1/ They charge low prices.

This leaves no room for profits. In this case, a founder can’t invest in growth (marketing the business, hiring new employees, etc., and tools)

2/ They don’t secure early wins.

This makes it hard to win client trust, which hurts getting approvals for proposals and when you pitch to increase the size of business relationships.

3. They communicate infrequently.

This makes the clients come to you and ask questions. This hampers the agency’s reputation and establishes you as reactive. Ideally, the client should see the agency as proactive.

4. They don’t set the right expectations.

When this happens, the client does not know what to expect regarding deliveries, cadence, and communication schedules. 

5. They don’t set boundaries and are always available.

This results in burnout because clients come at you from all slides. This also results in the client not respecting you and your brand.

6. They prioritize revenue over cash flow.

This is a classic agency owner mistake. You can’t pay for ads or salaries using revenues. You need cash for that and everything else.

7. Lack of a well-oiled onboarding process.

A client sees you as unprofessional when communication and info sharing are random. This makes the client reciprocate the same way. They send you info and inputs at any time without rhythm or regularity. This, in turn, makes client servicing difficult.

8. Not gathering and showcasing social proof.

Testimonials are the lifeblood of any successful business. The more, the better. Agency founders often ignore this. Early is the best time because emotions are high, and clients are the happiest if you onboard them well.