Podcast guest briefing

You're invited to The Agency Value Model.

Thank you for considering being a guest on the show. I started the show to help agency leaders get past whatever is holding them back from changing their model, and stories like yours will do that better than any framework I could teach. Here's everything you need to know before we record.

Brian

About the show

The Agency Value Model is a show for agency CEOs and CFOs who already know the model has to change and want to know how. In each episode, I ask an agency leader like you how they redesigned their firm's value model, including what worked and what didn't.

By value model, I mean how an agency defines, designs, delivers, and captures value: how its positioning and commercial value proposition, offerings, people, and pricing connect. For many agencies, a new pricing model is the goal, but it's the rest of the model that makes it work.

I open the episode and introduce you. Then your interview runs as a narrative, with my comments between segments. I close with one thing listeners can take back to their own agencies.

Listen to the trailer (under 90 seconds)

Why you're invited

You've redesigned some or all of your agency's value model, and you can speak candidly about how it went. Your story reaches other agency leaders as a peer's account, and the episode credits you and your agency by name.

What we'll talk about

We'll follow your agency's change from the decision to the results, focused on the parts of the model you've changed. The steps matter, and so does the human side: the doubts, the debates, and what made it worth it.

A typical episode covers some of the following:

  1. Your agency before the change, and the moment you decided the model had to change.
  2. What worried you most: the risks you weighed, and what you had to come to terms with before you committed.
  3. How your leadership team worked through it: the debates you had, where you disagreed, and how you decided.
  4. Where your work started and why, what you've changed since, and what you see as your next step.
  5. How you brought the rest of the agency along, and how your teams learned to sell and defend the new model.
  6. How clients and procurement responded, which conversations you expected to be hard, and whether they were as hard as you expected.
  7. The messy parts: what didn't work, what you'd do differently, and what you'd tell other agencies to do or avoid.
  8. What changed: the results so far, or the signs you're on the right track. Would you ever go back to your old way of working and pricing?

How to prepare

You don't need slides or notes. The agency leaders listening are weighing the same decision you made, and for most of them the method isn't the hardest part. Committing to the change, and bringing their team along, is.

Before we talk, pick one or two moments from the topics above that you remember clearly, such as a leadership meeting where you disagreed or the first sign the change was working. Candid stories, false starts included, help listeners more than a polished success story or a list of statistics. Our time together should feel like a conversation, not a press interview.

You don't need to name clients or share financial figures. Directional results, such as higher margins or fewer write-offs, make the point. If you want to name a client or a financial figure, please get approval before we record.

Recording details

Length
Please reserve an hour. Most recordings take about 30 minutes.
Where
Riverside, in your web browser. Our producer sends the link with your calendar invite.
What you need
A computer with a reliable internet connection. Phones and tablets don't work for recording. Headphones help, and an external microphone is welcome but not required. Your computer's built-in microphone usually sounds better than earbuds or a headset.
Your room
A quiet room with soft furnishings, which absorb echo. Large rooms with hard surfaces, such as kitchens, tend to sound hollow.
Tech test
Before recording day, you'll run a short test from the same room, computer, and setup you'll use, so we can check your audio and video in advance.
Your contact
Jocelyn (Jo) at Stories and Strategies, the show's producer, schedules your calls and answers any questions: jo@storiesandstrategies.ca

After we record

Release timing depends on the publishing schedule, and we'll confirm your date once it's set. When your episode is live, you'll receive links to it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube, along with short video clips to share. If you enjoyed the conversation, a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify helps other agency leaders find the show.

Next steps

  1. Schedule a pre-call with me and our producer. In 20 to 30 minutes, we'll talk through your story and your diagnostic results and find the angle that will make the strongest episode. The call also helps us see where your episode fits in our planning schedule.

    Schedule your pre-call

  2. Before the call, complete our five-minute online diagnostic. If you haven't already, take the Agency Model Map diagnostic for your agency. Your results give me background on your firm before we speak. Your answers stay confidential, and nothing from them goes into the episode unless you choose to talk about it.

    Take the diagnostic

About Brian

Brian Kessman

Brian Kessman has spent more than 25 years in the agency business, including leadership roles at independent agencies and global networks in New York and Los Angeles. Today he helps agency CEOs and CFOs redesign how they define, package, deliver, and price their expertise, through his firm, Lodestar Agency Consulting, and as founder of the Value Model Institute. He is the author of Redesigning the Agency Value Model, published by VoxComm, and a contributor to the IPA's Pricing Playbook. He is an inaugural member of the 4A's Expert Network and presents regularly for industry associations around the world.