Running an agency is not an easy business.
If you are selling what everyone else is, your fees will be low and so too will be your margins.
You are selling a commodity. It’s a race to the bottom on price.
If you are offering a specialist service, you can charge more but you may get trapped by clients wanting to deal with you directly.
You manage to handover to a specialist, but they are expensive.
You need to make sure you have got a steady flow of cash coming in the front door to pay your expensive staff.
The common approach to resolve this is to productize your offering, but how long until the product also becomes a commodity?
“The Hands-Off CEO” by Mandi Ellefson focuses more on how you can increase profitability and keep specialising your secret sauce.
I like this.
At the core of this is being able to confidently increase prices by creating an irresistible offer using the power of 1s:
1- Client
1- Painful Problem
1- Powerful Outcome
Side-note: If you are putting together an irresistible offer, also check out Alex Hormozi’s value equation.
By offering an outcome you are moving away from charging by the hour to value based pricing – hence you can charge more.
If you are going to guarantee delivery of someone’s million dollar project and you are only asking for 10%, that’s easier than asking for $500 per hour.
The client is happy to spend more because their outcome is guaranteed, risk removed.
You can also make your client feel more confident in your ability to deliver by providing them with a step by step “Customer Success Map” of how you are going to help them achieve that outcome.
Here were my other key take-aways:
1. Shift from Doer to Leader
The book emphasizes the need for CEOs to transition from being the hands-on operator to becoming a strategic leader.
This involves letting go of day-to-day tasks and empowering your team to handle the operations.
2. Build a Scalable Model
Create a business model that can grow without the CEO’s constant involvement.
This includes developing a scalable delivery process for your services and streamlining operations to remove bottlenecks.
3. Create a High-Performing Team
It’s crucial to hire and train team members who can take ownership of their roles and contribute to business growth.
Attract top talent, establish accountability, and create a culture of continuous improvement.
4. Systematize Client Results
Ensuring consistent results for clients is key to scaling.
Create repeatable processes that deliver predictable outcomes, allowing you to grow without compromising quality.
5. Focus on High-Value Activities
Identify the tasks that generate the most value for their business and delegate or eliminate everything else.
The goal is to free up the CEO’s time for strategic thinking, innovation, and business development.
6. Accelerate Growth with the Right Offers
Craft service offerings that are scalable and provide maximum value to clients.
This may involve restructuring how services are delivered or creating new, higher-level service tiers.
7. Profit-Driven Growth Strategy
Scaling doesn’t just mean adding more clients; it means increasing profitability.
There needs to be a clear strategy for pricing, packaging, and upselling that help businesses grow profitably.
8. Exit the Day-to-Day
Ultimately, the goal is to create a business that runs smoothly without the CEO’s daily input.
This involves establishing systems, processes, and leadership that allow for sustained growth and eventually give the CEO the option to step away or sell the business.
Talk soon,
Lloyd
PS – You’ve got a working offer but need some help in operations land? Let’s chat.
