PODCAST · business
Agency Journey
by Gray MacKenzie
How do world-class agencies continue to grow profitably and hit their goals, even through the choppy waters and challenges of agency life?How do leaders like Tiffany Sauder, Marcus Sheridan, Jay Acunzo, Shama Hyder, David C. Baker, Nikole Rose, and Zeb Evans think?Join Agency Journey host Gray MacKenzie as he interviews agency operators and leaders to share insights, actionable tips, and hilarious stories from the builders who live in the agency trenches.Each episode focuses on crucial aspects of growing an agency like building the right team, delegation, project management, client success and retention, and operating frameworks like EOS.Brought to you by ZenPilot: we help lead your agency through the final project management implementation you’ll ever need. Book a call to learn more at ZenPilot.com/Call.Don’t forget to rate + follow the podcast if you enjoyed it!
Episodes
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Slowing Down to Speed Up: 3 Strategies to Unblock Your Sales with Jen Allen-Knuth
"Don't lead with the solution. This is my number one tip for agency operators. And it's my number one tip for traditional sellers, SaaS sellers—anybody who is trying to get someone to work with them." Are your sales suffering? Are you finding it harder to get calls and close deals? Are you…
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How to Win and Manage Enterprise Clients with Alex Birkett
Are you struggling to differentiate yourself in a saturated market? Are you finding it hard to win enterprise clients and manage complex relationships with them? On the other hand, perhaps you’re looking for ways to create high-quality content at scale, or demonstrate the long-term value of SEO…
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How to Get More Money Per Client Without Doing More Work with Raul Hernandez Ochoa
Tired of working harder for the same (or less) money? Frustrated by clients who don't value your expertise? Or perhaps you’re dealing with: – Razor-thin profit margins; – Clients who nickel and dime you; – Difficulty scaling without burning out; – Sales processes that feel like pulling teeth? If...
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The 10 FTE Wall: How to Scale Your Agency Past 10 Team Members
"The value of an hour of your time as an agency owner, if you're growing, is never going backwards." In this episode of Agency Journey, Gray “The Martian” MacKenzie joins Kuba to discuss the challenges and strategies for agency owners scaling their businesses beyond 10 full-time employees (FTEs)....
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From Agency Exit to Building Companies on the Back of an Audience with Marketing Max
“If a handful of 20 year olds can service millions of dollars a year in revenue—your agency can, with very little stress and very little complications. And your newsletter can, too.” Marketing Max is a serial entrepreneur and growth marketer with a seven-figure agency exit under his belt. He's…
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Clarity Is Kindness: How Being Direct Will Help You Grow Your Agency
"Clarity is not the natural state of things. It is a discipline that we have to build into ourselves and into our organizations to create clarity for the team. The outcome is well worth it." In this episode of Agency Journey, Kuba talks with Gray about the importance of clarity in agency…
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Niching Down, Video Content Mastery, and Time Tracking for Agency Growth with Tycho Luijten
“We have to optimize the business just like a hotel optimizes their business—because you can only sell your time once, and we're in the business of selling time." Tycho Luijten is the CEO and co-founder of Dapper, a B2B marketing agency focused on helping scale-ups set up marketing engines that...
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Growing a 300-Person Global White Label Agency with Damian Papworth
"I can't grow if I'm doing the same stuff that I was doing last year. So for me to grow, I need to give my leaders space to grow in so that they're doing the stuff that I was doing last year—and then I'm doing something different. That's my yardstick for a good year." Damian Papworth is the…
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Viking Accountability: Prioritizing Work and Finding Time for Rest with Ben Catley-Richardson
Ben Catley-Richardson is the "Accountability Viking" for agencies, helping owners of 3-5 year old agencies grow beyond their own capabilities. With a background in video game journalism and a passion for Norse mythology, Ben brings a unique perspective to agency growth and accountability. In this...
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Upskilling Your Clients and Building a Culture of Experimentation with David Arnoux
"Going from a company of know-it-alls to a company of test-it-alls—that's really powerful at the organizational level. And it makes people's work so much more meaningful." David Arnoux is the co-founder and CEO of Growth Tribe, one of Europe's leading EdTech providers focused on bridging digital...
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The Keys to a Profitable Podcast: Niching, Formats, and Production Tactics with Hector Santiesteban
"Trust is only built through time. It's very hard to build trust through any other mode than time. And that's what's great about having a podcast." Hector Santiesteban is the founder of Amplafy Media, a podcast production company helping businesses leverage podcasting to drive revenue. In this...
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Niching Down, Planning for Digital Marketing Success, and Adapting to AI with Corey Morris
Corey Morris is the owner and CEO of Voltage Digital, a specialized digital marketing agency focused on search marketing and websites. He's also the author of "Digital Marketing Success Plan", a new book aiming to help businesses worldwide make digital marketing predictable with a documented...
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From Mommy Blogs to Multi-Billion Dollar Industry: The Evolution of Influencer Marketing with Cooper Munroe
"It was clear that there was so much power in individuals banding together to do something." Cooper Munroe is the CEO of The Motherhood, an influencer marketing agency founded in 2006, long before the term "influencer marketing" existed. Cooper shares the fascinating origin story of her agency,...
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How to Drive Pipeline Through LinkedIn Thought Leadership and a Strong POV with Garret Caudle
"Managing a CEO's LinkedIn account is a full-time job." Garret Caudle is the founder and CEO of Influent, a full-funnel LinkedIn marketing agency. With a background in scaling agencies and a passion for LinkedIn's untapped potential, Garret shares his expertise on leveraging the platform for...
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The 40-Hour Conundrum: Rethinking Time Tracking for Modern Agencies
Is it ever possible to track 40 hours of work in a given week? If not, what should the benchmark be? What is time tracking for, anyway? And how to talk about it with your team members in a way that makes them motivated, and gives you good insights? In this episode of Agency Journey, Gray and Kuba...
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The Daily Stand-Ups Anti-Pattern (+ Alternative Async Methods for Planning, Trust, and Momentum)
In this episode of Agency Journey, Gray and Kuba discuss the pros and cons of daily standup meetings and explore alternative approaches for remote teams. They break down why many companies still rely on standups and offer strategies to instead build trust, maintain momentum, and improve planning...
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Motorcycling In Vietnam, Scaling to 150+ Remotely, and Choosing Team Over Clients with Zach Boyette
"From the very start, when I launched Galactic Fed, some of my friends (former entrepreneurs) gave me really good advice, which is that you want to be removing yourself from as many processes as you can. You do not want to create what some people call a key man or key woman scenario." Zach…
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Systematized Networking, Quick Revenue Wins, and Becoming the Hub and Spoke with Kurt Schmidt
“In all aspects of your work and your business, you have systems. Why is networking, which is just as important as any one of those singular things, not managed with such ferocity?” Kurt Schmidt is an agency founder, podcast host, author, and agency coach with 25 years of experience growing...
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From White House Writer to Agency Founder: John Corcoran’s Playbook for Podcasting and Growth
John Corcoran is the co-founder of Rise25, an agency that helps B2B companies get clients, referrals, and strategic partnerships through done-for-you podcasts and content marketing. John has been podcasting since 2010 and his business partner Jeremy has been doing it since 2008. Together they've...
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Gray vs. AI: Client Success Strategies Based on Hard-Won Experience
In this episode, Kuba generates a list of client success tips using AI—and Gray critiques them and goes way deeper based on his hard-won experience in the agency space. Episode Insights: 💡 Understanding client goals is crucial for improving client success. Ask questions and listen carefully to...
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Mentorship, Global Talent, Golden Handcuffs, and Hunters vs Farmers with Kasim Aslam
“All of my successes massively outpace my capabilities. Like when you meet me, you're like, ‘I can't believe that guy did all the shit that he did’. Because I look homeless and I'm not really as bright as I pretend to be. I'm not self-deprecating—it's a fact. My success outpaces my capability...
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Crafting a Winning Hiring Process for Your Agency – Lessons Learned From Our Recent COO Recruitment
“Candidate expectations have certainly accelerated. There's a difference today versus 10 years ago in terms of what people's expectations are and how fast other processes are going. And so moving quickly is an advantage in a hiring process—and figuring out how to move quickly without sacrificing…
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Paid Assessments, Collective Knowledge, and HubSpot's Future Trajectory with Adam Sharrow
"I think the hardest thing that all HubSpot agencies are trying to solve for is… 500 product updates this year. How do you keep it all straight? How do you share that knowledge? How much knowledge do you have to know as a team, to what level? One thing that I practice and preach is: not…
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A Special Announcement About the Future of Agency Journey
We’ve got an announcement to share about the future of the podcast. 👉 Don’t forget to follow and rate us on your preferred podcast platforms. We’re also on YouTube: @ZenPilot
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Fixing Underperforming Businesses, Crafting Equity Deals, and Reclaiming Time with Casey Cavell
“In today's day and age people are scared to be measured. But your athletes, they love it because that's how they grew up. How do you know who are the best players on the team? You look at the box score, you look at the stat sheet. So I like bringing a sports mentality to everything I do.” Casey...
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Overprioritizing Your Business, Setting Boundaries, and Finding Balance with Carlos Hidalgo
“I had bought into this idea that you had to sacrifice everything you had to kill yourself for growth. And it cost me dearly. I made some really poor decisions.” Carlos Hidalgo is co-founder & CEO of Digital Exhaust, a Utah-based data-driven, AI-enabled agency with a belief that "growth is a…
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YouTube Content Ideas, Owner Mindset, and Recognizing Your Leadership Style with Ali Schwanke
“I have long seen myself as: I’m a very good marketer. I'm a very good communicator. I'm a good content creator. That's my lane. I know how to drive in that lane very, very well. And this has been a challenge for me to say: how do I become the best president, owner of a services business? Versus...
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Becoming Optional at Your Agency, Building Personal Warmth, and Leadership Development Programs with Karl Sakas
“If you don't like managing people, one of the things to consider is: do you want to run an agency? The management portion will never go away. But it also doesn't have to be so hard.” Karl Sakas, agency advisor and founder of Sakas & Company, has served as “agency therapist” for over 600 clients…
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Humble Experts, Partnerships, and Managing Creative Work with Arianne Foulks
“We all consider ourselves humble experts. So we all know that we're good at what we do, but ego does not get in the way around our workplace.” Arianne Foulks, CEO and founder of Aeolidia, a one-stop shop agency for creative ecommerce brands with 20+ years of market presence, was our recent guest...
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[Perpetual Traffic Feature] Project Management 101: Tools, Processes, and Habits with Gray MacKenzie
[This is a special feature of Gray's recent appearance on Perpetual Traffic—reposted on the Agency Journey feed so you don't miss this informative discussion!] Kasim chats with Gray MacKenzie, the co-founder of ZenPilot, a company that helps agencies master project management. Gray reveals why...
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Working in Pods, Nurturing Talent, and Scaling a Full-Service Agency with Jesse Resnick
"Small groups of highly skilled, highly motivated, well communicating people can just achieve more than you can at a large organization." Jesse Resnick, co-founder of Ei Digital, a full-service digital agency, was our recent guest on Agency Journey. This episode is a must-listen for agency owners...
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The Cookieless Future, pLTV AI, Personal Branding Tactics, and Running a ClickUp CRM with Paris Childress
Is your agency prepared for the cookieless future that threatens to “tank” advertising performance? Paris Childress, CEO of SaaS-focused performance marketing agency Hop Online, was our recent guest on Agency Journey. He shared insights on crafting first-party data strategies that can help…
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Productizing Design Services, Adopting EOS Mid-Growth, and Shopify Partnerships with Matthew McIver
Want to take your agency to the next level? Learn how Matthew leveraged EOS, strategic partnerships, and custom ecommerce solutions to optimize operations and expand offerings over 9 years in business. His proven strategies can help your agency demonstrate ROI and pave the path to sustainable...
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Video Case Studies, Writing a Business Book, and Running a Partnership Program with Ian Garlic
Running a professional services agency? You need compelling case studies to close sales. But most video case studies end up dry, boring, and forgettable. So how do you create video case studies that captivate prospects and accelerate deals? In this episode of Agency Journey, host Gray MacKenzie...
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Managing a Remote Marketing Agency Team Across 7 Time Zones with Janet Mesh
Running a marketing agency is hard. Running one remotely across several time zones? Even harder. So how do you keep a distributed team aligned, motivated, and growing together? In this episode of Agency Journey, host Gray MacKenzie interviews Janet Mesh, CEO and co-founder of Aimtal, a fully…
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How Rocket Clicks Streamlined Operations And Improved Client Retention with EOS
Ask any agency owner and they’ll tell you—growth doesn’t happen by accident. It takes strategy, systems, and support. So how do you choose the right blueprint to guide your agency’s growth? What if that blueprint could help you smash through plateaus and scale your team 10x? In this episode of...
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How to Build a Resilient and Empowered Company Culture with Mark Abbott
Struggling to get your team aligned on goals and metrics? Wish your company culture was more productive and humane? Mark Abbott, founder and CEO of Ninety, shares how and the importance to implement tools to empower employees and build a resilient organization. In this episode, Mark discusses the...
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How to Build Your Agency's Brand Through Your Team's Personality and Expertise with Jakub Grajcar
In this episode, Kuba shares his vision for ZenPilot Marketing. He details his strategy to transition ZenPilot's perception from merely a ClickUp implementation partner to a team of agency operations experts. Kuba emphasizes the importance of promoting the ZenPilot team and using platforms like...
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Building Your Creative Fingerprint: Four Ways to Communicate with Your Audience Through Storytelling
Do you struggle to create work that truly resonates with your audience? The ability to craft stories and messages that forge meaningful connections is what separates good creators from great ones. In today’s episode, host Gray MacKenzie sits down with storytelling expert Jay Acunzo. Jay Acunzo…
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How to Source, Screen and Select the Best Candidates for Your Agency
In this episode, Erika Zeigyte, CEO of a consulting & recruitment agency called Prosana. joins Gray Mackenzie to discuss the intricacies of hiring an A+ talent for your agency. Erika also shares her insights into what makes for great agency candidates, how to build an effective hiring process…
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How Roger West Gained Structure and Scale Without Losing Creativity
Misti Ferris holds the “Integrator” seat at digital marketing agency Roger West Creative & Code, which means she ensures that everyone is dancing to the same beat called EOS (even the creatives). In addition to the Integrator role, Misti serves as Vice President of Operations, where her “3 M”...
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The Blueprint for Building a High-Growth Marketing Agency
William Ferreira is the founder of Social Buff, a full-service digital agency that builds and scales direct-to-consumer (DTC) e-commerce brands. Since its launch in 2019, the business has taken countless companies to multi-million pounds in revenue. In this episode, William and Gray discussed the...
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The Art of Building a Profitable and Effective Agency Mastermind
In this power-packed episode, we are joined by JJ Rusell, Partner and Director at Best Damn Agency Mastermind. Together with Gray, they delve into the importance of having a clear vision for mastermind groups, the value of strong connections within the community, and overcoming self-limiting...
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The 5 KPIs for Sustainable Agency Growth with Karl Sakas
In this episode, Karl Sakas, Author, Speaker, Agency Consultant and Founder of Sakas & Company, joins Gray MacKenzie to discuss strategies & key metrics that agency owners should start tracking, and how it contributes to achieve sustainable growth and increased profits. Karl Sakas helps people at...
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How Pilothouse Scaled to 170+ Employees in Under 3 Years
In this episode, Andrew Stern, Partner, and COO at Pilothouse, a full-service digital marketing agency that helps DTC brands scale through performance marketing. Andrew shares insights into Pilothouse's unique partnership model with clients, how they've scaled to over 170 employees in just a few...
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How to Build a Profitable Agency that Runs Without You
Mike Rose, Founder and CEO of Return On Energy, is a highly successful entrepreneur who has built multiple profitable agencies that can run without him. With a track record of accolades, including being named INC Best Places in America and a 3X Inc 5000 Fastest Growing Private Company, Mike…
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How To Boost Your Agency's Productivity and Efficiency with Soulful Leadership
Individuals with soulful character approach leadership with tremendous fervor. They possess a deep understanding of their organization's structure and prioritize bottom-up motivation over top-down. They recognize the importance of all team members. These leaders also value open communication with...
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How to Build Profitable Agency Partnerships with Charlie Gaudet
In this episode, Charles "Charlie" Gaudet II, CEO of Predictable Profits. He is also the author of “The Predictable Profits Playbook" and host of The Beyond 7-Figures Podcast, joins Gray MacKenzie to explore the strategies and best practices for building successful and profitable agency...
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How Implementing EOS Transforms Agencies to Ascend with Anne Shenton
In this episode, Anne Shenton, CEO of Ascend Strategy & Design, a HubSpot Diamond and Advanced CMS Implementation certified solutions partner, joins Gray MacKenzie to dig deeper into the impact of implementing EOS. Whether it's self-implementation or with a professional implementer, you will…
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A Lean Approach to Adapting Agency Changes and Innovation With Kevin Barber And Chris Dubois
Kevin Barber is the Head of Growth at Lean Labs, focused on helping innovative companies make their marketing profitable so they can scale. Father of 3, lives in Tampa, FL, and loves bikes, boats, and building brands. Chris DuBois is the CEO at Lean Labs, helping build growth teams and websites…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
How do world-class agencies continue to grow profitably and hit their goals, even through the choppy waters and challenges of agency life?How do leaders like Tiffany Sauder, Marcus Sheridan, Jay Acunzo, Shama Hyder, David C. Baker, Nikole Rose, and Zeb Evans think?Join Agency Journey host Gray MacKenzie as he interviews agency operators and leaders to share insights, actionable tips, and hilarious stories from the builders who live in the agency trenches.Each episode focuses on crucial aspects of growing an agency like building the right team, delegation, project management, client success and retention, and operating frameworks like EOS.Brought to you by ZenPilot: we help lead your agency through the final project management implementation you’ll ever need. Book a call to learn more at ZenPilot.com/Call.Don’t forget to rate + follow the podcast if you enjoyed it!
HOSTED BY
Gray MacKenzie
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Agency Journey have?
Agency Journey currently has 314 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Agency Journey about?
How do world-class agencies continue to grow profitably and hit their goals, even through the choppy waters and challenges of agency life?How do leaders like Tiffany Sauder, Marcus Sheridan, Jay Acunzo, Shama Hyder, David C. Baker, Nikole Rose, and Zeb Evans think?Join Agency Journey host Gray...
How often does Agency Journey release new episodes?
Agency Journey publishes regularly with 314 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Agency Journey?
You can listen to Agency Journey on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Agency Journey?
Agency Journey is created and hosted by Gray MacKenzie.
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