The Agency Exit Checklist: What Buyers Actually Want
Smart Agency Masterclass with Jason Swenk: Podcast for Digital Marketing Agencies
Strategic Agency Enhancement for Long-Term Success
This chapter delves into the crucial factors that increase an agency's appeal to potential buyers, such as having a clear vision and diverse revenue streams. The speaker highlights the significance of profit growth, KPI tracking, and strong leadership in ensuring a successful transaction.
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Most agency owners don’t wake up dreaming about selling. You want freedom, better clients, and to stop living in Slack at 2 a.m. But here’s the truth:
The same moves that make your agency attractive to a buyer are the ones that give you freedom as an owner.
I built and sold an 8-figure agency and bought 10 more and now I’m sharing 8 elements of a sellable, scalable agency. Whether you ever sell or not, these are the foundations that make your shop stronger.
Let’s break them down.
1. Stop Being the Accidental OwnerMost of us stumbled into agency life. That’s fun—but long-term it’s not a strategy.
You’ve got to shift from “operator” to agency CEO, and that means:
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Setting and communicating vision (over and over).
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Coaching your leadership team, not everyone.
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Knowing your numbers.
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Being the face of the agency.
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Building strategic relationships.
When your team knows where you’re going, you stop being the bottleneck.
2. Build More Than ReferralsReferrals are great, but if 90% of your deals are coming from “word of mouth,” you’ve got a problem.
Getting most of your leads from any singular channel is usually a red flag. When I’m looking at buying a business, one of the first things I’ll ask is how many channels they have for building their pipeline, how can I increase those channels and make them more predictable. If I’m looking at this, you as the agency owners and CEO should too.
I recommend the three-legged stool: inbound, outbound, and strategic partnerships.
When you’ve got multiple reliable channels, downturns don’t crush you. That’s how my agency grew through 9/11, ’08, and even COVID.
3. Predictable Revenue = PowerBuyers want to know: can we forecast revenue six months out? That means retainers, long-term contracts, and expanding client accounts.
If you land a $20k/month retainer, your mindset should be: “How can I build this account over time to grow it to $100k?”
And don’t just deliver results—show them wins constantly. Stickiness comes from proof, community, and processes that make leaving painful.
4. Don’t Let a Whale Sink YouIf one client is 20%+ of your revenue, you’re on thin ice. Does this mean that you should say no to big clients? Heck no. Take the whale and then go get more. Turn today’s whales into tomorrow’s minnows by leveling up your client base.
5. Leadership That Runs Without YouIf your agency can’t grow while you’re gone for six months, you don’t have a business—you have a job.
Owners shouldn’t be doing marketing, sales, or any type of delivery.
A-players cost more, but they 10x the results and give you your life back. Your job isn’t to run projects, sales, or delivery—it’s to lead the leaders.
6. Profitability Isn’t OptionalKnow your EBITDA. If you’re not profitable and reinvesting, you’re stalling. And if you don’t have a compelling growth story (even how you’re leveraging AI), buyers—and clients—will pass.
7. Track KPIs Like a ProIf you can’t instantly tell me your close rate, show-up rate, or pipeline health, that’s a problem. Great agencies have dashboards, not excuses.
8. Get Audited Financials (Every Year)I’ve chatted with agency owners who thought they were making $1M profit—but after an audit, it was half that. Multiples dropped, deals crumbled.
Don’t let your “guesswork” numbers cost you millions. Get audited, stay real.
Before You Even Think About Selling…Don’t sell unless you know what’s next.
Plenty of agency owners with 7-figure profits and freedom think they’re “done,” only to end up depressed because they tied their identity to the agency.
Fix what you don’t like. Keep what works. Only exit when you’re moving toward something you actually want.
What To Do NextIf you’re serious about building an agency that gives you freedom (and the option to sell someday), start here:
Agency Valuation Calculator. See what your agency’s really worth today.
Agency Playbook. Jason’s 8-system framework to shift from operator to CEO.
Agency Blueprint. Get a personalized roadmap to spot value gaps and growth opportunities.
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