This episode challenges the common agency vs. in-house debate, arguing it's the wrong question. Instead, ecommerce operators should focus on securing top-tier talent, regardless of employment model. It dissects agency incentive structures, introduces an innovative growth-based pricing model, and clarifies that an agency's role is not to
Key takeaways
Prioritize talent over employment model; phenomenal growth talent is expensive but pays dividends. Seek experts with proven playbooks and cross-account pattern recognition.
Challenge traditional agency pricing models. Opt for agencies that align incentives through growth-based pricing (e.g., flat fee + percentage of spend growth above baseline) to ensure mutual success.
Before engaging an agency, ensure your core business economics are sound. Agencies optimize specific functions, but cannot fix fundamental issues like low margins, poor products, or broken fulfillment.
When evaluating agencies, don't just look at creative or price. Request detailed process breakdowns, speak to multiple references, and inquire about retention rates and average client relationship length.
Understand that an agency's job is to be world-class at their specific puzzle piece (e.g., ad account management, creative strategy), not to fix your entire business. The CEO owns overall growth by coordinating all business functions.
👉 Grow your bottom line: https://www.kynship.co/ Too many brands expect an agency to come in and 10x their business without fixing anything internally.In this episode, I get brutally honest about something I don’t think enough people in our world talk about: agency incentives, pricing structures, and who’s actually responsible for growth. (Hint: it’s not your agency.)I walk through why most agency pricing models are broken and how we’ve structured ours at Kynship to align incentives the right way. I also get into the real reason your business might be stuck, because growth takes way more than good ads or flashy creative. If your margins suck, if retention’s declining, if your ops are a mess... No agency can fix that for you.Growth is a team sport, and it's time we started treating it that way.Let's jump right in!Key Takeaways:00:00 Intro 00:46 Agency incentives and pricing structures01:50 Value over price02:58 How we structure things at Kynship 04:56 What most people get wrong when hiring an agency 07:54 The reality of in-house talent09:19 Exceptional growth talent is expensive10:05 Growing your business is not our job 15:23 Agency vs. in-house talent 19:29 What I want you to take away from this episode21:27 Outro Additional Resources:Follow us on X:👉 Cody: https://x.com/Cody_Wittick 👉 Taylor: https://x.com/TaylorLagace The Bottom Line is your go-to podcast for honest ecommerce conversations on profitable growth strategies. Join Cody Wittick and Taylor La
Frequently asked about this episode
What does this episode say about agency partnerships?
Prioritize talent over employment model; phenomenal growth talent is expensive but pays dividends. Seek experts with proven playbooks and cross-account pattern recognition.
What does this episode say about business growth strategy?
Challenge traditional agency pricing models. Opt for agencies that align incentives through growth-based pricing (e.g., flat fee + percentage of spend growth above baseline) to ensure mutual success.
What does this episode say about performance marketing?
Before engaging an agency, ensure your core business economics are sound. Agencies optimize specific functions, but cannot fix fundamental issues like low margins, poor products, or broken fulfillment.
What does this episode say about talent acquisition?
When evaluating agencies, don't just look at creative or price. Request detailed process breakdowns, speak to multiple references, and inquire about retention rates and average client relationship length.
What does this episode say about agency partnerships?
Understand that an agency's job is to be world-class at their specific puzzle piece (e.g., ad account management, creative strategy), not to fix your entire business. The CEO owns overall growth by coordinating all business functions.
