The Agency Profit Podcast

Points of Interest00:01 – 03:15 – Introducing Robin Bonn and Market of One: Marcel welcomes Robin Bonn, CEO of Co:definery and author of Market of One, to discuss agency differentiation, business model innovation, and staying competitive in the age of AI.03:15 – 06:14 – The Big Grind and the Challenges Facing Agencies: Robin explains how commoditization, shrinking margins, increasing workloads, and outdated business models are making it harder for agencies to grow sustainably.06:14 – 08:40 – Why Efficiency Alone Won’t Solve Agency Profitability: Agencies are using AI to improve efficiency and protect margins, but Robin argues that long-term growth requires innovation in positioning, services, delivery, and pricing.08:40 – 12:24 – Be Different, Sell Differently, Price Differently: Robin introduces his framework for agency transformation, emphasizing that meaningful differentiation must come before changes to sales processes and pricing models.12:24 – 18:37 – Rethinking Specialization and Agency Differentiation: Robin challenges the idea that specialization means choosing a narrow industry or service, explaining why agencies should focus on owning a specific client problem and demonstrating their unique ability to solve it.18:37 – 23:38 – Positioning vs. Proposition and Solving Client Problems: Marcel shares Parakeeto’s repositioning experience, while Robin explains the distinction between what an agency is and the value it delivers to clients.23:38 – 27:53 – Moving from Traditional Pitches to Consultative Selling: Robin discusses why agencies should replace persuasion-driven sales tactics with a structured, consultative approach that helps clients understand their challenges and identify the right solutions.27:53 – 31:17 – Building Trust Through Better Sales Conversations: Marcel and Robin explore how differentiation creates leverage in competitive sales situations and why asking thoughtful, diagnostic questions is more effective than trying to convince prospects.31:17 – 36:22 – Supplier Conditioning and Negotiating with Procurement: Robin explains how procurement practices influence agency pricing decisions and why stronger differentiation helps agencies negotiate confidently, protect margins, and know when to say no.36:22 – 40:07 – AI, the Smiling Curve, and the Future of Agency Pricing: Marcel and Robin examine how AI is reducing the cost of execution, increasing the importance of strategy and measurement, and pushing agencies to reconsider traditional time-based pricing.40:07 – 44:01 – Aligning Pricing Models with Client Value: Robin and Marcel discuss why pricing should reflect the outcomes clients need, the risks involved, and the delivery approach required rather than simply following industry pricing trends.44:01 – 45:45 – Market of One and the Agency Diagnostic Questionnaire: Robin shares his book Market of One and Co:definery’s Diagnostic Questionnaire, a resource designed to help agency leaders assess their readiness for differentiation and business model transformation.Show NotesRobin Bonn on LinkedInBook: Market of OneCo:definery’s Diagnostic Questionnaire Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Points of Interest00:01 – 02:38 – Introducing the 2026 Creative Industry Trends Report: Carson Pierce welcomes Sean Harris from Function Point to discuss industry research and the challenges facing creative agencies.02:38 – 05:23 – Why 46% of Agencies Experienced Revenue Declines: Sean explains how economic uncertainty, reduced marketing budgets, and slower client acquisition contributed to declining agency revenue in 2025.05:23 – 07:46 – The Ongoing Problem of Agency Overservicing: With 76% of agencies reporting overservicing, Carson and Sean discuss how untracked client work reduces profitability and why measuring delivery costs is essential.07:46 – 09:14 – Why Agencies Struggle to Measure Profit Margins: Sean reveals that roughly one in five agencies lack visibility into their margins, often because they fail to account for employee costs and accurate project expenses.09:14 – 12:24 – The Gap Between Time Tracking and Reliable Data: Although 71% of agencies track time, only 29% consider their data accurate, highlighting the need for consistent processes, team accountability, and better tracking habits.12:24 – 14:46 – How Inaccurate Timesheets Distort Project Profitability: Carson and Sean explain how misallocated hours, delayed timesheet entries, and incomplete reporting prevent agencies from understanding the true cost of client work.14:46 – 17:15 – Why 52% of Agencies Avoided Raising Prices: Economic pressure and fear of losing clients led many agencies to maintain existing prices despite rising costs, further squeezing their margins.17:15 – 18:46 – How Small Client Requests Create Profit Leakage: With 54% of overservicing attributed to small requests, Carson highlights how seemingly minor changes and untracked project activities accumulate into significant delivery costs.18:46 – 21:11 – The Productivity Paradox and AI’s Impact on Agencies: Despite 52% of team members feeling overworked, billability and utilization declined by 8%, raising questions about unpaid work, AI-driven efficiency, and traditional hourly billing models.21:11 – 24:35 – The Shift Toward Value-Based Pricing: Carson and Sean explore why more agencies are adopting outcome-based pricing, how it reduces revenue leakage compared with time-and-materials billing, and why time tracking remains important.24:35 – 30:37 – Hybrid Work and the Challenge of Revenue Forecasting: With 68% of agencies operating hybrid models and most having six months or less of revenue visibility, the conversation explores changing overhead structures and the role of reliable data and AI in forecasting.30:37 – 37:15 – Building Better Financial Visibility Through Agency Management Tools: Sean explains how Function Fox, Function Point, and the upcoming Frankly platform aim to simplify time tracking, improve data accuracy, and help agency leaders make more informed operational and financial decisions.Show NotesSean Harris on LinkedInFunction Point on LinkedIn2026 Creative Industry Trends Report Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Points of Interest00:01 – 04:05 – Podcasting as Relationship Building: Jeremy shares how his podcasting journey began and explains why interviewing experts became a way to combine professional development, relationship building, and valuable marketing content.04:05 – 06:10 – Rethinking the Purpose of a Podcast: Carson explains how he previously viewed podcasting primarily as a content and audience-growth channel before realizing its potential for connecting directly with prospective clients and valuable industry relationships.06:10 – 09:54 – The Metrics That Actually Matter: Jeremy argues that downloads and subscriber counts are often less important for B2B podcasts than the quality of the relationships created and whether guests value and share their episodes.09:54 – 12:45 – Guests as Partners and Potential Clients: Jeremy explains how strategically chosen guests can become referral partners, strategic partners, or prospective clients without making the interview feel like a disguised sales conversation.12:45 – 15:22 – Building a Long-Term Give Loop: A systematic follow-up process can continue creating value for guests through recurring social content, while recognizable guests provide niche credibility that can matter more than a large audience.15:22 – 18:18 – Using Social Proof to Attract Guests: Jeremy explains how relevant names within a specific industry can establish enough authority to attract future guests, even when a podcast does not have massive download numbers.18:18 – 22:35 – Getting the First Great Guests: Agencies can start with existing industry relationships and introductions, then build toward cold outreach as their social proof grows, while events such as book releases or company launches can create timely opportunities for invitations.22:50 – 27:00 – Creating Better Podcast Conversations: Jeremy recommends focusing on genuine curiosity, researching guests beforehand, asking what they are currently working on, and using open-ended questions that encourage memorable stories.27:00 – 31:44 – Designing Content Around the Right People: Asking prospective listeners what they want to learn can improve an interview, but Jeremy emphasizes that choosing guests who naturally overlap with the target audience makes relevant content easier to create.31:44 – 34:56 – Podcasting as Professional Development: Hosts can use interviews to ask questions they genuinely want answered, turning podcasting into an opportunity to learn directly from experts while creating more authentic conversations.34:56 – 38:13 – Building Your Dream 200: Jeremy outlines his five-step B2B podcast framework and introduces the Dream 200, a strategic list that includes potential clients, referral partners, strategic partners, and influential authorities within an industry.38:13 – 41:12 – Relationships Start with Giving: Jeremy closes by encouraging listeners to consistently reconnect with people, express gratitude, learn what they are working on, and look for ways to help without approaching every interaction with an immediate agenda.Show NotesConnect with Dr. Jeremy WeiszInspired InsiderRise25  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Points of Interest0:01 – 00:58 – Introduction: A rare full-team episode, Kristen, Carson and Marcel, built around Marcel's recent talk on agencies versus SaaS in the age of AI.00:58 – 03:33 – Where the Talk Came From: The vantage point behind the argument: running Parakeeto as a tech-enabled service business, time inside SaaS Academy, and work with an AI venture studio.03:33 – 05:54 – Redefining What "Product" Means: Product is the whole customer experience, not the software. Most agencies reach for the software first and skip the part that makes it worth buying.05:54 – 10:43 – The Four MVPs: The order of operations: minimum viable problem, minimum viable point of view, minimum viable process, and only then minimum viable product.11:14 – 15:21 – Testing Your Own Clarity: A practical test for whether you actually understand the problem you solve, with a chiropractor analogy that shows what deep customer understanding sounds like out loud.15:22 – 19:15 – The 37signals Trap: Why the unrelated side-project product almost never works: it borrows the origin story without borrowing the process and expertise that made it possible.19:15 – 23:12 – The Value Equation: Value as dream outcome multiplied by perceived likelihood of success, Alex Hormozi's framing, applied to how an agency builds and presents an offer.23:12 – 25:59 – Time Delay and Effort as Levers: Two levers most agencies leave alone: how long the client waits, and how much work you leave on their desk. UPS shipping tiers and airport security lines make the point.25:59 – 29:16 – Is Full-Service at Risk: Whether full-service digital agencies are the most exposed to commoditization, and why the tightness of any position erodes as an adoption curve matures.29:16 – 32:27 – Full-Service Isn't Inherently Bad: Breadth added deliberately, from a clear read on the client's core problem, still creates value, with Parakeeto's own move into bookkeeping as the example.32:27 – 38:52 – Price Sensitivity and Segmentation: Pricing pressure is usually a mismatch signal: what your firm values isn't what this client values. How to segment buyers by what they will actually pay for.38:52 – 46:44 – Pricing Models and the Agency of the Future: Alternatives to time and materials billing, the scope problem industries like PR can't escape, and what the agencies still winning in five years will look like.Show NotesFree Agency ToolkitParakeeto Foundations CourseFree access to our Model PlatformConnect via LinkedInMarcel PetitpasCarson PierceKristen KellyRelated EpisodesWe Take Care of the Money: Parakeeto’s New Positioning, Explained – Ep.226The Most Common Agency Pricing Mistakes, with Kristen Kelly – Ep.192Operationalizing and De-Risking Positioning, with Mike Grinberg – Ep.195 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Points of Interest 00:34 – 02:25 – Introduction: Eric describes his 20-plus years in agency growth consulting and explains that he and his co-founder started their firm to give agencies both a clear growth strategy and the dedicated resources to execute it. 02:25 – 07:02 – Why Growth Isn't a Natural Skill: Eric argues that most agency founders build their business around a craft skill rather than growth expertise, which leaves agencies relying on early relationships until those relationships run out and margins tighten. 07:02 – 15:37 – The Four Pillars of Growth: Eric outlines his framework of positioning, messaging, tactics, and growth operations, starting with a multi-year revenue and profit strategy that anchors everything else. 15:37 – 20:40 – Applying the Framework to LinkedIn: Carson asks for advice on his own struggle to post consistently on LinkedIn, and Eric responds by tying content consistency to a documented plan built around a single core metric: monthly conversations. 20:40 – 23:11 – Vitals, the Growth Readiness Assessment: Eric explains that Vitals evaluates 40 variables tied to an agency's growth readiness, giving his team the data needed to make an accurate diagnosis before recommending a strategy. 23:11 – 27:29 – Clarity, the In-Person Workshop: Eric describes Clarity as a two-day, in-person workshop with agency leadership that produces a growth strategy, a 30-60-90 action plan, and a set of committed tactics. 27:29 – 35:49 – Impact, the Execution Partnership: Eric explains that most agencies lack the internal capacity to execute a growth strategy on their own, so Impact provides ongoing support to move that strategy forward. 35:49 – 39:47 – Reframing Growth as Enterprise Value: Eric introduces enterprise value as a healthier lens than raw revenue growth, tying it to the overall health of the agency and its people. 39:47 – 41:36 – Four Strategic Paths: Stabilize, Sustain, Scale, or Sell: Eric lays out the four strategies his team applies depending on an agency's current position and available runway. 41:36 – 45:40 – When Growth Would Just Scale Losses: Carson and Eric discuss agencies whose real problem is thin margins rather than a lack of leads, and Eric explains why margin visibility has to come before any growth plan is built. Show Notes Connect with Eric Brown LinkedIn Website   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.