Smart Agency Masterclass with Jason Swenk: Podcast for Digital Marketing Agencies

Are the unknowns of the agency industry overwhelming? Do you sometimes feel like maybe it's time to close shop? Learn about the 4 phases of successful agency growth from an owner with over two decades of experience. Hear all his ups and downs plus learn what to expect as you scale and grow.

In this episode, we'll cover:

• 4 phases of successful agency growth.
• How to manage a growing agency.
• Deciding whether to bring on a partner or not.

Today I talked with Chris Emergui, CEO of BAM Strategy, the agency he founded in 1996. With over 20 years of agency ownership experience he's seen his agency grow, deplete and grow again. He learned a couple things along the way and shares with us some of those nuggets of knowledge as well as the 4 phases his agency went through to get to reach the success they enjoy today. Sometimes just knowing what other agency owners have gone through can provide the encouragement and support we need in this lonely entrepreneurial world.

4 Phases of a Successful Agency Journey Phase 1: The Start-Up

This is the time when you get things going. You could take this on alone or with a partner (although I don't recommend partnerships - more on that later). This phase lends itself to being more ambitious and more willing to take some risks. This can be a time of quick prosper and scaling quickly, but can also include a downturn in business and can be messy.

This is when you learn lessons.

Phase 2: Switching It Up

This could be when you and your partner part ways. When you realize you have different visions. It's a time when a business model change might take place. If you've been dealt the hardship of budgets getting slashed, this is when you anchor yourself with your client. Start servicing clients in areas that will not be affected if their marketing budget is cut.

This is when you are getting more experienced at knowing what to offer.

Phase 3: The Romantic Phase

This is the time when you have fun. You are at that 20-25 employee marker and you know them inside and out. You are experiencing growth and have a good, solid culture. You understand the impact you can have on the business.

This is the phase you would stay in if you could.

Phase 4: Continuation of Growth

A lot of agency owners think Phase 3 is ideal and want to stop growth there. But, you can't stay there forever, no matter how much you'd like to. You don't have a choice in this industry. You need to constantly go after new business and have a goal to grow. Because in this business, because you're only one client-decision away from being shattered.

Phase 4 is where you start laying your infrastructure. Bring in the people to start handling the things you might not be so good at and start empowering them for success. In Chris's case he brought in a new partner at this point.

If you hire the right people, put them in the right role and give them the right systems. Then you can start doing less and focus on growth goals.

This is the phase when you get out of the day-to-day and take on a new role of heading the ship.

How to Manage a Growing Agency

When we empower our agency employees we set them up for success. And that is really our biggest role in agency management - helping our people succeed. If they aren't coming to you for all the answers, that's a good thing. It means you are providing them with the right upfront direction so they can make decisions.

It feels good to be needed but you need to remember that being their "hero" isn't a long-term solution. You want people who can run things on their own; you don't want your agency to crumble if you get hit by a bus.

The transition from Agency Owner to CEO can be tough. And doing so can create both a freedom and a void. However, as CEO one of your five main roles is to mentor your leadership team, giving them confidence and direction. You are there to help them become more successful and grow. This is when you can really start scaling your agency, because now they are making decisions that are good for the agency and not just for themselves!

Your number one asset is your team. So invest in them, because that is an investment that will pay for itself.

Deciding On A Partner: Should You or Shouldn't You?

I always advise against bringing on an agency partner because you either know the bad partner, or you are the bad partner.

But, I know it's pretty typical to bring on a partner when you are looking for a lead person to manage an area of business where your skills are lacking. An agency partnership or part-ownership provides a vested interest for that person while strengthening the agency leadership.

Chris's advice is to make sure you are hiring someone you can empower, and someone who is smarter than you. Don't be blinded by their prior experience and large network or influence.

Most importantly, you and your partner have to have the same view/reaction to any given event. While you can complement each other's weaknesses, your vision needs to be the same.

Key Takeaways:

• No one has all the answers.
• Learn as you go is the nature of the business.
• You'll make mistakes along the way.
• It only takes one big client to get on the map.
• Keep on pushing! You will get that one break.
• Don't try to compare yourself to the larger agencies, but have the confidence that you can complete with them and can service the larger brands.

A mindset of perseverance is how you'll find success for your agency. Things can change on a dime in this industry! You will find the hard stuff is what you're going to remember, you'll appreciate it more, when it's in hindsight. And it will always remind you that you can handle it, you can get through. Let the tough times make you smarter and move on!

Would you like to grow your agency faster by increasing recurring revenue? Do you feel like your agency is on a constant roller coaster gaining and losing clients? Then learn about innovative agency pricing, a licensing model, that can set you on a stable path. Plus, turn the tables on the industry standard of always fearing losing clients. Instead, discover how to make your clients fear losing you.

In this episode, we'll cover:

• What is an agency licensing pricing model?
• How and why does a licensing model work?
• 5 Benefits of the licensing model.

Today I chatted with Andrey Polston, a man who has been obsessed with marketing and sales since he was 11 years old mowing lawns. He ended up self taught in SEO and web design, and his motivation and knowledge is impressive. Andrey now plans and operates his own virtual summits, including The Agency Summit. On today's episode, he shares his ingenious licensing model and the benefits it can bring to your agency.

What is a Licensing Pricing Model?

In short, a licensing model is taking what you do, niching it down in a way that you can flip it on it's head and license it for exclusivity.

This model was born from Andrey trying to solve the main challenges agencies face, including:

• Financial instability and fear of losing clients.
• Providing all the creative work upfront.
• Relinquishing ownership of completed assets to the clients.
• Difficulty proving value later in client relationships.

These challenges are what spawned this idea of creating a process that will make the clients fear losing the agency instead of always the other way around.

How Does the Licensing Model Work?

Generally agency clients have a broad range of customers they could go after. As the agency, you must understand your client's clients. Then select a niche customer that you are going to help them go after. In other words, identify a single type of customer that is ideal for your client.

Once you determine this niche customer, pre-build high converting funnels, marketing assets and conversion pathways that will absolutely crush it for that one specific channel of customers.

Then charge your clients a monthly licensing fee for the funnel and its accompanying assets.

There is also the ability to nano niche the ideal customer you identified and then create even more streamlined funnels, as well as a possible IP that can be included as an add-on to the client. You can also sell an add-on of your marketing services.

Why the Licensing Model Works

"People will do more things to avoid pain, than they'll do to gain pleasure." ~ Andrey Polston

Agencies can play the game of constantly trying to report their worth and value, but the greater incentive here, is the fear of loss. You want the client to fear losing you, your talents, and your expertise.

With the licensing model, this is embedded in the beginning. "If you leave, that's fine, but you're losing all this work because it isn't yours to keep." And with that fear comes the underlying understanding that if they leave, you will probably walk next door to their competitor and offer this service to them.

When prospecting a target client you lead with the licensing model, exclusive to the niche you have determined.

This doesn't work if you don't have a niche and don't identify specific categories of customers your client wants.

5 Benefits of a Licensing Model

Andrey has identified five major benefits to a licensing model.

1- Automated Recurring Revenue

When you're dealing with a service, you go out there, chase the work down and then try to get them to pay for it. With the licensing model, they're put on a subscription and billed at the beginning of each month.

2- Accumulated Advantage

When you start playing deeper into a niche you will start finding new pockets of opportunity you can take advantage of, such as "nano niches" or niches within a singular niche. This is where you can create even tighter funnels and an IP that can also be licensed out to a client or provided as an add-on.

3- Productizing of a Service(s)

In order to productize your agency service, look up the ladder to tap into a potential client that would want to sell your license as an add-on to what they are selling. This provides value to them in that you're exclusive to them and their product takes a competitive advantage, because they're now providing a proven marketing system, as a value add-on, with their client. By doing this, you are harnessing somebody else's distribution channel, marketing, and sales efforts and piggybacking off of it.

4- Taking On Multiple Clients

Some agencies feel restrained by geographic location. However, you can take on multiple clients within the same location by niching down to those nano niches and licensing all those nano niches out. So different clients can pay per nano niche license, or one client could pay a large licensing fee for exclusivity within their city or location.

5- Potential for Referrals & Partnership

A lot of agencies start out as "full service" so they can compete against everyone. But, what that really does is just cut them off from referrals/partners, because they are competing with everyone. It's simple - when your agency has one specific niche, you can partner with other agencies offering complimentary services.

With a licensing model your specialization becomes so narrow that you can now cross sell/upsell those different services or white label them out, and take a cut.

You can now go to every category of companies, that would have been a competitor, and work with them as a referral partner because you aren't competing against them anymore. AND because of the high margins of licensing you can pay out a lucrative, recurring monthly affiliate rate :)

Are you "that" agency? Do you tend to talk a lot about how smart you are? The awards you have won? It's easy to fall into this trap of trying to sell your agency as the best, but sometimes it's to the detriment of the client /agency relationship. Not anymore. Learn how to scale your agency by collaborating with your client to make their lives easier. Be the agency that keeps things simple and lets the client shine.

In this episode, we'll cover:

• The best way to scale your agency.
• Which clients you should be paying attention to.
• How to make your client shine.
• How to prove your agency's worth.

Today I chatted with Melinda Byerly, founder of her digital consultancy Time Share CMO. She's got over fifteen years experience in Silicon Valley working in tech with start-ups and becoming an expert in digital marketing and analytic attribution. She's also learned a thing or two about clients needs when it comes to data and analytics, as well as how to manage those expectations. Melinda is sharing all this and more with us so you can learn how to set your client up for success and ultimately, setting yourself up for success as well.

The Best Way to Scale Your Agency

There is a danger to scaling too fast. If you're a service business, it's so important to find the right people that will help you move towards your goals. Instead of proposing marriage first, maybe it's time to try "going on a date" instead?

When you're looking for the right person, it can take time to see if you will work well together, so that's when you "go on a date." Don't do a contract, do a project - just one, minimal-commitment-type project together first. If that goes well, do another project together. This will allow you to get a feel for that person, how you work together and how they fit into the agency.

Build your agency one person at a time and take it slow, so that it's the right fit.

"Dating" is a great concept with clients as well. Find out what keeps them up at night, do they wish they had somebody doing X?" Then focus on X first. Take it one problem at a time to make sure it is going to be a true client/agency partnership.

Taking on a bad client can be like a cancer. I like to say: there are no bad clients, only bad prospects or a bad process. If you don't qualify your prospects, you could be letting in the wrong ones. And, if they aren't following your process in the beginning, they are not going to follow your process under contract. Pay attention to those red flags!

Either bad clients never should have been let in, or you created them.

Clients You Should be Paying Attention To

Think about your prospects... Are they responsive? Pleasant and respectful? Do they listen and take your feedback into consideration? These are the clients you want.

An agency/client relationship is a collaboration. You need to be respectful of your clients requests, but it's a collaborative effort and they should respect your experience and expertise as well.

Agencies tend to talk a lot, touting their awards and boasting their accomplishments. In a desire to impress, agencies are constantly selling themselves. Stop. It's better to listen and ask questions, make the client the focal point. Focus on the needs of the decision maker in order to achieve their goals and ease their pain points.

Is Your Direct Client the Hero?

They should be.

You need to make your day-to-day client contact look good. Don't make the mistake of always trying to make yourself look good and in the process throw your sponsor under the bus.

Before doing a presentation to a larger group, meet with your direct client contact. You are presenting on their behalf, so position things the way they would like them positioned and be sure to create moments for them to step in and be the expert. Establish moments to help them shine; allow them to be the hero.

People are loyal to people. There is a high turnover in this industry and if your client-sponsor leaves their, make them want to take you with them.

Are You Effectively Proving Your Worth?

Have you ever had a project where you're totally killing it? But… you're getting great results and all of a sudden your client wants to change directions?! You weren't effectively communicating those great results.

First, you need to be sure you are setting expectations with the client. Don't set yourself up to fail by setting unachievable expectations. Let them know what results can and cannot be tracked or quantified. Not everything will be trackable so be honest with them about this and most importantly, help them understand so that your agency is held to reasonable expectations.

At the same time you want to make sure you are being authentic and have high integrity about this. Don't just regurgitate analytics reports -- make sure you are providing useful analytics that can help navigate the course of your client's digital marketing.

Tell them what those analytics mean and provide them with a recommendation - that is your value add. By doing this, you're preparing to justify yourself. You're educating your client and managing their expectations so they can manage their manager's expectations… which circles back to making them the hero.

Remember: there is a difference between what you do and what you provide.

How to Know What Your Clients Want

Do you know what your clients really want? Your client hired you to do work for them and make their job easier. Don't put more work on them. The more options someone has, the harder they have to work to make a decision. The harder, their brain has to work and the more you risk them shutting down or walking away. Remove that friction from your client's decision making.

Keep it simple, such as saying:

• "Here is option A and B. The data suggest option A" ...OR...
• "The data is silent so it's a judgement call... Here is our opinion on the judgement call."

This is what they want! Their biggest decision is hiring you and then after that, answering "which of these things are you going to do?" Keep it simply "yes" or "no."

Are Your Agency's Presentations Powerful?

Are you doing the work ahead of time but saving the presentation for the night before? Don't.

Give data presentations they can't ignore - make it easy for them.

For as much as you do the work ahead of time, you should be dedicating the same amount of time to preparing your client presentations. Be prepared with the material, so that you don't need your slides. This gives you the ability to look the decision makers in the eyes, really listen to their questions and thoughtfully answer them.

When you put time into your presentation, you will present with more confidence. More confidence makes you more believable. When you're believable things are less likely to sit on the shelf and clients are more likely to take action.

The action is what you're looking for! When a client takes action, they're happy. When they're happy, they are more likely to re-engage you! And that makes you happy, right? :)

Do you feel stuck in a rut? Overwhelmed or uncertain? You are not alone! A lot of agency owners feel the same way. If you need help finding clarity or getting focused, check out this episode. This is the perfect time of year to look at where you're at and where you're headed. Get re-energized and meet your goals in the new year.

In this episode, we'll cover:

• 3 characteristics you need to build a successful agency.
• Finding clarity in your agency life.
• How to find and keep your focus.
• #1 thing holding you back.

Today's guest is Aaron Walker, successful businessman and life coach at the third business he's built, View from the Top. Through his mastermind, Iron Sharpens Iron, Aaron helps people be their best selves and how to carry that into their professional lives. Aaron's passion in coaching and today he shares with us some advice and nuggets of knowledge on how to take that first step towards clarity and success.

3 Characteristics Necessary To Build A Successful Agency

Lots of us who are out there trying to build our agency and make a name for ourselves are creators/developers, not maintainers/managers.

This can be where the problem is: you can't get clarity.

Today we have more opportunities than ever before. It paralyzes us and clouds our judgement. The overwhelm can even cause a leadership crash.

That is why you need to have:

1. Determination, Tenacity, Grit to persevere.
2. Be Organized and Intentional to lead.
3. Most importantly, you need FOCUS.

With that focus you also need consistency. If you aren't willing to devote two years to your venture, don't even start it.

Stay focused on the long game and do what you set out to do. Every. Single. Day.

Aaron shares a little phrase his mom used to say to him, that he hated, but now is part of his mantra: "Can't couldn't do it, and Could did it all."

You know, inspiration isn't forever, it's really about finding your purpose -- that thing that gets you out of bed every morning. That's what is going to keep you going.

How To Find Clarity In Your Agency Life

For entrepreneurs, a lot of our clarity is muddled by constantly looking over our shoulder, wondering if we should have done that other thing instead. Stop worrying if the grass is greener on the other side and realize the grass is greener where you water it.

Realize that you will never get to a point where you will feel a sense of security, so stop looking for that. Instead, fill yourself with confidence.

The first step is -- you gotta launch. Whatever it is - just do it. As my friend Ian says, "Version done is better than version none." He's so right!

You need to realize that it's never going to be perfect, so just take that first step and go from there. You will figure it out.

Once you find your purpose, it will help bring you clarity. Your purpose will become the thing that really drives you, steers your ship and it's guides your decision-making. When you start doing this, then you will find your significance.

How to Find and Keep Your Focus

First, if your focus is on making money, then it's not going to keep you focused long-term. You need a purpose for that! Sure, there's definitely a portion of our focus that is tied to money. If it weren't of any importance, we'd be giving everything away for free.

It's not wrong to want to make money, just make sure you own your money and your money doesn't own you.

You can, however, use money and finances as a measurement tool, not based on how much you make, but on the fact that if people are paying for the products/services you provide, then you're helping people and are providing a valuable resource. Besides, if you gave your stuff away for free, nobody would pay attention to you.

It's the same thing if you underprice yourself. By underpricing, you will cause people to undervalue what you provide; thinking what you have to offer isn't very good because it's too cheap.

Having a hard time scaling your agency? Finding it difficult to stop doing it all, all by yourself? Thinking of building an agency team but don't know where to begin? Learn how to find and hire the right people for your agency and how to set them up for immediate success.

In this episode, we'll cover:

• How to avoid common pitfalls of a virtual agency team.
• How to find top agency talent that fits with your core values.
• What to look for when hiring and building your team.

Today I was excited to talk to Ralph Burns, founder and CEO of Antares Enterprises, Inc. As one of the premier Facebook direct response marketers in the industry, he has built an agency around an interesting business model. Ralph's agency team is entirely virtual, and everyone is certified in his agency's processes before they even start on the job! Learning things the hard way, or the long way, Ralph shares how he overcame challenges by building and leading a successful team.

How to Overcome Common Pitfalls of a Virtual Agency Team

The biggest challenge, and one where it's easy to get stuck, is getting past the "1-man model" and allowing yourself be OK not doing everything yourself.

Once you get someone on board with you and you're able to realize that you both bring unique abilities to grow the agency in different directions, from there you can begin the talent search.

The hardest part about bringing on virtual talent is:

• Teaching them the ways of your agency.
• Building systems and documenting processes.
• Passing on the knowledge so someone can duplicate what you've been doing.

Once you get through that, you will be able to scale up from there. 1-on-1 Method - personally train the new employee, be in daily contact, coaching and mentoring them. While this can be effective, it also takes a long time and can be inefficient. Mentorship - utilize your current staff to build out documents such as Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to utilize moving forward with future new hires. SOPs are so important and should really become the basis for everything you do.

Documenting can be painful, but it's the first step you have to take.

Listen, without SOPs -- you're SOL :)

A Unique Method for Discovering Agency Talent

It is important to have an educational platform on what you do in the agency...

Ralph actually took it a step further and decided to use his agency's certification program as a pool for finding ideal candidates to hire as his agency grows. Get this...

Their rigorous 5-day training course is a stand alone program for individuals who want to get certified in Facebook Ads, with a practical test at the end. With access to the test results, this gives Ralph and his team a way to identify the best of the best and has opened up a new avenue for potential agency talent candidates.

Essentially, these people are trained on the agency's processes and SOP, which eliminates a lot of the learning curve of a typical new hire, which could take another 3-5 months. Now, candidates are ready to roll and can get acclimated much faster to working with actual paying customers.

The beauty of this unique recruitment system is that they know people's intentions because they are paying for the training and know how to do things, right when they start!

Plus as an agency, you owe it to your clients to have people who not only know how to run Facebook ads (whatever your speciality), but also know how to do it the way you do it - within your systems, inside your agency. Because ultimately, your clients are paying you for your expertise, including those systems you've developed.

What's the #1 Account Manager Dilemma?

We all know this story... you have a great account manager on a large account and something happens that takes them out of commission, which means you and your clients are screwed.

The solution? Large accounts, those that are unwieldy or have a lot of moving parts can be co-managed. You have a lead account manager and a secondary account manager.

Another solution is to create smaller teams within your account management department. Have these teams meet once a week, even if they're virtual, and talk through issues going on with their accounts. That way, if an account only has one manager, there are still two or three other managers familiar with that client.

What to Look for When Hiring Agency Talent

When you are in the process of recruiting agency talent people, don't just go after the folks that are the best with a technical skill.

Consider your agency's culture and core values. Then think of some key characteristics that are important to have. Technical skill can be taught, but culture and value is either there or not.

Things to consider in your recruitment efforts:

• Able to collaborate and innovate
  • Collaboration is huge, especially if virtual.
• Be solution-oriented
  • Hire people to solve problems for your clients.
  • Problems are ok, but need to also work on solutions.
• Hungry and humble
  • Have the drive to get better and improve without a cocky attitude.

ALSO: Consider creating your own agency manifesto as a vision to guide your decisions and get you through the tough times. It takes time to create, but it will become your compass and worth the investment of time.

Do you feel like your agency sales needs to grow beyond you, the owner? Are you having a hard time recruiting and training successful salespeople? Then it's time to start putting the right systems in place in order to build a scalable agency sales team.

In this episode, we'll cover:

• 2 things to be aware of before a sales hire.
• Is it the right time to hire for agency sales?
• Key traits to look for when hiring a salesperson.
• How long until a new salesperson is successful?
• Top 7 take away tips.

Today I got to talk with Wayne Herring, owner of Herring Coach, where he specializes in coaching and consulting business owners who are looking to scale their agency sales team. Wayne is the guy who teaches business owners to hire, train, hold accountable, and basically build their sales team. Today he's giving us tips on how you can do the same for your agency.

2 Important Things To Be Aware Of Before You Hire

1. Owner's advantage. Even if you aren't stating it when you're selling, if you're the owner and you're selling - you have an advantage. Remember that your salespeople will not have this advantage.
2. There are very few superhero salespeople. It is unrealistic to think you're going to hire someone who is going to come in and kill it, right off the bat. Don't look for it, you may never find it.

Is It The Right Time To Hire?

It's hard to know when it's the right time to hire for agency sales, as all agencies are in different situations.

But, I can tell you when not to:

DON'T hire your first sales rep if you're already overwhelmed. If you can't spend time with a new sales hire and you're not prepared to invest a significant amount of time into their on-boarding, coaching, role playing, etc. then you aren't ready to hire.

DON'T hire a sales rep if you don't have systems in place. If you're not prepared to hire, train and retain good salespeople you're setting up for failure.

What You Need In Place If It Is The Right Time To Hire:

You need to have a strong foundation, including a definition of who you are as an agency and where you are going. You need to know this so you can give direction and keep everyone on the same page.

Have a set audience for them to sell to. Every business is not your ideal customer, define this for your new salesperson and set them up for success.

Start small... Give them one thing, one goal, to focus on. Don't overwhelm by throwing the whole shebang at them.

Getting someone oriented and quickly on-boarding them to sell a small first step (such as your foot in the door offer) does a couple of things:

• It helps to prove if this person is going to make it within your agency.
• It helps them feel successful quickly and give them a win to start off.

Traits to Look for When Hiring for Agency Sales

Again, don't go looking for a sales superhero. Instead, help them grow into one.

Another trip-up can be hiring based on gut, without really defining the type of person you are looking for. Think ahead about qualities you need, and don't completely focus on likability and personality, this can get you stuck.

Pay attention to how they interview. Are they running the show? Are they asking a lot of questions? A good salesperson will do both these things! A lot of times we feel like we need to sell our agency to the candidate by telling them how wonderful it is. This is where there needs to be a shift in mindset...

Treat yourself and the interview process as a prospect you would want them to go after. Let them run the conversation, see how they lead and if they follow-up. Let the process demonstrate how they would work with a prospective client. Then decide if there's a fit and a future.

Salesperson recruiting is a marketing activity. It is something that deserves serious attention.

How Long Until a New Salesperson is Successful?

Everyone needs a little time to prove their worth, but for agency sales it usually depends on two things:

1. The length of your sales cycle.
2. Past experience and observations.

If you have a long sales cycle then you might benefit from creating "ramp up" report, which breaks down the early steps of the sales process, (contacts, meetings, audits, etc.) and charts them in a grid format and plots progress over time. With this data, eventually you'll discover that salesperson's "ramp up curve" which indicates whether they're following a path you know is going to lead to long term success.

Measuring activity can tell you a lot. If they don't start off coming out the gate fast and hard, it's a tell tale sign they're going to struggle.

Be sure to avoid "happy ears" or overly optimistic situations. I've been guilty of hanging on to someone because of all the big deals they have "in the works" but never actually come to fruition. See things for what they are and measure the activity.

Ask your salespeople the questions: who, what, where why, and when… "What's the next step?" or "When's that going to happen?" When you're consistently coaching it will become abundantly clear whether they're going to be successful.

Top 7 Take Aways

When you're going to start building a sales team:

1. Remember owner's advantage and there are no sales superheroes.
2. Clearly define work that needs to be done.
3. Clearly define the role, key accountabilities.
4. Be willing to work hard through the entire hiring phase and have a process for phone calls, interviews, assessment, etc.
5. Be prepared to spend time to onboard intentionally, track the activity/progress, and help sell the smallest engagement first.
6. Using a CRM isn't optional.
7. Understand the importance of coaching and role playing, even if it's uncomfortable.

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.

Ever had a client that just didn't feel like a good fit right off the bat? Ever taken on the wrong agency projects out of desperation to pay bills and meet payroll? If it doesn't feel right or there are some red flags, pay attention and go with your gut. Listen to the hard lesson this 25 year agency owner learned, how it knocked him down, and how he got back up again.

In this episode, we'll cover:

• How to avoid the wrong agency projects or clients.
• Setting up a successful agency structure.
• Tips on improving your search for inbound leads.

Today I got to talk with Jim Stewart, industry pioneer and CEO of StewArt Media and SEO/Digital Marketing Evangelist on his YouTube channel, Jimboot. With more than 25 years experience, Jim has good insight into both the struggles on the business side as well as great information on maximizing search.

Avoiding the Wrong Agency Projects or Clients

Jim's biggest piece of advice is: Trust your gut instincts!

If something doesn't feel right or there are some red flags, pay attention, listen to your gut. If your gut says run - then run!

And if you're white labeling or on the receiving end of an outsourcing situation, beware:

• Being white labeled is tough and you get little to no credit for your work.
• You don't get direct interaction with the client and receive information through a third party.
• You're being sourced for your processes, yet the larger agencies don't want to follow your processes.
• Getting the work done on time can be challenging when your agency isn't the main point of contact.
• Determining how to charge isn't clear cut when white labeling.

Using this type of structure in the beginning for small agencies is not uncommon, I did it. Just make it work for you by:

• Letting the big agency know up front that you will credit them as a client name.
• You will have direct contact with the client.

Sometimes in these situations, the big agency will start failing on the project and the client could start approaching your agency directly. Don't burn any bridges. Being up front with the big agency is key, but you will find that sometimes, they are aware of their shortcomings and tell you to just go ahead and help the client with what's needed. This can be a great opportunity to build your client base.

Creating a Successful Structure

You can't change your first hire but if you could, would you? I sure would. Bringing someone into the fold that has the skill set to handle all the stuff you can't, or aren't very good at, is key... So, who should you hire first?

It really starts with self awareness. What are you good at? What do you like doing? Where do you want to take the agency? Take all that info and hiring accordingly. Then...

• Invest in those people.
• Train those people.
• Educate those people.

As the agency CEO it is important to know your five roles - and daily operations isn't one of them.

And, if you have you been thinking of yourself more as an owner than a CEO, it might be time to transition from Owner to CEO.

Be the leader. Communicate the plan. Make sure everyone knows the direction the agency is headed. Set goals and clearly outline them. This provides the team the freedom to work within their goal structures and figure out the best tools to utilize to achieve those goals. Even though ours can be a transient industry, we still have to invest in good people.

With the client, clearly outline the plan for them as well. Many clients have been burned before which is why outlining and communicating goals is crucial. Tell them what you're going to do, when they can expect it and follow through.

Improving Search for Inbound Agency New Business

There is one major factor in Search: Trust

The way to build trust is by having a strong brand. The best thing you can do for search and your overall business is: Build That Brand.

There is no silver bullet when it comes to building your brand. It takes hard work and consistency. You need to be putting out valuable content that either educates or entertains. This content creates an impression of you and your brand; it is what your brand becomes.

The ultimate goal is to get people to associate your content, or brand, with keywords in your category and viewed as the authority in the industry.

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.

Are you avoiding video? Afraid you're not interesting enough or don't have enough content to produce? Does it look too hard or are you worrying about production quality? Find out how to build your digital communication with a video presence. It's more accessible and approachable than you think!

In this episode, we'll cover:

• Understanding the importance of vlogging.
• Finding a style that works for you and/or your client.
• How to avoid getting discouraged.
• How to turn viewers into subscribers.

Today I'm chatting with Amy Schmittauer, a media triple threat as a successful YouTuber, with her channel Savvy Sexy Social, best selling author of Vlog Like A Boss and keynote speaker. If anyone understands the power and importance of video in digital communication it's Amy. She's looked to as the authority in the how-to vlogging space and actually one of the influencers of my vlog, SwenkToday.

Understanding the Importance of Vlogging

Digital communications is becoming a big need for businesses, both large and small. This need started with social media but is now moving towards video. It is difficult to survive online communications or digital marketing without some form of video.

Understanding the way people are consuming content is going to decide your digital communication. People are trying to find the better, faster way of what they want… video accommodates that need.

Video and vlogs are growing because they make the host seem approachable. The platforms, such as YouTube, Instagram Stories, Snapchat, etc. are growing and video is becoming more accessible. Because of this, it's time to step outside your box and start asking, "How can we, as an agency, better consider what our customer wants when it comes to video?" Sit down and have a conversation with clients because using the visual of video is going to make a much deeper connection. This will help your agency make more money and serve your clients better, because this is a necessity in business today.

Finding a Style That Works for You

People can get caught up in feeling uninteresting, but that is the beauty of video… you can make ANYTHING look and sound interesting with video, IF you think about what it's like for the end user!

So when you think about your video style you need to ask yourself these 3 questions:

1. What is the Brand of You?

How do you want people to be talking about you? Get creative. Stay consistent so your audience can get to know you and care about you.

2. Who are You Talking To?

Know your audience. Know what your audience wants. This will make you more interesting and keep them watching!

3. What is Your Audience Size and Loyalty Level?

If you are new to vlogging and have little or no audience, you have a lot of work to do to earn trust and interest. This will help you build a solid base audience, which can allow you to take things to another level and take some liberties with your content.

If you are more concerned with the number of views than the quality of viewer… you're in trouble.

How to Build a Solid Video Presence

Don't get discouraged! I get it, entrepreneurs are impatient (myself included!).

Remember: It's not about the number of views or number of people you reach, because it just takes one person -- the perfect customer. Don't lose focus on who that person is.

It's tough, vanity metrics on Facebook can make it hard to choose a platform. Facebook feels like your content is getting more views, but in reality, the context of that view is not as valuable as on, say, YouTube.

Facebook pushes content into a newsfeed, can come without audio, and is logged as a view if it's watched for 3 seconds or more. So of course, views can look higher on Facebook.

YouTube viewers are more intentional. They come looking for the content you are providing and a view isn't ticked off until 30 seconds is viewed. Every platform has a different algorithm to make more money and keep people happy. But remember, you are working with the same algorithm as top YouTubers. If you get that one person, that perfect customer to watch you and can build a connection through advising them on something that will help them in a positive way… that's all that matters.

Keep 'Em Coming Back

The BEST thing to do to get people to come back is: Ask them.

• DO ask for them to subscribe - the ask makes them more likely to do it.
• DON'T assume if they watch your video they will subscribe.
• DON'T assume if you put a visual, without actually calling it out, they'll subscribe.

Technology is always trying to get better for the viewer and also the vlogger, but sometimes they conflict.

You have to be explicit. Lead off with it, but make it short. You don't want to spend too much time or you will lose them.

You want to keep your viewer until the end. If you get them to watch your video all the way to the end, you are considered their thought leader. So tell them what to do next, whatever the natural next step might be (i.e. subscribe, opt-in with email, or visit your site). Say it. You have to say it.

Use visuals and create features that make for a nice user experience. This also encourages more action.

Related: Want to get better at producing video? Check out this episode: https://jasonswenk.com/video-marketing/

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.

Is your agency using the Foot in the Door strategy? Are you keeping all the clients you want to? Learn the three core parts of a proven sales process that is working to renew client contracts and improve recurring revenue.

In this episode, we'll cover:

• The 3 core parts to every agency sales process.
• How to create a successful renewal process.
• How to get out of your agency so it can be a successful agency.

Today my guests are Rob Murray and Paul Demarco, cofounders of Intrigue Media, a full-service digital agency servicing B2C clients. In the 11 years they have been working together, they've grown their agency from a $50 project fee to $3 million in revenue this year. They credit their growth to a proven sales process and to always sticking with the process.

3 Core Parts of a Proven Sales Process 1- The Sales Process Itself

The key to this part is how you interact with people, i.e. your client or customer. There are two main philosophies to consider:

• Two ears, one mouth, use accordingly. Listening to your clients, let them do the majority of the talking. Ask lots of questions, your client wants to be understood.
• Avoid writing a prescription without a diagnosis; that is malpractice. You cannot properly pitch them a successful idea without understanding them.

Be mindful and open to needing help. Your sales is what drives agency growth. Rob and Paul realized early on that they couldn't afford not to get help. If you are in the same boat, then check out my Agency Sales Makeover.

2- Financial Commitment for Proposals

Traditionally, Intrigue's proposals or plans had been provided up front for free, or virtually free. However, this is where you want to implement the Foot in the Door strategy, and create a fee-based proposal that is clearly outlined. This is the first step in the direction of a long-lasting client relationship.

Proposals require work, outlining this work with your fee is totally acceptable. Intrigue's Marketing Action Plan (MAP) includes the research and education necessary to understand what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, how it will be done and creating a plan around that.

Thinking the proposal "seals the deal" is looking at it the wrong way. Charging a low, set fee will:

• Help you win the deal faster.
• Make the deal less risky.
• Provide you incentive and enjoyment through the process.
• Help make it an easier decision for the client to trust you.
• Can be a qualifier on your merit.

Using the Foot in the Door strategy will also help define the type of clients you want to be working with. If the partnership doesn't feel right, you can walk away with little loss, rather than taking on a large retainer and becoming stuck.

3- Provide a Plan that Defines Expectations

You need to develop a crystal clear plan that defines crystal clear expectations. Something like:

• "This is exactly what we are promising you."
• "This is exactly how we will go do it."

This plan needs to be shared with your CLIENT as well as your TEAM so that it can be properly executed. With this thinking, you need to make sure that the team you intend on doing the work is the team you are having scope the work up front. This can prove to be a huge win.

Creating a Successful Renewal Process

Keeping your clients satisfied can be achieved with making sure they are delighted on a regular basis. They implemented "delightful client moments," where they get to know their clients better. It's those soft touches that make the business relationship more personal.

Taking a binary look at satisfaction creates a more black & white answer:

• If they don't renew they aren't satisfied.
• If they do renew they are satisfied.

Everyone can say your stuff is great, but if they pay you for it, then you know it is great.

Using the Foot in the Door method is a stepping stone towards a 1-year retainer. A month or two before the retainer is up, bring the client back in for a renewal. This is when you go for the longer term because you have built up a relationship of trust.

How to Get Out of Your Agency So It Can Be a Successful Agency

Consider a successful business being a business that can run without you. Leave the details to the team who specialize in the details. Success is all about:

• The focus you provide for the team.
• The focus you put on the team.

Bring consistency in what they do everyday:

• Create structure inside the organization.
• Put your priorities in focus.
• Get those priorities accomplished.
• Do updates frequently so everyone is in the know.

Providing clarity and context to team members ensures that everyone knows what is going on and can roll in the same direction... sticking to the process and growing your client base.

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.

Is your agency stuck in a "best practices" rut? Are you following so-called industry best practices without seeing results? If you're in a place where excitement and momentum have puttered out and you think your agency has plateaued, you've hit what my guest calls your "crapping point" :) It's time to start asking the right questions and creating your own best practices.

In this episode we'll cover:

• Understanding your context and its three components.
• How to create your own formula for best practices.
• How to not fall into the best practices trap.

Today's guest is Jay Acunzo, is Sorry for Marketing and shares it all as a keynote speaker, blogger and host of the podcast, Unthinkable. Jay has an impressive background in the tech world and with start-ups, including a career at Google and Hubspot. He also did investing in start-ups for a firm, so his experience and insight comes from both sides of the aisle.

Jay understands the importance of asking a lot of questions, the right questions, and turning away from conventional thinking. Today he is in a fight with best practices because "it has never been easier to be average."

If you aren't seeing the results you expected and your agency has "Crapped Out," Jay is here to give us some tips on how to better find your best practices by asking the right questions so you can stand out, rather than blend in.

Understanding Your Agency's Context

Your context consists of three things:

1. Those doing the work - yourself, your agency, your team
2. Those receiving the work - your audience, the customer or client
3. Your resources - the means to make things a reality

If you find yourself asking "Why isn't this working?" don't forget to start adding the word "us" to the equation…. Such as: "Why isn't this working… for us?" The best practices that might work for one company, may not for yours because your context is different.

"Success leaves clues." ~ Tony Robbins

Success might leave clues, but it doesn't leave answers. Best practices are simply a possibility that still need to be put through the filter, that is your context and then add your details to, and find, a best practice that will work for you.

It is time to start thinking for yourself and not just following a list. You are the expert of your agency's context.

How To Create Your Own Formula for Best Practices

One word: INTUITION

We aren't talking about the gut feeling you get from emotion and running with it. We are talking about the defined word, Intuition, which has roots in Latin that mean: Knowledge from within

In other words, this circles back to knowing your stuff -- knowing your context

The best way to know your context is to make sure you are asking the right questions for the three things that make up your context, listed above, Yourself, Your Audience and Your Resources.

Visualize your intuition as a thing or tool that is on par with a list article. Understand that Intuition is that compounding return you experience from, constantly asking questions and understanding your context, and making the right call.

Trust your INTUITION.

How To Avoid the Best Practices Trap

It all starts with a shift from the desire of knowing the answer, to caring more about how to find answers. This mindshift begins with asking the right questions of your context points. Each component has two questions and we can look at it like a funnel...

The TOP Level is where all the confusion and all the excessive information is found.

Sublevel 1 - YOU

1. What is my aspirational anchor? Meaning, your intent for the future and hunger for today.
2. What is my unfair advantage? Do an audit on your team to determine strengths and figure out how to best utilize them.

Sublevel 2 - YOUR AUDIENCE

1. What is my first principle insight? Understanding your clients needs/wants and knowing what you can bring to the table to help them achieve those.
2. Who are my true believers? These are the people (even if just a few) who are passionate about what you're doing. Find your super fans.

Sublevel 3 - RESOURCES

1. What are my constraints? Is it money, size, time? Understanding these constraints will help you innovate within them.
2. How can I expand? Think big, but understand that you have to start small. Putting a lot of boxes on a field will still cover the field and can build something big

The BOTTOM Point is where you find your CLARITY.

Be the exception. By identifying and acknowledging your specific context you are in a category of ONE!

Related: Creating content that speaks to an audience of one.