Patin & Associates

A PERSONAL STORY ABOUT WHY I WROTE MY FIRST BOOK

Darren Ward here, from Creative Agency Success. I coauthored The Practical Agency with Robert.

I wanted to open up a bit here to the scariest moment of my childhood.

But I think it’s important to explain why I do what I do every day, and ultimately why I decided to write a book.

Let me know what you think, and if you want, comment below and I can send you a copy for free when it comes out next month.

Well, here we go...

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Chapter 2

I have always been a high-energy kid. I could never sit still – I had to be doing something all the time. Combined with an insatiable curiosity, this made me a real handful and turned out to be very risky in certain situations.

One time, our family car got overheated on the freeway, and we were towed to the mechanic shop. When we arrived, my dad went to the front of the car and was checking under the hood with the mechanic.

Curious to see what they were doing, I started to harass my mom to let me out. At the fifteenth time of asking, she gave in and allowed me to go. I dashed out of the car and got near the hood. Instead of paying attention to what was going on, I got distracted by a glassy mirror door they had at the shop.

All of a sudden, I saw everybody running away from the car in that glass mirror, and I swung around. In a fraction of a second, the radiator fluid exploded all over me, burning over three-quarters of my body. As a result, I had to spend an entire year in bandages, all due to a simple lack of attention during one fateful moment.

As strange as it may seem, this played a massive role in my life and, eventually, my career.

Whenever I see a client who rushes in a particular direction without a clear focus, I instinctively bristle. I also remember how long it took me to recover from something that happened in a blink of an eye, and, time and again, experience has shown me that in business as in life, everything can change when you least expect it.

Getting burned in business can be every bit as bad as getting burned by radiator fluid. And I've decided to always do my best to prevent that from happening.

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If you want to read more, before the official release, you can...

DOWNLOAD THE FIRST PART OF THE BOOK HERE:

https://bit.ly/3OGrXKU

To cut costs without compromising quality, think about offshoring or outsourcing creative roles. Most professionals can take the role from anywhere in the world.

Both offshoring and outsourcing are only ideal for tasks that don’t involve meeting with clients. Client-facing work should remain in-house.

Agencies with the resources to hire abroad should take advantage of it. The lower cost of work can save them a lot of money.

Give managers enough time, confidence, and freedom to apply their new-found skills in real-life situations.

Encourage managers to have regular discussions with other team members. It promotes transparency, improves employee engagement, and elevates team performance.

Effective communication skills is a must among managers. It helps avoid misunderstandings that can hamper productivity.

BIG NEWS!

I wanted to share some great news we got this week (and how it can benefit you too).

I was selected as one of Ultimate List of Agency Coaches for 2022 by Parakeeto.

Marcel Petitpas, CEO of Parakeeto said:

Creative Agency Business coach Robert Patin is a shoo-in on this list. His team at Creative Agency Success helps creative service agencies maximize scalability plus profitability by coaching towards more efficient business processes and sales operations. This, in turn, facilitates clients to make better decisions for the business through enhanced recording and cash flow management.

Wow! It always feels good to be recognized, right?

But this award truly honors my clients though. They stepped outside of their comfort zone, took my advice, and did the work.

Consistent client success is the real reason I was able to make this list.

This is good for you too...

If you have ever wanted to see what it is really like to be a client, and the reason agency owners like you are now evangelists of “simplifying and scaling” their agencies...

I have a way you can test me out first.

Comment below, or send me a message, and I’ll send you the details

Regularly assess the skills of your managers. Create professional development programs that target those skills whenever necessary.

Leadership training provides ample opportunities to adopt and perfect abilities. Managers will be given branching scenarios to practice with.

A person with both managerial and leadership qualities is best equipped to promote high-performing teams.

Managerial and leadership roles are distinct. Managers instruct, while leaders inspire. To get the best of both worlds, give managers leadership training.

The lack of training opportunities is the main reason why good managers quit. Nurture your managers' potential.

Chi-Ching!

What’s that sound?

Sound of agency’s value pricing and profiting.

I invite you to read my article published on Forbes last week.
Here, I explain value pricing as the only way to drive your agency to the next level.

Council Post: The Only Way To Drive Your Agency To The Next Level The only way to break free of the constraints of the current pricing models is to price based on what you actually deliver: results.

Would you like to learn how we helped this client earn 4x more per hour?

The key here is in iteration and learning from the data within your agency.

If you feel that you relate and are ready to make a change but need the inspiration or tools to get you started, take a listen.

In this video, I will share with you where a client started and what they have accomplished.

4x the Revenue – Without more work Would you like to learn how we helped this client earn 4x more per hour? The key here is in iteration and learning from the data within your agency.If you fe...

See how you can increase profit by 36% or $360,000 per million. This client did it, your agency can too!

How This Agency Increased Project Margins By 36% When They Made the Shift to Fixed-Fee Pricing (And How Our Client Also Avoided Scope Creep) Fixed-fee pricing lets you charge based on value rather than hours worked. But to get to that point, there’s an important mindset shift you first need to make.