The document discusses strategies for building and scaling an SEO/SEM agency team. It recommends specializing in a core offering and industry rather than trying to do everything. The agency should identify its "superpower" and focus on building partnerships with complementary agencies. It also suggests focusing the agency's growth preference as either high-growth oriented or lifestyle focused. Finally, it provides tips on organizational scaling, such as hiring for account management, project management and subject matter experts, and separating roles as the agency grows.

1. BUILDING
AN
SEO/SEM
AGENCY
TEAM
#Pubcon
|
@JLoomstein
James Loomstein
CEO/Founder
Digital Space Consulting

2. @jloomstein #Pubcon2

4. @jloomstein #Pubcon4

5. @jloomstein #Pubcon5 Why
it
works
Everyone
has
a
role
to
play
Everyone
knows
what
to
do
Everything
builds
on
the
previous
thing
Its
not
direc9onless
It’s
not….we
(race
cars,
race
boats,
race
horses)
Its
not
we
do
that……

6. The
AdverEsing
Model
is
Changing
The
web
is
specific
and
specialized.
Thirty
years
ago,
brands
had
about
five
different
things
they
could
do
for
marke>ng
(direct
mail,
print,
radio,
billboard,
and
TV).
Today,
over
1,000
different
tac>cs
exist
with
new
opportuni>es
on
an
almost
daily
basis.
The
problem
is
that
we
(the
agencies)
are
not
looking
at
the
right
problem.
It’s
impossible
for
anyone
(or
any
agency)
to
be
a
master
in
everything
(crea>ve,
development,
analy>cs,
mobile,
content,
social,
video,
email,
etc.).
The
one-­‐stop
digital
shop
is
a
dying
breed–the
overhyped
500+
employee
agency
is
falling
apart.
The
problem
remains
—
tying
ac8ons
and
ac8vi8es
to
results
and
ROI.
@jloomstein

7. But
the
bigger
problem
changing
ecosystem…….
@jloomstein

8. And
you
end
up
saying….
We
do
that…..
And
that…
And
that…
And
that…
And
your
sales
go
up
But
your
cost
go
up
And
your
margin
gets
smaller
And
a
paycheck
someEmes
seems
so
much
easier
But
you’re
growing
an
agency
and
don’t
hear
this
and
keep
grinding….

9. What’s
happening
§ We
(agencies)
are
doing
everything
and
nothing
is
happening
§ You
(agency)
need
to
understand
your
core
offering
and
find
your
superpower
(everyone
has
a
superpower)
§ We
work
with
X,
Y,
and
Z
and
provide
1,
2,
and
3
to
the
mid-­‐market
energy
sector
This
is
probably
you:
§ Increased
sales
§ Lower
%
growth
revenue
§ Higher
overhead
costs
§ Decreased
specializaEon
§ Smaller
YOY
incremental
growth
§ How
you
grow
§ Understanding
the
story
you
tell
/
Telling
a
story
people
want
to
hear
§ Learning
what
to
say
to
prospects
when
you're
not
for
them
§ Remembering
if
you’re
everything
to
everyone—then
you’re
nothing
to
anyon
The
problem
you
face
with
your
agency
is
scalability
and
repeatability

10. There
has
to
be
a
beer
way….
Deciding
what
type
of
agency
to
be
and
what
service
to
offer
¤ Growth
¤ Lifestyle
¤ Sector
¤ Specific
industry
¤ Strategic
soluEon
(app
development)
¨ CreaEng
a
framework
on
how
we
get
from
here
to
there…
@jloomstein

11. Consider
this
approach
instead
¨ Understanding
that
we
live
in
a
knowledge
based
economy
¨ InvesEng
in
pla]orms/resources/human
capital
¨ Building
the
right
tool
box
(pla]orms/resources/human
capital)
¨ Partnering
with
agencies
that
like
to
work
with
other
agencies
¨ Requiring
a
minimum
threshold
for
clients
to
work
with
you
¤ 5/5/5
rule
¤ Case
study
material
¤ JV
to
varsity
client
¨ Being
everything
to
everyone
makes
you
nothing
to
anyone
@jloomstein

12. Understanding
Growth
Preference:
High-­‐Growth
vs.
Lifestyle
¨ High-­‐Growth
(HG)
focuses
on
growing
fast,
to
maximize
valuaEon
so
you
can
sell
the
agency
in
the
future.
¨ Lifestyle
(LS)
focuses
on
quality
of
life,
building
a
well-­‐paying
job
that
supports
your
lifestyle
outside
the
agency.
¨ You
want
to
sell
(High-­‐Growth),
but
don’t
want
to
work
100
hours
a
week
to
get
there
(or
hire
50-­‐100
employees
and
scale).
OR
¨ You
want
work-­‐life
balance
(Lifestyle),
but
you’d
sell
if
you
got
a
good
offer.
@jloomstein

13. @jloomstein #Pubcon
Crea9ng
a
framework
Organiza9on
Marke9ng
&
Sales
Team
Services
Time

14. How
you
scale|
Organiza9onally
Building
your
team
¨ Account
Management
(AM)
=
keep
clients
happy
/
upsell
them
more
¨ Project
Management
(PM)
=
keep
work
going
smoothly
¨ Subject
Maer
Expert
(SME)
=
bill
lots
of
work
to
clients
Building
for
the
future
¨ If
you
could
wave
a
“magic
wand,”
what’s
different
a
year
from
now
¨ Same
magic
wand.
What’s
different
five
years
from
now
(in
2020)?
¨ Hire
for
fit
–
not
for
talent
?
!
When
one
employee
does
2-­‐3
of
these
roles,
things
fall
through
the
cracks.
Split
these
roles
as
soon
as
you
can
afford
it.
Credit:
Karl
Sakas
@jloomstein

15. How
you
scale
|
Marke9ng
&
Sales
High-­‐Growth
(HG):
• You
need
team
members
dedicated
to
agency
self-­‐markeEng
and
to
sales.
Lifestyle
(LS):
• You
can
have
billable
people
doing
agency
self-­‐markeEng
• You
don’t
need
a
dedicated
sales
team,
but
ensure
people
sEll
spend
Eme
on
markeEng
and
sales,
or
else
your
lead
flow
will
dry
up.
When
people
do
billable
work
AND
markeEng,
or
billable
work
AND
sales,
everything
suffers.
Focus.
Credit:
Karl
Sakas
@jloomstein

16. How
you
scale
|
Your
Team
Building
for
the
future
• Your
team
is
the
difference
between
being
an
agency
owner
versus
being
an
individual
markeEng
consultant
• If
you
grow
past
20
people,
you
should
add
a
layer
of
middle
management
so
that
you
don’t
have
everyone
reporEng
directly
to
you
• Human
Capital:
we
live
in
a
knowledge-­‐based
economy
and
the
team
where
the
smartest
people
wins
• Always
be
recruiEng
(local
organizaEons,
LinkedIn,
Twier,
etc.)
Credit:
Karl
Sakas
@jloomstein

17. How
you
scale
|
Your
Services
Your
services
ulEmately
fit
into
one
of
three
categories
(SIT)
• Strategy
(client
says:
“tell
me
what
to
do”)
• ImplementaEon
(client
says:
“do
it
for
me”)
• Training
(client
says:
“teach
us
how
to
do
it”)
The
right
services
lineup
for
your
agency
depends
on
your
growth
goals:
• High-­‐Growth
(HG):
You
need
to
offer
all
three
service
“buckets,”
and
you
need
to
have
them
Eghtly
integrated
for
cross-­‐sells.
• Lifestyle
(LS):
You
can
get
away
with
offering
only
two
service
“buckets.
Credit:
Karl
Sakas
@jloomstein

18. How
you
scale
|
Your
Time
Long-­‐Term
Strategy
Team
Management
Project
Management
Client
Service
Billable
Work
for
Clients
Sales
/
Business
Development
MarkeEng
for
the
Agency
RecruiEng
Professional
Development
Admin
(accounEng,
HR,
etc.)
Credit:
Karl
Sakas

19. Standardize monthly
tasks list, weekly check-
ins, scheduled reports
Your objective with your
agency is scalability and
repeatability
Stay smart for your sake
and that of your agency
Track metrics that
matter
Work with agencies that
like to work with others
Invest in tools that either
save you time, make you
money, or make you look
smart
<
Create platform
partnerships and build an
infrastructure
Pick clients that fit into
your system
Find your
superpower
Focus on your core Educate & evangelize
from the ground up
Stop chasing shiny
objects
Where
to
focus
your
efforts

20. Ward,
“I
think
you
were
a
liCle
hard
on
the
Beaver…”

21. Do
This
|
Where
to
focus
¨ IdenEfy
your
core
offering
¨ Pick
your
super
power
¨ Tell
a
beer
story
¨ Invest
in
operaEons
/
non-­‐revenue
acEviEes
(I.e.
accounEng,
project
management,
etc.)
¨ Learn
that
you
can
either
being
a
meaningful
specific
or
a
wandering
generality
¨ Fill
your
roster
with
the
right
people
(money,
technology,
client,
Eme,
recruiter,
sales)
¨ Build
your
team
based
on
energy,
hustle,
integrity,
and
talent
¨ Drop
the
stuff
you
suck
at
/
double
down
on
your
strengths
¨ Understand
that
none
of
this
is
easy
@jloomstein

22. @jloomstein #Pubcon
22
This
is
your
goal….

23. Wait….About
Me
1999
–
Graduated
Bradley
University
2002
-­‐
Started
in
digital
markeEng
Work
for
“Big”
Agencies
Omnicom
2003-­‐
2010
2011
–
Started
Digital
Space
2011
–
D/FW
SEM
2012
–
Pubcon
2014
–
SMU
MBA
Adjunct
Professor
@jloomstein

24. @jloomstein #Pubcon
¨ 10+ member digital strategy agency based out of Dallas
¨ We develop brand strategies, go-to-market position strategies, and create digital
marketing amplification models for mid-size companies and brands ($10-$250M)
¨ Passionate about the tools, platforms, and technology used to connect and engage
consumers
And,
we
do
this
24

25. @jloomstein #Pubcon
25
Execu9on
is
everything.
Where to connect…..we’d love to chat
DigitalSpaceConsulting.com
Twitter.com/eDigitalSpace
info@digitalSpaceConsulting.com
James@digitalSpaceConsulEng.com
@Jloomstein