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

What Do You Need to Do to Quit Losing Clients

Have you ever lost a client even though you've done great work for them? Puzzled as to why your "bad client" is so bad? This episode is all about what clients really want, from the woman who literally wrote the book. Learn all about maintaining good client relationships, how to quit losing clients, plus managing and training an amazing account service team that helps grow agency business.

In this episode, we'll cover:

• Why great work isn't enough to keep clients happy.
• What clients actually want from their agency.
• 3 ways to make agency clients' lives easier.
• Hiring and managing a team that grows your agency.

There's no such thing as a bad agency client... only a bad prospect or a bad process. In this episode my guest, Chantell Glenville, goes in depth on the bad agency processes that are killing your business. Chantell spent a number of years working both the client side and agency side of the business. She's the author of best-selling book "What Clients Really Want (And the Sh*t that Drives Them Crazy), the first of it's kind written from the client's perspective.

Why Great Work Isn't Enough

Chantell says over the span of her career on both sides of the business in agencies of varying size and specialties she witnessed lots of breakdown in communication between agency team and clients. There seemed to be a common thread among them. A breakdown in client relationships is what gets an agency fired - even when they're killing in with great work. So how do you quit losing clients and maintain good relationships?

So, What *DO* Clients Want?

Of course they want great creative, innovation and the expertise of the agency. But here's the part no one tells us… Clients want their agency to make their lives easier and to not make their lives harder.

[clickToTweet tweet="Agency Acct Service Golden Rule: Make your clients lives easier. Do not make your clients lives harder. " quote="Agency Account Service Golden Rule: Make your clients lives easier. Do not make your clients lives harder. "]

The problem is, agencies usually make the assumption that a new client starts at level zero on the unhappiness scale. We assume the client's life is already relatively easy, when in fact they might already be at a -3 or -4 on the scale. Then we end up inadvertently doing things that tip the scale and make their lives even harder.

3 Ways Agencies Can Make Clients' Lives Easier

1- Understand the client's work life. What pressures are they under? Who do they report to and what is their supervisor's work style? What is the structure of their day? If possible, go to their office and shadow them for a day to see what they "normal" looks like. Then adjust your style in a way that makes all things easier.

You might be surprised at what you learn when you get a glimpse into their world. (Especially if you've never worked client-side.) For example, if a large part of the client's day is spent in meetings, it explains why you don't get a quick reply to your "urgent" emails. So ask them if it's OK to text them first when you're sending something urgent. Figure out what makes the client's life easier - without making it harder.

2- Pay attention to detail. If your client is often pressed for time but feels like you aren't good at details that just creates extra work for them. Double and triple checking your work piles more on their to-do list. And, it is the exact opposite of making their life easier! If you're client feels like they're always catching your mistakes and needs to inspect every aspect of your work it adds an unnecessary amount of suckiness in their day.

For example, if your client has to send your work for a round of revisions based on things the agency missed, it negatively affects the agency by eating hours. However, think about it from the client's point of view. It also adds another round of proofing for them, which eats hours into their day and… makes their life harder!

3- Ask them. Be direct and ask how you can make their life easier. Then alter your work style to accommodate their needs - if you're more of an email person and they're more of a phone call person, adjust accordingly to service their needs. Find out the easiest and preferred method of communication by asking them. Ask how much advance notice they need for approvals and sign-offs. Who else needs to sign off? Should you include that person on your emails, as well? Who else gives input on projects? How can you help simplify that process so your client isn't chasing their own internal approvals?

Another tip - consider using automation to on-board for new clients, then follow-up with human contact. Use automated emails to set expectations and establish workflow. However, always be sure there is a human for your client to connect with.

How to Hire & Manage a Team that Grows Your Agency

Chantell says the best AM's are not only creative and organized but they also have a vast amount of empathy. Really amazing account people can put themselves in the client's shoes and then adapt accordingly.

At my agency, I liked to say Account Managers are "client ambassadors". They should consider themselves an extension of the client's team; always thinking and acting in the best interest of the client. Account Managers should know and understand their client's business and financial goals and objectives. They should know their clients problems and challenges in order to offer solutions.

In order to nurture client relationships and grow agency business, it's up the account manager to communicate with the agency team. It can be hard for the rest of the team to know what's going outside of a specific project. Meet regularly with your account managers to look at the broad scope of the client's business and collaborate on big picture ideas.

Last, make sure your Account Managers feel empowered to present ideas to clients. Not just ideas that serve the agency, but any ideas that show care and passion for the client's business. AM's should know their client's better than they know themselves. They should have a pulse on the industry and the competition. Set up Google alerts and be aware of what's trending in their business even before they are… be client ambassador in every sense.

Quit Losing Clients: Defining Team Roles That Keep Clients Happy Sales Team vs. Account Manager

Chantell says the best flow, in favor of the client, is to keep everyone involved but within their specific silo. That means the Salesperson doesn't just "hand off" a client to an Account Manager. It's a risky decision and makes the client feel like a commodity. Instead, have Sales involve the AM in strategy and planning meetings right off the bat. Let them gain trust and credibility, then gradually amp up the account person's involvement while backing off the Sales involvement and quit losing clients.

Account Manager vs. Project Manager

Chantell also says it's not a good idea to overlap duties and have the same person act as Account Manager and Project Manager. When you mix the roles it's easy to miss opportunities for growth and added value. Typically, someone who's good at one role is not good at the other. PM's are task-oriented and like to feel accomplished. They're in it for the short term. They are super organized and like to see a project from start to finish, which is good for the agency but not necessarily good for finding new business opportunities. AM's are best at nurturing and growing relationships. They're best at the long-haul and the big picture.

Cashflow or Bookkeeping Issues?

FreshBooks is the solution with their ridiculously easy­-to-­use cloud accounting software for agencies. Freshbooks helps you work smarter and become more organized. Most importantly, it gets you paid quicker.

Check out FreshBooks.com/SmartAgency and enter SMARTAGENCY in the "How Did You Hear About Us?" section for a FREE 30-day, unrestricted trial.

More Advice to Build the Best Agency

Now that you know how to quit losing clients, what are you other hurdles within your agency? When trying to grow or make the best decisions for your business, it can be challenging and I hope you found this advice beneficial and it helps you with any of your concerns.

No matter if you are considering selling your digital agency or you want to grow your agency to the next level, knowing how to adapt will make you a better agency owner. I cover all topics from how to increasing traffic to your agency website to who you should hire to grow your agency team and more to help you kick your team into action.

You can check out all my tips, tricks and insights in my blog covering a wide variety of topics including more about client relationships, tips on what to avoid to quit losing clients as well as answering your questions in more from my Ask Swenk series.

Are videos more your thing? You can check out more of my videos on my Youtube channel for advice from myself and other agency experts.

Legal Protection: Which Areas of Your Agency Need It?

It's not a matter of if but when a legal issue arises for your agency, are you prepared? My guest today is an Intellectual Property attorney who focuses on helping marketing agencies with their legal protection to ensure all aspects of their agency stays protected.

In this episode, we'll cover:

• What legal mistakes to avoid.
• Which areas of your agency need legal protection.
• 3 contract loopholes you need to watch for.

Your agency's biggest asset (other than your team, of course) is your intellectual property. This episode features Sharon Toerek, attorney at Toerek Law and founder of Legal+Creative. Sharon shares the processes to have in place in order to cover your ASS(ets). :) As an attorney specializing in marketing agency law, Sharon tells us exactly what mistakes to avoid and how to plan for potential sticky situations.

2 Big Mistakes to Avoid

According to Sharon, one the biggest mistakes she sees from marketing agencies is not understanding, undervaluing and not protecting their intellectual property. Everything your agency touches, does or creates is intellectual property. This is the product you're selling. It's absolutely imperative to adequately protect it.

The other common mistake is not having a process in place for the occasion when (not "if") a legal situation arises. Issues such as: freelancer management, client contracts, brand protection and copywriting/social media content compliance can cause friction. The absence of a process for these things can make it even worse.

Areas that Need Legal Protection

Legal protection for your agency is so important and Sharon has identified 6 legal silos every agency should be concerned with; she covers 3 of them for us:

New Business: Whether you do a lot of pitches or not, at some point you must show your hand in order to land new clients. Agencies need to know how to protect themselves from the potential of a client taking their ideas to a competitor or in-house.

Solution: Avoid having your work stolen by having a non-disclosure agreement in place, or intellectual property and copyright notices in your proposal.

Contracts: Somewhere along the way, the word "contract" got a bad rap. People don't like the stigma around contracts because they fear breaking them or wanting out. Sharon says a contract is simply a written set of promises both parties agree upon. Contracts are a MUST. Run away from any client who doesn't want to sign one.

Solution: Have a contract template, non-disclosure agreement, MSA or statement of work. Even if you end up using the client's contract forms, having your own and knowing it's contents will make you a smarter negotiator in the end.

Freelancers: With the ebbs and flows of agency workflow there's often the need for freelancers. Managing the relationships and expectations with your freelancers is an area that can require special attention.

Solution: Be sure you have a strong independent contractor agreement in place that protect both parties, as well as a non-disclosure agreement.

3 Client Contract Loopholes to Close

In the event that a client requires you to sign their contract (instead of them signing yours), it's super important to make sure it's mutually beneficial. After reviewing hundreds of client-generated contracts, Sharon has identified some common areas to watch for:

1. Intellectual Property Provisions

These assets are your biggest form of capital but often times client-generated contracts provide for ownership by the client upon creation. Sharon tells agencies to protect themselves by allowing your intellectual property to transfer ownership to the client upon approval and payment. When you legally turnover assets before receiving payment, you're essentially giving way your leverage for payment.

2. Liability and Indemnification Provisions

In most client's contracts, they hold the agency responsible and liable for all outcomes. However, sometimes the outcome is reliant on information provided by the client. The agency should only be held liable for what they do, make and create. Even better, hold the agency only liable for gross negligence or purposeful wrongdoing and cap limits to the amount the client paid or to the amount of your insurance policy.

And speaking of insurance… Errors and Omissions coverage is necessary, no matter how small your agency may be. It's typically very reasonable to add this coverage and can save you tons of headaches down the road.

3. Payment terms

First of all, make sure you have the right payment terms. (Hint: it's not 50% upfront and 50% upon completion!) Next, make sure phrasing in the contract protects your agency and gets you paid in a timely manner. Sharon has reviewed contracts which promise payment after the invoice is approved. This means you could be waiting months for someone to approve an invoice. No way! Check that contracts clear and fair payment terms.

Protect your agency from the liability of missed deadlines. Be sure there is language in the contract that allows for charging rush fees and passing along costs associated with delays caused by the client's inaction.

Being aware of these areas will make you a better negotiator. It will also help you resolve an issue more smoothly when (not "if") one arises. Having the right documents and processes is the only way to do it. You can check out the agency documents I used here.

Cashflow or Bookkeeping Issues?

FreshBooks is the solution. FreshBooks makes ridiculously easy­ to ­use cloud accounting software for agencies. Using it will help you work smarter, become more organized, and most importantly, get you paid quicker.

Check out FreshBooks.com/SmartAgency and enter SMARTAGENCY in the "How Did You Hear About Us?" section for a FREE 30-day, unrestricted trial.

Next Level Digital Agency

Ensuring you have legal protection for every aspect of your digital agency not only protects you as the owner and your team but also prevents stress and financial issues in the future.

To create the best business possible, you need to look at your agency in the bigger picture to find your strong areas as well as weak spots and then think of how you can fix them. No matter what challenge your agency is facing, I can help you get through all of it.

Through my experience running my own digital agency and helping other digital agency owners, there are many topics I can offer guidance whether you are an established agency facing struggles to new agencies unsure of what the different phases of growth you will experience will look like.

Growing your agency team can also be a major struggle for any agency owner and I can show from knowing when it's time to hire a sales manager or expand your sales team to perfecting your business strategy with creating a process for performance based pricing and how to keep your big name clients happy.

Are you ready to create something cool and want more advice? Learn about my career and different experiences as well as tips, tricks and insights by checking out my blogs that cover a wide variety of topics.

Check out more from my Ask Swenk series and more of my videos on my Youtube channel. There you will find advice from myself and other agency experts.

Budget and time. In any digital agency or even business for that matter, these are a couple of aspects you need to always keep in the forefront of your priorities both internally and with clients. So here's a question for you. Does your team understand the budget and it's limitations that you set on a project? Do you have a hard time getting your team to stick to the client's budget and timing? In this episode of Ask Swenk, I take you through a couple of key points of thing to do to get your team on board of maintaining budget limits that have been set. And most of all, ensure your agency can save time and make more money while doing so. {0:21} Matthew asked: "We have trouble with the creative people on our production team staying within budget on projects. Any ideas on how to keep them accountable for budgets and timelines? I have tried everything I can think of with no luck." Pricing Correctly From the Very Beginning. This can doom the project from the beginning if done incorrectly and this can be improved with looking at the time it will take to complete the project. By adding buffers to your time, it gives you that space to provide a better service and achieve it under budget. Bad Processes If you don't have the correct processes and systems set in place with your different teams can cost the project for a client. Without clear communication systems between the client, the project manager and the team, this will add on time and cause you to go over budget. Incentives By providing the different teams and project managers within your agency a set goal of completing a project under time and under budget with the incentive of a percentage of that project profit or a salary bonus, this will encourage them to work within their limits and get the job done. By using these points, your team will adapt how they work moving forward ultimately benefitting your agency.

Another one of my episodes in this series that relates to the topic of this of agency teams and finance can be found here.

You can also find more of my Ask Swenk series as well as my other videos by checking out my Youtube channel!

Stop Doing Things You Suck At & Improve Your Team Leading Skills

Want to improve your team leading skills? Just can't stop doing the things you're no good at? If you're looking to break through the plateau of running a solo agency, this episode is for you.

Today's guest is Pia Larson is the Chief Imagination Officer of Fingerprint Marketing, the digital agency she founded ten years ago. Pia shares stories and lessons learned about successfully building and leading her team.

In this episode, we'll cover:

• Solutions to 3 challenges every agency owner faces.
• The difference between being a leader and being a boss.
• How to stop doing the things you suck at.

3 Challenges Every Agency Owner Faces + Their Solution

1. Are you constantly chasing clients? The agency business is about relationships. And Pia says her company vision included long term clients. However she felt like she was always chasing the next client, which left her no time to build relationships with existing ones. When you can't focus on current clients and make them feel special, they have no sense of loyalty.

2. Do you try to do everything yourself? As an entrepreneur we're wired to wear many hats - even if something you don't know or haven't learned. One of Pia's big challenges was the time of suck of educating herself in areas she didn't know, like SEO or copywriting. (She's a designer by trade.)

3. Do you find yourself doing things you hate or suck at? Lots of business owners end up doing things outside their wheelhouse because they don't think anyone else can do it better. That's a pretty common mindset but truthfully you're standing in your own way.

The solution to ALL these challenges is to add to your team. If you're a one-person show, you really can't grow and scale without hiring. When you ignore your gut and hold off on hiring, you're actually sabotaging your potential for growth. You're at max capacity - it's time to bring in some help.

Pia says she dragged her feet for a year on hiring, but when she resigned to it and hired two people she saw results within a week. She admits there's huge risk when you hire… What if they don't work out? What if you can't keep them busy? What if clients don't like them? What if you can't pay them? BUT, the payoff is so much greater than the risks.

Team Leading: How to Be a Leader, Not Just a Boss

Once you commit to hiring, you'll will discover a shift in your role and focus. But you'll also have a new role as a leader.

Being a leader is not the same as being a boss. I like to tell my clients, if you're their biggest cheerleader your team is more likely to walk out on a limb for you, even if they're afraid it will break, because they know you'll catch them. Team leading is different to leading a business.

Pia has experienced the same over the last decade running her agency. Rather than dictate decisions and responsibilities, she likes to find the special talents and gifts within her staff and nurture it. She has had great results by asking people what they want to do, versus telling them what they have to do. This management style gets a great response and can be very motivating.

How to Stop Doing Things You Suck At

It starts with self-awareness. You need to have an 'ah ha' moment when you realize what you DO want and DO NOT want to be doing. It means taking a good, hard look at your skill set and being honest with yourself about what you enjoy doing.

Then, make a "No List" and tell yourself these are the things you aren't going to do anymore. Next: eliminate, delegate or automate tasks on the No List.

Whatever you suck at - eliminate, delegate or automate.

Pia took it a step further by asking her mom and childhood friends to tell her the attributes and characteristics they remember about her as a child. She says she got some really great insight into her strengths by taking this approach, then applied it to her role in the agency.

#1 Tip For Dealing with Bad Clients

First of all, there are no bad clients - just bad prospects or bad processes.

But every once in awhile a bad one does sneak in. Usually bad clients are just bullies with a budget. If you're being treated poorly, it's not worth it - cut them loose.

Pia is competitive by nature. However, when she let her guard down and accepted that there's plenty of new business out there for every agency it opened her agency up to a ton of new opportunities.

Being able to turn down business is a major milestone. In addition to your formal qualification process, you should also interview prospective clients. Prospects aren't the only people who should be asking questions in an initial meeting :)

Cashflow or Bookkeeping Issues?

FreshBooks is the solution. FreshBooks makes ridiculously easy­ to ­use cloud accounting software for agencies that will help you work smarter, become more organized, and most importantly, get you paid quickly.

Check out FreshBooks.com/SmartAgency and enter SMARTAGENCY in the "How Did You Hear About Us?" section for a FREE 30-day, unrestricted trial.

Build Your Agency Authority

I hope this has given you an insight into improving your team leading skills, how to face challenges that may come your way and how to stop doing things you suck at. Have you taken the time to see what other challenges you are facing within your agency? Now is also a great time to step back and look at other processes that need attention. No matter what challenge your agency is facing, I can help you get through all of it.

There are many topics I can give advice on from what to do when you want to speed up sales processes to how you can build authority for your agency.

Growing your agency can be a major struggle for any agency owner and I can show you the different phases of growth you will experience, how placing a process for performance based pricing can be the best pricing strategy for your business and the three questions you need to ask yourself to sell more!

Want more? Learn about my career and different experiences as well as tips, tricks and insights by checking out my blogs that cover a wide variety of topics.

Check out more from my Ask Swenk series and more of my videos on my Youtube channel. There you will find advice from myself and other agency experts.

Do you have a hard time marketing your marketing agency because you're too close to it? Do you question your own branding and creative, even though you do a killer job of it for your clients? You're not alone.

Here's how you can step outside of your business, market to the right clients and really crush it in sales!

{1:07) Rob asked: "I'm really struggling with marketing my own agency. We are crushing it with clients but when it comes to marketing my company we get smashed in the face by a huge wall.

I've started the process again looking to re-design my website, create e-books and automate emails but then I get to a point where I've got a finished design and I start to doubt everything before finally hating it.

I'm now considering outsourcing it to a close friend with their own agency in another town... Any thoughts on overcoming this?"

Marketing Your Own Marketing Agency

First and foremost, don't create e-books.

It's hard to look at your agency outside the box of your marketing agency but one step that can help you with promoting your business it to take a good, hard look at your audience. Knowing your audience and understanding what they want, you can create a list of what they want, what problems they are facing and then think of what they want most/biggest challenge makes them feel.

Don't position yourself as the star in someone else's story in your marketing because if your visitor feels like a sidekick to your Batman, they aren't going to feel important. Always position your client as the star and turn the focus on them.

Demonstrate your methodology to your audience and how you will walk them through it. It shows your prospect that you have a plan on how you can give them what they want and to provide a solution to their problems. This will help take your agency to the next level.

You find more of my Ask Swenk series by clicking here or why not visit my Youtube channel for more of the series and lots more videos that can help you as an agency owner improve your business.

How DigitalMarketer Increased Traffic by 1125%

Do you think your content strategy is the obstacle in brining increased traffic to your agency's website?

If your agency's content marketing strategy is blogging - and just blogging - you've got to catch this episode. My guest is Russ Henneberry, Editorial Director at DigitalMarketer and he's here to tell us how he has increased traffic on their front end by 1125%. That's not a typo - you read it right - 1125%!!!

In this episode, we'll cover:

• How you can enjoy increased traffic with a content strategy.
• The 3 elements to a successful content marketing funnel.
• How to uncover your marketing agency's black box.

Russ is All-Pro at the content marketing game. Prior to working at DigitalMarketer, he was on the content team at Salesforce.com. He also launched a blog for a well-known marketing SaaS where he grew visitors from 0 to 120,000/month in under a year.

Content is where it's at in digital marketing. The problem is too many people think content just means random blogging. Russ says the solution to is to create your content with purpose and strategy behind it. A successful content funnel will carry your prospect through the various stages of their buying decision. There are three levels to an effective content funnel: Awareness on top, Evaluation at middle, Conversion on bottom.

Content that Raises Awareness

According the Russ, the very first step in a great content marketing strategy begins with prospect awareness. They must become aware there's a problem. Then they need to be aware that your agency's service offering is the solution. To create content that raises awareness and increased traffic, ask yourself:

• What do I need prospects to believe or what doubts do they have?
• What do my prospects need to understand, learn or know before they'll work us?
• What objections might the prospects have to working with us?
• What are my prospects researching prior to hiring an agency?

When you figure all this out you can create all your content around the answers. And remember to be specific - speak to your niche using industry-specific words and phrases. Successful content marketing makes the reader/viewer feel as though it was created specifically for them. Therefore, speak to an audience of one to really nail it.

Content that raises awareness should educate, entertain and inspire so vehicles for this type of content include: blog posts, social media updates, infographics, photos, e-books, podcasts.

Content for Evaluation

This type of content is a level down from Awareness content and is useful for helping a prospect decide between their options. When a prospect is considering working with your agency, this type of content helps facilitate the decision. Prospects have choices and your obligation is to educate on the pros and cons of those choices. Evaluation content should answer things like:

• How does your agency stack up against the competition?
• What are the consequences if the prospect chooses not to solve the problem at all?
• How will working with your agency differ from solving the problem in-house?

Your responsibility with this type of content is to weigh the options and help facilitate a decision. It's important to be honest and fair with these content pieces because they aren't smarmy sales content. You can use a lead magnet or opt-in, or even retargeting to drive back to your site. The goal is to give your prospect the opportunity to re-evaluate your process compared to their other options. Another effective strategy for Evaluation content is a testimonial where someone walks through the before, during and after process of working with your agency.

Some great vehicles for this type of content is lead magnets such as: educational resources (case study, white paper, etc), useful resources (swipe file, checklist, templates, etc.), webinars and live events.

Content that Converts

So now it's sale time. What do you need to do or say to tip the scale in your favor? Content that Converts is the final piece. It's all about making them feel good about signing with your agency. Things like customer stories with results, webinars, live events, mini classes and a great Foot in the Door offer all make great Conversion content.

To create this type of content, you'll need to ask yourself: "what's missing?". Russ says every business has a Black Box that causes mystery or confusion. Creating content that solves the mystery is the final element in a successful content marketing strategy. The key is uncovering our your agency's black box and eliminating the problem.

How to Uncover Your Agency's Black Box

You're too close to identify it right away but it's there, and mystery and confusion are the #1 things that hinder conversion. When a prospect leaves your site with questions or confusion that is a lost opportunity. They will ultimately go to a competitor, do the work in-house or do nothing. So ask yourself: "what's missing?" then create content that fills that hole.

Ready to Discover the Best Agency Strategies Working Today?

Most agency owners struggle to scale. We've developed an amazing mastermind to guide you through the journey of implementing the right systems so you can scale your agency — instead of feeling overwhelmed by it.

We do this by bringing together successful agency leaders to share strategies, offer advice, and reveal what's working (and what's not working) in their agency. The truth is, whatever you want to accomplish in life, nothing will help you go further, faster than getting the right adviser in the context of motivated peers. If you want to GROW fast and smart, Digital Agency Elite mastermind will help.

Cashflow or Bookkeeping Issues?

FreshBooks is the solution. FreshBooks makes ridiculously easy­ to ­use cloud accounting software for agencies that will help you work smarter, become more organized, and most importantly, get you paid quickly.

Check out FreshBooks.com/SmartAgency and enter SMARTAGENCY in the "How Did You Hear About Us?" section for a FREE 30-day, unrestricted trial.

Need More Advice?

So we've taken a closer look at ways of improving your content strategy for increased traffic to gain that exposure and lead building for your business but what other advice do you need right now?

To improve your agency, you should take a step back and really look struggles you need to focus on to improve your business. I have all you need to get through these obstacles.

I have advice to share with you from gaining agency exposure in the news, how to build authority for your agency or even ways to use facebook marketing strategies to expand your brand awareness. If growth is your focus, I've discussed the four phases of growth within your agency and how website issues could be holding your business back from reach your potential.

You can learn more about my life and my experience as well as lots of tips, tricks and insights by reading my blogs that cover a wide variety of topics.

If videos are more your thing, did you know I have a Youtube channel?

You can check out more from my Ask Swenk series and more of my videos on my Youtube channel. There you will find advice from myself and other agency experts.

You aren't alone if you've considered transitioning into a SaaS company; or launching a separate company to sell SaaS. The challenge is educating your team, your clients and yourself on how to go about it.

In this episode, we'll cover:

• Reasons why you might want to develop a SaaS product.
• 4 steps to developing and launching a SaaS company.
• How to roll out your SaaS product and transition your agency.

If you're thinking about developing or selling a SaaS product, this is the episode for you. My guest is Ethan Denney, founder and CEO of ConvertFlow. Ethan took his company from a service-oriented digital agency to a product-focused SaaS company. He shares the story of his agency's transition including the steps he took to get there.

Why develop a SaaS product?

As a digital agency, Ethan's company was focused on driving site traffic and lead generation. However, they found many clients needed site redesigns and lot of other, deeper services were more involved. These issues often decreased profitability and increased the sales cycle. (Not to mention that it created a major time suck.) Clients were not seeing results right away and Ethan's agency was having difficulty proving their value right away.

In order to solve this issue they created a product that would provide more immediate value and shorten their sales cycle. It would also deliver faster results and more ROI to their clients. This cleared the way for ConvertFlow to charge on value and increase their profits.

Transitioning from digital agency to SaaS company

Often times the logistics of a product business sound much more appealing than a service business, am I right? Product companies have fixed costs, shorter engagement periods, and higher profit margins. But the grass is not always greener on the other side.

"The grass is greener on the side you water."

Cashing in your digital agency and replacing with a productized company is not for everyone. In order to do be successful, it's got to be done right. Ethan cautions us - it didn't happen overnight and it wasn't easy.

4 BIG steps to developing a SaaS company:

1- Determine your agency's core service. Then figure out what's keeping you from doing it. What obstacles do you face? For Ethan's agency it was cumbersome site redesigns that were keeping them from driving traffic and generating leads for their clients.

2- Develop a solution. Once you've identified what's keeping you from doing what you love doing, play around with possible solutions. Look at it from all angles. What solution can you create to will solve these issues for you or eliminate the obstacles?

3- Decide on the goal for your tool. Will you keep this solution in your arsenal and have it be your competitive advantage? Or will you sell this tool as a stand alone product? There isn't a right answer - in fact, it's a very individual decision.

4- Strategically launch your solution. In Ethan's case, they chose to rollout a product-based solution to their clients that would be a shorter engagement and allow clients to see more immediate value. This included a multi-step launch to their existing digital agency clients.

Rolling out SaaS for your Digital Agency

As Ethan's agency developed more of the productize business they were able to use it as a low-end "icebreaker" service. They discovered that charging $1,500 - $2,000, they were earning steady recurring revenue. Other benefits are a shorter sales cycle and shorter engagement period with new clients.

Transitioning bigger, long term clients took a little longer and a bit more thoughtful strategy. Digital agency service clients were first transitioned to a productized service where the product was introduced to the client but managed by the agency. Eventually, they transitioned those clients from a productized service to a product they could manage themselves.

Overall, Ethan is thrilled with the entire transition. Now, ConvertFlow is able to concentrate on doing what they love, without getting weighed down by doing the necessary stuff they don't love.

Analytics Software to Boost Your Business

Klipfolio is a tool that is helping agencies continuously monitor and report analytics. Define KPI's based on your preferences and filters in this cloud-based software. With 50+ built-in marketing metrics, you can create a dashboard for yourself and your clients which can be viewed on desktop, mobile or old-fashioned PDF.

For a limited time, Klipfolio has a special deal for my listeners. Get a FREE TRIAL and an amazing offer just for The Smart Agency Master Class listeners at Klipfolio.com/SmartAgency.

Are You Ready to Learn More?

If you are looking for advice with your current agency or learning how to start your own digital agency, I can help.

Find lots of tips, tricks and insights by reading my blogs that cover a wide variety of topics. And if videos are more your thing, you can check out the videos on my Youtube channel!

How to fire yourself from a key role in the business and transition from Agency Owner to Agency CEO. You built your business on skill and passion. You're the best at a certain aspect of it and giving that up can be really difficult. I can totally relate! Here's how to say 'yes' to the right things and 'no' to the wrong things so you can scale.

Lisa asked: "In the Agency Playbook, I watched the video on leadership where you outline the roles of an agency owner. Creative direction was not on that list.

Here's the thing -- and I'm not being arrogant -- but my company has grown because I'm best at being creative. I've experimented with backing off on smaller projects. But it's obvious the projects I work on are more creative and innovative than the ones I don't touch.

My question is, how do I successfully back out of the Creative Director role and shift into the (boring but important) role of a CEO? Or should I stay in the Creative Director role since my agency relies on my talent for it's success?"

I relate to this question as in the beginning, I was always the most creative person. It's challenging for a client to tell you what they want until they see it but this isn't scalable. To fix this, you need to set up a process and document the process from the beginning of a project for your team to follow along.

You should figure out a system if you are going to continue in your role or if not, find the next person you feel will suit the role and find what suits you best.

Did You Enjoy This Week's Episode on How to Become an Agency CEO?

Find more of my Ask Swenk series by clicking here or why not visit my Youtube channel for more of the series and lots more videos that can help you as an agency owner improve your business.

If you're struggling to build the agency or creating the agency vision that you want or having issues taking it to the next level, it could be a lack of clarity.

In this episode, we'll cover:

• #1 Struggle of building an agency team
• How to create and communicate your agency vision
• An on boarding process that sets expectations from day one.

Today's guest on the show is Danny Gonzalez, co-founder of Perception, the digital agency he and his partner built over the past fifteen years. Danny talks about how they communicate their vision in order to attract and keep top agency talent.

You've probably seen some of Perception's work if you've watched Iron Man 2 or Batman vs. Superman. They're the team responsible for the fictitious technology your favorite superheroes use. They also develop real-world tech solutions (for us non-superhero types), such as UX and UI designs for automotive and technology companies. Pretty cool, right?

#1 Struggle of Building a Team

The most difficult thing about building a team is getting your established clients to trust them. When you operate solo or as a partnership for a long time, your clients are accustomed to leaning on you. Although when you're growing it becomes necessary to hire. The challenge is getting your existing clients to transfer their trust in you to your new team.

"Hiring the right people frees you up to concentrate on building the business instead of spending time in the weeds."

The key is to start slow. It takes time to educate your current clients and have them accept a reorganization. Be sure display complete confidence in your new hires and over time your clients will feel it too.

With new clients, it's much easier. Get your team involved from the start. Let go of your need to be involved. Assure the client that you are available if there's an urgent need or large scale issue but their day-to-day contact is super capable of handling everything.

How to Create and Communicate Agency Vision

For the first few years, it was just Danny and his partner. But as they started growing and hiring, they began making notes about what they wanted for their company - expectations, culture, values and goals. With an agency name of "Perception", for them it is all about internal and external perception and the senses.

Eventually these bullet point notes of expectations, values and vision turned into a handbook. The handbook is given to new hire candidates before they're even hired. It includes "rules" things like:

• We don't bullsh*t each other.
• We don't shoot down each other's ideas.

As well as the lifecycle of a project with a variety of scenarios that lead to different actions: "If this happens, then do X. If that happens, then do Y."

This is definitely something that has evolved over time and it's only one part of Perception's on boarding process.

In my interview with a Zappos executive, she described their process for communicating Zappos Core Values. As a result, Zappos has increased productivity and creativity, reduced turnover and sick time and has topped many Best Workplaces Lists for several years.

On Boarding Process That Sets Expectations from Day 1

In addition to receiving the handbook, the partners give new hires their "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" presentation. They walk through past projects, clients and situation to go over what went right, what went wrong, what was learned and why sometimes you just have to walk away (that's the ugly stuff :) )

Other aspects of on boarding include communicating very role-specific expectations. Setting very clear expectations from the start also sets your team up for success.

Analytics Software to Boost Your Business

Klipfolio is a tool that is helping agencies continuously monitor and report analytics. Define KPI's based on your preferences and filters in this cloud-based software. With 50+ built-in marketing metrics, you can create a dashboard for yourself and your clients which can be viewed on desktop, mobile or old-fashioned PDF.

For a limited time, Klipfolio has a special deal for my listeners. Get a FREE TRIAL and an amazing offer just for The Smart Agency Master Class listeners at Klipfolio.com/SmartAgency.

Creating the Best Agency Possible With Your Agency Vision

Creating the agency vision you aspire to will allow you to create the best agency possible moving forward. To maintain this high level of authority and your reputation as an agency owner, you should review if there are other weaknesses within your agency that are causing challenges that need to be resolved.

Don't worry, i'm here for all the advice you need.

From my own experience running my own digital agency as well as helping other digital agency owners, I can provide advice on many topics. It can be anything from changes you want to make within your established agency or if you are a new agency, you might be unsure of what the different phases of growth will look like. These are just a few topics I can give guidance on.

If it's not the agency itself but your agency team, don't worry as I have you covered. Growing your agency team, I can show you how to recognise when to expand your sales team to perfecting your business strategy with creating a process for performance based pricing as well as keeping big clients happy.

Ready to create something cool and want more advice? Learn about my career and different experiences as well as tips, tricks and insights by checking out my blogs that cover a wide variety of topics. Or if videos are more your thing, visit my Youtube channel!

Today I'm answering some great questions about taking a one-man, or very small agency to the next level. Here's some great advice for building your business and agency scaling to a sustainable level and creating the role you want to be in.

Agency Scaling: From One-Man to Next Level

{0:22} Jeff asked: "I'm currently offering: site design, development and support, SEO, hosting/domain management, digital marketing, social media management, email marketing and some video production. First, I know that's a LOT to offer as a one man shop. Most of this has grown organically from WP website clients who asked for additional services. What advice do you have for me as one person who is building this business and doing all the work?

• Is partnering with white labels a good move? If so, how have you done that?
• Is outsourcing a better move? If so, how did you get started with outsourcing?
• Given that I'm on a tight budget, is there ONE software platform I should buy for marketing and running my own business? Something you just can't do without?"

Software/tools mentioned in the video include: Infusionsoft, Freshbooks and Wave.

Tired of Being Restricted in the Career Path You're On?

Are you the owner of a small agency under $300,000? Or a freelancer, marketing professional or agency employee who thinks you can run your own agency better?

Jump Start My Agency is a program that covers everything you need to start a profitable agency and land high paying clients of over $20,000.

This 4 week course is designed to help you find the ideal clients, charge what you're worth and learn how to build a team.

There are clients waiting to work with you! Let me help you by requesting an invitation to the program.

Growing Your Digital Agency

If you found this video helpful but are searching for more advice especially looking to get your business to that next level, I can help.

You can find lots of tips, tricks and insights by checking out our insightful blogs that cover a wide variety of topics or if videos are more your thing, visit my videos on my Youtube channel!