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Research & Strategy for Digital Agencies

Nicholas Petroski

The latest research, insights, tools, and resources that make managing a digital shop easier,

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Featured Post

The Most Common Agency Revgen Issue

TL;DR Most revgen strategies exist scattered across a bunch of Google docs with no single source of strategic truth to refer back to. This creates friction, which slows growth and reduces profitability. Creating a doc to house high-level summaries of the components of your revgen strategy allows you to check new ideas (shiny objects) against it effectively. The time your leadership devotes to strategy work will change as your agency grows, with larger shops generally spending more time than...

5 days ago • 4 min read

TL;DR The value of a digital agency is directly related to the quality of its leadership and management. There are three core areas that you need experienced managers to lead: Revgen, Value delivery, and Ops. You can build your management team through acquihires, hiring from bigger agencies (but not too big), and hiring from industry. Don’t be afraid to remove those who don’t fit. As you fill out your management team, level up your agency’s sophistication by setting a solid strategic...

17 days ago • 4 min read

TL;DR NEW SURVEY: The 2024 Digital Services Growth Survey is live! Participate and get access to the full results. I’m partnering with Productive on a new miniseries on building valuable agencies. Building a valuable agency (for sale) is incredibly similar to simply building a great agency. The main components of a valuable agency can be sorted into: capable leadership and management, revgen strategy and systems, revenue profile, efficiency and margins, and finally, innovation / future agency...

about 1 month ago • 2 min read

TL;DR There's a massive gap between the top agencies and everyone else. The top agencies tend to share a few common threads: an almost magic ability to close deals, seasoned leadership teams, sophisticated strategies and operations, they operate in the future, and they have a relentless focus on what's truly important. It's definitely possible to become a top agency, but it takes a ton of work and a bit of luck. The good news is there's space to fill, but be careful that you're chasing what...

about 1 month ago • 5 min read

TL;DR Only 8% of agency salespeople's total compensation was variable in 2023 Most comp. in other industries is comprised of a 60:40 base:variable split This causes issues attracting and retaining talent, misaligned incentives, and inappropriate risk sharing Shifting to a more standard base:variable comp. split could increase agency stability and improve growth rates Sustainable growth requires sensible compensation To grow an agency sustainably, you need to create repeatable ways to generate...

about 2 months ago • 3 min read

TL;DR Growing your agency can improve its stability. A stable agency should be able to shrug off most shocks to the system (delayed projects, new tech, bad hires, etc.). Growing the agency correctly with a repeatable revgen strategy and in the right direction improves stability. I'm booking new revgen review clients for April. Check out the details and LMK if you'd like to set up an intro call. Just reply to this email, and we can get started. Optimized margins through operational efficiency...

2 months ago • 4 min read

TL;DR The 2024 Digital Services Salary Guide is live! Participants got their copy last week, you can get yours today! Use code --- to take $95 off the final price. The Bureau of Digital is doing a quick 2-question check on sales trends at digital shops. A good revgen strategy should make success the default. It should almost become inevitable. The three most common challenges I see agencies face are: a lack of vision, clear roles/goals/responsibilities for the revgen team, and deep expertise...

3 months ago • 5 min read

TL;DR Look for the full 2024 Digital Services Salary Report to hit your inbox next week if you were able to participate. I’m refining a standalone service to uncover gaps and provide guidance on repeatable revenue generation systems. Grab some time on my calendar if you'd like to learn more. I'll be discounting the first few I do in exchange for feedback on the service. (I have 3 spots left for the first quarter) There are a ton of different job titles floating around. Standardizing your...

3 months ago • 3 min read

TL;DR We wrapped up the salary survey with 103 owner salaries and 1,315 employee salaries. Look for the full report later this month! I’m refining a standalone service to uncover gaps and provide guidance on repeatable revenue generation systems. Grab some time on my calendar if you'd like to learn more. I'll be discounting the first few I do in exchange for feedback on the service. Optimizing for pure growth or margins can cause a myriad of issues. Agencies need to deploy their limited...

4 months ago • 5 min read

Thank You This newsletter has grown 43% this year. Almost all of that growth has been in the last quarter, and I'm pretty sure the main reason is people like you sharing them with your friends. I love the interaction this newsletter gets, and I’m incredibly grateful for it. Hearing what you're working on, how these topics resonate, and your thoughts on the market keep this job interesting. I learn something new each time I send one. 2023 Promethean Newsletter Subscribers The end of the year...

5 months ago • 3 min read
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