#Agency 10 - Surviving COVID-19 W/ Drew McLellan

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:02.720 Hey, this is James, the founder of sweet fish media. If you've 2 00:00:02.720 --> 00:00:04.960 listened to beb growth for a while, you probably have an idea of what 3 00:00:05.040 --> 00:00:09.349 we're passionate about. Loving people really well, a constant pursuit of learning and 4 00:00:09.750 --> 00:00:14.390 inspiring people to own their careers. With all the craziness happening with this virus, 5 00:00:14.429 --> 00:00:18.629 we are incredibly fortunate to be in the business of podcasting. So many 6 00:00:18.670 --> 00:00:22.820 BB brands are looking for alternatives to their inperson events that are being canceled, 7 00:00:23.140 --> 00:00:27.100 and our business is growing as a result. Please don't miss hear me on 8 00:00:27.179 --> 00:00:31.300 this, because I'm not saying this to Brag. It is heartbreaking the economic 9 00:00:31.339 --> 00:00:35.100 impact this is having on so many businesses. But being in the business of 10 00:00:35.140 --> 00:00:39.729 podcasting, the demand for what we do has increased and because of that we're 11 00:00:39.770 --> 00:00:44.009 looking to hire really talented people to help us serve that demand. So if 12 00:00:44.049 --> 00:00:46.850 you like what we're all about it sweet fish and you're looking for a great 13 00:00:46.890 --> 00:00:50.240 career opportunity, hit us up. There's a link in the show notes where 14 00:00:50.240 --> 00:00:54.799 you can apply today. I'm really looking forward to meeting you. Hey, 15 00:00:54.799 --> 00:01:00.039 there everybody. Drew McClellan here from Agency Management Institute. Very grateful to be 16 00:01:00.280 --> 00:01:06.109 back with the BE TOB growth folks on their agency tracks. So thank you 17 00:01:06.469 --> 00:01:11.790 to everyone at be to be growth frien inviting me to continue to contribute content 18 00:01:11.909 --> 00:01:15.870 there. If you are not familiar with me or agency Management Institute, we 19 00:01:15.989 --> 00:01:23.260 are an organization that helps small to midsize independently owned agencies all over the globe 20 00:01:23.299 --> 00:01:30.379 run the business of their business better. Most Agency owners are brilliant at the 21 00:01:30.459 --> 00:01:34.810 client facing stuff, but many of us, myself included twenty five years ago 22 00:01:34.849 --> 00:01:38.969 when I started my agency, many of us are accidental business owners. So 23 00:01:38.730 --> 00:01:44.010 we either got let go, we left a job, we've decided to hang 24 00:01:44.049 --> 00:01:47.519 up a shingle as a freelancer and next thing we knew we were running an 25 00:01:47.519 --> 00:01:51.680 agency. And we didn't go to school for that. We didn't learn how 26 00:01:51.719 --> 00:01:57.599 to run a business and things like financial metrics and pnals and how to look 27 00:01:57.599 --> 00:02:00.239 at the numbers and know if you can afford to hire a new person. 28 00:02:00.280 --> 00:02:04.829 All of those things don't come as naturally to us, and so that's what 29 00:02:05.030 --> 00:02:09.629 Ami is there to do, is to teach and coach and help and serve 30 00:02:09.789 --> 00:02:15.780 agencies so that they can build a business their agency that is scalable, that 31 00:02:15.939 --> 00:02:21.099 is sustainable and if they want to down the road, that it is sellable. 32 00:02:21.419 --> 00:02:23.780 So that's what we're all about. But today what I want to talk 33 00:02:23.819 --> 00:02:28.659 to you about is what is on everyone's mind right now, and that is 34 00:02:28.979 --> 00:02:35.370 covid nineteen. So I'm recording this on March thirty, so we are about 35 00:02:35.530 --> 00:02:42.729 two weeks or more in to sheltering in place, or at least social distancing, 36 00:02:43.449 --> 00:02:46.080 and most of us are working from home. I'll tell you I've been 37 00:02:46.120 --> 00:02:51.120 talking to agency owners pretty much from seven am to midnight every night for the 38 00:02:51.199 --> 00:02:55.000 last couple weeks, seven days a week, and the stories I hear from 39 00:02:55.000 --> 00:03:00.310 them are very different. So I have some agencies that we work with that 40 00:03:00.509 --> 00:03:05.949 literally are busier than they were prior to the virus. The client mixed they 41 00:03:06.030 --> 00:03:10.750 have, the type of work they do is in demand and they are swamped. 42 00:03:12.229 --> 00:03:15.860 On the other end of that spectrum, I have agencies that have literally 43 00:03:15.979 --> 00:03:21.219 watched in the last two weeks fifty percent of their adjusted gross income walk out 44 00:03:21.219 --> 00:03:23.819 the door. And then there's everybody else, somewhere in the middle and and 45 00:03:25.139 --> 00:03:29.650 that's, I guess, a reminder to us that this is not a one 46 00:03:29.810 --> 00:03:35.650 size fits all crisis and that everyone needs to be smart about how they approach 47 00:03:35.810 --> 00:03:38.729 this crisis based on how it's impacting their agency. What I want to talk 48 00:03:38.729 --> 00:03:44.560 to you about today is your number one focus and goal, and want you 49 00:03:44.599 --> 00:03:50.879 to think of yourself as a captain of a ship and you are in charge 50 00:03:50.919 --> 00:03:53.560 of your vessel, which is the agency and your job. Right now, 51 00:03:53.719 --> 00:03:58.949 your ship is being pummeled in a storm. It is a rough water, 52 00:03:59.030 --> 00:04:04.270 lightning, thunder tossing and turning storm and and and for some of you it's 53 00:04:04.310 --> 00:04:09.789 the worst storm that your ship has ever endured. For others, if you've 54 00:04:09.789 --> 00:04:14.219 been around for a while, maybe this isn't as bad as nine eleven or 55 00:04:14.259 --> 00:04:17.740 the recession about seven hundred and eight. You've certainly suffered other storms, biggest 56 00:04:17.819 --> 00:04:23.699 client walking out the door. But our job as agency owners and leaders is 57 00:04:23.819 --> 00:04:28.370 to get the the ship to calm waters, and so that is not only 58 00:04:28.490 --> 00:04:33.569 surviving the storm but also making sure that we have enough gas or fuel and 59 00:04:34.329 --> 00:04:41.279 anything else we need provisions to actually survive the storm and then navigate our way 60 00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:46.160 to calm waters. That's your number one job, and to do that you 61 00:04:46.439 --> 00:04:51.360 need to remain calm, you need to be confident and you need to be 62 00:04:51.480 --> 00:04:57.389 compassionate and all three of those, I think, are being sorely tested. 63 00:04:57.829 --> 00:05:02.189 For most of us right now. It's pretty difficult to be calm in this 64 00:05:02.670 --> 00:05:10.819 chaos of unknowns, and it is awfully difficult to be confident when you every 65 00:05:10.860 --> 00:05:15.500 time the phone rings or your email payings, you twitch because you're afraid it 66 00:05:15.899 --> 00:05:19.300 might be a client pulling the plug on a project. I get it, 67 00:05:19.860 --> 00:05:25.810 but we have got to dig down deep and we have got to find a 68 00:05:25.889 --> 00:05:30.009 way to have confidence in the fact that we will weather this storm. We 69 00:05:30.209 --> 00:05:34.209 absolutely will. Your your ship is built to whether this storm. Now, 70 00:05:34.490 --> 00:05:38.639 that doesn't mean it's not going to take damage. It doesn't mean it's going 71 00:05:38.639 --> 00:05:43.519 to look exactly the same or as pristine as it did as you entered the 72 00:05:43.639 --> 00:05:46.079 storm. It may look a little banged up by the time you get to 73 00:05:46.079 --> 00:05:49.790 the calm waters. For some of you it may mean that you don't have 74 00:05:49.829 --> 00:05:56.509 as many crew anymore, that to survive the storm, you actually had to 75 00:05:56.589 --> 00:06:00.829 lose some of your crew. So I'm not saying this is easy. I'm 76 00:06:00.829 --> 00:06:05.379 not saying that this is a given without effort and sacrifice, because I think 77 00:06:05.420 --> 00:06:09.060 we're going to have to do both. We're gonna have to make some sacrifices 78 00:06:09.540 --> 00:06:13.459 and obviously it's taking a huge amount of effort. Many of you aren't sleeping 79 00:06:13.500 --> 00:06:18.129 well right now. You're struggling with what to do next, and your job 80 00:06:18.410 --> 00:06:24.089 is to get to those calm waters and the compassionate part. It's your people 81 00:06:24.089 --> 00:06:29.170 are afraid as well, and so for you to be sensitive to what's going 82 00:06:29.250 --> 00:06:32.879 on in their life, that they're worried about their elderly parents or they're trying 83 00:06:32.959 --> 00:06:39.079 to homeschool while they're still trying to work. You know this is this is 84 00:06:39.240 --> 00:06:44.199 challenging for everybody and I think sometimes, when you feel the weight of the 85 00:06:44.279 --> 00:06:47.110 world on your shoulders, as I know many of you do, compassion can 86 00:06:47.149 --> 00:06:51.029 also be in short supply. But how we show up in this, how 87 00:06:51.110 --> 00:06:56.990 we show up as a leader, is going to be so critical to how 88 00:06:57.149 --> 00:07:00.500 we look when we do get to those calm waters. The more you can 89 00:07:00.660 --> 00:07:06.220 guide and lead and support your team, the more you can guide and lead 90 00:07:06.379 --> 00:07:10.660 and support your clients, even if they've pulled the plug on a project, 91 00:07:11.180 --> 00:07:14.100 that you would still be reaching out to them, that you would be supporting 92 00:07:14.180 --> 00:07:16.009 them, being a good listener, because right now I think a lot of 93 00:07:16.089 --> 00:07:20.449 people just need to vent or think out out. All of the those things 94 00:07:20.730 --> 00:07:26.329 will influence how quickly you get to the calm waters and what it looks like 95 00:07:26.449 --> 00:07:30.720 when you get there. But you absolutely need to be managing by the numbers 96 00:07:30.759 --> 00:07:35.920 right now. So if you are familiar with Ami's metrics, you know that 97 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:40.879 all we care about is adjusted gross income. So, for those of you 98 00:07:41.040 --> 00:07:44.910 that are not familiar, let me remind you. You have your gross billings. 99 00:07:44.990 --> 00:07:47.750 That's everything you build a client, all of your cost of goods, 100 00:07:48.029 --> 00:07:54.509 which include any ninety nine contract labor, and what's left is your adjusted gross 101 00:07:54.550 --> 00:07:59.420 income, and that's the money that you get to keep to spend on running 102 00:07:59.420 --> 00:08:03.060 your business, and that Agi gets broken up into three buckets. Fifty five 103 00:08:03.139 --> 00:08:07.060 percent of your adjusted gross income should be spent on loaded payroll, so that's 104 00:08:07.420 --> 00:08:13.329 salary and benefits. About twenty five percent should be spent on overhead and ideally 105 00:08:13.730 --> 00:08:18.689 in non covid Nineteen Times twenty percent of it should be profit. Now I 106 00:08:18.769 --> 00:08:22.610 will tell you right now that for many of you who have had clients hit 107 00:08:22.649 --> 00:08:26.439 the pause button, you're not going to hit twenty percent profit in this season. 108 00:08:28.040 --> 00:08:30.600 But what I want to make sure you don't do is go into the 109 00:08:30.680 --> 00:08:33.919 red because, again, remember you've got to get to those calm waters with 110 00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:39.240 the provisions that will allow you to start back up. Clients are going to 111 00:08:39.279 --> 00:08:43.669 be anxious, they're going to be just hungry to make up what they've lost 112 00:08:43.710 --> 00:08:46.950 during these few months and you have to be ready to help them. And 113 00:08:46.990 --> 00:08:50.710 you can't do that if you're limping along with no supplies and the boat is 114 00:08:50.909 --> 00:08:54.779 barely, you know, breaking the water because you're so heavy with that. 115 00:08:56.620 --> 00:08:58.940 So I want you to manage to the numbers fifty five, twenty, five, 116 00:08:58.940 --> 00:09:03.059 hundred and twenty, and if the twenty is only five, that's fine, 117 00:09:03.500 --> 00:09:05.820 but it can't be negative five can be negative one. You've got to 118 00:09:05.980 --> 00:09:09.529 stay in the black. A lot of you have already gone through and slashed 119 00:09:09.690 --> 00:09:16.450 any unnecessary expenses. That's a great plan. Many of you are working with 120 00:09:16.610 --> 00:09:20.850 clients on payment plans and things like that. Also a great plan, but 121 00:09:20.970 --> 00:09:26.240 you've got to keep watching the numbers. This is not the time to stop 122 00:09:26.200 --> 00:09:33.440 looking at your financials on a regular basis. Hey, everybody logan with sweet 123 00:09:33.440 --> 00:09:37.600 fish here. You probably already know that we think you should start a podcast 124 00:09:37.679 --> 00:09:41.269 if you haven't already. But what if you have and you're asking these kinds 125 00:09:41.309 --> 00:09:46.029 of questions. How much has our podcast impacted revenue this year? How's our 126 00:09:46.070 --> 00:09:50.950 sales team actually leveraging the PODCAST content? If you can't answer these questions, 127 00:09:50.070 --> 00:09:54.379 you're actually not alone. This is why I cast it created the very first 128 00:09:54.500 --> 00:10:01.220 content marketing platform made specifically for be tob podcasting. Now you can more easily 129 00:10:01.299 --> 00:10:07.139 search and share your audio content while getting greater visibility into the impact of your 130 00:10:07.169 --> 00:10:11.929 podcast. The marketing teams at Drift Terminus and here at sweetfish have started using 131 00:10:13.049 --> 00:10:16.370 casted to get more value out of our podcasts, and you probably can to. 132 00:10:18.009 --> 00:10:22.559 You can check out the product in action at casted dot US growth. 133 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:28.519 That's sea St Ed dot US growth. All right, let's get back to 134 00:10:28.559 --> 00:10:37.149 the show. The other thing I want you to think about is Bizdev I 135 00:10:37.350 --> 00:10:41.070 know it sounds crazy that you should still be planting seeds right now because no 136 00:10:41.190 --> 00:10:43.950 one's in the mood to buy, although it will tell you. I have 137 00:10:45.029 --> 00:10:48.230 agencies that have landed new clients in the midst of all of this. In 138 00:10:48.389 --> 00:10:54.059 some cases it was work that they already were pursuing and they were pretty far 139 00:10:54.139 --> 00:10:58.500 down the lane with this prospect, but in other cases they literally picked up 140 00:10:58.500 --> 00:11:01.019 the phone or answered email and a brand new client walked in the door. 141 00:11:01.620 --> 00:11:05.129 So how we sell right now is going to be different. This is not 142 00:11:05.450 --> 00:11:09.330 hard cell time, this is not cold calling time. This is going back 143 00:11:09.450 --> 00:11:16.009 and nurturing existing clients, former clients and prospects that you already have a relationship 144 00:11:16.049 --> 00:11:20.000 with and you were going to show up to help them, not to sell 145 00:11:20.080 --> 00:11:24.200 them anything when they are ready to buy, when they are in a position 146 00:11:24.360 --> 00:11:28.799 to spend money, because some of them right now are on lockdown in terms 147 00:11:28.840 --> 00:11:33.350 of their budget, just like many agencies have locked that down. But you 148 00:11:33.429 --> 00:11:37.269 want to be there to be helpful to them and you want to keep planting 149 00:11:37.309 --> 00:11:43.190 seeds. Thoughtful, sensitive, not selling, not pushing, just you being 150 00:11:43.350 --> 00:11:50.259 helpful and coach your clients and prospects through this weird, weird time that we're 151 00:11:50.299 --> 00:11:52.460 in. They don't know how to respond to this either. They don't know 152 00:11:52.500 --> 00:11:56.899 what to do with their social media, they don't know how to change their 153 00:11:56.980 --> 00:12:01.059 digital ads, they don't know what stories they should be pitching to the media. 154 00:12:01.490 --> 00:12:05.129 You can be amazingly helpful to them in all of that. And if 155 00:12:05.169 --> 00:12:09.769 it's just a quick phone call and you're just spitballing ideas, don't send them 156 00:12:09.769 --> 00:12:13.289 a bill, send them a note letting them know that you enjoyed the conversation 157 00:12:13.929 --> 00:12:16.440 and that you hope their family as well, and you look forward to sitting 158 00:12:16.440 --> 00:12:22.320 down over a cup of coffee or a drink when everybody can physically be in 159 00:12:22.360 --> 00:12:28.320 the same space again. Be Be good people, be caring people in your 160 00:12:28.360 --> 00:12:33.909 community. Take an active role in serving your community. One of the agencies 161 00:12:33.950 --> 00:12:39.230 we work with in Bangor, Maine pulled together a list of all of the 162 00:12:39.309 --> 00:12:46.019 places that senior citizens and people with compromised immune systems could shop when they had 163 00:12:46.139 --> 00:12:50.580 sort of special shopping hours in all of the stores and Bangor and they published 164 00:12:50.620 --> 00:12:54.659 a guide and they released it for free and they're getting a lot of great 165 00:12:54.700 --> 00:12:58.059 press from that, which is not why they did it. They did it 166 00:12:58.139 --> 00:13:01.889 because they're good people. But there's nothing wrong with also getting good press or 167 00:13:01.929 --> 00:13:07.210 getting noticed for being a good person, because that will pay out for you 168 00:13:07.289 --> 00:13:13.759 later. So my message for you in this episode is really you've got to 169 00:13:13.840 --> 00:13:18.720 be thinking about how you survive this and you have to survive it strong. 170 00:13:18.960 --> 00:13:24.639 So if you have to make cuts, if you have to fight for a 171 00:13:24.720 --> 00:13:28.830 rent reduction, whatever it may be, now is the time to do it. 172 00:13:28.029 --> 00:13:31.429 Don't delay this do it right now, get it done as quickly as 173 00:13:31.509 --> 00:13:35.509 possible, and we are putting out all kinds of content. We've got a 174 00:13:35.629 --> 00:13:39.710 document that talks about how to talk to your landlord about getting a rent reduction. 175 00:13:41.230 --> 00:13:46.740 We have documents on the care act and all of the different relief loans 176 00:13:46.980 --> 00:13:50.779 that are available to small businesses. Like agencies, we have a ton of 177 00:13:50.860 --> 00:13:54.769 resources on our website. No email required. We're not going to try and 178 00:13:54.889 --> 00:13:58.649 sell you anything. We're just trying to help agencies get through this. So 179 00:13:58.730 --> 00:14:07.409 if you head over to agency Management Institutecom Covid, you will find resources organized 180 00:14:07.490 --> 00:14:09.960 by weeks or the most recent resources are at the top of the page and 181 00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:13.559 then you can work your way down. But we have podcast we have videos, 182 00:14:13.639 --> 00:14:20.679 we have documents from the federal government, we have documents from the US 183 00:14:20.840 --> 00:14:24.710 Chamber for Small Businesses. We've got all kinds of resources there that we would 184 00:14:24.710 --> 00:14:28.669 love for them to be helpful to you and for you to take full advantage 185 00:14:28.669 --> 00:14:33.029 of them. I'm going to be back soon with other ideas for how you 186 00:14:33.149 --> 00:14:37.070 can survive this, but for now, just know that you are not doing 187 00:14:37.110 --> 00:14:41.059 this alone. Please feel free to come talk to us at the am I 188 00:14:41.299 --> 00:14:46.179 facebook page or anywhere else that you can find us. I'm available on Linkedin 189 00:14:46.299 --> 00:14:50.059 and other places. Don't do this alone. If you belong to another peer 190 00:14:50.139 --> 00:14:54.049 group other than am I, reach out to those people, connect with those 191 00:14:54.090 --> 00:14:58.690 people's if nothing else, commiserate with those people. Remember this is this is 192 00:14:58.929 --> 00:15:03.529 a long haul for us. We're not out of the woods yet and we've 193 00:15:03.529 --> 00:15:07.200 got several more weeks probably, of working from home and managing all of this. 194 00:15:07.480 --> 00:15:13.000 So take care of yourself, take care of the agency so that you 195 00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:16.919 can get to those calm waters and you can come out of the storm strong 196 00:15:18.519 --> 00:15:22.710 and ready to go and ready to make up the revenue you've lost and help 197 00:15:22.789 --> 00:15:26.710 your clients do the same. All right, I'll be back soon with more 198 00:15:26.830 --> 00:15:30.830 ideas of how you can survive the crisis. Again, thanks to our friends 199 00:15:30.870 --> 00:15:33.950 that be to be growth, and I will be back soon. Thanks for 200 00:15:33.029 --> 00:15:41.340 listening. I hate it when podcasts incessantly ask their listeners for reviews, but 201 00:15:41.419 --> 00:15:45.139 I get why they do it, because reviews are enormously helpful when you're trying 202 00:15:45.139 --> 00:15:48.419 to grow a podcast audience. So here's what we decided to do. If 203 00:15:48.460 --> 00:15:50.889 you leave a review for me, to be growth and apple podcasts and email 204 00:15:50.889 --> 00:15:56.250 me a screenshot of the review to James At sweetfish Mediacom. I'll send you 205 00:15:56.289 --> 00:16:00.090 a signed copy of my new book. Content based networking. How to instantly 206 00:16:00.169 --> 00:16:03.450 connect with anyone you want to know. We get a review, you get 207 00:16:03.490 --> 00:16:03.919 a free book. We both win.