Secrets of Successful Agencies

How does an accidental agency owner attract prospects, convert them into clients, and then scale their business to a point that selling is a realistic possibility? What are the factors that separate an ordinary agency from one that thrives?

This topic is near and dear to my heart, because I’ve seen it happen hundreds of times. It’s my favorite way to “lose” a client, when an agency grows so big they no longer need virtual CFO services but instead bring the job in-house. In fact, we’ve been fortunate enough to lose 14 clients over the past 12 months for this very reason. 

But what is the ‘secret’ to agency success? Is it possible to define the shared traits of the agencies that really nail it?

Who better to answer that question than Jason Swenk, founder of Smart Agency Mastermind and host of Smart Agency podcast? I sat down with my Creative Agency Success Show co-host, Jamie Nau, to do a deep dive into Jason Swenk’s recent interview with Tim Condon, Chief Revenue Officer of Clutch, a creative agency marketplace. 

Here’s what we discussed.

• Focus on the thing you really need (no matter how many pizzas it costs you)

Creative agencies don’t always have time to spend on their own marketing. It’s expensive to take producers off the bench. So take what time you do have and focus on the most valuable thing out there for your business which – in many cases – is prospect emails.

Tim tells a story about a massive pizza giveaway he did for Papa Johns, where he went all out, ultimately crashing the client’s site and giving away so many pizzas his client did a double-take. But it was all about keeping the eye on the prize: emails allow you to stay connected with prospects in the long term and it’s a way to avoid building on borrowed land.

If there’s one take-away from this podcast that would most benefit owners’ bottom-line – what I call the episode’s “ROI Rocket,” it’s the insights on email marketing: Yes, it’s a long play, but as long as you keep the emails informative not salesy, you have a chance to build a strong pipeline.

• Get your foot in the door (and then sell them fries)

Sales cycles have lengthened in the agency space, which makes it all the more important to get your foot in the door. Jason recommends doing this with a low-cost initial offer that leaves the client with a feeling of wanting more. 

This was our ‘mic-drop’ moment of the podcast, where Jason shed light on how he was able to grow his own agency so quickly: If you offer a client a low-cost product that you can close in a week instead of 30, 60 or 90 days, the $500 you earn is just a drop in the bucket compared to the trust you build in that relationship. 

It’s like McDonald’s selling low-profit-margin hamburgers and then asking, “Do you want fries with that?” essentially upselling this irresistible (higher margin) treat.

• Build your processes (and use your CRM)

Processes are the key to scaling. It’s that simple (but not easy). If you’re the rainmaker of your firm (as accidental owners often are), you need to start developing, recording and optimizing your sales process – so you can replicate it and, if you want, step away from it all together.

We find that the thought leadership model works well for this purpose – and Jason, with his long-running podcast, would likely agree: Do something well, share it with your audience, and a certain percentage will attract and convert.

To leverage those leads, however, you need to track and nurture them – which starts with good CRM hygiene. Tim says one of the red flags for him is the “but” that agency owners add after the statement, “We have a CRM...” 

Of course, the need for processes extends beyond sales. A seamless agency that helps prospects become clients and one-off projects become long-term accounts – that’s an agency that can not only attract, convert and scale, but probably have some fun along the way.

To learn more about how we help our agency clients scale and reach business goals, check out our virtual CFO services.