5 Big Agency Owner Mistakes Make and How to Avoid Them
4. Your lead generation isn’t a priority.
If you’re like most agencies, you might have a “hit list” for new business. Maybe you attend some networking events and hand out business cards. But when you get busy, all of that falls away—until you get a bad call from a big client. By then, it’s too late.
Most agencies begin new business programs about three days after their largest client fires them, even though it often takes months—if not years—to earn a target’s business. Don’t let this happen to you. New business needs to be an activity you engage in every day, no matter what.
5. You don’t allocate resources for training.
Agencies talk a lot about “lifelong learning” but they rarely provide structured opportunities for continued education or mentorship. There are numbers to support this, too.
According to a recent 4A’s and Arnold Worldwide Survey, 90% of agency staff say they figure things out on their own due to a lack of training, and 50% of industry talent feels “undertrained.” That’s no way to foster growth and learning at your business. Don’t lose your best and brightest because you didn’t help them improve. Your people are your greatest asset. Make a commitment to take care of them.
Mend Your Mistakes
These five problems aren’t new; some of these strategies are probably similar to the kind you offer your clients every day. Just as you advise your clients to tackle these issues day in and day out, there’s only one way to remedy the mistakes your agency is making. You have to make them a daily priority.
Once you know what the most pressing needs are, create a plan, and begin working toward fulfilling those needs. Think about it: You could eliminate three or four of these critical issues in the next nine to 12 months.
Later, when you’re struggling to make these solutions real, consider this: Are these risks robbing you of money you could use to grow your business and reward your staff?
The next step is up to you. Get back to the basics and the reason why you started an agency in the first place. Repair how your business runs today so you can still be around tomorrow.
Drew McLellan owns Agency Management Roundtable.
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