Any new agency owners in here?

I hate when that happens, especially since you are so fantastic, but
aren't the agencies being done online?

Maybe people aren't replying because of the forum that you posted in.

I wonder why you think that is...

Maybe the term "New agency owners" is confusing. It sounds very specific.

For example, I didn't know exactly what you meant...until I read your first post.

Also, maybe the vast majority of members that are on this forum are completely separated from anything resembling a real business.

Actually talking to someone? That scared the hell out of most people who think they are in "marketing". That's not a bad thing, but it may separate them from the Offline Forum subjects discussed often.

Those are guesses.
And I agree that there are maybe a dozen or two dozen real business owners that hang out in this section of the forum. Experienced people who can answer real questions.

But I also notice that we tend to talk to each other here.

I might not have worded my post correctly.

When I said door to door I didn't mean house to house...

I meant business to business.

Hope nobody took that the wrong way because I'm not a big fan of people going house to house without an appointment.

The companies that sold in people's homes exclusively were hurt badly, and many went out of business.

Some businesses have services you can also buy online, and those businesses fared better.

But I know that the entire in home vacuum cleaner sales industry...died. Their business depended entirely on an influx of new sales....daily.

Companies that sold services, like utility companies, cable, or credit card processors, had a book of business when Covid hit, and that monthly revenue stream really helped.

Some in home sales organizations...like insurance agencies, started selling over the phone. Now that Covid is mostly gone, that model still persists as an effective way to make sales.

I know the last few years or so we had our retail store, reps dropping by went down to a trickle....while our phone calls, selling services of every kind, went up. Service providers started realizing that sales could be made over the phone, to business owners, almost as easily as in person.

I gave a suggestion. It wasn't meant to make you defensive.

Also, I don't think one post is able to tell you where people are mentally.

I've done posts before with almost no response...then did some that got a lot of response. Some posts are interesting and some not so much...at least that's what I've discovered. Sometimes the posts I think will be good end up bombing. Then sometimes the posts I think are kind of lazy end up getting a lot of conversation.

I'm pretty sure after 10 years of being in business you understand that.

Is that directed at me, if it is let me assure you
that you have no idea.

One can only conjecture about people that are
encountered online.

The beauty of internet marketing is that anyone
can do anything they want to generate income.

I prefer passive income and through the years
have developed a couple of ways to make that
happen.

The reason that I prefer this method even more
so now is because I am older, retired, and have
other interests besides chasing after money that
I don't really need.

I am fully retired and receiving pensions. The
only reason that I am doing any business at all
is to keep myself occupied and productive.

Different people choose to operate their online
business to suit their interests, abilities, and
circumstances, and that's fine.

To each their own.

For what its worth-I haven't been here all summer, just a peek in now and then. Maybe try again when kids are back to school and the Fall brings back more ready to work types?

It could just be a numbers thing or it could be the overall WF is just not getting used because for the most part, it is useless (or perceived to be).

But you have given the forum very useful tips and advice over the years, so thanks for that.

GordonJ Holiday is Over Yay yay.

I thought I'd come back here and see if there was at least one person trying to build an agency who had questions. Sad that it's dead, but glad some of you fellow experienced folks responded.[/QUOTE]

Growing has been a struggle. I got stuck at 10k/mnth That is where I maxed at getting results on my own. Hiring has been disappointing to say the least. FB ads have been criminal when trying to get results and prices rage or random penalties show up.

I'm moving to a consultative approach. I'm also moving to the boonies.

Might network when I arrive, but will probably keep my local business to myself and do most of my outreach online.

Thanks for responding!

I agree with Animal, defining your target market or ideal customer is really important.

The question I have is: WHO will use what you create, and WHAT will they do with it? WHY would they use that method?

There are indeed answers to these questions, and you have to "get out of the building," as Steve Blank says, to get them.

The offer as you've got it now does not give you a feedback loop. Nobody is going to get back to you and tell you why they aren't interested in it.

Also...apologies for how simple this sounds... "If it's easy to get in, it's easy to get out". Your offer as it stands requires zero commitment from the buyer.

I say what I'm about to share next often, and I will share it again here:

There are without a doubt people out there who WANT to Give You The Money. They have money and they are desperately seeking Talent. "Please," they are praying, "send me someone COMPETENT who I can give this money to in exchange for them taking this Serious Problem off my hands." Understand, therefore, that they want this problem taken care of more than they want the money. Broke strugglers have an impossible time understanding this. Imprint it on your soul. Someone out there is desperate to give you money right now. You don't have to convince, force, or fool them into hiring you.

##

Straight from my blog. 62 appreciative reactions in its most recent share within a major agency FB group. (Whether they do anything with it is another story, but at least they value it in the moment).

So talking to your ideal customer, say six of them, asking... "Here's what I'm thinking...how would you use this content? What would you expect from it?" will get you more information than you can imagine.

You have the opening in SOF Module One: how to start the conversation. Once you've got the right person, tack on: "Got a quick question that could give you and I improvements with your marketing, can you help me?"

An offer has a shape. That shape has to be appealing to the buyer. Right now we don't know about that shape...or the target market...or how they'll receive it. You might have to change that shape a little. And I guarantee there are people out there who will value what you're bringing to the table, taking care of for them, and will pay you for it now.

Look for information interviews and pain points as topics on my blog, since you're already familiar with it.

Just get started. Yes, your first couple of calls will be uncomfortable. But it does get easier as it goes particulary as you get help from individuals. And you'll learn a ton, quickly. Then come back here with that feedback and share it. Incidentally, I made 103 cold calls last week into a niche relatively new to me using the same language as I teach, my second week with this niche, and had 19 positive responses. Included in those 103 dials are the unanswered, not interested, and "next time"rs. I learned a ton and made money. Nothing's stopping you from doing the same.

I appreciate the post. What I was looking for was people focusing on the offline part of an agency business. The outreach, the onboarding, the client management. Getting started. Your questions would be better posed in the main forum because they're more focused on the internet marketing part of things up there. We're sales guys down here with some ops and direct mail experience, so online ranking and backlinking aren't so much our jam.

Although Claude had some advice from his physical store experience a few years back. There was a guy years and years ago I can vaguely recall, I think his name was Dan and he used a lot of red in his branding. My brief forum searching didn't pull what I wanted. Maybe someone else remembers.

Groundwork is so important, and it sounds like you
have a solid plan for your agency business.

There's lots of useful information for you on this
forum and other places.

Good luck with this!