Chats with Chip

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Most agency owners don’t bring prior business experience to the role — let alone formal business education. Paul Benson is an exception to that rule of thumb. He earned his MBA before he took the leap into agency ownership.

In this episode, Paul shares his experience running a digital marketing agency and how the business training he received at Babson College has impacted his success.
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Agency owners need to keep tabs on the financial health of their businesses, but many lack the backgrounds to know the numbers that matter most. Darryl Salerno’s long experience in advising agencies on financial matters makes him an excellent resource on this vital topic.

In this episode, Darryl explains which numbers agencies should be focused on and what benchmarks can help them evaluate their own success. He takes the mystery out of money matters and provides practical advice that any agency leader can put to work today.
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Ronn Torossian has built one of the largest independent PR agencies in the U.S., and in this episode he shares some of the lessons he has learned along the way. A prolific content creator, Ronn frequently writes and speaks about issues facing the industry, and he is passionate about finding ways to improve modern public relations.

Ronn’s agency, 5WPR, recently announced that they were looking for small agencies to acquire. He explains exactly what he’s looking for and why he wants to supplement his firm’s already strong organic growth.
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Agency businesses have some challenges unique to the individual owners and circumstances. But many of the growing pains are predictable and follow patterns established by other similar businesses.

Leaders can take comfort in knowing that they are not likely the first to experience any particular challenge, nor are other agencies immune from the obstacles.

Brad Farris has spent decades advising businesses and helping them overcome these growing pains so that they can continue to thrive. In this episode of Chats with Chip, Brad shares his observations on each of the key stages that agencies experience, along with advice on how to forge ahead at every step.
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Katie Robbert never planned to be an expert in AI and analytics, but she says she likes “numbers to add up” even though she considers herself bad at math. As a self-professed planner, Katie found herself telling stories with data, first for a pharmaceutical company and later for a PR agency.

Today, Katie is the co-founder and CEO of Trust Insights, a consultancy dedicated to working with clients to uncover valuable nuggets in the data that often piles up unused in many businesses.

Chip talks with Katie about how agencies can leverage data on their own behalf, as well as for their clients.
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Just about every agency leader worries about where the next new client will come from and how to land that new business. Many aren’t natural-born salespeople, so the process itself can be uncomfortable and even intimidating.

Jody Sutter brings decades of experience in agency business development to help owners and executives put in place programs and processes that generate revenue. In this episode of the Chats with Chip podcast, Jody shares some of the most common mistakes she sees agencies make and offers practical solutions listeners can implement in their own businesses.
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When Sean Cassidy walked out of Tufts University in 1990, he graduated with a major in Cold War foreign policy — just as the Soviet Union was about to dissolve. He hadn’t aspired to a career in public relations, but it turned out he was a good writer and he caught the eye of a small agency owner.

Three decades later, Sean leads DKC, a prominent independent PR agency headquartered in New York. They recently rolled out a new tagline: “maximizing return on news.” In this episode, he explains why he believes PR agencies should be news-driven organizations and what skills that requires.
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In this episode, Rachel Jacobs explains why case studies are critical to the scale and growth of agencies. Rachel, founder of Ecommerce Partnerships, reminds agency owners that their number one client is their own agency.

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In this episode, we go Down Under for a deep dive into the business of WebSavvy, a Melbourne-based digital marketing agency founded by Mike Rhodes. He explains why he chose agency life over being a helicopter pilot, advice for fellow agency owners, effective team training, and much more.
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