What Makes a Great Partner?

Like any relationship, trust and shared values are essential to building strong agency partnerships. Every time you choose to outsource, you are putting your brand, reputation, and financial success in another agency's hands. Here are some of the key factors to consider when evaluating and selecting partners: Services: Services must be complementary, with limited crossover between agencies. Crossover services can create confusion among clients and conflict among partners who have different styles.

Pricing: There must be transparency and consistency in pricing for partnerships to work. Ideally both agencies use similar pricing models, and are in the same general cost range. For example, an agency focused on selling $1,500 to $3,000 per month retainers will not work well with a graphic design specialist firm that charges $400 per hour.

Process: The most efficient and productive partnerships will share very similar project management and communications styles. As the ecosystem evolves, agencies will search for partners who use the same cloud-based management platforms, ensuring seamless integrations. For example, two firms that both use 37Signals' Basecamp project-management system will more quickly achieve economies of scale in the planning, production, and delivery of joint services.

Performance: Partners have to deliver on budget and on time with the highest quality work. You must have complete confidence in your partners' ability to perform at the levels you demand from your internal team.

Financial strength: Do not be afraid to ask the tough questions about your partners' financial health. Agencies that struggle financially often are under pressure to keep overhead costs down, which directly impacts the quality of their staff and their capacity to take on new projects. Be especially cautious with soloists and specialists who are more reliant on project work, and, therefore, generally less stable. You cannot rely on partners who are stretched too thin or are too dependent on you to stay afloat.

Diversify Your Revenue Streams.

Hybrid agencies will be immersed in technology, and they will deliver a results-driven blend of digital and traditional services, but the most important factor in their ability to surpa.s.s traditional financial performance benchmarks lies in diversified revenue streams.

For some, that will mean moving into software development, which can offer higher profit margins and lucrative licensing fees, but the more logical strategy for most agencies will be to explore channels as educators, publishers, value-added resellers (VARs), and affiliates.

Educator and Publisher.

Once an agency positions itself as a thought leader, and establishes a proven performance track record, it opens up opportunities to create and capture value on a larger scale through speaking engagements, online courses, webinars, digital publications, book publishing, and teaching.

In order to monetize your knowledge and capabilities outside of services, you have to differentiate yourself and bring real value to audiences. Do not be afraid to start small, and remember to have patience. Creating recurring revenue through education and publishing requires that you build up significant reach and influence through online and offline channels.

Seven Steps for Building an Effective Speaking Strategy A sound speaking strategy can have a dramatic effect on the growth of your agency, and it can position your professionals as thought leaders and innovators. Here is a step-by-step guide we often use to help clients looking to build speaking strategies that deliver results.

Step 1-Identify Topics.

Speaking topics establish the foundation for a sound speaking strategy. These topics, which will evolve over time, and support the identification and pursuit of opportunities.

Step 2-Select Audiences.

Define, segment, and prioritize target audiences.

Step 3-Define Objectives.

Establish quantifiable objectives to provide direction to the program and define success. These may include number of appearances, content downloads, SlideShare views, and leads generated.

Step 4-Research and Evaluate Opportunities.

Identify venues for potential speaking engagements, including colleges, trade shows, conferences, seminars/workshops, career fairs, and professional-organization events.

Establish a valuation system to rate each opportunity based on defined criteria, such as event organizer, audience, topic, date, location, and objectives.

Create an event calendar of opportunities at targeted venues.

Contact venues to inquire about submission guidelines.

Prequalify high-value engagements through media coverage, past speaker status and feedback, attendance history and projections, and first-hand experience with venues.

Monitor and a.s.sess trends to identify timely opportunities with targeted venues.

Step 5-Positioning and Placement.

Create a speaker's packet, including biography, bylined articles, testimonials from past organizers and attendees, topic list, photos, contact information, A/V requirements, and rate card. Although it may not be required, a speaker's packet gets you organized and prepared.

Research and evaluate membership in professional speaking organizations.

Build the speaker's resume through preliminary appearances within an existing network of business and trade organizations, as well as academic inst.i.tutions.

Enhance credibility and value through PR and content marketing programs, including the submission of bylined articles and guest blog posts to targeted outlets.

Use the event database built in step 4 to pursue high-priority speaking opportunities.

Maintain communications and relationships with all targeted venues.

Define protocol and prepare responses for declining unsolicited opportunities that do not meet defined criteria.

Step 6-Preparation.

Attend events at which you plan to speak in the future. For example, if you want to present at South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive, attend it first to gain an understanding of the audience, content, and venues.

Create presentations.

Step 7-Evaluation.

Establish a grading system to measure the return on investment (ROI) for speaking appearances.

a.s.sess and grade each appearance and venue.

VAR and Affiliate Programs.

Value-added reseller (VAR) partnerships, such as the HubSpot VAR Partner Program, are an ideal way to generate referrals, differentiate your firm, and create recurring revenue through license fees. In VAR relationships, agencies provide services, consulting, training, customization, and integration around third-party products. VAR programs give agencies the ability to expand their services and reach, without investing resources in developing their own software.

Affiliate programs also offer opportunities to nurture recurring revenue through referred business. However, do not get distracted from your core business pursuing too many affiliate relationships. Focus on the software products you know and trust, and if you think your clients, prospects, or peers would gain value from utilizing them as well, then consider affiliate opportunities.

Following is a sample listing of organizations that offer partnership programs for marketing agencies: ConstantContact-www.ConstantContact.com Eloqua-www.Eloqua.com ExactTarget-www.ExactTarget.com HubSpot-www.HubSpot.com iContact-www.iContact.com MailChimp-www.MailChimp.com.

Marketo-www.Marketo.com.

Salesforce-www.Force.com..

SEOmoz-www.SEOmoz.org.

VerticalResponse-www.VerticalResponse.com.

Chapter Highlights.

Hybrid agencies and professionals will come to rule the marketing world.

Evolving into a tech-savvy hybrid firm requires two common elements: immersion and integration.

Agencies, in particular their leaders, must have an insatiable hunger for knowledge about the technology industry, and a desire to be early adopters of products and services.

Digital and traditional services have to be aligned, and specialized agencies must begin working more closely together for the sake of clients, and each other.

Becoming a hybrid firm requires the consistent investment of time and money in technology, often without an expectation of ROI. The key is to take calculated risks, and learn to trust your instinct.

Every agency, or at least the ones that will still be relevant in the coming years, is a digital agency.

Building your digital capabilities is a process that requires significant time, training, and experience. If you want to move into blogging, social media consulting, SEO, video, e-mail marketing, mobile, and other high-demand areas, prove you can make it work for your agency first.

Agencies that provide strong, multimedia content services are a rare and valuable a.s.set in the new ecosystem.

The evolving marketing-services ecosystem consists of six agency cla.s.sifications: disruptors, traditionalists, softservers, specialists, connectors, and soloists.

Whether you are building a disruptor or planning to stay small and enjoy the freedom that comes from life as a soloist, outsourcing and collaboration are essential.

Every time you choose to outsource, you are putting your brand, reputation, and financial success in another agency's hands.

Once an agency positions itself as a thought leader and establishes a proven performance track record, it opens up opportunities to create and capture value on a larger scale through speaking engagements, online courses, webinars, digital publications, book publishing, referrals, and teaching.

Chapter 3.

Think Talent and Team.

Talent cannot be replicated.

Great Teams Finish First.

Intrinsically motivated professionals who are driven to be great will redefine marketing agencies and the industry. They derive fulfillment from being a part of something greater than themselves. Their success is not defined by money, fame, or power, but rather by the pursuit of purpose. They challenge authority and quickly tire of tradition, seek autonomy and flexibility, desire balance, and value the freedom to pursue their pa.s.sions outside their careers.

These professionals excel in agency cultures that reward collective success over individual achievements. They care less about why, and more often ask, "Why not?" Theirs is a world of endless possibility, and they are the future. Your agency will be defined by its ability to recruit and retain the best.

When all else is equal-processes, services, pricing, and infrastructure-it is talent that cannot be replicated.

The Model Agency.

Model agencies are constructed one employee at a time. They do not allow market demand or outside expectations to dictate their growth, and they do not sacrifice the quality of their hires to satisfy short-term needs. They take a controlled, almost methodical, approach to expansion. They develop talent from within, and construct teams based on shared values, innate abilities, and complementary character traits.

These agencies are built on a culture of we, succeeding and failing as one. There is no room for egos, selfish behavior, or a sense of ent.i.tlement. They are led with an air of openness in which professionals at all levels are involved in agency strategy and decisions, and heavily engaged in its growth and success. As a result, professionals are pa.s.sionately loyal to the agency and to each other. They believe that their work truly matters to the agency and its clients, and they feel their time and energy in being invested in the achievement of a higher goal.

Although the founders may be the highest profile members of the team, they go to tremendous lengths not to overshadow the agency brand or its employees. Unlike many traditional firms that were named after their founders, hybrid agencies look to alternate naming conventions in order to focus attention more on the team, vision, processes, and culture. They know that in order to scale a transformational agency, client acquisition and retention must be driven by the collective strength, reputation, and capabilities of the firm. Leaders a.s.sume full responsibility when things go wrong, and turn the spotlight on the team when things go right. They take greater pride in the success and development of their employees, than in their own achievements.

System-wide efficiency and productivity are essential. Any weaknesses or flaws within the agency's processes or people are quickly exposed. Professionals who are unmotivated or failing to live up to their potential can negatively impact the team's performance, but, more important, they can drag down the morale and momentum of peers and leadership. Model agencies have to commit to consistently recruiting the best. This fosters a compet.i.tive, yet supportive and collaborative, environment. At the same time, to protect the agency's strength and stability, managers have to be able to effectively transition consistently underperforming professionals into alternate career paths.

Hiring standards are high, and expectations for employees are even higher. Professionals are given unparalleled opportunities for career advancement and encouraged to build strong personal brands. From day one, they are immersed in comprehensive training and education programs designed to accelerate their learning and capabilities. They are brought up in the agency's well-defined systems and processes, and immediately thrust into key account roles.

Young professionals quickly gain invaluable knowledge and experience, and, in return, they continuously infuse energy, curiosity, and fresh perspective into the agency and its account teams. All employees have a confidence born from preparation and understanding, and nurtured through the firm's persistent adherence to the highest standards. Professionals expect excellence from themselves and demand it from each other.

A Players, the Draft, and Free Agency.

Constructing an agency filled with top talent establishes a distinct and formidable compet.i.tive advantage. According to Bradford D. Smart, PhD, "High performers-the A players-contribute more, innovate more, work smarter, earn more trust, display more resourcefulness, take more initiative, develop better business strategies, articulate their vision more pa.s.sionately, implement change more effectively, deliver higher-quality work, demonstrate greater teamwork, and find ways to get the job done in less time with less cost."1 Model agencies are constantly in search of professionals who have the desire and drive to be great. Social media has made it more efficient to identify and pa.s.sively engage with these candidates over time. Their activity on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and blogs provides windows into their personal brands, including communication styles, interests, and motivation.

At the same time, A players are able to more easily a.n.a.lyze agencies through blogs and social networks. These high-potential producers are very selective, and they usually have options, so firms must separate themselves in the recruiting process.

A Player Competencies and Traits.

How do you recognize an A player? What are the common competencies and traits they possess that make them more qualified than their peers?

Although intelligence and experience are key, their character, internal drive, personalities, and innate abilities are the intangibles that truly differentiate great candidates from good ones. Let's take a look at some of the most desirable competencies and traits of marketing agency A players: a.n.a.lytical: They make quick decisions based on logic and reason. They love data, and use it to educate, build consensus, and drive action. They are measurement geeks, and look to apply critical a.n.a.lysis to agency activities, and they integrate it into every phase of client campaigns.

Balanced: They maintain a strong work-life balance. They have personal interests and hobbies that regularly present opportunities to unwind and recharge. This keeps stress levels controlled and energy high. Balance becomes more critical as professionals move up into management levels, and their responsibilities and stress levels grow.

Confident: They put in the extra time and energy needed to gain knowledge and experience, which translates into confidence and composure. Confidence is not to be confused with arrogance and ent.i.tlement, which are two of the most undesirable traits of an agency professional.

Creative: They bring innovative approaches and thinking to projects. They have an innate ability to work within standard systems while efficiently integrating original ideas and strategies that strengthen the agency and client campaigns.

Detail-oriented: They are incredibly organized and thorough in all communications and activities, which instills tremendous confidence in their clients, peers, and managers. They rarely make careless mistakes. Their attention to detail enables them to excel at time management and project management.

Focused: They avoid mult.i.tasking in favor of concentrated effort. They know priorities at all times and work efficiently to deliver. They have the ability to shut off distractions, and are often the most productive and efficient workers.