like when you’re starting if you are
really getting stressed out with how to
charge for things there’s ways you have
to price it it’s either I’m gonna be a
hard cos plus markup yeah it’s gonna be
your hours I think I can take a hundred
and forty hours to do this my hourly
rate is 60 or 80 or 100 or 200 or 300
whatever it is your hourly rate that’s
your answer
or you just make a number up based on
what you think it’s worth right I know
something that it’s only take 12 hours
to do this project but I’m experienced
I’m a genius I know it takes me 12 hours
but it’s worth $10,000 and then there’s
that’s another way to price your
business well c’mon guys we’re doing a
ten-part series with my friend mark
Drager on how to build a million dollar
business as a marketing agency in the
last video we talked about how to figure
out what you’re great at what your
strengths are how you gonna bring value
to your clients you can go check that
video out today we’re talking money
we’re talking pricing we’re talking
financials mark what’s the most
important thing that you want to talk
about on charging and money so I think
for a lot of people who are starting out
especially if you’re creative yeah right
if you’re an agency you’re gonna be
pretty creative person yeah is the
feeling like I don’t want to look at it
I don’t want to know like you know I’m
gonna I’m gonna ostridge it I’m gonna
put my head in the sand yeah I’m not
gonna worry about it and truthfully it’s
something you have to be aware of okay
but if you do worry about it
you I’m gonna be both sides here you
don’t have to worry about it that much
okay right so we’re 12 years in yeah we
still price things like in this really
open safe way okay right we just assume
how much something will cost and how
much someone will pay us and we just
figure out that it’s gonna work out in
the end like like it’s it sounds it
sounds crazy okay I am not good with
numbers okay and so the thought of all
of my financials and all of my things I
thought of going like this is a big
project and how many hours and how much
does it cost and all of these things I’d
rather go like oh that’s 80 grand and
then hope that it costs less than 80
grand to deliver and it sounds crazy
yeah right and I’ve been doing this long
enough that I kind of know what you guys
feel for it but if I have to wait two
weeks to deliver a quote because I’m
busy or a week or something figuring
something out why does it take that long
for most people well some projects are
really complicated okay right and if
you’re sourcing stuff you’re the reason
to get into it right you don’t know what
you don’t quite know what’s happening
until you get into it but they get into
it until they want to know what the
price is okay and then if you’re relying
on vendors you have to go out to them
and then they say well what’s the scope
okay and then you got to give them the
scope and like it could take your cake
months okay
so truthfully if you’re like I think
this is 12 grand okay
and it’s 13 well yeah I mean you’ve lost
$1,000 for a really great opportunity to
build your portfolio or hopefully it’s
10 and you get to keep two of it or
maybe it’s six and you get to keep six
of it right like I like when you’re
starting if you are really getting
stressed out with how to charge for
things yeah and I mean this can be a big
risk if you’re going if sudden suddenly
you landed some kind of big Bank
yeah and they’re like hey we want all of
this stuff you know chances are you
you’re gonna be too overwhelmed to take
that you’re gonna be too scared to take
it or there’s not gonna give it to you
okay that’s due diligence but if
something if something big is happening
it’s like oh we want this million dollar
project and you’re like oh gosh I don’t
know if it’s gonna cost me two million
in losing a million dollars yeah
I’m not talking those numbers okay I’m
talking when when when you’re doing an
eight hundred dollar project okay or a
five thousand dollar project and that’s
what your cost cost you $5,000 to do
what you think it’s worth
okay so there’s two ways to price a
business yeah right whenever you’re
dealing with this it’s it’s either gonna
be based off of your your cost to
deliver with markup so it costs me
$8,000 to deliver this project I think I
should earn 40% margins so I take $8,000
and I mark it up okay or it’s gonna be
based on your hours right but you don’t
do any of this stuff later we reverse
engineering okay but see you of a sense
I’m saying there’s there’s there’s ways
you have to price it is either gonna be
a hard cos plus markup yeah it’s gonna
be your hours I think it’s gonna take a
hundred and forty hours to do this my
hourly rate is 60 or 80 or 100 or 200 or
300 whatever it’s – your hourly rate and
that’s your answer or you uh you just
make a number up based on what you think
it’s worth right I know something that
it’s only take 12 hours to do this
project but I’m experienced I’m a genius
I don’t takes me 12 hours but it’s worth
$10,000 and then there’s that’s another
way to price your business right and
really you shouldn’t stick to anyone
these you should be open to all of them
because it depends on the client if if
you’re working with someone who is
coming to you because you’re really good
at your job and they don’t have a lot of
money and you like them
you’re probably gonna price it less
right right if you’re working with
someone who where it’s a lot of out
sourced elements right you’re like
you’re spending a lot of money
you probably wanna protect yourself by
marking it up but the reason why I said
we reverse engineer this later is let’s
say you come to us and we go we do this
on on most projects we’ll start talking
to you and we’ll say well how much
budget do you have and that’s the other
thing is we ask clients like how much
budget you have to work with em hmm
there’s nothing wrong with them they say
I’m not quite sure how much will it cost
you can cost anything
all right so realistically are you gonna
spend $10,000 on this you gonna spend
$2,000 on this you can spend $100,000 on
it right like you may say you don’t have
a budget but everybody knows what they
feel is reasonable and run to the
ballpark that’s important to know least
the ballpark a ballpark right and so if
someone says well we can’t see going
over $10,000 okay now you have a place
to start
yeah and then you have to ask yourself
can I deliver anything for $10,000 I
think it’s one of the hardest things for
people just getting started what what do
I charge for my thing I’m gonna help you
shoot this video I’m gonna help make a
website what does website cost well if
you’re if you’re if your cousin does it
it’s free and if you hire somebody
agency it’s gonna cost you $50,000 but
but it’s not about what when you’re
starting to sound about what other
people charge right it’s about so how do
I figure out what I should charge for
that website or for that video or for
that Instagram campaign I I don’t
overcomplicate it like that I say what
is the client asking for yeah do I think
I can do it yeah and if I can’t what do
I need to do to be able to do it all
right like maybe I can’t do it but maybe
I can hire my cousin or maybe gang are
my friend or I can do this stuff what
will that cost me and can I deliver this
within their budget because you’re
starting right and when you’re starting
clients okay but first you’re asking for
their budget yeah so when they say mark
how much it’s gonna cost you to design
this website or do this landing page and
make this business card I say I think
what about to work with write because
truthfully and it might seem crazy
because they’ll say like well like I
told you I want a website
right but that’s like you’re saying like
I want to buy a car yeah what kind of
car do you want right right you want to
take a trip yeah
Hotel you got flights like where are you
going what are you doing
Yeah right like like these are these are
very symbols most people understand that
right yeah when they come back and think
about it they go okay I guess that makes
sense
because do you want a four thousand
dollar website or a 40,000 dollar
website right and they might say well of
course I want a four thousand one that’s
so much cheaper I don’t wanna pay more
than I have to but it’s not about that
it’s about it’s about what do we connect
or work with yeah from a budget point of
view so the first question back is
what’s your budget then they say I don’t
know mark I you know you’re the expert
on this I’m just trying to figure it out
I just want a website perfect some
people spend ten to twenty thousand on a
website some people spend fifty thousand
plus some people want to expect the
website to be like four or five grand
where are you in that right right and
they still say I don’t know it’s like
are you serious like you you must know
if you’re comfortable spending eighty
thousand dollars on a website right or
if if you’re like well I expect a
website to cost eight thousand now then
you could again this is when you’re
starting right when you’re starting you
don’t experience you need clients you
need people to like you you need
opportunities you need all of these
things so I don’t look at it in terms of
like every lead that comes through is a
chance for me to make money yeah every
lead that comes through is an
opportunity for me to prove myself right
and my goal is not to lose money in this
regard right right
so we talked in the previous video but
not being selfish and trying to draw out
all this money if you need this money to
live it’s gonna skew your motivations
it’s gonna make you say like I need to
take this project I need five grand on
it mmm I don’t look at it that way I get
to take on this project and I have an
opportunity to prove myself learn a
bunch of things make a bunch of
connections and hopefully I don’t lose
money on it what I also love and what
you’re saying is you’re you’re pushing
it back on the client and I think a lot
of people will have insecurities around
that especially the beginning so when
they say even just a question how much
is the cost already in securities like
well I should know how much it cost and
then when you say what’s your budget
they say well I don’t know you’re the
expert then more in securities I got
supposed to the experience listen no I
literally go medium low high and I did
that twice with you yeah I went it’s a
twelve grand is it four grand as a
hundred grand yeah is it fifteen grand
is a ten grand
is it 50 grand Yeah right like and and I
and I do that now I know there’s certain
things I can’t do
right I’ve been doing this long enough
someone wants something and they don’t
have the budget yeah I know now right
I’m also at the point in my business
where telling people what they should
spend on stuff right oh well I think you
should spend this on it but for our
first seven or eight years we didn’t
price anything that way right right and
does it it does lead to some trouble
sometimes right sometimes you get a
project where you look back on it and
you go like wow we did all of that work
and we didn’t earn very much money but
then that’s the next part of it is is
when you’re in a creative field you want
every project to be the best it can so
it can be an expression of what you’re
capable of what you can do and all those
things hmm so the worst case scenario is
you do a project with a client you don’t
like or they just don’t like you by the
end of it you don’t do good work and you
or you can’t show it and you don’t hurt
any money Yeah right that’s that to me
that’s that’s losing yeah if you can
either not make money like you know I’m
not making money I’m not really doing
great work but the client loves me
that’s still a win right because then
you have another opportunity to actually
move up the budgets you do the next
thing to change the things if the
clients not really that happy with you
but you did great work yeah now you have
a portfolio piece yeah clients not happy
with you did new great work but you had
a great margins yeah well now you have
money to go out and do the next thing
yeah right so ideally you’re not losing
all of those right but when it comes to
financials of course you need an
accountant of course you need to be
aware of cash flow those things are you
know or bookkeeper maybe not accountant
or bookkeeper or cash flow like you
gotta have to have your stuff together a
little bit but other than me watching
cash flow making sure that I have enough
money to pay everyone and that
eventually I will get money back from
clients yeah we’re not really that savvy
like we don’t we don’t we don’t leverage
money from this person to try and
squeeze that person we pay our suppliers
and our vendors and our staff right away
but we don’t get paid from clients for
like three or four months like we’re
just very conservative in a lot of ways
but that gives me the freedom to be able
to say yes to the client in the meeting
mm-hmm and then later figure out what
we’re gonna actually
and that’s very very powerful I love
that you so I love that you push back on
the client I love that you get some
options and ranges I think it’s
how do you feel about free work you talk
about portfolio keys that doesn’t bother
me but when to do it when not to do it
somebody starting up they don’t have a
portfolio where it’s limited or it’s not
the work they want to do when to make
the decision say okay this is worth
doing for free versus you kind of
mention it with the three things to look
at yeah what are three things again
portfolio money and happy client happy
client like they love you they love you
love you and they’ll talk about you
they’ll talk about you you call them up
they always take your call you read
email them they respond right away
yeah those people run back those may be
sent at your business referrals hmm
that’s interesting the ballpark probably
very little really because because the
majority of our businesses repeat okay
right so so when you’re in a business
where where where it’s not project-based
and cannot repeat then referrals
important yeah so most people who meet
us for the first time meet us because
they’re looking for someone online okay
and we’re gonna get into marketing later
yeah you meet us online we do get
referrals from people where someone’s
talked to someone but there are a lot of
people who talk to a lot of people yeah
there’s a lot of people out there right
so the majority of our work actually
comes from someone looking for us online
or maybe being introduced to us like
five or six or seven years ago and then
they leave the company and go here and
take us with them but now we have this
company and this company yeah and then
that person you know leaves and goes
here and now if we can’t hold that
sometimes we can’t now we have three
companies or it’s just a year after year
after year our best clients we work with
you know we work with four five six
seven years there are clients that we we
worked with ten years ago who
disappeared for four or five years and
then come back and they become our best
clients and then they disappear yeah and
then they become our best clients again
yeah so it it’s always kind of changing
but you know having people having really
great customer service and again we’re
getting into that as well yeah having
people like you yeah being able to
deliver is really really important so
the three things you’re making money
from it
a good portfolio piece any of happy
clients I want to hear that you want one
of them at least one yeah I mean ideally
all three would be sure I know but but
like where’s that if if it’s zero it’s a
walkaway if it’s three midsummer one
zero you don’t know to the end though so
that’s the other ther you don’t want you
don’t know to the end you don’t know
it’s the end of the project if you even
there are projects I start out there the
greatest of intentions right the best of
relations you don’t have a buddy so you
know it’s zero on the budget
you’re not taking taxes well I don’t
mean zeros in like you’re – you’re
taking it for free I mean like but it’s
not like oh we got 10 grand or more you
know it yeah it doesn’t hit your margins
and as you get more into it you figure
out you get a you get a better six learn
about you learn quickly for sure but but
but so it’s fine so like three is a home
run three or 300 men zero to three is
that this sucks we’re a euro is like you
know don’t go please yeah you take the
one you take the two you’re gonna take
if you got nothing to do you do you take
the one sure if you have nothing to do
all right so everything is an
opportunity to prove yourself Yeah right
and you know I think it helps to know
what your motivations are yes it to
dictate that like yeah like one of my
motivations is recognition yeah I know
that I live off our condition so I will
much rather do something for free for
someone yeah just to have them turn
around later and say like that was
really good happy client sure happy
client or to hit success yeah having a
portfolio which can be client
testimonials it can be examples of work
it can just be having the logos up on
the site these are the people we work
with yeah right that is cornerstone
yeah any agency okay right people want
to work with people who have worked with
other people
yeah and it’s a catch-22 when you’re
starting so what you start with is just
it’s just anyone you can and then you
slowly kind of remove the bad examples
and you get better examples and better
examples and better examples and yeah
and year over a year you work your way
up in budgets you work your way up and
experience you work your way up in value
yeah your portfolio grows it’s just it’s
just time it just takes time to do these
things everyone I look up to is 20 years
ahead of me
mm-hmm and I go I want to be them but
you know they’re 20 years more
experience yep nobody starts I mean
sorry maybe Gary Vee starts by literally
saying like I’m opening up my doors and
here’s my agency and look at how big and
great we are but even within the doors
of their agents
there has to be that ramp up period
there has to be the examples and other
things mhm most of us start and then
year over year over you you grow awesome
so the two main things I’m taking from
it is for pricing always ask for what
their budget is always give some
pushback never just go into something
where you were you’re in the dark and
cordon on something without expectations
and and don’t don’t allow for
generalities don’t we don’t do that like
oh don’t worry we have budget you know
ready go to something and then we go
okay great your budget 30 grand whether
it’s five hundred bucks or five thousand
bucks or fifty thousand bucks you have a
general range and then you close against
that and then ask yourself the three
question is a filter through which
picking projects you have to have it at
least one ideally two when home run is 3
of I’m making good money from this it’s
a testimony piece for my business it’s a
happy client yes so this is part of a 10
part series on how to build a
million-dollar marketing agency business
the next video is learning from Mark how
to stop second-guessing your decisions click the link next to us
really getting stressed out with how to
charge for things there’s ways you have
to price it it’s either I’m gonna be a
hard cos plus markup yeah it’s gonna be
your hours I think I can take a hundred
and forty hours to do this my hourly
rate is 60 or 80 or 100 or 200 or 300
whatever it is your hourly rate that’s
your answer
or you just make a number up based on
what you think it’s worth right I know
something that it’s only take 12 hours
to do this project but I’m experienced
I’m a genius I know it takes me 12 hours
but it’s worth $10,000 and then there’s
that’s another way to price your
business well c’mon guys we’re doing a
ten-part series with my friend mark
Drager on how to build a million dollar
business as a marketing agency in the
last video we talked about how to figure
out what you’re great at what your
strengths are how you gonna bring value
to your clients you can go check that
video out today we’re talking money
we’re talking pricing we’re talking
financials mark what’s the most
important thing that you want to talk
about on charging and money so I think
for a lot of people who are starting out
especially if you’re creative yeah right
if you’re an agency you’re gonna be
pretty creative person yeah is the
feeling like I don’t want to look at it
I don’t want to know like you know I’m
gonna I’m gonna ostridge it I’m gonna
put my head in the sand yeah I’m not
gonna worry about it and truthfully it’s
something you have to be aware of okay
but if you do worry about it
you I’m gonna be both sides here you
don’t have to worry about it that much
okay right so we’re 12 years in yeah we
still price things like in this really
open safe way okay right we just assume
how much something will cost and how
much someone will pay us and we just
figure out that it’s gonna work out in
the end like like it’s it sounds it
sounds crazy okay I am not good with
numbers okay and so the thought of all
of my financials and all of my things I
thought of going like this is a big
project and how many hours and how much
does it cost and all of these things I’d
rather go like oh that’s 80 grand and
then hope that it costs less than 80
grand to deliver and it sounds crazy
yeah right and I’ve been doing this long
enough that I kind of know what you guys
feel for it but if I have to wait two
weeks to deliver a quote because I’m
busy or a week or something figuring
something out why does it take that long
for most people well some projects are
really complicated okay right and if
you’re sourcing stuff you’re the reason
to get into it right you don’t know what
you don’t quite know what’s happening
until you get into it but they get into
it until they want to know what the
price is okay and then if you’re relying
on vendors you have to go out to them
and then they say well what’s the scope
okay and then you got to give them the
scope and like it could take your cake
months okay
so truthfully if you’re like I think
this is 12 grand okay
and it’s 13 well yeah I mean you’ve lost
$1,000 for a really great opportunity to
build your portfolio or hopefully it’s
10 and you get to keep two of it or
maybe it’s six and you get to keep six
of it right like I like when you’re
starting if you are really getting
stressed out with how to charge for
things yeah and I mean this can be a big
risk if you’re going if sudden suddenly
you landed some kind of big Bank
yeah and they’re like hey we want all of
this stuff you know chances are you
you’re gonna be too overwhelmed to take
that you’re gonna be too scared to take
it or there’s not gonna give it to you
okay that’s due diligence but if
something if something big is happening
it’s like oh we want this million dollar
project and you’re like oh gosh I don’t
know if it’s gonna cost me two million
in losing a million dollars yeah
I’m not talking those numbers okay I’m
talking when when when you’re doing an
eight hundred dollar project okay or a
five thousand dollar project and that’s
what your cost cost you $5,000 to do
what you think it’s worth
okay so there’s two ways to price a
business yeah right whenever you’re
dealing with this it’s it’s either gonna
be based off of your your cost to
deliver with markup so it costs me
$8,000 to deliver this project I think I
should earn 40% margins so I take $8,000
and I mark it up okay or it’s gonna be
based on your hours right but you don’t
do any of this stuff later we reverse
engineering okay but see you of a sense
I’m saying there’s there’s there’s ways
you have to price it is either gonna be
a hard cos plus markup yeah it’s gonna
be your hours I think it’s gonna take a
hundred and forty hours to do this my
hourly rate is 60 or 80 or 100 or 200 or
300 whatever it’s – your hourly rate and
that’s your answer or you uh you just
make a number up based on what you think
it’s worth right I know something that
it’s only take 12 hours to do this
project but I’m experienced I’m a genius
I don’t takes me 12 hours but it’s worth
$10,000 and then there’s that’s another
way to price your business right and
really you shouldn’t stick to anyone
these you should be open to all of them
because it depends on the client if if
you’re working with someone who is
coming to you because you’re really good
at your job and they don’t have a lot of
money and you like them
you’re probably gonna price it less
right right if you’re working with
someone who where it’s a lot of out
sourced elements right you’re like
you’re spending a lot of money
you probably wanna protect yourself by
marking it up but the reason why I said
we reverse engineer this later is let’s
say you come to us and we go we do this
on on most projects we’ll start talking
to you and we’ll say well how much
budget do you have and that’s the other
thing is we ask clients like how much
budget you have to work with em hmm
there’s nothing wrong with them they say
I’m not quite sure how much will it cost
you can cost anything
all right so realistically are you gonna
spend $10,000 on this you gonna spend
$2,000 on this you can spend $100,000 on
it right like you may say you don’t have
a budget but everybody knows what they
feel is reasonable and run to the
ballpark that’s important to know least
the ballpark a ballpark right and so if
someone says well we can’t see going
over $10,000 okay now you have a place
to start
yeah and then you have to ask yourself
can I deliver anything for $10,000 I
think it’s one of the hardest things for
people just getting started what what do
I charge for my thing I’m gonna help you
shoot this video I’m gonna help make a
website what does website cost well if
you’re if you’re if your cousin does it
it’s free and if you hire somebody
agency it’s gonna cost you $50,000 but
but it’s not about what when you’re
starting to sound about what other
people charge right it’s about so how do
I figure out what I should charge for
that website or for that video or for
that Instagram campaign I I don’t
overcomplicate it like that I say what
is the client asking for yeah do I think
I can do it yeah and if I can’t what do
I need to do to be able to do it all
right like maybe I can’t do it but maybe
I can hire my cousin or maybe gang are
my friend or I can do this stuff what
will that cost me and can I deliver this
within their budget because you’re
starting right and when you’re starting
clients okay but first you’re asking for
their budget yeah so when they say mark
how much it’s gonna cost you to design
this website or do this landing page and
make this business card I say I think
what about to work with write because
truthfully and it might seem crazy
because they’ll say like well like I
told you I want a website
right but that’s like you’re saying like
I want to buy a car yeah what kind of
car do you want right right you want to
take a trip yeah
Hotel you got flights like where are you
going what are you doing
Yeah right like like these are these are
very symbols most people understand that
right yeah when they come back and think
about it they go okay I guess that makes
sense
because do you want a four thousand
dollar website or a 40,000 dollar
website right and they might say well of
course I want a four thousand one that’s
so much cheaper I don’t wanna pay more
than I have to but it’s not about that
it’s about it’s about what do we connect
or work with yeah from a budget point of
view so the first question back is
what’s your budget then they say I don’t
know mark I you know you’re the expert
on this I’m just trying to figure it out
I just want a website perfect some
people spend ten to twenty thousand on a
website some people spend fifty thousand
plus some people want to expect the
website to be like four or five grand
where are you in that right right and
they still say I don’t know it’s like
are you serious like you you must know
if you’re comfortable spending eighty
thousand dollars on a website right or
if if you’re like well I expect a
website to cost eight thousand now then
you could again this is when you’re
starting right when you’re starting you
don’t experience you need clients you
need people to like you you need
opportunities you need all of these
things so I don’t look at it in terms of
like every lead that comes through is a
chance for me to make money yeah every
lead that comes through is an
opportunity for me to prove myself right
and my goal is not to lose money in this
regard right right
so we talked in the previous video but
not being selfish and trying to draw out
all this money if you need this money to
live it’s gonna skew your motivations
it’s gonna make you say like I need to
take this project I need five grand on
it mmm I don’t look at it that way I get
to take on this project and I have an
opportunity to prove myself learn a
bunch of things make a bunch of
connections and hopefully I don’t lose
money on it what I also love and what
you’re saying is you’re you’re pushing
it back on the client and I think a lot
of people will have insecurities around
that especially the beginning so when
they say even just a question how much
is the cost already in securities like
well I should know how much it cost and
then when you say what’s your budget
they say well I don’t know you’re the
expert then more in securities I got
supposed to the experience listen no I
literally go medium low high and I did
that twice with you yeah I went it’s a
twelve grand is it four grand as a
hundred grand yeah is it fifteen grand
is a ten grand
is it 50 grand Yeah right like and and I
and I do that now I know there’s certain
things I can’t do
right I’ve been doing this long enough
someone wants something and they don’t
have the budget yeah I know now right
I’m also at the point in my business
where telling people what they should
spend on stuff right oh well I think you
should spend this on it but for our
first seven or eight years we didn’t
price anything that way right right and
does it it does lead to some trouble
sometimes right sometimes you get a
project where you look back on it and
you go like wow we did all of that work
and we didn’t earn very much money but
then that’s the next part of it is is
when you’re in a creative field you want
every project to be the best it can so
it can be an expression of what you’re
capable of what you can do and all those
things hmm so the worst case scenario is
you do a project with a client you don’t
like or they just don’t like you by the
end of it you don’t do good work and you
or you can’t show it and you don’t hurt
any money Yeah right that’s that to me
that’s that’s losing yeah if you can
either not make money like you know I’m
not making money I’m not really doing
great work but the client loves me
that’s still a win right because then
you have another opportunity to actually
move up the budgets you do the next
thing to change the things if the
clients not really that happy with you
but you did great work yeah now you have
a portfolio piece yeah clients not happy
with you did new great work but you had
a great margins yeah well now you have
money to go out and do the next thing
yeah right so ideally you’re not losing
all of those right but when it comes to
financials of course you need an
accountant of course you need to be
aware of cash flow those things are you
know or bookkeeper maybe not accountant
or bookkeeper or cash flow like you
gotta have to have your stuff together a
little bit but other than me watching
cash flow making sure that I have enough
money to pay everyone and that
eventually I will get money back from
clients yeah we’re not really that savvy
like we don’t we don’t we don’t leverage
money from this person to try and
squeeze that person we pay our suppliers
and our vendors and our staff right away
but we don’t get paid from clients for
like three or four months like we’re
just very conservative in a lot of ways
but that gives me the freedom to be able
to say yes to the client in the meeting
mm-hmm and then later figure out what
we’re gonna actually
and that’s very very powerful I love
that you so I love that you push back on
the client I love that you get some
options and ranges I think it’s
how do you feel about free work you talk
about portfolio keys that doesn’t bother
me but when to do it when not to do it
somebody starting up they don’t have a
portfolio where it’s limited or it’s not
the work they want to do when to make
the decision say okay this is worth
doing for free versus you kind of
mention it with the three things to look
at yeah what are three things again
portfolio money and happy client happy
client like they love you they love you
love you and they’ll talk about you
they’ll talk about you you call them up
they always take your call you read
email them they respond right away
yeah those people run back those may be
sent at your business referrals hmm
that’s interesting the ballpark probably
very little really because because the
majority of our businesses repeat okay
right so so when you’re in a business
where where where it’s not project-based
and cannot repeat then referrals
important yeah so most people who meet
us for the first time meet us because
they’re looking for someone online okay
and we’re gonna get into marketing later
yeah you meet us online we do get
referrals from people where someone’s
talked to someone but there are a lot of
people who talk to a lot of people yeah
there’s a lot of people out there right
so the majority of our work actually
comes from someone looking for us online
or maybe being introduced to us like
five or six or seven years ago and then
they leave the company and go here and
take us with them but now we have this
company and this company yeah and then
that person you know leaves and goes
here and now if we can’t hold that
sometimes we can’t now we have three
companies or it’s just a year after year
after year our best clients we work with
you know we work with four five six
seven years there are clients that we we
worked with ten years ago who
disappeared for four or five years and
then come back and they become our best
clients and then they disappear yeah and
then they become our best clients again
yeah so it it’s always kind of changing
but you know having people having really
great customer service and again we’re
getting into that as well yeah having
people like you yeah being able to
deliver is really really important so
the three things you’re making money
from it
a good portfolio piece any of happy
clients I want to hear that you want one
of them at least one yeah I mean ideally
all three would be sure I know but but
like where’s that if if it’s zero it’s a
walkaway if it’s three midsummer one
zero you don’t know to the end though so
that’s the other ther you don’t want you
don’t know to the end you don’t know
it’s the end of the project if you even
there are projects I start out there the
greatest of intentions right the best of
relations you don’t have a buddy so you
know it’s zero on the budget
you’re not taking taxes well I don’t
mean zeros in like you’re – you’re
taking it for free I mean like but it’s
not like oh we got 10 grand or more you
know it yeah it doesn’t hit your margins
and as you get more into it you figure
out you get a you get a better six learn
about you learn quickly for sure but but
but so it’s fine so like three is a home
run three or 300 men zero to three is
that this sucks we’re a euro is like you
know don’t go please yeah you take the
one you take the two you’re gonna take
if you got nothing to do you do you take
the one sure if you have nothing to do
all right so everything is an
opportunity to prove yourself Yeah right
and you know I think it helps to know
what your motivations are yes it to
dictate that like yeah like one of my
motivations is recognition yeah I know
that I live off our condition so I will
much rather do something for free for
someone yeah just to have them turn
around later and say like that was
really good happy client sure happy
client or to hit success yeah having a
portfolio which can be client
testimonials it can be examples of work
it can just be having the logos up on
the site these are the people we work
with yeah right that is cornerstone
yeah any agency okay right people want
to work with people who have worked with
other people
yeah and it’s a catch-22 when you’re
starting so what you start with is just
it’s just anyone you can and then you
slowly kind of remove the bad examples
and you get better examples and better
examples and better examples and yeah
and year over a year you work your way
up in budgets you work your way up and
experience you work your way up in value
yeah your portfolio grows it’s just it’s
just time it just takes time to do these
things everyone I look up to is 20 years
ahead of me
mm-hmm and I go I want to be them but
you know they’re 20 years more
experience yep nobody starts I mean
sorry maybe Gary Vee starts by literally
saying like I’m opening up my doors and
here’s my agency and look at how big and
great we are but even within the doors
of their agents
there has to be that ramp up period
there has to be the examples and other
things mhm most of us start and then
year over year over you you grow awesome
so the two main things I’m taking from
it is for pricing always ask for what
their budget is always give some
pushback never just go into something
where you were you’re in the dark and
cordon on something without expectations
and and don’t don’t allow for
generalities don’t we don’t do that like
oh don’t worry we have budget you know
ready go to something and then we go
okay great your budget 30 grand whether
it’s five hundred bucks or five thousand
bucks or fifty thousand bucks you have a
general range and then you close against
that and then ask yourself the three
question is a filter through which
picking projects you have to have it at
least one ideally two when home run is 3
of I’m making good money from this it’s
a testimony piece for my business it’s a
happy client yes so this is part of a 10
part series on how to build a
million-dollar marketing agency business
the next video is learning from Mark how
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