Maintaining the Perfect Size for a Small Agency

What's the perfect size for an agency? This can be a vexing question for small agency owners. We want to be big enough to have national work and yet small enough to know everyone in

Bart Cleveland

the agency by name. This desire for perfect smallness can tempt us to restrict growth. Many times this results in neglecting new business. However, history shows if an agency isn't growing, it's dying. You can't keep your perfect size by sitting still. Simple attrition can result in a 10-20 percent decrease in billings per year. In this era of advertising, client relationships that last over a few years are unusual. New business is important to balance attrition, but it's also an opportunity to find clients that are best suited to your agency.

The reason my agency has longer than average tenure with clients is because we nurture new business. I say nurture because that is a key to having relationships built on trust. Nurturing new business takes more time, but it gives trust a chance to take root. Before the client even hires you they feel connected to you. They know you know their business and their problems and that you will help them overcome their challenges. I won't go into what we do but suffice it to say the proof of you being the best fit for a client happens by being not selling.

Imagine your agency working to its potential. Imagine clients seeking your counsel and appreciating your insight. This is what the right client brings to your agency. There are more "perfect" clients than you might believe. Too many times agencies don't nurture, they just sell to whomever is buying and they reap what they sow. We all know what happens when a client is not buying what we're selling. It's miserable for everyone involved. This is another reason we can avoid growth. You become convinced that there is only misery out there and why ask for more heartache? Choose wisely. Walk away from the obviously bad prospect. Don't believe you can fix them or train them to be good clients. Look for something better and you'll find it.

Growth will not keep you from being the size you want to be, it can empower you. I've always admired agencies that are willing to walk away from clients that aren't a good fit. It's only possible when they are in control of their business. The effect on one's bottom line must be manageable. Let's face it, if it's inevitable that a relationship is going to end, why not be in control of when it will end?

New business efforts should never be put on the back burner. They should always be a priority so that you remain firmly in control of what your agency is going to accomplish.

Evaluating Your Company Strategy

n this excerpt from Mavericks at Work, William C. Taylor & Polly LaBarre outline five key questions entrepreneurs should ask themselves about their company’s strategy.

Few companies set out to be just another me-too player with another ho-hum business model, following a bland formula that’s hard to distinguish from everyone else’s. But in industry after industry, that’s precisely how most companies end up competing, which is why competition feels so unforgiving.

As you think about the values you stand for as an organization and as a leader, ask these five questions about your company’s strategy.

1. Do you have a distinctive and disruptive sense of purpose that sets you apart from your rivals?

This is what separates the mavericks from their me-too competitors. The founders of DPR Construction were determined, from the moment they started the company, to reckon honestly and openly with the designed-in flaws of their industry and to build an organization that would prosper by fixing those flaws. The founders of Cranium didn’t launch their company because they had one good idea for a single board game. Instead, they had a wide-ranging critique of what was going wrong with family entertainment -- and an unapologetic sense of mission about providing a clear alternative, through board games but also through book publishing, TV shows, and other lines of business that Cranium has begun to enter after its runaway success with games.

Even when their company was a tiny start-up, the Cranium founders believed and acted as if they were playing for high stakes -- not just thinking about games, but rethinking how parents could relate to their kids and how families could relate to one another. “We’ve always acted as if we’re a much bigger company than we really are,” says Grand Poo Bah Richard Trait. “We’re still a fairly young player in our industry, but we conduct ourselves as if we are a global movement. This isn’t a job. It’s the pursuit of a dream, to give everyone a chance to shine. It’s a big, ethereal goal, but we won’t stop until we’re convinced that we’re making progress against that goal.”