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

Do you really need to have a big agency experience to truly be successful as an agency owner?

In this episode, we'll cover:

• What it's like working at a big agency.
• Why a CCO would leave a large, publicly traded agency.
• Does size matter?
• How you can determine your purpose and use it to build your brand.

For anyone who has questions or doubts in their own abilities to startup a digital agency and run better than the big dogs, you'll have to check out this interview. My guest, Kerri Konik, has worked at some pretty huge agencies, and left her latest as Chief Creative Officer in order to start her own agency. She tells us what it's like at the big agencies and why she left to do her own thing.

The grass isn't any greener at the big agencies… it's greener on the side that you water:)

What it's like at a big agency (...and why leave)?

After years of working at big agencies Kerri started her agency, Brandscape Atelier, five years ago because she felt like she wasn't making much of an impact on her clients' businesses.

Like anything else, there's pros and cons, of course. First and foremost the resources are top-notch. You have a team full of people who are experts in their specific area - people don't wear more than one hat. This means, you can learn a lot and get exposure to the big picture. However, big agencies tend to sound very glamorous when in actuality, they are not. Sure a big agency can be very fast paced and they land 2-3 year agency of record contracts, however there are too many layers to be effective. A typical client/agency meeting often included 18-20 people… making execution very inefficient.

Kerri left because she felt like she wasn't making much of an impact on her clients' businesses. She started Brandscape Atelier (translation: "artist workshop") to bring sophisticated, big agency strategies to small businesses who are looking to grow.

Does size matter?

No it does not. You don't need a huge team to do amazing work. Kerri's agency operates with just six core team members and they bring in subject matter specialists as needed. They are in their 5th year and Kerri has no plans to get too big. She feels it's too difficult to be nimble when you are too big.

More benefits of staying small:

• You make decisions based on the long term. Large corporations look at making growth decisions based on the short term, which doesn't have lasting effects for sustainability.
• You can turn down the wrong clients or wrong jobs that distract from your long term goals.
• You can make build your brand equity by defining your purpose. Why you do what you do.

How to select clients that set you up for a WIN.

Brandscape Atelier works with startups, small businesses and entrepreneurs that are looking to grow and be competitive with bigger brands. They have a pretty specific criteria on who they will (and will not) work with, including:

1. Businesses that are focused and clear. They want to work with clients who want to make a big impact in their industry.
2. Businesses the agency views as viable and sellable.
3. Businesses the agency can bring to life by bringing the owner's unique and genuine personality into the mix.

Set yourself up for a WIN by being selective in your prospecting. It's hard when you're starting out - sometimes you are hungry enough to take on any work that is thrown your way. If you can avoid making decisions based on short term gain, you will reap long term benefits.

Remember: There's no such thing as a bad client. Only a bad prospect or a had process! Click here to learn what I mean.

How can you determine your purpose?

In Kerri's case, she kept finding herself beginning a lot of sentences with with "Someday, I'll..." She realized she had gotten to a point where she wasn't really doing what she wanted to be doing. She was just waiting for that "someday."

If you want to find your purpose, figure out what you're passion about. Ask yourself questions like:

• "What can't I help doing?"
• "What do I want to see more of in the world?"
• "What do I want to see less of in the world?"

Sometimes it's easier to start with what you don't want to do, then narrow down to what you DO want to do :) Use your findings to position your agency (and yourself) for success. When you're working on something that moves and inspires you, it also empowers you to be successful.

Bottom line is, you do not need big agency experience to be a successful owner. My best advice is to stay in the game of learning. Stay on top of trends and technology and avoid being viewed as a commodity by your clients by continuing to take your level of knowledge and service up a notch.

No matter what your size, there are five levels of agency service - check out another interview about them here. Comment below and tell me which level of service you provide? Which one are you be striving for?

Building Your Agency

I have more than likely experienced all if not most of the different struggles an agency owner experiences through my own experience and I can help you from what I learned. I have covered many topics from what to do with your sales processes to improve them, how you can increase your agency profit margins or how you can build authority for your agency.

I have the best ways for your business to stop losing money on projects, how performance based pricing models can be the best strategy for your agency and why including remote teams or freelancers in your team can be beneficial in the long run.

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

Find 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 know how to ensure you are guaranteeing leads for your business? If you are struggling with this as well as growing your team or how to prevent time lost to bad clients, this episode of Ask Swenk is the one you need.

In this video, I'll cover:

• What to do when a prospect wants you to guarantee leads.
• My #1 struggle in growing my agency team and 3 ways we overcame it.
• How to fire a terrible client so you can quit wasting time.

Guaranteeing Leads in a Proposal (0:23)

Lawrence asks: "A prospect is asking for us to guarantee the number of sales leads our digital marketing will create -- which is impossible and could change over time. How would you go about putting this into the proposal?"

Don't shy away from guaranteeing performance! Take pride and back your work.

I have NO issue with guaranteeing leads... DO IT! But, you cannot guarantee sales. Lead generation in your control, converting leads and the sales process is not.

3 steps to guaranteeing leads:

1. Determine a very specific criteria for qualified leads. Be very definitive on what a quality lead looks like.
2. Look at similar, past clients as a benchmark for your past performance.
3. Establish compensation at both a fixed level and performance level. For example, you get paid "X" rate for deliver "X" fixed amount of leads, and an additional "Y" rate for every lead thereafter.

Here's an interview with an agency owner who runs his business totally on a performance-based pricing model. He has over a 50% margin and a 95% close rate. Talk about qualifying leads!

#1 Struggle of Growing My Team (2:22)

Christina asked: "What were your biggest pain points in growing your agency from a just few people to more and how did you overcome them?"

The biggest struggle I had with growing my team was worrying about being able to afford them. Cash flow and making payroll was my #1 concern.

3 things that helped us overcome cash flow worries:

1. Project receivables. We looked for holes to forecast where cash flow would be an issue and then we could be proactive instead of reactive. We use these "holes" as deadlines to motivate the sales and leadership teams.

1. Change payment terms. We made recurring revenue (retainers) due upfront with incentives for prepayment for the entire contract period. Project payment terms changed to: 50% upfront, 25% due on a specific date or at a specific point in the project (whichever comes first), and 25% due upon completion or at a specific point in the project (whichever comes first).

1. Increase pricing. We increased our prices for both our existing and new clients. Once you make the decision on what agency you want to be, make the moves to act and charge like it.

Firing a Terrible Client (5:18)

Glenn says: "We need to get rid of a terrible client. They're not taking the hint, so I need to formally drop them. A lot of thought went into this decision and they must go. How would you go about it?"

Congratulations! I'm so proud that you've realized it time to get rid of this client.

I have a motto: There's no such thing as a BAD agency client - just a bad prospect or bad process. It's OK that your process let a bad prospect sneak it and it's awesome that you're ready to get rid of them. Here's what you need to do:

1. Check the language in your contract to see how much lead to time you need in order to end the relationship. Abide by the contract at all costs.
2. Make a phone call, not an email and definitely not a text message, to talk to them. In the call explain that it's not working out and that your need to sever the relationship.
3. End on good terms by giving them all their files and even a refund if you think it's necessary.
4. Draw up a letter that details everything that was discussed on your call and all the assets you'll be releasing to them. Send this letter to them USPS Certified so that you can prove it's been received. And, keep a copy for yourself.
5. Consider setting up an introduction between your newly fired client and your biggest competition :)

After it's all said and done, forget it. Good riddance! You'll notice a huge difference in your team and your culture when you eliminate this baggage.

In fact, take a look at the rest of your client roster. Are there other clients that are causing distractions or making it harder to become the agency you want to be? Quit wasting time on the wrong prospects and concentrate on the right ones.

Do you like this NEW 3 question format?

Give us some feedback below. And, make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel so you're getting the newest video advice each week!

Build Your Agency

Now that you know how to improve on guaranteeing leads, growing your team and more, this may be only the tip of the iceberg. But don't worry, I have all you need to get through these obstacles.

I have covered topics from how to handle a recession or expanding your brand awareness with a social media community. Or maybe you want to know the four phases of growth within your agency and want extra help in easing through agency growing pains? I have all the information you need to help you through it.

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

If videos are more your thing, don't worry, i've got you covered! 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.

When building an agency, having big brand clients can elevate your agency to a whole other level. This is where the challenge comes in of how do you grab the attention of those big brands?

In this episode, we'll cover:

• Grabbing the attention of big brands.
• 5 Steps to creating a winning environment.
• The hierarchy of an agency with big brand clients.

Don't be a "me too" agency

Mike says the agency's Founder and Chief Creative Officer, Zak Mroueh, has always made it their mission to capture the attention of big brands and get to the next level. He says agencies are always telling their clients to stand out, be different, and do things that are uncomfortable. However, they don't "walk the walk" and follow their own advice. For example, ever notice how agency websites all look the same?

That's why Zulu's website is one of the most entertaining agency site you'll see. It pokes fun at the agency industry's cliches and stereotypes. It's edgy, it's funny, and it's one example of Zulu walking the walk. (I'm telling you that you've got to check out their site - it's pretty awesome.)

5 Steps to creating a winning environment

1. #SayNoToSpec At Zulu, they don't make decisions based on monetary gain. They're OK with turning down work that doesn't get them closer to their long-term goals. Spec work is a hinderance and an unfair expectation on the client's behalf. Just. Say. No. When they implemented this 5 years ago they were turning down 80%+ of their RFP's.
2. Focus on long-term dominance. Zulu's website is just one example of their out-of-the-box creativity. Mike says the humor on the site isn't for everyone. It's a turnoff for some - and that's OK. They take risks in pursuit of new clients. Zulu's thinking: If a prospective client doesn't like their spoofy website, they're probably not the right fit anyway.
3. Know why you do what you do. What's your agency's purpose? What are your core values? Why did you start an agency? (Don't say you're in it to make money. Money is an outcome, not a goal.) Determine your answers and communicate them from the top down. When you know your belief system it makes bigger decisions a lot easier to make.
4. Be purposeful in your onboarding. Start day 1 with setting the right tone and helping a new employee adapt to the culture. At Zulu it's an orientation called "The Zulu Way" and it's a 90-minute one-on-one with the agency founder where a new hire learns expectations and do's/don'ts of the agency. It sets both parties up for a long and successful relationship.
5. Hire senior people in key roles. This circles back to not making decisions based on money. You need some experienced people - ones who've already made their big career mistakes - in leadership roles. According to Mike, one of the best things they did was hire a seasoned CFO and an IT Director. Stop thinking about how these positions re non-billable. Having senior people in place sets a foundation for success and their value to the agency is priceless.

As you grow, structure your agency for greatness

So wait... the Founder is NOT the President?

That's right. After about one year juggling the roles of Founder and President, Zak Mroueh, realized he'd rather be working IN the business than ON the business. Zak hired Mike Sutton as agency President to deal with all the "business stuff" that was getting in his way of being creative. Today Zak is the Chief Creative Officer and uses his experience and technical skills to oversee all aspects of creative, while Mike is the President overseeing contracts, billing, scopes, and other business details.

Beneath the top tier of agency leadership, each department has 4-5 layers much like a traditionally structure agency.

Moral of the story: know your strengths. Know your team's strengths. Be the best at one thing. Hire people to do what you can't (or don't want to) do.

That's all great advice but what with the name?

Why Zulu Alpha Kilo? It stems from the global Nato Phonetic Alphabet, the widely known language often used by pilots (aka: the "Alpha Bravo Charlie" alphabet). It's symbolic of the agency's dedication to clarity of communication. And it just so happens to spell Z-A-K, which is the founder's first name :)

By the way - here's another super cool example of Zulu pushing themselves outside their comfort zone: http://creativity-online.com/work/zulu-alpha-kilo-zulu-blank-canvas/45173

Challenge: What are YOU doing to stand out? Comment below and share how you separate yourself from the pack.

Discover the best Digital Agency Strategies today. Get Online Training to help you setup the right systems and strategies to help you grow faster.

Bringing Your Agency to a New Level

Landing big brands for clients can really bring your agency to a new level but also improve how you reach out to prospective clients moving forward. I hope you found this beneficial but I know there are other potential struggles you are experiencing in your agency and I can help.

I can give you advice on recognising these new potential client opportunities to creating the best marketing proposal to land these new potential leads.

Issues with growing your agency? I've broken down the different phases of growth within your agency and how performance based pricing can be the best pricing strategy for your business. And let's not forget the three questions you need to be asking yourself to sell more!

Learn all about my career and different experiences as well as lots of 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.

In today’s episode, we’ll cover:

The benefits of performance-based pricing.

Maximizing agency revenue using performance-based pricing.

Tips for turning your videos into low cost, high quality lead generators.

Today’s episode is by far one of my very favorite — and no, I don’t say that about every interview:) Tom Breeze not only trains people on getting more leads for their business using video, but he’s also so confident in his agency’s skill to do the same, that Viewability operates on performance-based pricing.

With undergraduate and master’s degrees in psychology, Tom launched his agency only after learning to successful market his private anxiety counseling practice using video on his website. This was back when video for web was pretty new. (We’re talking pre-smartphone era… Tom carried a camera-less PDAs and recorded his videos old-school, with a camcorder!)

He discovered his videos had a great conversion rate and cost far less than he was spending on Google Adwords. This transformed his business and eventually launched a whole new career into business video training and digital advertising.

What are the benefits of performance-based pricing?

Tom compared his business model to a the trojan horse story. On the outside it appears his agency takes on all the risk and fronts all the costs. In reality, they’ve got a killer process for qualifying their leads, they’re very picky with who they’ll work with and they know how to crush it when it comes to fulfillment.

Performance-based pricing is packaged with the notion that it must work, otherwise the agency wouldn’t be doing it… This means the agency’s inbound leads are “pre-sold” on the idea of working this way – there’s very little convincing or converting.

So exactly how do they get paid? At the onset of a new relationship, they have a frank discussion with about the breakeven CPA (cost per acquisition). They create a script, edit footage and run the ads in a 4-6 week test. Then analyze, tweak and repeat a second month. Tom’s agency usually absorb the first month’s costs, breaks even the second month and is profitable by the third month. Once the campaign is up and running successfully, they can “set it and forget it” – so there’s a greater profit margin.

About 4 out of every 5 clients are a win. And, when the client is seeing results they’re happy to pay, even though this structure ends up costing more than a traditional agency’s pricing model. Viewability’s qualification process is so efficient and effective – they’ve never been stiffed on fees.

Setting up success for agency performance-based pricing.

Thinking of a performance-based pricing model for your agency? Here’s some of Tom’s very best advice for minimizing risk and maximizing revenue potential:

Do not act as an agent, act as an affiliate. Rather than structuring client relationships like most service-based businesses, Viewability establishes a partner relationship where they work with their clients instead of for them.

Know the formula for what makes a good client. Tom’s agency has a super specific list of questions and criteria that determines who they’ll work with – selecting quality over quantity. They take on fewer clients, but they have more time to spend with them.

Work directly with the decision-maker. For Viewability, that’s the business owner who can provide specific direction as well as maintains accountability for payment.

Maintain realistic expectations. Goals need to be measurable and attainable. Ask and answer these questions first: Do they know their current cost per lead and what they’d like it to be? (If not, that’s a major red flag.

What pricing model are you using in your agency? If you didn't know the benefits of using a performance-based pricing model within your agency, I can show you how to implement it and why it will be worth it in the long run.

In today's episode, we'll cover:

• The benefits of performance-based pricing.
• Maximizing agency revenue using performance-based pricing.
• Tips for turning your videos into low cost, high quality lead generators.

Today's episode is by far one of my very favorite -- and no, I don't say that about every interview:) Tom Breeze not only trains people on getting more leads for their business using video, but he's also so confident in his agency's skill to do the same, that Viewability operates on performance-based pricing.

With undergraduate and master's degrees in psychology, Tom launched his agency only after learning to successful market his private anxiety counseling practice using video on his website. This was back when video for web was pretty new. (We're talking pre-smartphone era... Tom carried a camera-less PDAs and recorded his videos old-school, with a camcorder!)

He discovered his videos had a great conversion rate and cost far less than he was spending on Google Adwords. This transformed his business and eventually launched a whole new career into business video training and digital advertising.

What are the benefits of performance-based pricing?

Tom compared his business model to a trojan horse story. On the outside it appears his agency takes on all the risk and fronts all the costs. In reality, they've got a killer process for qualifying their leads, they're very picky with who they'll work with and they know how to crush it when it comes to fulfillment.

Performance-based pricing is packaged with the notion that it must work, otherwise the agency wouldn't be doing it... This means the agency's inbound leads are "pre-sold" on the idea of working this way - there's very little convincing or converting.

So exactly how do they get paid? At the onset of a new relationship, they have a frank discussion with about the breakeven CPA (cost per acquisition). They create a script, edit footage and run the ads in a 4-6 week test. Then analyze, tweak and repeat a second month. Tom's agency usually absorb the first month's costs, breaks even the second month and is profitable by the third month. Once the campaign is up and running successfully, they can "set it and forget it" - so there's a greater profit margin.

About 4 out of every 5 clients are a win. And, when the client is seeing results they're happy to pay, even though this structure ends up costing more than a traditional agency's pricing model. Viewability's qualification process is so efficient and effective - they've never been stiffed on fees.

Setting up success for agency performance-based pricing.

Thinking of a performance-based pricing model for your agency? Here's some of Tom's very best advice for minimizing risk and maximizing revenue potential:

1. Do not act as an agent, act as an affiliate. Rather than structuring client relationships like most service-based businesses, Viewability establishes a partner relationship where they work with their clients instead of for them.
2. Know the formula for what makes a good client. Tom's agency has a super specific list of questions and criteria that determines who they'll work with - selecting quality over quantity. They take on fewer clients, but they have more time to spend with them.
3. Work directly with the decision-maker. For Viewability, that's the business owner who can provide specific direction as well as maintains accountability for payment.
4. Maintain realistic expectations. Goals need to be measurable and attainable. Ask and answer these questions first: Do they know their current cost per lead and what they'd like it to be? (If not, that's a major red flag.) Is it an evergreen offer that just needs more promotion? Has the funnel already been tested?

How can you predict cash flow with a performance-based model?

In a sense, the revenue from current clients funds the activity for future clients. However, within a couple months they're self-sustaining.

It takes a shift in mindset. As a results-driven agency they're dedicated to only taking on clients with a greater lifetime value. The drawbacks, of course, are the upfront cost and the lack of predictability that retainer clients provide. However, as highly effective specialists in a narrow niche with a great profit margin the benefits outweigh the disadvantages.

Turn your agency YouTube videos into lead generators.

Tom says to look at the 4 P's to lower the cost per lead, maintain or increase the volume of leads and improve the quality of the leads,

Here's a few simple hacks to make your existing video content lead generators:

1- Platform - learn where your leads hang out and put your video in front of them. He says you should connect on YouTube and convert on Google.

2- Person - connect with your organic traffic by linking your YouTube channel with your AdWords account.

3- Pursuit - change the customer's journey. Why didn't they opt-in? Change your lead magnet to improve results, some may prefer a webinar and others a download of swipe files.

4- Promotion - improve the ad itself by using pattern interruption or dynamic keyword insertion.

Taking Your Agency to the Next Level

You now know how to implement performance-based pricing in your agency but this is only one aspect you need to consider when wanting to take your agency to the next level. You should take a step back and really look at areas you haven't explored yet as well as struggles you need to focus on to improve your business and then check out how I have all you need to get through these obstacles.

I have advice to share with you from using Facebook in your marketing strategy, ways of building authority for your agency or even ways to pitch to big brand clients. 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 me and other agency experts.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

Agency owner involvement in sales – how much, if any?

How to setup a commission structure.

Whether an agency is sellable if sales or brand is tied to the owner.

This week, Jack asks a series of GREAT questions…

“How do you grow beyond you, the owner, doing the majority of sales so you can free up time and work ON the business? Or, should your focus be on sales?”  (0:22)

If you want to stop working IN your business, so you can start working ON your business then you need to have the right systems in place. That includes a system for generating leads and converting them to sales. This is the only way you can scale.

As an agency owner, I was involved with sales until we grew to the $500K mark.

When my agency grew to beyond a half-million in revenue, I had a sales team and as the owner, I only assisted with sales. I let the sales team get through the first couple stages in the sales process before I would get involved – usually around Stage 2 ½ or 3…

3 Stages in our Sales Process:

Qualify the prospect using NBAT (need, budget, authority and timing). You do this before you’ve met to prevent yourself from spinning wheels on a proposal for a less-than-ideal client. Also, understand the 3 I’s of the project:  Issue, Important and Impact.

Vet them out thoroughly. Can we work together and have a mutually beneficial relationship? Then set up the meeting and present the proposal.

Investigate additional opportunities. Following the proposal we would look for more ways to bring value to the relationship.

Set your team up for success by making them look like a ROCK STARS. Add color to meetings with your experience and expertise, but let your Account Manager actually run the meetings. This establishes them as a trusted and respected team member.

“How do you compensate the Account Manager? Do you pay a percentage to them for finding the deal? Do they get a different percentage for up sells after the fact?” (4:07)

We had an amazing process for compensation and up sells at my agency. Below is how my agency structured commission. Of course, you need to adjust depending on your goals and revenue.

My team worked on salary + commission on a sliding scale. They earned the same commission regardless of the lead source. They had a sales goal over a set period of time and were compensated on a tiered scale like this:

* 5% commission – Sales less than $250K

* 10% commission – Sales $250K to $500K

* 12% commission – Sales $500K and above

They were compensated equally for up sells. And they were encouraged to work with the account teams to investigate additional opportunities. Cohesiveness within the entire team is important. You never want a client to feel handed off or abandoned.

“How much contact should the CEO have after the sale is made? Who “owns the relationship” with the client?” (5:22)

You should have very little contact with the client after the sale is made. If you do YOUR job and set up your team as rock stars, then the client won’t want to talk to you – they’ll want to talk with your team of rock stars. If you, the CEO, reaches out to a client they’ll suspect something is wrong. Furthermore, they will likely start asking questions about project details and since you aren’t involved in the day-to-day, you won’t be able to answer them.

My advice: Resist the urge to manage everything. Trust the you’ve hired and trained an awesome team. Work on the things that are going to help you GROW and SCALE. Leave the details to all those rock stars.

“Is your agency sellable if it can’t make sales without you?

In this episode, we’ll cover:

Why live streaming video is so HOT right now.

How you can use live streaming video for generating new agency business.

One new technology that will keep you ahead of current trends.

Former agency owner Kim Garst is totally on top of the social media game. She’s been named on a couple pretty prestigious lists, including Forbes’ Top 50 Social Media Influencers and Top 20 Women Influencers. She’s a serial entrepreneur who has spent the last two decades forging her way with online startups – including a digital agency.

Kim’s business, Boom Social began as an agency which has now morphed into a social media training resource for entrepreneurs. She’s finding more success and satisfaction helping entrepreneurs find and develop their social media voice. Here’s what she shared about this year’s hottest trend: live streaming video.

What’s the big deal with live streaming video?

Live streaming video isn’t new. What is new, is the accessibility and convenience of it. Apps like Meerkat and Periscope brought live stream to handheld devices and the popularity soared. This is the year for Live Streaming Video. Already this year, we’ve seen Facebook and YouTube jump onboard.

As a society, we’ve spent the better part of a decade on social media. Status updates and Tweets are the norm. But as humans we crave more personal contact. When we consume in video form we find it more personal. When it’s a live feed, it’s more authentic, raw and real.

If you’re apprehensive about recording live video, you’re not alone. It definitely exposes you and makes you more vulnerable. The upside is, you’re not alone!

How to use live streaming video for business:

Remember people are craving that personal element that video provides? Use it to your advantage! Pick a platform and use it for things like –

Recruiting Top Talent – if you’ve got a great company culture, spotlight it on video.  Showcase the people and environment of your agency and let viewers get a glimpse.

Client Retention – showcase who’s doing what. This lets your clients see some of the “behind the scenes” work that goes on.

Generate Leads – consider it a “video blog”. You’re already creating content that solves a problem or eases a pain point for your prospects. Turn on the video camera and talk through it instead of writing it. Create that know-like-trust factor a lot sooner by giving it a personal touch.

If you’re personable and providing valuable information you will convert faster using live streaming video. The effects of live streaming video moves much faster than blogging or tweeting. Kim says she’s even converting some leads after just one touchpoint!

Clients expect you to bring them emerging trends.

You’re an agency so you’ve got to be on top of the latest technologies. In our Future Outlook Report for 2016, we discovered the #1 thing brands want from agencies is new business building strategies and solutions. Even if you aren’t using some of the latest social media technologies for your own business, your clients are expecting you to be skilled at using them.

One new, cutting edge technology.

One super NEW social app is Anchor. It’s an audio app described as “radio by real people”. Anchor is  a free iPhone app that let’s you broadcast short (2 mins or less) audio clips to global followers. Listeners can talk back which is something live streaming video doesn’t allow.

Kim and I agree that Anchor is the next BIG THING. Anchor encourages more engagement and satisfies our human craving for personal contact. She does say, however, that Anchor can become time consuming because it re...

Have you ever considered live streaming as part of your marketing strategy for your business? Not sure how to get started?

In this episode, we'll cover:

• Why live streaming video is so HOT right now.
• How you can use live streaming video for generating new agency business.
• One new technology that will keep you ahead of current trends.

Former agency owner Kim Garst is totally on top of the social media game. She's been named on a couple pretty prestigious lists, including Forbes' Top 50 Social Media Influencers and Top 20 Women Influencers. She's a serial entrepreneur who has spent the last two decades forging her way with online startups - including a digital agency.

Kim's business, Boom Social began as an agency which has now morphed into a social media training resource for entrepreneurs. She's finding more success and satisfaction in helping entrepreneurs find and develop their social media voice. Here's what she shared about this year's hottest trend: live streaming video.

What's the big deal with live streaming video?

Live streaming video isn't new. What is new, is the accessibility and convenience of it. Apps like Meerkat and Periscope brought live stream to handheld devices and their popularity soared. This is the year for Live Streaming Video. Already this year, we've seen Facebook and YouTube jump onboard.

As a society, we've spent the better part of a decade on social media. Status updates and Tweets are the norm. But as humans we crave more personal contact. When we consume in video form we find it more personal. When it's a live feed, it's more authentic, raw and real.

If you're apprehensive about recording live video, you're not alone. It definitely exposes you and makes you more vulnerable. The upside is, you're not alone!

How to use live streaming video for business:

Remember people are craving that personal element that video provides? Use it to your advantage! Pick a platform and use it for things like -

• Recruiting Top Talent - if you've got a great company culture, spotlight it on video. Showcase the people and environment of your agency and let viewers get a glimpse.
• Client Retention - showcase who's doing what. This lets your clients see some of the "behind the scenes" work that goes on.
• Generate Leads - consider it a "video blog". You're already creating content that solves a problem or eases a pain point for your prospects. Turn on the video camera and talk through it instead of writing it. Create that know-like-trust factor a lot sooner by giving it a personal touch.

If you're personable and providing valuable information you will convert faster using live streaming video. The effects of live streaming video moves much faster than blogging or tweeting. Kim says she's even converting some leads after just one touchpoint!

Clients expect you to bring them emerging trends.

You're an agency so you've got to be on top of the latest technologies. In our Future Outlook Report for 2016, we discovered the #1 thing brands want from agencies is new business building strategies and solutions. Even if you aren't using some of the latest social media technologies for your own business, your clients are expecting you to be skilled at using them.

One new, cutting edge technology.

One super NEW social app is Anchor. It's an audio app described as "radio by real people". Anchor is a free iPhone app that let's you broadcast short (2 mins or less) audio clips to global followers. Listeners can talk back which is something live streaming video doesn't allow.

Kim and I agree that Anchor is the next BIG THING. Anchor encourages more engagement and satisfies our human craving for personal contact. She does say, however, that Anchor can become time consuming because it requires attention and constant follow-up to develop relationships.

2 creative ways to use live video and audio for business:

• Work smarter, not harder. Think of ways to stack your social media efforts. Get this -- Kim hosts live Q&A's on Anchor while broadcasting on TWO live streaming video platforms - Periscope and Facebook Live. Then she embeds the Anchor broadcasts into blog posts to repurpose and give it a longer life. Don't know about you, but my mind is officially blown.

• Start your own Q&A. You don't have to score a triple-pointer like Kim, but answering your client's biggest questions is the easiest and most effective ways to use these live video or radio apps. Find out what people want to know, let them ask and you answer. Establish authority and nurture the relationship into trust and eventual sales. Speaking of... ever heard of #AskSwenk? :)

Kim's best advice: Jump over the fear hurdle and hit the "start broadcast" button!

Take action NOW ...because ACTIONS lead to TRANSACTIONS!

How Can I Help You?

I hope you found this beneficial and it gave you an insight into using live streaming video for your business and marketing strategy.

If you have more questions about how you can improve your agency, I can help. Whether you are an experienced agency owner or have just started a new agency, I have covered topics including how to stop losing clients to reasons you should sell your agency.

Have other topics you want advice on? You can check out all my tips, tricks, and everything you need to know in my blogs. I have covered a wide variety of topics as well as answered your questions in more from my Ask Swenk series.

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

In this episode, I’ll answer:

Which is better: flat rates or a sliding scale?

Is the agency industry oversaturated?

What do you do about a partner who wants out?

Which is better: flat rates or a sliding scale? (0:16)

Sophie asks:  “Do you find it better to have standardized rates or a sliding scale? Which one is better for accommodating clients?”

Stay away from flat rates! Definitely do the sliding scale.

Here’s why:

When I ran my agency, I had a meeting set up with a company I had never heard of. I walked into a gorgeous office space with a huge conference and a trail of executives marched in. I nailed the presentation and quoted them something like $10K or $20K for a website. I didn’t get the job – I returned to my office puzzled as to why.

After talking to my partner I learned that I had met with one of the largest companies in the world, Berkshire Hathaway. They were expecting a proposal for something more like $300K.

Moral of the story:  Do your homework! Know who you’re going after, what their issue is and what impact it will have on their business. Base your sliding scale on the value of what you’re providing.

Is the agency industry oversaturated? (1:39)

Jake says: “I’m hearing the digital marketing business is overrun with kids out of high school claiming to run an agency. Clients have literally said that if they can’t get the cheapest price from one of them, they’ll turn to elance, odesk, or fiverr. How can I handle this type of response? Jason, do you think the industry is oversaturated?”

Not. At. All. Your competition is NOT high school kids or online solutions. You are an agency with a specialization and that industry is not oversaturated.

What IS oversaturated is the generic contractors who crank out Facebook ads, banners, websites, etc. and that’s it. They are a dime a dozen. They do not provide value and cannot impact the client’s issues. At an agency there’s more than one set of eyes, more than one set of skills….

If you’re meeting with someone who is only focused on price then show them the door. If you they are beating you up on price now, that will be their focus for your entire engagement.

“There’s no such thing as a bad agency client, only a bad prospect.” You don’t want to work with this type of price-driven client who is satisfied with unspecialized, cheap work.

What do you do about a partner who wants out? (3:38)

Shawn says: “I am a 50% owner of a digital agency. I would love to hear about your experience with a partner. How did you leverage opportunities, deal with challenges… and what would you do if someone wanted to leave or buy out the other?”

Here’s the thing… 

I owned my agency for about a year when I took on a partner. It was more of a roll up situation where we each had different areas of expertise. Me with design and sales, him with programming and technology. It was the perfect match for many years. However…

Agencies outgrow people. Whether it’s employees, clients, vendors — even, partners or yourself.

If I was able to do it all again, I’d create an Operating Agreement when we first partnered up. This is a document that details roles and responsibilities of each partner, as well as an exit plan in the event that someone wants out.

“You either know the bad partner or you are the bad partner.” Ideally, you want a Ying and Yang relationship with someone who is like-minded but has a different skill set and area of expertise.  

Did you like this NEW multi-question #AskSwenk format?

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