DS 84 solo
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[00:00:00] You need to become a master by becoming the best in the world. As the famous actor and comedian, Steve Martin said, You've got to be so good. They can't ignore you. Founders find themselves trapped below what I call the fear and ignorance line. It's like the system is working against them. What keeps agencies down here is the founder is continually overextended because they're helping too many different types of clients.
[00:00:25] . Once you understand the power of developing deep specialized knowledge in a vertical market and becoming the trusted source of reliable results and guidance, everything changes for you and your agency. The truth is good is the enemy of great Hey, it's Corey. Today I want to share the deep specialization maturity model with you. It's a diagnostic tool and a roadmap helping you understand where you and your agency are, where you could be, and what it takes to get there.
[00:01:07] When it comes to helping agencies create revenue certainty, we've recognized that there are really four levels that people operate at. So let's take a look at the four levels. Sadly, too many agencies are stuck at level one, the lowest level. The red zone, if you like. At this level, we tend to see agencies are invisible in the marketplace and often unknown to buyers and are therefore simply ignored.
[00:01:33] As a result, agencies in the red zone rely on founder referrals through their networking. And of course the founder is 100 percent responsible for closing all the new sales. You could think of the red zone as the generalist agency. I talk with many agency founders who are stuck at this level. The thing is being stuck at this level is sometimes not their fault.
[00:01:54] Founders find themselves trapped below what I call the fear and ignorance line. It's like the system is working against them. What keeps agencies down here is the founder is continually overextended because they're helping too many different types of clients. these founders, buy into the myth, which is that, Hey, if we limit our target market to just one vertical, Then we'll limit our growth potential.
[00:02:19] But if you challenge that myth and recognize the truth that specializing in a vertical market results in 50 faster and more sustainable growth for your agency, you almost immediately jump into the next zone. We call this next level, level two, the vertical vendor. This is where agencies promote one or a number of verticals that they claim to specialize in, but do so only on the surface.
[00:02:45] Where buyers are skeptical, unsure, and they treat the agency as a transaction.
[00:02:50] in this level. We see arm's length transactions where agencies heavily compete on price, where buyers are skeptical, unsure, and they treat the agency relationships as transactions. You emergence of word of mouth sales opportunities. And you also get a little bit of structure in the sales process.
[00:03:09] Often including a junior seller and vague sales playbooks. The key to moving through this vertical vendor level and to get to the next level is truly focusing down on a single vertical market.
[00:03:21] I call this third level, the vertical specialist level in the vertical specialist level, you'll often see agencies are building some recognition in the markets as functional experts, but they're still dealing with the skepticism and comparison shopping. they're indistinguishable one of a handful of vertical specialists.
[00:03:45] They're acquiring expensive leads from paid media to supplement the referrals and word of mouth, and they have a sales system, but it is so complex and full of chaos. Yet, at this level, it actually feels pretty good. To keep moving through this level, you need to elevate your positioning and multiply the impact you create on your vertical clients.
[00:04:07] But here's the catch. A funny thing happens when we work with agencies at this level. They hit what we call the good enough line. On the good enough line, it's easy to buy into the myth that, hey, I don't want to rock the boat. The truth is that good enough traps you. Let me ask you, what if Steve Jobs and Apple had created the iPod and then said, well, you know, that's good enough.
[00:04:30] Another company would have come along and created the iPhone and the iPad, and Apple would not have become one of the most legendary companies in the world. Think about it another way. What if you were buying a product or a service and the company selling to you said, Hey, you know, we're just going to try and do a good enough job.
[00:04:48] How would you feel about that? The truth is good is the enemy of great. Once you understand the power of developing deep specialized knowledge in a vertical market and becoming the trusted source of reliable results and guidance, everything changes for you as you move into the fourth level. And become a vertical market maven.
[00:05:09]
[00:05:51] at this level, the game is entirely different here. We see absolute trust as an insider and truly becoming the safe option. Clients commonly say. Hey, they really understand our business and everyone in our industry knows and respects them. You have a full pipeline overflowing with great sales opportunities, more than you can handle, and you have a sales process so good and dialed in is become a core competitive advantage.
[00:06:21] The agencies at this level are different than the rest because they never settle to keep moving through this level and push up to an entirely new paradigm. You need to become a master by becoming the best in the world. As the famous actor and comedian, Steve Martin said, You've got to be so good. They can't ignore you.
[00:06:41] Okay, here's the recap. Level one, generalist agency, level two, vertical vendor, level three, vertical specialist, and level four, vertical Maven.
[00:06:53] So as you look at these four levels and think about where you are right now, Whether you're a generalist agency fighting for visibility, a vertical vendor competing on price, a vertical specialist hitting that good enough ceiling, or working your way towards becoming a true vertical maven, I want to leave you with this one question.
[00:07:12] What's one step you could take this week to move your agency to the next level? Because remember, just like Apple didn't stop with the iPod, good enough is never enough in today's competitive environment. Your agency's future depends on pushing beyond the comfortable and familiar. This is Corey Quinn, and until next time, keep pushing towards the Maven status.
