Six Marketing Agency Strategies and Tactics that Don’t Work

After 30 years in agency life, I’ve learned what works. More importantly, I’ve learned what doesn’t. As a career-long marketer across ten agencies, I’ve had the opportunity to experience a wide range of talent, clients, leadership styles, service specializations, and corporate structures.

Unfortunately, I’ve also experienced firsthand the pain that comes from poor strategy and weak execution. Below are some of the biggest mistakes I’ve seen, with the hope that you can identify, address, or avoid them. Many of these lessons are also explored in my article, “What’s Your Story? Write the Book.”

Workingon the Business, not in the Business

In 2011, I was sitting in a client meeting in Seattle, sharing my thoughts on digital ad targeting in front of my team. On the drive home, they told me I no longer understood our core services and shouldn’t speak in client meetings. It was a tough moment, but they wereright. I had spent the previous three years working “on” the business insteadof “in” it.

I took a Lee Iacocca quote toheart: “I hire people brighter than me, then get out of their way.” But I tookit too far. I became disconnected from the work, the team, and our clients. While it’s essential for agencyleaders to work on the business, staying close to the work ensures relevance,credibility, and the ability to evolve.

Driving Growth Through Sales vs. Service

For the first 13 years of myagency, I didn’t need a dedicated salesperson. Growth came organically throughreferrals, PR, and strong client relationships. In hindsight, I waited too longto build a formal sales engine. On the other hand, I’ve worked at agencies thatrelied too heavily on sales, prioritizing new business over client success.

The ideal approach sits in themiddle. Retain and grow existing clients for stability, while investing in outbound sales andmarketing to drive incremental growth. Acquiring new clients is significantlymore expensive and time-consuming than retaining and expanding current ones.

Hiring Based on Knowledge vs. Talent and Passion

In Anvil Media’s early years, I hired smart generalists who could manage clients and execute work. Over time, I realized this approach overlooked each person’s “Unique Ability" or Freak Factor.” Strong account managers struggled with execution, while subject matter experts were frustrated by client management responsibilities. Once we separated roles into account management and subject matter expertise, both team satisfaction and client results improved.

I also made the mistake of hiring experienced talent from companies like Google and Yahoo. Despite their credentials, some failed due to poor cultural fit. The best hires were often less experienced individuals who we developed over time, helping them become industry leaders by leaning into their strengths.

Setting Conflicting Goals, Structure, and Culture

One of my proudest and most toughdecisions was firing our largest clients, twice. In both cases, they violatedour “no asshole client” policy and mistreated our team. Protecting team culturemattered more than revenue.

In another role, I encountered a disconnect between financial targets and the company’s stated mission. Leadership wanted to serve a specific client type, but pricing and profitability didn’t align. You can’t have it both ways. You must align your financial goals, target audience, and service model. A One Page Strategic Plan can help ensure mission, vision, values, and financial targets are working together, not against each other.

Assuming Good Intentions Are Enough

I’ve always prided myself on strong ethics and a deep commitment to my team. Still, I’ve been described as overly enthusiastic, overconfident, and impatient. Good intentions don’t always translate into positive outcomes. For 15 years, I held monthly one-on-one meetings with every employee. Initially, I took notes, which created suspicion among team members.

Based on feedback, I shifted to walking meetings and simplified the agenda:

• What’s going well?
• What’s not?
• How can I help?

The goal was to build trust and connection. While it didn’t always land perfectly, the impact was ultimately positive.

Hiring Fast, Firing Slow

Through EO Portland, A speaker at a learning event challenged the audience of business owners to fire underperforming employees immediately. His point: keeping struggling employees helps no one. Underperforming employees expect to be fired, but are happy to take the paycheck in the meantime. He was right. While many companies struggle to fire quickly, I’ve found hiring slowlycan be even harder.

I adopted Topgrading principles, aiming for extensive interview processes. But speed often matters in fast-moving industries. The best solution was building a “virtual bench” of pre-qualified candidates, allowing us to move quickly without sacrificing quality.

Final Thoughts

These six mistakes are common, but avoidable. With the right awareness and systems, you can reduce their impact or sidestep them entirely. If I can turn a struggling agency into a successful exit, anyone can. It starts with strong fundamentals, including the 7P’s of a successful business, and evolves from there.

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