Build a Better Agency Podcast

Christopher Lochhead is co-author of Harper Collins' instant classic "Play Bigger" and host of the Legends and Losers podcast. Christopher is a retired three-time, Silicon Valley, public company CMO, entrepreneur and category designer. Fast Company Magazine calls him a "Human Exclamation Point and The Economist calls him "off-putting to some. He can recite much of The Big Lebowski but can't remember his wife's phone number. He's a proud advisor to nonprofit 1 Life Fully Lived, an ass-kicking public speaker, and surf / ski bum living happily ever after in Santa Cruz California with a wonderful tribe and 7 beautiful hens. What you'll learn about in this episode: Chris' career journey that took him from Silicon Valley CMO to coach to podcast host Chris' book: "Play Bigger: How Pirates, Dreamers, and Innovators Create and Dominate Markets" What category design is and why every agency needs to get great at it Why "category" is as important as "product" and "company" How to position your agency in a category that you can dominate The two kinds of problems that need solving The three questions to ask to start creating your category to dominate The three ways service-based businesses make money Why your client base may change after you define your category (and why that's perfectly okay) Why your agency can still do work that doesn't fit exactly in your category if needed (the kids gotta eat!) as long as the perception of your agency stays within your category Why legendary category designers always expand what they do Why becoming a category king is going to take a leap of faith And tons of examples of category kings that have done what it takes to stand out amongst the competition Ways to Contact Christopher Lochhead: Podcast: www.legendsandlosers.com Book: "Play Bigger: How Pirates, Dreamers, and Innovators Create and Dominate Markets"

Drew McLellan is the Top Dog at Agency Management Institute. For the past 21 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, give 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 you need think long and hard before making employees partners Why partnerships will look different if you're a C Corp than any other structure (S Corp, LLC, etc.) Why you need to make sure someone actually wants to be a partner before you offer them a partnership Why you need to sell shares and not gift shares Why you should only bring on one partner at a time Why -- if your employee doesn't have the skills they need to be a partner -- and they probably don't -- you need to teach them Why it usually takes about 10 years to groom someone to take over for you Why you really need to decide if you're ready for all of your autonomy to go away How to finance partnerships (odds are they can't afford it on their salary) How to start having the conversation about funding your buyout Ways to contact Drew McLellan: Email: drew@agencymanagementinstitute.com

Aaron Agius is one of the world's leading digital marketers according to Forbes. He is CEO of Louder Online, one of the world's leading digital agencies with a global reach. Louder Online is an inbound marketing agency, working globally with clients such as Salesforce, IBM, Coca-Cola, Intel and scores of leading brands, showing them how to technically optimize their sites, perform influencer outreach and link acquisition and produce and distribute content that drives significant lead generation and ROI. Aaron is a highly sought speaker at Search, Content Marketing and Growth Hacking and many other conferences around the globe including the U.S, U.K, Brazil, London and Australia. His passion to help businesses is driven from his own experience. Aaron was at the cutting edge of the emerging digital marketing field over 10 years ago. He uses that lived experience and now translates it into revenue for clients. He is also a regular contributor to some of the world's largest editorial publications, including Entrepreneur.com, Hubspot.com and many more, with thought leadership on marketing and business growth. What you'll learn about in this episode: Why you absolutely must work on and invest in the business (no excuses!) How Aaron established himself as a thought leader through guest blogging and what he would recommend doing today Why you need high-quality proposal documents Why you need to be cooperative rather than competitive with agencies that you share a client with Why Aaron has created smaller sister agencies in other countries instead of using freelancers Aaron's genius strategy for leveraging LinkedIn How to prove the ROI of your work to a client Why it's the CEO's job to stay on top of what's coming next Resources that Aaron himself uses to stay current How continually writing blogs, being on podcasts, hosting webinars, etc. helps you keep the clients you have Why you have to write for readers, not search engines Ways to Contact Aaron Agius: Website: louder.online Welcome page: louder.online/build Twitter: @IAmAaronAgius LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/aaronagius Blog: How the Pros Track Conversions and ROI With These Content Marketing Metrics 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!

Marcus Blankenship is a management consultant, trainer and executive coach for software managers and leaders. He helps companies hire the right people, create the right culture, and set up the right process which achieves their goals. Managing a team isn't something learned in college. In fact, his clients often tell him "I never prepared for this role, I always focused on doing the work." If you're ready to improve your leadership, process and team then you need to know Marcus. What you'll learn about in this episode: Why you must identify your high and low performers Why you shouldn't be a passive-aggressive leader Why you can't hire anyone you can't fire Structured management: why you can't set people free without management and why you need to set up strong management systems when your agency is small Why consistent one-on-one meetings are so crucial What happens in your employee's head when you cancel a one-on-one meeting How to create a safe environment where the people below you are willing to give you the feedback you need Why you shouldn't let feedback sit more than a week Marcus' one-on-one framework guide Ways to Contact Marcus Blankenship: Website: marcusblankenship.com Email: marcus@marcusblankenship.com Book: "7 Habits that Ruin your Technical Team" Marcus' One-on-One Meeting Framework Email list with articles on running your team, daily management tips and guides for running your team: marcusblankenship.com/list 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 Jantsch is a marketing consultant, speaker, and author of "Duct Tape Marketing," "Duct Tape Selling," "The Commitment Engine," and "The Referral Engine." He is also the founder of the Duct Tape Marketing Consultant Network. His latest book, "SEO for Growth - The Ultimate Guide for Marketers, Web Designers, and Entrepreneurs," is changing the way the world thinks about SEO. What you'll learn about in this episode: The big changes SEO has undergone recently Why you need to re-engineer a client's editorial approach when you're assisting them with an existing website Some of John's favorite web/SEO tools Why content and SEO can't be thought of as two different things Big mistakes people make with SEO How to charge for SEO and demonstrate ROI How John uses an editorial calendar to plan and write all of his content Why you need content built for every stage of the customer journey Why SEO is all about consistency Why backlinks are still important in 2017 and how to do them right without getting penalized Resources that John recommends to grow your digital know-how Ways to Contact John Jantsch: Book: "SEO for Growth: The Ultimate Guide for Marketers, Web Designers & Entrepreneurs" Website: www.ducttapemarketing.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!

Dan Englander is the founder of Sales Schema, where he helps marketing agencies grow by way of done-for-you lead generation and consulting. He's the author of Mastering Account Management. Previously, as the first hire at the animation studio IdeaRocket, he brought the company from zero to seven figures, encompassing dozens of Fortune 500 clients. What you'll learn about in this episode: How Dan helps agencies fill their sales pipelines Why you can't rely on referrals from your network for sales Why creating content is not a sales strategy Why you need to systematize pipeline work and why you need to allot daily time for working on your pipeline Honing in on a particular niche when generating leads Why driving prospects to your website is not what you want to be doing Why you need to have a follow-up plan in place for your cold emails Why you need to get on the phone with a lead as soon as possible How to word cold emails so they actually resonate with cold leads How Dan's company helps agencies hone in on their niche Why cold emails have to come from a real person (and which person inside an agency they should come from) Why you need to get the right clients for your agency Why you shouldn't overinvest in tools Some good tools that Dan likes Dan's book: "Mastering Account Management" Ways to Contact Dan Englander: Free copy of Dan's book: www.salesschema.com/buildabetteragency Website: www.salesschema.com Twitter: @DansPalace LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/danenglander 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 21 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, give 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: A CPA I recently met in San Diego who built his life around being able to go surfing every day An exercise a coach I had about 10 years ago would put me through so that I would envision my future as if it had already happened Why my life would not look like it does today if 10 years ago I had not visualized what I wanted it to look like today Why it's okay if everything doesn't play out exactly the way you visualize How to do the Reporter Exercise my coach gave me (linked below) Ways to contact Drew McLellan: Email: drew@agencymanagementinstitute.com Resources: The Reporter Exercise 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!

Jason Keath is a refreshing voice on creative culture and digital trends. He is a keynote speaker, writer, and entrepreneur. Jason is the founder and CEO of Social Fresh Conference, the leading social media and digital marketing conference for major brands and agencies. More than 150 of the Fortune 500 have attended Jason's training sessions, workshops, and presentations. Rooted firmly in the creative arts, Jason brings an innovative approach to marketing and internal culture. With a BFA in Fine Arts from the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, he focuses on how creative thinking can drive businesses forward and improve employee satisfaction and productivity. He is routinely quoted by media in the NY Times, USA Today, MSNBC, the LA Times, AdAge, the Washington Post and other outlets. Jason is also the author of the forthcoming book, The Case for More Bad Ideas (revealing the counterintuitive secrets of creative leaders). What you'll learn about in this episode: Jason's background Why Jason started Social Fresh How to get your whole team to be creative Why you need to hear bad ideas and how to manage your team so they aren't afraid to voice them Why you should brainstorm at least 50-100 ideas for every one that you actually put into place How having your team prepare ideas anonymously in advance will save you time and result in a discussion that's more free Why creativity comes from having at least one core competency (and how to figure out what your core competency is) The filter phase of the process post brainstorming where you take ideas and combine and eliminate ideas until you've broken them down to where you're happy with them Why you should try to come up with three great ideas and keep the two that you ultimately don't go with for later Why you need to make the space where your team has creative meetings a different space than where they would sit through boring meetings What you can do in your free time to boost your creativity Why your brainstorming teams should be a mix of people who have brainstormed together in the past and those who haven't Jason's upcoming event this summer all about the future of the industry Ways to Contact Jason Keath: Twitter: @jasonkeath Social Fresh Newsletter: www.socialfresh.com/subscribe Website: www.jasonkeath.com Social Media Newsletter: www.SMcurrent.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!

Judy Robinett has led both public and private companies as CEO and served in management positions at Fortune 500 companies. She is on the advisory boards of Illuminate VC, Pereg VC, and Springboard Enterprises. Judy previously served as a managing director of Golden Seeds Angel Network and as a member of the faculty of Goldman Sachs' 10,000 Small Business Program. Judy's book, "How to Be a Power Connector: the 5+50+150 Rule," was named the #1 business book of 2014 by Inc. She has been profiled in Entrepreneur, Vogue, Fast Company, Forbes, CBS, Huffington Post, and Bloomberg Businessweek. What you'll learn about in this episode: Judy's background Why networking is crucial for biz-dev (and why referrals alone is not a biz-dev strategy) The 5+50+150 Rule: why you need to target 50 people Why there is no lack of money keeping you from getting funded Positioning yourself to be invited to the right events (and which events you should target) Judy's strategies for being a good networker and how she interacts with strangers How to deepen the relationships you already have Why you need to kick fear to the curb and just talk to people How to provide consistent value to your network so that you keep relationships fresh Why you should reach out to people you feel like are above you Judy's Top Ten Power Connecting Tips Ways to Contact Judy Robinett: Website: www.judyrobinett.com Email: judy@judyrobinett.com Twitter: @judyrobinett LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/judyrobinett Book: "How to Be a Power Connector: The 5+50+100 Rule for Turning Your Business Network into Profits" eBook: "Crack the Funding Code" Judy's Top Ten Power Connecting Tips 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!

Susan Baier began her career as a brand manager for companies like Dial and Conoco-Philips. She also worked agency side and within client companies in their research departments, honing her skills as a research professional. Recognizing that primary research was often too expensive for small to mid-sized agencies, she launched Audience Audit, where she conducts quantitative attitudinal audience segmented research. She helps her agency clients develop marketing strategy for their clients based on customer insights. They find it much easier to develop messaging, strategic plans, and business development plans with real data that helps them understand how customers who look (demographically) the same behave in very different ways and what motives those choices and behaviors. Over the past few years, AMI and Audience Audit have partnered together for studies on how business owners find agencies, their attitudes towards working with agencies, and more. What you'll learn about in this episode: Our 2016 Agency Workforce Report What made our 2016 research different from other research projects we've done in the past How we crunched our data The three types of agency employees that we found in our research: agency advocates, prosperity partners, and "millennial mindset" (and why the majority of millennials don't fall in the "millennial mindset" group) What your agency can do to have less "millennial mindset" employees than average Why the opportunity to learn and grow is the most important thing to all employees (especially millennials) How to give your employees ways to learn and grow that don't break the bank Why your employees have to be willing to come back from training and events ready to teach the rest of your agency Why treating your employees fairly does not mean treating them equally Why making agency advocates happy is easy (and how to cultivate them into the agency leaders of tomorrow) Why you have to help prosperity partners develop their own brand Why you should avoid using the word millennials Ways to Contact Susan Baier: Website: www.audienceaudit.com Email: susan@audienceaudit.com Twitter: @susanbaier Resources: 2016 Agency Workforce Report AMI Audience Audit Webinar One on One Meeting Form 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!