Remember that the essence of strategy is deciding what not to do. Choosing to do "everything" is not a strategy; it's the absence of a strategy... More »
Obtaining valid new business leads is a goal for all agency principals. And there are few leads as valuable as a referral, where the agency may assume they were recommended to the referral by a client or business contact... More »
Ask yourself these ten questions to help determine if your agency is properly positioned for business development success... More »
While some economic indicators are showing signs of improvement, companies continue to be cautious about hiring, choosing to wait until they see more sustained demand for their products and services... More »
Top ∧
It was the beginning of the year 2000 and I was returning to work from a much needed two week holiday break when I sat my staff down and made an announcement that shocked them all: "Starting today I'll be taking off every Friday." My team looked at each other with doubtful expressions on their faces, turned back to me and said, "Yeah, right!" ... More »
I spent the first six years of my marketing-agency career chasing hourly quotas instead of results. Yes, we cared if the client was happy and successful, but the fundamental economic driving force behind the firm's existence was the billable hour... More »
In-house creative service teams with an hourly chargeback model must track their time-often to the quarter-hour increment. The discipline of time tracking can be off-putting for many teams at first, but the advantages of time tracking can't be ignored... More »
There can only be one leader in your client relationship and if you aren't the one leading, your client will be, and that's when the nightmare begins... More »
Most creative companies have worked with clients that have morphed into something nasty. How does it happen? Are there clues that the client will be a disaster? Are there clues a client will be a dream? The short answer to both questions is yes. There are definitely clues and if you know what you're looking for, you can see the signs almost from the first contact. More »
A designer's guide to relationships. Before you get carried away with self-congratulations, remember that the love you feel when you pick up your perfect printed piece is probably the result of some serious relationship work with your printer and your paper rep. And the more you put into those relationships, the better chance you have of opening more packages of perfect printing... More »
New-business presentations are the make-or-break opportunity to win clients, but many creatives lack the skills to deliver great pitches. Three pros identify the pitfalls and share the secrets of winning in the boardroom... More »
Are you losing money on the projects you're working on today? Did you price them high enough? Here's a simple way to calculate your pricing if you want to be profitable... More »
Here are five reasons that spec creative is very, very, very expensive for a small creative company. What can you do? How can you get more business and avoid RFPs? It comes down to being an expert and marketing yourself to the prospective clients that would benefit from your expertise... More »
Common questions that many creative professionals ask with regards to pricing: How do you determine pricing in your company? When do you raise your rates? What is your target Billable Efficiency, and how do you come up with those numbers? More »
In our agencies, it's the senior executives who determine compensation agreements with our clients. Those agreements are based on assumptions about how much time and effort they figure it will take to service an account... More »
Building a dynamic, full-service hybrid agency designed to grow beyond 10, 20 and even 50 employees, requires incredible drive, remarkable patience and an undying belief that you are creating something of great significance. Money cannot be the primary motivator... More »
Ask anyone who runs an agency, especially a boutique agency, and they'll tell you that the most challenging aspect is new-business development... More »
Without an efficient creative review process agencies cannot produce and ship assets at a rate that customer data makes possible and, as a result, that customers now demand.... More »
Check out these 10 practical resources for more profitable freelancing... More »
Five steps steps to take throughout the creative process that will help both you and your client be more effective and happy... More »
