How to Choose an Agency Advisor

There are roughly 4,000 independent PR agencies trading in the UK. It can seem at times that there are even more agency advisors out there, each offering their own secret sauce to help founders succeed. Pressure on margins, longer sales cycles, AI, staff costs – it’s not surprising that agency leaders might want a sounding board.

But how do you find the right advisor for you? Someone whose advice is actually worth taking?

I was on the receiving end of some great advice, and some not so great, during our 17 years as an independent agency. Advisors helped us develop into the business we wanted to become. There was the  advisor who helped us build an award-winning culture, shifting us from founders with a team to an established agency, and the one who created our profit improvement programme and sales process. There was also the advisor who was my monthly sounding board and sanity check.

From people who were right for the stage we were at, to mentors who stayed with us over time and colleagues in the agency network who acquired us – advisors were invaluable. They helped us develop from start-up to emerging agency, through becoming an established boutique to scale-up, international expansion and eventual sale.

These eight questions are a helpful way to think about how to find the right one for you.

1. Why do you want an advisor? What’s the big problem you want them to help you solve? Is it about building a team and structure that means the agency isn’t totally dependent on you? Is it getting the business ready for sale? Is it about expansion into new sectors or geographies?
   
   Key questions to ask them: Does the experience we need already exist in the business? What are you bringing that we don’t have already?
   
   
2. What’s their track record? Have they been in your shoes or dealt with the issues you need to address?
   
   Key question to ask them: Do you have a proven, relevant track record in our industry?
   
   
3. Can they see beyond PR? PR agencies compete in a broader marketing and consultancy marketplace. An advisor needs to have the experience to help you identify where you compete, where you collaborate and where you could reposition, expand or be acquired.
   
   Key question to ask them: How do you see our marketplace?
   
   
4. Can you trust them? You’re going to be sharing financials, client relationships and team dynamics with this person. This relationship only works if you can trust them to be honest with you, not just validate what you’re already thinking. Do you trust they’ll focus on what’s in your best interests?
   
   Key question to ask them: Can I talk to people who’ve worked with you before?
   
   
5. Do they listen? Are you going to be getting advice based on your situation, or cookie-cutter solutions? Are they in broadcast mode or can they find the right mix of coaching and mentoring to help you get to the best solution.
   
   Key question to ask them: Will you advise me as well as we advise our clients on our best day?
   
   
6. Do you have chemistry? You need to be able to get on with this person, and look forward to the moments when you step out of the day-to-day to be with them. They need to fit with your agency culture, not be a source of suspicion when the team sees you locked in a room together.
   
   Key question to ask them: What is your working style?
   
   
7. Are they proactive boundary spanners? They’ve made it their business to know your business, and hopefully to come to you with connections you may not have made, and opportunities you may not have considered.
   
   Key question to ask them: What connections and opportunities can you see for our business?
   
   
8. Is it the right time? Many agency leaders go looking for an advisor in a crisis or right before a transaction. But, by then, options have narrowed and you’re reacting to events. The best advisory relationships start when things are going reasonably well, and you have the headspace to think strategically. That said, a good advisor will be an invaluable safe pair of hands in a crisis. They can help you manage the urgent and important factors.
   
   Key question to ask them: When can you start?
   

There’s a lively market of advisors for agencies. Asking the right questions can help you be discretionary and make an informed, objective choice about the right one for you. A track record is the one thing that can’t be faked – ask for it early, and check it properly. A good advisor will welcome the scrutiny.

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Photo by frame harirak on Unsplash

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