Build a Better Agency Podcast

Latest Episodes:

EP 383: Getting beyond the "no" in the sales process with Richard Fenton Feb 06, 2023

Show notes

Sales — the dreaded word that most of us cringe when we think about it. It brings up thoughts of manipulation, forced conversations, and fear of rejection. It's one of those necessary evils that come with being a business owner that's essential if you want to keep growing. For many of us, we fear hearing the word "no." Once it's out there, we drop the conversation, take the loss, and move on. But if you want to sell effectively AND create a pleasant sales experience for yourself and your prospects, you must rethink your sales strategy.

Today, I'm talking with Richard Fenton, a seasoned expert in all things sales prospecting, selling styles, and getting to the other side of the "no." It didn't always come naturally to him, but after a long time in the business, he's learned that an initial rejection can be a huge win later in the sales process. Whether you like sales or not, you have to get better at it to keep new clients coming through the door. So join us to learn how you can rethink your sales process and become a better salesperson, even if it doesn't come naturally.

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:

Richard's "aha" moment that made him rethink sales forever
Why "no" isn't the end of the sales process
The four types of salespeople and the one we should all strive to be
The intersection of caring about relationships and caring about results
Why you need to ask better questions in the sale process
Getting a prospect to know, like, and trust you
Staying in touch even after an initial rejection
The reason sales has gained such a bad reputation
How to sell without being manipulative or shark-like

EP 382: Adapting the hiring process to a new era of agency staffing with Art Boulay and Sue MacArthur Jan 30, 2023

Show notes

It's no secret the job market has shifted immensely over the past 3–4 years. One minute, we're hitting the brakes and halting all new hires. The next, we're kicking things back into gear and going through a hiring frenzy with inflated salaries. And now, we're entering a recession but still need to hire top talent at an affordable price. How do we keep up? This week, I'm talking with Art Boulay and Sue MacArthur, two experts in talent management and agency staffing. They created a perfect formula for assessing potential new hires' strengths, weaknesses, and full-on red flags that could save you a lot of time before even starting an interview.

This episode is packed with information about how agencies can optimize their hiring in a job market where you only have a few days — rather than a few weeks — to decide on a candidate. I hope you grab a pen and paper and take some notes on this one because this could change your entire approach to hiring new team members.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

How hiring has changed rapidly in the past 3–4 years
What agencies should have in place before they begin looking for a candidate
Why you need to try your best to lock in a new hire in under a week
Don't be afraid to make a candidate sweat a little
Why trying too hard to sell your agency to a candidate could lose you a great hire
Identifying yellow and red flags for in-office, hybrid, or remote positions
How to handle and possibly prevent a bad Glassdoor review if you encounter one
Pay attention to the little things — body language, demeanor, and even their background in the Zoom call
The most critical things to consider to get the right candidate to accept your job offer

EP 381: Making onboarding and training SOPs painless with Jennifer Smith Jan 23, 2023

Show notes

One of the biggest sticking points with agencies is establishing tried and true onboarding and training SOPs. Over and over, we find that new hires aren't pleased with how their onboarding process went, despite agencies and larger companies investing billions into this one area.

Poor training and onboarding experiences can result in disaster and influence how long your new hire will want to stick around after the fact. It can be even more challenging for remote agencies to establish cohesion in SOPs when a team is remote or hybrid. That's why it's essential to have well-established training SOPs that are easy to follow and help your new hires understand their purpose within your agency.

In this episode, I'm interviewing Jennifer Smith from Scribe to teach us how to make SOPs that are quick, painless, transferable, and digestible. She knows what remote teams need to get everyone on the same page quickly, and she has a lot of knowledge on how to make that happen. Tune in to listen and learn great ideas from Jennifer to make a typically painful process seamless and much more organized.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

The importance of having tribal knowledge in an agency
Where agencies often fail to have proper documentation
Establishing the why, the who, and the how of your agency to new hires
Creating proper SOP documentation to onboard new team members
Where agencies can improve on building a remote team
How to demonstrate skills and tasks to new hires with training SOPs
How to make SOPs and documentation pain-free and easy to share amongst your team

EP 380: Lead with love: In memoriam of Craig Barnes and the legacy he left behind with Drew McLellan Jan 16, 2023

Show notes

With a heavy heart, I'm recording this week's solocast to commemorate the life of a cherished and respected team member of AMI, Craig Barnes. I have known Craig for 25 years, and we became great friends and colleagues over our time together as fellow agency owners. I want to use this solocast as an opportunity to honor the legacy Craig left behind and share with you all some of the core values he taught me over our long time working together, the most important one being to lead with love.

Whether you were part of his family, community, colleague, or client, Craig always made sure that people knew he loved them. He was never afraid to shower others with love and celebrate their wins in life, no matter how big or small. He did everything in a big way, whether that was making a huge business decision or taking up a new hobby — and he wasn't afraid to go after it with genuine, whole-hearted passion.

I'm heartbroken to be recording this episode. Still, I hope this allows everyone the chance to reflect on his incredible life and legacy and encapsulate everything that Craig taught us in the AMI community.

In This Episode:

How Craig Barnes became a part of my life and the AMI community
What we can learn from Craig's life and professional life
Keep evolving
If you're going to do it, do it big
Strategy is critical
There is no substitute for integrity
The more you teach, the more you learn
Lead with love

EP 379: The ROI of being a good podcast guest with Tom Schwab Jan 09, 2023

Show notes

As agency owners, we're always looking for ways to get great customers that increase our profitability while decreasing the length of the typical sales cycle. That's the dream, right? This week, I have Tom Schwab on to talk about one of the best ways to make that dream a reality — being a great guest on other people's podcasts. As a great guest himself, Tom has a gold mine of valuable information to share with us about getting featured as a guest on podcasts, the ROI that it brings to your agency, and how to track the results you're getting from being a podcast guest.

Great conversations lead to great customers, and Tom will teach us exactly how to turn all that talking into gold. Don't miss out on this information-packed episode so you can start your year right by setting the stage for increased profitability in 2023.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

Why you don't need to host your own podcast to get your name out there
How to use podcast guesting as a way to achieve your goals
Why podfade is such a common occurrence
How to identify which podcasts need your voice as a guest
Leveraging a podcast to attract great clients, not more leads in the sales funnel
How to be a great podcast guest and get the host to sell you to the audience
Pre- and post-interview podcast guest best practices
The importance of having a tracking mechanism for performance and conversion rates

EP 379: The ROI of being a good podcast guest with Tom Schwab Jan 09, 2023

Show notes

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

Why you don't need to host your own podcast to get your name out there
How to use podcast guesting as a way to achieve your goals
Why podfade is such a common occurrence
How to identify which podcasts need your voice as a guest
Leveraging a podcast to attract great clients, not more leads in the sales funnel
How to be a great podcast guest and get the host to sell you to the audience
Pre- and post-interview podcast guest best practices
The importance of having a tracking mechanism for performance and conversion rates

EP 378: Taking meaningful steps to prioritize diversity in the workplace with Dr. Ella Washington Jan 02, 2023

Show notes

Diversity in the workplace is the cornerstone of running a modern and successful agency. Without it, you're not only selling your agency short, but you're also passing up on an immense pool of talent and ideas that you won't find by staying in a comfort zone. This week, we have Dr. Ella Washington, a professor, organizational psychologist, and DEI expert, on the podcast to share the purpose, pitfalls, and progress behind effective and measurable DEI work. Whether your agency has fallen behind the times or you just need a fresh perspective, we all have work to do in this area.

So, take this episode with an open mind, actively listen to it, and use it as a guide for refocusing your DEI efforts in 2023.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

The metrics for tracking DEI work progress
The three P's of starting DEI work
How hybrid work environments promote diversity in the workplace
Inviting more diversity into your organization
Why diverse backgrounds of all kinds matter at work
Inclusive leadership
Acknowledging and addressing microaggressions
How to create a safe space as a leader and invite conversations about DEI

EP 377: Creative thought leadership — bringing your book idea to life with Henry DeVries Dec 26, 2022

Show notes

With agency ownership comes big ideas, a lot of creative energy, and infinite passion for your work. Chances are you have a million ideas floating around your head with nowhere to put them. Why not compile them into a book? We've talked about why creative thought leadership matters for finding right-fit clients and aids in biz dev for your agency. This week, I'm bringing back Henry DeVries to discuss finally putting all those ideas into action and writing your book.

We have a fun episode planned today with tons of advice for creating the blueprint for your book, how to finally get started with writing (and get help doing it), and some of the common roadblocks we create for ourselves when it's time to finally go to the printer.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

Building the blueprint of your book
7 questions to answer when creating the book outline
Why writing is a team sport
How to solo write a book in a way that's manageable (if you choose to go it alone)
The best approach to co-authoring a book
Discovering your hidden assets and turning them into content
The roadblocks we create for ourselves in the final stages of publishing

EP 376: Deploying effective business development strategies with Peter Levitan Dec 19, 2022

Show notes

Business development will always be necessary for keeping your agency alive. Many agencies are great at marketing for clients but historically fall flat when it's time to market themselves to prospects. Peter Levitan knows this very well and has some tips to share to help us get creative about our agencies and prospecting for them. Whether aggressively pursuing a dream client or breaking into thought leadership, Peter knows the ins and outs of getting your agency's name out there to just about anyone.

Tune into this episode to learn Peter's business development expertise, hear his thoughts on thought leadership and writing, and see what's on the horizon for agencies going into 2023.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

Peter's strong background in business development and agency consulting
The top 3 ways to get more business and keep it
The importance of standing out from the crowd when marketing your agency
How to do direct marketing
Fresh and new topics that your agency can write about
Dabbling in thought leadership
What's on the horizon in 2023?
Being aggressive and persistent with agency goals without overloading the team

EP 375: Incentivizing daily time tracking with Drew McLellan Dec 12, 2022

Show notes

Time tracking is one of the most overlooked resources in an agency's day-to-day operations. Without it, you're missing out on valuable data about where you need more training, more staff, or even if you're charging enough for your services. That's why I'm talking today about incentivizing daily time tracking with your employees. The first thing a lot of your team will say is, "I don't have time to do this every day." But, with a little incentive and some tenacity, you can reach 95% to 98% compliance on daily time tracking in no time at all. Tune in to learn my step-by-step plan for starting the conversation, implementing it, and keeping the momentum once you get your team on board.

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.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

The reason why timesheets matter for more than just hours worked
Why timesheets should be done every single day
How to start talking to your team about daily time tracking
Incentivizing the team to track time consistently
Holding the team — and yourself — accountable
The psychology behind my time-tracking accountability method
How to use the data that daily time tracking gives you

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