Grow Your Agency With 11 Upgrades
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The document provides 11.5 upgrades that marketing agencies can make to grow their business. It recommends hiring a new team member, committing fully to inbound marketing, and improving marketing strategy deliverables. It also suggests firing the worst client, pulsing engagements more quickly, creating a defined sales process, telling an inspiring story, focusing only on activities that generate leads, raising prices, getting intimate with key metrics, and asking for help from experts. The overall message is that agencies need to make strategic, operations, sales, financial, and process upgrades to drive sustainable growth.
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Grow Your Agency With 11 Upgrades
- 1. INBOUND15 HOW TO GROW THE HELL OUT OF YOUR AGENCY: 11.5 UPGRADES TO DO TODAY TO GROW TOMORROW Mike Lieberman President, Chief Inbound Scientist, Square 2 Marketing
- 2. INBOUND15 Mike Lieberman Co-founder, President and Chief Inbound Scientist at Square 2 Marketing As VP of Marketing, of a $20M software company, we spent $20k a month on SEO.
- 3. 1. Context for these Stories 2. Strategic Upgrades to Drive Growth (3 Upgrades) 3. Sales and Marketing Upgrades to Drive Growth (3 Upgrades) 4. Operations Upgrades to Drive Growth (3 Upgrades) 5. Finance Upgrades to Drive Growth (2 Upgrades) 6. Wrap Up and Questions (the elusive ½ an upgrade)
- 4. INBOUND15 About Us – Putting the story in context
- 5. INBOUND15 • Clients on FIVE continents • 62 team members, both in-office and remote • Did $4.4 in 2014 and on pace to do $6.4 in 2015 • 14% net profit • 48 active clients • $12,500 average MRR • 0 projects • $1,272,000 in annual licensing revenue for HubSpot • Our business had doubled every year since 2012 in both revenue and team members An Update On Square 2 Marketing 2015
- 6. INBOUND15 • Revamped our website design and development methodology TWICE with a focus on page by page site strategy to drive more results • Added new UI/UX roles • Upgraded our own website home page and secondary pages (improved conversion rate by 72%) • Implemented company wide Content Strategy and Planning for every client (monthly or quarterly) • Inbound Sales Engagement V2 with CRM and Sidekick for Business • Upgraded and formalized Conversion Optimization engagement tactics • Testing Agile Marketing with Scrum Methodology for deployment company wide in January Changes We’ve Made This Year
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- 8. INBOUND15 • Client website conversion rates associated with our new sites have practically doubled • Designed content strategy have impacted profitability internally and improved results for clients • Revenue from Inbound Sales engagements is improving 50% month over month • Percentage of clients with Inbound Sales services is 20% up from 5% in January • Client renewals through JULY were 100% It Was Worth It
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- 12. #INBOUND15 UPGRADE 1 – Hire A New Team Member Today
- 13. INBOUND15 • Ignore the OLD RULES and smash the old thinking! Hire A New Team Member Today!
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- 15. INBOUND15 • Ignore the OLD RULES! • Start an “always hiring” mentality • Build a bench of people who want to work at your agency • Implement a “just in time” hiring program • Screen for Core Values and Culture • Interview for past performance and use behavior questioning • Test candidates with a “live” project • Look for in-house people for consulting roles Hire A New Team Member Today!
- 16. INBOUND15 • Ignore the OLD RULES! • Start an “always hiring” mentality • Build a bench of people who want to work at your agency • Implement a “just in time” hiring program • Screen for Core Values and Culture • Interview for past performance and use behavior questioning • Test candidates with a “live” project • Look for in-house people for consulting roles Hire A New Team Member Today!
- 17. #INBOUND15 UPGRADE 2 – Make The Decision To GO ALL IN On Inbound
- 18. INBOUND15 • It makes for a better story • Clients and prospects are less confused • It focuses you and your teams • You’ll get better at inbound faster • It’s a growing segment, instead of a stagnating segment • It’s differentiating in your local market • Commit to experimentation • Finding efficiencies within the organization • Applying technology Make The Decision To Go ALL IN On Inbound!
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- 22. INBOUND15 Everything gets easier…..when you go ALL IN! Make The Decision To Go ALL IN On Inbound!
- 23. #INBOUND15 UPGRADE 3 – Upgrade Your Marketing Strategy Deliverables
- 24. INBOUND15 Most of the marketing strategy I see is just incomplete
- 25. INBOUND15 • Personas are only part of the puzzle • Technical details for a website is NOT marketing strategy • A content plan (blueprint) is NOT marketing strategy • A list of inbound tactics is NOT a marketing strategy Upgrade Your Marketing Strategy Deliverables
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- 27. INBOUND15 Marketing Tactics with Inbound • Blogging • Website • Content • Lead nurturing • Email marketing • Video marketing • Social media • Search • Etc,etc, etc Marketing Strategy with Reality Marketing™ • Personas • Messaging • Stories • Differentiation • Tactic details • Budget • Calendar • Lead goals and projections • Sample executions
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- 30. #INBOUND15 UPGRADE 4 – Create a Product Catalog and Continuously Add to It
- 31. INBOUND15 • Inbound marketing is conducive to product thinking • You repeat tasks over and over again • Playbooks for each “product” align perfectly • You’ll notice holes where you need services to round out your offering and drive better results • Drive innovation by adding new products/services…Inbound Sales • Product catalogs support pricing, profitable growth, and value engineering Create a product catalog and add to it regularly
- 32. INBOUND15 Alex turns to Ted, an entrepreneur and old family friend, who encourages Alex to pursue three criteria to make his business sellable: • Teachable: focus on products and services that you can teach employees to deliver. • Valuable: avoid price wars by specializing in doing one thing better than anyone else. • Repeatable: generate recurring revenue by engineering products that customers have to repurchase often.
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- 34. #INBOUND15 UPGRADE 5 – Fire Your Worst Client TODAY!
- 35. INBOUND15 • You’re probably losing money anyway, at the very least it’s less profitable than your best client • They’re extremely demotivating for the team • They’re never going to be a good reference for you…so they’re never going to help you get new clients • They’re never going to be happy, no matter what you do • You’re not learning anything from the engagement • You’re actually opening a slot for a new, more profitable, happier, more potentially referable client Fire Your Worst Client TODAY!
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- 38. INBOUND15 They won’t be surprised you’re firing them!
- 39. #INBOUND15 UPGRADE 6 – Pulse Your Engagement More Quickly!
- 40. INBOUND15 • It has to be more than just delivering “stuff” • The faster your client teams are able to cycle or pulse the engagement, the better the results • A cycle represents a series of activities with specific outcomes in mind • The team needs all the resources required to pulse more quickly • You can’t have organized chaos, so some mechanism needs to control the process of pulsing Find A Way To Pulse Your Engagements Faster
- 41. INBOUND15 Find A Way To Pulse Your Engagements Faster Analysis Review Respond Action
- 42. INBOUND15 Find A Way To Pulse Your Engagements Faster Analysis Review Respond Action Data in HubSpot Team Discussion Action Plan Implement the Plan
- 43. INBOUND15 Find A Way To Pulse Your Engagements Faster Analysis Review Respond Action Data in HubSpot Team Discussion Action Plan Implement the Plan
- 44. INBOUND15 • A quote from the book “the Agile Methodology and Scrum is perfect for creative and highly complex tasks.” • Inbound marketing is a creative and highly complex set of tasks that repeat over and over again with the result being a desired set of outcomes – LEADS! Find A Way To Pulse Your Engagements Faster
- 45. INBOUND15 In 2016, we’re taking the entire company AGILE and deploying a Scrum Methodology for every engagement
- 46. #INBOUND15 UPGRADE 7 – Create a Defined Sales Process and Stick To It Religiously
- 47. INBOUND15 • Make it about your prospects, not about you • Anyone who asks you to deviate from your process is not a good fit • Make your prospects feel safe • Use content the same way you’d tell your clients to use content • Use the automation tools – CRM and Sidekick • Model for your clients….this sells inbound better than anything else • Practice what you preach Create a defined sales process and stick to it
- 48. INBOUND15 Don’t be afraid to say no…people always want what they can’t have…play hard to get.
- 49. INBOUND15 “We have to hire this company!”
- 50. INBOUND15 Inbound Sales Is Ready For Prime Time http://www.square2marketing.com/inbound-sales-effect-read-the-first-chapter Special Limited Time Offer Get a pre-release version of the first chapter TODAY and get notification when the book is available for full download. Visit This Special INBOUND 2015 Link www.square2marketing.com/inbound-sales-effect-read-the- first-chapter
- 51. #INBOUND15 UPGRADE 8 – Tell An Inspiring Story
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- 53. INBOUND15 We build Marketing Machines for companies who want a click to close system to ensure you exceed revenue goals every month.
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- 55. INBOUND15 In everything we do, we believe in teaching entrepreneurial CEOs, marketing and sales execs to think differently about how they sell and market their businesses. The way we help clients is through the strategic implementation of inbound marketing and inbound sales; making it simple to understand and apply. Reality Marketing™ + Inbound Marketing + Inbound Sales = Revenue Growth
- 56. INBOUND15 You NEED A Mission!
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- 58. #INBOUND15 UPGRADE 9 – Clients Want Leads, Don’t Do Things That Don’t Generate Leads
- 59. INBOUND15 • Websites without content, offers, compelling messaging • Content out of context or without landing pages, CTA buttons and lead nurturing • SEO (getting on the first page of Google is NOT a lead) • Logo Redesign (ever pick a company based on their logo?) • Press releases • Outdoor advertising • Promotional campaigns…discount coupons • Cold-calling • Inbound marketing without optimization software Things That Don’t Get Leads
- 60. INBOUND15 A lot of those services have been commodized down to almost no value and that’s not how I want spend my day.
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- 63. INBOUND15 INSTEAD…build your inbound marketing methodology (the machine) and get good at delivering it so you drive results and increase efficiencies in your agency…this is how grow revenue and profits.
- 65. #INBOUND15 UPGRADE 10 – Raise Prices RIGHT NOW!
- 66. INBOUND15 • Raise your monthly retainers by $1,000 a month • If someone is paying $5,000 AND they value what you’re doing for them, they can afford $6,000 • The value you’re providing them is NOT equal to what you’re getting paid • If you’re getting them leads, does it matter whether it’s $9k, $10k or $11k a month? Raise Prices NOW!
- 68. INBOUND15 Magic Question… How much would you pay if I could give you a Marketing Machine that delivered the exact amount of leads you needed to hit your revenue goals every single month?
- 69. INBOUND15 Make Prospects and Clients Answer This Question with Real $$$$$$
- 71. #INBOUND15 UPGRADE 11 – Get More Intimate With Your Numbers
- 72. INBOUND15 • Visits, Leads and Conversion Rate for your agency – DAILY • Blog Views and Blog Subscribers – DAILY • Average Client MRR – MONTHLY • Client Profitability vs Target Client Profitability – WEEKLY • Team Utilization Rate – WEEKLY • Percent Billable by Team Member and Company Wide – WEEKLY • Company Net Promoter Score - QUARTERLY • Current Renewal Rate and Projected Renewal Rate – QUARTERLY • Team Member Happiness Score – MONTHLY • Cash on Hand – WEEKLY (two months of payroll) • Client Program Performance – Weekly/Monthly (Leads vs. Lead Goals) Numbers You Have To Know Cold!
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- 74. INBOUND15 Flash Reports • Finance – DAILY • HR – WEEKLY • Client Services – WEEKLY I Don’t Do Reports Often, But When I Do… They’re Flash Reports
- 75. #INBOUND15 UPGRADE 11.5 – Ask For Help
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- 77. INBOUND15 Helpful Content and Advice www.agencies2inbound.com
- 78. INBOUND15 New Coaching Cohort Is Launching In September Space is already limited but if you’re interested www.agencies2inbound.com/coaching-sign-up
- 79. INBOUND15 • If you love servicing but selling is challenging • If you’re concerned about trying to “figure it out” on your own • If you’re all in on Inbound and share our vision • If you want to be part of a bigger team • If you want to selling. stop collecting money, sending invoices, or handling office admin Let’s Talk! We’re Still Buying Agencies
- 81. INBOUND15 You’re NOT Alone mike@square2marketing.com mike@agencies2inbound.com 215-491-0100 215-880-6290 Follow Me On Twitter @Mike2Marketing