References and case studies for your agency

Another day, another rant from Chip and Gini. This time they have references and case studies on their minds.

The co-hosts come down firmly against spending time developing and publishing case studies, explaining that agencies are better off demonstrating expertise in conversations with prospects by tying past experiences to current challenges.

When it comes to references, both Chip and Gini have regularly provided them in the past. However, they both question the value of them — as well as the burden it places on those who agree to serve as references.

Key takeaways

* Gini Dietrich: “No more RFPs. No more proposals. No more case studies. No more references. Just go win some business.”

* Chip Griffin: “Everything that you thought you should be doing as an agency owner, everything that you get told to do by a lot of other advisors, we’re telling you don’t.”

* Gini Dietrich: “Build your reputation, build your brand, then your reputation will precede you and you won’t be asked for those things.

* Chip Griffin: “Frankly, my belief is that most prospects aren’t reading any of your website, let alone your case studies.”

View Transcript

The following is a computer-generated transcript. Please listen to the audio to confirm accuracy.

Chip Griffin: Hello and welcome to another episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin.

Gini Dietrich: And I’m Gini Dietrich.

Chip Griffin: And Gini, you know, I realize before I started working with you on this podcast, I forgot to ask for your references. Maybe I should do that.

Yeah, let me, let me go take care of that right now.

No, I’m not really gonna do that.

Gini Dietrich: Whew. First of all, my volume was very loud. Whew. .

Chip Griffin: Well, hopefully our listeners are not having the same issue. . Hopefully.

Gini Dietrich: You’re not gonna ask for my references?

Chip Griffin: I’m not gonna ask.

Gini Dietrich: That’s good because it’s been like, how long has it been? Five years? I feel like you probably should be one of my references at this point.

Chip Griffin: It has been almost five years. Wow. That’s, yeah. You’re making me feel old Gini.

Gini Dietrich: Well, if the shoe fits.

Chip Griffin: Wow. Wow. That’s, that’s harsh. Alright, well, you know, maybe we’ll give some harsh advice too today because we’re gonna be talking about a couple of things that agency owners seem to love, they’re always worried about and focused on, but I’m pretty sure that you agree with me that they’re not worth the time and money that they take.

That’s references and case studies, so yes, indeed. Let’s dump on a few of the popular things in the agency industry once again, shall we?

Gini Dietrich: Yeah. We’re getting good at this. No more RFPs. No more proposals. No more case studies. No more references. Just go win some business. There you go.

Chip Griffin: Everything that you thought you should be doing as an agency owner, everything that you get told to do by a lot of other advisors, we’re telling you don’t.

Gini Dietrich: No more.

Chip Griffin: Knock it off.