Erik J. Olson

Most stalled agencies are stalled because the owner is afraid to ask.

Ask what?

For more money.
For the sale.
For help.
For change.
For accountability.

You don’t need a booth at a conference. You need to be in the room, shaking hands and having real conversations. Presence > branding.

Real growth comes from systems, not hope.

Tell everyone what niche you’re in.

Not some of the time.

Every time.

If they don’t know who to refer you to, that’s your fault.

Me:
Law firms at Array Digital
HVAC contractors at Rival Digital
Medical practices at Crush Digital

What about you?

“Automate everything and fire everyone” is a losing strategy.

Automation doesn’t replace people.

It makes them consistent.

Getting new clients is tough.

It's easier when you systematize keeping your existing clients thrilled

I teach agency owners to go deep before they step back.

That’s the only way you can build freedom from your agency

Niche down.

The broader your audience, the more generic your message.

Generic doesn’t convert.

Experts get paid.

Generalists get ghosted.

Your team will never care more about your brand than you do.

When it comes to core values…

If you aren't just reinforcing them then you're building a weak culture.

Weak culture => weak brand

If your team doesn’t follow the process, you don’t have one.

Cash delays kill momentum.

Secure the money first.

If I had to start over, I’d do 5 things to build my agency…

1. pick a niche
2. go all-in
3. start a podcast
4. attend niche events
5. sell MRR only

Strong agencies generate tons of referrals.

Weak agencies chase cold leads and hacks.

Leadership is showing up on the hard days more so than the easy ones.

Want a business that runs without you?

Get obsessed with solving problems until there are none left.

Your vendors, partners, and even your team have more to give.

But they won’t offer unless you ask.

If you don’t ask, you won’t receive.

Make it easy for them to say yes.

There is only one way to successfully exit your agency.

Working in it.

Not on it.

That means years of solving, fixing, selling, hiring, and failing.

Stay in it until it runs without you.

Hiring too early or too fast will wreck your momentum.

Define the role, test for skill, and only hire people you’d want beside you in a crisis.

Document your onboarding.

Train your employees on the process.

Onboarding clients is the highest-risk moment for your agency.

Lead with clarity, not your own comfort.

Email chains don’t scale. Use tools built for teams.

Educate clients on zero‑click AI search.

80% of users resolve queries without a click

Own that by being the answer.

You built an agency.

Now build a pipeline.

What’s holding you back?

Confused brand = confused prospects.

Clean up your image.

Get more clients.

Marketing is your oxygen.

Don’t wait until you're gasping.

What steps do you take to regularly refine and level up the way your agency operates behind the scenes?

You don’t own your pipeline if you rely on referrals.

Want better clients?

Start by respecting your needs.

Winging it works.

Until it doesn’t.

Document all of your agency’s processes.

Life gets easier.

If your agency’s lead gen plan is to mass spam and pray for replies…

It’s not a strategy.

It’s a hack.

Relevance, not volume, wins in B2B.