3 Ways Agencies Sabotage Their Own Success

Agencies today face unprecedented challenges–and not just from external factors like client expectations, increased competition, and tech disruption. Some challenges to agency success come from within.

Fear, submissiveness, and desperation are three self-defeating behaviors that commonly plague agencies, despite their best intentions. Let’s explore how agencies unknowingly fall into these harmful cycles that erode agency value and potential.

3 ways agencies sabotage their success

The Paralysis of Fear

Fear is an invisible force that holds agencies back from their best work. It manifests in multiple ways, impeding creativity and business outcomes.

M.T. Fletcher recently wrote about the dichotomy between great creative work and work that falls flat. They posit that the underlying distinction is that compelling ads come from agencies with a culture of fun, while lackluster ads come out of agencies that operate in a culture of fear. Not coincidentally, Fletcher observes that many of the “fun” agencies are rising independents.

“...it’s fear that kills creativity.” — M.T. Fletcher

As Fletcher points out, the quality of talent is often just as good at the agencies that put out ineffective work. The difference is they don’t perceive themselves as empowered to push back. They are too worried about ruffling feathers and risking the account.

With less power in their client relationships, agencies have become risk-averse. Many end up creating “safe” campaigns instead of breakthrough work that could actually get meaningful results for clients. This fear of failure leads to mediocre outputs that blend into the background of today’s cluttered media landscape.

Fear also keeps agencies from pushing back against unreasonable timelines, which leads to overworked teams, rushed executions, and compromised quality. The irony is that because they are afraid of losing clients, agencies will deliver work that makes them more likely to lose clients.

The Submission Trap

Modern agencies have fallen into a dangerous pattern of submissiveness, behaving more like vendors than strategic partners. This weakness is closely connected to a culture of fear and arises out of the same circumstances, with serious consequences.

Although agencies have lost power, they don’t need to eagerly hand more of it away. It starts at the very first conversation by showing up with equal business stature and extends through pricing negotiations and contracts through the entire business relationship.

When agencies position themselves as order-takers rather than expert advisors, they diminish their perceived value. Instead of leading strategic conversations and bringing innovative ideas to the table, they wait for direction and execute without question. This passive approach not only reduces their influence but makes them more interchangeable and commoditized. (This dynamic is exactly what left the door open for consultants to come in with greater credibility and take business from agencies).

When it comes to pricing, many agencies are too quick to cave on rates, accept scope creep without appropriate compensation, or throw in extra services for free. All of which sets a dangerous precedent and trains clients to expect more for less.

Tim Williams of Ignition Consulting wrote an article for Ad Age recently in which he urged agencies to get out of the service business and move away from hourly billing. He attributes agencies’ growing subservience to this remuneration structure, and challenges agencies to change the dynamic.

“As the saying goes, ‘Act like a servant and you’ll be treated like a servant.’” — Tim Williams, Ignition Consulting

new business desperation

The Desperation Dilemma

Out of this toxic trifecta of self-imposed agency challenges, perhaps the most damaging is a growing sense of desperation. Agencies that struggle to adapt to the changing landscape are most vulnerable to desperate measures in their pursuit of new business and client relationships.

Desperate agencies are more likely to:

Take on toxic clients they know will be problematic
Agree to impossible deadlines or unrealistic deliverables
Slash prices to unsustainable levels just to win or retain work
Waste resources pursuing business they don’t have a right to win
Have unrealistic expectations about timelines to close new business
Agree to endless scope creep to keep clients happy
Emerge from campaigns without the proof needed to win the next client
Over-promise capabilities they don't actually possess
Accept payment terms that create cash flow challenges

This desperation creates a vicious cycle. The more an agency compromises its standards and processes out of desperation, the more likely it is to waste resources and have little to show for its new business efforts. Within existing relationships, these compromises lead to subpar work, staff burnout, and unmet client expectations. Untenable contract terms only compound the pressure on agency leadership to keep the business afloat. All of this leads to even greater desperation for the agency.

Breaking Free from Self-Sabotage

To free your agency from these traps, you must recognize and actively combat these self-defeating behaviors. That means:

Repositioning your agency as a strategic partner rather than a vendor
Rethinking your reliance on the billable hour
Demonstrating the value you bring to clients
Defining the new business you want and have a right to win
Identifying qualification criteria and a process to vet opportunities
Having the confidence to walk away from opportunities that don't align with your values or capabilities
Embracing calculated risks and standing behind bold creative recommendations
Being proactive about solutions and opportunities for clients before they ask
Nurturing an agency culture where creative has room to thrive

Agencies must remember that their expertise, creativity, and strategic thinking have real business value. By operating from a position of confidence rather than fear, assertiveness rather than submission, and selectivity rather than desperation, agencies can break free from these self-imposed limitations and reclaim their role as trusted business partners.

The future belongs to the agencies that are brave enough to bet on themselves, stand their ground, and maintain high standards—even when it feels safer to do otherwise.