You became an agency owner, in part, because you have some real expertise — so you need to act like you do.
Don’t let a desire to be a people-pleaser, a fear of losing out on business, or imposter syndrome hold you back.
In fact, you need to be proactive in sharing your expertise with peers, prospects, and clients.
I’ll discuss this more later in this week’s newsletter, but first let’s look at what Jen has rounded up for us this week (from experts in the agency community happy to share their perspectives).
— Chip Griffin, SAGA Founder
Weekly Roundup
Below are some articles, blog posts, podcasts, and videos that we came across during the past week or so that provide useful perspective and information for PR and marketing agency owners. While we don’t necessarily endorse all of the views expressed in these links, we think they are worth your time.
— Jen Griffin, SAGA Community Manager
Latest from SAGA
- Identifying and managing agency owner burnout (Agency Leadership Podcast)
Articles & Blog Posts
- When a Client Offers You a Job (Punctuation)
- The PESO Model© and the Future of Enterprise MarComm (Spin Sucks)
- Is It Ever Right to Do the Wrong Thing? (Bureau of Digital)
- Still doing founder-led sales? Handle leads without burnout (Sakas and Company)
- Want to save time? Lean into presence. (Anchor Advisors)
Podcast Episodes
- Do They Know About Solos? Exploring Opportunities for Solo PR Pros (That Solo Life)
- Smarter Video for Modern Agencies, with Patrick Taggart (The Innovative Agency)
- The Power of a Metaphor (2Bobs)
- The Three Immutable Laws of Profitability (The Agency Profit Podcast)
- Finding Purpose, Niche, and Balance in Agency Life With Veronica Clerkin (The Marketing Agency Leadership Podcast)
- Jon Tsourakis on How to Build a High-Performing Agency in Tough Times (The Digital Agency Growth Podcast)
- Adapting Public Relations for the Modern World with Ryan Gerding (Build a Better Agency)
Videos
- Mo Clients = Mo Money (Bureau of Digital)
- Go Small to Go Big: PR Strategies to Build Your Brand’s Community (Owned & Earned)
AI in focus
- Why Communicators Will Thrive (Not Disappear) in the AI Era (Spin Sucks)
- Zora Artis on Bridging AI and Human Connection in Internal Communication (FIR Interviews)
Act like the expert that you are
I have the pleasure of talking and working with many agency owners.
They represent diverse backgrounds, geographies, and outlooks.
But one thing they all share is that they are experts in what they do.
You simply don’t end up owning an agency without having expertise that others value.
But too many are reluctant to showcase their expertise to peers, prospects, and clients.
You owe it to all of them to share your hard-earned experience and knowledge.
Yet there are many reasons that agency owners hold back.
Some suffer from imposter syndrome where they don’t believe that they are expert “enough” to speak up.
Others fear conflict or criticism, so they hold back from planting a stake in the ground with their views.
And many worry about losing clients or prospects if they express contradictory views or would advise different strategies or tactics.
This reluctance keeps you from achieving the success that you otherwise might.
Sharing your expertise publicly in articles, podcasts, and videos helps you to get noticed and attract better-fit clients.
Expressing your views helps you to recruit the best talent because high-performers want to work with bosses that they respect.
Behaving like an expert with your clients improves the likelihood of achieving goals and retaining their business.
Perhaps most important, when you demonstrate your expertise in a confident manner — and it need not be cocky or arrogant — you elevate your perception in the eyes of all of your key audiences, making them more likely to embrace your future recommendations.
Are you acting like the expert that you are?
