The Deep Specialization™️ Podcast

"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.

"We went from generalist agency to performance marketing for franchises and renovations."  – Marty Menard, President of Giant Creative Finding success by niching down your agency focus surely isn’t a new story on this podcast, but there is a reason our guests on the show have found scalable growth through verticalization. And, each story comes with unique insights founders can tap into. This week, we’ll hear Marty Menard's journey into specialization. He is President and Chief Business Development Officer of Giant Creative, a data-driven performance marketing agency. Marty discusses his background in sales and marketing, the agency's shift towards focusing on specific verticals, and the challenges and opportunities of working in the franchise and renovation service industries. Marty shares anecdotes from Giant Creative's early days as a generalist agency, how they realized the benefits of specializing in performance marketing for franchise lead generation and renovations, and the success that followed. Most importantly, Corey and Marty dive into the notion of finding scalable success, how to do it, and what it means for growth.   Here’s what we cover in this episode: - Marty’s founder journey and the first five years of the agency. - Consumer insights and building around personas. - Rinse and repeat service models for a scalable niche. - Positioning a specialized agency and how to scale it.   Here are some actionable key takeaways for agency founders: - Be careful of the scalability of new service lines, they might end up eating your margins. - Invest in discovery when going after a new vertical, and ask if you can sell the same service over and over. - Once your niche is clear, you need to tackle agency positioning to attract the right crowd. - Utilization is important, but you don’t want to burn your best people out, protect them.   The resources mentioned in this episode are: - Connect with Marty on LinkedIn Here- Check out Martin’s company GIANT 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: 4 Chapter Four of Anyone, Not Everyone emphasizes the vital role of empathy in deep specialization, likening it to the caring aspect of good parenting, essential for the long-term success of an agency. By genuinely investing in clients' businesses and industries, and offering support especially in challenging times, an agency can significantly differentiate itself from competitors, build stronger relationships, and lay the groundwork for sustainable growth and success. Reminder that this is Chapter Four 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.  

"What most people are trying to talk about when they talk about scale, but that's really leverage."– Greg Hickman, Founder of AltAgency Leverage is everything when it comes to growing a successful agency or service offering. And that’s exactly what today’s guest helps develop for his clients: Leverage to grow and develop their business to the level and direction they want to go. This week, welcome Greg Hickman on the show. He is an industry veteran and Founder of AltAgency, a consultancy that helps agencies, service providers, and freelancers drive growth without sacrificing their nights and weekends by packaging their expertise, installing systems for growth, and leveraging automation to save time. Greg is all about setting up systems, defining your core customer base, and productizing your offering to enable repeatable growth. What’s more, he’s throwing in a hot take or two on services (But you’ll have to listen in to learn more!). In this episode, Greg sits down with Corey to share his philosophy to helping agency owners, breaking down the common pitfalls and challenges riddling business owners and independent consultants alike. Here’s what we cover: - The evolution of Greg’s company, his founder journey, and how the offering has shifted over time. - The concept of affinity in verticalized businesses and why specialization wins. - Greg’s take on customized offering versus productized services. - Scaling through monetizing expertise, not just headcount. Here are some actionable key takeaways for agency founders: - Scaling isn’t about arriving at a destination, it’s about having a continuum where you have room for growth. - You need to have affinity with the vertical you’re serving; empathy builds success. - Starting out, try different things to find your sweet spot, but then narrow it down. - Productizing services creates efficiencies, and efficiencies grow businesses. The resources mentioned in this episode are: - Connect with Greg on Linkedin Here - Learn more about AltAgency 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 3 Chapter Three of Anyone, Not Everyone underlines the importance of careful and informed selection when choosing a vertical market to specialize in, warning that a hasty or ill-informed choice can lead to significant loss of time and potential revenue. It encourages agency founders to use their client history data to make an educated decision and highlights the characteristics of a desirable vertical, advising to start with a generalist approach before specializing to gain a comprehensive understanding of market dynamics. Reminder that this is Chapter Three 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.

"Acquiring a service you want to offer helps your company leapfrog years of trial and error. " – Sam Shepler, Founder of Testimonial Hero We welcome back Sam Shepler, Founder of Testimonial Hero, a global video testimonial company that helps B2B SaaS companies close more deals through customer stories.  After a quick recap on what Testimonial Hero does (listen to episode 55 for part one), Corey and Sam get into the topic of acquisitions. Testimonial Hero recently acquired a company named Case Study Buddy that, just as the name suggests, provides written customer content like case studies.  Sam’s clients kept asking for case studies and written content as a service, and the fastest path to offering that at the level of quality Testimonial Hero’s clients expected was to acquire a shop that already knew the ropes.  Beyond the acquisition, Corey and Sam also cover topics like productizing services, sales process, and leadership lessons. Here’s what we discuss in this episode: Testimonial Hero’s latest acquisition of Case Study Buddy. The evolution from video-only to various forms of customer content. The various types of customer content Testimonial Hero offers. Agency sales challenges and how to navigate them. Here are some actionable key takeaways for agency founders: Customer testimonials accelerate sales cycles because they build trust. Challenge your preconceived notions as a leader not to miss out on business opportunities. Successful M&A calls for the right timing, alignment, and mutual respect, so start building relationships early on. For mentorship, seek out advice from people at a level you want to reach next; people who are several years but not decades ahead of you. The resources mentioned in this episode are: - Connect with Sam on Linkedin Here- Learn more about Testimonial 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 2 Chapter Two of Anyone, Not Everyone outlines six compelling benefits of becoming a vertical market specialist, drawing on the real-world transition and success of marketing agency Gorilla 76, which honed its focus on industrial manufacturing clients.  The chapter highlights how specialization simplifies sales and marketing, improves sales confidence through deep industry knowledge, removes friction from the buying process by becoming an insider, makes agencies extraordinary by developing nuanced expertise, scales business through systematization, and accelerates word-of-mouth referrals within the networked ecosystem of a vertical market. Reminder that this is Chapter Two 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.

"We’ve chosen to focus. And that focus is powerful. It delivers value to the end customer. – Ron Callis Jr., CEO of One Firefly Ron Callis Jr., is the Chief Executive Officer of One Firefly, an award-winning marketing agency that has consistently ranked in the INC 5000 list for its impressive growth. With a laser focus on the custom integration, security, and clean tech industries, Ron brings invaluable insights into scaling a business through the power of specialization and dedicated team development. Here's what we discuss in today's episode: Ron’s journey from being a tech contributor within the custom integration space, to becoming a successful marketing agency CEO within this vertical. How Ron escaped founder-led sales  The role of education and industry events in building credibility and trust. How One Firefly achieved consistent year-over-year revenue growth and maintained positive net profit One Firefly's approach to maintaining client relations and loyalty through specialization, dedication, and empathy. Here are some actionable key takeaways for agency founders: Establishing a sales playbook to ensure knowledge transfer and scalability. Adopting business philosophies that promote team unity and client satisfaction. Prioritizing hiring practices that align with the agency's culture and values. Cultivating leadership skills that foster both personal and company growth. As agency founders, embracing change  and investing in people—for both team members and clients—is at the heart of creating a thriving, sustainable company. The resources mentioned in this episode are: - Connect with Ron on Linkedin Here - Check out One Firefly 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: Introduction  The Introduction of Anyone, Not Everyone sets the stage by emphasizing the significance of niche marketing for businesses. It explains how focusing on specific audiences rather than a broad market can lead to more meaningful engagement, efficient use of resources, and ultimately, greater success.  Episode: 1  Chapter One of Anyone, Not Everyone illustrates the pitfalls of generalist agencies that stretch themselves thin by saying yes to too many types of clients, leading to stress and lack of progress toward growth goals. It contrasts this with the benefits of focusing on best-fit clients, who bring profitability, satisfaction, and are a natural fit for the agency's unique strengths, advocating for vertical specialization as the key to standing out and securing sustainable growth in a competitive market. Reminder that this is Chapter One 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.