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1) What is your agency truly about?
What do you stand for?
What’s your vision? What is it that motivates you?
You must narrow to an area of expertise, which paradoxically is how you increase your business.
If you do everything, then start with the thing you have the most experience in. Don’t try to be everything to everyone. Get more clients in that same vertical performing that same type of service. You’ll use this experience to be THE leader in that area.
Set up Google Alerts on that search topic to make sure you’re well-connected with the leaders and what they’re saying. Comment on their blogs, be helpful, retweet them– don’t sell your stuff.
2) Do you have the content to credibly support this?
List out your credible third party coverage– conferences, blogs, news, and anything else besides what you say about yourself. Are you openly sharing your expertise to irrefutably establish yourself as the authority in your chosen area?
If you’re a local agency servicing a particular city, it’s harder– since being the top social media agency in Minneapolis is not that different from the content produced for someone trying to be the top social agency in Portland, Oregon.
It must be topical. Maybe it’s producing more interviews and articles on social lead gen for B2B. Sending out a clear signal will bring us more of what we want, if we define it.
3) Do you have the process/people in place to handle the inbound leads?
Fortunately, the world of project management has been long-solved for us. That’s where marketing automation comes into play– to collect emails, nurture this list with regular content, and drive people to packages.
They will come to you– believe me. You don’t need to cold call anymore.
Basecamp, Infusionsoft, and other tools complement accountability frameworks like RACI.
Figure out the steps in the “factory” process to sell packages according to your vision. Then you have a repeatable process to drive your inbound marketing efforts– no need to sell again– and to execute on packages.
We’ve done over 2,000 Facebook ad campaigns. Imagine how much faster and more effective you are after you’ve done something 100 times versus doing a random dog’s breakfast set of tasks against whatever random client comes in the door?
How much time do you spend chasing new clients and freetards, as opposed to talking to folks who want to work with you– coming to you because they see you as the expert?
Isn’t it nicer when they come to you, allowing you to choose who you want to work with and on what terms?
Dennis Yu
Dennis Yu is a former search engine engineer who has spent a billion dollars on Google and Facebook ads for Nike, Quiznos, Ashley Furniture, Red Bull, State Farm, and other organizations that have many locations.
He has achieved 25% of his goal of creating a million digital marketing jobs because of his partnership with universities, professional organizations, and agencies. Companies like GoDaddy, Fiverr, onlinejobs.ph, 7 Figure Agency, and Vendasta partner with him to create training and certifications.
Dennis created the Dollar a Day Strategy for local service businesses to enhance their existing local reputation and make the phone ring. He's coaching young adult agency owners who serve plumbers, AC technicians, landscapers, roofers, electricians in conjunction with leaders in these industries.
Mr. Yu believes that there should be a standard in measuring local marketing efforts, much like doctors and plumbers need to be certified and licensed. His Content Factory training and dashboards are used by thousands of practitioners.