Smart Agency Masterclass With Jason Swenk: Podcast For Digital Marketing Agencies

When looking to improve the lead generation strategy of your digital agency, you might find it difficult in identifying the ways you can do this. One of the ways you can improve your lead generation strategy is by contributing to podcast content by being a guest. In this episode, we’ll cover: 3 Benefits of being a podcast guest. How to get find shows and rock an interview like a pro. How to turn other podcast listeners into your clients. My guest today is Tom Schwab founder of Interview Valet, an inbound marketing agency. Tom’s background is in engineering - he even ran a nuclear power plant in the Navy - which means he’s brilliant at building process and systems that generate maximum output for minimum input. Tom shares the genius of being a podcast guest as a lead generation strategy, as well as the secret to getting more bang for ($0) bucks. Why Being a Podcast Guest Is Important for Lead Generation Strategy? Fresh content is still a thing, but blogging just isn’t. People want to consume information in d

Are you losing out on improving your agency profitability why having the wrong internal processes for your business? In this episode, we’ll cover: How to fix the #1 problem every agency experiences. 3 ways to standardize your internal processes and increase profits. 2 strategies to upsell to existing clients. This week’s guest is the expert on creating systems and processes. (Which means I’m a big fan because you already know how I feel about systems and processes.) Anthony Chatfield has an extensive background in the agency space and is the founder of Lead Connect, an agency specializing in inbound marketing. He also consults with agencies that are great with lead generation and closing deals, but struggle with delivery. Anthony shares strategies for making your agency operate more efficiently with some key process documentation. The Gap In Agency Internal Processes The biggest problem Anthony sees in agencies is the breakdown in communication between sales and fulfillment. So many times a salesperson prom

So many agency owners become consumed by their top line revenue and what they need to do to make it better. Incase you didn't know, top line revenue isn't everything and yours means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things. In this episode, we’ll cover: Why top line revenue isn’t everything. 2 ways to tackle profitability. How to get past the excuses and be a content machine. I’m super psyched to have Joe Apfelbaum as my guest on the podcast today. Joe’s the owner of Ajax Union, a 7 year old, $4 million dollar agency. In addition to being a successful agency owner, Joe is also a mega content producer. He tells us all about what he’s done in order to get to the multi-million level, what he stopped doing to stay there and how in the world he has the time to create so much content. Top line revenue isn’t everything When they started seven years ago, Ajax Union was operating as a full service agency. They would do anything/everything for anyone/everyone. They experience significant growth while revenue

Every agency owner has the goal of growing their agency to a level that they can target the bigger potential clients. This is because with bigger clients comes creating proposals for bigger budgets. This week is we are going to talk all about budgets...  more importantly, we are going to talk about client budgets. In this episode of Ask Swenk, I take a closer look into what you should do when clients lower their budget during a project, the strategies for getting an increase in budget and how to land bigger clients with bigger budgets. Bigger Budgets {3:17} MJ asked: What do you do when a client won't give you the budget promised? {6:21} Carl asked: What are the best strategies and tactics for a digital marketing agency to increase the budget of key clients? {9:29} Andrew asked: As a small video agency, what is your best advice for acquiring new clients, moving up the food chain and commanding bigger budget projects? Special Offer Did you realize this is the 50th episode of #AskSwenk? To celebrate this milest

Want to learn how to increase agency revenue four times over? Or are you having trouble finding your agency's nice and the best sales process for you? Don't worry, this week's Smart Agency Master Class has you covered. In this episode, we’ll cover: 2 strategies that helped increase agency revenue & client list in one year. How to select your ideal niche to succeed. How to create a sales process that keeps your pipeline full.   This week’s podcast guest is my client, Zach Williams who is the definition of crushing it. At his agency Venveo, the client roster has quadrupled year over year, the pipeline is full, sales cycle is shorter and conversion rate is higher. Learn all the strategies Zach and his team are using for such huge success and increase agency revenue. Zach got his start creating websites at the age of 16 and continued to do it as a freelancer through college. It’s all he’s known, so starting an agency seemed like the natural next step. They grew organically for several years with referrals b

Should You White Label the Services That Your Agency Provides? In this episode of Ask Swenk, we talk about all things to do with white labeling agency services. This is from whether you should white label in order to work with big brands, to charging for it and who's responsible for liability insurance on white labeled services. {1:20} Phil asked: "I currently white label my services for another company and they are dealing with some pretty big clients.... What are your thoughts on white labeling?" {5:34} Phil also asked: "I know the agency I'm white labeling for is adding a large chunk of money on top of what I am charging. For example, I charge them 5k for a website and they are charging the client 25k. I would otherwise be happy with the prices I charge them if I didn't know they were charging so much on top of it. Should I up my rates to them and risk them going elsewhere? Or do I carry on with them taking the lion's share of the profit?" {7:38} Meg asked:  "In instances of white labelled services, which

What is a Healthy Profit Margin for a Digital Agency? What is a healthy profit margin goal for your agency? If this is something you have asked yourself more than once or struggle with, this episode is for you. In this episode, we’ll cover: What your digital agency profit margin should be. How to improve agency profit margins. 7 tips for healthy agency financials. Building cash reserves and improving cash flow. Financials can get confusing. We all can agree there are so many different statements and ways of reporting - it’s all very overwhelming. That’s why his agency looks at the big picture and watches for trends, rather than focusing on the details. Tip #1: Understand Healthy Profit Margins Most CPA's says a 10% profit margin is good, and 15% is outstanding, but I believe and have seen margins well over the 32% range. If you aren't quite there yet, make this your top priority. A solid profit margin is a key to financial health. There are a variety of ways to calculate profit. Gross Revenue - Expenses - O

Figuring out the right level of transparency to have with employees about agency finances. How much should they know in order to motivate them and how much is too much? Transparency of Agency Finances With Your Team Jack asked: {1:35}  "I like the idea of bonuses based on profitability. How much info should I share with my team? Do they need to know everyone else's salary/wages so they can monitor project budgets, costs, profits, etc.?" The short answer is you shouldn't share everyone's salaries as they don't need to know this information. A great way to create a process for bonuses leading by my personal experience would be to create a budget with the project managers as a buffer and provide bonus opportunities for completing the project under the budgeted time. {3:47}  "How much financial info should I share, and how much is too much?" This is a great question and completely depends on where these employees are in the business. Everyone wants to contribute and feel like they are making a difference within a

In this episode, we’ll cover the 7 deadly sins that agency owners commit in their own marketing, and how to quit sinning and start winning new business. This week on the The Smart Agency Master Class I talk with my friend Diane Young, co-founder of The Drum which is Europe’s leading marketing news platform, and recently has made it’s way to the US. Diane has spent over a decade observing and interviewing agencies. And in that time she’s been able to pinpoint 7 things that agencies do to themselves to negatively impact their own growth. Diane shares the 7 Deadly Sins for Agency Marketing. Find out if you’re committing them and what you can do to stop before it’s too late! [clickToTweet tweet="These are the 7 Deadly Sins #Agencies Are Committing. Are You Guilty of Any?" quote="These are the 7 Deadly Sins Agencies Are Committing. Are You Guilty of Any?"] 7 Deadly Sins of Agency Marketing So what are the 7 deadly sins of agency marketing you need to avoid to elevate your marketing strategy? Let's break them down.

Discover the pros and cons of a merger with an agency that has complimentary services. Determine if you are competitively priced in your market, and is it possible to scale a creative agency? {1:35} Rikki asked: "We are a digital marketing agency considering merging with a design and development agency. We think this will be a good move because the services are very complimentary. What are the pros and cons?" {6:03} Imani asked: "How do you know if you are competitively priced? I thought about getting proposals from my competitors for the type businesses that I would like to work with... should I?" {9:29} Peter asked: "How do you scale a creative agency ? Can it even be scaled? Some say agencies, in general, cannot be scaled." Hey, Smart Agency Master Class fans! Save time & win more work Replace your proposals, quotes and presentations with interactive + mobile-friendly webpages that plug into your systems and are as easy to build and reuse as they are beautiful. Sign up now for free and get 50% off for

Building the Best Sales Team to Grow Your Agency Want to know what you need to do to build the best sales team to grow your agency and bring in new clients? Looking for a new cold call strategy? I've got all you need to know. In this episode, we’ll cover: Understanding and overcoming common sales team problems. A NO FAIL cold call strategy for agencies. Building the best sales team: finding, hiring, managing, and paying them. #1 tip for crushing your sales goals. My guest on today’s show is Wes Schaeffer, The Sales Whisperer. Wes spent a decade in the Air Force and another in commissioned sales before starting his business as a sales coach and trainer. He shares some great tips for cold calling, as well as strategies for hiring and managing great sales people. His advice is totally practical and will help you develop a killer sales outbound strategy. Common Sales Team Problems Wes says most salespeople don’t fully understand the value of the resources and expertise they bring to the table. This causes 2 maj

Facing Challenges as a New Agency Owner? Answers to some great questions from a new agency owner about starting and growing an agency still in it's infancy stage. We'll cover everything from knowing when and how to hire, to generating leads and setting up all the right systems when you are still a very small agency. Gillian asks... {1:50}  "Right now I'm doing everything (lead generation, sales, project management, design, development, etc). How big should I get before I start hiring, and what are the first steps I need to take to replace myself?" {6:20}  "I'm primarily a developer and I don't have as much experience in sales or lead generation. Do I need to reach some level of competency in these areas before taking the plunge, or should I "fake it 'til I make it"?" {8:46}  "You talk a lot about having set up the right systems in place, and it's fascinating to hear you talk about roles of the CEO, sales people, etc. but what kind of systems do I need to have in place right now as I get started? How far ahead

If one of your goals for your agency this year is to have doubled business and client numbers, this is the advice you need. In this episode we’ll cover: How one agency doubled business in just six months by giving work to other agencies. Building a network and being a trusted client resource. Why you should join a mastermind group to help you grow. My guest today, Ian Garlic is one of very few two-time guests on The Smart Agency Master Class. He’s the owner of authenticWEB, which he founded 8 year ago. You might also know him from my “I Will Never Do This” Agency Pledge video as the naked ukulele guy. (Don’t worry, he’s not actually naked :) ) In this interview, Ian shares how his agency business doubled in 6 months… check it out. How to Achieve Doubled Business: Not All Competition Is Bad I don’t know about you but when I owned my agency I was always very guarded about who and what we were working on. I would never have even considered working with other agencies, let alone idea sharing with them and espec

Whether you are starting an agency or you're an established agency that has potentially hit a plateau, finding the best team especially your sales team is important. In this episode of Ask Swenk, I discuss everything you need to know about finding, hiring, paying and managing great sales reps to CRUSH IT in your agency new business. I talk about everything from skill criteria and previous experience to salary and commission. {1:42} Ramzi asked: “I was wondering if you have any great strategies to get referrals from current clients?” {4:15} Myles asked: "Should I let my full time staff freelance in their own time? If so, what measures do I need to put in place to protect myself and my business?" {7:02} Blake asked: "I am a big fan of your content. I own a 6 man agency and we’re going through that process right now. We’re trying to build our following with video marketing but it’s just tough getting started! Any advice you could share would be appreciated." Discover the best Digital Agency Strategies today. Get

Many agencies make the mistake in believing they just need to report on their analytics rather than monitoring them consistently. I am going to explain why you need to monitor analytics in order to build your business. In today’s episode, we’ll cover: What agencies are doing wrong with analytics reporting. 4 steps you need to improve client analytics. Ways to monitor analytics to grow your agency business. My guest on today’s episode is Mychelle Mollot from Klipfolio. She’s got a background in engineering, analytics and marketing… which makes her perfect in her role as CMO for marketing analytics software. Mychelle talks to us about the major differences in reporting vs. monitoring analytics, plus ways you can use analytics to grow your agency. In our 2016 Future Outlook of Digital Agencies, we reported that brands are hiring 85% of brands are selecting agencies based on their ability to report and react to analytics. Unfortunately most agencies believe they’re being hired for their marketing and creativity

Whether you are starting an agency or you're an established agency that has potentially hit a plateau, finding the best team especially your sales team is important. In this episode of Ask Swenk, I discuss everything you need to know about finding, hiring, paying and managing great sales reps to CRUSH IT in your agency new business. I talk about everything from skill criteria and previous experience to salary and commission. Finding, Hiring, Paying & Managing Agency Sales Reps {1:03} Simohammed asked: “I’m thinking of hiring a sales rep for my agency. I know it's good to make the salary based on the representative's performance but from your experiences do you give a small salary as a base if there is no performance or is it always based on performance like project commissions and percentages?" {3:48}  “What are other criteria that you look into a sales rep, besides being good in communication and a good sales person?” {7:39}  “Is it possible to look for people with an existing network or previous experie

Have you ever considered starting a podcast to connect with your customers and create an audience for yourself and your brand? In this episode, we’ll cover: 4 big reasons every agency should have a podcast. Common fears of podcasting and how to overcome them. Starting a podcast and building an audience of new business prospects. I’m super psyched to have Pat Flynn as my guest on today’s show. He’s the successful guy behind Smart Passive Income - a major resource for entrepreneurs looking to scale their business. He’s also the podcasting guru and is sharing tips with us about the benefits of podcasting, as well as how to get started - including ways to get over your fear of recording your own voice! Pat got his start as an entrepreneur when he was laid off from the architecture industry in 2008. He started an online study program for architecture’s LEED exam, called GreenExamAcademy.com and it took off. He learned a ton about quickly scaling an online business and over time turned that smart, passive income

Curious about selling your agency? In this episode of Ask Swenk, I cover how to determine your agency's current value and what you can do to increase it. I also take a real look at the process to eventually sell your agency and gain profit. {0:48} Tim asked: "What is my digital agency worth if I sold it today?" {4:10} Bree asked: "What does the process look like when you sell your agency?" {7:32} Tony asked: "How can you increase your agency valuation?" Tim asked: "What is my digital agency worth if I sold it today?" The short answer is it's worth whatever someone will give you money for it, and whatever you're willing to take. The thing I want to debunk right now is if you can get over $5 million, that you'll get tons and tons of money, or get over a million. It doesn't matter on your gross. I know agencies that are over $10 million in revenue, and they're like at 4% profit, which is horrible. Your goal for a profit margin should be 40% and more than that. If it's not, you're doing something wrong. There's

What To Do When A Client Files a Business Lawsuit Against Your Agency When a project begins to go south, you run the risk of a client filing a business lawsuit against you which can be detrimental to your agency's reputation and future. In this episode, we’ll cover: The warning signs of a project that’s going south. Why it’s so important to have documented processes for your agency. 3 ways to handle a business lawsuit from a client. This week’s podcast is a little bit of a different format. Instead of interviewing a guest who shares great strategies to help you grow your agency, you get to listen in on a coaching call with a client who is facing a client business lawsuit. I recorded the call with his permission and we chat about how to handle it without wasting outrageous amounts of time, money and emotion. Before we dive any further, you should know a couple things: This is not legal advice. I’m not an attorney :) In the interest of privacy, names have been changed/omitted. The Backstory So today, I’m ta

Employee Profit Sharing, Referral Commission & Hourly to Retainer Is employee profit sharing a good idea? In this episode of Ask Swenk, I answer your questions about if and how to compensate clients for referral business, how you can convert a longtime hourly client to monthly retainer and profit sharing for your team of employees. {1:58} Geoff asked: "What are your thoughts on profit sharing for key employees?" {4:50} Ryan asked: "I know you've talked about sales people and compensation before but, what about referrals? Flat fee or percentage? One time or for the life of the project/client?" {7:28} Kirk asked: "I have a great client we do work for at an hourly rate -- this is the only client we have like this. We want to transition that client to a long term contract for a flat rate. Any suggestion on the best way to have that conversation about making the transition?" Improving Your Agency To bring your agency to the next level, finding ways to improve is always important. Through my years of experience