Agency Owners: Want 90% Fewer Revisions? Steal This

What Happens in the First 14 Days Determines Everything

Author

Laura Betterly
June 10, 2025

Hey there,

Last week's newsletter about the 15-Hour Agency Owner got some great feedback. If you missed it, [check it out here].

This week, I'm tackling something that's costing you money right now: poor client onboarding.

Let's be brutally honest: most agency projects don't fail during execution—they fail during onboarding. By the time you're dealing with endless revision requests or watching scope creep devour your profit margins, the real damage was done weeks earlier.

The hard truth? The first 14 days of a client relationship determine the success of the entire project.

In our latest deep-dive article, I break down the exact onboarding system that has helped dozens of agencies reduce scope creep by up to 90%, slash revision requests, and dramatically increase profitability.

Key takeaways:

  • Most agencies surrender their authority during onboarding by avoiding difficult conversations about scope and boundaries

  • There's a narrow psychological window at the beginning of any relationship when boundaries can be established without friction

  • A systematic four-phase onboarding process (pre-contract, contract signing, kickoff, early execution) prevents most common project problems

  • Specific conversation scripts and document templates can transform your client relationships from day one

Want to implement this system in your agency? I've created a complete package of templates including:

  • Scope Definition Template

  • Communication Agreement Template

  • Red Flag Detection System

  • Client Responsibilities Document

  • And more...

AI Insights

Meta's AI Ad Creation Revolution

Meta just announced plans to fully automate ad creation using AI by the end of next year. Their new AI tools will allow brands to create and target ads without human intervention, potentially changing the game for agency media buyers.

What this means for you: Start experimenting with Meta's current AI tools now to stay ahead of the curve. The agencies that master these tools early will have a massive advantage when full automation rolls out.

AI Lead Generation Tools Getting Smarter

New AI lead generation tools are making it easier to identify and qualify prospects. Tools like Lindy, Clay, and Apollo are now using AI to not just find leads but predict their likelihood to convert based on behavioral signals.

What this means for you: If you're still manually prospecting, you're falling behind. These tools can 10x your team's efficiency while improving lead quality.

Trend Watch

The Return of Local Marketing

While everyone's obsessing over AI, a quieter trend is emerging: the resurgence of local, offline marketing. Recent data shows that geo-targeted campaigns with local touchpoints are outperforming digital-only approaches by up to 37% for certain business categories.

What this means for you: Consider adding local marketing services to your offering. Businesses are looking for efficient ways to advertise both online and offline, with "Airbnb Advertising" and "Local PPC" among the fastest-growing search terms.

Zero-Click Content Domination

With AI search summaries becoming the norm, marketers need to optimize for "zero-click" scenarios where users get answers without visiting websites. This is dramatically changing SEO strategy for 2025.

What this means for you: Start optimizing client content for featured snippets, knowledge panels, and AI summaries. The old "click-through" metrics are becoming less relevant as zero-click searches increase.

Quick Wins

Client Onboarding Template Package Transform your client relationships from day one with our comprehensive onboarding system. [Download here]

Local Marketing Checklist A 15-point checklist for adding local marketing services to your agency offering. [Download here]

That's it for this week. Remember, mastering client onboarding isn't just about better projects—it's about building an agency that's actually enjoyable to run.

Till next week,

Laura

PS If you need any help organizing or systemizing your agency, just hit reply and let’s talk