Navigating Agency Growth: From VP to Founder

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Are you inadvertently holding your agency back? We are all guilty of it! Many agency owners eventually confront a challenging reality: they themselves are the primary bottleneck preventing their business from reaching its full potential. Today's featured agency owner has recognized this critical insight and is actively working to transform his approach. By strategically empowering his team and gradually delegating operational responsibilities, he is creating a pathway for the agency to expand beyond its current limitations. Hear an inspiring conversation about overcoming entrepreneurial challenges and unlocking an agency's true potential through intentional operational restructuring.

Steve Phipps is the founder of Wayfind Marketing, an agency that works with service-based seasoned B2B companies focusing on mapping out clients’ strategy, website, and content for sustainable growth and increased ROI. Steve discusses his journey into the world of digital marketing and shares the pivotal moment inspired him to launch his own agency in 2015.

He emphasizes the importance of strategy in marketing, explaining how his initial offering has evolved into a full-service agency. Listeners will gain insights into how agency owners can prepare the grounds to delegate effectively and stop being the bottlenecks preventing agency growth.

In this episode, we’ll discuss:

• Getting out of your own way: breaking free from the founder’s bottleneck.

• Leading with a clear vision to ensure your team’s success.

• Empowering your sales team to make the process their own. 

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Sponsors and Resources

Wix: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by Wix, an intuitive way to design exceptional sites and a smart addition to your agency’s toolkit. With this flexible tool, your team will be able to take on any project at any scale and focus on the work that matters the most. Check out wixstudio.com and break free from growth bottlenecks.

Breaking Free from Founder's Bottleneck by Facing the Delegation Dilemma

Steve's career took an unexpected turn in 2011 when he transitioned from a corporate digital marketing role to an agency position. His talent and dedication quickly propelled him to the position of VP, where he envisioned a long-term future. However, a sudden turn of events—the unexpected passing of the agency owner and finding himself in line to buy that business.— Although the deal fell through, Steve realized he was ready to step out on his own and launched Wayfine Marketing.

With a strong focus on strategy, he tailored the agency's services to service-based B2B companies, helping them transform scattered marketing efforts into cohesive, lead-generating strategies.

However, as the business grew, he encountered a familiar challenge: he became a bottleneck in his own processes. The strategy development process for clients became a significant source of strain. Despite having a capable team, Steve found himself deeply involved in the intricacies of creating strategy decks, often resorting to late-night work sessions to meet client demands.

Recognizing the need for delegation, Steve is actively working to empower his team. He is committed to upskilling his team members, equipping them with the necessary tools and knowledge to handle strategic tasks. Hence, one of his current challenges is to rework the agency’s processes and systems to where he’s not involved in everything and can focus on the areas where he is strongest and rely on his team for everything else.

Leading with Purpose: How A Clear Mission Drives Team Success

One of Steve's primary goals is to equip his team with the ability to make informed decisions that align with the agency's overarching objectives. By fostering a shared understanding of the agency's mission and goals, he aims to create a culture of clarity and purpose.

 When team members grasp the agency's "North Star," they are better positioned to evaluate opportunities and challenges critically. They can ask themselves: "Does this align with our mission?" and "Is this beneficial to our agency?" By encouraging these thought processes, leaders can ensure that everyone is working towards a common goal.

A clear mission statement serves as a roadmap, guiding the agency's growth and providing team members with a sense of direction. When employees understand the agency's trajectory and their role within it, they are more likely to take ownership of their responsibilities, leading to increased accountability and initiative.

The next step will be to record yourself doing a task you never want to do again. By documenting processes and sharing insights, leaders can create a repository of knowledge that becomes accessible to the entire team and fosters an environment where team members can learn from past experiences, both successes and failures, and apply those lessons to future challenges.

3 Steps to Train an Agency Salesperson for Success

The level of alignment you’ll need to build out your processes in a way that you can be sure the agency can run without you will require hiring integrators who can handle daily operations and management and are adept at managing processes and people.

1. Success Stories. When it comes to preparing your sales team, start by sharing the stories they’ll need to relate to clients and earn their trust. After decades of business ownership, agency owners commonly amass a wealth of knowledge and anecdotes that serve as valuable tools in client interactions. Separate those stories from your personal experience and start teaching them to your team as a way to gain the clients’ trust while they gain experience and, little by little, start creating their own stories.

2. Initial Calls. Once your team has a solid foundation of knowledge and skills, it's time to transition them into a more active role. Begin by training them to conduct initial client calls, providing them with a script and key talking points. Have them shadow you on these calls to observe your techniques and gain practical experience.

3. Increase Autonomy. As they become more confident, allow them to take the lead on calls while you listen in. This approach provides an opportunity for real-time feedback and guidance. Continue this process throughout the entire sales cycle, gradually increasing their autonomy. Soon they’ll be confident enough to sell with only bringing you in to add color, where needed.

Remember, learning is often accompanied by mistakes. Encourage your team to embrace these setbacks as opportunities for growth. By reviewing recorded calls together, you can identify areas for improvement and provide constructive feedback.

Do You Want to Transform Your Agency from a Liability to an Asset?

Looking to dig deeper into your agency's potential? Check out our Agency Blueprint. Designed for agency owners like you, our Agency Blueprint helps you uncover growth opportunities, tackle obstacles, and craft a customized blueprint for your agency's success.