Explore every episode of the podcast Funnel Vision - For Performance-Driven Agencies & Marketers

Joshua Collier and Kevin Jacobson Jr. (Co-founders of Levrg AI) join Mikael for a groundbreaking breakdown of how they helped a struggling fitness coach replace his human sales team with AI, generating 200 calls in 2 months and transforming his $20K/month business. 

Joshua and Kevin bring 32 years of combined sales experience and have pioneered the integration of voice AI and chat AI within Go High Level, working with over 150 businesses across 100+ industries to generate millions in revenue. Their system combines ManyChat for lead capture (achieving 91% open rates and 76% click-through rates), Go High Level as the CRM backbone, and Charlie AI for intelligent conversations that qualify prospects and book appointments. 

What makes this revolutionary is the AI's ability to adopt the business owner's personality - in this case, mastering Australian slang and tonality so perfectly that prospects can't tell they're talking to AI. The system handles everything from Instagram comment capture to qualification, objection handling, and appointment booking, with sophisticated branching logic that disqualifies unfit prospects (like students under 21) while nurturing qualified leads through personalized follow-up sequences. This isn't just automation - it's a complete AI sales team that works 24/7, handles 1000+ conversations daily, and converts at higher rates than human setters.

The episode includes live screen sharing of the actual system in action, showing the ManyChat flows, GoHighLevel workflows, and Charlie AI configuration that's generating these incredible results.

HIGHLIGHTS:
0:00 Intro - AI replacing human sales teams case study
2:23 Joshua's bragging rights - 32 years sales experience and AI pioneering
3:38 Kevin's background - lost $150M+ Shopify store, discovered AI potential
6:03 The difference: tech people build tech, salespeople build conversions
10:25 Future vision - AI avatars with 98% close rates using Meta data
13:24 Live system breakdown - ManyChat lead capture (91% open rates)
16:20 Instagram comment triggers and qualification sequences
19:10 GoHighLevel webhook integration and data mapping
21:02 Charlie AI configuration - personality, tonality, and branching logic
24:27 E-commerce applications - AI personal shoppers
28:19 Advanced qualification with income verification
32:13 Performance dashboard and conversion tracking
35:04 Multi-channel deployment - email, SMS, WhatsApp integration
37:09 How to get started with Leverage AI and special Charlie pricing

Christian Davis (Full-Stack Email Marketer) joins Mikael for an explosive breakdown of a 7-day challenge funnel that generated $8.8 million across three launches for publishing.com. Christian, who won Russell Brunson's affiliate competition for $100M Leads by 30% and has received personal replies from both Leila and Alex Hormozi praising his copy, architected this entire funnel strategy. 

The challenge taught "everyday people" how to publish royalty-generating books on Amazon in just 7 days without spending money upfront. What made this funnel remarkable was the 70% opt-in rate from warm traffic and 56% from cold traffic, plus an innovative pricing strategy that tested both $47 and $97 VIP upsells.

The core offer was a $2,000 lifetime group coaching program with an 18% conversion rate to a $5,000 accelerator program via phone sales. Christian's approach combined emotional social proof (targeting retirees with relatable success stories like "31 Great Egg Recipes") with logical objection handling throughout the landing page. The funnel structure included Facebook group community, daily email sequences, live Zoom sessions, and a strategic Friday pitch (when people get paid). 

Key insights include using lower social proof numbers for skeptical audiences, bonus stacking for urgency, and deploying FAQ emails after every close to milk maximum conversions. This episode includes live screen sharing of the actual landing pages and complete funnel visualization.

HIGHLIGHTS: 
0:00 Intro 
1:01 Christian's bragging rights - Hormozi replies and affiliate wins 
2:36 The publishing.com business model and 253% email revenue increase
4:22 Challenge funnel concept and 7-day structure breakdown 
6:19 Free challenge with $47/$97 VIP upsell strategy 
9:05 Core offers: $2K coaching + $5K accelerator (18% conversion) 
10:30 Landing page headline strategy - "5,949 everyday people" 
13:04 Bullet structure based on biggest objections 
14:46 Social proof targeting specific demographics 
16:14 7-day challenge breakdown and bonus stacking 
19:19 Warm vs cold traffic landing page differences 
21:03 Cold traffic approach - shorter headlines and compliance 
25:08 Complete funnel visualization and flow mapping 
27:38 Two-week email sequence and phone sales integration 
29:36 Key takeaways and Christian's contact information

Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/
Connect with Christian - Follow @ChristianTheCopywriter or visit freemailcourse.io

Scott Conorton (CMO for Mike Koenigs) joins Mikael for an in-depth breakdown of a high-converting book funnel that generated $9,000+ from just 1,112 page views. Scott, a seasoned copywriter who started during COVID and has written controls for major brands like Up Wellness and Backyard Vitality, convinced influencer Mike Koenigs to test cold traffic despite Mike's traditional resistance to it. 

The result was "Project Superpower," a $37 book funnel targeting founders and entrepreneurs with $2-50M businesses who want to build a "category of one" brand. Unlike typical $7-9 book funnels, this premium-priced offer used a long-form direct response sales page with 45 fascination bullets to attract serious buyers. 

The funnel converts at 5.8% from page view to purchase, with a 44.8% checkout conversion rate, plus strong upsells: a $245 digital blueprint (30.77% take rate) and a $1,000 virtual coffee session (10% take rate). Scott's copywriting approach follows influences like Mike Shrieve and uses strategic frameworks including the AOV Money Close and crossroads close. The success led to contracting John Mulry's E5 Agency for scaled cold traffic campaigns on Meta and YouTube. 

This episode includes live screen sharing of the actual funnel pages and real conversion data, making it essential viewing for anyone building book funnels or direct response offers.

HIGHLIGHTS:
0:00 Intro - Behind the scenes funnel breakdown
2:04 Scott's copywriting journey and working with Mike Koenigs
4:15 Traffic strategy - from warm email list to cold traffic testing
7:00 Sales page structure and long-form copy philosophy
8:12 Headline development and avatar targeting process
11:16 Long-form sales letter influences and reader psychology
12:42 Page structure breakdown - case studies to frameworks
15:51 The "start from the top again" copywriting approach
17:36 45 fascination bullets strategy for $37 price point
20:32 AOV Money Close and crossroads close techniques
23:01 Checkout page design and bonus presentation
24:27 Upsell #1: $245 digital blueprint (32% conversion rate)
28:30 Upsell psychology - get results faster framework
32:53 Upsell #2: $1K virtual coffee session strategy
35:41 Complete funnel metrics breakdown and ROI analysis

Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/

Connect with Scott -https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottconorton/

Nicholas Delgado (CEO of TNA Associates) joins Mikael for the premiere episode of Funnel Vision's new season to break down how he scaled a D2C skincare brand from $5,000 to $1 million per month in revenue within a year using data science and AI-driven marketing strategies.

Nicholas specializes in quantitative modeling and business analytics, helping e-commerce brands make faster decisions through data science combined with strategic ad spend.

The skincare brand he scaled had only 3-4 organic, vegan products with a $30 average order value when he started. His approach focused on three customer types: first-time buyers, repeat customers, and subscription users, with a 90-day conversion timeline rather than immediate sales pressure.

Key strategies included splitting male and female audiences due to different lifetime values, using view content and add-to-cart campaigns instead of direct conversion ads, and implementing strategic landing pages with targeted popups.

Nicholas emphasized the importance of lifetime value over immediate ROAS, knowing that customers would spend $180+ over 90-120 days and $250+ as subscribers.

The breakthrough came from viral TikTok content, including a post from Kylie Jenner's makeup artist, which allowed them to scale aggressively and dominate competitors through "blitzkrieg" marketing tactics.

Tune into the full episode to learn how data science, AI tools, and strategic patience can transform e-commerce growth!

HIGHLIGHTS:
0:00 Intro
1:11 Nicholas's bragging rights - $5K to $1M monthly scaling
2:08 The D2C skincare business model breakdown
3:13 Early testing strategy with Facebook ads
5:28 Product positioning and male skincare market penetration
7:07 Evolution from homepage to strategic landing pages
8:22 Customer segmentation and 90-day conversion strategy
10:19 The three customer types and lifetime value focus
12:59 Lead collection through targeted popups
15:12 Scaling strategy and budget allocation philosophy
17:39 Add-to-cart campaigns vs immediate conversions
20:34 TikTok Shop early adoption and viral success
23:05 Three core lessons: data science, financials, and AI
24:13 How Funnel Alytics provided team clarity

Connect with Mikael -   / mikaeldia 

Connect with Nicholas -  / nicholasdelgado-analyst  

AJ Eckstein (Founder & CEO of Creator Match) joins Mikael to discuss the emerging world of LinkedIn creator marketing and how brands can leverage professional influencers for B2B growth. 

AJ's company Creator Match has run some of the biggest LinkedIn creator campaigns including Notion's viral "Notion Faces" campaign with 50 creators posting simultaneously, plus campaigns for HubSpot, BetterHelp, Teachable, and Wix. 

Unlike traditional social platforms, LinkedIn creators typically maintain full-time corporate jobs while building influence in their professional niches - making them trusted voices rather than traditional influencers. The platform represents a massive blue ocean opportunity since most brands haven't tapped into creator partnerships on LinkedIn yet. 

AJ explains that successful LinkedIn creators master "edutainment" - the balance between education and entertainment that works perfectly for B2B audiences. His free Chrome extension helps brands identify which creators are already doing sponsored content and provides analytics on engagement rates and top-performing posts. The key insight: LinkedIn creator marketing works because it combines the trust of professional recommendations with the performance of thought leader ads, creating organic-looking sponsored content that outperforms traditional LinkedIn advertising. 

Tune into the full episode to learn how to build your own LinkedIn creator playbook!

HIGHLIGHTS:
0:00 Intro
1:48 AJ's bragging rights - major LinkedIn campaigns
4:45 What makes LinkedIn creators different
7:36 The creator opportunity and monetization
10:54 What makes a great LinkedIn creator
13:27 Why brands should use LinkedIn creators
16:54 The power of thought leader ads
18:57 Finding creators with Chrome extension tools
20:30 How to approach and work with creators
23:36 Key takeaways and blue ocean strategy

Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/
Connect with AJ - https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-aj-eckstein/ or visit creatorMatch.com

Taylor McMaster (Founder of DOT & Company) joins Mikael to discuss client onboarding and account management strategies that help agency owners scale beyond the day-to-day operational bottlenecks. 

Over the past 6 years, Taylor has helped over 12,000 agency owners optimize their onboarding processes through her fractional account management services. After running her own marketing agency and feeling burned out from doing everything herself, Taylor discovered her passion for account management and client relationships. 

She pivoted to offer fractional account managers who work 10-20 hours per week, fully white-labeled within agencies to handle client communication and project management. The biggest challenge most agencies face isn't strategy or delivery - it's communication breakdown with clients who don't know who to contact or feel left in the dark about project progress. 

Taylor's four-pillar framework (onboarding, project management, agency structure, and communication) helps agencies audit their current processes and systematically improve client retention. The key insight: agency owners should focus on what they do best (strategy and results) while having skilled account managers handle the operational heavy lifting. 

Tune into the full episode to learn how to remove yourself as the bottleneck in your agency!

HIGHLIGHTS:
0:00 Intro
2:12 12,000 agencies helped
4:18 From agency owner to account management specialist
6:51 The first client success story
9:03 Scaling across different agency types
11:39 The origin of "Dot & Company"
12:15 The four-pillar framework for account management
14:36 Most common agency problems
15:39 Why onboarding is make-or-break
18:33 Handling client expectations about working with the founder
20:27 The business impact of better account management
22:06 When is the right time to hire account management?
24:18 Where to connect with Taylor
Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/
Connect with Taylor - https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylormcmaster/

Chris Silvestri (Founder of Conversion Alchemy) helps series A - C B2B SaaS companies increase their conversions by improving their messaging. By applying his copywriting and positioning skills, his clients have seen their conversions improve anywhere from 30 - 200%.

Chris started out as a software engineer, but later on pivoted to solopreneurship. Before Conversion Alchemy, he explored and experimented with different business models including Amazon FBA and writing SEO blogs. What really stuck out about copywriting for Chris was the buyer psychology element, as well as how close you are to driving revenue-centric outcomes. 

The reason why AI can’t magically bring outcomes from generating copy is because the fundamentals are broken. First thing is you need to have strong positioning - know what you do, who you do it for, and why you’re unique. Next comes messaging - understanding why people should care and how to frame it. Next, Chris recommends using Claude to set up your writing project, which he elaborates more on in the full conversation.

Tune into the full episode to learn how to use AI in B2B copywriting! 

HIGHLIGHTS:

0:00 Intro
3:17 How Chris learned copywriting 
5:30 Frameworks vs Formulas 
7:50 The reason why AI copy sucks & how to improve
16:42 Is AI destroying the copywriting industry? 
19:16 The future for copywriters 

Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/

Connect with Chris - https://www.linkedin.com/in/christophersilvestri/

Jake Hundley (CEO of Evergrow Marketing, Host of The Agency Growth Podcast) operates in the landscaping & lawn care industry. To date, 100% of their business has come inbound - which is a dream state for most agency owners. 

Jake and his co-founder Cody both worked at agencies prior to founding their own, and they recommend doing the same to anyone looking to become an owner. When they set up their flow, Jake and Cody picked tools that were easily scalable and repeatable, as productization was their number one priority from the start. 

Even though local lead gen is their speciality, they still reject clients outside of the landscaping and lawn care industries, as their internal processes aren’t fully fleshed out for other industries and they see no value in trying to expand their offer due to how many operational difficulties custom offers bring.

Tune into the full episode to learn how to better productize your service!

HIGHLIGHTS:
0:00 Intro
4:24 Revenue retention for seasonal businesses
5:42 You need to prioritize scalability
8:14 Different industries require different budgets
10:13 How Jake closes new business
12:41 Time is the only finite resource
15:36 The profit-first system
18:12 Jake’s growth plans

Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/
Connect with Jake - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/

Bianca Blake (Co-Founder of Klickrr) is an expert in leveraging text-messaging as a marketing channel. 

Texting is a heavily underrated marketing channel. Before founding Klickrr, Bianca ran marketing for various corporations. After getting fed up with the corporate life, she found a few contractor opportunities that ultimately grew into a consultancy she ran for 5+ years.

Bianca’s text messaging playbook consists of a high quality list segmented based on relevance, that you consistently engage with by sending messages that are below 160 characters without any special characters. From there, you need to analyze the data and optimize accordingly.

Tune into the full episode to learn how to turn text messaging into a competitive marketing advantage!

HIGHLIGHTS:

0:00 Intro
4:16 Bianca’s journey into entrepreneurship
8:07 The Do’s and Dont’s of text message marketing 
12:39 The Text Message Marketing playbook
18:07 Where does text messaging fit into your strategy?

Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/

Connect with Bianca - https://www.linkedin.com/in/biancablake/

Patrick Ward (VP of Marketing, Formula.Monks at Media.Monks) joins Mikael to help marketers figure out what it takes to become a truly legendary marketer. He’s constructed world-class campaigns with such global multi-billion dollar clients & partners as Google, Nike, Walmart, Sony, Allianz, Fiji Airways, Oracle, and The U.S. Space Force.

What many software providers seem to forget is that they’re fundamentally competing with the status quo, not their category rivals. Even at huge conglomerates, the status quo might be an excel sheet or a few Google Docs. As a marketer, if you allow yourself to live in an advanced tech and automation echo chamber, there’s a good chance your message will never resonate and you’ll have a hard time truly weaving in the customer's mindset - which should be your top priority. 

Tune into the full episode to learn how to master the Marketing Mindset!

HIGHLIGHTS:

0:00 Intro
1:10 Patrick’s world-class portfolio
2:09 The fundamentals stay the same
3:58 Builders vs Sellers 
6:28 Understand the customers mindset 
9:10 What is the Marketing Mindset?
11:59 The 5 Mindset Shifts
20:16 How to apply this framework?

Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/

Connect with Patrick - https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickjamesward/

Chris Roche (CEO of Catalyst Consulting) joins Mikael to discuss the bottom of the funnel (BOFU) for B2B tech. Chris is an ex-CRO who founded his agency 3 years ago, which has now grown to over 7 figures in ARR.

One hugely impressive stat about Catalyst Consulting is that Chris has been able to scale the agency to 7 figures with only around $10k spent in paid advertising. Chris attributes their organic growth to their ability to deliver tangible ROI to their clients, and due to their current fixed capacity it would be redundant to invest further in marketing their service. 

When Chris evaluates clients, they typically look for a minimum of $25k ACV for a sales-led organization, or a 6-12 month CAC payback period for a PLG company. These aren’t the only metrics that matter though - most early stage startups think that they know their true numbers, when in reality they haven’t accounted for sales commissions, trial-to-purchase conversion rates, or other data that is missing from their calculations and CRM.

Tune into the full episode to learn how focusing on BOFU drives real ROI!

HIGHLIGHTS:

0:00 Intro
2:09 Chris’s entrepreneurial journey
4:29 Scaling to 7 figures organically 
6:03 The analytical edge 
7:54 PLG vs Sales-Led
9:47 You don’t need a crazy tech stack
10:31 Fix your CRM data ASAP
14:37 Are paid ads the right move for your business?
15:45 The revenue metrics that matter
18:04 LinkedIn Success = Strong ICP

Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/

Connect with Chris - https://www.linkedin.com/in/thechrisroche/

Lindsey Carnett (CEO & Founder of Marketing Maven, Author of The Marketing Maven Method: Secrets of a Maven) joins Mikael to help agency owners differentiate between brand and performance marketing, and better understand how to approach PR.

Brand Marketing & PR often get neglected in favour of performance marketing due to it being more difficult to measure the ROI of brand initiatives. Instead of thinking about the direct ROI of every campaign, to properly measure brand you need to focus on metrics such as conversation rates and sales velocity, as the goal here isn’t simply generating leads - it’s increasing the overall trust in your company.

Crafting a good brand message requires understanding your business objectives, reverse-engineering a plan based on other success stories, and building a bespoke strategy based on this competitive analysis. Then, you need to swim with the grain enough to look like a real player in your space, while figuring out how you’ll approach your unique messaging to stick out. 

Tune into the full episode to learn how to better balance Brand and Performance Marketing!

HIGHLIGHTS:

0:00 Intro

3:12 Lindsey’s PR experience
4:21 Trust brings ROI
7:01 Lindsey’s creative journey
10:12 The Marketing Maven Method
12:45 What makes a good brand message?
16:55 Be the right level of unique
18:55 Quirky, Timely, Local, Hard News, Personality 
20:09 Quirky vs Personality
21:48 Summary

Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/

Connect with Lindsey - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindseycarnett/

Robert Glazer (5x Entrepreneur, #1 WSJ & USA Today Best Selling Author, Top 0.1% Podcast Host) is an expert in all things affiliate marketing. His affiliate journey started with the realization that cost-effective lead sources are the lifeblood of business, and at the time content partnerships were a brand new niche that could provide exactly that.

To date, Robert has written 7 books, earning prestigious titles such as the number 1 spot on The Wall Street Journal and USA Today. His first book, “Performance Partnerships: The Checkered Past, Changing Present and Exciting Future of Affiliate Marketing“, came from a ton of industry conversations regarding the subject.

Tune into the full episode to learn how to approach affiliate marketing in 2025!

HIGHLIGHTS:

0:00 Intro
2:44 Roberts first tango with Affiliate Marketing 
6:32 Creator success requires passion
9:32 The journey of writing 7 books
11:58 The different types of affiliate labels 
16:42 How to build a solid partner program
19:16 Affiliate marketing isn’t easy

Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/

Connect with Robert - https://www.linkedin.com/in/glazer/

Phil Ranta (COO at Fixated) is a pioneer of the digital media revolution, working as a pre-YouTube professional web video producer in 2005, video content app creator before the smartphone revolution in 2007, an early exec in the MCN boom with two successful exits, and as the Head Gaming Creators at Facebook and Mobcrush, driving the live streaming and the creator-driven media paradigm shift. Phil joins the Funnel Vision Show to talk on founder-led brands and how to build one that generates revenue.

Becoming a content creator is the most popular career choice among Gen-Z,  and in such a competitive market you can no longer just “wing it” and expect exceptional results. Phil refers to it as the ultimate get rich slow scheme, as you need to combine technical creator skills, creative innovations and a consistent publishing schedule to even have a chance at making a career out of it. 

Tune into the full episode to learn how to thrive in the creator economy! 

HIGHLIGHTS:

0:00 Intro
2:56 How does the creator economy work?
5:14 How the creator economy has evolved
7:32 The modern creator playbook
10:02 What got Phil into the creator world
12:42 What does Fixated do?
15:03 What platforms are crushing it in 2025?
18:25 Success is not a guarantee
20:35 Building a LinkedIn following

Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/

Connect with Phil - https://www.linkedin.com/in/philranta/

Stephanie Kelly (Chief Product Officer at Styles) started her career in marketing and communications before transitioning to executive coaching. After 15 years in marketing, including working with boutique agencies and in crisis communications, she experienced a health challenge that led to a profound career shift. She became passionate about helping people understand their behavioral tendencies and how to leverage them effectively.

In this episode, Mikael and Stephanie discuss the Styles assessment, a psychometric tool that analyzes how people behave under pressure. Unlike personality tests, Styles focuses on biological responses and behavioral tendencies. The assessment identifies four main styles: Control (visionaries focused 3-5 years ahead), Influence (relationship-focused people concerned with the present), Power (builders focused on the next 90 days), and Authority (data-driven analysts who look to the past to make sense of the future).

Stephanie explains how understanding these styles can dramatically improve marketing effectiveness by helping professionals tailor their communication, pitches, and content to match their audience's natural tendencies. She also shares practical ways to identify someone's style through observation and how to leverage this knowledge to build stronger teams and more effective marketing strategies.

Tune into the full episode to learn how to better understand yourself as a marketer! 

HIGHLIGHTS:
0:00 Intro

1:10 How Stephanie went into coaching

3:31 From Marketing to Product 

5:01 What makes Styles different

11:20 How to use assessments to become a better marketer

15:07 Have better conversations by assessing the other side
19:32 How different styles behave online 

Craig Rodney (Founder at The Agency Coach) helps agencies systemize their processes and scale. He started his first agency way back in 2002, grew the business, went through a merger and in 2013 sold his first business. After 2016, he started coaching other agency owners so they can follow his path.

The first big mistake that Craig had to pinpoint and solve in his agency was the fact that he was the go-to person for all of their clients. Even though this approach got them blue chip clients, he realized the same thing that most agency owners run into - you can’t scale yourself. 

Delegation is hard when you’re a small agency owner. Being overly attached to your work and thinking you’re the only person who can deliver real quality normal, but it’s also a one-way ticket to staying in survival mode forever. Craig advises that you get out of survival mode as soon as possible by learning how to hire the right people - ones that allow you to devalue money and increase the value of time.

Tune into the full episode to learn how to properly scale an agency!

HIGHLIGHTS:
0:00 Intro
2:43 How Craig learned how to let go
6:04 You need to be ready to delegate
9:02 Survival mode decisions don’t scale
13:00 Leverage your time correctly
16:49 Mindspace matters most 

Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/
Connect with Craig - https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigrodney/

Frank S. Pierce (3x CMO with enterprise sales expertise in Financial Services, Retail and Tech) joined the show to discuss how agencies can get out of the SMB space and secure upmarket clients. 

While Frank started out in Marketing and has held 3 CMO roles, his latest career accolades are mostly in the realm of enterprise sales. As a marketer, he sat in on many client calls - which ultimately helped him understand the market better and got him interested in moving on to sales. Over the years, Frank has noticed that the salespeople who succeed no matter the circumstances are the ones who take their preparation very seriously.

Tune into the full episode to learn how to sell into F500 companies!

HIGHLIGHTS:

0:00 Intro
1:13 Three time CMO journey
2:53 How Frank went into enterprise sales
4:35 Preparation is everything in sales 
7:55 How to effectively multithread 
10:12 Identifying the right stakeholders
12:31 Be nice to the assistants! 
13:49 The Enterprise Sales framework
17:01 Figure out what really matters 

Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/

Connect with Frank - https://www.linkedin.com/in/frankspierce/

Audra Carpenter (Founder of ATEC Dynamics and zindo+co) is an expert in utilizing AI in marketing. She’s worked with companies across the whole spectrum - from early stage startups all the way to the Fortune 500, providing services such as website building, AI implementation and overall strategy.

When it comes to AI implementation, Audra started with figuring out which parts of her daily workflow could be augmented to either reduce the time spent or automate completely. Now she’s combining multiple tools to create content at scale. What used to take 2 days now takes 10 minutes to draft, but Audra still recommends that you make your own edits and adjust the content so you won’t jeopardize your brand with low quality content.

Tune into the full episode to learn new ways how to use AI in marketing!

HIGHLIGHTS:
0:00 Intro
3:01 What’s the state of AI in marketing today?
6:41 The current state of AI in marketing
8:10 Creating AI content at scale
9:36 How to make AI sound on brand
11:49 Audra’s new content creation product
13:06 How the Marketing role is changing
17:41 Don’t get replaced by AI

Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/

Connect with Audra - https://www.linkedin.com/in/audracarpenter/

Phil Rivers (Founder of Growthpointe, 2 previous exits) has generated $200+M in email revenue for his eCommerce clients. The King of Klaviyo has acquired 500+ clients during his agency career.

Phil started creating email lists in 2005. After he graduated college, he joined a software company and started a marketing side hustle. At first, he was a generalist doing email marketing, web services and other small tasks. Realising that selling a jack of all trades service isn’t very profitable, he found a comfortable niche in email marketing. 

Nowadays Phil is mostly focused on his nearshore business. He noticed that agencies spend way too much time hiring, and over the years Phil got really good at sourcing high quality candidates - so this transition came very naturally. 

Tune into the full episode to learn how Phil scaled to 9 figures in client revenue!

HIGHLIGHTS:
0:00 Intro
2:01 The journey to $200M+ in Sales
7:51 How Phil built his own revenue engine
11:48 The 9 figure email revenue secret
16:43 The move to nearshore 
18:07 How to increase your conversions 

Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/

Connect with Phil - https://www.linkedin.com/in/thephilrivers/ 

Jade Caillot (Founder of ELLEVATE) runs a specialized agency in accelerating the growth of women-founded and women-led businesses. As of December 2024, she’s also a Forbes featured Marketing Expert.

In simpler terms - they take businesses that aren’t sure how to scale to their goals and make their dreams a reality. They focus on helping companies make a difference in their market, build an engaged audience and get an ROI that accelerates quickly. They start off with auditing the leader as a person, and then move to the executive team. This helps ELLEVATE build a strategy that is bespoke, authentic and 100% aligned with the goals of their client.

Jade’s approach to running an agency that offers bespoke services is to always start off with the important details. Do they have the time, money and dedication to do this? From there, they move on to research, strategy and building out operations.

Tune into the full episode to learn how to operate a bespoke marketing agency!

HIGHLIGHTS:
0:00 Intro
3:05 Jade’s Marketing background
5:25 The ELLEVATE way of running an agency
6:34 The current service offer

9:53 How to offer fully custom services
13:21 The balance between working in vs on your agency
18:34 Relatable messaging sells 

Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/

Connect with Jade - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jade-caillot/

Brian Ahmadi (CEO of Maximum Profits Agency) started his agency journey after many years in the US Navy. He helped his first batch of clients - bars -  manage their social media accounts for $500/month and free drinks for his crew. They quickly spread through word of mouth and started getting clients left and right. Deployments halted their progress for a year, but once they resumed, they got a house together and success followed.

At Maximum Profits Agency, every team member is cross-functional. Brian believes in a structure where every employee is equipped with the skillset to fill any role. He also advises employees to choose their own preferred field and become masters at that individual craft while asking other team members for support in case they have specific skill gaps.

Tune into the episode to learn how US Navy Veterans run their agency!

HIGHLIGHTS:

0:00 Intro
3:04 From US Navy to running an agency
6:03 The value of in-person sales
9:04 Turning employees into founders
11:21 Focusing on everyone's strengths 
16:22 Find people that you can trust
20:01 Just get to work!

Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/

Connect with Brian - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-a-6a6393b7/

Jonathan Cogan (Founder of Sephrina Strategy) is an agency leader, marketing strategist, brand consultant, coach, teacher and facilitator with a 20-year track record helping to launch and grow businesses, brands and campaigns in Canada, the U.S. and globally. 

Jon is a big proponent of effectiveness leading to efficiency. Big networks and corporations love to make efficiency their North Star, but in doing so they strip their people of the ability to do truly exceptional work - the type that doesn’t fit into a fully pre-planned, timegated schedule. And the best part is, the work that gets done when you prioritize effectiveness ends up being more efficient, as it doesn’t require as many re-do’s and revisions.

The Effective Agency Playbook starts with understanding exactly what you’re trying to achieve and for who. Then you need to find your focus on how you’re going to execute. The way to make it work is by honing in on every single step in the process and having clear definitions and outlines. And it should not feel overly complex or confusing. 

Tune into the episode to learn how to build a more effective agency!

HIGHLIGHTS:
0:00 Intro
4:12 Your agency needs to be special
6:06 Effectiveness leads to efficiency 
8:51 Effectiveness is all about the people
10:53 The fundamentals never change
12:36 The value of outside perspectives
14:04 Everyone is in strategy 
15:44 The Effective Agency Playbook

Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/

Connect with Jonathan - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-e-cogan/

Marcel Petitpas (Co-Founder and CEO of Parakeeto), has helped 100+ agencies measure & improve their profitability through consulting and technology. Some of their clients have been able to decrease their overtime AND grow 90%+ YOY. He also hosts The Agency Profit Podcast - the only podcast that tackles the topic of agency profitability.

Agencies often have a hard time managing their cash. Between ever-decreasing margins due to oversaturation, clients expecting additional free deliverables and employee productivity not always matching the job description, owners struggle when trying to figure out a way to exit survival mode. Marcel points to clean, comprehensive data being step 1 of figuring out your true financial situation. Over the years he’s seen a lot of agencies fail even though they’ve really tried to improve their current state - and the number 1 issue has always been bad data.

Parakeeto built two different products that failed before adding a professional services wing and really exploding. A lot of what makes great SaaS tools - proper implementation, continuous feedback-driven roadmaps and a true focus on outcomes - is easier to build through a service.

Tune into the full episode to learn how to increase your agency's profit!

HIGHLIGHTS:
0:00 Intro
3:11 Marcel’s entrepreneurial journey
5:21 What does Parakeeto do?
7:15 Building a product for yourself 
9:12 2 Failed SaaS products and the problem with data
13:41 Embrace professional services to grow your SaaS
17:40 How to 5x your agencies profitability
22:32 Grow your business by borrowing an audience 

Access the Agency Profitability Toolkit here: https://parakeeto.com/toolkit/?utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=GuestAppearance&utm_campaign=Mikael+Dia

Access the Parakeeto Foundations Course here:  https://parakeeto.lpages.co/the-foundations-course/?utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=GuestAppearance&utm_campaign=Mikael+Dia

Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/
Connect with Marcel - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcelpetitpas/

Rob Da Costa (Business Owner, Agency Coach & Mentor), helps agency owners grow their agencies in a sustainable and profitable way. Having started, grew and sold his own agency, he has an in-depth understanding of the challenges agency owners face. 

Back in 1992, Rob was a marketer for early tech companies. They kept trying to hire agencies but always ran into issues finding ones that could really move the needle. At the age of 24, Rob quit his job and started his first agency - CIT PR - which he grew to 25 staff members with revenues of £1.5m. That led him to a successful exit in 2003, after which he leveraged his experience to start a coaching business in 2007.

Most small agency owners get stuck being the delivery person instead of actually leading and growing the agency. To realistically start growing, agency owners need to change their focus towards structure, delegation and productization. After the 10+ employee mark, a leadership team also becomes a necessity to sustainably expand, as otherwise you’re split between internal and client strategy which causes one or the other to be neglected.

Tune into the full episode to learn how to turn your agency into a self-sufficient, profitable and sustainable business!

HIGHLIGHTS:

0:00 Intro

2:47 How Rob sold his agency and became a coach
6:17 Why people choose to hire Rob
10:45 How to build a self-sufficient agency 
14:21 You need a leadership team
16:12 What if you can’t afford to hire?
19:51 Rob's best growth hack

Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/

Connect with Rob - https://www.linkedin.com/in/robdacosta/

David Meerman Scott (Entrepreneur, Advisor, Keynote Speaker and WSJ Best-selling Author) began his entrepreneurial journey in 2002 - at the cusp of the internet revolution. Now he’s written 12 books that have sold millions of copies, done marketing and business presentations on all 7 continents, advised countless clients and been on HubSpot’s advisory board since 2007.

The tipping point that caused David to move into advising happened back when he was the VP of marketing at Newsedge - a small information company. They went on to be acquired by Thomson Reuters who weren’t too keen on David’s perspective that online marketing was the future, so they let him go. Within a few months he was making more money than ever before - which ultimately solidified David’s decision as the right one for him.

David saw a huge opportunity when Google went real time. Nobody was talking about it, and he leveraged it to again gain an unfair advantage. Now that AI is starting to take a significant chunk of the search platform marketshare, David recommends that you familiarize yourself with Perplexity.ai as it very well could be the future.

Tune into the full episode to learn real insights from a marketing expert with 30+ years of experience!

HIGHLIGHTS:
0:00 Intro
3:29 David’s career journey
7:01 Pioneering the digital marketing movement
8:26 Getting fired and becoming an advisor
12:01 When Google went real time
15:43 The real value of AI in marketing
19:53 You need to tie back your content to your product 

Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/
Connect with David - https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidmeermanscott/

Ken Fitzpatrick led the Digital Marketing Institute (DMI) - the largest global digital marketing training and certification body with 75k+ certifications and 330k+ members - for over 11 years until he moved on to a new role at BPP 2 months ago. He’s also led companies to 3 successful exits.

The focus of DMI was always  to create a standard that raises the bar for digital marketing skills - and over the years they achieved that goal. The business was initially hard to scale as an in-person model, but once they transitioned to a fully online service they finally unlocked scale. After that they hired established executives who helped move them even further until they hit their biggest growth spurt by partnering with the American Marketing Association.

AI is really causing shockwaves throughout the education industry. Ken isn’t quite ready to take a stance on its potential impact, but for now he sees it as a positive that can reduce a lot of the gruntwork that goes into a marketer's daily workflow. Marketers should embrace AI as a tool, not as a single source of truth for all of their insights and knowledge.

Tune into the full episode to hear Ken’s journey running DMI!

HIGHLIGHTS:
0:00 Intro
2:15 Why people turn to DMI
3:51 Ken’s journey with the DMI
6:01 11 Years of challenges
9:24 The role of AI in marketing education
14:41 Universities vs Certificates 
16:27 Ken’s CEO Playbook

Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/
Connect with Ken - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenfitzpatrickdmi/

Full Episode Here - https://youtu.be/eOZ9DQhM7LE

Christian Banach (Principal and Chief Growth Officer at Christian Banach) helps agencies, B2B companies, small to large, across marketing disciplines, land 6- and 7-figure opportunities predictably through consulting, training, and outsourced lead generation services.

More than 20 years ago, Christian started his career by throwing small social events that grew into parties featuring superstars like Lady Gaga, T-Pain and Pitbull. As those grew, he started working with brands that were looking to sponsor events as part of their overall marketing strategy. 

During the pandemic Christian started his current venture. He saw a lot of agencies struggling to keep the lights on, so starting his own consulting firm was the next logical move. Now they help over a dozen clients break into enterprise accounts and close 6-7 figure contracts.

What makes breaking into enterprise accounts so incredibly difficult is that everyone is trying to get their attention through the same means. Christian recommends that you really do some original research about their audience and book that first meeting by showing that you already know what improvements would drive real outcomes for their business.

Tune into the full episode to learn how to close enterprise contracts!

HIGHLIGHTS:
0:00 Intro
0:53 Generating millions for clients
2:06 How Christian grew his first business
5:04 Original research matters!
9:35 The Christian Banach Playbook
14:25 Embrace Warm Outbound Sales

Connect with Christian - https://www.linkedin.com/in/christianbanach/

Connect with Mikael - www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/

Check out Christian’s Newsletter - https://christianbanach.com/

Jeff Meade (President of MEADE) is an expert in agency positioning. He managed to grow his agency beyond $20 million in revenue prior to moving into agency coaching.

An agency wasn’t the initial vision. At first, Jeff and his co-founders were trying to operate as a consultancy. They quickly learned that a team of 20-somethings simply don’t have the domain expertise to sell consulting services to a Gen Y audience, so they pivoted to an agency model instead.

After growing their agency to 8 figures, they wanted to go international. While they had good conversations with potential partners, they fumbled the offers due to inexperience. They took it as a learning experience and Jeff moved on to coach agencies on how to nail their positioning.

The real battle when trying to settle on your position in the market is really understanding who are the folks you can help and why should they believe in your ability to perform. When people come to Jeff, typically they have a loose position and aren’t at a stage where going all-in on lead generation makes sense. To identify your focus point, you need to stop looking at your previous clients as your north star and really figure out the right profile outside of your existing rolodex.

Tune into the full episode to learn how to differentiate your agency!

HIGHLIGHTS:
0:00 Intro
3:58 Getting to $20+ Million
7:31 The impact of packaging the right offer
10:47 How Jeff moved into coaching
13:03 How to think about positioning
21:24 Grow via thought leadership

Connect with Jeff - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffmeade/ 

Connect with Mikael - www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/

Andy Crestodina (Co-Founder and CMO at Orbit Media) is an expert at SEO, Analytics, AI, Content Strategy and Website Optimization. He’s gathered a huge following consisting of 100k+ LinkedIn followers and newsletter subscribers. He’s been publishing since 2007, and nowadays speaks on 100+ stages per year. These efforts have enabled his team to generate $8 Million in yearly revenue with no outbound motion and 0 ad spend.

To say that content marketing has evolved over the last 20 years would be an understatement. One tactic that has always worked and still works today is to publish on other, established platforms when you’re new and need to generate initial traction.

Video is all the rage right now, but unless you’re selling something super transactional with widespread appeal, you need a solid strategy to make it into a real revenue generator. As an agency, you should utilize the tactic of BOFU content to help build trust with those who have been burned by other service providers.

Tune into the full episode to learn more insights from a true content marketing master!

HIGHLIGHTS:
0:00 Intro
4:02 The evolution of content marketing
7:03 Is video worth the investment?
10:10 Invest in owned media 
13:15 AI for content - hype or the real deal?
20:07 How good can AI really get?
22:44 Grow through variated content 

Connect with Andy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/andycrestodina/
Connect with Mikael - www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/

Full Episode Here - https://youtu.be/b3ea3C6x9_A

Galen Low (Co-Founder at The Digital Project Manager) helps agency owners completely transition out of project management work by leveling up their project managers and enabling them to be self-sufficient. Their training program has certified over 700 agency professionals to date, and helped alleviate 50-75% of project management costs for owners.

Their program's first goal is helping PM’s understand the full business picture of what they do and why it’s important. Second is getting rid of the notion that projects run smoothly all the time, and teaching them what to do when issues arise. 

SEO is a touchy subject right now. The rise of AI and the rapidly changing Google algorithm has left this field in a state of disarray. SEO did magic for the growth of The Digital Project Manager and even the recent changes haven't affected their traffic. Galen attributes this to the fact that their SEO strategy was never about SEO - but simply about creating high value content that people actually want to read.

Tune into the full episode to learn how to transition out of operations?

HIGHLIGHTS:
0:00 Intro
2:35 Early course mistakes
8:51 Practitioner to teacher 
12:17 Common operational problems
15:28 How to level up your PM’s
20:51 Winning SEO approach in 2024

Connect with Galen - https://www.linkedin.com/in/galen-low-digital-transformation-advisor/

Connect with Mikael - www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/

Gray MacKenzie (Founder of ZenPilot) saves agencies from constantly hopping between project management tools such as Asana, Monday, ClickUp, Notion, Teamwork, Wrike, Basecamp, Trello etc. They’ve led over 3000 teams to tighten their operations through ClickUp.

Before becoming a full-time operations consultancy, Gray ran a separate business that offered a project management platform. When they were sunsetting, they took their existing clients and helped them transition to ClickUp, which is how they landed their initial wins. Their next step to grow to 3000+ clients was content creation around the different use cases that ClickUp offers. 

Achieving operational excellence comes down to 3 pieces - tools, processes and habits. The toughest part of it all is habits, because unless your team knows they’re being held accountable for their side of the process, everything will quickly fall apart. Gray recommends daily spot checks, as well as scheduled, routine meetings to look at the data and figure out your weakest links.

Tune into the full episode to learn how to master ClickUp for your agency!

HIGHLIGHTS:
0:00 Intro
4:30 Growing to 3000 clients
5:32 From SaaS to Service 
8:34 How to achieve operational success
12:01 Some founders HATE project management
16:38 Owners shouldn’t work on delivering 
20:42 Content-led Growth 

Connect with Gray - https://www.linkedin.com/in/graymackenzie/

Connect with Mikael - www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/

Karl Sakas (Agency Consultant & Executive Coach at Sakas & Company) helps agency owners work less and earn more, while rewarding their best team members. So far he’s worked with over 600 agencies across the globe.

It’s safe to say that working less and earning more is a very common goal. Karl adapted this messaging and even wrote a book - Work Less, Earn More - on this particular subject, as it has universal appeal beyond the agency space.

Not every agency owner wants an exit. Often we see agency owners wanting to scale to a place where the agency does its own work, instead of them working for the agency all the time. Karl believes that agency owners aren’t necessarily either building a lifestyle agency or an equity agency, and instead have shifting priorities that steer them towards one or the other. Both need help to work less and earn more, as an agency that’s fully dependent on the owner is a tough sell, and an agency that requires constant input doesn’t exactly warrant a great lifestyle.

Tune into the full episode to learn how to work less AND earn more!

HIGHLIGHTS:

0:00 Intro 

2:48 Ex boss becomes first client
5:17 Work Less, Earn More
7:07 Lifestyle agency or equity agency?
10:55 Make yourself optional
16:08 Proactive prep for an exit 
18:46 Clarity is key 
21:42 Split the 2 brands

Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/

Connect with Karl - https://www.linkedin.com/in/karlsakas/

Full Episode Here - https://youtu.be/85hOIwCkTN4

Jordan Daniel Bell (Founder/CEO of Agency Bell) has managed $100+ Million in ad spend and currently helps companies get more customers with AI-powered advertising. 

Jordan has been running agencies for 10+ years. During this time he came to the conclusion that the ads space desperately needs to make better targeting decisions and a way to gather and dissect that data. They found that the data sets were very scattered and it was truly difficult to make the right data-driven decisions. They started focusing on attribution data, which led them to build their own automations.

His favorite piece of tech was always Zapier, and he dedicated a significant amount of time  mastering the platform and all the benefits it brings. The biggest value add from the get go was seamlessly getting information into CRM. This proved to be no easy task, as the statuses can vary heavily and CRM hygiene is difficult to maintain. 

Tune into the full episode to learn how to automate your advertising flow!

HIGHLIGHTS:

0:00 Intro
4:20 Make better targeting decisions
8:21 The right ad tech stack
12:29 Data-driven ad campaigns
21:35 Spend more time talking to customers 

Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/

Connect with Jordan - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanbell/

Robin Waite (Founder of CourseApp and Fearless Business) helps agency owners stop leaving money on the table, fix their pricing and start growing their businesses to it’s true potential.

When Robin was running his web design agency he noticed that there was a ton of friction in their overall process, with deals taking up to 3 months to finalize and ultimately closing without profit. Frustrated with the status quo, he came up with a 1 day branding workshop flow that quickly became a huge success. This made him realize that speed of delivery was the ultimate profit hack and got him 40 new, profitable clients.

The answer to your agency's profit problems is almost always productization. Productizing your service isn’t a new concept, but it’s one that many agencies struggle to implement. Robin has identified that the main issue is that agency owners often base their rates according to their own internal value system, which typically isn’t a reflection of your clients value system. When implementing productization, you absolutely need to have a clear understanding of the timeline in which you can deliver - and that number should be as low as possible. 

Tune into the full episode to learn how to stop leaving money on the table!

HIGHLIGHTS:

0:00 Intro
4:09 Speed of delivery matters 
9:25 12x deal size opportunity 
16:17 The key to pricing right
19:32 “it depends” does it really?
23:31 Grow through partnerships 

Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/

Connect with Robin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/robinmwaite/

Tune into the full episode here - https://youtu.be/DQfOaRXV0rw

Marquis Murray (Founder & CEO of Cirface) specializes in elevating the operational efficiency of Marketing & eCommerce teams by streamlining their processes and maximizing technology utilization. He’s also an Asana partner and helps clients get the most out of their platform.

With his background in corporate operations, Marquis quickly realized that marketing agencies aren’t typically super efficient when it comes to systems. One of his freelance clients brought him in-house, where he learned that he can fully deliver for their clients. Naturally this led to Marquis starting his own agency. He knew that scrupulous documentation was his best chance at gaining a competitive advantage, so he started getting serious about organization and delegation.

When Marquis starts working with a new client, he uses a specific playbook to turn teams from silos into true operators. He calls it the 4 D Framework - Discovery, Design, Deployment and Documentation. This requires a lot of communication, experimentation and teamwork to figure out what makes sense and what needs to stop. Once the workflows look good and everybody agrees, then they document everything and provide ongoing support to make sure things are working.

Tune into the full episode to learn how to improve your agency's operations!

HIGHLIGHTS:

0:00 Intro
3:55 From freelancer to agency owner
8:41 Eliminate burnout = eliminate friction
11:53 the 4 D Framework
15:49 Deployment is key 
20:39 Start a YouTube channel

Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/

Connect with Marquis - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marquisamurray/

Check out the full conversation here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbRQg0wjlS8

Paul Boag (Founding Partner of Boagworks) is a CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization) expert whose goal is to help companies better understand the new generation of connected consumers. Over the last 30 years he’s worked with hundreds of clients, including huge names such as Puma and Shell.

Many of today's marketers had a social media account by the time they were in middle school. Paul started working in marketing back when the internet was a completely new concept. During those super early days he got obsessed with user experience and the concept of optimizing the way we serve our potential buyers. 

What really attracted Paul to UX was the opportunity to decrease friction for users and ultimately lead to more sales. While the rest of the market was trying to be deceptive and entice FOMO, Paul was always focused on serving the user - which is a great way to stand out.

CRO and UX are essentially the same thing. Paul likes to challenge the traditional thinking of prioritizing the businesses goals over the users experience, as a great user experience will ultimately drive outcomes either way - and with a smiling buyer on the other end of the transaction.

Tune into the full episode to learn how to master UX & CRO!

HIGHLIGHTS:

0:00 Intro

2:53 Marketing before the internet
5:03 The beginnings of UX
7:55 Truly serving the user
11:01 CRO vs UX
20:29 Decrease their cognitive load 

Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/

Connect with Paul - https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulboag/

Shaun Clark (Co-Founder of HighLevel [GoHighLevel]) has helped countless agencies grow their revenue through white-label software and service solutions.

Agencies can get hesitant when thinking of implementing new technology for their clients, as with the software evolving they can take over the clients needs fully and make the agency redundant. Shaun heard the market when they encountered this issue, which is why he became heavily invested in white-labeling. 

The platform that Shaun and his team built really took off as more agencies saw the value behind a mediator between them and software platforms. Their go-to-market motion was kind of an afterthought at first, as they realized that hiring the level of creativity it takes to stand out through an internal marketing effort would be extremely difficult. Word-of-mouth and affiliates have ultimately carried their marketing effort to this day.

Tune into the full episode to learn the journey of GoHighLevel!

HIGHLIGHTS:

0:00 Intro

4:23 SaaS stealing agency clients? 
6:30 How HighLevel took off
9:00 Word-of-mouth and affiliate mastery 
11:16 The new CRM world
14:39 GoHighLevel exits
17:10 Grow through one-to-many

Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/

Connect with Shaun - https://www.gohighlevel.com/main-page

Melanie Chandruang (Founder of WeConsult) is a financial nerd, an operations whiz, and an expert integrator all rolled into one charming, no-nonsense package. She makes agencies more profitable, sellable, and run like well oiled machines by optimizing their operations.

For the last 6 years, Melanie has been serving agencies with operations consulting or fractional ops work, helping them scale all the way to exits. Agency owners typically come to Melanie with very specific needs, revolving around their inability to consistently service clients due to the fact that the owner is too involved in the day to day delivery.

Melanie’s agency journey started when she founded a devshop, which is where she discovered that her true passion lies in operations. Soon enough she learned that her role was very complimentary to the creative work that was being done by her team members. It took a few years for her to fully understand exactly how valuable her skills are in the agency world, and after seeing multiple managers fail to truly advocate for their teams and add real value she created her own unique approach that really bridged the gaps she experienced first hand.

Tune into the full episode to learn more on how to handle operational problems!

HIGHLIGHTS:
0:00 Intro
1:07 Scale operations to exit
4:47 The real problem with agency operations
6:57 How Melanie found operations
9:57 Owners struggle most
12:02 What type of agencies Melanie works with
14:05 The Million Dollar Problem
17:57 Look beyond the numbers

Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/
Connect with Melanie - https://www.linkedin.com/in/melaniechandruang/

Troy Dean (Founder of Agency Mavericks) helps agency owners expand, get more time, and sometimes even leave their businesses successfully. The work they do generates between $50 - $100 Million per year for their clients. He’s also one of the founding members of Funnelytics.

Agency owners are often the most busy and stressed out entrepreneurs you’ll find, although it doesn’t have to be that way. Troy has identified that a lack of structure, processes and confidence is what leads to agency owners feeling stuck and unhappy, and all of that can be built out to help owners reclaim their time and energy.

Troy realized that agencies have a huge structural problem back when he was growing his own. When he started delegating work to his VA, he noticed that without proper documentation it was almost impossible to have them work autonomously. He started by creating videos, which would then be turned into workflow documents - and it worked great. Troy then started sharing these workflows with the Wordpress community, which is how he started gaining traction with his next ideal client profile. 

Tune into the full episode to learn more on how to master documentation and reclaim your time!

HIGHLIGHTS:

0:00 Intro

2:35 $50 - $100 Million/Year
5:00 How Agency Mavericks began 
7:22 Scale with confidence  
10:44 The real reason most agencies fail
14:08 Preventing distractions is key
16:42 You don’t need more leads
20:28 The paid discovery method
24:27 How much should you charge?

Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/

Connect with Troy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/troydean/

Anthony Gindin (Founder & CEO of Agency Different™) helps agency principals with strategic planning, business model design, brand positioning, service productization, client acquisition, and enhancing profitability through growth.

Anthony started his first agency at the age of 17 and sold it within 5 years. Then at 24, he sold his second agency that had scaled up to 45+ employees. In total, he’s founded 6 companies, sold 4 and taken 2 public on the Canadian Stock Exchange.

The key to success for an agency lies in differentiation. Every agency is unique, but they often look the same from outside  because they follow the market instead of focusing on building a unique brand with a high perceived value. Anthony suggests you improve your perceived value through market specificity, a deep understanding of the results you bring and unique methods for delivering those results.

Tune into the full episode to learn more on how to increase your agency's win rate!

HIGHLIGHTS:
0:00 Intro
0:53 Founding 6 companies
3:35 The Agency Secret
5:56 Differentiation is key
7:55 Increasing your perceived value
10:41 The move to client side 
14:27 The move back to agency life

Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/

Connect with Anthony - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonygindin/

This is a snippet from the last episode of the Funnel Vision Show with Kara Redman (Founder and CEO of Backroom), who has helped founders launch startups, build brands and secure venture capital for the last 10 years.

For the full episode check out the previous episode!

Kara Redman (Founder and CEO of Backroom) has helped founders launch startups, build brands and secure venture capital for the last 10 years. From finding their first investors to making global expansions, Kara has helped startups reach their dreams - without ever niching down.

Kara’s journey is one that very many agency owners can relate to. She didn’t go the academic route or inherit a company. Instead, she took on the entrepreneurial path as a young, single mother. She worked at an agency prior to starting her own, which is where she realized that marketing was an avenue she seriously wanted to pursue.

Backroom has always been about positive change. Kara didn’t abide by the standards of old, stuffy, controlling and toxic corporate culture. Instead, she built out a successful business that puts their people first, which wasn’t nearly as trendy back in 2014. Her people-first approach isn’t a gated secret - part of her business now is to help others achieve the same organizational structure while remaining operationally excellent.

Founder-led growth is a concept that Kara truly embraced last year. She started out with around 3000 followers, never really looking at herself as a social media content creator. Once she began posting though, the feedback was overwhelming. Over the last year and a half, she’s grown to over 50,000 followers and has gone viral multiple times while generating revenue along the way.

Tune into the full episode to learn more of Kara Redman’s journey leading Backroom!

HIGHLIGHTS:
0:00 Intro
2:20 Going against the grain
4:14 The vision for Backroom
7:03 Becoming people-first
9:14 Building the right culture
10:51 3k -> 50k LinkedIn Followers in 1.5 years
15:21 Incremental growth is painful 
17:58 Founder-led is a growth hack

Connect with Mikael - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/
Connect with Kara - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kararedman/

This is a snippet from our podcast episode with Jhana Li. For the full conversation, tune in to the last episode of Funnel Vision!

Jhana Li (Founder of Spyglass Ops) is a wizard of operations who helps scale businesses through efficient and autonomous processes, enabling founders to take a step back from being involved in every single part of the day-to-day..

Jhana got into operations while doing vanlife through North & South America. Her boyfriend at the time was running a digital marketing agency, and during that time she got a good glimpse of how archaic and disorganized agencies can be. A bit later on a team member left the agency and Jhana took over operations as they searched for a replacement. In the end no replacement was needed as Jhana ended up their next COO.

Many parts of the business succeed because they are built through a founder's lens. Operations are NOT included in that list. Following the pattern for success requires a visionary who drives the business forward through growth stages and someone who can steer the day-to-day, fix leaky buckets and make sure things get done in time.

Spyglass Ops wasn’t a planned decision. Jhana was between roles when she took on her first consulting client. This scaled pretty quick, with her ending up in a position where she could no longer take on more clients as a solopreneur. 

Tune into the full episode to learn more on how operations can change your business!

HIGHLIGHTS:
0:00 Intro
2:43 How Jhana got into operations
5:17 Why most founders struggle with operations
9:01 From COO to Entrepreneur
11:10 How to improve your operations
15:45 The real value of operations
20:06 Traits of a great operator
23:13 The ultimate growth hack

Connect with Jhana - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jhana-li/
Connect with Mikael - www.linkedin.com/in/mikaeldia/

This is a snippet from our podcast episode with Tim Kilroy. For the full conversation, tune into the last episode of The Funnel Vision Show!