Managing a Consulting Firm for Growth and Profit
Managing a Consulting Firm for Growth and Profit
His second edition is a welcome update of our well-worn copy of Managing a Public Relations Firm. His ability to combine real case studies with step-by-step how to do it guidelines again covers all of the areas we’ve encountered in our 25+years in the business.
While his latest book is a must read for senior management of agencies as well as PR people who are contemplating hanging out their own shingle; we believe it is also an excellent resource for people inside organizations.
Every public relations person should run his or her activity and program for profit – if not for growth – whether they are in an agency or enterprise! Everyone in the field should take a long-hard look at their annual and quarterly programs to ensure every aspect contributes to the bottom line of the organization because that is the way management in every organization manages the growth of their firm.
While we respect Croft’s single-minded focus on agency management, growth and profits, we earnestly believe that every public relations practitioner should look at the book in terms of personal and organizational growth. It goes without saying that every PR person has a budge to work with. How you develop, present, sell and manage that budget determines how profitable you are to the client (your management).
Running an agency is far from glamorous. Having your name on the front door quickly loses its “thrill.” Without books like Croft’s it can be plain hard work at best or a complete disaster at worst.
Despite the fun of working with a broad range of creative people and situations, despite the adrenalin-rush of doing something that few others can do to produce positive results and despite the uncertainty of working in a business climate that is changing so rapidly; public relations is still a business. As with any business – for profit or non-profit – it is all about achieving the growth you want to achieve and being profitable.
Directly or indirectly you are responsible for producing that growth and profitability.
Croft’s latest edition lets you see how today’s game is played and won. Agency heads have to learn how to balance business that is in house as well as future clients because the moment you win a client you have to begin the task of looking for their replacement.
Croft spells out the familiar game that is played out every day called the agency search. He helps the reader go through the process of identifying the agency’s strengths and weaknesses. He shows you how to manage your most valuable resource – staff and time.
In a logical, and easy to follow – and use -- process he shows you how to manage the accounting and billing for time to ensure profitability of clients, individuals and the agency.
We find it interesting (and valuable) that he pushes the marketing aspect of agency growth early in the book. And yet while many agencies focus on marketing communications their own marketing is hap hazardous at best. Yet if you don’t focus on doing the precise thing you advise clients to do most new business efforts are like playing darts with a blindfold on…luck at best.
We found reading his new business secrets both interesting and helpful that we have probably read the section six – seven times. In many ways this may be the very heart of the book because winning the right business is more important than winning business.
It’s tough to get up from the table and walk away from a prospect or a client but in many instances it can be the best thing you can do for your agency’s growth and profitability. We know…bitter experience has proven that if we had taken the advice that Croft so clearly spells out we would have been ahead both monetarily as well as from a mental health perspective.
When it doesn’t feel right you usually come to the realization that it wasn’t right!
Croft has focused on the business of agency business ever since we have been aware of his work. One of the beneficial aspects of the book is his inclusion of profiles of agencies and professionals in the field.
These profiles give you a real-life glimpse into other professionals’ thought processes and approaches to the broad range of business activities that agency heads must master. These profiles are valuable since most agencies in the country (and around the globe) are small-medium sized agencies. Few have the luxury of professional HR, IT, R&D and other business infrastructure departments.
The counselor section of PRSA is valuable to agency executives but seldom do you get the full benefits of the up close and personal insights the agency principals provide in Croft’s book.
Unlike most of us who focus on the public relations activities and programs, Croft seems to have always focused on the business of public relations. As such, he has not only done it but more importantly he has helped hundreds of other agency principals improve their business activities. He freely shares this information in his latest edition.
If you read nothing more than the agency executive profiles he includes with each chapter you can gain a world of experience and expertise in just a few evenings.
Managing a public relations agency is really no different than managing any business. But for some reason (perhaps our own shortcomings) it is more difficult to manage growth and profit.
If you head an agency, Managing a Public Relations Firm is a must-read. If you are contemplating starting your own agency – for whatever reason – this is the book you need to read. If you have no desire to leave your organization and want to operate your PR activity as a bottom-line centric business – or simply want to scare your boss – grab a copy of Croft’s book, read it and keep it in your office library as an important reference!
#######
Managing a Consulting Firm for Growth and Profit - To learn more about this author, visit Andy Marken's Website.
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Granted we haven’t read books in a broad range of specific subject areas but Croft is one of the few authors we can recall who focuses his expertise on one important (from our selfish perspective) area – running an agency successfully and profitably.
His second edition is a welcome update of our well-worn copy of Managing a Public Relations Firm. His ability to combine real case studies with step-by-step how to do it guidelines again covers all of the areas we’ve encountered in our 25+years in the business.
While his latest book is a must read for senior management of agencies as well as PR people who are contemplating hanging out their own shingle; we believe it is also an excellent resource for people inside organizations.
Every public relations person should run his or her activity and program for profit – if not for growth – whether they are in an agency or enterprise! Everyone in the field should take a long-hard look at their annual and quarterly programs to ensure every aspect contributes to the bottom line of the organization because that is the way management in every organization manages the growth of their firm.
While we respect Croft’s single-minded focus on agency management, growth and profits, we earnestly believe that every public relations practitioner should look at the book in terms of personal and organizational growth. It goes without saying that every PR person has a budge to work with. How you develop, present, sell and manage that budget determines how profitable you are to the client (your management).
Running an agency is far from glamorous. Having your name on the front door quickly loses its “thrill.” Without books like Croft’s it can be plain hard work at best or a complete disaster at worst.
Despite the fun of working with a broad range of creative people and situations, despite the adrenalin-rush of doing something that few others can do to produce positive results and despite the uncertainty of working in a business climate that is changing so rapidly; public relations is still a business. As with any business – for profit or non-profit – it is all about achieving the growth you want to achieve and being profitable.
Directly or indirectly you are responsible for producing that growth and profitability.
Croft’s latest edition lets you see how today’s game is played and won. Agency heads have to learn how to balance business that is in house as well as future clients because the moment you win a client you have to begin the task of looking for their replacement.
Croft spells out the familiar game that is played out every day called the agency search. He helps the reader go through the process of identifying the agency’s strengths and weaknesses. He shows you how to manage your most valuable resource – staff and time.
In a logical, and easy to follow – and use -- process he shows you how to manage the accounting and billing for time to ensure profitability of clients, individuals and the agency.
We find it interesting (and valuable) that he pushes the marketing aspect of agency growth early in the book. And yet while many agencies focus on marketing communications their own marketing is hap hazardous at best. Yet if you don’t focus on doing the precise thing you advise clients to do most new business efforts are like playing darts with a blindfold on…luck at best.
We found reading his new business secrets both interesting and helpful that we have probably read the section six – seven times. In many ways this may be the very heart of the book because winning the right business is more important than winning business.
It’s tough to get up from the table and walk away from a prospect or a client but in many instances it can be the best thing you can do for your agency’s growth and profitability. We know…bitter experience has proven that if we had taken the advice that Croft so clearly spells out we would have been ahead both monetarily as well as from a mental health perspective.
When it doesn’t feel right you usually come to the realization that it wasn’t right!
Croft has focused on the business of agency business ever since we have been aware of his work. One of the beneficial aspects of the book is his inclusion of profiles of agencies and professionals in the field.
These profiles give you a real-life glimpse into other professionals’ thought processes and approaches to the broad range of business activities that agency heads must master. These profiles are valuable since most agencies in the country (and around the globe) are small-medium sized agencies. Few have the luxury of professional HR, IT, R&D and other business infrastructure departments.
The counselor section of PRSA is valuable to agency executives but seldom do you get the full benefits of the up close and personal insights the agency principals provide in Croft’s book.
Unlike most of us who focus on the public relations activities and programs, Croft seems to have always focused on the business of public relations. As such, he has not only done it but more importantly he has helped hundreds of other agency principals improve their business activities. He freely shares this information in his latest edition.
If you read nothing more than the agency executive profiles he includes with each chapter you can gain a world of experience and expertise in just a few evenings.
Managing a public relations agency is really no different than managing any business. But for some reason (perhaps our own shortcomings) it is more difficult to manage growth and profit.
If you head an agency, Managing a Public Relations Firm is a must-read. If you are contemplating starting your own agency – for whatever reason – this is the book you need to read. If you have no desire to leave your organization and want to operate your PR activity as a bottom-line centric business – or simply want to scare your boss – grab a copy of Croft’s book, read it and keep it in your office library as an important reference!
#######
Managing a Consulting Firm for Growth and Profit - To learn more about this author, visit Andy Marken's Website.
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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