Get insights on life after owning your agency (via guest expert Khaleelah Jones), how to handle clients who want discounts, and what to do when prospective clients use your proposal to get lower prices from another agency—in the September 2024 episode of Agency Office Hours with Karl Sakas. To “jump” to a specific Q&A segment, click the timecode links below.
Join the “Control (and Maximize) Your Agency Exit” workshop, live or on-demand
First, I interviewed guest Khaleelah Jones in a fireside chat—on her agency exits, and tips to help you prepare for your own exit.
- Before the Exit: “What was your day-to-day like as an agency owner?” [starting at 4:13]
- Exit Strategy: “What did you need to work out before selling the agency?” [starting at 6:57]
- Agency Buyers: “How did you connect with the buyers?” [starting at 8:41]
- Earn-Outs: “What did the transition look like from agency CEO to former owner?” [starting at 10:38]
- Agency Exit: “What does life look like now, after you’ve exited?” [starting at 15:03]
- Changing Careers: “How can we use an agency exit to a career pivot?” [starting at 17:58]
- Personal Identity: “How can we navigate the self-identity impact of a sale?” [starting at 19:23]
- Role Shift: “What’s it like to not be the boss of everything?” [starting at 21:32]
- Exit Workshop: Hear from Khaleelah—and eight more speakers—and save $200 on your October 2-16 workshop ticket, if you register by September 30th: Control (and Maximize) Your Agency Exit
Then, I answered questions from agency owners in Tennessee and Arizona—including how to scale your agency, whether to offer discounts, and how to handle clients that ghost.
- Scaling: “What common mistakes make it harder to scale your agency?” [starting at 27:44]
- Team Structure: “What should we consider around agency structure to grow successfully?” [starting at 33:51]
- Hiring: “How should we approach hiring when we want to scale?” [starting at 37:28]
- Specialization: “Should agencies consider a niche focus before exiting?” [starting at 42:50]
- Discounting: When should agencies consider offering a sales discount? [starting at 44:56]
- Dishonest Clients: “How do we stop clients from ghosting after they use our proposal to shop for lower prices?” [starting at 49:11]
Top resources from the live event:
- Can’t resist working with startup clients? Here’s how to protect your agency…
- Enterprise clients: Lucrative… and dangerous
- What’s your agency Exit Strategy?
- Pick the right agency Team Structure: 5 options to scale
- Get scope creep under control
- How to handle a client who demands agency discounts
