The Agency Blueprint Podcast is for Agency Owners looking to explore strategies for scaling a truly profitably agency, reducing stress and getting your personal life back. Hosted by Robert Patin International Best Selling Author, Business Coach and Contract CFO for Creative Agencies.
Site
RSS
Apple
Recent rankings
Latest chart positions across Apple Podcasts and Spotify rankings.
Shared links between episodes and podcasts
Links found in episode descriptions and other podcasts that share them.
Season 17 | Ep 198 | Train Once, Never Again: Building a Self-Sustaining Onboarding Process
Season 17 · Episode 198
Friday, August 29, 2025 • Duration 22:05
Do you still treat onboarding as an afterthought, even though it sets the tone for long-term success in your agency? It’s time to rethink your onboarding.
In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, we discuss why rushed and inconsistent onboarding not only undermines team confidence but also becomes a bottleneck to scale. We also discuss the five non-negotiables framework, a repeatable, role-based onboarding strategy that ensures transparency, accountability, and competence.
Don’t miss this episode to learn how intentional onboarding builds confidence, speeds ramp-up time, and creates a resilient team foundation!
Key Questions:
[01:26] Have you observed new hires forgetting critical information or making repetitive mistakes?
[03:55] Have you ever thought about how much your turnover is costing you?
[08:37] Do you have clear metrics for new hire progress, or are milestones vague and frustrating?
[15:14] Are you documenting your trainings and FAQs in a way that allows new hires to self-reference instead of interrupting your workflow?
What You’ll Discover:
[01:52] How rapid-fire training during high-anxiety periods leads to forgetting 70 % of key information, a recipe for mistakes.
[04:21] Why onboarding must include introductions, role clarity, and integration with your team’s culture.
[07:45] The “five non-negotiables” framework per role as the foundation for repeatable onboarding.
[08:37] A weekly rollout plan: training, dry runs, shadowing, then full live execution—designed for safe skill building.
[11:23] How a roadmap with clear timing expectations empowers new hires to own their progress and ask for help at the right time.
[13:43] Understand that even top-performing hires benefit from being slowed down during onboarding.
[15:14] The importance of investing in recording training, creating SOPs, and building sandboxes for new hires.
[16:57] Onboarding is a serious investment, and doing the hard work upfront gives your hires the tools they need to perform.
[19:06] Understand that strong onboarding systems reduce team dependency and build cross-team confidence and clarity.
Season 17 | Ep 197 | Fear vs Numbers with Bill Coletti
Season 17 · Episode 197
Friday, August 22, 2025 • Duration 37:59
Are you struggling to make tough business decisions without second-guessing yourself? You’re not alone; many creatives struggle with balancing human connection with data-driven clarity.
In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I’m joined by Bill Coletti to discuss the interplay between fear and data in entrepreneurship, especially during pivotal decision-making moments. Bill is the founder of Kith.co and SCT Leadership, a seasoned entrepreneur, strategist, and author of Critical Moments. With decades of experience navigating global political campaigns and leading reputation management for brands like Target and American Airlines, Bill now dedicates his expertise to helping founders evolve into CEOs.
Listen in to learn why basic understanding of financials is essential as a mindset shift when evolving from freelancer to CEO. You will also learn in detail the emotional and psychological challenges that come with leadership, hiring, and entrepreneurship.
Key Questions:
[01:27] How has fear—especially self-doubt—shaped your entrepreneurial journey?
[04:42] Were there moments when data helped you manage or even intensify your fears?
[09:39] How can creatives, who often dislike data, still use it effectively without sacrificing their creative edge?
[19:11] How have you helped people to see wherefear or logic is their guiding financial decision-maker?
[22:00] What’s the worst possible outcome of your next big decision, and are you okay with it?
[34:20] What if you stopped judging your emotions and started observing them instead?
What You’ll Discover:
[02:02] Bill’s internal fears during early entrepreneurship, including impostor syndrome and leaving the safety of a big firm.
[04:55] How data became essential when he planned to exit his company, transitioning from a practitioner to a high-level operator.
Season 16 | Ep 188 | Boosting Agency Profit Margins Without Raising Rates
Season 16 · Episode 188
Friday, June 13, 2025 • Duration 20:22
What strategies for increasing profitability can you utilize without raising rates? While raising rates is a straightforward way to boost margins, it’s not always feasible due to market limitations or client resistance.
In this episode of the Agency Blueprint podcast, we discuss actionable strategies for improving agency profitability without raising client rates. We further discuss the importance of having clean, organized financial statements as the foundation for making informed decisions.
Listen in to learn how to leverage resource management tools to better allocate team resources, reduce inefficiencies, and ensure that every dollar spent contributes to the bottom line.
Key Questions:
[01:27] What mechanism do you have outside of raising rates that allows for you to be able to achieve higher profitability?
[08:43] What steps can you take to reduce administrative costs and focus attention on where there’s true impact?
[09:15] What steps can you take to course-correct underutilized or overworked team members for better profitability and team performance?
[13:21] When should you consider hiring subcontractors versus maintaining full-time employees to improve profitability?
[17:08] What are some other challenges or things people should be looking out for when looking to be more efficient?
What You Will Discover:
[01:50] The importance of having clean and organized financial statements to help identify overspending and make data-driven decisions.
[03:05] How poor financial visibility can lead to overspending and inefficiencies in your agency’s operations.
[05:38] Why delivery costs should not exceed 50% of revenue and how to address inefficiencies in your billable team.
Season 9 | Ep 98 | How to Manage Demanding Clients
Season 9 · Episode 98
Friday, August 11, 2023 • Duration 24:15
Have you dealt with a demanding client before? How did they impact you and your agency? Demanding clients can be exhausting and often leave you and your team frustrated.
In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, we discuss demanding clients and how to best manage them without ruining your relationship. We explain the importance of managing your expectations with clients and evaluating your client base to ensure you’re working with A-class clients.
Don’t miss this episode for more on client relationships, creating alignment with clients, and client evaluation!
Key Questions:
[03:19] What are the impacts of demanding clients on agencies?
[15:37] How do we manage and get out of a situation where we have to turn a client around or let them go?
What You’ll Discover:
[01:36] We define a demanding client, their traits, and what makes them frustrating.
[04:16] We share our experience with a demanding client and how we dealt with him.
[08:17] The importance of setting and reaffirming expectations to avoid client Misunderstandings.
[09:54] How to evaluate your client base to ensure you’re working with A-class clients.
[14:06] Understanding that sometimes a client isn’t worth the revenue anymore.
[15:56] How to have a conversation about creating alignment and a mutually beneficial relationship with your clients.
[19:15] The best strategy to let go of a demanding client while still keeping the relationship intact.
Season 9 | Ep 97 | Marcel Petitpas on Agency Pricing Models
Season 9 · Episode 97
Friday, August 4, 2023 • Duration 28:35
Do you have the right billing model? Do you find it hard to navigate the conversation around pricing as an agency owner? There are factors you should consider when looking into a billing model, but ultimately, what needs to be true, no matter the billing method, is ensuring there’s enough gross margin for you to be set up for success.
In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I’m joined by Marcel Petitpas, CEO and founder of Parakeeto, a consulting and technology firm dedicated exclusively to helping agencies answer important questions without wasting time on spreadsheets. He shares his perspective on agency billing in the industry today and how to best price services for profitability.
Listen in to learn how margin pressure on agencies leads to increased specialization and business complexity.
Key Questions:
[01:10] From a billing perspective, what do you see happening in the industry at the moment?
[05:48] What factors would you advise an agency owner to think about when it comes to their billing model?
[24:17] What would you say to someone concerned about changing their billing model to a value-based model?
What You’ll Discover:
[01:35] Things that have created margin pressure on agencies leading to increased specialization and business complexity.
[06:03] Factors to consider when deciding the right pricing model in your agency.
[08:02] How your positioning and value can help you assess your risk profile when choosing a pricing model.
[11:00] The tactics to use to navigate the value conversation and get some exposure from the client.
[14:09] How to quantify high and low-risk work and sell the agile method of high-risk work.
[17:37] Understanding the pricing quadrant and how to position and structure a pricing model that benefits you.
[24:39] How to educate yourself and shift your mindset to enable you to change to a value-based model.
Connect with Marcel:
Season 8 | Ep 96 | Low Hanging Fruit – Revenue in the Next 30 Days
Season 8 · Episode 96
Friday, July 28, 2023 • Duration 15:26
What is the best way to bring in more revenue to your agency in the next 30-60 days? Have you tried reaching out to old prospects and clients to see where they stand now?
In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I provide the best formula to reach out to closed lost prospects and generate revenue. I explain why reaching out is a working formula that will get you revenue in the door and allow you to invest in upward growth.
Don’t miss this episode to learn how to approach this proven revenue-generation method!
Key Question:
[01:17] Have you ever been in a position where you allowed self-doubt to lead you to say NO to an opportunity and later regretted it?
What You’ll Discover:
[01:17] Reach out to prospects that said no and give them a chance to highlight if they feel differently now.
[05:30] Get a list of all your closed lost prospects and all the clients you’ve worked with before.
[06:21] Reach out every 3-6 months up until the point they say they’re not interested.
[07:18] The system of how to reach out to these prospects, plus how the emails should look like.
[11:16] The importance of following up with prospects every 3-6 months to continue being in front of them.
Profitability Accelerator Call - If you're looking to make a change today schedule your profitability accelerator call to define what is possible for your agency in the next 90 days.
Season 8 | Ep 95 | Finances and Agency Growth Management with Ryan Watson
Season 8 · Episode 95
Friday, July 21, 2023 • Duration 31:52
What financial stage is your agency, and how are you managing the growth? Agency growth has four discreet stages that drive decisions: the create mode, build mode, grow mode, and big business stage.
In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I’m joined by Ryan Watson, an experienced operations and finance leader for creative agencies and venture-funded startups. As a partner at Upsourced, he helps scaling agencies build better plans, see the future, and drive profit.
Listen in to learn the importance of focusing on one thing at a time and building momentum rather than a hierarchy of KPIs.
Key Questions:
[01:14] What are the glass ceilings you’re seeing from a financial perspective working with agencies every day?
[20:13] Why is it a bad idea for an agency to have a hierarchy of KPIs?
[24:47] What stage do you think makes sense for someone to bring in a full-time in-house team?
What You’ll Discover:
[01:43] The four discreet stages of agency growth and the challenges and intentional decisions to make.
[06:34] The challenge of creating a repeatable revenue generation during the build mode phase.
[09:37] How to find the right way to form a business unit that you run.
[13:35] The importance of transparency when communicating your why to your team.
[18:47] Why the fear of letting people go at certain stages is a massive limitation in growth.
[20:33] The importance of focusing on one thing at a time in your KPIs and building momentum.
[25:04] The questions to ask yourself to understand when to bring in a full-time in-house team.
Season 8 | Ep 94 | Client Coordination & Timely Projects
Season 8 · Episode 94
Friday, July 14, 2023 • Duration 16:52
Do you find yourself dealing with untimely projects and client incoordination? At the core of avoiding situations like these is proper communication.
In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I share the types of stages to consider implementing in your processes to avoid client incoordination and untimely projects. I explain the importance of communicating client responsibilities and having inclusions and exclusions to avoid ambiguity.
Listen in to learn the importance of consistently reminding your client of the progress and consequences of their project!
Key Questions:
[03:00] Are you communicating client responsibilities or are you afraid of it resulting to a, no?
[05:40] Do you have inclusions and exclusions in your scope of work to avoid ambiguity?
[07:06] What does your client onboarding call look like, is there a clear understanding of everything to everyone involved?
What You’ll Discover:
[03:00] Client responsibilities - communicate all the things the client has to do to allow you to be successful.
[05:40] Have inclusions and exclusions – list what you will and won’t do to avoid ambiguity.
[07:06] The onboarding call – covering the outcomes and objectives and then listing the action steps.
[09:25] The ongoing management – have someone in your team to consistently remind your client about progress.
[12:09] The importance of consistently reminding your client of progress and the next phase of the project.
Season 8 | Ep 93 | Revenue Share For Agencies - True Alignment
Season 8 · Episode 93
Friday, July 7, 2023 • Duration 12:34
Have you considered revenue share and equity as ways to build passive income in your agency? Revenue share and equity are great ways to build alignment and accomplish wider goals with the client and your agency.
In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I take you through examples of agencies who’ve embraced revenue share, profit share, and equity and how it worked for them. I explain how you can turn your one-off projects or most of your projects into revenue share, profit share, and equity.
Don’t miss this episode to learn more about this revenue-generation method and its dangers!
Key Question:
[01:40] What is a great way for you to build alignment and accomplish wider goals with your client and agency?
What You’ll Discover:
[01:18] How an agency can exchange services for a different form of payment with one-off projects.
[04:40] How an agency can turn most of their projects into equity and revenue share deals and the criteria to follow.
[07:15] Why revenue share, profit share, and equity are phenomenal ongoing ways to build passivity to your revenue and profit.
[08:22] The danger of this method for younger agencies if not assured in their ability to produce results.
[09:46] Make sure you have tremendous corporate counsel when getting into this method.
- If you're looking to make a change today schedule your profitability accelerator call to define what is possible for your agency in the next 90 days.
Season 8 | Ep 92 | Challenges that Agencies Face at Different Stages of Growth with Phil Case
Season 8 · Episode 92
Friday, June 30, 2023 • Duration 29:18
Different stages of growing an agency face different challenges. What sort of challenges are you facing at the stage of growth you’re in right now and how are you handling them? The effort and pressure that you experience at these stages are what allows you to find your way and success.
In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I’m joined by Phil Case, President and Chief Client Officer at Max Connect Digital where they are focused on providing real value to clients in the form of business results and revenue growth. He has over 15 years of experience creating curated marketing strategies for top global brands.
Listen in to learn about smart leadership, talent development, process documentation, and much more!
Key Questions:
[01:37] What sort of things have you experienced at different stages of agency growth and the distinction between each?
[07:00] How do you influence those that you recruit to be their best selves and to develop leadership, passion, and vision?
[13:13] As you were growing the team, how did you prioritize your time and the investment into team members?
What You’ll Discover:
[01:42] The exhausting stages of a digital agency and the struggle it can be when you’re everything to your business.
[06:19] How to develop a leadership team to make a difference in the growth and future of your agency.
[09:30] How finding, recruiting, and retaining top talent can make a difference in propelling your agency’s success.
[13:39] The importance of documenting processes for easier delegation so you can focus on other growth activities.
[20:02] How to be the leader who coaches and supports their team and leans into the unknown.
[07:28] How to reduce operational costs by analyzing administrative expenses, office overhead, and sales/marketing budgets.
[10:05] How resource management tools can help you balance team utilization and improve overall efficiency.
[12:00] Strategies for addressing underutilized team members, such as combining roles or reallocating responsibilities.
[13:33] The pros and cons of hiring subcontractors versus maintaining full-time employees to improve profitability.
[14:56] How to analyze the profitability of individual projects to identify inefficiencies, plus steps to address unprofitable projects.
[17:13] The importance of conducting regular financial audits to identify unnecessary expenses and improve profitability.
[18:14] How to implement cost-cutting measures carefully to avoid harming team morale or compromising service quality.
Profitability Accelerator Call - If you're looking to make a change today schedule your profitability accelerator call to define what is possible for your agency in the next 90 days.
Profitability Accelerator Call - If you're looking to make a change today schedule your profitability accelerator call to define what is possible for your agency in the next 90 days.
Profitability Accelerator Call - If you're looking to make a change today schedule your profitability accelerator call to define what is possible for your agency in the next 90 days.
Profitability Accelerator Call - If you're looking to make a change today schedule your profitability accelerator call to define what is possible for your agency in the next 90 days.
Profitability Accelerator Call - If you're looking to make a change today schedule your profitability accelerator call to define what is possible for your agency in the next 90 days.
Related Shows Based on Content Similarities
Discover shows related to Agency Blueprint, based on actual content similarities. Explore podcasts with similar topics, themes, and formats, backed by real data.
