Location: Ripon, England
Website: Let The Duck Out

Tell us about your background

Started my first business 15 years ago and I have never looked back. Have accumulated a wide array of skills over the years, ranging from implementing ninja sales tactics to making the perfect cup of tea!

Elevator pitch: What is your agency about?

Let The Duck Out was borne out of my frustration with digital marketers I used in my previous businesses. The cornerstone of our agency is ethical marketing. That starts with providing our clients with honest and realistic expectations: be it ROI, timescales or strategy implementation.

We have carved a niche for ourselves in the legal sector. We've done the hard work of finding what really works in lawyer marketing & practice building.

Many lawyers are frustrated with working too many hours for clients they don’t like and they are tired of being burned by out of date marketing schemes and so-called “gurus.”

Our focus here at LTDO is helping practices achieve massive growth through respect based marketing. We invest our time in learning what makes your ideal customer tick. This ensures that you have a targeted audience. Our approach is very unique, coming from understanding your customers and their decision-making process. This helps us drive more highly engaged leads in to your sales pipeline. And as we all know highly engaged leads are ready to do business!

Where the idea came from?

As I mentioned previously, my agency was borne out of frustration and false promises made to me to by lame digital marketers.

Therefore, as a problem solver, I've assembled a small, badass team of experts who are at the cutting edge of digital marketing.

What were some early challenges you faced?

Initially, building my team held me back. Suffice to say that we now have an awesome team.

Furthermore, building out my agency's systems and Standard Operating Procedures was difficult in the beginning, and took a lot of hard work to get right.

How much has your business changed from it’s inception to now?

It's unrecognisable. What was an idea in my head is now a flourishing digital agency, delivering outstanding results for our clients. We are avant-garde in our approach- who knows where this will take us?

Tell us about your biggest failure

My biggest failure was in early in my business life. I was very green and refused the opportunity to work with a mentor- a BIG mistake. I made some terrible decisions that year and still have a mild shudder when I think back. I know have many mentors who I can turn to, for which I am extremely grateful.

What is the best indicator for you that your business is working?

The fact that I have trouble sleeping. My mind is always buzzing with new ideas for my agency and for client campaigns too. I love what I do. I'm happy, my family are happy, my team are happy and my clients are happy. That'a pretty good indicator, right?

What is the biggest challenge you face with your business daily?

Keeping all the plates spinning and actually getting work done. Sometimes there is an issue that needs urgent attention, so your 'list' gets pushed to one side. Time management is a big focus for me over the coming year.

What’s something you wish clients understood better about your business?

That good digital marketers are not cheap! I find educating potential clients that getting results, consistent results that is, is not a cheap business to be in! Luckily, once they work with us, they soon find we deliver on what we say we will do, therefore price becomes irrelevant.

Are there any areas you’d like to expand in over the next few years?

Yes, I can see natural progression taking our business model in to the financial services sector.

Are there any technology trends that you’re particularly excited about using in your work?

I think chatbots are the thing of the moment. Having an automated system can assist your business in producing extraordinary results. One major advantage of using automated messenger systems is automation of mundane tasks such as answering frequently asked questions (FAQs) repetitively for different customers. For instance, text-based auto systems offer a seamless experience to users. These systems are designed to perform multiple tasks simultaneously and free of errors, which humans usually find difficult to do. In other words, they can free up the valuable time of your employees, ease their workload and energy, and allow them to devote themselves to core business activities for growth and success.

Giving personal attention to each and every customer may not be feasible at times, especially in large organisations. Apart from the high costs that accompany such a proposition, it would require logistics on a mammoth scale. That’s where an interactive technology such as automated systems can serve as a reliable personal assistant to handle a variety of tasks normally performed by human assistants. Unlike humans, these types of software don’t feel tired, they don’t need breaks, and they don’t sleep at all (or use the last clean mug). Their services are available 24x7. They can schedule meetings, send reminders, set up emails and nurture the lead until a human takes over the conversation.

What advice would you give someone who is considering launching their own agency?

Get a mentor!

Can you give us your best tip for making customers happy?

Set honest expectations. Love what you do. Be results driven.

Finally, what are you most excited about for the future of your business?

Helping more lawyers get more Clients, work fewer hours & create the lifestyle they deserve.