Do you feel the pressure of having to rely almost solely on word of mouth and referrals to continue growing your agency? If so, you're not alone. Even if you have all the systems and capabilities to grow your agency, you may not be effectively marketing your firm...and it's often for a common reason: You've become an "interchangeable agency." If you're like most marketing agencies, it's difficult for you to tell clients the problem you really solve. You struggle to get clients to see...

Just because you're a good baker, doesn't mean you can run a successful bakery. It's the same for agency life. You may be great at content marketing, branding, website development or building custom software, but none of that means you'll be great at all the things required to run an agency that delivers those services. It also doesn't mean you'll enjoy all the necessary elements of running an agency either. Maybe you've felt this typical pain that's described in The E Myth by Michael...

Do you have less in your agency's pipeline  now than you did at this point last year? If so, you're probably not alone. But, what's even better?  There's something you can do about it--something that doesn't require anything spammy or even overly salesy. You can leverage what Dev Basu calls The Dead Lead Reviver.  It's a 5-step process that he & his team have leveraged to... Revive old dealsAdd more to their existing pipeline, andClose new clients that had previously told them...

How can you get your team to track their time, let alone do it accurately? That's a question that we've heard so many times from agency leaders, and it's one that many struggle to answer effectively. Deb Andrews, Owner of Marketri, a successful marketing agency with nearly 20 years in business, says it all comes down to 4 P's that help you explain the WHY of time-tracking to your team. In in this conversation, we'll answer questions like:  What are the 4 P's of Time-Tracking? How do...

 41% profit margins. Sounds good. Right? That's exactly what one marketing agency has been able to drive with a results-oriented workplace & corresponding compensation model. Courtney Tarrant, Owner & COO of The Ad Girls shares in today's episode that when they went away from this model for a short period,  profit margins shrank closer to typical industry norms. In this episode you'll hear from Courtney, how they structure a results-oriented workplace within their agency, how...

What happens when you’re faced with an upset client…and it’s actually your team’s fault? Kyle Duford, President and Executive Creative Director at The Brand Leader, and author of Twice Found, joins the podcast to talk about leading with grace and learning through failure. He also discusses balance in all things — how to balance challenges, healthy vs. unhealthy failure, and transparency in the face of furious clients. Connect w/ Kyle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyleduford/ Want to get more...

Have you ever found yourself facing a dreaded downsize with nowhere to turn for guidance? Nicole Pereira, founder of Remotish and CULTURISH, joins the podcast to talk about the difficult decision she faced when forced to downsize her agency. She discusses the importance of communicating clearly and candidly with your team in the face of layoffs and shares where agency owners like herself can go to for support when needed. Connect w/ Nicole: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolepereira/ Want to...

What if we told you there was a way to improve your client relationships and reduce churn before retention is even a concern? Jonathan Ewing, Director of APCO Worldwide, joins the podcast to talk about how agencies can foster positive relationships with clients and reduce churn even before the onboarding process is finished. He discusses the importance of predicting and acting on client needs, and how adjusting your services and strategies accordingly improves retention and keeps clients...

How can you balance your agency’s workload in a way that benefits both the productivity and health of your team? Amber Kemmis, COO of Instrumental Group and Remote Culture Advisor at CULTURISH, joins the podcast to talk about the key components of capacity management for agencies of all sizes: revenue management, time estimates, and individual capacity assessments. Drawing on her experience within multiple agencies of different sizes, she shares a unique approach to leveraging all three of...

Have you ever had a client who asked too much of you, but you just didn’t know how to say “no?" What about a client who disrespected your team and needed to be cut loose? How do you even begin to have those tough but necessary conversations? Jackie Hermes, founder and CEO of Accelity and host of The Art of Entrepreneurship, joins the podcast to talk about parting ways with clients that just aren’t a good fit for your agency. She discusses the importance of clear lines of communication,...

What happens when you’re ready to hit the next stage of growth in your business, but the day-to-day management is too much for you to handle alone? Jay Owen, founder and CEO of Business Builders, joins the podcast to talk about how EOS provided the solution he needed to take his business to the next level. He discusses how his journey with the system helped him recognize his own limits, and underlines the importance of delegating the right roles to the right people for the overall health of...

When you find yourself spread thin across multiple services and client needs, it’s time to ask yourself—is niching down the right choice for your business? Mike & Gaby Grinberg, dual founders of Proofpoint Marketing, join the podcast to talk about finding their niche in the face of the pandemic and how their business has flourished in the aftermath. They discuss the importance of building a strategic narrative around your core business beliefs, and how to use that narrative to drive both...

How do you step away from an agency you spent years building and growing when it begins to threaten your home life? How do you restructure for the sake of a new, healthier lifestyle? Carlos Hidalgo, former CEO of ANNUITAS and now co-founder and CEO of Digital Exhaust, joins the podcast to talk about his journey with leaving agency life behind to focus on his family, and how he made his triumphant return with a new business and outlook that prioritizes his personal life goals and...

How does a simple merger result in a highly successful business that houses both agency and consulting practices under one roof, creating what very well may be the business model of the future? Bob Ruffolo, founder and CEO of IMPACT, joins the podcast to discuss his merger with The Sales Lion, and how that led to growth that surpassed their HubSpot peers and made their consulting services a primary source of company revenue. He discusses how they’ve structured their business to host several...

How can a small, B2B agency grow their YouTube channel to over 17K subscribers and over 1M views? Ali Schwanke, founder and CEO of Simple Strat and face of HubSpot Hacks, joins the podcast today to talk about the strategy behind growing a small agency into a trusted, stand-out brand. She discusses realistic goal setting and the importance of knowing your audience when it comes to mastering SEO and delivering consistent, quality content. Connect w/ Ali:...

How would you feel if your doctor told you that continuing to work at your current pace would leave you six months until you were bedridden, or worse? Shauna Nuckles, founder of Advocation, joins the podcast today to discuss how unhealthy work practices led to her own medical crisis. She discusses the three types of burnout, as well as the tactics she uses with her team to help agency leaders have honest, transparent conversations to promote a stress- and burnout-free workplace. Connect w/...

Welcome to Agency Life, a podcast by Teamwork. Each week, we share real stories from sales & marketing agency owners about their journeys, the successes that defined them, and the failures they overcame. Join us on Thursdays as we discuss the highs and lows — and everything in between — of this crazy roller coaster world we call Agency Life. Support the showWant to get more content to support your agency life? Subscribe to the Agency Life newsletter, check out past episodes, and find more...

Welcome to the final episode of this season of Agency Life! In this episode, you'll hear the highlights of season five and some of the best bits of advice we heard from guests like Christina Hooper, Kierstin Payne, Gali Soudak, Amanda Dixon, Naomi Ross, Andrew Hong, Jamie McCormick, Jay Hamilton, and so much more. You will hear Clodagh getting more and more excited about Web 3 and the opportunities it is bringing in the future for agency owners. Do you want to come to the show and share the...

“Community - first, profit - second”, is the motto of our final guest this season. Jay Hamilton or JayBird is an entrepreneur with a background in psychology and more than 15 years of experience in business and digital marketing. At the beginning of 2022, he co-founded Web3 Academy – a guide for entrepreneurs, businesses, and creators into Web3. In today’s episode, Jay shares his origin story and the lessons he has learned along the way. We talk about the similarities between the marketing...

In today’s episode, we welcome fellow Irishman Jamie McCormick, the founder of one of the oldest bitcoin marketing firms in Europe - Bitcoin Marketing Team. Jamie has a fascinating background in the game industry  and has largely branched out into the bitcoin field. We talk about Jamie’s first jobs in GameSoft and Demonware, how he launched the first Xbox Game Center in the world and learned to analyze and track wide data. Then we move on to the similarities between Nintendo 64 and...

On this episode of Agency Life we talk with Naomi Ross. Naomi is the owner of Distil Agency, which specializes in the hospitality sector by doing creative marketing for food, beverage and brands. Naomi is also the co-founder of her own pub, The Carrington, in Surry Hills.  In this episode, we talk about Naomi’s experience in the hospitality industry and the differences and similarities between the pub and agency world, their journey through the pandemic and impact of lockdowns on the two...

Today we have Amanda Dixon with us on Agency Life. Amanda is the business founder of Barney, a mid-market leading venture capital and brokerage firm that helps agencies get sold and acquired. Amanda is also a relationship builder, a 40 Under 40 executive, and an official Member of the Forbes Finance Council. In this episode, we talk about the opportunity for digital marketing agencies in 2023, the emotional side of selling agencies, common mistakes agencies make before trying to sell and the...

“If it works, I say it’s my team,” says Matthew Henderson, the CEO of the project management consultancy company Kolme Group. Throughout the years Matt has hired more than 1000 project managers and has worked with all sizes of businesses from startups to Fortune 500 companies. Today we talk about the beginnings of Kolme Group, their partnership with ClickUp and TimeJam, the qualities Matt is looking for in a project manager, the importance of clear communication within the company, and the...

In today’s episode, we talk to Ben Somerville – an entrepreneur and co-founder of the performance marketing and creative agency Farsiight. The core strength of the agency lies in the partnership between Ben and his brother Josh. Along with their team, they focus on helping e-Commerce, marketplace, and SaaS companies scale their sales and revenue profitably. We talk about Ben’s journey from tech and sales to marketing, the pros and cons of running a business with your sibling, the importance...

Today we have Karsten Rasmussen with us on Agency Life. With more than 15 years of experience in building new digital products, services and companies - as a consultant, manager and CEO. Karsten has worked in large multinationals, fast-growing SMBs, local startups and runs his own startups. In this conversation, we go through the features of TimeJam, the software that helps employees build the habit of time tracking daily. We’ll also dive into company culture and how digital products can help...