Ops in Action

07/26/2021

One of the most frequent comments we hear from clients is how impressed they are with our transparency. They know the status of every project, how many hours they've used to date, what was worked on each week, and what is planned for the week ahead.

And what all of our clients tell us is that they've never worked with a marketing agency (or any service vendor) that had better communication, a fact that has fueled many word-of-mouth referrals!

If you want to wow your clients and have them refer your agency to other businesses, it starts with clear communication and expectation setting. As an Ops In Action Insider, you can find templates and SOPs for weekly check-ins and client reports, tips on how to make sure your agency is delivering everything you promised, as well as templates and tools to help everyone on your team provide deliverables that are consistent in quality.

Get the tools you need to help your agency thrive while you build a roster of happy clients!

https://www.opsinaction.com/insider

06/30/2021

Running a marketing agency can sometimes feel like herding cats. Between managing clients (and their expectations!), producing quality deliverables often on fast turnaround times, making sure everyone on your team has access to your brand look and feel and knows the ins and outs of your brand book, to making sure new hires get up to speed quickly, it can feel like nothing is ever smooth or easy.

That's where Ops In Action comes in. With tons of tools, templates, SOPs, calculators, and more, running your agency and keeping everyone on the same page (and making sure your clients stay happy!) just got a whole lot easier. It's how marketing gets done.
https://www.opsinaction.com/home

06/24/2021

How do you make sure you get everything done? How often are you actually able to check off every single item on your to-do list? Here are 3 ways out team is able to consistently get everything done and deliver reliably exceptional results:

1️⃣ Have a team meeting Monday morning to align on tasks for the week. Yes, challenges and opportunities will arise, but that is seldom a valid reason for not getting everything done.

2️⃣ Have a brief meeting or explicit email communication on Thursday to confirm tasks will be completed as planned. Where possible and important help team members complete their at-risk tasks. If a task isn’t going to be completed, then openly acknowledge the task pushing to the weekend or the following week.

3️⃣ Use OIA Insider to access best practices for marketing operations. https://www.opsinaction.com/insider

06/18/2021

Are you tired of 'finishing' desiging work in your agency only to have the clients ask for hours of revisions? Are you frustrated because you feel like you have to give into this scope creep, because the deliverable is so far from what the client wants? You can avoid this!

Follow these 3 simple steps to avoid design re-work and over-work:

1️⃣ Reduce revisions to creative work by getting alignment on the design vision prior to creating the actual designs.

2️⃣ Use reference materials with stakeholders prior to beginning designs. For example, if you are creating a website ask the client to share 3 – 5 websites they like. Ask what they like about those sample websites.

3️⃣ Be sure to have someone else review the deliverable and the original design request before sending the first draft to the client for approval.

06/12/2021

What was your biggest success in your agency during the past week?

Rarely does success come in the form of a lottery ticket. Success is the result of methodically making incremental gains. Document the gains you plan to make this week.

Ask those on your team to identify the three big items they want to accomplish this week. Then check in at the end of the week on those items. Celebrate their accomplishments and coach those that didn’t achieve their goals.

Ask those on your team to identify the three big items they want to accomplish this week. Then check-in at the end of the week on those items. Celebrate their accomplishments and coach those that didn’t achieve their goals.

“Success is not obtained overnight. It comes in installments; you get a little bit today, a little bit tomorrow until the whole package is given out. The day you procrastinate, you lose that day’s success.” ~ Israelmore Ayivor

06/02/2021

You're not ready to hire, but your team needs help with important customer projects. Are you using a virtual bench? If not, then you should be.

A virtual bench will help you maximize your profits, gain access to talent you can’t afford, and deliver exceptional results for your clients. According to the Strategic Discipline Blog, a “Virtual Bench is a deep pool of talent that you have cultivated over time and can tap into when you need to, based on organizational needs. Your bench is cultivated and developed when you don't need it urgently – simply as you find great people. People for a potential role in your company.”

Ops in Action Members gain access to the 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 & 𝙎𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙚 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙠 which includes instructions on how to build and use a virtual bench in your business. Click here to learn more: https://www.opsinaction.com/home

05/28/2021

Congratulations to Exec Cast for receiving the Blue Ridge Rising Star Award! 🌟

Exec Cast is our sister company and full-service marketing agency for service providers. All the great content that’s included in OIA Insider has been tried and proven over and over again by the experts at Exec Cast.

We’re honored to be a recipient of the Blue Ridge Rising Star Award! 🌟

The Henderson County Chamber of Commerce, NC recently honored several businesses that experienced growth in 2020, a year that hit small business owners particularly hard due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Rising Star Award honors companies that have been in business less than three years that experienced growth in 2020 through quality management, inventiveness, old-fashioned hard work and courage, according to the Chamber.

We are honored to receive this award and it would not have been possible without the teamwork and collaboration we’ve had from our trusted clients. In 2020, we worked with many of our clients to pivot and operate their businesses in a way they’ve never had to before due to the pandemic. We’re thrilled that their adaptability and trust in us lead many of our clients to have their best year yet, including record revenue growth and recurring client acquisition.

There are a few spots still available in our roster if you’re interested in getting these results for your business. Click the link below to schedule a free, no-obligation, Client Relationship Maximizer call where we’ll look at every angle of your business and identify the top 3 areas you're overlooking in your business to increase your growth.

https://execcast.com/jumpstart/

05/19/2021

Want to increase productivity in your marketing agency? Check out these 3 quick things you can do TODAY to see an improvement immediately.

1️⃣ Stop jumping around!

Despite the fact that House of Pain tells you to “Jump Around! Jump around!” it’s actually the worst thing you can do for your productivity. Stop multi-tasking, and stop working on one thing for a few minutes, and then starting something else. You will be more productive if you work on ONE thing until completion and then move on to the next thing on your list. The quality of what you do will also improve.

2️⃣ Do the thing you’ve been dreading.

We all have tasks in business (and life!) that we hate to do for one reason or another. So, we keep pushing it to the bottom of the to-do list and it sits there, taking up brain space and getting bigger and bigger in our minds. Rip the Band-Aid off and just do it. Chances are it won’t take nearly as long as you think.

3️⃣ Stack your tasks.

Try batching similar tasks to do all at once, such as doing your social media posts or making web updates. When you are focused on just one type of work for a period of time, you’ll find it gets easier and faster to get things done.

05/13/2021

One of our favorite interview questions, for any role, is 'What's the difference between Leadership and Management?'

If you're looking to hire a management position, you'll know right away if their management style will align with your agency's culture and be effective.

If you're not looking to hire a management position, you'll still know right away if this person will align with your agency culture and be an effective team member.

But what about your leadership as an agency owner?

Top 3 Tips for Leadership as an Agency Owner:

👉 Being a leader is about more than telling people what to do.
👉 Leaders don’t know everything a marketing department or team needs to succeed, but a leader is smart enough to ask for help and continually learn.
👉 Protect your time because you can’t get it back.

04/29/2021

Are you organized enough to be efficient and successful?

Set yourself and your marketing team up for success:

1️⃣ Don't be afraid to pivot.

What worked to get more clients ten years ago may or may not work today. Be sure to continually invest time in learning the latest strategies and marketing methods.

2️⃣ Have a reliable resource for best practices.

Use OIA Insider to access best practices for marketing operations. 👉 Click here to learn more: opsinaction.com/insider

3️⃣ Be systematized with as many things as beneficial and reasonably possible.

Systems are great for, frequency of client meetings, frequency of leadership team meetings, client communication, campaign creation, and more.

04/23/2021

Do you get the most from your team? As a leader, you set the example to focus on being productive, not busy.

1️⃣ Don't expect your employees to be as invested or as productive as you are. As you expand your team, the new production of each employee will drop, and that's ok. Your first employee might increase your output by as much as 80%, the next 50%, the next 25%, and so on. If you're expecting every employee to be as dedicated, productive, and hard-working as you are, you're in for a nasty surprise.

2️⃣ Change your email policy and expectations to increase productivity. According to data research company 'Attentiv', employees spend an average of 13 hours per week on email, which is 28% of the workweek! Adjustments to your email expectations and policies can cut down on this significantly, such as an "Only answer emails between 9-10am" policy.

3️⃣ Managers should perform one-on-one check-ins with each employee once or twice per month to hear from them about their personal goals, happiness in the workplace, and any concerns they have. Keeping a pulse on employee satisfaction and their personal goals not only improves retention but provides opportunities to reward employees in ways that meet their goals. Instead of a raise or bonus, you might find an employee values something else more - like more time with family, flexible hours, or improved healthcare.

04/08/2021

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