Prelims

Half Title Page

GROW, BUILD, SELL, LIVE

Endorsements

Praise for Grow, Build, Sell, Live:

‘Crispin has been helping me to develop my agency for the past six years. Thanks to his suggestions I’ve made major changes in financial, HR and client management. This has transformed our profitability and enabled me to develop a sustainable business that is helping me achieve my personal life goals. I recommend Crispin and Richard’s book to anyone intent on building a great agency.’

Patrik Schober, CEO PRAM Consulting, Prague

‘Agency leaders like me need a practical book like this. We have so many things to do day by day and hardly have time for our own professional development. But if we want to build a successful, long lasting business, we cannot stop learning and strengthening our knowledge. This book is a perfect resource for that.’

Andras R Nagy, Owner of Probako Communication, Former Chairman of Worldcom EMEA region

‘This guide will not only inspire, but more importantly also focus minds on what really matters at an agency, giving owners renewed vigour to actually get out of bed in the morning. It should help distil disparate ideas into a coherent strategic overview, ensuring companies have a clear purpose to be successful.’

Henry Griffiths, Partner, Little Red Rooster PR

‘Running an agency has unique challenges, stresses and opportunities for growth. If I’d read this book 15 years ago, I would have made many different decisions, and reached them with more focus and less turmoil. In short, reading this book is one of the best investments you can make in yourself, and your business.

Crispin Manners’ understanding of agency strategy, operations are top-of-the-game. His insights into the nuances that can accelerate or impede agency performance, and the choices owners may make, are based on years of direct experience in the centre of the storm, which is rare and valuable. I’ve read several books on agency performance in the 30 years I’ve run my firm, and this is possibly the most incisive, and useful.’

Amy Bermar, President, Corporate Ink, Boston, USA

‘This book is a great resource for PR agency owners – and anyone wishing to build a great agency. I wish I had read it when I founded my agency. Every business leader working in a people-based business should have a look at it, the real-life examples can be helpful in every stage of the agency life-cycle: start-up, growth, sale or succession.’

Diego Biasi, Founder & CEO, BPRESS, Italy

‘Whether you’re an existing or wannabe PR agency boss, stop whatever you are doing and buy this book. It’s so good, I wish I’d written it. With explicit guidelines on how formalising your purpose can revolutionise your culture and cashflow, and a must-read section on innovation, it’s the best investment you’ll make this year. Hands off my copy!’

Sarah Waddington, Founder and Editor of #FuturePRoof and Vice-president of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations

Title Page

GROW, BUILD, SELL, LIVE: A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO RUNNING AND BUILDING AN AGENCY AND ENJOYING IT

PRCA Practice Guides

BY

RICHARD HOUGHTON

CRISPIN MANNERS

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Copyright Page

Emerald Publishing Limited

Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK

First edition 2019

Copyright © 2019 Emerald Publishing Limited

Reprints and permissions service

Contact: permissions@emeraldinsight.com

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying issued in the UK by The Copyright Licensing Agency and in the USA by The Copyright Clearance Center. Any opinions expressed in the chapters are those of the authors. Whilst Emerald makes every effort to ensure the quality and accuracy of its content, Emerald makes no representation implied or otherwise, as to the chapters’ suitability and application and disclaims any warranties, express or implied, to their use.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-78756-886-0 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-78756-883-9 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-78756-885-3 (Epub)

List of Figures

Foreword

Agency leaders spend the majority of their time on three areas – their people, their clients and on new business. These are all important levers for consultancy growth. But all too often, agency owners forget two more essential tools for growth: attention to the numbers and investment in their leaders. The consultancy leadership role can seem like an endless stream of fires to put out. It can leave leaders feeling as if their team, or their clients, are running their business rather than themselves. That’s where this book comes in.

Grow, Build, Sell, Live features practical and implementable advice and tools to address the day-to-day reality of running a successful agency. In addition to giving guidance on people, clients and new business, the book covers leadership and the numbers in detail to ensure leaders have the tools and knowledge to be in control. The content draws on proven approaches, helpful science and real-life examples to give practical recommendations to improve readers’ ability to achieve the controlled growth which is essential to agency success.

If you are thinking about starting your own agency, have started one and hit your first round of growing pains, or are a veteran looking for an exit, this book is for you. It will appeal to current and aspiring agency owners who want to understand their choices and take control of their agency.

PRCA Practice Guides are a series of practical and readable books that provide PR and communications professionals, new and experienced alike, with hands-on guidance to help them succeed in a highly competitive sector. Written by experienced practitioners who have already succeeded in the world of PR and communications, PRCA Practice Guides offer powerful insights into the challenges of the modern industry and guidance on how to navigate your way through them.

Francis Ingham

Director General, PRCA

Chief Executive, ICCO

Acknowledgements

Crispin Manners

I would like to acknowledge some special people who helped in many ways throughout my career: my father, Norman Manners, who taught me everything about the craft of Public Relations and Alan Atherton, Alan Cormack, Sir Herbert Durkin and Sir Frank Rogers who provided wise counsel and much encouragement.

Richard Houghton

I would like to thank Ian Berrido and Barry Leggetter for spending the time to mentor me in the practice of public relations, Theresa Guppy who patiently coached me on the business of PR consultancy and John Gage for so generously sharing his expertise and experience.