Are you open about how big your agency is?
Do you worry about the ‘team page’ on your website?
Do you think about personal brand vs agency brand?
The value of making a connection
By nature, being small is more personal. It makes certain aspects easier, such as starting conversations, appearing approachable, and being relatable.
Connecting emotionally is simpler if people know who you are and that you and the business are the same thing.
This gives it an advantage over an agency brand at a certain size of deal because these factors help engage customers and drive sales.
Agency brands will invest millions trying to achieve that same engagement.
Of course, the size of project you are in the running to win is normally smaller (though if you look around, you can see there really is no ceiling if you build a personal brand strong enough).
If you are a solo brand, how can you make the most of this?
If you are under an agency brand, have you kept that personality in a place people can see it?
The double-edged sword of replaceability
An advantage of a solo brand is your irreplaceability.
There’s no better unique selling point than being you!
Agency brands strive for this irreplaceability, but as a solo brand, you have it built-in—as long as you continue providing value.
However, being irreplaceable also means you can’t sub yourself out if you want to.
In the short term, that means taking on other clients or spending your time on growing the business could be hard.
In the longer term, it makes selling your business difficult as you can’t generally sell yourself (although I’m sure it’s possible).
The perception of risk
While a solo brand can be better for fostering trust initially, it can become a problem as projects grow in value and criticality.
When a new website redesign must deliver ROI, leads, and business growth, clients seek stability.
An agency brand offers the perception of that as it’s not dependent on one person.
Whenever you lose a big deal, it plays on your mind. Did they think we were too small?
How truthful should you be?
Is working with a one-person agency as risky as working with a solo operator? The chance of failure remains the same.
Using an agency brand as a lone operator to suggest lower risk could be seen as dishonest and untrustworthy.
Pretending to be bigger than you are isn’t a good look.
However, in my eyes, you should go by the rule of legendary bass player Jaco Pastorius: “It ain’t braggin’ if you can back it up.” If you are presenting as an agency because you want to inspire confidence, then that confidence has to be real.
Consider how you’ll ensure delivery if you can’t personally complete the work.
Get on the front foot. Document and share that information with the prospect.
Ultimately, honesty is crucial. To build the relationships and reputation needed for growth, you can’t pretend to be something you’re not.
You can accidentally be something you’re not if you haven’t thought it through.
Are you staying small and personal, or are you on the journey to a larger agency? Have you put the delivery process in place to back it up?
Forming a team
Although a customer might connect more with an individual, a team is more likely to connect with a shared brand.
Some people want a team that supports them, outsourced contractors and assistants.
Others want a team that goes and does things they could never do. A group that becomes more than the sum of its parts.
That decision is a conversation for another day, but how you present yourself will matter depending on where you want to end up.
When you picture yourself in 5 years, is it still just you?
In conclusion, you’re doing fine
It’s fine to appear bigger than you are currently if that’s where you’re going and you can, at a push, deliver on the promise your brand makes.
You can create more trust and a stronger relationship if you are upfront about it.
If you are cautious about revealing your true size, remember your client is probably, in their own way, also presenting as a bigger/better version of themselves. They’ll understand.
And always remember what Jaco said…
“It ain’t braggin’ if you can back it up.”