Agency Leadership Podcast

Chip Griffin and Gini Dietrich
  • 4.8 (18)
  • MARKETING
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY
Agency Leadership Podcast

The Agency Leadership Podcast provides insights for agency owners and executives. Co-hosts Chip Griffin and Gini Dietrich share practical advice and industry news relevant to PR and marketing agency leaders.

  1. OCT 3

    Onboarding agency clients the right way

    In this episode, Chip and Gini discuss the critical aspects of onboarding new clients in the agency world. They emphasize the importance of setting clear expectations, proactive communication, and understanding client processes. The conversation includes tips for achieving quick wins without overburdening clients, integrating with client systems, and maintaining a sustainable pace. Both hosts highlight the significance of being adaptable and helpful, ensuring a successful long-term partnership with clients. They also share insights into balancing immediate results with strategic long-term goals. Key takeaways * Chip Griffin: “Setting clear expectations is fundamentally the absolute most important thing to do with any kind of relationship, but particularly the agency client relationship.” * Gini Dietrich: “There are lots of things that you can do really quickly to provide some tangible results that help clients understand that you’re doing work leading up to the longer play stuff.” * Chip Griffin: “It is a real balancing act to get this right in those early stages, because you need to show enough that it’s worth keeping you around, but not so much that you have nothing left to do.” * Gini Dietrich: “Our job is to make their jobs easier, and if you’re accustomed to G Suite and Zoom, which I am, going into a Microsoft environment is challenging, but I think it’s important to be able to do those things for the client to make things as easy as possible.” Related * Setting expectations for agency clients * How to onboard new agency clients View Transcript The following is a computer-generated transcript. Please listen to the audio to confirm accuracy. Chip Griffin: Hello and welcome to another episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin. Gini Dietrich: And I’m GIni Dietrich. Chip Griffin: And GIni, we have a new client of this podcast. We’re going to have to onboard them. I don’t know what a client of the podcast would do, actually, though. Gini Dietrich: I don’t, yeah, maybe it’s a sponsor. Chip Griffin: Could be. We get asked about sponsorships pretty regularly, but most of them are pretty sketchy, so. Gini Dietrich: Yeah. Kind of like link backs. Chip Griffin: Having a sponsor would be more trouble than it’s worth, I think, so. Gini Dietrich: I think so too. Yeah. Chip Griffin: I kind of like that we’re free to say whatever we want and we don’t have to suck up to sponsors. Gini Dietrich: And we can be honest about vendors in the industry and stuff like that. Chip Griffin: Yes. But we’re not going to talk about vendors in the industry today because that would probably get us into trouble with or without a sponsor. So, instead Why don’t we talk about onboarding clients because this is a topic that came up recently in the Spin Sucks community and of course if you are not a member of the Spin Sucks community you should absolutely join it over conversations in there and so where do you go to do that Gini?

    21 min

  2. SEP 26

    Balancing booze and your agency business

    In this episode, Chip and Gini discuss the importance of having clear alcohol policies in agencies. They explore the evolving norms of alcohol consumption in professional settings, the necessity of having written rules, and the implications for office events, client meetings, and expenses. Drawing on their experiences and insights from expert Patrick Rogan of Ignition HR, the hosts emphasize the need for leadership to set examples and consider the legal and liability aspects of alcohol use. They suggest practical guidelines for limiting alcohol use to ensure professionalism and reduce risks. Key takeaways * Chip Griffin: “My baseline is you should have rules about alcohol in place because it makes life easier for everybody. What those rules are… now that’s where it gets a little bit more complicated.” * Gini Dietrich: “In today’s day and age, everybody expects to have some sort of policy around it and it’s a really easy way to protect yourself and avoid taking the risk. Get something in writing and enforce it as needed.” * Chip Griffin: “Focus on leading by example here. The policies that you have need to be the same ones that you are adhering to because it makes it so much easier to enforce it.” * Gini Dietrich: “Most clients expect the agency to pick up the bill. So having a no alcohol expensed policy doesn’t work from that perspective.” Resources * Agency policies on using and expensing alcoholic beverages View Transcript The following is a computer-generated transcript. Please listen to the audio to confirm accuracy. Chip Griffin: Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin. Gini Dietrich: And I’m Gini Dietrich. Chip Griffin: Gini, I need a drink. Gini Dietrich: Awesome. Let’s do it. Chip Griffin: You know, I, I have thought about how sometimes we should do like, you know, an Agency Leadership Podcast happy hour show where we are actually just drinking and we can start to give even more unvarnished opinions than what we usually do, but, but given how blunt we tend to be, I do get some criticism occasionally from folks about how blunt I can be. That may not be the best idea. Gini Dietrich: I think it’s a great idea. We should do it. We should definitely do it. Chip Griffin: But if we do it, we probably ought to have some policies around it. Probably. It’s important to have rules for your business around alcohol. Gini Dietrich: Yes. You actually did a little bit of digging and research on this to see how many agency owners have a policy on alcohol use and what it might be. So let’s talk about that because I think it’s interesting and it’s definitely something that we should all be thinking about if we don’t already have a policy in place. Chip Griffin: Yeah. I mean, it is certainly something that, that I hadn’t given a whole lot of thought to in recent years, but, over the last few months, I’ve been asked by a few different agency owners about alcohol policies in terms of,

    23 min

  3. SEP 19

    Agencies and ageism

    In this episode, Chip and Gini explore the challenges of ageism within the PR and marketing industries, with a focus on agencies. They discuss the stereotypes associated with older professionals, particularly concerning their perceived familiarity with platforms like TikTok. They emphasize the value of experience and the misconceptions around the cost of hiring experienced talent.  They advocate for creative solutions like flexible hiring and service delivery models including fractional roles to incorporate senior expertise while balancing the cost to clients and agencies alike. Additionally, the conversation addresses the importance of continual professional development for current team members and offers advice to experienced job seekers on navigating ageism in their job search. The co-hosts also offer insights for older, more experienced job-seekers on maintaining a positive presence in the job market and using one’s network effectively. Key takeaways * Chip Griffin: “Flexibility is absolutely key because the workforce overall, not just in our space, has changed so much in recent years that I think everybody needs to be thinking about more creative employment solutions.” * Gini Dietrich: “Look for people that can help you reach your goals more effectively. And it doesn’t have to cost a whole ton of money.” * Chip Griffin: “There’s no risk in conversations. No matter whether it’s with a prospective hire, a prospective client, a prospective partner. Just talk to people.” * Gini Dietrich: “It’s going to take somebody with 30 years of experience significantly less time to do something than somebody with two years of experience. And so you actually may be saving money in the long run.” Related * Fractional C-level help for agencies * Should your agency hire specialists, generalists, or fractional team members? View Transcript The following is a computer-generated transcript. Please listen to the audio to confirm accuracy. Chip Griffin: Hello and welcome to another episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin. And I’m Gini Dietrich. Chip Griffin: Gini, I’m old. Actually, this week I do, I do feel very old. Gini Dietrich: You’ve been working a ton, that’s why. Chip Griffin: I’ve been doing too much, you know. Sometime I have to learn to say no to certain things, but I’m not, I’m not very good at it, so. Gini Dietrich: 80 hour work weeks don’t work anymore. Chip Griffin: Well, I mean, but, but half of that is my hobby job, so that’s different, Gini Dietrich: Sure, but it’s still work. It does count. Chip Griffin: It’s really more physically demanding, you know, my wife said to me the other day, she said, you did a lot of squats during that portrait session. I’m like, I was photographing a young lady who was about five feet tall. So. What it takes. Chip Griffin: Unless I just shoot down on her for the whole thing.

    23 min

  4. SEP 12

    Q3 agency owner survey shows overall optimism, but dissatisfaction with state of business development

    In this episode, Chip and Gini discuss results from the SAGA Q3 Agency Owner Survey. Despite a difficult year, the survey reveals widespread optimism among small agency owners regarding future revenue and profit growth. However, there is a noted contradiction, as not as many respondents plan to increase headcount. The discussion highlights agency owners’ dissatisfaction with their business development efforts, scoring an average of 4.8 out of 10 in satisfaction. Effective tactics like podcast hosting and video content are underutilized, while traditional methods such as attending events and word-of-mouth continue to play significant roles. The episode encourages owners to adopt more modern business development strategies and to be mindful of adequately resourcing their growing needs. The full survey results are available for download on the SAGA website here. Key takeaways * Chip Griffin: “Agencies need to be careful about growing revenue without also growing the resources that they have to service the clients, because that can lead to morale problems for your team. It can lead to execution problems that result in poor client satisfaction.” * Gini Dietrich: “I think we’re going to grow our revenue and grow our profit, but it’s not helping you put a plan into place that’s going to help you scale and grow a business.” * Chip Griffin: “Look at the data and understand podcasts work as a tool for business development. You might want to think about doing them.” * Gini Dietrich: “I think a quarter of your time on business development is good. I think 50 percent of your time is better.” Resources * Agency owner growth expectations and business development insights revealed in Q3 SAGA survey Related * Best practices for your agency’s podcast web presence * How podcasting can help grow your agency * How podcasts can help agencies and their clients (featuring Kelly Glover) * Block time on your calendar for business development — and stick to it * Should Chip stop blindly hating RFPs for agencies? View Transcript The following is a computer-generated transcript. Please listen to the audio to confirm accuracy. Chip Griffin: Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin. Gini Dietrich: And I’m Gini Dietrich. Chip Griffin: And Gini, I think we need to survey and see what we think about this show. You know? Okay. Gini Dietrich: I wish I had one of those sound machines that I could be like, survey says Chip Griffin: I wish I’d come up with a better opening than that. That was pretty sad and pathetic,

    26 min

  5. SEP 5

    Why one-size-fits-all advice doesn’t work for agencies

    In this episode, Chip and Gini dismantle the myth that agency management can rely on a one-size-fits-all approach. They emphasize the importance of understanding the diversity and unique needs of different types of agencies, such as PR, ad, and digital agencies. Chip and Gini discuss their experiences in various agency environments and highlight the influence of agency size and specialization on management strategies. They caution against blindly following advice from other agency owners or consultants without considering the specific context and needs of one’s own agency. They also stress the importance of tailoring roles and titles to actual needs rather than fixed hierarchies, revealing the potential pitfalls of title inflation and focusing too narrowly on prescribed roles like account or project managers. Key takeaways * Chip Griffin: “The irony is that in most agencies, an account manager doesn’t manage and an account executive is not an executive.” * Gini Dietrich: “If you’re listening to advice, or you have the mindset that you have to fill roles like an account manager, a traffic manager, a project manager…that is the fastest way to zero profit.” * Chip Griffin: “You need to personalize your approach based on what you’re trying to accomplish and what your specific needs are, not what you’ve heard some other peer or expert tell you.” * Gini Dietrich: “In a PR firm, it’s typically the people who are doing the work that are also doing the account management, the client service, and the project management, management, making sure the work gets done.” Related * Be smart about titles at your agency * How small agencies can improve employee retention * Setting expectations for raises and promotions at your agency * Beware of the experts View Transcript The following is a computer-generated transcript. Please listen to the audio to confirm accuracy. Chip Griffin: Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin. Gini Dietrich: And I’m Gini Dietrich. Chip Griffin: And Gini, today is a one size fits all day. We’re going to talk about how every agency is exactly the same. And all you have to do is go through a simple checklist and you’ll know how to manage your business successfully. Gini Dietrich: Man, that’s going to make life so much easier. Awesome. Yes, Chip Griffin: it is. I mean, you know, it’s, it is nice that it’s just all about a simple formula. No real thought involved. Gini Dietrich: Okay. I wish that were the case. Unfortunately, yeah. Chip Griffin: Well, I think in all seriousness, I think one of the challenges that agency leaders have these days is there are a lot of resources out there. There’s this podcast. There are plenty of other podcasts like it. There are lots of articles. There are YouTube channels. There are books and a lot of it is framed as we do here in terms of agencies, right?

    20 min

  6. AUG 29

    Turning agency reporting into a profit center

    In this episode, Chip and Gini discuss the importance of effective reporting for agencies. Many agency leaders view reports as a necessary evil, but when done right they can actually become an important contributor to profits. Chip and Gini recommend auditing existing reports to eliminate unnecessary ones and creating meaningful reports that directly influence business decisions. They also highlight the potential of leveraging AI to analyze and generate reports, ultimately transforming reporting from a mundane task into a profit center. Key takeaways * Chip Griffin: “I don’t think I’ve ever met an agency that’s not producing at least some useless reports. These are reports that either don’t really inform you in any way, shape, or form and/or are never even consumed by anybody, oftentimes not even within the agency itself, beyond the person who creates it.” * Gini Dietrich: “You have all of this data available to you. Use it. Don’t be scared of it.” * Chip Griffin: “Anytime you’re talking about a report, I always encourage you to think about what’s the business decision this is influencing? And the flip side, what is the business decision you’re trying to make? Now, what reports would help me to make that decision more effectively?” * Gini Dietrich: “AI is getting pretty smart on this stuff where it can analyze the reports for you. There are tools that you can use to make it really easy and profitable for yourself.” Related * How PR agencies can turn measurement and evaluation into a profit center View Transcript The following is a computer-generated transcript. Please listen to the audio to confirm accuracy. Chip Griffin: Hello and welcome to another episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin. Gini Dietrich: And I’m Gini Dietrich. Chip Griffin: And Gini, I think we need to produce a report. Gini Dietrich: Okay, Chip Griffin: we need to figure out what’s working and what’s not with this podcast. And then we’re gonna make some money off of that. Even better. Which would be the first money we’ve ever made off of this podcast. That’s actually not true. I Gini Dietrich: I guess we get I mean, anncilliarily we make money. Chip Griffin: Sure. I have prospects tell me all the time that they listen to this show and that’s one of the reasons why they reached out. So, I mean, it, it has a positive impact, but we do not directly generate revenue Gini Dietrich: We do not. Chip Griffin: From this podcast and, and we never will because we get the occasional inquiry, but it’s way too much effort to try to sell sponsorships and that kind of stuff, not going to do it. Gini Dietrich: Okay. All right. Chip Griffin: Not going to do it. Plus, I mean, as we know, everybody who’s, you know, sponsors these podcasts and videos, not everybody, but a lot of the people who, they’re not really things you want to be associated with. They just are people who have big checkbooks. Gini Dietrich: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I agree with that.

    20 min

  7. AUG 15

    Using LinkedIn effectively to grow your agency

    In this episode, Chip and Gini discuss the pros and cons of using LinkedIn for agency growth and professional engagement. They touch upon the challenges of spam and overautomation, and emphasize the importance of personalized, thoughtful interactions. They also share strategies for repurposing content, such as tailoring blog posts to different audiences when posting on LinkedIn. They address the increased use of LinkedIn direct messages for networking and provide insights on effective commenting. Additionally, they briefly discuss the appropriateness of political posts on LinkedIn and recommend focusing on values rather than partisan views. Key takeaways * Gini Dietrich: “Writing LinkedIn comments that are thoughtful and interesting are going to be so much more effective than having AI summarize the content for you and write the comment. Please don’t do that.” * Chip Griffin: “LinkedIn works best like most social platforms when you’re being genuine and and authentic.” * Gini Dietrich: “If you’re going to produce new content on LinkedIn, I love the idea of testing out a topic or an idea. Or repurpose other content, and you really only have to do something once a week.” * Chip Griffin: “LinkedIn direct messages should be from one human to another human. Period. Stop.” Related * How agencies can get the most out of LinkedIn (featuring Chuck Hester) * How agencies can use LinkedIn ads to grow their businesses (featuring Anthony Blatner) * The future of events and other agency biz dev tactics View Transcript The following is a computer-generated transcript. Please listen to the audio to confirm accuracy. Chip Griffin: Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin. Gini Dietrich: And I’m Gini Dietrich. Chip Griffin: And Gini, you know, I think maybe I’ll just start sending you direct messages on LinkedIn from now on. That’s the only way I’ll communicate with you. Gini Dietrich: Awesome. Well, that’s one way. Chip Griffin: It’s one way. Gini Dietrich: I might not get back to you immediately. Chip Griffin: The problem is, I was going to say, if you respond to me, I probably will not see, cause I get so much spam in my LinkedIn direct messages that I very rarely actually look at them. And usually as soon as I do, I will tell whoever legitimate is reaching out to me that I do want to talk to. Here’s my email address. Send me an email. We can, we can pick it up over there. Cause you’ll get a much more timely response. Gini Dietrich: Do you accept all LinkedIn connection requests? Chip Griffin: I do not. Gini Dietrich: Okay. Chip Griffin: I used years ago I used to do that, but then I got flooded with just a bunch of junk and, and nowadays so many spammers are, I mean, just obvious spammers are many are trying to connect many. So at this point, I,

    24 min

  8. AUG 8

    Do you trust your agency team members?

    In this episode, Chip and Gini discuss the pivotal role of trust within agency teams. They explore common scenarios where agency owners struggle with trusting their employees, often due to micromanagement tendencies, ill-defined roles, or unrealistic expectations. They emphasize the importance of clear communication, proper onboarding, and creating an environment where employees feel trusted and empowered. They also address the importance of identifying whether the lack of trust stems from the owner’s behavior or if the employee is possibly not the right fit for the role. Practical steps such as implementing standard operating procedures and incremental training are suggested to foster a trust-based work environment. Key takeaways * Gini Dietrich: “Not trusting your team is a symptom of a larger problem, and the larger problem is usually things like, I’m a perfectionist, I can’t give up control, I want things done exactly my way.” * Chip Griffin: “We talk about it a lot, and I know we probably shouldn’t do that because our primary audience is owners, but owners are the root of most of the problems.” * Gini Dietrich: “Just like any other relationship. You have trust with your partner, you have trust with your spouse, you have trust in your family, with your friends, you can’t have any relationship without trust. It’s the same thing with your team.” * Chip Griffin: “The stronger the bond of trust is between the employee and the employer, the more performance you will get out of them, the better your retention of key employees will be.” Related * Micromanage your way to agency failure * Building trust and letting your team shine * Letting go as an agency owner View Transcript The following is a computer-generated transcript. Please listen to the audio to confirm accuracy. Chip Griffin: Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin. Gini Dietrich: And I’m Gini Dietrich. Chip Griffin: Gini, do you trust me? Gini Dietrich: I do, actually. Chip Griffin: Wow. Gini Dietrich: Very much. Chip Griffin: That’s probably your first mistake of many on this episode. So no, we’re going to talk about trust today. And we’re not- Gini Dietrich: We are, but before we do that, I have an announcement to make. Happy birthday. Chip Griffin: Thank you. Gini Dietrich: You’re welcome. Chip Griffin: When people listen to this, that will be well in the past, but Yeah, for now. For now it’s a day in the future. Gini Dietrich: When we’re recording it, it’s tomorrow, right? Chip Griffin: Correct. very much. I appreciate it. Gini Dietrich: You’re welcome. Chip Griffin: I appreciate even more that you’re not going to sing to me, so. Gini Dietrich: No, you don’t want me to sing.

    21 min
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4.8
out of 5
18 Ratings

About

The Agency Leadership Podcast provides insights for agency owners and executives. Co-hosts Chip Griffin and Gini Dietrich share practical advice and industry news relevant to PR and marketing agency leaders.

Information

  • Creator
    Chip Griffin and Gini Dietrich
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2024
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright Small Agency Growth Alliance
  • Show Website
    Agency Leadership Podcast

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