When people in the industry talk about iconic agencies, the amazing Frank PR will definitely be one of those that springs to mind. In this podcast, we find out what goes on behind those iconic doors with Founder Graham Goodkind. As well as leading Frank, Graham now also holds board-level and advisory roles in other exciting marcoms businesses and good causes.

As an entrepreneurial and creative game-changer, Graham has a portfolio career involved in a variety of ventures. A PR man at heart, Graham is the Chairman of Frank, the agency he founded in 2000. He is a ‘Dutch Uncle’ to a variety of businesses who value straight-talking, challenging, and inspiring advice; kind of a non-traditional non-exec. He works in the field of M&A and corporate finance as a Board Advisor to Green Square and sits on the Board of several other companies. He is an active investor in other early-stage ventures, renowned for adding value by challenging the norm, spotting opportunities, breaking conventions, seeing things from a fresh perspective, and opening up his network of contacts.

• The Frank origin story
• How the straight-talking ethos of Frank was created
• The power of crafting a business concept like Talkability®
• Cultivating creativities in agencies
• Why Graham bought back the agency
• How to judge yourself as an agency owner
• How the agency business can sometimes lose focus on the businesses element
• How agencies are valued if you are looking to exit
• The changing face of agency acquisitions

Links & References

Katie Street: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katiestreet/

Graham Goodkind https://www.linkedin.com/in/goodkind/

Series 5 of Word on the Street is sponsored by Tanba, The Agency New Business Academy is a brand-new initiative aimed at equipping agencies of all sizes with the knowledge, content, partnerships, and opportunities needed to accelerate agency growth by optimising their new business ‘engine’. Tanba is an on-demand and affordable solution for agencies looking to upskill their team via training courses, content, and insights delivered by our panel of industry experts, leaders, and partners.   

The academy is all about empowering agency teams to get noticed, attract opportunities, increase conversion rates, and reduce the costs associated with the sales process. Visit https://tanba.io/ to find out more and start empowering your agency. 

We focus on creating Talkability and that’s still relevant 21 years later – Graham [2:25]

It’s a brilliant basis to have with clients and with staff – Graham [8:55]

There has to be some be substance behind that – Graham [10:30]

What we have is a way that you can engineer Talkability – Graham [11:15] 

When is the right time to sell your agency? – Katie [20:30]

You want to sell your agency when there are years of gas left in the tank – Graham [21:10] 

It is really tough to keep that start up energy – Katie [26:45]

Did you have a growth plan? – Katie [27:20] 

I am a Dutch Uncle, someone who is your best friend but will challenge you too – Graham [38:10] 

The engine room, the creative, had lost a bit of steam over the years – Graham [39:15] 

We don’t have a creative team, we have a creative culture – Graham [39:30] 

How on earth do you value your agency? – Katie [43:30]

If a client has loads of money but they’re going to be a terrible client that is not healthy – Katie [52:05]

Now it’s a lot more private equity money in it and people who are not in it for the craft, so to speak – Graham [54:10]

Running a business just to sell it, I don’t think it’s much fun – Graham [54:55]