It’s a bit of a milestone episode here, episode 155. It seems like an odd number to celebrate, but it means this podcast has been going strong for three years now! (52 weeks = 156 episodes) So thanks for listening, whether you’ve been around since the beginning, or this is your first time here!
As I speak with agency owners and decision-makers every day about their agencies and their business development efforts (or lack thereof!), we talk about the value of niching their agency. It’s the old brain surgeon versus general practitioner and the relative value proposition of each.
Your niches (note the plural) can be industry-specific, a certain methodology or in some limited cases – a specialty (PPC, etc.). But what do you do when you’ve narrowed down the niches you want to serve?
That’s what this solocast is all about. How do you actually walk out your talk and live/sell and profit from your niches? 
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- Why establishing niches for your agency is so important
- How many niches should an agency have and why?
- How do you promote your agency’s special sauce/niches and expertise
- How sweet spot clients intersect with your niches
- The business development process to sell to your niches
- Why helping your clients be better at their job is the heart of your biz dev plan
- What to do with those clients outside your niches that you don’t want to fire
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 and key executive 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.”
Helpful Resources from this Episode:
- Sweet Spot Client Filter: http://bit.ly/2O1m3Y0
- Content Marketing For Agencies Workshop: http://bit.ly/2O29OdO
- Agency New Business Blueprint: http://bit.ly/2MNkGaN
Ways to contact Drew McLellan:
- Email: drew@agencymanagementinstitute.com
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/drewmclellan
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!
Word of mouth is nothing new. For generations, it’s been talking with your neighbor over the fence, at the local watering hole, or telling your co-worker about the latest movie in the breakroom. As a business, word of mouth is sparked by those things that you do that separate you from the pack. These talk triggers are so memorable and unique that your customers can’t help but talk about them.
My guest Daniel Lemin gives plenty of examples that show us that talk triggers are rarely very expensive, and they tend to be operational differentiators rather than gimmicks or flash in the pan activities. Think Doubletree’s complimentary cookie when you check in or the Cheesecake Factory’s epic novel of a menu.
Daniel has co-written a book with Jay Baer about this powerful marketing technique appropriately called Talk Triggers. In this episode, Daniel and I chat about what he and Jay learned in their research and the insights they gleaned for all marketers. These B2B and B2C brands (large and small) are following a specific pattern as they create and execute their talk triggers and Daniel will walk us through that as well.
We look at this topic from many angles – from how agencies can leverage this phenomenon and, of course, how we can put it into practice for our clients.
Daniel Lemin is a startup co-founder, trusted advisor and bestselling author on reputation management, digital marketing, and social media customer service. As an early member of Google’s global communications team, Daniel led the launch of products in North America, EMEA, and Asia Pacific, and edited the Google Zeitgeist weekly research report featured in over 40 markets worldwide.
His new book with co-author Jay Baer, Talk Triggers, explores word-of-mouth marketing and lays out an indispensable framework for building them in your own organization.
Daniel regularly provides expert commentary on TV and in high-profile publications such as the New York Times, USA Today, CBS Radio, and Fox News, and speaks and leads workshops across the nation. In 2015, he released his first book, Manipurated.
A native of Ohio, Daniel earned his MA in communications and leadership from Gonzaga University. He lives in Los Angeles with his cocker spaniel Truman and enjoys the simple joys of gin martinis, jazz, and eating his way around the world—he’ll try nearly anything as long as it doesn’t bite back.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How to put structures in place to create WOM talk triggers
- Why it’s got to be remarkable to be a talk trigger
- How something as simple as a cookie or a deck of cards can get people talking
- Why talk triggers are so often about operational differentiation
- Why talk triggers need to be available to everyone—it’s not about exclusivity
- The best examples of word of mouth are never complicated or expensive
- Why metrics for word of mouth are more complicated than other marketing metrics
- What metrics you CAN use to measure the impact of word of mouth
- An unexpected benefit of well-done talk-trigger campaigns—they make the workplace more enjoyable for employees
How to Contact Daniel Lemin:
- Website: daniellemin.com
- Book: talktriggers.com
- Email: daniel@talktriggers.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!
As agencies struggle to attract and retain top talent, it’s natural that we’re having a lot of conversation about culture.
We’re in a creative industry, and I find that most owners are pretty self-aware. We want to love the business we’ve built, and we want to do right by our employees. Everyone wants their agency to have a culture that employees value and enjoy, but some owners don’t really know how to be intentional about it.
Gina Trimarco is the chief results officer and founder of a company called Pivot 10 Results. In this episode, I wanted to get her take on some of the challenges owners are facing in the current business climate – mainly getting and retaining the right employees. Work culture is a big part of that equation.
We get into a lively discussion about core values and how they can either sit unremembered in an employee handbook or be pivotal in shaping culture. What does it take to keep core values front-of-mind for both owners and employees? How does that help attract and retain the best people? These are questions I am asked every day, so I was glad for Gina’s perspective on all this. I think you will be too.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How to define a healthy work culture
- Creative ways to thank employees for a job well done
- Putting your best foot forward when an applicant is interviewing you as a potential workplace
- Empathy-based training and emotional intelligence to create a positive work environment
- The critical role of stated, repeated, and lived-out core values in establishing a healthy work culture
- Using your story to sell services, and attract and retain great people
- How a team of happy employees that has bought in to the core values can be your best recruiting tool
- How to listen to employees’ hopes and dreams and develop strategies to retain them longer
- Creating a positive culture that stays positive when the owner is away
Ways to contact Gina:
- Website: pivot10results.com
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ginatrimarco
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!
“Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” That’s the standard advice of any investment advisor. But that investment can only happen once we’ve actually made the money. But maybe the concept of diversification is equally applicable to the first stage – making the income in the first place.
Having multiple sources of income builds wealth more quickly and mitigates risks inherent in having just a single source. The logic of that seems simple enough. But the execution – that’s a whole different animal.
My podcast guest Dorie Clark has a very interesting perspective on this topic and I was excited to pick her brain for all of us. Her most recent book, Entrepreneurial You, is a blueprint for developing multiple income streams without losing your sanity.
Building these income streams involves tough decision-making but it doesn’t have to mean you take huge risks along the way. Dorie suggests a more measured approach and walks us through some of the methods we can explore as we expand our ability to accumulate wealth.
Dorie Clark is a marketing strategy consultant, professional speaker, and frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review. She is also the author of Reinventing You and Stand Out, which was named the #1 Leadership Book of 2015 by Inc. magazine and one of the Top 10 Business Books of the Year by Forbes.
The New York Times described Clark as an “expert at self-reinvention and helping others make changes in their lives.” Clark consults and speaks for a diverse range of clients, including Google, the World Bank, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, the Ford Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Yale University.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- Creating diverse income streams without jumping into big, new, risky ventures
- Guiding people through the sales funnel by offering incrementally advanced services
- The importance of living beneath your means as an agency and as a person
- Minimizing risk over time through developing diverse income streams
- How to be the person that makes the hard choices
- The meaning of the word “perspicacity”
- The biggest obstacle to being entrepreneurial
- How making introductions with no expectation of anything in return can be a superpower
- The difference between a mindshare activity and a market share activity
Ways to contact Dorie:
- Website: dorieclark.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!