Why Agencies Lose Clients (and How to Stop It) | EP 10
Release Date: 09/24/2025
Turning Every New Client Opportunity Into an Agency’s Compounding Asset | EP25
The AgencyHabits Podcast
Most agencies treat client work as a series of one-off transactions. But the most successful firms treat every engagement as an investment that compounds over time. In this episode, hosts Peter Kang and Sei Wook Kim introduce the concept of engagement yield: the tangible and intangible value that extends far beyond the invoice. They break down the four components of engagement yield; proof, leverage, relationships, and referrals. And explains how agencies can systematically capture this value. Peter and Sei Wook share practical strategies for turning client work into lasting assets: from...
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Why Peter Wrote a Book on Holding Companies | EP24
The AgencyHabits Podcast
In this special episode, host Sei-Wook Kim interviews Barrel Holdings co-founder Peter Kang about his new book, The HoldCo Guide: How Entrepreneurs Structure and Build a Holding Company That Lasts. Peter shares the organic journey that led him to write the book, from scaling a single agency to building a multi-agency holding company, and why no existing resource fully addressed the topic. He breaks down the core concepts every entrepreneur should understand: the spectrum between capital allocator and operational HoldCos, the critical balance of centralization vs. decentralization, and the...
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Breaking Down Agency Employee Compensation | EP23
The AgencyHabits Podcast
Compensation is more than just a number. It’s a strategic tool for attracting, retaining, and motivating talent. In this episode, hosts Peter Kang and Sei-Wook Kim unpack the full spectrum of employee compensation in an agency setting. They start by acknowledging that while pay is crucial, it’s not the only factor. Culture, management, challenging work, and company trajectory all play vital roles. From there, they dive into the core components: base salary (and how to set competitive, geographically-aware bands), benefits (health insurance, 401k, PTO, and creative perks), and both short-...
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Annual Checkup: 9 Markers to Diagnose Your Agency’s Health | EP22
The AgencyHabits Podcast
Most agencies only seek help when something is broken. But by then, the problems are often systemic. In this episode, hosts Peter Kang and Sei-Wook Kim shift the conversation from reactive fixes to proactive health. They introduce a holistic “annual checkup” framework, mapping nine critical agency functions to body parts and their vital signs: from positioning (vision) and client trust (heart rate) to revenue stability (blood pressure) and risk resilience (immune system). Drawing from their experience building and scaling Barrel, Peter and Sei-Wook explain how to spot early warning signals...
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Evolving from Managing Projects to Growing Accounts | EP21
The AgencyHabits Podcast
Growing from single-project engagements to managing multiple, concurrent work streams is a major turning point for any agency. In this episode, hosts Peter Kang and Sei-Wook Kim unpack the structural shift required to turn this complexity into a sustainable competitive advantage. Drawing from their own hard-earned lessons at Barrel, they dissect the common pitfalls like team silos, client misalignment, and leader burnout, that can derail multi-faceted accounts. Peter and Sei-Wook break down the three critical roles needed for success: Account Leadership for strategy and relationships, Program...
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How Agencies Should Think About and Manage Risk | EP 20
The AgencyHabits Podcast
In this episode, Peter Kang and Sei-Wook Kim break down how agency owners should think about risk, not as isolated problems to react to, but as ongoing exposure that needs to be actively managed. Using a simple risk matrix, they explain how to prioritize risks based on likelihood and impact, and why high-impact risks deserve disproportionate attention. They then walk through nine of the most consequential risks agencies face, from founder burnout and partner misalignment to legal exposure, cash flow insolvency, client concentration, and strategic drift. For each, they share practical ways to...
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Learning From Other Agency Owners | EP19
The AgencyHabits Podcast
Great agencies are not built in isolation. In this episode, Peter Kang and Sei-Wook Kim explore the transformative power of community and peer learning for agency founders. The hosts share their personal journey from working in a silo to actively seeking mentorship and joining dedicated communities, revealing how these connections helped them avoid blind spots, gain crucial perspective, and accelerate their growth. Peter and Sei-Wook break down specific communities that have been instrumental to their journey, including Bureau of Digital, Society of Digital Agencies (SoDA), and Collective 54....
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Why Agencies Rely on Referrals But Few Treat It as a System | EP18
The AgencyHabits Podcast
Most agencies say they rely on referrals, but few treat them as a system. In this episode, Peter Kang and Sei-Wook Kim dismantle the "hope-based" approach to referrals and lay out a strategic framework for building a consistent pipeline. Drawing from the book The Referral Code, they redefine referrals as a transfer of goodwill and share actionable tactics for intentional referral generation. Peter and Sei-Wook cover how to identify the right people to ask, the critical importance of timing your ask within a "state of appreciation," and how to craft effective, open-ended questions. They also...
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The Six Levers of Profitable Client Engagements | EP17
The AgencyHabits Podcast
Profitability is the lifeblood of any agency, yet it can feel elusive. In this episode, Peter Kang and Sei-Wook Kim move beyond surface-level tips to reveal the six fundamental levers that directly impact the bottom line of every project, retainer, and service program. They break down how pricing, staffing, engagement design, scope management, reusable IP, and automation all interlock to create or erode healthy gross margins. Drawing from their experience across the Barrel Holdings portfolio, Peter and Sei-Wook share candid examples of where profitability leaks and provide a practical...
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Scaling Your Agency Beyond $2M | EP 16
The AgencyHabits Podcast
In this episode, Peter Kang and Sei-Wook Kim dissect why agencies hit the $2M and what you can do to break through. They explain how founder-centric systems that work at a smaller scale become the primary constraint to growth, leading to breakdowns in client delivery, team management, and financial visibility. The hosts share actionable solutions, from improving onboarding and implementing debrief processes to strategically hiring for your weaknesses and deepening financial rigor. They also introduce the Agency Systems Playbook, a framework of five core systems that drive a scalable agency....
info_outlineIn this episode, hosts Peter Kang and Sei-Wook Kim dive deep into one of the most painful but inevitable aspects of running an agency: client churn. Drawing from decades of experience building and scaling agencies, they break down the most common reasons clients leave—from poor onboarding and missed deadlines to unresponsive communication and misaligned expectations.
Peter and Sei-Wook share candid stories from their own agency, Barrel, including how they’ve lost clients due to everything from quality control issues and ego-driven interactions to market downturns and internal stakeholder changes. They also offer practical advice on how to strengthen client relationships, improve retention, and build an agency that’s resilient to turnover.
Whether you’re struggling with client satisfaction, fearing an upcoming renewal, or just want to build stickier relationships, this episode is packed with actionable insights to help you diagnose and fix the leaks in your client bucket.
Key Moments
1. Why client retention is the hidden engine of agency growth (and profitability).
2. How poor onboarding can kill a relationship before the work even begins.
3. The real cost of missed deadlines and unpolished deliverables.
4. Why unresponsive communication is often the first sign of trouble.
5. How to handle new stakeholders (and why it’s like re-pitching your agency).
6. The danger of ego and defensiveness in client feedback conversations.
7. Why scope creep and surprise invoices erode trust, and how to prevent them.
8. How to demonstrate value so clients see you as an investment, not an expense.
9. What to do when market conditions shift or clients bring work in-house.
10. Why flexibility in pricing and process can save (or sink) a relationship.
Real Talk Takeaways
1. Client acquisition is expensive. Retention is how you grow.
2. Communication isn’t optional; it’s the foundation of trust.
3. Speed matters. Slow responses signal you don’t care.
4. Your ego is not worth losing a client over. Stay humble.
5. Value isn’t what you deliver, it’s what the client perceives.
6. Market conditions change. Your flexibility can be a differentiator.
7.Always assume other agencies are pitching your client. Prove your value daily.
Timestamps
00:00 – Intro: Why client retention matters
01:29 – The “leaky bucket” analogy for agency growth
02:20 – Reason #1: Poor onboarding & mismanaged expectations
04:17 – A real-life example of how fumbled onboarding cost a client
04:36 – Reason #2: Missed deadlines
05:29 – Reason #3: Poor quality control
07:39 – Reason #4: Unresponsive account management
09:56 – How silence can sabotage even “good” relationships
11:04 – Reason #5: New stakeholder changes
12:12 – How to treat new stakeholders like a new pitch
13:04 – Reason #6: Misaligned communication style & tone
14:26 – Why response speed can make or break trust
15:39 – Reason #7: Ego & defensiveness
16:44 – Reason #8: Cost creep without justification
18:53 – How to train your team on scope management
20:06 – Reason #9: Perceived lack of value
22:01 – Reason #10: Rigid pricing models
22:47 – A story about how rigidity cost a 7-figure opportunity
23:42 – Reason #11: M&A events (client or agency side)
26:06 – How an acquisition announcement led to immediate churn
27:09 – Reason #12: Market conditions & how to adapt
28:28 – Why you should never let receivables slide—even in a downturn
29:17 – Reason #13: Another agency offers a better value prop
30:48 – How a CEO’s retreat led to a competitor sneaking in
31:25 – Reason #14: In-house resourcing
32:29 – How to stay valuable even when clients build internal teams
33:31 – Wrap-up: Retention is everything
Notable Quotes
“Client acquisition can get pretty expensive if you have to do it over and over again.”
“The moment there’s a mismatch in communication speed, you get instant erosion of trust.”
“Your ego is not worth losing a client over. Stay humble.”
“If you’re fixated on a specific pricing model, clients will say, ‘That doesn’t work for us.’”
“Always assume other agencies are pitching your client. You have to prove your value every day.”
Links & Resources
Peter Kang on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterkang34/
Sei-Wook on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seiwookkim/
AgencyHabits Website: https://www.agencyhabits.com/
AgencyHabits on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/agencyhabits/
Barrel Holdings Website: https://www.barrel-holdings.com/
Barrel Holdings LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/barrel-holdings/