When you think about how you do business, do you find that you’re purposefully taking longer to respond to inquiries because you don’t want a client to believe you’re not busy enough? Or do you hesitate to answer right away because you don’t want that to be their new expectation of your agency?

Unfortunately, this is where many agencies get it backward. Clients already expect quick responses, regardless of how fast or slow you were the first time. In fact, speed is one of the most important factors for client happiness, and it will only go higher on the priority list from here.

Jay Baer has done intense research on this very topic and is sharing his findings with us. As many of you know, he’s always ahead of the curve when it comes to agency trends. And he’s passionately confident that agencies need to get faster so they’re first in line when a prospect calls them up. Because if he’s learned anything, it’s that speed will beat out price almost every time.

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:

• The generational differences in patience in business settings
• Speed is the most important factor for client happiness
• The psychology of speed and how it equates to caring
• Closing uncertainty gaps with clients
• Creating a “fast pass” lane for impatient clients
• The “Got it Audit” for the customer journey
• When fast is too fast
• The hierarchy of when speed is most important for client satisfaction
• Where we get speed wrong in business decisions

As your agency grows, your leadership team must grow alongside it. You’ll notice as your team gets bigger, the day-to-day operations become more complicated, and you might want to start taking a step back from certain tasks altogether.

That’s where a COO comes in to save the day. A successful, growing agency must have someone to handle day-to-day operations and implement systems and processes properly. And if you have the right person to take some tasks off your plate, that opens you up to focus on the parts of the business you’re most passionate about, like being a visionary.

This week, I’m talking with Carolyn Lodge about the signs and symptoms of when it’s time to grow your leadership team and hire a COO. We discuss how to identify the right person for the job, their roles and expectations, how to integrate them with the rest of your team to build trust, and what traits are most commonly needed in the COO position.

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:

• The clues that show it might be time to hire a COO
• What size agency is too small to have a COO role
• The skills and traits of a good COO
• Implementing the founder’s or owner’s vision
• Building trust within your leadership team as you bring on new team members
• Ensuring your COO is a good culture fit for the job
• How a COO changes the day-to-day of a CEO
• Go-to questions to vet a potential COO

One of the most powerful new business tools to establish credibility as an agency is right at our fingertips. Finding speaking opportunities at conferences, trade shows, and even as a podcast guest is a great first step to entering the world of thought leadership.

While it may seem daunting initially, especially if you’re new to this, thought leadership is about as easy as simple networking. Your network can get you into spaces you’ve never dreamed of if you have the right tools to navigate it.

This week, Katy Boos is giving us those tools to show us how practical and valuable thought leadership and public speaking can be for agency owners and leaders. With in-person events making a huge comeback post-Covid, the need for the best and brightest speakers is on the rise, too. Tune in to learn how to get your ideas in front of the right audience and establish yourself and your agency as one of the next great thought leaders.

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:

• The top most beneficial reasons for speaking at an event
• Speaking at a big event vs. the right event
• Looking beyond the room you’re speaking in
• Determining who’s the right person to put on the stage
• Narrowing down your topic and finding the right-fit audience
• The post-Covid trade show and conference outlook
• How to get conference organizers hyped up on your thought leadership
• Getting in front of the right podcast audience
• Creating content from your speaking event
• Common mistakes that get us a “no” from conference organizers
• Getting your foot in the door

Lately, agency owners and leaders have been hitting their heads against a biz dev brick wall. With increased sales cycles, difficulty getting clients to start projects, tightened budgets, and more, it seems like we’re in a cycle of never-ending struggle.

Even if the future looks bleak, there are always more things that can be done and new strategies to try to help push through a difficult time. That’s why now more than ever, it’s critical for agency owners and leaders to track certain metrics to ensure you’ll end 2023 in the black, even as everyone is seemingly tightening their belts.

This week, I’m sharing five metrics you should be tracking with your teams to ensure you’re making the right strategic decisions during heightened hardship. From taking a closer look at your numbers to ensuring client satisfaction, we have the tools to help you end the year in the black against all odds.

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.

In This Episode:

• Tracking your 55-25-20 AGI metrics more closely
• Deciding where to move money around to keep good employees
• Doubling down on biz dev efforts
• Getting your existing clients to spend more money on you
• Why AEs should be helping to grow the existing client base
• Why client satisfaction scores are more critical than ever
• Good employee retention sends a positive message to customers