#Agency 20: 5 Ingredients to Agency Growth w/ Grayson Lafrenz

WEBVTT 1 00:00:05.919 --> 00:00:09.269 Hey everyone, logan with sweet fish here. As you may already know, 2 00:00:09.470 --> 00:00:14.070 we've had the HASHTAG agency series running for a while now here on bb growth. 3 00:00:14.830 --> 00:00:18.710 Over the next several weeks you'll be able to listen in to select episodes 4 00:00:19.030 --> 00:00:23.980 of the Innovative Agency, hosted by Sharon Torrik, as she leads conversations with 5 00:00:24.179 --> 00:00:28.940 agency leaders about how their teams are staying on the cutting edge of marketing trends, 6 00:00:29.300 --> 00:00:33.380 how they're adapting their businesses to meet new challenges and a whole lot more. 7 00:00:34.140 --> 00:00:39.210 All right, let's get into the episode. Welcome everybody back to another 8 00:00:39.250 --> 00:00:42.850 episode of the Innovative Agency. It's share and touric here with you again, 9 00:00:43.170 --> 00:00:48.329 and as the year has gotten off to a roaring start for many of you. 10 00:00:49.409 --> 00:00:52.399 I know that as a talk to a lot of you, I know 11 00:00:52.600 --> 00:00:57.320 that it doesn't necessarily the mean that you've all got your plans firmly in place 12 00:00:57.439 --> 00:01:00.719 for two thousand and twenty, and so I think this is an operate awesome 13 00:01:00.759 --> 00:01:04.030 opportunity to talk to the guests that we've got on the show today just about 14 00:01:04.549 --> 00:01:11.909 growth and what prevents it and different ways you might think about it. And 15 00:01:12.349 --> 00:01:17.390 as as my guest just told me, a couple minutes ago. Not Growing 16 00:01:17.790 --> 00:01:22.980 is dying as an agency owner, as a business and probably in other aspects 17 00:01:23.019 --> 00:01:26.340 of your life. And so those aren't my words, those are grace in 18 00:01:26.459 --> 00:01:27.859 the friends, as were as so, Grayson, I want to welcome you 19 00:01:29.700 --> 00:01:32.019 to the podcast today. Thanks for joining me. I'm in a bit of 20 00:01:32.060 --> 00:01:34.730 agency. Yeah, thanks, Sharon, for having me excited to talk to 21 00:01:34.769 --> 00:01:38.969 you. Yeah, looking forward to it as well. So you are a 22 00:01:38.530 --> 00:01:46.049 founder of power digital, which is based in San Diego, and tell us 23 00:01:46.049 --> 00:01:49.120 a little bit about your agency and then I'd love to hear your entrepreneurial background, 24 00:01:49.120 --> 00:01:52.920 because you've done a lot of things. Heard being an agency deal? 25 00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:56.920 Yeah, for sure. So for our agency, power digital, we found 26 00:01:56.920 --> 00:02:00.359 it power digital at the very end of two thousand and twelve and really what 27 00:02:00.560 --> 00:02:04.469 what our charter has been from day one is to work with leading brands to 28 00:02:04.549 --> 00:02:07.669 help them scale revenue and profits. So we're very, very performance focused, 29 00:02:07.949 --> 00:02:12.669 I'd say middle to bottom of the funnel. Typically, the really about how 30 00:02:12.669 --> 00:02:15.460 do we drive the right customer to the site and then ultimately convert them into 31 00:02:15.500 --> 00:02:20.939 a transaction, whether that's the e commerce sale or a staff sign up or 32 00:02:21.860 --> 00:02:23.860 lead for the sales team, and then we do a lot of work to 33 00:02:23.979 --> 00:02:30.289 then take that customer list and further monetize them through upstells, cross cells and 34 00:02:30.409 --> 00:02:32.650 moving them further down the funnel. That's really our focus. You know, 35 00:02:32.689 --> 00:02:36.610 over the years we've been one of the faster growing companies in our space and 36 00:02:36.810 --> 00:02:38.490 been the last to be on the ink list, I think the last five 37 00:02:38.530 --> 00:02:44.800 years and in two thousand and nineteen. In January we actually did a deal 38 00:02:44.840 --> 00:02:47.719 at the private equity firm called periscope equity that is based out of Chicago, 39 00:02:47.919 --> 00:02:52.159 and that gave us some liquidity and allowed us to really reset the CAF table 40 00:02:52.719 --> 00:02:57.240 and set ourselves up for this next day where we're investing a lot more heavily 41 00:02:57.360 --> 00:03:01.550 into our proprietary technology and platform. And then also, in addition to the 42 00:03:01.590 --> 00:03:07.629 organic growth that we've always had, which is through true typical getting new customers, 43 00:03:07.710 --> 00:03:10.030 retaining the customers, growing the customers, we also are now growing through 44 00:03:10.030 --> 00:03:14.740 acquisition. So we did our deal with periscope in January and then we did 45 00:03:14.780 --> 00:03:19.340 our first out on acquisition with a group called factorial digital. There really was 46 00:03:19.460 --> 00:03:23.099 the elite Seo and consulting firm based out of New York, and that closed 47 00:03:23.139 --> 00:03:28.090 in October. And so far as just been a amazing experience. They have 48 00:03:28.169 --> 00:03:30.490 incredible people and it's been a ton of fun to get a joined forces with 49 00:03:30.569 --> 00:03:34.569 them and have them on the team. And then in terms of financial performance, 50 00:03:34.610 --> 00:03:38.930 were coming off an amazing October, November and December. So really exciting 51 00:03:38.969 --> 00:03:42.360 time. And when we look at had the playbook here for two thousand and 52 00:03:42.360 --> 00:03:46.400 twenty is to lean really hard into our technology and the development of that and 53 00:03:46.479 --> 00:03:50.879 then also to close another two to three acquisition. So we have, you 54 00:03:50.960 --> 00:03:53.919 know, one that's in Lli, another one that's very close and then we're 55 00:03:53.919 --> 00:03:59.669 really looking for that third perfect fit that matches our investment thesis and will allow 56 00:03:59.750 --> 00:04:03.270 us to provide the world's best product to our customer base and and create more 57 00:04:03.270 --> 00:04:06.830 opportunities for ours staff. So that's kind of the high level of power digital. 58 00:04:06.870 --> 00:04:10.659 We have about a hundred and thirty people. A hundred and twenty of 59 00:04:10.699 --> 00:04:13.860 them are here in our offices in San Diego and then the other tenor on 60 00:04:13.939 --> 00:04:16.139 the east coast in New York, and excited for what two thousand and twenty 61 00:04:16.139 --> 00:04:23.339 holds for us. That's great. So You d history in under ownership before 62 00:04:23.579 --> 00:04:29.850 starting power digital and you did a lot of things that are really non agency 63 00:04:30.129 --> 00:04:33.930 like before. Maybe they felt similar to you because they were just different industries 64 00:04:34.050 --> 00:04:38.370 but the same type of entrepreneurship experience. So talk a little bit about your 65 00:04:38.370 --> 00:04:43.240 background before you became an agency owner and what made you decide to found an 66 00:04:43.279 --> 00:04:48.000 agency. Yeah, so I'm a seven time founder, at least seven times 67 00:04:48.120 --> 00:04:54.310 now. Had some successful companies and some less successful. So learned a lot 68 00:04:54.350 --> 00:04:58.629 of good lessons along along the way. But when when we actually founded, 69 00:04:58.709 --> 00:05:01.149 my two partners and I, when we founded our digital in two thousand and 70 00:05:01.149 --> 00:05:03.949 twelve, it was a little bit out of necessity. We had a manufacturing 71 00:05:03.990 --> 00:05:09.459 business and a staff company. The manufacturing business, we were in a lawsuit 72 00:05:09.540 --> 00:05:12.379 that we have been fighting for a long time and we were in a little 73 00:05:12.420 --> 00:05:15.220 with a holding pattern, and so we just started doing marketing and helping some 74 00:05:15.660 --> 00:05:19.740 entrepreneurs we knew and companies scale their businesses, because we had always been really 75 00:05:19.779 --> 00:05:25.610 good and used Internet marketing to grow our own companies. That's kind of how 76 00:05:25.649 --> 00:05:30.209 it started off. I've always been very attracted to the type of business model 77 00:05:30.290 --> 00:05:32.649 that agency has because, you know, as an entrepreneur you get a shiny 78 00:05:32.689 --> 00:05:35.519 new toy every single day. You get to see a lot of data, 79 00:05:35.600 --> 00:05:40.839 see a lot of different ways that people are making money and succeeding in different 80 00:05:40.879 --> 00:05:44.439 industries and making an impact. So it's just a really powerful to be in. 81 00:05:44.639 --> 00:05:47.160 But to your point, you know, definitely don't come from a traditional 82 00:05:47.199 --> 00:05:51.589 agency background and I think that's atually one of the thing that's really separated out 83 00:05:51.629 --> 00:05:56.310 of power digital and allowed us to have a lot of stasses that we don't 84 00:05:56.430 --> 00:06:00.589 follow the playboff that everyone else is following. We really follow what we think 85 00:06:00.670 --> 00:06:03.379 make sense, what we think in powers our staff to innovate and do great 86 00:06:03.420 --> 00:06:08.420 work, and those are the structures and processes that we put into flight and 87 00:06:08.500 --> 00:06:12.660 they're very different than the way that a typical agency with you. Yeah. 88 00:06:13.019 --> 00:06:15.660 Well, I so much that I want to unpack here and I don't know 89 00:06:15.740 --> 00:06:19.129 that we'll get to it all, but as an IP lawyer by training, 90 00:06:19.329 --> 00:06:26.490 I am always and as someone who hosts an innovation focused podcast, I love 91 00:06:26.889 --> 00:06:31.490 to talk about I love a story that involves an agency creating its own platforms, 92 00:06:31.610 --> 00:06:36.000 technologies, solutions, content, libraries, whatever it is, creating your 93 00:06:36.040 --> 00:06:40.600 own stuff and then figuring out a way to leverage and monetize that, and 94 00:06:40.720 --> 00:06:44.360 so I hope we get to that. But let's talk about first of all, 95 00:06:44.560 --> 00:06:48.470 though, you scaled incredibly rapidly and may not feel that way to you 96 00:06:48.550 --> 00:06:55.269 because that might just be the way you've always grown businesses, but to the 97 00:06:55.430 --> 00:07:00.269 owner or leader of an independent agency listening to this, it's just it's dramatic 98 00:07:00.779 --> 00:07:06.740 growth and I know you have philosophies about growth and there's lots always to accomplish 99 00:07:06.779 --> 00:07:12.540 it, but I know you have ideas as well about the things that prevent 100 00:07:13.019 --> 00:07:17.529 agencies or maybe any entrepreneurial business from growing. So let's talk about those pitfalls. 101 00:07:17.769 --> 00:07:23.810 You you shared with me earlier that you're you're sort of theory is that 102 00:07:23.889 --> 00:07:29.290 there's five pitfalls that prevent the grows. So let's throw yeah, so I 103 00:07:29.449 --> 00:07:32.480 think what I've seen in my career, and this is partially through mistakes I've 104 00:07:32.519 --> 00:07:35.600 made in my own company, partially through what I've seen with companies that we 105 00:07:35.720 --> 00:07:39.959 work with, and then also just through friends and people, whether it's through 106 00:07:40.040 --> 00:07:46.230 the entrepreneur organization or Ypo, and really just seeing the difference and factors that 107 00:07:46.310 --> 00:07:48.269 usually lead to a company that's growing really quickly versus one that's a little bit 108 00:07:48.310 --> 00:07:53.870 more stocker or not able to get to that flection point. So the first, 109 00:07:54.029 --> 00:07:57.589 you know, biggest pitfall I see is analysis proalysis, and I think 110 00:07:57.629 --> 00:08:00.980 it starts at the top with the CEO and works its way down. But 111 00:08:01.459 --> 00:08:05.939 I see way too many companies they get way overly caught up and overanalyzing the 112 00:08:05.980 --> 00:08:13.170 business model, overanalyzing their their customer data, you know, doing the thing, 113 00:08:13.370 --> 00:08:16.529 the hard work. That is not a revenue generating activity. So, 114 00:08:16.970 --> 00:08:20.529 you know, certainly believe in having a really clear strategy, but in the 115 00:08:20.569 --> 00:08:24.009 day and age that we're in, beautiful is that you can really pass and 116 00:08:24.089 --> 00:08:28.480 iterate very quick so the difference that I've seen is the companies that are not 117 00:08:28.639 --> 00:08:31.360 growing, they've got the analysis proalysis. The companies that are growing rapidly, 118 00:08:31.399 --> 00:08:35.519 they come up with a strategy and they do it pretty quickly and then they 119 00:08:35.519 --> 00:08:39.679 hit it hard and then they in real time, pivot and Tweek the strategy. 120 00:08:39.919 --> 00:08:43.149 So that's number one. Number two is kind of building off of that, 121 00:08:43.269 --> 00:08:46.190 which is a lack of r Ga, and I like that word r 122 00:08:46.269 --> 00:08:50.710 ga or that acronym, and it stands for revenue generating activity and I think 123 00:08:50.789 --> 00:08:52.950 for any company, if you want to grow, you better make sure that 124 00:08:54.070 --> 00:08:58.779 the majority of your time is spent on revenue generating activities. So you know, 125 00:08:58.860 --> 00:09:01.500 working on a document and a plan is not an art revenue generating activity. 126 00:09:01.580 --> 00:09:05.419 Certainly you opt to have a strategy to go after it, but really 127 00:09:05.500 --> 00:09:09.340 those revenue generating activities are looking at your day and saying it's fifty percent plus 128 00:09:09.419 --> 00:09:13.210 of my day spent on something that will generate revenue for the business. And 129 00:09:13.730 --> 00:09:16.929 if the answers know, that probably is a big part of the reason why 130 00:09:16.929 --> 00:09:20.970 you're not having growth. And I think especially for smaller agencies, you know 131 00:09:22.090 --> 00:09:26.320 early on the executive team, the founders, you have to be that rainmaker. 132 00:09:26.879 --> 00:09:30.679 It's really probably the hardest role, the higher for and so you know, 133 00:09:30.799 --> 00:09:33.759 if you look in the mirror and say a fifty percent of my time 134 00:09:33.840 --> 00:09:37.879 spent on revenue generatey activities, then I think you're and you can sustain that, 135 00:09:37.039 --> 00:09:41.590 you're going to see really great growth and if it's not, then you're 136 00:09:41.590 --> 00:09:43.509 probably going to be looking for solutions on how to get more growth. So 137 00:09:43.629 --> 00:09:46.269 those, I think, are the first two. Is just avoiding analysis prowess 138 00:09:46.350 --> 00:09:50.789 that and really focusing in and making sure that you're putting a lot of your 139 00:09:50.870 --> 00:09:54.379 time into, you know, stuff that's going to generate revenue. So Do 140 00:09:54.500 --> 00:10:01.299 you feel most agency owners, particularlyly those who own smaller agencies, should they 141 00:10:01.379 --> 00:10:07.289 be their agencies primary generator revenue? Should they be out? Should they is 142 00:10:07.529 --> 00:10:11.929 their time best spent being the primary rainmaker for the agency, or is that 143 00:10:11.929 --> 00:10:15.690 a skill I need to focus on hiring for so they can work on the 144 00:10:15.769 --> 00:10:18.929 next big game changer for the business? I'd say for the vast majority of 145 00:10:18.970 --> 00:10:24.279 small agencies the founders need to do that. Not like there's the only ones 146 00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:26.480 doing it, but you know, in our business there's not a lot of 147 00:10:26.519 --> 00:10:33.519 barriers to entry and if I'm a superstar sales person in this space, I'm 148 00:10:33.639 --> 00:10:35.750 probably not going to go work for your smally. So I think it's the 149 00:10:35.830 --> 00:10:39.789 hardest one to hire for. You know, for us that power digital, 150 00:10:39.830 --> 00:10:43.429 for example, I was very involved in sales up until really the end of 151 00:10:43.509 --> 00:10:46.909 two thousand and eighteen and two thousand and nineteen, and we had to then 152 00:10:46.950 --> 00:10:50.980 rip that band aid off and move from a founder led sales org, you 153 00:10:52.100 --> 00:10:54.259 know, and move out of that and it's a very hard transition, probably 154 00:10:54.259 --> 00:10:58.179 one of the hardest transitions for a firm to make. But by then we 155 00:10:58.259 --> 00:11:03.539 had the technology, the process, the brand, the reputation and the assets 156 00:11:03.620 --> 00:11:07.289 that the lot easier to win, to get more deal flow and wind business. 157 00:11:07.330 --> 00:11:11.090 So I think you know early on, yes, it's you know, 158 00:11:11.450 --> 00:11:15.210 nine times out of ten the really growing, rapidly growing companies are going to 159 00:11:15.210 --> 00:11:20.360 have founders that really can drive business and make it happen. The other kind 160 00:11:20.399 --> 00:11:24.320 of pitfall, the third pitfall, funny enough, is thinking that you can 161 00:11:24.360 --> 00:11:28.039 outsource growth and the fourth is really not fully understand the correlation between sales and 162 00:11:28.080 --> 00:11:31.360 marketing. So the other thing that I see often is exactly that. They 163 00:11:31.440 --> 00:11:33.750 think I'll just go hire a sales guy, they'll be to figure out how 164 00:11:33.789 --> 00:11:37.710 to build this growth engine. Well, again, that's just really hard to 165 00:11:37.789 --> 00:11:41.149 do. If you haven't really a stablished a growth engine and sales process that 166 00:11:41.309 --> 00:11:46.149 works, the odds that you finding a superstar and being able to afford them 167 00:11:46.190 --> 00:11:50.100 and being able to retain them are just super low. And the same thing 168 00:11:50.139 --> 00:11:52.740 as I find a lot of times, especially in our space, people want 169 00:11:52.740 --> 00:11:56.899 to use Internet marketing, but when you're a startup and you really have very 170 00:11:56.980 --> 00:12:00.500 little brand or awareness, you need to start it with sales and the way 171 00:12:00.539 --> 00:12:03.049 that I've always view the correlation between sales and marketing is that for any bb 172 00:12:03.250 --> 00:12:07.330 brand tails is how you start the flame and get the fire to start burning 173 00:12:07.929 --> 00:12:11.009 and then, once you have it burning, marketing is the gasoline that or 174 00:12:11.090 --> 00:12:15.799 on the top. But way too often, you know, both in our 175 00:12:15.840 --> 00:12:18.440 space but really outside of our space, do I see entrepreneurs. They want 176 00:12:18.559 --> 00:12:24.080 to they're scared about the rejection that you get in sales and just how ruling 177 00:12:24.159 --> 00:12:28.360 that can be to prospect and to do that, so they try to shortcut 178 00:12:28.399 --> 00:12:31.909 it with marketing and they end up spending a lot of money and time and 179 00:12:31.110 --> 00:12:35.070 not getting to where they want to go. Yeah, well, they're also 180 00:12:35.269 --> 00:12:39.429 if their Agians, depending on the size and the scope of their agency, 181 00:12:39.750 --> 00:12:45.059 they're wearing more hats than is suspend are sustainable right over the long term, 182 00:12:45.259 --> 00:12:50.860 and they have seen more agency owners for themselves out because of that. Then 183 00:12:50.940 --> 00:12:56.539 I have seen agency owners give over the reins too quickly to somebody else to 184 00:12:56.620 --> 00:13:00.330 manage that process. And it may be a function of what you said earlier 185 00:13:00.529 --> 00:13:05.730 about superstar sales people not wanting to work for really small agencies or even midsized 186 00:13:05.809 --> 00:13:11.289 ones in some cases, but I have definitely seen more hern out than abdication. 187 00:13:11.529 --> 00:13:16.120 If do well, so I think that alliance with the pitfall that you 188 00:13:16.240 --> 00:13:22.000 just mentioned about the alignment, especially between sales and marketing, to all right, 189 00:13:22.039 --> 00:13:26.159 what's up this one in the fifth one is not committing enough time and 190 00:13:26.279 --> 00:13:30.669 resources to give your company that chance seed. The one thing I've learned to 191 00:13:30.789 --> 00:13:35.830 that point is hobbit. If you have the best talent and you're in the 192 00:13:35.870 --> 00:13:39.509 right deef meeting, you're playing to your super powers and passions, it's very 193 00:13:39.629 --> 00:13:43.139 easy to win and it's very easy to grow, and if you don't, 194 00:13:43.460 --> 00:13:48.179 then it's very difficult to grow. And so I think one mistake that I 195 00:13:48.379 --> 00:13:52.500 made is I didn't bring in enough top talent and spend the money that it 196 00:13:52.620 --> 00:13:56.649 costs early enough, and I think if I would have done that earlier, 197 00:13:56.649 --> 00:13:58.690 I would have gotten to where I want to go faster. Where now, 198 00:13:58.850 --> 00:14:03.090 for example, in twenty nineteen, you know, we went on a huge 199 00:14:03.250 --> 00:14:07.049 spinnings free to go get incredible talent and we still home grow a lot of 200 00:14:07.169 --> 00:14:13.120 talent and been a lot of time developing our talent through training. But when 201 00:14:13.159 --> 00:14:16.480 you bring in that right a player, as long as you're putting them in 202 00:14:16.480 --> 00:14:18.840 the seat where they're playing to their passion and superpower and as long as there's 203 00:14:18.879 --> 00:14:24.750 good core values alignment, the growth that you experience from that in the impact 204 00:14:24.070 --> 00:14:28.750 starts to really multiply. So I think a lot of companies, they just 205 00:14:28.070 --> 00:14:33.029 are, are too slow to do that and it really prevents their ability to 206 00:14:33.110 --> 00:14:37.549 grow. Or they get enamored by somebody on paper that has great experience, 207 00:14:37.620 --> 00:14:41.779 but the core values alignment is there and then it becomes a very extensive, 208 00:14:41.379 --> 00:14:46.019 time consuming felled experience and then makes them gunshy to go get you know, 209 00:14:46.059 --> 00:14:50.340 maybe the more high priced superstar the next time around. Sure. Well, 210 00:14:50.460 --> 00:14:56.049 plus they've spent they've invested so much already in the first person that they've brought 211 00:14:56.129 --> 00:14:58.690 on. Right, that ended up not fitting the role because of the things 212 00:14:58.730 --> 00:15:03.690 you just said. So so you're thing with the talent is if they're really 213 00:15:03.730 --> 00:15:05.210 good, they'll pay for them. They should pay for themselves with them thirty 214 00:15:05.210 --> 00:15:09.240 or forty five days. Yeah, that's one thing I've never understood is I'll 215 00:15:09.279 --> 00:15:11.120 see these firms in our space that are raising a bunch of money. It 216 00:15:11.320 --> 00:15:16.639 makes sense if you're building technology, but if you're not, then you probably 217 00:15:16.639 --> 00:15:20.200 have a bigger problem because you know, cash flow shouldn't be that big of 218 00:15:20.240 --> 00:15:22.110 a crunch. It's not like we're dealing with a bunch of inventory. And 219 00:15:22.309 --> 00:15:26.389 really, you know, Star players should be able to get profitable within thirty, 220 00:15:26.509 --> 00:15:30.830 two, forty five days. So I think if that's not the case, 221 00:15:31.110 --> 00:15:33.870 then maybe there's a bigger issue with your business model, how you're pricing 222 00:15:33.950 --> 00:15:37.700 stuff to clients, how you're collecting you know, how you're managing your books. 223 00:15:39.340 --> 00:15:41.740 So really it should be a very quick payback period with that type of 224 00:15:41.779 --> 00:15:46.379 talent. My experience. Yeah, it's I think it's just a question of 225 00:15:46.460 --> 00:15:50.730 getting enough runway up front right so that you can afford to wait for them 226 00:15:50.769 --> 00:15:54.649 to start being profitable for the business. Ye, all right. Well, 227 00:15:54.730 --> 00:16:00.129 these so all right, so we've talked about five pitfalls that prevent agency growth 228 00:16:00.690 --> 00:16:06.000 and then you all you also promise that you'd share five of your top business 229 00:16:06.080 --> 00:16:11.240 tips. So now that we know what landlines to step aside from one of 230 00:16:11.320 --> 00:16:15.720 the things that we should be doing. Yeah, so the first thing that 231 00:16:15.799 --> 00:16:18.909 I think we didn't do well a power digital early on, but then we 232 00:16:18.990 --> 00:16:22.990 kind of cracked the code on and when we did it really made a big 233 00:16:22.029 --> 00:16:27.789 difference. Is doing a great job of aligning employee compensation with what drive growth 234 00:16:27.870 --> 00:16:32.710 in your business. And so naturally, in any type of business you know, 235 00:16:32.789 --> 00:16:37.620 people will typically will do what they're with their compensation plan dictates. And 236 00:16:37.779 --> 00:16:42.100 so, to give you an example, in our business, resigning our clients 237 00:16:42.139 --> 00:16:47.929 and keeping our client is the most important metric. And so when that happened, 238 00:16:48.250 --> 00:16:52.169 we compensate our staff and they get compensated more through that model when based 239 00:16:52.210 --> 00:16:56.929 on the duration of the resign and ability to expand that partnership. So it 240 00:16:57.009 --> 00:17:02.519 really aligned what drives our company and what's best for the client with what's best 241 00:17:02.559 --> 00:17:07.160 for that individual employee. And in another big driver fross is the ability to 242 00:17:07.200 --> 00:17:10.519 add another service to a point. We have really clear data that shows the 243 00:17:10.640 --> 00:17:14.279 more services that we have on a specific client and that we're managing for them, 244 00:17:14.440 --> 00:17:17.670 the better the results for that client and in turn, the better the 245 00:17:17.789 --> 00:17:22.309 retention rate for our agency and the more profitable. And so when, when 246 00:17:22.390 --> 00:17:26.029 the marketing team is able to do that and find those opportunities on a client, 247 00:17:26.150 --> 00:17:30.019 they get compensated and then our staff also gets compensated for recruiting great a 248 00:17:30.420 --> 00:17:33.019 players. If they happen to bring deal flow into the funnel, they get 249 00:17:33.019 --> 00:17:37.940 paid for that and then they also get bonused out based on cost control. 250 00:17:37.539 --> 00:17:41.299 So when they really take to ownership interest and do a good job of not, 251 00:17:41.619 --> 00:17:45.250 you know, splurred you on a tool that's not necessary and finding how 252 00:17:45.250 --> 00:17:48.690 to finding ways to do great work more efficiently, you know they get a 253 00:17:48.730 --> 00:17:51.569 share in that. Fine. So those are a couple kind of quick examples. 254 00:17:51.650 --> 00:17:55.490 But really, if you're looking at your complan and you know what drives 255 00:17:55.569 --> 00:18:00.000 your economic engine for your company doesn't drive it for your staff, then there's 256 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:03.599 probably a problem. And if you just make that single week, you're going 257 00:18:03.640 --> 00:18:07.079 to probably see a much, much greater alignment and you'll still see your staff 258 00:18:07.119 --> 00:18:11.880 really start to do the things that drive value for your firm. Yeah, 259 00:18:11.880 --> 00:18:14.269 I love it. That makes a lot of sense. I would love to 260 00:18:14.349 --> 00:18:18.750 hear more. Yeah, yeah, there's really simple things you can do with 261 00:18:18.910 --> 00:18:21.869 it. We don't pay any sales people. Sales people only get paid for 262 00:18:21.910 --> 00:18:25.390 bringing a new business. If it's a resign of a client or growing a 263 00:18:25.470 --> 00:18:29.220 client, you know that's because we're doing great marketing work for them and so 264 00:18:29.299 --> 00:18:32.579 that gets split amongst the team that works on that client. So I think 265 00:18:32.619 --> 00:18:34.180 if you look in your own company and you really look at what drives Your 266 00:18:34.180 --> 00:18:38.380 Business and then you figure out how to build some compensation for your staff, 267 00:18:38.380 --> 00:18:42.210 you'll see a pretty quick improvement in terms of them doing those things that drive 268 00:18:42.250 --> 00:18:48.250 your company. The second really big thing that not just in our industry but 269 00:18:48.289 --> 00:18:52.890 across a lot that always surprises me is it's really really important to establish very 270 00:18:53.049 --> 00:18:59.400 simple leading indicators. So your financials are a lagging indicator. By the time 271 00:18:59.680 --> 00:19:02.519 you see what you did in a month you really can't do anything about it. 272 00:19:03.440 --> 00:19:07.319 And so building a dashboard and developing leading indicators that you'll make it a 273 00:19:07.400 --> 00:19:11.430 lot easier to accomplish the goal. So they're a little bite size things that 274 00:19:11.630 --> 00:19:15.990 you can divvy out two team members to accomplish. That, if you if 275 00:19:15.029 --> 00:19:19.269 you hit them, will drive the end result is really critical. So you 276 00:19:19.349 --> 00:19:23.190 know, I think for most agencies it's very simple and there's four pillars that 277 00:19:23.269 --> 00:19:26.500 go into those leading indicators and the first one is, you know, a 278 00:19:26.660 --> 00:19:32.779 monthly new business goal. So what is the target of new business and you 279 00:19:32.859 --> 00:19:37.180 know what percentage of that is, maybe retainer Verse Project Contractoration? A second 280 00:19:37.220 --> 00:19:41.250 one is usually your client retention rate. So what is a churn threshold that 281 00:19:41.369 --> 00:19:45.130 you need to be under on a monthly basis? And then really annualize. 282 00:19:45.569 --> 00:19:51.049 The fourth is same crossmer, different product. The really how do you grow 283 00:19:51.170 --> 00:19:55.119 your partnerships so that know, as you're doing great work for that client, 284 00:19:55.319 --> 00:20:00.720 that the financial benefit grows for you? And then for us, the fourth 285 00:20:00.759 --> 00:20:04.599 leading indicator is cost control and we use a very simple matric, which is 286 00:20:06.519 --> 00:20:10.829 revenue per production employee on a monthly basis. And so for us, if 287 00:20:10.869 --> 00:20:15.190 a certain department is above that revenue for employee production employee threshold, they could 288 00:20:15.230 --> 00:20:18.029 hire whoever they want. If they're below it, then we need to really 289 00:20:18.069 --> 00:20:22.619 figure out why are they below it and is that because we're selling deals wrong? 290 00:20:22.700 --> 00:20:25.900 Do we have clients that are stuck in resources? You know what's driving 291 00:20:25.980 --> 00:20:29.700 that? So those leading indicators give us the ability to really see where we're 292 00:20:29.700 --> 00:20:32.940 winning and then see where maybe we're missed in the mark and then really use 293 00:20:33.019 --> 00:20:36.849 that data to go optimize and improve our business and it really takes the surprise 294 00:20:36.930 --> 00:20:40.490 out of you know what our performance will be in a given month or quarter. 295 00:20:41.170 --> 00:20:44.170 So I think if you really look at your company and establish those same 296 00:20:44.730 --> 00:20:48.730 same metrics and goals and a sure that they lead up to the end result 297 00:20:48.769 --> 00:20:52.440 that you want, just putting visibility into them will typically Nott a better performance. 298 00:20:53.480 --> 00:20:56.680 Yeah, and then how we layers down into the company? Do you 299 00:20:56.920 --> 00:21:03.559 share the leading indicator metrics to discuss them with everybody in the agency, or 300 00:21:03.960 --> 00:21:08.029 are there do you you deploy them just to leadership, or how do you 301 00:21:08.109 --> 00:21:12.710 handle the good questions? So we share every mattric with every person in the 302 00:21:12.750 --> 00:21:15.670 company. So we just got our twenty company why? Two Thousand and twenty 303 00:21:15.710 --> 00:21:19.700 kickoff and every department has an even a goal. No, revenue, revenue 304 00:21:19.700 --> 00:21:23.619 doesn't really matter. And in our space that everyone knows the company wide even 305 00:21:23.700 --> 00:21:26.660 a goal. They know the department even a goal, they know what their 306 00:21:26.700 --> 00:21:30.859 revenue is. They have their individual score card that updates in real time that 307 00:21:30.900 --> 00:21:34.490 gives them a score based on how much revenue they're facilitating, the performance of 308 00:21:34.529 --> 00:21:40.690 their client, the npscore of their client, the growth rate, their customer 309 00:21:40.730 --> 00:21:45.769 attention. So we're an open book with that and you know, I think 310 00:21:45.809 --> 00:21:48.599 if you have a culture where you're not able to do so those and that 311 00:21:48.680 --> 00:21:52.039 would be kind of something that I would look into and is a potential concern 312 00:21:52.119 --> 00:21:53.799 because, as you know, how is your team supposed to help drive the 313 00:21:53.839 --> 00:21:56.920 end result if they don't know what the end result is and what I found 314 00:21:56.960 --> 00:22:00.630 that it's kind of hard to score when you can't see the hoop. So 315 00:22:00.950 --> 00:22:04.230 we really try to put those fronts center and then they all go into a 316 00:22:04.349 --> 00:22:08.750 proprietary system we have called command center. It gives them real time visibility into 317 00:22:08.750 --> 00:22:12.950 Howard we're tracking against it, both company wide but then within their department and 318 00:22:14.069 --> 00:22:18.019 within their specific roles. Okay, all right, I love that. That's 319 00:22:18.059 --> 00:22:23.140 I'm a I'm a huge believer and and one of my just to get vulnerable 320 00:22:23.180 --> 00:22:27.579 for one second. As a business owner myself, one of my vulnerabilities was 321 00:22:27.740 --> 00:22:33.170 not sharing enough data. I think earl in earlier years of running the business 322 00:22:33.609 --> 00:22:37.049 and feeling like you're being protective when you're doing that, but you just setting 323 00:22:37.049 --> 00:22:42.890 yourself up for a lot of aggravation and sometimes failure in reaching the goal because 324 00:22:42.930 --> 00:22:48.039 you haven't shared it with enough of the people on your team. So I 325 00:22:48.279 --> 00:22:52.119 totally endorse that to your good agree when I talk to friends and stuff that 326 00:22:52.200 --> 00:22:55.200 are shocked that we do that, because I've got that reaction a lot over 327 00:22:55.240 --> 00:22:59.029 the years. When I asked why, they're usually scared. Well, they 328 00:22:59.109 --> 00:23:02.150 know how much money the companies makes. They might get upset or this or 329 00:23:02.190 --> 00:23:04.150 that. To me, it's like those things mean that maybe you don't have 330 00:23:04.269 --> 00:23:08.950 a real relationship with your people or maybe you know your people don't understand how 331 00:23:10.029 --> 00:23:12.299 the business to be. To understand that, you obviously the goal behind the 332 00:23:12.339 --> 00:23:18.619 business is to generate, you know, profit and opportunities, because that creates 333 00:23:18.660 --> 00:23:21.700 a lot more opportunities for every it. So I do think, though, 334 00:23:21.779 --> 00:23:25.380 with that said, one of the things that's always made me comfortable sharing that 335 00:23:25.500 --> 00:23:27.529 is that we align the way that our team makes money with how we make 336 00:23:27.609 --> 00:23:32.730 money and so they get the benefit from that. But I think typically when 337 00:23:32.769 --> 00:23:36.650 people are nervous to do so again, that would tell me that maybe you 338 00:23:36.809 --> 00:23:40.289 need to get you don't have the right people, or you need to get 339 00:23:40.410 --> 00:23:45.640 a lot deeper in your relationship with the staff that you have and have them 340 00:23:45.680 --> 00:23:48.000 are body into really what you're accomplishing overall and what it's going to do for 341 00:23:48.119 --> 00:23:52.680 them individual yeah, I think I agree with that and I think for me 342 00:23:52.680 --> 00:23:56.230 personally, it was the opposite. I felt like I was being protective for 343 00:23:56.349 --> 00:24:03.029 the times when maybe we weren't hitting our goals or the firm wasn't doing what 344 00:24:03.630 --> 00:24:07.829 we needed it to do, and wanting to sort of shield them from worrying 345 00:24:07.829 --> 00:24:11.859 about what that meant for them personally. Right, so there's two sides of 346 00:24:11.940 --> 00:24:17.700 it. I think for our most small businesses it doesn't help to be protective 347 00:24:17.819 --> 00:24:22.299 either, because it sometimes leads you to make decisions that don't have any context 348 00:24:22.460 --> 00:24:26.049 for the people who they affect. Yeah, that's a great point to and 349 00:24:26.130 --> 00:24:30.210 that makes a lot of sense. Yeah, all right. So what's their 350 00:24:30.210 --> 00:24:33.690 network? Yeah, for the third I touched on earlier, but it's just 351 00:24:33.769 --> 00:24:38.559 investing its top talent. It's just been so successful for us now. We've 352 00:24:38.599 --> 00:24:44.079 swung and miss to on people that we thought were top talent, and one 353 00:24:44.160 --> 00:24:48.000 thing that I've learned is that typically we like when we bring in somebody, 354 00:24:48.039 --> 00:24:52.400 even if it's for a leadership role or they're going to be managing, we 355 00:24:52.519 --> 00:24:55.430 put them into a little bit of a probation period where they're doing that job, 356 00:24:55.470 --> 00:24:57.190 but they're also doing the job of a person. They're managing and they're 357 00:24:57.190 --> 00:25:00.869 proving that they can do that and that they're relatable and they're they're earning that 358 00:25:02.069 --> 00:25:06.789 leadership title, because in our companies titles don't mean anything. I can give 359 00:25:06.829 --> 00:25:08.940 somebody a director title. That is a mean that the people will respect them 360 00:25:08.980 --> 00:25:15.140 and listen. So I think it's not as simple as just go find people 361 00:25:15.299 --> 00:25:18.059 that you know look great on paper and a great experience, but really finding 362 00:25:18.420 --> 00:25:23.009 that superstar talent that you know can really come fill a gap that you have 363 00:25:23.930 --> 00:25:27.569 and then, you know, interviewing for core values fit and then really making 364 00:25:27.609 --> 00:25:32.369 sure that they kind of have to earn that and prove themselves to your team. 365 00:25:32.730 --> 00:25:36.480 But when I started doing that it made such a big defference and I 366 00:25:36.559 --> 00:25:40.480 think your point with with especially in this agency world, it can be super 367 00:25:40.519 --> 00:25:44.599 stressful for a CEO, for a founder. You will not be able to 368 00:25:44.720 --> 00:25:48.200 fix that until you bring in some really, really proven, incredible talent, 369 00:25:48.880 --> 00:25:52.910 and so it's kind of one step back to take three steps forward, and 370 00:25:52.029 --> 00:25:55.789 certainly that's been the case. You're a power digital and they give you an 371 00:25:55.789 --> 00:25:59.829 example. I mean this, in the last month I've also hired a president 372 00:26:00.549 --> 00:26:03.910 and he's going to come on the new business pillar for us and the service 373 00:26:03.990 --> 00:26:07.019 expansion pillar, and we've also hired a CFO that will come all the budget 374 00:26:07.019 --> 00:26:11.859 pilling and you know, for me it's just so exciting to be to have 375 00:26:11.980 --> 00:26:15.180 these guys come in and to learn from them and they will own those pillars 376 00:26:15.180 --> 00:26:18.769 and do that so much better than I will, because that's where they're super 377 00:26:18.849 --> 00:26:22.049 power lies, in their focus. So I know I'll get a huge return 378 00:26:22.049 --> 00:26:26.329 on that investment, but it is hard to get yourself over the Hump to 379 00:26:26.369 --> 00:26:30.650 do so because certainly, you know there's a step back in the short term, 380 00:26:32.289 --> 00:26:34.200 you know, as that impact comes into play and you start to get 381 00:26:34.200 --> 00:26:37.559 a realized benefit of that. Well, yeah, exactly. Really, I 382 00:26:37.759 --> 00:26:42.119 realize that the benefit from a financial or performance perspective is one thing, but 383 00:26:42.279 --> 00:26:48.990 also, you know, sort of advancing away from or retreating from that sense 384 00:26:48.069 --> 00:26:52.630 of control that you had over that, you know, that domain within the 385 00:26:52.990 --> 00:26:57.950 within the agency before you hired someone else to execute on it. It's an 386 00:26:57.990 --> 00:27:04.420 evolution right for an entrepreneur, it's it's getting more entrepreneurial, mature maturity so 387 00:27:04.539 --> 00:27:07.740 that you are, you know, willing to bring on somebody who knows more 388 00:27:07.740 --> 00:27:12.819 than you do about some area of the business, and that's a vulnerability for 389 00:27:14.740 --> 00:27:19.089 most CEOS. Two of closely health companies. Yep, totally, and I 390 00:27:19.130 --> 00:27:23.970 think it's for me it's always been about wanting to make the jump with our 391 00:27:25.089 --> 00:27:29.609 company, where I go from entrepreneur. That created a great job for himself. 392 00:27:30.079 --> 00:27:33.440 To me that's not even really entrepreneurism or really building a right company, 393 00:27:33.000 --> 00:27:37.440 as opposed to the building a machine that can run and operate without and I 394 00:27:37.519 --> 00:27:41.880 think it's tough to do, but I think it's also, to your point, 395 00:27:41.519 --> 00:27:45.990 sometimes hard for us entrepreneurs to let go of because we're control freaks. 396 00:27:47.470 --> 00:27:48.470 Yeah, it's like, well, if I'm not needed in the day to 397 00:27:48.470 --> 00:27:52.230 day, then I mean I'm not important. Well that that means that you've 398 00:27:52.309 --> 00:27:56.150 really done a phenomenal job and you built something special. So to me it's 399 00:27:56.190 --> 00:27:59.539 like the day that that happened is the day that I've truly, you know, 400 00:27:59.619 --> 00:28:02.740 done something special and really built a great company, and that's something that 401 00:28:02.859 --> 00:28:06.500 as a group, we're all working hard our doors is certainly make it progress, 402 00:28:06.619 --> 00:28:08.980 but you really look forward to get into that point some day. Yeah, 403 00:28:10.220 --> 00:28:12.450 exactly. All right, cool. So what's the next one? Number 404 00:28:12.450 --> 00:28:17.730 I think up too for right. Yeah, so, for is diversification of 405 00:28:17.809 --> 00:28:21.210 deal flow. So in the business that we're in, deal flow is everything. 406 00:28:22.130 --> 00:28:26.130 The more opportunities that you that you get to see and get a evaluate, 407 00:28:26.289 --> 00:28:29.200 the more you can pick the winners, the more you can get your 408 00:28:29.240 --> 00:28:33.839 ideal customer base, the more aggressively you can price the quicker you can get 409 00:28:33.880 --> 00:28:37.920 that get rid of really bad this functional clients because, as everybody knows in 410 00:28:37.000 --> 00:28:41.470 this business, for your team, when you have a really bad clients, 411 00:28:41.589 --> 00:28:45.549 it's it's doesn't treat you well, even if they've got to get business, 412 00:28:45.589 --> 00:28:48.509 it's a miserable job and you're going to burn your people out. So you 413 00:28:48.589 --> 00:28:51.990 know, how do you diversify deal flow? Well, I like to look 414 00:28:52.029 --> 00:28:56.259 at it in for buckets and typically what I find is that in the early 415 00:28:56.299 --> 00:29:00.980 days agencies will have one of these buckets and if you can get the two 416 00:29:00.980 --> 00:29:04.140 or three, you start to give yourself a lot more predictability and a lot 417 00:29:04.180 --> 00:29:08.140 more leverage and power. So the first one is referral and network, and 418 00:29:08.220 --> 00:29:15.690 that's typically where I see the earlier stage. I guess lower performing agencies is 419 00:29:15.809 --> 00:29:21.529 that the founder has a lot as a great network and connection and people know 420 00:29:21.690 --> 00:29:23.440 that that's what they do and they're just getting stuff that comes to them and 421 00:29:23.599 --> 00:29:26.240 that's great. You should always take advantage of that. Those are usually really 422 00:29:26.240 --> 00:29:30.400 warm lead but you really don't get a pick the ideal customer. It's really 423 00:29:30.440 --> 00:29:36.160 what's coming to you. The second pillar is channel, and I think again 424 00:29:36.240 --> 00:29:38.150 for early stage. This is a really good one. Is so who are 425 00:29:38.269 --> 00:29:41.150 the companies that are servicing the same customer that you want, that you can 426 00:29:41.230 --> 00:29:45.750 forage a partnership with and make it worth their while? And so what's great 427 00:29:45.750 --> 00:29:49.750 with that is that the customer acquisition costs basically fixed because it's based on performance. 428 00:29:49.950 --> 00:29:53.339 But same thing, you're dependent on that partner. If that partner decides 429 00:29:53.420 --> 00:29:57.380 to offer the services that you do, you're going to lose that. If 430 00:29:57.460 --> 00:30:00.299 they you find somebody else to partner with, you're going to lose that. 431 00:30:00.420 --> 00:30:06.259 So it's just not as predictable as I would like. The third is inbound 432 00:30:06.500 --> 00:30:08.450 and I think that takes the most time for an agency. It's so competitive 433 00:30:08.490 --> 00:30:12.410 and all the people that you're going to get to get that inbound deal flow 434 00:30:12.529 --> 00:30:18.890 are great marketers, but really getting that content machine cranking and having those that's 435 00:30:18.930 --> 00:30:22.279 out there in those hooks so that they come to you is a really powerful 436 00:30:22.279 --> 00:30:25.599 thing. And then and in the fourth is building an outbound machine where you 437 00:30:25.640 --> 00:30:29.480 can go target the exact persona the exact brand you want and you can go 438 00:30:29.680 --> 00:30:32.880 win. And so I think most companies, and I know this was our 439 00:30:32.960 --> 00:30:36.349 case early on, you have one of those and the quicker you can get 440 00:30:36.430 --> 00:30:37.829 the two and then the Acor you get the three and then the four, 441 00:30:38.309 --> 00:30:44.470 you'll notice a really quick correlation with increased profit, you increase value of your 442 00:30:44.470 --> 00:30:48.670 organization due to more predictability and a lot less stress. So you be. 443 00:30:48.869 --> 00:30:52.099 That's that's a really, really key one and one of the harder one tackle 444 00:30:52.220 --> 00:30:56.099 and too thick. But if you're looking at two thousand and twenty, yeah, 445 00:30:56.099 --> 00:30:57.779 I'll I think that should almost be on everyone's game plan, certainly on 446 00:30:57.980 --> 00:31:02.380 B is, to do a better job with more deal flow and more diversion 447 00:31:02.460 --> 00:31:06.009 for our coup. So let me ask you question about the third pillar of 448 00:31:06.849 --> 00:31:11.329 the diversity, which is the endbound. Where do you stand on niches, 449 00:31:11.769 --> 00:31:19.400 either vertical category niches or that more horizontal expertise for an agency? Do you 450 00:31:19.799 --> 00:31:23.279 is we've had all different schools of thought about this. I have my own 451 00:31:23.279 --> 00:31:29.400 personal view, but that's my view. Where do you stand on on focus 452 00:31:29.720 --> 00:31:34.630 and niching for small to mid size agencies so that they can use that niche 453 00:31:34.869 --> 00:31:41.029 to sort of guide their inbound strategy? Yeah, I think it's really important. 454 00:31:41.190 --> 00:31:42.470 I think the more you can do at the more valuable your company's going 455 00:31:42.509 --> 00:31:45.349 to be, but it's easier to be a little bit more general. So 456 00:31:45.509 --> 00:31:49.220 you just got a way that that balance the Faras we started a little bit 457 00:31:49.259 --> 00:31:52.420 more general in terms of the types of brands we work with and then we 458 00:31:52.500 --> 00:31:56.660 niche down as we built the reputation of power. With that said, like 459 00:31:56.779 --> 00:32:01.250 our team members, we niche in two ways. So we have twelve court 460 00:32:01.250 --> 00:32:06.849 departments in the company and they're based on marketing channels and discipline. So like 461 00:32:06.970 --> 00:32:09.609 our SEO team only does SEO, or paid social team only does pay social. 462 00:32:10.049 --> 00:32:14.289 You know, our influencer team only does influencer and I think to be 463 00:32:14.490 --> 00:32:16.640 the best in class these days you have to be all in on one channel 464 00:32:16.799 --> 00:32:22.079 because it's just so competitive online and there's so much great talent. So we 465 00:32:22.480 --> 00:32:24.799 specialize like that. And then we build custom teams around the brands. And 466 00:32:24.839 --> 00:32:30.109 then we also specialize based on business model. So we have a consumer team 467 00:32:30.150 --> 00:32:34.710 that really only does consumer products, specifically around e commerce. We have a 468 00:32:34.750 --> 00:32:38.950 FAB team that really only focuses on Betab because there's very different challenges and things 469 00:32:38.990 --> 00:32:43.509 that work there, and then we have a legion team that really focuses on 470 00:32:43.549 --> 00:32:46.140 business to consumer legion and Fath. So you know, when you mix the 471 00:32:46.180 --> 00:32:51.539 channel expertise with then the business model expertise, you know, to me it 472 00:32:51.619 --> 00:32:53.500 gives you an advantage with getting deal flow, but more than more importantly, 473 00:32:53.500 --> 00:32:58.059 it just gives you an advantage and getting resulved. So that's kind of how 474 00:32:58.099 --> 00:33:01.809 we've done it and I think that's something that our clients really value. But 475 00:33:02.529 --> 00:33:06.849 it also gives our team members something that they can really own and really really 476 00:33:06.970 --> 00:33:12.089 hone their craft, both within their specific marketing discipline, but also really just 477 00:33:12.210 --> 00:33:17.039 understanding the nuances of the specific business model and and really seeing getting a lot 478 00:33:17.079 --> 00:33:22.200 of APP Fath within that business model so that they can start to spot trends 479 00:33:22.279 --> 00:33:24.160 and, you know, when they walk into a scenario, it's something that 480 00:33:24.200 --> 00:33:30.109 they've seen before, they fixed before and and they can spot those. Yeah, 481 00:33:30.470 --> 00:33:36.269 well, I think this year to attract and retain and develop talent to 482 00:33:36.589 --> 00:33:43.019 when you are very specific and clear about the nish as well, whether it's 483 00:33:43.180 --> 00:33:47.339 the type of skill set or whether it's category or industry expertise. So that 484 00:33:47.420 --> 00:33:51.859 makes a lot of sense to me. Yeah, and it creates more paths 485 00:33:51.940 --> 00:33:54.059 the leadership. I think one of the biggest power diage we've had his degree 486 00:33:54.059 --> 00:33:59.049 about a ninety five percent employee attention rate, which is really strong in our 487 00:33:59.049 --> 00:34:04.450 industry, and one of the reasons why, I think there's variety of reasons, 488 00:34:04.490 --> 00:34:07.089 but one thing that I think that's worked well as we have this path 489 00:34:07.250 --> 00:34:10.920 the leadership where people don't get stuck behind a director in their department, and 490 00:34:12.159 --> 00:34:15.440 usually when that happens, someone's going to go look. They want to grow 491 00:34:15.519 --> 00:34:16.679 and they want to evolve in their career, they're going to go look elsewhere. 492 00:34:17.159 --> 00:34:20.800 And so, you know, this is one example being able to be 493 00:34:20.920 --> 00:34:23.349 really the champion over our vertical is one example where it really creates something to 494 00:34:23.389 --> 00:34:27.829 the individual can own, they can put their own spin on it, they 495 00:34:27.869 --> 00:34:30.670 can use that entrepreneur all side of the brain and I think it's really helped 496 00:34:30.750 --> 00:34:35.670 us, you know, create those opportunities for our rising stars and put them 497 00:34:35.670 --> 00:34:38.980 into more impactful positions, but then also help them involved their career so that 498 00:34:39.619 --> 00:34:43.300 they can do that at our digital and they don't need to look out for 499 00:34:44.019 --> 00:34:46.460 right. All right, these are so great. I'm loving this. Okay, 500 00:34:46.579 --> 00:34:50.900 so what is number five? Number five of the top business tips. 501 00:34:51.780 --> 00:34:52.929 Yes, I think that the last one is I look at two thousand and 502 00:34:52.929 --> 00:34:57.489 twenty for our company is just really daily Focus and discipline. So with all 503 00:34:57.530 --> 00:35:00.369 these things, I know for us we'll do our executive off site. We 504 00:35:00.449 --> 00:35:02.889 got a ton of great work down there. Then we do our company wide 505 00:35:02.929 --> 00:35:06.769 dickoff. We have the themes. We have our training theme of the year, 506 00:35:06.769 --> 00:35:10.199 our culture theme of the year, are leading indicators and PPI's. Well, 507 00:35:10.199 --> 00:35:14.719 when the dust clears and you go back to working in the business, 508 00:35:15.280 --> 00:35:17.440 I think it's very easy for companies, and it has been for us historically, 509 00:35:17.960 --> 00:35:22.710 to just fall back into doing things as they come to you, letting 510 00:35:22.710 --> 00:35:27.829 the email inbox dictated or splack or what the customer says. So really putting 511 00:35:27.869 --> 00:35:32.389 mechanisms and tracking an accountability in place so that that plan that you so strategically 512 00:35:32.510 --> 00:35:38.099 crafted is focused on every day and you have accountability and discipline against it. 513 00:35:38.860 --> 00:35:43.739 That's really the biggest key to taking a great a great plan and strategy and 514 00:35:43.780 --> 00:35:46.340 assuring that it's executed across. So for us, you know, I know 515 00:35:46.460 --> 00:35:51.449 that's one of our biggest focuses. We like to have a really healthy paranoia 516 00:35:51.489 --> 00:35:54.409 within our company about things and for me that's one that I'm, you know, 517 00:35:54.530 --> 00:36:00.090 overly paranoid in the healthy way around. Just really making sure that all 518 00:36:00.170 --> 00:36:05.039 the amazing brainstorming and flaws that we found in our company that we plan to 519 00:36:05.079 --> 00:36:07.559 bolster, that we're really executing against those and doing that as fast and efficient 520 00:36:07.599 --> 00:36:14.960 as possible. What are you what so paranoia about was specifically so we believe 521 00:36:15.000 --> 00:36:19.909 in healthy paranoia across the board. Clients and retention. So, just because 522 00:36:19.949 --> 00:36:22.110 the clients doll on your great job, you know, making sure we really 523 00:36:22.110 --> 00:36:24.989 dig into what else is going on in their business? Are we at the 524 00:36:25.030 --> 00:36:30.510 right contact level? What is the personality of the client? Are they person 525 00:36:30.670 --> 00:36:32.260 that ends it, doesn't like conflict? And if that's the case, they 526 00:36:32.300 --> 00:36:35.539 probably is going to tell you that you're doing great and we need to help, 527 00:36:36.300 --> 00:36:38.019 you know, die deeper and get to the surface. So that's an 528 00:36:38.059 --> 00:36:42.420 example. With our staff and the retention of our staff, you know, 529 00:36:42.500 --> 00:36:45.179 it's like we don't really really pushing them and just because they say yeah, 530 00:36:45.179 --> 00:36:49.489 I'm happy, I'm good, making sure that we dive into their earning goals, 531 00:36:49.650 --> 00:36:51.849 making sure that we dive into their role and how they want to see 532 00:36:51.929 --> 00:36:54.610 evolve, what they want to learn and just what's going on outside of work 533 00:36:55.210 --> 00:36:59.809 so that we don't get surprised and so that we're really doing our part to 534 00:36:59.849 --> 00:37:02.480 help them have a balance, successful life and not just taking their word for 535 00:37:02.559 --> 00:37:05.840 it, because I think that's the way that you can lose really good people. 536 00:37:06.599 --> 00:37:08.679 So those types of things would be some examples, you know, in 537 00:37:08.719 --> 00:37:13.079 terms of things that we try to be really paranoid and what I would say 538 00:37:13.119 --> 00:37:16.110 a healthy way. Paranoid might even be the right word, but you kind 539 00:37:16.110 --> 00:37:22.909 of get the idea of just of just really trying to de risk situations and 540 00:37:22.949 --> 00:37:25.070 and look, not just look at the black or white, but look at 541 00:37:25.070 --> 00:37:29.550 all the different shades of color and the spectrum around the scenario. Yeah, 542 00:37:29.550 --> 00:37:32.340 I think that's being visulant. Not Right. Not Care if it's just being 543 00:37:32.420 --> 00:37:37.940 under yeah, you're welcome, you can have that one, visilant. Well, 544 00:37:37.139 --> 00:37:45.170 yeah, start using them. Oh well, this has been such, 545 00:37:45.010 --> 00:37:52.409 I think, an instructive and helpful hurmer for agencies. What are the PIFALSE 546 00:37:52.449 --> 00:37:55.530 to alloid? And then what are the things you should be doing and thinking 547 00:37:55.570 --> 00:37:59.679 about? And I know the folks listening are going to get a lot of 548 00:37:59.760 --> 00:38:01.719 value out of it. So I want to thank you, Grayson's, for 549 00:38:02.679 --> 00:38:07.199 sharing your gross story. First of all, it's poor digital. You are 550 00:38:07.800 --> 00:38:15.550 a awesome and to some of us what feels like head turning trajectory over there, 551 00:38:15.230 --> 00:38:22.030 but I love how you're doing it thoughtfully and how deeply you're thinking about 552 00:38:22.030 --> 00:38:27.110 it along the way so that it's it's not getting off tracks for you right 553 00:38:27.139 --> 00:38:30.460 because that's so easy to do when you're growing quickly. Totally I appreciate that. 554 00:38:31.179 --> 00:38:36.340 Super Fun shouting with you and you know I'm lucky because we just have 555 00:38:36.539 --> 00:38:38.940 such a great team and, more than anything, talent, but we've been 556 00:38:39.019 --> 00:38:43.809 together a long time and just great human beings that really care about their careers, 557 00:38:43.849 --> 00:38:46.530 and so it's a lot easier to do these things when you can divide 558 00:38:46.570 --> 00:38:51.530 it up among you people that you know all deliver and and you have a 559 00:38:51.570 --> 00:38:53.730 bunch of different your hands to make to make the work light and it doesn't 560 00:38:53.809 --> 00:38:58.280 follow too much on one person. So I just feel very lucky to get 561 00:38:58.320 --> 00:39:00.199 a work with the team and it's been fun shotting with you. And the 562 00:39:00.239 --> 00:39:02.280 other thing is would love to talk to any of your listeners. You know 563 00:39:02.320 --> 00:39:07.679 we're actively looking for your great acquisition targets that fit into our strategy and thesis, 564 00:39:07.760 --> 00:39:10.869 and so if that's of interest to any of the listeners, would be 565 00:39:10.869 --> 00:39:15.070 interested to kind of learn more about the business and share more about our strategy 566 00:39:15.550 --> 00:39:20.429 and maybe there's ways that we can partner or combine to join forces and and 567 00:39:20.550 --> 00:39:22.750 do something really big. So thus love to have any of those conversation. 568 00:39:23.150 --> 00:39:27.780 Yeah, great, mabb to the punch. We always like to ask our 569 00:39:27.860 --> 00:39:31.820 guests where listeners can go to learn more or to connect with you. So 570 00:39:32.019 --> 00:39:36.820 let's give them the details how to reach out to you and how to reach 571 00:39:36.820 --> 00:39:40.289 out to power digital. Yeah, so for me it's just best connect found 572 00:39:40.329 --> 00:39:45.329 linkedin, just grazing La friend paying me there and let's get get something lined 573 00:39:45.369 --> 00:39:49.050 up. And then for power digital, you can find we do our team 574 00:39:49.050 --> 00:39:51.889 spend a lot of time on our instagram, so they can certainly find us 575 00:39:51.889 --> 00:39:54.199 on instagram. I think it's power under digital. Find US on Linkedin. 576 00:39:54.639 --> 00:40:00.800 Can also reach out and email us at contact oer digital MARKETINGCOM and would love 577 00:40:00.840 --> 00:40:02.960 to connect. And thanks again for having me on. Really enjoyed it and 578 00:40:04.000 --> 00:40:09.909 appreciative. We really hope you enjoyed this episode in the Hashtag Agency series from 579 00:40:09.949 --> 00:40:15.710 the innovative agency. To hear more episodes along these lines, check out the 580 00:40:15.829 --> 00:40:21.110 innovative agency in Apple Podcast, your favorite podcast player or the links right in 581 00:40:21.110 --> 00:40:23.340 the show notes for this episode. As always. Thank you so much for 582 00:40:23.500 --> 00:40:31.219 listening. Is your buyer a BB marketer? If so, you should think 583 00:40:31.260 --> 00:40:36.769 about sponsoring this podcast. BB growth gets downloaded over a hundred and thirty thousand 584 00:40:36.849 --> 00:40:40.210 times each month and our listeners are marketing decision makers. If it sounds interesting, 585 00:40:40.250 --> 00:40:44.570 Sin Logan and email logan at sweet fish Mediacom