Tip No. 029 · November 3, 2025
Getting in Shape for 2026
A lot of agency leaders are quietly asking the same question right now, are we actually in the shape we need to be for what's coming?
There's a question a lot of agency leaders are quietly asking themselves right now:
"Are we actually in the shape we need to be for what's coming?"
Because underneath the day-to-day whirlwind, the retained clients, the pitches, the firefighting, something bigger has been shifting in the background. And most agencies feel it, even if they haven't said it out loud yet.
- Retainers feel a little less stable.
- Budgets take longer to get signed off.
- Decision-makers are harder to reach.
- Clients expect more value, more speed, more transparency… all while trying to pay less.
And when you zoom out, it's obvious what's happening.
- AI has changed how clients think about efficiency.
- Procurement has changed how they think about price.
- Hybrid work has changed how they expect you to show up.
- And loyalty is no longer guaranteed just because the work gets delivered.
This is the moment where you need to stop and take a proper look in the mirror.
Not with panic. With honesty.
Strip it back and ask the honest questions
- Are we set up with the right people in the right roles, or are we just making do?
- Is our Client Services team actually leading relationships, or mostly delivering tasks?
- Are we checking assumptions about what clients value now, or still operating off what mattered two years ago?
- Are we adding meaningful value… or just working harder?
And then the tougher layer:
- Are your retainers holding or slipping?
- Are renewal conversations getting trickier?
- Is new business harder than it used to be?
- Do clients feel confident in you, or simply 'fine' with you?
The agencies that will thrive
The agencies that thrive in 2026 will be the ones who quietly make disciplined, intentional shifts now.
Small things. Strategic things. The kind of decisions that protect the agency before the pressure hits its peak.
If part of you is reading this thinking, "We should be in better shape than we are," you're not alone. In fact, that's the exact signal you're ready to do something about it.
Jo x