Are you worried about your digital agency's competition? Don't be! Instead focus that energy on building your agency brand and improving your authority. Learn how to become a major influencer, so you can eliminate the competition and develop collaborative relationships with them instead.

In today's episode, we'll cover:

• Which type of agency owner are you?
• 4 benefits of building your agency's authority.
• 3 things you should be doing to increase your agency's authority.
• Why you need to stop competing and start collaborating.

Today I talked with Josh Elledge, consumer expert, speaker and Founder/CEO of his PR program Up My Influence. He understood the importance of the media and harnessed that to $6 million in revenue for his other startup venture, Savings Angel, while spending less than $500 in advertising. He talked with me about some tips and insight to upping your influencer game so your agency can build its brand and authority in the your niche.

Which Type of Agency Owner Are You?

• Artists... These are the agency owners who love to solve problems and create solutions.
• Leader/Manager... These are the agency owners who love the operations of business. They have an ability to lead people.
• True Entrepreneur... These are the agency owners who love venture capital and money. They love the ups and downs of owning a business.

To find out what type of agency owner you are, Josh recommends this simple litmus test inspired by Tony Robbins:

Ask yourself, if you had all the money you needed and you had to pick something to do with your agency/business, what would your gravitate toward?

Nearly 80-85% of people will gravitate toward Artist, but it is good to have that Leader/Manager and Entrepreneurial characteristic within your agency.

4 Benefits of Increasing Your Agency's Authority

1. Improves your agency's conversion rate.
2. Decreases the amount of time your clients are in the sales pipeline.
3. Attracts more people/clients to the top of the sales funnel.
4. Builds trust quicker with clients.

3 Things You Should Be Doing To Increase Your Agency's Authority

1. Be helpful on the internet to up your searchability. Blog, do podcasts, have a social media presence, and get involved. Clients will search your agency to gauge its relevance and status in the industry.
2. Get active on Twitter and LinkedIn. It is most important to build up your agency's position in the industry. Do it organically (don't buy followers). Having a limited social media footprint can affect your agency's image in the the eyes of prospective clients. Vanity metrics are important, so you need followers as social proof.
3. Build an impressive website. Make it look amazing - even though you're really busy with client work. It needs to be impactful in the first 3 seconds and indicates your agency is professional.

According to Josh, the most valuable currency for agency owners is authority. If you aren't sure where your agency stands, Google yourself and gauge it.

Stop Competing and Start Collaborating

In the competition game, you'll never win. Your agency can't be all things to all clients and getting OK with that is healthy.

Focus on you. When you're busy focusing on the competition, you're not focused on your agency's strength and growth. Concentrate on making your business, team and clients shine without giving a second thought to the competition.

You don't need to add additional agency services to grow. Ask yourself: What's the purpose of your services? Who is your agency trying to help?

Then, once you know what your agency is all about and have become the authority in that niche you are in a great position to collaborate with agencies also in that space.

Partner with other agencies who are strong in areas your agency doesn't cover, to make your services appear more valuable. Find collaborators who offer complimentary services and become strategic partners.

When you learn to collaborate, you stop the competition. As you work with agencies, ask if you can refer them. When you build up those contacts, you become very resourceful and clients love that!

Need Guidance and Support to Grow Your Agency 3X Faster?

Are you overwhelmed by all the information out there on various ways to grow your agency? Do you want direction on how you can grow your agency faster and easier?

Then you're in luck! I created an innovative mentorship called Agency University.

Agency University is a program which provides the 1-on-1 mentorship and ongoing support that is crucial to the success of your agency. Click here to see if it's the right fit for you.

Related: Using Influencer Marketing to Win New Agency Clients