Best Damn Agency Podcast

For info on the #1 community in the world for 7 and 8-figure digital agency CEO's, check out: bestdamnmastermind.comOver the course of this episode, Joey and JJ cover:The reintroduction to the podcast (1:40)What Joey is most excited about in bringing back the pod (3:47)The mindset of the Wartime CEO (7:42)Joey's process for approaching and making hard decisions (12:40)Running into business model problems at scale (13:36)Why didn't Joey take Alex Hormozi's advice (18:51)How YOU as a CEO can take steps towards becoming a Wartime CEO (23:38)Getting scrappy with your sales tactics when revenue is down (29:08)The time Joey set LinkedIn on FIRE (33:42)You should kill your tech stack...or at least look at it completely different (34:43)Ryan vs. Joey: cold calling vs account based sales (37:55)Which sales methodology works best for your agency (46:12)Flexing sales strategies as markets shift (51:15)

As a CEO and the leader of your company, sometimes you have to be the tough guy and handle objections. And we all know this is not always an easy task to do – especially if you're introducing new structures, sharing a new vision, or integrating a new culture. But it is possible to handle these objections much like when handling objections from prospects. Tune in to this week's episode and find out. Also, stay until the very end, because we have a very special and bittersweet announcement to make.This Cast Covers: The positives and negatives of living on a farm (03:11)Lessons from college football that extend into the world of life and leadership  (04:50)Laying the foundation for success sometimes means doing some of the nasty weedings (06:16)A test of good leadership is when you can still rally the troops behind you to believe in you staying the course when things are going poorly (10:59)Why and how Joey is crushing TikTok and Twitter (11:38)The video that got the best traction and also the most haters: the 95% rule (14:06)How to preserve fun and space when you're scaling (18:05)A weekly structure Joey created to find that fun and space (19:12)The biggest difference between being a CEO flirting with it and being an entrepreneur (20:13)How to approach an objection in the sales process and the most common objections people have (23:15)The revenue formula that can help you decide on when and how to raise your pricing (29:38)What are some of the biggest gaps that Joey notices both in and outside of the agency space? (31:32)Why it's really easy to focus on the things that are going wrong and not on where we can improve (36:35)One thing agencies lack but internet marketing, training, coaching, consulting, and businesses are really good at (37:01)How do you know whether or not it's worth trying to reactivate your lead generation list? (38:30)Using disqualifier criteria to whittle down your unqualified leads (42:21)A special announcement regarding this podcast (44:08)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency Mastermind

There are a lot of great tools that salespeople can implement in order to close more deals, but one great tool is framing. Framing is a technique that salespeople use in order to make the sales process easier for their reps. When you frame a sales conversation, you're taking the lead in a particular direction. This episode will explore how to handle objections during a call and show you how to progress further into getting them to the next step of the sales process.This Cast Covers: Why Joey's feeling under the weather on this podcast episode (01:47)Team training on the five gears: How to Be Present and Productive When There Is Never Enough Time (05:35)The concept of 5 gears and how it pertains to salespeople especially when they need to kick ass 50-60 hours/week (07:46)You should aim to find enjoyment in all 5 gears of your life and work (10:19)JJ admits his biggest weakness but he's getting better at it (11:49)Why do you put so much weight on the outcome as opposed to putting weight on the work itself? (14:12) The challenge with humans is we're so existential and we always think about our purpose and why we're here (14:34)Why sometimes we just need to do the fucking work (16:34)Creating connection and friendship outside of work is something really important to JJ (17:36)Our constant struggle with discontentment (20:00) Depression and anxiety come from one of two things: discontentment and lack of control. (20:45)Joey's thinking of switching up the focus of the podcast (22:50)Why JJ and Joey recommend Phone Burner as a solid power dialer that every sales team should utilize (25:05)The use of dispositions when making dials and during live calls (28:30)How Phone Burner works best if you're technical, patient, and understand integrations (29:49)Why you should also have your non-ICP criteria (30:59)The good thing is once you start picking up the good thing, it's easy to rip through the calls (32:51)How to handle objections during a call like “Send me some sales collateral and then we'll set something up” (34:46)What is framing and how do you leverage it in a sales conversation? (07:06)Siloing out issues is one of the best ways to identify your prospects' real objections (09:59) Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency Mastermind

Managing salespeople can be a challenge. With so many different sales methods, it can be hard to keep track of how your team is doing. That's why in this episode, we're walking you through how to hold your entire sales team accountable, sales experimentation, and tonality versus scripting.This Cast Covers: Does Joey feel the pressure of getting old on his birthday? (01:23)What it was like podcasting and bunking up in an actual hurricane (02:55)Saying things to clients that you immediately regret (06:06) JJ's recent misunderstanding with a client and how it was resolved (06:40)What prompted Joey to have the entire sales department team meeting (10:30)The emotional Levers Joey built into that meeting and the outcome that resulted from that(15:18)Using Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) for negotiations, sales, and meetings (16:08)Things to optimize for in the entire sales operation, such as comp structure (17:40)One of the biggest challenges agency owners face when it comes to managing salespeople (18:42)How to know whether your sales rep is doing a great job or slacking off (19:53)When was the last time you actually held your sales rep accountable? (21:22)Sales experimentation - what does that mean? (22:25)What happens when your agency gets rolled up (26:31)Joe lays the groundwork for sales experimentation (29:03)The art of getting the money from a book called The Narrow (30:24)Sales experimentation is an ongoing moving target of selling(33:37)Building a sales function for your company is almost like teaching a toddler to swing a baseball bat (37:04)We are experimenting for our clients (43:32)If Joey had to choose between tonality versus scripting, which one is more mission-critical? (46:02)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency Mastermind

When you sell a productized service, it can sometimes be difficult to figure out how to effectively communicate the story behind it. It's tempting to tailor your messaging to the strengths of your offer, but doing so risks alienating both your outbound and inbound target prospects. This episode will look at how you can put your productized service on the front foot by developing a compelling message that offers a unique value.What's in Joey's and JJ's glasses: Presidente - Beer from the Dominican Republic 5%This Cast Covers: How we're feeling during a potential hurricane in the Dominican Republic (02:19)Joey and JJ recall going through extreme weather situations in their respective childhood (03:41)How Joey and his wife handle hard decisions in the family (05:29)Decision-making in the Russell household (07:22)Why Joey believes there always should be a very distinct captain of the ship in any agency or company (08:47) What are both Joey and JJ bringing to the mastermind this time around that's different than what they brought to the mastermind a year and a half ago (10:50)How the Best Damn Agency Mastermind members have also evolved and created a legit brotherhood of agency CEOs (13:29)If you're going to build a sales team, should you just stick with your validated offer with validated demand or create a new lower-ticket offer for your new sales hire to sell? (15:23)Some principles Joey thinks through when crafting an offer consolidating all the basket of goods you're going to sell (18:06)What Joey means when he talks about a productized service (20:32)How using analogies when selling and talking about delivery can make a world of difference (24:45)Why JJ hates when clients call their foot-in-the-door offer an “audit” (26:04)it's just all about positioning and how you frame that foot-in-the-door offer (29:33)Green flags that can validate you've made the right hire in your sales team (30:00)What Joey and JJ are most excited to get out of this mastermind retreat (35:50)Leaning into the relational aspects of the trip (37:38)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency Mastermind

One thing's for certain in this business: If you're scaling your agency to success, there are going to be a lot of tough moments. It starts with the lack of resources and staffing, but it doesn't end there. Scaling an agency is hard on so many levels, from dealing with difficult people to the lack of a clear direction. Pour yourself a tall glass because, in this episode, Joey and JJ spill the beans on what to expect when scaling your agency, how to write good sales copy, how to find the right people, and the real-life application of building a great culture in your company.What's in Joey's glass: E.H. Taylor Single Barrel and Manik Black Edition Extra AñejoWhat's in JJ's glass: Blade and Bow Kentucky Straight BourbonThis Cast Covers: Prepping for our trip to the Dominican Republic (06:05)The actual meaning of the phrase “burn the ships” and why it's so important to Joey (07:00)If you need somebody to write sales copy that converts for you, then you probably need to investigate Sales Driven Agency (13:02)A certain roadmap every agency owner's probably gonna need that's in the works and will be launched pretty soon (16:15)Why sales copy is vastly different from sales copy and what makes good, high-converting sales copy (20:38)How a cold email shouldn't read like a marketing email and what to put on the subject line to get them to open and read your email (23:44)Why the “unprofessional-sounding” emails get more opens and conversions (27:26)Should partners be compensated or paid a commission for deals they sold? (29:00)Is a highly-skilled, sales-focused partner more valuable and deserves more equity than the other partners? (30:00)The biggest lesson Joey learned in scaling up and growing a company (33:22)Doing weekly shoutouts to the people who embody the five core values of the company (34:54) Are your company's core values actually detracting you from sales success? (39:24)Whoever backfills Joey as the VP of sales really has to bring it because they'll have their work cut out for them  (43:29)Relinquishing control is something Joey's learning in scaling the company (44:37)The most fun Joey and JJ's done recently (47:42)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency Mastermind

At Sales Driven Agency, we coach your salespeople to sell, but one of the most valuable things for coaching is shadowing a sales trainer, the previous salesperson, and sometimes you as the founder. Now we know you didn't start your agency with a background in selling (unless it was out of necessity or unless you were Joey) and that's okay. Because in this episode, we teach your salespeople what to look out for when shadowing a salesperson who sucks at selling… even if that salesperson is you.What's in Joey's glass: E.H. Taylor Single BarrelThis Cast Covers: How Joey lost 22 lbs in 3 weeks (02:05)A few people affirm our decision to keep the SOTR segment on this podcast (09:54)Can you still learn from shadowing a shitty salesperson/founder-based seller? (12:08)Shadowing a salesperson/founder vs. training or learning a ton of content (14:53)How long should you let your salesperson shadow you on calls before you let them run their own outreach (17:47) The one thing Joey wished he had SDA's new account executive do during training (20:59)How to identify the role players versus the elevators in the company and who to take with you when you run multiple businesses (23:26)Joey's take on never hiring role players, only players that have a massive ceiling and a leadership potential (31:08)JJ wrestles with the idea that some people who seem to have a lot seem unhappy while others who barely have anything seem joyful and carefree (38:46)Why we have to make time for gratitude (41:07)Both Joey and JJ share their moments of expressing gratitude and contentment (43:15)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency Mastermind

In this podcast, Joey and JJ make a case for questioning everything, consistency, measuring sales-related activities, and how to turn a gatekeeper on a cold call into an advocate for you. Also, what makes an effective sales manager? This might be helpful if you, as a founder, need to step into this role or hire someone new for the role. This Cast Covers: Joey's and JJ's ultimate hope for you listening to this podcast (01:51) Why we need to do a better job of questioning everything (05:58)Something we all wrestle through in some way, shape, or form (07:52)What made JJ almost want to quit his job (12:02)Can friends work together? (13:13)An ever-present tension of sales pushing the boundaries of delivery or vice versa (13:41)The good thing about Joey and JJ's working partnership (15:05)Listen to Joey's terrible ad reads for Sales Driven Agency (17:26)Where to start assessing or diagnosing a company's existing outbound sales ops (20:53) Which data to look at and questions to ask yourself when you don't see the results you want out of your sales operation (24:08) Should you pivot away from the phone when gatekeepers are involved or come up with a tactic for getting past them? (26:47)Joey shares a strategy and script to use when cold calling to get past the gatekeeper (27:00) How to call in the gatekeeper and make them an advocate (27:53)Other strategies you can do when cold calling itself doesn't work (29:43)Identifying gaps in your sales reps' abilities to perform and strategically provide training for filling them (33:08)How to be an effective sales manager especially if this is not your strong forte (34:58)The difference between meetings and reviews and why you need both as a sales manager, leader or coach (35:38) How Joey's feeling about their current trajectory as an agency of growth and scaling (42:56)JJ's reflections on building massive businesses but also being an excellent family man (47:41)What to do when you realize you've lost sight of your “nuclear core” convictions (48:42) Why Joey isn't a big believer in work-life balance, rather on running from one of the spectrum and back (21:24)Our goal every day shouldn't be energy preservation, rather an energy depletion   (23:43) Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency Mastermind

Got an offer that just isn't converting as well as you'd like? You know that it's missing something but can't figure out what it is? In this episode, Joey breaks down his process of crafting solid offers, how to build out your sales campaigns whether that's through phone, email, or social, why you should build a sales team first before creating your marketing engine, and the best way to leverage leads.This Cast Covers: We're starting a cool thing at our agency called SDA Happy Hour (01:39) All the things you need to answer before building out sales campaigns for clients (02:51)How JJ realized he's old as shit and why Joey thinks he's a loser right now (03:53)JJ shares a quick anecdote about his kid's football game which prompts Joey to share his 12-year-old football anecdote as well (06:27)Is it normal to have significant anxiety ever in business and what can you do about it? (11:14)The ODD system to lighten your load if you've got too much on your plate (13:37)Ever heard of the entrepreneur's or the founder's curse? JJ breaks it down (14:21)Why joining the Best Damn Agency Mastermind will be the best decision you'll ever make as an agency owner or founder (17:10)Joey's process when it comes to crafting offers from start to finish (20:54) Learning about your superpowers and doing more of them rather than putting things on your plate that you aren't necessarily great at (24:41)How to combat that feeling of “comfortability” newly hired salespeople may get because of having higher base pay (28:16) Are there people still willing to be in a setup with lower base pay but with massive commissions? (30:41)Why it's so important to hire somebody with the right makeup and mentality and aligns with your agency's core values (32:04)How many contacts should you drop into a sales sequence-building campaign? (34:15) Why Joey prefers the phone for cold outreach and needs to see 500 dials before saying that a script is working (35:58)What to do with the rest of the people in the first sales campaign that didn't convert (36:41)If you need more clarity around building out sales campaigns, then you'll love working with Sales Driven Agency (11:16)The best way to leverage lead magnets and what to do with warm leads (44:46)What Joey finds the most ideal model in terms of lead generation, marketing and sales (45:47)The most effective initial point of sale if you're doing cold outreach (49:59) Sell something that gets a very specific outcome, price it accordingly and learn how to upsell afterward (52:05)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency Mastermind

Pricing is all about value. The more you give, the more you win. This is a very simple concept, yet it is not as easy as it sounds. In today's digital age, it can be easy to fall into the trap of trying to be everything to everybody. It's important to remember that by setting boundaries and charging accordingly, can help you create a stronger brand and a stronger business. This Sales on the Rocks episode is here to tell you why you don't need a million and one offers to reach your revenue goals, how scarcity works in sales and why it is so damn effective as well as how to properly execute the scarcity tactic with your business and the first few things you should be tracking and monitoring after hiring a salesperson.What's in JJ's glass: Parker's Heritage Collection | Heaven Hill DistilleryThis Cast Covers: JJ went on a wine-tasting tour that used a reverse psychology scarcity tactic on them (03:28)Is this scarcity tactic something that you can also spin in B2B sales or more for D2C only? (06:01)Joey exposes Bugatti for incorporating the scarcity tactic really well in their sales (07:27)Stuff we said we'd never do but are now doing (12:19) The most advantageous way to package your services and why less is more is always the way to go (17:05)A problem JJ keeps noticing with the clients they work with wherein they can't or won't execute the sales management training we've given them (21:54)Why founders and business owners either overlook the sales accountability tools we give them despite training and coaching them on how to use them (23:24)A solution Joey proposes that's honestly the most basic and non-negotiable activity you need to do if you want to fix this issue (24:17)Joey and JJ workshop through how to train salespeople using a phased on-ramp and what trainers should be looking for from one phase to the next (26:17)Activities Joey would love to see sales reps doing in the first couple of weeks of their training (27:40)Why it's important to not only track activities but also focus on measuring the outcomes of those activities, such as the number of FTAs booked (28:54)This same kind of measuring and tracking activities and outcomes of sales reps can also be used in our timeline with clients (31:33)Defining the win at different stages in the engagement is a mappable application (31:53)Joey and JJ go into a semi-deliberation between two candidates who are gunning for the closer role at SDA (36:23) If we both had to make a decision today, who would we pick from the two (45:46)Why JJ actually liked trying to sell the role to the candidate because it feels like the candidate has the upper hand (47:04)Joey puts JJ on the spot with this question: What's it like making as much money as you're making now? (50:27)Generosity is a great metric of mastery over money (20:59)Joey's core focuses or thoughts around generosity (23:10)Having a purpose for your money (25:41)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency Mastermind

In this short episode, Joey Gilkey shares with the listeners a massive announcement and change to the Best Damn Agency Podcast.

Sit back, unwind, and grab your favorite liquor while you listen to another unscripted, unfiltered, no-BS conversation about agency ownership, life, and agency sales. In this episode, we specifically talk about why owning your shit is our number one core value, how to eliminate victim mentality from your organization, the best questions to ask in an interview for a sales closer role,  why you should prioritize sales first before operations, the elements that make a successful email campaign, and so much more.What's in Joey's glass: Willet Family Estate Bottled RyeThis Cast Covers: The downside of not being an EOS-driven operational machine (01:04)How extreme ownership plays out in sales (05:48)What to do when there is a massive disparity between the quantitative and qualitative rating someone gives of their performance (06:12)What are sales reps expected to do as it pertains to ownership and how to spot the lack of it (08:44)Always look at the numbers because numbers don't lie (08:53) Why owning your shit is the number one core value in our company (11:13)A real-life example of someone who really embodied owning their shit (13:19)Why doing the opposite (blaming anything and everything but yourself) is cancer (14:18)The 90-5-5 framework's number one ingredient is an attitude of ownership (15:13) At the end of the day, you have to want to change (16:51)Why empathy-based selling works (18:03)JJ's new favorite interview question that he asked in one of his calls (22:06)What Joey does intentionally when someone gets far enough in an interview process  (25:10)Why following up is so crucial, especially in sales (26:29)Ever tried to bribe a professor with liquor? JJ has a crazy story about it (31:27)The ironic thing about hiring intrapreneurs (35:49)What to prioritize first: operations or sales? (41:07)Finally getting to “The Tactical 10” bit of the episode (45:02)Troubleshooting cold emails by working in conditional logic (49:42)How to get past gatekeepers or work with them during a cold call (56:33)Joey's unique $500/hour thing that he should be spending time on and one or two things that detract his time and energy from that  (31:49) Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency Mastermind

Serving you unscripted conversations, Joey and JJ are back on Sales on The Rocks to tackle becoming effective leaders in sales from being good to an elite and world-dominating salesperson. In this episode, we will also gain insights about hiring candidates and setting specific target earnings. Joey also shares some helpful tips when building or renovating a house. What's in JJ's glass: BourbonThis Cast Covers: JJ's energy is fake! Here's why (2:15)JJ shares his experience of buying a brand new car (3:59)Losing virginity at the age of 15 is an underwhelming feeling for Joey (10:20)Getting used to a thing you were excited about or growing old pretty quick causes an underwhelming feeling (11:03)The Best Damn Agency Mastermind is the number one community for agencies (12:09)Get to know Napoleon Hill who wrote the book Think and Grow Rich (12:32)Experience in the space is what makes it hard to compete with Joey (15:47)Being a ‘'Thermostat'' that accepts feedback indicates a good leader (18:28)JJ tells how fun the buzz was last week at SDA (19:38)Joey gives back the credit to his team (20:25)Mastering the cold email turned into a silver bullet to giving up early on tactics (21:52)Never skimp on talent when building/renovating a house (26:56) JJ talks about the effectiveness of hiring the best candidates at an executive level (31:10)Learn the difference between a good salesperson and an elite salesperson (33:00)Sales Driven Agency solves problems of agency owners who are not salespeople (35:10)A deep dive at the works in the Sales Driven Agency (36:00)Setting specific target earnings for a salesperson in times of product and pricing evolution (38:35)A situation when it is best to change the structure (40:40)Creating new offers means increasing margins (41:30)Learn the most mission-critical among the G.W.C model of EOS (46:00)Cold Call or Cold Email? Find out Joey's choice (48:06)Selling high tickets outdoor over selling low tickets as an inside sales representative (49:40)If not the CEO, what job does Joey like to take in (52:00)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency Mastermind

Jacques Spitzer is the CEO and Founder of the San Diego-based full-service branding and advertising firm Raindrop. Over the past decade, Raindrop has helped more than six direct-to-consumer brands grow by millions in just months and are responsible for creating the top-performing ad of 2020 on Youtube. Among their clients include WORX, Omigo, Crossrope, HoneyBug, the Souplantation & Sweet Tomatoes, Dr. Squatch, BakBlade, T.S. Restaurants, Ruggable, and The San Diego Symphony.He is also the author of the book People Love Turkey Sandwiches and co-author of the book Think Better, a sought-after speaker, documentary filmmaker, and 2-time Emmy-winning storyteller and creative director. His work has been featured in Forbes and Entrepreneur Magazine.In this podcast, Jacques shares how he's leading at least 100 employees for his two different companies combined, the importance of an entrepreneurial operating system, what his day-to-day looks like nowadays, and what most ad agencies get wrong about creating video content.This Cast Covers:How Raindrop walks the talk by doing their own marketing for their agency (05:38) Creating a long-form ad that led to an insane number of leads for almost zero ad spend (10:21)Why Joey is an idiot for not leveraging this type of content in their outbound process that could easily cut their cost per acquisition by half (11:17)There is never a wrong moment or time to invest in yourself (11:48)Jacques shares his insights on creating edutainment content (13:09)What makes Raindrop unique from other advertising agencies creating video content for their clients (14:08)Don't start with what you want to say, start with what your consumer wants to hear (16:14)What has changed for Jacques and Raindrop in the past 12 to 18 months since being on the podcast (17:52) How implementing EOS radically transformed Sales Driven Agency as well (19:39)Having an EOS has led to so much clarity and profitability (22:11)  “Think Better” by Jacques Spitzer and Jeffrey Campbell (23:06)Jacques shares one of the parables in the book about overemphasizing the role we play in other people's lives (25:21)Joey recalls a life-changing moment when he realized he was just a rock in someone else's play (25:52)Is it true that any PR is good PR? (29:05)What does Jacques's day-to-day now look like? (32:30)Jacques shares his upcoming podcast launching really soon called Marketing People Love (34:55)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency MastermindRaindrop AgencyJacques Spitzer | LinkedIn

Joey and JJ are on track again in their unfiltered conversation in this week's episode of Sales On The Rocks. Tune in as they discuss the balancing of optimization for conversion and overdeliver in the sales process. Joey unravels his secrets of becoming world-class at sales. They also share inspiring tips about unwiring negativities. Plus, heartfelt insight about what the Best Damn Agency has created. What's in JJ's glass: Whiskey This Cast Covers: The athletic accomplishment that Joey is proud of (4:10)JJ tells a story of his car being caught on fire (07:21) Attention, likability, and credibility in a nutshell (12:09)A teaser of Joey's book for agencies (13:28)Find out what Joey thought about the third season of “Stranger Things'' (16:35)Underselling too much hurts profitability and revenue (19:56)The client's success could be at risk in overselling (20:05)How to balance undersell vs. overdeliver (20:38)Creating good clients can shrink your Total Addressable Market (TAM) (21:42)Learn about the Harmonic Triangle of Mike Blasco (22:54)The people's feedback on the BDA's delivery side (27:01)Joey's spectacular skills make him world-class at sales (29:23)College is stupid and a degree doesn't matter (31:08)Find out if Joey always had a high standard for success (32:45)Thinking about what's worth for the future than settling for less helps Joey to become a master at sales (35:30)Metrics for accountability or scoreboards that help set sales goals (37:01)To sharpen one another as a family is what The Best Damn Agency has created (40:21)Best Damn Agency also helps people to lead a more holistic life (41:08)The value of outputs over inputs in sales (43:49)What bothers Joey's leadership capabilities (46:21)Learn about this 15 minutes TEDx Talk of Michael Neill that answers the question: Why aren't we awesomer? (51:40)Joey on changing wirings to be focused on the positive than negative perceptions in life (53:49)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency Mastermind

Jason Smith owns an agency called Spotlight Social Media Consulting, a Facebook and Instagram ads agency helping brands and businesses 10X their growth and scale through a winning ads formula. Prior to that, Smith worked as a Los Angeles police officer for 13 years.  Currently, he lives in Colorado with his wife and children.  "Perpetual Traffic", a podcast produced by Digital Marketer, chronicles Smith's departure from the police force.  Aside from building high-converting Facebook and Instagram campaigns, Jason enjoys wakeboarding, wake surfing, and dirt biking.In this episode, Jason recounts his past career as a Los Angeles police officer, how it's shaped his view on humanity, wealth building, relationships, and the takeaways that led him to be a successful seven to eight-figure revenue agency owner.This Cast Covers:Who is Jason Smith and what does Spotlight Social do? (03:15)Why Jason turned down some pretty sizable opportunities such as 7-figure single company deals (04:48)The unique path Jason took in becoming an agency owner  (07:00)His background as a gang officer In Los Angeles and why LA is probably the most violent city in the nation (08:13)  Did his 14-year experience as a police officer have any negative ramifications on his  view on people and humanity (12:14)Part of his job as a gang officer was to make sure he knew every single gang member, their families, and their lifestyles (17:56)Policemen think they're stuck in a job for 25-30 years when that's not really the case (19:02)How he ended up running an agency after a long career in the police field (20:10)His fears about leaving the police force and the relational toll it took working nonstop everyday (25:18)Jason's big takeaways about transitioning from police officer to agency owner and how that impacted his life positively (29:32)Navigating through current IoS 14 changes and how it's created both headaches and opportunities for Spotlight Social (35:00) Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency MastermindSpotlight Social AdvertisingJason Smith | LinkedIn

In this episode of the Sales On the Rocks, Joey does the Cold Call Role Play with co-host JJ. You'll learn the first thing to do when making a cold call and also gain insights about how to work while having a chill lifestyle apart from knowing how to become an effective salesperson and manager. The podcast also discusses plans after retirement – Will you still work for passion?What's in Joey's glass: Zero Sugar Monster Energy drinkWhat's in JJ's glass: Rabbit HillThis Cast Covers: Different kinds of tones to sound optimistic and annoying (02:21)Joey's tips on how not to become the person you hate (06:52)Meet Eliud Kipchoge, the first person in history to run a 26-mile marathon in under 2 hours (08:33)Work is not punishment but should be balanced with chilling (13:01)Why do some people hate their job? (16:30)Joey and JJ roleplay cold-calling, where Joey offers SEO to JJ, a dentist owning multiple clinics (20:20)The number one thing you need to do first in a cold call (28:29)The best thing about cold call roleplay (29:39)The effective use of self-deprecation in a cold call (30:43)“No competition positioning statement” works incredibly in the attention of potential clients in cold calls (32:29)Best Damn Agency Mastermind has another goal apart from bringing people a bigger picture of becoming CEO (35:37)JJ addresses criticisms about the Best Damn Agency Mastermind (37:26)What Joey is looking for in hiring a sales coach (40:45)Different the roles of a sales coach and sales managers (40:50)The challenges of bringing a sales coach rather than a Senior salesperson to potential clients ( 44:45)Will Joey continue to work? (49:09)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency Mastermind

Samir ElKamouny is the Founder and CEO of Fetch & Funnel, a growth marketing agency purpose-built to connect growing brands with their ideal customers. They specialize in customer acquisition via influence marketing, growth hacking, digital marketing, sales funnels, and conversion rate optimization. Samir has run successful campaigns for some of the world's largest brands to raise millions on Kickstarter for creators with innovative ideas. Samir is also the host of the Ecom Growth Leaders Podcast, a featured thought leader, and keynote speaker.Digital marketing aside, his obsessions include biking, taking his car to the track, traveling, spending time outdoors, & looking for his next adventure.This Cast Covers:What it's like to have a digital nomadic lifestyle like Samir and why it's not for everyone (03:24)Samir talks about how Fetch and Funnel came to exist (06:54)Is pay-per-click (PPC) advertising feasible for agencies to do profitably? (08:47) What the first couple of months of the agency were like – Samir and his partner Matt (cofounder of Fetch & Funnel) worked closely together in person before actually running the business entirely remote (10:36)What he would do differently knowing what Samir knows now (12:24)What Samir is most excited about building for the agency moving forward (16:45)What it takes to be a healthy agency (18:10)Which of the five P's their agency is working on the most and will make the most impact in the next couple of months (20:02)Where can the agency contribute to its hiring success: intuition or having a refined hiring process? (22:01)The one thing Samir has done since day one with every single hire no matter what the position is (23:00)Joey simplifies the 95-5-90 rule in hiring for agency owners to implement (24:34)Why you should have a very rigorous hiring process (28:56)One thing most agency owners don't do that could hurt your profitability (31:40)What Joey and Samir are looking forward to in the next mastermind anti-retreat (38:12)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency MastermindSamir ElKamouny | LinkedInFetch & Funnel | Website

In this new episode of Sales on The Rocks, we will tackle recession, how to address it, how people should act towards it, the value of tact in winning deals in the sales pipeline, and discover the secret behind taking ownership through sales training. Moreover, we will also have more profound insights about The Sales Driven Agency and Best Damn Agency Mastermind. What's in Joey's glass: Athletic GreensWhat's in JJ's glass: CoffeeThis Cast Covers:One thing you learn when you're fat: You are always on a diet (1:7)Recessions are somewhat manufactured (6:15)The chain effect if people get scared of recession in the economy (7:00)We are all creatures of habit in psychology (8:40)Find out what one-percenters do in a recession (9:24)Joey highlights the importance of buying in a time of recession (10:40)Discover how a person from earning nothing became worth over $100 million (11:47)Recessions are where most people will make their fortunes on the back end. (13:01)Do not accumulate debts (13:51)Here's how Joey as a CEO instills ownership (16:06)Learn the importance of tact in being a challenger (18:53)The secret of winning deals in the sales pipeline (23:51)The value of timing and consistency in winning deals (27:05)What Joey wants to change with his clients (46:15)JJ cannot stand how resistant clients are to the hiring process. Here's why (48:02)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency Mastermind

CrowdSouth is a digital marketing agency that specializes in social media, search engine marketing, and web design. They serve clients from California to South Florida, and their office is in Kentucky. The name CrowdSouth was born from their passion for helping businesses connect with their "crowd," and their home base here in the "south."Jason Heflin and Chad Webb, co-owners of CrowdSouth, spent the first 8 years of their careers in corporate sales – managing multi-million dollar marketing budgets, high-stakes projects, and technical teams. In this episode, Jason and Chad share their experiences as co-owners of CrowdSouth, what it's like to split everything 50/50 as partners, their valuable takeaways from being part of Best Damn Agency Mastermind, their initial thoughts about raising prices, and the leaps and bounds in their business after implementing this difficult call.This Cast Covers:Chad and Jason talk about how they decided to become 50-50 business partners at CrowdSouth (02:45) The two most crucial things to having a successful partnership that both Chad and Jason definitely possess (05:22) How Jason and Chad were like as 12-year-old kids and what they thought they would be growing up (07:01)Who earns more: an astronaut or an account manager at Sales Driven Agency? (08:32)The final straw that led Chad and Jason to leave their previous company and go build their own damn thing (09:27)How Jason approached Chad to become his business partner and the birth of CrowdSouth (12:03)What changed in the last 12 to 18 months after Joey challenged them to increase their prices (14:06)Why investing in your own growth as an owner and investing in your agency is the best business decision you'll ever make (15:26)What most owners often forget while running their agency (17:04)Joey emphasizes taking care of the captain first (18:13)The inevitable wrestle between having a lifestyle business and having a full-blown company building towards an enterprise (19:14)How Jason and Chad reach an agreement about landing on a direction for their agency specifically (21:00)Being partners of a company means allowing the other person to excel in the areas they are already great and successful in and having fun while doing it (24:21)Why it's a must to raise your prices and stop undercharging for your services (25:03)Opportunities for growth at CrowdSouth that Chad and Jason might not be currently excelling in and how they're tackling them (31:28)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency MastermindCrowdSouth | WebsiteCrowdSouth | LinkedIn

Joey and JJ are back at it again with a #nofilter discussion with booze on the rocks to cap off the week! They discuss and touch on topics ranging from strategizing, the most effective ways to model scaling your team, tips on stability, backtracking the 90-5-5 principle, and more. The Sales on the Rocks podcast megaphones the hard-truths agency owners should hear.This Cast Covers:Joey shares his theory on “The Slippery Slope of Artificial Intelligence Learning” (6:40)Will robots have a future as alternative pleasure satisfiers? (11:33)The 5 bucket investment strategy: learn how you should allocate your hard work onto different brackets (17:10)Effective internal structuring methods you need to do to help attract external win-wins (20:09)Joey defines his contentment and happiness in his current career setup. Get to know what Joey's proven and tested business scale model is (24:23)JJ and Joey run down the 90-5-5 principle on employee roundupsThe difference between leading and managing (27:45)Joey and JJ share their thoughts on Top Gun: Maverick (33:03)Of consciousness and intuitive thinking: Joey highlights one of Top Gun: Maverick's greatest lessons (34:33)How to bounce back from client cuts (39:43)Learn the power of networking (41:22)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency Mastermind

Justin Rowe is the Founder and CMO of Impactable, a B2B LinkedIn Ads Agency. Justin became the #1 Linkedin expert on the world's largest RFP site and officially launched LinkNLearn which would eventually become Impactable. LinkNLearn exploded into a full-blown agency and expanded its offerings to include Linkedin Paid Ads.His original company, Linknlearn, was acquired in 2021 after serving more than 1,000 clients in 30+ countries. They've worked with over 1,573 B2B Brands in 30+ Countries including everything from scrappy startups to billion-dollar tech unicorns.In this episode, we'll be talking about LinkedIn Ads. As you know, LinkedIn Ads is a lead generation platform that allows you to advertise to an already established online audience. It's an insanely powerful tool for agencies, as well as businesses that are just starting out. We'll be covering attribution, the costs associated with it, and why we don't use it, as well as some hot tips on running ads in your account today.This Cast Covers:Who is Justin Rowe, what is Impactable, and how did his agency become essentially a funded startup? (01:00) Why LinkedIn ads gets a pretty bad rep but is still one of the most reliable in terms of getting quality leads and more closed deals (06:15) What makes LinkedIn ads a superpower (09:09)Justin gives away the type of ads you should be running now if you want to try LinkedIn ads (11:32)How Justin tackles the nightmare of attribution in their own marketing and advertising efforts for Impactable (15:07)The proven way to lower your cost per acquisition that most agency owners don't like to admit (17:04) What makes Justin mildly frustrated about big agency owners who care way too much about attribution (18:17)The acceptable cost per acquisition for an agency and an important metric you should be tracking if you're running LinkedIn ads (22:00)How what was supposed to be just a curiosity Justin was exploring turned into the acquisition of Impactable (26:48)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency MastermindJustin Rowe | LinkedInImpactableImpactable | YouTube

The pandemic brought about the beauty of working from home. How it could be more convenient, money-saving, and more familial bonding as some of the pros of the digital workspace setup. In this episode, we talk about one of its cons, on the other hand, namely the loss of more heated healthy competitions. JJ and Joey discuss if it is possible to recreate this kind of culture in the new norm of remote working.This Cast Covers:How effective are business/life coaches? JJ shares his success story with a life coach and with him as a business coach himself (2:39)The 95, 5, 90 principle: the one concept you should look at to brew your colleagues' motivation towards greatness! (7:00)Let's talk about the R word: recession. What should agencies focus on to avoid going through recessions? (21:12)JJ and Joey talk about when you should know that it's time pivot and abandon your ship (24:38) Physical workplace culture tends to be more highly competitive than work-from-home setups. JJ and Joey tackle what an agency could do to mimic a competitive culture digitally (27:54)Want to establish healthy competition in your team? Check out KPI tracking. (35:04)“The rule of thumb is you should have no client for about 10% of your total revenue.” Here's why (38:39)Client concentration = a big no no. Redirect your focus on this instead (41:43)Have contract-dependent clients? Joey shares his thoughts on clients like this and how he manages them (49:41)Things get personal: JJ asks Joey, “what are the things that when your margins get thin get squeezed out first?” 55:37Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency Mastermind

Today's episode is going to be more of a ramble than an interview, but I think you'll find it just as insightful and helpful. Today's topic: the Recession.If you've been listening to the show for a while now, you know that I don't shy away from controversial topics nor ask you to follow other people's BS advice. That's why in this solo episode, I'm dropping my real, unfiltered, no-BS thoughts about the Big R. Whether you believe there is one coming or not, there's no better time than a recession to go hard on offense and stop living in fear like everyone else. Find out how you can prepare for the Big R so it doesn't impact your business as hard as you think.This Cast Covers:How most business and agency owners shoot themselves in the foot when gearing up for a recession (01:40) What a recession really is and why you don't have to be afraid of it (2:10)Why having a “let's go on defense and weather the storm” attitude is actually working against you and the economy (02:39)Steps you need to take between now and when the big R hits that will have you making gains more than losses (04:20)The one who takes ownership maintains control and takes power (05:20)How to come out as a winner during the recession and why I get excited when the hard times come (07:46) Get your ship in order, take care of your ship (10:09)The best way to invest in stability and growth right now (11:12)Why you shouldn't give a sh*t about what everyone else is doing and mind your own business (13:19)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency Mastermind

Scott Scully is the Founder and CEO of Abstrakt Marketing Group, a B2B lead generation company and business growth agency. For the last 12 years, they have offered multi-channel marketing solutions to small and medium-sized businesses that are looking to grow through outbound lead generation, marketing services, and Salesforce consulting. Eric Watkins started at Abstrakt Marketing Group in 2012 as an Operations Intern and since then have worked his way up to holding a position on the Executive team and overseeing the company as President. During his time at Abstrakt, he has assisted in the restructuring of the Partner Sales division which enabled Abstrakt to grow its employee count by 140%. In 2018, Eric earned Workforce Magazine's Game Changer award and in 2022 was honored as one of St. Louis's 100 Titans.Jeff Winters is the Founder and CEO of Sapper Consulting, which helps companies deliver data-driven sales campaigns to replace cold calling, drive pipeline and ignite ROI. Their tactics have been featured in Forbes, Inc., HBR, Entrepreneur, HubSpot, Salesforce, and more because they're up to 300% more effective than standard metrics. Sapper Consulting has experienced tremendous growth, tripling 3 times in 3 years.Together they have launched The Grow Show podcast and publish weekly episodes to help business leaders improve their processes and procedures. You can find the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more.If you're looking to improve your sales processes, build out a better sales pipeline, or a better way to grow your agency profitably and sustainably, this episode is chock-full of insights you surely won't want to miss.What's in their glasses:  Kentucky Owl Confiscated Kentucky Straight Bourbon WhiskeyThis Cast Covers:How Scott started Abstrakt Marketing Group and has been helping businesses have more predictable sales meetings for the past 12 years and counting (03:41) Eric shares his ascent from starting out as an intern to working his way up to become the president at Abstrakt Marketing Group (05:44) Jeff recalls his early days starting Sapper Consulting in 2013 and growing it to about 150 employees and over 750 clients today (09:18)  If they had the biggest deal in company history come across your desk, who would Scott, Eric, or Jeff send out to work and close the deal? (13:16)The number of face-to-face sales presentations Scott's ever done in his entire career (14:31)What gets you out of bed in the morning? (15:10)Debunking the fallacy that you cannot impact meaningful life change through business (17:42)JJ recalls personally seeing lives change when an agency owner who was stuck at $4M for the longest time exited for $17M eighteen months after building out a sales operation for them (19:41)What can you do to bring your salespeople out of a slump and move forward in the right direction (21:56)Eric feels the greatest rush in his career when this happens (24:43) Joey crushing it as the first guest on The Grow Show - a podcast hosted by Scott, Eric, and Jeff (27:14)Is the AE-SDR/closer-biz dev rep model the only way modern way to do sales effectively? (28:09)Some are better at setting appointments, others are better at closing (29:58)Joey brings up an alternative to the AE-SDR/closer-biz dev rep model for agencies with lower profit margins (32:00)The concept of the enabled full-cycle salesperson (32:31)Profitability challenges one can see in the AE-SDR marriage and the enabled full-cycle salesperson model (34:00)Is the follow-up really the most impactful part? (39:00)An extra step in the follow-up process that most sales teams just don't do which can make the jobs of the SDR, sales admin, and closer better (40:30) How tweaking this model could help sales reps become more motivated at their jobs (41:44)Why money doesn't grow on trees - a reminder for every agency owner listening to this podcast (43:44)Joey points out just how impressive it is to build Abstrakt to be making $60 million per year as a lead gen company (46:36)What sets up their clients for success and what do agencies who drive more revenue have that others don't? (47:59)A key characteristic of their successful customers know how to sell cold outbound leads (49:41)Why you should always be reminding your clients about the ridiculous amount of activity your service takes and not just the results (51:00)One major pitfall most agency owners make specifically with outbound lead generation (54:57)The biggest hurdle right now for Eric and Jeff in their own sales department (57:12) Why specialization is so crucial in hiring and training sales reps (58:00)The biggest opportunity that Abstrakt could really work on that would help even more businesses grow (59:00)“Sell it before you build it” (1:00:00)Scott, Eric, and Jeff answer a very personal question that you as an agency owner should probably start thinking about as well (1:02:00)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency MastermindAbstrakt Marketing GroupSapper ConsultingThe Grow Show PodcastScott Scully on LinkedInEric Watkins on LinkedInJeff Winters on LinkedIn

Skyler Reeves is the Founder and CEO of Ardent Growth out of Murray, Kentucky. They are a company that helps B2B SaaS companies get more value from their content by blending qualitative customer insights with their proprietary content prioritization algorithm. Skyler is on a mission to blend data and creativity to make the web a better place. He holds degrees in both computer science and philosophy (MSU) and is an Iraq War veteran.In this episode, we talk about Skyler's journey from war veteran to going to college to study computer science and philosophy to founding an agency focused on SEO and marketing and helping B2B SaaS companies scale their organic traffic with their internal software.  He also shares why he's investing in a coach, in building out a sales operation for Ardent Growth, and his insights on his experiences of hiring the right people for your agency.This Cast Covers:How Skyler's love for creating solutions to unsolvable problems and philosophy got him into the world of SEO and marketing (02:27)His reasons for joining the military right out of high school and what his experience returning to civilian life was like (05:31)The genesis of Ardent Growth and his transition from working in logistics to building his own digital firm (09:44)The value of investing in a coach, having someone speak into your life and your business, and how to go about finding a good coach (11:43)Why his coach told him about bringing the internal technology Ardent had built out to B2B SaaS companies, private equity, VCs, and agencies (15:58)The core problem this internal tool has helped solve for a lot of companies looking to invest in content and SEO (17:32)  How they realized the value of their technology would be a great help for digital marketing agencies (19:25)Did Skyler ever desire to go to market with their tech and make it customer-facing or was the motivation always to serve them internally as they serve other people? (20:21)How having this internal tool helps their profit margins as an agency (21:40)Goals and priorities for the agency as Skyler looks to the future of Ardent aside from investing in building out a sales operation (26:54)Skyler's decision to push working into the VC and private equity industry as well (31:06)Why SEO is a challenging endeavor for agencies specifically to get right (33:06)Skyler recommends where SDA as an agency should focus when it comes to SEO-related efforts (35:45)Areas where Skyler might still be struggling with in the agency and what he's doing to work on them (37:20)One of the largest mistakes Skyler's done growthwise for the agency is not thinking about people (41:01)A pretty interesting rule Joey made up when it comes to hiring the best talent for his agency called the 95-5-90 (42:45)Why Skyler likes looking for coachable people (45:48)What Joey looks for in people related to mindset (46:45)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency MastermindSkyler Reeves | LinkedInArdent Growth

As an owner, CEO, or founder of your agency you want to make sure that you are hiring, training, and compensating your sales reps well. Hiring an SDR manager to handle multiple SDRs might be a good way to achieve this. But what should you be expecting in both roles to make sure they do their jobs effectively? And most importantly, where should you start? In this episode, Joey shows you how he creates a compensation plan that's fair and equitable for all of your reps, which helps them stay motivated. Plus, learn what's currently trending on the job recruitment market for sales roles, why you should consider giving up equity for your sales leader, and a great way to one-up your competitors that you can easily bake into your sales process.What's in Joey's glass: High West American Prairie BourbonWhat's in JJ's glass: Baker's - 7 Year Old Bourbon American WhiskeyIf you enjoyed this episode and want to learn more about agency sales strategies, tactics, and techniques all backed up with years of expertise, grab The 7-Figure Sales Process Playbook right here: https://salesdrivenagency.com/7-figure-sales/This Cast Covers:Our hearts go out to those affected by the recent tragedy in Houston (03:41)JJ picks Joey's brain on his thoughts about “laying down our rights for the vulnerable should not be up for debate” (06:11)A tactic most narrow-minded people use when they say things are not open for dialogue or conversation (08:48)Should Christians lay down their right for the vulnerable? (09:58)What the Consitution has afforded a lot of people that most tend to forget (13:37)JJ shares an interesting parallel for business owners (16:39)Hiring multiple sales development representatives (SDRs) and what Joey wants agency owners to take away from this experience (21:51)The current compensation plan Joey has laid out for his SDRs (24:17)What Joey expects from the role of an SDR manager and how that role can contribute the most value to the team (28:39)Is it possible to overtrain your salespeople? (32:26) The four stages of competence and how you can train your sales reps to  become unconsciously competent (36:12)How to make sure you are training to become unconsciously competent in the right context (39:22)An interesting strategy for agency owners looking to get a leg up from their competition (40:40)Is giving equity to sales leaders a good idea, and if so, how can you make sure you don't screw it up? (43:57)Vesting periods could be another approach to protect your equity and also incentivize your sales leader to stick around for their next slice (46:00)Cases wherein a sales or growth leader is also an equity holder (47:44)JJ shares an insightful realization about appreciating all the things he has now and balancing that with still having a lot of big things he wants to achieve in the future (53:00)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency Mastermind7-Figure Sales Process Playbook

Joe Shelerud is the Co-founder and CEO of Ad Advance, a digital ad agency out in Minnesota specializing in Amazon advertising. Ad Advance has been helping e-commerce brands advertise on Amazon since 2017 and offers full-service PPC and DSP management in-house.  Every role Joe has ever played always comes back to the numbers and data piece – being able to track where things are going and then that continual progression that you can see through the numbers in the data.In this episode, Joe shares his journey to agency co-founder and CEO, why he decided to partner up with his co-founder Matt to build Ad Advance, and the nuts and bolts of how they grew their agency.This Cast Covers:Joe Shelerud introduces himself and talks about how Ad Advance started (01:21)How Joe started building a joke website as a 12-year-old to becoming a chemical engineer and eventually co-founding his agency (03:33)Trying out a lot of different business ideas (including a brewery kit that bombed) and finally having the Amazon piece stick (05:57)The challenges of starting an agency with no marketing or finance background (07:28)Meeting his co-founder Matt Wiklund and what he realized was missing from all his previous business ideas that didn't lead to success (08:10) How they started a partnership and the conversations they went through before signing off on their agreement to become co-founders (09:32)Making sure both Joe and Matt were fully aligned in all of the things concerning the agency (11:39)Joey explains the slicing pie model which is all about slicing up the company based on formulaic contribution (12:21)Letting go of the ego is what makes Joe and Matt work well together (14:26)The first two to three years of Ad Advance were just focused on developing the tools that would allow the agency to scale what they were doing (17:11) Why Joe and Matt are dead-set on building Ad Advance as a big sustaining asset as of now (19:12)How the agency has historically grown – through word of mouth, inbound marketing, or outbound sales (21:27)Where Joe sees a lot more opportunities for growth and the priority and focuses on the agency moving forward (28:07)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency MastermindJoe Shelerud | LinkedInAd Advance

Are you still having trouble getting out of sales and letting your sales reps take the lead? Well, hopefully, this episode helps! Joey shares the exact framework he uses to build out your scripting process for the SDRs in Sales Driven Agency. Not just that, but he also gives us insights on whether somebody can be trained or taught to have killer sales instincts, whether choosing purpose-driven companies as your niche can make your agency profitable, and what's actually going on with the job and business landscape today.What's in Joey's glass: Jesse James American Outlaw Tennessee WhiskeyWhat's in JJ's glass: Baker's - 7 Year Old Bourbon American WhiskeyIf you enjoyed this episode and want to learn more about agency sales strategies, tactics, and techniques all backed up with years of expertise, grab The 7-Figure Sales Process Playbook right here: https://salesdrivenagency.com/7-figure-sales/This Cast Covers:Why the heck is the restaurant industry dying and what is contributing to this situation? (05:16)The age-old dilemma of whether to pursue stability, ease, and convenience versus freedom, flexibility, and optionality (12:03) What Joey believes is a recipe for unhappiness and anxiety (12:52)Trends we're currently noticing about hiring and the reasons behind this shift (20:03)JJ likens the hiring and job market landscape right now to what's happening in college football recruitment (23:08)The challenges in working with ‘purpose-driven companies' from an identifying your TAM or list-building perspective (26:40)The first question you need to ask when building an offer or picking a niche (29:15)Is targeting purpose-driven companies a good or bad idea? (34:08)The core components of crushing cold calling (36:40)How to grab somebody's attention in the first 3 seconds of a call (39:09)Initial conversation-starter questions to get the person you're calling to the next step (12:22)The type of question you should never ask if you want to move the conversation forward and get your desired outcome (13:43) JJ recaps the exact framework for building out a scripting process for your SDRs or sales reps during cold calls (17:51)What you're probably missing out on by not joining The Best Damn Agency Mastermind (22:05)Can you teach or train killer instincts in sales or is it just something that you either have or you don't? (25:43)Would Joey rather have a steady Eddy predictable salesperson who's quite average in performance or someone with an aggressive sales killer instinct but is an asshole and who you might lose in 18 months? (28:19)The people Joey looks up to in terms of where he wants to be (31:22)Are you running your business on your own terms or is it running you? (37:05)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency Mastermind7-Figure Sales Process Playbook

Your agency is growing, and you're seeing more and more clients coming through the door. But as your agency expands and brings on more projects, it's important to stay focused on your finances.While it may seem like a good thing that you're bringing in more projects and revenue, there are actually two things you need to watch out for when it comes to your financials once you start scaling your agency: shrinking profit margins and margin bleed. In this episode, Chris and I talk about how to be more intentional with your finances when scaling your agency, increasing profit margins, and understanding where you need to get rid of expense bloat or margin bleed. Chris also shares how he started in the agency space and was able to grow Better Way CPA into a distributed firm with an international team.This Cast Covers:Where most agencies struggle in managing their profit margins (03:07)Two things to watch out for in your finances once you start scaling your agency: shrinking profit margins and margin bleed Is there a common pricing model that Chris likes and common mistakes most agencies make when it comes to pricing (06:24)Why not enough people understand the importance of investing in talent (07:43)The one thing that might be preventing you from scaling (08:41)Reasons why Chris recommends hiring a higher talent who's more senior than you (09:08) How Chris got caught up in the agency space and why he chose to work with marketing agencies specifically (12:27)Chris gives the typical net profit margin for agencies he's seeing today (15:38)Why you should be sounding the alarm a.k.a. a bit worried if your net profit margin sinks below 15% (16:25)What can agencies start doing to see a big difference in profitability and boost that net profit margin (17:18) How to get rid of “expense bloat” (19:44)Evaluating projects and clients you bring on can definitely help you fix your top-line revenue number (21:08) How Chris grew Better Way CPA through inbound, referrals, and organic means (24:34)What's on the horizon for marketing agencies and how can you prepare for the shift in the agency landscape (25:46)The first place to look at when deciding on cutting off expenses (27:53)Chris talks about the Data-Driven Marketing Agency e-book (30:23)The importance of analyzing both financial and non-financial data in every aspect of the business (30:53)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency MastermindChris Hervochon | LinkedInBetter Way CPAScaling the Data Driven Marketing Agency Ebook

If you're serious about winning, then you have to have an extreme ownership mindset – not only for yourself but for your team as well. That means accepting responsibility for your failures and mistakes – something most people aren't willing to do but can make all the difference between a great salesperson or agency owner and a not-so-great one. In this SOTR episode, we're digging into what it means to have a culture of winning, how to onboard new salespeople and enable them to perform their very best, what it's like when everybody practices extreme ownership, and what you need to do to go from eight to nine figures as an agency. Also, JJ drills Joey on some pop culture questions. You'll find out his favorite movie of all time and what he was like as a young, angry teenager.What's in Joey's glass: Manik Black Edition Extra AñejoThis Cast Covers:The current crypto landscape and why you should be investing in sales instead (01:16)JJ gets a hoot out of asking Joey questions that have nothing to do with business or sales (05:30)What Joey's done to build a high-quality network (13:35)How Joey discovered a lazy hack to growing as someone who everyone wants to meet during a networking event (14:06)What does a sales operation comprise? (19:15)The key components of an onboarding plan for a sales rep (22:21)Why you need to build out a very robust product market training for your sales reps to learn (23:50)How long should you be handholding a new sales rep? (26:06)What you should AVOID doing as a founder if you have your sales reps shadow you during a sales call (29:02)Why having a very well-oiled process for sales is so crucial when training and onboarding salespeople (31:10)What does extreme ownership mean in sales and what does that look like? (32:31) The best way to improve your win rate is to look at your loss rate, why you're losing deals, not how to win more deals  (34:00)Questions to ask to determine whether the salesperson applicant practices extreme ownership or not (35:55)What happens when  people take extreme ownership in sales and every area of their lives (38:10)JJ shares a cute and adorable anecdote about her three-year-old daughter getting featured in a magazine (46:19)What's it gonna take to go from eight to nine figures as an agency? (47:55)As you grow, you'll need to start ignoring the choosing a bit of particular niche advice and start branching out (50:42)How to keep it fun and fresh for your salespeople and for your sales team every single day? (52:00)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency Mastermind

Joe Lashinger is the Founding Partner at Think it First, a digital strategy, design, and technology team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has about 20+ years of executive-level experience in all aspects of sales and marketing. Over the years, he's had the opportunity to work with clients both large and small, across a variety of industries. They build web experiences and applications that have a real impact on our customers' business and their bottom line.In this episode, Joe explains how he got to where he is today and the growth he experienced along the way. He discusses what worked for Think It First and what didn't, the reason for their success, and his future plans for the agency. He states that “people are everything” and why the college system needs to include apprenticeships in the curriculum. He also talks about how this commitment has impacted his hiring process, noting that they've hired good people who don't have traditional agency experience but do well in their roles because of their attitude and will toward learning new things. Finally, Joe gives his thoughts on how their agency will fare over the next few years and where the industry is heading.This Cast Covers:Why Joe didn't make it to the BDAM anti-retreat in Tahoe (05:07)Joe's pro golfer background before jumping into the agency space and starting Think It First (06:16)His opinion of college and what he would change about it if he could (08:04)Joey proposes college should be a combination of taking courses and micro-apprenticeships (11:15)Joe gives real-world examples of these apprenticeships by sharing his experiences at the Golf Management Program (14:45)People are everything - why some of the best people on his team are not classically trained for the work they do now (16:50)How Think It First has grown as an agency to hitting double-digit revenue year over year (19:53)Joe explains his thought process from wrestling through niching to making the decision to niche and how it's helped the agency grow (21:50)The two best things Joe has done recently that expedited his growth as a CEO and agency owner (29:09)What the future holds for Think It First does the future look like for us? (31:06)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency MastermindJoe Lashinger | LinkedInThink It First | Website

Ryan Stewart is a well-known marketing expert and serial entrepreneur. He has developed a process to help owners scale their businesses in the online ecosystem by allowing them to step back after realizing the company's potential. He has more than ten years of experience in this industry and has done many things during this period. He is currently the Managing Partner of WEBRIS, an SEO agency that helps clients get more customers from Google search using their fast, effective Sprint Methodology; and Managing Partner at The Blueprint Training, helping SEO agencies scale past $100k by "productizing" their service (aka the SEO Sprint Methodology).Stewart sold WEBRIS in 2018 after scaling the SEO and digital marketing company to $1.1 million ARR in a little over a year. As the fraction CMO at Ardent Cannabis, Ryan Stewart took the company's annual sales from $750,000 to $1.4 million in just eight months. He lives in Miami with his amazing wife (Pamela) and sausage dog. They are also in the process of building up their own real estate portfolio of short-term rental (STR) properties.What if your agency's sales and marketing were on the same page? If you can get the sales dialed, it makes your marketing that much better. With this explosion of growth comes bigger margins, more clients, greater revenue, and a better culture. This SOTR episode explores the topics of marrying marketing with sales, staying sharp by staying on top of the latest trends, taking care of your people, and why there's so much money in the cannabis industry.This Cast Covers:Why there's so much money in the cannabis industry that people in it don't know what to do with all of it (05:13)How cannabis companies make so much cash they're willing to take an injection of their capital and pay 30% interest on it (05:41)The law of supply and demand and the number of limited licenses there are in the United States (07:26)Ryan talks about his role as a fractional CMO for this cannabis company (08:22)What product-led marketing should actually look like (08:45)Why he's being paid a premium as a consultant for these companies and not only that but also being given an earnout (11:56)How Ryan watched this company grow from pulling their hair out not knowing how they'll be able to pay the rent to now having so much money they have no idea what to do with it (12:20)Choosing to do things that forces dudes like Ryan and Joey to sharpen the knife and reinvest back into their own education (13:08)The main reason Joey's going to take 3 or 4 really elite high-caliber coaching clients (hint: it's not about the money) (13:57)How quickly the digital landscape changes and if you don't keep up, you'll get so left behind (14:42)Why Ryan keeps banging out content on YouTube that doesn't talk about marketing or SEO, and all that stuff his companies are well-known for (17:24)The people who really understand how to get attention are the ones who draw a line in the sand and they don't give a shit (21:42)When it comes to sales, does Ryan still believe you shouldn't be a pushy, jackass salesperson when selling a service like SEO? (26:55) You've got to be comfortable making other people uncomfortable and ushing them to make a decision they don't want but need to do (27:33)JJ, Joey, and Ryan talk about extreme ownership in sales roles (31:12)There are different ways to sell and different types of salespeople who can be successful in their own way (31:48)How do you hire, build, and train a rockstar sales talent, but also retain them? (35:08)Find out what your salespeople care about and get to know them individually (06:30)How Ryan has never had somebody leave or quit in the last eight years of business at his two companies (37:40)The surprising number of agencies Ryan has worked with are either on their way to seven figures or have already gotten there (39:52)Joey gives advice for all agency owners - define success for each client and identify what their win is (42:03)Is there still something holding Joey and Ryan back in getting to where they potentially want to go? (47:16)The parable of a six-year-old a.k.a. JJ's daughter on how to celebrate your wins (50:57)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency MastermindRyan Stewart's websiteRyan Stewart on LinkedIn

Anson Sowby shares hot takes on a number of topics ranging from the effects of culture and the pandemic to the back-end processes of his company. This Cast Covers:Get to know more about Battery  (1:54)What pushed Anson to be an entrepreneur (4:49)How Anson manages his team with the Angeleno culture (11:45)A person's productivity level varies during the pandemic. Here's how the people at Battery are coping (12:06) Battery's keys for growth (14:34)Narrow down your goals into short-term and long-term. Here's what Anson aims for Battery (16:58)Agency owners don't serve the clients – they serve their employees. Here's why (25:08)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency MastermindAnson Sowby | LinkedInBattery Agency | Website

Setting goals may be overwhelming especially when some may seem very hard to attain. Joey Gilkey and JJ Russell discuss points varying from how to determine reasonable and unreasonable goals to anything in between, over a glass of some well-earned fine booze.What's in Joey's glass: Redbreast Irish WhiskeyWhat's in JJ's glass: Buffalo Trace WhiskeyThis Cast Covers:How Joey and JJ witnessed an online rampage on Instagram (04:04)Society's reality (06:05)Let's talk about accountability. Joey and JJ discuss how they give credit where it's due (11:32)How to hold people accountable (12:23)JJ shares his firsthand experience of Joey as a boss (14:43)The majority of salespeople waste the majority of their time”, here's why (23:23)Get to know more about the doubling effect (24:07)How to properly distribute designated roles as efficient as possible (25:23)Is there a future where marketing becomes so effective that it will replace sales completely? (33:00)Reverse engineering your scenario: Joey gives a detailed example of turning your unreasonable to reasonable (43:40)On evaluating external and internal factors: when shit hits the fan, how do we go about it? (50:40)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency Mastermind

Amanda Dixon's M&A company aims to help entrepreneurs in this “tired industry” buy or sell their businesses. In this episode, Joey and Amanda talk dive deep into the M&A process and touch on topics such as determining the common reasons why agency owners decide to sell their businesses up to the valuations and earnouts of M&A companies like Barney.This Cast Covers:Get to know more about Barney  (2:21)What led Amanda to establish an M&A agency (3:44)How the pandemic helped strengthen the confidence of budding agency owners (4:34)Amanda shares the most frequent reason why founders put their agencies up for sale (5:43) What potential agency buyers look for (8:19)Amanda shares the trend of behaviors of both buyers and sellers (11:34)That red flag of a statement that you should void declaring this statement to buyers (15:43)The different teams that compromise an M&A agency (16:33)Why EBITDA is the most important reliable measure for agency owners (20:39)How Barney avoids nightmare M&A experiences (25:14)How people perceive earnouts of an M&A agency (28:31)Get to know how M&A agencies earn from their services (31:55)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency MastermindAmanda Dixon | LinkedInBarney Website

So many agency owners try to be everything to everyone, making it difficult for these same owners to understand their path to profitability.But as you're aware, they don't have the right sales operation in place or even the right resources to know how to increase their sales and profits past the seven or eight-figure mark.In this episode, we discuss how you can stop being seen as a commodity that sells a la carte offers and stand out as a consultative agency that knows exactly what its target market needs. Also, discover the one thing your sales reps need to know in order to sell your services more effectively, and how you as a sales leader can help them through meetings and reviews.  This Cast Covers:Why people who stand by a certain ideology do not actually want to engage in difficult conversations when the rubber meets the road (06:11) Empathetic people don't necessarily have any room on their plate to have hard conversations about harder topics (10:44)JJ's practical takeaways in not standing idly by and actually doing something about issues that are harder to swallow (12:38) Why Liberals and Conservatives are being pitted against each other by the “real enemy” (14:15)How product market training for sales leaders and sales reps can make them more effective in their role (18:04)The important components of a product knowledge base (18:55)What does a salesperson actually need to know to be able to sell something that's really technical? (22:24)How the curse of knowledge actually confuses your clients and stops them from buying from you (22:46)Combining these two things will get your salesperson up and running pretty quick (26:03)What most ideal customer profiles lack that keeps them below the seven-figure mark (29:07)Why having a very narrow and specific ideal customer profile is so crucial (30:06)Which moves the needle faster from a sales perspective – niching via the industry you serve or niching via the service you offer? (36:07)Why there might be a third axis when identifying your niche according to Joey - the z-axis (38:30)The difference between a meeting and review when it comes to sales leadership (40:28)What actually gets covered during a review and how often are they performed? (42:01)Why Joey believes selling an a la carte service is pointless (47:59)What it means to be a consultative seller (51:00)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency Mastermind

Every great pastry is made from a recipe. Here's Chris Carr's own marketing recipe to success. Learn more about his flow chart called the gap assessment in this episode!Chris founded Farotech at age 23 where it is now an award-winning marketing strategy agency standing firm at 21 years running. Farotech is a digital marketing agency focusing mainly on inbound sales and lead generation. This Cast Covers:Who is Chris Carr?  (1:14)Joey and Chris share their thoughts on the ongoing Ukraine and Russia war (2:11)How a 21-year-old digital marketing company's evolution looks like (9:20)What is gap assessment and why should you take note of it (12:20) Joey shares their Sales Driven Roadmap (15:32)Make sure to avoid this trap as an agency (17:39)Avoid shortcuts so you won't jeopardize your relationship with your loyal clients. Chris shares a perfect analogy on this (21:06)How Farotech's team is growing (26:51)What's cooking with Farotech (28:53)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency MastermindChris Carr | LinkedInFarotech Website

Another exciting Sales on the Rocks episode for all of you! We talk about topics ranging from current events to tips and thoughts on advocacies, ad dependencies, newsletters, performance evaluation, company acquiring, and more!What's in Joey's glass: E. H. Taylor, Jr. Single BarrelWhat's in JJ's glass: Company BourbonThis Cast Covers:Things get political! Here's what you missed from the last SOTR episode (03:28)JJ and Joey give their takes on current events (05:22)Are you a strong advocate? Then walk the walk while you talk the talk (10:02)How Joey and his team got scammed by a previous employee (16:28)Are newsletters for everyone who wants to grow their audiences? (28:02)Do you have a salary goal in mind? Connect the numbers and see how many clients you'd need to get to attain it (29:20)The best way to tap potential clients (31:27)Lead magnets and tactics that had helped Joey build his audience (33:51)On planning meetings: here's how you should create weekly plans for healthy work discussions (36:20)Planning on acquiring an agency? Check out these loans that could help you (42:06)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency Mastermind

Brandon Amoroso is a Gen Z entrepreneur and CEO who founded ElectrIQ Marketing, helping e-commerce brands improve retention and increase LTV with thoughtfully tailored lifecycle strategies, email/SMS marketing, and web design and development. He is a DTC leader who focuses on Shopify and its lifecycle marketing and retention, as well as web design and development.Brandon founded ElectrIQ Marketing in 2018 at age 22 while he was studying at the University of Southern California.In this episode, Brandon shares how he went on and established his company while simultaneously continuing university life. He also shares his experience as a Gen Z entrepreneur himself and how he maintains a harmonious working relationship with a team of dominant Gen Zers as well.This Cast Covers:Get to know more about Brandon Amoroso (1:08)How Brandon juggled his career and his university life (5:06)Turning the vision into a reality: how Brandon paved his way to success  (8:18)Don't be too hyper-focused on results. Here's why you shouldn't overlook strengthening your internal processes (10:11)How word of mouth marketing worked best for ElectrIQ Marketing (13:20)How ElectrIQ as a Gen Z agency reels in Gen Z professionals to be part of their team (16:15)What Brandon does to maintain a healthy Gen Z dominant team (17:27)Here's what Gen Z professionals are prioritizing in terms of their potential employers' benefits (22:12)How ElectrIQ Marketing solved their dilemma with time tracking efficiency (26:50)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency MastermindBrandon Amoroso | WebsiteBrandon Amoroso | LinkedInElectrIQ Marketing

When we asked CEOs, agency owners, founders, and executives if they had a  follow-up system for proposals that fall  through the cracks, you'd be shocked by most of them who answered none. All most of them do is send one follow-up email and that's it. There's nothing worse than investing hours and letting it go to waste. Well, we're gonna change the way you do follow-ups from now on. Thank us later. Aside from following up, we also discuss selling the full engagement versus a foot in the door offer, the 8-minute rule for avoiding no-shows, a quick email you can send to prospects who ghost you, and the importance of copywriting in sales.This Cast Covers:Joey gives JJ the 30-second quick fix for sprucing up the production value of his studio background (01:07)Why do people pick fights just for the sake of picking fights? (05:40) Stop neglecting yourself for the sake of everybody else and take time for self-care (11:54)Joey and JJ talk about hypersonic missiles and whether or not the US can defend itself against a full-scale attack (16:52)How to get an agency owner to see beyond a small vision or past his ego (19:15)The major differences both in how you run your calls and selling a foot in the door versus selling the full engagement (23:06)Joey defines what a foot in the door offer is and why it's the best (24:18)A specific system for following up – Joey's one, five, and eight-minute rule for avoiding no shows (33:03)How to follow up on somebody that falls off the grid post-proposal or post-contract a.k.a. “ghosts” you (37:16)The seven-word email that's guaranteed to get you a reply from your prospects (39:18)How so many potential deals got lost due to the lack of follow-ups (40:30)A crucial element that often gets overlooked in the art of sales - copywriting (42:42)The dangers and deception of social media and how to avoid getting sucked into your phone all day (48:37)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency Mastermind

Kevin Miller is the CEO and co-founder of GR0, a digital marketing agency specializing in CEO and focusing on helping brands to rank number 1 in search where they cater mostly to DTC e-commerce brands. He has helped scale the best D2C & technology companies with proven growth marketing frameworks, and launched a grammar website, thewordcounter.com, to prove his strategies work.In this episode, Kevin shares how he came about establishing his own empire and how the business thrived during the pandemic. We also dive deeper into which key aspects of success Kevin focuses on the most.This Cast Covers:Get to know more about Kevin Miller (01:21)What is more to digital marketing than ads (03:22)How thewordcounter.com came about (04:06) What career Kevin wanted before getting his head onto the entrepreneur game (06:22)How Kevin's business succeeded even more during the pandemic (09:00)Kevin's influential list (10:43)Employees are key to success: here's why (14:16)Why you shouldn't underestimate word-of-mouth marketing (22:25)The best leaders are those who don't get too emotional in public (35:20)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency MastermindKevin Miller | WebsiteKevin Miller  | LinkedInGr0 Website

As a founder, you're probably thinking about your exit at some point in the future. Most of the founders and owners we've talked to have been actively seeking to sell their businesses within the next decade—and as you might imagine, many of them find it difficult to create a plan that positions their company as a desirable acquisition target without overburdening themselves with extra work.In this episode, we'll reveal how you can get a head start on what you need to do if you plan on exiting or selling your agency one day. We go over whether you should focus on crushing inbound or outbound depending on your growth goals. We also talk about a popular book that's been mentioned in our Mastermind lately, the Who, Not How, and why it's critical to hire the right “who” in sales even if we keep harping that process is more important than people.This Cast Covers:Joey goes on a quick rant about cancel culture triggered by Lady A (01:16)JJ discovers a new hobby that he can do regularly, makes him sweat and active, and is pretty challenging (05:00)What would make Joey pack up and leave the country (10:08)Why only very few agencies venture into selling an AI-driven, SaaS product-driven, SEO, or link building tool that can differentiate them from the rest of their competitors (13:44)The SaaS software Joey would have probably built that's both a CRM and data tool (15:53)Why Joey still wins at crypto even if he knows jack shit other than the fact he knows who to listen to in the space (18:46)Critical things most people don't tell you about selling your agency (20:37)What Joey would do if he wanted to exit SDA at this level right now (26:24)How the Who, Not How Framework applies in the sales space knowing that process is more important than people (28:31)Would you rather be an agency crushing inbound or an agency crushing outbound? (36:51)Can you untether a really robust company culture that you value from your sales team? (41:12)Why the American workforce has been over-emphasizing culture (15:57)Elements to look at if you're choosing between companies that have different company cultures (18:14)Should you ramp up retainer-based work and perpetuity-based, residual-based sales if you're already doing very well with project-based work? (26:33)When is the best time to build referral relationships? (29:45)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency Mastermind

Nick Stagge is the Founder and CEO of The Grounded Company, a company that specializes in designing content that converts — emails, ads, websites, gifs, video, and more. Before creating his myriad of companies, Nick has worked with a number of notable brands including Zumiez, Skullcandy, and GoPro. With more than 25 years where 20 of it was with Nick working in notable companies, he decided that it was time for him to establish his own instead. Up to date, Nick has founded 5 companies of his own where all are fully running currently. Aside from his passion for business, Nick is also an advocate for mental health.In this episode, Nick shares his experience on how he felt like it was time for him to finally build his own empire instead of existing in an empire of others. We dive deep into each of his 5 founded companies and the reason why they have been built.This Cast Covers:How The Grounded Company came about (01:24) What are cult-like followings and how are they important? (06:16)This is what you need to focus on building first before targeting your general audience (11:27)The reality of running an agency (16:42)Just started an agency of your own? Don't have the service or people your client is inquiring about? Check out this outsourcing model Nick does with his agency before saying yes! (17:43)The biggest risk in startup companies isn't cash, but reputation: why you shouldn't always be a “‘yes-man” to your clients (20:45)Nick shares the reason behind why he established his company We Are Mind, which aims to support people in business with mental illness (24:37)Get to know Brenda and Chop Shop Productions, two brands out of the 4 of Nick's myriad of companies  (34:13)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency MastermindLinkedIn | Nick Stagge wearemind.org

If you're like most of the guests we've interviewed on this podcast, then you are constantly trying to improve your agency. Whether that's figuring out your pricing, building out your sales operation, or getting your agency to the next level, it can be tough. Luckily, in this Sales on the Rocks episode, we're gonna walk you through how you can do all that by setting better realistic and specific goals, learning how to charge more, and providing crazy value during a simple sales conversation. Tune in to learn the 80-20 rule of pricing, advice for reaching higher annual revenue targets, and a simple mentality that can help you win bigger in business and in life.This Cast Covers:The case of Joey's missing truck (01:09)Joey and JJ recap the recent BDAM anti-retreat and share their takeaways (08:15)The words you speak over yourself and your loved ones are powerful (09:41)What got JJ dreaming about the massively growth-minded goals (12:33)How does defining what you want for your business inform what your sales operation looks like? (17:31)Why Joey is also a fan of the “and, not or” mentality and how this mentality helps in setting realistic goals (20:56)A lot of people set goals in a very safe manner  (24:47)Can two partners who are totally misaligned coexist in a business together? (27:31)What most agency owners and CEOs forget to factor in when it comes to projecting sales targets in the future (30:03)When you play big boy games, you make the right decisions and come up with big boy goals (31:11)How people are limited by their total addressable market (32:00)Three options to scale: provide new services, serve new industries, or charge more (32:38)The 80-20 rule of pricing (44:06)Being in a hyper niche might be what's preventing you from getting to the next level of growth (36:45)Advice for badass agency owners who crushed their revenue goals but want to expand to that next level (38:13)As you exhaust your TAM, do you become incredibly unattractive to potential buyers? (38:55)Joey's thoughts on advertising your price versus having that be a part of your sales conversation (41:11)Pricing the client versus pricing the work: why it's always better to get into a consultative sales conversation with your prospects (45:02)Why Joey hates it when agencies do hourly or flat pricing (46:16)First time on the show: JJ and Joey appreciate their wives (51:01)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency Mastermind

Jack Paxton is the co-founder of Top Growth Marketing (TGM), an agency that specializes in customer acquisition through paid ads such as SEM, social, display, shopping, and innovative digital marketing strategies.Alongside TGM, Jack has co-founded two other companies including Hyax and Vyper. His motivation comes from building tools that help brands create a better buying experience with customers. He is also a speaker and Growth Marketing Expert, accelerating companies to multi-million dollar run rates in less than 6 months, conducting company audits, and consulting for growth in customer acquisition.Outsourcing may be a great way for agency owners to have fewer hassle transactions but with it comes a slightly harsh truth. In this episode, Jack shares his experiences on how to be great at finding the right people for your team. This Cast Covers:How Jack got his first closed deal at age 12  (3:41)The reality of outsourcing with American clients (8:33)Outsourcing is great but maybe it's time for you to consider operating with a hybrid business model (9:30)Joey and Jack share their experience with their vetting processes in their respective companies (11:43) Why The 30 Day Work Trial is a healthy process you should try (14:13)Jack shares how he grew his agency (15:42)The 5 different evolutions of a sales team (17:53)Active and passive income: how scaling both streams may be the best move yet (24:04)Diving deep onto the different profitability streams of income in an ad platform (25:25)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency MastermindJack Paxton on LinkedInJack Paxton's WebsiteTop Growth Marketing Website

In this episode of Sales on the Rocks, we talk about buying an agency that's bigger than ours, and Joey's experience of merging his brand with theirs. Joey also shares his thoughts on agencies working with purpose-driven companies and how that can be a hindrance to their profitability. JJ also brings up a question about the Gen Z workforce and how that can be either a challenge or an opportunity for more agencies. What's in Joey's glass: Alani Nu Hawaiian Shaved Ice Energy DrinkThis Cast Covers:What's the deal in this big push to make everything electric? (07:12)  Vulnerabilities with going electric and living on the grid (09:10)Is it a good idea to buy an agency that's bigger than yours and merge your brand with theirs? (14:40)If you have access to capital and believe that you can actually add value to that business as it merges with your brand, then it's worth buying the bigger company (16:46)Why Joey thinks working with purpose-driven companies could be a hindrance to agencies  (19:35) Is there a standard threshold or revenue expectation per full-time employee? (29:07)What most freelancers turned solopreneurs turned CEOs don't realize about maximizing profitability for their agencies (32:24)Is there a benefit to building out a sales team where you leverage unique skill sets? (38:52)Consideration points for paying somebody in a sales role depending on their different tiers of industry experience (45:52)Do Gen Z's expect to work less and get paid more? Is this a significant problem? (23:28)How the working times have changed from generation to generation (27:50)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency Mastermind

Ian Martins is the Managing Partner at Bell Curve, a creative growth agency that works at the intersection of brand and performance. He is a veteran in the agency field who has worked with a number of huge brands such as Proctor and Gamble, Microsoft, Segment, and more. Aside from these prestige brands, he also is committed to helping growing startup brands that are yet to make their way into the industry.From a rock star in the music industry to a rock star in marketing, Ian Martins has been a veteran in the industry for years with clients ranging from multinational brands to inspiring startups who are eager for growth.In this episode, Ian emphasizes the importance of branding and why it should not be overlooked as more business owners tend to focus on garnering sales than the previous with it being in the forefront. He also shares why an agency owner should not be scared to start again and rebuild a new business model to steer away from past mistakes with the first.This Cast Covers:Are our dream jobs really what we want?  (4:29)Advertising: The rock and roll of the business world (5:29)Diving deep into Bell Curve's three concentric circles of Bell Curve: increase lifetime value, acquire customers and build brand moat (7:21)Why you shouldn't overlook branding as one of the most important components of a business (9:22) The outcomes of a successful brand building  (10:39)The difference between growth marketing vs any other type of marketing (13:20)The one question you should ask yourself before starting your own agency (17:47)Know your target audience through the guide questions of vertical and horizontal niching (23:17)Don't be afraid to start over. Ian shares how his second agency became a success after not repeating the lapses from his first (30:41)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency MastermindBell CurveDemand CurveIan MartinsIan Martins on LinkedInIan Martins on Twitter

In this episode of Sales on the Rocks, we talk about how to run diagnostics on your sales data, why the Great Reset theory most economists are talking about is worth looking into, and how having a foot in the door offer can make all the difference when selling to large enterprises and other organizations. Plus discover a simple framework that helps you figure out how to manage your time better and ensure you're spending time on the things that drive the most value to your life.What's in Joey's glass: Chattanooga Whiskey Straight Bourbon Whiskey Barrel 111What's in JJ's glass: Rabbit Hole Cavehill Kentucky Straight BourbonThis Cast Covers:Is the Great Reset something to be feared? (05:29)The bigger overarching idea is influencing the grassroots localization of it (10:15)Is there an action plan to stop this from happening other than being informed? (14:08)Why you should be a little more cautious about what the media wants to show you (18:58)How to prep for and effectively get the maximum value out of attending masterminds, conferences, etc. (22:49)Show up with intention I think having intention as a word, (26:19)The strategy and campaign structuring might be different, but the principles are the same (28:43)Don't go after the company, go after the individuals in those companies and do an account-based approach (29:40)Joey's advice on doing account-based sales whether it's for a Fortune 500 company or a small company: Start as high as humanly possible in the organization as it relates to the problem (30:47)Always take a pyramid top-down approach (31:08)A badass campaign done by one of the Best Damn Mastermind members to get in front of the decision-makers of the company (32:41)When you've got a company that sells a really technical service wanting to go after a bunch of high profile companies, what type of sales rep do you hire? (37:07)Do agencies need to have that one specific front-end offer or do you have to play the RFP game? (39:10)Why the foot in the door offer is advantageous for every organization, including enterprises (41:02)Running self-diagnostics on your data: What to check for and fix when your deal velocity goes down (43:57)Why your data needs to be clean and accessible at all times (47:29)How do you cut out the noise? (49:04)ODD - a simple framework Joey uses to manage his time and figure out which activities drive the most value (49:46)Why you should go look at your calendar right now and label events red, yellow, and green (53:39)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency Mastermind

Joe Pulizzi is the founder of The Tilt and the Content Marketing Institute, is a seasoned content entrepreneur for more than 20 years. From coaching the ever-reliable marketers to evolving for the modern days' demands with the influencer age, he founded The Tilt. The Tilt is set up to help big and small content creators, bloggers, podcasters, YouTubers and more build their businesses. In this episode, Joe shares how six key areas of goal-setting helped him gain the title of one of the world's top content marketing authorities. He also shares why content creation goes beyond merely creating itself and why this scale in content creation should not be overlooked!This Cast Covers:The power of visual manifestation: how Joe manifested a $15M company buy-out into $26M (3:49)The one thing you should do for you to make greater outcomes (4:38)The formula to success: 6 key areas for goal setting you should swear by  for great decision making (6:08)The significance of COVID-19 with the spike of the uprising of content creators (10:37) NFT: the next big business model you should watch out for  (12:51)Everyone can be a content creator but not everyone could be a content entrepreneur (15:53)How to organize your content properly to avoid content clutter (20:27)With the number of major platforms booming at this time, don't pressure yourself by trying to keep up with each one. Instead, focus on where you're amazing at (29:33)Why knowing your audience in content creation matters most than you think (33:02)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency MastermindThe TiltCreator Economy ExpoJoe Pulizzi on LinkedInContent Inc. by Joe Pulizzi

We go back to the basics for a detailed rundown on how aspiring agency owners or agency owners, in general, could learn or improve. Ranging from topics like how to garner the best results whether in sales and internal processes– even up to the hosts' stances on current events! Joey Gilkey and JJ Rusell share with us these tips and sentiments over a glass of well-earned fine booze– on the rocks!This Cast Covers:Where to cop an all-around playbook for just $1500 (03:06)Why building your product/service first before finding your buyers is the fastest way to fail (5:06)Generalism is never the path forward: Here's why niching down is a must (10:09)The process of how The Sales Driven Agency helps establish businesses (10:45)A rundown on the agency essentials (13:29)The reality of a lead generation agency owner (17:02)The one thing most agency owners don't do that keep them from seeing massive growth in their business (19:58)JJ and Joey tackle the hiring process: Find out the one question Joey asks his hiree to test them (22:15)There's nothing wrong with reaching out for help when starting from scratch. JJ shares what you should do if what you have in front of you is a tabula rasa (31:58)If growth architect agencies like Sales Driven Agency weren't around, what was a budding agency owner with little to zero knowledge to do? (33:51)The one industry Joey avoids if he wasn't in the agency field (36:48)Aiming to achieve true growth? Joey shares three pillars that you should keep in mind (42:17)Joey shares his sentiment on the ongoing war in his homeland (49:09)Additional Resources:The Sales Driven AgencyThe Best Damn Agency Mastermind