The art of effective project management in agency settings (Part 1)

Coral Wood • 1 November 2023

What is scarier than a looming project that hasn’t got a roadmap or timeline? The moment when a client asks to see said roadmap or timeline… Agency owners, you are not alone!

Project management in-house can often fall in the hands of owners or team members, but rarely a fully-fledged project manager.

Let’s be honest, having a project manager in-house is often a luxury and, 9 times out of 10, it sits with you (and that’s why you’ve stumbled across our blog!)

So here’s our guide to the art of effective project management in agency settings.

Why agencies struggle with project management

Agencies are filled with talented, highly-skilled folks. That’s why your customers come to you for support, right? But agency owners and leaders are often spinning multiple plates. Whatever your role, you’ll also find yourself lumbered with project management.

But project management is a skill and specialism in itself, and if you’ve never done it yourself, it’s difficult for you to include project management processes into your growing agency, let alone balance that new responsibility alongside all the other tasks you’re balancing.

However you’ve landed on this blog, it’s likely there’s one of two reasons you’re here: You’re looking to implement a project management process into your agency or your current project management process isn’t working for you, your team or your clientsBefore reading on, it’s well-worth underlining which one of the two it is. But don’t be hard on yourself if it’s 2 – like a good SEO strategy, sometimes it’s important to realise when something’s not working so you can go about improving it.

Insites provides comprehensive audits to support that glittering sales pitch you’re about to write.

They cover everything you need as a marketing agency; SEO, spelling and grammar, accessibility, social presence and more. Plus, they’re ready in just 60 seconds.

Discover the power of Insites

What are the key elements of effective project management in agencies?

A lot of project management posts on LinkedIn will have you believe its like an illusive skillset that only some folks can master. Project management can be complex; bigger projects require a skilled project manager. But as the old saying goes, every couple becomes a project manager when it comes to planning a wedding… That’s because effective project management relies on a few key elements that anyone can adopt:

Clear project goals and objectives

Your project goals will ultimately be whatever you’ve promised your client, and this should include (1) a clear deliverable and (2) a deadline.

For example, your clear deliverable could be producing and launching a new website and the deadline could be 6 months from when the contract was signed. This is the easy part. But objectives are something that defines success to your client. Sure, you can deliver your goal (a new website) and you can deliver it on time, but if the website doesn’t meet your client’s expectations, then it’s not going to hit yours or your client’s objectives.

So as a first step of project management in an agency, it’s important that you iterate to everyone not just your project goals, but your objectives too. All too often, the people who are speaking to the client only reiterate the goals – so the objectives (and longer-lasting value) get lost in translation causing more stress, a potential project delay, or worse, an unhappy client.

Planning and scheduling

Whether you use project management specific tools like Monday.com or Linear, team collaboration tools like Trello or Notion, or simply host it on a classic spreadsheet document, it’s important to ensure you plan and schedule your projects.

In your plan, you should have a list of all your key deliverables or project milestones. For a new website, the milestones may include developing a wireframe, getting sign-off on initial designs, or migrating content. Essentially, your milestones should include all of the key elements that need to be completed (or stages that need to be reached) before you sign-off and deliver the project.

Scheduling then lays over your milestones; now you know what you want to achieve, it’s time to apply realistic deadlines. When we say realistic deadlines, we mean giving yourself a buffer of at least 4 weeks to account for illness or absence in the team and client re-considerations, and so on.

Resource allocation and management

How are you managing you and your team? All too often, projects go out of scope (see also: spiral out of financial control) because we haven’t thought about managing or allocating resources effectively. When we talk about resource, we mean in terms of team, software, and most crucially, time. Thinking about who you’re allocating where, how much time they’ll require, and whether they have the software they need to hand is important.

For example, we often hear from agencies who allocate jobs based on who’s available. But when we do this, and a new project that needs jumping on straight away comes up, you can find yourself having to divide senior member’s of the team’s time on multiple projects. Or worse, you have to pull them off one project completely (and that won’t go down too well with your client.)

Financially, this doesn’t make sense either. When allocating project work, you want to put make sure your project requirements are matched by your financial requirements.

If your clients project requires, in your opinion, a senior team member, make sure you’re charging for that. Why? Because while you may charge the same hourly rate across projects currently, you’re not paying your team member’s the same wage…

Effective communication and collaboration

So you’ve got a clear idea of what you’ve planned, your schedule, your resources set in stone – now it’s time to communicate it all and work together effectively. Rightly so, communication comes before collaboration. Whether it’s just you or your whole team working on the project, make sure you are documenting every step of the work.

From where to find the passwords to what the goals and objectives actually are, it’s important to document your project and make sure anyone can pick it up at any time.

Once you’ve nailed communication, collaboration can come together. So first things first, start with a kick-off with all team members who are involved in the project. Run them through all of the information you’ve documented, your plan, deadlines, and what your expectations are so that everyone is on board from day 1.

Who should (and how to) lead your agency’s projects

Who leads your projects is either you (as you’re the one who ended up reading this blog, well done for being proactive!), a nominated member of the team, or a shared responsibility. We understand that this may not have been the answer you were looking for. However, let us break down why you need to really think about this one.

  1. The agency owner

    It makes sense, in the early days that is, that the agency owner is the project leader. As an agency owner, you’ll know about what services you offer, what your selling to your clients, and how to delivery the most on-brand experience.

    However, this only applies to small-scale teams – once you have more than 3 team members, it’s time to delegate. So whether it’s a team member or a nominated few depends fully on your team size. If you’re a team of 4 to 10, you probably have an account manager or two and they should be your project manager as they’re the bridge between your agency and your client.

  1. The nominated team member(s)

    So whether it’s a team member or a nominated few depends fully on your team size. If you’re a team of 4 to 10, you probably have an account manager or two and they should be your project manager as they’re the bridge between your agency and your client.

    However, if your team is 10+, you should at least have a few account managers or even an operations manager who can step up to the helm. Though they’ll be balancing project management with their other responsibilities, being close to the client and the inner-workings of your agency (and it’s processes) is a sure-fire solution.

Whoever you pick for your project management lead, you need to make sure they are equipped for the role. So if they’re not skilled in project management, make sure to put education opportunities in place so they can up skill and confidently fulfil the role.

Ready for part 2?

In wrapping up, it’s clear the first part of your project management strategy is to make sure you have the right people in the right place. It requires clear goals and objectives, proper planning and scheduling, effective resource allocation, and strong communication and collaboration. But as you’ll find out in part 2 , it also requires the ability to manage client expectations and adapting to change.

A woman wearing headphones is sitting in front of a laptop computer.

Sell more SMB ad services with Google’s latest generative AI update

by Izzy Fletcher • 20 February 2025
Google just released generative AI for creating people in ads, and it's a game-changer for digital marketing agencies. This post breaks down how this feature helps your sales team close more deals, removes creative barriers for SMBs, and transforms the ad creation process. Learn specific ways to leverage this update to upsell ad services to your clients and position your agency as cutting-edge AI experts.
A person is holding a magnifying glass over a map on a laptop.

What your enterprise sales team needs to know about Google’s “Ask for Me”

by Izzy Fletcher • 19 February 2025
The problem for SMBs: Price wars and lost connections You might need to hold your clients hands when breaking this news because this isn't great news for small businesses. Here's why: Price becomes everything When services are presented side-by-side with only price and availability shown, businesses are forced to compete solely on price. This is especially problematic for service businesses that differentiate on quality, experience, or specialised expertise. Personal connections disappear 42.4% of Millennials and 55.9% of Boomers still rely on Google Search first when discovering products (according to GRIN survey data). But with this new feature, traditional direct phone conversations where businesses could build rapport and communicate value could vanish. Workload increases while conversion drops Business staff have to handle these AI calls like any other inquiry, but with: Zero information about the potential customer Likelihood of lower conversion due to price-shopping No opportunity to qualify the lead Potential for spam abuse (competitors wasting staff time) Now none of this ideal for SMBs, but it’s happening. So that’s where your sales team come in - they’re there to help them compete, rather than lose out based on ranking. This changes everything for your sales team If you're selling digital marketing solutions to SMBs, "Ask for Me" just handed you an incredible opportunity. Here's why your sales agents using Insites should be excited: 1. Creates genuine urgency that closes deals Unlike other Google updates that might seem abstract, this feature represents a tangible, easy-to-understand shift in how consumers find businesses. When you get prospects to understand that: Only top-ranked businesses will receive these automated calls Their competitors might already be getting these leads Businesses with no clear differentiators will get trapped in brutal price wars Suddenly, digital marketing services become an urgent necessity rather than a "nice to have." 2. Local SEO becomes critical If Google only calls businesses from the top Local Finder results, ranking well isn't just about visibility anymore - it's about being included in automated lead generation. Your sales agents can use Insites to: Show exactly where prospects rank in local search Use Local Grid to demonstrate which competitors are likely receiving these calls instead Quantify the potential revenue impact of missing these leads Create data-driven proposals with clear ROI potential 3. Opens new service opportunities "Ask for Me" creates specific new needs for SMBs that your team can address: AI-Readiness Audits : Only 18.8% of Gen Z consumers use Google as their primary product discovery tool (compared to 30.4% using Instagram and 23.2% using TikTok). But Google's new AI features could change those numbers dramatically. Sales agents can offer: Technical optimisation for AI crawlers Schema markup implementation Page speed improvements (critical for AI indexing) Local business metadata optimisation Differentiation Strategies : Help businesses stand out when traditional differentiators are removed through: Review management (star ratings become even more important) Content strategies that communicate unique value propositions Website optimisation for conversion once customers engage directly Response Protocols : Prepare businesses for handling these new AI-generated inquiries with: Staff training programs Scripts that effectively communicate value beyond price Follow-up strategies to convert price-shoppers How to use Insites to prepare clients Your sales team can leverage Insites to help SMBs prepare for this new reality with concrete, actionable steps: Run comprehensive local audits to identify where businesses stand in local search rankings. Analyse competitor performance using the Local Grid to understand who's receiving these automated calls. Identify specific optimisation opportunities across Google Business Profile, local citations, reviews and more. Create ongoing monitoring plans to track performance as AI features evolve. This is a sales opportunity, not a threat While "Ask for Me" creates challenges for SMBs, it represents a massive opportunity for digital marketing providers who can help businesses adapt. Your job? Nurture them through the shift. The local businesses that will thrive aren't those with the lowest prices—they're the ones working with solution providers to optimise SEO and AI search results. And that's exactly what Insites equips your team to deliver. To learn more about how Insites helps sales team, book a call with us today ! 👋 Happy selling
A person is holding a cell phone in their hand surrounded by social media icons.

7 customer review stats that will help your sales team convert more SMBs

by Coral Wood • 17 February 2025
How customer reviews impact SMBs and how your sales teams can help with digital marketing solutions.
A group of people are having a video call with each other.

New data suggests your sales reps need to talk social search with SMB clients

by Coral Wood • 17 February 2025
What impact does social media search have on small-medium businesses and how can digital marketing solution providers leverage social media upselling in their pitch
A man is holding a pen and a notebook.

How to Train Digital Marketing Sales Reps in Half the Time

by Izzy Fletcher • 17 February 2025
The framework and step-by-step method for train sales teams quicker and more efficiently
An illustrated man and a woman are sitting at a desk with laptops.

How AI-powered website audits are transforming cold calls

by Coral Wood • 18 December 2024
AI-powered website audits are bringing cold calling back, particularly for enterprise digital marketing sales teams. The post How AI-powered website audits are transforming cold calls appeared first on Insites.
A cartoon man and a woman are holding a board with a graph on it.

7 digital marketing metrics your enterprise sales team needs to close more deals

by Coral Wood • 11 December 2024
Is your enterprise sales team struggling to sell digital marketing solutions to SMB prospects? Minimise the complexity; here are the 7 metrics that will help them sell. The post 7 digital marketing metrics your enterprise sales team needs to close more deals appeared first on Insites.
An illustrated yellow arrow is pointing up on a pink and black background to demonstrate an increase to demonstrate sales increase.

The growing need for sales automation in agencies

by Izzy Fletcher • 4 December 2024
If managing the sales process is one of your biggest challenges, ask yourself: what could be automated? Too often, mid-large agencies with extensive sales teams let their sale reps spend more time on admin tasks, internal meetings, and lead qualifying, rather than on delivering value to customers. But remember: people buy from people. Your sales […] The post The growing need for sales automation in agencies appeared first on Insites.
Black Friday with a no entry symbol over the top to signify 'no Black Friday'

Anti-Black Friday – 25 small & sustainable businesses to support instead

by Izzy Fletcher • 28 November 2024
Forget our usual sales and productivity hacks – this week we’re doing something different… You might be wondering why we’ve been highlighting small businesses this week as part of our Anti-Black Friday campaign on LinkedIn. Let me give you some context… Insites is a SaaS tool but our founder Andrew created Insites with a genuine […] The post Anti-Black Friday – 25 small & sustainable businesses to support instead appeared first on Insites.
A header image with 'Black Friday' scribbled out and replaced with 'Small Business Saturday.'

Why this Black Friday you should support small instead

by Coral Wood • 25 November 2024
A few years ago, one of my favourite independent jewellery brands, Cult of Youth, felt the need to put a post out on Instagram about why they’re not doing Black Friday. The justifications were as expected; they already had tight margins, they couldn’t cope with increased volume because they were a one-woman band, and so […] The post Why this Black Friday you should support small instead appeared first on Insites.
Show More