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, Where We Foam Roll Your Marketing
February 5 - February 18
Alternatives Amuck
I have a foam roller that I use when my back gets creaky. It's a pretty inexpensive device, if you don't have one. Maybe $30.
It feels great to use after a workout...but if I'm really sore, I get the temptation to buy a massage.
Foam roller- nice.
Massage- divine.
I would argue a massage is more than three times as good at getting that weird knot out, plus it's an experience: I always walk away feeling transformed. A massage, however, is a one-time experience and at least three times as expensive. It also requires booking in advance, traveling to the place, and then traveling home.
How often do I actually buy a massage?
Almost never.
Satisfice, the mashup of satisfy and suffice, is when you accept the less-ideal solution because the difference in cost to obtain the better solution is just a dang hassle.
When my back needs attention, I could take the inexpensive foam roller that's in my own home and get some relief now OR I could pay $120 (plus tip) to book an appointment and wait a few days and then walk/drive and spend time waiting in the waiting room...I'll just use the foam roller, thanks.
This reality of alternatives gets ignored ALL THE TIME. Entrepreneurs get hung up designing better massages and spending marketing dollars on differentiating themselves from other massage studios while their market foam rolls on their own.
Some of these alternatives are ALWAYS present. Here's some alternatives every business has to compete against:
- Status Quo: Doing nothing at all and not taking a risk with your product/service
- Delay a Choice: The same as Status Quo, but using the excuse, "I'll deal with this later."
- Self Sufficient: Solving their problem on their own using YouTube tutorials
- Existing Network: Asking a friend or family for a favor or to borrow something
- Use More of What I Know: Using an existing alternative more (i.e. more foam rolling vs. buying a massage)
What's a common foam roller to your massage, i.e. product or service? How do you convince people they need what the massage can deliver? Is your product/service advertising next to the foam roller aisle to lure people to your product/service?
If you're realizing that foam rollers are eating your lunch, join the conversation on LinkedIn:
| Join The Conversation |
A TL;DR from the CRO
Taking a walk with the dog is always a good alternative to whatever sin you think you need.
-Roman Noodles, Chief Ruff Officer
TL;DRs From Around the Internetverse
- Black joy became profitable through dancing and hustling Planet Money
- Interview your way to a truly useful buyer persona Everybody Hates Marketers
- The sport of extreme ironing proves that you can follow your passion for creases anywhere MelMagazine
- Three statements to be a more inclusive leader- context, invitation, and bridge LifeLabs Learning
Reading My Way to 1M
I'm still clocking in my steps to hit my Million Steps by 90 Days goal. Today is Day 44, which means I need to have stepped about 489K steps. I'm currently at 524K, so things are looking good.
I've done one thing that has helped me keep my step counts consistent:
I started to read Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive series.
I'm a big reader but typically haven't given myself the luxury of enjoying a book, instead opting for things like 'Write the Newsletter' or 'Fold Laundry.'
However, a chance recommendation and the free time around New Years got me hooked in the first book. I started to prioritize hearing about Kaladin and Shallan's adventures more than putting my socks away all nice.
Then tragedy struck: after finishing the first book, Roman Noodles destroyed my second copy.
He's a voracious reader.
So, I dug out my Kindle from 2013, charged it, and downloaded the ebook. This now allowed me to read in the dark...
...like on dog walks in the park in the evening.
If you see a guy wandering Franklin Park with an orange Kindle and a dark-as-night dog, let me finish the chapter I'm on.
Temptation Bundling for the win,
Dan from Learn to Scale
Opt-out from the newsletter | Unsubscribe from all emails | Update your profile | www.learntoscale.us, Boston, MA 02119
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 how to fit your business on a single sheet of paper December 27, 2025 - January 9, 2026 Nine Boxes Closer To Nirvana Skip the New Years Resolution, To-Don't List, and Accountabilibuddy Pact. Do a Lean Canvas instead. The Lean Canvas is a one-page business modeling worksheet that should take about 15 minutes for you to fill out if you know your business model and a couple years if you don't. Think of it less like a business plan and more like an annual physical for your...
A bi-weekly roundup of everything TL;DR from the past year December 13 - December 26 A Brief Year In Review Don't forget to enter my end-of-year holiday Cliftonstrengths & 1-1 Giveaway! Contest ends on Monday the 29th. Enter now! The end of the year always puts me into a reflective mood, and out of all my content channels, this newsletter has always been the place I feel most present. The ritual of waking up early on a Friday, putting on vibe-y instrumental music, and setting the lights to...
A bi-weekly roundup of ways to make EOY reviews a little less awkward November 29 - December 12 What Wrapping Paper Do You Use For Tough Love? It’s December 12th. You can practically smell the holiday break. But there is one thing standing between you and that final "Out of Office" auto-reply: The End-of-Year Review. If you are like most small agency owners I know, you are probably trying to find a way to wiggle out of it. You might be telling yourself: "We’re a small team, we talk every day....