On this episode of THRIVE—sponsored by Workamajig —Kelly is joined by Christina Hagopian, President and Creative Director of Hagopian Ink in a candid discussion about her experience in overhauling her own agency’s website. They talk about making yourself a client, her lessons and takeaways from the process, and advice for other agency leaders planning to redesign their site in 2019.

On this episode of THRIVE—now sponsored by Workamajig —Kelly explores unique and alternative partnership models for agencies with Patrick Smith of C2 Creative Studio in Chicago. Patrick shares his story and experience in creating partnerships that add value without adding overhead in order to produce the best work and results for clients.

On this episode of THRIVE—sponsored by Workamajig —Kelly talks with sales coach Dave Fischer about how and why agency leaders should disqualify prospects during their business development process. Dave shares great tips and insights as to how to navigate early discussions with potential clients for your agency.

On this episode of THRIVE—sponsored by Workamajig —Kelly and Dan Morris of Mindracer Consulting talk about the “sales opener” mindset for business development at creative, media and technology agencies. They go in-depth on why and how to pair a strong opener with an established closer to seal more ideal deals.

On this episode of THRIVE—sponsored by Workamajig—Kelly’s joined by presentation coach, Pat Quinn, as they cover how speakers can effectively communicate their message for the greatest impact. Pat shares some best practices—how to train your audience (prospects), set momentum and gain clarity for executing the perfect pitch.

On this episode of THRIVE—sponsored by Workamajig—Kelly talks with Sharon Toerek of Legal + Creative, an IP and marketing law firm for agencies. They dive into MSAs versus short-form Terms & Conditions, Independent Contractor Agreements, and Digital Influencer Agreements for liability protection and FCC compliance.

On this episode of THRIVE—sponsored by Workamajig —Kelly and David C. Baker talk about their shared favorite topic: agency positioning. They discuss the holistic foundation and myriad benefits of strong positioning for creatives within the context of David’s latest book, The Business of Expertise: How Entrepreneurial Experts Convert Insight Into Impact + Wealth, available at www.expertise.is.

On this episode of THRIVE—now sponsored by Workamajig —Kelly chats with Jodi Katz of Base Beauty Creative Agency about righting a pivotal client relationship and how that changed her view on everything. They dive into mutual accountability, being open to feedback, and having empathy to understand one another’s underlying human needs.

On this episode of THRIVE—sponsored by Workamajig —Kelly demystifyies profitability with her guest Ryan Watson, Founder of Upsourced Accounting, a financial firm exclusively for creative agencies. They talk about all of the levers needed to move margin in the right direction, as opposed to focusing on lagging indicators.

On this episode of THRIVE—sponsored by Workamajig —Kelly chats with Sara Bacon, CEO of Command C, an e-commerce and conversion optimization agency. They dive into the importance of proper onboarding for project success and share a few best practices, as well as discuss setting up a mutually respectful relationship between agency and client.

On this episode of THRIVE—now sponsored by Workamajig —Kelly talks with Scott Jeffrey about internal development and self-awareness practices and for agency owners. They discuss how the thoughts and behaviors of leaders impact agency culture, communication and more. Get ready for a great discussion on self-actualization, specifically for agency leaders!

On this episode of THRIVE—sponsored by Workamajig —Kelly talks with Dan Murphy of Drift about getting to meaningful interactions with prospects faster in order to increase sales. They discuss how live chat and AI-based web technology can qualify prospective clients on your site and send them through the correct funnel. If you’re interested in converting more warm prospects, check out drift.com/thrive.

On this episode of THRIVE—now sponsored by Workamajig —Kelly is joined by Rena DeLevie of Management for Millennials to discuss what she calls Compassionate Management. They talk about the great divide between account managers and creatives—and how to find common ground in order to operate a more effective agency and improve overall culture.

On this episode of THRIVE, Kelly talks with Carol Luong, head of business development at Leadfeeder—a lead gen growth hacking platform that identifies unknown prospects on your site, and provides details on referral source, pages navigated, time spent and much more.

Try Leadfeeder for 14 days, no credit card required and no installation required. (You can also request a demo first, if you prefer). Visit leadfeeder.com/thrive

On this episode of THRIVE, Kelly talks with Karl Sakas, fellow agency consultant, executive coach, speaker and author of Made to Lead: A Pocket Guide to Managing Marketing & Creative Teams. They dive into practical management advice for those that are given the opportunity to oversee and support creatives at agencies or within in-house departments.

On this episode of THRIVE, Kelly talks with Josh Haynam, Co-founder of Interact Quiz Builder—which helps agencies create quizzes, assessments, and giveaways for brands to engage with end users. This variation of quiz marketing is far less controversial than the type of quiz used in the Cambridge Analytica scandal! We dive into the psychology behind quizzes and how agencies can drive results for their clients on both websites and social platforms.

On this episode of THRIVE, Kelly talks with Carrie Kerpen, Co-founder and CEO of Likeable Media, about content responsibility, the three S’s of success on social, how to determine which platforms are right for a brand, and the importance of active listening online. Carrie gives her Top 3 Tips on how agencies can learn more about their own brand, competitors, and testing different content formats.

On this episode of THRIVE, Kelly talks with the CEO of Small Pond Enterprises, Michael Roderick, about what a referable brand is and what it means to create a brand that is memorable, easy to understand, and makes people think differently. They dive into memory makers, mnemonic devices, and more.

On this episode of THRIVE, Kelly talks with Jason Liggitt, who has sold not one but two agencies over his twenty year career in creative strategy and brand architecture. Jason and Kelly share their individual experiences, lessons, and tips for a successful sale and exit from a creative agency.

On this episode of THRIVE, Kelly is joined by Ron Ause, Co-founder of Workamajig—the enterprise solution for streamlining workflows, systems, processes, communications and resources at any creative, media or tech agency. By looking at things holistically, agencies can increase efficiency and profitability.

On this episode of THRIVE, Kelly talks with Laura Fredricks, J.D., speaker, trainer and author of ‘The Ask’. Laura’s background as an attorney—winning during cross-examinations—coupled with her success in fundraising for nonprofits, evolved into a framework for asking for the things that you want in business and life. For any service-based business owner, this episode is not to be missed!

On this episode of THRIVE, Kelly is joined by Darren Carter, M.D., Founder & Principal of NYC SEM, an analytics-driven PPC agency. They talk about understanding prospect intent—including the myths of branded search on AdWords, the impact of premature influence on the SERPs, and the importance of negative keywords.

Darren goes in-depth on strategic content marketing via AdWords, re-marketing, exclusions, and more—following the prospect’s intent and interest cadence.

Kelly is joined by Alex Berman of Experiment 27 in a discussion about lead generation for agencies on this episode of THRIVE | The Agency Scaler Podcast. They talk effective “hands-off inbound marketing” including email outreach, partnerships, content promotion / PR and more. If your agency is looking to understand how to land more of the clients you love, this episode is not to be missed!

Note: Due to a technical issue with audio/video sync, a static photo of Alex Berman is displayed throughout the episode. It won’t happen again!

If you’ve ever wondered what agency life might look like after a merger or acquisition, Kelly and her guest, Marc Sampogna of Canopy Brand Group, provide some insight on this episode of THRIVE | The Agency Scaler Podcast.

They talk about the positives and negatives of entering into such agreements, the importance of culture fit, the new offerings and talent that result from these structural transactions, and what to keep in mind if you’re considering merging with another agency.

On this episode of THRIVE, Kelly talks with Adam Force, founder of Change Creator—the first magazine app for purpose-driven entrepreneurs. Adam shares how to authentically infuse impact and social good into your business model (and retain more of your millennial workforce.)

Kelly talks effective lead generation with Travis Piepho of Prospectr Marketing on this episode of THRIVE | The Agency Scaler Podcast. If you have questions about targeting, segmentation, database cleansing, automation, deliverability, warm vs. cold email messaging and standard conversion rates, tune in!

On this episode of THRIVE | The Agency Scaler Podcast, Kelly chats with UX and interface design expert, Matt Kelley about what makes an agency website great. If your site isn’t working as an intuitive, lead generation asset to your agency, these tips can help turn that around.

On this episode of THRIVE | The Agency Scaler Podcast, Kelly talks with CEO of DJUSA, Sharad Bhavnani (better known as DJ Sharad) about balancing life with work when you own a creative agency. If you’re not making time for yourself and family, or you’re having difficulty with prioritization, delegation and managing your time in order to reduce stress, this show offers some great tips from a fellow agency owner who’s making it work every day.

On this episode of THRIVE | The Agency Scaler Podcast, Kelly discusses how to overcome sales objections like a pro with Kevin Campbell (also known as her brother). Learn how to listen, mirror prospects’ language, and steer sales conversations in your direction toward value—in order to close more new business.

On this episode of THRIVE | The Agency Scaler Podcast, we go down under as Kelly chats with Douglas Lim, former agency owner in Australia. Learn how to package, pitch and close service offerings to existing and new niche clients in order to create predictable, recurring revenue.

On this episode of THRIVE | The Agency Scaler Podcast, Kelly chats with Zee Hoffmann Jones, Digital Marketing Consultant at Distilled and Blog Contributor for MOZ, about stripping out the geek speak of SEO (search engine optimization). Instead, we focus on the intended function of SEO: syncing human expectation with an organization’s opportunity.

On this episode of THRIVE | The Agency Scaler Podcast, Kelly chats with Ryan O’Hara of LeadIQ about hyper-targeted business development. If you liked Episode 3 on Outbound Growth Hacking, this conversation dives a little deeper, and we also touch upon persuasive techniques to elicit response once you’ve found your ideal prospects.