Golden Handcuffs: Use equity to retain key employees… sometimes.

by Karl Sakas | Dec 19, 2017 | Benchmarking & Optimization, Prepare to Sell, Work Less Earn More

An agency owner reached out for advice because he was considering giving equity to key employees. He was worried they’d leave if they didn’t have equity, but he was worried about giving up control—and giving up a portion of his profits. At the moment, he...

Time tracking tools for agencies

by Karl Sakas | Dec 11, 2017 | Benchmarking & Optimization, Work Less Earn More

Hate timesheets? You’re not alone. But my top-performing clients are obsessed with time-tracking at their agencies. Billable hours are closely connected to agency profit margins, because your team’s time is your agency’s “inventory.” Pick...

Want to cut your tax bill, legally? Pre-pay agency expenses!

by Karl Sakas | Nov 21, 2017 | Benchmarking & Optimization

In business school, our business law professor asked the class, “How many legal deductions are you permitted to take?” Answer: “All of them.” Are you worried about a big year-end tax bill? I’ve got good news. If you have extra money in...

[Email Template] Upgrade your post-conference sales followup process

by Karl Sakas | Nov 13, 2017 | Attract Great Clients, Optimize Your Sales Process

Ever meet someone at an event who seemed like a perfect sales prospect—and they even said they wanted to talk with you afterwards—but then they never responded? It’s frustrating, and it happens a lot. To fix this, let’s look at why sales prospects...

Agency conferences in 2018: Top 20+ events for digital agencies

by Karl Sakas | Nov 6, 2017 | Benchmarking & Optimization, Personal Growth & Development, Scale Your Agency, Work Less Earn More

[Looking for 2022 events? See this article.] Trying to decide which agency conferences to attend in 2018? Here’s my curated roundup of 20+ in-person events to consider, with a focus on the U.S. I’ve noted where I have experience as a speaker or attendee. Know any...