Build a Better Agency Podcast

Latest Episodes:

EP 453: Getting up to speed with the new FTC non-compete rule with Sharon Toerek Jun 10, 2024

Show notes

The FTC has recently passed regulations against non-compete clauses on a federal level in all work contracts. Starting in the fall of 2024, agencies will have new rules to comply with regarding their employees and independent contractors.

This will be a big shake-up for many agency owners, but luckily, Sharon Toerek is always by our side to walk us through any new legal requirements that hit us unexpectedly. In this episode, she covers a lot of ground on how agency owners can comply with the new FTC non-compete rules for both employees and independent contractors.

We cover the difference between non-competes and non-solicitation agreements, how agency owners can prepare to announce these changes to their workers, and how we can still legally protect our IP and client relationships.

Sharon stresses that the quicker we start working on compliance, the better prepared we'll be for when this goes into effect in a few months. So don't delay — tune in to learn how this affects your agency and how to get ahead on compliance over the summer.

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:

What covenants are still legal under the FTC non-compete ruling?
What agency owners need to do to be compliant
How these changes will affect your freelancers and independent contractors
How to protect yourself if you're selling your business
Non-solicitation agreements vs. non-compete clauses
Is the US ahead of or behind the times on this?
How soon agency owners need to prepare new contracts or to announce the changes to employees
Making sure your independent contractors are actually independent contractors
The consequences of misclassifying employees as independent contractors

EP 452: Expanding your agency talent pool with international employees with Kim Walker Jun 03, 2024

Show notes

Agency owners who want to scale their business often run into a chicken-and-egg situation. To scale and grow sustainably, you need to hire more people. But to be able to hire more people, you need to scale and grow to have the money to do so.

This is where hiring international employees can help solve your problems.

This week, we're diving into the growing trend of hiring full-time international employees with Kim Walker. Kim and her husband Brian initially had reservations about hiring international workers for their agency but quickly realized the immense benefits to them and the people they were hiring.

Kim details her thorough hiring process, how she overcame cultural barriers, the amazing talent and value international hires bring, and the life-changing impact it has had on their agency. We also touch on common concerns like pay rates, taxes, benefits, and time zones.

Whether you're struggling to find affordable talent locally or just want to build a dynamic, multinational team, this episode is a mini crash course in finding incredible international employees to help supplement your U.S. team.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

How Kim and her husband got the idea to hire international employees
How they started the process of finding international talent
The worries they encountered when making their first international hire
Average pay for international employees in the Philippines
What they learned about hiring foreign workers
How the hiring process differs from stateside interviews
The secret lies in strong core values
Weaving different cultures into the agency's culture
Taxes and benefits for foreign workers
The mistakes they made and what they learned from them

EP 451: What it takes to become a fractional CMO with John Jantsch May 27, 2024

Show notes

If you want to future-proof your agency's success and stability, now is the time to become a fractional CMO.

For those unfamiliar with the term, fractional CMOs are hired for their strategy first and execution second. It's a client-agency relationship built on trust that you know their industry deeply and can execute your strategy to provide a high ROI to your client.

The pandemic paved the way for having this hyperfocus on one specialization and highlighted the need for agencies to be trusted thought leaders in their niches. This week's guest, John Jantsch, is teaching us how to become fractional CMOs and what it takes to build that deeper trust with clients.

Join us to learn the data behind John's ideas and how to position your agency as a fractional CMO.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

How the pandemic shifted the need for strategy and consulting
Shifting to strategy over execution can help find right-fit clients
Fractional CMOs are up 60% as an add-on service
Clients want their agencies to have deep knowledge of their industry
The two distinct types of fractional CMO — and which one you should be
Showing up as part of your clients' team to build trust
Building trust through strategic partnerships, referrals, and thought leadership
The growing emphasis on first-party data for agencies

EP 450: The trends that influenced agency AGI in 2024 with Drew and Danyel McLellan May 20, 2024

Show notes

In 2023, about 45% of agencies took an AGI hit — the biggest number we've seen for as long as we've been tracking agency trends. Last year was tough, but agencies are finally starting to bounce back from growing their AGI.

With some of our profitability struggles finally behind us, many of you are wondering how to get ahead of the curve once again. This week, we're taking a deeper dive into some of the biggest influencers of agency AGI during this time and what agency owners can learn from the trends.

We have a ton of data on agency biz dev trends, specialization and niching, client ghosting, and much more. So join us to dive into the data and learn what your agency can be looking out for to help prevent a big AGI hit in the future.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

The work that has been super profitable for agencies in the past year or two
The biggest hits to agency AGI
Proving ROI to clients is more important than ever
Why you need to raise your hourly rate if you haven't already
Finding ways to get more work out of your existing clients
Overservicing clients is costing you money
Why it might be time to cut some of your staff
Clients want more from their agencies, and they're not afraid to ghost
Investing in first-party data and data analysts

EP 449: How agency owners can get ahead of burnout with Eric Recker May 13, 2024

Show notes

Burnout can sneak up on us; before we know it, we're ready to sell the agency. But before we get to this critical point, there are usually signs and symptoms of burnout, but it's not always easy to differentiate them from regular day-to-day stress.

In this week's episode, I'm talking to Eric Recker about those crucial signs that you might be burning the candle at both ends a little too often and how to turn it around for the better. If we can get ahead of our burnout by identifying that we're heading in that direction early, there's so much we can do to help turn it around before we start making rash decisions.

If your world is starting to feel a little gray, monotonous, or like you're in the trenches a little too often for your liking, those might be your signs to start going into recovery mode. So join us to learn how agency owners can start recognizing burnout signs and symptoms and how to recover from them.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

Is it burnout or business as usual?
The importance of having people around you to check in with
How to de-crisis yourself if you feel you're at risk of burnout
Turning off the false sense of urgency in your mind
Commit to 30 minutes of unstructured quiet
Filling yourself back up after being chronically empty for a long time
Disrupting your routine to scale burnout recovery
A recipe for sustainable recovery that's realistic and achievable
Setting boundaries between work mode and relax mode
Bringing burnout recovery tactics to our employees

EP 448: Defining your agency niche to go from a generalist to a specialist with Tyler Samani-Sprunk May 06, 2024

Show notes

Agency owners like to think they can do it all, but the real gold is in finding and defining your agency niche. To demonstrate, I spoke to Tyler Samani-Sprunk of Simple Strat to get into the head of an agency that learned this lesson the hard way but still did it very well — once they finally committed.

Tyler shares the false starts and missteps early on as Simple Strat tried half-heartedly to pick a niche without fully committing. He explained how feedback from prospects asking, "What are you really good at?" motivated them to double down on specializing in content marketing for a while before their YouTube channel HubSpot Hacks really gained traction.

This episode is your sign to finally work on nailing down your niche if you've been going back and forth about it for ages. It might seem like you're limiting your scope, but in reality, you're opening yourself up to a whole funnel of right-fit clients who need your expertise.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

What motivated Simple Strat to start specializing
The 3 phases of trying to find their agency niche
Why they chose video and HubSpot as their niche
Treating cornerstone content as a client in your day-to-day operations
When they knew it was working for them
How their sales cycle transformed when shifting to thought leadership marketing
How content marketing plays a role in content strategy with clients
People want to hear from people, not brands
Weaving personality into professional content
Simple Strat's biggest mistakes and best decisions in the niching process

EP 447: Proving ROI to clients with AI tools with Jonathon Reilly Apr 29, 2024

Show notes

Clients increasingly want to know exactly what they're getting in return for their dollars spent with agencies. This data can be tricky to compile, let alone interpret and visualize in a way the client actually understands. So this week, we're diving deeper into the ongoing AI conversation to dial in on one thing — how AI tools can prove an agency's ROI to clients.

In the episode, our guest, Jonathon Reilly, gives a great overview of how AI can revolutionize this task. The big idea is that AI tools can crunch huge amounts of data and surface valuable insights way faster than a human data analyst could. It allows you to be more responsive to clients, show the impact you're delivering, and ultimately retain clients longer by demonstrating your value more clearly.

But it's not just about reporting — Jonathon thinks AI tools will help agencies be more efficient across the board, from creative ideation to repetitive tasks. The goal isn't to replace human effort, but to use AI as an assistant that makes us faster and better at our jobs (more ROI for clients).

Tune in to learn more about how AI tools will level the playing field for small- to mid-sized agencies to bring more value to our clients in a tangible, understandable way.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

How AI intersects with data to help agencies prove their worth to clients
Helping clients understand the data and numbers
Will AI tools remove the need to hire data analysts in the future?
Being data savvy to prove ROI
Leveraging AI tools to maximize agency efficiency
How AI will change the billable hour
Starting the conversation with your employees about encouraging the use of AI tools
Embrace AI, but with boundaries and structure
Getting more educated in the AI landscape
How AI tools are leveling the playing field for small- to mid-sized agencies
How Akkio works to maximize agency efficiency

EP 446: Methodologies for agency owners to navigate HR issues with Allyns Melendez Apr 22, 2024

Show notes

As agency owners, we all want to be different. We don't want to be the boss who is a stickler for punctuality or to feel like we're micromanaging our employees. But HR issues will inevitably arise, and that's when the reality check sets in.

HR issues aren't always as intense as the term may imply. They could be as small as someone being late to a couple of meetings or an employee missing a deadline one too many times. They're often small things that build up over time and can balloon into bigger issues — like souring client-agency relationships or diluting the agency's core values.

In this week's episode, Allyns Melendez shares lots of great tips and tricks to help prevent minor HR issues from getting out of control. From leading by example to being a chameleon leader who can shift based on who you're talking to and what tone is needed, she knows exactly how to help agency owners and leaders resolve nearly any conflict an agency might face.

Tune in to learn tons of valuable tactics that will make you feel like no employee problem is too big for you to handle.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

How HR has stayed surprisingly the same over 100 years
How to show up as an agency leader to everybody vs. with individual employees
Handling first-time HR issues with an employee
What happens when we don't address bad habits immediately
Preparing for difficult one-on-one conversations with agency employees
Conflict resolution with agency employees and how to follow up with your plan
Why chameleon leadership will help you communicate better
Get to know your communication style and how you show up in a room
How to ask for candid feedback and make your employees feel safe to do so

EP 445: Why agency owners should start online communities with Drew McLellan Apr 15, 2024

Show notes

Online communities are quickly becoming one of the most powerful biz dev tools out there, but there's etiquette to starting and maintaining one. It's not for everyone, but for those who are ready, an online community could be your ticket to selling without ever having to actually sell.

This week, we're continuing the conversation about online communities vs. online audiences, and the vast benefits they can offer to agency owners. Now that we've established the differences between an audience and a community, it's time to ask ourselves deeper questions about why and how we should start one.

The main purpose of starting an online community shouldn't be selling or profiting from its members. But if you're in it to genuinely help others and create an avenue for collective thought leadership and connection, increased sales are just part of the benefits.

If you think starting an online community could be the right move for your agency, tune in to this week's episode of Build a Better Agency.

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.

In This Episode:

How to start an online community (who, what, where, why)
Are you starting a community for the right reasons?
Why you should expect nothing in return from online communities
Identifying your target audience
What a community leader should provide to community members, and vice versa
The main difference between a community and an audience
3 questions to ask yourself before creating a community
Consistency wins over complexity in online community building
How to benefit from a community without starting one yourself
Using online communities as a powerful biz dev tool
Qualifying your community members

EP 444: What behavioral economics tells us about how people connect with brands with Kristian Alomá, PhD Apr 08, 2024

Show notes

Everybody has a story they're trying to tell, and brands play a massive role in people's stories, whether they realize it or not. Most of the time, the stories consumers associate with a brand aren't what we think they are. This is where behavioral economics becomes vital to creating an effective marketing strategy.

Behavioral economics is a study that attempts to make sense of people's behavior around spending. We don't always make spending decisions in our best interest and often base purchasing decisions on our emotions. In fact, people usually connect and interact with brands the same way they connect with people.

This leaves brands with a lot of pressure on their backs. If you ignore your loyal customers' needs and wants, they will feel deeply betrayed. But if you listen to their stories and get to the core of what they're looking for, you'll build a trust that feels like a close friendship.

The psychology behind consumer behavior is complicated but fascinating. Join us this week to discover how brands can use behavioral economics to build an effective marketing strategy that fosters deep trust from your customers.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

What is behavioral economics?
Why people build human-like relationships with brands
How narrative psychology can improve our relationships with our customers
Clues that a brand uses narrative psychology well
Convincing clients that a strategy based on behavioral psychology is worth investing in
How strategic changes ripple throughout a whole organization
Getting to the bottom of your customer story
What brands get wrong about customer stories
Why feelings of betrayal run deep when brands miss the mark

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