Tag Archive for: CRM

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Agency Management Tools: Is It Time For An Upgrade?

 

Here’s a question: how has the pandemic shaped the way your employees prefer to work today?

I bet they’ve all embraced remote working, and the better work-life balance it gives them.

Here’s another question: how has the pandemic changed the way your agency manages its work?

You’ve probably adopted a messaging platform like Slack or Teams, maybe got more rigorous with scheduling and project management. Not to mention document sharing and version control upgrades.

And here’s my last question: how many new pieces of technology have you introduced, and are they all siloed, or have you managed to integrate them?

We’ve been posting a series of articles for agency leaders, and this month we’re looking at the technology that enables greater efficiency and visibility across the agency.

Investigating the best agency management tools

Change is never easy – and people generally don’t like changing up their tech – but taking the time to think holistically about the technology your agency uses can make a huge difference.

Here are some of the technology most agencies have in place:

  • Sales, marketing and pipeline management
  • Resource management
  • Project management
  • Collaboration and teamwork
  • Document and file sharing
  • Proofing and approvals processes
  • Finance and accounting

Assuming your agency has all of these tools, you’re managing (and paying for) at least eight different pieces of software. That’s a lot of technology to keep track of!

Considering end-to-end agency management tools

Keeping everything together and creating process workflows that run from the very start of a relationship with a new client and throughout their lifecycle could be a game changer for your agency. In fact, many agencies “upgrade” their technology when they get serious about growth.

Did you know there’s a category of software especially designed to help agency owners and managers run their companies more efficiently? They include modules for everything from proposal-stage, to project management and time-tracking, and all the way to reporting and invoicing. They connect everything, ensure nothing falls through the cracks, and provide total visibility into every sale, project and process.

Not sure which agency management tools are best for you?

If you’re ready to conduct an audit of your agency’s technology and want to introduce the best tech, then you might find our buyer’s guide useful.

It’ll help you work out what your agency needs and how to compare vendors.

 

 

Fill out the form below to view the infographic

Learn more about Silversoft’s agency management software

Our agency management software is trusted by growing agencies around the world. You can learn more about them here: https://silversoft.co.uk/solutions/

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4 Keys to Agency Growth

Running an agency is all about change and growth. No matter what, the one thing you can never afford to do is to stop growing. It’s the nature of a professional services business. You need a constant flow of new clients, new employees, new processes and new technology.

In this article, we have rounded up some interesting and clever marketing agency growth tips. Give them a try and let us know which ones had the biggest impact on your business.

Ensure your pitches capture your true value

Marketers are usually great at identifying the unique selling points of their clients, but when it comes to selling their own services, they easily undersell their value.

This is partly because it’s tricky to dedicate time to your proposals and pitches when most of your people are busy with billable client work. And then there’s the fact that things move at such a fast pace in the agency world.

When last did you update your proposal documents? If you haven’t refreshed them in the last six months, then chances are that you’re missing the opportunity to include some excellent projects and new clients.

To ensure that your proposals capture your true value:

  • Show that you understand your prospective clients’ business challenges
  • Show how your agency is the best one to help overcome these specific challenges
  • Include relevant example projects and customer testimonials
  • Explain your processes and what they can expect when they start working with you
  • Keep your pricing clear and simple

Need to update your proposal template? We’ve created one for you.

Get your proposal template here

Nurture existing client relationships

Networking and referrals are probably your biggest source of new business, but don’t forget that your existing customer base is a great source of new business. Think about how you can expand your services within key accounts, for example by adding new services such as video editing, podcast creation, etc.

Monthly or quarterly newsletters are a great way to share new client, service and project highlights with your existing customers.

Take your own advice 

Agencies often suffer from a case of “the cobbler’s shoes”, talking to clients on a daily basis about the importance of building a compelling website, and investing in digital marketing, advertising, SEO and social media, without taking their own advice.

If team capacity is a problem, consider creating a “moonlight marketplace” where you can post “jobs” that employees can bid on and complete in their own time for extra income.

Ensure your processes are scalable

Prepare your agency for growth by setting up processes that can scale with the agency. Poor process and unfit technology are a common challenge for marketing agencies that suddenly experience fast growth.

To learn more about the processes that are central to agency growth, and how Silversoft can help you set them up, please visit: https://silversoft.co.za/industries/advertising-marcoms/

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Silversoft Podcast Series | Growing Up – Where are you in your Agency journey?

Silversoft is proud to release its first Podcast. ( we aim to improve as this was our first attempt at this)

Our podcasts will be structured to be an open forum to discuss key trends in the Agency sector.

At Silversoft we have had the privilege of working with many of the leading agencies in the UK and surrounds and we have observed some very specific thinking in how agencies are framing their businesses for success.

Our First podcast will be a series of 3 titled “this is Growing Up”. This first episode is titled “Platform for scale and growth” and discusses the journey an agency goes on and why an agency should look at what solution and platform they put down to ensure that they lay the right foundation to assist them to scale and grow during their journey.

We hope you enjoy it.

https://youtu.be/y3kHVV-OlLk

 

 

 

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Agency Management Tools: Is It Time For An Upgrade?

 

Here’s a question: how has the pandemic shaped the way your employees prefer to work today?

I bet they’ve all embraced remote working, and the better work-life balance it gives them.

Here’s another question: how has the pandemic changed the way your agency manages its work?

You’ve probably adopted a messaging platform like Slack or Teams, maybe got more rigorous with scheduling and project management. Not to mention document sharing and version control upgrades.

And here’s my last question: how many new pieces of technology have you introduced, and are they all siloed, or have you managed to integrate them?

We’ve been posting a series of articles for agency leaders, and this month we’re looking at the technology that enables greater efficiency and visibility across the agency.

Investigating the best agency management tools

Change is never easy – and people generally don’t like changing up their tech – but taking the time to think holistically about the technology your agency uses can make a huge difference.

Here are some of the technology most agencies have in place:

  • Sales, marketing and pipeline management
  • Resource management
  • Project management
  • Collaboration and teamwork
  • Document and file sharing
  • Proofing and approvals processes
  • Finance and accounting

Assuming your agency has all of these tools, you’re managing (and paying for) at least eight different pieces of software. That’s a lot of technology to keep track of!

Considering end-to-end agency management tools

Keeping everything together and creating process workflows that run from the very start of a relationship with a new client and throughout their lifecycle could be a game changer for your agency. In fact, many agencies “upgrade” their technology when they get serious about growth.

Did you know there’s a category of software especially designed to help agency owners and managers run their companies more efficiently? They include modules for everything from proposal-stage, to project management and time-tracking, and all the way to reporting and invoicing. They connect everything, ensure nothing falls through the cracks, and provide total visibility into every sale, project and process.

Not sure which agency management tools are best for you?

If you’re ready to conduct an audit of your agency’s technology and want to introduce the best tech, then you might find our buyer’s guide useful.

It’ll help you work out what your agency needs and how to compare vendors.

 

 

Fill out the form below to view the infographic

Learn more about Silversoft’s agency management software

Our agency management software is trusted by growing agencies around the world. You can learn more about them here: https://silversoft.co.uk/solutions/

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The heat and light of agency operations – The case to Illuminate your agency

In the language of physics, the properties of Heat and Light both serve as forms of energy.

If heat is the energy that spontaneously passes between a system and its surroundings and light is the energy that gives visibility, could current ad agency operating systems, often dominated by heat energy, to be ‘transferred’ into an illuminated light energy?

It is arguable that current agency operating systems gravitate mostly to a heat basis as everyday fires creates :

• resource strain

• capacity allocation

• talent burn-out

• cost fights that can easily lead to the agency machine overheating.

It has to be remembered that tasks, workflows and approval processes are ad hoc, involve different stakeholders, and are typically heatwaves that disrupt what would be regarded as predictable processes. Workbook orchestrates these challenges …and more… by looking at resource and capacity constraints and providing visibility into the operating system to deliver significant & measurable gains inefficiency.

And if clients are increasingly demanding speed, specifics, and ever-improving service and transparency, simply working harder won’t cool the heat. Workbook shines light on tighter control, eliminates manual methods and cuts analyzing time by delivering a timely window into the state of the business. A single pulse point at your fingertips.

Successful operations management should always positively impact your bottom line agency profit. If it doesn’t — something is wrong.

It can be told that systems inclined to shine light on the business, such as Workbook:

• aid the workflow approach

• increase delivery capacity

•  track risk management

•  increase margin in an environment of reduced fees, discounting and rising client expectations yet still maintaining quality levels and growing the agency. That’s a lot of light right there, and It appears that the physics of heat and light is equally a case for ad agency operations.

Is it time to illuminate your agency’s path to success? Here.

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If only agencies knew what agencies knew…

With every Ad Agency MD/CEO setting a clear Return to Growth agenda for 2022, the business lens moves beyond the discipline of identifying new business prospects as the primary growth driver. Other mechanisms such as acquisition and building branded/integrated capabilities come into play as agencies seek to effectively compete in an environment of constant and rapid change.

Could 2022 be the year in which the business lens applies equally to internal teams and how operations are geared to meeting the ever-exceeding client expectations for creativity, innovation, agility, and service?

A year in which more agencies move and fully adopt an approach that sees the business delivering improved efficiency, effectiveness, resource optimisation versus capacity and margin gain. Could this be achieved through a built-to-purpose and bespoke operating model/tool?

What if a system can reduce your number of in-house tools, take scattered information, centralises that data, and consolidate it all into interactive dashboards providing real-time data?

With the pandemic having brought new urgency into the process and clients becoming more judicious on spend, agencies need to sharpen their processes. This in turn will streamline work allocation and report generation.

Simplify + Accelerate + Maximise Processes = More Efficiency & Cost Saving.

`New’ data and tools, working harmoniously and collated in dashboard form will deliver the following:
–       Illuminate and spotlight blockages
–       Alleviate duplication
–       Allocate blended resources more efficiently
–       Allow for correct charging against procurement rules
–       Display a 360 degree of operations
–       Real-time revenue projections/tracking on a single client P/L
–       Accelerate the creative review cycle

It is an accepted fact that current manual systems coupled to timesheet completion deliver a level of ‘blindness’. New bespoke operating remedies and tools will spark the necessary light.

2022 is the year to adopt a tool that breathes with your agency and its talents rather than tools that attempt to beat your process into submission.

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Agency cash flow: How to become cash flow positive

Running a business is tough. Running a business that primarily sells people’s time and skills is also tough. Put the two together, and you might be wondering why you decided to start an agency in the first place! But then you remember that you are fortunate to get a unique opportunity to create fantastic work, spend time with amazing people, and have a real impact on your clients’ businesses.

Your biggest challenge is probably cash flow, and if it is, it might give you some comfort to know that you aren’t alone. 

According to research, the reason most small businesses fail is cash flow management. This includes poor cash flow management, starting out with too little money, and lack of a developed business plan.

And it’s not only small businesses that suffer. Many established businesses have crumbled under the weight of cash flow problems. 

Of course, “selling more” is the obvious answer but it isn’t usually as simple as that, because selling more also means investing more. 

Fortunately, there are a few quick wins that your agency can implement today to regain control and get yourself into a cash flow positive situation.

Learn more in our new Guide to Agency Cash Flow Zen – you can get a copy here.

Cash flow vs revenue, which is more important?

Many agencies seem to focus on annual revenue or the value of their “book”, and understandably so, especially when acquisition is the goal. But, as some experts point out, the problem with using revenue as a measure of value is that it doesn’t take into account the cost of generating income. Cash flow is a much better indicator of the quality of an agency’s earning power which, at the end of the day, is what owners and potential buyers are really interested in.

How can you increase cash flow?

You can learn more by downloading our guide, but here are some of the key factors to consider:

  • Try to work on retainers, to ensure a steady stream of income each month
  • Review your pricing
  • Micromanage your spending
  • Learn how to forecast accurately
  • Ask for 50% deposits on big projects
  • Streamline credit control

Don’t let cash flow challenges strangle your agency

With the right understanding, guidance, tools and processes, you can take control of your agency’s cash flow challenges and build a bright future.

Get started with these practical tips – download the PDF below.

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5 reasons you need a specialised CRM for total agency management

5 reasons you need specialised CRM for total agency management

If your agency is anything like most, a lot of the goals you’ve set out to achieve in the year ahead hinge on being able to spend more time on the things that really matter. Less admin time, fewer manual tasks; greater focus on creative strategy, more time on new business, right?

While your agency might already be using a CRM tool, helping you manage contact data, here’s a look at what an end-to-end agency management solution can help you do:

1. Boost collaboration for better communication and creativity

With so many people working remotely nowadays, easy collaboration is key to efficiency. That said, even if all of your team members are back in the same building, nobody wants to waste time searching through all kinds of files or endless email threads to find what they’re looking for.

An advanced solution enables you to save and maintain useful data in a shared location. It streamlines your communication between departments and offices by centralising file sharing and reducing the need for email and chat tools. Built-in collaboration features also ramp up the creative process among teams and improve communication with clients by allowing more transparency and making the review and approval process far easier.

2.Make project and resource management a breeze

In the agency world, efficiency and productivity are the cornerstones of profitability. Without visibility into project progress, costs and your team’s capacity, you’re unable to make informed decisions or take corrective action to avoid your bottom line being impacted.

Great agency management tools give you a holistic view of your agency’s performance. You’ll be able to understand where there are inefficiencies in your processes and prevent potential issues; you’ll be equipped to plan effectively, keep clients abreast of task progress and see where expenses need to be reduced. With the right tool, you’ll also be able to help your team members avoid burnout by forecasting their capacity and knowing when it’s time to get extra hands on deck.

3.Manage your pipeline for smart business decisions

In the agency world, managing your pipeline is fundamental to preventing opportunities from being missed and, when they do arise, ensuring that you have the bandwidth to take on new business. To do that effectively, you need a tool that does more than collecting and organising contact information.

A sophisticated agency management solution will enable you   to gauge your resource capacity, as well as build accurate estimates and insightful forecasts so that you’re able to plan if you should be taking on more projects, and then to schedule them accordingly.

4. Take the pain out of financial management

Managing your agency’s finances can become admin intensive and time consuming, not to mention a somewhat stressful task. It doesn’t have to be that way, though.

Using the right tool enables you to take full control of your costs and to forecast your cashflow. With visibility into your financial data, you’re equipped to make smart business decisions and to plan well for the future. Integrating your agency processes into the same tool simplifies month-end closing and reporting, and saves you precious time.

5. Get deeper insight into your agency’s performance with easy reporting

At the end of the day, you need to know that your strategy is on point and that your outputs are impactful and profitable. And you need the data to prove it.

Agency management software enables you to view your analytics and generate reports that showcase your successes and empower your decision making going forward. These insights will help you to allocate your time, resources and budget in the most profitable way.

Now that we have that covered, you might be wondering which solution would be best suited to your agency. Download our handy mini-guide , Why agencies need specialist CRM Systems, to help you decide.

 

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