[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Intro” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
When you meet Chris Montgomery in person, you can\u2019t help but feel there\u2019s a certain aura about the man.<\/span><\/p>\n The Founder of Social Ordeals oozes with success and accomplishment with his flashy checkered jacket and relaxed demeanor. But you can tell that, behind his smile, the journey to become one of California\u2019s leading digital agency owners wasn\u2019t without its fair share of trials and tribulations.<\/span><\/p>\n [et_pb_section global_module=\"112941 \"][\/et_pb_section]<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_code _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_code][et_pb_text admin_label=”Body” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Montgomery has grown Los Angeles-based <\/span>Social Ordeals<\/span><\/a> from a one-man agency back in 2012 to an operation that now employs over 30 staff and generates approximately $8 million in annual revenue by servicing thousands of small and medium businesses (SMB) across the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada.<\/span><\/p>\n So, what\u2019s the secret to his success?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Simply put, guts and lots of hard work.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIn this business, you get knocked down a lot and you have to learn to get back up and keep going. And you need to learn how to make hard decisions along the way: whether it\u2019s with employees, clients, processes, or partners,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n This year, Montgomery celebrated his 10th year of running an agency, and we\u2019re fortunate he\u2019s agreed to share some of his top lessons for aspiring agency entrepreneurs as well his thoughts on the biggest marketing trends of 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n When asked about the biggest ongoing challenge he faces as an agency owner, Montgomery immediately points to training his employees and sales reps.<\/span><\/p>\n He\u2019s learned that agency owners cannot afford to hire staff and simply become hands off.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThere’s so many different facets of digital marketing, and you’ve got to be able to explain them in a way that your customer can understand,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIn many of our sales pitches, I either get on the phone myself or I\u2019m there with my reps talking to clients. When we have new employees, they are required to attend many of those before they\u2019re unleashed to deal with clients themselves.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n He strongly recommends that other agencies:<\/span><\/p>\n Every agency owner\u2019s dream is to <\/span>build a profitable agency<\/span><\/a>\u2014a repeatable, predictable, and scalable business. But that will forever remain a dream if exceptional service isn\u2019t at the heart of your organization\u2019s mantra.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe one piece of advice I’d give every single owner running an agency: take care of your customer,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOnce you get your first few clients, you have to service them well. You have to make sure that you’re doing everything that you promised them that you would do, and you’re keeping your word on that.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen I started running an agency, I had a lot of customers that came on board and I had to work hard to keep them happy. And because I did the work, delivered results, and did the right thing by my customer, I grew my business off referrals.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAnd when you earn their trust and business, you need to give them incentives to bring their friends and families with businesses to the table,\u201d explains Montgomery.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_code _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”] Whether you\u2019re a new or experienced agency owner, it\u2019s crucial that you don\u2019t rely solely on calls and emails to win business.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got to go and get boots on the ground,\u201d Montgomery says.<\/span><\/p>\n Even though Social Ordeals has its own sales team, Montgomery actively gets out and about and capitalizes on opportunities to sell in person when he sees the right opportunity.<\/span><\/p>\n For example, he recently dined at a Mediterranean restaurant that served great food but didn\u2019t have a strong online presence. Montgomery felt he could help the restaurant owner get more foot traffic by helping his business rank higher on search.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI got to know the owner of the business who was making the food and running the place. He asked me \u2018how did you find us?\u2019 I said \u2018I barely found you, but you had the best reviews\u2019,\u201d Montgomery recalls.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe got into a conversation three weeks later, he became a customer of mine and I’m still a customer of his. So if you’re just starting out in the agency world, get out there and talk to businesses, understand what their challenges are, and then offer them solutions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Some things in life are a waiting game. Responding to inbound inquiries<\/a> most definitely isn\u2019t one of them.<\/span><\/p>\n Montgomery says time and again, he sees agencies and other service-oriented companies make the mistake of not getting back to prospects and customers quickly.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cPeople are impatient today. If a prospect calls you and you don’t get back to them for 48 hours or 72 hours, you’re putting a bad taste in their mouth. Most of the time during normal business hours, we call our clients and prospects back within 15 minutes,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n When it comes to onboarding<\/a>, don\u2019t make the mistake of leaving this crucial step to one person.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe have an entire onboarding process<\/a> where clients fill out a form and we get really detailed. We let them fill it out as much as they possibly want to or just fill out the basic things we have. But then we do a video conference call,\u201d he explains.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe have a few account managers<\/a> that are onboarding them and a few understudies. So if anybody ever leaves our company, we have somebody that still understands them as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe have that conversation, build the account out after that onboard process, and then set up another meeting to take them in and actually train them on how to utilize the software we sell them,\u201d Montgomery explains.<\/span><\/p>\n But it can\u2019t stop there. It\u2019s a business relationship after all; Montgomery says a common mistake he sees is that agencies fail to continuously<\/span> prove their value<\/span><\/a> and stop <\/span>educating their clients<\/span><\/a> on how to use resold software.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n That can lead to a strong chance of churn.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen we deliver strong results for the client, maybe a new five-star review or we see them ranking high for a particular keyword, we reach out to those customers to inform them of that and let them know about those types of wins,\u201d Montgomery says.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe then do all our follow ups with clients to make sure that they understand all the products we\u2019ve provided them and actually how it’s helping their business.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSo you’ve got to engage with a customer and have a schedule of when you’re going to call out to your customer, and now we’ve got the experience over the last 10 years of knowing when to reach out at certain points to fill them in on their status and where they’re currently at,\u201d shares Montgomery.<\/span><\/p>\n The year 2022 was a tough one for agency recruitment given labor shortages resulting from an extraordinary set of factors. This included the pandemic forcing greater adoption, reduced migration, and the ability to work anywhere for many types of skilled professionals.<\/span><\/p>\n But Montgomery suggests agencies need to look at talent like they would the stock market: You don\u2019t want to pay 3\u20134 times what something (or someone) is actually worth out of sheer desperation.<\/span><\/p>\n His solution? Look inside for talent that can be nurtured.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t want to outbid ourselves in the market and get scared like a lot of businesses we\u2019re seeing out there,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m promoting from within, which allows me to slowly grow them into a management salary, as opposed to hiring somebody starting out with a management salary.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe also care about keeping our current employees. We\u2019ve added benefits to our company including increased vacation pay, medical and dental, and pay raises for excellent performance,\u201d says Montgomery.<\/span><\/p>\n He believes the labor market situation will eventually correct itself and salary expectations will rebase themselves to more realistic levels over the coming year.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s an age-old problem among agencies: undercharging and overservicing. And often, you do it just to keep the client and maintain your cash flow.<\/span><\/p>\n But Montgomery says it\u2019s critical agencies take a commercial approach to their business dealings.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt’s weird to say, but you have to analyze your book of business and make sure that you actually have a profit margin with your clients because with some clients, you don’t,\u201d he explains.<\/span><\/p>\n As an example, he had to let go of a client who was demanding a level of service that wasn\u2019t yielding a sufficient margin for Social Ordeals while consuming too many hours for his team.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_testimonial author=”Chris Montgomery” job_title=”CEO & Founder” company_name=”Social Ordeals” portrait_url=”\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/11\/download-5.webp” quote_icon_background_color=”#ecf0f5″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” body_text_color=”gcid-body-color” author_text_color=”#666666″ position_text_color=”#666666″ company_text_color=”#666666″ max_width=”95%” global_colors_info=”{%22gcid-body-color%22:%91%22body_text_color%22%93}” body_text_color__hover=”#000000″ body_text_color__hover_enabled=”on|hover” portrait_alt=”City skyline with coffee cup icon and text.” portrait_title=”download (5)”]<\/p>\n That client wasn’t spending that much money with us. Sometimes, you have to make that hard decision. Sometimes, clients want to fire you because they want to try out something else. You as an agency owner can’t be scared to fire a client either.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_testimonial][et_pb_text admin_label=”Body 3″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Digital marketing and technology trends are changing at a lightning-fast pace, and agencies must be able to keep up and get the help of partners who can allow them to stay on course.<\/span><\/p>\n This year alone, TikTok became the <\/span>most-downloaded app<\/span><\/a> in the world (an inconceivable thought given the app was invented after Facebook and Instagram).<\/span><\/p>\nEven when you\u2019re a leader running an agency, you need to be on the phone<\/span><\/h2>\n
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You can\u2019t scale without impeccable service<\/span><\/h2>\n
Get your boots on the ground<\/span><\/h2>\n
The secrets to effective prospecting, onboarding, and managing the early phase of a new relationship<\/span><\/h2>\n
Hiring staff? Don\u2019t fall into this trap<\/span><\/h2>\n
Sometimes, it pays to fire clients<\/span><\/h2>\n
Two digital marketing trends to watch for 2023<\/span><\/h2>\n