The Digital Agency Growth Podcast

As an agency owner, it can be easy to feel stuck in the mid-six-figure range, unsure how to intentionally grow your business. Melissa Lohrer, CEO and founder of Waverly Ave Consulting, is here today to share her insights on rethinking the traditional agency model and building a solid foundation for growth. Melissa emphasizes the importance of niching down and specializing, understanding your financial goals, and more. This week, episode 243 of The Digital Agency Growth Podcast is about rethinking the traditional agency model and founder-led sales! Watch our latest video training, How to Take Charge of Your Agency’s Future Revenue. During this training, you’ll learn how we get qualified appointments every week using tasteful and highly targeted email outreach.In this episode of The Digital Agency Growth Podcast, Melissa Lohrer shares the importance of having a clear vision and financial goals to make informed decisions about client fit and actionable steps you can take right now to seek partnerships and opportunities for collaboration. Melissa Lohrer is the CEO & Founder of Waverly Ave. Consulting, an independent consulting business built for modern agencies, rethinking the traditional agency model and giving agency owners a runway for growth. After spending 13 years working inside agencies, Melissa decided to start her own business to redefine what success means in the creative world.In this episode, Dan and Melissa discuss the following:The balance between standardizing processes in agencies and preserving creativity.Specialization and how it can lead to increased pricing and simplified operations.The importance of partnerships and collaboration in the agency space, rather than viewing competitors as threats.How founders should continue to drive the vision and be involved in the sales process, even with a dedicated salesperson.Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to follow, rate and review the podcast and tell me your key takeaways!Learn more about The Digitial Agency Growth Podcast at https://www.salesschema.com/podcast/ and our Video training at http://salesschema.com/takecharge CONNECT WITH MELISSA LOHRER:LinkedInWaverly Ave. ConsultingAgency Darlings podcastCONNECT WITH DAN ENGLANDER:LinkedInSales Schema

Ever wondered how a SaaS company successfully pivots to a full-service agency model? In this episode of the Digital Agency Growth Podcast, we sit down with Kevin Lee, the marketing mad scientist and CEO of Didit, a digital agency with a fascinating 25-year history. Kevin shares the inside scoop on Didit's evolution from a SaaS platform to a full-service agency, the strategic thinking behind their 11 acquisitions, and the challenges of balancing sales growth with maintaining service quality. This week, episode 242 of The Digital Agency Growth Podcast is about balancing innovation, agency operations, and growth!Watch our latest video training, How to Take Charge of Your Agency’s Future Revenue. During this training, you’ll learn how we get qualified appointments every week using tasteful and highly targeted email outreach.In this episode of The Digital Agency Growth Podcast, Dan Englander and Kevin Lee shares the importance of understanding your client roster so that you can make better long-term decisions and actionable steps you can take today to find a balance between your number of clients and staff size.Kevin Lee Co-Founded Didit, a leading digital-first marketing firm, in 1996. He also founded GivingForward.org, a cause-marketing nonprofit focused on generating revenues for other nonprofits. Previously to Giving Forward, Kevin founded We-Care, a cause marketing platform that generated over $8 million for nonprofits, becoming the “inspiration” for Amazon SMILE ($350 million in donations). Kevin is also the CEO of the eMarketing Association. Kevin invents marketing technology solutions for Didit clients and has written 4 books, spoken at more than 500 events, and published 700+ articles on marketing.In this episode, Dan and Kevin Lee discuss the following:The evolution of an agency from SaaS to full service.Challenges and wins from multiple business acquisitions.The importance of diversifying your client base to your comfort level.Balancing your passions with your business responsibilities.Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to follow, rate, and review the podcast and tell me your key takeaways!Learn more about The Digitial Agency Growth Podcast at https://www.salesschema.com/podcast/ and our Video training at http://salesschema.com/takecharge CONNECT WITH KEVIN LEE: LinkedInDiditCONNECT WITH DAN ENGLANDER:LinkedInSales Schema

Are you struggling to stand out in what feels like a saturated market? Brent Weaver, the founder and CEO of UGURUS, has the answers you need. In this insightful episode, Brent dives deep into the power of specialization for digital agencies, sharing how his team has navigated 13 different niches to find unparalleled success. He also offers a glimpse into the future, exploring how agencies can harness the power of AI to drive capacity, revenue, and profit gains. This week, episode 241 of The Digital Agency Growth Podcast is about embracing specialization and the power of niche focus!Watch our latest video training, How to Take Charge of Your Agency’s Future Revenue. During this training, you’ll learn how we get qualified appointments every week using tasteful and highly targeted email outreach.In this episode of The Digital Agency Growth Podcast, Brent Weaver shares the importance of specialization for digital agencies to improve performance and actionable steps you can take right now to educate prospects and help them understand their challenges in sales calls. Brent Weaver is on a mission to help 10,000 digital agency owners achieve freedom in business and life by helping them own their market.  Brent is the founder and CEO of UGURUS, a business training and education company dedicated to this mission. He also hosts one of the leading podcasts in the business niche—The Digital Agency Show.  Brent is in partnership with UnlimitedWP—a scalable white label WordPress development team to help digital agencies grow without all the headaches of hiring and managing people. He is also a Brand Ambassador for Cloudways, a WordPress hosting company, helping them evangelize their platform. In this episode, Dan and Brent discuss the following:The challenges of changing specialization, including changing your landing pages and copy.Focusing on where your leads and traffic are coming from, not just your website copy.Providing value to clients through flexibility and reducing the number of hops in communication.The evolving role of sales and helping prospective clients make informed decisions, rather than using persuasion.Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to follow, rate and review the podcast and tell me your key takeaways!Learn more about The Digitial Agency Growth Podcast at https://www.salesschema.com/podcast/ and our Video training at http://salesschema.com/takecharge CONNECT WITH BRENT WEAVER:LinkedInUGURUSThe Digital Agency ShowYouTubeCONNECT WITH DAN ENGLANDER:LinkedInSales Schema

Even if selling your agency is not first on your priority list, you should plan for it long before ever setting the wheels in motion. Karl Sakas is here today to share critical advice for agency owners considering an exit. From planning your post-deal activities to differentiating your agency in a crowded market, Karl provides a roadmap for maximizing the value of your business and ensuring a smooth transition. He also covers the three A's framework for managing your team, the power of vertical specialization, and the existential questions you must address before handing over the reins. This week, episode 240 of The Digital Agency Growth Podcast is about navigating agency growth and exits and calming the chaos.Watch our latest video training, How to Take Charge of Your Agency’s Future Revenue. During this training, you’ll learn how we get qualified appointments every week using tasteful and highly targeted email outreach.In this episode of The Digital Agency Growth Podcast, Karl Sakas shares the importance of planning for an exit well before initiating it and actionable steps you can take right now to communicate and problem-solve with your employees effectively. Karl Sakas helps digital agency owners ‘Work Less’ and ‘Earn More’... while rewarding their best employees. Drawing on his background in agency operations, Karl has personally advised hundreds of agencies on every inhabited continent. An international speaker, he is the author of three books—including "Work Less, Earn More"—and more than 450 articles on agency management. When he’s not helping clients, Karl volunteers as a bartender on an antique train. In this episode, Dan and Karl discuss the following:Current trends in the agency business, including slower growth.Emphasizing the marketing efforts you can sustain rather than trying to do everything.Planning for an exit early to avoid difficulties down the road.The three A’s framework for navigating team communication.Don’t forget to sign up to follow the release of Karl’s new book, Calm The Chaos!  Also, head to Karl’s website to access his Control (And Maximize) Your Agency Exit training, and use the code SALESSCHEMA for a discount.Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to follow, rate and review the podcast and tell me your key takeaways!Learn more about The Digitial Agency Growth Podcast at https://www.salesschema.com/podcast/ and our Video training at http://salesschema.com/takecharge CONNECT WITH KARL SAKAS:LinkedInWebsiteInstagramX (formerly Twitter)CONNECT WITH DAN ENGLANDER:LinkedInSales Schema

In this engaging talk, Max Traylor, an ex-agency owner and author of the Agency Survival Guide book series, dives into the shifting terrain of the agency world. He stresses the importance of hiring skilled individuals for strategic conversations to foster trust-based client relationships. Max shares valuable lessons from his competitive paintball experience, discussing the need for mentorship and innovative growth strategies. He also highlights the impact of AI on agency services and emphasizes transforming client relationships from tactical to strategic partnerships.

Are you struggling to cut through the noise and connect with your ideal clients? You’re not the only one. In the ever-changing world of outbound sales, it can be difficult to know the best ways to niche down and connect with your ideal clients. Adam Robinson is here this week to share his unique perspective on the changing landscape of sales and marketing, emphasizing the power of organic social media content and the importance of building trust with prospects. From his unconventional branding approach to his transparent, storytelling-driven content strategy, Adam offers a refreshing take on how agencies and B2B service providers can adapt to the evolving demands of today's buyers. This week, episode 238 of The Digital Agency Growth Podcast is about navigating the evolving landscape of outbound sales! Watch our latest video training, How to Take Charge of Your Agency’s Future Revenue. During this training, you’ll learn how we get qualified appointments every week using tasteful and highly targeted email outreach.In this episode of The Digital Agency Growth Podcast, Adam Robinson shares the importance of building trust and personalized outreach and actionable steps you can take right now to stand out in your market. Adam Robinson is the Founder/CEO of Retention.com and RB2B. Adam bootstrapped Retention.com to $22m ARR in 4 years by helping ecommerce stores identify their anonymous website visitors and send them triggered emails. He launched RB2B in March of 2024 to help SaaS companies identify anonymous website visitors and see their LinkedIn profiles in Slack for free! Adam lives in Austin, TX with his wife Helen and daughter Emma.In this episode, Dan and Adam discuss the following:The benefits of identifying anonymous site visitors and sending LinkedIn profiles to Slack.The concept of humanizing data and the impact of seeing a face on a site visit.The decline of cold outreach and the increasing importance of inbound and organic social media content.Adam’s perspective on LinkedIn evolving into an edutainment platform and its impact on content creation.Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to follow, rate and review the podcast and tell me your key takeaways!Learn more about The Digitial Agency Growth Podcast at https://www.salesschema.com/podcast/ and our Video training at http://salesschema.com/takecharge CONNECT WITH ADAM ROBINSON:LinkedInRetention.comRB2BCONNECT WITH DAN ENGLANDER:LinkedInSales Schema

As an agency owner, you know the challenges of standing out in a crowded market and driving consistent growth. From navigating changing client demands to optimizing your operations, the path to success can feel elusive. Nick Petroski, founder of Promethean Research, shares the data-driven insights that are helping leading agencies overcome these obstacles and achieve remarkable growth. This week, episode 237 of The Digital Agency Growth Podcast is about building resilient agencies in a rapidly changing market! Watch our latest video training, How to Take Charge of Your Agency’s Future Revenue. During this training, you’ll learn how we get qualified appointments every week using tasteful and highly targeted email outreach.In this episode of The Digital Agency Growth Podcast, Nick Petroski shares the foundational elements agencies should have, strategies that generate revenue for their clients and the operational shifts that fuel an agency’s success.Nicholas Petroski is the founder of Promethean Research. Since 2015, he has helped over 100 digital agency owners better understand their industry and chart more effective paths to success. Before co-founding Promethean, Nick worked as an equity analyst at a Wall Street firm covering the enterprise software and semiconductor industries. In this episode, Dan and Nick Petroski discuss the following:How the level of sophistication in the agency industry has evolved over the past decade.Characteristics of successful "boutique" agencies today.The benefits of specialization and deep industry expertise.The shift towards a consultative, relationship-based approach to revenue generation.The value of using data and research to inform strategic decision-making.Whether you're looking to specialize your offerings, improve your sales process, or build a more efficient delivery model, this conversation is packed with actionable advice to take your agency to the next level.Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to follow, rate and review the podcast and tell me your key takeaways!Learn more about The Digitial Agency Growth Podcast at https://www.salesschema.com/podcast/ and our Video training at http://salesschema.com/takecharge CONNECT WITH NICK PETROSKI:LinkedInPromethean ResearchCONNECT WITH DAN ENGLANDER:LinkedInSales Schema

One of the biggest challenges agency owners and their teams face when it comes to business development is how to open doors efficiently, build meaningful relationships, and fill your sales pipeline without getting bogged down by a slow, one-by-one approach. Dan recently had the opportunity to guest on the Sell with Authority podcast hosted by Stephen Woessner to talk about Sales Schema’s strategies to find commonalities between you and your potential clients, our approach to effective testing with smaller B2B sample sizes, and more. We’re happy to present that episode for you today. This week, episode 236 of The Digital Agency Growth Podcast is about how to balance personalization and scale.Watch our latest video training, How to Take Charge of Your Agency’s Future Revenue. During this training, you’ll learn how we get qualified appointments every week using tasteful and highly targeted email outreach.In this episode of The Digital Agency Growth Podcast, Dan Englander and Stephen Woessner share the importance of building trust with potential clients through relationship-building and actionable steps you can take right now to identify commonalities you share with your potential clients. Stephen Woessner is the CEO and President of Predictive ROI, a company that offers community, coaching, and turnkey services to help you lead and grow your business strategically. Stephen is also the co-author of Sell With Authority: Own and Monetize Your Agency's Authority Position. For over 25 years, Stephen has been in the trenches of agency new business strategy working alongside agencies and consultants — teaching them how to build their authority within the markets they serve, grow their audience, and fill their sales pipeline with a steady stream of right-fit clients so they can win new business. In this episode, Dan and Stephen discuss the following:How outbound marketing can fine-tune your overall marketing efforts.Why agency owners should offload tasks to build an effective outreach system.The ideal team setup for outbound marketing.The role of testing in outbound marketing and the importance of running campaigns over a period of time.Don’t forget to get your hand on a copy of Stephen’s book, Sell With Authority: Own and Monetize Your Agency's Authority Position today!Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to follow, rate and review the podcast and tell me your key takeaways!Learn more about The Digitial Agency Growth Podcast at https://www.salesschema.com/podcast/ and our Video training at http://salesschema.com/takecharge CONNECT WITH STEPHEN WOESSNER:LinkedInFacebookPredictive ROISell with Authority podcastCONNECT WITH DAN ENGLANDER:LinkedInSales Schema

Hourly billing is incredibly common throughout the agency space. We’ve all seen it, paid for it, and probably have priced our work that way at one point as well. But hourly billing is not great for anyone involved in the transaction: those providing the service find themselves hitting a ceiling and unable to scale, while clients worry about how many hours a project will take and whether or not the quoted price is actually what they’ll pay. Jonathan Stark is here today to present the full case against hourly billing and guide us in what our pricing models should be instead. This week, episode 235 of The Digital Agency Growth Podcast is about ditching hourly billing and embracing value-based pricing! Watch our latest video training, How to Take Charge of Your Agency’s Future Revenue. During this training, you’ll learn how we get qualified appointments every week using tasteful and highly targeted email outreach.In this episode of The Digital Agency Growth Podcast, Jonathan Stark shares the importance of understanding the value clients get from your contributions and how to package that value for sale. and actionable steps you can take right now to start targeting specific industries to get more leads. Jonathan Stark is a former software developer who is on a mission to rid the world of hourly billing. He is the author of Hourly Billing Is Nuts, the host of Ditching Hourly, and writes a daily newsletter on pricing for independent professionals.In this episode, Dan and Jonathan discuss the following: How hourly pricing can lead to a ceiling on income and limits the ability to scale.The benefits of specialization and how it can lead to more productization.The importance of positioning yourself as the one and only expert in your niche.Ways to start shifting to project or performance-based pricing.Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to follow, rate and review the podcast and tell me your key takeaways!Learn more about The Digitial Agency Growth Podcast at https://www.salesschema.com/podcast/ and our Video training at http://salesschema.com/takecharge CONNECT WITH JONATHAN STARK:Value Pricing BootcampCONNECT WITH DAN ENGLANDER:LinkedInSales Schema

Struggling to get your outreach noticed? Explore strategies to effectively connect with ideal clients. Discover the power of personalization and commonalities to build trust. Learn how to demonstrate expertise through compelling copy that engages decision-makers. Find out techniques for standing out in crowded inboxes while reducing perceived risks. Get insights on casual outreach that eases communication barriers and fosters long-term client relationships.