Build a Profitable Service-Based Business Without Wasting Years in the Process 

Discover a PROVEN program created by a REAL agency owner who grew a 5-time, Inc. 5000 business using these techniques. Agency Jumpstart helps you build, grow, and scale your service-based business, so you can achieve your personal and professional goals.

Hi, I'm Jeff Sauer a partner in a 5-time Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Agency in the United States. I'm also an adjunct professor at the University of St. Thomas, and a Top 25 Most Influential PPC Expert. Today I want to talk to you about the Agency Jumpstart Course. 

The Dream Goal of Freelancers, Consultants, and Agencies

Imagine commanding the price you deserve for the services that you offer. You have your finances, infrastructure, and processes in place to grow and scale your service-based business.

 

You know how to hire employees, and contractors that actually get work done based on your standards and process.

 

Better yet, your employees and contractors are passionate about working with you because they believe in your company culture and brand.

 

Also, because you have a system in place, you no longer have to worry about executing the $20/hr tasks that are zapping your time and energy, and instead you can focus on what you’re truly good at - your “zone of genius”.


For most freelancers, consultants, and agencies, that I work with, that is their dream goal.


To build a service-based business that offers a valuable service to their clients, eventually frees up their time, and acts as the cash-cow to fund their lifestyle.

 

The problem is that many freelancers, consultants, and agency owners dove into the world of business as subject-matter experts, not as a seasoned CEO who knows how to operate a profitable company. 


The first step towards achieving your dream goal is to have the right mindset. 


The CEO Mindset

It's easy to view the services your business offers as art, but that's not usually the case.

As freelancers, consultants, or agency owners, you are providing a valuable service to your clients. 
 
You are giving your clients their time back, making their lives easier, and producing results that exceed their expectations.
 
If you want to stop living in a feast-or-famine cycle and stop undercharging for your services, then you need to act like a Fortune 500 CEO and protect your business.  

The CEO views a business from with a clear perspective. For a CEO, it's about building a business with a healthy net-profit. To get there requires making tough choices like : 


  • * Firing a bad client, so you can improve team morale
  • * Resetting client expectations, so you can focus on the most important tasks
  • * Increasing your fees to existing clients, so you can finally turn a profit
  • * Letting go of an employee, because they aren't delivering on expectations


As CEO, you’re going to face some tough choices and challenges in your business.


You're going to be mixing failures along with your wins.


But if you want achieve your dream goal in business, then you need to make the tough choices to have a profitable business. 


Nothing can operate at a loss forever. 


The best agency CEOs know that the key to a high-margin business is providing valuable services in an efficient and repeatable manner based on proven standards and procedures. Yet most freelancers, consultants, and agencies don't have any.

Everyone wants to be the nice guy or gal, but in business, the bottom line is what matters.


CEOs are accountable for many tasks, but the #1 KPIs of any business is always going to be profits.

The Profit-First Approach to Running an Agency or Consulting Business

Why is it that none of the gurus you see on your Facebook feed talk about the numbers and processes behind success?


Because they are selling you on the sizzle. The tactics. The one-trick ponies. Or maybe it's because they have never run a successful agency business? 


And sometimes the sizzle works, providing you with a brief sugar-rush. These online gurus like to talk about “hot” topics like lead generation, marketing, and sales… BUT what they all fail to talk about are the real numbers behind success.

Why? We are blinded by new shiny objects.

Shiny objects syndrome


We are laser-focused on making money, BUT, fail to acknowledge that earning $100,000 in revenue is not the same as earning $100,000 in profit.

You need to think like a CEO, so you focus the right activities that make your business perform better. Focus on profits and long-term building blocks. 


Don't just be another freelancer. Don't just be another consultant. Don't just be another agency flying blind.


Take a profit-first approach.


If your goal is to become a highly-paid, respected, and influential consultant or agency business then this course is specifically for you

If you’re just starting out, Agency Course is perfect for you. Because you can start out right! We just held a webinar where I told you about the top 10 mistakes agencies make, and the solutions.


But a COACH? Having someone to walk you through the path, who has been there and made the mistakes? To access the frameworks and strategies that made me successful?


That’s invaluable.


Instead of trying to do everything on your own, and Googling answers, resulting in random, generic information? Agency Jumpstart Course provides you with actionable information from someone who has been in your specific situation. Helping you avoid the mistakes I made at the beginning of my path.


Instead of correcting these mistakes all day, you can build, scale and grow your business the right way.


And for those of you who are veterans in the agency business? This course is for you, too. Module 3: Growing Your Agency the Right Way and Module 4: Long Term Planning are going to be invaluable for you.


You will get answers to pressing questions, like: how do you grow and scale your business with process? How do you properly onboard a new client? When should you consider bringing on account managers? And what qualities do you look for in a good project manager? And why is it important to implement accountability if you want to scale?


If you have 5 employees right now and you don’t have process? Planning for growth and scale are your biggest opportunity areas! Implementing process early on so that when you hit your goals, you can hit them without breaking down.


Trust me, I've been there, too. 

Introducing the Agency Jumpstart Course. A step by step framework for making your vision a reality

If your goal is to become a highly-paid, respected, and influential consultant or agency business, then this course is specifically for you

A toolkit for running your agency

Have you ever wished there was an easy button for your agency? This is the next closest thing

Practical, step-by-step guides

Work through all aspects of your business with the help of templates and advice from agency owners just like you

Habit-forming business focus

You spend more time working on your agency than you do sleeping. Start off each day by building a bright future for your company

The secrets of the best agencies

You are about to join an exclusive club of successful agency owners.
Learn directly from a 5-time Inc 5000 fastest growing agency partner

Agency Jumpstart is broken into 5 modules.

Together, it is the only online course in the market that takes a profit-first approach to building, growing, and scaling a one-person consultancy or agency business. 


Let's take a look inside.


MODULE 1

Agency fundamentals

Here is what you will discover in Agency Fundamentals

  • A simple walkthrough of how to interpret a profit and loss statement so you understand the basics. (Your accountant will be amazed by your thoughtful questions).
  • The TWO accounting statements you need to master to check if your agency is profitable. (And why every agency needs it to evaluate their business performance and ensure they have enough cash in the bank to survive).
  • A complete thorough deconstruction of what a balance sheet is and all its components. (Plus, the most important equation you should know - the equivalent of E=mc^2).
  • Why Performance Based Consulting sounds great on paper, but is actually terrible in practice.
  • A downloadable revenue model calculator to help you determine which revenue model to choose for your services.
  • Why it’s difficult to scale revenue with big projects. (Hint: Big projects equal more money, but there’s a drawback from a business development perspective that you must know).
  • The ONE non-negotiable thing your services need to have in order for you to be profitable as a freelancer or consultant.
  • Why boring industries can sometimes make you the most money. (And how specializing in one boring industry helped my agency effortlessly close sale after sale).

Module 2

business development

Here is what you will discover inside of our business development module

  • 16 lead generation tactics that require ZERO cold calling.
  • The single most important lead generation tactic that allows you to position yourself INSTANTLY as the expert just by association.
  • Complete deconstruction of how your prospective client thinks about their problems and how you can leverage that into your sales pitch.
  • The SINGLE most important concept for service businesses to understand in order to easily hit income targets. (Not only that, but it provides you income security for long term strategies and service growth.)
  • The TEN sales metrics every consultant or service business needs to track in order to understand the full sales picture and its impact on profits. (Miss one of these and you will be flying blind during your sales cycle).
  • The ingredients of a great sales pitch deck to persuasively communicate the value your service provides to prospective clients.
  • The ONE thing you NEED to do if you are just starting out as a service business. (No, it is not blogging, creating business cards, or networking. Hint: It starts with the letter H.)
  • The THREE biggest mistakes service businesses make when marketing their website and how to fix them. (And 5 tactics that will easily improve your website’s homepage so you avoid the kitchen-sink marketing syndrome).
  • How to leverage knowledge of client budget cycles into your sales process so you can intercept them when they are most likely to buy. (Plus, use my Client Budget Cycles framework to track client’s budget cycles and stay top-of-mind during the sales cycle).
  • Why most agency’s revenues come from 2/3 of existing clients and how client relationships are the difference factor between you and your competitors.
  • The Bad Client checklist and the Sauer Principle (80% of the pain in your butt comes from 20% of your clients)

module 3

growing your agency

Grow your agency the right way with these jumpstart lessons

  • Why agencies fail in making clients happy with the work they deliver.
  • The 9 critical questions you should ask your clients during the onboarding process to manage client expectations.
  • The FOUR components of project management. (And why accountability is the most important as your agency grows).
  • How to receive timely payments from clients. (And the impact of client payment terms on your cash flow).
  • My secret to effective Statements of Work that I painfully learned over my 10+ years as an entrepreneur that you can learn and implement right away.
  • Discover when you can afford an employee using the RHC metric so you know EXACTLY when to hire a new employee from a financial perspective. (And three detailed examples of how the RHC metric affects your profit margins).
  • Discover the right time to hire an employee from an operations standpoint with the 8-step Hiring Flow Framework, so you recognize the exact moment when you should or should not hire an employee.
  • The best advice my CFO gave me while growing my agency (Hint: Timing is everything when it comes to profitability.)
  • Common pitfalls to avoid when being a subcontractor. (Agencies are not without hubris, discover common mistakes that can kill your profits when you become a subcontractor!)
  • Why you should involve your employees in your marketing and business development instead of only a few people doing it, and 4 agencies who do this well.
  • The truth about retaining employees and how to determine if you should or should not give your employees a raise. (Sometimes you have to say NO even to your top performers - remember you’re a business and need healthy profit margins)

module 4

long term planning

long-term building blocks need to be in place in your business - We teach you: 

  • The THREE different phases of building an agency. (And the biggest lessons I learned as a "solopreneur" and agency owner).
  • The advantages and disadvantages of each business entity using the Choice of Entity Chart so you are informed when you talk to your lawyer and accountant. 
  • The difference between an affiliate and a business partner. (And the most common rookie mistake I see consultants make).
  • How to deal with your existing business partners and the 4 things you need to consider in case you decide to end your partnership.
  • The 8 decisions executives make and the primary responsibility of your company’s shareholders.
  • The THREE types of businesses that could potentially acquire your business and how each one goes about acquiring an agency business.
  • The organizational chart that my own agency used for years and the largest role that made up 75% of employees. 
  • How to apply the 80/20 rule to your services using The Profit Opportunities Framework so you know which are bringing REAL profits and which are not worth offering anymore.​​​​ 
  • How to create a customer success strategy that you can easily reproduce, so the best clients keep working with you in the future. 
  • The only way of knowing if your agency is successful or not, and the importance of comparing your actual budget versus your projected budget.  
  • The #1 regret I had when my agency started experiencing massive growth. (Do this early in your business, and you will be able to support new clients and employees with grace)  

module 5

don't get your ass kicked

Here are 5 ways to make sure don't get your a** kicked in the agency business

  • Understand why not all revenue is good revenue
  • Make a choice in your business between creating a platform or providing services
  • Don't try to scale your culture too quickly
  • Every agency must these 8 business planning building blocks in place before growing (and we provide a checklist to make sure you have addressed them all)
  • Be sure to differentiate your services, and use third-party recognition whenever possible
  • The Scaling Module

sales jumpstart

And Finally, here are some of the many awesome takeaways from Sales Jumpstart

  • How to immediately recognize when leads are worth your time, and when you should pass on an opportunity
  • How generating inbound leads is the best way to grow your first $1 Million on revenue, and why you don’t need to resort to cold-calling to get there.
  • How to evaluate the characteristics of your most profitable customers and find more of them through outbound marketing (and when to niche down)
  • Watch Jeff critique the outreach emails he received from service providers over a 3-month period (and learn what you should absolutely NOT do in your outreach)
  • Healthy business metrics - the two metrics that immediately show that you have a healthy business 
  • An exclusive look at our revenue projection process, grading system, and how you can use this system to project your revenue for the next 12 months
  • My 11-step process that I use to evaluate every sales prospect (Hint: if a lead doesn’t pass at least 10 of these tests, they are not a prospect)
  • A 9-point checklist for what you MUST include in your pitch deck
  • The right order to share your slides, and how to build a narrative that keeps the attention of your prospects for the entire pitch
  • 13 considerations for making virtual pitches effective (and some of the biggest mistakes I made over the years)
  • The 9-step process you need to go through when creating an estimate (and a checklist to keep you on track)
  • The difference between broke service professionals & those who get paid their due
  • My strategy for closing a $100k/year deal with one simple email (and how that contract has generated over $700k in revenue to date)

This course is for struggling entrepreneurs who are seeking:

  • A roadmap and action-based planning tools to help grow into a healthy business
  • To create a business that can successfully run without them
  • To remove all the "winging it" from financial forecasting
  • To develop a new habit of regularly "working on the business"
  • To understand the process the building a high-functioning team
  • To avoid making common mistakes that negatively affect profits
  • To avoid getting their asses kicked

This course may not be for you if...

  • You aren't serious about taking your income to the next level
  • You aren't ready to commit to the regular habit of "working on your business" for at least an hour every day of the week
  • Your agency has already achieved over $10 million in revenue and has over 100 employees
  • You are not planning to develop in-demand skills that allow you to thrive as a consultant and agency owner

The Agency Jumpstart Course is the only course out there that walks you through a proven step-by-step using a profit-first approach to starting, and growing a one-person consulting business or agency. 

Join today to get your exclusive bonus!

 

Starting Your Agency Business Off Right

Want to start off your business the right way? Then this program is exactly what you need. Join today to receive lifetime access to Agency Course + business-building tools.

  • 5 Core Jumpstart Modules
  • 20+ Workbooks and Frameworks
  • Sales Jumpstart Module ($497 Value)
  • Private Facebook Group
  • Bonus #1: One-on-One On-boarding Call with Jeff ($500 Value)
  • Bonus #2: Sales Pitch Deck Templates
  • Four (4) Quarterly calls with Jeff with Recordings
bolt

Growing Agency Revenue
(Best Value!)

Looking to increase your revenue and profits? Learn how to build a sales pipeline! Join today to receive lifetime access to both Agency Course + Sales Jumpstart Course! 

  • 5 Core Jumpstart Modules
  • 20+ Workbooks and Frameworks
  • Check
    Sales Jumpstart Module ($497 Value)
  • Private Facebook Group
  • Bonus #1: One-on-One On-boarding Call with Jeff ($500 Value)
  • Bonus #2: Sales Pitch Deck Templates
  • Four (4) Quarterly calls with Jeff with Recordings

Building an Elite Agency

Looking for a guide to help you set goals for growing your business?  Sign up to get lifetime access to Agency Course + Sales Jumpstart. Plus Four Calls with Jeff! 

  • 5 Core Jumpstart Modules
  • 20+ Workbooks and Frameworks
  • check
    Sales Jumpstart Module ($497 Value)
  • Private Facebook Group
  • Bonus #1: One-on-One On-boarding Call with Jeff ($500 Value)
  • Bonus #2: Sales Pitch Deck Templates
  • Four (4) Quarterly calls with Jeff with Recordings

60 Day Money Back Guarantee

Join Today! It's 100% RISK FREE. If you complete Agency Jumpstart Course, and still don't find it valuable for your business, email our support for a refund. Show us that you completed all of the video lessons and worksheets, and we'll happily refund your full payment. 

These business owners have grown their businesses in 2018 with the help of Agency Jumpstart Course 

 Abe Kurian 

 Creative Web Results 

After taking Jeff's Agency Course, using tips, techniques, and selling points within the course, I was able to pitch the value of Advanced Analytics option to a large auto dealership group and win a monthly retainer agreement worth $60,000. From Jeff's Course alone, I have realized a return on my investment of 6,000%. The videos and course materials are easy to understand plus implement. If you are a Digital/Marketing Agency, Freelancer,  Business Owner or anyone that is serious about learning and getting paid for their skill's, Jeff's course will help you get there.

Rosemary Ugboajah

Neka Creative

For seven years of business ownership, my knowledge was derived from occasional input from mentors and trial and error. Taking the Agency Course has had a great impact on my business. It took out the guess work. I learned new strategies, acquired new tools and gained confidence in what I was already doing well. The agency course has helped me grow my business.

Sean Power

Digital Marketing Freelancer

The course is incredible so far and worth every penny (and then some). It feels like getting an MBA specializing in agency/service-based business -- which probably saved me the $80K I contemplated on an actual MBA.

Alvaro Berrios​​​

Full Circle Marketing

I learned more in this course than I have pretty much all the other courses I’ve taken in my life. The great thing about this course is that everything is actionable. It’s not all theory, it’s all actionable and Jeff makes it very easy to take action with the handouts and spreadsheets.
.
The biggest thing that the Agency Jumpstart Course saved me from was instead of entering into a partnership with another freelancer, I decided to remain independent. Based on what I learned from the course, and the personal feedback I got from Jeff, I broke off that relationship amicably. It saved me from making irreversible mistakes with my business. That alone was worth a lot of money that I could have wasted in the future.

And if you are worried about the investment, this course can easily save you tens of thousands of dollars of mistakes in the future. Depending on how big those mistakes are, it could even be hundreds of thousands of dollars. I feel confident in saying that it can save you tens of thousands of dollars over just a few years.

Fred Pike

 Northwoods Software

Jeff’s course is like getting an MBA in running an Agency. Intense, thorough, rich in detail, and taught by someone who has lived the agency life and started and scaled a successful agency. This is not theoretical knowledge – these are hard-learned lessons, taught by an entrepreneur who is excellent at teaching.

Andres Ruul

Holini

At first, I was skeptical about the course as it was quite a significant investment for a starting business with no income. But I do not regret it at all.

You don't know what you don't know, and the Agency Jumpstart Course is a perfect journey to get a good overview of all the main building blocks needed to build a successful agency. To be honest, we just copied most of the strategies, and it helped us to create a foundation to become Estonias top AdWords agency in only 10 months. So, money well spent :)

Your questions about Agency Jumpstart

When do the class lessons start?

Your cohort will start right away. We will close course enrollment in early August in order to prepare the site for our new group of students.


Can I complete the Agency Jumpstart at my own pace?


Each module consists of two weeks of video lessons, followed by a third week for reflection. The two weeks of videos will each have concepts that you can immediately apply to your business during the reflection week. This course is designed for maximum action.

The group coaching calls are spread throughout the duration of the course. Some calls will be topic-specific, while others will be focused on big-picture thinking. The group coaching call will last for 60-90 minutes (or longer to answer all of your questions).

This course is designed for accountability and success. It is important to participate in a timely manner (following the lessons and calls as scheduled) to maximize the value you receive. 

How much time do I need to dedicate?

We recommend our students to dedicate one hour per weekday (during non-reflection weeks) to complete course materials.

Will you have a module on how to decide which market to serve in my agency? I am starting my business from scratch.

Yes. Lesson 8 of Jumpstart 1: Agency Fundamentals covers the importance of serving a specific market. This could mean you decide to serve the B2B or B2C market. Or you could select a certain industry niche. Or a specific service niche.

In this lesson we evaluate niche opportunities for digital agencies, and provide a framework for you to evaluate each opportunity ahead of you. Not only that, but our first group call will be workshopping business ideas with me and your fellow students.

Throughout the course, you will learn how to position your business in a powerful way in order to maximize your profit and the value you deliver to clients.

Will one of the modules be business ops-focused?

We have an entire module dedicated to business operations. We cover how to onboard new clients and add process (including checklists, templates, project management tools) and how to set expectations.


Another video discusses the importance of client relationships and how to focus on the long term. The next lesson focuses on how to use client successes as case studies and marketing materials to draw in more clients.

And we round it out by providing a lesson on cash flow and how important it is to agency survival. We provide models you can use to project your own cash flow.

Will you be covering financials vs hiring process in the course?

Yes. Of course, the answer will depend on the employee’s salary and their role within your organization. We examine different scenarios for projecting employee headcounts against cash-flows based on your business goals.

Will your course cover what a real team looks like? I want to remove myself from day-to-day operations to focus on building my business.

Yes. When you’re trying to scale, carefully choosing your team members and the roles they play within your organization is critical. Who you hire will be contingent upon what your goals are for the business. In this course you will identify your goals first so that you’ll be prepared to know who your next hire is and why.

We cover all aspects of building a team from first hire through filling out your entire organization chart. Lessons 4 and 6 of Jumpstart 4: Long Term Planning are particularly helpful in the business planning process and come complete with accompanying downloadable templates.

What time will you be holding the coaching calls?

We will be holding our calls in the morning in Australia/New Zealand, mid-day in the US, and evenings in Europe.

It's time to get registered for the Agency Jumpstart Course

Starting Your Agency Business Off Right

Want to start off your business the right way? Then this program is exactly what you need. Join today to receive lifetime access to Agency Course + business-building tools.

  • 5 Core Jumpstart Modules
  • 20+ Workbooks and Frameworks
  • Sales Jumpstart Module ($497 Value)
  • Private Facebook Group
  • Bonus #1: One-on-One On-boarding Call with Jeff ($500 Value)
  • Bonus #2: Sales Pitch Deck Templates
  • Four (4) Quarterly calls with Jeff with Recordings
bolt

Growing Agency Revenue
(Best Value!)

Looking to increase your revenue and profits? Learn how to build a sales pipeline! Join today to receive lifetime access to both Agency Course + Sales Jumpstart Course! 

  • 5 Core Jumpstart Modules
  • 20+ Workbooks and Frameworks
  • Check
    Sales Jumpstart Module ($497 Value)
  • Private Facebook Group
  • Bonus #1: One-on-One On-boarding Call with Jeff ($500 Value)
  • Bonus #2: Sales Pitch Deck Templates
  • Four (4) Quarterly calls with Jeff with Recordings

Building an Elite Agency

Looking for a guide to help you set goals for growing your business?  Sign up to get lifetime access to Agency Course + Sales Jumpstart. Plus Four Calls with Jeff! 

  • 5 Core Jumpstart Modules
  • 20+ Workbooks and Frameworks
  • check
    Sales Jumpstart Module ($497 Value)
  • Private Facebook Group
  • Bonus #1: One-on-One On-boarding Call with Jeff ($500 Value)
  • Bonus #2: Sales Pitch Deck Templates
  • Four (4) Quarterly calls with Jeff with Recordings

60 Day Money Back Guarantee

Join Today! It's 100% RISK FREE. If you complete Agency Jumpstart Course, and still don't find it valuable for your business, email our support for a refund. Show us that you completed all of the video lessons and worksheets, and we'll happily refund your full payment.