Build a Better Agency Podcast

Sam Mallikarjunan is a Marketing Fellow at HubSpot and former Head of Growth at HubSpot Labs, the somewhat-secret experimental arm of the world's #1 Sales & Marketing platform. Sam teaches Advanced Digital Marketing at the Harvard Division of Continuing Education, and he is also the co-author of the book How To Sell Better Than Amazon (which, thanks to the publisher, is ironically available for purchase on Amazon). What you'll learn about in this episode: The way the internet has changed selling so that there's almost too much information How salespeople can help consumers sift through the breadth of information out there Structuring sales calls so they're all about asking the buyers questions about their business The power of inbound: competition where no one else is competing Learning to say no to bad revenue Why you need to build buyer personas -- both for your ideal customers and customers that you don't want to do business with because they're going to cost you money Why clients need agencies to teach them what to do -- not how to do it Getting involved with your client's complete business -- including the sales side of their business How to get your clients to treat your agency like a partner instead of a vendor Ways to contact Sam Mallikarjunan: Website: www.mallikarjunan.com Twitter: @Mallikarjunan Website: thinkgrowth.org 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!

Drew McLellan is the CEO at Agency Management Institute. For the past 23+ years, he has also owned and operated his own agency. Drew's unique vantage point as being both an active 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 — he 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, Entrepreneur Magazine, and Fortune Small Business. The Wall Street Journal called his blog "One of 10 blogs every entrepreneur should read." What you'll learn about in this episode: Why all agencies weren't made to grow to the same size (and why that's okay) Why agency owners have to work extremely hard when they're at 0-5 employees and why all the employees in an agency that size have to wear multiple hats The bench strength problem for agencies with 5-12 employees and why there might only be one employee with a certain skill and no one to back them up Why the systems in processes must change for an agency once it hits 12 employees The change around 15 employees that takes an agency from being a family to being a team The decision-making process: why decisions are made collectively before agencies reach 12 employees and why agency owners need to take more autonomy at times as the agency grows Why around 35 employees is a great size for agencies in terms of cash flow (and why a gorilla client can be very dangerous at this point) Bigger, better clients and bigger, better employees: why 35-65 employees is the point where agencies "level up" Why bigger doesn't equal more profitable for agencies anymore Ways to contact Drew McLellan: Email: drew@agencymanagementinstitute.com 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!

Joe Pulizzi is the founder of Content Marketing Institute which is now a UBM company. It is the leading education and training organization for content marketing, which includes the largest in-person content marketing event in the world, Content Marketing World. Joe is the winner of the 2014 John Caldwell Lifetime Achievement Award from the Content Council. Joe's fifth book "Killing Marketing" was just released. His third book, "Epic Content Marketing" was named one of "Five Must-Read Business Books of 2013" by Fortune Magazine. What you'll learn about in this episode: The evolution of content marketing Focusing on your core verticals to help clients out with some part of the process that they're terrible at How agencies can help clients build an audience of people that knows, likes, and trusts them and how that has a large impact over time Why elevating someone to the status of an expert with content marketing is a long-term process Focusing on clients that already value and have a budget for content marketing How delivering value to prospects on a long-term basis will all you to do business with them without going through an RFP How getting your audience to know, like, and trust you with content marketing will allow you to sell easily Some of the many different ways to monetize your customer list Changing the defined idea of marketing to match consumer behavior Why you can't be everything to everybody and need to focus on a niche Why your sliver of opportunity to get started in on a niche is right now Ways to contact Joe Pulizzi: Twitter: @joepulizzi Website: www.joepulizzi.com 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!

Steve Boehler is a founding partner at Mercer Island Group - a strategic management and marketing consultancy. The company has three key practice areas: strategic business consulting, organization effectiveness, and client-agency relationships. They help companies and executives succeed. One of the ways they do that is by helping them better position themselves and sell more effectively by better bonding with prospects around the prospects' needs. They work with agencies of all sizes and types as well as consult to major clients in the US and across the globe like Microsoft, Ulta Beauty, PetSmart, Starbucks and many other fine firms. Steve started his career at Procter & Gamble - in his decade there he was the second youngest brand manager in that venerable company's history, turned around the Pringle's business, led Jif Peanut Butter to market leadership, and turned around the Tide business. What you'll learn about in this episode: Why clients likely don't know about your agency and why you have to make yourself findable The importance of consistency with content creation Making your pitch unique so that it stands out from other agencies (and why agencies struggle with this so much) Selling and pitching: why it's all about the prospect and their business and not about you The importance of doing your homework and actually bringing that homework into your presentation What to ask every client person in a pitch meeting to get them all involved Why you need to get prospects to agree to an agenda for a pitch meeting How getting prospects to define a problem helps to get them to buy into your solution Why you need to limit how you introduce your agency in a pitch to five slides (and what should be on those slides) What to leave with a prospect after the pitch Why you have to pitch to win Ways to contact Steve Boehler: Email: steveb@migroup.com Website: www.migroup.com Phone: (206) 236-0447 Resources: Layers of Sales episode 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!

Luke Summerfield wakes up each morning excited to discover, experience, and share moments of inspirations. He does this at HubSpot, advising startups, writing, and speaking. He founded the Growth-Driven Design movement which is transforming the world of web design. In the first twelve months, they grew from 0 -> 940 agencies in 50 countries offering GDD services to clients. Previous to HubSpot, Luke helped grow a digital marketing agency until it was acquired in 2014. Outside of work, he trains Mixed Martial Arts / Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and rough houses with his pug puppy, Mac. What you'll learn about in this episode: Growth-driven design: what this "smarter way to do web design" is all about Why the platform you use for your website doesn't matter with growth-driven design How growth-driven design was born out of the pain both agencies and clients felt around web development and why this system is so much better than previous ways of doing web dev Step 1: getting an empathetic understanding of your client's audience's world Step 2: building a "launch pad" website -- something that looks and performs better than what the client already has but is not the final product Step 3: continually improving websites How to sell and price growth-driven design to clients Why you should always sell at least 15 hours a month of growth-driven design and why you need at least a six month engagement from a client The stats that prove that growth-driven design gets more leads than traditional design Why growth-driven design still works great when you outsource the coding piece of web design All the assets Luke has on his website Ways to contact Luke Summerfield: Website: www.growthdrivendesign.com Report: www.growthdrivendesign.com/report Directory: www.growthdrivendesign.com/directory LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lukesummerfield 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!

Gerald Sexton is Director of Employee Enablement at Goodway Group. Gerald joined Goodway in early 2016 and brings significant experience in leveraging human resources to improve business performance and employee experience. Throughout his career, he has worked in the consulting, medical, aerospace and defense, and satellite-entertainment industries. His most recent position as Senior Human Resources (HR) Manager for DIRECTV's premier customer-retention center in Boise, Idaho, allowed him to demonstrate just how much impact a strong HR partnership can have. Using an integrated approach with site leadership, Gerald helped the site reduce attrition by 7 percent, creating three million in cost savings. He holds a BS in psychology and an MA in organizational psychology. His fascination with solving complex problems in organizations led him to a career in HR with a strong emphasis on talent and organizational development. Gerald has a passion for cooking and enjoys traveling (and eating food from) all over the world. He lives in Boise with his wife, Robyn, and daughter, Rowan. What you'll learn about in this episode: The history of Goodway Group How Goodway succeeds with a virtual company with employees in 41 states The best tools for managing a virtual company What Gerald looks for in the hiring process to figure out if someone is suited for the hiring process or not Why Goodway looks at their team members results -- not their hours working How to build and maintain a strong company culture when running a virtual team Goodway's twice-yearly all company meet-up The costs involved in a virtual team The benefits of working from home -- both on personal and business life Giving your team the freedom to plan out their day in a way that works best for them Why leaders of virtual teams need to be great at giving feedback and being transparent Why -- if you're not comfortable going all virtual -- you should start small -- but not too small -- and build from there Benefits Goodway offers their employees that they couldn't offer if they had a physical location How to get started trying going virtual 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!

Drew McLellan is the Top Dog at Agency Management Institute. For the past 23 years, he has also owned and operated his own agency. Drew's unique vantage point as being both an active 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 — he 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, Entrepreneur Magazine, and Fortune Small Business. The Wall Street Journal called his blog "One of 10 blogs every entrepreneur should read." What you'll learn about in this episode: Why the days where creative led agencies have passed and why creative has been replaced by strategy, content, and lead gen The shortage of writers compared to the abundance of art directors and why that's a pretty big issue for agencies Why creative directors aren't in that high of demand anymore, and what traditional creative directors look like in the agencies that have them Administrative, account service, and creative services: the three departments that make up most agencies today The triad of leadership - a writer, art director, and digital producer lead the creative services department in lieu of a creative director Why you don't usually even need to produce spec creative for a pitch anymore Figuring out which roles inside your agency you still need Allocating funds from cut positions elsewhere to serve your clients better Ways to contact Drew McLellan: Email: drew@agencymanagementinstitute.com 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!

Ryan Meo has worked with hundreds of agencies and built thousands of websites over the years. About 10 years ago he started a company called Sitetology which turned into TheWebsiteProject.org and has been recently re-branded to ScaleSquad.com. They are a private label website services outsource solution for freelancers, small agencies, and even big agencies. They have helped more agencies than they can count go from trying to do everything on their own, to having a dependable, scalable, and affordable solution. What you'll learn about in this episode: How Ryan started selling websites — even though he didn't know how to build them Taking a custom service like web design and making it scalable Why you have to prevent scope creep by being firm with clients on what their deliverables are (or by moving them up to a higher package) How Ryan is able to charge a low, flat rate for his websites and why he puts a lot of focus on what isn't included in those packages Why you shouldn't turn away customers who can't afford your bespoke services Why agencies make a big mistake by talking too much in the initial call with a prospect Building a strong relationship with an outsourced web-dev shop like Ryan's Why your project manager makes or breaks your agency The importance of over-communication How to mitigate unrealistic expectations What the ideal agency looks like for Ryan The Golden Nugget: "The only way to scale a service-based business is by learning how to say 'no' appropriately." – Ryan MeoCLICK TO TWEET Ways to contact Ryan: Website: scalesquad.com Email: ryan@scalesquad.com 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!

John Hall is co-founder and CEO of Influence & Co., a content marketing agency that helps companies and individuals extract and leverage their expertise to create, publish, and distribute content to their key audiences. In five years, John has grown Influence & Co. into one of the largest providers of high-quality expert content to more than 1,000 of the world's top publications. Under John's leadership, Influence & Co. was ranked No. 72 on Forbes' "Most Promising Companies in America" list in 2014 and was named Empact's "Best Marketing and Advertising Company of 2014" at the United Nations. Influence & Co. was also recently mentioned in Inc. as the No. 1 company dominating content marketing. John has weekly columns for Forbes and Inc. and has contributed to more than 50 publications, including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, The Washington Post, and Mashable. John was recently recognized as a "must-see" and one of the most authentic speakers in Forbes. His talks have inspired thousands of leaders, marketers, salespeople, entrepreneurs, and others to improve their performance. What you'll learn about in this episode: Thought leadership: why it's something you have to do Creating a thought leadership content marketing blueprint Why your blogs should have the author's name for a byline -- not the agency's name Strategies for creating content that isn't generic How to build thought leadership into your schedule so that you actually spend time on it -- and what to do if you can't Finding the ideal mix for publishing content on your own site vs. externally Big mistakes agencies make with their content Why thought leadership content marketing is here for the long haul Ways to contact John: Email: john@influenceandco.com Twitter: @johnhall Website: www.influenceandco.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/johnhall4 Book: "Top of Mind: Use Content to Unleash Your Influence and Engage Those Who Matter To You" 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!

Mark Winters' passion is helping entrepreneurs get unstuck so they can pursue their freedom. Depending on the unique situation, Mark's talent for introducing just the right combination of perspective and process sparks teams to start moving, move faster, or begin moving in the proper direction - with clarity. As a teacher, coach, and facilitator, Mark spends most of his time directly engaged with entrepreneurial leadership teams as a Certified EOS Implementer—helping them implement EOS in their own companies. He's delivered over 400 full-day EOS workshops with companies from around the U.S. Mark has been an entrepreneur since the age of 28, after catching the "bug" during B-school at the University of Chicago. At last count, he's started/bought/sold/shut down 11 different companies. One recent venture, as a Founder and CEO, had a very successful exit – yielding a 100x cash return in less than 3 yrs. All this activity has led to some recognition, including being named a Tech Titan finalist as an emerging company CEO, and listed as "40 Under Forty" by the Business Journal in both Milwaukee and Dallas. Mark is a "Freedom Forum" member as an EOS Implementer. He was also awarded Rookie of the Year and Chair Excellence distinctions by Vistage International. What you'll learn about in this episode: The "visionary" and the "integrator" from "Rocket Fuel" by Gino Wickman and Mark C. Winters How visionaries and integrators can build trust so that integrators can take control of what visionaries create What business owners need to do when they are an integrator and they need a visionary (most owners are visionaries) If you are a visionary, how to determine if you have an integrator on your team and what to do if you don't The seven-step visionary integrator connection process for finding the right integrator How to know if you're going to be able to sell your agency to your integrator or not (and what your exit plan can look like in both scenarios) Things that make visionary-integrator relationships fall apart The five rules and five tools for visionaries and integrators Assessing whether you need an integrator Why you need to read "Rocket Fuel" The Rocket Fuel Maximizer for getting more out of this topic Ways to contact Mark Winters: Website: www.rocketfuelnow.com Twitter: @MarkCWinters LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/markcwinters YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/PelotonVentures 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!