In-person networking and relationship building are not dead. For agencies, it remains one of the most important methods of building your client base. And unfortunately, odds are you’re not doing it enough.
Showing up is a huge part of the biz dev battle that a Zoom call or Slack channel just can’t fix. And in a time when many of us have to rely on current clients to keep ourselves afloat, cutting corners on new business opportunities won’t get us very far.
For Hank Blank, some of the biggest red flags from the clients’ perspective directly result from our increasingly virtual ways of doing business. In his eyes, you will struggle to find new clients if you’re not attending events, doing in-person networking, inviting people into your agency’s space, or making philanthropic efforts in your community.
If you want to learn what always stands the test of time for agencies battling it out for new clients, don’t miss this conversation with one of the best in the business.
A big thank you to our podcast’s presenting sponsor, White Label IQ. They’re an amazing resource for agencies who want to outsource their design, dev, or PPC work at wholesale prices. Check out their special offer (10 free hours!) for podcast listeners here.
What You Will Learn in This Episode:
- How smaller agencies can stand out against large agencies with in-house teams
- The biggest mistakes agencies make when searching for new business
- How agencies make themselves look unavailable or uninterested in new clients
- Why in-person networking is still imperative for growing a client base
- How agencies can develop a meaningful brand for themselves
- Letting creativity guide you in your networking and biz dev
- The 3 things that win new business
- Making working at an agency fun again
- Getting ahead of the competition to educate clients on new technology
The workforce has changed forever, which has brought change fatigue along with it. This means how we navigate problem-solving and facilitate change amongst our teams has to change, too.
This week, I’m chatting with Jenny Magic, an expert in all things change and team morale. For almost 20 years, she’s been working with agency leaders and their teams to help implement strategies. She noticed that there were often major disconnects between agency leaders and their team’s opinions on new strategies and changes to SOPs. She set out to discover what makes teams get on board with change without getting burnt out.
We’ll discuss the best ways to facilitate change with your teams, get employees on board with your ideas and strategies, and the importance of psychological safety for employees to share openly. When you know how to facilitate change effectively, you’ll be surprised how much easier it is to get your teams on board with new ideas and strategies.
A big thank you to our podcast’s presenting sponsor, White Label IQ. They’re an amazing resource for agencies who want to outsource their design, dev, or PPC work at wholesale prices. Check out their special offer (10 free hours!) for podcast listeners here.
What You Will Learn in This Episode:
- How the world of change has changed
- How to line up change so that it actually gets implemented
- The cost of change
- The real roots of change fatigue
- Why so many employees start “treading water” when you try a new strategy
- The value of co-creating change with your team
- Utilizing confidential inquiries to get honest responses from employees
- There is no “one-size fits all” training model that actually works
- Creating psychological safety among team members
AI has been at the top of everyone’s minds this year, particularly with the birth of ChatGPT in November 2022. We’re currently in a renaissance where AI innovation and creativity are fusing to push the limits of what we ever thought was previously possible.
With these new AI tools comes a lot to look forward to, but also a lot of fear and uncertainty. Many of you are worried about job security, work expectations, and getting left behind in favor of faster, newer technology. In this episode, we’ll address these valid concerns with AI expert Paul Roetzer.
Paul has been at the forefront of AI innovation for most of his career and has some ideas to share with us about how this all started, where it’s at now, and what’s possible for the future. While the uncertainty is scary, one certainty is that we must lean into the AI movement with an open mind and be ready to adapt alongside it.
A big thank you to our podcast’s presenting sponsor, White Label IQ. They’re an amazing resource for agencies who want to outsource their design, dev, or PPC work at wholesale prices. Check out their special offer (10 free hours!) for podcast listeners here.
What You Will Learn in This Episode:
- How clients are starting to wise up to AI use for projects
- Copyright concerns for agencies using AI
- The real threats agencies should be looking out for with AI innovation
- The move to client-agency co-creation
- Always be testing
- Helping clients pilot AI tools in their strategy and operations
- The evolution of agencies that utilize AI innovation
- How to vet new AI tools in a sea of uncertainty
- The future of AI integrations
The idea of agency culture has been on my mind a lot lately, especially now that we’re all settling into new post-covid workplace structures. Without as much face time in an office, many of you are starting to wonder how to continue cultivating a healthy workplace environment for your employees over video calls and Slack channels.
For this week’s solocast, I’m sharing what research shows are the four core pillars of a healthy agency culture that will ensure your employees feel seen, heard, safe, and valued. It’s not just about proximity and having office parties or team outings anymore. And as agency leaders, it’s essential that we lead by example in creating the right environment for our teams to thrive.
If you can weave these four concepts into how you run your agency and build up your teams, your agency will be set up for success, no matter if you’re in the office, fully remote, or somewhere in between.
For 30+ years, Drew McLellan has been in the advertising industry. He started his career at Y&R, worked in boutique-sized agencies, and then started his own (which he still owns and runs) agency in 1995. Additionally, Drew owns and leads the Agency Management Institute, which advises hundreds of small to mid-sized agencies on how to grow their agency and its profitability through agency owner peer groups, consulting, coaching, workshops and more.
A big thank you to our podcast’s presenting sponsor, White Label IQ. They’re an amazing resource for agencies who want to outsource their design, dev, or PPC work at wholesale prices. Check out their special offer (10 free hours!) for podcast listeners here.
What You Will Learn in This Episode:
- Thinking about agency culture differently
- Why agency owners must lead the charge in creating a healthy agency culture
- Creating an environment of inclusivity for all team members
- Leading with love and being curious about your people
- Creating learning opportunities for yourself and the team
- Encouraging quarterly growth goals for employees
- Celebrating contributions and identifying employee strengths
- Leaving space for employees to challenge the status quo
- Making it ok for people to disagree respectfully
Agency culture has encountered a massive shift post-pandemic. With hybrid and remote work more common than ever, weaving our missions, goals, values, and purpose into our teams requires a different approach than before.
This week, we’re talking to Chad Kearns, an agency culture expert, to discuss how agency leaders are at the forefront of agency culture and should run their agency according to their core values. If you don’t align yourself with your own mission and values, your team won’t be operating at its peak, which can throw the whole agency off balance.
If it sounds high-stakes, it’s because it is. Everything starts with agency culture — from screening a potential new hire to your employee retention rate. Tune in to learn how to align your agency to your core values and discover what people value the most when choosing to work for an agency.
A big thank you to our podcast’s presenting sponsor, White Label IQ. They’re an amazing resource for agencies who want to outsource their design, dev, or PPC work at wholesale prices. Check out their special offer (10 free hours!) for podcast listeners here.
What You Will Learn in This Episode:
- People are at the core of the agency world
- How cultural concerns have changed post-pandemic
- Challenges that clients face today with agency culture
- Finding right-fit employees who will embody your agency culture
- Aligning yourself and exemplifying your mission, values, and goals to your team
- Where agencies often fail to uphold their core values and missions
- Culture goes beyond social interaction
- How to attract better talent aligned with your agency values
- Why good onboarding is imperative for healthy agency culture