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Believe it or not, there are 7-figure agencies around the world that are essentially one person with some contractors and a lot of software tools.
These micro agencies may even have Fortune 500 level clientele, too. You could be running your agency out of your spare bedroom, but if you can make your marketing agency seem bigger than it actually is?better paying clients could be yours.
Maybe you're rocking it out in your basement, or a small office space, or even a nifty "shedquarters". (It's a real thing.)
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Getting big budget corporations to sign a monthly contract could make all the difference in the world for your small agency. You could finally hire a few more skilled workers, quit your day job, or just keep working by yourself with fewer customers (aka better lifestyle).
It's not that difficult either, but it does take some prep work.
Today's post is to help anyone who is a bit self-conscious about their agency. Hopefully, you'll:
- Find out what higher-paying clients are looking for in an agency
- Discover tips and techniques to present yourself as a larger business
- See tools that can help you achieve and deliver the results for your new clients
Let's get into it.
What Corporate and Large Clients Really Want
When I say bigger, I don't mean large and impersonal.
You're not trying to create a vibe that the CEO can't be bothered and send an impression that you dole out a lot of memos. Instead, you want to give large businesses the peace of mind that you are professional and will take care of them.
That word "freelancer" may as well be a synonym for "unreliable" and "questionable work". So, it's not about seeming big.
It's about presenting yourself as professional through means of showing that you are an actual agency and not hanging out in your garage (even if you are).
How to Make Your Marketing Agency Seem Bigger
We'll just dig into several different tips.
1. Get a Real Address
The about page on your website is one of the top 3 most visited pages. This fact is even truer for services and B2B businesses.
You may know that even the about page should be about your clients, but there will still be the basic info about yourself.
Not only that, but the invoices you send and business cards (if you're still into those) will have it as well.
If you have a nice 4 bedroom/2 bath at 1234 Elm Street and do your business there, that's awesome, but it shouldn't be the address your clients know about.
Simple Solution: Get a P.O. Box. They're usually pretty cheap and you can even bootstrap it by getting one in a more rural area (they're cheaper usually).
Advanced Solution: You can get a bit crazy here, but there are rentable addresses. If you are living it up in Bali doing your marketing work and want to seem like you're in New York?that can happen.
2. Add Details to Your Website
I'm not going to tell you to have a cool-looking website. That should be a given. It's probably a service that you offer.
That said, there could be some things that you don't have on that sleek design.
- Staff Page: Use the same contractors? Ask them to put up a picture of themselves on your page. Put some of their quirky interests and say what they?re good at. Make it a good one, but not a suit and tie deal. The point is real, but not uptight and corporate.
- Add Chat: Live chat can really give the impression that you have your stuff together. There are even services that manage your chat for you 24/7. You can have set hours for the chat easily enough, too. The point here isn?t to be available all the time, but give the impression that you put forth the effort to be available.
- Don?t Get Cheesy: I?ve seen people get a Fiverr gig to put their logo on some high rise building. Just stop. All credibility you have will fly out one of those fake windows in a heartbeat. When you have something cool to show (like a new office)?show it. But don?t fake a status.
Sending invoices in the 4-5 figure range is awesome (more on that in a second).
Read the rest of Justin's guest post and his 5 other tips for increasing the perceived size of your marketing agency here.
