Small Spark Theory: a marginal gains approach to new business and marketing – Details, episodes & analysis

The thing with marginal gains is that it feels small. And we could be forgiven for thinking that applying this approach to agency growth is simply about tinkering around the edges, making small improvements and seeing small incremental results.

I know it has a far bigger sales and marketing role to play, but wanted to talk to someone who has experienced rapid agency growth to understand the interplay between big strategy and marginal gains. 

And who better than Stephen Kenwright, exited co-founder of one of the last decade's the most exciting agency start-ups, Rise at Seven. 

Join us as Stephen takes us through this incredible growth story and shares his top tips for leaders who are eager to scale their agencies fast.

As always, we'll be giving away a copy of Stephen's recommended read: Why Does the Pedlar Sing by Paul Feldwick. Listen in to find out how to win.

Also mentioned in this episode:

Good advice from J Schwan

The Challenger Customer by Brent Adamson, Matthew Dixon, Pat Spenner and Nick Toman.

EP51: Raising Your Profile with Ash Jones

Ride Shotgun

Rise at Seven

It's been 6 years since Tony Walford from Green Square joined me on Small Spark Theory to discuss the practicalities of selling an agency. 

To say a lot has happened since then would be an understatement. Aside from the obvious economic rollercoaster and acceleration in technology, we've seen a seismic change to the way many of us work. 

I was curious to find out how these changes have affected the agency M&A market, so invited my fellow Design Business Association expert David Blois from M&A Advisory to share his observations and insights. 

Join us in conversation to hear:

• which agency services are in demand
• how to measure your preparedness for sale
• what to consider when assessing a buyer

As always we have a book giveaway - David's recommendation is The Trusted Advisor by David Maister, Charles Green and Robert Galford. Simply join in the conversation on X, Instagram and LinkedIn using #smallsparktheory for a chance to win. 

Regular listeners to this podcast will know that we spend a lot of time here talking about relationships. Of course there is much to say in our industry about creativity and marketing and technology innovation, but fundamentally, as agencies we are service businesses and so the process of attracting, winning and retaining clients has as much to do with the the people involved and the relationships we create as it does with the creative or technological outputs. 

This year I’ve spent a lot of time auditing client relationships on behalf of agencies, so have been paying particular attention to the behaviours and dynamics that define successful working relationships - from early new business conversations all the way through to retained (and referred) business. 

So I was particularly excited to receive a copy of Tuning Up, the new book by David Meikle, exploring how responsibility and control relate to one another in ALL of our relationships but specifically within the client and agency dynamic. 

In this episode David joins me to discuss how using his clever Meikle Matrix to help us better understand responsibility and control,  we can improve our performance and reduce stress. 

Don't forget, we’ll be giving a lucky listener a copy of Tuning Up, listen in to find out how to win. 

This episode is sponsored by E2M, the #1 white label digital agency partner. Visit https://www.e2msolutions.com/smallsparktheory/ to enjoy 20% discount on your first month.

Also mentioned in the episode:

David's previous book: How To Buy A Gorilla

EP30: Rethinking Procurement

I have met many agencies over the years who have had ideas for spinning out their own products. 

The outcomes have been varied. From those who have successfully launched and created additional revenue streams, to those who have continued to scale and ultimately sell their product business. For many though, the constant pull of client projects and the day to day demands of running an agency mean that many brilliant product ideas just never make it out of the agency doors. 

In this episode I speak with Paul Halfpenny, Co-Founder and CTO of digital agency Filter, just as the agency launches PersonalizeWP. 

We discuss the importance of defining and getting behind the ‘right’ idea for the agency. The challenges of managing resource, securing investment and launching to market all while keeping the agency ticking along with a happy team and clients. 

Paul’s recommended read is Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett. Listen in to find out how to win a copy. 

This episode is sponsored by E2M, the #1 white label digital agency partner. Visit https://www.e2msolutions.com/smallsparktheory/ to enjoy 20% discount on your first month.

Further reading:

The Marketer's Guide to Personalisation

5 Ways To Use PersonalizeWP To Personalise Your WordPress Website

If you've enjoyed this episode, please consider sharing it with someone or even better, leave a review - it really makes our day!

How much of your agency revenue comes from overseas clients? Did you know that the US is the largest recipient of UK exports, receiving £3.9bn worth of advertising and market research services, – a value that has more than tripled since 2020?

In this episode I chat to Kat Thay, Co-Founder of K&C, Co-President of the Austin Advertising Federation. Since moving to Texas in 2018 Kat’s flair for research, networking and connecting talent has revealed lucrative opportunities for UK agencies looking either to break into the US or expand their existing US revenues.

Building on this insight, Katalyst now supports agencies to confidently navigate and succeed in the US market. We discuss the perceptions of cost and quality of UK creativity and the industry and state-specific nuances of doing business overseas.

We’ll be giving away a copy of Kat’s recommended read: The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. Listen in to find out how to win.

This episode is sponsored by E2M, the #1 white label digital agency partner. Visit https://www.e2msolutions.com/smallsparktheory/ to enjoy 20% discount on your first month.  

Understanding how clients are buying agency services is fundamental to how we shape our new business and marketing strategies and processes.

In recent episodes we’ve heard perspectives from procurement expert Tina Fegent and lead generation expert Alex Sibille, so it feels only fitting to add an intermediary point of view into the mix.

Dominic Glenn heads up the Brand Services offer at Ingenuity and joins us to share insights gleaned from years of client / agency speed dating events and helping brands navigate the agency landscape,  either to build an entire roster or solve a particular knotty challenge.

As always there are marginal gains aplenty and a book competition. Listen in for your chance to win a copy of Brothers Emanuel by Ezekiel J. Emanuel. 

Do feel free to get in touch with Dominic via LinkedIn to introduce your agency!

Also mentioned in this episode:

Ingenuity acquires rival Future Factory

Recent pitch news 

This episode is sponsored by E2M, the #1 white label digital agency partner. Visit https://www.e2msolutions.com/smallsparktheory/ to enjoy 20% discount on your first month.  

Winning new clients has never been straightforward. But after the upheaval of the last few years, last year in particular we saw an added complication - resource.

And of course that scarcity of talent naturally increased salary expectations, meaning that profit margins on new and existing projects were being squeezed even further. 

For this episode I speak to Manish Dudharejia, founder and president of E2M Solutions (and I'm very proud to say, sponsor of Small Spark Theory) about how his 180 strong team support over 150 agencies with white label digital services to take the pain out of the scaling and resourcing process. 

We explore how Manish's desire to build a people over profit business has created a powerful niche which allows him to focus hiring and developing specialist digital talent, allowing agencies to focus on building their client relationships, all while protecting profit margins. 

We'll be giving away a copy of Manish's recommended read: Measure What Matters: The Simple Ideas that Drives 10x Growth by John Doerr, listen in to find out how to win. 

Also mentioned in this episode:

Traction: Get a Grip on your Business by Gino Wickman

Atomic Habits by James Clear

E2M introductory offer for Small Spark Theory listeners

This episode is sponsored by E2M, the #1 white label digital agency partner.

I feel as though we’ve been skirting around the edges of a beast of a topic for some time on this podcast, namely emergent technology and its impact on agencies.

Of course, no single episode is going to unpick the labyrinth of challenges and opportunities for our clients, and in turn the agency community, but as the chat about AI continues to rumble in the daily news cycle, it’s feels like the right time to talk to someone who really understands that intersection of technology, people and brands.

Warren Hutchinson is Founder of Else, an experience design, innovation and strategy consultancy and Chair of the Design Business Association. He’s spent 25 years helping businesses as they navigate a point of change.

In this episode, we discuss cutting though the hype and the noise, the power of kinaesthetic learning and its role in our positioning as experts and the importance of not having all the answers.

Warren’s recommended read is Scary Smart by Mo Gowdat. Listen in to find out how to win a copy.

Also mentioned in the episode:

Diary of a CEO E252 Emergency Episode with Mo Gowdat

Newsletters:

TLDR

The Conversation

The Hustle

If you are a DBA Member you can join Warren discussing these topics in Glasgow on 15 June – find out more here

This episode is sponsored by E2M, the #1 white label digital agency partner. Visit https://www.e2msolutions.com/smallsparktheory/ to enjoy 20% discount on your first month.  

In recent episodes, we’ve talked a lot about change and uncertainty, the persistent undercurrents unsettling our new business efforts and impacting our client relationships.

So, it seems a perfect time to speak to someone who has an unrivalled perspective of the agency and client dynamic – Tina Fegent.

From becoming one of the first marketing buyers in the UK over 25 years ago, Tina has set up and led procurement teams at some of the largest buyers of marketing services and led commercial teams at leading UK agencies.

In this episode, we discuss the shifts in how clients buy, and how agencies sell, what we can do to maximise our client relationships, why positioning matters more than ever, managing a personal brand and how to get your portrait taken by Rankin!

Tina’s recommended read is Buying Less for Less: How to Avoid the Marketing Procurement Dilemma by Gerry Preece. Listen in to find out how to win a copy.

This episode is sponsored by E2M, the #1 white label digital agency partner. Visit https://www.e2msolutions.com/smallsparktheory/ to enjoy 20% discount on your first month.  

Also mentioned in this episode:

IPA & CIPS Top Tips For Better Working Relationships

IPA Magic & Logic

When I saw the title of Matt Watkinson’s new book, Mastering Uncertainty, earlier this year I jumped at the chance to interview him on the podcast.

Matt runs LA based agency Methodical. His first book, The 10 Principles Behind Great Customer Experiences had already been recommended on here by Nick Phipps back in episode 22 and having subsequently enjoyed his next book, The Grid, I was eager to see what Matt had to say about how we navigate these uncertain times.

It turns out the book is far from a response to our post-pandemic disarray, but a rallying cry to not only accept uncertainty as a constant reality, but to use it to our advantage.

There are so many new business takeaways in this conversation. I’ll be bulk ordering copies of Mastering Uncertainty for my clients, and giving away a copy with this episode, as well as a copy of the Grid – essential reading for anyone running a business or selling marketing services to businesses. Listen in to find out how to win.

Also mentioned in this episode:

Gap Selling: Getting the Customer to Yes: How Problem-Centric Selling Increases Sales by Changing Everything You Know About Relationships, Overcoming Objections, Closing and Price by Keenan

Accelerating Excellence by James A. King

This episode is sponsored by E2M, the #1 white label digital agency partner. Visit https://www.e2msolutions.com/smallsparktheory/ to enjoy 20% discount on your first month.