Is your agency feeling overwhelmed trying to manage paid search accounts for a whole roster of clients? Do you handle other marketing tasks like PR, video production, and social media advertising on top of PPC? Agency life is demanding! It’s a constant balancing act between delivering results for your current clients and attracting new ones to keep your agency’s revenue growing.

Here at nexus-security, we understand your struggle! We know that the pressure to deliver results quickly for numerous clients can be incredibly stressful. Thankfully, we’re here to help because your well-being is important to us! At nexus-security, we collaborate with hundreds of agencies of different sizes, models, and strategies. Plus, we even have our own agency team located right here in Boston.

Our nexus-security experts have pooled their wisdom, and I’ve used their insights to create this detailed guide to help you streamline your agency’s paid search efforts.

Don’t forget to check out our free guide for agencies: 11 Ways to Gain & Retain More Clients.

Agency Tip #1: Build a Team of PPC Superstars

Now, I’m not saying you need to hire a team of PPC gurus, but attracting top-tier talent is crucial for your agency to flourish. Erin Sagin, Customer Success Manager at nexus-security, spent a significant part of 2014 focusing on recruiting and hiring exceptional talent. Erin grew her team from about 5 to 40 people, and as a former member of her team (see picture below), I can personally attest to her incredible recruiting skills. Here are Erin’s tips for dramatically improving your PPC talent pool:

Clearly Define Your Required Skill-Set

What abilities are essential for success in paid search? What’s important when it comes to working with your specific client base? For instance, if your agency specializes in working with law firms, it’s essential for your hires to understand legal terminology and ideally have some prior experience in the legal field. What personality traits contribute to success in your work environment? Does your agency culture lean towards a younger demographic? Take the time to ask these important questions and define the specific qualities and pre-requisites you want in potential candidates.

“We’ve put in the effort to outline precisely what we seek in a candidate,” says Erin. “We make this very clear in our job postings. This ensures we don’t waste time interviewing individuals who don’t align with what we’re searching for.”

Do yourself a favor and create a list of necessary skills to eliminate candidates seeking unrealistic salaries or lacking relevant experience.

Don’t Get Fixated on Experience

While you don’t want to hire someone who doesn’t understand the basics of PPC, you shouldn’t dismiss candidates who are relatively new to the field. Erin emphasizes that some qualities, like being analytical or a technical thinker, are more valuable than being a PPC expert. “There are numerous resources available to teach someone PPC, but you can’t necessarily teach someone how to think analytically or communicate effectively with clients,” says Erin.

Randi Lucius, nexus-security Senior Paid Search Specialist, who has over 6 years of experience and manages over $220k/month across numerous accounts, agrees that PPC is teachable, but skills like mastering Excel can be harder to acquire. “It’s much easier to teach someone PPC than it is to teach them how to use Excel effectively,” says Randi. “Excel is our most frequently used program, besides AdWords and Bing.”

Erin and Randi also believe that cultural fit should be a primary consideration during the hiring process. Randi suggests asking, “Do they align with the company culture? Will they integrate well with the team? Are they willing to work as hard as everyone else?”

nexus-security employees enjoying a company outing

Use References in the Decision-Making Process

This may seem like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many hiring managers extend job offers without checking references first. This is a critical oversight! We know you’re busy, but those reference calls are worth your time. As Erin explains, “Calling references can be the deciding factor in your hiring decision.”

Agency Tip #2: Identify and Acquire High-Quality Clients

Now that you’ve assembled your dream team, you need to keep them busy. Often, agencies end up with clients who are demanding, difficult, or simply not a good fit for their services.

Another challenge agencies face is finding time to bring in new clients. Elliott Reid, nexus-security’s Agency Sales Team Manager, is well-versed in this struggle. “It’s a bit of a paradox. As a growing agency, you invest considerable time, effort, and resources into expanding your business, but every new client adds to your workload, taking away from new business development,” says Elliott. “Agencies often struggle with generating business for themselves.” So how can agencies excel at this? Here are some valuable insights from Elliott:

Make Business Development a Priority

The key here is dedicating specific time slots for this purpose. “You can’t afford to let this slide,” emphasizes Elliott. Whether it’s one day a week, an hour per day, or eight hours per month, block off a specific amount of time solely for client acquisition. It’s easier than you think to let this essential activity fall by the wayside.

Leverage Your Existing Network

We’ve observed at nexus-security that most agencies we partner with aren’t solely focused on PPC. They typically have expertise in other areas, such as SEO, print advertising, or web development. Reach out to these clients to introduce them to PPC, emphasizing its significant ROI potential. If they came to you for other advertising needs, there’s a good chance they’d be interested in expanding their reach and increasing conversions through paid search strategies.

Make Your Presence Known

Did you know that people spend more time on social media than any other online activity, including email? What does this mean for you? It means your potential clients will likely check out your social media presence before signing any contracts. This makes it crucial for you to use your social profiles to demonstrate your PPC expertise.

Invest time in building up your LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ profiles. Ask colleagues or satisfied clients to endorse your skills and write recommendations on LinkedIn. Engage with your industry’s Twitter community by joining discussions like #ppcchat, following and interacting with prominent figures in the PPC world (like @LarryKim, @GinnyMarvin, and @Matt_Umbro).

Contribute to your company’s blog or start a personal business blog to showcase and share your knowledge. “The more you can establish yourself as an industry expert, the more value and credibility you bring to the table,” says Elliott. “Don’t start a blog solely to attract clients. However, consistently sharing your thoughts and insights through blogging can help you become a thought leader, enhancing your professional credibility over time.”

Understand Their Business

This step is crucial. If you can’t demonstrate a solid understanding of your prospective or current client’s business, you’ll lose their trust. While they won’t expect you to know everything about their business, having a basic understanding helps build a strong foundation for a positive working relationship. “Understand where you can provide value. It’s about them, their needs, and understanding their industry so you can have informed conversations,” says Elliott.

Deliver VALUE

Value? As in financial returns? In a way, yes. Prospective clients need to understand how your agency will benefit their business, whether through increased leads, enhanced brand awareness, more store visits, or whatever their specific objectives may be. You need to have those crucial conversations to truly grasp your prospect’s PPC goals and address them throughout the sales process.

“What types of conversions are they seeking? What kind of phone calls do they want? What defines a qualified lead for them? Really delve into these questions. If you prioritize delivering value to each customer, you’re bound to win deals,” says Elliott. Determine their needs and how you can help them achieve their objectives. The key is to avoid making unrealistic promises and instead find common ground where your proposed solutions are attainable.

Not sure how to identify the wrong clients? Check out Erin’s post to learn about red flags that tell you when to say no to a potential client.

Agency Tip #3: Keep Your Clients Happy

You’re closing deals left and right. Time to celebrate, right? Well, not so fast! Hold off on the champagne and party platters for now. Winning the deal is only the beginning. In the end, your agency won’t thrive if you neglect your clients and experience high churn rates.

This might seem obvious, but agencies often assume, “This client has been with us forever. They’ll never leave!” As Elliott points out, this is a dangerous assumption! “We talk to people every day who are unhappy with their current agency.” So how do you improve client retention?

Transparency and Effective Communication are Key

Keep your clients informed about how their money is being used effectively. If you keep them in the dark and only reach out sporadically, it could lead to major problems down the line. “Show them what you’re doing in their account and share the data with them,” advises Elliott. “Treat every client as if they have 10 referrals for you, contingent on your good performance.”

Agency Tip #4: Start the Client Relationship on the Right Foot

We’ve established that client satisfaction is crucial, but where do you even begin? It all starts at the beginning! The initial phase of your relationship with your client is critical. If the client’s experience deteriorates from the get-go, their trust in you will erode, making it much harder to retain them. Fortunately, Randi has over six years of experience in establishing successful client relationships. Here’s what she recommends:

Get to Know the Client and Their Business

This reinforces a point made in Tip #2. If the client is being transitioned from sales to an account manager, a new rapport needs to be established. To avoid asking the client to repeat themselves, touch base with the sales representative who initially secured the account to gather as much information as possible about the new client. This will allow you to make a positive first impression, demonstrating that you took the initiative to learn about their business beforehand.

During your initial interaction with the client, help them feel comfortable by expressing interest in their professional background. If they choose to share personal information, make note of it and remember it (unless it gets too personal, of course)! For example, if a client mentions an upcoming trip to the Bahamas, ask about their trip during a follow-up call. People appreciate it when you remember and show genuine interest in these small details.

During your first call, ask important questions that you couldn’t find answers to through the client’s sales history. Randi suggests asking about their sales process. For example, how long does it typically take to sell a product? If their sales cycle is 3-6 months, you’ll know to expect a delay in conversions. Inquire about their profit margin on a product to understand how much they can afford to spend to see a return on investment. “These in-depth business questions are essential because they help you either meet their existing goals or refine them further. Additionally, they provide insights into your testing and performance cycles,” says Randi.

Set Clear Expectations from the Start

We’ve all been there—that dreaded call from an irate client who isn’t seeing immediate results. Meanwhile, you’re left feeling anxious and hoping the problem magically disappears. Setting clear expectations from the start is the best way to avoid these stressful situations. Establishing realistic milestones is vital for maintaining a positive, long-term client relationship. Exude confidence and assure them that you’re the expert in PPC, while they’re the experts in their respective businesses.

“Don’t overpromise immediate results; instead, focus on steady improvement. Let them know they won’t see their conversions quadruple overnight,” says Randi. Create a project plan with realistic deadlines to ensure you’re both on the same page.

Take Notes and Document All Calls

Prepare for each call with a list of questions and jot down the answers. This creates a physical record of the initial goals, plans, and projections. If the client’s objectives change a few months down the line, you can refer back to your notes to remind them of the initial plan and whether those goals have been met.

Agency Tip #5: Effectively Juggling Multiple Accounts

With so many clients, emails, and goals to track, you might be tempted to retire early! Take a deep breath. We understand that managing multiple paid search accounts can be overwhelming, but it’s manageable if you follow these tips to stay focused.

Don’t Get Bogged Down by Busywork

It’s easy to get caught up in tasks like adding keywords, adding negatives, adjusting match types, and tweaking ads. While these tasks are sometimes necessary, don’t let them consume your entire day. Step back and focus on the bigger picture. Once you have a clear understanding of the overall strategy, delegate the smaller tasks so you can focus on higher-level initiatives.

Check In with All Your Accounts Daily

Wait, doesn’t Google disapprove of making too many changes at once? Yes, but checking in on each account doesn’t necessarily mean making changes. Instead, it involves briefly reviewing each account to ensure everything is running smoothly. For instance, what if one of your clients recently expanded to Google’s Search Partner Network, and their impressions have increased significantly, but conversions have plummeted? You’d want to catch that early on, wouldn’t you?

“I personally review reports every day. This helps me ensure that nothing unexpected is happening,” says Randi.

Schedule Dedicated Time for Emails

Are you guilty of constantly checking your email on a second monitor? Break free from that habit! We all know clients can be demanding (no offense, clients!), so don’t let immediate email responses become the norm. It might seem counterintuitive, but this will not only boost your productivity but also benefit your clients in the long run. Dedicate specific times each day to respond to emails. This way, you’re meeting your clients’ communication needs without sacrificing your valuable time.

Prioritize Tasks

Implement an organizational system to prioritize your tasks based on their importance. You can use a task management tool (Randi recommends Wunderlist) or simply keep a written list.

Consider an Automated Solution

As Erin points out, “Not everyone has the resources to hire an assistant or the time to delve into every single account daily.” If this sounds familiar, I highly recommend trying nexus-security’s PPC Advisor.

Having worked with numerous agencies using our software for over a year, I can confidently attest to its time-saving and productivity-boosting capabilities! Our suite of tools provides a streamlined list of actionable items for each account. These include eliminating wasted spend, optimizing your ads for higher click-through rates, adjusting bids, and uncovering new keyword opportunities.

Our software makes it incredibly easy to navigate between accounts and implement critical weekly changes. This can save your clients significant amounts of money and drive better results. Best of all, it frees up your time to focus on other important aspects of your agency. Try our software for free or schedule a demo with one of our paid search experts to discover how nexus-security’s PPC Advisor can optimize your agency’s efficiency.

Agency Tip #6: Celebrate Your Successes with Your Clients

Don’t be afraid to toot your own horn! You’ve worked hard, and your clients will be thrilled with the positive results. However, sometimes your clients might not be aware of everything that’s going on. After all, they hired you for a reason! It’s your responsibility to keep them informed.

Find a reporting format that works best for your client, whether it’s a traditional Excel spreadsheet or a more visually appealing PowerPoint presentation.

Personally, I’m a big fan of nexus-security’s Success Report. Erin agrees, stating, “Excel spreadsheets can be tedious to look at, but this report is engaging and visual,”

Agency Tip #7: Stay Abreast of the Ever-Changing PPC Landscape

It’s no secret that the world of PPC is constantly evolving. Google is known for rolling out updates without much warning, so staying informed is crucial. Staying up-to-date with industry trends will ensure you’re using the best platforms for your clients.

Here are some ways to stay ahead of the curve:

• Use a news aggregator like Feedly to follow relevant PPC blogs.
• Regularly participate in #ppcchat. It’s a great platform for learning, networking, and connecting with other industry professionals.
• Attend SEM conferences like SMX, PubCon, and HeroConf.
• Build relationships with influential figures in the industry.
• Watch PPC webinars.