How do you grow and sell an agency at four times its original worth? It’s not easy to sell creative work or reposition a brand. Many changes must happen, from how you show up to how the creative team operates. In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I’m joined by Jane Bayler, an entrepreneur, investor, top 2.5% global podcaster, and brand and online marketer, who has built multiple businesses, including a London brand identity business, that she grew from £1m to £6m in under 2 years, quadruplin...
Oct 13, 2023•29 min•Season 9Ep. 107
Is your offer something that your ideal client really wants to buy? Is your offer something that your ideal client really wants to buy? Is it useful and something they will invest in and pay the price you’re charging? If unsure, you may want to do some market research to validate your offer. In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I explain the questions to ask yourself about your offer and how it impacts your ideal client. I also explain how to research your market and use your ideal client’s ...
Oct 06, 2023•15 min•Season 9Ep. 106
How do you process-orient to avoid project issues and quality decrease? Do you know that the only way to scale is to have a process? Having a centralized system in place is the only way to ensure you have an operational creative process. In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I’m joined by Juliana Marulanda, a business operation expert, speaker, and the founder of ScaleTime. She has over 13 years of experience across Wall Street, the non-profit sector, technology startups, and family-owned bus...
Sep 29, 2023•37 min•Season 9Ep. 105
What do you do with your current clients when niching down on your services or clients? Niching down your agency makes processes more efficient and effective and is a large part of your growth and transition. In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I discuss the impact of niching down on your existing clients and how to handle the shift. I also explain how to manage transitioning clients when you stop offering a service where everything stays under your brand’s look and feel. Don’t miss this ep...
Sep 22, 2023•15 min•Season 9Ep. 104
What does strategic partnership mean to you? Strategic partnership is where you and your partner have a shared goal to enhance each other’s aligned services and client experience. To have lasting partnerships that deliver value, you must have shared value with your partners. In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I’m joined by Dave Plunkett, a music, football-loving, and dad of three from the South West of England. He’s on a mission to help many businesses use strategic referral partnerships a...
Sep 15, 2023•27 min•Season 9Ep. 103
Are you utilizing AI to make your documentation and processes more efficient? With its ability to classify, regenerate, and label things in operations, AI is a great tool in helping you be more efficient and productive and hit your bottom line. In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I’m joined by Juliana Marulanda, a business operation expert, speaker, and the founder of ScaleTime. She has over 13 years of experience across Wall Street, the non-profit sector, technology startups, and family-ow...
Sep 08, 2023•27 min•Season 9Ep. 102
How do you sell the research phase to clients who don’t see its value? How do you show them that research before launch makes sense for them? Skipping the research phase can lead to a painful outcome for both the agency and the client, which you want to avoid. In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, we talk about the impact of the research phase and how to approach selling the idea to a client. We explain the importance of taking the advisor role to teach your client the benefits of the researc...
Sep 01, 2023•17 min•Season 9Ep. 101
How do you shift your mindset from an individual contributor to a manager mindset? How do you split yourself into all the needed buckets for everyone to move the needle forward? As a manager, it’s important to understand what’s valuable to your team members and what you can do differently to help them to perform at their best. In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I’m joined by Allyns Melendez, a CEO & Founder at HR Transformed, COO at a National Public Relations Firm, and a part-time Pro...
Aug 25, 2023•33 min•Season 9Ep. 100
Are you creating a rewarding culture vs just giving people what they want? While money is a great tactic for retaining talent, it’s important to create a culture of value that goes beyond money. In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I’m joined by Allyns Melendez, a CEO & Founder at HR Transformed, COO at a National Public Relations Firm, and a part-time Professor of Continuing Education for Temple University. She has 25+ years of human capital and business management experience and a pass...
Aug 18, 2023•29 min•Season 9Ep. 99
Have you dealt with a demanding client before? How did they impact you and your agency? Demanding clients can be exhausting and often leave you and your team frustrated. In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, we discuss demanding clients and how to best manage them without ruining your relationship. We explain the importance of managing your expectations with clients and evaluating your client base to ensure you’re working with A-class clients. Don’t miss this episode for more on client relati...
Aug 11, 2023•24 min•Season 9Ep. 98
Do you have the right billing model? Do you find it hard to navigate the conversation around pricing as an agency owner? There are factors you should consider when looking into a billing model, but ultimately, what needs to be true, no matter the billing method, is ensuring there’s enough gross margin for you to be set up for success. In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I’m joined by Marcel Petitpas, CEO and founder of Parakeeto, a consulting and technology firm dedicated exclusively to hel...
Aug 04, 2023•29 min•Season 9Ep. 97
What is the best way to bring in more revenue to your agency in the next 30-60 days? Have you tried reaching out to old prospects and clients to see where they stand now? In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I provide the best formula to reach out to closed lost prospects and generate revenue. I explain why reaching out is a working formula that will get you revenue in the door and allow you to invest in upward growth. Don’t miss this episode to learn how to approach this proven revenue-gene...
Jul 28, 2023•15 min•Season 8Ep. 96
What financial stage is your agency, and how are you managing the growth? Agency growth has four discreet stages that drive decisions: the create mode, build mode, grow mode, and big business stage. In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I’m joined by Ryan Watson, an experienced operations and finance leader for creative agencies and venture-funded startups. As a partner at Upsourced, he helps scaling agencies build better plans, see the future, and drive profit. Listen in to learn the importa...
Jul 21, 2023•32 min•Season 8Ep. 95
Do you find yourself dealing with untimely projects and client incoordination? At the core of avoiding situations like these is proper communication. In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I share the types of stages to consider implementing in your processes to avoid client incoordination and untimely projects. I explain the importance of communicating client responsibilities and having inclusions and exclusions to avoid ambiguity. Listen in to learn the importance of consistently reminding y...
Jul 14, 2023•17 min•Season 8Ep. 94
Have you considered revenue share and equity as ways to build passive income in your agency? Revenue share and equity are great ways to build alignment and accomplish wider goals with the client and your agency. In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I take you through examples of agencies who’ve embraced revenue share, profit share, and equity and how it worked for them. I explain how you can turn your one-off projects or most of your projects into revenue share, profit share, and equity. Don...
Jul 07, 2023•13 min•Season 8Ep. 93
Different stages of growing an agency face different challenges. What sort of challenges are you facing at the stage of growth you’re in right now and how are you handling them? The effort and pressure that you experience at these stages are what allows you to find your way and success. In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I’m joined by Phil Case, President and Chief Client Officer at Max Connect Digital where they are focused on providing real value to clients in the form of business result...
Jun 30, 2023•29 min•Season 8Ep. 92
Did you know you can have more negative long-term impact to your agency by failing to invest appropriately in your team and by failing to ensure you have the right people? The best thing you can do for your team to continue growing your business is ensuring they have all the resources they need to do their job. In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, we discuss how to train a high performing team by providing the necessary tools from recruitment, interviewing, onboarding, and career growth. We ...
Jun 23, 2023•22 min•Season 8Ep. 91
Bad emails that come of as too salesy don’t convert. How do you send emails that are engaging, converting, adds value, and aren’t annoying to the receiver? Having the desire to be helpful and add value in your content not only builds trust, but it also converts. In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I talk about the art of writing winning email copies that engages your audience and increases the conversion rate. I explain the importance of being personable and using a friendly format in your ...
Jun 16, 2023•18 min•Season 8Ep. 90
How are you handling the delegating process in your agency? What are the things you can operationalize and be set up for success? You don’t have to wear many hats that leave you time depleted, the best way to reduce workload, maximize your time, and increase your productivity is by leveraging an admin to help keep your schedule highly organized. In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I’m joined by Amanda Hamilton, founder of Hamilton Raye, which brings professionals remote administrative suppo...
Jun 09, 2023•25 min•Season 8Ep. 89
How consistent and scalable is the sales process in your agency? Does everyone in your sales team understand what they need to do to succeed? To scale your sales, your process needs to be accessible and well-understood by everyone in your sales process to keep things consistent for prospects. In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I talk about the different stages of a scalable sales process. I explain why data/trackable metrics should be the core of most of your decisions and not your feeling...
Jun 02, 2023•19 min•Season 8Ep. 88
What investments are you making in your agency to continue growing and scaling? It’s important to invest in the right thing in your agency to avoid working hard to stay in the same exact place. In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, we talk about the time and financial investments you have to make for the growth of your agency. We discuss the value of investing in active marketing and how it invites criticism which leaves room for growth. Listen in to learn how to enhance your business by maki...
May 26, 2023•24 min•Season 8Ep. 87
How streamlined are resource and capacity planning in your agency? To streamline operations and scale your agency, you must be willing to do the hard things others aren’t doing. Knowing your numbers and your team’s involvement is crucial to understand your time utilization and operational cost. In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I’m joined by Alyson Caffrey, the founder of Operations Agency and co-creator of the Operations Simplified Framework. She helps streamline the back-end ops for a m...
May 19, 2023•27 min•Season 8Ep. 86
How do you utilize LinkedIn as a lead-generation channel? Is your LinkedIn profile speaking to your ideal client’s pain points and solution? LinkedIn is a fantastic place for agency owners to engage with ideal clients and generate leads. In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, we share the different ways to optimize your LinkedIn profile as a landing page to attract interest from prospective clients. We discuss how to properly represent yourself in the About section, provide value, and establis...
May 12, 2023•19 min•Season 7Ep. 85
How do you differentiate your agency from everyone else in the market? Differentiating yourself is owning who you are and attracting your ideal clients. In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I talk about how to take a bold step and stop sounding like every other agency in the market. I explain why aligning your why with your ideal client will help you build more meaningful and deeper relationships with your clients and have a greater impact. Listen in to learn why there’s nothing better than ...
Mar 31, 2023•14 min•Season 7Ep. 84
Would your team describe you as a servant leader? A servant leader strives to meet the needs of their team, hit their true value, and build meaningful relationships. In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, we discuss the meaning of servant leaders and the impact they have on their teams and businesses. We explain the ways you can listen and learn from your team by allowing them to share their feedback freely. Listen in to learn how to embrace and celebrate failure and allow your team the space ...
Mar 24, 2023•23 min•Season 7Ep. 83
How clear is your long-term vision, and is your business model in alignment with it? Having a clear vision of where you’re going and why it’s important helps you create a strategic plan and shift your mindset. In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I’m joined by Crista Grasso, a strategic planning expert for leading global businesses and online entrepreneurs when they want to scale. She has the ability to quickly cut through the noise and focus on optimizing the core things that will make the ...
Mar 17, 2023•24 min•Season 7Ep. 82
How can you improve upon what you already have in your business instead of constantly putting something new? Reducing noise and complexity in your agency is about optimizing what already exists and having streamlined systems in place. In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I’m joined by Crista Grasso, a strategic planning expert for leading global businesses and online entrepreneurs when they want to scale. She has the ability to quickly cut through the noise and focus on optimizing the core t...
Mar 10, 2023•23 min•Season 7Ep. 81
Do you want to feel less stressed out and not have to sacrifice your personal life to grow your agency? You should set a boundary to prioritize what’s important to you because compounding success comes when you focus more and do less. In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, we discuss how to strategically create a plan to help you take more time off from your agency. We also discuss how to plan your day/week by design, so you get to prioritize tasks that help you accomplish your goals. Listen i...
Mar 03, 2023•21 min•Season 7Ep. 80
How do you make the onboarding process great in a way that maintains an ongoing good client relationship? An organized onboarding process is guaranteed to build a trusting relationship between you and your client. In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I’m joined by Taylor McMaster, founder of DOT & Company. She and her team help digital marketing agencies with full-service client account management so they can get out of the day-to-day and grow their agency. We discuss the dos and don’ts ...
Feb 24, 2023•29 min•Season 7Ep. 79
What does it take to generate leads effortlessly at zero cost and still scale your agency? Referrals are not scalable, but getting in places where your audience already exists is and at no cost. In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I talk about leveraging the centers of influence who regularly come across your ideal client. I describe how this method allows you to build a network with these people and generate leads. Listen in to learn more about recognizing these opportunities and building ...
Feb 17, 2023•14 min•Season 7Ep. 78
