Build a Better Agency Podcast

Gavin is a marketing technologist, strategist, and advisor. He is the founder of the Disruptor's Handbook, a network of entrepreneurs and innovators that help businesses innovate like startups, which Gavin calls "marketing lead innovation." He has led new venture startups for organizations like PwC, developed digital strategy and execution for global brands on both the agency and client sides, and spent some time as an analyst in digital transformation for award-winning analyst and advisory firm, Constellation Research. He also has extensive international experience in driving measurable outcomes via digital customer experience platforms, digital strategy, and executing innovative content driven campaigns. What you'll learn about in this episode: Gavin's long road that ultimately led him to become a marketer Creating value for customers by working on their problems The evolving role of agencies Why you have to be transparent about what it is that you do How to get your employees to become better strategic thinkers A "lean canvas" and creating a business out of the problem that has an idea as a solution How to have better business conversations Improving your business by bringing together your best advocates and harshest critics Getting past the fear that comes with working transparently What agencies can do today to become better at honing in on their clients' problems Tips for fostering innovative thinking throughout your entire organization Why you need to start thinking like a startup Ways to Contact Gavin Heaton: Website: www.servantofchaos.com Handbook website: disruptorshandbook.com Twitter: @servantofchaos 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: The things we say about our agencies that make them all sound the same The terms every agency uses to describe themselves Why you can't say you're good at everything Finding clients that are the right fit Understanding who you are as an agency The benefits of defining your "why" Remembering that hiring your agency is a huge risk for the person making that decision and what you can do to alleviate that person's fears An example: how my agency McLellan Marketing Group defines itself Ways to contact Drew: 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!

Brian Shea is the founder of Shea Consulting where he helps companies streamline their business development systems so they can enjoy consistent, sustainable success. Most business owners flinch at the word "systems" but in reality a system that is simple and repeatable helps free business owners to be more creative, more successful and more profitable. What you'll learn about in this episode: Brian's background in consulting What is keeping smaller companies from utilizing processes and systems Why systems and processes are so crucial for scaling Freeing up capacity through delegation Why processes and systems can often fail inside agencies Making sure the system or process matches the actual problem The four-step assessment Brian uses with his clients for finding the right systems The importance on getting clear with specific goals Who in an agency keeps systems from succeeding How to bring processes to agencies that pride themselves on their creativity What happens when systems aren't put in place How to solve the scope creep problem What systems every agency needs to have What you can do today to begin being more process driven Ways to Contact Brian Shea: Consulting website: www.sheaconsulting.biz Blog and newsletter: www.sheaconsulting.biz/blog 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!

Adam Carroll is quickly being recognized as one of the top financial educators in the country based on his core message of "you are the architect of your own life." Adam has presented all over the globe. Over 500 universities have been lucky enough to host him and he has presented some amazing TedTalks all over the world. In 2014, Adam successfully crowdfunded a documentary on student loan debt titled Broke, Busted & Disgusted, and he raised nearly $70,000 for the film in 45 days. The mission of the film is to start a national debate about changing the way we fund college and not crippling 20 something's with mountains of debt. What you'll learn about in this episode: Adam's documentary "Broke, Busted, & Disgusted" Accountability and business owners: why you need accountability partners What agencies should be doing at the tail end of the year How Adam saves time for his family by using a Power Priority List What to look for (and look out for) in an accountability partner What different kinds of accountability partners you should have (hint: they shouldn't all be entrepreneurs) Mastermind groups vs. accountability partners: do you need both? If not, which one is right for you? The commitment required for mastermind groups and accountability partners What you can do right now to act on the ideas from this episode Adam Recommends: Book: Essentialism by Greg McKeown Book: Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill Podcast: Dream, Think, Do by Mitch Matthews, episode: "Masterminds" Adam Carroll's Websites: Business Website: www.adamspeaks.com Podcast: www.buildabiggerlife.com Film: www.brokebusteddisgusted.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!

Jay Baer is known for many things. He's the world's most retweeted digital marketer. He is also a renowned business strategist, keynote speaker, and The New York Times bestselling author of five books. He also travels the globe helping people get and keep more customers. He's the founder of Convince & Convert, a strategy consulting firm that helps prominent companies gain and keep more customers through the smart intersection of technology, social media, and customer service. His company's media division owns the world's number one content marketing blog, the world's top marketing podcast, and many other educational resources for business owners and executives. Jay has created five multimillion-dollar companies and is an active venture capitalist and technology advisor as well as an avid tequila collector and certified barbeque judge. His new book, Hug Your Haters, is coming out on March 1st. What you'll learn about in this episode: Jay's new book "Hug Your Haters" and what you need to know about the people who complain on social media How to use this information to increase your customer advocacy Why complaints are going to continue to go more and more public Defining customer experience in the modern age Why this creates enormous opportunity for B2B buyers Why haters are your most important customers The problem with surveys The Honest Audit: what this is and how to put it into place Things that agencies have to be careful of when discussing these issues with clients Software solutions that agencies of all size can leverage How agencies should package and price this sort of work What agencies can do right now to get started Ways to contact Jay Baer: Website: www.convinceandconvert.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!

Bob Sanders is a powerhouse in the marketing industry. He has previously worked with Agency Management Group, a firm that specialized in the operations, finance, and technology consultations for multinational agencies around the world. Since then, he has become the leader of Sanders Consulting Group, a leading consulting firm specializing in helping agencies implement best practices faster and more effectively. What you'll learn about in this episode: How agencies can manipulate chemistry to their advantage The four quadrants people fall into and why this is an important thing to be able to assess when pitching new business Why you should never stop generating new business What agencies can do to get better at closing sales Strategies that work with big and small accounts Why spec creative isn't something to be feared How to play on the misperception that agencies live exciting lives Why you need to alter your pitch based on who you're pitching to How to be persistent to the point where potential clients are always thinking about you What your agency needs to do today to get on the right track in terms of new business Ways to contact Bob Sanders: Website: www.sandersconsulting.com Twitter: @newbusinesshawk Email: bob@sandersconsulting.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!

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: How you are preventing your employees from becoming the employees you want them to be Why every employee needs weekly one-on-one meetings with their direct supervisor How to get your employees to run these meetings The form that needs to be filled out before one of these meetings takes place How these meetings can help you celebrate the wins you might not know about if you didn't have these meetings Documents: Direct Report Form Ways to contact Drew: 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!

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: How the research that Audience Audit does differs from a lot of the research that's out there How your agency can leverage research inside your agency-client relationships The ways agencies can better sell the value of research to existing and prospective clients Why agencies can't build their business around "shiny toys" The ways research has changed and why agencies shouldn't be afraid to bring it to clients that they haven't done research with in the past How bringing research to clients can give them a sense of relief and make it easier for your agency to retain their business A specific example of how this kind of targeted research helped a client in a big way The mistakes agencies make when trying bring research into their shop Why niche really matters when it comes to research Baby steps agencies can take to start incorporating research Ways to contact Susan Baier: Website: www.audienceaudit.com Email: susan@audienceaudit.com Twitter: @susanbaier Resources: 2015 research 2014 research 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!

Chuck Meyst has been in sales all his life, from his childhood bike route to CEO and founder of AgencyFinder.com, a matchmaking service for agencies. What you'll learn about in this episode: Why Chuck started AgencyFinder and how it works Why agency descriptions of themselves should be results-focused What both clients and agencies need to do well to find the right partner The big mistakes agencies make with their websites Sales: why do agencies not like this word? The traits Chuck sees in terrible employees Why processes are so important, especially when it comes to sales The characteristics in agencies that clients love to see How agencies win business through pure chemistry What AgencyFinder does to assess agencies and how to receive that perfect score of 100 How AgencyFinder helps agencies team up with clients that are great matches Things agencies can do today to improve upon the topics discussed in this episode Ways to Contact Chuck: Website: www.agencyfinder.com Email: chuck@agencyfinder.com Phone: (804)346-1812 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!

Karl Sakas served as the #2 man in a couple different digital agencies before he created the Marketing Agencies community at Inbound.org, which has over 1,000 agencies in 48 countries. As president of Sakas and Company, Karl advises agencies worldwide about strategy, operations, and leadership. He also volunteers as a bartender on a 1930's railroad car. He has recently published a book entitled, "The In Demand Marketing Agency: How to Use Public Speaking to Become an Agency of Choice." What you'll learn about in this episode: Why Karl launched Sakas and Company High-growth agencies vs. lifestyle agencies How agency owners can do what they love without getting sucked into the day-to-day client work How to turn a high-growth agency into an asset that can actually be sold Things that get in the way of the growth and scaling of agencies and how to fix them Karl's Time Bucket Template for improving time management How agency owners looking to sell their agency should spend their time Action steps agency owners can take to put these theories into practice Recommended books and resources The In-Demand Marketing Agency: How to Use Public Speaking to Become an Agency of Choice Karl's Time Bucket Template Don't Just Make the Logo Bigger: Taking Clients from Painful to Profitable Don't Be the Shoemaker: And 11 Other Easy-to-Implement Ideas to Improve Your Agency Escape Plan: Your Guide to Finally Getting Out of the Office Website: www.sakasandcompany.com Email: karl@sakasandcompany.com Twitter: @karlsakas and @sakasandco 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!