E80: When Clients Own You with Gary Henderson

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Show Notes:

Gary Henderson is the owner of both Interactivity Digital and DigitalMarketing.org – HubSpot’s 2017 Rookie Agency of the year. They’ve helped generate $250 million+ in revenue, and billed $7.5 million between 2013 and 2017. They’ve also worked with UGURUS to build our online marketing.

Episode highlights:

• What Gary has learned since starting from humble beginnings.
• How Gary got away from relying on one unpleasant client that represented 50% of their revenue.
• What cocktail sauce has to do with serving clients.
• Why performing too well can cause problems.
• Why you should consider a “sunset clause,” and how to pull one off.
• Why shrinking your client base can be wonderful—and help you achieve work/life balance.
• Best advice:  Everyone needs a package and an easy way to buy it.
• Personal habit that contributes to success:  Self discipline
• Internet resource or tool:  AHrefs.com, Slack, Hubspot, and Zoom
• Book recommendation:  The Win Without Pitching Manifesto by Blair Enns (and here’s our podcast with Blair)

Links:

• DigitalMarketing.org
• AHrefs.com
• Slack  
• Hubspot
• Zoom
• The Win Without Pitching Manifesto by Blair Enns
• UGURUS podcast with Blair

Quotes:

• “I kind went all in. It was everything.”
• “When I hit a certain number I could get my own office space.”
• “You either take the loss or we’ll find someone else to do the work for us.”
• “Don’t pay me to turn on your lightswitch for you.”
• “It’s a hurry up game.”
• “They need the results yesterday.”

Takeaways:

• Do you have any clients that make up a majority of your revenue? Come up with a plan to change that.
• Consider the packages your agency sells to clients, and how you can streamline offerings.