The Agency Advisory

I sense that we’re all now getting back into the swing of things and that questions about the holidays are starting to recede. It’s certainly back to normal for Westofcenter having spent the week working through a positioning and proposition workshop with a lovely new client. Perhaps that's why there’s a lot about this topic in this week’s newsletter with posts from two experts who are key influences in my thinking, followed by a fascinating case study from an agency that got it right in 2024.

Moving on, there’s a simple yet effective day to day guide to business development, tips on what might be holding your growth back, advice on revenue recognition and questions about what founders really want. Rounding this all off are links to some great resources finishing up with a shameless plug for the London Big Quiz.

Lots to get your teeth into this week. Thank you as always for all the creators who have been generous with their thoughts and time and to the LinkedIn community for sharing content that I might otherwise have missed.

Stop trying to be everything to everyone – the importance of positioning

I will continue to shout about the importance of standout agency positioning through the coming year, referencing the influence Gareth Healey (author of Standout or Die), biz dev consultant Ben Potter , and business strategist Tim Williams have on my thinking and approach. Gareth and Ben have posted recently on the topic and their views are well worth taking onboard. Gareth highlights the positioning trap, citing the stark fact that market visibility means nothing if you’re positioned like everyone else, while Ben has shared a carousel giving 14 reasons why your agency should niche or specialise in 2025.

Have you got a positioning problem? Check out Gareth’s post here:

If so, perhaps take Ben’s advice by looking through his carousel here:

Why you should test your firm’s strategy & biz dev approach

Another of my favourite consultants, Florian M. Heinrichs , issued a call for 2025 to be the year that consulting firms actually go through testing of their positioning, strategy and biz dev approach. Florian posits that many firms craft a clever tagline, refresh the website etc and then move on without ever really testing the thinking with real people in real markets. I feel there’s a lot to be taken from the world of software development where new products go through rigorous testing phases before the product is launched. Florian’s counsel is well intentioned and for those who do decide to go on a journey to find that standout positioning, well worth considering.

Check out Florian's 2025 call to action on testing here:

A case study in how to thrive – Evergreen PR

It’s rare that case studies appear in The Agency Advisory so I’m grateful to Crispin Manners for sharing Leigh Greenwood Chart.PR ’s great post that explains the 3 key things that Evergreen PR got right in the 2nd half of 2024. I highlight it as it serves as a powerful proof point to the importance of selectivity – the narrowing of focus – so as to “articulate where we aim to be stronger than any other agency.” Leigh simply says they got their positioning right, they become selective in what they pitched for, and they introduced an ‘Agency Alignment Framework. He doesn’t quantify the success in his post (which is a shame), but I am struck by the positive, confident tone that he strikes.

See what Evergreen got right via Leigh’s post here:

Carve out 45 minutes a day for new business success

LinkedIn is full of advice for 2025. Much of it is forgettable but some nuggets stand out. Steve Fair ’s post – The Panicking Agency Guide’ – caught my eye and I’m pleased to share it here. It’s a day-to-day plan which involves (according to Steve) a maximum of 45 minutes of work. I like the approach. It’s practical, realistic and thoughtful. It’s about careful targeting, good housekeeping, and consistent outreach in small manageable bursts. All too often I see or hear from agencies that are needing to kick start business development momentum. When you realise the pipeline is drying or your biz dev activity has lain dormant, it's too late. Successful sales never sleeps (credit: Darryl Sparey (Chart.PR, FPRCA, FCIPR) ) and so Steve’s advice is well worth listening to.

Check it out here: ?

Wise advice about revenue recognition (do read on!)

Agency finances might not be the sexiest topic but arguably the most important. And few people know this better than Rich Brett who last week posted content looking at various aspects of revenue recognition. In his series of posts, Rich outlined what best practice looks like (hint: it’s booking revenue in your P&L from work you’ve delivered – not invoiced), and why gross profit must be based on revenue recognition and not on invoiced amounts. If any of this sounds like a foreign language, then head over and follow Rich – he’s a financial operations specialist and worth listening to.

?Dive into #revrec and Rich’s post here:

Are you the bottleneck that holding back growth?

We’ve all seen it – agencies that come out of the blocks like the proverbial bullet only to faulter and stall after a period. No one is saying growth up to ￡1m is easy, but growth from ￡1m to ￡5m (and beyond) takes the challenge to new levels. It’s a fact that some agencies hit a ceiling around the ￡1m mark and according to Ollie Scott , Founder & CEO at Unknown, it’s not from a lack of ambition but from the simple fact the growth stops being about the work and starts being about the structure. In his insightful post, Ollie explains the pattern he has seen play out and offer up advice to help small agencies scale by stating a few home truths. And the first? That if everything still runs through you, then you are not running the business. You are the bottleneck.

Check out the 5 problems that combine to prevent scaling here:

What’s your point of singularity?

I share a lot of posts about finding ways to exit but according to Ian Harris , founder of Agency Hackers and publisher of thhe Growth Notes newsletter, many agency owners often dream of reaching their "singularity" - the point where they can focus solely on their favourite aspect of the business, whether that's being the charismatic figurehead or returning to hands-on creative work. However, this vision rarely aligns with business reality, particularly as agencies scale beyond ￡1M in revenue. According to Ian, the key challenge lies in balancing creative passion with essential business leadership. Drawing parallels with aviation, successful agency leaders must transition from "Visual Flight Rules" (gut-feel management) to "Instrument Flight Rules" (data-driven decision-making), especially in crucial areas like financial oversight. This shift, while challenging, is vital for sustainable growth. Where are you on that journey and which flight rules are you following / want to follow?

Read Ian’s post in the brilliant Agency Hackers newsletter – Growth Notes – here:

?Resources to help you:

The Creative Agency Profit Playbook – thx to Manish Kapur for sharing this playbook, a 30+ guide to changes that will impact your profit margins this year.

Download it here:

The Handbook: Agency Ops podcast from Harv Nagra . Check it out on whatever platform you listen to Podcasts on. ?

Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/3y2R8DN

And Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3Lrg9f0

State of the (Agency) Nation – one to get involved in if you are an agency owner. Those clever people over at Cactus are conducting research on how things really are for agencies right now. Get involved and let’s take the temperature of the industry. Thanks to Mark Probert for sharing this.

Go to the survey here - www.bit.ly/406aNN3

Mergers, acquisitions and pitch news – the 2024 review. Bookmark the PRmoment monthly podcast hosted by Ben Smith and featuring Andrew Bloch which has become the definitive update for agency leaders.

Find all the details here:

And finally – The Big Quiz

Shameless events plug here for all those in London. The CIPR Greater London Group and the CIPR Corporate & Financial Group (CFG) are hosting the annual Big Quiz, hosted by the new Times Crossword Editor, Jason Crampton and kindly sponsored by 72Point . It all takes place on Tuesday February 4th at the Soul Mama Music venue run by YolanDa Brown OBE DL . Individual tickets ￡5 for CIPR Members, ￡10 for non-members with table tickets (x6 persons per team), ￡25 for members, ￡50 for non-members.?

Buy your tickets by clicking here:

If you like what you have read in this newsletter, please do repost it to your network, comment on one or other of the topics that have been covered, and if you don't do so already, follow me for more shared posts on matters relating to agency management and comms in general.

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Andy