The thing about habits is that doing them just once doesn’t really amount to much. The key is to work these into your business so that they are easily repeatable and recurring. Over time, these activities will compound and create value for your agency.
Below are ten habits to get you started.
1
After-Action Reviews
After a project or once a quarter for retainers, get together with those involved and find out: what went well, what’s not going well, and what can we do to improve?
Document these & disseminate learnings to the entire team. Let these drive continuous improvement initiatives within the agency, leading to new SOPs and better collaboration.
2
Weekly Business Development Meeting
Get together once a week with relevant team members to check in on all the opportunities (new biz & existing clients).
Align on the status and next steps for each opportunity. Check in on progress towards goals and reflect on wins/losses to takeaway learnings.
3
Monthly Team Meeting
Hold a monthly gathering with the entire agency to share any important news and, more importantly, to celebrate wins, launches, and commendable performance.
Prepare visuals, highlight individuals, and involve different presenters if possible. Done right, it helps build sense of momentum and shared purpose.
4
Weekly Outreach Emails
Regardless of your other marketing efforts, take a few minutes each week to send a pre-determined number of outreach emails. This could be to catch up with an old client, to touch base with a fellow agency operator, to say hello to an old friend, or a cold email to someone you admire or would love as a client.
Make it a point to hit your outreach number (2, 5, 10 per week) consistently, and never miss a week. The efforts will compound and lead to all kinds of opportunities.
Read more: From 2 Contacts to Many More
5
Monthly Newsletter Email
Build a mailing list of clients, friends, advisors, and other advocates/referrers. Send them a monthly email keeping them in the loop about clients you’re helping, cool projects you’ve launched, or insightful thought leadership you’ve published.
Doesn’t have to be a big production, can be a few bullets if you’re short on time. What matters is that you send it consistently month after month.
6
Weekly Client Account Check-In
This could be a conference with all the account managers or a one-on-one check-in with people who manage clients at your agency – the important thing is to run through the active client roster and get a handle on how engagements are going.
When done right, these check-ins can help anticipate & head off potential client issues and also surface new opportunities.
7
Quarterly Business Review
The QBR may not apply to all of the clients on your roster, but for some, having a quarterly get-together with the client can help set the right tone for the next quarter.
Best to prepare reviews of work done the previous quarter (along with impact it’s had), questions to get the client talking about their plans for the quarter, and activities to align on priorities and roadmap for upcoming months.
8
Mind the Bottom
This habit is all about identifying and cutting underperformers in the business. This could be done quarterly or annually depending on team size and culture. Get together with key leaders to identify the team’s lowest performers. Usually, there is always consensus about one or a handful of problematic employees.
Act quickly to put these employees on a PIP and/or take steps to transition them out of the business.
9
Client Feedback Surveys
Whether it’s after a project or on a monthly/quarterly basis, establish an ongoing practice to send clients a survey to get their take on your agency’s level of service, quality of work, impact, value, responsiveness, etc.
Review the responses with your leadership team and draw out insights & learnings to improve your offering & client service.
10
Annual/Quarterly Goals & Priorities
Make time each quarter (and a bit more before the new year) to set goals (e.g. revenue, profit, new biz bookings, etc.) and priorities for the upcoming period.
Take time to reflect on the previous period and also think about the key activities and levers that can really move the needle going forward.
