Positioning and agency leadership coaching for communications firmMcCracken
The volatile nature of the agricultural industry requires agencies to stay on top of their game. Rebranding, solidifying operational structure, proactive business development, and agency leadership coaching were the primary reasons for engaging Kelly Campbell.
McCracken is an agricultural marketing firm specializing in communications that connect farmers and their partners. The organization’s business strategy is to forge those connections through the strategic development and execution of effective, interdisciplinary communications.
Stacie McCracken, the firm’s founder, reached out to Kelly for guidance, given her expertise in working with marketing agency founders on conscious leadership practices.
Challenges
For the proprietor of the communications firm, structuring for growth was new. Kelly’s work has focused on a few key areas:
Growth Planning
As a fast-growing agricultural marketing agency, McCracken needed help in planning for sustainable growth and executing on sound, short- and long-term recommendations.
Market Positioning
There was a need to move quickly, with a principal goal being to properly position McCracken within the agricultural marketing sector—a niche they certainly served almost exclusively, but one that was not clear from their messaging.
Diversification of New Business Channels
McCracken offers several agricultural marketing services, including strategy and systems, digital marketing, social media management, email marketing, project management and copywriting. This expansive area of offerings meant that the organization had to generate leads through varied methods, no longer able to rely on referrals alone.
Solution
An agency leadership coaching expert, Kelly’s scope included helping Stacie to work on personal development, purpose, positioning, people, pipeline, and profitability on an ongoing basis. Kelly also crafted an innovative outbound business development strategy to enable McCracken to land more ideal clients. She also paired the team with a new CPA firm, which has augmented the financial acumen and performance at the organization.
Kelly started Phase I by conducting one-on-one intake sessions with each of the agency’s employees. She prioritizes personal development by enabling clients and their employees to understand who they are, what drives them, and how they can enhance workplace relationships. She further encourages them to maintain healthy life-work integration in order to avoid stress, overwhelm, and burnout.
Much of the engagement between Kelly and the McCracken staff takes place via Zoom, email, text messages, and phone calls. The 1:1 sessions and team workshops have been particularly impactful.
Though the engagement is ongoing, Kelly helped create a new company mission and business development strategy and internal training, provided search engine optimization (SEO) services for the new website, developed a unique value proposition anchored on the vision, and restructured McCracken’s org chart and partners.
Results
McCracken now has a focused agency growth and business development plan. The founder is able to better manage new business and enhance client and employee relationships.
The number of quality warm leads that McCracken generates has also improved. Through its new lead generation capabilities, the company is becoming more visible within the agricultural marketing sector. Visit wearemccracken.com.
Kelly takes a genuine interest in your business and your life. She pushes and encourages empathetically. She will jump on the phone when I need quick counsel, we are generating quality warm leads, and we now have a cohesive, focused plan for growth. Kelly has changed my business and has been my greatest investment to-date.
Are you looking to grow your creative, media or tech agency—while doing some work on yourself to lead effectively? You’re speaking my love language. Let’s talk!