Build a Better Agency Podcast

Bob Sanders is a powerhouse in the marketing industry. He has previously worked with Agency Management Group, a firm that specialized in the operations, finance, and technology consultations for multinational agencies around the world. Since then, he has become the leader of Sanders Consulting Group, a leading consulting firm specializing in helping agencies implement best practices faster and more effectively.  What you’ll learn about in this episode: How agencies can manipulate chemistry to their advantage The four quadrants people fall into and why this is an important thing to be able to assess when pitching new business Why you should never stop generating new business What agencies can do to get better at closing sales Strategies that work with big and small accounts Why spec creative isn’t something to be feared How to play on the misperception that agencies live exciting lives Why you need to alter your pitch based on who you’re pitching to How to be persistent to the point where potential clients are always thinking about you What your agency needs to do today to get on the right track in terms of new business Ways to contact Bob Sanders: Website: www.sandersconsulting.com Twitter: @newbusinesshawk Email: bob@sandersconsulting.com We’re proud to announce that Hubspot is now the presenting sponsor of the Build A Better Agency podcast! Many thanks to them for their support!

Drew McLellan is the Top Dog at Agency Management Institute. For the past 21 years, he has also owned and operated his own agency. Drew’s unique vantage point as being both an active agency owner and working with 250+ small- to mid-size agencies throughout the year, give him a unique perspective on running an agency today. AMI works with agency owners by: Leading agency owner peer groups Offering workshops for owners and their leadership teams Offering AE bootcamps Conducting individual agency owner coaching Doing on-site consulting Offering online courses in agency new business and account service Because he works with those 250+ agencies every year — he has the unique opportunity to see the patterns and the habits (both good and bad) that happen over and over again. He has also written two books and been featured in The New York Times, Entrepreneur Magazine, and Fortune Small Business. The Wall Street Journal called his blog “One of 10 blogs every entrepreneur should read.”   What you’ll learn about in this episode: How you are preventing your employees from becoming the employees you want them to be Why every employee needs weekly one-on-one meetings with their direct supervisor How to get your employees to run these meetings The form that needs to be filled out before one of these meetings takes place How these meetings can help you celebrate the wins you might not know about if you didn’t have these meetings Documents: Direct Report Form Ways to contact Drew: Email: drew@agencymanagementinstitute.com We’re proud to announce that Hubspot is now the presenting sponsor of the Build A Better Agency podcast! Many thanks to them for their support!

Susan Baier began her career as a brand manager for companies like Dial and Conoco-Philips. She also worked agency side and within client companies in their research departments, honing her skills as a research professional. Recognizing that primary research was often too expensive for small to mid-sized agencies, she launched Audience Audit, where she conducts quantitative attitudinal audience segmented research. She helps her agency clients develop marketing strategy for their clients based on customer insights. They find it much easier to develop messaging, strategic plans, and business development plans with real data that helps them understand how customers who look (demographically) the same behave in very different ways and what motives those choices and behaviors. Over the past few years, AMI and Audience Audit have partnered together for studies on how business owners find agencies, their attitudes towards working with agencies, and more.   What you’ll learn about in this episode: How the research that Audience Audit does differs from a lot of the research that’s out there How your agency can leverage research inside your agency-client relationships The ways agencies can better sell the value of research to existing and prospective clients Why agencies can’t build their business around “shiny toys” The ways research has changed and why agencies shouldn’t be afraid to bring it to clients that they haven’t done research with in the past How bringing research to clients can give them a sense of relief and make it easier for your agency to retain their business A specific example of how this kind of targeted research helped a client in a big way The mistakes agencies make when trying bring research into their shop Why niche really matters when it comes to research Baby steps agencies can take to start incorporating research Ways to contact Susan Baier: Website: www.audienceaudit.com Email: susan@audienceaudit.com Twitter: @susanbaier Resources: 2015 research 2014 research We’re proud to announce that Hubspot is now the presenting sponsor of the Build A Better Agency podcast! Many thanks to them for their support!

Chuck Meyst has been in sales all his life, from his childhood bike route to CEO and founder of AgencyFinder.com, a matchmaking service for agencies.   What you’ll learn about in this episode: Why Chuck started AgencyFinder and how it works Why agency descriptions of themselves should be results-focused What both clients and agencies need to do well to find the right partner The big mistakes agencies make with their websites Sales: why do agencies not like this word? The traits Chuck sees in terrible employees Why processes are so important, especially when it comes to sales The characteristics in agencies that clients love to see How agencies win business through pure chemistry What AgencyFinder does to assess agencies and how to receive that perfect score of 100 How AgencyFinder helps agencies team up with clients that are great matches Things agencies can do today to improve upon the topics discussed in this episode Ways to Contact Chuck: Website: www.agencyfinder.com Email: chuck@agencyfinder.com Phone: (804)346-1812 We’re proud to announce that Hubspot is now the presenting sponsor of the Build A Better Agency podcast! Many thanks to them for their support!

Karl Sakas served as the #2 man in a couple different digital agencies before he created the Marketing Agencies community at Inbound.org, which has over 1,000 agencies in 48 countries. As president of Sakas and Company, Karl advises agencies worldwide about strategy, operations, and leadership. He also volunteers as a bartender on a 1930’s railroad car. He has recently published a book entitled, “The In Demand Marketing Agency: How to Use Public Speaking to Become an Agency of Choice.”   What you’ll learn about in this episode: Why Karl launched Sakas and Company High-growth agencies vs. lifestyle agencies How agency owners can do what they love without getting sucked into the day-to-day client work How to turn a high-growth agency into an asset that can actually be sold Things that get in the way of the growth and scaling of agencies and how to fix them Karl’s Time Bucket Template for improving time management How agency owners looking to sell their agency should spend their time Action steps agency owners can take to put these theories into practice Recommended books and resources The In-Demand Marketing Agency: How to Use Public Speaking to Become an Agency of Choice Karl's Time Bucket Template Don't Just Make the Logo Bigger: Taking Clients from Painful to Profitable Don’t Be the Shoemaker: And 11 Other Easy-to-Implement Ideas to Improve Your Agency Escape Plan: Your Guide to Finally Getting Out of the Office Website: www.sakasandcompany.com Email: karl@sakasandcompany.com Twitter: @karlsakas and @sakasandco We’re proud to announce that Hubspot is now the presenting sponsor of the Build A Better Agency podcast! Many thanks to them for their support!

Before Trent Dyrsmid started a digital agency called Groove, he founded Dyrand Systems, a managed IT service provider that was recognized twice as one of Canada’s PROFIT Magazine’s 100 fastest growing companies. During his 8 years as CEO, Trent was fortunate to have been recognized as one of the Top 40 under 40 business people in Vancouver, B.C. In addition to overseeing Groove, Trent is also the host of the Bright Ideas podcast, where he regularly publishes interviews with some of today’s brightest entrepreneurs. What you’ll learn about in this episode: Trent’s journey into entrepreneurship, leaving to become an employee, and his return to being his own boss Why Trent created Bright Ideas and Groove Digital Marketing The importance of creating a business that works within a niche Generating leads through a lead magnet Why you should be targeting leads on Facebook How to make your agency more valuable by creating systems and getting out of the client work What’s next for agency owners that have successfully built the systems that allow them to take a step away from their agency Action steps for putting in place the topics discussed in this episode Trent Dyrsmid Recommends: E-myth by Michael Gerber A Stake in the Outcome by Jack Stack www.brightideas.co/whats-next Bright Ideas interviews Brian Clark: www.brightideas.co/145 Contact Trent Dyrsmid: Website: www.brightideas.co We’re proud to announce that Hubspot is now the presenting sponsor of the Build A Better Agency podcast! Many thanks to them for their support!

Drew McLellan is the Top Dog at Agency Management Institute. For the past 21 years, he has also owned and operated his own agency. Drew’s unique vantage point as being both an active agency owner and working with 250+ small- to mid-size agencies throughout the year, give him a unique perspective on running an agency today. AMI works with agency owners by: Leading agency owner peer groups Offering workshops for owners and their leadership teams Offering AE bootcamps Conducting individual agency owner coaching Doing on-site consulting Offering online courses in agency new business and account service Because he works with those 250+ agencies every year — he has the unique opportunity to see the patterns and the habits (both good and bad) that happen over and over again. He has also written two books and been featured in The New York Times, Entrepreneur Magazine, and Fortune Small Business. The Wall Street Journal called his blog “One of 10 blogs every entrepreneur should read.” What you’ll learn about in this episode: Why planning ahead is so important and why your agency can’t ignore it The Agency Owner Life Plan The One Page Business Plan Steps you can take to hold you and your leadership teams accountable on the goals you set together Documents: Drew's completed 2016 Agency Owner Life Plan document Blank Agency Owner Life Plan document Blank Agency One Page Business Plan document Ways to contact Drew: Email: drew@agencymanagementinstitute.com We’re proud to announce that Hubspot is now the presenting sponsor of the Build A Better Agency podcast! Many thanks to them for their support!

Jay Friedman is a nationally recognized and accomplished digital media expert, speaker, and author. You will often find him speaking at conferences, writing for lead publications, websites, and books. He recently authored the incredibly well written, information packed 7th edition of “Thirty Days to PAID Digital Media Expertise.” He is, without question, a well-versed expert on digital media and programmatic buying. In 2006, Jay joined Goodway Group to launch the digital division. Now in 2015, Goodway has more than 200 clients across the country. What you’ll learn about in this episode: Programmatic buying: what is it? Why programmatic buying is much more effective than traditional ad buying models How to know whether to bring programmatic buying in-house or work with a partner and rules for both options Jay’s action plan for jumping into programmatic Why programmatic partners have to continually educate their agencies The qualities that the agencies that do programmatic well all have in common How agencies can succeed by adapting the Airbnb and the Uber model What agencies need to do to be good partners to their programmatic partners Websites Jay recommends: www.AdExchanger.com www.goodwaygroup.com www.mediapost.com Ways to contact Jay: Email: jay@goodwaygroup.com We’re proud to announce that Hubspot is now the presenting sponsor of the Build A Better Agency podcast! Many thanks to them for their support!

Douglas Burdett is a B2B marketing agency principle. He is a former artillery officer, and his agency, Artillery, helps agencies get found online, convert website traffic into leads, and nurture leads towards a sale. Douglas authors two marketing blogs, Forward Observer and Fire Support, and he hosts The Marketing Book Podcast. What you’ll learn about in this episode: The importance of niche for creating a market How to run a niche blog that acts as lure for your other services Why buying email addresses is a bad idea Why absolute patience is key whenever you are creating content The Marketing Book Podcast How Douglas automates the promotion of his evergreen content Why Douglas only conducts one podcast interview per week Great productivity software Douglas and his team use Tips and resources for getting your own podcast started Ways to contact Douglas Burdett: Agency website: www.artillerymarketing.com Email: douglas@artillerymarketing.com Douglas Burdett’s Blogs and Podcast: Forward Observer: http://www.artillerymarketing.com/blog Fire Support: http://www.defensecontractormarketing.com The Marketing Book Podcast: http://www.artillerymarketing.com/marketing-book-podcast We’re proud to announce that Hubspot is now the presenting sponsor of the Build A Better Agency podcast! Many thanks to them for their support!

Mitch Matthews is a keynote speaker, a success coach, and a bestselling author. He has an amazing podcast titled Dream, Think, Do. Mitch works with leaders from companies such as NASA, Disney, Booking.com, and more. He is passionate about coaching entrepreneurs and leaders to dream bigger, think better, and do more of the stuff they love. What you’ll learn about in this episode: Why mentoring your employees is so important Mentorship 2.0: how to structure your mentor/mentee relationships to draw out the best results The dangers of “getting a PhD in mentoring” Mentoring with the CEO vs. CFO model How to equip employees to make decisions The fundamental differences between how we were brought up and how millennials were brought up and how to deal with these differences How to mentor someone who is skilled in areas that you aren’t Mitch’s “Mentor Manager Cheat Sheet” Book Recommendations: "Drive," by Dan Pink "IGNITE" (2nd Edition), by Mitch Matthews Mentoring Cheat Sheet Ways to Contact Mitch: Website: www.mitchmatthews.com Podcast: www.mitchmatthews.com/blog We’re proud to announce that Hubspot is now the presenting sponsor of the Build A Better Agency podcast! Many thanks to them for their support!