Are you struggling to scale your agency? Is it a challenge getting clients to understand and value your strategy? Do you feel like there’s a missing piece that will help you grow faster and easier? Success requires solid systems for positioning, pricing, and selling your agency services to your ideal clients who trust and value your agency’s expertise.

In this episode, we’ll cover:

• Why digital agencies must be agile.
• Why your agency should charge for strategy.
• How the agency-client relationship is a lot like dating.
• Do you have the right systems to scale your agency?

I talked to Dean La Grange, Founder of the direct consumer advertising agency, La Grange Digital. Dean helps brands with Facebook and Instagram advertising. This is Dean’s second time on the show and this time, he explains there are two major ways companies attract customers on social media: through organic posts and paid advertisements. Dean focuses on the paid advertisements, freeing up his clients to focus on organic posts. He is here to explain the importance of relying on a system and valuing your own time to grow your business.

Why Digital Agencies Must Be Agile

In spite of the rumors you’ve heard, Dean says Facebook and Instagram are still viable ways to reach your audience. He regards these platforms as a way to get his foot in the door with new clients. Even during the peak of the pandemic, Dean and his team were able to meet clients’ needs by focusing on consistency in posting on the platforms they use. As a result, they doubled the agency’s revenue during a tough financial environment.

However, he says digital agencies have to pay attention to the trends and go where the attention is. For example, Tik Tok is widely viewed as the newest fad in social media. In order to ensure that Tik Tok advertising is something he is able to offer to his clients, Dean must familiarize himself with the platform.

Why Your Agency Should Charge for Strategy

“One thing I’ve learned,” Dean says, “Is to understand what you offer and not accept anything less.” What this means for La Grange Digital is that they’ve quit giving away their strategy for free.

It’s easy for an agency just starting out to begin offering free work and strategy to get its name out there. In fact, Dean is quick to explain that — for the right client — he is still willing to provide free strategy. Most of the time, however, he prefers to work with clients who are willing to pay right from the start. This “trains” the client to place a value on the services they’re receiving, and to view the agency team as the experts.

How the Agency-Client Relationship is a Lot Like Dating

So how do you know if the prospective client is going to work without giving them a bunch of free work to prove yourself? By making your agency’s values known from the start. Dean says the agency-client relationship is a lot like dating. If you fail to communicate your values and needs to the other person from the beginning, you cannot really wonder a few years down the road why it isn’t working out.

Do You Have the Right Systems to Scale Your Agency?

Dean says having a successful agency relies on one very important ingredient: a commitment to serving your clients. Having that focus ensures that you’re going to do what is needed to keep them happy. He credits the systems in the Agency Playbook for providing his agency’s framework. It includes 8 systems for everything from growing your team and determining your offering to building your sales pipeline. Through this, Dean created a repeatable process that not only solidifies the expectations for his team but also for his clients.

The pandemic was a good time for Dean and his team to take stock of what they offer to their clients and to move forward with a fresh focus on their commitment. That is important, he explains, as the time is coming when those who are in business for the wrong reasons will be discovered. “Those who love it will shine,” he says.

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