The Deep Specialization™️ Podcast

"We specialize in B2B and we specialize in the experiences of three things: A better brand that will create a better employee experience and ultimately, a stronger client experience."  – Susan Quinn, President and CEO of Circle S Studio It’s not every day you get to sit down with an agency leader with a career spanning four decades, and running! This week’s podcast guest, Susan Quinn, is not only deeply experienced, but also one of those leaders who spits quotable business wisdom on every turn. So, let’s get into it.  Susan is the President and CEO of Circle S Studio, an experience agency specializing in B2B and professional services. A lot has happened since the agency’s inception all the way back in 1999. The company has since grown into a national operation that still today maintains an intentionally boutique status with 16 full-time employees and a roster of trusted contractors.  With 75 clients in any given year, Susan’s agency has delivered hundreds of projects in the realm of B2B marketing. Needless to say, those numbers also contain a wealth of agency management experience from sales to operations and marketing. Corey and Susan sit down to cover everything from agency marketing tactics, conference approach, attracting the right clients through content, how to lead with purpose, and most importantly,  “Do not edit your dreams. Think big, go big and big things will happen.”   Here’s what we cover in this episode: - Susan’s impressive career spanning four decades. - Creating frameworks around brand and customer experience. - Finding the growth path, and how Agency Management Institute helped. - The invaluable lessons and tips Susan has learned along the journey.   Here are some actionable key takeaways for agency founders: - Examine what part of your efforts is actually bringing in revenue, and double down on that. - Find an ecosystem of partners who think differently, helping you find ways to operate better. - You can diversify your client base while still remaining specialized to mitigate market risks. - When it comes to marketing the agency, speaking and original research have been the cornerstones of Susan’s success.   The resources mentioned in this episode are: - Connect with Susan on LinkedIn Here- Check out Circle S Studio Here 👍If you liked this episode, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, and be sure to hit the subscribe button! 🔔   😩 Feeling stuck trying to stand out in a noisy market? I’d love to give you my free crash course that will help you go from “just another generalist” to a go-to expert people seek out. In just a few short days, you’ll learn how to position yourself with clarity, authority, and focus. ➡️ Sign up here: deepspecializationcourse.com

Episode: 9 Chapter Nine of Anyone, Not Everyone discusses how crafting a unique Point of View (POV) for your agency provides a competitive edge and serves as a key differentiator in a crowded marketplace. The chapter guides you through identifying a significant, meaningful problem in your vertical market, framing it against a metaphorical villain, envisioning a transformed future without the problem, and presenting your agency as a bridge to that future, thus creating a compelling and emotionally resonant POV that elevates your agency beyond mere service provision. Reminder that this is a chapter in Corey Quinn’s book, Anyone, Not Everyone. Over the next few weeks, we'll be releasing a few chapters at a time so that you can escape founder-led sales. If you want to read or listen to the entire book today, then visit www.AnyoneNotEveryone.com and pick up a copy.

"We've operated in over 30 states in Europe, Mexico and Canada. The Cannabis Creative Group has absolutely taken off like wildfire."  – Dan Serard, VP of Sales and Marketing for Cannabis Creative Group  Let’s take a deep dive into a vertical that certainly is anything but dull. This week's guest, Dan Serard is a trailblazer in cannabis marketing and has stories to tell in setting up agency services for cannabis companies. As the VP of Sales and Marketing for Cannabis Creative Group, Dan was invited to set up the vertical by Champ, a full service agency founded back in 2008. While the parent agency offers everything from branding, website design, social media, search engine optimization, paid advertising, and social media, CCG saw an opportunity to specialize in the weed industry. Why cannabis? In addition to the co-founders sharing a passion for the industry, cannabis was about to be legalized in the state of Massachusetts. So they called up Dan, and the rest is history.Between legislations and stringent restrictions to even perception, cannabis isn’t a simple vertical for agencies to master. This week, Dan and Corey discuss everything from carving out a vertical for a highly regulated product, dreaming up a standalone event brand for industry networking, and the building blocks that made CGC the success that it is today. Here’s what we cover in this episode: Starting the cannabis vertical at an agency. The quirks of the industry and navigating restrictions. How CCG grows through thought leaderships, partnerships, trade shows, and more. Building community for long-term success. Here are some actionable key takeaways for agency founders: GTM skills, even from a different industry, is a great skill set for sales leaders. Try to find spaces where you can show up first to gain an unfair advantage. Be active at industry associations; it’s a space not all agencies play in. Be the connector between clients and prospects at industry events to build community. The resources mentioned in this episode are: Connect with Dan on LinkedIn Here Check out Cannabis Creative Here 👍If you liked this episode, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, and be sure to hit the subscribe button! 🔔 😩 Feeling stuck trying to stand out in a noisy market? I’d love to give you my free crash course that will help you go from “just another generalist” to a go-to expert people seek out. In just a few short days, you’ll learn how to position yourself with clarity, authority, and focus. ➡️ Sign up here: deepspecializationcourse.com  

Episode: 8 Chapter Eight of Anyone, Not Everyone outlines a four-step process for developing a distinctive vertical positioning, ensuring your agency stands out in the marketplace. It involves identifying key attributes that your vertical clients desire, plotting these attributes to find your unique "white space," and crafting a vertical positioning statement that encapsulates your agency’s distinct place in the client’s perception. This strategic positioning is not a static tagline but a dynamic, buyer-focused guide for your agency’s messaging and differentiation in the market. Reminder that this is a chapter in Corey Quinn’s book, Anyone, Not Everyone. Over the next few weeks, we'll be releasing a few chapters at a time so that you can escape founder-led sales.  If you want to read or listen to the entire book today, then visit www.AnyoneNotEveryone.com and pick up a copy.

"The average small business uses over three dozen different pieces of software to run different aspects of their business."  – Jeff Tomlin, Co-Founder & CMO of Vendasta If you had to summarize Vendasta’s marketplace for small and medium sized agencies, it would be, in Jeff’s words, “Business in a box”.  Vendasta gives 80k+ agencies a full-stack platform to rebrand and resell online services to local business clients, granting them the scalability of a SaaS recurring revenue model. Simplifying operations, the company lets agencies acquire, retain, expand and manage clients all in one place, removing many of the pain points agencies face as they’re looking to grow their business. Jeff joins The Deep Specialization Podcast to share his 17-year founder journey, going from building solutions for the media vertical and reputation management software to shaping up what Vendasta is known for today: a central online growth hub for agencies. Jeff and Corey dive into topics like finding product fit, building Vendasta, successes and failures, as well as invaluable leadership lessons accumulated along the way. Here’s what we cover in this episode: Vendasta’s 17-year journey and Jeff’s background. Typical inefficiencies in running a small business tech stack at an agency. The audacious goal Jeff’s team is working towards. Differentiation and positioning. Here are some actionable key takeaways for agency founders: If you’re offering solutions, building a suite can 3x retention rates. As you grow, be mindful of your growing tech stack and how to manage it. Embrace agility as a young organization, and don’t be afraid to fail. Don’t get caught up in the minutia of operations, build workflows with tech, instead. The resources mentioned in this episode are: Connect with Jeff on LinkedIn Here Check out Vendasta Here 👍If you liked this episode, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, and be sure to hit the subscribe button! 🔔 😩 Feeling stuck trying to stand out in a noisy market? I’d love to give you my free crash course that will help you go from “just another generalist” to a go-to expert people seek out. In just a few short days, you’ll learn how to position yourself with clarity, authority, and focus. ➡️ Sign up here: deepspecializationcourse.com  

Episode: 7 Chapter Seven of Anyone, Not Everyone advises on the importance of understanding your competition in the chosen vertical market, with 90% of marketers reporting positive outcomes from such research. It suggests balancing competitive analysis with a focus on clients, emphasizing that overconcentration on competitors may lead to reactive, non-client-focused decisions. This chapter guides readers through a three-step process to identify, research, and document findings on competitors to better position and market their agency services effectively. Reminder that this is a chapter in Corey Quinn’s book, Anyone, Not Everyone. Over the next few weeks, we'll be releasing a few chapters at a time so that you can escape founder-led sales. If you want to read or listen to the entire book today, then visit www.AnyoneNotEveryone.com and pick up a copy.

"The higher that gross margin is, the more optionality you have to make deliberate decisions about your agency."  – Marcel Petitpas, Co-Founder & CEO of Parakeeto Agency founders are often incredible visionaries when it comes to their core competency, but financials are rarely something they enjoy or excel at (pun intended). Between billable hours, shifting client scopes, clients scaling up or down, time-tracking, and pass-through costs, it’s no easy feat, either. In that vein, today’s guest has seen seven-figure agencies being run fully out of spreadsheets (and he’s here to change that). Marcel Petitpas, agency financials guru (and Co-founder of Parakeeto) is here to break down the ABCs of agency profitability.  Marcel’s shop, Parakeeto, is a consultancy and SaaS company that comes in to help agencies pass the next growth threshold at the point where they need more structured data operations to run financials and profitability, but aren’t quite at the level where they can buy enterprise software or hire internal teams to manage all of it. Corey and Marcel sit down to break down what a profitable agency is made out of. Agency founders, if there is one episode to earmark for invaluable financial planning advice, this one’s it.  Here’s what we cover in this episode: Marcel’s agency growth services from consulting to technology solutions. Typical financial and growth challenges agency owners face and how to solve for them. Why agency founders feel like there’s no profit even if they’re busier than ever. Using data and metrics as a guide to answer the important questions as a founder. Here are some actionable key takeaways for agency founders: You need a tighter feedback loop on company financials so you can course correct quicker. Even custom in-house financial tools can end up costing agencies six figures to maintain; be careful of hidden costs. When you control your profitability, you can become a lot more deliberate about growing your agency. Why productizing services is good for the financial health of an agency. The resources mentioned in this episode are: Connect with Marcel on LinkedIn Here Check out Parakeeto & their free resources Here  👍If you liked this episode, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, and be sure to hit the subscribe button! 🔔 😩 Feeling stuck trying to stand out in a noisy market? I’d love to give you my free crash course that will help you go from “just another generalist” to a go-to expert people seek out. In just a few short days, you’ll learn how to position yourself with clarity, authority, and focus. ➡️ Sign up here: deepspecializationcourse.com

Episode: 6   Chapter Six of Anyone, Not Everyone stresses the significance of deeply understanding the needs, desires, and fears of your target vertical market to create marketing that resonates and stands out amidst the noise. It guides readers on conducting buyer journey client interviews, a method superior to assumptions or surface-level market research, for crafting highly relevant and impactful marketing messages that echo the specific context and challenges of the vertical buyers. Reminder that this is a chapter in Corey Quinn’s book, Anyone, Not Everyone. Over the next few weeks, we'll be releasing a few chapters at a time so that you can escape founder-led sales.  If you want to read or listen to the entire book today, then visit www.AnyoneNotEveryone.com and pick up a copy.

"The two challenges that we see with most agencies are that they don't have a clear growth strategy nor the resources to execute it. "  – Eric Brown, Co-Founder at Blood Sweat & Tears Most agencies initially grow through founder-led sales and tapping into leads in your network, but what is the next step? Where do agencies typically get stuck and how can they break through? There are no better people to answer these questions than today’s guests Nora DiNuzzo and Eric Brown, Co-Founders of the agency growth consultancy Blood Sweat & Tears. Between the two, Nora and Eric have decades of experience in agency business development as well as in-house growth roles. Now, they run a successful shop helping agency leaders set and implement growth strategies. Nora and Eric join the show to discuss their approach to agency growth, and how all agency leaders should set foundational growth strategies to inform their tactics. Perhaps counterintuitively, boiling down growth is much less about your lead generation approach and more about who you are as an agency, how you show up, and whether your audience perceives you to be an authentic player in the space. But how do you actually take what you learn from theory into practice? Listen in to learn just how.  Here’s what we cover in this episode: The Blood Sweat & Tears approach to agency growth. Hair-on-fire growth challenges agencies face. The surprising thing weighing down agencies. Hint: It’s not the clients! How your brand and persona comes into play when driving growth. Here are some actionable key takeaways for agency founders: Selling to your network will dry out eventually, you need a growth strategy for the next phase. Foundational strategies always triumph over tactical growth initiatives. When you’ve figured out who you are, growth becomes natural. Get outside perspective when you’re stuck on growth. The resources mentioned in this episode are: Connect with Nora on Linkedin Here Connect with Eric on Linkedin Here Check out Blood Sweat & Tears Here 👍If you liked this episode, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, and be sure to hit the subscribe button! 🔔 😩 Feeling stuck trying to stand out in a noisy market? I’d love to give you my free crash course that will help you go from “just another generalist” to a go-to expert people seek out. In just a few short days, you’ll learn how to position yourself with clarity, authority, and focus. ➡️ Sign up here: deepspecializationcourse.com

Episode: 5   Chapter Five of Anyone, Not Everyone introduces a four-step process for selecting the ideal vertical market for your agency, including gathering client data, identifying potential verticals, scoring them based on qualitative and quantitative factors, and finally, validating the market to ensure it can meet your business growth goals. This systematic approach serves as both an investment and insurance policy against the costly error of choosing an unsuitable vertical, emphasizing that your personal enjoyment of the vertical and alignment with your agency’s vision are crucial for success. Reminder that this is a chapter in Corey Quinn’s book, Anyone, Not Everyone. Over the next few weeks, we'll be releasing a few chapters at a time so that you can escape founder-led sales.  If you want to read or listen to the entire book today, then visit www.AnyoneNotEveryone.com and pick up a copy. This episode was produced by Reignite Media.