Build a Better Agency Podcast

For most people, especially the creative types that tend to inhabit the agency world, time management is a hodgepodge of post-it notes, paper to-do lists, and several online tools – all used haphazardly and resulting in missed deadlines, meetings and a sense of being overwhelmed. I know for me time management has been a series of constant improvements. While I am 95% happy with the system I have today, I always wonder if I could get little more efficient. I remember when I was first starting out in agency life and had no sense of when to walk away from the to-do list. I felt this sense of obligation to stay until the work was done. My problem, everyone's problem: the work is never done. So, being productive when you need to be is an agency imperative. That's why I was looking forward to talking to Jon Denn. Jon is a creative person and has also done a ton of neuroscience research to understand that—guess what—one size does not fit all when it comes to time management tools and strategies. In this episode, I ask Jon to share insights from his research and provide some perspective. He is a huge proponent of testing or experimentation. So, you can take his basic framework—3 hours of your day broken into chunks that correspond basically with how much mental energy they require—and test it out. He suggests 90 minutes for deep thinking, but quickly acknowledges that 45 or 60 minutes might work best for you. What time of the day are you at your peak? Use that time for your deep thought projects. Here's some good news – there's are reasons why we work at odd hours. I don't adhere to a strict 9-5 schedule and neither do most agency owners I know. Jon's time management framework is at once freeing and very focusing. Jon is the Chief Thinking Officer of Drumbeat Productivity. His background includes serving as a Hotel Chain CEO. Jon ran an adaptive leadership program for 12 years, and is a publisher, entrepreneur, and has been a Vistage CEO Coach and Group Chair since 2014. What You Will Learn in this Episode: How to do small tests to understand when and where your most productive time can be focused How to take control the parts of your schedule that matter most The difference between doing meetings and idea meetings, and how to manage both Why dividing tasks into groups based on the mental energy they require is much more efficient than the traditional "buckets" of work, home, etc. How dividing time into 90-minute (deep thought), 60-minute (complex communication), and 30-minute (quick to-do) blocks is so efficient Why you shouldn't force a fit with time management tools How to find the time management tools and processes that work for you Setting up office-wide "don't distract me" hours, and then other times to just be social together Ways to contact Jon Denn: Website: drumbeatproductivity.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-denn-20a5805/

It's something we all dream about – retirement. Selling our agency for big bucks so we can sip Mai Tai's on the beach. The agency's name and reputation carrying on with another generation. Or just locking the door and calling it done. All are worthy ends for your shop. Whatever your dream is – I know that it's very personal and important to you and I want you to achieve it. But no matter which end game appeals to you, it requires some serious planning (up to a decade before depending on your exit strategy) before you're ready to walk out the door for the last time. And you'll need to run your agency differently in terms of how you handle the money and make other key decisions. Bottom line – the end game is not something you can leave until the end. You'll need to give it serious thought and as Stephen Covey has long implored us, "begin with the end in mind." It starts with some soul searching in terms of how, ideally, you want it to play out and what is possible or at least plausible. Once you've figured that out – you need to put your plan into action, so everything is in place when you're transitioning out and the agency can survive that transition. Over and over I see agency owners who started too late or didn't do the homework to build out the details and specificity they needed in their succession plan. That's the perfect way to limit your options or force you to stick around longer than you want. I don't want that to happen to you. In this episode, we'll take a close look at all of your options and the criteria for each. Hopefully, that will set you up to create a win for you, for your employees, and for potential buyers of your thriving agency. What You Will Learn in This Episode: Building your wealth while you still own your agency Succession options for agency owners Factors that affect the valuation of your agency when you go to sell Why being a generalist decreases the value of your agency The value of setting up sources of residual income outside your agency work Different options if you want to sell your agency How to have candid conversations with potential buyers of your agency Why gifting shares of your agency to employees is a bad idea Baking succession planning into partnership agreements Why you need to go slow when considering merging with another agency Drew McLellan is the CEO at Agency Management Institute. He has also owned and operated his own agency since 1995 and is still actively running the agency today. Drew's unique vantage point as being both an agency owner and working with 250+ small- to mid-size agencies throughout the year gives him a unique perspective on running an agency today. AMI works with agency owners by: Leading agency owner peer groups Offering workshops for owners and their leadership teams Offering AE Bootcamps Conducting individual agency owner coaching Doing on-site consulting Offering online courses in agency new business and account service Because he works with those 250+ agencies every year — Drew has the unique opportunity to see the patterns and the habits (both good and bad) that happen over and over again. He has also written two books and been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, Entrepreneur Magazine, and Fortune Small Business. The Wall Street Journal called his blog "One of 10 blogs every entrepreneur should read." Ways to contact Drew McLellan: Email: drew@agencymanagementinstitute.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/drewmclellan

On this episode, we delve into the unconscious mind and the concept of "limiting beliefs." It's the idea If I say to you, "I'll meet you there in five hours" what is the first question you're going to ask me? Right, meet you where? Finding our way without knowing the destination is impossible. But too often, that's how we run our agencies. Both short and long-term planning often gets sidelined in the hubbub of running our agencies. We're putting out fires. We're solving client crises. We're answering employees' questions. All stuff that needs doing, but for a lot of agency owners, the urgent gets in the way of the important On episode #169, we get right into it. What does it take to create plans that inspire compliance and action? What does it take to actually follow through? Is there such a thing as work-life balance? I'll give that answer away for free: no, there is not. (But still listen in!) That's why I loved my conversation with Jennifer Dawn. She is a business coach for high-achieving entrepreneurs, and she's developed some really strong tools for goal-setting and planning. Jennifer spent years working in the corporate world before taking the plunge and pursuing her passion for mentoring entrepreneurs to grow profitable, healthy, and truly exceptional businesses. Business plans don't have to be the Mona Lisa. They don't have to be epic works of prose. Jennifer and I agree – one page, two max, is a great length for a plan. If you're ready to really make time for the important; if you want a plan for work and life that really serves the life you want, this is a perfect episode to dive into. There are tons of practical tips and suggestions about how to get your plans out there on paper, review regularly, and actually, follow through so you get to the defined destination of your choosing. What You Will Learn in This Episode: How to get your business plan down to two pages or less The importance of getting an outside perspective on your business plan Why beginning with the end in mind has not gone out of style How to make your business plan a living document Breaking down your goals into tiny, manageable steps Definition of the "A" task Actionable ways to manage your work/life blend this week How to build personal and work components together into your planning How to plan your business priorities so they are in support of your life goals Three steps to achieve any goal you set Ways to Contact Jennifer Dawn: Website: https://jenniferdawncoaching.com/ 3 Secrets to Achieve Any Goal You Set (scroll down on the homepage to access this tool): https://bestplannerever.com/

On this episode, we delve into the unconscious mind and the concept of "limiting beliefs." It's the idea that our unconscious mind can hold us back without us even realizing it. So, how do we stop something we're not even conscious of? The good news is that it is possible, and while it does take hard work, the steps themselves are pretty simple. This limiting beliefs stuff may sound a little new-agey. I'm a big fan of data and looking at the facts at hand. For me, turning those limiting beliefs to unlimiting beliefs is fascinating because of the science behind it. This isn't some magic act. My guest on episode #168 is Karen Brown, author of Unlimiting Your Beliefs. Karen is a mentor and coach who works with people to uncover what might be impeding their progress in work and life. Often, our unconscious thoughts and actions are the source of this impediment. One of the most interesting turns in the conversation for me was when Karen talked about her experience preparing to be an Ironman Triathlete. Her limiting belief had told her for 28 years that she shouldn't even be thinking about this. She was not a good swimmer. That was a big hurdle. It was limiting. So, she unlimited her belief, telling herself out loud, "I am a good swimmer." I asked if she suddenly became a good swimmer. As you might imagine, it took more than that. But giving herself that unlimiting belief propelled her to action. She got a swimming coach. She practiced. And soon enough, she was a good swimmer. Our conversation is a fascinating look at the unconscious (or subconscious) mind and how it works. Listen to learn more about how to uncover the unconscious limits we put on ourselves and what to do to break that pattern. Karen Brown is CEO of Velocity Leadership Consulting, a Denver-based business psychology executive and coaching company. With more than 20,000 business coaching hours under her belt, she founded Velocity Leadership Consulting in 2012, after finding her own divine potential while training for and finishing the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. What You Will Learn in This Episode: The science behind limiting beliefs and how to retrain your brain How to make unlimiting beliefs natural and habitual Asking the right questions to uncover the limiting beliefs of your unconscious mind Why writing out your limiting beliefs is so important, and why speaking the opposite out loud is just as important How the skills used in unlimiting your beliefs in one area will have a broad positive impact personally and professionally How to counteract the most common and pernicious limiting belief: I'm not good enough Why our unconscious beliefs and our conscious goals are sometimes at cross-purposes, and what to do about it How, like most things, you've got to use it to lose your ability and reshape limiting beliefs One way to get yourself into the unlimiting mindset: name and write down just one of your achievements Ways to contact Karen Brown: Website: velocityleadershipconsulting.com/build/ Book: https://amzn.to/2ypriYS

When you started your agency, it was probably pretty exciting and somehow any worries you had were squelched before they could get in the way. But as our agencies get a little more established and we get a little more comfortable, taking a risk seems scarier, doesn't it? My guest thinks that's a problem and he recommends that we re-acquainted with being uncomfortable. In some ways, I'd like to think my big risk-taking days are behind me. But when I go to manage my business, and in nearly every conversation I have with my AMI colleagues, I know being risk-averse is not a strategy any of us can afford. Staying relevant and successful—according to my guest—requires a level of comfort with being uncomfortable. It is a bit of bromide that the rapid pace of change is the one constant we can count on these days. How do we manage that change and thrive in the midst of it? That's what we're getting at in this episode. On episode #167, my guest Scott Amyx proves that he knows this topic. From a childhood of poverty in South Korea to a career at the tip of the spear in terms of understanding and embracing innovation, Scott has lived and thrived in this era of discomfort. The upshot of his research is clear: being prepared for change and meeting disruption with a strategy of embracing it and pivoting as needed is a critical skill to survival as a business owner today. Scott Amyx is the Chair & Managing Partner at Amyx Ventures and Singularity University/Smart City Accelerator Mentor and Startup Board Member. He is a TEDx speaker on disruption and success. Scott is a thought leader, speaker, author, and winner of the Cloud & DevOps World Award for Most Innovative Vendor. Scott's book, Strive, is all about how doing the most uncomfortable things leads to success. What You Will Learn About in This Episode: How to get comfortable with being uncomfortable What you need to know about decentralized, autonomous organizations The market imperative of lifelong learning Why selling expertise and strategy is where differentiation happens How individual discomfort gets collectivized and creates tipping points for innovation Why as individuals and organizations, we need to be disrupted in order to be our optimal selves How process automation is disrupting the work of agencies as much as any other business sector Why the way we tell stories in our business needs to evolve with the tech and platforms people use to engage with stories Why the move toward a more agile, freelance workforce in your agency is likely not a short-term trend Ways to contact Scott Amyx: Order Strive: https://amzn.to/2yqtMGh TEDx Talk: https://youtu.be/FXoqlqpWpao Website: https://scottamyx.com/

Back in my early days of agency life, there was a production or traffic manager in every agency. Their job was to make sure all of the work was in the pipeline and delivered on time and on budget. Somewhere along the way, as agencies streamlined, that position went away. But now it's back. And it's making a huge difference in agencies client retention and profitability. Back then, the production manager was a combination of what we might think of today as a traffic manager and somebody who negotiated with all the outside vendors like printers or other suppliers providing a service to the agency to solve a client's problem. The production manager kept track of all the jobs the agency had open, the due dates, who within the agency was working on them — and it was all done by hand without software. Then in the middle of my career, that position sort of went away as people within agencies started tracking their own jobs using some sort of software. Computers and systems began to replace things that humans did previously. Because of the complexity of our work today, and how fast it needs to be delivered, many agencies are discovering they need more than just software. They need a dedicated person responsible for driving how the work gets done and how it gets done on a budget. This is a vital role inside an agency and I'm glad to see it's back. Depending on the size of your agency, this position, combined with implementing the right software, might be something you want to think about as you prepare to step into 2019. But before you do, I want to share several best practices, resources to evaluate, and a month-by-month roadmap so you and your team will know what to expect and when. Quite honestly — on-boarding this new role, especially if you add in new software, will be bumpy. It will be hard on your team. You need to think about it carefully, and if you're ready to grow, maybe it's the next step for you. My goal for this solocast is to help smooth out the road for you as much as possible. What you'll learn about in this episode: Why not having a traffic manager may be holding back your agency's growth How to decide if and when your agency is ready to hire a traffic manager and onboard the software system The day-to-day role of a traffic manager and the impact the role can have on your agency's profitability and client retention Why the traffic manager is a full-time position, not a hybrid, and definitely not entry-level Who the traffic manager should report to within the agency and why The personality and EQ a good traffic manager must have to handle the work and the team The advantages and disadvantages of all-in-one software solutions versus standalone What you and your team can expect to happen within the agency during each month of the implementation process and how it gets worse before it gets better The role of the agency owner throughout the process What are the success metrics you and your team need to consider before deciding to go down this path Drew McLellan is the CEO at Agency Management Institute. He has also owned and operated his own agency since 1995 and is still actively running the agency today. Drew's unique vantage point as being both an agency owner and working with 250+ small- to mid-size agencies throughout the year gives him a unique perspective on running an agency today. AMI works with agency owners by: Leading agency owner peer groups Offering workshops for owners and their leadership teams Offering AE Bootcamps Conducting individual agency owner coaching Doing on-site consulting Offering online courses in agency new business and account service Because he works with those 250+ agencies every year — Drew has the unique opportunity to see the patterns and the habits (both good and bad) that happen over and over again. He has also written two books and been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, Entrepreneur Magazine, and Fortune Small Business. The Wall Street Journal called his blog "One of 10 blogs every entrepreneur should read." Ways to contact Drew McLellan: Email: drew@agencymanagementinstitute.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/drewmclellan

Content marketing is growing up. It's no longer about throwing out random social posts, random blog posts, or making an infographic once a quarter. Instead, we need to begin asking the questions (for our own agency and our clients): What are we building? What can we become as a brand that is of value to this audience of people we care about? Who can we be for our prospects, our customers, and our business partners? And I think an agency's role in that can be both exciting and profitable. Why? Because one of the biggest frustrations for most agency owners is that it's getting harder to have a seat at the client's strategy table. Agencies are being commoditized and relegated to the status of order takers all too often. But when we have strategic conversations with a client around how they can truly leverage content in a way that is much bigger than a set of assets — you help them become a destination. You help them become a media company. That's when the game changes and you're back driving the client's strategy and having significant impact on their goals. You become a must have partner. My guest today is Robert Rose. He was instrumental in the creation and growth of the Content Marketing Institute working alongside CMI founder Joe Pulizzi. Robert has written several books, including two with Joe. Their latest, "Killing Marketing" is about how innovative companies are using content as a strategy to turn marketing cost into a revenue stream rather than a cost. I promise you — Robert and I will get you thinking in completely different ways about content, the way your agency delivers content, charges for content, and talks to clients about content. Here's the thing — most agencies will not have the courage to implement the future proofing strategies Robert and I discussed in this episode. Be one of the few that does. I encourage you to take action — do something with what you learn from this episode. If you do that — you will be sought after — and I want that for you. And if you found this episode helpful — you might also be interested in the 2-day "Content Marketing For Agencies" workshop Robert and I are teaching this January. Learn more here. What You Will Learn About in This Episode: How using content as a strategy can help solve a client's business issues — and in the process — future proof your agency Why your audience — or your client's audience — should be considered your "pre-client database Why agencies need to understand how to create content with a purpose and that it is no longer about creating more stuff How all the content marketing assets created for a client need to connect together to tell a single story How treating audience members like customers builds trust, then their walls come down, and they become much more open to sales messaging How to create an owned content experience for your clients and help them transform into media companies Why agencies need to have some sort of vertical specialization combined with a unique point-of-view of how they approach the world in order to be differentiated How an agency can go about uncovering its unique point-of-view Why midsized agencies looking to grow and become trusted business advisors to clients should focus on the strategic side because that is where the value is Why if you can't control the media — then becoming the media is a viable content strategy for agencies and clients alike Ways to Contact Robert Rose: www.contentadvisory.net www.robertrose.net

In last week's encore interview with Robin Boehler — we talked about the biz dev practices that she and the team at Mercer Island Group see when they're sitting on the client's side of the room. If you listened to that episode — you heard me say that if you implement the best practices Robin shared, you're going to see the difference in your win rate. And because I want you to be as prepared as possible as you step into 2019 — I invited Steve Boehler and Lindsay O'Neil, also from Mercer Island Group, to join me for this week's episode. Think of this as a new biz one-two punch! There is nobody more in the fray of seeing why agencies win, lose, or how the pitch process plays out than Steve, Lindsay, and their team. And nobody is more generous in sharing what they observe. This episode will give you the inside look at how agencies present themselves (accidentally and on purpose) and the influence each nuance has on our prospects as they weigh one agency against the others. We talked about the prep work agencies need to be doing so they're ready to make a successful pitch. My guests dove into the details like researching a prospect, building out a business profile, preparing your PowerPoint so it stands out, some best practices around rehearsing, and even how your agency should ask for a client's business at the end. Because making the "ask" really matters. Steve and Lindsay also shared examples of case studies from agencies that won a pitch because their teams showcased the client as the hero in the work, as opposed to putting the spotlight on themselves. Whether you're pitching a new prospect — or you're strategically merchandising the work you did for an existing client during the last year — the case study process we discuss is worth the listen alone! I'm excited for you to listen to these two (this one and episode #163 with Robin) interviews because I know Robin, Steve, and Lindsay will help you put your best foot forward in 2019. And if you found the episodes helpful – you can get even more by spending 2-4 days learning from Robin and Steve Boehler at AMI's Win More Business workshops this January. Learn more here. What You Will Learn About in This Episode: How to build a detailed dossier for your prospective client in about two hours Why learning how a prospective client talks about themselves is a valuable piece of information to uncover in your research process How to ask the right questions that uncover a prospect's business issues while instilling confidence that you understand them and their industry Why preparing brilliant case studies like those of FIG Agency makes your client the hero — not your work How to make your client a celebrity as McCANN WORLDGROUP did for its client, State Street Advisors with "Fearless Girl" Why less is more when it comes to the written proposal and what are the key elements that must be included — and most agencies miss How to front-load your proposal and presentation so that you focus on the client and not your agency How and why you should invite your prospective client to your agency for a visit How to build and document your business issue success experience so it is at the ready for your next presentation How to let a client know at the end of the presentation that your agency wants their business without sounding schmaltzy Ways to Contact Steve Boehler and Lindsay O'Neil: Website: www.migroup.com Phone: 206.236.0447

Business development is a topic that is always front-and-center for agency owners. So I'm welcoming back one of our most popular guests, Robin Boehler from Mercer Island Group, to talk to us about the observations she and her team have made as they work with both agencies and clients who are asking to be matched with agencies. From those observations, Robin will outline some of the best practices that we need to be mindful of as we work to grow our agencies. One of my favorite songs from the play Hamilton is "In the Room Where it Happens" where Aaron Burr laments that he's not an insider, seeing how decisions are made. Mercer Island Group is always front and center in that room, as brands decide which agency has earned their business. You and I, as agency owners, are like Burr. We're never going to be invited in, but fortunately, we have access to someone who is always there. In this podcast, Robin will help us understand how clients respond to the work we do, our level of preparation before and during a pitch, and how we communicate our understanding of the client's business issues. Sadly, sometimes the best fit agency doesn't win. The agency lined up perfectly with the client and maybe should have been the agency that was selected. But something the agency did or didn't do take them out of the running. All without them even knowing what they did. We've all made mistakes during a pitch and didn't come out ahead. Those mistakes are painful and expensive. But they're fixable if you heed the insights Robin shared in this episode. I promise you — if you implement the best practices Robin and I talk about in this episode, you're going to see the difference in your win rate. This is the perfect time of year to put this advice into action so you step into 2019 ready to serve your prospects and build your agency. If you love this episode – you can get even more by spending 2-4 days learning from Robin and Steve Boehler at AMI's Win More Business workshops this January. Learn more here. What You Will Learn About in This Episode: Common mistakes Robin sees agencies make when preparing, or while making, their pitch to a client How agencies need to stop underutilizing the cover letter to their presentation How to read, analyze, and uncover what a client is requesting in their RFP / RFI Why it's important to focus the majority of your presentation around the client's business issues — and not your agency How to evoke curiosity and make your prospects want to lean in when you describe your agency How to write a cold email to a prospect and stand out from the crowd How to ensure everyone on your team is telling the same story about the agency and how you serve clients Why "frame of reference" is important when communicating with a prospect about what your agency does Why you should put the entire pitch process, assets, and everything you will need to be successful onto an agency calendar — and allow enough time at the end for adjustments How problems around attention to detail make clients begin to question an agency's bandwidth and capacity Ways to contact Robin Boehler: Website: www.migroup.com Phone: 206.236.0447

Often on this podcast, I share a wide-ranging conversation with my guest and we bounce around a little bit, even though we are focused on an overall theme. This episode is a little bit different. We going to deep-dive into just one subject: geofencing. For some in our business who aren't digital natives, reaching an audience through new technologies like geofencing may seem complicated. When I started the business while still in college, it was all about print, radio, and TV. Now, I turn around without bumping into a new delivery channel or technology, like geofencing. On episode #162 of the Build a Better Agency podcast, my guest is Justin Croxton. He is the director of sales at Propellant Media, where they serve clients with location-specific methods like geofencing. Their clients are mostly SMBs in both B2B and B2C categories. IN our conversation, Justin compares getting fluent with geofencing as similar to becoming proficient in AdWords. Justin didn't start his career in the agency business, but about three or four years ago, partnered with some colleagues to form Propellant, where the main product is inbound and technology-driven solutions for clients. What You Will Learn About in This Episode: The difference between beacon notification and geofencing notifications How to build conversion zones using geofencing Getting over the "minimum spend" hurdle in geofence ad buying Why you should consider coupling geofencing with search retargeting How to create the right digital marketing mix with geofencing as a key ingredient How to target the right people within a geofence with your marketing message Ways you can keep up the messaging (or not) once someone leaves a geofenced zone The digital mechanics of how geofencing interacts with apps and sites on your phone How geofencing works in the B2B space Why it's not complicated for agencies to enter the geofencing space Ways to contact Justin Croxton: Website: www.propellant.media LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/justincroxton We're proud to announce that Hubspot is now the presenting sponsor of the Build A Better Agency podcast! Many thanks to them for their support!