The Agency Advisory

Short and sweet is the mantra for this week’s Agency Advisory. The posts I share are centred around planning, metrics, budgeting, content marketing, client profitability, and value-based pricing. Plus, I ask the question of whether you are experiencing a ‘dip’ in your mojo. All of these topics are so relevant to the time of year and to the planning everyone is undertaking as we plan for the uncertainties 2025 might arrive with.

I hope you enjoy this week’s selection of thought leadership content. Thank you as always to everyone who takes the time to share their opinions and content on LinkedIn.

Founders – are you in the dip?

I came across this excellent post from James Sinclair and the topic matched with so many conversations I’ve had over the last three or so years. James defines the ‘dip’ as the gap between all the work you’ve done and the results you’re expecting or waiting for. Do you ever feel like the adrenaline created by starting your agency has gone because you’re not where you expected to be, and the results are not what you want? This is an important question to ask and then to identify what to do about it. James poses two diagnostic questions – is the fact that the results aren’t forthcoming due to a traction delay or a market signalling problem. Do you need to apply grit and grow through the dip or do you need to adapt, pivot or rethink. It’s an excellent post and one that I encourage all founders to read.

?Read James’ LI post here:

Or go straight to his excellent newsletter and read about the dip here:

Don’t make excuses – start publishing content

I spoke about this in the PR Moment Agency Growth Forum recently – the importance of building a personal brand by publishing content that is relevant to your ideal client profile. In a previous life, we ‘branded’ it behaving famously. In other words, deciding on your message and finding platforms to consistently broadcast your position and expertise in language that your desired target audience will engage with. All too often, I hear the excuse that either “I don’t have time” or “I don’t know what to post about”. If this applies to you, then I recommend you follow Pierre Herubel who provides ample guidance on content marketing in his LinkedIn posts as well as offering up courses on the topic.

Follow Pierre here:

Read his latest LI post which gives you 7 reasons why you need a content strategy here:

How much is your client really costing you?

In the rush to find revenue over the past couple of lean years, it’s my belief that many agencies are working with clients that are costing money rather than contributing to the bottom line. It’s something I’ve talked about with the agencies I advise and why I advocate for strict qualification even when revenue is tight. And that’s why I like Sarah Brougham ’s post and carousel which outlines the 3 strategies her business use to ensure resources are efficiently allocated every week. One of the tips that I strongly endorse is to track everything your client asks for. Scope creep is one of the biggest contributing factors to overworking and hence unprofitable client engagements.

?Read Sarah’s 3 tips here – they could open your eyes to why your margins are low:

Putting the revenue per full time employee metric under the spotlight

It’s no secret I follow the writings of Luk Smeyers . His insights into what drives success for boutique consulting firms are articulate, relevant and practical. This latest post exploring the importance of the Rev/FTE ratio is just another example of his value to the advisory community. In it, he explains why the amount of revenue each consultant generates is such an important metric and why it’s advisable to track it over time. Ultimately, the Rev/FTE ratio is a measure of how effectively agencies deploy their human capital as it reflects organisational efficiency and productivity as well providing critical information about service design, sales capabilities, client management skills and delivery trends.

Read Luk’s explanation on why the Rev/FTE metric is so important in his newsletter here:

A manifesto for productising your agency’s value

I’m a big fan of Brian Kessman ’s philosophy of focusing on the value your agency delivers when you price up for projects. It’s so true – by shifting from a time-based pricing model that leaves you open to clients questioning time spent, a move to a pricing model that focuses on value creates many business advantages including the ability to scale revenue without adding to headcount; time and resource to invest in people; and crucially, the ability to deliver the impact that distinguishes you in the market. Some say it’s an impossible shift because clients expect hourly rates. I counter by arguing that it’s always possible to start the process, particularly if you already focus on value (outcomes) in the work you do.

?Take a look at Brian's latest LI posts & get to know him here:

‘Tis the season for budgeting…

I’m a bit of a budgeting geek. I like nothing more than to work with my clients on building budgets for the year ahead and to then match the numbers with the vision / ambition / capabilities / business realities that will define success or failure. And I always enjoy working with those smart CFO types who bring rigor and experience to the table. One such individual is Rich Brett who has just published a couple of really good videos about budgeting. Check out his LI feed for his wise approach and straightforward advice.

Find Rich here on LI:

And his latest video in his series on budgeting is here:

And finally – sales fitness

Over the past week I have started several fitness assessments for agencies keen to prepare themselves for the year ahead. As Andrew Bloch said at the PRmoment Agency Growth Forum, there are no bad pitches these days (he should know – he’s been reviewing +100 of them on behalf of intermediary AAR over the past year). So how can agencies stand out? One way is to undertake a comprehensive fitness test comprising an assessment of 4 key areas of the pitch process. If you would like to take the fitness test for your agency, and then receive an analysis based against a benchmark of over 60 tests completed, then do get in touch. Details below:

Find the online sales fitness test here - <10 mins to complete: ?

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.

https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/andyjhwest/

Many thanks.

Andy