#Agency 19: Three takeaways to get you to 2021

WEBVTT 1 00:00:05.919 --> 00:00:09.269 Hey everyone, logan with sweet fish here. As you may already know, 2 00:00:09.429 --> 00:00:13.429 we've had the HASHTAG agency series running for a while now. Here on B 3 00:00:13.589 --> 00:00:17.190 Tob Growth. Over the next several weeks you will be able to listen in 4 00:00:17.429 --> 00:00:23.820 to select episodes of the Innovative Agency hosted by Sharon Torrik as she leads conversations 5 00:00:23.940 --> 00:00:28.539 with agency leaders about how their teams are staying on the cutting edge of marketing 6 00:00:28.579 --> 00:00:33.179 trends, how they're adapting their businesses to meet new challenges and a whole lot 7 00:00:33.219 --> 00:00:38.369 more. All right, let's get into the episode. Hey, everybody, 8 00:00:38.409 --> 00:00:44.810 drew McClellan here from Agency Management Institute. Welcome to another episode of B Tob 9 00:00:44.969 --> 00:00:50.920 Growth Agency track. I am honored and thrilled that I was invited to yet 10 00:00:50.960 --> 00:00:55.520 again provide some content for the B tob growth audience, specifically those of you 11 00:00:55.719 --> 00:01:00.719 that own or are in a leadership position at an agency. So Agency Management 12 00:01:00.719 --> 00:01:04.549 Institute we serve about two hundred and fifty or three hundred agencies a year, 13 00:01:04.870 --> 00:01:10.870 small to midsize agencies. So many of them are under fifty employees, which, 14 00:01:10.909 --> 00:01:12.469 by the way, the average agency in the US is eight people. 15 00:01:12.590 --> 00:01:19.219 So stop thinking of yourself as small odds are you are right sized. So 16 00:01:19.060 --> 00:01:25.219 what I want to talk about today is some of the takeaways from covid bid 17 00:01:25.579 --> 00:01:30.180 that I want you to keep front and center as you wrap up two thousand 18 00:01:30.180 --> 00:01:32.620 and twenty. So these are these are things that I think are going to 19 00:01:32.739 --> 00:01:38.569 play an important role in your decisionmaking and where you lead your agency for the 20 00:01:38.689 --> 00:01:42.969 rest of the calendar year and probably into two thousand and twenty one. So 21 00:01:42.090 --> 00:01:48.680 the first one is I want to remind you that this is a moment in 22 00:01:48.840 --> 00:01:51.879 time. This is not a permanent state. We are not going to be 23 00:01:52.920 --> 00:01:56.680 less likely to get on a plane, we are good not going to always 24 00:01:56.760 --> 00:02:00.319 talk to our clients by Zoom, we are not always going to be bound 25 00:02:01.069 --> 00:02:09.069 by the restraints of sort of this odd post covid but still covid, sort 26 00:02:09.110 --> 00:02:13.430 of world that we are in right now. So this is all going to 27 00:02:13.629 --> 00:02:16.740 evolve and change, and one of the things I think many agency owners are 28 00:02:17.180 --> 00:02:23.780 tempted to do is to make permanent decisions as though this moment in time is 29 00:02:24.219 --> 00:02:28.259 static. And if there's one thing we know, there is no moment in 30 00:02:28.340 --> 00:02:31.770 time that's static. But certainly a moment like this that is so unusual and 31 00:02:32.009 --> 00:02:36.930 so out of the norm. This is not going to be our new normal, 32 00:02:37.849 --> 00:02:42.889 and so I want to caution you about any decisionmaking that you would make 33 00:02:43.169 --> 00:02:47.159 that is going to change your agency forever. So, for example, I've 34 00:02:47.159 --> 00:02:52.840 heard a lot of agency owners talking about even though they've always been a brick 35 00:02:52.919 --> 00:02:57.560 and mortar shop, a lot of their work is done very collaboratively together as 36 00:02:57.840 --> 00:03:02.229 as sort of a hybrid team of writers and artists and account people and all 37 00:03:02.270 --> 00:03:07.669 of that. And yes, you certainly have been functional during covid and working 38 00:03:07.710 --> 00:03:12.310 from home, but that does not necessarily mean that it's the right thing for 39 00:03:12.349 --> 00:03:15.500 your agency long term. So I think it's easy to look at the dollars 40 00:03:15.539 --> 00:03:20.740 you would save if you didn't have rent or that you didn't have to worry 41 00:03:20.740 --> 00:03:23.780 about employees coming and going every day, and you think about all of the 42 00:03:23.979 --> 00:03:29.530 expenses tied to that brick and water location and on the surface it's very tempting 43 00:03:30.409 --> 00:03:34.650 to decide that you are going to just going to work from home forever and 44 00:03:34.729 --> 00:03:38.729 you're going to become a remote agency or virtual agency, and there's nothing wrong 45 00:03:38.810 --> 00:03:42.919 with that decision, but don't let covid be the reason you make it. 46 00:03:43.280 --> 00:03:46.479 So you know, I think you have to step back and say what I 47 00:03:46.560 --> 00:03:53.000 have made this decision in January or February if covid was not on the calendar 48 00:03:53.080 --> 00:03:57.789 for two thousand and twenty? What I still have made that decision? And 49 00:03:58.069 --> 00:04:00.150 would we be? Would we be virtual today? And is that going to 50 00:04:00.189 --> 00:04:03.150 serve our clients and our team as well? Is Our work going to be 51 00:04:03.229 --> 00:04:08.550 as strong? Is that's going to help us differentiate ourselves? Whatever the questions 52 00:04:08.590 --> 00:04:12.460 are, you should have asked yourself in late two thousand and nineteen. So, 53 00:04:12.500 --> 00:04:15.420 for example, one of our agencies in two thousand and nineteen, for 54 00:04:15.540 --> 00:04:19.220 a lot of reasons, decided that they were going to go virtual. So 55 00:04:19.899 --> 00:04:24.410 she made that decision, she, meaning the agency honor, made that decision, 56 00:04:24.610 --> 00:04:29.209 you know, six months before covid hit, and she had business reasons 57 00:04:29.329 --> 00:04:31.529 for doing it and it wasn't just about the rent. In fact it really 58 00:04:31.610 --> 00:04:34.569 wasn't about the rent at all. That was about how they could best serve 59 00:04:34.730 --> 00:04:41.199 clients, how she could best source talent. Did she want to be domiciled 60 00:04:41.480 --> 00:04:45.120 in the state in which she lives or would it be better for her, 61 00:04:45.680 --> 00:04:48.839 from a tax perspective and other things, to be domiciled somewhere else? So 62 00:04:49.000 --> 00:04:55.069 there were a lot of reasons around it which made perfect sense and for some 63 00:04:55.230 --> 00:04:58.589 of you it may make perfect sense for you. And, by the way, 64 00:04:58.750 --> 00:05:02.069 the this is on only one of many decisions I'm seeing agency owner sort 65 00:05:02.069 --> 00:05:13.500 of rush into, almost in a sense of panic or Penny pinching or just 66 00:05:13.660 --> 00:05:18.019 a malaise after several months of sort of covid restriction. So I guess I'm 67 00:05:18.060 --> 00:05:23.970 just I'm warning you to ask yourself, is this the decision I would have 68 00:05:24.129 --> 00:05:29.329 made if covid never was and if you can't answer that question, then I'm 69 00:05:29.329 --> 00:05:31.529 going to suggest what you do is you do a series of experiments instead. 70 00:05:31.569 --> 00:05:38.000 So, for example, rather than renegotiating your lease and negotiating your way out 71 00:05:38.040 --> 00:05:42.519 of your lease, or rather than going down to only two employees and everybody 72 00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:46.800 else being one thousand and ninety nine or a contractor or any of the other 73 00:05:46.879 --> 00:05:51.829 decisions that many agency owners are reacting to because of Covid, I want you 74 00:05:51.870 --> 00:05:56.509 to ask yourself and make the business case for it as though covid never existed. 75 00:05:56.990 --> 00:06:00.310 And if you can do that and it really does make sense, then 76 00:06:00.430 --> 00:06:02.470 by all means go ahead and do it. Otherwise, try a series of 77 00:06:02.509 --> 00:06:05.819 experiment so you know what I'm this project. We're going to staff it this 78 00:06:05.939 --> 00:06:10.019 way and see how that goes. Or, you know what, we're going 79 00:06:10.060 --> 00:06:14.939 to try high bread working from home, working from the office, two days 80 00:06:14.980 --> 00:06:16.860 a week in the office and three days a week at home, or whatever 81 00:06:16.899 --> 00:06:21.209 the experiment is. Try It for thirty days, sixty days, ninety days 82 00:06:21.769 --> 00:06:28.089 and then evaluate properly whether or not it's the right thing for you and for 83 00:06:28.129 --> 00:06:32.560 your agency. So go slow with permanent decisions because, again, this is 84 00:06:32.600 --> 00:06:38.480 a moment in time, not a permanent state. The second thing I want 85 00:06:38.519 --> 00:06:44.560 you to keep in mind is around your employees. So I believe that human 86 00:06:44.600 --> 00:06:48.550 nature says that when we are in crisis we show up as our true selves, 87 00:06:48.870 --> 00:06:54.430 and I've certainly seen that in my professional and personal life. You know, 88 00:06:54.589 --> 00:06:59.230 death in the family, embezzlement in a company, all kinds of things. 89 00:07:00.110 --> 00:07:04.139 Biggest client walking out the door, best employee leaving and starting an agency 90 00:07:04.420 --> 00:07:10.459 to compete with yours. People's true character shows up when they're in crisis. 91 00:07:10.500 --> 00:07:14.660 They don't have time to put on the facade anymore, so they just show 92 00:07:14.740 --> 00:07:17.449 you who they really are, and I think one of the biggest benefits of 93 00:07:18.449 --> 00:07:23.810 covid over the last few months is you've gotten to see the unvarnished truth of 94 00:07:23.930 --> 00:07:27.170 your employees, and for many of you, what that may mean is that 95 00:07:27.410 --> 00:07:30.879 some of your greatest rock stars, who have really saved the day, have 96 00:07:31.079 --> 00:07:34.879 surprised you that they were not the people you expected them to be, and 97 00:07:35.199 --> 00:07:40.000 some of the people that you were counting on showed you that they shouldn't be 98 00:07:40.120 --> 00:07:44.040 counted on, that they think of the work as a job and they, 99 00:07:44.079 --> 00:07:46.350 I'll punch in and punch out and do what they can to the best of 100 00:07:46.389 --> 00:07:48.790 their ability, but they're not going to give you much more than that. 101 00:07:48.870 --> 00:07:53.110 They certainly aren't going to give you their heart and soul. They certainly aren't 102 00:07:53.110 --> 00:07:56.110 going to care about the business the way you do. They are not going 103 00:07:56.149 --> 00:08:00.259 to care about the clients the way you do. So the thing I want 104 00:08:00.259 --> 00:08:03.100 you to carry into the rest of two thousand and twenty is trust what you 105 00:08:03.259 --> 00:08:09.860 saw and know your employees for who they are. And if somebody showed you 106 00:08:09.019 --> 00:08:13.449 that they are really not in it other than for the paycheck and that they 107 00:08:13.449 --> 00:08:16.610 are going to kind of dial it in and dial it out depending on what's 108 00:08:16.649 --> 00:08:20.689 going on in the rest of their world, there's a lot of incredible talent 109 00:08:20.889 --> 00:08:24.689 on the street right now. So that challenge it we've all had for the 110 00:08:24.730 --> 00:08:28.360 last couple of years of hiring and retaining great talent, that challenge is gone 111 00:08:28.600 --> 00:08:33.200 because there is so much talent on the street looking for jobs. Now is 112 00:08:33.200 --> 00:08:39.720 a great time to level up your team, to trade up the mediocre players 113 00:08:39.240 --> 00:08:46.110 for superstars and to eliminate people from your team that don't really have the heart 114 00:08:46.149 --> 00:08:48.950 and soul for it like you do and the rest of your employees do. 115 00:08:50.870 --> 00:08:58.779 Is Very demoralizing to work next to somebody who doesn't really care and who doesn't 116 00:08:58.940 --> 00:09:05.460 really value the opportunities they have at the agency and doesn't really behave like a 117 00:09:05.580 --> 00:09:11.169 team player. So be mindful of being just passive about letting those people stay. 118 00:09:11.769 --> 00:09:15.610 Now is the time, over the course of the next few months, 119 00:09:15.649 --> 00:09:18.769 now is the time for you to trade up talent, while there is a 120 00:09:20.009 --> 00:09:24.090 lot of available talent out there at a reasonable price. Now is the time 121 00:09:24.250 --> 00:09:28.799 for you to really take critical look at your team and decide who should stay, 122 00:09:30.399 --> 00:09:35.679 who's earned the right to stay and who really is just a day player, 123 00:09:37.080 --> 00:09:41.950 and perhaps you could replace them with somebody who has the same passion around 124 00:09:43.029 --> 00:09:46.750 the business and around the clients and for the agency and for you that you 125 00:09:46.909 --> 00:09:52.299 have, because that's what makes a great team. So be mindful as you 126 00:09:52.659 --> 00:10:01.019 wrap up the year not to settle for employees who are not really a players, 127 00:10:01.340 --> 00:10:03.659 because you don't have to settle for that anymore. The third thing I 128 00:10:03.860 --> 00:10:11.090 want you to keep in mind as you hike your way to the end of 129 00:10:11.169 --> 00:10:16.370 two thousand and twenty is and been hearing a lot of agencies talk about it's 130 00:10:16.409 --> 00:10:18.929 interesting. It depends on what side of the fence they're on, but the 131 00:10:18.929 --> 00:10:22.399 have been hearing a lot of agencies who are generalists, who have resisted the 132 00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:28.279 urge to niche down or to specialize, sort of gloating that they have survived 133 00:10:28.399 --> 00:10:31.159 and they think that a lot of specialists like. Here's what they always say. 134 00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:35.360 Well, if I had specialized in the travel and tourism industry, I'd 135 00:10:35.399 --> 00:10:37.990 be in trouble right now. I'm here to tell you that's a fallacy. 136 00:10:39.909 --> 00:10:43.389 Without exception. And again remember we work with two hundred and fifty, two 137 00:10:43.389 --> 00:10:46.629 three hundred agencies a year, without exception. The agencies that are in the 138 00:10:46.750 --> 00:10:54.700 black, that have not had to cut staff, that are still on target 139 00:10:54.340 --> 00:11:01.700 to have a profitable two thousand and twenty without exception. Those agencies are specialists. 140 00:11:01.379 --> 00:11:05.330 Now, within those specialists there are certainly some agencies that have been hit 141 00:11:05.529 --> 00:11:09.690 harder than others, and you're right, if they are in the travel and 142 00:11:09.730 --> 00:11:13.009 tourism industry, they've had some channel. They had some challenges in March, 143 00:11:13.049 --> 00:11:18.330 today April, but their clients were back faster than the generalist clients. They 144 00:11:18.409 --> 00:11:22.919 were able to land new business in May and June as the travel industry realized 145 00:11:22.960 --> 00:11:28.200 they had to. They had to reinvent how they positioned themselves and how they 146 00:11:28.200 --> 00:11:33.870 attracted visitors. So here's the deal with niching. So absolutely, without a 147 00:11:33.990 --> 00:11:39.110 doubt, every agency, specialist or generalist, gets knocked to their knees a 148 00:11:39.149 --> 00:11:43.029 little bit when we have an economic correction. We saw it after eleven, 149 00:11:43.710 --> 00:11:48.139 we saw it after the great recession. We're seeing it now in the midst 150 00:11:48.179 --> 00:11:54.659 of and the tail end of Covid but I will tell you that. So, 151 00:11:54.899 --> 00:12:00.379 let's say every ten years, agencies that have true have chosen to specialize 152 00:12:00.500 --> 00:12:03.889 or niche down. They struggle just like every other agency. Struggling. So 153 00:12:03.970 --> 00:12:09.169 they're not struggling when all the other agencies are making money. They're struggling when 154 00:12:09.250 --> 00:12:15.570 all agencies are struggling, but they rebound faster and stronger and in the nine 155 00:12:15.610 --> 00:12:22.360 years in between economic crisis they crush it compared to the generalists in terms of 156 00:12:22.960 --> 00:12:26.799 adjusted gross income, in terms of how quickly they can land a new client. 157 00:12:28.840 --> 00:12:33.029 Their new business process is streamlined and easier because they are thought of as 158 00:12:33.070 --> 00:12:37.389 a as a thought leader or they have an authority position. And even in 159 00:12:37.830 --> 00:12:43.419 the economic crunch they come out of it faster and stronger because they are specialists. 160 00:12:45.220 --> 00:12:50.299 Call Science. Right now, probably always, but especially right now when 161 00:12:50.700 --> 00:12:56.419 the economy is tight. Clients want certainty and when you want certainty you want 162 00:12:56.460 --> 00:13:01.529 a specialist. So if you think you have a brain tumor, you are 163 00:13:01.570 --> 00:13:05.610 not going to your general practitioner, you're going to Mayo Clinic to a brain 164 00:13:05.769 --> 00:13:09.090 tumor specialist. And that's the way clients look at agencies. To is yes, 165 00:13:09.210 --> 00:13:13.159 I could work with somebody local and I could work with somebody who is 166 00:13:13.799 --> 00:13:20.519 a drive away and who I know from my local chamber or networking events, 167 00:13:20.519 --> 00:13:26.559 or I can work with somebody who has a decade of experience in my industry 168 00:13:26.600 --> 00:13:31.509 talking to the audience that I want to talk to, and nine times out 169 00:13:31.509 --> 00:13:37.110 of ten they're going to choose the specialist. And so what you're seeing temporarily, 170 00:13:39.110 --> 00:13:43.139 which is all agencies, you know, taking a hit at some point 171 00:13:43.179 --> 00:13:48.139 in time between in the US anyway, between March and May, and I 172 00:13:48.259 --> 00:13:54.059 think you'll also see agencies take another hit as we go into the fall and 173 00:13:54.460 --> 00:13:58.450 all of the federal aid money goes away. If those agencies don't correct to 174 00:13:58.490 --> 00:14:01.250 the numbers, they don't manage to the numbers, you're going to see a 175 00:14:01.330 --> 00:14:07.529 second way of of agency struggling because the agencies didn't manage their business as well. 176 00:14:07.889 --> 00:14:13.480 That's nothing to do as specialist or generalist. But so yeah, we're 177 00:14:13.519 --> 00:14:16.919 going to see all agencies stumble a little bit but, like I said, 178 00:14:16.960 --> 00:14:22.120 without exception, the ones who landed on their feet and are back to sort 179 00:14:22.120 --> 00:14:26.870 of stability again are the specialist. So if you're a specialist, do not 180 00:14:26.990 --> 00:14:30.789 let people talk you into all of a sudden becoming a generalist. Stay the 181 00:14:30.950 --> 00:14:33.990 course. Remember that nine times out of ten, nine years out of ten 182 00:14:35.070 --> 00:14:39.820 years, you are crushing it compared to the generalist competitors. And even though 183 00:14:41.419 --> 00:14:43.899 two thousand and twenty is not been the breakout year that you wanted it to 184 00:14:43.980 --> 00:14:50.340 be, you are faring better than most because you are a specialist, even 185 00:14:50.379 --> 00:14:56.049 if you are a specialist in an industry that has been hit particularly hard. 186 00:14:56.610 --> 00:15:01.210 Trade shows, live events, travel and tourism, all of those sorts of 187 00:15:01.289 --> 00:15:07.240 things, live music, theater, even the entertainment industry, absolutely all of 188 00:15:07.360 --> 00:15:11.639 those have been hit harder than many. But you are also starting to see 189 00:15:11.679 --> 00:15:16.720 that business come back and they're coming back to you because you are a specialist. 190 00:15:16.759 --> 00:15:20.990 So do not let the naysayers convince you that you should not specialize. 191 00:15:22.029 --> 00:15:24.629 And for those of you are that are generalists, they're sort of gloating that 192 00:15:24.830 --> 00:15:30.830 you are relieved that you are not a specialist. There's nothing wrong with being 193 00:15:30.870 --> 00:15:35.070 a generalist. There's nothing wrong with it. Just every every aspect of the 194 00:15:35.149 --> 00:15:39.220 business is harder you. It's harder for you to break out of your geography, 195 00:15:39.580 --> 00:15:43.139 it's harder for your your sales cycle is longer and tougher. Your sales 196 00:15:43.179 --> 00:15:48.740 are typically smaller in terms of value to the agency than a specialist are. 197 00:15:48.220 --> 00:15:52.129 But you absolutely can choose to do that if that's the way you want to 198 00:15:52.129 --> 00:15:56.289 run your business, if you love being sort of the general, the GP 199 00:15:56.570 --> 00:15:58.730 of your community, and you get to work with the butcher and the baker 200 00:15:58.809 --> 00:16:03.730 in the candlestick maker and you love being able to meet in person with your 201 00:16:03.809 --> 00:16:07.120 clients or whatever it is you love about the business. That's the beautiful thing. 202 00:16:07.200 --> 00:16:08.919 You're the boss, you get to decide. But do not think for 203 00:16:08.960 --> 00:16:15.120 a minute that, even in the midst of Covid that specialization of agencies is 204 00:16:15.320 --> 00:16:21.750 not what most folks like me would recommend that you do, because I've just 205 00:16:21.830 --> 00:16:26.389 seen it play out so many times. I've seen it when they've even written 206 00:16:26.389 --> 00:16:30.429 a book about it called sell with authority. So I am a firm believer 207 00:16:30.710 --> 00:16:34.419 in specialization in some way. And so those are the three things I want 208 00:16:34.460 --> 00:16:37.740 you to be thinking about is you go into the tail end of two thousand 209 00:16:37.740 --> 00:16:41.379 and twenty again. Number One, remember this is a moment in time and 210 00:16:42.379 --> 00:16:48.570 you should not be making permanent decisions now. Just start experimenting and seeing how 211 00:16:48.649 --> 00:16:52.970 things play out over the next, you know, three, four, six 212 00:16:52.090 --> 00:16:57.450 months. But don't, don't bind yourself into a decision that you were going 213 00:16:57.490 --> 00:17:03.599 to regret by spring of Twenty twenty one. So be careful about overcorrecting a 214 00:17:04.119 --> 00:17:10.200 particularly in a permanent way, like not renewing a lease or letting all of 215 00:17:10.279 --> 00:17:14.920 your people go and starting to work with contractors, or just be careful and 216 00:17:15.470 --> 00:17:21.869 if you're going to make a big decision that you recognize might partially be influenced 217 00:17:21.910 --> 00:17:26.829 because of Covid, make the business case to your leadership team or your spouse 218 00:17:26.869 --> 00:17:32.460 or to yourself. Make the business argument as if covid never happened. And 219 00:17:32.539 --> 00:17:36.059 if you can't do that and if it's not compelling, then that is going 220 00:17:36.099 --> 00:17:41.460 to suggest that perhaps you need to just experiment and not do something permanent. 221 00:17:41.539 --> 00:17:45.130 So that's that's sort of takeaway number one from covid. Takeaway number two is 222 00:17:45.769 --> 00:17:51.410 believe what you saw during the crisis in terms of your employees. The Rock 223 00:17:51.529 --> 00:17:55.170 Stars are your rock stars, the ones you wanted to be a rock star 224 00:17:55.210 --> 00:18:00.079 or thought were rock star but weren't, are not going to rise up again 225 00:18:00.880 --> 00:18:03.720 to all of a sudden to become better than what they were. You saw 226 00:18:03.880 --> 00:18:08.920 them at sort of a raw moment in time and you should believe what you 227 00:18:08.960 --> 00:18:14.789 saw when basically all of the varnish and the makeup and everything was stripped away 228 00:18:15.230 --> 00:18:18.750 and you just got to see them first or of who they are and sort 229 00:18:18.789 --> 00:18:22.230 of the raws sense of them as an employee. And I'm not saying that 230 00:18:22.309 --> 00:18:26.180 you shouldn't take into account the fact that they were homeschool their kids or had 231 00:18:26.259 --> 00:18:30.180 a sick parent or whatever. Of course you have to factor all of that 232 00:18:30.339 --> 00:18:33.380 in, but when you do factor all of that in, believe what you 233 00:18:33.539 --> 00:18:37.940 saw. And then the last thing I want to remind you is if you 234 00:18:37.059 --> 00:18:41.259 are a specialist, and even if you're hearing a lot of buzz about that, 235 00:18:41.299 --> 00:18:45.809 you should be a generalist. Stay the course. It is paid off 236 00:18:45.890 --> 00:18:48.049 for you in the past, it will pay off in the future and it's 237 00:18:48.089 --> 00:18:52.569 one of the reasons why you're standing on your feet today is because you are 238 00:18:52.609 --> 00:18:56.119 a specialist. If you want to be a generalist, nothing wrong with that, 239 00:18:56.799 --> 00:19:00.400 but do not let Covid, if you were like moving towards specialization, 240 00:19:00.960 --> 00:19:06.519 do not let covid change that plan, because, I'm telling you over and 241 00:19:06.720 --> 00:19:11.349 over and over again, I see it every single day. The specialist agencies 242 00:19:11.710 --> 00:19:15.269 and you can specialize in a niche or in industry. You can specialize in 243 00:19:15.349 --> 00:19:18.710 an audience, you can specialize in a deliverable or a methodology. There's lots 244 00:19:18.750 --> 00:19:27.220 of ways to specialize, but the specialist outperformed financially the generalist every single time. 245 00:19:29.299 --> 00:19:33.299 All right, keep those things in mind as you go into the tail 246 00:19:33.339 --> 00:19:37.660 end of two thousand and twenty and you will come out ready and strong for 247 00:19:37.779 --> 00:19:40.970 two thousand and twenty one. Again, my thanks to the folks that be 248 00:19:41.089 --> 00:19:45.490 to be growth for inviting me to host this track and for allowing me to 249 00:19:45.569 --> 00:19:49.529 come back every month and share some thoughts with all of you. If you're 250 00:19:49.569 --> 00:19:52.920 trying to track me down, you certainly can reach me at drew at Agency 251 00:19:52.960 --> 00:19:59.400 Management Institutecom. You can add over to agency management Institutecom and see all of 252 00:19:59.480 --> 00:20:04.319 the workshops and trainings and Peer Groups and coaching and consulting and all the other 253 00:20:04.359 --> 00:20:07.589 stuff we do. Happy to chat with you about any of that. We 254 00:20:07.630 --> 00:20:12.470 also have our own podcast called build a better agency, new episode every week 255 00:20:12.789 --> 00:20:18.630 specifically on the business of running your business, your agency, better and stronger. 256 00:20:19.269 --> 00:20:22.660 So if that's would be a value to you, we would love to 257 00:20:22.700 --> 00:20:26.019 have you a come over and take a listen. I'll be back next month 258 00:20:26.059 --> 00:20:30.099 with another thought or two for you, the BB growth audience. Thanks for 259 00:20:30.220 --> 00:20:36.890 listening. We really hope you enjoyed this episode in the Hashtag Agency series from 260 00:20:36.890 --> 00:20:41.250 the innovative agency. To hear more episodes along these lines check out the innovative 261 00:20:41.250 --> 00:20:47.089 agency in Apple Podcast, your favorite podcast player or the links right in the 262 00:20:47.130 --> 00:20:49.759 show notes for this episode. As always, thank you so much for listening. 263 00:20:55.319 --> 00:20:57.440 Is Your buyer a BEDB marketer? If so, you should think about 264 00:20:57.440 --> 00:21:03.000 sponsoring this podcast. BB growth gets downloaded over a hundred and thirty thousand times 265 00:21:03.039 --> 00:21:07.190 each month and our listeners are marketing decision makers. If it sounds interesting, 266 00:21:07.230 --> 00:21:10.549 Sin Logan and email logan at sweet fish Mediacom