The Agency Growth Podcast

This week, we brought on Ezra from Green Frog Web Design to talk about what agency owners usually avoid: competitors, pricing, retention, and what “enough” actually means.Ezra works in the same lawn and landscape space we do, which is exactly why we wanted him on. Most agency owners treat competitors like enemies. We think that’s usually a barrier you made up yourself.We got into his path from lawn care and cold calling to building a niche web design and SEO agency with a low-friction monthly model. No giant retainers. No pretending every client needs the same thing. Just a clear offer, a specific niche, and a business built around retention.We also talked about the bigger question behind all of this: what are you actually building for? More revenue is great, but if the business forces you into a life you don’t want, that’s not much of a win. -----MENTIONS IN THE EPISODE:Follow Ezra:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ezragreenf/Make & Model Advertising:https://greenfrogwebdesign.com/-----RESOURCES:Want the tools and resources we recommend for agencies? Check them out here:https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/tools-----NEWSLETTERWant the show in your inbox? Sign up for the newsletter!https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/newsletter-----COMMUNITYLooking to join a community of agency owners? Join our Discord!https://discord.gg/uvHRRRFVRD-----CONTACTGot something to say? Send us a message:https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/contact

[Cold open [Jake turns Iowa’s football stadium into a paintball field] ends at 10:39.]We’re trying to figure out what the next version of our agency actually looks like.SEO and Google Ads are still the foundation, but marketing alone has a ceiling. Adding more lead sources does not help much when clients only see the bad leads, follow-up is inconsistent, and everything gets compared to high-intent search.In this episode, we talk through what we’re testing right now. That includes Google AI Max, lead form campaigns, HighLevel, and one dashboard that brings leads from every platform into the same place.The bigger idea is moving beyond lead generation and into operations. Better qualifications, faster follow-up, sales coaching, and cleaner client data may be what makes the agency more valuable and less seasonal. We do not have it all figured out, but this is the boring work we’re doing to find out.-----RESOURCES:Want the tools and resources we recommend for agencies? Check them out here:https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/tools-----NEWSLETTERWant the show in your inbox? Sign up for the newsletter!https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/newsletter-----COMMUNITYLooking to join a community of agency owners? Join our Discord!https://discord.gg/uvHRRRFVRD-----CONTACTGot something to say? Send us a message:https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/contact

[Cold open [Jake’s 7,000-word schema study] ends at 11:56]AI is making clients question what they used to pay agencies for.In this episode, we talk about how clients are starting to look at agency work differently now that AI can give them a first draft, a basic design, a legal answer, a finance answer, or a marketing opinion in seconds. It does not have to be perfect to change how they think.That is the part agency owners need to pay attention to. The real threat is not always what AI can actually do, but what the client believes it can do.The value has to move somewhere else. Better thinking, better judgment, better relationships, better performance, and being the kind of partner clients actually trust when the AI gives them a confident answer that is wrong.-----RESOURCES:Want the tools and resources we recommend for agencies? Check them out here:https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/tools-----NEWSLETTERWant the show in your inbox? Sign up for the newsletter!https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/newsletter-----COMMUNITYLooking to join a community of agency owners? Join our Discord!https://discord.gg/uvHRRRFVRD-----CONTACTGot something to say? Send us a message:https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/contact

[Cold open [Bad shaker bottles. Creatine. Gemini as a personal trainer.] ends at 08:43.]Cody and Jake talk through the weird spot agency owners hit when the business is growing, but the work starts feeling less fulfilling.This episode gets into the reality of running a productized agency at volume. More clients, more accounts, more expectations, and more moments where “just manage expectations better” stops being a useful answer.They also talk about what the next evolution of Evergrow might look like. Not just adding another marketing channel, but building operational tools around the problems clients already have: missed calls, weak follow-up, no review generation, bad lead handling, and messy sales processes.It’s part therapy session, part business discussion. The kind of conversation agency owners have when the machine is working, revenue is growing, and somehow the next problem still feels right in front of you.-----RESOURCES:Want the tools and resources we recommend for agencies? Check them out here:https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/tools-----NEWSLETTERWant the show in your inbox? Sign up for the newsletter!https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/newsletter-----COMMUNITYLooking to join a community of agency owners? Join our Discord!https://discord.gg/uvHRRRFVRD-----CONTACTGot something to say? Send us a message:https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/contact

[Cold open (Music opinions, Spotify habits, and Mr. Brightside trauma) ends at 09:40.]AI has given clients just enough language to sound confident, but not always enough context to be right.In this episode, we talk about what happens when clients start using ChatGPT, Gemini, or other LLMs to audit the work they already pay an agency to do. Sometimes the questions are fair. Sometimes they are just AI-generated checklists dressed up as strategy.We get into SEO advice, Google Ads testing, schema, CDNs, landing page structure, and all the tiny technical things that sound important online but often do not move the needle. We opened up our inbox to share real client emails and break down how we set firm boundaries.This is not an anti-AI episode. It is an episode about authority, trust, and what agency owners should do when clients start treating AI like the expert in the room.-----RESOURCES:Want the tools and resources we recommend for agencies? Check them out here:https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/tools-----NEWSLETTERWant the show in your inbox? Sign up for the newsletter!https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/newsletter-----COMMUNITYLooking to join a community of agency owners? Join our Discord!https://discord.gg/uvHRRRFVRD-----CONTACTGot something to say? Send us a message:https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/contact

We sat down with Jackie Studor from Make Model Marketing to talk about the absolute grind of running a niche digital agency in the automotive industry. The automotive niche isn't built for standard agency plays. Jackie explained how her team navigates massive manufacturer compliance rules and co-op dollar systems where a simple error can cost a client thousands. Because of this intense nuance, they strictly hire account managers who have actual dealership experience. They also do something most remote agencies avoid: visiting every single client in person every month. It's a high-touch model that drives an impressive 48-month retention rate but creates distinct operational bottlenecks. We dug into those hurdles, from calculating service margins without billable hours to managing team capacity as the business scales. If you have ever thought about breaking into the car business, this episode is a realistic look at the industry. Car dealers do not buy from cold calls; they buy from industry peer groups and trusted referrals. It is a heavy, unsexy operation, but there is a lot to learn from how they structure their business.-----MENTIONS IN THE EPISODE:Follow Jackie:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackie-studor/Make & Model Advertising:https://makemodelmarketing.com/-----RESOURCES:Want the tools and resources we recommend for agencies? Check them out here:https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/tools-----NEWSLETTERWant the show in your inbox? Sign up for the newsletter!https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/newsletter-----COMMUNITYLooking to join a community of agency owners? Join our Discord!https://discord.gg/uvHRRRFVRD-----CONTACTGot something to say? Send us a message:https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/contact

We sat down with Dan Gent, who ran his product design agency, Lighthouse London, for 15 years before walking away in 2023 and now writes his own newsletter, Dear Agency Founder.Dan details how Lighthouse reached 20 people and roughly $2 million in revenue before market conditions forced a closure rather than a traditional exit. He explains the dangerous "dip" where profit margins drop as you hire non-billable managers and ops staff to scale. This conversation is a blunt look at the reality that businesses often end by closing or walking away instead of a multi-million dollar payout.We also tackle the difficulty of design retainers and why clients often stop seeing value once the initial project is finished. Dan advises treating yourself as an employee with a set wage in your forecast so you can actually afford to hire your replacement. He also touches on how AI is commoditizing "grunt work," forcing designers to sell accountability and taste instead of just Figma files.-----MENTIONS IN THE EPISODE:Follow Dan:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dangent/The Dear Agency Founder Newsletter:https://join.dearagencyfounder.com/?utm_source=agencygrowthpodcast-----RESOURCES:Want the tools and resources we recommend for agencies? Check them out here:https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/tools-----NEWSLETTERWant the show in your inbox? Sign up for the newsletter!https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/newsletter-----COMMUNITYLooking to join a community of agency owners? Join our Discord!https://discord.gg/uvHRRRFVRD-----CONTACTGot something to say? Send us a message:https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/contact

[Cold open [Jake’s $700 Caviar Mistake] ends at 13:45.]Technology is moving fast, but that doesn’t mean agency owners need to chase every new tool that shows up in their feed.In this episode, we talk about the pressure agencies feel to keep up with AI, automation, new ad platforms, and all the other tools everyone is suddenly yelling about. Some of it matters. A lot of it is just noise.The real question is not “what tool should we sell next?” It’s “what problem are we actually trying to solve?” We get into why chasing tools before defining the problem wastes time, creates bad offers, and makes agencies look more like hobbyists than operators.We also talk about where technology has actually helped us inside Evergrow, from call tracking to lead aggregation to niche ad platforms. The point is not to ignore new technology. The point is to use it when it helps clients get more leads, handle those leads better, and make smarter growth decisions.-----RESOURCES:Want the tools and resources we recommend for agencies? Check them out here:https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/tools-----NEWSLETTERWant the show in your inbox? Sign up for the newsletter!https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/newsletter-----COMMUNITYLooking to join a community of agency owners? Join our Discord!https://discord.gg/uvHRRRFVRD-----CONTACTGot something to say? Send us a message:https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/contact

[Cold open [A listener feeds Cody’s Panda Express addiction] ends at 9:02.]Giving clients total transparency into their leads sounds like a good idea until they start seeing the garbage that comes with the gold.When you open the black box of lead generation, clients often fixate on the junk instead of the lower lead costs. Moving up the funnel with services like LSAs naturally increases the volume of "trash" leads your agency has to manage. If a client isn't prepared for that reality, they will panic over a drop in impressions even when ROI is climbing.We’ve realized our job is to provide results, which often means acting as a barrier between the client and the noise. We are now using voice and text AI to filter out non-serious leads before they ever land on a client's desk. Protecting your client's time this way prevents them from fixating on the "garbage" that naturally comes with scaling.Transparency without education is just a recipe for client anxiety. You have to decide if you want to be a raw data provider or a partner who protects the client’s time. It’s unsexy work, but it’s the only way to scale your agency without losing your mind.-----RESOURCES:Want the tools and resources we recommend for agencies? Check them out here:https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/tools-----NEWSLETTERWant the show in your inbox? Sign up for the newsletter!https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/newsletter-----COMMUNITYLooking to join a community of agency owners? Join our Discord!https://discord.gg/uvHRRRFVRD-----CONTACTGot something to say? Send us a message:https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/contact