The Agency Advisory
Sales, pricing, revenue and exiting are the primary topics this week with insight from Ben Potter , Jonathan Smith , Simon Quarendon and Simon Collard . It's another week where conversations have centred on coping with lengthening decision cycles, on establishing manageable CRM solutions, and on building pipeline for the start of a new financial year in April.
We're into March and the end of the first quarter of 2024 is on the horizon. How is your business performing? Could it do with 'service'? How is your pipeline looking and are you feeling fit for business in 2024? If you'd like an objective assessment or just a chat to run ideas past someone, then don't hesitate to get in touch via [email protected] or simply put some time into the schedule via www.calendly.com/westofcenter.
How to Eat an Elephant
I'm a subscriber to many sayings and cliches. It's a weakness of mine. But one that sticks out and which I use almost daily is: "How do you eat an elephant? Answer: One bite at a time." I apply this to new business and advise those that listen to do the same. In other words. New business can be daunting but if you take it one bite at a time, it becomes manageable and (dare I say) enjoyable. This post from Ben Potter reinforces this. His mantra is "Little and Often". Faced with a goal of 30 new biz emails a month, he breaks it down to 1 or 2 a day. That way, the seemingly impossible task in a busy person's to do list suddenly becomes achievable. Try it, you might get to finish that elephant.
Mastering Revenue Recognition
I was grateful to Jonathan Smith for his post explaining the importance of correct revenue recognition and for the useful Google Sheet template he shared as part of his wonderful #MetricMonday series. Find it here ??https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kcUMtGaHhGOjphKsMWMPNJdgAW4EK7IoL0ly1vliKEY/edit?usp=sharing
Joining up the dots between the account team and the finance team to ensure that revenue is only booked in the month it is actually worked is a key principle that's sometimes overlooked by agencies. And tracking this against the budget and against pass through costs is critical.
Read Jonathan's post here: ??
You Will Only Sell it Once, So Sell it Right
Realising value from all of the hard work its taken to build the business is a dream for many agency founders. The skill in building an agency is one thing. The skill in getting the best possible price when selling is quite another. Most Founders will pride themselves on having good negotiation skills but according to the highly experienced Simon Quarendon , there are many tricks and tips that can be employed once the for sale sign is up above the shop. His article gives an insight into how to maximise value, how to approach the negotiation, how and when to walk away and what red lines are not to be crossed. So if 2024 is the year you make or plan your exit, read on.
A Pricing Checklist
The super helpful Fractional CFO, Simon Collard , has once again shared his wisdom by creating a valuable checklist for pricing decisions. With pricing such an important issue, there are many variables to take into account and Simon has captured the majority. I've weighed in with one extra which is the value based filter. Read Simon's post to find out more.
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Shorts
UK PR Agency Market Size
Interesting short post from Stephen Waddington who has sized the UK PR agency market (5,875 agencies) with three erudite observations that all would do well to take on board.
Value & Impact of Public Relations - Major Study to be Published
Great to see PRovoke Media partnering with the US professional body the PR Council and the global trade association AMEC Measurement and Evaluation on an industry-wide North American survey which will examine attitudes towards the effectiveness of PR practices — aiming to bridge the divide between agency and in-house perceptions. Definitely one to watch when it's launched at the Provoke North American Summit on May 1st in NYC. Via reporting by Arun Sudhaman .
Why War Rooms Work
Great post by Freia Muehlenbein on the benefits of the war room approach to pitch preparation. If you've never adopted this bunker mentality, then I suggest you read on. I can confirm from personal experience, that hunkering down with the team to land that big pitch really does work.
21 Questions to Qualify Prospects in Under 30 min
I'm always drawn to these question lists, not least because I am constantly looking to refine my own questioning capabilities. It's such an important component in the new business journey. Arnaud Renoux offers up a list of great questions that are definitely worth saving. Take a look here.
Co-Founder at Empower, a strategic digital agency for causes creating impact around the world.
1 年Keep up the newsletters Andy West - finding lots of value in the links you share!
Leadership Coach, Mentor, Trainer and Author with over 20 years of experience | Find Your Authentic Style with the SOTO Method
1 年Such valuable insights shared in this roundup! Thank you for curating this wealth of knowledge. ??
AI Speaker & Consultant | Helping Organizations Navigate the AI Revolution | Generated $50M+ Revenue | Talks about #AI #ChatGPT #B2B #Marketing #Outbound
1 年Such valuable insights shared by the community this week! Can't wait to dive into all the useful tips and templates. Andy West
Agency Advisor/NED, Ex-Founder, Ops Community Leader
1 年Thanks Andy, will check it out
I help creative agencies and SMEs to succeed
1 年Thanks Andy West. Your newsletter is really gaining traction (and not just cos you included my latest article!). The breadth and depth of subjects covered is really impressive. Next stop? A one day conference where we can all meet f2f and get stuck into these issues!