Before you decide to take the leap and put that first employee on your agency's payroll, there are a few things you should think about. In this episode, Patrick Rogan of Ignition HR talks with Chip Griffin of SAGA about pre-hiring considerations, as well as what you should be doing in terms of the paperwork and other administrivia associated with being an employer. Patrick and Chip discuss where you can safely cut corners, but also where you need to make sure you cross all of your t's and...

In this episode, Marcel Petitpas of Parakeeto and Ken Jacobs of Jacobs Consulting & Executive Coaching join Chip Griffin of SAGA to talk about how agency leaders can adopt a transparent approach with their team. The panel discusses the importance of sharing information, including financial data, with the full team to get the best results. At the same time, they stress the importance of education and context to help employees better understand the information that they are...

Kami Huyse of Zoetica Media and Brad Farris of Anchor Advisors join Chip Griffin of SAGA to talk about the year ahead and how agency owners can best prepare themselves. It turns out that the trio covered a similar topic almost a year ago, so perhaps this is now an annual tradition! During this episode, the panel explores how to set clear goals and handle uncertainty. They look at how agencies should be thinking about their own business development and marketing activities, as well as what...

In this episode of the Small Agency Talk Show, Lee McKnight, Jr. of RSW/US joins Chip Griffin of SAGA to discuss the problem with mass marketing your agency instead of taking a more focused approach. The pair explore the reasons why agency owners often end up taking a more shotgun-style approach rather than wielding a scalpel to drive more efficient and effective business development. You will hear some practical suggestions that you can begin to apply to your revenue growth activities for...

With New York City now mandating pay transparency for job listings, the agency community is taking a closer look at what transparency means and how transparent they should be with their teams -- whether or not it is required by law. The conversation among agency leaders usually centers around how much they should share, but in this episode you hear from Marcel Petitpas of Parakeeto and Chip Griffin of SAGA about why it matters just as much how you share that information. Educating your team...

Karen Swim of Solo PR Pro and Chip Griffin of SAGA discuss the shortage of available help for small agencies and solos alike. It has perhaps never been more difficult to find employees or contractors -- and that creates both challenges and opportunities for small agencies and solos. Karen and Chip explore how to be better prepared when the time comes to hire help, as well as what small agencies and solos can do to position themselves to provide help as a business growth strategy.

Gini Dietrich of Spin Sucks and Patrick Rogan of Ignition HR join Chip Griffin of SAGA to talk about how to hold on to your best employees -- especially in the age of the Great Resignation and Quiet Quitting. The panel explores the importance of re-recruiting your own team, but also explains why you shouldn't fight to change an employee's mind who has decided to leave. You will also hear how to communicate with the whole team when an employee does depart -- voluntarily or otherwise -- and...

With the end of the year nearly upon us, Jody Sutter of The Sutter Company and Chip Griffin of SAGA discuss how agencies should go about planning for their 2023 business development efforts. The conversation explores the actual planning process, including how to set meaningful goals. In addition, they look at the current environment and what that means for your own plans. As you prepare your own strategic plans, this episode will give you some insight that you can use as you understand the...

In this episode of the Small Agency Talk Show, Marcel Petitpas of Parakeeto joins Chip Griffin of SAGA to talk about how agencies can adapt themselves to find the right set of solutions for their ideal clients. Marcel shares some of his own journey with Parakeeto as an example of how to iterate on your ideas to test positioning and find the sweet spot for your agency. It is a process that never ends because the market is ever-changing and your team is, too. The more work you do to find the...

Lee McKnight, Jr. of RSW/US joined Chip Griffin of SAGA on the latest Small Agency Talk Show to discuss his firm's latest research into the state of agency business development. The annual survey revealed what is working -- and what isn't -- for agencies today, as well as how they perceive the current environment. Chip and Lee explore the data along with the reasons behind some of the results. They also suggest ways that agencies can improve their own pipelines based on what they are...

PR and marketing agency owners often find it difficult to take time off. Others would like to take a 6-month or even year-long sabbatical but aren't sure how to do it. Gini Dietrich of Spin Sucks joins Chip Griffin of SAGA to discuss how to set yourself up for success so that you can take meaningful time away from your agency to recharge. In this episode, you will learn 9 tips to help you prepare for taking the time off that you deserve -- and that will help put you and your business in a...

Carl Smith of the Bureau of Digital has been talking on his podcast recently about the flood of pitches from agency brokers that he is seeing. At the same time, many owners are tired after two crazy years and thinking about throwing in the towel and selling. In this episode of the Small Agency Talk Show, Carl joins Chip Griffin of SAGA to talk about what to consider before you decide that selling is the right thing to do -- as well as what to expect after your broker finds what you think is...

Brad Farris of Anchor Advisors has been thinking a lot about the idea of being present. In this episode, he explains what he means by that, why it is important, and how to be better at this skill. Chip Griffin of SAGA chimes in with his perspective and expands the conversation to explore how to help team members be more present. They talk about how being present helps to balance thinking and planning with doing. The result is better outcomes and relationships because there is more listening...

As much as we all proclaim that we are really selling outcomes and results for clients, the reality is that all agencies sell time at the end of the day. How you package it up may be different, but from a cost perspective, it's all about the labor hours that you commit. But how do you correctly calculate your real labor costs? Marcel Petitpas of Parakeeto and Chip Griffin of SAGA break down the simplest way to calculate the effective hourly cost for your team members -- and how to use that...

On this episode of the Small Agency Talk Show, Brad Farris of Anchor Advisors shares the story of a recent question he got about how to price a website build. Karen Swim of Solo PR Pro and Chip Griffin of SAGA join in to share their own experiences with confused thinking about agency pricing.The panel explores how agency leaders should be thinking about pricing and what mistakes often get made along the way.Brad, Karen, and Chip also look at the importance of the prospect's perception of...

Some agencies work hard to churn out lots of great content -- but then fail to use it as effectively as they could with prospects and clients. Other agencies miss the chance to accelerate sales and drive more effective prospecting by creating the right content. In this episode of the Small Agency Talk Show, Lee McKnight, Jr. of RSW/US and Chip Griffin of SAGA discuss how agencies can make smarter use of content to improve business development success. They look at some of the common...

Most of us love to provide strategic advice for our clients. Many gurus tell you that's what you need to focus on if you want to grow a large, profitable agency business. The truth is that strategy matters, but so does execution. Particularly when clients may be shorthanded and having trouble hiring, they look to agencies for assistance in getting things done. There's nothing wrong with being the arms and legs for your client. In this episode of the Small Agency Talk Show, Kami Huyse of...

Agencies face increasing pressure when it comes to recruiting and retaining the best talent possible. With employees in the driver's seat due to the surplus of demand for their hours, they are becoming increasingly confident in expressing their views about what they want from their employers. It isn't just about compensation -- something that we have discussed previously on the Small Agency Talk Show. In this episode, Patrick Rogan of Ignition HR and Chip Griffin of SAGA discuss some of the...

Many agency owners feel that they struggle to find the time needed to work on business development to grow their businesses. In this episode of the Small Agency Talk Show, Jody Sutter of The Sutter Company and Chip Griffin of SAGA discuss how to make effective use of your internal team as well as external resources to improve your ability to invest in sustainable growth. Jody also shares a quiz for agency owners that helps them understand better the kind of business development activities...

In this episode of the Small Agency Talk Show, Patrick Rogan of Ignition HR and Chip Griffin of SAGA discuss how concerned agency leaders should be about different kinds of human resources risks common to their workplaces. Some of the areas that the pair explore include contractor vs employee classifications, overtime eligibility, the hiring process, and terminations. Chip and Patrick agree that the risk calculation not only needs to include the probability of getting caught, but also how...

Lee McKnight, Jr. shares fresh research from RSW/US that may help agency leaders better understand how events fit in to the business development mix for 2022. Lee joined Chip Griffin from SAGA to talk about this research, as well as a broader discussion of how to think about growing your agency in the current environment. During this episode of the Small Agency Talk Show, the pair explored content marketing, virtual vs in-person events, RFPs, LinkedIn newsletters, and more.

Ken Jacobs of Jacobs Consulting and Executive Coaching joins Chip Griffin of SAGA to discuss how agency leaders can navigate a tough talent marketplace and the Great Resignation by exhibiting the skills and characteristics needed to recruit and retain employees. This episode of the Small Agency Talk Show includes practical tips to develop sound management approaches, along with some higher-level thinking about what it takes to be an effective leader in an agency today.

In this episode of the Small Agency Talk Show, Brad Farris of Anchor Advisors shares five questions he recommends that you use when having performance improvement conversations with team members. Patrick Rogan of Ignition HR and Chip Griffin of SAGA provide their feedback on these and make some suggestions of their own to help agency leaders better handle these difficult conversations. You will learn some do's and don'ts when it comes to getting the right results while continuing to...

In this episode of the Small Agency Talk Show, Karen Swim of Solo PR Pro and Chip Griffin of SAGA discuss what lies ahead for agencies. The news media is peppered with talk about The Great Resignation, inflation, declining consumer spending, cryptocurrency crashes, falling stock markets, variants of variants, and more. How should agency leaders react to this steady stream of concerning news? What opportunities lie amid the chaos? Is now a good time to start a new agency? Chip and Karen...