Five tips for planning for agency growth (during a pandemic)

At the very heart of the 2020 conundrum is an overwhelming feeling of uncertainty.

Ordinarily, the very simplest marginal gain I can offer to agencies who are struggling to make any headway with growth, is to make a plan. And by that, I mean a business plan that can then be translated into sales and marketing objectives, a strategy to reach those objectives, and a tactical plan to put it into action. It sounds very simple but in the cut and thrust of (usually) owner-managed businesses, one or all of these elements get overlooked.

A plan works as a touchstone. When everything feels totally out of control, revisiting it can provide us with the guidance, reassurance and motivation we need to keep us on track.

In the maelstrom of 2020, with so much still hanging in the balance, most of us know that we need to build a new plan, but uncertainty can leave us feeling both risk adverse and unsure about taking decisions. I wanted to tackle this in the latest episode of the podcast, and Deepa Shah was my go-to guest. With deep experience as a multi-award winning agency CFO, Deepa was not only well placed to share her advice on this subject, but has clearly not allowed coronavirus to get in the way of her own plans; she launched Lab Eight, a management, strategy and growth consultancy, just as lockdown was beginning. Here’s a summary of five of Deepa’s brilliant tips for tackling agency planning.

1. Be frank

If your business was struggling pre-Covid, now is the time to really be honest with yourself and question why that was. Without this answer, it will be near impossible to make strategic decisions about how you should work differently in order to get through the tough period ahead. If things weren’t working before, they’re unlikely to work now without some drastic changes.

2. Be prepared to adapt

How flexible is your business? How nimble can you be? How can you better design your agency so that you can react quickly to emerging circumstances? There may not be a solution for Covid for a long time yet, and the disruption of Brexit and a global recession is looming. One of the marginal gains that Deepa talked about was focused on work space. What have you learned from lockdown about the challenges and benefits of remote working? Do you need the office space you’re used to? Will flexible working provide opportunities for you to significantly reduce your overheads or explore a different model?

3. Make decisions quickly

Be courageous and think about where you want to be going in 2021. Don’t let uncertainty paralyse you. Tackle the tough decisions you’ve been putting off now. Get them out of the way, so you can manoeuvre into a stronger position and enter the new year with something of a clean slate. Lead with bravery. Big decisions don’t have to be frightening for clients and staff if they are rational and communicated with confidence.

4. Seek collaborative opportunities

Deepa predicts that there will be more consolidation across the industry. Many independent agencies will be seeking strategic acquisitions, or opportunities to merge, in order to move forward with stronger propositions and service offerings. If that isn’t where your agency is at, it’s still possible to draw on the principle and apply it in a marginal gains way. Begin by building relationships that will pave the way for mutually beneficial and complementary agency partnerships to cross-pollinate networks, prospects and clients.

5. People, clients & profits

Remember to stay focused on these three things at all times (and not just in a recession, this is great advice for all seasons!). Look after your people and ensure they have the support they need. This is particularly important for your junior team members, and vital if you’re making decisions about how you’ll continue to work . Remember that not everyone has a home environment or situation that can be well-adapted for remote working. Leaders should be mindful to look after the mental health of the team and ensure that they all stay well connected.

On the subject of clients, remember that trying to be helpful is always more effective than trying to sell something.

Last but not least, work with your finance team closely so that you have a clear sight of your cash situation for at least six months. Many agencies regretfully discovered that they didn’t have enough cash to sustain the business through the disruption of covid — and the disruption is probably far from over.

These tips from Deepa are to the point and from the heart — and I especially resonated with the advice Deepa gave at the end of our conversation, reminding us to, ‘lead with kindness and always with a smile.’ How we make people feel when we engage with them, and how we leave them feeling as a result of those engagements, has perhaps never been so unanimously relevant and important. We all benefit from compassion and kindness — and never more so than at the moment. If you’d like to listen to the conversation with Deepa Shah in full, tune in to Small Spark Theory, Episode 43, Planning for Agency Growth with Deepa Shah.

Visit www.smallsparktheory.com to learn more about our remote mentoring programmes and online new business & marketing courses for agency leaders.