1544 – Structuring Relationships with AgencyBox’s Dylan Vanas

0:28Hey there, thoughtful listener. million in revenue. Just head to upmyinfluence.com and watch my free class on how to create endless high-ticket sales appointments. You can even chat with me live and I'll see and reply to your messages. Also, don't forget, the thoughtful entrepreneur is always looking for guests. Go to upmyinfluence.com and click on podcast. We'd love to have you.

0:58with us right now it's dylan vanis dylan you are the founder ceo of agency box you're found on the web at agencybox.com dylan thank you so much for joining us yeah what's going on thanks for having me yes well i suspect that this is going to be of interest to my audience a lot of agency owners A lot of folks that, you know, I would say business adults that do good work. And tell me what agency boxes and like why agency owners ought to take note. Yeah. So I run a marketing agency called Mindful Agency. Our core thing is personal brand development. So we build up personal brands. But I've been doing this whole marketing agency thing for like about six and a half years.

1:41Done over$20 million in my own agency. And so I realized like, I was like grinding when I was getting started grinding away and it wasn't really getting crazy results. So I created agency box as a tool for other marketing agencies to, to decrease their workflow, increase their results. And so now it's developed into a software that's really is a end to end software engine for other agencies. So everything from lead gen, project management, internal team communication, external client communication, and fulfillment can all be done under the agency box software. Yeah. So help me understand the dynamic here of why someone would use this.

2:26So we started out as a fulfillment backend. This was like the original product. So I was like, basically the idea was like, I'm sitting here in my own agency going and getting clients. And then I'm like, I'll spend like, you know, a month or two to land a client. And then I'll spend the next like, you know, two months making the client happy. And then eventually the client will churn and I'll go spend, you know, all this time. And so there was this like endless cycle. I call it the growth fulfillment paradox where I'm trying to grow the business, but you got to like take care of the clients. And so as a small, like, you know, owner operated company, it's hard to scale, especially, you know, sub 10 person agencies.

3:04So I was like, well, why don't I create a solution where agency owners can go get the clients and the things that they don't really do scalably and want to do, they just outsource to us. So we were doing white label services. um and through that we ended up getting like 5 000 agencies that came and signed up and we're like hey this is awesome um could you do this and like we're like possibly so we built it and then they like ask for the next feature and the next feature and then all of a sudden now we've got like a whole suite of services or software solutions that agencies use to run the company um so what would some of those solutions be so the the two the two that are most popular right now.

3:44So we have, we did a partnership with the data company has over 300 million data points. And so basically our platform taps into all those, those all those contacts. And so what you can actually do is you can actually just put in your criteria. Let's say you're targeting dentists in Wisconsin, you put dentists in Wisconsin, it's going to show you all of them, verify their contact data with over 40 different verification metrics. And then you just with one click, it pulls all those leads into the platform or into your CRM, which is in the platform. And then with one more click, you can email all those leads and build like a multi-step cold email flow that goes out to them.

4:24We're getting like 70 % open rate, like 10 % response rate. It's crazy with all the stuff we're doing. So that's lead generation in the simplest form. Okay. So just to kind of restate this from my understanding. So an agency can join a partner with Agencybox, and you've pulled together a lot of resources that agencies could use to grow with. And then, is that right? Because I see you also using the word insourcing. Is that what we're talking about? So we were doing this campaign. Believe it or not, I went and spent half a million dollars to buy the domain insourcing.com. And I was, I was on this like escapade.

5:07I was like going to go out and like brand this whole idea of insourcing. And then I realized like, you know, basically six months into this concept, building it out, like it just wasn't sticking the term insourcing. So we kind of pulled away from that. Yeah. It's on the website still. But the idea of insourcing was going to be this, this narrative of, of basically like rebranding white labeling, don't outsource insource and don't don't go out and like hire a bunch of freelancers like use a trusted partner and that was the pitch the narrative we were i was building and it just wasn't landing so which is when i decided i had to pivot and so we actually have a new site and a new application that's launching um probably be live when this podcast is live honestly about two weeks yeah and and of course you know one could get there from agency box so so agency agency would be, like when I'm looking at like logo and graphic design, podcast features, press services, are you saying these are, so if I'm an agency and I want to be able to offer these services to my clients, then that's how I would, I would use these, I would offer these white labeled service.

6:15We have three things. So agency box has three things. One, we've got some tools and systems to help them run the company. We've got a CRM, we've got lead generators, We got cold email systems. That's kind of like one thing. Those exist because people ask for them. So we just built them. I've spent a fortune on software development. I got a full-time team. I'm paying them, you know, six figures a month to be able to develop. That's one thing. Secondly, we do white label fulfillment. So all the services you're seeing, graphic design, logo design, digital ads, we do, we sell wholesale to marketing agencies.

6:53And then they go retail to their clients. So a typical use case, let's say a marketing agency owner, they're really good at photography. Maybe it's a, you know, there's someone who has a drone. They like to do real estate, you know, photography, but they have no idea how to run ads. They have no idea how to do social media management. Their clients want it up until recently, you know, up until agency box, they're saying no. Like, can you do social media management? Can you run ads? You know, the answer is no. Or, hey, let me refer you to my friend or, you know, here's the other solution. And look, there's other ways to do it.

7:26You can go on Fiverr, you can go on Upwork, you can go to, you know, there's other solutions out there. But I wanted to create a really white glove experience where agency owners can come to us and be like, hey, I've got a client, they want a website design, they want social media management, they want ads. And then we just, they just see the prices on inside our software. And then they just go resell to the client for whatever they want. So typically an agency that's working with us ends up keeping 50 % gross margin, which is highly profitable. Most companies in the agency space end up with between 15 to 20 % total net margin.

8:01And so we're allowing agency owners to scale without having to do any of the backend work. So that's the second feature. And the third feature we offer courses, coaching, consulting for scaling an agency. Oh, okay, cool. And what do you think like today, like if someone in order to say, okay, I'm going to start a Facebook ads agency or something like that. Like, are there any rules of the road today that you would recommend? They're like, yeah, well, let's talk about 2023, my friend, here's what it takes to, to, to launch and scale an agency. Like what, what would be some of those big road stops along the way that you would want to point out?

8:41So the biggest, the biggest thing really is, is like, you're going to get stuck in the selling this. So for me, I was making 20 grand a month top line. When you see people post on Instagram, Hey, I'm, and I was frigging 23 or 22. When I started doing that, I'm like, this is cool. Right. I'm making, I got a six figure business. The reality is I'm making like three cam on bottom line. I might as well go work at McDonald's because heck, this isn't worth it. I'm working 80 hours a week. So what really shifted my perspective is I was focused on direct everything, direct response, right? Like in it, like thinking internet marketing, right?

9:13Someone gives me a dollar, I'm going to give you two back. But then I realized there's a whole other market of people out there who will give you money, literally tens of thousands of dollars and expect no results. It's called branding. There's companies out there. In fact, Pepsi spent a million dollars to build its most recent logo. They're not expecting a direct response from that. It's called branding. And so if you can get into and find a specific niche where you can sell high ticket and people aren't looking down your shoulder every 10 seconds trying to see what results you're creating, it creates a lot less stressful business.

9:43The only stress in my life comes from clients. The only stress in my life comes from client relationships. So I try to structure those relationships in a way where all expectations are set beforehand. They know exactly what's going to happen, how it's going to happen. And then I don't have to worry on the back end and they're happy with what they're getting. And also selling high ticket is a lot better. I keep checks in my desk down here. Basically, these checks that were clients were paying me literally 500 bucks a month. And I was running ads with them. I was creating social media content. like I was giving them the world.

10:14So sell high ticket and find ways where clients aren't looking down your shoulder. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. All right. So I get the basic principle. Obviously with branding, you, you, there's an art and science to it. So I don't want to, I don't want anyone to jump into branding thinking that they don't have to do or deliver results. Like you got to be really good at what you do and you have to accomplish goals for the client. Like you, dude, you have amazing branding. Everything you do from point, like your entire process is, I don't know if it's you or someone that you work with, but whoever did it, they know branding.

10:47Well, thank you. Thank you. No, it's intentional. There's a method to imagine. Thank you very much. I appreciate that. Um, and, and then like, if someone wants to like, how do you structure, like if I, if I'm an agency and I want to be able to join an agency box, is there, uh, to, to be able to, uh, you know, let's say white label services, um, how does the business model work for an agency then that wants to align with AgencyBox? Yeah. So it, you know, it is simple, but you go to AgencyBox and you can partner with us. Up until recently, we were invite only, where you needed to get an invite to join the platform.

11:32We started accepting people from the public to come in, but we only let them come in on our kind of our entry levels. And then we do have higher end access levels where you can set. So, So here's the progression of running an agency. I'll say five years ago, there wasn't a lot of digital agencies. So you could go and you could approach SMBs and you could say small businesses and you could say, hey, let me run your ads for you. Let me run your social media content. And that still works. You can still do that. The thing is, you got to look at the trends and where things are going towards. So then there became this trend of people wanting to look cool online, effectively vanity metrics.

12:16People wanted to have a high follower count. People wanted to get featured in the press. So then we started shifting. I saw this happening, and I started offering these social proof-building services where people could get them in the media. I get them in press. I get them social growth. And so we put that into the portal. The thing is to sell those things requires a greater level of intent. And so for that reason, we don't let our entry level partners sell those things. You have to work with us in a higher capacity. But then I continued to saw the trajectory and I saw, okay, like people are less concerned about vanity metrics and more concerned about like real metrics now, which is why now content is really like, you know, what everyone's trying to push.

13:03Everyone's trying to be a content creator now. And so we decided to offer solutions for that. So now we help people create content, help them get their podcasts up and rolling. And so we have all these types of services now where whether they're trying to run ads, they're trying to get featured in the media, they're trying to grow a following, like whatever it is, you can pull into these resources and resell them. Something that most agencies could never even fathom doing, we're able to give them the ability at their fingertips. And is that just an application process or is there an investment to join and resell?

13:36So here's the thing about agency boxes. Like we make money when you guys make money as an agency owner. So it's like, you know, we're incentivized to have the agency owner jumping in to actually like make more money. So we have ways to get involved for literally like 30 bucks, like lifetime. It's like the entry level, all the way up to$10 ,000 a year. It depends on where you're at. obviously you know i am of the belief you uh appreciate what you pay for so for that reason like i do you know there is some investment but someone could get started and get involved for literally like 37 bucks and and then they'll be in the the network then that they could join and and tell me about like what types of folks are is it primarily newer agency owners um or, you know, are they, they've been around for some time and, but yet they just do one specific thing very well.

14:29Um, we've got, you know, we've got everything from literally like the guy who's like, I want to start a business. And he like, you know, he wants to get started. We've got people all the way up to like the fastest growing ads agency that use in our platform. So like, we've got the guy with$0 in revenue with the guy who's got tens of millions of revenue that use the platform. You know, my agency, you know, we do, uh, we do tens of millions of dollars. We're using the platform. So, yeah. Yeah. So the website agencybox.com and what would you recommend for someone that's been listening to our conversation, especially agency owner?

15:06And let's say they have a pretty good book of business. They've, you know, they've got some authority. They've, they've been established, you know, five or so years and they want to come and work with you very professional. They're not messing around. They know they've got a profitable business, but they want to be able to do more of what they do. What would you recommend for them? So great question. So the site you're looking at right now, you have to go and you basically just build a contact form on the bottom and say, hey, I'm interested in working with you. In like two weeks before this podcast is live, we'll have the next site up.

15:41And basically, if you scroll down, you'll just see pricing. You'll see three levels of pricing and you can start a 14 day free trial on the first two, or the third one is our highest access level. And you just hit contact us and you'll get an opportunity to call up my team. But that said, you can literally start a free trial and just click one of those options and then see the platform test it out. If you like what you see, then you can talk to us about working closer together. yeah dylan venice again ceo and founder of agency box found on the web at agencybox.com from there i understand there's another website that's imminent so just go there i'm sure it'll be linked directly right uh it's it's the same website agencybox.com okay good good good good yeah all right sounds great dylan venice thank you so much for joining us thanks man thanks at me.

16:39Thanks for listening to the Thoughtful Entrepreneur Show. If you are a thoughtful business owner or professional who would like to be on this daily program, please visit upmyinfluence.com slash guest. If you're a listener, I'd love to shout out your business to our whole audience for free. You can do that by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or join our listener Facebook group. Just search for The Thoughtful Entrepreneur in Facebook. I'd love even if you just stopped by to say hi. I'd love to meet you. We believe that every person has a message that can positively impact the world. We love our community who listens and shares our program every day.

17:23Together, we are empowering one another as thoughtful entrepreneurs. Hit subscribe so that tomorrow morning, that's right, seven days a week, you are going to be inspired and motivated to succeed. I promise to bring positivity and inspiration to you for around 15 minutes each day. Thanks for listening and thank you for being a part of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur Movement.