392. Sales Strategies for Creative Entrepreneurs with Michael Janda

Jul 1, 2024

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In this episode of the podcast, Ryan sits down with Michael Janda, a renowned mentor for creative entrepreneurs, to explore the journey of building and scaling a successful creative agency. Michael shares his experiences from starting as a basement freelancer to growing his agency, which eventually attracted high-profile clients like Disney and Google. He discusses the importance of niching, the value of creating ongoing residual income, and the strategies that helped him sell his business and transition into his current role as a consultant and educator.

Throughout the conversation, Michael provides practical advice on sales, client relationships, and staying competitive in a rapidly evolving industry. He emphasizes the need for creative professionals to move beyond their comfort zones, actively seek out networking opportunities, and continuously add value to their clients' businesses. By highlighting the significance of strategic thinking and long-term planning, Michael offers a blueprint for creative entrepreneurs aiming to achieve sustainable success.

Listeners will also enjoy Michael’s humorous anecdotes and candid insights into the challenges and triumphs of running a creative agency. Whether you're a freelancer looking to grow your business or an established agency owner seeking new strategies, this episode is packed with actionable takeaways that will inspire and motivate you on your entrepreneurial journey.

Key Takeaways

The Importance of Niching and Residual Income, Sales Strategies for Creative Entrepreneurs: Michael Janda emphasizes the value of niching down your services and focusing on creating ongoing residual income. He highlights how businesses that offer continuous services, such as digital marketing and SEO, tend to have more predictable and scalable revenue streams compared to one-off project-based work.
Sales Strategies for Creative Entrepreneurs: One of the main points Michael discusses is the need for creative professionals to improve their sales skills. He advises listeners to actively seek out networking opportunities, ask clients for referrals, and stay top of mind by maintaining regular contact with potential clients. This approach helps in building a robust client base and ensuring consistent business growth.
Leveraging Competitive Analysis: Michael shares a practical tactic for winning clients by conducting competitive analysis. Instead of pointing out flaws in a potential client's current setup, show them how their competitors are leveraging superior solutions. This method taps into the competitive nature of business owners and positions you as the ideal partner to help them stay ahead.
Adapting to Technological Advancements: The discussion also touches on the impact of technological advancements, such as AI, on the creative industry. Michael stresses the importance of staying adaptable and embracing new tools that can enhance efficiency and creativity. By focusing on high-value services like strategy and campaign ideation, creative professionals can differentiate themselves and continue to provide significant value to their clients.

About Michael Janda

Michael Janda is an award-winning creative director, designer, and agency veteran. In 2002, he founded the creative agency Riser, which provided design and development services for clients that included Disney, Google, Warner Bros., Fox, NBC, ABC, National Geographic and many other high-profile brands. Michael sold his agency in 2015 and now spends his time speaking, developing books, courses, and social media content to help creatives level-up. He is the author of “Burn Your Portfolio” and “The Psychology of Graphic Design Pricing.”

In This Episode

[00:00] Welcome to the show!
[03:54] Meet Michael Janda
[09:07] Journey Through The Agency World
[11:05] Built To Sell - John Warrillow
[15:32] Niching Down
[36:37] Creating Success In Your Business
[45:22] Connect with Michael
[46:17] Outro

Quotes

"The value of the video after you're done shooting it is nothing. The value is in getting that video in front of potential customers for the person that you made it for." - Michael Janda

"Creative people are the worst salespeople of all time. You're afraid that if you actually pitch your wares to a client, they're going to think that you're a used car salesman." - Michael Janda

"If I don't tell them about me, then they're going to choose to work with somebody else. And that other person is going to give them a bad project. I know I can do it for them much better than the other person." - Michael Janda

"One of the ways that I love to do that is not telling them that they have something bad, just showing them that their competitors have something better." - Michael Janda

"It's not about saying, 'Hey, your brand video sucks.' It's more about saying, 'Hey, I did a little competitive analysis of your three biggest competitors and I saw that these two have an awesome brand video. I can make one better than these.'" - Michael Janda