The Agency Accelerator: Recent Episodes
Rob Da Costa
Busy agency owners can have a hard time balancing delivering exceptional work with finding ideal new clients - all the while, ensuring the smooth running of their agency.
Every 2nd Thursday, join Rob Da Costa, agency owner and coach, as he explores the key topics that affect you and your agency. I share tools and ideas to aid your profitable growth as well as interview industry expert guests, who share their experiences of working in or with agencies just like yours.
Whether you are just starting out or run an established growing agency, whether you run an online or bricks & mortar agency, this is the podcast for you.
To learn more about Rob, his coaching and training, visit the website
Procrastination and perfectionism can hold agency leaders back from taking action and making progress. We often tell ourselves stories that our work isn’t good enough yet or that we need to know more before launching something new or completing a project. But these limiting beliefs keep us stuck.
The expression "progress over perfection" reminds us to focus on moving forward rather than endlessly 'polishing'! Delivering an imperfect product is better than never launching at all. Taking small steps creates momentum while waiting for things to be flawless causes paralysis.
In today's episode, we'll discuss strategies for overcoming perfectionist tendencies. How can we challenge our inner critic? What mindset shifts help us value iteration and growth over chasing perfection? What practices help us deliver work, launch new offerings, and make continuous progress?
By taking action over aiming for perfection, we build momentum and bring our ideas to life. Progress fuels motivation, while the endless pursuit of perfection is demoralising.
Let's explore ways agency leaders can move from paralysis to traction by embracing "progress over perfection”.
Time Stamp
[00:00] Intro
[02:21] The origins of ‘done is better than perfect’
[03:00] Perfectionism is a fast track to failure
[03:40] Getting something done is so much better than hanging on to it because you feel it isn't yet perfect
[04:28] When is good enough, good enough? Your target audience will answer this question
[05:15] 10 reasons why you should get things done and off your plate
[05:27] 1. You get results faster!
[05:45] 2. Getting something done is overwhelmingly satisfying while perfection may keep us tweaking something forever.
[05:58] 3. Remember done is not over, you can still develop your craft, your idea, and your project
[06:16] 4. Done rather than perfect means you avoid paralysis
[09:27] If you get lost in the detail then stop, and remind yourself of the context
[10:20] Understand your minimum standard and start there
[10:45] An example of getting a PDF guide designed
[11:43] Write PROGRESS OVER PERFECTION on a post-it and remind yourself of it frequently!
Quotations
“No one is going to get rich off an idea that stays an idea.” - Rob Da Costa
“Take off your perfectionist hat and remind yourself of the purpose of the task at hand and who the audience is.” - Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Improve your mindset
- 15 Tools to help you be more productive
- Sign up to attend a FREE LIVE Agency Accelerator Workshop
In this episode of The Agency Accelerator, Rob is joined by guest Joel Klettke to discuss the hidden power of case studies in the sales process.
Joel shares valuable insights on how customer stories can support your new business, the different formats to deploy them, and their importance in winning, upselling and retaining clients.
We also delve into the value of creating compelling anonymous case studies, the key elements of a successful case study, and the strategic use of case studies throughout the buyer's journey.
Time Stamp
[02:43] Case studies are critical for agencies as they demonstrate skills, differentiate themselves from competitors, and provide proof of value
[08:12] How do get clients to agree to a case study and when should you ask for them?
[14:12] Joel’s view on anonymous case studies (if a client doesn't want you to use their name)
[17:00] How can you get clients to share their ROI and metrics with you?
[21:19] How do we drive the approval process and ensure things don’t stall at this stage?
[25:29] Different levels of content repurposing: nibble, bite, snack, meal & buffet
[29:38] How many case studies should you aim for?
[32:16] What advice would Joel give his younger self, just starting out in business?
Quotations
“There are a few assets more powerful at demonstrating how you think, how you treat clients, how you work through problems than a case study. When everyone's making similar promises, it really comes down to your proof and your ability to show that thinking and value in action." — Joel Klettke
“When considering how many case studies you need, look at it through the lens of who you're trying to appeal to and what stories will be most relatable for them." — Joel Klettke
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.”
If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people like you to move towards a Self-Running Agency. How to leave a review on Apple Podcasts
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then, let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Joel’s LinkedIn profile
- Joel’s website
- Register for the next Agency Accelerator LIVE FREE Workshop
Grab a pen and paper, because in today's episode, we're revealing the secrets behind creating high-converting lead magnets that attract and nurture new clients for your agency.
You'll discover proven lead magnet strategies to capture emails, nurture leads, and grow your agency. We'll explore the anatomy of effective lead magnets—from irresistible titles to delivering quick value.
You'll learn how to promote lead magnets through social media, email, and other key channels to drive opt-ins. We'll debunk common myths and misconceptions about lead magnets.
Whether you're just starting out or looking to improve your lead gen, this episode will give you a step-by-step blueprint for leveraging lead magnet magic.
Get ready to transform leads into loyal, high-paying clients with specialised lead magnets tailored for your ideal avatar. Let's dive in and unlock the true potential of lead magnets for your agency!
Time Stamp
[00:00] We start by discussing one mistake agencies make: not building trust before asking for sales. We explore how a lead magnet can be used to show expertise and nurture prospects along the buyer’s journey.
[04:21] Some misconceptions: you don’t need lots of lead magnets and they don't have to be long; focus on one good one and market it consistently
[08:42] Create a form for visitors to input their name and email and use an email marketing system to trigger an automation for follow-up.
[10:25] Once they have downloaded a lead magnet, offer the next step on their buyer's journey, such as a workshop or one-to-one call. This is the next micro-commitment and is rarely the sale
Quotations
“No one is gonna ever buy from you until they know you, they like you and they trust you." — Rob Da Costa
“Any lead magnet you create needs to provide excellent value, give a really quick win to your audience, and it, of course, needs to solve a problem that keeps your audience awake at night." — Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.”
If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people like you to move towards a Self-Running Agency. How to leave a review on Apple Podcasts
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then, let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Creating A Lead Generation System FREE Guide
- Strategic Email Marketing That Gets Results FREE Guide
- Join my FREE Live Agency Accelerator Workshops
Today we are diving into the struggles agency owners face when it comes to letting go and delegating responsibilities. Joined by special guest Rachel Gertz, co-founder of Louder Than Ten, we explore the typical growth journey and share common indicators that agency owners are ready to delegate.
From the importance of project managers to building a brand that is not defined by the owner, this episode offers insights and advice to help agency owners transition from micromanagers to visionaries. Learn how to build a strong foundation for your agency's growth and overcome the hurdles of letting go.
Time Stamp
[00:54] Introduction to Rachel Gertz, co-founder of Louder Than Ten, helping agencies improve project management
[04:01] When should you hire your first project manager/account manager?
[07:10] Working on your mindset to learn to ‘let go’
[08:46] Separating the leader from the brand
[11:04] Knowing when you are ready to let get. Trust and communication
[14:01] Plugging the gap between the owner and the rest of the team
[16:50[ What systems do you need to put in place to ensure you can consistently grow?
[21:40] Training your account managers to respond effectively to clients and not just be ‘people pleasers’!
[22:20] 5 answers you can give when a client asks ‘can you just…’.
[24:15] Can you train an AM to become a PM and vice versa?
[27:56] What are the basic tools and systems to put in place?
[31:54] What company KPIs should you share with your team?
Quotations
“Having a system of communication whereby individuals can pull insights from the person who is the knowledge holder can totally flip a dynamic and make delegation and scaling much easier."
‘My belief is that project managers can make great account managers. However, not all account managers can make great project managers’— Rachel Gertz
"The sooner we teach our teams to have a commercial mindset and understand what profit means, the better." - Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.”
If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people like you to move towards a Self-Running Agency. How to leave a review on Apple Podcasts
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then, let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Louder Than Ten website
- Rachel’s email:rachel@louderthanten.com
- Join my FREE all-value no-sales fortnightly agency workshops
In this week’s episode, we are digging into expanding your comfort zone and getting comfortable with discomfort for personal and professional growth. I discuss the four stages of learning and share strategies to expand your comfort zone.
Ultimately, the goal is to continually push beyond your limits and achieve sustainable growth in a manageable and incremental way.
Beyond your comfort zone lies excitement and development!
Time Stamp
[00:00] Introduction: Getting comfortable with discomfort
[01:18] Why do we stick to what we know, instead of leaving our comfort zone?
[02;50] My story of sticking in my comfort zone
[03:36] The benefits of stepping into discomfort
[04:00] The 4 levels of learning and comfort, learning and fear zones
[08:15] The way to expand your comfort zone
[10:18] Reframe discomfort as growth, focus on developing yourself (rather than focusing on results), celebrate wins and get support
[13:43] Learn more in my fortnightly value-packed live Agency Accelerator LIVE Workshops
Quotations
“While it's comfortable to stay in your comfort zone, it's not a place where you are going to grow as a person and as a business owner." - Rob Da Costa
“Turn off that internal self-talk that will discourage you from doing anything slightly scary and just get on and do it!” - Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.”
If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people like you to move towards a Self-Running Agency. How to leave a review on Apple Podcasts
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then, let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Register for my FREE all-value and no-sales fortnightly agency Accelerator LIVE workshops
Welcome back to another episode of The Agency Accelerator! In this week's episode, our host, Rob Da Costa, sits down with the brilliant Alyson Caffrey, founder of Operations Agency. Together, they dive deep into the strategies and techniques that agency owners can implement to build a self-running agency, ensuring its success even when they take a much-needed sabbatical.
Alyson shares her invaluable insights on professionalising operations, creating systems and processes, and streamlining backend operations. She introduces her Sabbatical Method and Operations Simplified Framework, which empower agency owners to strategically utilise rest to grow their businesses.
Time Stamp
[00:00] Alyson Caffrey from Operations Agency discusses how to professionalise your operations and implement systems and processes that will allow you to take a sabbatical from your agency. The aim is to build a self-running agency that doesn't rely solely on you!
[04:33] Don’t be your own capture, know that you can take time off and get good boundaries.
[08:27] Agency owners struggle with perfectionism and trust which leads to poor delegation. Instead of selling their time, they should focus on creating core processes and delegating tasks to their team.
[13:13] At what stage in an agency’s evolution should you start to document your processes?
[18:10] Keep adding to your processes to build a solid foundation for your agency
[22:55] Being numbers-driven and metrics-focused is crucial. Metrics provide insights and inform operational changes. Key metrics create structure and momentum.
[25:34] What tools and apps does Alyson recommend to support systemisation
[29:46] If Alyson could go back in time and give her younger self, just starting out in business, a piece of advice, what would it be?
Quotations
“We will have to take some time off at some point, so focus on building your business to support this rather than panicking because you're being forced to take time off!” - Alyson Caffrey
“I always say that finances tell us the truth and operational key performance indicators tell us the narrative in between the truths” - Alyson Caffrey
“Taking action is better than waiting for perfection” - Alyson Caffrey
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.”
If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people like you to move towards a Self-Running Agency. How to leave a review on Apple Podcasts
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then, let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Operations Agency Website
- Social media: @operationsagency
- YouTube Channel
- Free LIVE Agency Growth Workshops
- The Self-Running Agency Book
Welcome to The Agency Accelerator, the podcast that helps small to mid-sized marketing agencies grow in a profitable, sustainable, and enjoyable way.
In today's episode, your host, Rob Da Costa, shares five essential strategies to avoid the feast or famine cycle that many agencies experience.
If you're tired of the stress and uncertainty of fluctuating client loads and empty ‘order books’ then this episode is a must-listen.
So, let's dive right in and discover how you can achieve stability and sustainable profitable growth in your agency.
Time Stamp
[00:00] Introduction: Rob outlines why feast or famine happens and why it is so common.
[01:10] Strategy 1: Build a strong foundation. Get clear on who you are, who you serve, and have a clear vision. This includes understanding your niche market and its needs.
[03:23] Strategy 2: Mitigate risk by diversifying your client portfolio. Avoid relying on a few clients for your revenue. Rob stresses the importance of consistently marketing your agency to attract new leads, no matter how busy you are.
[05:01] Strategy 3: Develop an effective sales and marketing plan. Communicate your value proposition across various platforms to attract your ideal target customer. Rob highlights the importance of protecting time for sales and marketing, even during busy periods.
[08:09] Strategy 4: Protect time for client delivery. Implement time management strategies to ensure efficient client service. Rob advises changing your mindset about time availability and priorities.
[10:04] Strategy 5: Focus on client retention and growth. Build strong client partnerships and generate additional revenue from existing clients.
[11:47] Conclusion: Rob shares personal experiences and encourages listeners to implement the strategies discussed to achieve sustainable growth in their agencies.
Quotations
"Feast or famine cycles in your agency will be detrimental to your business's stability, growth, and stress levels! So you need to implement strategies to help you maintain a consistent stream of clients and revenue."
2. "Protecting time for sales and marketing is crucial, regardless of how busy you are with client service. This will ensure a steady flow of leads and new clients, preventing you from lurching from feast to famine."
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.”
If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people like you to move towards a Self-Running Agency. How to leave a review on Apple Podcasts
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then, let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Free niching Guide
- Podcast episode on niching
- Join our next Agency Accelerator LIVE Workshop (it’s free!)
Welcome to a brand new episode of The Agency Accelerator, the podcast that is dedicated to helping agency owners build profitable, sustainable, and enjoyable businesses. In today's episode, titled "The Impact of AI on Agencies," our host, Rob Da Costa, sits down with Clodagh Higgins, an experienced digital agency director, consultant, and coach.
As experts who have worked with over 1,000 agencies globally, Rob and Clodagh delve into the transformative power of AI in the agency world, discussing its potential benefits, challenges, and the importance of embracing this technology rather than avoiding it.
From the impact on work-life balance to the influence on creative content, join us as we navigate the future at the intersection of human expertise and artificial intelligence. Grab a notebook and a coffee and, let's dive into the conversation and discover how agencies can leverage AI to unlock their full potential.
Time Stamp
[00:00] Introduction to the episode and guest, Clodagh Higgins, on the impact of AI on agencies.
[03:20] The current opportunity for agency owners to embrace AI and focus on work-life balance.
[11:15] Exploring the role of AI tools in enhancing agency capacity and automating tasks.
[15:30] Addressing concerns about AI tools lacking creativity and the importance of asking the right questions.
[19:10] Practical example of using AI tools to automate the process of writing show notes for podcasts.
[23:40] The potential of AI tools to handle certain tasks and increase work efficiency.
[27:10] Clodagh’s advice to agency owners in embracing AI and finding someone passionate to lead the AI implementation.
[30:55] Comparing the impact of AI to the rise of Facebook and the importance of guiding clients through the AI process.
[36:00] Conclusion and final thoughts on the opportunities and challenges of AI implementation in agencies.
Quotations
The term “AI co-pilot is the thing that really needs to be. Somebody your agency needs to be responsible for exploring AI. They are your AI Co-pilot!." — Clodagh Higgins
"”If you are not looking into AI or if you are thinking it's something you shouldn't be using in your agency then you are going to quickly be left behind." — Rob Da Costa
The Future of Work: "I do believe that we are going to be working less because AI will help us produce more. I think we're going to have more time for creativity." — Clodagh Higgins
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.”
If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people like you to move towards a Self-Running Agency. How to leave a review on Apple Podcasts
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then, let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Clodagh’s website
- Clodagh’s LinkedIn profile
- Join in the conversation and attend one of my free twice-monthly Agency Accelerator LIVE Workshops
Welcome back to another episode of The Agency Accelerator. Today we're diving into a topic that is all too familiar for many marketing agency owners - the burnout epidemic. As agency owners, we often find ourselves overwhelmed, exhausted, and struggling to manage our well-being amidst the demands of running a business. So in this episode, we're going to explore strategies to take charge of our well-being and prevent burnout. So grab your favourite beverage, sit back, and let's get started on this journey towards a healthier and more sustainable agency life!
Time Stamp
[00:00] Introduction to episode topic: The Burnout Epidemic: Taking Charge of Your Well-Being
[01:12] Strategy 1: Create and maintain a clear vision for your agency
[02:45] Strategy 2: Set clear expectations with clients from the beginning
[04:17] Strategy 3: Focus on one task at a time to increase productivity
[05:38] Strategy 4: Plan your day and overestimating time for tasks
[07:03] Strategy 5: Delegate tasks to free up time and prevent burnout
[09:02] Strategy 6: Implement morning and evening rituals for structure
[10:27] Strategy 7: Establish a supportive network to avoid burnout
[12:01] Bonus Strategy: Maintain a healthy work-life balance
Quotations
“When you're going through stressful or busy times, make sure you hang on to your WHY to help you get through the times of craziness” - Rob Da Costa
Setting Boundaries with Clients: "It's much easier to get your boundaries with clients right from the beginning than it is to put them in place retrospectively. After all, if a client is used to you responding as soon as they send an email, then, of course, they expect you to respond immediately every time they send an email!" — Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.”
If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people like you to move towards a Self-Running Agency. How to leave a review on Apple Podcasts
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then, let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Free Agency Accelerator LIVE Workshops
- Winning Back Time - free guide
In this episode of The Agency Accelerator, Ilia Markov from the time tracking management tool, Toggl, discusses the importance of time recording and how it will help agencies manage their capacity, productivity, and profitability.
We explore how time tracking is not just about billing clients, but is also a way to analyse where time is going, identify areas for improvement, and optimise operations.
We outline the metrics that should be measured, such as billable versus non-billable time percentages, and what constitutes too much billable time. Finally, Ilia emphasises that time tracking is not a tool for spying on employees, but rather to spot inefficiencies, identify early warning signs of burnout, and optimise work.
Quotations
"The highest performing agency usually are somewhere in the vicinity of 75%, meaning 75% of a client facing employee's total time ends up on an invoice."— Ilia Markov
"Regardless of the pricing model that you use, it's important to understand how you are using your main resource...your people! It's very important to understand where their time is going and how it is used." — Ilia Markov
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.”
If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people like you to move towards a Self-Running Agency. How to leave a review on Apple Podcasts
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then, let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Toggl (Get 20% off an annual plan using discount code ACCELERATOR)
- Ilia's LinkedIn profile
- Join my twice monthly FREE live agency workshops
Everyone talks about the concepts of value-pricing and value-selling and it sounds really good in theory. But in reality, a lot of agencies don't know how to apply it or are too scared to start taking a value pricing approach. So they go back to their tried and tested ways of pricing on fixed project fees or selling on time. So in today’s podcast I want to give you five tips and strategies that you can begin using right away to start moving towards a value-based pricing and a value-based selling approach.
Time Stamp
[01:56] Today’s episode is sponsored by my free masterclass: “3 ways to raise your agency's prices and profits without losing clients”. I'm running this workshop 4 times this month (if you're listening live) or you'll be able to watch a replay. So check out the link below and invest 60 minutes of your time to learn some practical strategies that you can start implementing straight away.
[02:21] A story of toothache to explain value-pricing
[03:23] A definition of value based selling
[03:44] An example of quoting for a web design project
[04:18] 5 strategies to move towards a value-based pricing and selling approach that will enable you to charge higher fees and create strong relationships with your clients
[04:39] Strategy 1: From the first conversation you have with a prospect focus on the outcomes they are looking for and how they tie back to their business goals
[06:35] Strategy 2: Make sure you understand how the wider business will assess the success of your campaign not just the marketing resource that you might be dealing with.
[07:07] Strategy 3: When you agree to write a proposal make sure you’re constantly referencing the outcomes that the client is seeking from your work.
[07:28] Strategy 4: Price on the outcomes. This doesn’t mean you’re making any kind of guarantees or offering ‘payment by results’, it just means that you are getting everyone’s mind focused on the transformation the client is looking for from being in pain to not being in pain.
[08:11] Strategy 5: Don’t discount! If they want a lower fee and discuss which aspects of the project they don’t want to include!
[08:44] Pricing is 50% mindset and 50% application
Quotations
“Getting your pricing right is 50% mindset and 50% application.” - Rob Da Costa
“Brave agencies will spend 90% of their time in a prospect meeting in fact-find mode and 10% presenting their agency.” - Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.”
If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people like you to move towards a Self-Running Agency. How to leave a review on Apple Podcasts
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then, let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Download my FREE guide on value-pricing & value-selling
- Join my FREE masterclass on value-pricing and value-selling
Introduction
In this episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, Rob Da Costa explores how artificial intelligence (AI) can enhance work and team productivity. He highlights examples of AI tools such as Chat GBT and Bard to improve writing skills and how analytical tools can extract valuable data for customer insights and targeting.
Rob predicts key trends in AI integration, including the collaboration between humans and AI to improve efficiency. He also addresses ownership and plagiarism concerns for AI-generated content.
Finally, he discusses what lies in the future for agencies and AI.
Topics Covered In This Episode:
- History and practical application of AI
- Rob Da Costa's experience with using AI tools
- Key trends in the integration of AI into agency life
- AI tools for marketing agencies
- Challenges with AI-generated content and copyright ownership
- How AI is enabling agency teams to move to a more strategic level
- The need for agencies to differentiate themselves in a world where AI may commoditize certain tasks
- Top 10 AI tools to use today
- What is on the horizon for AI
Quotes
The Rise of AI: "The one thing is for sure, you should be embracing AI." - Rob Da Costa
We need to make sure we are elevating what we do and having a clear point of differentiation. But we absolutely need to be embracing tools to help us with creativity and content creation, whether that be written text, images or video - because AI is going to make that much, much easier." — Rob Da Costa
Useful links:
Here are the top AI tools for marketing agencies, mentioned in this episode:
-
ChatGPT
-
Adobe Sensei
-
Google Cloud AI
-
IBM Watson
-
Salesforce Einstein
-
HubSpot Marketing Hub
-
Sprout Social
-
WordStream Advisor
-
Hootsuite Amplify
-
Marketo Engage
Save your seat for my next Agency Accelerator LIVE series of FREE agency workshops
In this week’s podcast, Rob talks to Jenny Plant from Account Management Skills about effective account management. They discuss the importance of building respectful relationships with clients and the value of sales training for account managers. They also delve into when and if you should be splitting account management and project management roles in your agency, touching on the benefits and challenges of doing so.
Key takeaways include the four levels of client value, the different DISC profiles of account managers and project managers, and the importance of acknowledging the different skill sets in agency roles.
Time Stamp
[01:58] Jenny outlines the importance of sales training for account managers and notes the missed opportunity for agencies without investing in this skill.
[07:27] 4 Levels of Client Value: Tips for Growth:
Level 1 is excellent service, Level 2 is delivering a fantastic customer experience. Level 3 is focusing on an outcome and Level 4 is discussing the future and upselling additional services.
[11:14] Account managers should prioritise delivering outcomes, being strategic partners, and proactively informing clients of additional services.
[18:37] Importance of considering natural behaviors and skill sets of different agency roles like project managers and account managers. Differences highlighted based on profiling data, with account managers focused on communication, presentation, and relationship building.
[23:21] Struggle of account managers with business development leads to hiring business development professionals who may not be successful. Splitting into account manager and project manager roles might alleviate it, but effective collaboration between the two is crucial.
[28:51] Good account managers recognise a respectful and balanced relationship with clients, step out of their comfort zones, identify opportunities, retain and grow clients. Final question to guest: what advice would you give your younger self starting out in business?
Quotations
“When they ask clients the question, would you like your agency to leverage the understanding they have working with other clients and share it with you? 100% of clients say yes, but less than 20% of agencies actually do that." — Jenny Plant
"Don't assume that as your career develops, you will naturally be a full, rounded account manager. Those skills need to be taught." — Rob Da Costa
"The Zone of Wasted Effort": "There's a point that you reach in the client relationship where you need to be bringing new ideas and painting a picture of the future, being critical, getting involved in their business and helping them develop further. But instead, you're just stuck in this retentive account retention loop."— Jenny Plant
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.”
If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people like you to move towards a Self-Running Agency. How to leave a review on Apple Podcasts
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then, let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Account Management Skills' Website
- Find Jenny on LinkedIn
- Register for my FREEE value-packed Agency Accelerator LIVE events (every Wednesday morning at 9am(UK)
We can all be ‘busy fools’ by not planning effectively and instead reacting to whatever is presented to us or ‘he who shouts loudest’! So today I am going to help you juggle fewer balls and become laser-focused.
Time Stamp
[01:38] How to break your year plan into daily calendar entries
[02:45] When planning your day put times by each task rather than just work through your list from A-Z
[03:37] Prioritise your day by doing the hardest things first (not last!)
[04:30] Plan your day in 30-minute chunks and don't underestimate how long tasks will take!
[05:19] Overestimate how long tasks will take (to cope with the unknowns that will invariably happen)
[06:20] Block out time in your diary that is uninterruptible
[08:30] Physically cross out tasks as you complete them
[08:55] Your daily goal should be to cross off all tasks
[09:40] Aim to start and end your day in the same way every day - your morning and evening rituals
[10:50] Set your big goals for the week (by looking at your monthly plan)
Quotations
“When planning your day, always strive to do the hardest things first” - name
“Your daily goal should be to cross off all tasks rather than carry any over.” - name
“We overestimate what we can do in the short term and underestimate what we can do in the long term” - Bill Gates
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people like you to move towards a Self-Running Agency. How to leave a review on Apple Podcasts
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then, let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Amazing Marvin List Manager
- Ep 101 - my favourite productivity hacks
- The Self-Running Agency Implementation Group
In this REWIND episode, I am joined by my guest David Miles of The PPC Machine and we cover the world of PPC marketing and how it is changing. David also discusses how and why he niched his agency.
So make sure you tune in because Rob and David have some incredibly valuable tips to share with you in this episode.
[1:07] David discusses his background and how he ended up creating and building The PPC Machine. SEO and PPC (pay-per-click) have changed significantly over the years and The PPC Machine has to ensure they keep up to date so they are able to help their clients the best they can.
[4:58] How can you as an agency use pay-per-click to generate more leads? David shares some very handy tips and different approaches you can take to save money but keep results coming in. He also reminds us of the importance of sharing value-added content with your audience to help ensure that they come back to you, when they are ready to buy.
[8:11] Is it a good idea to stop running PPC when your site's SEO kicks in?
[11:46] Why should we outsource PPC when surely we can just do it ourselves? David discusses some interesting points about Google and how setting up a campaign can look easier than it actually is (more money for Google, less money for you!)
[14:42] Rob and David discuss the value of focusing on your own speciality and delegating areas you are not an expert in.
They discuss the different approaches you can take including delegating internally and using a mentor to provide support to upskill.
[17:15] How can we compete with our PPC competitors without paying out ridiculous amounts of money each month?
[19:30] Businesses need to remember that PPC leads can be very different to more traditional leads, as they tend to come in at the very top of the sales funnel (i.e they don't know anything about you). David tells us how he helped a Dental practice change its approach with PPC leads to turn more of them into new clients.
[21:30] The PPC industry is always changing. David predicts what he thinks is going to happen in the next few years.
[24:24] How and why did David and PPC Machine choose their niche?
[34:01] How can we find out more about the PPC Machine?
Subscribe & Review
Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you're not, please do
so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
You can subscribe/ follow on iTunes, Spotify or directly from my website.
I would be very grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too as they will help other people
to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much,
Rob
Use links mentioned in this podcast
- PPC Machine website
- David Miles LinkedIn
- Case Study
In the first year of running our agency, we do anything to survive, in effect we are just trying to prove we can run an agency but after that, if we don’t have a clear vision and plan, we are in danger of going around in circles and ending up working longer hours for a much tougher boss!
There are so many reasons you need to have a clear vision, strategy and plan for your agency. But the process can get overly complex, end up not being helpful and can feel like a ‘tick box’ exercise.
Yet hands down, the biggest thing that held me back from growing my agency as fast as I wanted whilst feeling in control, was not being clear enough about where the business was going.
It wasn’t that I had no idea what I wanted – it’s just that no one ever told me how crucial it was to have an exact destination in mind when setting out to grow your agency.
And without that vision, it can be easy to feel lost, directionless and demotivated.
Time Stamp
[01:21] Why you need to have a clear vision, strategy and plan for your agency
[02:44] The importance of having a proactive plan to drive your business forwards
[03:15] Focus on putting the infrastructure in place to create a platform for growth
[03:45] Likening your vision to a journey - what could possibly go wrong?!!
[05:20] Create a plan for your agency in the same way you would map out a journey
[05:40] Start with your longer-term vision and work backwards
[06:15] Never cast a plan in stone but instead update it on what you know today that you didn’t know yesterday
[06:58] The way to break your bigger vision down into tangible action steps
[09:00] Don’t let external factors drive the direction of your agency
[09:28] Bring your team along with you - a situation to avoid
[11:45] Ideas to keep your plan alive
Quotations
“Without having a clear vision, you can feel lost, directionless and demotivated” - Rob Da Costa
“Never cast a plan in stone but instead update it on what you know today that you didn’t know yesterday” - Rob Da Costa
“Your business vision and plan is so much more than just a finance plan” - Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people like you to move towards a Self-Running Agency. How to leave a review on Apple Podcasts
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then, let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Delegation Guide
- The Self-Running Agency Implementation Group
This is a REWIND episode, updating one of the most popular podcasts. So in this episode of the podcast, I am excited to be joined by Marcel Petitpas and we are discussing everything to do with your agency’s profits, pricing and margins. Another action-packed episode so grab a pen and paper and be sure to take notes!
Time Stamp
[1:17] Let’s start by welcoming Marcel Petitpas, our guest for today’s episode. He is the founder of Parakeeto, which aims to help agencies become more profitable. Parakeeto is a software platform that helps users to create data-driven estimates.
[1:51] The importance of focusing on agency pricing and profitability.
[4:18] At what stage of an agency’s growth should they start implementing time-tracking systems?
[6:55] The importance of understanding your business processes.
[8:05] Pitfalls and tips to early prospect discussions
[13:55] How to maximise the profitability of a project
[16:18] How to calculate Adjusted Gross Income (AGI)
[18:47] What are key metrics for agencies to look at? Differentiate between Gross Margin and Average Available Rate.
[25:04] How to make team members more commercial
[28:27] How to implement the Agency Profitability Flywheel in your agency
[33:05] A business paradox: Slow down to speed up
[33:43] What are the best strategies to raise your prices
[35:25] The ideal approach for value-based pricing.
[36:00] Word of advice: “Say YES to things that scare you!”
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Connect with Marcel Petitpas
- www.parakeet.com
- Agency Profitability Flywheel
- The Agency Profit Podcast
- The Self-Running Agency Book
- The Agency Selling System
- Get in touch with Rob at robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
If you work long hours in your agency and don’t take regular vacations then you face the very real chance of burnout. We are not superman/woman and do not have limitless amounts of energy, so taking time out to recharge your batteries is crucial.
But often we pay the price both before we go on holiday (with a mountain of work to get through) and when we get back (with a ton of work to catch up on) and if we are not careful, all the goodness from the break disappears.
Time Stamp
[01:23] The importance of self-care and taking time away from the office to re-energise
[02:10] Why do we often get sick when we go on holiday?
[02:55] Prep for taking a holiday: Batch creating content to minimise stress both before you go and when you get back from holiday
[04:51] Work with a VA to keep things running whilst you are away (e.g. client enquiries, social media, inbox management)
[05:24] Communicating with clients and putting good boundaries in place
[06:00] Whilst you are on holiday try and be present and have a ‘digital detox’ - extract your phone from your hand!
[06:48] Plan your holidays around your quieter times (esp if your business is seasonal) which will mean you worry less whilst you are away
[08:12] Put your Out Of Office on and redirect your emails and prep your team
Quotations
“Batch producing content means you keep your head in the zone and are much more efficient” - Rob Da Costa
“Be present on vacation by having a digital detox” - Rob Da Costa
“Take your mind as well as your body on vacation!” - Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Batching content/productivity podcast
- Let me know if this is the type of content you enjoy - drop me an email: robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
One of the best ways to scale your agency is to disconnect your time from the money you earn. There are several ways to do this (I’ve spoken about value pricing many times before, for example) and today we are going to be talking about productising your business: what this means, how to do it and the various steps along the journey.
Timestamp
02:00 Introduction to today’s guest, Julia Chanteray
02:17 How Julia’s business is changing and starting Adventures IN Products
02:54 Let’s start with the typical journey a business owner goes on and the roadblocks they hit along the way, and how it can easily get out of control!
06:40 What are the 2nd set of stumbling blocks as the agency starts to grow?
08:40 The importance of the business owner ‘getting out of the way’
10:18 Why have you decided to specialise to help businesses productise?
10:40 What does productising your business mean?
12:34 Can you give us some examples of a productised business?
15:50 You are either a PRODUCT business or a RELATIONSHIP business
16:54 Tell us about your programme and some of the members who have joined.
19:25 How do you work out what your product should be?
21:04 How to avoid shiny new object distractions
21:44 What are the biggest challenges people have on their productisation journey?
23:08 You can take a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink!
24:29 There is no such thing as passive income
25:30 A typical member who is part of Julia’s programme
26:45 If you could go back in time and give your younger self, just starting out in business, a piece of advice what would it be?
Quotations
“If you are clever, you start building some kind of product that breaks the relationship between how they spend their time and how they make their money” - Julia Chanteray
“As a coach, you can take a horse to water but you can’t make it drink!” - Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Adventuresinproducts.com
I wanted to record a quick episode to discuss one of the errors I see people making repeatedly when they are trying to win new business and sell. This fundamental error makes them frustrated because they just don't seem to be able to close the deal!
We are surrounded by lots of supposed 'experts' telling us how easy it is to win new business, yet most agency owners don't find that to be the case.
Hopefully, you know that you can't solely rely on word of mouth and referrals, which is not a strategy. This is especially true in a recession.
Time Stamp
[01:09] How not to use LinkedIn and be annoying!
[01:55] The importance of building KNOW, LIKE & TRUST (build EMPATHY, CREDIBILITY and TRUST)
[03:35] It starts by having a clear niche and understanding exactly who your ideal target customer is
[03:59] Start by building empathy - showing your audience you understand them
[04:30] Next build credibility by showing them you have solved their challenge before
[05:23] Build trust by showing your audience how you can help them
[06:00] At this stage you can start having the sales conversation and map out the journey of building EMPATHY, CREDIBILITY & TRUST in your marketing
[07:10] Why cold outreach doesn’t work
[07:40] KNOW, LIKE & TRUST
[08:43] Focus your marketing on SERVING (80%) more than SELLING (20%)
[09:11] Be client-centric: Map your customer’s journey onto your website
Quotations
“When someone is buying your product or service they are actually buying an outcome and a transformation from being in pain to not being in pain” - Rob Da Costa
“Map out the journey of EMPATHY, CREDIBILITY & TRUST to your marketing” - Rob Da Costa
“Focus 80% of your marketing on SERVING and just 20% of your outbound comms on SELLING” - Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people like you to move towards a Self-Running Agency. How to leave a review on Apple Podcasts
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Niching Guide
- Defining your ideal target customer
If you wish you were more profitable, then make sure you listen to this episode!
My most read blog is called ‘Being a Busy Fool'. It clearly resonates with a lot of people, and it's also obviously a search term that a lot of business owners are typing into Google!
After all, we can all be really busy run ragged servicing clients, trying to catch our breath whilst recognising that we are not doing many of those ‘running the agency’ type tasks such as planning for the future, focusing on business development and so on because we are so stuck on the client service hamster wheel, just trying to keep up with client demands. Sadly this results in us being busy fools and, quite frankly, staying poor.
In today’s podcast, I dig into the cause of this and give you some ideas to start solving it.
Time Stamp
[01:27] There should be a direct correlation between how busy you are and how profitable you are. If not, here are some reasons why
[02:17] Over-servicing: an agency pandemic!
[03:06] The importance of measuring time internally (which is different to selling time to clients!)
[04:10] Putting the right systems in place to measure capacity and efficiency
[05:06] Translating a brief into internal allocated time
[05:50] Getting your team members to self-manage using RAG
[07:22] Taking a strategic view on over servicing
[07:45] Say YES or NO to a client when they ask for more
[08:28] When time recording falls
[09:56] Explaining WHY to your team
[10:33] Don’t use an ‘admin other’ task in your time recording system
[11:29] The cultural implementation of not overservicing by implementing time recording
[12:26] Identifying skills gaps and training needs
[13:45] The sooner you implement this the easier your journey of growth will be
Quotations
“You have to track time internally to measure efficiency, capacity and profitability.” - Rob Da Costa
“You will never know if you are profitable with a client unless you track your time.” - Rob Da Costa
“The sooner you implement time recording, the easier your journey of growth will be” - Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts (How to leave a review on Apple Podcasts)
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — to move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Productivity Cheat Sheet
- Time Recording Systems to look into:
- Harvest
- Streamtime
- Toggl
There is lots of talk of a looming recession so what should you do and what should you be focusing on right now to ensure that your agency is recession-proof?
What is the difference between an agency that thrives in a recession and one that just scraps by?
These questions and more are answered in this broad-ranging discussion in today's video. And I'm really excited to have with me, Ollie Duffy-Lee, who is the founder of the Authority Agency, the growth agency company that supports agencies with their business development strategies.
Time Stamp
[01:45] What should agencies be focused on right now as we are heading towards a recession?
[02:35] Why you should never rely on referrals for new business - especially in a recession
[03:55] Focus on client retention and stop expecting instant gratification
[07:43] What are some of the smart non-negotiable strategies an agency must put in place?
[09:02] Build a personal brand around you, the founder
[10:00] If we are not focused on lead gen how does the sales funnel look?
[12:50] The importance of building and nurturing your email list
[15:25] How to manage clients and your business during a recession
[17:40] Don’t talk yourself into a recession!
[19:00] Ask yourself “does my client see us as a safe pair of hands (a brief taker) or a strategic partner (a brief maker?)”
[19:45] What does an agency need to do to be seen as a strategic partner by its clients?
[21:06] What internal changes should an agency make in a recession?
[22:23] The importance of knowing your data and metrics
[23:43] How big a financial buffer should you aim for?
[26:35] Ollie’s business advice to his younger self
Quotations
“If you want to retain your clients be a ‘brief maker’ not a ‘brief taker’” - Ollie Duffy-Lee
“If someone says NO to buying from you TODAY, it doesn't mean they won’t buy from you TOMORROW” - Rob Da Costa
“I am a big believer on BRAND over LEAD GEN - focus on being in ATTRACT mode rather than CHASING mode” - Ollie Duffy-Lee
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — to move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode! How to leave a review on Apple Podcasts
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Ollie on LinkedIn
- More info on Dean Jackson
One of the biggest mistakes we make when we start our agency is not surrounding ourselves with a group of other agency owners, experts and mentors who can guide us and help us avoid some of the common pitfalls so that we make the journey, especially in the first few years, so much smoother than it will otherwise be.
In today’s podcast, we dig into the phrase “it's lonely at the top” and explore what we can do to ensure we, as agency owners, do not feel isolated or alone.
Time Stamp
[01:20] Why is it lonely and isolating for agency owners?
[03:00] The value of The Self-Running Agency Implementation Group
[05:06] The severe consequences of going it alone
[05:43] Putting a senior leadership team in place
[06:11] The impact of negative feelings and thoughts
[06:45] Do not compare yourself to others it is not healthy!
[07:50] Surround yourself with smarter people than you!
[08:11] You don’t have a point to prove and you don't need to be ‘superman’ or ‘superwoman’ - so ask for help!
Quotations
“You are not admitting defeat if you ask for help, but rather, showing strength” - Rob Da Costa
“People join a group coaching programme for the content but stay for the community” - Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — to move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- The Self-Running Agency Implementation Group
- How to leave a review on Apple Podcasts
Running an agency doesn't have to be complicated or difficult. In this week’s episode I am joined by Simon Severino to discuss how to step into the role of CEO in your agency and the 3 habits every successful owner needs to develop and some that you need to let go of.
Simon also discusses why 90-day ‘sprints’ are the right length to plan, focus and deliver.
Time Stamp
[02:00] The typical journey of a founding agency owner - Phase 1 is up to £35k and the focus should be operations and sales (build a conversion machine), and phase 2 is beyond £35k where the focus switches to marketing and branding
[03:55] Simon’s dream of having a TED Talk and why that was the wrong focus
[04:45] Advice on getting through to phase 1 - there are two bottlenecks: 1. The ego of the founder. 2. Your sales approach (farming v hunting)
[07:45] Recognise your clients don’t come for you but they come for the solution (to their problem) and the process you offer
[10:00] The best sales strategy for phase 1. A simple strategy that never changes
[11:00] The 4 parts of a business: marketing, sales, operations and managing these parts
[12:50] Never charge for time at the end of a project but instead, for results upfront
[14:50] Derisking a client picking you to work with
[16:05] Why is 90-day the right length to plan for?
[17:07] Keeping each sprint simple - there should be 1 vision and 3 goals in each 90-day sprint
[18:07] What is the success rate of doubling your revenue in a 90-day sprint?
[18:54] What could stop someone from hitting this goal?
[22:15] The importance of keeping your plans agile and reacting to the data in the dashboard
[23:15] The 3 habits that a successful CEO must have
[25:54] If you could go back in time and give your younger self a piece of advice, what would it be?
Quotations
“You, the agency owner, becomes the bottleneck to growth because you are limited by your time.” - Simon Severino
“For every skill, the owner brings to get their agency started they quickly become the roadblock unless they can get out of the way.” - Rob Da Costa
“Focus on the 5% that is in your control and not the 95% that isn't!” - Simon Severino
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people like you to move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode! How to leave a review on Apple Podcasts
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Strategy Sprints Book
- Strategy Sprint Tools
- Simon’s YouTube Account
- The Self-Running Agency Implementation Group
In this bonus episode, I am very excited to let you know that the doors for the 2022 cohort of The Self-Running Agency Implementation Group members is now open.
Let's cast our minds back to the reason why we started our own agency - we wanted CONTROL, FLEXIBILITY and FREEDOM. All things we didn't have in our 9 to 5 job.
Yet as we grow, the need for control ends up being at the expense of flexibility and freedom - indeed all of our clients want us to work on their accounts and our staff (if we have any) are dependent on us to make all the big decisions and often frustrate us because they lack initiative.
No matter what you have tried you feel like you constantly take one step forwards and one back.
It doesn’t have to be this way!
And that's why I created The Self-Running Agency Group to support you to grow in a sustainable and profitable way and put the systems in place to ensure no more feast or famine.
Click here to read more about the Group
Listen to what some of the members have to say about their experience in the Group
We can easily get seduced by so many ideas from supposed 'experts' telling us how to scale our agency, and that can be really confusing. We end up being run ragged, pulled in 100 different directions implementing the latest idea or trendy strategy.
But at the end of the day, there are only four foundational areas you need to focus on to build a robust agency that you can then start scaling using three advanced strategies. So that is what we are digging into today.
Time Stamp
[01:10] The dangers of chasing shiny new objects
[01:56] The 4 agency foundations:
[02:19] Foundation 1: Knowing your audience - the importance of having a clear niche
[04:29] Foundation 2: Creating a clear living roadmap for your agency
[06:27] Foundation 3: Build a repeatable marketing system to generate a consistent flow of new leads
[07:45] Foundation 4: Convert your leads into loyal clients
[09:48] Growth 5: Client retention: How to maximise the value of existing clients
[10:15] Growth 6: Growing your team to get work off your plate
[11:24] Growth 7: Getting work off your plate and make yourself redundant!
[13:10] Join me on my FREE LIVE Masterclass: Elevate Your Role to CEO
[15:00] Avoid being a busy fool and focus on the things that move the needle
Quotations
“In a recent poll I ran, 68% of respondents said they had one niche and 32% had several” - Rob Da Costa
“Make sure you focus your limited time on the hot prospects and not the time wasters.” - Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — to move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- FREE LIVE Masterclass: Elevate Your Role To CEO
- The Self-Running Implementation Group
- Niching Guide
- LinkedIn Content Strategies Podcast
In today’s video, we explore what a self-running agency means. It doesn't have to be a pipe dream to build an agency that is less dependent on YOU. So I am going to dig into the foundational components of building an agency that runs efficiently even when you are not there.
Time Stamp
[01:05] We all aspire to build an agency that is less dependent on us yet most never achieve it. Why is that?
[01:30] The typical journey of an agency owner in their first 5 years
[03:48] 5 areas to building a scalable agency
[04:08] 1. Having a GROWTH mindset rather than a FREELANCE mindset
[05:46] 2. The importance of having a clear plan for your agency
[07:48] 3. Hire the best/most expensive people you can afford who can take work off your plate
[08:58] 4. Put a robust client management process in place so all clients have a consistent experience when working with your agency
[09:36] 5. Robust documented and scalable systems are crucial to creating a platform for growth
[12:10] These 5 strategies create a solid foundation for growth and enable you to step away without fear of things falling apart!
[12:47] Join me on my FREE LIVE Masterclass: How to be the CEO of your agency
Quotations
“If you don’t have a clear plan you will go around in circles taking one step forwards and one back!” - Rob Da Costa
“If you want to scale your agency you need to document all those core processes that are intuitive to you and in your head!” - Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — to move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Save your seat for my Masterclass, How to be the CEO of Your Agency
- Ep 95 Developing an Entrepreneurial Mindset
- Loom video recording
Did you swap your 9-5 job to work in your agency 24/7? This is the place many of us find ourselves in and if we are not careful, we not only end up working longer hours but also for a tougher boss!!
So let's dig into this in today's podcast and outline 8 strategies you MUST focus on to ensure this doesn't happen to you.
Time Stamp
[01:13] Info about my brand new free live masterclass: How to be the CEO of your agency rather than a lowly paid employee
[01:52] Why do most people start their own agency?
[02:26] The need for control
[03:15] Getting stuck on the Client Service Hamster Wheel of doom
[03:27] How an agency typical grows
[04:45] My journey as an agency owner
[06:36] Start with a clear business plan
[07:03] Hiring the best staff you can afford
[07:38] Invest time in developing your team to be great client managers
[08:06] Document your Standard Operating Procedures
[08:53] Why you should hire a marketing person rather than a business development exec
[09:32] Put a scalable repeatable marketing system in place
[10:32] Create a senior leadership team as soon as you can and delegate responsibilities to them
[11:22] Focus on your strengths - your ‘superpower’
[12:32] You don’t have to be tied to your business 24/7 - just implement the 8 steps outlined in this podcast
[12:50] Learn more in my free masterclass at dacostacoaching.co.uk/ceo-masterclass
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Save your seat on the FREE Masterclass: How To Be The CEO of Your Agency
I know it can be really ‘lonely at the top’ when you run your marketing agency. And I also know how exhausting it can be!
So that's what I am focusing on in this week's episode of the Agency Accelerator podcast. And to do that I am going to share my own story of when I ran my agency and suggest a few changes you can make so that you don't feel everything sits on your shoulders and you're not permanently stuck in client service mode on the “Client Service Hamster Wheel of Doom”.
Time Stamp
[01:31] Why did we start our own agency? And what happens over the first year?
[02:00] The risks of organic growth (without a plan)
[03:30] My story into agency life of building a 25-person agency
[04:34] The consequences of a lack of a plan
[05:00] Taking control of your agency: being in control of your destiny and not letting external factors dictate the direction of travel
[05:51] What is your ultimate goal for your agency?
[06:53] Make time to deliver your plan by stepping off the 'client service hamster wheel of doom'!
[07:30] Creating strong boundaries with your clients
[07:48] Changing your mindset
[08:26] Splitting your time across 3-time pots: REVENUE, STRATEGY & ADMIN
[11:09] You need to act and behave like the CEO of your agency, not a lowly paid employee
[11:40] The need for control can be disastrous
[13:31] One of the keys to being the CEO is to put a team in place
[14:21] Recognise where you are today and what changes you need to make
Quotations
“If you want to run a successful agency you need act and behave like the CEO of your agency, not a lowly paid employee” - Rob Da Costa
“You need to focus on your “superpower” that is the tasks only you can do” - Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Time Split Calculator
- How to leave a review on Apple Podcast
In today’s episode, we are discussing client management. We explore the journey you go when you are in a personal relationship and how comparable that is to the journey you go on in a client relationship - from the first meeting to keeping the relationship fresh.
I am joined by Mark Young, author of the book ‘Date Your Clients” to dig into this further.
Time Stamp
[01:45] How did the title ‘Date Your Clients’ come about for your book?
[07:07] The first prospect meeting
[08:00] Consider the first impressions at your first meeting
[10:35] How do we move a prospect along the customer journey - to close the deal?
[14:30] Don’t just chase money! Focus on fit first
[15:30] The importance of trusting your instincts
[16:20] Advice on keeping and growing existing clients
[21:10] Building equal partnerships with clients (rather than the imbalanced customer-supplier relationships)
[22:00] What can we do to bring relationships back on track?
[27:30]The importance of balanced feedback
[28:27] If you could go back in time and give your younger self, just starting out in business, a piece of advice, what would it be?
Quotations
“Any time you are dealing with a human you are dealing with emotions, needs and values - just like in business” - Mark Young
“Make your first meeting all about the client, not about you!” - Rob Da Costa
“If you only chase the cash you will always make bad business decisions" - Mark Young
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Date Your Clients Book
- mark@dateyourclients.com
- Ryze Agency
- Free Client Management Guide
- How to leave a review on Apple Podcasts
If you are stuck on the client service hamster wheel of doom and have no time to think let alone plan for the future then this episode is for you.
If you are thinking "I don’t have enough time to focus on the future of my agency because I am too busy servicing clients” then I want to help you out so listen on!
Time Stamp
[01:30] The consequences of being in ‘client service mode’ all the time
[01:49] Serving clients is in your comfort zone but that keeps you away from other crucial areas
[02:35] The consequences of over-servicing clients
[03:20] Differentiating yourself based on pricing or promised service levels becomes a race to the bottom
[03:50] Running a high service-level agency
[04:40] How much should you be willing to over-service clients by?
[05:09] Building strong boundaries with your clients
[05:22] How to get your boundaries right from the start
[05:57] How to say YES and NO to clients
[07:15] How to reset expectations with clients
[08:00] How to structure your week to maximise focus and efficiency
[09:08] Blocking out time in your diary and sticking to it!
[10:09] Challenging your mindset and beliefs
[10:30] When should you hire additional resources?
[12:00] Being resilient and in control
Quotations
“In the early days, we naturally gravitate to what we're good at, which is usually servicing clients but if you avoid other crucial areas you are heading for an iceberg” - Rob Da Costa
“Going the extra mile is not a great value or USP and is not the way to differentiate yourself from the competitors” - Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Winning Back Time - FREE Guide
- The Self-Running Agency Membership
- How to leave a review on Apple Podcasts
I am joined by Tim Fitzpatrick from Rialto Marketing to discuss the key marketing strategies that every marketing agency needs to be implementing.
We talk about why agencies are not great at doing their own marketing, why your marketing plan should not be a 12-month plan and why you must find a clear niche.
Time Stamp
[01:40] Why are so many marketing agencies so bad at their own marketing? It’s the ‘cobbler’s shoes’ and they are so busy in the day-to-day that their own marketing goes by the wayside
[03:16] The consequences of not focusing on marketing consistently
[04:20] The fundamentals: understanding your target market, your message and your plan to get that message in front of your audience
[05:40] The dangers of shiny new objects
[06:05] What is your advice to someone who is targeting a very broad audience and trying to be a generalist?
[08:30] How would you advise someone to establish their own niche? The 3 questions to ask
[11:39] How do you get your messaging right so it resonates with your target customer?
[14:07] Features, advantages and benefits
[14:45] Focus on the OUTCOMES, not the TACTICS
[15:20] Building a plan to get in front of your ideal target audience - use a 90-day sprint rather than a year-long plan
[17:25] Ensure you know how to measure the success of each marketing strategy
[19:40] The system of word-of-mouth and referrals
[20:50] The mistakes so many agency websites make
[23:20] What types of tactics work today?
[25:06] What is the one piece of advice you would give your younger self?
Quotations
“In the absence of a plan, everything looks like an opportunity” - Tim Fitzpatrick
“The more niched you are the easier it is for your to find your ideal target customer but perhaps more importantly, for them to find you” - Rob Da Costa
“The fundamentals lay the foundation but they are so easy to overlook” - Tim Fitzpatrick
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Rialto Marketing Website
- Tim’s LinkedIn profile
- Free Niching Guide
- How to leave a review on Apple Podcasts
The 2 most common questions that marketing agency owners ask me never really change. They are about finding a consistent flow of new business and hiring & retaining great talent.
Now, admittedly, those two priorities have switched because as I record this episode there is a huge global skills shortage which the agency sector is not immune from.
But new business is never far from people's minds because they want to avoid feast or famine in their agencies. So that's what we're digging into today by discussing 4 strategies that the agency owner (even if you are a freelancer) must focus on to deliver a consistent pipeline of ideal new clients.
Time Stamp
[01:14] The 2 biggest challenges for agency owners right now
[01:48] 2 key reasons agencies lurch from feast to famine - a story of the wrong focus!
[02:46] What happens when your agency is in a place of famine?
[04:07] 4 tasks that YOU must focus on to avoid lurching from feast to famine
[04:41] Focus area 1: Building your brand with passion
[05:55] Focus area 2: You are the best person to be heading up your new business strategy (because you see the bigger picture, understand your business and will be passionate about it). Remember that the best new business strategies deliver in the medium to long term so get started today if you want to see a return!
[07:15] Beware of Shing New Objects!
[09:02] Focus area 3: Planning for the future. You are the captain of your ship so make sure you are steering your ship in the right direction and make sure you allocate time to do this every month.
[10:11] Focus area 4: Running your agency to ensure your well-oiled machine operates efficiently (which means managing the team, admin, finance, systems & processes etc.)
[11:00] What happens if you agree with the above but are completely stuck in ‘client service mode’?
[11:10] Get better boundaries and work on your mindset
[13:00] Apply the above to avoid being in ‘famine’ - it's not a great place to be!
[13:44] Challenge your thinking to apply today’s podcast advice
Quotations
“You must focus on your SUPERPOWERS - the tasks that only you can do” - Rob Da Costa
“It doesn't matter about the great work you do if no one knows about you!” - Rob Da Costa
“The best new business strategies deliver in the medium to long term - so get started today!” - Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Ep 69 - 7 strategies to avoid feast or famine
- New Business FREE Masterclass
- FREE New Business Resources
- How to leave a review on Apple Podcasts
Today we are talking about the most important asset in your business: your people. I am excited to be joined by Lynda Goncalves from Sussex HR as she shares her advice on recruitment and retention.
Time Stamp
[01:12] What are the biggest challenges you see in HR right now?
[03:15] How do we replicate an office environment/team/culture for remote workers?
[06:10] Are there any tools or software to help with remote working?
[08:30] Key considerations when recruiting new staff
[10:55] What are your views on using recruitment agencies?
[14:34] The importance of doing your research on candidates before the 1st interview
[15:20] What are the base line legal responsibilities an employer needs to put in place for an employee?
[17:09] What should an employer put in place for a freelancer?
[17:55] The risks of IR35
[19:29] Where do I get contracts and legal docs?
[20:37] Advice on dealing with performance management issues and probation periods
[23:36] Address issues way before the 2 year mark (when employee rights kick in)
[24:40] The risk of a ‘family’ culture
[24:51] What is your view on extending an employee’s probation?
[26:46] The risks of keeping an underperforming member of staff
[27:18] What advice would you give your younger self just starting out in business?
Quotations
“You must ensure that marketing and HR are aligned” - Lynda Goncalves
“When it comes to recruitment, you either have TIME or MONEY - so consider carefully about how you go about recruiting” - Rob Da Costa
“Document everything - if it isn't written down it didn't happen!” - Lynda Goncalves
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Sussex HR website
- Lynda on LinkedIn
- ACAS website
We had a really great group coaching call this week - as part of the Self-Running Agency Membership. One of the topics we discussed was how to get more efficient with your time and make sure you're focusing on the things that matter rather than constantly getting sucked into client work and stuck on the dreaded client service hamster wheel of doom!
So that's the topic of today's episode of the podcast - how to get more efficient with your time.
Time Stamp
[01:35] A story about my week and what happens when you don’t plan and block out time
[02:17] Letting external factors determine your week - leading to a feeling of being out of control
[03:00] Dividing your time against REVENUE, STRATEGY & ADMIN
[04:10] How to split your time - what happens when you get it wrong
[05:49] The ideal split of your time (for an agency owner)
[06:40] My free time recording tool to support you to move toward your ideal time split
[07:24] How to use time blocking to effectively manage your diary
[08:00] The importance of knowing exactly what you will do when you have strategy time in your diary
[09:11] Don’t let external factors dictate your direction of travel
[09:44] Always overestimate how long a task will take and build a buffer for all the things that might happen (that you can't plan for)
[10:00] The importance of focusing on your ‘superpowers’
[10:55] What is a task worth? What is your notional hourly rate?
[11:47] How do I manage over-demanding clients? Protecting your boundaries
Quotations
“Make sure you always schedule your time and know exactly what you are going to do in that time block” - Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Your FREE Time Pot Time Split Tool
- The Self-Running Agency Membership
In this week's episode, we are discussing what is probably the hottest topic right now, and that is recruitment and retention.
If you're anything like most other agencies, then you are finding it particularly difficult to attract and retain great talent.
So we're going to unpack that, exploring the 7 needs of an employee and the 7 needs, therefore, of a candidate.
And to do that I am joined once again by Rory Spence from the WOW Agency.
Time Stamp
[01:03] Key findings from the recruitment & retention Bench Press Report
[03:12] What are candidates looking for in the agency they choose to join?
[03:55] Only 33% of agencies have a strategy to deliver a great candidate experience during the recruitment process
[04:29] What does a great candidate experience look like?
[07:30] Best routes for recruitment - should you use recruitment agencies?
[12:30] What is the best process to recruit and how should it be structured?
[14:52] In-house vs remote working - 39% of agencies ask staff to be in the office 1-2 days a week
[18:00] 82% plan to keep an office
[18:30] 71% of agencies are recruiting remotely
[21:25] The 7 needs of a candidate
[21:40] 1: Purpose
[22:50] 2: An exciting vision
[24:55] 3: Leadership
[26:30] 4: Team
[27:40] 5: Progression
[29:27] 6: Flexible working
[33:39] 7: An empowered culture
[35:45] View recruitment as a strategy, not a tactic - so think about the recruitment process & onboarding strategy
[36:11] Think about how you recruit and how your current process can be refined
Quotations
“If you can address the 7 needs of a candidate, you will be able to attract top talent” - Rory Spence
“When you have recruited, it not the end of the problem, it’s the start of the solution” - Rob Da Costa
“39% of agencies ask staff to be in the office 1-2 days a week” - Rory Spence
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Ep 102: Pricing Strategies with Rory Spence (Part 1)
- Ep 104: Regional Agency Benchmarking with Rory Spence
- Ep 103 Why And How I Work A 4-day Week
- 2022 BenchPress Reports
- Contact Rory
- Start with WHY (book) - Simon Sinek
I've recently had several clients discuss with me about taking what they teach and creating some kind of online mentorship or online programme. So, I thought in today's episode, we do something a little bit different, and that is for me to the ups and downs of my own adventures in the online world and share with you the many mistakes I’ve made and the lessons I have learned.
Time Stamp
[02:00] 2012 - my first adventure into the online world - and rude awakening!
[02:39] The first course I created (and it was a complete flop!)
[03:17] My 2nd course on sales and marketing (which also flopped)
[03:55] The 2 key lessons I learned after 2 flops (get clear on my niche and validate first)
[04:33] The importance of pre-selling your course or ideas before you start developing it
[05:03] The first course that (accidentally) was successful
[05:54] There is no such thing as passive income!
[06:26] Why I created my first online Mastermind programme
[08:06] Online content opens up an audience that I couldn't reach before
[08:26] Using Jobs to Be Done interviews to really understand your target audience’s needs
[09:08] The concepts behind The Self-Running Agency
[09:42] How the Self-Running Agency has morphed into a membership programme
[10:46] The time and money I wasted learning my lessons
[11:00] Why I use Kartra for hosting my programmes
[11:35] The number 1 way I market and sell my online programmes
[11:35] Focus on going deep with one or 2 courses, don’t go wide with lots of courses!
Quotations
“For anyone wanting to launch into the online world, go and talk to your audience and validate your idea first before you invest any time in developing your idea” - name
“There is no such thing as passive income - for every sale you make there is a ton of work needed behind the scenes” - name
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Kartra for hosting your business (link for a free 14-day trial)
- The Self-Running Agency Membership
- Build Nurture Convert Email Marketing Course
- Contact Rob: robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
In this week's episode of the podcast, I'm joined by John Higginson from Higginson Strategy. We're discussing niching - but not just niching - laser focusing your niche and John will share how his agency has niched that has made it so much easier for them to win ideal clients.
We also discuss a unique marketing strategy that they're using that is resulting in them winning more business and why John believes that owner-managed agencies will always perform better than agencies that are sold off.
Time Stamp
[01:01] Why broadening out your niche is a mistake
[01:25] How Higginson found their niche (in the plastic-free market)
[03:01] Concerns about being too niched
[03:39] Working with me gave John the confidence to be niched and win more business!
[04:39] What are the clear benefits of having such a clear niche?
[05:49] What advice would you give to someone who is scared to niche down?
[08:04] Were you able to increase your prices because of your niche?
[09:34] Do you look for staff that have experience in your niche? What are the core attributes you look for?
[10:53] Why did you launch your own magazine?
[14:22] An example of persistence in your marketing to win business
[15:19] The importance of taking a “value-first” approach in your marketing
[15:43] What does the future hold for Higginson Strategy?
[16:30] Why John never wants to sell his agency but rather build his own Self-Running Agency
[18:00] The reality of trying to sell a service-based business
[19:01] Why founder-led agencies are better agencies
[21:46] What advice would John give his younger self, just starting out in business?
Quotations
“Receiving targetted inbound enquiries with clients saying ‘they want to work with you’ is a key benefit of having a clear niche” - John Higginson
“You don’t need to fear losing clients if you niche down (you can still win clients outside of your niche)” - John Higginson
“Everyone’s roadmap is their own roadmap - there is no right or wrong way to grow your agency” - Rob Da Costa
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“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
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Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Higginson Strategy Website
- Your free guide to Niching
- Build your own Self-Running Agency
Today we are discussing strategies on how to get yourself off the client service hamster wheel of doom.
I love using this term because it perfectly encapsulates the scenario where you’re so busy servicing clients that you’ve got no time to breathe let alone focus on the future of your agency! When we are permanently stuck in 'client service mode' we can’t see the wood for the trees, so it’s an important topic that most agency owners find themselves stuck in at some point.
If you want to grow, then you need to find a way to stop it and step off!
Time Stamp
[00:45] The downside of ‘going the extra mile’
[01:39] The importance of stepping off the client service hamster wheel of doom (CSHWOD)
[02:20] 7 Ways to get off the CSHWOD
[02:32] 1. Create a respectful partner/partner relationship with your clients rather than an imbalanced customer/supplier relationship where you become the person at the bottom of the food chain
[02:58] 2. The importance of good boundaries
[03:07] 3. Regularly review your scope of work with clients
[03:26] 4. Be a consultant at all stages of your relationship with your clients
[04:00] 5. New ways of saying YES or NO to clients
[05:46] 6. Schedule and block out time in your diary that will never be available to your clients
[06:46] 7. As you grow make sure you have a really solid account management team beneath you who cannot only deliver great work but also can manage and communicate effectively with clients
[7:09] How Simon Isaac from Capsule Marketing has extricated himself from client work
[8:26] How you should be splitting your time
Quotations
“Change your mindset to thinking about how much time you have available for client work and what is the most important use of your time - because it should be planning the future of your agency” - Rob Da Costa
“No matter what small tweaks agency owners make, they can’t get off client service hamster wheel of doom! ” - Rob Da Costa
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“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- The Self-Running Agency Membership
I’m always telling my clients that a smart way to grow your business is by working with partners. After all, it means you manage a few relationships that get you, multiple clients, by getting in front of their (often bigger) audience.
I am excited to get some new perspectives on this topic by being joined by Dustin Riechmann, a business coach who helps ambitious entrepreneurs get unstuck & rapidly increase their profits with confidence. He is best known for his Partnership Marketing System, which he has used to grow FireCreek Snacks into a 7-figure business without paid ads.
Time Stamp
[01:58] Dustin shares how he grew FireCreek Snacks and why he thinks you should be focused on building partnerships
[04:18] How did you grow FireCreek to 7-figures without using paid ads?
[04:18] Different types of partnership – marketing and sales? (referrals). Any thoughts on these and/or other types of partners? Should money exchange hands?
[04:18] Podcast guesting - a great example of partnership marketing and the long tail effect
[11:28] Another example of how partnerships can be so beneficial (HubSpot)
[12:27] Other partnership examples
[15:20] Different kinds of partnerships (marketing, sales, affiliates)
[17:43] How do I go about finding my potential partners?
[22:10] How do you detect a good partner from a bad partner?
[29:17] How do you keep a partnership alive beyond the initial excitement and promises made?
[32:48] If you could go back in time and give your younger self just starting out in business one piece of advice what would it be?
Quotations
“Partnership marketing is all about getting your expertise in front of someone else’s audience in a win-win-win fashion (you, them and their audience)” - Dustin Riechmann
“Do your research first before you reach out to a potential partner and explain how you can serve their audience” - Rob Da Costa
“Make sure you follow-up with partners after a successful project together - put it in a system” - Dustin Riechmann
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“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Ep 110: How to be a guest on other podcasts
- Partnership Marketing Blueprint
- Dustin’s website
- Dustin’s email:dustin@simplesuccesscoaching.com
Entrepreneurs are, by definition, ideas people and typically not very good at the detail & not very good completer/finishers. This puts them in the precarious position of getting bored if they don't get immediate results, and this can easily lead them to chase the next shiny new object!
In today’s podcast, I dig into this issue and share 7 strategies to get focused and avoid being distracted by shiny new objects.
Time Stamp
[01:29] A definition of Shiny New Object Syndrome
[02:00] What triggers Shiny New Object Syndrome?
[02:03] Information overload and FOMO
[03:40] 4 drawbacks of following shiny new objects
[05:38] 7 strategies to help you stay focused and avoid shiny new objects
[05:53] Strategy 1: Have a plan, stick to it and revisit it regularly
[06:12] Strategy 2: Translate your plan into months, weeks and days
[06:26] Strategy 3: Use your plan to assess new ideas against - great idea or shiny new object?
[07:13] Strategy 4: Write new ideas down to get them out of your head
[07:30] Strategy 5: Limit the number of projects you focus on
[07:58] Strategy 6: Limit the number of people, blogs or podcasts you listen to and get influenced by
[08:18] Strategy 7: Limit the amount of time you spend on social media and the channels you follow
[09:06] What is Monkey Mind and do you suffer from it?
[10:11] The consequences of having a Monkey Mind!
[11:10] 3 tips to calm your Monkey Mind
[11:23] Tip 1: Know that it is possible to manage your Monkey Mind
[11:49] Tip 2: Have a conversation with your Monkey Mind
[12:05] Tip 3: Keep a journal
Quotations
“A strategy you currently implement might not be sexy but don’t let shiny new objects distract you from it if it works” - Rob Da Costa
“Get ideas out of your head by writing them down on paper. This means you won’t forget them but you can let them go and focus on the task at hand” - Rob Da Costa
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“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- FREE Workshop: 3 Ways to Raise Your Prices & Profits
- Mindset Guide
- Productivity Guide
When you started your agency, you probably had some end goals in mind.
A lot of people dream about selling their agency, but the reality is that it's very difficult to sell a service-based business (and make a decent amount of money). So perhaps a better option is to focus on building an agency that is less dependent on you. i.e. a Self-Running Agency.
Now, you know I'm a big fan of this approach since I have my book called The Self Running Agency, and I also have my membership group (The Self-Running Agency Implementation Group) and this is a strategy I help my clients deliver.
So in today’s podcast, I am delighted to be joined by someone who is doing just this, Simon Isaac, MD and Owner of Capsule Marketing.
Time Stamp
[01:33] Introduction to Simon Isaac and Capsule Marketing and why he wants to build a Self-Running Agency
[02:22] Simon’s journey to starting and growing a marketing agency
[03:53] What were your hopes and plans in the first couple of years of running your agency
[05:16] Who were your first hires when you started hiring staff?
[07:06] Why did you decide you wanted to start removing yourself from the day-to-day running of Capsule?
[08:43] Simon’s passions and interests outside of Capsule (and why he wanted more time to pursue these)
[10:15] The typical entrepreneur: an ideas person but not a completer/finisher
[10:40] Simon outlines the key steps taken so far to start building a Self-Running Agency and not work 5-days a week in the agency. The importance of hiring a great number 2 and an empowered team
[13:10] “It’s lonely at the top” - The importance of having external advisers (that you listen to!) who can act as our board and provide expert objective advice
[15:17] How and why did you put together a Senior Leadership Team
[16:00] Creating opportunities for growth for all the team
[17:22] Simon’s experience of moving from a corporate world to a creative world - and the many lessons to take from his past corporate life.
[18:20] Creativity is not stifled by implementing systems
[18:40] Simon’s future plans and how he is ensuring they are delivered
[20:30] The importance of letting go and trusting others
[20:57] What advice do you have for other agency owners who are still completely entrenched in delivering client work?
[22:10] What if you did delegate and it all went wrong?
[24:30] Don’t recruit ‘in your like’ but rather hire people who are better than you
[25:30] If you could go back in time and give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?
Quotations
“It’s so important to regularly stop working in your business, take a breath, get a high-level view to know what your need to focus on before you take the pause button off” - Rob Da Costa
“Trust your people, invest in them and have high expectations of them” - Simon Isaac
“Surround yourself with people who are better than you and don’t feel threatened by them” - Simon Isaac
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“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Find out more about Simon: Simonisaac.co.uk
- Capsule Marketing Website
- The Self-Running Agency Book
- The Self-Running Agency Implementation Group
Everyone talks about the concepts of value-pricing and value-selling and it sounds really good in theory. But in reality, a lot of agencies don't know how to apply it or are too scared to start taking a value pricing approach. So they go back to their tried and tested ways of pricing on fixed project fees or selling on time. So in today’s podcast, I want to give you five tips and strategies that you can begin using right away to start moving towards a value-based pricing and a value-based selling approach.
Time Stamp
[01:08] Today’s episode is sponsored by my free masterclass: “3 ways to raise your agency's prices and profits without losing clients”. I'm running this workshop 4 times this month (if you're listening live) or you'll be able to watch a replay. So check out the link below and invest 60 minutes of your time to learn some practical strategies that you can start implementing straight away.
[01:33] A story of toothache to explain value-pricing
[02:34] A definition of value-based selling
[02:56] An example of quoting for a web design project
[03:29] 5 strategies to move towards a value-based pricing and selling approach that will enable you to charge higher fees and create strong relationships with your clients
[03:50] Strategy 1: From the first conversation you have with a prospect focus on the outcomes they are looking for and how they tie back to their business goals
[05:45] Strategy 2: Make sure you understand how the wider business will assess the success of your campaign, not just the marketing resource that you might be dealing with.
[6:19] Strategy 3: When you agree to write a proposal make sure you’re constantly referencing the outcomes that the client is seeking from your work.
[06:38] Strategy 4: Price on the outcomes. This doesn’t mean you’re making any kind of guarantees or offering ‘payment by results’, it just means that you are getting everyone’s mind focused on the transformation the client is looking for from being in pain to not being in pain.
[07:23] Strategy 5: Don’t discount! If they want a lower fee and discuss which aspects of the project they don’t want to include!
[07:55] Pricing is 50% mindset and 50% application
Quotations
“Getting your pricing right is 50% mindset and 50% application” - Rob Da Costa
“Brave agencies will spend 90% of their time in a prospect meeting in fact-find mode and 10% presenting their agency” - Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Download my FREE guide on value-pricing & value-selling
- Join my FREE masterclass on value-pricing and value-selling
One of the most frequent conversations I’m having in my agency group and my private clients is around talent or the lack of it right now, and therefore the need to find more creative ways to find good people. And of course one of those ways is finding great freelancers.
So that’s the topic for today’s podcast and I’m really excited to be joined by Shahar Erez who is Co-founder & CEO of Stoke, an on-demand talent platform empowering companies to adopt a hybrid workforce model that scales as quickly and efficiently as needed.
In 2021, Stoke was acquired by Fiverr for $110M just 15 months after coming out of stealth mode.
Time Stamp
[01:22] The state of talent in the current market (spring 2022)
[02:35] There is a workforce revolution taking place: 2018 research (in US) showed that Gen Z didn't want to take a full-time job but instead wanted flexibility and remote working opportunities
[04:30] By 2030 60% of the workforce will be freelancers
[06:10] Companies must evolve to recruit freelance staff as well as full-time employees. Their mindset must change
[07:10] How should people be recruiting now?
[09:30] Case study of how WordPress recruits
[10:58] Freelancers work for a number of companies every year so they bring a wealth of knowledge and this helps the agency learn
[12:12] How do you stay profitable when you are hiring (more expensive than FTE) freelancers?
[16:20] How do you ensure freelancers fit in your agency, culturally?
[18:44] A freelancer will always work hard because if they don’t they will be gone the next week!
[19:30] How do you manage a freelance team member?
[21:50] What is the best way to pay freelancers?
[22:58] A cautionary tale of paying day rates to freelance staff. Advice to avoid issues
[24:10] How do I find freelancers?
[26:15] The recent acquisition of Stoke Talent by Fiverr and future plans
[32:06] If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?
Quotations
“There isn't really a talent shortage, it's just most agencies are still trying to recruit the way they did 5-years ago and that no longer works.” - Shahar Erez
“For agencies, it’s more efficient to hire expert freelancers than full-time staff equivalent” - Shahar Erez
“Looking for a freelancer when you need one (without having built your database of freelancers) is like having a podcast and only recording an episode when you have something to say!” - Shahar Erez
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“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Recruitment and retention guide
- Contact Shahar:
- Website
Procrastination and perfectionism are two negative traits of agency leaders that stop us from getting things done - we often tell ourselves stories that something isn’t good enough or we’re not sure about it or we need to know more before we can create some content or launch a new product or service, and that keeps us stuck. So in today’s podcast I want to talk about one of my favourite expressions ‘done is better than perfect’.
Time Stamp
[01:26] The origins of ‘done is better than perfect’
[02:00] Perfectionism is a fast track to failure
[02:40] Getting something done is so much better than hanging on to it because you feel it isn't yet perfect
[03:28] When is good enough, good enough? Your target audience will answer this question
[04:15] 10 reasons why you should get things done and off your plate
[0429] 1. You get results faster!
[04:47] 2. Getting something done is overwhelmingly satisfying while perfection may keep us tweaking something forever.
[5:00] 3. Remember done is not over, you can still develop your craft, your idea, and your project
[05:16] 4. Done rather than perfect means you avoid paralysis
[05:43] 5. You're more realistic
[06:11] 6. You save time
[06:38] 7. You are more productive
[07:03] 8. You stop procrastinating
[07:25] 9. You overwork
[07:45] 10. Ultimately, you get burned out
[08:30] If you get lost in the detail then stop, and remind yourself of the context
[09:20] Understand your minimum standard and start there
[09:45] An example of getting a PDF guide designed
[1-:43] Write DONE IS BETTER THAN PERFECT on a post-it and remind yourself of it frequently
Quotations
“No one is going to get rich off an idea that stays an idea (because you feel it isn't perfect yet” - Rob Da Costa
“Take off your perfectionist hat and remind yourself of the purpose of the task at hand and who the audience is” - Rob Da Costa
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“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Improve your mindset
- 15 Tools to help you be more productive
We are talking all about storytelling in today’s podcast and I am excited to be joined by Parul Banka from Caramel Coaching, who shares her personal story as a great example of the power of storytelling.
Why is using storytelling in your marketing so much more engaging and how is it going to make your messaging 22 times more powerful?
Find out in today’s episode.
Time Stamp
[01:55] Parul’s powerful story about surviving cancer
[04:00] Integrating work with joy and meaning
[04:56] All we have is today
[5:56[ The meaning of Go Further, Faster
[7:03] How do you make sure you always live by this philosophy - even in your darkest days?
[7:45] Ask yourself - is it really important and aligned to your vision?
[8:50] You need to know your WHY
[9:00] Money is rarely the key reason WHY you do what you do
[9:44] What is storytelling?
[10:20] The difference between a CV intro and a storytelling introduction
[11:05] Research shows that when you use stories, your ability to be remembered increases by 22 times to standard messaging
[12:46]Why are businesses scared of using storytelling?
[13:55] Be willing to be vulnerable
[14:35] How can an agency use storytelling in its messaging?
[18:11] How do people find their stories?
[21:40] How do I practically use my story?
[23:10] How to make your story work in written content
[26:13] Parul has changed her niche - why and how did she do it?
[31:25] If you could go back in time and give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?
Quotations
“All we have is today. Which brings a sense of urgency to get on and live your best life” - Parul Banka
“If you can understand your WHY you can stay connected to the important stuff” - Rob Da Costa
“When you use stories, your ability to be remembered shoots up exponentially” - Parul Banka
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“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — to move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Episode 107 - The importance of living in the present
- Reach Parul
- CaramelCoaching Website
- Email: parulbanka@caramelcoaching.com
A simple way to ensure your marketing hits home and resonates with your target audience is to use your customer’s language in all outbound comms.
Sounds simple right?
It is but it isn’t and so many get this wrong because they focus too much on their product or service. They do this because they don’t understand their client's pain points enough, so this is what we are digging into this week and I want to give you some pointers to help you get this right.
Time Stamp
[01:16] There is a time and a place to talk about your product and service in your marketing, but it isn't right at the start!
[01:40] This issue typically starts with your website. Is your website full of ‘we’?!!
[2:55] Think of your marketing like going on a date - you wouldn’t start by telling them all about yourself (and if you did they would run a mile!).
[3:30] Do some research: Jobs to be done interviews
[4:34] A story about MacDonald’s milkshakes
[6:14] Record the client interviews so you can use their specific language in your marketing
[7:02] Your research should uncover what matters to your clients and what keeps them awake at night
[7:30] You want your messaging to hit a nerve with your customer and make them feel you really understand them
[7:55] The importance of building KNOW, LIKE and TRUST
[08:50] Don’t use jargon in your marketing
[09:30] Understand what transformation your client is looking for
[09:50] Now, go back and check all this against your website!
Quotations
“Your reader isn’t interested in your product or service until you have proven you can help them” - Rob Da Costa
“Don’t use jargon in your marketing. You won’t impress your client you will just lose them!” - Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — to move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- The Agency Selling System digs into Jobs To Be Done Interviews questioning and techniques
- The Self-Running Agency Implementation Group
In the 3rd and final part of my mini-series on podcasting, we explore how to start a podcast and why you should consider starting your own.
I’m joined by Harry Morton, CEO & Founder of podcast production company, Lower Street.
This episode is full of insightful advice including the systems and tech needed, how to record a podcast, how to stand out from the crowd, the ideal length, how to market your podcast and how to measure its impact.
Time Stamp
[02:14] Why should a marketing agency consider starting a podcast as a core part of their marketing strategy? A great way to reach your target customers
[03:55] How do you ensure you always provide value to your audience? (clue: don’t have guests that just try and sell!)
[5:20] “I am thinking about starting a podcast, where do I start and how do I create a podcast that is different?”
[07:30] The importance of having a clear niche for your podcast
[07:55] The details: format and length of a podcast, branding & packaging, and the tech needed to start a podcast
[10:57] The importance of knowing who your ideal listener is
[11:18] The ideal frequency and length of a podcast
[14:20] How to market your podcast (hint: social media is not the best place to promote your podcast)
[16:53] Partnering with other podcast creators
[17:45] How do you measure the impact and effectiveness of your podcast? And what are the best metrics?
[22:10] How do you monetise your podcast? And should you?
[24:15] Be brave with your podcast - don’t be scared to be different!
[26:28] If you could go back in time and give your younger self 1 piece of advice, what would it be?
Quotations
“Your podcast should be as long as it needs to be and not a minute longer” - Harry Morton
“The average number of podcasts people create before they give up is 7!” - Rob Da Costa
“Podcasting is still in its early days, the ‘wild west' of marketing strategies” - Harry Morton
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — to move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
Harry’s contact details
- Lowerstreet.co
- @podcastharry on Twitter
Podcast recording platforms:
- Zencastr
- Riverside
Why are agencies so bad at applying the smart advice they give their clients, to their own businesses?
I’m on a mission this year to apply everything I teach my clients to my own business and this inspired me to record this episode.
Time Stamp
[1:41] It’s hard to remove yourself from the business and stand in the client’s shoes and be your best client
[1:50] Are you stuck on ‘the client service hamster wheel of doom’?
[02:06] Too many agencies rely on referrals and word of mouth
[03:10] The result of a lack of consistent business development is we lurch from feast to famine
[03:50] If you do your own marketing you demonstrate to yourself and your client that your advice actually works!
[04:08] By doing your own marketing you can keep refining what you advise your clients to do
[04:23] Share best practice with your clients and have the confidence to know that it works
[5:00] My advice when you feel you don’t have time to do all this:
[5:15] Put a system in place and do a few activities consistently
[5:35] Don’t expect results immediately but ensure you are consistent at delivering the few activities you’ve chosen to do
[5:50] Don’t get distracted by shiny new objects – there is no easy solution!
[6:35] Outsource as much as you can
[7:35] Try and be your own best customer
[08:00] Do the things you enjoy doing and the things your customer is most receptive to
Quotations
“We live in an instant gratification world, yet most robust business development strategies deliver in the medium to long-term” - Rob Da Costa
“Try and be your own best customer!” - Rob Da Costa
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“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — to move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out.
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- My YouTube Channel
In part 2 (of 3) of this special series on podcasting we are discussing why guesting on other people’s podcasts is such a smart marketing strategy. Alex Sanfilippo joins me to explore how to identify and approach podcasts that you would love to guest on, as well as some Do’s and Don’ts. I learned a lot during this interview so I know you will too!
Time Stamp
[01:30] Introduction to Alex Sanfilippo
[03:08] Why is guesting on other people’s podcasts a good marketing strategy? And why are many big brand social media platforms jumping on the bandwagon?
[04:45] Why do people listen to podcasts?
[05:55] How do you find podcasts to potentially guest on? Find your WHY first
[07:41] Where to find podcasts to reach out to
[08:40] Talk to your customers about what they listen to
[09:13] Some Do’s and Don’ts of reaching out to podcasts you’d like to guest on
[09:58] 1. Lead with value
[10:58] 2. Make a meaningful request with clarity of what you can add
[13:04] 3. Offer credibility (e.g. mutual connections)
[13:35] 4. Mention you will share the episode
[14:02] 5. Make it easy to say NO (to ensure you hear back)
[15:15] Do your research first!
[18:41] Make sure your bio is relatable to the audience the podcast targets
[20:47] How do you measure the success of a podcast?
[23:38] Podcasts are great for building KNOW-LIKE & TRUST
[25:30] Create an intentional plan when starting out in your podcasting journey
[26:40] Services to support with podcast guesting
[28:17] What advice would you give your younger self, just starting out in business?
[23:38]
Quotations
“Know your WHY first, before you start reaching out to podcasts to guest on” - Alex Sanfilippo
“Lead with value first - be a person of value not of profit!” - Alex Sanfilippo
“Podcasting is about creating legacy rather than instant wins” - Rob Da Costa
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“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Podmatch
- Podpros.com
- My episode on working a 4-day week
Back in 2019, I decided to start my own podcast. I have quite a lot to say about the agency world so thought it would be a great platform for me!
3 years later and over 100 episodes in, I thought I would share with you what I have learned and why podcasting might be a great marketing strategy for your agency.
This is episode 1 in a special 3-part series on podcasting.
Time Stamp
[01:40] The average number of podcasts someone creates before they give up is 7!
[02:10] 8 reasons why podcasting is a great marketing strategy
[02:28] 1. Podcasts are easy to consume
[03:04] 2. It’s a great way to build your audience and build KNOW-LIKE-TRUST
[03:41] 3. It’s not expensive to start a podcast
[04:00] 4. Use guests as a way to grow your audience
[04:58] 5. Position yourself as an authority in your industry
[05:40] 6. It doesn't take a ton of time to produce a podcast
[06:25] 7. It’s fun and you will learn from your guests
[07:00] 8. Podcasting is still in its early days so it’s a great time to get onboard
[8:20] 9 lessons I have learned over the past 3 years
[08:24] 1. Know WHY you are creating a podcast and what you want to achieve
[09:19] 2. Be very clear about who your target listener is
[09:27] 3. Tackle their pains in each podcast episode
[09:40] 4. When recording an episode, imagine you are talking directly 1 on 1 with your listener
[10:13] 5. Don’t give up - keep at it even if you feel like no one is listening!
[11:12] 6. Have a plan to promote your podcast
[11:50] 7. If you use social media to promote your podcast, make sure the post itself, adds value (even if they don’t listen to the podcast)
[12:24] 8. As soon as you can, delegate/outsource the mechanics of producing your podcast
[13:20] 9. It is hard to get decent analytics for your podcast
Quotations
“The average number of podcast episodes some produces before they give up is 7!” - Rob Da Costa
“Podcasting is still in its early days and like the wild west, so it’s a great time to get started” - Rob Da Costa
“Podcasting is a great way to build and leave your legacy” - Rob Da Costa
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“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Batching podcast episodes
What’s it like to scale an agency? And what challenges do you need to overcome? That’s the topic of today’s podcast and I am joined by someone who is extremely qualified to answer these questions!
Erik Huberman, CEO of Hawke Media and author of the brand new book, The Hawke Method.
Erik went from making only $350 his first year in business to growing and selling two successful companies.
Today Hawke Media is the fastest growing marketing consultancy in the US and has been valued at over $150 million with 250+ employees and offices across the world.
Erik was very generous in sharing the knowledge he has gained, the mistakes he has made and some key tips for planning your agency’s growth.
So grab your pen & paper, your favourite drink and let’s get on with the show.
Time Stamp
[02:30] Why and how Erik started Hawk Media and grew it to over 300 staff in 8 years
[03:25] Why so many marketers and agencies are not great at what they do!
[06:25] What were your plans for growing Hawk Media?
[07:00] Hawk Media’s most painful years
[08:30[ The importance of a simple business plan - use a scoreboard - don’t overcomplicate things
[09:30] What are your future plans and how did Covid impact you?
[16:25] Key challenges and hurdles that get in the way to agency growth
[17:50] The importance of thinking of your agency as a SPORTS TEAM rather than a FAMILY
[18:30] Don’t hire ahead (i.e. don't base recruitment decisions on projections rather than actuals)
[19:15] Don't be the main salesmen as you grow
[21:00} How do you define success?
[23:45] Most successful business owners never sell their businesses (so build a self-running agency!)
[24:50] The importance of work/life balance
[30:35] Don’t think of the challenges your agency faces as ‘difficult’ - it's an unhealthy way to look at your business
[32:29] Don’t get frustrated when your team don’t perform like you. They are not entrepreneurs!
[33:28} Erik's new book: The Hawk Method
[36:00] Don’t catastrophise the challenges your agency faces every day! Change your mindset from ‘problems’ to ‘challenges’
Quotations
“99% of agencies and marketers have no idea what they are doing!” - Erik Huberman
“We were in our puberty stage as an agency - everything didn't quite fit! Every agency goes through this as they grow” - Erik Huberman
“Think of your agency as a sports team, not a family” - Erik Huberman
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“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Get your copy of The Hawk Method Book
- Hawk Media Website
- Build your own self-running agency
- Free resources to help you scale your agency
I’ve just come back from spending a month in South Africa. It’s something I’ve done several times before and I’m fortunate to be able to work from anywhere so this suits me really well and it allows me to escape some of the British winter!
On this trip, I was reminded of how aware one is when you are on vacation because you’re in new surroundings and experiencing new things. I realise when we are out of our normal routine, we are much more present yet when we are in our usual day-to-day grind we can spend too much time thinking about the past or worrying about the future.
This is really unhealthy. As Leo Tolstoy said, "There is only one time that is important - Now! It is the most important time because it is the only time when we have any power” so in today’s episode we explore more on this topic.
Time Stamp
[1:01] How I manage to spend a month in South Africa every year
[1:53] Why is it when we are on vacation, we are so much more present?
[2:20] Use all your senses to be much more present
[2:40] Why is it important to live in the present?
[3:40] My story of not living in the present
[4:45] The consequence of not living in the present
[5:45] We are creatures of habit, so you need to work on more positive habits (such as not living in the past or future!)
[6:45] Time is not real it’s just a human-made construct
[7:00] My terrifying flight – an example of living every moment!
[7:55] Right now is the only time that is important, because this is time we can control
[8:25] How this impacts day to day agency life
[8:57] How walking my dog helps me be present
[9:21] What can you consciously do to be more present?
Quotations
“Living in the past is just a memory you can’t change. Living in the future is a story we tell ourselves.” – Rob Da Costa
“The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness” – Abraham Maslow
“There is only one time that is important - Now! It is the most important time because it is the only time when we have any power" – Leo Tolstoy
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“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- My blog on my time in South Africa
- Free mindset guide
In a recent Self-Running Agency Group Call, I was asked how much time the owner should be investing in working on the future of their agency. I said approx 30% of the time.
Many agency owners wish they could grow their businesses but are stuck on the “client service hamster wheel of doom” servicing clients and have no time to focus on the future of their agency.
In today’s episode, I outline how you can start to change this.
Time Stamp
[01:35] Many agency owners are so entrenched in the day to day work - that is not a good way to run an agency!
[02:05] Why so many agency owners are the bottleneck to growth?
[02:05] 9 tips and ideas to start to change this
[02:27] Tip 1: The importance of having a clear vision so you maintain control of the direction of your agency
[03:56] Tip 2: Hire as soon as possible
[05:02] Tip 3: Hire the best you can afford
[05:50] Tip 4: Be a great delegator (unlike most entrepreneurs)
[06:36] Tip 5: Build your brand rather than making the brand YOU
[07:25] Tip 6: “Train your clients” - manage boundaries with them
[08:27] Tip 7: Be less available to your clients and protect your time
[10:25] Tip 8: Build a foundation for growth: put scalable systems & processes in place
[12:51] Tip 9: Develop an entrepreneurial mindset from day 1
[14:43] Recap of 9 tips
Quotations
“Hire the best you can and don’t be scared of being challenged” - Rob Da Costa
“Step off the client service hamster wheel by putting systems & processes in place” - Rob Da Costa
“Develop your entrepreneurial mindset from day 1 - be willing to step out of your comfort zone” - Rob Da Costa
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“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- The Self-Running Agency Implementation Group
- Free Guide: 9 steps to effective delegation
- Loom for screen recording
I want to start today's episode of the podcast with a bit of a rant: Why is it that many businesses think that they can do a little ad-hoc marketing and then get frustrated when they don't get enough leads or convert those leads into customers?
So, in today's episode, I want to talk all about understanding and plotting your buyer’s journey and consequently being able to connect your sales & marketing functions together more effectively and generate & convert more leads.
Time Stamp
[0:57] This episode is sponsored by my new FREE email marketing masterclass that outlines 7 strategies to build, nurture and convert leads into loyal customers. You can save your seat here
[1:41] ‘Jane’ is frustrated that her agency’s website isn’t converting more leads
[2:06] The typical mistakes most agency websites make
[2:55] The importance of providing value to your audience
[3:35] Connecting your marketing function to your sales function
[4:00] The 7 steps in the buyer’s journey
[4:40] ‘Contact us’ buttons and forms on websites don’t work!
[5:35] The importance of building KNOW, LIKE & TRUST before prospects will buy
[6:15] Nurturing your leads with more value-added content (e.g., this podcast)
[7:29] How might you change your website to support the buyer’s journey?
[8:44] Plotting out your audience’s buyer’s journey – esp. steps 2,3 & 4
[9:32] The importance of getting your audience to make micro-commitments
[10:40] Avoid jumping into sales too quickly!
Quotations
“The middle of the funnel is where you do your education-based marketing.” - Rob Da Costa
“This podcast is a good example of education-based marketing.” - Rob Da Costa
“It’s crucial to give your audience some quick wins.” - Rob Da Costa
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“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Enrol on my free Email Marketing Masterclass: How to Build, Nurture & Convert an Engaged Email List
- Rob Da Costa’s YouTube Channel
- Get in touch with Rob at robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
In this episode of the podcast we are exploring the differences between rural and city-based agencies as well as regional differences generally across the UK. We dig into the WOW Company’s new regional Bench Press Reports with Rory Spence.
Time Stamp
[01:06] The advantages and disadvantages of city v rural agency and differences regionally
[02:01] The value of 3rd party market research data (i.e. The Bench Press Reports)
[03:09] Interesting findings from the regional research especially the pricing league table
[03:53] The UK average hourly rate for agencies is £91 but how does it differ in different regions? Some surprising results!
[05:15] Gross Profit Margin analysis by region - again more surprising results
[07:44] Do you think the regional differences are caused because of mindset?
[09:02] Everyone can now compete with London Agencies!
[10:22] What are agencies planning to do with their offices in 2022?
[12:02] Lead with value to be able to charge higher fees (and compete with London agency pricing)
[14:11] Are agencies planning to recruit remotely?
[16:08] 83% want to keep their office yet 78% will recruit remotely!
[18:04] How do you embed culture with remote workforces?
[22:36] Rory shares his views on using freelance staff v in-house employees
[23:43] The impact of IR35
[25:15] External support to hiring people on your team
[27:49] What advice would you give yourself, just starting out in the agency world?
Quotations
- “The average GP Margin for a UK agency is 44%” - Rory Spence, The WOW Company
- “It doesn't matter where you are based anymore. Everyone is working remotely serving clients all over the world.” - Rob Da Costa
- “73% of agencies are planning to keep an office” - Rory Spence, The WOW Company
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Listen to Rory’s take on pricing in episode 102
- Take part in the 2022 BenchPress survey: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/QW58SHV
- Download all of the previous BenchPress reports: http://wowco.uk/benchpress2021
In 2021 I moved to work a 4-day working week. Too many entrepreneurs go the other way and work a lot longer than the average 40-hour workweek, so in this episode, I want to share with you WHY I chose to move to 4-days a week and HOW I am managing to make it happen.
Time Stamp
[01:26] Why do so many entrepreneurs work such long working hours? But remember, we make the rules!
[02:47] WHY did I decide to work a 4-day working week?
[03:37] I have tried (and failed) this before, so what did I do differently this time?
[04:01] A key tip is to have another project to focus on
[05:43] Have clear boundaries with clients and get the right mindset
[06:40] The importance of organisation (so you don’t end up working 4 x 10 hour days)
[07:17] Use the 4Ds (Ditch, Delegate, Defer, Do it) to help prioritse your tasks
[07:58] Keep meetings to 30 mins (which really focuses all the people in the meeting)
[08:56] Learn to say NO
[09:24] Communicate effectively to your team and your clients
[10:33] Give your team the tools & training to effectively work a 4-day week (without working longer hours!)
[11:02] Fill your 5th day with non work related tasks
[11:39] Use these 3 questions to decide if a shorter week is right for you
[13:15] The benefits I have found from working a 4-day week
Quotations
“It’s vital you know what you are going to do on the day you are not working” - Rob Da Costa
“Being super organised is vital as it knowing the things you need to let go of” - Rob Da Costa
“When you say YES to something you are saying NO to something else” - Rob Da Costa
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“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.”
If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- My campervan YouTube Channel: OnTheRoadAgain
- My FREE productivity Guide
- Da Costa Coaching YouTube Channel (please subscribe!)
In this week's episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I am joined by Rory Spence from The Wow Company.
If you are in the agency world, there’s no doubt you have heard of The Wow Company and particularly the BenchPress market research reports they produce.
Rory started out his career in the company as an accountant, and progressed to a client manager, and currently works as an account manager.
He loves helping ambitious agency owners who want to grow more profitably and sustainably.
He’s helped thousands of agencies across the UK, advising them on their pricing strategy, project management, and financial processes - all focused on helping them increase their profit.
In this part 1 of a 2-part special, Rory shares his top tips on how to increase your prices.
Many agencies think it is difficult to increase their prices (especially in a pandemic) so Rory shares his advice as well as what he is seeing across the industry.
So grab a pen and get ready to take notes in the action-packed episode.
Time Stamp
[1:04] How the pandemic has affected agencies: Rory’s overview
[3:27] Should we increase pricing every year?
[5:18] The best time of the year to review your prices
[5:33] Rory’s tip on how to avoid losing current clients when you increase your prices
[7:00] 3 possible outcomes from increasing prices
[9:21] Pricing is a confidence game
[10:34] Value-based pricing: what is it?
[13:04] Value-based pricing vs time & materials
[14:54] How to implement value pricing as an agency owner
[17:04] The 3-pricing-options approach: how to beat your competitors
[21:44] The importance of anchoring prices
[23:01] Rory’s view on tracking time within your agency
[24:36] How to measure efficiency and capacity of your team
[25:40] How to track your gross profit correctly
[27:01] Target margins: what you should aim for
[28:32] The importance of having a clear niche
[29:28] Rory’s number one tip on pricing
Quotations
- “87% of agencies still use a fixed-fee pricing model... 60% of agencies still use time and materials.” - Rory Spence
- “If you're just selling time for money, it's gonna be tough. It's gonna be really difficult for you.” - Rory Spence
- “When we talk about selling time and materials, we’re selling inputs and outputs. When we're selling using a value-based approach, we're selling outcomes and impacts, and that's what the clients are buying.” - Rob Da Costa
- “Pricing is an art, not a science.” - Rory Spence
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Rory Spence - Book a consultation with Rory HERE
- Download the 2021 BenchPress reports by The Wow Company
- If you prefer watching, check out this episode on my YouTube Channel
- Download a FREE value pricing guide
- Get in touch with Rob at robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
We are all time poor and need to use our time as wisely as possible. So in today’s episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I’m going to share with you my favourite productivity tools, techniques and hacks to be more efficient with your time and focus on what really matters to ‘move the needle’ for your agency.
These reminders are timely for me at the start of the year so I know you will find them useful!
Time Stamp
[1:18] Bigger picture first: start with a vision for your business and everything else will fall into place
[2:22] The importance of breaking down your time into 3 categories: revenue, strategy, and admin
[3:58] Plan out your day and assign time-slots to each task
[5:50] Use morning and evening rituals and set your top 3 goals for the day
[7:33] Stay focused with time blocking
[9:09] Batch content: The ultimate productivity technique
[10:15] There’s no such thing as multitasking - just multi distractions1
[11:30] So make sure you remove all the distractions
[13:11] Saying YES to something means saying NO to something else
[13:53] Clear out your inbox daily to start fresh the following day
[15:01] Use your time wisely: qualify your prospects well
[16:29] Delegate as much as you possibly can
[18:34] Using the concepts of a ‘notional hourly rate’
[19:02] Use the right project management and communication tools
[20:09] How my reMarkable has improved my organisation
Have I missed any? I’d be curious to know what are your favourite productivity hacks?
And as ever, if you found this episode useful, please consider leaving a review.
Quotations
- “Plan your day down to the nearest half an hour. Overestimate how long things will take, and you can make sure you're ticking every single item off by the end of the day.” - Rob Da Costa
- “There is no such thing as multitasking so do one task at a time and you'll be much more efficient.” - Rob Da Costa
- “Consider really carefully what you say YES to. Be willing to say NO more often, and that gives you the space to say YES to the things that are really important in your day.” - Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
If you enjoyed today’s episode please scroll to the bottom, tap to rate (with five stars :-), and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast.
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Listen to the What is your “notional hourly rate”? episode
- Amazing Marvin
- Asana
- My reMarkable
- Find out more about how to improve your productivity in my YouTube Channel
- Download my productivity tools guide
- Get in touch with Rob at robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
Welcome to the 100th episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast! This is a huge milestone & I am super excited we got this far. And we have only just begun!
When I started this channel 2 years ago, I promised myself that I would commit week in & week out to record episodes, and it’s amazing how far we got.
For this episode, I wanted to come up with something special.
During this journey over the past 2 years, I've had over 40 guests on the podcast and, at the end of our conversation, I always ask them what piece of advice they would give to their younger selves starting out their business. So I decided to collate 40 of the best answers and give you an episode full of expert & valuable advice.
Enjoy the episode and don't forget you can also download this as a free book here.
Time Stamp
[1:01] My idea for the 100th episode
[3:09] Don’t be intimidated when you go to meetings. Sally Alexander (EP4)
[3:52] Focus on your niche. David Miles (EP6)
[4:31] Charge what you're worth. Sophie Walton (EP8)
[5:15] Be yourself & know your identity. Lee Jackson (EP10)
[5:57] Commit to a niche immediately. Roland Gurney (EP12)
[6:28] Focus on what you’re good at & have fun. Steve Bustin (EP15)
[7:29] Be clear about the outcome & be honest with yourself. Ian Laurie (EP17)
[8:28] Develop a healthy relationship with failure. Miha Matlievski (EP19)
[8:44] Learn from your mistakes. Laura Evans (EP21)
[9:10] Speak to someone who has done it already. Pietro Ranieri (EP23)
[9:42] Invest in learning how to run a business. Susan Boles (EP25)
[10:40] Believe in yourself & listen to other people who have gone before you. Jez Kay (EP27)
[11:02] Be patient. Dan Englander (EP29)
[11:22] Remember that people are at the core of any good business. Grant Jennings (EP31)
[12:14] Don’t be too regimented in your thinking. Chico Chakravorty (EP33)
[13:33] Be as informed as possible: knowledge is power. Marc Convey (EP35)
[14:21] Have enough capital to get through the first 6 months. Tracey Burnett (EP37)
[15:31] Get a customer first. Jim James (EP39)
[15:58] Start earlier. Brad Smith (EP41)
[16:42] Focus your efforts on the things that only you can do. Darryl Sparey (EP43)
[17:46] Be more strategic from the start. Lindsey Pickles (EP45)
[18:03] Focus on what you love & what you are good at. Remeny Armitage (EP47)
[18:46] Know what sets you apart from the competition. John Ashton (EP52)
[20:22] Just do it, go for it! Lucy Snell (EP54)
[21:08] Good enough is good enough. Miranda Birch (EP56)
[22:07] Don’t procrastinate. Steve Slotow (EP58)
[23:19] A good job doesn’t always speak for itself. Don’t wait to be tapped on the shoulder. Melanie Coeshott (EP60)
[24:40] Find some people that you look up to & follow them. Sam Wright (EP62)
[25:23] It’s okay to say NO to things. Brent Weaver (EP64)
[26:23] You can be or do absolutely anything you want. Piccia Neri (EP66)
[26:41] Everything is going to be alright. Romans Ivanovs (EP68)
[27:20] Say YES to things that scare you. Marcel Petitpas (EP70)
[27:52] Keep up with tech & know that it’s ok to seek help from others. Michelle & Christian Ewen (EP72)
[30:22] Trust your employees more. Ugis Balmaks (EP74)
[31:18] Niche your business & start building your email list. David Miles (EP76)
[32:08] Focus on one thing at a time. Richard Kennedy (EP78)
[32:42] ‘Try fast & fail fast’. Adam O'Leary (EP82)
[33:35] Go with your gut feeling. If it doesn’t work, there are always other options. Anthony Burke (EP87)
[34:42] Be braver, take action. Katie Street (EP89)
[35:21] Be more confident. John Horn (EP91)
Useful links:
- I have captured all this wisdom in a free handy guide. You can download your copy here
- Surround yourself with other like-minded agency Owners in The Self-Running Agency Implementation Group
- Continue learning from my YouTube Channel
- Get in touch with Rob at robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
Happy New Year! It’s that time of the year when I record one of the more popular episodes of The Agency Accelerator Podcast,
So in this week’s episode, I'm sharing with you the top 15 tools that have helped me run my business more efficiently, get more organised, and provide a professional image to the world.
I share with you which platforms I use to host webinars, manage my marketing campaigns, my email list, organise my calendar, and more. These tools have made my life so much easier and managing my business less stressful, so I hope you will find this useful.
I’m curious to know which are your favourite tools and if they made a difference in your business?
Time Stamp
[0:55] #1 Go paperless with reMarkable 2
[2:32] #2 Kartra: all-in-one platform
[4:57] #3 WebinarJam to host your webinars
[5:53] #4 EverWebinar for on-demand webinars
[7:33] #5 Master your email marketing with ConvertKit
[8:50] #6 Amazing Marvin will make prioritising your days easier
[11:04] #7 Zoom: the go-to for remote meetings
[11:29] #8 Create screen recordings with Loom
[13:05] #9 Finances made simple with Xero
[13:47] #10 Don’t forget to upload your receipts on Dext
[14:52] #11 Google Drive: my number 1 tool for document sharing
[15:54] #12 Organise your most popular links with Toby
[16:58] #13 Final Cut Pro takes your video editing skills to the next level
[18:19] #14 Create professional-looking documents, social media posts and graphics on Canva
[19:46] #15 vidIQ to improve and track your YouTube channel performance
Quotations
“A good tactic when you're running live webinars is to do them several times to refine them: improve the pacing and hone the content. When you've had the webinar live for a while and it's proven to work, then you can turn it into an on-demand webinar so that people can watch it at their leisure.” - Rob Da Costa
“..my goal is to plan my day and make sure by the end of the day that every single thing is crossed off.” - Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links:
- You can download this episode as a guide by clicking here
- If you prefer watching rather than listening then visit my YouTube Channel
- Get in touch with Rob at robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
It's that time of the year again, where I stop, take a pause to look back on my year and evaluate what went well, what didn't go so well and what I have learned. So that’s the focus of today’s episode.
In this episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I share all the things I did in my business that worked well, the not-so-good stuff and the key learnings.
Based on these learnings, what am I going to do differently next year?.
I know you can listen to lots of gurus online who claim to have all the solutions and paint an amazing picture of themselves and their business. But I wanted to be really honest in sharing this: the things that I screwed up with, the money I spent on things that I shouldn't have, the things that I did well, and the plans I have for next year.
Time Stamp
[00:55] What went well for me in 2021?
[4:00] The importance of assessing metrics
[4:34] My 4-day working week
[06:00] What didn't go so well for me in 2021?
[07:50] Fixing my website!
[08:44] The importance of having a strategy and plan before jumping into execution
[09:25] What are my key learnings for the year?
- There are no shortcuts!
- Do your due diligence before you work with any suppliers
- Keep focused and avoid shiny objects
- Keep a record of all your software subscriptions
[11:23] What I am going to do differently in 2022
- Launch a new website
- Streamlining and measuring my marketing
- Focus on YouTube content
[14:00] Keep distractions at bay!
[14:30] Use more batching
[15:00] Keep focused and do less!
Quotations
“...there are no shortcuts. Every genuine, robust business development strategy delivers in the medium to long term, and so if you're looking for instant gratification, you're always going to be very disappointed...” - Rob Da Costa
“...you need to keep focused, have a plan for the year as there are lots of shiny objects competing for your time and there are no quick fixes.” - Rob Da Costa
“Remove all the distractions and keep focused on the task at hand.” - Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Rob Da Costa’s YouTube Channel
- The Self-Running Agency
- The Agency Selling System
- The Build, Nurture, Convert Blueprint
- Get in touch with Rob at robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
What are the latest trends in creating compelling and engaging content on Linkedin?
In this week's episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I’m joined by one of my repeat and popular guests, Tracy Burnett. Tracey is a LinkedIn marketing expert, who helps business owners generate more business using LinkedIn.
In this episode, Tracy shares the latest trends, ideas and tips in creating content strategies for LinkedIn.
Make sure to grab a pen and paper for note-taking because this will be another action-packed episode.
Time Stamp
[02:15] Is it worth switching to Creator mode?
[03:11] The key ‘new things’ in using LinkedIn
[04:41] Why has LinkedIn limited the number of connection requests you can make each week?
[06:09] How to publish newsletters on LinkedIn (new function)
[07:36] The four (4) pillars in creating content
[09:48] Understanding how to make the algorithm work for you
[14:01] The importance of getting debates in your posts
[15:03] Why are hashtags important and how many should you use?
[15:38] How to research your hashtags
[17:09] Why you should create your own hashtag
[19:12 How many times a week should you post on LinkedIn?
[21:10] Are Pods worthwhile?
[24:58] The importance of creating high-quality content rather than any old content!
[26:11] How to create content that your audience cares about
[26:53] Being authentic & human in your posts
[32:19] Tracey’s advice to her younger self
Quotations
“...every single, robust, deliverable business development strategy takes time.” - Tracey Burnett
“I think that asking yourself this question when you're writing a post of ‘Will my audience care about this?’ is actually a really good benchmark to decide whether it’s a good post or interesting.” - Rob Da Costa
“Don't feel you need to be everywhere... Keep your marketing simple.” - Tracey Burnett
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Tracey Burnett - LinkedIn #linkedinwithtraceyburnett
- Episode 37: LinkedIn Learning - Interview with Tracey Burnett
- Rob Da Costa’s YouTube Channel
- Get in touch with Rob at robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
As we head to the New Year, I wanted to share a few ideas with you to make sure that you start the new year in your agency or your freelance business on the right foot and with a robust plan.
So in today’s episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I dig into what you should be doing with your business's long-term vision and how to break it down from a year to quarter, quarter to monthly, and then weekly set of goals.
Time Stamp
[1:37] Am I a believer in having New Year’s resolutions?
[1:58] The importance of having a plan
[2:36] Tips to creating your vision
[4:09] Why it’s vital to connect personal aspirations and goals with your business vision
[5:57] Understanding finance, people and external factors in your planning
[9:34] The importance of creating a dynamic business plan
[11:28] How changing your environment can help you create an inspired business plan
Quotations
“You need to have a plan because you need to have a sense of where your business is headed.” - Rob Da Costa
“Be in control rather than letting external factors dictate your direction.” - Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- FREE Tool and Resources! Creating a Scalable and Sustainable Agency
- Rob Da Costa’s YouTube Channel
- Get in touch with Rob at robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
In this week's episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I am joined by Kevin Urrutia.
Kevin started out as a software developer and moved into eCommerce, starting Chester Travels (selling suitcases), growing to $1.5 million in 18 months. He also started a home cleaning business which he grew to $3 million in 18 months. He now runs a digital agency, Voy Media.
And if that wasn't enough, he is also the co-author of 'Digital Marketing Made Easy: A-Z Growth Strategies and Key Concepts of Digital Marketing.'
In this episode, Kevin shares his journey from entrepreneur to growing and selling a business. We also explore what drove him to transition into the world of digital marketing, the best tips he could give aspiring entrepreneurs, and how having the right mindset will help you grow your agency.
Make sure to grab a pen and paper for another action-packed episode with Kevin Urrutia.
Time Stamp
[2:30] What drove Kevin to transition from technology and entrepreneurship to digital marketing
[3:11] The importance of having the right mindset
[3:28] Understanding how and why Kevin started various businesses
[5.29] Overcoming hurdles at different stages of growth
[6:46] Why having your systems in place is essential for sustainable growth
[7:10] How finding the right people has changed in midst of the pandemic
[9:20] Dealing with the shortage of great marketing people
[11:33] The battle of keeping your clients happy without overservicing - don’t be a charity!
[13:09] What are the early stage hurdles for start-up agencies?
[16:08] Why having a sales process is so important for a growing agency
[18:56] Sales strategies to win more clients (without relying on referrals and word of mouth)
[20:56] The importance of building your brand: ‘Am I building the brand as me? Or am I building the brand as a bigger business?
[24:06] The deciding factors and key advice in selling an agency
[26:25] How to achieve a ‘good entrepreneurial mindset'
[30:10] The biggest trends and future predictions of digital marketing
[31:58] Kevin's advice to his younger self
Quotations
"I've always wanted to do my own thing, and that has always driven me. It's like that concept of 'Hey, I'm my own boss. I have my own things and building my own like products or companies.'" - Kevin Urrutia
"I always say that clients are the spark that gets their business going, but they also become the roadblock to growth in the end because they kind of have to get out of their own way. And they've got to realise that other people, they need to let other people do the work and other people may not do it as well as them or in the same way as them, and that's okay." - Rob Da Costa
"To have an entrepreneur mindset, you have to be willing to just try new stuff." - Kevin Urrutia
“Don't be scared of failing, because we all fail in order to move forwards.” - Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
"I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode." If that sounds like you, please consider the rating and review my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select "Write a Review." Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven't done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I'm adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you're not subscribed, there's a good chance you'll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Kevin Urrutia - Email Kevin at kevin@voymedia.com
- Rob Da Costa’s YouTube Channel
- Get in touch with Rob at robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
What is the anatomy of a high-converting email?
If you are a regular listener to this podcast, then you know I am a massive fan of using a mailing list as a central part of your business development strategy.
A lot of people buy into the concept of building a list and regularly emailing that list but then they get stuck because they don't know what to send or their open/engagement levels are disappointing so they get disheartened and quit!
So in today's episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I dig into what makes a great email and how to structure an email to maximise engagement.
This episode is brought to you by my brand new programme: The Build, Nurture and Convert Blueprint, which is the A to Z of building a complete email marketing machine to attract new subscribers, nurture them and then convert them into loyal customers.
I'm providing a special offer for podcast listeners.
Join my brand new email marketing & list building programme, The Build, Nurture, Convert Blueprint. Use 'PODCAST20' at checkout to get a 20% discount.
Time Stamp
[1:50] The importance of building an email list
[2:28] Understanding the three (3) crucial parts of a successful email
[3:07] #1: Getting the subject right
[4:16] Different types of subject lines
[5:52] Tips in writing emails
[6:21] #2: Using P.S as a way to sell products or services
[7:46] #3: Writing the body of an email
[8:37] How to add value to your readers
[9:27] Which is better: text-based email vs well-designed graphic email?
[10:16] The concept of “Pain, Agitate and Solve’ to structure a high-converting email
[12:21] The ideal frequency in sending emails
[13:10] The average benchmark rates for conversion, click-through rates and engagement
[15:25] NEW! Email Marketing and List Building Programme: The Build, Convert and Nurture Blueprint
Quotations
“..no matter how powerful the content of your email is, the subject line determines whether your email is going to be opened, ignored or just thrown straight in the trash.” - Rob Da Costa
“I think you should send emails at least once a week or twice a month, but certainly no less frequently than that, because people will forget you.” - Rob Da Costa
“Try and get 1% better every time you write an email. Remember, doing something imperfectly is much better than waiting till you can do it perfectly.” - Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- The Build, Nurture, Convert Blueprint Programme - Promo code:'PODCAST20'
- Rob Da Costa’s YouTube Channel
- Get in touch with Rob at robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
How agencies use outbound marketing and business development to accelerate their growth.
That’s what we’re talking about in this week’s episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast.
I'm really excited to have Christian Banach to join me today on this episode because he has a different view from mine about lead generation and business development.
One of the reasons why I love having guests on the podcast is because I don't always agree with them or I don't always have the same viewpoint. But at the end of the day, their viewpoints are valid and clearly working for them and their customers.
So today we are discussing and debating outbound lead generation, cold calling, cold emailing and more. So, make sure you grab a pen & paper since there are some great advice and action point takeaways.
Time Stamp
[2:03] How Christian transitioned from being a concert promoter to the agency world and how his businesses have developed throughout the years
[4:17] Working with giant brands such as Allstate and Toyota
[5:12] Christian’s perspective about word of mouth marketing
[6:48] Tips in dealing with new clients
[8:12] Why it is so critical to identify your niche
[10:04] How a cold calling outbound communications strategy works
[12:04] Why multi touch points and channels are important
[13:07] How to use personalisation marketing strategies
[15:11] Understanding clients’ businesses and the best lead generation practices
[18:54] The importance of nurturing your own network first
[20:33] Is hiring an in-house business development person for SMEs necessary?
[23:47] How the Pandemic has affected the business development landscape over the years
[28:35] Three (3) business development tips to improve your relationship generation
[30:36] Christian’s advice to his younger self
Quotations
“One of the first things that we do with our clients is to audit their body of work and try to understand what we call a ‘pivotal problem’.” - Christian Banach
“You need multiple touches in order to really start to build awareness and get people to respond. So, multi-touch multi-channel is very important. ” - Christian Banach
“It's interesting that sometimes people are looking for the juicy fruit at the top of the tree for their new clients. But meanwhile, there's some ripe fruit that's fallen on the ground that they could be nurturing.” - Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Christian Banach
- Cloudways
- Rob Da Costa’s YouTube Channel
- Get in touch with Rob at robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
Why is it so important to focus on building your email list?
In this week’s episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, we explore the important topic of list building and strategies to grow your email subscribers.
As you know, when I interview guests, I always ask them if they go back in time and give their younger selves one piece of business advice, what would it be? And if I asked myself that question, it would be, ‘Hey, Rob, start building your email list sooner.’
If you're still questioning why list building is so important (because maybe you spend a lot of time doing social media, and that delivers some leads for you), just consider this: when you are building your social media profile and followers, you're building an asset for someone else's business but when you build your list, you are building an asset in your business.
Listen to this episode as I share more reasons you should be focusing on list building and HOW to win more subscribers.
Time Stamp
[1:59] How to help your clients find you
[2:28] 7 important facts why an email list is one of your businesses most valuable assets
[2:53] #1 You are 6x more likely to get higher click-through rates through emails instead of a social media post.
[3:02] #2 Email is 40 times more effective at acquiring new customers than social media.
[3:09] #3 Email marketing can generate up to 80% of your website traffic.
[3:19] #4 You ‘own’ your email list whilst you ‘rent’ your social media. That means with your email list you are building a genuine asset in your business. With your social media, you are helping build someone else’s business!
[4:08] #5 Email is the most scalable way to make sales with new customers and build a deeper relationship with existing customers.
[4:19] #6 You can reach far more potential customers with email than you can with social media.
[4:55] #7 For every £1 you spend on your email list you can expect £42 ROI.
[6:08] More tips in building your email list
[6:43] The importance of having a clear niche
[8:25] Reasons why you should understand the buyer’s journey
[9:42] Four types of emails
[10:41] Understanding the value of email marketing
[11:29] NEW! The Build, Nurture, Convert Blueprint Programme
[13:46] How to get the balance in your email marketing
Quotations
“..when you build your list, you are building an asset in your business. When you are building your social media profile and followers, you're building an asset for someone else's business.” - Rob Da Costa
Your audience is looking for you and it’s your job to help them find the solutions you're offering.” - Rob Da Costa
“You build and nurture your email list and when your prospect is ready, you convert them.” - Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Cloudways
- The Build, Nurture, Convert Blueprint Programme
- Rob Da Costa’s YouTube Channel
- Get in touch with Rob at robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
In today’s episode of the Agency Accelerator Podcast we are discussing whitelabelling: either white labelling your services or buying in services from another agency.
This is an important topic since many agencies/freelancers want to sell their services on a white-label basis to other agencies or want to partner with other agencies to provide white label services to their own clients.
So in this episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I am joined by John Horn, the Managing Partner at StubGroup, a Premier Google Partner ranked in the top 1% of all Google Partners worldwide.
Amongst many topics, John shares how he has built his white labelling services agency, how to structure agreements, set the pricing right, tips in maintaining client relationships, ways to avoid the common pitfalls, and more.
Many agencies and freelancers start out by whitelabelling their services, as a great channel to win business. As they grow they may want to offer their customer’s services that are not in their specialism, so whitelabelling is a great way to do this without the risk of hiring new staff.
So get ready for this action-packed episode.
Time Stamp
[3:00] How John landed in the world of white labelled services
[5:54] What is white labelling and why would an agency want to white label their services?
[7:27] The risks in hiring people
[8:49] How to price correctly and ensure that you are paid for your worth
[14:34] Maintaining a strong relationship with your whitelabel partner by establishing strong lines of communication
[16:35] Brand as you or your partner?
[17:19] Tips in selecting a good white label service partner
[20:12] How to figure out if an agency should hire an in-house team or outsource
[23:54] The importance of transparency in communicating with clients
[25:43] How to maintain a balanced and equal partnership
[26:38] Reasons why you should avoid ‘toxic’ partners
[27:44] What are the deciding factors to consider if it’s right to transition from white label services and bring them in-house
[30:28] How did John manage to teach 85,000+ students online?
[31:41] John’s advice to his younger self
Quotations
“..there has been so much change in the Pay Per Click World. What you did yesterday may not work today.” - John Horn
“So the ideal relationship that we're always striving and looking for in partners is where there's going to be transparency in communication.” - John Horn
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Cloudways
- John Horn: LinkedIn
- StubGroup: Online Advertising That Actually Works
- Rob Da Costa’s YouTube Channel
- Get in touch with Rob at robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
Let's face it, we all suffer from imposter syndrome at some point or another.
The key message here is that you are not alone, and your best bet to manage your imposter syndrome is to change the relationship you have with your inner critic.
Today we're going to talk about imposter syndrome, a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their skills, talents or accomplishments, and has a persistent internalised fear of being exposed as a fraud!
Once we realise we all suffer from imposter syndrome and we can do something about it, we can start to take control.
So in today’s episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I share some strategies for changing your inner voice from a critic to a more supportive (coaching) voice and 6-steps to overcome that negative voice in your head to have a better relationship with your inner critic and consequently tone down your feelings of being an imposter and being found out!
Time Stamp
[1:29] What is imposter syndrome?
[2:32] Keypoint #1: Everyone suffers from imposter syndrome at some point or another, including all the most successful entrepreneurs.
[3:01] Keypoint #2: It's not about getting rid of imposter syndrome, it's about having a more healthy relationship with your inner voice.
[3:23] Keypoint #3: There are certain traits that entrepreneurs have that can lead to imposter syndrome:
[3:33] How being a ‘perfectionist’ can lead to imposter syndrome
[4:04] How being an ‘expert’ can lead to imposter syndrome
[4:47] How being a ‘poor delegator’ can lead to imposter syndrome
[5:09] How trying to be superman/superwoman can lead to imposter syndrome
[5:25] Tips to manage that inner voice in your head
[6:03] The 21-day challenge to change a behaviour
[7:17] How to overcome your imposter syndrome
[9:36] Why the idea of journaling can help
[10:48] How to find the balance between your successes and failures
[13:06] 6 Steps in managing imposter syndrome
[13:12] Step #1: Acknowledge that everybody suffers from this and talk about it.
[13:22] Step #2: Separate feelings from facts.
[13:44] Step #3: Develop a healthy response to failure and mistakes
[14:14] Step #4: Write the rules and recognise that you have as much right as the next person to be wrong, to have an off day or to ask for help.
[14:35] Step #5: Do what professional athletes do and visualise success e.g. spend time beforehand picturing yourself making an amazing presentation or public speech.
[14:54] Step #6: ‘fake it till you make it’ or ‘act as if.’
Quotations
“..the key message in today's episode is that you are not alone, and your best bet to manage your imposter syndrome is to change the relationship you have with that voice in your head, that inner critic.” - Rob Da Costa
“I find having a realistic to-do list every day really helps because it helps me feel accomplished… I'm focused on the most important things in my business through moving my business forward and with no distractions.” - Rob Da Costa
“We need to be kind to ourselves.” - Rob Da Costa
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“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Cloudways
- Rob Da Costa’s YouTube Channel
- Get in touch with Rob at robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
How effective and efficient is your business development? Do you have a process in place that generates a consistent flow of ideal clients?
If not, then listen to today’s podcast interview with my guest, Katie Street, the Founder and Managing Director of Street Agency.
As you will hear, successful business development starts by getting your agency’s positioning clarified then building robust marketing plans that deliver outreach campaigns and leads
Katie explains that we need to lead by solving our client’s problems and by providing value in our marketing (‘serve not sell’).
Time Stamp
[1:51] How Katie landed in the business development world
[6:17] The key differences between successful and less successful agencies in the aspect of growth and new business
[11:47] Reasons why sales and marketing are important for your agencies growth
[14:14] Tips in developing easy, consistent and reusable content
[20:24] How to learn the language of your target audience
[23:48] The best practices in winning new business opportunities
[28:15] How to attract high-quality leads
[32:36] The biggest impact of the pandemic for new businesses
[37:23] Katie’s advice to her younger self
Quotations
“ I think initially, most agencies go wrong because they don't actually reserve the time or give the new business the time, respect, and money that it needs to really flourish.” - Katie Street
“Doing something is better than nothing. Do things that are going to be. You could say we're all different. Do something that's going to be easy for you and think about how you can reuse that content.” - Katie Street
“The biggest piece of advice that I can give is to think about your audience and what their problems are (and you'll know this because your audience is your clients). If you're solving problems for your clients all the time, you'll start to see trends because that is what we agencies do. We do solve problems usually.” - Katie Street
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Cloudways
- Katie Street: katie@street.agency; LinkedIn
- Rob Da Costa’s YouTube Channel
- Get in touch with Rob at robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
How niche is too niche? And, how niche are you?
I know that's a lot of niches in one sentence! But it’s such an important topic that it deserves that many ‘niches’!
Any of you who listen to my podcast regularly or read my content will know that I am a massive fan of niching.
But it strikes me that a lot of people think they have a clear niche, but when I check them out, they don't. They tell me about their niche but when I check their website or social media content, they don’t show up as clearly focused on the niche they claim to be in. Why is this? Well, I think they are hedging their bets.
So, let me remind you why I think having and committing to your niche is so important.
Time Stamp
[1:01] What does it mean to have a clear niche?
[1:54] Why understanding your niche is important
[2:46] Advantages of having a clearly defined niche
[4:06] Tips in figuring out your niche
[5:26] How to stand out from the crowd to more easily reach your target audience
[7:09] Reasons why you must stay committed to your niche
[7:37] The impact of broadening or narrowing down a niche
[8:40] The difference between a generalist and a specialist
[9:52] How my niche has ebbed and flowed over the years
[11:49] Four ways you can segment your niche
Quotations
“When you have a clear niche. It means you can produce products and services that you know your audience wants, rather than making a huge mistake of selling products that you think they need.” - Rob Da Costa
“When you have a clearly defined niche, you can also REALLY understand your ideal target customer and their specific needs, challenges, pains that your product or service can solve.” - Rob Da Costa
“..niching is definitely one of the ways where you can minimise the pool of your competition and get much more laser-focused on who your ideal target customer is.” - Rob Da Costa
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“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Cloudways
- How to Define Your Niche (free eBook)
- The Self-Running Agency Book
- The Self-Running Agency Implementation Group
- Rob Da Costa’s YouTube Channel
- Get in touch with Rob at robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
How can building online communities help your agency’s marketing strategy?
In this episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I am joined by Anthony Burke, the Owner of “Brits in Dubai”, as he shares his journey building and monetising online communities as well as his story of living in Dubai and what inspired him to start his community.
Brits in Dubai is a private Facebook Group that originated in 2014 and is dedicated to helping British expats settle and thrive in the UAE. A great place to get advice, support and network.
Since then, the group has grown into the number one British expat group with more than 25,000 members and over half a million posts in the last six months alone!
How can you apply what Anthony has learned and achieved in your agency business? That is what we set out to explore in this episode.
Time Stamp
[1:29] Anthony’s journey to building a number 1 Facebook community
[6:00] Tips on how to build momentum in your group
[9:11] How much time is needed to invest in managing an online community?
[11:21] Why delivering great value is important in monetising a Facebook Group
[13:55] What is the best and cost-effective way to build professional partnerships
[15:44] Why you should ‘go unique’
[16:50] Building landing pages and searching the best keywords
[18:37] How to find the balance in delivering the value and selling your products/ services
[20:18] The importance of building your email list
[21:20] Tips in marketing your products/services to the members of the group
[26:50] The impact of Covid in business decision making
[28:33] Living the ‘digital nomad lifestyle’
[31:44] What is Anthony’s advice to his younger self
Quotations
“The thing that I always tell my audience is that when you are creating outbound communications, whether it be through a Facebook group, email marketing, social media, videos or whatever, you need to get this balance of 80% providing value and only 20% selling. ” - Rob Da Costa
“It's about being human, and it's about being real and authentic. If you have a community, listen to what your community needs, then you make sure you produce products and services that they want as opposed to thinking about what's better for them, and you're going to create something that nobody ever buys because they don't actually need it.” - Rob Da Costa
“I'd always say, ‘go with your gut. If it works fantastic, if it doesn't, there are more options.’” - Anthony Burke
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Anthony Burke - Facebook, Brits in Dubai Facebook Group
- Got questions for Anthony? Email him at info@anthonyburke.co.uk
- Rob Da Costa’s YouTube Channel
- The Self-Running Agency Book
- Get in touch with Rob at robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
Let me ask you a question: What is your website for?
Is it just ‘brochureware’ (a place to learn more about your business) or are you aiming for it to be something more, such as a way of generating a consistent pipeline of new leads?
The answer is that it should be the latter.
So in this episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I share my thoughts around some of the fundamental do’s and don't about getting your website to work more effectively for you and also some key strategies to consistently generate leads from it.
Time Stamp
[1:09] Why you should make sure your website isn’t full of ‘we’!!
[2:01] The importance of quickly building empathy with your readers
[2:46] What is the anatomy of a successful website, what does a great website look like?
[5:03] Tips on how to drive traffic to your website
[8:58] How to convert leads
[9:23] Four stages to drive traffic to your website
[10:51] Tips in creating your ‘killer content’
[11:46] Killer content Myth #1: ‘I need lots of gated content on my website’
[12:14] Killer content Myth #2: ‘It needs to be long to deliver value.’
Quotations
“..remember that your ultimate goal with your website is to generate leads. The way you're going to generate leads is by getting people to sign up to your email list, and then you're going to nurture them through the buyer's journey.” - Rob Da Costa
“..drive traffic from all your different channels, where your target audience hangs out, to your website and then, once they are there, get them to take action, which means them giving you their email address (in return for your killer content).” - Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Related podcast: Episode 79 - Using A Lead Magnet To Get New Subscribers To Your Mailing List
- Related podcast: Episode 55 - The do's and don'ts of using email marketing to generate new businessTool: Work out your Time To Conversion
- Ebook: Define your Ideal Target Customer
- Video: Rob Da Costa’s YouTube Channel
- Get in touch with Rob at robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
What happens when you win a big client that makes up a significant proportion of your monthly revenue, and consequently demands a disproportionate amount of your time?
Well, excitement can quickly turn to long hours, and that, in turn, can detract your attention away from your other paying clients.
In this episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I share some of my thoughts about the pros and the cons of winning and relying on a large client for your agency.
If you are in this situation (and many have been) then I will also explore how to mitigate your risks.
Time Stamp
[1:06] The excitement of winning a big client
[1:26] How to avoid over-servicing your clients
[2:11] Importance of getting your team clear about service levels
[2:33] Tips in handling big clients
[3:28] How to win new clients (so you are not just dependent on 1 or 2 big clients)
[4:13] What is the biggest challenge in running an agency?
[5:12] Importance of identifying the risk as early as possible
[5:40] How to anticipate famine on your agency
[7:39] The importance of having your business development and plan in place
[9:12] Why you should not focus on one big client
Quotations
“..my advice to anybody that is thinking about putting all their client eggs into one basket because they've won one really big client is you need to spread your risk one way or another. And I would ask you to ask yourself what would be the impact to my agency on my business if I lost this one big client..” - Rob Da Costa
“Something else to bear in mind is that larger clients can often be worse payers and can have a significant impact on your revenue and your cash flow. Just make sure that you are getting really clear around payment terms.” - Rob Da Costa
“Just remember that having the lion's share of your business tied to another company also means your fortunes are tied to theirs if their business flounders, if they change tact or they decide to move supplier, you could find yourself out in the cold through no fault of your own without sufficient alternative sources of revenue.” - Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- eBook: How to avoid feast or famine in your agency
- Video: Rob Da Costa’s YouTube Channel
- Get in touch with Rob at robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
Let's face it, many of us started our own business because we're control freaks - we want to be in control!
We may have worked for a business before where we didn't like the way they ran things or thought we could do it better. And that's often the catalyst to start our own business.
But what happens when control comes at the expense of the flexibility and freedom that we hoped we would get when we started out on our own?
In today's episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I share my thoughts about achieving flexibility, freedom AND control, why creating a plan is so important and some of my own personal successes and failures in my entrepreneurial journey.
Also, I talk about the importance of efficiency in how you use your time, my future aspirations to work a 4-day work week, and how I am achieving this by hiring the right team.
Time Stamp
[1:56] Early struggles and challenges in my marketing career
[2:37] How to be in control of your own destiny
[3:01] What’s my belief about success and failure?
[3:55] Tips in achieving flexibility, control, and freedom as an agency owner
[4:43] The importance of creating a plan
[5:11] Why you should start hiring (the right) people
[6:19] Three (3) ways on how you can spend your time
[7:25] The importance of having solid foundations in place
[8:01] How to focus on your marketing strategy
[8:34] Why I believe creating a succession plan is important
[9:59] What are my future aspirations
[12:26] How to work a 4-day quality work
[13:21] How the pandemic removes roadblocks from our plans and stories
[14:05] Importance of delegation and having the right team
[15:15] Why you should always keep going back to the reason you started your business
Quotations
“I still believe that my successes are my successes, and my failures are my failures, and that's one of the reasons why I love running my own business.” - Rob Da Costa
“..If you're very intentional about your direction, you have much more chance of retaining control but also getting the flexibility and freedom in place as well.” - Rob Da Costa
“You have to put the infrastructure of the foundations in place to grow to the next level and then put the next set of foundations to grow to the next level again.” - Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Live Masterclass: “How to Easily Fill Your Sales Pipeline With High Quality Leads in The Next 90-Days or Less!”
- eBook: Winning Back Time - Productivity Tools & Tips
- Video: Rob Da Costa’s YouTube Channel
- Get in touch with Rob at robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
How long does it take for a new lead that comes into your agency to be converted into a client?
This is such an important number to know (yet few do) so in this episode, I'm going to explain why understanding this time to conversion is so important and what you should do once you know this number.
I think that you're going to be really surprised at how long the typical sales cycle is so I'm going to give you a tool to help you work this number out for your agency.
So, in today’s episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I will answer one of the most important questions to know: How long does it take to convert a lead to a loyal customer? And what are the tools, techniques and marketing strategies that you can implement to help move people through your sales funnel?
Time Stamp
[2:08] The most common marketing mistake for agency owners
[3:18] Why you need to nurture and educate your leads
[4:01] The importance of knowing your time to conversion number
[4:59] Using your marketing to stay front of the mind with your target audience
[6:54] Three stages in developing a relationship with your leads
[8:09] Why building your email list is important in reducing your time to conversion
[8:57] Rob’s advice to his younger self
[9:37] What is education-based marketing?
[10:41] Tips to focus and add value in your content
[12:29] How to come up with ‘killer content’ for your agency
[13:39] The real reasons why clients come to you
Quotations
“You need to have a way of consistently being in front of your target customers so that when they have a need, they know that you're the person to talk to because they understand who you are.” - Rob Da Costa
“80% of your content should be all about providing value. And, of course, to do that you need to really understand exactly who your ideal target customer is” - Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Time to Conversion free tool & video
- Live Masterclass: “How to Easily Fill Your Sales Pipeline With High Quality Leads in The Next 90-Days or Less!”
- eBook: Turning Cold Contacts Into Loyal Customers - How to Define Your Sales Funnel and Increase Conversions
- Podcast: The Agency Accelerator Podcast Ep. 5 - The Importance of Building Your Mailing List
- Podcast: The Agency Accelerator Podcast Ep. 79 - Using a Lead Magnet to Get New Subscribers to your Mailing List
- Video: Rob Da Costa’s YouTube Channel
- Get in touch with Rob at robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
How powerful are customer video testimonials in helping win new clients?
In today's episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I'm joined by Adam O'Leary from TrustScout. We talked about both his entrepreneurial journey and also the value of getting video testimonials from existing customers to help you win new customers.
Adam shares some of his experiences and key learnings as he has grown his agencies, including what he believes every entrepreneur should focus on and how to get rid of all that other stuff that can be just a distraction!
We also talked about video testimonials: how to get video testimonials from your customer, when you should ask your customer and why video testimonials are such a powerful way to quickly build trust and credibility.
Time Stamp
[3:38] Adam’s journey in the entrepreneurial world
[5:11] The importance of testimonials videos in the buyer’s journey
[6:03] The difference between written testimonials and video testimonials
[7:19] The best time to ask your client for a video testimonial
[8:59] Tips on what kind of questions to ask in video testimonials
[10:22] How to maximise the use of video testimonials in your marketing
[11:59] How to make video testimonials authentic
[13:07] How you can use TrustScout software in your agency
[16:23] The good and bad of running an agency
[19:29] How Adam finds the balance in running two businesses
[22:01] The importance of fully automating as much of your business processes as possible
[24:17] Tips in running an agency
[27:51] Adam O'Leary’s advice to his younger self
Quotations
“ I think what puts people off is they think they have to create highly produced videos. But sometimes the rawer, the more real it looks and therefore people are more likely to believe it.” - Rob Da Costa
“ There are really only two things in your business that you should focus on: traffic or sales.” - Adam O'Leary
“..try fast and fail fast” - Adam O'Leary
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Live Masterclass: “How to Easily Fill Your Sales Pipeline With High Quality Leads in The Next 90-Days or Less!”
- Get in touch with Adam O'Leary: LinkedIn,TrustScout
- Video: Rob Da Costa’s YouTube Channel
- Get in touch with Rob at robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
I was sitting with a client last month and we were discussing business development. They are in the fortunate position to be generating between 20 and 30 new inquiries each month because they've really worked on making their website generate new leads.
However, whilst some of these inquiries looked promising at the start, they seem to follow a similar pattern that results in the client working long hours to get the proposals written and then the prospect disappears!
So this week's episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast focuses on the topic of qualifying leads BEFORE you spend a ton of time on them. This means that you're investing your limited time on the hot prospects and rooting out those enquiries that are just information gatherers.
Also, you will learn six (6) tips and strategies that you can start applying immediately in your agency to implement a faster lead qualification process.
Time Stamp
[2:54] Funnel marketing activities
[3:18] The consequence of focusing your time on the wrong prospects
[6:45] #1 You must get a sense of a prospect’s budget and if they won’t give you that, then it’s a good indication that it’s early in their buying process and they might just be on a fact-finding expedition!
[7:35] #2 There are some techniques you can use to ‘encourage’ them to give you a budget or at least an idea of their budget range (this is something I teach my Self-Running Agency Implementation Group Members how to do)
[9:04] #3 How to know if it's time to walk away from a prospect
[10:35] #4 For most of us, time is our most valuable commodity, so you want to invest as little time as possible in early discussions with prospects – use pre-written email templates to quickly follow-up leads to filter them ‘in’ or ‘out’
[10:44] #5 The further down the sales funnel the prospects go, the more time you should be willing to invest
[11:54] #6 Once you agree to a meeting and then agree to write a proposal, get a date in the diary (during that meeting) for the follow-up conversation. This gives you the best chance of keeping momentum once you’ve sent the proposal
Quotations
“..there's nothing wrong with people who are in information-gathering mode, and they may well one day become your perfect client, and they're not ready now. But you should not be using your time to educate them.” - Rob Da Costa
“..the secret here is to identify the hot prospects that you're going to invest your time in and get rid of those others as quickly as possible..” - Rob Da Costa
“This is why having these pre-written email templates is a great idea because they may not be a fit for you today, but they may be the right kind of client for you in the future..”- Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Training: FREE 60-minute Sales Pipeline Training
- eBook: How to define your ideal target customer or customer avatar
- Podcast: The Agency Accelerator Podcast Episode 41: Business Development Strategies Part 1
- Podcast: The Agency Accelerator Podcast Episode 43: Business Development Strategies Part 2
- Podcast: The Agency Accelerator Podcast Episode 44: Business Development Strategies Part 3
- Video: Rob Da Costa’s YouTube Channel
- Get in touch with Rob at robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
Why do so many agency owners struggle to increase their prices?
Every January, I get a letter in the post from my utility companies telling me that their prices are increasing. We are used to receiving this kind of increase. In fact, we expect it, so we don't question it and we just move on.
What can agencies learn from this?
In this latest episode of The Agency Accelerated Podcast, I explore strategies to increase your prices in a way that you feel comfortable with and the client is more than happy to pay for (because they continue to see the value in what you're delivering). This applies to both existing clients and new clients.
I explore the different pricing models agencies use as well as some tips and strategies to ensure your clients value what you do.
Finally I discuss why mindset is the key to increasing your prices and charging a fair fee for the work you deliver.
Time Stamp
[1:13] Why should agencies increase their price every year?
[2:02] The importance of having the right mindset in pricing
[2:34] Different pricing models
[3:08] Reasons why you shouldn’t sell your time to clients
[4:06] Understanding transformation of pricing from being in pain to not being in pain
[5:13] An overview of value-based pricing
[5:43] Difference between value-based and time-based pricing
[6:55] Tips in positioning yourself with clients
[8:06] The importance of having a niche
Quotations
“You need to focus on the thing that the client really cares about - which is the outcome and the transformation from being in pain to not being in pain.” - Rob Da Costa
“..you all know that a niched agency is always gonna be able to charge more than a generalist. So having a clear niche will also help you increase your prices because you will be seen as a specialist, not a generalist.” - Rob Da Costa
“50% of getting your pricing right is getting your mindset right.” - Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Price Increase Template
- Learn more about pricing in my free upcoming training. Save your seat here.
- Rob Da Costa’s YouTube Channel
- Get in touch with Rob at robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
Any of you who listen to my podcast regularly will know that when I have a guest, I ask them what advice they would give their younger selves just starting out in business if they could go back in time.
Now some of you have asked me, “well Rob what would you say to your younger self?” So, the piece of advice I would give my younger self is to start building my email list as soon as I started my business. If I had figured that out earlier, I would have a much bigger list now. And more importantly, I would have a much bigger pool of ideal target customers to nurture and ‘fish’ from.
So in today's episode of The Agency Accelerator podcast, I want to revisit one of my favourite topics because it's one of the most valuable things you can do in your agency and talk about the importance of building your mailing list, and more specifically, how to get new subscribers to join your list.
Now I've spoken about the importance of building your list before (in episodes 5 and 30), but today I want to dig in to specifically discuss how you can get more subscribers.
Time Stamp
[0:14] What advice would I give my younger self if I could go back in time?
[2:43] The importance of building a mailing list
[3:40] What is the best structure for an email?
[4:04] How to win new clients
[4:55] Understanding the value of a ‘lead magnet’
[8:00] What is the best place to get people to start engaging with your lead magnet?
[8:56] An overview of how a sales page works
[10:34] The components of an email automation system
[14:39] How to set up a sequence of emails in an email automation system?
Quotations
“Every business will have two or three marketing activities that work well for them and deliver good results.” - Rob Da Costa
“..the bigger the list, the more value you will get from it. And communicating regularly with your list means that you're keeping your list clean and you are keeping them connected with your agency.” - Rob Da Costa
“Remember, your goal with these emails is to nurture them through the sales funnel so that you can identify your five-star prospects (your hot prospects) and start having a more personalised engagement with them.” - Rob Da Costa
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“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Mailchimp
- ActiveCampaign
- WordPress
- Thrive Architect
- Kartra
- Example lead magnet: Your Email Welcome Sequence
- Rob Da Costa’s YouTube Channel
- Get in touch with Rob at robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
Does your agency have a robust SEO and backlink strategy in place?
If not you should, and in this episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I am joined by one of my clients and one of The Self-Running Agency Group members, Richard Kennedy, who explains why SEO and a backlink strategy is a must.
Richard runs an e-commerce SEO agency, Arken Marketing. Arken helps SME e-commerce businesses grow and compete against the big players in the market, by utilising effective SEO.
Richard shares how he started Arken Marketing and how he helps SME e-commerce businesses grow and compete using SEO and backlink strategies
Time Stamp
[1:11] Backstory in building an SEO agency and Richard’s future aspirations for Arken Marketing
[4:24] How to figure out your niche when starting up an agency
[6:36] Tips in niching down your business
[9:17] Defining SEO in a broader context
[10:37] What are the advantages of using SEO over PPC?
[11:56] The importance of being ranked organically
[12:24] Why SEO is an effective strategy for your business
[13:05] Benefits of link building for your website
[14:14] Understanding link building, domain authority rankings and backlinks
[17:21] How to implement link building strategies
[19:11] How to distinguish a good backlink from a bad backlink
[22:21] What is the deciding factor if a link is worth pursuing or not?
[22:50] Tips in creating SEO strategies for your business
[24:11] What is the ‘dream 100’ system?
[26:19] How to build good quality and trustworthy website
[29:26] Why ‘focus’ is important for your business’ SEO strategy
Quotations
“I don't want to be too big, but I've always wanted it to fuel my other projects.” - Richard Kennedy
“...not every business defines its success by how big it is or how fast it grows.” - Rob DaCosta
“We only work with people that we want to work with and they want to work with us and it's made it a whole lot easier in the long run in the short term.” - Richard Kennedy
“..the website needs to be trustworthy… approachable...Having good content makes everything so much easier.” - Richard Kennedy
“..you just can't replicate success through copying.” - Richard Kennedy
“..building your dream 100 list is actually one of the systems that we teach in The Self-Running Agency Group.” - Rob DaCosta
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Richard Kennedy - LinkedIn; Arken Marketing
- Got questions for Richard? Email him at richard@arkenmarketing.com.uk
- Rob Da Costa’s YouTube Channel
- The Self-Running Agency Implementation Group
- Get in touch with Rob at robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
Why do so many agency owners aspire to build an agency that is less dependent on them (i.e a self-running agency) but completely fail?
They end up building a business that they work for (instead of working for them) with the worst boss in the world!
So in this episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I explore how to ensure you build an agency on your own terms: one that you stay in control of and one that ultimately could be running itself.
Time Stamp
[0:00] The 4-day work experiment from Amy Porterfield’s online marketing made easy podcast
[0:45] The concept of running a self-running business
[2:26] Staying connected with your mission and vision statement
[3:18] What does real success look like?
[3:53] How to reconnect with your ‘why’ in running an agency
[4:29] Transitioning from face-to-face coaching to online meetings
[6:00] Why I can spend my winters in South Africa
[7:43] The importance of focusing on the journey and not just the destination
[7:57] How I am moving towards becoming a ‘digital nomad’
[9:05] What are the technical equipment I need
[9:59] Understanding how to best use a VA and the structures I use
[11:47] What I am doing this year to take control of how I want to run my business
Quotations
“We are surrounded by stories of super successful entrepreneurs who make it sound so easy and have supposedly made their millions and are trying to tempt you to strive for the same thing - it’s almost as if - if we don’t aspire to that then we are failing.” - Rob DaCosta
“..growth in a financial sense doesn’t always mean success.” - Rob DaCosta
“..wait for some future point when everything will be better and forget to live my life within the constraints of what we are able to do now.” - Rob DaCosta
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Rob Da Costa’s YouTube Channel
- Get in touch with Rob at robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
Have you ever dreamt about earning passive income, (i.e. earning money that isn't directly connected to selling your time)?
Have you ever thought about taking what you deliver for your clients and turning it into an online programme, a course, or a membership site?
A number of my clients have so I thought it would be a great topic for a podcast.
In this episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I am joined by David Miles, CEO of The PPC Machine.
The PPC Machine is an agency that helps mortgage brokers generate high-quality leads from their website using PPC and website optimisation.
David shares how he's taken his PPC services and developed an online membership programme. We explore why he choose a membership programme over other online models, we look at some of the tech he has in place to run his membership, and the challenges and pitfalls he experienced as he developed his programme.
Time Stamp
[2:37] What was the catalyst to begin exploring and creating an online programme?
[4:43] How to explore different online models - from membership programmes to one-off courses.
[5:37] The reasons for choosing membership model over a standard course
[8:05] Understanding the structure of an overall online programme
[13:04] How to encourage members to take action for online learning success
[14:04] What is the current status of David Miles’ PPC online programme?
[14:50] The biggest challenge in creating an online programme
[17:40] The component parts and tech tools that best work for The PPC Machine
[21:06] Tips in selling membership programme
[23:38] What advice to give to the listeners who plan to take their business online?
[27:21] Tips in pre-selling an online programme
[29:20] What are the things that David Miles would have done differently if he were to start over again?
[30:41] How to determine the pricing for an online programme
[34:16] What would David Miles’ advice be to his younger self?
Quotations
“Moving your 1-2-1 services to an online programme makes your business more scalable. You can reach more people.” - David Miles
“I think a really good bit of advice that you don't need to have everything ready at launch. In fact, if you're launching a programme yourself, you need to create a minimum viable offer..“ - Rob DaCosta
“..no one is going to judge how good your programme is by the quantity of content. You don't need content about everything. You just need to have good quality content.” - Rob DaCosta
“Launch with a minimum viable product so that don't don't feel you've got to spend six months or a year creating something huge before you launch, because the big risk if you do that you might be creating something that nobody wants and then you've wasted a year of your life, so decide what your minimum viable product is.” - David Miles
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- David Miles, The PPC Machine
- Thrive Apprentice
- Vimeo
- Screencast-O-Matic
- Zoom
- Mighty Networks
- Strivve
- Kartra
- MemberMouse
- Kajabi
- Rob Da Costa’s YouTube Channel
- The Self-Running Agency Book
- Get in touch with Rob at robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
One of the things that all agency owners, freelancers, and indeed any kind of business owner is short of is time. But how do we separate being a busy fool from using our time productively?
In this episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I want to share with you five (5) ideas and strategies that will help you become more productive. Now, these are ideas that I use in my own business, and I also teach my clients so I know that they will work, and I know where they will work for you.
Time Stamp
[1:57] How to be successful in running a business
[3:01] The importance of having a plan for your business
[3:56] 5 tips to becoming more productive
[3:59] #1 Create a daily schedule
[6:13] #2 Delegate, delegate, and delegate!
[9:38] #3 Limit your email checking – ideally twice or 3 times a day
[12:42] #4 Use technology to aid your productivity
[15:46] #5 Create space for ‘thinking time'
Quotations
“..remember, if you want to make a difference to how efficient you are, you've got to do something different.” - Rob Da Costa
“The golden rule is to make sure at the end of the day you have ticked off every item in your to-do list rather than just creating a longer list which feels very dispiriting and is a really typical scenario.” - Rob Da Costa
“..my favourite expression which is, ‘Slow down to speed up.’” - Rob Da Costa
“At the start, you really need to think about how you can make these ideas work for you rather than sitting there thinking why they won't work for you. You also need to be disciplined in implementing these ideas because, after all, it takes 21 days to change a behaviour. So, be determined to stick with your new strategies, and find a way of holding yourself to a count.”- Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Marvin
- SaneBox
- Productivity Pack: E-books and cheat sheet about mindset, delegation, and time management
- Rob Da Costa’s YouTube Channel
- Cloudways (enter AA20 to get a 20% discount off your first 3 months)
- Get in touch with Rob at robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
Recruitment is such a hot topic at the moment. I know everyone is finding it tough, so today we’ll be talking about the biggest challenges in recruitment.
In this episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, we are joined by Ugis Balmaks, who runs his own recruitment company, Recruiter Mill that helps agencies hire great staff. He shares some interesting insights about the current state of the industry, the recruitment process, tips on how to recruit people, and how to give yourself the best chance to be successful.
Time Stamp
[02:50] Ugis Balmaks’ back story on how he started in recruitment: his first hired employee, his biggest learning experience in recruitment, and more about his company.
[6:35] Pros and cons of hiring an in-house staff vs remote worker
[9:00] How to recruit people during these challenging times in the U.K
[11:16] Do’s and don’ts in recruitment
[14:36] The marketing funnel steps in the recruitment process
[18:58] Tips in filtering job applications
[22:22] How to assess cultural competence during the interview
[26:23] Why honesty is the best policy throughout the recruitment process
[27:37] Difference between hiring employees directly and outsourcing through a recruitment agency
[30:11] How to choose the right recruitment agency
[33:12] Why you should get involved in the recruitment agency decision making in hiring
[36:08] What is Ugis Balmaks’ best recruitment advice?
Quotations
“So often in life, learn the lessons in life the hard way and they are the best lessons that we learn.” - Rob Da Costa
“..that's kind of was a huge wake-up call to what can happen if when hiring is done poorly, which it was at that time. And it led me to kind of start and explore how I could hire better.” - Ugis Balmaks
“Hiring is such inexact science that someone can show up really well at the interview, but then they fail to deliver spectacularly once they start working.” - Rob Da Costa
“Yeah, it's almost like any other marking funnel where you see the numbers and when something's not working, you can see exactly where it's not working, and then you go in and I can fix it.” Ugis Balmaks
“You have the opportunity to learn from others’ mistakes and see what this that they're not, including kind of really try to put them into shoes of a person that would want to work with you, or that you would want to hire...” - Ugis Balmaks
“My favourite expression which is ‘Slow down to speed up.’ Like take your time, go through these steps… because you want to hire right.” - Rob Da Costa
“No one else knows your business better than you do… But your gut instinct is also going to give you a lot of safety and security.” - Ugis Balmaks
“Hiring the best people you possibly can afford, so that you can delegate down and relinquish as much control today as possible.”- Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Ugis Balmaks - Recruiter Mill
- Download Your Recruitment Summary Notes & Actions
- Rob Da Costa’s YouTube Channel
- Cloudways (enter AA20 to get a 20% discount off your first 3 months)
- The Self-Running Agency Book
- The Agency Selling System (enter PODCAST10 for a discount)
- Get in touch with Rob at robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
Life’s been a bit crazy for me in the last few months. I’ve been juggling so many things that led me to feeling burned out. I realised I need to work smarter and start doing less whilst remaining as effective as I was before.
In this episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I share what I have been doing to simplify my life and get renewed focus for my business.
Time Stamp
[01:55] There are so many distractions and noise in life that put pressure on me to do more of so many things. I realised I need some kind of filter to work out what I really need to keep doing and what I can stop doing - all whilst remaining productive and effective.
[04:10] Use the 4 Ds of Eisenhower’s Square to assess tasks - Can I DITCH this task? Can I DELEGATE it to somebody else? Can I DEFER it? I have to DO it.
[04:52] I’ve added 2 more Ds and an A.
[04:56] The A is Automate. Are there tools or systems I use to run my business that can be automated? (Example: Appointment setting)
[05:46] The fifth D is does a task make a DIFFERENCE?
[05:57] The sixth D is do I enjoy DOING it?
[06:17] Six things I’ve done in my business to simplify and give me renewed focus.
[06:37] # 1: Reconnect with my vision.
[08:06] # 2: Put a pause on a time-intensive mastermind group I’m part of.
[09:13] # 3: Choose the focus of my social media efforts. I chose LinkedIn as my main social media platform.
[10:24] # 4: Resurrect my Youtube channel.
[12:17] # 5: Stop being distracted by new shiny objects!
[12:59] # 6: Work with a project manager who will manage other specialists’ tasks for the business.
Quotations
“Is this really driving my business forward? If the answer is ‘I’m not sure’ or ‘No’, then we really need to ask ourselves why we’re doing it.” - Rob Da Costa
“Doing something because you’ve always done it is not a good reason to keep doing it!” - Rob Da Costa
“All of the things you’re doing are there to help you win new business and be excellent at client delivery.” - Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Rob Da Costa’s YouTube Channel
- Cloudways (enter AA20 to get a 20% discount off your first 3 months)
- The Self-Running Agency Book
- The Agency Selling System (enter PODCAST10 for a discount)
- Get in touch with Rob at robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
In this episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I am excited to be joined by Michelle and Christian Ewen, owners of Write on Time Ltd, a Public Relations (PR) agency. They have a vision of helping business owners to grow and thrive through positive media coverage and industry awards recognition. This episode is all about PR and how it fits in your marketing strategy.
Time Stamp
[1:39] Michelle and Christian’s story of crossing from journalism into the agency world
[2:45] Deciding factors in starting a PR agency business
[4:52] How Michelle and Christian Ewen found their calling in the middle of the pandemic!
[7:55] Importance of having PR in your marketing strategy.
[9:20] When an established media or publication writes about you, it helps not only to amplify your message but also to strengthen your credibility.
[10:21] If you can get your organization mentioned in an article in a key publication, it is a big help for your SEO strategy.
[11:15] How to measure the effectiveness of your PR marketing strategy
[15:24] How to manage clients in setting the right PR goals for their business
[19:04] Tips and tricks on starting to do PR for your business
[24:32] The Pros and Cons of a husband and wife working together
[31:33] Stay tuned for ‘The 5-Day PR Challenge’ by Michelle and Christian Ewen
[33:25] What advice would Michelle and Christian Ewen give their younger selves?
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Connect with Michelle and Christian Ewen:
- LinkedIn: Michelle; Christian
- Write on Time Ltd
- Upcoming The 5-Day PR Challenge (FREE)
- Cloudways (enter AA20 to get a 20% discount off your first 3 months)
- The Self-Running Agency Book
- The Agency Selling System (enter PODCAST10 for a discount)
- Get in touch with Rob at robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
Today, I want to talk to you all about partnerships. Partnerships are a really smart way for small businesses to win new businesses. They give you reach far beyond your own audience, and managing one relationship can deliver several clients and new leads into your agency.
So in this episode, I want to share with you the two types of partnerships you should be pursuing and some dos and don’ts in finding and managing partners.
Time Stamp
[02:01] Why partnerships are such a good idea
[03:00] The two types of partnerships you should be focused on
[03:44] What are marketing partnerships?
[06:34] What are new business partnerships?
[07:39] How to create your ‘Dream 50 List - a target list of people that you would like to partner with either from a marketing or new business perspective
[08:13] How to work out a strategy to approach your target marketing partners
[12:26] The importance of addressing your potential partner’s fears of getting into the partnership and as well the benefits
[13:18] 5 key benefits of partnerships
[14:07] 5 key fears your potential partner may have
[15:18] Pitfalls to avoid in building partnerships and what to do to avoid these errors
[20:23] Wrap up - Partnerships are a really smart way to reach a much wider audience.
Quotations
“If you have an amazing partner, then they deliver you multiple clients in one year.” - Rob Da Costa
“Your ideal partner is someone who is targeting the same kind of customers that you are trying to reach but they are offering a different product or service.” - Rob Da Costa
“When you’re doing your outreach, you have to answer that question of what’s in it for them.” - Rob Da Costa
“Effort in is less than the results we get out.” - Rob Da Costa
“Partnerships are a really smart way to reach a much wider audience.” - Rob Da Costa
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Cloudways (enter AA20 to get a 20% discount off your first 3 months)
- The Self-Running Agency Book
- The Agency Selling System (enter PODCAST10 for a discount)
- Get in touch with Rob at robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
In this episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I am excited to be joined by Marcel Petitpas and we are discussing everything to do with your agency’s profits, pricing and margins. Another action-packed episode so grab a pen and paper and be sure to take notes!
Time Stamp
[1:02] Let’s start by welcoming Marcel Petitpas, our guest for today’s episode. He is the founder of Parakeeto, which aims to help agencies become more profitable. Parakeeto is a software platform that helps users to create data-driven estimates.
[1:40] The importance of focusing on agency pricing and profitability.
[4:11] At what stage of an agency’s growth should they start implementing time-tracking systems?
[7:06] The importance of understanding your business processes.
[8:05] Pitfalls and tips to early prospect discussions
[14:02] How to maximise profitability of a project
[16:27] How to calculate Adjusted Gross Income (AGI)
[19:07] What are key metrics for agencies to look at? Differentiate between Gross Margin and Average Available Rate.
[25:20] How to make team members more commercial
[28:51] How to implement the Agency Profitability Flywheel in your agency
[33:32] A business paradox: Slow down to speed up
[34:14] What are the best strategies to raise your prices
[35:58] The ideal approach for value-based pricing.
[36:34] Word of advice: “Say YES to things that scare you!”
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Connect with Marcel Petitpas
- www.parakeet.com
- Agency Profitability Flywheel
- The Agency Profit Podcast
- Cloudways (enter AA20 to get a 20% discount off your first 3 months)
- The Self-Running Agency Book
- The Agency Selling System (enter PODCAST10 for a discount)
- Get in touch with Rob at robert@dacostacoaching.co.uk
In this episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I want to talk about how to avoid feast or famine in your agency. I’ve been through it twice myself and was determined there not be a 3rd time! So I developed a series of strategies that I now share with my coaching clients and am sharing some of them with you today.
So in today’s episode, I share 7 strategies to avoid feast or famine.
Time Stamp
[02:00] Let’s start by painting a picture that you will no doubt recognise. It’s all about being stuck on the ‘client service hamster wheel of doom’! But how do you break this cycle and get off the CSHWOD?
[03:17] The bad decisions we make when we are in a space of famine.
[03:45] My experience of being through the feast or famine cycle twice!
[04:45] 7 Strategies to keep a consistent pipeline of new clients coming into your agency
[05:35] Strategy 1: Ringfence time to work on business development
[07:00] Strategy 2: Get clear on your ideal target customer
[08:36] Strategy 3: Get your pricing right
[09:49] Strategy 4: Build a robust biz development plan – do a few things and do them consistently well. Work out how to move them through the sales funnel of KNOW-LIKE-TRUST
[12:40] Strategy 5: Focus on building your mailing list
[14:50] Strategy 6: Build your brand so it's not just you (Your Self-Running Agency)
[16:00] Strategy 7: Delegate as much client-facing work as possible
[17:18] A quick recap of the 7 strategies
[20:04] Outline of how The Agency Selling System can support your business development
STOP PRESS!
I will be running 3 live workshops on "How to Maximise Your Revenue & Profits Using 3 Pricing & Selling Strategies" in early June.
Save your seat here (it's free!)
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“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode.” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Establishing Your Niche (free guide)
- Defining Your Ideal Target Customer (free workbook)
- Cloudways (enter AA20 to get a 20% discount off your first 3 months)
- The Self-Running Agency Book
In this episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I am joined by the founder of RIU Media, Romans Ivanovs.
Romans shares with us how he has been able to build, recruit, and manage his agency by hiring freelancers rather than in-house employees.
Here’s a glance at this episode…
[03:09] Building an agency using freelancers
Starting as a freelancer, Romans has found that hiring freelancers was the best approach to building his team and also the most budget-friendly and low risk!
[05:14] Managing the day-to-day
Romans recognises that being a great leader is the key to successfully growing an agency. You need to be a great delegator and trust your teams to deliver tasks.
[08:49] Recruiting team members
Though it may feel challenging to assess potential freelancers remotely, Romans recommends you take it slow and be diligent. Recruit against competency and fit. Ask yourself, will I get along with this person? Are they a team player?
[12:37] Signing contracts
Whilst signing non-disclosure agreements and contracts is standard, Roman relies on intuition, trust, and verbal agreements. Up until now, it’s safe to assume that this strategy has worked!
[15:18] Measuring and monitoring performance
When managing a remote workforce, it’s vital to be a great communicator. Weekly Zoom calls along with daily messages on Slack help a great deal. The key is to hire people who go the extra mile and are problem solvers.
[19:22] Hiring the next person
We discussed the challenges of growing organically and Romans cited that when the workload has become mentally demanding and too time consuming, this is usually a clear indicator to find the next person.
[21:01] The Future of RIU Media
First and foremost, the priority is to earn more industry credibility. And the only way to do this is by working with bigger, direct consumer brands like magazines or industry influencers. Next up is to open an office in London and build an in-house team.
[22:54] Joining the Mastermind Programme
The opportunity to work with other agencies from a variety of fields is what initially attracted Romans to join The Self-Running Agency implementation Group —especially learning from more established agencies. Realising that everyone struggles with the same issues forms a sense of community and helps you feel like you’re not alone.
STOP PRESS!
I will be running 3 live workshops on "How to Maximise Your Revenue & Profits Using 3 Pricing & Selling Strategies" in early June.
Save your seat here (it's free!)
Subscribe to The Podcast
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode”<– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- RIU MEDIA website
- ROMAN’S LINKEDIN profile
- EMAIL: Romans@RiuMedia.com
- Cloudways (enter AA20 to get a 20% discount off your first 3 months)
In this episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I revisit the topic of pricing. So often agencies focus early sales conversations on time to complete a task or the output of a project (e.g., a website or some copy) rather than the outcome the client is looking for (e.g., improved online presence)
This episode was inspired by a recent story a client shared with me so I share that with you in this episode.
[01:37] Copywriter anecdote; how NOT to deal with a client when you feel you have gone the extra mile?
I share the story of a client who tasked a copywriter to create a new report. They faced an impasse because the copywriter invested an additional ½ day of work from the original 3 days of what was agreed upon. She thought she was going the extra mile by not charging for this half-day whilst the client was disappointed with the quality of the copy!
[04:11] Supplier vs partnership relationships
Starting a relationship by focusing on the outcome of what the client is looking for will create a partnership relationship. Often the supplier might be focused on selling time while the client is focused on the quality of the work, no matter how long it takes to complete. Entering the relationship with a clear vision can then help you price accordingly.
[04:55] The 4 things we sell to our clients:
Inputs, outputs, outcomes, and the long-term impact we have on our client; are the four aspects that must be considered to form a lasting, happy relationship with a client.
[06:23] Long term relationships with clients
Creating long-term relationships with clients means having transparency from the beginning. Have a conversation on what the client is expecting and remember that you are not selling time to the client, you are selling outcomes.
[08:50] Value selling and selling on outcomes
Whilst you need to sell outcomes to clients you still need to manage capacity internally and that means measuring time and efficiency.
[11:05] Why value pricing and value selling is important
A simple message: Whether the time of a procedure takes 30 minutes or 3 hours, the value is contingent on the outcome, not the amount of time it takes to complete.
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency.
Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- The 10-Step Selling Systems to Win Higher Value Clients & Start Increasing Your Profits
- Cloudways
In this episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I am joined by Piccia Neri, a UX expert focusing on human-centred design.
Piccia's goal is to help agencies and developers find success on their website by putting their users at the centre of design.
[00:15] Background on Piccia Neri
[02:55] Mistakes agencies make in design and concept
The first thing to remember is you are not the person you are serving. When you put the client first, you create an engaging experience. Secondly, accessibility. By catering to everyone’s needs and disabilities, you broaden your reach of who you can help.
[04:47] What is human-centred design and what does it mean to be a web designer?
Putting the people that use your products at the centre while humanising the user (i.e., who you are designing and building for). We tend to forget that our websites are the first point of contact with our prospects. You have less than 5 seconds to make a good impression, so make it count!
[08:18] Second biggest mistake; not testing
Seeing as we suffer from ‘proximity blindness’ when working on a project, it is imperative to test and get feedback from our target audience BEFORE we ‘go live’.
[13:55] Using forms as the opportunity to interact with a customer
Just like with websites, forms should be made with accessibility in mind. More often than not, we are excluding people from filling out forms and surveys. Accessibility is the epitome of user-centred design.
[17:08] How to approach design so that it is user-centric
To create a user-centric design, extensive research is required, especially in the beginning. Start by learning how you can help. Also, keep in mind that research is not a linear process, be prepared to go back and forth. Launch early, test, perfect and tweak.
[21:37] What are the expectations of your website and where does it fit in your marketing strategy?
Research needs to starts with asking as many questions as you can to your clients. Why do you need a website? What purpose will it serve? What action do you want the user to take?
[25:34] Designs for Conversion Conference
The purpose of this conference is to help people make fundamental transformations by putting the user at the centre of design. This is the only conference of its kind where designers get to interact with non-designers.
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
Cloudways - website
Piccia - Linkedin profile
Piccia – Twitter profile
Design For Conversions Conference
In this episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I dive into everything you need to know when considering developing and launching a new product or service. From knowing your market to research and product validation, I share all the tools needed to launch a successful product.
Here’s a glance at this episode…
[01:33] Launching a new product or service
Before diving into launching a new product/service it’s important to recognise your reason for doing so. If it’s just to increase revenues, chances are this product will not meet your expectations and you should double down on your existing core services.
[02:36] Two steps to follow when launching a new product:
-
Make sure you are clear about your core product. It is crucial that you must be seen as an expert with your current product before releasing a second one.
-
Make sure you know your market wants it! There’s a big difference between knowing that your market wants something versus thinking they need it. Expanding on your product portfolio directly correlates to meeting market demands.
[05:37] Talking to your marketplace
The only way to understand what your market needs is by researching and speaking with people. A good note to keep in mind is to record all conversations so you can utilise the language being used and identify key pain points that your product can solve.
[08:02] Outlining your minimum viable product/offer
Pre-selling a product before you formally launching is a sure way to discover if people are truly interested, before investing time and effort in developing and launching the full product.
[11:38] Doing your research; two steps
-
Form focus groups to get feedback. From there you can refine the proposition.
-
After the proposition is refined, the 2nd step is to introduce this to your second audience.
[13:02] After going through the research and validations phase:
- Get the product service ready. After you’ve done your research and have validated, now is the time to fully develop the product or service.
2. Think about how you will market and sell. Strategise by going to your existing clients and letting them know this product exists, explain what it does and how it can help you solve any of their pain points. Even if the client is not ready to buy at the moment, email nurturing is a great way to keep in touch with people until they are ready to buy the product.
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I really enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode”<– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Links mentioned in this episode:
· Blog: Pain killers vs Vitamin pills
· Validation Guide
In this episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I am joined by the CEO and co-founder of uGurus, Brent Weaver.
Brent and I had similar beginnings in the agency world. In this episode, Brent shares his journey and we look at how your agency can adapt and grow in 2021.
[03:55] Adaptability, Specialisation, and Authority
In times of global challenge, the only way for agencies to thrive and grow is by adapting (and listening to your clients), specialising, and building authority. Specialise by finding your niche - the more specific, the better, then broaden out over time. To build authority and awareness you should focus on growing your list of subscribers - so when clients are ready to buy, they reach out because you have stayed in touch and continued to provide value.
[07:41] The fear of going niche
Niching is the best way of separating yourself from the crowd and winning more business. Generalised agencies tend to differentiate by pricing (being cheaper than the competition) and overpromising. This is not a sustainable strategy.
[13:30] Stay Focused
It's easy to get distracted by new ways to bring in revenue. These ‘shiny new objects’ will be a distraction from your core services, and if you are not careful you will end up losing income. So get clear on who you are and what you offer and stay focused!
[21:17] The Yes Mentality
Just because you can do it does not mean you should do it. Think of your business as a system. This system can only continue to run well if it is not interrupted by adding in new services that don’t fit in your agency and you don’t have a system for. It's always best to refer these clients elsewhere rather than to make a mistake that may later cost you the client and lost revenue.
[29:27] Getting agency owners to let go
We often find agency owners continue to want to have their hand in every project or be in the know of every detail, but this is not possible if you're going to continue to grow. The only way to let go is by hiring all-star A-players who can do the task better than you!
[34:05] Trends in 2021
The digital ecosystem is here to stay. Post pandemic companies are looking to shift and adapt, and with everything going digital, those who were resisting it before now have no choice but to evolve and grow ….or fail.
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode”<– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
· uGurus website
· Cloudways website
· Brent’s Linkedin profile
· Brent’s Twitter profile
In this episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I share my insights, experiences, and comparison between a reMarkable tablet vs. iPad - specifically what we can learn about their marketing and how it relates to your agency?
Here’s a glance at this episode…
[01:50] Distractions
Like many, I can easily get distracted, so I try to allocate solid chunks of time to focus on specific day-to-day tasks such as working on my group coaching programme content or future strategies.
The problem is when you’re working at your computer, notifications can distract you and there is the temptation to just jump onto the Internet.
[02:26] What is a reMarkable tablet?
I’m going to do a full review in a future episode (due to lots of people asking me about it!) but basically, it mimics the texture and feeling of writing on a paper without all the distractions of a multi-functional iPad.
[02:40] Reason for Purchase
I had 3 three reasons/goals for purchasing the tablet:
- To get more organised
- To get rid of paper & become paper-free
- To be more efficient
[03:45] reMarkable vs. iPad
I have an iPad and love it. It is a great device – it does many things & does them pretty well. On the other hand, the reMarkable tablet only does one thing & tries to be the best in the market at doing it. It is a replacement for a notebook for taking notes.
[04:27] Generalist Agency vs. Niche Agency
How does this relate to your agency?
Well, the comparison between a reMarkable & iPad is very similar to the age-old debate about a generalist agency vs a niched agency.
The price of a reMarkable is the same as an iPad, so why would you spend the same money on a device that does less? Well just like a niched agency, it does it better than a generalist. The niched agency understands its client’s pain & provides solutions to solve that pain - backed by tons of experience.
[07:12] Thoughts on your Niche
As I outline in my book (link below to grab your free copy). When you think of your niche, you can cut it in four ways:
- By geography
- By industry
- By deliverable or service
- By the problem you solve
[09:13] Using reMarkable
I use the reMarkable to take notes, e.g.
- When writing a podcast
- Client notes
- Working on strategy
- And to get something out of my head!
[10:04] Translating notes into text
As long as your writing is not like a doctor’s scribble, you are good to go. The reMarkable will translate your handwriting into text.
[11:42] Be like a reMarkable
The reMarkable is a device aimed at people who want to focus on one thing, and it enables you to do that really well. Just as your agency should!
If you are niched and tempted to broaden your services, only do it once you have dived deep on the core product that you already have—unless you bring the skills, systems, and a new area that can be scaled, you will never grow your agency, just dilute your focus.
So be like a reMarkable; focus on one thing, do it well, and be the market leader before you start diversifying!
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I really enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode”<– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Links mentioned in this episode:
Website: https://www.dacostacoaching.co.uk/
Grab a copy of my book (for free): The Self-Running Agency
Buy the reMarkable: https://reMarkable.com/
Listen to more episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast on:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Website
In today’s show, I am chatting with Sam Wright, MD & Founder of Blink SEO.
It is the first Customer Spotlight, where I talk to one of my clients about some of the challenges they’re facing, the lessons learned & their goals, so that you can learn from their business experience.
Sam leads a team of 9 specialists at Blink, an eCommerce SEO digital agency.
Here’s a glance at this episode…
[01:37] Why did you start your agency?
Before starting Blink, Sam worked in B2B publishing, producing online content. His transition into agency work was almost accidental.
[06:37] Why did you decide to reach out to Rob?
A lack of direction & a lack of identity led Sam to work with Rob.
He had engaged with generalist advisors in the past but their advice tended to be too generic & therefore not all that useful.
Certain challenges need practical advice based on real experience.
[09:19] Having a lack of direction can lead to frustration. How did that influence Blink’s business?
A lack of direction influences day-to-day decision-making-from which people to hire, time management, and which projects take on.
[10:20] What is the benefit of being part of a group coaching programme?
Since everyone in the group is in the same boat, group coaching provides a great sounding board to hear different approaches and opinions.
Knowing that there are others in a similar position can also be reassuring, especially in a relatively isolated job.
[11:56] What are your goals & aspirations for 2021?
2020 wasn’t all terrible for Blink – we’ve managed to double in size and grow the team. So our goal for 2021 is to grow by another 50% & become a leader in our sector.
[13:00] What are some of the growing pains that Blink has gone through? And what do you attribute your rapid growth to?
Team organisation is a challenge - with hybrid roles across most of the team, so should we bring in specialists instead?
The hiring process is also can take many months. This means that you have to be able to predict where the business will be in 6 months.
Sam attributes the rapid growth to finding and focusing on clients that are the best fit - understand their pain points and focus on solving those. They also have several long-term clients, a good referral pipeline, and there’s an emphasis on quality and effective communication.
[17:11] What are some biz dev strategies that led to the 100% year-on-year growth?
Initially, our business development was based on referrals. Now we focus mainly on inbound marketing. We have also hired a marketing manager to work on Blink as a brand.
Sam has tried doing outsourced outbound sales but it has proven not to be anywhere near as effective as inbound.
[21:19] Looking 5 years ahead, what is the future for Blink?
Sam’s ambitions aren’t to grow too large. His goal is to become an industry leader in their niche whilst remaining a boutique agency.
[22:13] My program & book are called “The Self-Running Agency.” How close is Blink to becoming more autonomous than it is now?
The business is certainly closer to that than it was when it started thanks to you and your programme Rob!
Sam will be able to test out exactly how close it is in June when he takes some time off to welcome his new child into the world!
[23:43] What advice would you give your younger self?
Get yourself a mentor! Doing it on your own is possible, but having others around with expertise will make the process happen more quickly.
Useful Links:
· Blink SEO Website
· Sam Wright’s LinkedIn Profile
· The Self-Running Agency Coaching programme
· Da Costa Coaching Website
Subscribe & Review
Please consider reviewing my show
Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to
rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast.
In this episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I discuss why, when you're buying a software or a product online, you are offered three price points, with the middle one being highlighted as the most popular one.
I unpack that and help you increase your prices to get your clients to pay what you are truly worth.
Here's a glance at this episode.
[00:48] Frustrations
Many agencies struggle to get their pricing right. They are frustrated that they are not as profitable as they would like to be and are not constantly hitting their margin targets.
[01:31] Three Typical Ways Agencies Charge You
- Selling your time. This is where you are exchanging money for your time, usually through charging by the hour or day. The flaw in this approach is that it encourages the client to focus on the wrong thing i.e., how you spent the hour rather than the outcome of the work you are delivering!
- Having a fixed project fee. This is where you estimate the project's cost at the beginning based on the scope of work agreed with the client and consequently the number of hours you estimate it will take to deliver the scope of work. You agree to a fixed fee based on these hours. The potential flaw with this approach is that the product's brief and scope can change and evolve. To please the client, you end up over-servicing them - cutting your margins.
- The retainer concept. This is where you agree on a set fee for each month and agree on the scope of work included within that fee. The potential challenge is that the client believes they have unlimited access to you because you are on the retainer.
[8:43] Focusing on the Right Things
I share three pieces of advice when it comes to pricing a project.
- Ensure that you understand the ultimate goal and price against the outcomes and impacts and not the bits and bytes you do for your client.
- Use three price points in your proposal. The high price point sets the higher anchor point; the lowest price sets the negative anchor point, which leads to the client buying the middle price point (and that leads you to achieve the price for the service you hope for).
- Put a contingency pot in place with your clients when you are setting the project's scope. If you have a £10,000 project, ask the client to put aside an additional 15% as a contingency pot. Then if you are asked to do something outside the agreed scope, you can call upon this money.
[15:30] Having the Right Mindset
Having the right mindset is crucial and can be the most significant battle you have around pricing! If you think this does not work for you, it does. We often tell ourselves stories about how the client will react to a certain price point or price increase and this stops us from changing our pricing. We just need to realise that they are stories and not facts!
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
“I really enjoy listening to The Agency Accelerator Podcast. I always learn something from every episode”<– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people — just like you — move towards a Self-Running Agency. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Subscribe now!
Links mentioned in this episode:
Website: https://www.dacostacoaching.co.uk/
Grab a copy of my book (for free): The Self-Running Agency
Download my book on value pricing & selling
Listen to more episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast on:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Website
Has Covid forced your team to work from home?
Struggling to manage a remote workforce? Read on…
In today’s episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, we are exploring managing a remote workforce and discussing some of the things we need to do to keep our staff motivated and connected.
I’m really excited to have Melanie Coeshott join me today to talk about this really important topic, so let’s get on with today’s show!
Melanie is a career coach who operates under the Blue Diamond brand. She primarily works with individuals who are looking to make a change in some capacity. She also works with companies who bring her into work with one or a team of their employees.
How To Manage a Remote Workforce
05:00 Covid has forced many businesses to work from home and completely change how we run things. How do we manage our staff and help them stay connected to our businesses when working remotely?
10:23 Is working from home really better than in an office? Without a good working environment, is it hard to be productive and focus?
12:14 What have successful leaders and employees learnt to do differently during the pandemic? Without self-awareness and awareness of your team, it’s very difficult to navigate this new way of doing business.
16:22 What are the duties of the employer, and of the employee in regards to a remote work environment?
18:00 Many of us have suffered from mental health challenges during the lockdown. Organisations need to be understanding of this, and cannot take a "one size fits all" approach.
25:15 What will things look like a year from now? Many of the things we have learned from the pandemic will remain a permanent part of our everyday business.
28:37 We need to understand our team members as individuals, they need to feel valued, and respected. What else are staff looking for from their employers in terms of benefits, environment and opportunity?
32:00 What do you do to keep your staff motivated if there is no room for promotion?
There will always be staff that we cannot retain, and we need to learn that sometimes we do have to let people go. What do we do when there is a finite path to progression in a particular role?
Useful links:
Download the Recruitment & Retention Book
Blue Diamond Career Coach
Download my eBook on Recruitment and Retention
Download The Self-Running Implementation Book
Subscribe & Review
Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you’re not, please do so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
You can subscribe/follow on Apple, Spotify or directly from my website.
I would be very grateful if you left me a review too as they will help other people to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much and see you next week!
Rob
Ready to hire your first member of staff and expand your agency? Read on…
In today’s episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I am talking all about hiring your first member of staff. I have seen the 'good, the bad, and the ugly' of recruiting: how not to do this, make this a very expensive mistake and how to find the perfect fit candidate.
So today we will be exploring:
- When you should hire your first member of staff.
- Whether it should be a freelancer or an in-house member of staff.
- Some of the processes you need to follow in order to make sure you are giving yourself the best chance for you to find the right person and for them to be successful.
How To Recruit Your First Member Of Staff
02:00 Feeling like you need an extra pair of hands for your agency? You need a documented vision outlining where you want your agency to head, and the triggers to hiring team members.
02:51 Hiring freelancers comes with pros and cons. Can they fit into the culture of your business and do they see your vision?
05:36 Wondering if hiring a freelancer is the right move for you? There are two times where you might need to use freelance staff.
07:18 Create clear roles and responsibilities in order to find the right person for your agency.
11:18 Once you’ve hired someone that isn’t the end of the problem, but the start of the journey. Are you prepared to spend time getting your new member of staff up to speed and embedded into your agency?
14:30 You need to set smart time-bound objectives, as well as giving feedback to make sure that your new member of staff develops in their role.
Useful links:
Download the Recruitment app & Retention Book
*BRAND NEW AGENCY TRAINING***
3 strategies to fill your pipeline with ideal leads in just 90-days
Save Your Seat here: https://buff.ly/3p6lmeG
Download The Self-Running Implementation Book
Subscribe & Review
Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you’re not, please do so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
You can subscribe/follow on Apple, Spotify or directly from my website.
I would be very grateful if you left me a review too as they will help other people to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much and see you next week!
Rob
In today’s episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I am chatting with Steve Slotow from Globital Marketing.
We are talking about everything to do with resourcing and working with white label partners:
- how to pick a partner
- when you should outsource and
- why you should outsource.
This is another actioned-packed episode with lots of practical tips and guidance.
Show Notes
01:20 Steve introduces himself and Globital Marketing
05:14 What are the benefits of working with partners vs hiring in-house talent to grow your business?
10:40 How broad should your agency's offering be?
15:20 Why it's important to have clarity on the direction of your agency
16:40 How to ensure a white label partner provides quality deliverables; managing quality assurance
21:12 Tips for agencies to find outsourcing partners
26:21 Steve’s thoughts on upcoming trends for agencies
29:34 Steve’s business advice to his younger self
Useful links:
Globital Marketing
The Digital Marketing Dream Team
The Digital Marketing Collective
Steve's Instagram
Contact steve: sslotow@globitalmarketing.com
*BRAND NEW AGENCY TRAINING***
3 strategies to fill your pipeline with ideal leads in just 90-days
Save Your Seat here: https://buff.ly/3p6lmeG
Download The Self-Running Implementation Book
Subscribe & Review
Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you’re not, please do so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
You can subscribe/follow on Apple, Spotify or directly from my website.
I would be very grateful if you left me a review too as they will help other people to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much and see you next week!
Rob
In today's episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I am talking about everything to do with delegation.
This is an important topic, whether you have a one-person agency or have a team of 20+, and something so many leaders and managers do poorly - after all, we are rarely trained in the art of delegation!
This episode is packed with practical and actionable tips to help you further your agency's development and success.
Time Stamp
01:52 The concept of a 'notional hourly rate'
02:49 The 4 D’s: Ditch, Delegate, Defer, Do it
03:42 Automating tasks
04:17 Why we don’t delegate
08:32 The 9-steps to effective delegation
Useful links:
Download The Art of Delegation Book
BRAND NEW AGENCY TRAINING
3 strategies to fill your pipeline with ideal leads in just 90-days
Save Your Seat here: https://buff.ly/3p6lmeG
Download The Self-Running Implementation Book
Subscribe & Review
Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you’re not, please do so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
You can subscribe/follow on Apple, Spotify or directly from my website.
I would be very grateful if you left me a review too as they will help other people to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much and see you next week!
Rob
In today's episode of 'The Agency Accelerator Podcast’, I get together with Miranda Birch, founder of Miranda Birch Media; a company helping business tell stories to better engage with their clients. Today we talk all about the importance of storytelling in your marketing and also the value of great customer testimonials. This episode is packed with actionable items, so I know you're going to find it really useful and insightful.
Time Stamp
01:22 Miranda Birch introduces herself, her background, and why she loves stories
03:01 The power of storytelling for agencies wanting to connect with potential and existing clients
06:07 What makes a good story
08:17 The role of customer testimonials in an agency’s sales process
13:28 The best format for testimonials
14:50 How to maximise the value of a video testimonial
16:14 What point should an agency approach a client for a testimonial
21:25 What to do when a client does not want their name published in relation to a testimonial
24:20 The do’s and don’ts of getting, interviewing and creating testimonials
26:15 Miranda’s new online courses about testimonials and how to capture stories that convert
32:38 The benefits of getting in front of the camera
35:40 Miranda’s advice to her younger self starting out in business
Useful links:
BRAND NEW AGENCY TRAINING
3 Sales Strategies That Work!
How to fill your pipeline with ideal leads in just 90-days
Save Your Seat here: https://buff.ly/3p6lmeG
Useful links:
Miranda Birch Media
Attract more clients with 10 minute testimonials with Miranda Birch
Miranda's email series: Pick My Brain
Connect with Miranda on LinkedIn
Download The Self-Running Implementation Book
Download The Lead Generation System Book
Download The Strategic Email Marketing That Gets Results Book
Join my Facebook group ‘The Agency Accelerator’
Download the 'Creating A Sustainable & Profitable Agency' book
Subscribe & Review
Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you’re not, please do so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
You can subscribe/follow on Apple, Spotify or directly from my website.
I would be very grateful if you left me a review too as they will help other people to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much and see you next week!
Rob
In today’s episode of ‘The Agency Accelerator Podcast,’ I am revisiting a topic which I spoke about at the beginning of last year; email marketing. If you want a robust business development strategy that delivers a continuous source of ideal leads, then email marketing should be at the top of your agenda.
Time Stamp
01:22 The importance of email marketing
03:02 The importance of building your social media profiles and moving your followers into your email list
04:54 The 8 do’s of email marketing
10:11 The 8 don’ts of email marketing
15:40 Focussing on the growth of your email list
Useful links:
BRAND NEW AGENCY TRAINING
3 Sales Strategies That Work!
How to fill your pipeline with ideal leads in just 90-days
Save Your Seat here: https://buff.ly/3p6lmeG
Download The Lead Generation System Book
Download The Strategic Email Marketing That Gets Results Book
Download The Self-Running Implementation Book
Join my Facebook group ‘The Agency Accelerator’
Download the 'Creating A Sustainable & Profitable Agency' book
Subscribe & Review
Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you’re not, please do so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
You can subscribe/follow on Apple, Spotify or directly from my website.
I would be very grateful if you left me a review too as they will help other people to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much and see you next week!
Rob
In today's episode of the Agency Accelerator Podcast, I’m really excited to have this week's guest, Lucy Snell with me.
We’re talking everything to do with business development and some of the dos and don'ts of things you should and shouldn't be doing in your agency in 2021.
Time Stamp
01:05 Lucy introduces herself and her background
05:22 Why business development is a longterm game
09:42 Trends that happened for agencies in 2020
12:31 The difference between an agency that really succeeded last year and an agency that has stumbled or even failed
16:34 Using email as a tool for business development
20:46 The ‘Client Service Hamster Wheel of Doom’
22:17 What agencies should be doing this year from a business development perspective
25:27 Finding things that work and engage with your target audience
27:50 Things that agencies should not be doing this year from a business development perspective
32:30 The ‘Mastermind Group Coaching’ programme
Useful links:
BRAND NEW AGENCY TRAINING
3 Sales Strategies That Work!
How to fill your pipeline with ideal leads in just 90-days
Save Your Seat here: https://buff.ly/3p6lmeG
Cherry Business Consulting
Lucy Snell Online
Download The Self-Running Implementation Book
Join my Facebook group ‘The Agency Accelerator’
Download the 'Creating A Sustainable & Profitable Agency' book
Subscribe & Review
Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you’re not, please do so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
You can subscribe/follow on Apple, Spotify or directly from my website.
I would be very grateful if you left me a review too as they will help other people to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much and see you next week!
Rob
My business development strategy using LinkedIn
In today’s episode I am talking all about LinkedIn and specifically exactly what my LinkedIn strategy is and why I think if you are in a B2B space, it is the most important social media platform you can use.
Time Stamp
01:16 The dos and don’ts of using LinkedIn for business development and outreach
01:29 Treating LinkedIn as a sales funnel
03:16 Finding who your ideal target customer is on LinkedIn
05:05 Strategic posting on LinkedIn
05:50 Investing time into LinkedIn on a regular basis
06:30 Keeping your connections clean
07:26 The balance of 80/20 and what that means
Useful links:
BRAND NEW AGENCY TRAINING
3 Sales Strategies That Work!
How to fill your pipeline with ideal leads in just 90-days
Save Your Seat here: https://training.dacostacoaching.co.uk/webinar
Download The Self-Running Implementation Book
Join my Facebook group ‘The Agency Accelerator’
Download the 'Creating A Sustainable & Profitable Agency' book
Subscribe & Review
Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you’re not, please do so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
You can subscribe/follow on Apple, Spotify or directly from my website.
I would be very grateful if you left me a review too as they will help other
people to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks
so much.
Rob
In today’s episode of the agency accelerator podcast I’m extremely excited to have John Ashton with me.
John is the founder of copywriting agency, ‘Write Arm’, he has written a book, ‘The Kitchen Table Method’, and is also the mastermind behind the ‘Kitchen Table Community’ concept.
Time Stamp
01:05 John gives his thoughts on many people starting their freelance journey in 2020
07:24 John explains what the ‘Kitchen Table’ method is
11:06 Why culture is so important for your business
14:43 How to maintain your culture as your agency grows
19:42 Growing an agency solely with freelancers
24:50 What is ‘’The Kitchen Table Community’?
32:00 John’s piece of advice to his younger self
Useful links:
Sign up for my FREE live Masterclass
Download The Self-Running Implementation Book
Join my Facebook group ‘The Agency Accelerator’
Download the 'Creating A Sustainable & Profitable Agency' book
The 'Kitchen Table Community'
John's copywriting and content writing agency: Write Arm
Subscribe & Review
Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you’re not, please do so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
You can subscribe/follow on Apple, Spotify or directly from my website.
I would be very grateful if you left me a review too as they will help other people to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much.
Rob
Good riddance to 2020, I am looking forward to a happier and more balanced 2021. Let’s not take for granted all the freedoms that we had pre-2020, once we start getting them back this year – fingers crossed!
In today’s episode, I talk about having a plan for the year, as well as putting a robust business development strategy in place so you can get a consistent pipeline of leads, prospects and new clients – and you don’t need to rely on word-of-mouth and referrals.
Time Stamp
01:34 Two key areas to have in place in order to take back control and get a better work-life balance
02:00 How to get a plan in place for the year ahead
04:40 The 7 areas that your plan should incorporate
07:00 How to break down your plan into quarters
08:03 Breaking your quarterly strategies into a monthly plan
08:49 The importance of your plans being dynamic
10:00 Why you need a consistent pipeline of leads, prospects and new customers for your plan to work
11:05 The foundations of creating your pipeline
Useful links:
Sign up for my FREE live Masterclass
Download The Self-Running Implementation Book
Join my Facebook group ‘The Agency Accelerator’
Download the 'Creating A Sustainable & Profitable Agency' book
Subscribe & Review
Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you’re not, please do so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
You can subscribe/follow on Apple, Spotify or directly from my website.
I would be very grateful if you left me a review too as they will help other people to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much.
Rob
We made it to Episode 50!
In this episode of ‘The Agency Accelerator’ podcast, I am joined by the extremely talented and savvy Lee Jackson.
Lee is our first-ever repeat guest, and today he will be sharing with us his insights into what he sees coming down the road in 2021.
The last time we spoke, Lee joined us in Episode 10 of the podcast, where we were talking about growth and transformation.
If you haven’t listened to that episode, Lee helps web agencies fall back in love with their businesses, he runs ‘Agency Transformation Live’, is the co-founder of Events Engine, and if that wasn’t enough he is also the host of the ‘Agency Trailblazer’ podcast.
Time Stamp
02:00 What are the typical trends you’ve seen happening this year with agencies?
02:07 Most agencies have been surprised that they have been able to continue throughout 2020!
02:45 For most agencies, their clients reached out for help
03:07 Agencies helped clients move from the physical to the digital space
03:56 Some agencies thought they could hibernate and tread water, and some agencies were afraid to sell their services because they thought it was in bad taste!
04:38 Small businesses struggling to sell things online
05:32 A digital renaissance - businesses are realising that being online is imperative
06:05 Two aspects: technology and marketing
07:58 Using social media to build a new audience of consumers
08:34 People working out how to pivot
10:00 Lee’s clients are events organisers - they have embraced online and created incredible digital experiences
14:32 If you can really understand what your clients what to achieve, you should be getting out there and helping them
15:25 Lee tells us more about the 2021 ‘Digital Renaissance’
16:26 Businesses will start focussing on what’s important
16:40 One of Lee’s agencies is going full virtual now
17:10 Lee is still concerned about the high street and thinks they might still struggle in 2021, but he thinks the high street will also change and more service-based businesses will appear
18:30 Many entrepreneurs get seduced by starting projects and not finishing them. How will agencies figure out what is important?
19:13 To start a business you need to work out your identity, then your values, the message and output. If you look at 2020, think about what your strengths, missions and passions are. Who are you helping and what are you solving?
21:37 The importance of niching
25:00 Not everyone can start an agency, there’s a lot of fake competition tarnishing the industry
25:55 Marked increase in the low cost of entry in the industry
27:18 Lee, if you could go back in time and give your younger self a piece of advice, what would it be?
Useful links:
Download The Self-Running Implementation Book
Join my Facebook group ‘The Agency Accelerator’
Subscribe & Review
Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you’re not, please do so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
You can subscribe/follow on Apple, Spotify or directly from my website.
I would be very grateful if you left me a review too as they will help other people to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much.
Rob
In today’s episode, I share with you the lessons that I learned and the key changes I made to my business in 2020. Hopefully, you can take some things away and apply them to your agency as well.
In Episode 39 I spoke with Jim James about virtualising your agency. Before that interview, I held the strong opinion that you cannot build your agency using freelancers or virtual staff because it’s like building an agency on quicksand.
To an extent, I do still believe that; however, both Jim James and John Ashton (who will be making an appearance in an upcoming episode) both talk about how you can build an agency using staff who are spread all over the world - some virtual, and some freelance.
After talking to them I have definitely become more open to the idea and have realised that it is not necessarily so black and white. Using virtual or freelance staff allows you to be more nimble and adapt to changes as your agency grows.
I truly hope that this podcast has helped to change your thinking in some way too. Whether from something I or one of my guests has said. If that’s the case, then I am definitely achieving my goals for recording these podcasts.
So without further ado...
Time Stamp
4:10 The 5 Key Lessons I Learned From 2020:
5:53 The pandemic differentiated three types of agency:
- Those who panicked and cut costs
- Those who did nothing as they thought it would just be a short-term challenge
- Those who were nimble and thought about how they needed to change and adapt
6:16 Pivoting doesn’t mean drastically changing what you do; but rather, tilting your axis to adapt to your climate.
7:26 In order to pivot you need to really listen to your audience. Don’t just make assumptions.
8:16 DON’T cut your prices!
9:09 2020 taught us that you need a plan, and that plan needs to be dynamic.
10:58 The 5 Good Habits I Put In Place In 2020:
11:06 I learned to delegate more.
11:34 I learned to automate more.
12:39 Got more focussed - doing more of what works, and less of what doesn’t work.
13:13 I did more of what I enjoy, and less of what I don’t enjoy.
14:00 Paid more attention to my mailing list.
14:45 My 5 Bad Habits of 2020:
15:00 I didn’t have good boundaries during the pandemic.
15:25 I worked WAY too much.
15:40 I headed towards burnout at the end of the year.
16:26 I said ‘yes’ to everything - need to learn how to say ‘no’.
17:10 Seduced by shiny new products that are irrelevant to my goals and audience.
18:51 Finally, I’d like to talk about my goals and hopes for this year. Not necessarily ‘new year’s resolutions’, but at least some targets to strive towards in 2021.
19:05 Delegate more.
19:28 Use data to help me make better decisions.
20:08 Focus on building my Facebook community - you can join here!
20:38 Focus on doing less, but doing it better.
21:50 Improve my work-life balance.
22:52 I think it’s a great idea to have a record of all of this. At least I can always go back to this podcast and see where I am at in regards to my goals, and how this year is different from the last.
22:16 I hope that me sharing my experiences of 2020 will help you to approach this new year in a positive light, and encourage you to take control of your own destiny in 2021. Touch wood this year will be focussed, rewarding and provide us with a great work-life balance.
Useful links:
Download The Self-Running Implementation Book
Join my Facebook group ‘The Agency Accelerator’
Download the 'Creating A Sustainable & Profitable Agency' Book
Subscribe & Review
Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you’re not, please do so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
You can subscribe/follow on Apple, Spotify or directly from my website.
I would be very grateful if you left me a review too as they will help other people to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much.
Rob
As this challenging year draws to a close we are all starting to put our plans in place for 2021 and no doubt those plans are going to be more positive and ambitious than this year.
It finally feels like we have some control again!
Of course, your 2021 plan needs to be much more than a finance and staffing plan. You need to be looking at all areas of your agency including:
- Culture
- Finance
- Marketing
- New business/sales
- People
- Clients
- Market
- Product
- Systems & processes
The list goes on!
Here are my 5 tips for creating a living plan that gets delivered:
- Get your senior team (if you have one) to support you in the development and delivery of this plan (if you don’t have a team, my advice is to get some help so you are not creating and delivering this plan alone)
- Break down the plan from 1-year objectives to quarterly goals to a monthly detailed plan
- Each part of the plan (year, quarter, month) should have no more than 7 goals or projects (7 or less is the magic number)
- Set yourself the challenge of never carrying a task from one period to the next. So always be asking yourself “where will I be by the end of this period with this particular task?” and that becomes your objective (and of course make them SMART)
- Review your plan at least once a month and amend it based on what you know today that you didn’t know yesterday. If this year has taught us anything, it’s that our plans must be dynamic and never cast in stone
Links mentioned in the episode
Join my FREE business development Masterclass. Register here.
If you want more ideas and details on growing your scaleable agency then download my FREE ebook "Creating A Scalable & Sustainable Agency"
Subscribe & Review
Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you’re not, please do so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
You can subscribe/follow on Apple, Spotify or directly from my website.
I would be very grateful if you left me a review too as they will help other people to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much.
Rob
I am pleased to have Remeny Armitage from Brilliant and Human with me on the podcast today.
Remeny's business interviews your clients to enable you to build stronger relationships and create client advocates.
In this episode we talk about the process, the benefits and what you should start doing now (if you are not already).
Time Stamp
1;45 How Remeny helps her clients
2:10 Insights into how you can better serve your clients
2:55 What are the typical themes you hear when you are getting feedback from your client’s clients. The 3 recurring themes
4:00 What is the impact you have on your clients by talking with their clients/
5.38 It’s amazing what people will tell a stranger with no agenda. Clients are always happy to have the opportunity to give objective feedback that they know will be listened to
6:50 Example of a digital marketing agency that listened to their client feedback and made changes that resulted in a 40% increase in profits
7.27 What is the typical pain that an agency has when they reach out to you? Usually, client retention but what else?
09.05 Avoid adopting the utilities or mobile phone business model!
9.33 Understanding your niche and ideal target client: talk to clients to understand why they purchased from you – you might be surprised at their responses!
11:10 Ensure you understand why your clients stay with you and what they value from you. Also, understand what the bottlenecks are (e.g., is the owner the issue?)
12:00 How often should an agency get 360 feedback from their clients? Putting a client advocacy process in place
13:00 The risks of not seeking feedback from your clients regularly
14:00 When you win a new client it’s a great time to interview and understand and find out why they have bought from us
15:38 Learning about why you lost a pitch
18:40 Are you willing to hear and action the honest feedback you get from your clients?
19:40 Have you seen any changes between client and customer interaction during the strange year?
21:35 The importance of relationships and working in partnership with your clients
22:45 Final tips on retaining clients and making them into advocates
24:30 If you could go back in time and give your younger business self one piece of advice, what would it be?
Remeny’s contact details
Brilliant and human website
Remeny's Linkedin profile
Subscribe & Review
Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you’re not, please do so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
You can subscribe/follow on Apple, Spotify or directly from my website.
I would be very grateful if you left me a review too as they will help other people to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much.
Welcome to The Agency Accelerator’s annual wrap-up of my favourite tools of 2020.
In this episode, I discuss the importance of making each and every hour as productive as possible by utilising a range of brilliant tools and apps that will save you HOURS each week.
Remember – Ditch it, Delegate it, Defer it, Do it, or…..automate it! We are talking all things productivity in this podcast.
So I am going to cover 20 or so of my favourite tools. In case you want to skip forward, here is a handy timestamped guide for each tool. Also don’t forget to download my handy cheatsheet (listed at the end).
3:51 Kartra
4:31 Groove pages
7:08 Zoom
7:27 Loom
8:33 Livewebinar
10:42 Vimeo
11:50 Canva
12:17 Designrr
12:51Thrive Architect
14:05 ConverKit
15:38 LinkedHelper
16:30 RocketReach
16:59 Dictation
18:25 Xero
18:40 ReceiptBank
19:32 Google Drive
20:22 Amazing Marvin
21:27 Toby
If you want a detailed outline of all the tools I reviewed in this podcast then grab a copy of my free cheatsheet which outlines each tool in detail together with pricing and website info.
Subscribe & Review
Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you’re not, please do so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
You can subscribe/follow on Apple, Spotify or directly from my website.
I would be very grateful if you left me a review too as they will help other people to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much.
In today’s episode of the podcast we are talking all things CRM and marketing automation.
I am excited to have Lindsey Pickles from Bright Dials on the podcast. Bright Dials helps companies get to grips with their customer data by implementing customer relationship management (CRM) systems and marketing automation tools as well as the processes to support their successful use.
Time stamp
1.03 Who is Bright Dials?
1.35 Definition and difference of a CRM and marketing automation system
2.34 Why is it so important for companies to implement CRM and Marketing automation?
3.10 What would you say to someone who doesn’t have a CRM in place and doesn’t have customer data stored in one place?
5.27 How do you start untangling where they are at right now and what they need?
8.40 What does volume costs mean?
9.35 At what stage should an agency start investing in CRM and automation?
10.24 Efficiency gains from using these tools
11:55 Understanding your numbers and data
13:00 How do you select the best tools
14:14 What is your view on one tool that can do it all rather than using individual tools and integrating them together?
16:36 Example tools you can use
18:49 If you are new, what should you do next?
20:10 Customer journey mapping
22:45 closing the leaky bucket
23:00 If you could go back in time and give your younger self, just starting out in business, one piece of advice, what would it be?
Useful links:
You can contact Lindsey:
Website: www.brightdials.com
Terminology guide
Download The Self-Running Implementation Book
Subscribe & Review
Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you’re not, please do so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
You can subscribe/follow on Apple, Spotify or directly from my website.
I would be very grateful if you left me a review too as they will help other people to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much.
In today’s episode we wrap up this mini-series on business development.
Today my focus on is why you shouldn’t rely on referrals and word of mouth for new business – especially in the current environment. I explore how to build proactive campaigns that engage with your target audience and move them through the sales process until they become a client.
Time stamp
1:10 Why doesn’t word of mouth referrals work as your major form of business development
1:35 The impact of remote working
2:00 The risk of relying on one form of new business
3:00 Most business development strategies have a medium to long term impact
3:30 One short term business development strategies strategy
4:00 The key is consistency and persistence
4:44 The importance of focus
5:00 My own experience with this podcast
5:50 The importance of niche and defining your ideal target customer
6:00 Meeting your audience where they are at
8:00 Addressing your ideal target customer’s “pains and gains”
8:25 Nurturing content
8:5 0 The 3 stages of your sales funnel
9:14 Don’t expect results in the short term but you need to start today!
10:08 Should you outsource business development?
11:15 Nurturing referrals and word of mouth
Useful links:
eBook: Defining You Ideal Target Customer
eBook: Finding Your Niche
Download The Self-Running Implementation Book
Subscribe & Review
Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you’re not, please do so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
You can subscribe/follow on Apple, Spotify or directly from my website.
I would be very grateful if you left me a review too as they will help other people to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much.
In part 2 of the business development interviews, we chat about what is working and what isn't working in this new predominantly online world of doing business.
We explore some mistakes that agencies are making and how to avoid them.
Time stamp
1.05 Introduction to this week’s guest, Darrly Sparey from Hardnumbers
2.21 What changes have you seen in the business development landscape in 2020?
3.20 Why you should not be embarrassed to sell
4.00 Don’t make it about you!
5.08 Earning the right to sell to your audience
6.14 Applying a similar right approach to your website
8.10 Where does your website fit in the sales process
9.10 How you present yourself to a prospective client
9.42 Your point of difference
11:25 The Ideal Customer Profile
12:25 Should I be selling in this challenging time?
14:45 Why you should not be cutting your marketing budget right now!
15.39 As an agency owner, what should you focus your money and time on?
16:18 Create a list of your dream clients
17:00 Don’t just focus on existing clients
17:43 What does building relationships look like in this new ‘online’ world?
18:45 Using communities to build relationships
19:44 What is working and what isn’t working right now?
20:20 We are not working from home we are living at work
21:20 Be an enabler for networking for your clients & prospects
23:10 The benefits of being in a group/community
23:36 How do you cut through the online noise?
25:46 What is the one thing you would not recommend agencies doing right now
26:45 Consistency and persistence is key
28:45 Make your business development time non-negotiable
29:25 Revenue, strategy and admin
30:00 The importance of a CRM system
31:00 What advice would you give your younger self?
32:30 What is your notional hourly rate?
Useful links:
You can contact Darryl via Twitter @darryls and @hardnumbers
eBook: Defining You Ideal Target Customer
eBook: Finding Your Niche
Download The Self-Running Implementation Book
Subscribe & Review
Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you’re not, please do so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
You can subscribe/follow on Apple, Spotify or directly from my website.
I would be very grateful if you left me a review too as they will help other people to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much.
It drives me crazy that so many websites fail to truly serve their audience, so much so that I decided to record a episode of the podcast on this topic.
I recently posted on LinkedIn about this and it generated lots of opinion including some conflicting viewpoints to my own which I always love and show that this is an important topic.
If you follow my podcast or regularly read these emails you will know I am a big fan of making your website the “centre of your marketing and business development universe” and that means all of the various biz dev activities, such as email marketing and social media, should drive traffic to your website and then when the reader gets there, it should be really clear about the action you want them to take next. It also means making your website more than just 'brochureware'.
Yet most websites fail to do this.....
Instead, so many marketing agencies pay little attention to their website but rather make it look the same as their competition following the same old designs. For example, they start off by saying how great THEY are & what THEY can do for YOU!
This is a typical website header (taken from a random agency website I found on google):
We’re a creative design consultancy. For fifteen years we’ve been creating and redefining brands, helping our clients stand out and be more successful
Let's explore what is wrong with this:
-
Your website should very quickly demonstrate who it is aimed at & show that you understand your audience so that it motivates the viewer to want to read on. So talking about what you do at this stage, is completely wrong! And this headline gives no clue as to who they help.
-
If your website is full of 'We' then you need to change your language to make it about YOUR CUSTOMER, not YOU (at least at first).
-
The “above the fold real estate” of your website is super valuable & you want to make it clear what you want your reader to do next. That usually means adding in a button to download something of value (e.g. an eBook, a top tips sheet or a tool) in return for their email address.
Bear in mind in this part of your website you want to show your customer that you really understand their pain points and then show how you can solve them. So for me, I might say on my website “Is your agency taking one step forward and one step back?” or “Are you frustrated that you can’t win a consistent flow of ideal clients?” or “Do you wish your staff would step up?” I know these are some of the key pain points and if a viewer were reading these and they fit my ideal target customer profile, then they would be inspired to read on because they would feel the website was talking directly to them!
- Using a "subscribe to my mailing list/newsletter" or "contact us" link is a waste of time because people who don't know you will rarely jump to this stage of the sales process (and without being a mind-reader, I bet you get few enquiries/leads this way).
Remember you need to build KNOW-LIKE-TRUST before someone will buy from you.
- Be clear what you want your website to be: If it’s just ‘brochureware’ then you're missing out on a great opportunity to use it as a lead generator.
As I said, there seems to be comfort in conformity, in that if you look like every other agency then it’s easy, safe and you are not rocking the boat.
But surely it would be better to buck the trend & look different, and that starts by showing your ideal target customer you really understand them and their pains (that your product or service can solve).
Useful links:
Download The Self-Running Implementation Book
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Thanks so much.
In a challenging world, word of mouth and referrals may be drying up as we do less face to face meetings so in this episode of the podcast I interview Brad Smith from Succeed.Digital and we talk all things business development. This is part 1 of a 2-part series on business development.
Time stamp
2:26 Who is Succeed.Digital?
3:10 What are the biggest changes you have seen in the agency landscape in 2020?
Two types of agency:
-
Those who went into lockdown mode and tried to hold out and their business has fallen off a cliff!
-
Those who used this opportunity to look at new ways at doing thing from their sector, type of work and service to clients
6.20 Word of mouth & referrals has dried up
There is no better way of winning new business by referrals because they are ‘warm leads’ so you should have a referral programme in place. However, this cannot be the only form of business development
8.00 Inconsistent consistency – you cannot base your business dev strategy solely on referrals. It should form a maximum 25% of your new business strategy
10.15 You have no control of when referrals come in or the quality of the referral or if they fit into your niche
12.00 New business strategies need to focus beyond the next 3 months. Sales need to focus on the next 12 months and use multiple channels. . Most agencies are short term quarterly focused.
16:00. Introducing new services when you need more sales
Understanding your customer needs and researching and validating new ideas before you launch
18:00 5 questions to ask clients to build stronger relationships with your clients
N – Now: “What is the most valuable service we provide you now?”
E – Enjoy: “What do you really like/enjoy about working with us?”
A – Alter: “What would you most like to alter about the way we work we with?”
D – Decide: “What made you decide to choose us?”
S – Stay: “ What would make you stay with us over the next 2 - 3 years and beyond?”
23:40 At what stage would you have these conversations with a client?
24:40 Don’t assume you know what your clients want!
25:57 What 2-3 tips would you advise someone to do it they need new clients now?
29:50 Know me, Like me, Trust me, Help me
32:30 Outbound sales and marketing strategies
Useful links:
You can contact Brad at Brad@succeed.digital
Validation guide for launching a new product or service
Download The Self-Running Implementation Book
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Thanks so much.
Welcome to today’s episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast.
If you get most of your business from existing clients and referrals then this podcast episode is an important one to listen to.
When I meet a new client or prospect and I ask them how they get their new business they will often tell me rather proudly that they get all of their business from referrals and existing clients and they have no other major business development strategy then they’re in for a bumpy ride.
In this episode I explore what is wrong with solely relying on this strategy for your business development and why, even if it’s working for you now it probably won’t work for you at some point in the future. So, before you hit a deep famine period you need to put in a more proactive business development strategy that will provide you with a constant stream of ideal target clients.
Timestamp
1.00 Do you get all your business from referrals and existing clients?
1.28 If so you are in for a bumpy ride!
1.51 What is wrong with this strategy?
2.27 You have no control as to when referrals come in, the frequency and their quality
3.17 Making your network your sales team
3.50 What do you do if you need new business NOW?
5.15 The concepts of a sales funnel
6.13 How NOT to use LinkedIn to build business!
7.00 How to sell a bottle of water
7.54 Nurturing your audience through the KNOW-LIKE-TRUST journey
8.27 Many agencies are poor at the middle part of the sales funnel
8.45 The importance of providing value to your audience
9.50 Why providing value 80% of the time and 20% selling is the right balance
10.25 The importance of building your mailing list
10.54 The 3 stages of converting a prospect to a customer
11.29 Why cold outreach doesn’t work
11.50 The importance of your website to generate leads
12.52 How I make this work on my website
13.18 What should you be giving away as ‘gated content’
13.55 The importance of building your mailing list – get started today!
14.25 How to come up with email content ideas (see link below)
15.00 A simple marketing strategy
16.11 Your customers are ready to buy when they are ready to buy not when you want them to!
16.47 Do a few things really well and consistently – keep monitoring, measuring and refining
18:20 You need to start TODAY!
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Are you subscribed to my
podcast yet? If you’re not, please do so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
You can subscribe/follow
on Apple, Spotify or directly from my website.
I would be very grateful
if you left me a review too as they will help other people to find my podcasts
and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much.
Useful links:
Blog on email marketing (you can also download the Content Twister I mention in the podcast here).
Grab a copy of my book (which in itself will provide a ton of value) and see how my email nurturing sequences works.
Welcome to today’s episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast.
I was really excited to have a chance to sit down and talk with Jim James from EastWest PR and learn all about how he runs an agency that is based in the UK yet serves clients in Asia we discuss how to set up the systems and processes how to recruit and manage staff when they are dispersed around the world.
Now I always tell my clients that it is very difficult to build an agency using freelance staff because it’s like building a business on quicksand however Jim shares a very different perspective to this and outlines exactly what he has done to build his agency using freelance and contract staff.
Time stamp
2.10 Why did you move around from the UK to Singapore and China?
3.25 In the current environment we can work remotely but if you are working internationally how do you build relationships and overcome cultural differences?
5.05 How do you build relationships with journalists when you are based in a different country?
8.50 The fundamental difference between Western media and Asian media
9.52 What does virtualisation of agencies and moving to the ‘UBER model’ mean?
14.09. The importance of building a platform to work with remote team members
14.54 The importance of the relationship between the owner and the external consultant and how you work out the financial splits
17.05. The advantages of adopting the UBER model in an agency
17.25 The flip side of how I advise my agency clients ‘that it’s difficult to build an agency with freelancers’
18.10 How do you find enough good freelancers that can deliver to the quality levels you and your client’s expect?
20.51 The importance of finding consultants with credibility and experience
22.19 The importance of having processes that are constantly and consistently used
24.00. Matching consultant’s contracts to client’s contracts
24.46 Jim believes it’s easier to find freelancers than it is to find high quality in-house staff
25.36 If you could go back in time and give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be? This answer is one I haven’t had before!!
26.43 Where can people find out more about you?
Useful links:
You can contact Jim by visiting his website: www.eastwestpr.com
Come and join us in The Self-Running Implementation Group
Download The Self-Running Implementation Book
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I would be very grateful if you left me a review too as they will help other people to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much.
Do you want to avoid CSHWOD in your agency?
It’s my new favourite term!
Many agencies tell me that they just don't have enough hours in the day because they are so run ragged, serving the demands of their clients, and they fear if they say NO they will lose the client. They end up stuck on the Client Service Hamster Wheel Of Doom (CSHWOD!). Let’s dig into this and explore some solutions.
Timestamp
02:09 Consider that when you say YES you are saying NO to something else
03.05 The first steps to changing this
3.15 Two kinds of change you need to make
4.06 Getting clear about your scope of work
4.37 Getting clear about service levels
6.13 Ring-fencing time to work ON your agency
7.32 Get stronger boundaries with clients and staff
9.33 Working with ideal target customers
10.23 Allocating time every week to work on your agency and support your team
12.05 Having respectful relationships with clients
Useful links:
- Guide to niching
- Guide to defining your ideal target customer
- Come and join us in The Self-Running Implementation Group
- Download The Self-Running Implementation Book
Subscribe & Review
Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you’re not, please do so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
You can subscribe/follow on Apple, Spotify or directly from my website.
I would be very grateful
if you left me a review too as they will help other people to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much.
Linkedin is a great platform to engage with your ideal target customer yet there are many who use it poorly and don’t get results they hope for so move on to something different.
If you've been trying to use LinkedIn to support your business development activities but haven’t yet got results, then listen to today’s episode of the podcast.
Today I am delighted to chat with Tracey Burnett, who is a Linkedin specialist and we're talking all things Linkedin; how you can hone your profile as well as a number of invaluable tips on how to maximise the use of LinkedIn to engage with your target audience.
[2:07] Introducing Tracey Burnett - a LinkedIn specialist helping businesses find new clients on LinkedIn.
[3:41] Tracey talks about how you can create an appealing Linkedin profile.
[8:37] 5 tips on how you can maximise the use of LinkedIn to engage with your target audience.
[12:18] Measure performance, improve engagement & grow your audience on Linkedin with Shield (Tool for analytics).
[13:33] 5 tips on how you can maximise the use of Linkedin for reaching out to your target audience. (continued).
[22:47] Do’s and Don’ts for reaching out to your potential new audience on Linkedin.
[28:28] Tracey's one piece of advice that she would like to go back in time and give to her younger self.
Website: http://www.traceyburnett.com/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/traceyburnett/
Come and join us in The Self-Running Implementation Group
Download The Self-Running Implementation Book
Subscribe & Review
Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you’re not, please do so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
You can subscribe/ follow on Apple, Spotify or directly from my website.
I would be very grateful if you left me a review too as they will help other people to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much.
How much of your time do you spend servicing clients?
If you feel you have no choice but to spend most of your time in ‘client service mode’, and if you believe if you don’t, you won’t retain your customers, then you will not have time to focus on the future of your agency (e.g. business development, strategy, marketing etc) because you are at the beck and call of your clients.
Infact, you're caught up in the Client Servicing Hamster Wheel of Doom (CSHWOD) and you need to find a way to get off it and do something different, and that starts with changing your mindset.
In this week's episode of The Agency Accelerator, I explore how, as an agency owner, your time needs to be split into 3 ‘buckets’ that will enable you to serve your client’s needs, focus on driving your agency forwards and have enough time to run your agency.
[1:02] The Self-Running Agency Implementation Group: Open for enrolment. Find out how you can join fellow agency owners in the journey to building an agency that is less dependent on YOU!
[3:36] How much time are you spending servicing clients? Probably too much!
[4:23] How to avoid the dreaded Famine & Feast Cycle. No one wants to end up in famine trough where we make bad decisions such as discounting or taking on the wrong type of client
[6:25] Learn how to split your time into 3 buckets: REVENUE, STRATEGY & ADMIN and what should your split be?
[8:22] Having the right mindset will help you get off the dreaded CSHWOD!
[10:55] What is your notional hourly rate? An important discussion to get your pricing right and hit your profit targets
[12:13] Why you should dedicate time on building a robust strategy for the future of your agency
[13:04] Defining your niche
[14:18] Identifying your target audience
[14:39] Build a great marketing campaign
[15:14] The Self-Running Agency Book
[15:39] A piece of advice: Do a few sales & marketing tactics. really well and consistently, don’t get seduced by ‘shiny new object syndrome” You are always the best salesperson for your agency
[16: 59] Guide on how to split your time across REVENUE, STRATEGY & ADMIN – where are you today and where do you want to be?
[18:20} The benefits of getting your time split right
Come and join us in The Self-Running Implementation Group
Download The Self-Running Implementation Book
Learn more about "notional hourly rate"
Learn more about famine & feast cycle
Read more about how you can define your niche
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I would be very grateful if you left me a review too as they will help other people to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much.
As we move towards the “new normal” post-pandemic, organisations have become more accustomed to doing business online rather than in person.
But what does the future of events look like? Will they remain online or move back to in-person events?
In this episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I'm excited to have Marc Convey, Managing Director of 23 Digital, a video production agency that creates digital content using films, virtual reality & animation
We're going talk about the evolution of online events and how companies are using augmented reality to grow their business.
[0:53] Introducing Marc Convey, Managing Director, 23 Digital, is a video agency that creates digital content using films, virtual reality & animation.
[1:47] How has 23-Digital fared during the pandemic, what changes did they make to not only survive but thrive?
[8:30] Biggest challenge faced by Marc working on AR projects.
[15:03] Environmental impact of doing events live.
[15:36] How do you replicate networking or being around people in a virtual environment?
[18:37] The future of videos in marketing.
[20:06] How businesses are going to use augmented reality moving forward.
[23:59] Marc's one piece of advice that he would give to his younger self.
[25:16] Where can you find more about 23 Digital.
Marc's Linkedin profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marc-convey-b2a452104/
Subscribe & Review
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I would be very grateful if you left me a review too as they will help other people to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much.
As we come out of the pandemic, is working from home going to continue to be the norm and if so, how do we continue to focus & motivate staff?
COVID-19 has brought about a change in the work culture, with people having to adapt to remote working. Some of us have thrived while others have struggled.
In this short episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I discuss how this pandemic has impacted our work (with some surprising stats) & share some ideas that my clients are using to keep their teams focused, energised and accountable.
[1:16] Working from home: Has it been a benefit or curse?
[2:21] Some interesting stats about remote working.
[3:28] Tips to help your team thrive while working from home.
[6:36] I share some great ideas that members of my The Self-Running Agency Implementation Group have implemented.
[7:14] Tips to keep your team motivated whilst working remotely.
Subscribe & Review
Interested in joining the next cohort of The Self-Running Agency Implementation Group? Learn more here: https://www.dacostacoaching.co.uk/the-self-running-agency/
Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you’re not, please do so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
You can subscribe/ follow on Apple, Spotify or directly from my website.
I would be very grateful if you left me a review too as they will help other people to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much.
The 'Black Lives Matter' movement has brought the issue of diversity and inclusion to the forefront of many conversations.
Business, big and small, are starting to consider how Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) should impact their workforce.
In this episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I'm excited to have Chico Chakravorty, D&I consultant and Founder of Doing Diversity Differently.
In this fascinating conversation (where I learned a lot!) we talk about how to approach & integrate D&I in our organisations.
We also explore how we, as agencies, should be advising our clients on D&I in their campaigns, and the importance of doing so authentically. To bring this to life Chico shares some real-life examples (both good and bad).
[0:55] The Self-Running Agency Book - Grab your FREE copy
[1:46] Introducing Chico Chakravorty, D&I consultant and Founder of Doing Diversity Differently.
[5:55] How should we as agency owners advise our clients on diversity & inclusion
[9:28] Is it the responsibility of an agency to highlight the in-authenticity of diversity being portrayed in campaigns?
[11:20] Example: Marks & Spencer launched a sandwich called LGBT
[14:25] Example: Tesco
[16:07] What is the meaning of "White Privilege"?
[17:23] The "Black Lives Matter" movement: How should businesses contribute to the cause?
[23:00] The two important elements of diversity
[26:59] Chico's one piece of advice that he would like to go back in time and give to his younger self.
[28:48] The best way to connect with Chico.
Website - https://doingdiversitydifferently.com/
Email - chico@doingdiversitydifferently.com
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Thanks so much.
Do you ever look back and wish you had done a few things differently when you were just starting out running your agency?
This week's episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast is going to be slightly different. It is the first in an occasional series of ‘5s’ and in this episode I will be sharing 5 tips that I would give to my younger self, who is just starting out his agency, if I could go back in time.
Obviously, I can't really time travel, but I can share these tips with you in the hope they will help you build & grow your agency.
[1:24] Back to the future: 5 tips to my younger self
[2:06] Have a plan to stay in control and bring everyone along with you: vision -> strategy -> action plan
[6:03] Grow your agency, build a team.
[7:59] Don't be led by money, be led by purpose.
[10:23] Get your pricing right - Value pricing/selling methodology
[13:06] Succession planning: The Self-Running Agency
[15:20] The Self-Running Agency Book
Download The Self-Running Agency Book for FREE
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Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you’re not, please do so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
You can subscribe/ follow on Apple, Spotify or directly from my website.
I would be very grateful if you left me a review too as they will help other people to find my podcast and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much.
How have you found flexible working hours during the pandemic?
Has working from home impacted your productivity negatively or positively?
In this episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, we're talking all about flexible working with Grant Jennings, who is the Owner of Creative Blend, a digital marketing agency.
[1:07] What is Creative Blend & how is it different from other digital agencies?
[4:55] How has Creative Blend adapted to the’ new normal’ of flexible working hours?
[11:21] Tools recommended by Grant to help maintain accountability & project management.
[12:56] How to deal with resistance from clients when implementing new tools
[15:36] Tools recommended by Grant to use when working remotely.
[16:32] Impact of remote working on productivity.
[25:55] Grant's one piece of advice that he would like to go back in time and give to his younger self.
Contact details for Grant
Website: www.creative-blend.co.uk Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/gjenningsuk
Grant is also a trustee of local charity Whoopsadaisy who support babies and children (12 months to 12 years) with movement disorders such as cerebral palsy.
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Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you’re not, please do so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
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I would be very grateful if you left me a review too as they will help other people to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much.
Have you been struggling to build your email list?
Would you like to build an automated lead generation system?
Well I have some answers for you in this week's episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I talk about the importance of email sales funnels and how you can build one, along with some great tips that can help you nurture and grow your email list.
[0:45] Importance of Email Marketing.
[2:10] Why you should be focusing on Email Marketing.
{03:35] It's never too late to start building your email list!
[5:17] Be context specific with your content to generate lots of email sign ups.
[6:26] Website pop ups are great but use them effectively to capture email addresses.
[7:44] How to nurture your email list.
[10:31] Getting the balance right between providing value added content & driving sales through your emails.
[12:32] Importance of email sales funnel strategy.
[15:35]The importance of sending personalised emails
[18:17] Nurture your subscribers through 3 stages of email sales funnels
To know more in detail about email sales funnel, download my ebook.
Subscribe & Review
Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you’re not, please do so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
You can subscribe/ follow on iTunes, Spotify or directly from my website.
I would be very grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too as they will help other people to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much,
Rob
DID YOU KNOW?
Building your agency based on referrals is like jumping into cold water!
Also, if you think Lead Generation is nothing more than picking up the phone and setting up meetings, then you're wrong!
In this week's episode of The Agency Accelerator, I'm excited to have Dan Englander. He is the CEO and founder of the Sales Schema, a lead generation firm for boutique ad agencies, and a fellow podcast host of the Digital Agency Growth Podcast. He is also the author of Mastering Account Management, the B2B sales blueprint.
We are going to be talking about new businesses and lead generation
.
[0:47] Introducing Dan Englander.
[2:10] What does Sales Schema do?
[4:01] My conversation with a potential client that built their business based on referrals.
[4:48] Building your agency based on referrals is like jumping into cold water.
[5:43] Dan's advice to agencies that have realised that relying on only referrals isn't going to be enough to help them grow.
[7:42} Importance of niching.
[9:08] Why are agencies today scared to commit to Niching?
[12:41] The question you need to ask yourself to find your niche.
[13:54] Dan's point of view on the impact of ongoing pandemic on businesses.
[19:28] Importance of Email Marketing.
[20:39] Under appreciated facts about B2B sales & marketing.
[21:14] Importance of having an authentic approach across all communication mediums.
[24:08] Getting under the skin of your clients.
[27:08] When your clients ask for ‘A’ but they actually need ‘B’!
[31:55] The biggest ingredient for a successful business is consistency.
[33.38] It takes 13 months for someone to come into my world, learn with me and to buy from me.
[38:01] Dan's one piece of advice that he would like to go back in time and give to his younger self.
[39:04] Where can you find out more about Sales Schema?
For more info on Dan's agency, Sales Schema, visit the website.
Also to learn more about niching, you can download my e-book 'Defining Your Niche'.
Subscribe & Review
Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you’re not, please do so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
You can subscribe/ follow on Apple, Spotify or directly from my website.
I would be very grateful if you left me a review too as they will help other people to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much.
Are you struggling to convert leads into prospects, and prospects into customers?
Have you depended on referrals & word of mouth as your only source of generating new business? It might seem like an easy way to win clients, but there are some major flaws to it too (as have been highlighted during this pandemic!).
In this week's episode of the Agency Accelerator Podcast, I talk about why relying on referrals & word of mouth as your major business development strategy can be a fatal mistake, and talk about some key proactive marketing & business development strategies you should always be focusing on.
[1:58] The two major flaws about relying on just referrals or word of mouth
[3:19] Understanding Your Target Niche
[3:54] Identifying your Ideal Target Customers
[4:19] Marketing advice to agency owners
[6:32] Moving your audience through 3 stages of getting to know, like and trust you to buy from you
[7:39} Recognising that the Sales Cycle rarely very short
[8:27] Creating Value-Added Content
[9:35] Taking a Value Selling Approach
[10:11] Converting Leads to Customers
[11:51] An idea for a re-engagement campaign with past clients to generate some immediate business
[13:13] Using LinkedIn as an outreach platform
[14:39] Interviewing Dan Englander in the next week's podcast
Subscribe & Review
Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you’re not, please do so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
You can subscribe/ follow on iTunes, Spotify or directly from my website.
I would be very grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too as they will help other people to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much,
Rob
Does your business tell a story?
Are you being authentic while trying to sell your products or services?
Do you build empathy with your clients?
In this weeks episode of The Agency Accelerator, I'm excited to have Jez Kay with me, a remote communications consultant who is going to talk to us about working in an authentic & empathetic way, it's advantages & disadvantages, along with a few tips that can help you along the way.
[01:19] What do remote communication consultants do?
[3:52] Another word of the moment is "Pivot", how has that impacted you?
[4:49} How do you tell a story in your business?
[6:29] Where does Jez stand in terms of developing online content?
[7:15] Rob’s failures while selling online.
[8:23] Validate your programs or courses before you start doing any development
[9:13] Today's topic, Authenticity!
[17:34] Importance of empathising with your clients
[19:15] Thoughts & Tips around authenticity by Jez, for agency owners.
[20:07] You learn far more from your failures than you do from successes
[21:32] Jez's one piece of advice that he would like to go back in time and give to his younger self.
[22:23] The best way to connect with Jez Kay
What would be your advice to your younger self?
Subscribe & Review
Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you’re not, please do so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
You can subscribe/ follow on Apple, Spotify or directly from my website.
I would be very grateful if you left me a review too as they will help other people to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much.
Why on earth are we talking about hourly rates?!
If you know me, you’ll know I HATE it when agencies charge by the hour. After all, your clients are buying outcomes, not time.
That said, you should at least have an idea of what your own notional hourly rate is (i.e what an hour of your time is worth) so you’re able to figure out if you should be spending your time on certain tasks or not.
So, let’s get on with today’s short but very important show!
[02:23] What do you think a fair price for an hour of your time is?
[02:55] Let’s say you’re worth £150 an hour. Is the current task that you’re working on worth £150 an hour or less? If the task is worth less, why are you doing it? You need to apply one of the four Ds!
[04:24] If you’re serious about not being a bottleneck to your agency’s growth, you need to slow down to speed up!
[05:56] Is your agency self-running? Most aren’t…
[07:11] There are always ways of outsourcing tasks whether it be with a VA or software, or both!
[09:42] If you’re doing tasks below your hourly rate, you could be missing out on doing tasks at or above your hourly rate. Don’t make this mistake!
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Thanks so much,
Rob
Today, I want to dig deepinto some of the decisions you make early on in your agency that can have a HUGE effect on how your business develops in the future. We will be discussing:
Do you charge hourly or do you use value-based pricing?
Do you make sure you and your team use time tracking?
Are you sure you are making the best use of your time?
In this episode I am delighted to be joined by Susan Boles, virtual CFO and owner of organisation, Scale Spark.
We are going to be discussing all of the above and everything else in between to help you be sure you’re running a resilient and efficient agency.
[02:02] What are the common types of challenges most agencies seem to have?
[06:41] Your money mindset will have a HUGE effect on you and how you run your business. You may find that this is something you have to address, in order for you to reach your full potential as an agency owner.
[09:25] People tend to structure their agency based on their experience as an employee at previous agencies. Why is this a problem?
[14:03] “Why are you doing it that way?”
[16:18] Let’s dig deeper into package pricing and the importance of tracking your time.
[24:40] When you have data about how long a task takes, you can start to find more efficient ways of doing those tasks!
[27:48] Susan gives her 2 top tips for new agency owners.
[29:38] If Susan could go back in time and give herself some business advice, what would it be?
Are you a busy fool?
With most of us still working from home right now due to the pandemic, many of us are working longer hours. After all, it’s too easy to blur the lines when your office is also your home and there hasn't been much to do due to lockdown.
However, are you really being super productive each day or are you in fact, just being a busy fool?
Time is our most precious commodity and when you’re running a business, you need to make sure that all of your time is spent wisely. So, in this episode, I’m going to give you 6 top tips to ensure maximum productivity.
[02:15] Working from home is no excuse to not get dressed!
[04:43] Having a consistent morning and evening routine can really help you to be more efficient with your time, throughout the day. I highly recommend you check out Free to Focus by Michael Hyatt, which is where I got this point from!
[08:37] Are you allocating your time wisely across strategy, revenue and admin tasks?
[13:21] If your time is worth £150 an hour, why are you spending time on £30 an hour tasks? Learn to master the art of delegation.
[15:05] Learn to use the 4 Ds - Ditch it, Delegate it, Defer it, Do it… and you can use a fifth element….Automate it!
[16:59] The importance of having a plan. Do you have one?
Links
Being a busy fool blog
Managing Time eBook
Free To Focus Book
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Thanks so much,
Rob
Today’s guest just so happens to be the first EVER employee I hired in my agency CIT, many years ago!
Pietro Ranieri worked at my agency for 9 years before leaving to set up on his own and I wanted to get him on the show to discuss his journey from freelancer to running and growing an agency, and to the point of selling his agency.
He went on to buy his agency back (we discuss why!) and he now has a number of offices around the world!
If you’re thinking of making the move from freelancer to agency owner, or if you’re thinking of scaling and maybe ultimately selling your agency, then this episode is for you.
[05:26] What made Pietro make the switch from freelancer to agency owner? With most of his clients based in the US, Pietro had become somewhat of a night owl which lead to an unhealthy and lonely lifestyle…
[09:37] Ranieri has a clear niche in consumer electronics, which has worked well for his agency as everyone knew they are the “go-to” experts. But what happened when he took on clients from outside of his area of expertise?
[16:22] Are you running a proper agency, or do you just have a bunch of assistants working for you? If you want to scale, you need to be able to step away from doing the client work.
[20:37] If you’re really looking to scale, it’s important you learn to distance yourself from the being the first point of contact, so the clients don’t become attached to you. Pietro and Rob delve into WHY this is so important and HOW to go about it.
[25:59] The process of selling your agency can be a very long and draining process. If you want to sell your agency, you need to know what to expect and how to properly prepare for it.
[35:15] if Pietro could go back in time and give himself some advice, what would it be?
For more info on Pietro's agency, Ranieri Communications, visit the WEBSITE.
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Thanks so much,
Rob
Imagine having an agency that runs itself.
No more slogging over client work day in, day out. No more 15-hour days to ensure you meet the next deadline. No more dealing with multiple clients all wanting to speak only to YOU.
This is something many agency owners dream of yet fail to achieve. However, if you really want an agency that runs itself, it most certainly is possible and I’m going to show you how to do it:
[02:01] If your hourly rate is £150 and you’re doing tasks below that level, you need to start delegating these and focusing only on the tasks that at level of your hourly rate or higher.
[03:51] You need to build your brand to be your agency not just “you”.
[06:23] Why you absolutely must hire the very best people you can afford, and not just a bunch of assistants.
[07:49] How building a management team as soon as possible will make it easier to move your agency forward.
[08:55] There is an art behind being a super effective delegator and learning this is so important if you want your agency to grow to the point of not needing you! Make sure you download my free e-book on delegation HERE.
[10:37] Do you have a plan that you visit every day to ensure you’re always moving your agency forward?
[13:00] You can’t build an extension on your house without foundations as the extension will fall down. Similarly, you can’t grow an agency without getting the fundamentals right.
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Thanks so much,
Rob
Video content is dominating the world right now, but for so many of us (myself included for a long time!) the thought of getting in front of the camera can put us into a cold sweat!
Laura Evans runs a video and podcasting company called Let’s talk Video Production and I was super excited to have her as my latest guest on the Agency Accelerator Podcast.
We are going to be talking all things video and podcasting and why you should seriously think about adding these into your marketing strategy, if you haven’t already done so.
[3:49] Me and Laura both have experience of being made redundant but this can sometimes be the best thing to happen to you!
[6:20] Laura explains why businesses ought to be using video as part of their marketing strategy. Many of us are still fearful of this, but both videos and podcasts can be a great way of building a relationship with your audience, so it’s important to try and overcome this fear. Remember, it’s not all about you, it’s about your audience and the value you can bring them!
[11:25] Different methods work for different people when recording videos. Whether you use an autocue, post-it notes or you just wing it, do what works best for YOU.
[13:17] Laura gives some great tips for someone planning on recording a 2-3minute video on their own (without a production company!) including some awesome affordable gear suggestions.
[20:40] What is the ideal video length can how can video content help with your SEO?
[25:54] Podcasting is great for visibility but can it help you get more clients?
[32:50] If you could go back in time and give your younger self some business advice, what would it be?
To find out more about Let’s Talk Video Production and their services, visit their website or email Laura at laura@letstalkvideoproduction.com
Links Mentioned In The Ep:
Starting video production with low costs
Microphones for starting your podcast
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Thanks so much,
Rob
It’s been a few months now since the virus knocked us all for 6 and threw out all our plans, and we are now adjusting to what has become the “new normal”.
In today’s episode, I discuss how you can continue to grow your agency even during these crazy times, because you should not just be running on a “survival mode’ mind set right now. Your agency has the opportunity to thrive, so let’s get on with the show!
[02:11] You should be using this time to talk to your clients, listen to them and serve them but how well do you REALLY know your target customers? Right now, there has never been a better time to learn more about them.
[05:39] Do you have a plan? You should still have your usual short, medium and long term plans but you might also need weekly plans, especially with the way everything keeps changing right now.
[08:01] Pivot where necessary! Find new ways to serve your existing audience or find a new audience but remember to test and validate your ideas first!
[10:49] Be a good listener! Listen to your audience and identify their needs.
[12:14] Make sure you’re splitting your time effectively across revenue, strategy and admin. How much of your time should you be allocating to each of these three pots?
[17:09] Is it in bad taste to carry on marketing during a pandemic?
Links:
Mailing list ebook
Customer Avatar ebook
Free weekly plan
27-Page Validation Guide
Subscribe & Review
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Thanks so much,
Rob
What an incredible story my next guest has!
I am joined by Miha Matlievski today, who talks about his business failure and how he rose from the ashes, even after losing absolutely everything in a very short space of time. We also discuss mindset and emotional intelligence, and how you absolutely must have these both in check, if you are to succeed as an entrepreneur.
[01:45] A quick history of Miha…. He built up 4 successful businesses and a personal net worth of over $15million. However, this all came crashing down in 2009 after a phone call from his bank. He very suddenly found himself with no businesses and debt of $5 million. However, despite such a huge blow and even thinking of suicide for a while, he kept on fighting, built up a new successful company and is now known as “The Fail Coach”.
[08:39] Miha realised that a big reason he lost everything so suddenly was because his businesses had no foundations, so when the crisis came, he had nothing to fall back on.
[11:30] Miha discusses how he bounced back from learning how to be present. Mindfulness and emotional intelligence played such a huge role in his resurrection.
[16:22] It’s only when you take full responsibility for your failings that you will begin to succeed and remember….nothing magical ever happens inside the comfort zone!
[23:22] We discuss the importance of emotional intelligence as an entrepreneurial business owner and why most entrepreneurs make it harder for themselves by not asking for help, when it’s usually right in front of us.
[27:57] What advice would Miha give to someone just starting out or looking to scale their existing business? Hint… be very careful of these so called “gurus”…
[37.18] If Miha could go back in time to give his younger self some advice, what would it be?
To find out more about Miha visit his LinkedIn profile or go to his website.
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Thanks so much,
Rob
Imagine going to your best friend’s wedding and having too good a time and waking up with an almighty headache the next morning. Would you reach for a pain killer or take a vitamin pill? Well a pain killer of course!
Clients who are in pain have an urgent need to solve that pain (with your solution). Yet many agencies are trying to sell their prospective clients a vitamin pill (something that is nice to have but not urgent) rather than a pain killer!
In this short podcast, I am going to teach you how to make sure you are selling your customers the right sort of pill….
[3:00] Your client is buying a transformation from being in pain, to not being in pain. For example, “my website is not generating enough traffic” to “you’ve helped my website generate loads of traffic!”
[5:57] You can’t address a customer’s pain points unless you know them and what makes them tick
[08:53] Is your site’s homepage all about you? If so, you need to change this! Customers don’t care about this.
[11:47] Are you standing in your clients’ shoes throughout all of your outbound marketing?
[14:05] Dig deep and understand what jobs need to be done!
Links to the e-books I mentioned (I have tonnes more, so don’t forget to check them out!):
Are you a niche or generalist agency?
Know your customer
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Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you’re not, please do so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
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I would be very grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too as they will help other people to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much,
Rob
Standing out from the crowd when it comes to marketing your business is getting harder and harder these days and posting the odd blog just isn’t enough anymore.
So, in this episode I’m joined by Ian Laurie of Snow Digital Media and we are going to be looking at the importance of adding video into your marketing strategy, in particular using it on LinkedIn.
[02:50] Ian shares his journey of running his own business and discusses the dos and don’ts of running your own agency. It can be “lonely at the top”. Ian shares his experiences of working with business partners. You obviously have to have shared values and make sure you’re on the same page otherwise it won’t work, so how did Ian find the experience?
[08:24] Ian remembers what it was like to experience the peaks and troughs of running your own business, especially near the beginning.
[11:00] Why should video be part of a marketing agency’s strategy and why is LinkedIn the platform we should be focusing on right now?
[15:08] Is it ok to post video content using a third party app or should we only post natively?
[17:01] Ian discusses the ideal length and content for a video on LinkedIn and he reminds us why we need to make sure we grab the audience’s attention within the first 5 seconds.
[24:00] Ian loves video podcasts. They are the perfect for creating lots of small pieces of content from one big piece of content.
[27:24] So… that‘s all good and well talking about how to do videos, but how do you get BETTER at doing them?
[29:53] Rob asks Ian what advice would he give his younger business self?
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Thanks so much,
Rob
Picture this: You’re walking the dog or standing in the shower and you have a brainwave of an idea for a new product, course or a new business idea. You get very excited by this and sit down and start fleshing it out and then put it into action.
After many weeks and late nights of work you’re finally ready to launch. You’re very excited to get your product or business out there so you launch with a big fanfare but sadly to little response.
When we think we know what our audience wants, when we are absolutely certain our idea is a sure-fire winner, when we believe we know best for our clients, WE HAVE TO FIRST VALIDATE OUR IDEA......
[01:24] If your launch fails, it doesn’t necessarily mean the content was bad but the positioning and messaging just clearly wasn't right. I’ve been there. I assumed I knew what my audience wanted, and I was unfortunately very wrong!
[07:04] What's the VERY first thing you should do to validate your idea?
[10:38] Are you selling painkillers or vitamins?
[14:36] Let’s look at the actual validation process. Start with an email list or at least 60 people to talk to. If you don't have these, you need to focus on building your list before you even think about launching a new product!
[18:11] Did at least 10% of people who did your survey say they were interested in your new business/ product?
[20:10] Don't make the mistakes I made in the past. Validation isn't the most exciting things to do, but it can save you SO much time and heartache.
If you are interested in a step-step guide on exactly how to do what I outlined in this blog, including the exact emails and survey templates, then grab a copy of my 27-page step-by-step guide on selecting and validating your idea BEFORE you go to market.
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Thanks so much,
Rob
Fear of public speaking is an incredibly common phobia and affects around 75% of the population. As business owners, many of us (no matter how much we hate it) are unable to avoid public speaking situations thanks to meetings or presentations – in fact it’s a crucial part of building our agency. So wouldn’t it be a lot easier if we could learn to cope with it a bit better, or even crazier….learn to enjoy it?
In this episode of The Agency Accelerator,I am joined by award-winning keynote conference speaker Steve Bustin, who is going to be sharing some great tips and advice on how we can improve our own public speaking, better prepare for it and ultimately, not be so terrified by it!
[1:14] Steve has a very colourful business background and his passions and focus have evolved over the years. Starting as a BBC journalist, he then went into PR before realising what his true passion was: speaking and training others how to do it well.
[7:10] Let’s unpack some of the interesting points Steve just mentioned about his past experiences including being led by opportunity and the effects that losing a big client can have on your business.
[9:36] Steve discusses the Sunday night blues and how life is too short – and what to do about it
[11:23] There is a trend of people moving away from the retainer model within agencies. Could this be a good thing?
[13:35] Rob asks Steve why he thinks public speaking is the second biggest fear after death! Why do we care so much what people think of us? Steve also explains why we need to train our staff with the skills to be great leaders and that includes learning how to be a great speaker.
[20:41] Steve shares how he helps people overcome their fears of public speaking and he explains why you’ve got to have passion for whatever your talking about, otherwise how do you expect your clients to be passionate about it? And we must remember, we all present differently and that’s a good thing!
[23:18] Rob takes us back to a workshop he hosted and the importance of managing your ‘internal dialog’. Also, why do so many of us never rehearse our presentations before the big day? Surely this will help to get rid of so much of the anxiety we feel before speaking?!
[27:31] What is the perfect structure of a presentation? Why does great structure tend to revolve around just 3 main arguments? And how can you grab the audiences’ attention?
[34:00] Rob asks Steve what happens if you can see people yawning in the audience during your presentation? Does this mean you’re too boring and should stop right now?!
[37:40] Steve gives 3 brilliant top tips for improving your own public speaking
[44:56] Rob asks Steve: “if you could go back in time and give your younger self some business advice what would it be?”
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Thanks so much,
Rob
The Coronavirus has disrupted the entire world in ways we haven’t seen since WWII. Chances are your own business has been affected, whether it’s the amount of clients you now have or the fact you and your whole team are now working remotely.
In this episode I want to discuss 5 key areas that you need to work on in order to not just survive the virus, but thrive. They are; mind-set, serving your audience, pivoting where necessary, sales and marketing and the importance of having a strategy.
[1:45] You need to make sure you have the right mind-set if your agency is going to survive this pandemic. Remember, people are still spending money. It’s your own self-limiting beliefs that tell you otherwise. Identify your priorities for the week and write them down. When you have a plan you have a sense of control.
[09:20] How can you best keep serving your audience? If your business is genuinely helping people, then they need to hear about it!
[11:59] You can pivot your business in three ways; offering, price and message. Which one is best for your business?
[20:52] Should you be marketing your services at the moment or is this in bad taste?
[24:15] You need to have a strategy, and this is probably going to look different to what it did a couple of months ago.
Subscribe & Review
Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you’re not, please do so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
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Thanks so much,
Rob
Links mentioned:
TEMPLATE
PRODUCTIVITY EPISODE LINK
In this episode, I focus on something very close to my heart – the importance of niching.
Agencies that have a clearly defined niche massively outperform those that don’t in almost every way: revenue, customer retention, employee satisfaction, and in the quality of their client relationships (because prospects see you as the expert, not just as a supplier).
A big statement to make? Sure - but I know it’s accurate because I’ve lived it. Niching my agency allowed me to triple my profits inside 6 months and I’ve helped so many other agencies to substantially grow their profits after doing the same thing.
So if you run an agency and you’re still on the fence about whether or not niching is right for you, keep listening:
[01:37] Why is niching so important and how did it work for me and my agency?
[05:28] If you don’t niche, you can differentiate on two things – price and/or service. But is that really wise?
[07:40] How exactly do you find your niche? Grab a pen and paper for this bit!
[11:40] Here are the 2 key learnings to help you create your niche, serve your audience well and enjoy a profitable agency.
[15:47] Once you have found your niche, commit to it!
[17:33] One of my pet hates is when I see an agency website that is all about them and not the client. Your potential clients don’t care about you, they just want to know how you can help them. Make sure your website is about your client, NOT you!
FREEBIE – Defining Your Niche
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Thanks so much,
Rob
In this latest episode, I am joined by Roland Gurney of copywriting company, Treacle.
Treacle helps creative and digital agencies clarify their position and messaging. Whilst we are of course going to be discussing all things copywriting (like how to improve your own website’s copy and if business blogs still have a place in today’s world) we are also going to look at the importance of niching and see how it totally transformed Roland’s company!
[02:23] Roland discusses his journey into running his own agency and how he has niched Treacle, the benefits and explains why it doesn’t have to be so scary.
[10:17] Rob asks Roland How important good content is for an agencies overall marketing. We are all busy trying to make our clients look good but agencies need to ensure their own websites are great too!
[14:35] What are Roland’s top bugbears about agency websites?
[20:05] What are the current trends in copy and how have they changed over the years?
[22:03] Roland shares his top tips for writing great copy.
[27:09] Rob & Roland discuss the importance of business blogs and how they can help your business to stand out. The more you niche your business, the more they will resonate with potential clients!
[34:54] If Roland could go back in time, what advice would he give himself?
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Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you're not, please do
so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
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I would be very grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too as they will help other people
to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much,
Rob
In today’s podcast, I’m going to show you how to identify your ideal client and how to go about winning them!
This is something I spend a lot of time discussing with my coaching clients because so many of us (myself included) have wasted a lot of time and money attracting the wrong types of clients.
I’m going to be giving you loads of practical advice so if you can, grab a pen and paper and make some notes because you can start implementing a lot of this information from today.
[1:19] Today is the final day for enrolment to my 12-Week Agency Accelerator Mastermind Programme! I was so excited when recording this I actually forgot what year it was (it’s 2020 not 2019 at the time of recording! If you’re serious about growing your agency in a profitable & sustainable way, this is for you. If you’re listening to this podcast in the future (are there flying cars yet?!), keep an eye out for future programmes by signing up to my mailing list.
*EDIT – Due to the current global climate, I have extended the deadline until the 8th April at 7pm.
[2:00] Can you relate to this typical scenario I’ve seen happen so many times before? An email pings and it’s an enquiry from someone interested in your services, you’re excited so you agree to a meeting but when you turn up, they are not a good fit and it turns out you’ve completely wasted your time!
[5:52] Get clear on your target niche - do not try to be a generalist and please everyone. It won’t work! Download my ebook on defining your niche - where I go into this topic in a lot more detail.
[7:51] Define your ideal target customer - what is their job? What are their pain points? Where do they go for information etc? Learn as much as possible about your ideal target customer and your life will become so much easier.
[9:04] Target the easy wins and work on your ‘know, like & trust’ sales funnel
[12:16] Education based marketing should not involve you using your time! – Do not waste your time educating an unsuitable prospect when you could have spent that time putting that info into a useful free ebook to share with potential clients for years. Let your prospects educate and qualify themselves using your online content!
[14:12] Ask each prospect some non-negotiable questions – what questions MUST be answered before your prospect moves to the next stage of the sales funnel? Make sure they answer these before moving forward.
[15:47] Make sure you and your prospect both go to the meeting with the same agenda – you can do this in an email before the meeting takes place to ensure you’re both on the same page.
[18:00] Close the meeting properly – Put an action on you & themand get a date in the diary for the next interaction.
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Thanks so much,
Rob
LINKS
Are you a niche or a generalist - ebook?
How to define your ideal target customer - ebook
I am super excited to be joined by Lee Jackson of Agency Transformation and the Agency Trailblazer Podcast. This episode is jam PACKED with actionable tips and advice to help you with your agency’s growth.
We are going to be looking at the 5 stages of growth and transformation every agency needs to go through in order to grow. So grab a pen and paper because you’re going to be taking away so much from this episode today.
[1:09] Doors are finally open to my 12-Week Agency Accelerator Mastermind Programme! If you’re serious about growing your agency in a profitable & sustainable way, this is for you. Doors to enrolment are only open for one week so be quick, since there are limited places available in 2020.
[1:52] Lee Jackson has been a very busy guy for the past few years with multiple projects including the Agency Trailblazer podcast, The Event Engine and his brand new podcast The Event Martech. How on earth does he manage his time and keep on top of it all?
[5:18] With so much going on, how does Lee determine what he’s going do and what he’s not going to do? Lee actually closed one of his groups recently and he explains the reasons behind this. Focus on what moves the needle forward for you.
[7:42] Let’s look at the typical journey someone takes when they go out on their own. Like many agency owners in the early days, Lee used to work 18 hours days. However, long hours and passion isn’t enough to succeed and grow (indeed it can actually be detrimental to your to agency’s growth!). Lee discusses the 5 pillars of transformation and how every agency owner needs to go through each stage in order to grow their business.
[12:47] The first pillar of transformation – Know Your Identity
You need to know your identity. Be the authentic version of you and commit to your niche. Lee flashes back to when he used to show up to meetings in a suit and tie (totally not how he likes to dress) ….which would attract the complete opposite types of clients he wanted to work with!
[17:29] The second pillar of transformation - Value
So many agency owners still don’t value themselves enough and they regularly find themselves in the feast and famine cycle. We need to recognise that we are amazing at what we do and make sure we charge our worth.
[21:47] The third pillar of transformation – Messaging
Getting the first 2 pillars nailed will make it much easier to understand your messaging and choose the best platforms to get your message across to your audience e.g. Which social media platforms are best for what you do? Lee shares with us how he found his perfect platforms and how you can find yours.
[28:19] The fourth pillar of transformation – Nail Your Output
Be amazing at what you do! We need to make sure the quality of what we deliver matches our pricing.
[32:40] The fifth pillar of transformation – Future
If we haven’t worked out the last four pillars, how can we work out our future? This is all about scalability.
[35:02] How long does it usually take for an agency owner to go through each of the five stages?
[38:06] Why agency owners need to align themselves with someone that talks their language….
[41:24] Lee tells us about his next amazing event for agency owners - Agency Transformation Live on 6-8th May 2020. Read more about the event.
[44:08] I ask Lee “if you could go back in time, what advice would you give yourself?”
Subscribe & Review
Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you’re not, please do so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
You can subscribe/ follow on iTunes, Spotify or directly from my website.
I would be very grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too as they will help other people to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much,
Rob
Book Links:
Mike Hyatt, Free to Focus
Lee Cockerell, Time Management Magic
The E-Myth Revisted
Hello from South Africa! I have been fortunate enough to have spent the last month here and I’m recording this podcast from Cape Town, during my last week in this stunning country.
I’ve learnt some really great lessons during my time here and I wanted to share my thoughts about Cape Town and South Africa in general and how they can relate to the way that we run our agencies (and our lives!):
[1:37] The Importance of Branding - “yes but Rob, is it safe?” is exactly what so many people asked me before I came here. This is my 4th trip to South Africa and to be honest, in my opinion it’s as safe as any big city I have been to! It’s clear that South Africa needs to do some serious rebranding to shake off its past reputation and this highlights just how important branding really is to your business. Once you are known for one thing, you have to work super hard to rebrand to become known for something else.
[5:12] Living In The Present - We seem to be a lot more present and ‘in the moment’ when we’re on holiday, which is a shame because most of us only tend to spend a few weeks of the year away (if we’re lucky enough), and the rest of it is spent working. Stop wishing time away. Life is too short and if you hate your job, try to find something you love doing because before you know it, 20 years would have flown by and you’ll never get that back.
[8:00] Be Efficient With Your Time – Know what your goals are and organise your time properly. During my last two weeks here, I made a plan to work from 7am-3pm each day. Knowing I could be exploring the beautiful sunny Cape Town at the end of each day meant I didn’t waste any time throughout the day, and I achieved so much because of this. Giving yourself a reward, (even something small like a cup of tea or a nice 30-minute walk) can help you get super focused throughout your day.
[10:39] Morning/ Evening Routines – Following on from the last point, having a consistent morning and evening routine helps me to be really efficient with my time during the day. I highly recommend you check out Free to Focus by Michael Hyattif this is something you’d like to work on.
[11:39] We All Have Choices – I’ve been told by various people that I’m so lucky to be able to go on trips like this, but to be honest it has nothing to do with luck. It was all simply in the planning and this is something you could do too, if you really wanted to! Stop constraining yourself. Stop telling yourself stories that you believe as facts. Step outside of your comfort zone and into your learning zone, and remember, it’s all about choices and planning. Listen to my episode Starting the Year With A Positive Mindset for help with this.
[13:51] Sun Is So Good For The Soul! - Seriously, doesn’t everyone seem so much happier when the weather is beautiful?
[15:06] It’s A Small World - So much of business operates on a “who you know” basis, so always make sure to keep networking and making sure the world knows who you are.
[15:43] Practise Gratitude - There is a lot of poverty in South Africa and it reminds me just how lucky most of us really are. We need to remember to be grateful for what we have and stop moaning about such small things.
Subscribe & Review
Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you’re not, please do so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
You can subscribe/ follow on iTunes, Spotify or directly from my website.
I would be very grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too as they will help other people to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much,
Rob
Welcome to The Agency Accelerator’s eighth episode, hosted by agency coach and online educator, Rob Da Costa.
In today’s world, advertising on social media is a very competitive sport, so we need to ensure we’re doing it correctly, otherwise we could end up wasting hundreds, or even thousands of pounds.
In this episode, we are diving into the world of Facebook advertising and I am joined by a very special guest, Sophie Walton of brand and social media agency, 3Twelve.
Don’t miss this one because Sophie shares some incredibly valuable tips that even I didn’t know about until this episode!
[0:45] Exciting news from The Agency Accelerator!
[1:37] Sophie discusses her background and what led her to run her own agency, 3Twelve. When 3Twelve was first created, they offered everything from SEO to Google Adwords and web design. They tried to offer something for absolutely everyone! However, they recently niched down to mainly focus on lead generation through Facebook and has already proved to be a great move for the company.
[5:48] Traditionally, Facebook was seen as a platform for B2C companies only. Howeverif you know what you’re doing, this can be a great platform for B2B companies too. Sophie discusses how this is the case.
[7:26] Many people use Facebook for personal reasons only (i.e posting pics of their cute dogs), but they could really be missing a trick here! Facebook Ads, when done correctly can be a great lead generator for your business. Sophie gives an AMAZING re-marketing tip here and recommends installing a Facebook Pixel into your website. This bit of code will track your website visitors (warm leads) and then show your ads to them on Facebook!
[10:30] One of the main questions people ask is “how exactly do you find your target audience on Facebook?” Sophie gives another brilliant tip here (amongst others!) and explains how we can use Facebook to find a “lookalike” audience, where a new audience is created by using the info from your Facebook Pixel made up of people with similar ‘likes’, interests, demographics and more.
[13:22] So, how do we go about building an ad that resonates with our target audience?
[15:19] Let’s look at where in the sales funnel Facebook Ads fit in. Facebook is definitely great for brand awareness, but is it useful for further down in the funnel?
[16:52] Facebook Ads isn’t as cheap as it used to be and it’s a LOT more competitive! This is why it’s more important than ever to test different campaigns (using a very small budget) before going all out and potentially throwing lots of money down the drain. Sophie explains the best ways of doing this.
[19:35] In the world of advertising, you are basically fighting for real estate and unfortunately it’s not free. What is the minimum amount of money we should expect to spend each day before seeing some real results?
[20:17] Facebook Ads can be a bit of a pain to get approved, and thanks to Facebook’s not-so-great support, we are sometimes left in the dark wondering why! Sophie gives us some tips to help ensure your ads are approved every single time like avoiding making unrealistic claims (e.g “lose 10 stone in a week with these magical tablets!”).
[24:59] What are the benefits of outsourcing Facebook Ads management when you can do it yourself? Is it really so complicated?
[26:45] If you’d like to contact Sophie or simply find out more information about her services, visit the 3twelve agency WEBSITE or send her an email at: sophie@3twelve.co.uk
[27:35] Before we go, Rob asks Sophie “if you could go back in time what advice would you give?”
For a step by step guide on how to identify and define your ideal customer click HERE.
STOP PRESS
If you want to avoid 'feast or famine' in your agency then watch my new FREE training entitled "How to fill your sales pipeline with ideal leads in just 90-days"
Save Your Seat Here
In today’s podcast, I will be discussing exactly what it takes to grow a successful marketing agency and I’ll be giving you some great tips on areas to focus on as well as some common mistakes agency owners make.
Now, I’ve experienced the challenges and growing pains both when I ran my own agency as well as with countless other agencies I have worked with (both start-ups and established).
So, if you’re running an agency or you’d love to start your own agency, do not miss out on this episode.
[1:21] – Why did you start your own agency (or why do you want to?) Maybe it’s because you love the freedom having your own business brings? Or maybe it’s because you think you can do it better than others? Whatever the reason, you must ask yourself if you have these 3 crucial skills to build a successful business.
[06:02] Let’s now look at the 5 traits of a successful entrepreneurial agency owner. How many of these traits do you have? If you don’t possess all of them, what will you do to develop them?
[13:16] A very quick announcement that my Self-Running Agency Implementation Group is starting again very soon! If you want to create a successful and profitable agency, this programme is for you. You’ll receive 1-2-1 coaching from me at a fraction of the normal price as well as group coaching, accountability, your own unique roadmap and LIFETIME access to over 40 hours of online content, tools and templates. Click HERE for more info and to register your interest.
[14:16] Finally, I share with you my top 5 dos and don’ts of running and scaling a profitable and successful agency. If you can follow all of these, you will be on your way to creating a successful (and sustainable!) marketing agency.
Other links mentioned:
Agency Sales Pack
Agency Growth Pack
Subscribe & Review
Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you’re not, please do so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
You can subscribe/ follow on iTunes, Spotify or directly from my website.
I would be very grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too as they will help other people to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much,
Rob
PS BIG NEWS! After 3 months and lots of positive feedback, it's time to ramp things up. So from today onwards The Agency Accelerator Podcast will be published weekly!
Welcome to The Agency Accelerator's sixth episode, hosted by agency coach and online educator, Rob Da Costa.
In this episode, Rob is joined by guest David Miles of The PPC Machine and they cover the world of PPC marketing and how it is changing. David also discussed how and why he niched his agency.
So make sure you tune in, because Rob and David have some incredibly valuable tips to share with you in this episode.
[1:07] David discusses his background and how he ended up creating and building The PPC Machine. SEO and PPC (pay-per-click) have changed significantly over the years and The PPC Machine has to ensure they keep up to date so they are able to help their clients the best they can.
[4:58] How can you as an agency use pay-per-click to generate more leads? David shares some very handy tips and different approaches you can take to save money but keep results coming in. He also reminds us of the importance of sharing value-added content with your audience to help ensure that they come back to you, when they are ready to buy.
[8:11] Is it a good idea to stop running PPC when your site's SEO kicks in?
[11:46] Why should we outsource PPC when surely we can just do it ourselves? David discusses some interesting points about Google and how setting up a campaign can look easier than it actually is (more money for Google, less money for you!)
[14:42] Rob and David discuss the value of focusing on your own speciality and delegating areas you are not expert in.
They discuss the different approaches you can take including delegating internally and using a mentor to provide support to upskill.
[17:15] How can we compete with our PPC competitors without paying out ridiculous amounts of money each month?
[19:30] Businesses need to remember that PPC leads can be very different to more traditional leads, as they tend come in at the very top of the sales funnel (i.e they don't know anything about you). David tells us how he helped a Dental practise change their approach with PPC leads to turn more of them into new clients.
[21:30] The PPC industry is always changing. David predicts what he thinks is going to happen in the next few years.
[24:24] How and why did David and PPC Machine choose their niche?
[34:01] How can we find out more about the PPC Machine?
Subscribe & Review
Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you're not, please do
so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
You can subscribe/ follow on iTunes, Spotify or directly from my website.
I would be very grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too as they will help other people
to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much,
Rob
Use links mentioned in this podcast
PPC Machine website
David Miles LinkedIn
Case Study
Welcome to another episode of the Agency Accelerator podcast, hosted by business coach and mentor, Rob Da Costa.
Email marketing (when done correctly) is one of the most effective, if not THE most effective way of delivering new sales for your agency. If you don’t have a list, this should be at the top of your marketing priorities this year.
In this episode I am going to cover a lot with you including: WHY you need a mailing list, WHERE to build your mailing list and HOW to build and keep your audience.
The ROI on email marketing can be unbelievable if you do it correctly, so make sure you tune in and don’t forget to subscribe!
[0:31] Why you should absolutely be using email marketing within your business
[2:15] Email marketing is effective in every single stage of the sales funnel and the best bit….you can automate the entire process. Remember, it is incredibly important that you keep your sand-timer filled, so that your audience don’t forget you and go elsewhere, when they are ready to buy. Consistent, relevant email marketing will help to ensure that you stay in your audience’s minds.
[6:28] What platform should you use for your email marketing?
[9:30] How can you use your website as the entry point into your sales funnel? Drive more traffic to your website using what I like to call “education-based marketing.”
[12:38] How do you BUILD your list? Remember, you must make sure it’s permission-based!
[15:47] First impressions really do count so you want to make sure you absolutely nail your Welcome Email. Here are my 6 tops tips to do just that:
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Don’t forget to say thank you
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If they signed up to receive something in return (e.g. a free e-book) give them easy access
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Set expectations for future emails – what sort of emails can they expect? How often will you be emailing them etc?
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Tell them a little but more about you to build your credibility even more
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Ask them to whitelist your emails so they don’t go into spam!
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Provide further contact details so they can easily get in touch and follow you on other social platforms
[18:21] The value of creating a content calendar so you know what you’re going to send ahead of time.
[19:27] How frequently should you be sending your emails?
[20:54] Why I am not a fan of newsletter-style emails
[22:13] Don’t forget about your existing clients!
[23:53] Let’s recap this episode
Subscribe & Review
Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you’re not, please do so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
You can subscribe/ follow on iTunes, Spotify or directly from my website.
I would be very grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too as they will help other people to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much,
Rob
My free email template SWIPEFILE Download
DripScripts
ActiveCampaign
ConvertKit
Welcome to another episode of the Agency Accelerator podcast.
In this episode, we are joined by my very first guest and a client of mine, Sally Alexander. Sally is currently the Client Services Director but soon to be Managing Director of education-focused marketing agency, Ambleglow.
We discuss how Ambleglow has repositioned itself from an education focused ad agency to a full service marketing agency.
Sally gives some brilliant tips and advice so if you run a marketing agency (no matter what niche is), make sure you tune in as you will take away a lot from this episode!
[0:58] Sally discusses Ambleglow’s background. Ambleglow’s main focus in education was always within recruitment marketing. You may be aware that there is a huge teacher shortage here in the UK, meaning it’s more important than ever for schools to get their recruitment marketing right. However, with the rise of employment-related search engines such as Indeed, a lot of schools now decide to simply recruit new staff themselves, without the need for agencies. Ambleglow have therefore broadened out their niche to include additional services for their education audience where there is still a big demand.
[5:40] I talk about the value of being a niched agency and why Ambleglow were right to broaden out their services whilst still remaining within their niche. Sally discusses all of the core services Ambleglow now offer and how they go about actually selling their business to potential clients.
[9:30] Many businesses might be great at what they do but so many of them are still poor at marketing themselves. Ambleglow were aware of this and so made a great decision when they decided to invest in bringing in a marketer to work on their outbound marketing with them. Sally shares some more tips that have helped their company remain a successful player, even in these challenging times.
[11:31] Sally discusses the mistakes they made within Ambleglow’s marketing and the key learnings they took away from these.
[13:45] What does the future hold for Ambleglow?
[15:06] Sally discusses some of the outbound marketing strategies that work well for Ambleglow, including LinkedIn and creating more value-added content to build more awareness and trust. Remember, when your audience KNOW, LIKE and TRUST you, they will be much more likely to buy from you.
[19:00] Sally gives her final bits of advice to give to other marketing agencies to help them grow.
[20:45] I ask Sally, “if you could give your old self some advice what would it be?”
[22:15] Let’s look at the 5-key takeaways from this episode.
If you’d like to find out more about Ambleglow and their services, check out their website or follow them on:
LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.
Subscribe & Review
Are you subscribed to my podcast yet? If you’re not, please do so to avoid missing out on any episodes!
You can subscribe/ follow on iTunes, Spotify or directly from my website.
I would be very grateful if you left me a review over on iTunes, too as they will help other people to find my podcasts and it's also great to read your comments!
Thanks so much,
Rob
In this first podcast of the year, I talk about the power of a positive (and negative) mindset and how this can, quite literally, make or break your business.
Mindset is not just some wishy-washy trend that comes and goes like a lot of the health and wellness fads these days because I guarantee you, behind every successful business is an entrepreneur with a winning positive mindset.
I’ll be discussing exactly what mindset is and how your thoughts directly influence your actions and behaviours.
I will also be teaching you 8 amazing strategies to grow your business with a positive mindset.
So tune in, because you’re going to come away from this episode with a lot of incredibly important tools and tips to implement into your own growth and development.
[02:15] Thoughts lead to feelings that lead to actions or behaviours. This is known as the cognitive triangle. If you want to change your behaviour, you have to change your thoughts.
[03:28] The law of attraction isn’t just as simple as sticking a picture of your dream car on your fridge and it magically appearing. However, positive thoughts really do influence positive behaviours that in turn, attract positive outcomes (and vice versa). The law of attraction is very real!
[4:53] Mindset and growth - You must learn to stretch yourself outside of your comfort zone in order to grow. There are three areas of your comfort zone (comfort zone, fear zone and learning zone). If you can learn to step outside of your comfort zone and into your learning zone, this is where you will start to acquire new skills and deal with challenges head on.
[6:44] Play small, stay small – If you think you’re not good enough to get better clients, you won’t.
[8:30] Mindset in your marketplace – Whyconfidence in yourself and the service you offer is key.
[9:54] Mindset and pricing – If you have the right mindset, you will learn how to confidently charge what you know you’re really worth.
[11:30] Mindset and teams – A leader with a strong, positive mindset is not threatened by recruiting the very best staff that they can afford.
[12:33] Mindset and learning – Having a positive mindset will enable you to quickly react to changes in the market and efficiently deal with any curveballs that are thrown your way.
[14:15]8 strategies to grow your business with a positive mindset
[14:20] 1. Keep learning and learn from your mistakes
[17:22] 2. Get someone to coach you who has “been there, done that”
[18:16] 3. See failure as an opportunity to learn
[20:13] 4. Ensure you maintain a good work/life balance.
[21:41] 5. Start and end your day in a consistent manner
[22:57] 6. Learn to listen to your instincts
[24:29] 7. Keep reinventing and evolving yourself
[25:10] 8. Keep revisiting your vision to stay connected to it
If you would like to grab free mindset guide outlining these points in more detail, simply click here.
Finally, make sure you download these great resources to help you achieve the winning mindset:
Free to focus
Everything is figuroutable
Mindset
TedTalk: Linking positive brains to performance
TedTalk: The Power of belief - mindset & success
If you enjoyed this podcast, please share it and consider leaving a review.
Welcome to The Agency Accelerator’s second episode, hosted by business coach and online educator, Rob Da Costa.
In this (bonus) podcast, I discuss the importance of making each and every hour as productive as possible by utilising a range of brilliant tools and apps that will save you HOURS each week.
Remember – Ditch it, Delegate it, Defer it, Do it, or…..automate it! We are focusing on the automation part in this podcast. We are talking all things productivity.
So I am going to cover 20 of my favourite tools. In case you want to skip forward, here is a handy timestamped guide for each tool:
3.07: LiveWebinar
4.29: Loom
5:56 YouTube and Vimeo
7.33 Autocue & other video equipment
11.10 Canva
11.54 Designrr
14:01 TinyJpg
14:24 Thrive Architect
16:46 ConvertKit
17.39 DuxSoup
18.48: RocketReach
19:15 Hunter.io
19:53 Buffer
20:29 DripScripts
21:30 Google Drive
22.26 Marvin
23.39 Toby
24.54 AppSumo
25.59 Xero
26.33 ReceiptBank
If you would like a hardcopy of this podcast, you can grab a copy of my top 15 tools cheatsheet which includes more details and links to all the tools mentioned. Grab your copy by visiting https://www.dacostacoaching.co.uk/download-1
In episode 1 you will get to know your host, Rob Da Costa and as well hear about the goals for the podcast and you, and learn about some of the forthcoming episodes and interviews.
Key points in the podcast:
- 1:07 Who is Rob Da Costa?
- 2:36 Selling up
- 4:01 How Da Costa Coaching was born
- 6:00 Niching into the Marketing sector
- 7:40 How & why this podcast is going to help you, the agency owner
- 9:53 Introducing the January podcasts
If you are an agency owner, freelancer or aspiring entrepreneur, then subscribe to this podcast for value added ideas, stories and interviews.
So please hit subscribe! You can also learn more about Rob and get loads of free value added content here.