The Innovative Agency

Intro How could a case study help you showcase the effectiveness of your agency's services? To help you find the answers, we had Joel Klettke join us to share his insight on creating valuable case studies and how you can leverage them throughout your business development strategy. What you will learn in this episode: How agency owners should select candidates for future case studies. The best ways to manage the process of creating client case studies. The different ways case studies can be leveraged by your agency and its clients. What approach is best when asking clients to participate in a case study. How to make participating in a case study appear worthwhile to existing clients. What it takes to create an effective case study. The importance of offering control to the subject during the creation of case studies. Bio Joel Klettke is a bald, Canadian Dad of two who has spent way too much time behind a keyboard for it to be good for his cardiovascular health. From accounting gopher to accidental industrial labeling machine salesman, SEO to conversion copywriter, he's now the Founder of Case Study Buddy where his team helps B2B companies like HubSpot and Loom share their customer success stories in a way that drives real ROI Resources: Website: https://casestudybuddy.com/ LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelklettke/ LinkedIn Business: https://www.linkedin.com/company/case-study-buddy/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/casestudybuddy Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoelKlettke Business Casual Copywriting

Intro Whether your transition into running an agency was intentional or "accidental", actively learning more about your role as an agency owner is a must. Our latest guest, Greg Hickman, presents his ideas on how agency owners can define their paths moving forward, without compromising on creating their ideal businesses. He also touches on some strategies agency owners can use to scale their agencies while remaining discreet. What you will learn in this episode: How agency owners should define "growth." Why "accidental" agency owners still need to learn core business skills. How to effectively transition from a full-service background to a specific niche. The importance of understanding your agency's goals and committing to them. How to productize the solutions your agency typically offers. Bio Greg Hickman is the Founder and CEO of AltAgency™. Over the last 4 years, Greg and his team have transformed AltAgency™ from an automation consultancy serving many well known entrepreneurs and growth experts into one of the top coaching and training companies for agencies looking to grow and scale by packaging their expertise, installing systems for growth and leveraging automation to save time. Resources: Website: https://altagency.com/ LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregoryjhickman/ LinkedIn Business: https://www.linkedin.com/company/altagency/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greghickmanfan Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregoryjhickman Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@gregoryjhickman

Intro Presenting strong proposals to prospects is a critical element of securing the clientele your agency needs to thrive. Your proposal-related efforts can also make or break the morale of your team. To help you craft the optimal proposal strategy for your agency, today's guest, Joe Ardeeser, discusses his thoughts on what you should and shouldn't do when creating and presenting proposals to prospects. What you will learn in this episode: How to put your best foot forward during the proposal writing process. Why agencies must prioritize end results in their proposals. The importance of identifying and articulating big-picture goals within proposals. Why every proposal should be presented during a formal proposal review meeting with the prospect. The value of offering prospects a degree of agency within the architecture of the prospecting process. The benefits of creating interactive proposals that allow prospects to manipulate the scope independently. What the "vague vortex" is, the problems it causes, and how to avoid it. Bio Joe Ardeeser is the Founder and CEO of Smart Pricing Table. They are a fast and accurate b2b proposal software company. Resources: Website: https://www.smartpricingtable.com/ LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joeardeeser/ LinkedIn Business: https://www.linkedin.com/company/smart-pricing-table/

High-performing agency owners constantly search for innovative ways to drive awareness and interest in their services. The latest episode of the Innovative Agency Podcast explores Christian Banach's most effective approaches to demand generation. His guidance will provide the insight you need to create the ideal lists, curate the best offers, and construct effective messaging to create unique opportunities for business development. What you will learn in this episode: How to create successful outbound campaigns using Christian's 40-40-20 rule. The importance of investigating your current network to find business development opportunities. Why you shouldn't squander existing relationships and instead work to nurture them. How to use functional brainstorming to avoid situations that burn cash without creating ROI. How to balance list building with other outbound campaign efforts. Effective strategies for leveraging LinkedIn to attract business opportunities. How the ROI of email ranks compared to other business development vehicles. Bio Christian Banach is Principal/Chief Growth Officer of the business development and growth consultancy, Christian Banach LLC, where he and his team guide marketing agencies and martech companies to land 6- & 7-figure opportunities predictably and unlock their full potential. Christian founded a concert promotion and experiential marketing agency in high school and would grow it to over $10MM in sales. That company grew rapidly, and he worked with Grammy award winners like Lady Gaga and Pitbull. Not long after, Christian launched an experiential marketing agency division and activated programs for Disney and Toyota. The business boomed, but the 2008 Great Recession happened. Things screeched to a halt. Like many agencies, his firm had grown through worth-of-mouth and referrals. To rebound, Christian hired a consultant who taught him the fundamentals of business development. Feeling reinvigorated, Christian closed his company, took what he learned from the consultant, and pivoted to a career in agency business development. Over the last decade, Christian has worked at independent and holding company agencies across marketing disciplines. Christian discovered that his superpower was hunting and generating top-of-the-funnel opportunities with enterprise companies. He was involved in millions of dollars of wins with companies like Kohl's and Constellation Brands. Over the years, he felt an entrepreneurial itch, but he wasn't sure what he wanted to do. But the pandemic started, agencies lost clients, and some closed their doors. It reminded Christian of his agency during the Great Recession. But this time, Christian had the expertise to help as that consultant did for him. He left his high-paying agency job and launched Christian Banach LLC to help agencies and martech companies build relationships, gain perspective, and grow. Resources: Website: https://christianbanach.com/ LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christianbanach/ LinkedIn Business: https://www.linkedin.com/company/christian-banach-llc/

Intro Agency owners who do not engage in the business development aspects of their organizations are few and far between. Yet, Jody Sutter has found that even agency leaders with a strong interest in business development sometimes find themselves unprepared for unexpected market downturns. As a resolution, we've invited Jody to provide her perspective on potential strategies agency owners can implement to bolster their business development efforts. What you will learn in this episode: The impact COVID responses have had on agency employees' work arrangements. The value of prioritizing empathy throughout business development programs. The importance of evaluating clients regularly to ascertain whether there is any risk of losing their business. How taking a straightforward and honest approach with potential clients can improve business development efforts. How your agency should approach business development if a recession occurs. Why it is critical that agency owners prioritize opportunities that are in line with their individual strengths. Bio Jody Sutter's mission is to ensure that owners of small marketing agencies are in control of their new business destiny. Most agency owners didn't start their agencies because they love to drum up new business, and yet the success of their agency depends on it. Jody helps these agency leaders develop a sustainable approach to winning new business via coaching, consulting, and done-with-you models. She is a career business development professional and her clients benefit from her years of experience doing agency sales and marketing. Jody has run large global new business operations for agencies like R/GA, OMD and Havas but she has also spent time on the front lines at smaller creative firms, generating leads and building relationships that led to new revenue. Jody knows what a challenge it can be to get the attention of new prospects and win the right kind of business for your agency. It takes hard work, creativity, and discipline. But it can also take an outsider's perspective to help you understand your greatest strengths and how to position them. Equal parts storyteller and problem-solver, Jody knows how to prescribe the right tools and techniques that will work for your agency and get your prospects to say "yes". Resources: Website: https://www.thesuttercompany.com/ LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodysutter/ LinkedIn Business: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-sutter-company/

The agency model is often delivery focused. Yet, our guest Mandi Ellefson suggests that agency owners forego delivery-focused agency models and instead transition into becoming a strategic growth partner for future clients. In her experience, this approach can produce massive transformation in an agency owner's ability to avoid burnout while scaling up revenue generation. What you will learn in this episode: The drawbacks of delivery-focused agency models. The value of creating an irresistible offer for prospective clients. The dangers of burnout. How to identify "soulmate" clients that sit squarely in the sweet spot. The importance of identifying million-dollar problems that your agency excels at solving. What steps you should take to leave a niche that isn't working anymore. How to shift your mindset to be better prepared for scaling your agency. Bio Mandi Ellefson is the creator of the Scale to Freedom Scalable Service Growth™ model. She leads consulting agency owners to have lives with greater freedom and success. Mandi has consulted with over a hundred consulting agency CEOs. She's helped them immediately free up to 20-50% of their work week to focus on accelerating profits. Her clients have grown five figures of net profit every month, added millions of dollars in sales, and have exited the day-to-day to scale growth. Some owners now passively manage their business, or have sold it. Mandi is a published author and host of The Hands-Off CEO Podcast. As a committed Freedom Fighter, a percentage of business profits go to rescuing enslaved victims of child sex trafficking. Mandi is a mother of two, enjoys travel, mountain biking and exploring the outdoors with her husband. Resources: Website: https://www.handsoffceo.com/ LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandiellefson/ LinkedIn Business: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hands-off-ceo Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mandiellefson.biz Twitter: https://twitter.com/mandiellefson

Intro Oftentimes, agency owners position their personal brands separately from their agencies' brands. This isn't always ideal for business development. That's why dynamic strategists like Jason Mudd suggest agency principals make greater strides to leverage their personal brands to market their businesses. What you will learn in this episode: How agency owners can invest 50% of their time into business development while also investing in their personal brands. The importance of leveraging diversity and inclusion when engaging with third-party business development opportunities. The benefits of ranking promotional opportunities based on the level that they fit your brand's needs. The value of niche promotional opportunities, especially when you assign them to lower-ranking members of your organization as needed. How to select and categorize promotional opportunities for your agency and personal brand. Bio Jason Mudd is a trusted adviser and dynamic strategist to some of America's most admired and fastest-growing companies, including American Airlines, Budweiser, Dave & Buster's, H&R Block, Hilton, HP, Miller Lite, New York Life, Pizza Hut, Southern Comfort, and Verizon. He is the CEO and managing partner of Axia Public Relations. According to Forbes magazine, Axia is one of America's Best PR Agencies. Jason is a professional public speaker, an Emmy Award-winning, accredited public relations practitioner, author, podcaster, and entrepreneur. Resources: Website: https://www.axiapr.com/ LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonmudd/ LinkedIn Business: https://www.linkedin.com/company/axiapr/

Are you tracking and analyzing key metrics to streamline your agency's operations? We recognize that tracking metrics often proves difficult for agencies, but today's guest Jody Grunden explains which metrics are easiest to start with. Having helped countless agencies identify weak points in their operations during his decades-long accounting career, Jody is well-positioned to help you start tracking the metrics you need to keep an eye on. What you will learn in this episode: Which key metrics are most important to track? How tracking metrics can improve forecasting for agencies. The importance of engaging with accounts receivable to ensure that income is flowing in at the expected rate. How to sure up your pipeline to improve the accuracy of your forecasts. The benefits of finding a partner who understands how to provide accurate information about the current state of your firm. What it takes to transition away from operating a cash-starved agency to having cash savings on hand. Bio Jody Grunden is an accounting visionary with over 20 years of experience. He has helped pioneer innovative changes within the industry, including the introduction of the first subscription-based billing method employed by an accounting firm. He is the author of two books, Digital Dollars and Cents and Building the Virtual CFO Firm in the Cloud. Together with his partner Adam Hale, Jody co-founded Summit CPA Group (Summit) in 2002, which merged with Anders CPAs + Advisors (Anders) in 2022. Summit, now a division of Anders, was the first fully distributed firm and the leading provider of Virtual CFO Services in North America. With this merger, Summit brings to Anders a number of benefits which will help continue Jody's vision of changing the way people think about accounting, including strengthening the now "hybrid" work environment, building out the advisory side of Anders with a Virtual CFO service model, and implementing weekly subscription billing rather than hourly billing. His specialties include Virtual CFO Services, Creative Agencies, and Remote Team Management. Resources: Website: https://www.summitcpa.net/ LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodygrunden/ LinkedIn Business: https://www.linkedin.com/company/anders-cpas-advisors/ Jody's Book: https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Dollars-Cents-Companies-Financial/dp/1973267373

Intro Regardless of the size or complexity of your agency, you must embrace your role as a leader to encourage optimal performance from your team. In this episode, Peter Levitan shares his perspective on critical areas where many agency leaders are lacking. Then, he discusses several strategies that leaders can implement to enhance business development and overall profitability. What you will learn in this episode: The impact company culture has on attracting and retaining employees. The value of engaging directly with team members as a mentor. Why the quality of meetings is far more important than the total number of meetings. How to routinely gain new business from existing clients. How to translate thought leadership and authority into authentic connections with clients. The benefits of productizing your services and IP to produce revenue streams. Why agency leaders should prioritize business development. Bio During 16 years at Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising Worldwide, Peter Levitan ran business development across Europe and the USA, was EVP Management Director in London and New York and was GM of the Minneapolis office. From 2002 to 2012, Peter owned Citrus Advertising in Portland and Bend Oregon. Clients included Nike and the U.N. He was CEO and a founder of two major Internet startups during the dotcom boom. Advance Publication's New Jersey Online was an early leader in online news, and the intelligent bot company ActiveBuddy was sold to Microsoft in 2006. Resources: Website: https://peterlevitan.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterlevitan/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/PeterLevitan

Intro A crisis scenario can detrimentally affect your bottom line, as well as that of your clients. Many agency owners understand that how you respond to crises is essential, but often less attention is paid to handling the stages leading up to crises. To provide a greater perspective on crisis management, Jon Goldberg, the founder and chief reputation architect of Reputation Architects Inc., offers his distinct insights into how agencies should preemptively prepare their clients for potential moments of crisis. What you will learn in this episode: Why crises happen to agencies and their clients. The role agencies play in keeping their clients out of a crisis. The value of putting all work recommendations through a risk review process. The importance of developing a preemptive crisis avoidance strategy. What makes a crisis a legal threat. Bio Jon Goldberg is the founder and chief reputation architect of Reputation Architects Inc., a strategic communications and reputation risk management advisory firm dedicated to building, protecting, and restoring reputations in a world of evaporated trust and unprecedented stakeholder engagement. Resources: Website:https://www.reputationarchitects.com/ LinkedIn Personal:https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonwgoldberg/ LinkedIn Personal:https://www.linkedin.com/company/reputation-architects/ Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/reputationarchitects