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Agency Leadership Podcast
Chip Griffin and Gini Dietrich
100 episodes
3 weeks ago
Chip Griffin and Gini Dietrich share practical advice for PR and marketing agency owners build better businesses.
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All content for Agency Leadership Podcast is the property of Chip Griffin and Gini Dietrich and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
Chip Griffin and Gini Dietrich share practical advice for PR and marketing agency owners build better businesses.
Show more...
Marketing
Business
Episodes (20/100)
Agency Leadership Podcast
Embracing innovation to survive and thrive in 2026
1 month ago
22 minutes 32 seconds

Agency Leadership Podcast
Balancing skills and personality when hiring a new team member
1 month ago
21 minutes 23 seconds

Agency Leadership Podcast
Firing underperforming team members

In this episode, Chip and Gini tackle the difficult subject of firing an underperforming and problematic employee. They discuss a real-life scenario where an employee with a bad attitude refuses to do their work, causing frustration among team members.



They advise against prolonging the inevitable firing decision, suggesting that acting swiftly can alleviate overall team stress. Both hosts share insights on why Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) are largely ineffective, stressing the need for proper documentation and the guidance of an HR advisor during termination processes.



Additionally, they highlight the importance of showing proactive steps to the remaining team to mitigate the workload burden and maintain morale. The episode emphasizes the critical role of leadership in making tough decisions for the greater good of the team and the business.



Key takeaways




* Chip Griffin: “When it comes to firing, I am much more a fan of just ripping that bandaid off and being done with it.”



* Gini Dietrich: “I’ve never seen a PIP work. It’s essentially a 30 day notice.”



* Chip Griffin: “Usually by the time that you’re even thinking about firing someone, you probably passed the point where you should have done it already.”



* Gini Dietrich: “Every single agency owner should have a bench of contractors that they have relationships with, that they’ve worked with before, that they can bring on and off the bench when necessary.”




Related




* Building your agency’s bench



* ALP 22: How to fire agency employees



* Why Performance Improvement Plans don’t work





View Transcript
The following is a computer-generated transcript. Please listen to the audio to confirm accuracy.



Chip Griffin: Hello and welcome to another episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin.



Gini Dietrich: And I’m Gini Dietrich.



Chip Griffin: And Gini…



Gini Dietrich: I’m so excited



Chip Griffin: you’re fired.



Gini Dietrich: I knew you were going to fire me.



Chip Griffin: Maybe not, because if I fire you, then I have to just talk all by myself, so that might be too much work for me. So maybe I’ll put you on a PIP instead and we’ll just think about it and then we’ll come back and figure out if it makes sense.



No, I don’t know about that either. I just don’t know what to do.



Gini Dietrich: Yeah. Hmm. Well. I guess you could find a replacement. Do you have a replacement?



Chip Griffin: I don’t,



Gini Dietrich: well start there.



Chip Griffin: I don’t know that anybody else would, would wanna put up with having to do this with me every week, so that could be a problem.



Gini Dietrich: Truth be told, it is kind of fun, so people would be missing out, but I don’t wanna be fired.



Chip Griffin: Okay. Well. I’m fine. I won’t fire you. You’re unfired.



Gini Dietrich:  Okay, great. Woohoo.

Show more...
2 months ago
15 minutes 39 seconds

Agency Leadership Podcast
AI myths agencies must avoid

In this episode, Chip and Gini discuss the growing concerns surrounding AI in the agency world. They highlight the irrational fears and cyclical nature of technological disruptions, drawing comparisons to social media and content marketing trends of the past.



The hosts argue against the notion that agencies should discount services due to AI efficiencies, emphasizing that AI should be seen as a tool to enhance productivity and strategic value rather than a cost-cutting measure. They stress that agencies should focus on delivering more value and maintaining regular client communication instead of simply protecting existing revenue.



The discussion also touches on the importance of transparency in AI use without oversharing minute details. Finally, they underscore the benefit of quarterly planning to align agency efforts with client business goals, thus fostering stronger client relationships and ensuring mutual success.



Key takeaways




* Chip Griffin: “Take ourselves out of the mindset that the AI is coming in and so we need to protect what we have. Instead, we should be thinking about how can we elevate, how can we produce more and better results for our clients?”



* Gini Dietrich: “Just because you’re faster at some mundane, laborious task does not mean that you should reduce your fees.”



* Chip Griffin: “Getting into the nitty gritty of your AI usage is sort of like explaining to a client whether you’re using a landline or a mobile phone to reach out to reporters. It doesn’t matter.”



* Gini Dietrich: “The strategy stays the same. The best practices stay the same. The tools have changed and the tools continue to change.”




Related




* AI should be your agency’s friend, not foe



* Agencies succeed through consistency and evolution



* Setting AI policies for your agency





View Transcript
The following is a computer-generated transcript. Please listen to the audio to confirm accuracy.



Chip Griffin: Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin.



Gini Dietrich: And I am Gini Dietrich.



Chip Griffin: And Gini I, I think that AI is making people crazy. They’re losing their minds and acting irrationally.



Gini Dietrich: Yes, yes. I completely agree. Some of the stuff I see online, I’m like, you guys,



Chip Griffin: take a deep breath.



Gini Dietrich: Breath, everyone. Take a deep breath. Stop clutching your pearls. It’s okay.



Chip Griffin: Well, maybe the AI really has become sentinent and – sentient – and the, the robot overlords are doing this intentionally to make us go crazy and eat each other alive.



Gini Dietrich: Maybe, maybe. Although this happened with social media, it happened with content marketing.



It happened with blogging. Here we are with AI. Everybody’s freaking out. Like, this is cyclical. Everyone’s gonna calm down. It will be okay.



Chip Griffin: I don’t know if they’ll calm down, but eventually they’ll, they’ll come to the realization that perhaps it is...
Show more...
2 months ago
21 minutes 13 seconds

Agency Leadership Podcast
Do agency mission and values statements matter? And is yours even accurate?







In this episode, inspired by a newsletter from David C. Baker, Chip and Gini discuss the authentic motivations and realities behind agency mission statements and values. They emphasize that many agencies publish values that are either not reflective of their true operations or are overly broad and similar to others.



The hosts stress the importance of being honest about the core purpose of a business and aligning public statements with actual behavior. They argue that values should stem from the owner’s true beliefs and actions rather than aspirational ideals.



They also caution against spending too much time wordsmithing values for marketing purposes, as clients are more interested in results. The conversation touches on the impact of leadership behavior on agency culture and the pitfalls of misrepresenting agency values.



Key takeaways




* Chip Griffin: “The reality is for most agency owners, your mission is to make money for yourself as the owner, to give yourself flexibility to do what you want, when you want. And all of the other things are side benefits of it. You are not running a not-for-profit.”



* Gini Dietrich: “It’s okay for you to make money. It’s okay for you to be profitable.”



* Chip Griffin: “Your values are not something that you establish. They’re something that come from your behavior and the behavior of your team and the activities and the clients that you take on.”



* Gini Dietrich: “You can’t say it because that’s what you want or that’s what you aspire to. You have to be living it.”




Resources




* David C. Baker’s article We’re Better than this Value Washing




Related




* Be an agency leader that people want to work for





View Transcript
The following is a computer-generated transcript. Please listen to the audio to confirm accuracy.



Chip Griffin: Hello and welcome to the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin.



Gini Dietrich: And I’m Gini Dietrich.



Chip Griffin: And, you know, I wanna talk about the, the mission of this podcast and Okay. What we’re trying to achieve.



Gini Dietrich: Okay. Our values, talk about values



Chip Griffin: and all of the values that I hold, hold dear that I’m sure you do as well.



Mm-hmm. That, that we want to embrace. Mm-hmm. As podcast hosts and purely doing this entirely out of the goodness of our hearts for our community, there’s no marketing benefit to us. There’s no thought leadership benefit. It’s all about you, the listener, and how much free stuff we can give you.



Gini Dietrich: I mean, some of it is, but yes, we do get value from it.



Chip Griffin: I mean the, the reality is I probably would just come on and talk anyway, even if I wasn’t doing what I’m doing for a business. ’cause it’s just fun.



Gini Dietrich: It’s fun. I agree.



Chip Griffin: But the reality is, I mean, you, you gotta have some real motivation behind it and it...
Show more...
2 months ago
21 minutes 3 seconds

Agency Leadership Podcast
Are you ghosting your own agency?

In this episode, Chip and Gini discuss a Reddit post about an agency leader going MIA and the repercussions for the team. They elaborate on the importance of communication, perception, and flexibility for agency owners.



The conversation includes personal anecdotes from both hosts, highlighting the need for frequent touchpoints, setting clear expectations, and maintaining a balance between taking personal time and being present for the team. They also stress the significance of transparency during challenging times and the benefits of empowering employees to reduce bottlenecks.



Key takeaways




* Gini Dietrich: “As an owner, I think that you absolutely should be taking time to do things that you’re passionate about. But not at the expense of the business, or of your employees.”



* Chip Griffin: “If it’s industry events that are causing you to be absent, make sure that the team understands why and how that fits into the bigger picture.”



* Gini Dietrich: “If you’re consistently having weekly one-to-one meetings, if you’re consistently communicating with them, these things will be mitigated just by the mere fact that you’re talking to your team.”



* Chip Griffin: “And just as important as talking with your team, you’ve got to listen to them.”




Related




* Weekly 1:1 meetings make a big difference for your agency



* Building trust and letting your team shine





View Transcript
The following is a computer-generated transcript. Please listen to the audio to confirm accuracy.



Chip Griffin: Hello and welcome to another episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin.



Gini Dietrich: And I’m Gini Dietrich.



What is happening?



Chip Griffin: That effect really only works if you’re watching this.



Gini Dietrich: I don’t know what just happened.



Chip Griffin: I, I slid off screen. I went MIA.



Gini Dietrich: Oh my gosh. So I don’t even, that was, that was, I think, the best, the best intro we’ve ever had. You just left the screen. And even though I knew what the topic was, I was like, what is happening right now?



Chip Griffin: So it’s just, it’s my way of encouraging listeners to become viewers because. It just, it completely loses the impact of, if you only listened to that portion of it. I, I don’t know how much impact you have, but from watching it either, but, you know, at least it’s, at least you understand what’s going on.



Gini Dietrich: He literally just left the screen.



Chip Griffin: I left the screen. But no, we are, we are, we were inspired by a Reddit post and we haven’t gone to the Reddit well for quite some time.



Gini Dietrich: We haven’t, no. Yeah.



Chip Griffin: So we decided to go back to Reddit and see what people were talking about. And so there is a relatively recent thread there where an agency employee says the principle of their firm has gone completely MIA, leaving them to do all of the work and feeling abandoned by the owner.



That seems like a worthy topic to be discussing.



Show more...
2 months ago
21 minutes 37 seconds

Agency Leadership Podcast
Outbound sales & your agency







In this episode, Chip and Gini address a listener’s question about the opportunities for growing an agency through outbound sales. They discuss the challenges of outbound sales, particularly in a small agency environment, and highlight the importance of building relationships and a strong brand.



Both suggest that agency owners focus on networking and proactive relationship-building rather than traditional cold calling. They emphasize a multi-faceted approach to business development that includes content marketing, warm introductions, and maintaining an active online presence.



Ultimately, they advocate for a shift in mindset from outbound sales to relationship cultivation to achieve sustainable agency growth.



Key takeaways




* Chip Griffin: “It’s sort of the dream that you can just go hire somebody and they’ll bring prospects in and as the owner, you’ll close them. But I cannot think of a single situation that I’ve seen that work for a small agency.”



* Gini Dietrich: “When you run a small agency, you are the salesperson.”



* Chip Griffin: “I think far too often we don’t do enough as agency leaders to share our viewpoints using the various platforms that we have. That’s a huge missed opportunity because that is how you set yourself apart from others.”



* Gini Dietrich: “Instead of it being about outbound sales, which I think is scary to a lot of us, think about it as networking and building relationships and being top of mind.”




Related




* Content, consistency, and conversions for agency biz dev (featuring Lee McKnight Jr.)



* Business development mistakes agencies make and how to solve them (featuring Jody Sutter)



* Getting agency business development right (featuring Dan Englander)



* Business development for agency owners who hate sales





View Transcript
The following is a computer-generated transcript. Please listen to the audio to confirm accuracy.



Chip Griffin: Hello and welcome to another episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin.



Gini Dietrich: And I’m Gini Dietrich.



Chip Griffin: And Gini, today we have a question from a listener that we thought we would answer.



Gini Dietrich: Woohoo listener questions. I love it.



Chip Griffin: We like it when people listen to us and we like it when people ask us questions, so



Gini Dietrich: that is true.



Chip Griffin: We’ll cater to that today.



Gini Dietrich: Shall I read said question?



Chip Griffin: You shall read, said question.



Gini Dietrich: Maybe I’ve just missed it when you’re covering this in your podcast, but what opportunity do you see for growing an agency through outbound sales? When I’ve listened to your podcast, I get the impression that you’re more in...
Show more...
3 months ago
19 minutes 50 seconds

Agency Leadership Podcast
Avoiding your agency’s own AI bubble







In this episode, Chip and Gini discuss the impact of AI on small agencies, focusing on the high expectations and possible disappointments it poses. They reference a recent article from The Atlantic, which highlights a study showing that AI can sometimes decrease efficiency.



They caution against overhauling business models based solely on AI’s current capabilities, stressing that while AI can assist with tasks and improve efficiency, it cannot fully replace human judgment and creativity.



The conversation extends to the challenges of integrating AI without sacrificing the development of new talent and ensuring that the evolving role of AI adds value rather than causing disruption.



Key takeaways




* Chip Griffin: “It’s not about AI being either the panacea or evil, it’s that we may be adjusting our models too much too quickly.”



* Gini Dietrich: “AI is great for some things but it cannot replace human beings yet.”



* Chip Griffin: “It is incredibly likely that all of the providers of AI are going to start ratcheting up the prices. And so what looks today like a huge cost savings likely may not be in just a few short years.”



* Gini Dietrich: “How do we bring new college graduates into the workforce, and what are we teaching them?”




Resources




* Just How Bad Would an AI Bubble Be? (The Atlantic)




Related




* Should AI upend your agency business model today?



* Using AI the right way for agency biz dev



* CWC 10: Neville Hobson on AI and machine learning in PR





View Transcript
The following is a computer-generated transcript. Please listen to the audio to confirm accuracy.



Chip Griffin: Hello and welcome to another episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin.



Gini Dietrich: And I am Gini Dietrich.



Chip Griffin: And Gini, I think, you know, I think AI is gonna solve all of my problems. We’ve said this before, but I, I really, I’m gonna change my whole business model around it.



Gini Dietrich: I think you should fire everybody.



You could fire me as your co-host. AI can just do it for you.



Chip Griffin: You know, I mean, I wonder if the AI would talk back less.



Gini Dietrich: Probably, although if I program it, I’ll program it for you so that it, it talks back a sufficient amount.



Chip Griffin: Excellent, excellent. Just, just what I need.



Gini Dietrich: You’re welcome.



Chip Griffin: Oh, at least, you know, maybe, maybe the AI wouldn’t yawn at me like you did just before we started recording, so



Gini Dietrich: I shouldn’t even be tired either.



I got nine hours of sleep last night.
Show more...
3 months ago
18 minutes 47 seconds

Agency Leadership Podcast
What to do when your client contact isn’t the problem







In this episode, Chip and Gini discuss how to handle situations when the problems affecting an agency’s client relationship stem from external contacts like procurement, IT, or the sales team.



They emphasize treating client contacts as allies and not enemies, and provide strategies to navigate bureaucratic hurdles and internal politics. The discussion covers creative problem-solving techniques such as using MSAs, having biweekly calls with VPs of Sales, and understanding cultural differences. The importance of having a collaborative approach and pre-building relationships to effectively manage challenges is also highlighted.



Key takeaways




* Chip Griffin: “Treat your client contact as an ally, not the enemy.”



* Gini Dietrich: “We have several clients who have procurement done in another country, and English is not their first language. And so we find that some of the barriers to success are not because of the things that we assume.”



* Chip Griffin: “When you run up against an obstacle, try to figure out is there a creative way that we can get from here to there?”



* Gini Dietrich: “We always ask what the threshold is for financial amounts because there’s usually an amount of money that your client contact can approve without it going to procurement or to their boss or whatever happens to be.”




Related




* How agencies should handle procurement and legal



* How to onboard new agency clients



* Getting agency-client contracts done right





View Transcript
The following is a computer-generated transcript. Please listen to the audio to confirm accuracy.



Chip Griffin: Hello and welcome to another episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin.



Gini Dietrich: And I’m Gini Dietrich.



Chip Griffin: And Gini, I’ve got this, this invisible guy over here, and he’s telling me what we need to do for this show today. And, and we have to follow it to the letter if we wanna record.



Gini Dietrich: Oh, who is it?



Chip Griffin: I dunno, but if someone, someone is telling me that we need to, to record an episode about what to do when your problem isn’t the client contact for your agency, but it’s someone else, someone off screen who’s telling them what they have to do and it’s causing problems for your relationship.



Gini Dietrich: Oh, someone like procurement or IT?



Chip Griffin: Someone like procurement. Mm-hmm. IT, the sales team.



Gini Dietrich: Mm-hmm.



Chip Griffin: The CEO.



Gini Dietrich: Mm-hmm.



Chip Griffin: All sorts of people who may not be involved in any of the day-to-day work that our client contacts are doing, but they are just involved enough that they can cause trouble.



Gini Dietrich: Mm-hmm. Kind of like me having to tell a client’s VP of sales the other day that we’re not their local Kinkos.



Chip Griffin: Yes.



Gini Dietrich: Yeah. I actually used those words.


Show more...
3 months ago
22 minutes 40 seconds

Agency Leadership Podcast
Stop providing solutions before understanding your client’s challenges







In this episode, Chip and Gini discuss the common practice of providing free proposals and baseline ideas to clients. They argue that professional service providers should charge for these services as doing so adds value and ensures a thorough diagnosis before providing solutions.



They share personal experiences and compare the situation to doctors who would never prescribe treatment without proper tests. They emphasize the importance of understanding a client’s business through a paid discovery phase and making adjustments along the way to deliver effective results.



Additionally, they discuss the risks of providing overly detailed plans in early stages, the benefits of quarterly assessments, and the importance of maintaining clear communication and trust with clients.



Key takeaways




* Chip Griffin: “You should not be in a position of having one phone call with a client or prospect and saying, yep, know what that problem is. Here’s how we’ll fix that, and here’s what it costs.”



* Gini Dietrich: “Quarterly planning helps build trust because it allows the client to be involved in the planning decisions and discussions and measurement to understand what’s working and what’s not.”



* Chip Griffin: “If you ever feel that you are in a position where your expertise is either not valued or you don’t feel comfortable delivering it, then you are in the wrong relationship and need to look elsewhere.”



* Gini Dietrich: “We have to create a prescription exactly for you and your business so that we can have success. And we can’t do that without spending 30 or 60 days with you and getting to know and understand your business.”




Related




* What if agencies abandoned proposals and posted transparent pricing?



* The pros and cons of RFP’s for agencies



* Understanding the cost of agency business development



* Common mistakes agencies make when pursuing new business





View Transcript
The following is a computer-generated transcript. Please listen to the audio to confirm accuracy.



Chip Griffin: Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin.



Gini Dietrich: And I’m Gini Dietrich.



Chip Griffin: Gini, you got me all wound up for today’s topic. And so I’m sort of frothing at the mouth here. And, I’m gonna try to control myself, but I, I’m not trying to do a funny opening ’cause I just got too amped up in the leadup.



Gini Dietrich: Oh, okay, well good.



Chip Griffin: And I was afraid, I was afraid of what I might say.



Gini Dietrich: I like amped up Chip. That’s good. That’s good. Yeah.



Chip Griffin: I’m trying, I’m trying to dial it down to keep it at a level where we don’t get kicked off of any of the platforms we’re on and my hate mail is limited to a minimum and all of that kind of stuff.



Show more...
3 months ago
20 minutes 54 seconds

Agency Leadership Podcast
Supporting team members with mental and physical health challenges







In this episode, Chip and Gini discuss how agency owners should handle employees with physical and mental health concerns.



They cover the increased openness around mental health and self-care, sharing personal experiences and business challenges. They highlight the importance of individualized management approaches, legal considerations, and quick professional advice.



The hosts also emphasize compassionate handling of employee health issues, the need for flexible scheduling, and the impact on small businesses. Gini shares insights on providing support for team members and owners, such as disability insurance, to cover long-term absences.



They conclude by underlining the importance of empathetic leadership and offering flexibility.



Key takeaways




* Chip Griffin: “You have to learn how to manage each employee individually. Because there’s no one-size-fits-all management technique.”



* Gini Dietrich: “Now we, and especially the younger generations, do a nice job of being really open about the things that we are dealing with and how our employers can help.”



* Chip Griffin: “As an owner, you get to pick: you can either keep working with that individual and work with them in the way that suits them best, or you can do it your way, and either lose the employee or lose their productivity.”



* Gini Dietrich: “Just be an empathetic human being because we all go through things, we all have personal things we have to deal with.”




Related




* How to support your team in times of stress (featuring Patrick Rogan)



* Managing small agency employees to maximize performance



* Building an agency culture where everyone can take time off



* Agencies need to adapt to effectively manage Gen Z employees



* How to make conversations with your agency employees less difficult (featuring Allyns Melendez)





View Transcript
The following is a computer-generated transcript. Please listen to the audio to confirm accuracy.



Chip Griffin: Hello and welcome to another episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin.



Gini Dietrich: And I’m Gini Dietrich.



Chip Griffin: And Gini, I, I, I think I might have broken my foot. I we’re not gonna be able to record today. I gotta go see the doctor and find out



Gini Dietrich: because you broke your foot.



Chip Griffin: Yeah. And I just, I got frustrated, you know, you know, in our past conversation that we were having, and I just kicked something and I, I think that it’s maybe broken.



So I’m, I’m in remarkably little pain though, apparently, because I’m still smiling.



Gini Dietrich: It’s like two, three weeks later. Yeah. And you’re,



Show more...
4 months ago
23 minutes 2 seconds

Agency Leadership Podcast
Handling early client contract terminations with finesse

In this episode, Chip and Gini discuss how to manage situations where clients want to terminate contracts early. Gini emphasizes the importance of having a strong contract with clear termination clauses, which can serve as leverage in negotiations.



They share experiences and strategies for recovering outstanding invoices, including offering concessions and being flexible with payment arrangements. The duo also cautions against aggressive tactics like public shaming for non-payment and stresses the importance of maintaining professionalism to avoid burning bridges. They conclude with practical advice on managing accounts receivable and resolving disputes amicably.



Key takeaways




* Chip Griffin: “If you look at a contract as a tool rather than a rigid roadmap, I think that’s the most helpful way to think of legal agreements in the agency client context.”



* Gini Dietrich: “Overall, you don’t want to burn the bridge with clients.”



* Chip Griffin: “What you really have to do is figure out how can you get the best possible outcome at this point?”



* Gini Dietrich: “Keep in mind that these are people who are going to refer business to you.”




Related




* Getting agency-client contracts done right



* How to protect yourself from an unexpected client breakup



* How to do client collections right and get paid faster



* 6 reasons why your agency needs client contracts



* The basics of agency-client contracts from a business perspective





View Transcript
The following is a computer-generated transcript. Please listen to the audio to confirm accuracy.



Chip Griffin: Hello and welcome to the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin.



Gini Dietrich: And I’m Gini Dietrich.



Chip Griffin: And Gini, we have one of your favorite topics today, but it’s one that, that we haven’t visited in a while, so it’s, it’s probably worth revisiting. Okay. And, and, and that is, how do you handle it when you have a client who wants to end their contract early?



Gini Dietrich: Well. As we all know, I am a stickler for the details when it comes to this, and we have very specific language in our contracts. Our attorney helped me create something beautiful that is a 90 day termination clause. Almost never does somebody sign 90 days. They use, it’s usually a negotiation point, right?



It’s, we get it to 30 or 60, whatever. I use it for negotiation. Sometimes the client signs the full 90 day contract. I have had a situation where a client called me at the end of the month and said, we are terminating the contract as of today. And I said, great. There are two outstanding invoices, and by the way, you have a 90 day termination clause.



And they came back and said, and I said, but if you’ll pay the the outstanding invoices by the 15th of the month, then I will happily waive the 90 day termination clause because I know you...
Show more...
4 months ago
18 minutes 40 seconds

Agency Leadership Podcast
Setting client expectations in the AI era

In this episode, Chip and Gini explore the impact of AI on client expectations. They discuss how AI is perceived to speed up work, leading clients to have unrealistic expectations regarding turnaround times and pricing.



The duo emphasizes the need for agencies to set realistic boundaries and manage expectations from the outset. They share stories about AI’s inconsistency, particularly in generating imagery and written content, and stress the importance of educating clients on the limitations and potential of AI.



Ultimately, they advocate for leveraging AI’s efficiencies while maintaining transparency and setting clear guidelines with clients to avoid morale and operational issues within your agency.



Key takeaways




* Chip Griffin: “The advice that we always give that as soon as you spot unrealistic expectations, you need to call them out and adjust them, that becomes even more important now.”



* Gini Dietrich: “You can’t just input a prompt and expect that you’re going to get an output and then send it over to the client. That’s not how it works.”



* Chip Griffin: “Nothing has changed with AI. We still need to focus on education and expectations with our clients no matter what tools or technology we’re using.”



* Gini Dietrich: “Sometimes you might over deliver, getting things done sooner or things like that. But those should be like delight and surprise kinds of experiences, not an all the time kind of thing.”




Related




* Setting expectations for agency clients



* What does ChatGPT and generative AI mean for PR agencies?





View Transcript
The following is a computer-generated transcript. Please listen to the audio to confirm accuracy.



Chip Griffin: Hello and welcome to another episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin.



Gini Dietrich: And I’m Gini Dietrich.



Chip Griffin: And Gini I, I used some AI and so we’re gonna conclude this podcast in just about a minute because we’ll get to all the key points that quickly because of the technology.



Gini Dietrich: The instant output, are we getting?



Chip Griffin: An instant output.



Instant amazing, instant results. Amazing. And we can move on with our day.



Gini Dietrich: Okay. But before we get to that



Chip Griffin: mm-hmm.



Gini Dietrich: Happy belated birthday.



Chip Griffin: Thank you. I appreciate it.



Gini Dietrich: You’re welcome. I didn’t get to wish you happy birthday last week because the coffee shop and the satellite office and the wifi, blah, blah, blah.



So happy belated.



Chip Griffin: Thank you. It is, it is nice to have you back in your home office so that we don’t,



Gini Dietrich: it’s very nice to be back.



Chip Griffin: We, we don’t have to, to figure out all the technical issues every week. Yes. And, and figure out can we record, can we not record? Yes. Yes. But I think, I think we only had two weeks where we couldn’t make it work, so Yeah, you’re right.



Show more...
5 months ago
19 minutes 30 seconds

Agency Leadership Podcast
What to do when agency employees continue to over-service clients

In this episode, Chip and Gini focus on the issue of employees over-servicing clients. They discuss the reasons behind over-servicing, including fear of client dissatisfaction and insufficient initial project scopes.



The hosts emphasize the importance of educating employees on the long-term negative impacts, both on agency profitability and client relationships. They advocate for involving employees in strategic planning and scoping processes to ensure accurate budgeting and foster accountability.



Chip and Gini also highlight the benefits of regular communication and collaboration with team members to prevent recurring problems and enhance overall agency efficiency.



Key takeaways




* Gini Dietrich: “Even though your employees think that they’re helping a client, in the long run it’s more upsetting to the client to find out that you’ve been over-servicing all this time.”



* Chip Griffin: “We need to be collaborating so that our team feels empowered. Because the more empowered they are, the more likely they are to produce the results that we want and our clients need.”



* Gini Dietrich: “Because they’re over-servicing, working more hours than they should, they’re not able to get to other clients that they should be working on.”



* Chip Griffin: “We need to listen to our team and accept that we might actually be wrong. It might be in our minds over-servicing because we were budgeting a certain amount of time, but maybe our time budget was wrong.”




Related




* Hidden overservicing by agency employees



* The difference between over-delivering and over-servicing agency clients



* How agency owners can avoid scope creep (featuring Steve Guberman)





View Transcript
The following is a computer-generated transcript. Please listen to the audio to confirm accuracy.



Chip Griffin: Hello and welcome to another episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin.



Gini Dietrich: And I’m Gini Dietrich.



Chip Griffin: And Gini, I don’t really have a, a cute opening to this one, so I’m just gonna dive right in, which I don’t, I don’t know, I just, in, in the 10 seconds that I had waiting to, you know, to start, I come up with, come up with anything that, okay.



That was even halfway lame or useful or anything. So it is what it is. We’re gonna talk about over servicing, but not the way we’ve talked about it before. Because we’ve talked about over-servicing in terms of how big a deal it can be to the profitability of your agency. We’ve talked about how to identify over servicing.



We’ve talked about how to, how important it is to show your employees when they’re over servicing. But we’re gonna talk today about how do you solve that with employees who understand that they’re over-servicing, maybe they understand that it’s a problem, but they continue to do it anyway. And it, it’s not out of malice.



They’re not doing it because they want, you know, you to suffer from a profitability standpoint as an agency.
Show more...
5 months ago
18 minutes 23 seconds

Agency Leadership Podcast
You don’t need to be a visionary, but it helps to have a vision for your agency

In this episode, Chip and Gini discuss the importance of having a clear vision for where an agency is headed while also acknowledging the need for strong operational skills.



They explore different types of agency owners, from visionaries to those who excel in operational management, and emphasize the necessity of balancing these roles within a team. The duo highlights the importance of complementing one’s weaknesses by hiring the right people, whether it involves bringing in operational expertise or visionary ideas. They also share personal anecdotes and practical advice on maintaining this balance for the long-term success of an agency.



Key takeaways




* Gini Dietrich: “You can’t be a visionary and an operations person, that’s pretty rare. So how do you bring in somebody to help you where you’re weak?”



* Chip Griffin: “Clients care about what’s the work you can do for me? What are the results it’s going to produce and how much does it cost?”



* Gini Dietrich: “I don’t think that you have to be a visionary as long as you have somebody who’s on your team, who’s willing to be out there, and who’s willing to be the face of the company.”



* Chip Griffin: “You’ve got to really balance the two in order to have success.”




Related




* How agency leaders should handle big ideas





View Transcript
The following is a computer-generated transcript. Please listen to the audio to confirm accuracy.Chip Griffin: Hello and welcome to another episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin.



Gini Dietrich: And I’m Gini Dietrich.



Chip Griffin: And Gini, I’m having a vision. I see something.



Gini Dietrich: What do you see? Dead people?



Chip Griffin: No, I’m not that harsh today. No, I, that was not the greatest introduction probably, but you know, hey, that’s par for the course.



But what we’re gonna talk about today is when you do or don’t have a vision for where your agency is headed and your vision for what you can do and all of that. And I think there are different kinds of agency owners, some who have a vision or idea, big ideas, that kind of thing. And, and others who are a little bit more, let’s say, workmanlike. And, you know, they can execute really well and, you know, they want to keep growing, but they don’t consider themselves a, a big picture, visionary type.



And, and both can be successful, but I think there are things that both kinds of owners need to be aware of and thinking about.



Gini Dietrich: Yeah, I totally agree. And you know, I think we, I think there’s so much focus just generally on you need to be visionary. You need to be strategic. You need to think about, you know, where the, the business is going.



And there’s something to be said for people who are operationally focused. I am not one of them, and that’s, it’s not my strong suit and I really wish that I had some of those skills because I think I, I would’ve grown my business a lot faster and a lot less expensively than I have if I had that skill set.



So I think there’s something to be said for people who like know how to manage their business financially, know how to manage their balance, their balance sheet,
Show more...
6 months ago
18 minutes 39 seconds

Agency Leadership Podcast
How to handle unsolicited agency acquisition emails

In this episode, Chip and Gini discuss the frequent occurrence of receiving offers to buy agencies and how to handle these communications.



They share their own experiences of receiving such emails, including the prevalence of fraudulent or unserious offers. Gini describes her method of vetting these emails, such as examining URLs and LinkedIn profiles, and emphasizes the importance of legitimate connections within the industry.



Chip provides further insights into the credibility of business brokers and the typical behaviors to watch out for. Both caution against making emotional decisions and underscore the necessity of due diligence, patient decision-making, and listening to one’s gut feelings.



They conclude by highlighting the importance of proper advice and support for making sound decisions in the agency selling process.



Key takeaways




* Gini Dietrich: “Just like you would hire people, you really should be looking for organizations that have experience in your industry and have a reputation already.”



* Chip Griffin: “If someone is legitimately reaching out to you for this kind of thing, it should be a very personalized email.”



* Gini Dietrich: “Just like you do when you’re selling or buying a home, you would never give the real estate agent money up front because you want them invested in getting you the very best price for your home.”



* Chip Griffin: “There are some really, really well regarded M&A firms that deal specifically with this space. I don’t know any of them that do cold outreach to drum up business.”




Related




* Choosing the right exit strategy as an agency owner



* How to get ready to sell your agency



* Things to know before you consider selling your agency



* Are you thinking about selling your agency?



* Agency M&A basics





View Transcript
The following is a computer-generated transcript. Please listen to the audio to confirm accuracy.



Chip Griffin: Hello and welcome to their episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin.



Gini Dietrich: And I’m Gini Dietrich.



Chip Griffin: And Gini, I’ve got a buyer for your agency. I’d like to have a conversation about it.



Gini Dietrich: Yes. Okay.



Chip Griffin: This is, this is an email that, that a lot of us get. Frankly, I’ve gotten it for all my business agencies, oh my gosh, software companies, everything.



That steady flow. It’s, it’s sort of like, I dunno about you, but these days I get a steady stream of, of emails, trying to sell me janitorial services. I don’t really understand



Gini Dietrich: janitorial services?



Chip Griffin: Yeah. I don’t understand it because I don’t have any actual offices, so.



Gini Dietrich: Right. What are they gonna janitor?



Chip Griffin: So who knows? But in any case,
Show more...
6 months ago
22 minutes 14 seconds

Agency Leadership Podcast
How to handle your team when they don’t love your clients

In this episode, Chip and Gini discuss the challenges of dealing with team members who may not be enthusiastic about the clients or the work your agency is doing.



They cover whether agency owners should be concerned if their employees dislike the job, the consequences of ignoring such issues, and the importance of alignment between client work and employee satisfaction. They also emphasize the need for transparency in the hiring process and preparing employees for potential pivots or shifts in the agency’s focus.



Gini shares her personal experience with pivoting towards the PESO model, and both hosts advise on involving team members early in the process to avoid misunderstandings and to gather valuable feedback. The episode underscores common themes such as the significance of communication, transparency, and knowing your financials in successful agency management.



Key takeaways




* Chip Griffin: “When you are at the interview stage with a perspective hire, you need to be brutally honest with them. Because they’re going to find out the truth very quickly.”



* Gini Dietrich: “You have to be willing to say, this is where we’re going. Are you on board? And sometimes they’re going to say no.”



* Chip Griffin: “You want to be communicating to your team that it’s more of an evolution than a revolution in the business.”



* Gini Dietrich: “Bringing your team into those conversations earlier rather than later is really smart, because they may have some valuable feedback or insight that you didn’t think about.”




Related




* Should your agency pivot to a new focus amid economic shifts?



* The value of getting satisfaction from client work



* How transparent should agency owners be?





View Transcript
The following is a computer-generated transcript. Please listen to the audio to confirm accuracy.



Chip Griffin: Hello and welcome to another episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin.



Gini Dietrich: And I’m Gini Dietrich.



Chip Griffin: And Gini, I hate everything we talk about on this show. I hate recording it. I hate the subjects. I don’t hate the listeners. That would just be mean. So I won’t say that. And I won’t say that I hate you, but



Gini Dietrich: Well, first you wanna quit, then you wanna be paid. Now you hate everything.



Geez.



Chip Griffin: I am just, I am full of gripes and complaints.



Gini Dietrich: Sounds like an employee.



Chip Griffin: Or a child or a toddler or whatever, but you know, the



Gini Dietrich: both,



Chip Griffin: it is what it is. No, but we are going to talk about what happens when you have clients that your team members aren’t in love with. They don’t necessarily like the work that you’re bringing in the door, whether that’s because they don’t like what the client stands for, they don’t like the kind of work that you’re doing for them.



There’s lots of reasons that employees might not be thrilled with...
Show more...
6 months ago
17 minutes 54 seconds

Agency Leadership Podcast
Turning employee departures into opportunities

In this episode, Chip and Gini discuss how agency owners should handle situations when an employee resigns.



They explore the emotional reactions owners might have, the importance of maintaining professionalism, and the need to gather more information from the departing employee. They emphasize the value of a cooling-off period to devise a rational plan and the potential for restructuring the team.



Chip and Gini also talk about seeking feedback from remaining team members to ensure a smooth transition and mitigate the risk of more employees leaving. They stress seeing an employee’s resignation as an opportunity to learn and improve the business.



Key takeaways




* Chip Griffin: “Try to extract as much information from that departing employee as possible because even if it doesn’t change that individual’s situation, it may help you to be a better employer or learn from the experience in another way.”



* Gini Dietrich: “It’s good to get some more information and understand where they’re coming from before you freak out internally.



* Chip Griffin: “Don’t try to talk them out of it. Even if they agree to stay, it’s only a matter of time before they come back to their original decision, which is to move on.”



* Gini Dietrich: “Use it as an opportunity to look at how to restructure things so that it’s better for your business overall.”




Related




* The value of employee exit interviews for agencies



* When clients want to poach agency employees





View Transcript
The following is a computer-generated transcript. Please listen to the audio to confirm accuracy.



Chip Griffin: Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin.



Gini Dietrich: And I’m Gini Dietrich.



Chip Griffin: Gini, I quit.



Gini Dietrich: No, you can’t quit. No.



Chip Griffin: You’d have to hit the record button yourself.



Gini Dietrich: All by myself. That’s not fun. I already do one by myself. I don’t wanna do this one by myself. You can’t quit.



Sorry. Can’t quit.



Chip Griffin: Okay. All right. Well, I guess I won’t then.



Gini Dietrich: Okay, thanks. That was easy. A lot easier than if an employee quits.



Chip Griffin: Lot. Well, lot easier because you know, I mean, if I quit and the show goes away, eh, you know, it is what it is.



Gini Dietrich: No, it’s terrible.



Chip Griffin: I’m sure many, many of you, one of you, someone might be disappointed occasionally. anyway.



So we, we are gonna talk about what to do when an employee comes to you and says. I quit. Oh, they usually don’t say it quite that way. I mean, oh, it’s not like in the, you know, TV or the movies where someone comes in and yells, I quit.



Gini Dietrich: Well, I quit a job that way once.



Chip Griffin: I’ve, I’ve certainly had ones I wanted to quit that way, and



Gini Dietrich: I did. And then he yelled back, you can’t quit. You’re fired.
Show more...
6 months ago
19 minutes 29 seconds

Agency Leadership Podcast
Ensuring AI is an asset — not a liability — for your agency

In this episode, Chip and Gini highlight the challenges and potential pitfalls of over-relying on AI for content creation in PR and marketing.



They discuss instances of AI-generated content gone wrong, such as the fake book list published by the Chicago Sun-Times and poorly crafted AI-generated pitches. The hosts emphasize the importance of human oversight, individuality, and storytelling in maintaining quality and building relationships with the audience. They also delve into Google’s EEAT guidelines and how PR professionals can leverage their expertise to stand out in search rankings.



Finally, they discuss practical ways to efficiently use AI while ensuring the content remains authentic and relatable.



Key takeaways




* Chip Griffin: “As we start to try to create mountains of content using AI, we start losing individual perspective, personality, those kinds of things that can help set us apart as agencies and can help set our clients apart.”



* Gini Dietrich: “Let AI help you draft it and then add in your experience and expertise. That’s where you’ll win every time.”



* Chip Griffin: “If we’re just churning stuff out because we think that’s the only way to win the future battle of AI search, we’re mistaken.”



* Gini Dietrich: “AI is absolutely a huge, huge help. It still needs to be fact checked, it still needs oversight.”




Related




* What does ChatGPT and generative AI mean for PR agencies?



* Is AI writing an agency’s friend or foe?



* Setting AI policies for your agency





View Transcript
The following is a computer-generated transcript. Please listen to the audio to confirm accuracy.Chip Griffin: Hello and welcome to another episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin.



Gini Dietrich: And I’m Gini Dietrich.



Chip Griffin: And Gini, I think I’m just gonna use some AI to spew out all, all sorts of spam for these episodes so that we just, we’re not even part of it anymore. We’re just gonna contribute to this atmosphere of junk content that’s proliferating these days.



Gini Dietrich: Yeah, I read. As we’re recording this, the Chicago Sun Times got in trouble for publishing a summer reading list made up of real authors, but fake books. And their excuse was, we hired a freelancer to create this. So I was like, oh, that’s akin to saying the intern messed up. You still, especially as a newspaper, have to verify that it’s accurate. So yeah, the list was of books, was all made up. Books that AI had generated for them and they didn’t check it. And then other newspapers picked it up and ran it too. So there’s something to be said for AI’s great for some things, but it still needs human oversight.



Chip Griffin: It, it not only needs human oversight, but I think that, you know, one of the things that, that we lose as we start to try to create mountains of content using AI is we start losing individual perspective, personality, those kinds of things that can help set us apart as agencies and can help set our clients apart.



Because if, if we’re totally dependent upon AI,
Show more...
7 months ago
19 minutes 8 seconds

Agency Leadership Podcast
Why agencies get brought in too late by clients — and what to do about it

In this episode, Chip and Gini delve into the challenge of agencies being brought in late on client projects. They discuss the common scenario where clients give last-minute requests and share strategies for becoming part of the planning process earlier.



Key recommendations include integrating into internal communications, attending more meetings, and maintaining a mindset of curiosity to stay updated. They also cover how to handle situations when timely inclusion isn’t possible, such as negotiating new timelines or additional costs for urgent work.



The conversation emphasizes the importance of proactive client communication to prevent unrealistic expectations and to potentially increase scope and revenue.



Key takeaways




* Chip Griffin: “We need to find more proactive ways as agencies to get ourselves into the conversation much sooner.”



* Gini Dietrich: “Nobody wants to be in more meetings, but it actually helps.”



* Chip Griffin: “We all need to understand that our clients aren’t thinking about us every day in all likelihood.”



* Gini Dietrich: “You can negotiate some of it to say, listen, we’re happy to help you with this, but we just can’t do it in five days. We can do it in 10.”




Related




* What to do when clients don’t get your agency what it needs to succeed



* Getting the client’s perspective on agency relationships



* How to make agency team meetings more productive





View Transcript
The following is a computer-generated transcript. Please listen to the audio to confirm accuracy.



Chip Griffin: Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast. I’m Chip Griffin.



Gini Dietrich: And I’m Gini Dietrich.



Chip Griffin: And Gini today, you know, I think we need to figure out how I can learn what’s going on on this podcast a little bit sooner. I, I feel like I only learned at the very last second what our topics are gonna be, and I just, I need to get plugged in sooner.



Gini Dietrich: Okay. Nothing. I I got nothing. You got nothing. We went last week from you having nothing to I got nothing.



Chip Griffin: We we’re, it turns out our openings now are just play stump the co-host.



Gini Dietrich: Yeah. Right.



Chip Griffin: So, well how about, how about instead of that,



Gini Dietrich: learn how we get plugged in sooner to the discussion that we have as soon as we, just five minutes before we decide to record, but Okay.



Chip Griffin: Yeah. Well, I, and in fairness, this, this is a challenge that a lot of agencies have with their clients where they’re asked to do something at the last possible second. Right. And they then need to try to figure out how to make it work. Yes. Surprise. We’re having a product announcement tomorrow. Oh really? I didn’t even know you were working on a new product, let alone that it was launching tomorrow.



These are real world situations. They’re ones I’ve experienced, I’m sure you’ve experienced and just about ev...
Show more...
7 months ago
18 minutes 33 seconds

Agency Leadership Podcast
Chip Griffin and Gini Dietrich share practical advice for PR and marketing agency owners build better businesses.