not only do they promote themselves as the experts in their space, but also as strong advocates for the brands they represent.

[21:30] Audrey dives a little bit deeper into the public relations side of the business and what she does that helps make the company so successful.

[21:45] Audrey helps her clients discern what’s news, what’s valuable, and what’s not. At 70kft, they help position their clients differently from their competitors.

[22:55] How do you convert your listeners into buyers through marketing? Audrey says it’s easy. All you have to do is listen to the needs of your audience.

[23:55] At the end of the day, clients come to 70kft to solve a marketing challenge.

[24:05] How do you become a better listener?

[27:40] On a nuts and bolts level, it all comes back to the team. You have to develop a strong team to compete in the big leagues.

[29:45] It’s a big challenge to work as a team while still keeping the client first. How did this husband and wife couple manage it? They say it’s a work in process!

[30:25] Audrey reminds her team regularly that they’re on the same side. We all want the same things. 

[33:35] Audrey talks about her faith and why it’s so important in the workforce.

[35:30] Who are your neighbors? It’s really anybody you come in contact with. You have to do right by them.

[41:30] Audrey and Gus rely on the skill sets of their team, because they understand they can’t be hands on with all of their clients, 24/7. In turn, clients keep coming back because they’ve fallen in love with the 70kft team.

[43:20] How do the guys make time for family and balance their work life?

[49:35] Do Audrey and Gus have any mentors? Why are they so wise?

[54:35] For people coming up in the industry and specifically in the Dallas/Fort Worth areas, what advice does Audrey have for them? Read! Read everything you can!

[58:30] Audrey always asks potential hires their top three values.

 

Connect with Audrey and Gus:

www.70kft.com/

 

Audrey and Gus’s Recommended Resources:

DiSC

Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team

Plum Assessment Tool

 

Read:

Centered Leadership by Joanna Barsh

What Great Brands Do by Denise Lee Yohn

God is My CEO by Larry Julian

Grace for the Moment by Max Lucado

The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell by Oren Harari

Get Your Ship Together by D. Michael Abrashoff

 

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