How are you defining success for 2025? Are you setting clear, measurable goals that are ambitious yet realistic? The right planning involves aligning your team with a vision and mission and breaking goals into manageable quarterly milestones.

In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, we share a comprehensive guide to strategically planning your creative agency's success in 2025. We discuss the importance of team alignment, transparency, and performing a SWOT analysis to address challenges as they arise when creating a plan.

Listen in to learn how to be clear and consistent with leadership objectives and avoid the “shiny object syndrome.” You will also learn the value of seeking external advice and mentorship while balancing external inputs with personal intuition.

Key Questions:

• [00:50] How do you set realistic yet ambitious goals, align your team around a unified vision and mission, and anticipate challenges before they arise?
• [01:23] Do you understand where your objective is in the longer term?
• [06:15] How transparent are you with your leadership team about your agency's goals?
• [18:14] Do you have the right advisors to help you reach your goals?
• [21:24] How much are you investing in your personal and professional growth and development?

What You’ll Discover:

• [01:23] How long-term personal and business objectives can guide your agency’s success, plus how to define clear and measurable goals.
• [03:04] Set realistic growth targets based on past performance and assess the gap between where you are now and where you want to be.
• [04:12] Perform a SWOT analysis to identify each quarter's risks, opportunities, and roadblocks for better prioritization and focus.
• [06:15] Why transparency with your leadership team is critical when setting goals and making strategic decisions.
• [08:05] The significance of weekly KPI monitoring and project plans to keep progress on track and avoid missing key objectives.
• [12:33] The challenges of "shiny object syndrome" and the importance of staying focused on set goals.
• [14:45] The importance of overcoming limiting beliefs and focusing on personal goal-setting rather than adopting others' goals.
• [18:14] The value of having an advisor or coach to offer insights and help you navigate your blind spots.
• [20:50] Why you should focus on solving problems and not just setting goals.
• [21:24] The importance of investing in your personal and professional development to become who’s needed to reach your goals.

Have you considered expanding your team globally? Leveraging the full potential of your remote workforce can transform your business from a small-scale operation to a multi-million-dollar success. How do you overcome the cultural and communication barriers to build a high-performing global team?

In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I’m joined by Philip Rivers to discuss how to hire and manage overseas talent effectively. Philip is an email marketing expert and founder of a $200M revenue-generating agency. His journey began designing niche t-shirts and grew to a thriving agency with over 50 employees leveraging global talent for outstanding results.

Don’t miss this episode to learn more about strategies for building cohesive remote teams and creating meaningful physical connections with them.

Key Questions:

• [01:04] What is the distinction and the relationship between local and global talent, and how can you leverage each?
• [06:38] How did you look at where to find the right talent with good cultural crossover for the right type of skillset that allowed you to expand your team globally?
• [09:29] What would you say to someone who needs help in hiring the right global talent?
• [14:33] How do you consider the compensation component of a fair wage within that individual’s country?
• [16:18] How can physical team-building activities and annual gatherings improve team cohesion and performance among remote and offshore team members?
• [18:55] What would someone who’s never hired nearshore or offshore talent consider when hiring?

What You’ll Discover:

• [01:39] Philip’s shift from hiring only local talent to embracing global talent driven by financial and operational considerations.
• [04:22] His experience hiring client-facing overseas talent and how it works in specific industries.
• [06:53] The process for finding and hiring the right talent with the right hiring strategies in regions like Latin America.
• [09:42] The importance of businesses fully preparing for remote workers with SOPs to clear communication expectations.
• [11:49] How to effectively integrate global talent into the company culture without making them feel undervalued.
• [13:33] The potential risks and opportunity costs that come from not investing in overseas talent’s success.
• [15:22] How different cost-of-living levels impact compensation and how fair wages in various countries can still provide a good quality of life.
• [17:09] How regular team-building efforts and cultivating a united company culture can impact team members' longevity and effectiveness.
• [19:10] Things to consider when hiring overseas talent, like planning the first 30 days and evaluating soft skills.

Connect with Philip:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Are you looking to target mid-market to enterprise-level clients? If so, the Account-Based Marketing (ABM) strategy might be a good fit. Unlike traditional broad outreach strategies, ABM focuses on precision, personalization, and relationship-building.

In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I discuss the effectiveness of the ABM strategy when working with high-value clients and why it’s more impactful today. I also explain the importance of understanding your ideal client persona, building detailed outreach strategies, and consistently engaging with these clients through multi-channel efforts.

Don’t miss this episode to learn how to balance email automation and personalization during client outreach.

Key Questions:

• [00:50] How can you effectively target and engage high-value accounts for your agency?
• [06:34] Are you prepared to build a long-term relationship with larger organizations with longer sales cycles?

What You’ll Discover:

• [01:44] Why the ABM strategy is more impactful today as larger clients now favor project-based work with boutique agencies.
• [03:58] Identify your target client persona—understand the industry, organization size, and key decision-makers for effective outreach.
• [04:24] How to build a client list based on your available time and compile detailed research on your target client before outreach.
• [06:34] How larger organizations plan their budget and why you should prepare for long-term relationship-building.
• [09:19] The value of a multi-channel approach – build name recognition by engaging with prospects before initiating direct outreach.
• [10:12] How to use email templates to streamline your outreach without sacrificing personalization.
• [11:30] Consistency is key—implementing this strategy requires ongoing effort and consistent follow-up to yield results over time.