Summary — "Increasing Digital Agency Sales — The Secret Next Step You Can Use To Improve Your Sales"

Host: Ken Knorr
Guests: Marty Clements, Derek (and Mike joined briefly)

Overview

This episode focuses on practical sales techniques for digital agencies, centered on a single, high-impact tactic: the "Clear Next Step." The hosts — who work at a white‑label provider that also helps partner agencies with sales — explain how to use clarity and deliberate follow‑up to reduce wasted effort chasing bad prospects and to increase close rates. The show also covers lead generation, handling no‑shows, sales benchmarks, and the value of peer masterminds.

Key Points & Main Takeaways

• Clear Next Step (CNS) is the core tactic: always end a meeting by scheduling a specific follow‑up (date, time, and purpose), not a vague “let’s touch base.”
• CNS does not ask for an immediate purchase; it asks for a time commitment and sets expectations for what will happen at the next meeting (e.g., proposal review, Q&A).
• Sales reality: most prospects are “nos” — aim to identify the 70–75% you should stop chasing so you can spend time on the 25–30% that will close.
  • Baseball analogy: a 25% close rate is “major league”; >30% is “all‑star.”
  • Basketball analogy: even Michael Jordan missed ~50% of shots — success means focusing resources on the right opportunities.
• If a prospect hesitates to set a CNS, that hesitation often reveals a real objection (no budget, not decision‑maker, lack of value). Use the moment to uncover the real issue.
• No‑show handling: assume a tech issue first (soft, empathetic), send an email ~5 minutes in, follow with a call at ~10 minutes, and use an “Is everything OK?” message to prompt a response.
• Marketing precedes sales: you can’t close if you don’t have leads; white‑label providers that offer sales support can be valuable to agencies.
• Community and mastermind meetings (weekly) help agencies share tactics and an abundance mindset reduces fear of sharing what’s working.

Notable Quotes & Insights

• “Clear Next Step” — the succinct concept central to the episode.
• “Hope keeps hope alive” — on why a vague next step is actually delaying a decision and creating wasted effort.
• “If you’re closing 25% you’re a major leaguer; north of 30% you’re going to the all‑star game.” — sales benchmark.
• “Marketing comes before sales” — emphasize lead generation as prerequisite to selling.
• On no‑shows: start with, “Are you having trouble logging in?” — a soft assumptive opener that gets responses.

Topics Discussed

• Sales process for agencies (lead generation → meetings → close)
• Qualifying prospects and prioritizing time
• Role‑playing examples of poor vs. clear next steps
• Psychological dynamics when asking for follow‑ups
• Handling missed meetings / no‑shows (email + call cadence)
• Sales close rate expectations and analogies (baseball, MJ)
• White‑label company support that includes sales help (unusual in industry)
• Weekly mastermind meetings for partners and the abundance mindset

Action Items & Recommendations (Practical, Ready to Use)

1. Implement Clear Next Step habit:
   • Always end meetings by booking a specific follow‑up on the calendar.
   • Include: date/time, purpose (e.g., “Review proposal and Q&A”), who should attend.
   • Sample phrasing: “Let’s book Thursday at 3pm to review the proposal together—does that work for you?”
2. Use CNS to qualify fast:
   • If prospect resists scheduling, ask a clarifying question: “Did you find value in the meeting or is something holding you back?”
   • Offer an alternative low‑commitment follow‑up (15 minutes) after their internal meeting to become an ally.
3. Handle no‑shows with empathy + pressure:
   • 5 minutes late: automatic email — “Are you having trouble logging in? Here’s the link…”
   • 10 minutes: call + voicemail mirroring the email.
   • Follow‑up message: “Is everything okay? If so, here’s a link to reschedule. Looking forward to sharing some results.”
4. Focus your pipeline:
   • Target 25–30% close rate as a realistic goal; focus time on likely converts and eliminate chronic non‑responders.
5. Strengthen marketing before sales:
   • Ensure consistent lead generation so CNSs and sales efforts have prospects to work with.
6. Join/host peer masterminds:
   • Share what’s working (and what isn’t) with non‑threatening peers; adopt an abundance mindset to accelerate growth.

How the Guests Can Help / Call to Action

• The hosts’ company provides atypical white‑label services that include sales support and a weekly mastermind for agency partners.
• If you want sales support or to grow your agency: visit thatcompany.com (or call the number mentioned in the episode) and ask about partnership and the mastermind.

This episode is a concise, actionable primer: adopt the Clear Next Step, qualify faster, treat missed meetings with empathy and assertiveness, and build community and marketing to feed your sales pipeline.