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
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Useful links mentioned in this episode:
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