‘Come on lets have another drink!’

No. I did not want this. I wanted to be at home. I was finished.

‘On it’. I answered.

Could I say no? I was out with two of my best clients, between them worth at least 30% of last year’s revenue. Of course I couldn’t say no.

I’d treated them to a couple of tickets at the football. We’d had fun, and kicked on from there. The momentum had taken us to midnight.

‘Why do I have to be here?’ I thought to myself. The answer was obvious. It was my agency.

There are of course plenty of tasks you can distribute to your team. Getting tight with your biggest clients isn’t one of them.

And that’s not the only one you can’t dodge. There’s other stuff that you alone should do.

It’s not about specialties like finance or legal. It’s initiatives that cover your whole business. My agency days are behind me now, but here are four jobs that you’re going to have to get to grips with if you’re running the show.

1. Head of Customer Experience

Happy customers are the foundation of sold growth. Keeping them should be prioritised over new business. But most companies stay focused on acquisition rather than retention.

I think this comes down to three things.

1. Most companies below ‘enterprise’ level don’t make anyone responsible for customer experience.
2. Tied to the first: most companies don’t prioritise the customer. They focus on making their products and services better. On crafting more compelling marketing messages. On finding the best talent. They don’t think about what it all means for the customer. They don’t experience their service like customers do. They don’t have that perspective.
3. And this is because they’re not listening to customers. They get exited about a new product or service feature, rather than listening to what their customer really wants from them.

As the boss, this is something you need to own. It’s not hard to get going. Here’s what you should do.

First, connect with your customers and listen to what they have to say.

Depending on how long you’ve been operating, you may no longer be in the front line. But it’s time for you to start listening in to your customers when they’re talking to your employees. And to get out and meet them face to face.

On top of this qualitative feedback, start sending them a survey. People are often more truthful behind the protection of their keyboard.

You need to get a good understanding of why they like working with your business. You also need to know for what reasons they may end up leaving.

Try to get a feel for what its like to be a customer of your agency.

Next, start talking about your customers in your agency, every day.

Send a clear signal to everyone in your business that the customer is your number one priority. Make sure the feedback you gather in step one is shared around the business.

Tell your employees to put themselves in the shoes of the customer. Try to make everyone understand the connection between what he or she does and the customer experience.

By placing the customer experience as a primary focus of your agency, you’ll move ahead of others and build a platform for long-term growth.

2. Head of Sales

You created your agency because you saw an opportunity. There was a problem that potential customers needed to solve. And you were there with the solution.

From the get-go you could tell people why they needed your services. You could tell the story in a way that was hard to walk away from.

No one should understand the problem better than you do. No one should be able to sell what you do, better than you.

Your sales patter should be so slick that you can make a thoughtful, compelling case for your business; so good that people don’t realise they’re being sold to.

Put selling into your bones. And show the kind of enthusiasm for it that will set your team alight.

In the end though, that might well mean that you’re the one stuck at the bar.

3. Head of Strategy

You’re at the helm. You need to set the course.

It’s not about navigating around a couple of islands. It’s about the journey across the ocean.

The word ‘strategic’ often gets bolted onto business initiatives or sales presentations. Its supposed to add platinum plating to what is being sold. But it often means nothing.

Real business strategy should be focused on a long-term goal, decided on once you’ve gained a deep understanding of your business strengths and weaknesses.

Despite its common usage, most businesses have no strategy at all. They have a general desire to grow. They may have even set some sales targets.

But they haven’t laid down specific plans on how to get there.

They spend most of the time just ‘doing’ the business; fighting fires; dealing with the next thing to arrive in the inbox. It’s called ‘operations’.

As the boss, you need to be able to stop doing operations. To have a think about your long term goals, and how you’re going to get there.

For example, you might have the desire to reach a certain amount of turnover by a particular date. That means deciding how many clients you’re going to need, how you’re going to acquire them, what you’re going to deliver them, and how much you’re going to charge them.

Once you’ve decided on your strategy, you need to get everyone in your business to understand your plan, and how his or her role fits into it.

If everyone can understand how their job can help take the business to where you want it to go, they will be able to take action that moves you there faster.

Everyone works better when he or she understands the big idea.

4. Finding the best freelancers

As the boss you’re usually the one who decides which suppliers to work with. And as an agency, those suppliers – when you’re looking for labour – are usually freelancers.

Freelancers are the bedrock of agencies. For most they are invaluable.

Good freelancers not only do the work you’ve hired them for. They also approach problems from a different angle, and make suggestions that you hadn’t thought of.

Because they’re not at the business coalface, they have a different perspective. And because they’ve experienced work at other agencies, they can often bring innovation.

You hire them to work on a project, but after a while you realise they can do so much more.

Of course there’s many that aren’t right for your agency. A bad choice can be a time sink, at worse damaging your client reputation if their work doesn’t measure up.

When you need to find some talent, start by considering your own network.

I start by trawling LinkedIn for freelancers who fit the bill. I’ve often met the right people but don’t remember what they’re good for.

Next I call out to a handful of other agencies or people I’ve worked with in the past. I’ve never been much of a networker, but it doesn’t take long to build a close group of people whose opinions you trust. If they don’t know anyone specifically, they can often suggest someone who does.

Asking for help is a great way of cementing those relationships too. Most people like being asked for help and advice. It builds rapport, and boosts chances of working together in the future.

When it comes to the face-to-face meeting with your freelancer there’s a couple of things I always rely on.

First, get people who seem really sharp.

Do you ever get the impression when speaking to someone that they’re quicker than you are? That they arrive an answer before you do?

That’s what I mean by sharp.

I don’t just mean intelligent or engaged. I mean ‘on the ball’. Organised. And with the ability to make lateral connections.

Look for that, and when you find it in a freelancer, you’re onto a good thing. They do the job you’ve tasked them with. And they’ll be able to make other suggestions that will improve your business.

Just as importantly, get people you like.

In a people business – which an agency is, above all else – it’s vital to work with people you like. If you like them, so will your clients.

Being likeable is an enormous benefit. Perhaps one of the most important.

I am convinced that we retained clients for years longer than others simply because they liked us. That wasn’t just about being nice people. It was about giving clients what they want.

And not only will your clients appreciate likeable people; they’re also the kind of person you’ll enjoy spending time with, explaining what you want them to do.

The more you explain, the clearer they will be, the faster they will work towards a goal. And the better a project will go.

That’s all from me

From sales to customer experience, from hiring to strategy, when running an agency that are some things that only you can do.

Where client relationships form the backbone of your revenue, sustainable growth depends on getting these things right.

What else do you think that only a boss can do? Leave us a comment on Twitter or Facebook.