"Niche is the number one growth accelerator." – Josh Nelson, Mentor & Coach at Seven Figure Agency Growth can happen in an instant when you’re doing the right things. But when you find the right fit, niche, offering, and vertical, that’s the unfair advantage. Nobody knows this better than today’s guest, who not only coaches agencies on growth, but also grew his own verticalized agency from zero to seven figures in under two years. This week, we welcome Josh Nelson to the Deep Specializ...
Jun 12, 2024•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast Episode: 10 Chapter Ten of Anyone, Not Everyone presents the development of a Vertical Messaging Guide as an essential framework for consistent, high-quality messaging in marketing efforts for a chosen vertical market. This guide compiles key elements such as the agency’s Point of View, vertical positioning, client attributes, business challenges, intrinsic and extrinsic wins, transformation narrative, and proof points to create a central reference point for crafting impactful marketing strategi...
Jun 10, 2024•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast "We specialize in B2B and we specialize in the experiences of three things: A better brand that will create a better employee experience and ultimately, a stronger client experience." – Susan Quinn, President and CEO of Circle S Studio It’s not every day you get to sit down with an agency leader with a career spanning four decades, and running! This week’s podcast guest, Susan Quinn, is not only deeply experienced, but also one of those leaders who spits quotable business wisdom on every t...
Jun 05, 2024•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast Episode: 9 Chapter Nine of Anyone, Not Everyone discusses how crafting a unique Point of View (POV) for your agency provides a competitive edge and serves as a key differentiator in a crowded marketplace. The chapter guides you through identifying a significant, meaningful problem in your vertical market, framing it against a metaphorical villain, envisioning a transformed future without the problem, and presenting your agency as a bridge to that future, thus creating a compelling and emotionall...
Jun 03, 2024•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast "We've operated in over 30 states in Europe, Mexico and Canada. The Cannabis Creative Group has absolutely taken off like wildfire . " – Dan Serard, VP of Sales and Marketing for Cannabis Creative Group Let’s take a deep dive into a vertical that certainly is anything but dull. This week's guest, Dan Serard is a trailblazer in cannabis marketing and has stories to tell in setting up agency services for cannabis companies. As the VP of Sales and Marketing for Cannabis Creative Group, ...
May 29, 2024•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast Episode: 8 Chapter Eight of Anyone, Not Everyone outlines a four-step process for developing a distinctive vertical positioning, ensuring your agency stands out in the marketplace. It involves identifying key attributes that your vertical clients desire, plotting these attributes to find your unique "white space," and crafting a vertical positioning statement that encapsulates your agency’s distinct place in the client’s perception. This strategic positioning is not a static tagline but a dynami...
May 27, 2024•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast "The average small business uses over three dozen different pieces of software to run different aspects of their business." – Jeff Tomlin, Co-Founder & CMO of Vendasta If you had to summarize Vendasta’s marketplace for small and medium sized agencies, it would be, in Jeff’s words, “Business in a box”. Vendasta gives 80k+ agencies a full-stack platform to rebrand and resell online services to local business clients, granting them the scalability of a SaaS recurring revenue model....
May 22, 2024•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast Episode: 7 Chapter Seven of Anyone, Not Everyone advises on the importance of understanding your competition in the chosen vertical market, with 90% of marketers reporting positive outcomes from such research. It suggests balancing competitive analysis with a focus on clients, emphasizing that overconcentration on competitors may lead to reactive, non-client-focused decisions. This chapter guides readers through a three-step process to identify, research, and document findings on competitors to ...
May 20, 2024•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast "T he higher that gross margin is, the more optionality you have to make deliberate decisions about your agency . " – Marcel Petitpas, Co-Founder & CEO of Parakeeto Agency founders are often incredible visionaries when it comes to their core competency, but financials are rarely something they enjoy or excel at (pun intended). Between billable hours, shifting client scopes, clients scaling up or down, time-tracking, and pass-through costs, it’s no easy feat, either. In that vein, toda...
May 15, 2024•52 min•Transcript available on Metacast Episode: 6 Chapter Six of Anyone, Not Everyone stresses the significance of deeply understanding the needs, desires, and fears of your target vertical market to create marketing that resonates and stands out amidst the noise. It guides readers on conducting buyer journey client interviews, a method superior to assumptions or surface-level market research, for crafting highly relevant and impactful marketing messages that echo the specific context and challenges of the vertical buyers. Rem...
May 13, 2024•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast " The two challenges that we see with most agencies are that they don't have a clear growth strategy nor the resources to execute it. " – Eric Brown, Co-Founder at Blood Sweat & Tears Most agencies initially grow through founder-led sales and tapping into leads in your network, but what is the next step? Where do agencies typically get stuck and how can they break through? There are no better people to answer these questions than today’s guests Nora DiNuzzo and Eric Brown, Co-Founders ...
May 08, 2024•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast Episode: 5 Chapter Five of Anyone, Not Everyone introduces a four-step process for selecting the ideal vertical market for your agency, including gathering client data, identifying potential verticals, scoring them based on qualitative and quantitative factors, and finally, validating the market to ensure it can meet your business growth goals. This systematic approach serves as both an investment and insurance policy against the costly error of choosing an unsuitable vertical, emphasizin...
May 06, 2024•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast "We went from generalist agency to performance marketing for franchises and renovations . " – Marty Menard, President of Giant Creative Finding success by niching down your agency focus surely isn’t a new story on this podcast, but there is a reason our guests on the show have found scalable growth through verticalization. And, each story comes with unique insights founders can tap into. This week, we’ll hear Marty Menard's journey into specialization. He is President and Chief Business D...
May 01, 2024•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast Episode: 4 Chapter Four of Anyone, Not Everyone emphasizes the vital role of empathy in deep specialization, likening it to the caring aspect of good parenting, essential for the long-term success of an agency. By genuinely investing in clients' businesses and industries, and offering support especially in challenging times, an agency can significantly differentiate itself from competitors, build stronger relationships, and lay the groundwork for sustainable growth and success. Reminder that thi...
Apr 29, 2024•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast " What most people are trying to talk about when they talk about scale, but that's really leverage. " – Greg Hickman, Founder of AltAgency Leverage is everything when it comes to growing a successful agency or service offering. And that’s exactly what today’s guest helps develop for his clients: Leverage to grow and develop their business to the level and direction they want to go. This week, welcome Greg Hickman on the show. He is an industry veteran and Founder of AltAgency, a consultancy that...
Apr 24, 2024•52 min•Transcript available on Metacast Episode 3 Chapter Three of Anyone, Not Everyone underlines the importance of careful and informed selection when choosing a vertical market to specialize in, warning that a hasty or ill-informed choice can lead to significant loss of time and potential revenue. It encourages agency founders to use their client history data to make an educated decision and highlights the characteristics of a desirable vertical, advising to start with a generalist approach before specializing to gain a comprehensi...
Apr 22, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast " Acquiring a service you want to offer helps your company leapfrog years of trial and error. " – Sam Shepler, Founder of Testimonial Hero We welcome back Sam Shepler, Founder of Testimonial Hero, a global video testimonial company that helps B2B SaaS companies close more deals through customer stories. After a quick recap on what Testimonial Hero does (listen to episode 55 for part one), Corey and Sam get into the topic of acquisitions. Testimonial Hero recently acquired a company named ...
Apr 17, 2024•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast Episode 2 Chapter Two of Anyone, Not Everyone outlines six compelling benefits of becoming a vertical market specialist, drawing on the real-world transition and success of marketing agency Gorilla 76, which honed its focus on industrial manufacturing clients. The chapter highlights how specialization simplifies sales and marketing, improves sales confidence through deep industry knowledge, removes friction from the buying process by becoming an insider, makes agencies extraordinary by dev...
Apr 15, 2024•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast "We’ve chosen to focus. And that focus is powerful. It delivers value to the end customer. – Ron Callis Jr., CEO of One Firefly Ron Callis Jr., is the Chief Executive Officer of One Firefly, an award-winning marketing agency that has consistently ranked in the INC 5000 list for its impressive growth. With a laser focus on the custom integration, security, and clean tech industries, Ron brings invaluable insights into scaling a business through the power of specialization and dedicated team devel...
Apr 10, 2024•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast Episode: Introduction The Introduction of Anyone, Not Everyone sets the stage by emphasizing the significance of niche marketing for businesses. It explains how focusing on specific audiences rather than a broad market can lead to more meaningful engagement, efficient use of resources, and ultimately, greater success. Episode: 1 Chapter One of Anyone, Not Everyone illustrates the pitfalls of generalist agencies that stretch themselves thin by saying yes to...
Apr 08, 2024•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast " Our philosophy at Digital Mastermind, an agency leadership group, is that a rising tide lifts all boats. " –– Jon Tsourakis, Owner, Digital Mastermind Group The agency landscape is extremely competitive across most verticals - some might prefer to gatekeep insights around best practices and growth levers to maintain an edge. That’s not the case at all for today’s guest, Jon Tsourakis. Jon is a long-time agency owner, entrepreneur, and a steadfast believer in the power of peer knowledge. ...
Apr 03, 2024•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast " All 14 of our clients got the product. We got them onboarded and they all loved it and paid a fee to use it, which was incredible. " Robin Alex , Founder of HighLevel. Usually, it takes a long while for a B2B software product to find traction. That wasn’t the case for today’s guest, who by luck and brilliant vision found success from the get-go. A lifelong entrepreneur, Robin joins The Deep Specialization Podcast to share his founding story, going from building companies in his dorm room to a ...
Mar 27, 2024•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast "Unlike other professions, there's a helping atmosphere in law. They're always networking and talking with each other." Brendan Chard , Founder of The Modern Firm. And, it was those initial referrals that got Brendan into many of the local attorney firms in Ann Arbor some 20 years ago. Born into a family of lawyers, you could say that the legal vertical is in our guest’s blood, and he almost went to law school himself. But destiny had other things in mind: Brendan somewhat accidentally fou...
Mar 20, 2024•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast "You have to go slow to go fast." Damon Burton , Founder and President of SEO National. It’s not only a catchy saying, it’s true in many facets of building a verticalized business. And who better to dive into the long-tail of agency building than a founder who’s built a seven-figure business over 17 years? Damon joins the show to recount his founding journey from the beginning, which wasn’t devoid of twists, turns, and even FTC raids (although, it wasn’t his business that got raided!).&nbs...
Mar 13, 2024•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast “We started to realize that we're going to become the expert at how to use high level, unique, creative, physical goods to deepen relationships, open doors, and 10X referrals. ” – John Ruhlin, Co-Founder of Giftology You can’t talk about corporate gifting without John Ruhlin, the Co-Founder of Giftology (and author of the eponymous book), who not only reverse-engineered the idea for his company after seeing gifting strategies take place organically, but actually opted out of med school because o...
Mar 06, 2024•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast "Everything gets easier once you're a specialist in a vertical, and profitability follows.” – Sasha Berson When it comes to niching down, nothing gives you a lesson like learning from failures and mistakes. And oftentimes, the most successful and inspirational agency leaders are the ones who don’t shy away from sharing what they did not get right the first time around. Sasha Berson is one of those leaders, and he joins the show for a deeply insightful conversation on what he has learn...
Feb 28, 2024•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast " It was a lot of brute force, cold outreach, going direct to people. ” – Sam Shepler What every agency founder knows about starting up shop, is that the reality of growth in the early days comes from simply pounding the pavement, putting in the hours, and hustling your way to success. Today’s guest, Sam Shepler, did just that when he founded Testimonial Hero, a global video testimonial company that helps B2B SaaS companies close more deals through video testimonials. Founded in 2017, Sam ...
Feb 21, 2024•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast " We're a-get-sh*t-done workhorse agency. We're not sitting around wasting a bunch of their money and time on fluff. ” – Tim Brown Today’s guest has a no-frills approach to the agency he’s been building for the past seven years. And you know what? It works. With 29 employees and on track to driving six million in annual revenue in 2024, Tim Brown’s agency, Hook, is a masterclass in a hyper-verticalized business. Starting out as more of a generalist, Tim first niched down in 2021 to o...
Feb 14, 2024•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast How do you keep serving your vertical when it goes into freefall? Today’s guest not only overcame the challenge during the pandemic, but emerged driving 40% year-over-year growth. Nicole Mahoney, the Founder of Break The Ice Media, tackled the difficulty of scaling by serving her vertical even when facing a dramatic downturn. Break The Ice Media, a company Nicole proudly calls an “un-agency”, serves companies in the travel, tourism, and hospitality sectors. Today, the agency makes $2 million in ...
Feb 07, 2024•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast “It was like the universe was telling me what I needed to do was EOS.” – Justin Mink, a Certified EOS Implementer Today’s guest is Justin Mink, a certified Entrepreneurial Operating System Implementer. In a nutshell, The EOS system is a leadership framework businesses lean on to codify their vision, drive team alignment, and meet goals by using a toolbox of processes. Justin joins the show to share his fascinating journey into solopreneurship, overcoming health challenges, and how EOS impa...
Jan 31, 2024•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
