Back when I first started de Jong Phillips I was just selling my knowledge and expertise to help my clients get results. I didn’t have systems or processes in place back then because I didn’t need them! But as we scaled, it became clear they were the only way we could consistently grow, profitably and predictably.

Here’s why…

Your biggest challenge as a scaling agency owner…

If your agency is growing, you’ve probably found that while you’re still selling the same outcome, you’re not just selling yourself anymore – you’re selling your team. That means you suddenly have to make sure your team members can deliver a consistently high service to multiple clients at a time. So how on earth can you do that without burning yourself out or dropping the ball?

The power of a good system

If you’re trying to scale your agency but haven’t put the right systems in place to support you, then chances are you’re feeling pretty trapped right now. You’re so stuck in the daily grind and the detail, you don’t have the time to steer your business to where it needs to go. I see this with our new clients all the time, and the humble system is the answer to their prayers.

No more fire-fighting

For example, recently I had a team member ask for a pay rise. Before I had a system in place that situation would have sent me into a total spin and would have occupied my time for a couple of days. I’d have had to:

•  sit down and look at the numbers to see if we could afford it
• review their performance to see whether they warranted it; 
• and if the answer was a ‘no,’ I’d then have to figure out a way to deliver the news in a way that made them feel like they were being treated fairly and still valued members of the team. 

In other words, I’d have been firefighting. But now that I have a system for this exact scenario when a team member came to me recently asking for a pay rise, I was able to address the question quickly, efficiently, and transparently. And the best part was that even though it wasn’t the answer they necessarily wanted, everyone left the conversation happy. 

That’s the power of a system. They make you more efficient, timely, and confident, plus save you so much stress. Systems also make you money, create space for the stuff you really want to do, and keep your clients and staff happy too.

So what should you systemise?

When it comes to systemising an agency the sky really is the limit! We are constantly looking at ways to create new systems and make the old ones better. If you’re yet to put systems in place in your agency, you might be feeling a little overwhelmed, so let’s close with a list of some of the most useful systems every agency needs.

5 Systems that help your agency scale more profitably:

• preparing proposals or pitches
• onboarding new clients
• delivering projects
• welcoming a new joiner to the team (or saying goodbye to a leaver)
• keeping your financial systems up-to-date, e.g. book-keeping and budgeting.

I’ve been helping clients systemise their agencies since 2015, and it’s such a huge game-changer for small business owners that I’ve written a whole book about how to do it. Inside The Prosperous Agency: How to scale your agency business profitably and sustainably, I show you how to work out which systems to put in place first, how to map out a new one and redesign existing systems to make your agency more efficient and profitable.

You can get your copy here.

Pam