Setup’s solutions are designed to help marketing agencies level up.
Leveraging 25+ years of sales and marketing experience alongside 12+ years connecting brands with agencies, Setup is uniquely positioned to help agencies grow.
In this Businessology podcast, Setup Founder and CEO, Joe Koufman speaks with Jason Blumer about how Setup helps marketing agencies grow:
Agency Business Development Training
Rethink your agency’s business development strategy with this half-day workshop.
Our customized workshop teaches your team to build and execute a cohesive business development strategy. As connectors of brands and agencies, Setup leverages deep understanding of what it takes to attract and convert prospects into new clients.
Section I
Differentiated Positioning
Learn how to develop a positioning strategy that differentiates the agency from others.
Section II
Tools, Team, and Process
Work through the processes, team composition, and tools you need to enable agency growth.
Section III
Outreach & Closing
Discover new ways to systematically attract, nurture, and convert new business.
It will help you challenge things in a new way...
"The business development training that Setup did with us covered relevant topics... but it also provided context with realistic, real-world examples. We got a ton of value from it."
Agency Principal
Positioning
Understand how to position & differentiate your agency.
All agencies sound the same. Positioning is the foundation that agency business development is built upon. We teach you to identify and capitalize on the key differentiators that get your agency noticed by target clients.
Learn how to identify synergies and disconnects around:
Agency Identity - Philosophy, approach, & values
Agency Services - Capabilities, experience, & work style
Target Prospects - Who you’re targeting vs. who you’re reaching
Competitors - Who you think you’re competing against vs. who you’re actually competing against
Infrastructure
Streamline the teams, tools, and processes that drive your business development process.
If your agency does not have the infrastructure for business development, you will not grow.
Agencies who have not seen a return on their business development investment typically have deficiencies in the BD team, the tools used for BD, or the processes that drive BD.
Outreach & Closing
Embrace proven practices to attract, nurture, and close new business.
Most agencies rely on referrals and friends of the agency for new business - which is not a sustainable pipeline. Setup shares proprietary best practices based on decades of business development experience.
Inbound Tactics & Best Practices
Outbound Tactics & Best Practices
How to Connect and Build Real Relationships with Prospects
Handling Objections
How to Approach Pitches, RFPs, & Spec Work
Getting to Close
Marketing Diagnostic
Refine & Elevate Agency Messaging
The Marketing Diagnostic uncovers the shortcomings of the agency’s client-facing messaging and provides data-driven recommendations on how the agency can differentiate itself in the marketplace without compromising its core identity.
Resonate
Does the agency messaging give prospects what they are looking for?
Optimize
Is the agency marketing content missing fundamental elements?
Align
Does the communication consistently match the agency core identity?
Differentiate
Does the agency stand out from other similar agencies?
"The Marketing Diagnostic was way more detailed than I could have ever imagined. In practice, it identified specific details that we've overlooked forever and helped us prioritize. In effect, it motivated our team to treat [our agency] like a client...and to take action."
Agency Principal
Diagnose
Examine every element of the agency’s messaging.
Includes:
| ✔ Website | ✔ Capabilities Decks |
| ✔ Social Media | ✔ Email Outreach |
| ✔ Pitch Decks |
How it works
Marketing Diagnostic Process
Step 1
Upload Marketing Materials
Upload agency capabilities deck, pitch deck, and sample outbound emails.
STEP 2
Complete Agency Questionnaire
Tell us about the agency.
Step 3
Schedule Presentation
Explore results, recommendations, and analyses from the final report.
Agency Assessment
The agency assessment uncovers the reality of how your agency is perceived by key staff, current clients, and past clients… and for clients and employees, perception is reality.
Setup asks clients (current and past) and staff what they wish the agency could/would do, leading to new opportunities.
3 in 4 agency leaders cite agency growth as their #1 challenge.
Agency employee turnover rate is approximately 30% - second only to the tourism/hospitality industry.
"Invaluable insights... It was an excellent look into the mirror. Highly recommended for anyone offering creative services to clients."
Agency Principal
Client Relationships
Secure and strengthen client relationships
Gives clients an opportunity to express needs and concerns allowing the agency to strengthen the relationship and promote loyalty. This process includes surveys with current clients, past clients, and potential clients that did not select the agency.
"Most agencies have a stuffy, 'I'm-smarter-than-you' attitude. The fact that [my agency] took the time to ask me for my opinion showed me that they valued our partnership."
Brand-side Marketer
Team Dynamics
Safeguard agency culture
Provides leaders, key staff, and new team members a platform to deliver anonymous feedback, so the agency can improve retention.
"The Agency Assessment opened up insights about our employees and customers we had not yet discovered. Having this feedback from both our internal and external stakeholders is immensely valuable. We're thankful to have Setup as a partner."
Agency Principal
Alignment
Develop agency growth strategy
Synthesizes internal and external feedback into actionable insights and recommendations for growth.
"Setup saved me hours of research since I know they have spent significant time upfront to vet each of their agency partners."
Brand-side Marketer
How it works
Agency Assessment Process
Step 1
Submit Startup Documents
Tell us about the agency and connect Setup with the right staff and agency contacts.
Step 2
Interviews
Setup conducts surveys with current clients, past clients, lost pitch clients, and key staff.
Step 3
Presentation & Findings
Explore results, recommendations, and analyses from the final report.
Sustainable Pipeline
Finding clients is the #1 challenge for agencies.
Agencies depend on referrals for growth, but referrals are not scalable.
Finding the right partnership is 50% about chemistry and 50% about capability. For less than the annual salary of a junior employee, Setup connects agencies with established brands with chemistry and capability in mind.
“Provided amazing connections…”
“Setup really got to know Modo Modo Agency, understood what we did well, and also provided amazing connections with ideal kind of clients for a long-term view.”
Moira Vetter, Modo Modo Agency
Over 1200 Introductions Made
Setup drives agency growth
Client-side marketers look to Setup as a trusted resource to help them find their next agency partner. We help agencies connect with those opportunities through:
✔ Monthly introductions to brands with needs
✔ Invitations to exclusive quarterly events with senior marketers
✔ Boosting agency awareness through Setup content channels
✔ Invitations to exclusive quarterly events with senior marketers
✔ Boosting agency awareness through Set
“Like matchmaking.”
“It was the ease of finding an agency. It was having one conversation of ‘here is what I am looking for,’ and the brief was easy to complete, and Setup's team ran with it and vetted the agencies for me.
The process streamlined the amount of time I would have spent. The experience was like matchmaking.”
Trisha Amin, Formerly abbvie Currently Monster Energy
How it works
Sustainable Pipeline
Step 1
Agency Assessment
Prerequisite for the Sustainable Pipeline.
Step 2
Kickoff Meeting
Joint planning session for outreach.
Step 3
Connect with Opportunities
One introduction per month to an established brand.