Agency Blueprint Robert Patin

Does it feel like your agency is chaotic and unhinged? Every time you get new clients, you uncover issues that make it harder to deliver outstanding results. It’s time to solve that problem.
In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, Jody Sutter comes on board to discuss the common issues that lead to chaos within an agency’s operations. We discuss how it all starts from the pitch process and what you can do to avoid chaos in your agency.
Tune in to discover how you can start making better decisions about who you’re going to pitch to.
Key Questions:
What are the common mistakes that agency owners make that lead to a feast or famine scenario? (2:49)
What causes the different types of business chaos in an agency? (14:21)
What is better than spec work to convince prospects to choose an agency? (18:48)

What You’ll Discover:
The buyer’s journey and how it plays a role in landing new clients (1:23)
The main problem that creates chaos in an agency (3:28)
How to be more confident during the pitch process (21:42)

Creativity flows and is the most impactful when you're idle. The question is, how can you set enough idle time if you’re too busy?
In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I share how you can prioritize your tasks so you can set enough time for idle time. I also discuss tactics that can help you do this no matter how busy your schedule may be.
If you want to know more about this, join me in the podcast now.
Resource Mentioned:
https://creativeagencysuccess.com/book
Key Questions:
How can agency owners prioritize tasks to help set boundaries? (1:46)
When is it acceptable to move a schedule for unexpected changes? (6:38)
Can agency owners be more creative by planning their idle time? (11:51)

What You’ll Discover:
How to set boundaries to protect personal idle time. (0:47)
The concept of time blocking that’ll help you create a calendar for you to prioritize tasks. (3:24)
A common mistake when delegating tasks within the agency - and how to delegate better (8:13)

Your ability to grow and scale your agency starts and ends with your offer. Because of that, it’s incredibly important to learn how to productize your service.
In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I talk about what it really means to productize your service. I focus on the various elements involved when you create an offer around the service that you provide.
If you want to get the basic framework that’ll bring the most impact on your agency, join me in the podcast.
Key Questions:
● What is the base foundation of productizing your service? (0:56)
● What is the framework that you can use to productize your service? (9:16)
● What is the biggest block that agency owners face when pricing their offer? (14:32)
What You’ll Discover:
● 2 ways to productize your service (1:10)
● An inspiring story of how a client achieved 3x growth while getting out of the
day-to-day operations (7:15)
● A closer look at the thought process involved in pricing your offer (12:46)

If I had to point to two things that increase agency efficiency and profitability, it would have to come down to ‘Client Management’ and ‘Proposals.’ Client management would include internal, external communications and expectations. As for proposals, we want to structure them so that they can be easily updated in 15mins or less using systems and formats that are repeatable.
In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, we have Dan, agency owner, and a member of The Agency Blueprint Mastermind Program. Dan is the agency owner of a Web Design Studio based in Norwich, UK. Today, we will be going through a live consulting as he has two items that he is looking to solve. During this live consulting, we will carve out a pathway forward for him and, in turn, enlighten you.
Key Questions
Are there ways we can handle this better? (e.g., client concept feedback, scheduling work, and resource allocation) (3:02)
How could we translate custom integrations or specific requirements into a standardized product in the future? (20:24)
How to approach or think about RFPs? (28:20)

What You’ll Discover:
How to deal with client communication and internal communication. (7:00)
How to offer clients a guarantee that projects will be complete by the deadline. (7:38)
Exploring ‘Sprint Pricing Model’ vs. Project Cost ensuring revenue and timeline expectations. (11:11)
How to price based on utilization rate. (13:54)
Having a specific niche becomes essential when setting programs and integrations during the proposal phase. (23:46)
Why pushing against RFP’s increases the likelihood of winning new business in the sales process. (30:36)

Are you struggling in your agency because you offer so many services - and most of them aren’t even something that you’re good at? I’ve seen a lot of agencies struggle with this. The question is… why does it happen?
In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I answer that question and explain how damaging it can be to your agency. I also talk about how you can redesign your agency so you’re working within what you’re good at.
If you want to work within your superpower, tune in to the podcast!
Key Questions:
● What is your agency’s superpower? (0:19)
● How many services does your agency offer that’s created by your clients and employees - and
not by you? (3:00)
● What is the key to regaining your agency’s superpowers? (7:39)
What You’ll Discover:
● What really happens when you accept a project that’s not covered by your superpowers (1:57)
● How to be an agency that charges high-ticket and high-value items (4:21)
● How to use your superpower to craft the perfect offer (10:53)

Accurate estimation is the foundation of an agency’s profitability. Without the ability to accurately assess how much effort it is going to take to get an outcome for a client, it is extremely difficult to maintain healthy margins and avoid late nights and weekend work.
In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, we have Marcel Petitpas. He is the CEO and Co-Founder of Parakeeto, a software company that helps agencies increase profitability by generating accurate, data-driven estimates in seconds using their existing time-tracking data.
If you want to learn more about how to generate accurate estimates for your agency's projects, join us in this episode for expert advice.
Key Questions:
Why is estimation important for agencies? (1:33)
What mistakes do most agencies make in estimation/scoping? (3:27)
What are the 4 keys to an accurate and scalable project scoping process? (8:25)
What do you do if you come in to help an agency and they are not tracking base data needed? (10:33)
Can you use percentage of resource time to estimate when you do not have exact number of hours? (14:58)
What is the “Agency Profitability Flywheel” and why it is important? (17:58)

What You'll Discover:
How to get your financial statements to reconcile with sales budget and estimations. (5:27)
The reasons creative agencies are not making assumptions about scope of work correctly, and how they can start doing it right. (6:56)
What an agency can change if they are working on too many things to track efficiently. (16:47)

Links
Agency Profitability Toolkit: https://parakeeto.com/toolkit (https://parakeeto.com/toolkit)
Agency Profit Podcast: https://agencyprofitpodcast.simplecast.com/ (https://agencyprofitpodcast.simplecast.com/)
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcelpetitpas/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcelpetitpas/)