The Chats with Chip Podcast Chip Griffin

Meetings have evolved over the last few decades, so shouldn’t the agency owner’s role have changed?







In this episode, Chip and Brad Farris of Anchor Advisors discuss the importance of effective leadership and meetings in agencies, emphasizing the owner’s unique role in providing vision and direction.







They explore the need for well-structured meetings with agendas, purpose, and active participation from all members.







The conversation touches on techniques for better meetings, the role of leaders in encouraging participation, and the value of appreciating contributions and creating positive meeting experiences.







Key takeaways









* Chip Griffin: “A meeting ought to try to involve people in discussion, and it should be involving everybody on the call, because there’s no point in being on the call if you’re not participating.”







* Brad Farris: “The person that talks the most thinks more highly of the person who talks the least. So if you’re in a new business situation, the less you talk, the more that they’re going to think highly of you.”







* Chip Griffin: “Leadership is about creating the conditions to make the good decisions.”







* Brad Farris: “Fear means we’re doing something important. That fear is actually sharpening your senses, helping you to focus, helping you to be present.”









Resources









* Death by Meeting: A Leadership Fable about Solving the Most Painful Problem in Business







* Sign up for Brad’s newsletter







* Business Growth Phase Assessment









About Brad Farris







Brad Farris has helped hundreds of agency owners sharpen their focus, raise their prices, and hire better people so that their firms can scale and thrive. Brad has learned that success is driven less by what you do than by who you decide to be, and the biggest hurdle to your agency’s growth is between your ears.







Related









* How to make agency team meetings more productive







* Moving agency meetings from in-person to online







* Being present as an agency owner











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Author of Start with the Story: Brand-Building in a Narrative Economy, Kristian Alomá knows the value of brand storytelling for agencies and businesses.







In this episode, Kristian shares insights about his agency, Threadline, and the art of crafting a narrative that is relevant, meaningful, and inspiring to the audience. He and Chip cover the evolution of brand stories over time and the need for agencies to live their own brand stories. 







Chip and Kristian also discuss the value of a helpfulness mindset for growing a thriving agency. The importance of building trust and evolving with customers is highlighted throughout the conversation.







Key takeaways









* Chip Griffin: “Any true entrepreneur is constantly trying to figure things out and hopefully learning, mostly from our mistakes.”







* Kristian Alomá: “Probably at no point has owning an agency ever actually lived up to what I thought it would be, but at no point has it ever disappointed me.”







* Chip Griffin: “I’ve always loved about the community of entrepreneurs that almost without exception, entrepreneurs are happy to help other entrepreneurs because they have a passion for what they do.”







* Kristian Alomá: “Focus on three key elements when it comes to storytelling: is it relevant to your audience? Is it meaningful to your audience? And does it inspire your audience?”









Resources









* Connect with Kristian on LinkedIn







* Kristian’s book Start with the Story: Brand-Building in a Narrative Economy









About Kristian Alomá







Kristian A Alomá, PhD, is a seasoned storyteller and strategist who believes in harnessing the power of narrative psychology and social sciences to forge meaningful connections with audiences. Kristian has spent over 20 years enhancing major brands like Harley-Davidson and Coca-Cola and boosting nonprofit outreach with his marketing acumen.His brand strategy firm leverages his PhD in narrative psychology to develop impactful stories that engage stakeholders. A lecturer at the Kellogg SchoolCenter for Nonprofit Management at Northwestern University and author of “Start with the Story,” Kristian champions storytelling’s role in brand building, especially for nonprofits. Committed to ethical communication, he contributes to the American Psychology Association and B Lab’s Marketer’s Network. Based in Chicago with his family, Kristian’s passion for global cultures informs his narrative branding expertise.







Related









* How agencies can be helpful during the crisis







* 5 questions to help determine how well your agency works for you











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Chip Griffin: Hello and welcome to another episode of Chats with Chip.

In this episode, Chip talks with Nicholas Petroski, founder of Promethean Research.







Chip and Nick discuss digital agency salaries and the findings of a recent research report on the topic. They delve into the importance of balancing billable hours, the impact of pricing on agency profitability, and the role of benefits and stipends in attracting and retaining talent.







They also touch on the need for standardization of job titles in the agency industry. 







Key takeaways









* Chip Griffin: “You need to be thinking about pricing and salaries hand in hand if you’re going to be running a healthy agency.”







* Nicholas Petroski: “You’re not going to compete with the large tech companies on salary. The lifestyle that you offer for your employees, that’s what you’re competing with.”







* Chip Griffin: “I encourage owners to think as early as possible in their evolution, even when they’re just hiring one or two employees, to start thinking about the hierarchy of titles and how you’re going to compensate them so you don’t create a problem down the road.”







* Nicholas Petroski: “If you’re pushing that utilization rate to crazy high numbers, either A, they’re lying to you. Or B, you’re working them so hard that they’re not going to be doing quality work anymore.”









Resources









* 2024 Digital Services Salary Guide (use discount code “SAGA” to purchase the guide for $100)







* Connect with Nick on LinkedIn







* Repeatable Revgen Guide for Digital Agencies







* Digital Agencies & AI Report







* Digital Agency Industry Report







* Agency Revgen Review Service









About Nicholas Petroski







Nicholas runs Promethean Research, a boutique consultancy that helps digital agencies grow more reliably with higher margins and simpler operations. Since 2015, he’s been helping digital firms better understand their industry and chart more effective paths to success. Prior to co-founding Promethean, he worked as an equity analyst at a Wall St. firm where he covered the enterprise software and semiconductor industries. Before that, he spent a bit of time in corporate finance. When he’s not in the office, you can find him backpacking around the Midwest or making fancy firewood in his woodshop.







Related









* CWC 26: Nick Petroski of Promethean Research







* The rising salary demands of agency employees







* Be smart about titles at your agenc...

Xaña Winans of Golden Proportions Marketing says that resiliency may be her superpower, and that’s a characteristic many agency owners needed to tap into as the pandemic upset existing business structures.







Like many owners, Xaña has kept her team remote. She shares some of her experience about how she made that transition and manages a team that is no longer full-time in the office. She talks about some of the challenges, as well as opportunities that creates.







In this conversation, Xaña also talks about how she started with a clear focus with the agency — which she has maintained — but also some of the evolution she has made along the way.







Key takeaways









* Chip Griffin: “Accidental agency owners are still the owners of the business and they should be designing something that actually works for them and gives them the financial satisfaction, the psychological satisfaction, and the happiness of being their own boss.”







* Xaña Winans: “A big part of it is for us to both find a voice in how to run this agency. Because I can’t do it without them, but they can’t do it without me either.







* Chip Griffin: “Don’t hire that diamond in the rough if you really need the diamond today, because diamonds take a long time to create.







* Xaña Winans: “I’ve had to remind myself that as an agency owner, vacations are not an indulgence. They’re actually a necessity.”









Resources









* Golden Proportions Marketing







* Connect with Xaña on LinkedIn









About Xaña Winans







Xaña Winans is the founder and CEO of Golden Proportions Marketing, the first strategy based, full-service marketing company exclusively for dentists. Xaña founded and built Golden Proportions Marketing on the belief that dentists deserved a goal-driven, strategic approach to marketing. Transparency, results, and return on investment are the driving forces behind the work her agency provides.







Xaña teaches her audiences the foundational principles of marketing, as well as the actionable strategies necessary to turn brand awareness into actual new patients. She believes that doctors should understand the patient journey in order to attract, capture, and keep new patients in the practice. Audiences will learn valuable internal marketing strategies and leave empowered to better manage and maximize their marketing relationships.







Xaña has been an invited speaker to numerous national dental meetings including GNYDM, Yankee, and the AACD as well as numerous state meetings and study clubs. She has been guest faculty for both Pankey and LVI, teaching marketing to thousands of dentists over her 30 year career. She and her husband Dr. Larry Winans are parents to Ryder and Savannah. Outside of dentistry, they have founded, manage, and market a regional craft brewery.









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Chip Griffin: Hello, and welcome to another episode of Chats with Chip. I’m your host, Chip Griffin, the founder of SAGA, the Small Agency Growth Alliance. And I’m delighted to have with me an agency owner who I think will be able to share a lot from her experience that will relate to a lot of you who are ...

In this episode, Chip talks with Jason Swenk of Agency Mastery 360 about the intricate dynamics of agency growth, operations, and sales. The discussion touches upon multiple challenges that agency owners grapple with daily, offering a number of actionable insights.









* The Accidental Agency Owner: Jason himself began as an accidental agency owner at 22 when he designed a website poking fun at the pop band, NSYNC. From there, he scaled to an eight-figure agency with over 100 employees before selling. The “accidental” trajectory resonates with many in the agency world, leading to unique challenges and growth patterns.







* The Importance of Clarity: Jason emphasizes that clarity is paramount for agency success. Many agencies fall into the trap of accepting any client that comes their way, diluting their niche and expertise. By clearly understanding the direction they want to take, agencies can build a robust framework and delegate more efficiently.







* The Agency CEO Role: The transition from owner to CEO is vital for growth. A CEO needs to set the vision, coach the leadership team, be the organization’s face, build strategic relationships, and understand essential financial metrics.







* To Sell or Not to Sell: When contemplating selling their agency, owners need to assess the motivation behind this decision. Whether it’s discontentment, wanting a change, or a genuine need for cash, understanding the core reason can make the process more seamless. Jason sheds light on valuation nuances, stressing the importance of EBITDA and the pitfalls of earnouts.







* Enhancing Sales and Lead Generation: One of the primary pain points for agency owners is sales. Jason recommends a multi-channel approach, which includes inbound and outbound strategies.









Chip and Jason highlight the importance of evolving with the agency. Whether it’s adjusting the business model, understanding financial metrics, or pivoting strategies, staying proactive ensures sustained growth and success.







Key takeaways







Jason Swenk: “We’re accidental. We knew how to do something cool. Someone offered us money and then the next thing we knew, we created this great prison around ourselves because we were doing everything.”







Chip Griffin: “If an agency owner is able to define their role effectively, they’re going to be more successful because they’re going to actually enjoy it.”







Jason Swenk: “If you come up with a plan, I don’t care if the plan works or not, you’re going to have so much more certainty in order to make the right decision. Then you’re inspiring your team rather than demotivating them.”







Chip Griffin: “I think that the expectations amongst a lot of agency owners are inflated as far as how easy it is for them to sell, what the sale looks like, how much money they’re going to get from it.”







Resources









* Agency Mastery 360







* Sign up for Jason’s weekly newsletter









About Jason Swenk







Jason Swenk is the agency advisor & coach that guides marketing agencies through a proven framework for growing their agency faster.

Few people in the agency world know more about the effective use of Wikipedia than Bill Beutler. As the founder of Beutler Ink, he and his team don’t just advise people about this popular platform, they also help clients communicate more effectively with infographics and other formats.







In this episode, Chip talks with Bill about the evolution of Wikipedia in recent years and how agencies can help their clients navigate the sometimes confusing editing ecosystem without getting themselves into trouble.







The pair also discuss how artificial intelligence impacts Wikipedia and communicators.







Key takeaways









* Bill Beutler: “The volunteer editors based at Wikipedia don’t think of themselves as providing a marketing service. So they do not roll out the red carpet for PR and marketing people.”







* Chip Griffin: “We all come to the table with biases, whether conscious or not. And they will show through if we look closely enough at anyone’s writing.”







* Bill Beutler: “AI could be useful in the near future, but it really has a long way to go before it’s ever going to replace writers or, frankly, even going to be a useful tool for doing research and compiling it.”







* Chip Griffin: “Agencies need to help educate their clients on what are the important changes that you would like to see to your Wikipedia article versus the ones where it’s just kind of annoying.”









Resources









* Beutler Ink







* WikiWatch







* Can you use ChatGPT to write Wikipedia articles?









About Bill Beutler







William Beutler is the founder and president of Beutler Ink, an award-winning strategic creative agency that helps emerging brands and industry trailblazers tell their stories through engaging content, dynamic social media strategies, and an honest approach to reputation. Founded in 2010 and counting two dozen employees, Beutler Ink is especially known for its pioneering work in public relations for Wikipedia. Outside of agency leadership, William Beutler has also been a blogger, podcaster, and film producer. He began his career as a political journalist in Washington, DC.







Related









* CWC 4: William Beutler of Beutler Ink







* Spotlight on William Beutler of Beutler Ink











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The following is a computer-generated transcript. Please listen to the audio to confirm accuracy.







Chip Griffin: Hello and welcome to another episode of Chats with Chip. I’m your host Chip Griffin and I am delighted to have with me a regular guest on some of my shows a good friend a really smart guy And I think we’re gonna have a great conversation Bill Beutler of Beutler Ink. Welcome to the show Bill.







Bill Beutler: Chip Thank you so much for having me.







It’s been it’s been a moment. I’m glad you think of me as a regular.