Your agency doesn't have a sales problem. It has a people problem. I spent 15+ years building teams, from scrappy startups, to scaling tech companies, to huge agencies like GroupM and WPP. Now, I give small agency owners the SOPs, frameworks, and hard truths they need to build high-performance cultures that run without them.
The TL;DR, Introducing A New Perspective
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A bi-weekly roundup of refreshing outlooks on common problems August 17 - August 30 Research-Driven Checklists of Perspective, On Sale NowAs I mentioned in the last TL;DR, I recently came off a multi-month series of interviews with small marketing agency professionals. I heard all about the problems these small businesses face, from Communication and Culture to Operations and Scaling. TL;DR- the problems that small agencies face are not terribly unique. That being said, the problems small agencies face are not simple, straightforward, or easy to identify. What's even harder is that when you are in the thick of it, those problems seem more complex, impossible to navigate around, and come across as subconscious feelings rather than visible problems. The first step to solving those problems: "I'd like some fresh, clear, well-seasoned perspective." I can suggest a good wine to go with that: the Small Agency Assessment. This is a new service that Learn to Scale is offering, specifically and only for small marketing agencies. The Small Agency Assessment is designed to uncover root issues, prioritize which issues to tackle first, what tools/systems will solidify a foundation for scaling, and a roadmap to grow with confidence. Or, in other words, "Perspective." I'm celebrating this new launch AND the upcoming Startup Boston Week (where I also serve as COO) by discounting this service 10% until the end of September.
A TL;DR from the CROA poodle's point of view simplifies things: things are a stick or not a stick. -Roman Noodles, Chief Ruff Officer New Blog Post: Why I'm on a Mission to Crack the Code For Small Marketing AgenciesGet an overview of the research and key insights that helped shape the Small Agency Assessment.
Conference season is upon us. Not only will I be at Startup Boston Week from September 9-13 (ps. it's a free 5-day hybrid conference), but also Hubspot's Inbound the following week. I specifically bought new walking shoes for this month. Last year at SBW2023 I clocked 162K+ steps in that conference alone. I'm guesstimating I'll be over 200K steps in two weeks this September. If you're attending either of those two events, please give me a high five: I'll be the guy wearing the shamelessly branded Learn to Scale hat: Yep, you can wear this hat too. Step up to September, Dan from Learn to Scale Opt-out from the newsletter | Unsubscribe from all emails | Update your Preferences | www.learntoscale.us, Boston, MA 02119 PS. In case you forgot the plot to Ratatouille, this'll bring it right back. |
Dan Newman
Your agency doesn't have a sales problem. It has a people problem. I spent 15+ years building teams, from scrappy startups, to scaling tech companies, to huge agencies like GroupM and WPP. Now, I give small agency owners the SOPs, frameworks, and hard truths they need to build high-performance cultures that run without them.
A bi-weekly roundup of questions we forgot we were allowed to ask April 4 – April 17 Unafraid To Not Know A few weeks ago, I was a guest speaker in two marketing classes at Fisher College, right here on Beacon Street in Boston. Two classes. Thirty-five students. Seventy-five minutes each. Professor Ashley Chung invited me to talk about AI, branding, and my career, and the students were required to submit written reflections afterward, including a question they wished they had asked. She sent...
A bi-weekly roundup of personalizing your perfect robot companion March 21 - April 3 Bonsai or Lego Blocks Remember when Keanu Reeves in The Matrix learned kung fu by plugging a USB into his head? AI skills are kind of like that, except it's your ChatGPT/Claude that's Keanu Reeves and the kung fu is a simple guide that anyone can read. Here's one of the more popular skills on Skills.sh, an open source library of downloadable skills: front-end design. You can see that it's simply a 500-word...
A bi-weekly roundup of intimate interviews with machines March 7 - March 20 Welcome to the Stage, Tiddlywinks! I'm excited to bring you an exclusive interview with my newest AI agent, Tiddlywinks. Built using OpenClaw- which is about as bleeding-edge as you can get right now in March 2026- Tiddlywinks isn't a standard chatbot. It is a highly configured digital thought-partner. A lot of leaders are feeling the pressure to integrate AI into their operations, but they are rightfully terrified of...