Welcome to Sell With Authority! I’m Hannah Roth, Director of Strategy and resident mad scientist here at Predictive ROI. And before you double-check your podcast app — yes, you are in the right place.

If you’ve been a longtime listener, you’re probably used to hearing Stephen kick things off. But today, I’ve hijacked the mic for a good reason. Stephen’s daughter is about to graduate; CONGRATS to the whole Woessner crew!

We’ve gently nudged him off the show for the next few weeks so he can enjoy that special time with his family.

In the meantime, I’ll be your host for the next four episodes, and I’m really excited about what we have planned. Each week, I’ll be joined by Erik Jensen, my strategic co-pilot, co-owner, and our Chief Strategy Officer here at Predictive. We are in the trenches every day working with agency owners, helping them navigate the big challenges that hold them back from scaling with confidence.

Erik and I are kicking off a four-part series about why agencies struggle with sales — and more importantly — what to do about it.

In today’s episode we focus on what we call “The Referral Trap.”

Referrals are great… until they’re not. Too many agencies rely on them as their primary source of new business — but that’s risky.

We discuss why the illusion of “plenty of referrals” is so dangerous, and what to do before they dry up without warning.

• Why so many agency owners fall into the “referral trap”
• The not-so-obvious risks of relying on referrals
• How passivity with prospects infects your sales culture — and leads to missed revenue from both new prospects AND existing clients
• The candid truth about “not having time” for sales
• A rock solid step-by-step way to take control of your biz dev
• Why your list is one of the most important assets that your agency can have
• How to assess if your list is actually filled with viable prospects

• Website: www.predictiveroi.com
• Visit our newly expanded Resource Library
• Join us in our free How to Fill Your Sales Pipeline Facebook Group
• Erik’s LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/erik-jensen-b9946068/
• Hannah’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannah-roth-387a6b223/
• Order your free paperback or Kindle copy of our Book: Sell with Authority

I’m super excited to welcome our guest expert today, Natalie Henley. If this is your first introduction to Natalie — she’s the CEO and Owner of Volume 9 Digital. She’s also a sharp speaker, trainer, and consultant.

But more importantly — Natalie is right in the thick of it.

She’s not just running the agency — she’s leading ops and sitting in the strategic seat with clients. She’s hands-on, gathering insights, solving real business problems, and applying that knowledge every single day.

That’s one of the biggest reasons I wanted to invite her onto the show.

The perspective she brings — from actually doing the work — is powerful.

Natalie shares the story of a custom dashboard they built at Volume 9. Not just some templated reporting tool — but a fully custom platform, designed from the ground up to help clients log in, check results, and truly understand what’s working. We also unpack all the lessons they learned along the way.

We also dig into a pivotal moment back in 2022 — when Natalie and her team made the bold decision to stop being all things to all clients. They simplified, refocused, and doubled down on the problems they solve best.

That clarity helped them build authority in the right niche — and made them a much easier yes for their right-fit prospects.

There’s so much in this episode that you can take and immediately apply — especially if you’ve been feeling stretched too thin.

Natalie’s insights will help you get clear, get focused — and sell more of what you do best.

• How Natalie developed an agency owner’s mindset by “learning how to sell — and how to be valuable” from the beginning
• Why agencies must focus on the shortest path to client results instead of just racking up deliverables
• The candid story behind Volume 9’s $500K dashboard investment
• Why retention isn’t about fancy tech
• The turning point when Volume 9 stopped being everything for everyone — and how they set boundaries for YES and NO

• Website: https://www.v9digital.com/
• LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/optimization/
• LinkedIn Business: https://www.linkedin.com/company/volume-9-inc/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/volume_nine/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/volume9inc
• Volume Nine Resources: https://www.v9digital.com/resources/templates/

I am beyond over the moon excited to have our very special guest expert on this episode of Sell With Authority, Laurie Mikes.

Laurie is the Chief Operating Officer of the Second Wind Agency Network, where she oversees daily operations and works closely with Second Wind’s member agencies. That gives her an incredible pulse on the industry — she truly has her finger on the trends, the challenges, and the opportunities agency owners are navigating right now.

I invited Laurie to the show because of her deep expertise around agency finance, growth, and operations. I was especially eager to have this conversation after reading a blog post Laurie wrote entitled, “Transparency Builds Trust with Clients.”

My Predictive team and I feel the same way.

We recommend that our clients build transparency right into their biz dev processes — teaching and sharing generously right from the onset of a new relationship.

When you do that, you remove friction from the sales process — and make it so much easier for your right-fit prospects to say “yes.”

That’s exactly where Laurie and I focus our time and attention in this episode — how you can build deeper trust with your right-fit prospects and clients.

If you take and apply the insights Laurie shares, you and your team will be better equipped to build trust faster — and that, in turn, will help you sell more of what you do.

• Why transparency is the foundation for building authority and winning trust with right-fit clients
• How to openly share your agency’s process so prospects feel less like targets and more like valued partners
• The #1 mistake agencies make trying to protect their “secret sauce” — and what to do instead
• Why difficult, honest conversations actually get you a seat at the table as a strategic partner — not just a vendor
• Real-world examples of onboarding practices that set the stage for long-term client retention and bigger budgets

• Website: https://www.secondwindonline.com/
• LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurie-mikes/
• LinkedIn Business: https://www.linkedin.com/company/second-wind/
• AGENCY WORKFLOW AND EFFICIENCY