The Agency Profit Podcast

Quick Links:The Agency Profitability Toolkit - Get the templates, formulas, and frameworks we've used with our consulting clients to help them double their profitability in under 60 days, absolutely free.For more information on our Agency Profitability Systems and Consulting, check out https://parakeeto.comLove the podcast? Leave us a review on the platform of your choice at this link.Guest Links:LinkedInTwitterShiftLab.coAbout Jeremy:As the founder of Shift Lab, Jeremy focuses on projects that couple excellent design and technology, resulting in beautifully-designed digital products for clients as wide-ranging as Google, Comcast, Microsoft, and BreastCancer.org.Jeremy has worked in product development, UX, graphic design, and development for the web since the mid-’90s and was previously Director of Technology at Method.In his spare time, he’s allegedly a magnet enthusiast… Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

About Marcel:Marcel Petitpas is co-founder and CEO of Parakeeto.In addition to being an agency profitability consultant – specializing in helping agencies get a handle on their gains – Marcel is also a renowned keynote/virtual speaker and podcaster.Expect to see more from Marcel over the coming weeks, as he shares important insights for agency owners who want to earn more while working less. Points of Interest…There’s more information regarding each point in our blog notes beneath below.Identifying high ROI processes 2:12Four-step Flywheel Framework 3:20The Benefits of Tracking Tools 7:57Identifying High ROI ProcessesMost agencies struggle at some point with going over budget on projects and potentially working evenings and weekends due to a looming deadline.Unfortunately, things can take longer than expected. Since the deadline isn’t moving, you and your team inevitably find yourselves trying to make up time by working late or weekends. Obviously, this isn’t sustainable.There are processes to help deal with such situations, ones you could be building and optimizing, but you never seem to have time to define and implement them – or identify which ones are going to generate the highest return on investment.Well, all that is about to change! Four-Step Flywheel FrameworkI want to share with you our tried and tested Flywheel Framework which will help you identify the highest ROI investments. Its implementation will, in turn, help you protect your time – and your team’s time – as well and your profits.Then, I’m going to show you how you can embed this in your business. Over time, your team will learn how to run this process and tune your business for you – essentially making your agency self-optimizing, because it’s a feedback loop.Our four-step Flywheel Framework consists of…Capturing AssumptionsMeasuring RealityRunning MeetingsInvesting in Your Process Assumption > Measure > Meetings > Process = Profit + PredictabilityCapturing AssumptionsIrrespective of what your agency does, assumptions will be made pre-project. From ‘time and materials’ projects, to ‘flat rate’ projects; from how much time a project is going to take, to prospective external costs – blind assumption-making can seem part and parcel of a project, but it doesn’t have to be.You need to analyze IF those assumptions were correct or not. By capturing these assumptions, and ensuring there’s a consistent format to how they’re tracked, you can compare how your pre-project presumptions stack up against reality over time – horizontally. Measuring the Reality of AssumptionsWhether it’s a spreadsheet or a tool like Parakeeto, define a consistent format and methodology by which you can estimate – or capture – the assumptions about your projects.Now that you have a reference point, measure the accuracy of those assumptions. By way of example; compare your assumed costs to your actual costs; compare the time logged in your estimate against the true time spent; and so on. Then you can ascertain if there is a mismatch between your initial assumptions and the actual data. This process is simpler than it sounds – especially if you use an accounting tool, or a time tracking tool.Make sure, when tracking your time, that it’s mapping back to the original assumption because that’s the purpose of the exercise! Run Team MeetingsThe goal of these meetings is to sit down with your team to measure quantitative data. Discuss what matched up to your initial assumptions and, more importantly, what didn’t match. That’s where we’re going to surface qualitative data.For example, you might ascertain that you went over budget on design hours. Why was that? Did you assign too many designers to that task, resulting in duplicated work?In short, the objective of these meetings is to identify what is going well, what is going poorly, and what is taking a different path to what was expected! Invest in Your ProcessThe result of these captured insights include ideas on how you can overcome those things, then how best to implement them in your process backlog.This will inform you what needs to be done in order to solve these problems that we’re seeing in our data and in our meetings that will help us make more accurate assumptions over time. Over time, if you continue using the Flywheel process, you’re going to have more profit and increased predictability.In our business, profit and predictability are the holy grail of goals! While profit obviously means there’s more money in the bank for you, for your team, and for potential investments, predictability denotes less time spent working on weekends and evenings, better resource planning, more accurate timelines, etc. Simply put, predictability gives you better visibility into your business. Key Takeaway: The Benefit of Tracking ToolsTime Tracking and Cost Tracking are two of the most important pieces of data for you as a service business owner – or as an agency owner – to optimize your business.It’s about shifting your mindset regarding Time Tracking. Tell yourself it’s not just something you do for a client. Applying time tracking to your team will, in the long run, lead to an enhanced work/life balance.If you want to dig deeper into this stuff and get some free resources to help you implement this flywheel in your business, download our Agency Profitability Tool Kit – it’s loaded with free resources to help you do everything described in this video! Want to see more from Marcel? You’re in the right place! Follow him @…ParakeetoAgency Profit PodcastMarcel’s LinkedInParakeeto’s LinkedInParakeeto’s TwitterDid you learn anything new from this episode? If so, let us know in the comments below – we value your feedback! Our next installment of #APP, on August 19th, will see us chat with Jeremy Jackson. To view our previous blog with Rachel Gertz, make your way here…  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Quick Links:The Agency Profitability Toolkit - Get the templates, formulas, and frameworks we've used with our consulting clients to help them double their profitability in under 60 days, absolutely free.For more information on our Agency Profitability Systems and Consulting, check out https://parakeeto.comLove the podcast? Leave us a review on the platform of your choice at this link.Guest Links:Twitter @TheStrayMuseLinkedInLouderthanten.comSuperhi.comAbout Rachel:As well as being the co-founder of Louder Than Ten, Rachel is also a digital PM trainer at the company. Louder Than Ten helps digital agencies and product studios train their Project and Operations Managers to deliver healthy and profitable projects. Rachel trains tech com­pa­nies how to knock their old project man­age­ment flows upside down, by refin­ing the most valu­able steps in the process. She helps com­pa­nies under­stand what project num­bers real­ly mean, and how to turn blocks into oppor­tu­ni­ties.Her mis­sion is to trans­form the tech indus­try by train­ing dig­i­tal com­pa­nies how to give back pow­er to the peo­ple lead­ing their projects.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Quick Links:The Agency Profitability Toolkit - Get the templates, formulas, and frameworks we've used with our consulting clients to help them double their profitability in under 60 days, absolutely free.For more information on our Agency Profitability Systems and Consulting, check out https://parakeeto.comLove the podcast? Leave us a review on the platform of your choice at this link.Guest Links:TwitterLinkedIncontentsnare.comjimmyrose.meAgencyHighway PodcastAbout James:James (Jimmy to his pals) is the founder of Aktura Tech, ContentSnare, and the host of the Agency Highway podcast.Via his Zapier Mastery automation course, he enjoys finding and sharing ways for you to automate parts of your business so you can spend your precious time tackling things that really matter.In addition to sharing his knowledge of better processes via automation, James co-founded a tool for digital agencies to get content from their clients via ContentSnare, while Aktura builds custom software and mobile apps. One of his previous projects, SaaS application SilverSiphon, was sold to an angel investment firm based in Silicon Valley.When this Brisbanite isn’t informing people just how much “automation freaking rocks”, he can be found conversing with dogs; something he’s particularly skilled in.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

About Andy:Today, Andy is the co-founder of Postaga.com; an all-in-one SEO research platform for link building and email outreach that helps agencies and marketers build traffic and relationships.Aside from being a digital marketing professional, he is a speaker, lawyer, running enthusiast, and has enjoyed cooking up a storm for the family during Lockdown in New York.Plus, he’s officiated quite a few weddings on occasions (available for bookings!)Quick LinksThe Agency Profitability Toolkit - Get the templates, formulas, and frameworks we've used with our consulting clients to help them double their profitability in under 60 days, absolutely free.For more information on our Agency Profitability Systems and Consulting, check out https://parakeeto.comLove the podcast? Leave us a review on the platform of your choice at this link. Guest LinksTwitter @andycabassoTwitter @PostagaAppLinkedIn Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

 About John...As well as being Founder and CEO of Credo, John is also an independent growth marketing and SEO consultant, who’s work has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, TheNextWeb, Moz, TechCrunch, CNBC, WIRED, Entrepreneur, and many more.When he’s not beavering away at work, John’s probably spending time with wife Courtney, daughter Tatum, and dog Butterbean, or cycling the mountain ranges of Denver, Colorado!Guest LinksTwitterLinkedInYouTubegetcredo.comQuick Links:The Agency Profitability Toolkit - Get the templates, formulas, and frameworks we've used with our consulting clients to help them double their profitability in under 60 days, absolutely free.For more information on our Agency Profitability Systems and Consulting, check out https://parakeeto.comLove the podcast? Leave us a review on the platform of your choice at this link. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

About Keith:Keith Perhac is the founder of SegMetrics.io, a Saas company helping course authors, product creators, and self-funded businesses increase their revenue from their existing traffic.Unlike most marketers, Keith is also a developer, which facilitated his transition from DevelopYourMarketing.com to “the dark side” (AKA SaaS). This gives him an innate understanding of two key things: the marketing strategies required to grow, and how to implement said strategies for your business.Currently, his online software helps marketers and agency owners get 100% clarity on where their leads come from, how they act, and how much their marketing is really worth.In his spare time, you can find Keith buried in Dungeons & Dragons.SegMetrics.io and How it StartedLike all good software solutions, it was born from an itch that needed scratching.Keith started out as an agency owner, and had been doing funnel optimization and campaign optimization for a number of digital marketers. As his client base grew, so did the time spent on pulling the required numbers for the reporting process.“Pulling numbers is not what I got into marketing for… Understanding what to do with those numbers is why I got into marketing.”Numbers are vitally important to any business, particularly marketing, yet Keith and his colleagues were finding it to be a “huge time suck.” Being developers by nature, they committed to finding a more functional way forward.So, they built the first version internally, based on the premise of “Hey, can we drop these numbers into adatabase and then calculate them automatically?” As it turns out, you can! The Importance of Client Communication and ReportingThink about it… a client comes to work with you because they need guidance in a certain area. The more communication you have with a client, the more you can alleviate any lurking fears regarding your expertise in your field.“The number one thing I’ve found working with agencies, and things that we did internally, was to create a process. The stronger the communication process, the more confidence a client has in your agency.”Conversely, it’s worth bearing in mind that over-communication can have the opposite effect. It indicates a lack of structure and a certain malleability. When a client feels they should take control of a project, you’re in danger of losing your cache – that being your expertise.There are other pitfalls leading from that. For example, you could find yourself dealing with items that aren’t in the project scope; fixing up “little things” that need tweaking, and – as Keith attests – “suddenly, you’re a development shop instead of a marketing agency.”So, a set process is key to working well with clients from the offset. You can start this by ensuring…Every step is documented for both partiesEach step is part of a set process, showcasing how things are progressing/improvingEvery step then has a subsequent actionThis way, the client never feels in the dark, constantly wondering ‘What’s going on next?!’ Value Communication During COVID-19Right now, it’s more critical than ever to be communicating value to clients. It can actually be bad for your clients to cut you right now if you’re driving results for them, particularly online.“If you can keep revenue the same, or keep it from tanking, that’s your agency fee paid for right there. That’s the value you need to show and that’s what we try to do with our funnel optimizations.”You need to show them you’re not a cost, but an investment and a value-add, and you do that through your concise communication and reporting process.“Look, here’s what we did this last month, here’s where you would have been without us, and here’s where you are with us. We’re only taking 5% of all the improvements we’ve made; so we’re definitely worth keeping on.”Set processes creates clarity, continuously reinforcing the value the client is getting. This, in turn, creates client confidence that you’re producing results. Streamlining Your Client Communication ProcessKeeping that pertinent word in mind (value), how should agencies think about setting up a process for communicating with clients that’s going to be efficient, streamlined and not take up a ton of their time?Depending on how much the client is paying you, create a cadence of a weekly call and/or email that updates them on where the stats are.When Keith signed a new client via his first company, he would follow a set schedule – core for clients that turned out to be a good fit.“They got a packet, a list saying, ‘go do this now. Go do this, go do this. This is going to give us all the information for our kickoff call…’ Then, give them a list of everything you’re going to do in that first six weeks – because it’s a process, right?!”A simple example of such a process should go a little something like this…Schedule weekly calls to review results, plus the next steps requiredHost meetings every six weeks to discuss strategy, and roadmap for the subsequent six weeksEnsure there’s a meeting two weeks before the renewal of the contractNever underestimate the importance of inserting yourself into the strategic decision-making process Automating Streamlined ReportingWhen should you consider automating the processes that feel like they might be quite tricky to streamline? According to Keith, there is one golden rule:“Never try to use software to automate the first time around, it is such a bad idea.”Instead, implement the below process before attempting to automate:Start with a paper and/or checklist of the Standard Operating ProceduresGive that SOP to someone who preferably hasn’t undertaken this process before; their different POV should be able to highlight any holes and redundancies (plus it means you’re delegating and possibly putting your time towards something more valuable!)Once that SOP is solid and proven, then you can work on automating parts that are consistently the same Your Take-Away…By way of summary, find ways of building more value into your relationships with your clients during COVID-19. Now is as good a time as any, according to Keith…“You are going to see a decline in revenue, that’s a given; don’t panic, take that extra time to make your business stronger… Now is the time.”So, take the imminent lull in customer interaction to refine your processes and, in turn, improve your value to both your existing and future clients.Go plug those holes! That way, you’ll be better prepared for whatever lies ahead… Want to see more of Keith? Follow him @…Twitter @harisenbon79LinkedIn – Keith’s personal pageLinkedIn – SegMetrics company pageSegMetrics.io Did you learn anything new from this episode? If so, let us know in the comments below – we value your feedback! Our next instalment of #APP, on June 10th, will see us chat with John Doherty. To view our previous blog with Alex Glenn, make your way here… Agency Profitability Tool KitIf you’re looking for more resources to help you improve your agency’s profitability, then check out the Agency Profitability Tool Kit – it’s full of the same templates and checklists we’ve used with consulting clients to help them improve their profitability by over 100% in under 60 days.Download the Agency Profitability Toolkit!Get the same templates & guides we use with consulting clients to get them results fast.DOWNLOAD FREE    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Explaining Partnerprograms.ioTheir aim is ensuring that software and agencies can connect and become more successful together.The overall mission is just better partnerships; more connection, more interaction inside of the ecosystem, while optimizing communication and clarity, and therefore a faster turnaround for the client. Core Tenets of Good PartnershipsSo, what’s at the core of a partnership between a software company and an agency? According to Alex, partnerships can really help you define your operating procedures, helping you get more organized as a team… “Those partnerships can help you really streamline and optimize the services that you offer as an agency, which means higher ticket value, because customer retention is higher.” What should you be aware of in terms of how partnerships ought to be structured? Below are some pointers; there’s more info on the podcast at the 2:10 mark…Co-marketing or co-selling opportunities can help the software company enable their clientsSometimes, you may look for tools to help you run more efficiently, thus optimizing service delivery on top of back-end systemsAlways go through the partnerships funnel on a website, not the regular sign-up formFeature roadmap inclusion and early accessSeek a dedicated phone number, or support channel, for agency partners to receive priority supportRemember: referral fees are not the foundation of a successful partnership, they are generally not going to be the primary value of the partnershipFeature sets, enabling agencies to onboard new clients and build-out services on top of it – like white-labeling, client portals etc.Look for partners who have training – and systems – on how to build and sell services on top of their software Partnership Opportunities Agencies Should SeekAssuming you’re an agency looking to build out some services on top of software solution, let’s address some signals indicating a great partner you can really trust – and grow with – going forward.For instance, if you’re more of a creative agency and don’t sell services on top of tools, look for co-marketing opportunities to add value to software companies that serve the same customer as you. An example would be Wistia’s partnership with Sandwich VideoIf you’re more of a digital or marketing shop, and have a process for how you deliver value to customers, look at the funnel and process that you use consistently. Then, look for partnership opportunities at each step of said funnel or process. An example of this would be using CallRail in a PPC campaign. While you’re growing, try to stay vertical and use the partnership to increase revenue and margin; this is achieved by going deeper into a single vertical service offering – before you try to go too wide. “Tech-Enabled” and “Tech-Stacked” Partnership ServicesProductizing your services allows you to have a streamlined, scalable workflow, thus building out extremely deep relationships with your partnerships and support teams.This can develop some awesome co-marketing opportunities to reach more clients.Speed to value is key for both SaaS and agencies. Great SaaS partnerships should enable you, as an agency, to get your clients the outcome they want much faster – with higher margins and less work. The SaaS company is incentivized to help you do that, and your clients will get additional value from reaching their desired outcome faster. In some cases, you can essentially charge more for something that takes less time because the value of getting the outcome faster of high importance to your client.Some SaaS companies actually NEED agencies to scale. For example…Activation and retention are some of the most important metrics for SaaS companiesAgencies can be essential in helping clients get complex tools set-up and implemented in their workflows so they can get successful  Understand that, as an agency, you can bring a lot of value to a SaaS company by helping them make their clients successful, sticking around in the long-term, and building case studies for the value of their product. How to Start Adding Partnership Services to Your BusinessHow do you start evaluating partners? Where should you go? How do you start selling this to my clients? What’s the roadmap here?!What Alex recommends you do is: look at tools you can create from those replicable stacks.For example, Alex works with a partner called The.com, an awesome new tool that allows you – in your backend – to spin up. Using a very simple editor that’s database driven, you can give a client access to the backend so they populate it with all sorts of cool stuff. “You can create these templates for lawyers, you can create these templates for real estate agents; when you have a new client, not only do you immediately load them with an amazing SEO driven website, you can add on tools and snippets on top of those websites. “ For instance, you can launch a cookie cutter website that’s optimized already, that has chat already, and uses Smith.ai. Building Recurring, High Margin Services Via PartnershipsIf an agency is looking to find some good opportunities to build recurring, high-margin services into their agency through partnerships – where should they go? This is exactly what partnerprograms.io helps agencies figure out! As Alex says… “Just look for partnerships. Don’t look at this as a vendorship. Don’t look at this as, you know, I’m just going to be asked to refer business all day long. Find a partnership. You have to grow with this company. Just like any partnership, it has to be mutually beneficial.” Take a look at all the steps in your service delivery process. Start identifying opportunities to streamline each step of the process with software, and then evaluate the partner programs for each of those software solutions.This will help you create a very predictable scope of work, so you can give clear pricing to your clients, as well as a clear process, plus a commitment to getting a solution to them in a timely manner! Want to see more of Alex? Follow him @…Twitter @Right2RevenueLinkedInPartnered 2020 Podcastpartnerprograms.io/resources-for-agencies/For more information on all the partner programmes mentioned in the podcast, make your way here… Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

About Marcus: A recognized instructor and speaker at LinkedIn, Marcus Murphy cares deeply about the flourishing of fellow sales experts and entrepreneurs.Currently, he’s Head of Partnerships at DigitalMarketer.com, which arms its ‘insiders’ with strategic insights from industry experts, while also providing templates, tools and swipe files to help you become a better marketer.Marcus previously worked for Yelp in San Francisco, going from start-up to multi-billion dollar giant. He’s also honed his expertise at Infusionsoft as Global Partner Development Manager. There, he developed and broadened new international markets through strategic partnerships.When not at work, he’s either spending quality time with wife, Gina, and his daughters – or he’s working out!So, Why LinkedIn…? What makes LinkedIn such a unique opportunity right now? The answer to that is – basically – there are 675 million people on the platform.Additionally, organic reach across other social platforms is essentially dead, while LinkedIn still excels at this. Why? Because its algorithm loves engagement.Start having conversations on there to up your engagement, and the platform will show these posts to more people. This, in turn, motivates yet more users to get involved in your conversation.If your content is not starting the right conversations with potential connections, then it’s just noise, a distraction, a therefore a waste of your time.In short… content is King. Optimize your LinkedIn Profile to Start ConversationsThe three initial motivators for people to connect with you and your brand on LinkedIn are: your profile picture, your header image, and your byline/title. So, make them count.You have a unique opportunity in your profile photo right away. If possible, invest $50 in the headshot. Do it 60% of the frame against a clean background.More importantly, Marcus says…“Make sure you’re not Catfishing people with your 1989 headshot… It’s tough to have integrity built and trust built into that.”If potential connections see your photo and what you have positioned yourself as – plus, if you ask a question in your ‘Summary‘ – then there’s your conversation starter.Always remember…Everything on your profile should be driven to start conversationsGet a good professional headshot that takes up 60% of the frameOptimize your headline to start a conversation – and be specificUse your Summary to hook the visitor; sell your story, share what you’re about / what your mission isPut a call to action in your Summary, invite people to join your journey If you do those things, then you’re better prepared to be part of the massive growth that’s happening on LinkedIn right now. Personal LinkedIn Profile and Brand Page RelationshipChances are, if you’re an agency owner on LinkedIn, you have both a personal profile and a business page. Now, how can you actually leverage and create momentum by using both? As Marcus says…“You gotta have a business page, you have to have a showcase page, and you have to have a website as a business – because everybody wants to see that you are who you say you are. They want to have those integrity pieces and something to anchor to.”Below is a strategy behind utilizing those assets together.Use your business page as the anchorThe business page is designed to inform what your business is aboutPost content and updates, but don’t expect it to drive organic growthPay to boost content that is doing well organicallyYour personal page will drive the growth of your business pageYour personal page should be used to generate ‘reach’, while your business page will provide conversion (i.e. website visits) and build buyer confidence.Optimizing Content for Organic Reach on LinkedInLet’s talk core strategies to consider when trying to optimize the content you’re posting on LinkedIn to obtain organic reach / drive results.Every piece of content Marcus generates is put through the lens of who Digital Marketer is as an organization. You need to create a ‘Character Diamond’ highlighting what your agency excels at, and then what balances that. Or, to put it another way…“No one would like Superman if there was no Kryptonite and he wasn’t a nerd – because none of us can fly, and we’d think he’s an asshole – ‘Oh, he’s flying again, well, screw that guy!’ We are marketing savants at Digital Marketer, but we are also highly irreverent and that’s a good balance; it helps people to go ‘Oh, these guys are really smart – but they’re human beings’.”In order to optimize your content for organic reach on LinkedIn, and therefore boost your ‘connections’ above 500 and beyond…Be authentic with your content; don’t be too staunch on LinkedInBuild a Character Diamond for yourself and your personal brandAsk yourself how your content can start conversations…Comments trump ‘likes’, and are heavily weighed in organic reachResponding to comments is tremendously importantConsistency and quality content is keyEngage and comment on posts written by people who have a big followingAgain, it’s advantageous to have more (and more) people engage with, and comment on, the post as it takes it so much further. Specific LinkedIn Tips for the Agency OwnerSo, you’re running an agency, you’ve got a small team, and looking at LinkedIn as the next channel you want to double down on. What’s the execution plan?Have a client profile. Who’s your ideal? Ask yourself where they live, what do they care about?Ensure clarity about who your audience is and what kind of content they would get value fromTry decipher/preempt the issues that ‘your people’ are trying to solve, then go create content to resolve said issuesNail your strategy for LinkedIn, and then productize that strategy for your clients – do it for themAs an agency owner, you should be exceptional at this so you can advise your clientsBy way of summary; it’s great to be professional on LinkedIn, but also bring it down to a human level.Take a “buyer first” approach and simply try to be helpful; the million dollar question for a potential client is usually something simple like “What can I help you with right now?”Lastly, don’t be afraid to connect them to someone who may be a better fit! Want to see more of Marcus? Follow him @…LinkedInTwitterdigitalmarketer.com/Did you learn anything new from this episode? If so, let us know in the comments below – we value your feedback! Our next instalment of #APP, on May 27th, will see us chat with Alex Glenn. To view our previous blog with Chris Badget, make your way here… Agency Profitability Tool KitIf you’re looking for more resources to help you improve your agency’s profitability, then check out the Agency Profitability Tool Kit – it’s full of the same templates and checklists we’ve used with consulting clients to help them improve their profitability by over 100% in under 60 days. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

By way of background; LifterLMS encompasses the needs of modern membership course creators, allowing you to create an integrated membership site.Chances are, you have a productized service option lurking within your current agency resources; this could be launched quickly, thus opening up a new, easier revenue source.About Chris:A natural and authentic teacher, Chris uses his innate ability to hone every business he’s started or mentored. Creating a Learning Management System for WordPress, he helps online course creators launch, and scale. The LifterLMS community includes agencies who build learning management systems, membership sites, and courses for clients.When he’s not working in his cabin, or homeschooling his kids, you can find Chris on his organic farm spending time in nature, and wowing his family with magic tricks.Points of Interest...Maintaining cash-flow to fund products 3:35Sustaining your product over time 6:34Deciding when to start productizing services 10:04Measuring the impact 11:38Tips for agencies transitioning to productized services 12:07 Maintaining Cash-flow to Fund Products Once you’ve built out your SaaS product, complete with making the often necessary concessions on profit, there are other ways to maintain cash flow.For example, Chris has a knack at talent scouting; investing in someone who may be less experienced, but has the potential to become a leader if given the opportunity to grow while making mistakes. This is the foundation of an economical team engine.Additional ways to maintain cash-flow as discussed by Chris include…Move up-market, ensuring good payment termsGet used to pre-selling and receiving cash upfrontLive below your means where possible, ensuring you survive any dips Sustaining Your ProductIt’s one thing transitioning from an agency to a software company, but – once there – how can you (frankly) survive that transition and ease some of the cash-flow constraints?In short, it’s worth reminding yourself (often) that moving to productizing services is a “process not an event”. As it happens, this is a mantra Chris uses frequently…“I say that about a lot of different things, but transitioning from an agency to a software company was definitely a multi-year process, not an event – like, it happened on Tuesday on this date…”Therefore, it’s necessary to get good at scoping projects and forecasting cash-flow.Based on his experience in delivering high-end, custom web dev solutions for membership sites, Chris also challenged himself to create and productize, while “using mostly our tool, plus some templated sites, with limited customization”, that still delivered ALL the value and a medium price point. Deciding When to Start Productizing ServicesGiven price points vary across the board, your productized service is likely going to be the customer. Bear in mind, the ideal customer or client is going to have different attributes than your custom high-end work.Five years ago, Chris’s process included some of the below…Firstly, he considered how to improve upon scope control, plus drive-up marginsThen, he experimented for a yearHe learned that clients for productized services are going to be very different to high-end clients, with “productized services, sort of a halfway point between agency and product”He also referenced the work of Brian Castle (generally considered a leader in terms of creating productized services out of an agency) and Mandi Ellefson, the mind behind the Hands-Off CEO programme Measuring The ImpactRealizing he was a product person and packaging services that way made sense, it aided a shift in thinking from services to the product – on the way to SaaS.“When you really get clear on productized service offerings, you don’t have to put your best people on it.”Indeed, productized services don’t tend to require a number of high-talent staff. You may need their help to develop the templates, processes and to brainstorm, but in a standard operating procedures way of implementation, resulting in value for the client that feels customized and bespoke.Additionally, Chris was able to price on value and create great margins, plus he realised productized services brought far less stress.Regarding the resulting data and reporting, plus profitability, gross margin, and PR from the product; there was a lot of iteration to get to Product/Market fit. Oh, and margins flipped from 20% to 80%… Result. Tips for Transitioning to Productized ServicesSo, if you’re reading this at home – with a few ideas ruminating and therefore “product curious” – here are some points to consider if you’re pondering a similar move.Do a deep dive into your soulGet better at running a profitable agency so you can afford to invest in the productFigure out how you’re going to bridge that gapBe open to challenging your assumptions about what the product is, versus what it needs to beThat’s the key to unlocking value in a really good offer; don’t get too attached to your assumptions, instead help your clients and your customers uncover their own cause. Want to see more of Chris? Follow him online @LifterLMS.comChris’s LinkedInChris’s FacebookChris’s Twitter Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.