Friday Field Notes: 10/31/2025
Happy Friday, folks.
Happy Halloween. I assume you’re reading this while consuming immense quantities of Reese’s Cups shaped like pumpkins and quietly moving yourself into a diabetic coma.
Since it’s Halloween, can we talk about the Curse of Chasing Efficiency?
A lot of agencies prioritize SOPs and internal systems because they want “efficiency.”
The issue is that they don’t have enough demand to justify the efficiency focus. They should be focusing on driving more pipeline.
By prioritizing efficiency before they have consistent new business, they’re actually hurting the agency.
Interestingly, your team would become more efficient if you had more clients, because they’d have more reps. They get to learn faster and start seeing the patterns that others miss.
Don’t fall for the curse.
Get your pipeline straight, then worry about your operations.
Have a great weekend!
Lessons of the Week:
1. Collect data, but don’t overvalue it.
This one feels a bit controversial. I get incredibly frustrated when people make decisions based on “instinct,” but there’s no rush to make the decision.
If you have time, you should be collecting as much data as possible to inform your decision. That information/data is what sets you on the proper track.
However, data informs the past. So while we can safely assume things based on how much data we have, things change. Markets shift. Algorithms adjust.
Sometimes, you just need to do what feels right, but I’d still recommend consulting the data first.
2. Brand > Performance marketing
Let’s keep the controversial theme going.
If you’re leading with performance ads in your marketing, it’s only going to continue costing more. Bids never get cheaper. You might become more efficient, but there’s a limit.
Compare this to brand. Your brand success compounds.
You can increase rates. Drive more leads for free. And even close deals faster.
I recommend an 80/20 for performance to brand when starting. When you don’t have a strong brand, you can win by throwing some capital behind your marketing.
The goal is to get that to a 50/50 split as fast as possible. Then, once your brand is firing on all cylinders, swap the 80/20. This is the path to profitable marketing.
3. Skip the story if it’s boring.
You don’t always have to lead with your story if it sucks. Find ways to entice people through other means.
I like Russell Brunson’s concept of the “attractive character.”
If you’re not interesting as the Leader, Adventurer, or Reluctant Hero, choose the path of the Reporter.
Find stories of others who’ve been successful. Highlight their successes and how they did it. Codify the process. Tell that story.
Most companies don’t have exciting backstories. That’s ok. You just need to find the story people want to listen to.
Quote That Slaps:
“I made my money the old-fashioned way. I was very nice to a wealthy relative right before he died” – Malcolm Forbes
Content Roll Up:
You can’t SOP your way to success
I see this pattern constantly: agency owners spending months building the perfect operations manual.
Have a great weekend!
Comment and share any of your learnings this week!
