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Joe Koufman. He\\u2019s responsible for introducing at least 3 married couples in countless contacts to establish business relationships. In early 2014, he parlayed his passion for connecting people and founded a company called AgencySparks, which is essentially a dating service for brands and marketing agencies.

Famous Five:

• Favorite Book? \\u2013 The Challenger Sale
• What CEO do you follow? \\u2013 Jeff Hilimire
• Favorite online tool? \\u2014 Lucky Orange
• How many hours of sleep do you get?\\u2014 \\u201cI try to get 7\\u201d
• If you could let your 20-year old self, know one thing, what would it be? \\u2013 \\u201cI would have invested even more in relationships. They will absolutely pay off down the road\\u201d

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Time Stamped Show Notes:

• 01:36 \\u2013 Nathan introduces Joe to the show
• 02:29 \\u2013 AgencySparks focuses on making connections for brands and agencies
• 02:34 \\u2013 AgencySparks is paid by the agencies to help them with their business development and outreach to potential clients
• 02:50 \\u2013 In many cases, AgencySparks can help subvert the RFP and the client will hire the agency directly
• 03:15 \\u2013 One of AgencySparks\\u2019 clients tells them about Coca-cola\\u2019s water sustainability efforts and that they need the story to be everywhere
  • 03:46 \\u2013 AgencySparks was able to make a connection with one of their agencies that focuses on public relations and they made a deal
• 04:13 \\u2013 AgencySparks is shifting their model now
• 04:20 \\u2013 AgencySparks is traditionally paid by agencies to get them through a thorough, upfront, vetting process
  • 04:27 \\u2013 AgencySparks is getting paid through monthly retainers and a percentage of the deal
  • 04:34 \\u2013 The monthly retainer is $5K per agency, which is 12-month deal
• 04:50 \\u2013 AgencySparks was launched in early 2014
• 04:58 \\u2013 Joe spent years with KnowledgeStorm which was acquired by TechTarget
  • 05:05 \\u2013 TechTarget went public and bought KnowledgeStorm for $58M
  • 05:26 \\u2013 Joe spent 6 years building marketing and business development in Engauge
  • 05:31 \\u2013 Engauge was then acquired by Publicis
  • 05:56 \\u2013 When Joe left Engauge, he had job offers from 6 different agencies and that\\u2019s when he had the idea of AgencySparks
  • 06:21 \\u2013 Joe\\u2019s highest offer from one of the agencies was $400K and he said \\u201cno\\u201d
• 06:55 \\u2013 AgencySparks is Joe\\u2019s first entrepreneurship stint
• 07:11 \\u2013 Joe didn\\u2019t have any equity in KnowledgeStorm
• 07:45 \\u2013 Joe made a big transition while he was at KnowledgeStorm
  • 07:47 \\u2013 Joe started as an account manager in 2000
  • 08:05 \\u2013 Joe moved to sales and realized that he was just going to have the same exact salary
  • 08:23 \\u2013 Joe did well in sales and had grown big accounts
  • 08:50 \\u2013 Joe\\u2019s last salary was $210K, in 2007
  • 09:20 \\u2013 By the time Joe left, he was making around $300K in 2013
• 09:43 \\u2013 When Joe started AgencySparks, he knew that we wouldn\'t have much revenue, at first
• 09:52 \\u2013 First year revenue was $270K
  • 10:03 \\u2013 Year 2 was $370K and Year 3: $430K
• 10:13 \\u2013 2017\\u2019s goal is to double
• 10:25 \\u2013 To achieve their goal, they have to change their model a bit
  • 10:45 \\u2013 The client is asking AgencySparks for different options
  • 10:59 \\u2013 They want to have multiple agencies in one category
• 11:27 \\u2013 AgencySparks currently has 11 clients
• 11:40 \\u2013 AgencySparks has other revenue streams
  • 11:48 \\u2013 The commission percentage is 10%
  • 12:10 \\u2013 AgencySparks offers other services like info-product
• 12:40 \\u2013 March 2017 revenue
• 13:00 \\u2013 Team size is 4 and all are in Atlanta
• 13:18 \\u2013 Greg Crabtree\\u2019s labor efficiency ratio is the idea of hovering between 2 and to 3.5, so for every dollar spent on payroll, you should be bringing in $2.50 - $3.50, in terms of revenue
  • 13:47 \\u2013 As a CEO of a company, if you\\u2019re not pulling out the salary that you would be making as a hired CEO, then your business isn\\u2019t profitable
• 14:00 \\u2013 Nathan\\u2019s computation within The Top\\u2019s 600 interviews done with SaaS companies
• 15:04 \\u2013 AgencySparks\\u2019 net margin
• 15:27 \\u2013 Joe is the guy who would re-invest his money into the business
• 15:33 \\u2013 Joe isn\\u2019t a family business guy
• 15:44 \\u2013 Joe is looking into 5 years, then selling his business
• 15:52 \\u2013 AgencySparks already has interesting offers
• 16:14 \\u2013 AgencySparks has a method that is a repeatable and sustainable as a business development process\\u2014which is part of what they\\u2019re teaching
• 16:57 \\u2013 \\u201cThe challenge is that this is a very relationship-focused business\\u201d
• 18:28 \\u2013 The Famous Five

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3 Key Points:

1. As a CEO of a company, if you\\u2019re not pulling out the salary that you would be making as a hired CEO, then your business is NOT profitable.
2. Continue to grow your business as much as you can, but be mindful of the interesting offers that come along the way.
3. Invest in relationships.

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Resources Mentioned:

• The Top Inbox \\u2013 The site Nathan uses to schedule emails to be sent later, set reminders in inbox, track opens, and follow-up with email sequences
• Organifi \\u2013 The juice was Nathan\\u2019s life saver during his trip in Southeast Asia
• Klipfolio \\u2013 Track your business performance across all departments for FREE
• Acuity Scheduling \\u2013 Nathan uses Acuity to schedule his podcast interviews and appointments
• Host Gator\\u2013 The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for the cheapest price possible
• Audible\\u2013 Nathan uses Audible when he\\u2019s driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5-hour drive) to listen to audio books
• Freshbooks \\u2013 Nathan doesn\\u2019t waste time so he uses Freshbooks to send out invoices and collect his money. Get your free month NOW

Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives