STANDOUT OR DIE

How to make your DIGITAL AGENCY more visible, desirable and valuable.​

Standout or die. That’s the stark choice often facing companies operating in highly competitive markets. The digital agency sector is no different. We live in extraordinary times. There is no place for ordinary agencies.
 
Whether you’ve recently started a digital marketing agency, or you’ve been in the industry for many years, it’s time to rethink what you’re doing. Demand for digital skills has never been higher but:
 
  • You operate in a saturated market. Competition is intense.
  • Your world is being disrupted by technology. The very same technology your business model is built on.
  • You’re critically reliant on the skill of your people. Retaining their loyalty has never been more difficult.
 
Published by Goldcrest International, STANDOUT or Die is a book that unpacks what it means – and what it takes – to become a STANDOUT digital marketing agency.
 
The 7-Step Standout Agency R.O.A.D.M.A.P. will show you how to make your digital agency more visible, desirable and valuable so that you can:
  • Attract better clients
  • Employ better people
  • Become more profitable

Your ability to SURVIVE depends on your ability to STANDOUT. Start now by reading this book.
BUY IT NOW

Reviews of STANDOUT OR DIE

There are two key messages in this book that make it highly actionable for agency owners looking to scale past 10 people or £1M ARR:
1. Lack of clarity = complacency.
2. Productising services is a game-changer.
Ben Brown
Ben BrownMD Session Media
Favourite line: target exact match clients, not broad match clients
Stephen Kenwright
Stephen KenwrightFounder, Rise at Seven
I really enjoyed this book - Easy read and lots of actionable points 😍
Ellie Hale
Ellie HaleMD The Agency Collective
If you’re prepared to start your journey to being STANDOUT, this book will show you how to do it.
Thank you to Gareth for taking the time to write something so useful, practical, and powerful.
Peter Czapp
Peter CzappCo-Founder The Wow Company
Gareth has done much more than simply share his story in this book. He’s provided a practical, step-by-step framework to guide you on the path to creating the agency you’ve always dreamed of.
Peter Czapp
Peter CzappCo-Founder The Wow Company
I can highly recommend Gareth Healey's book. It's a no-nonsense approach filled with great advice on how to make your agency cut through the noise to be seen and heard by the right clients.
Jonathan Leafe
Jonathan LeafeAgency Coach - The Leafe Consultancy
This is a great addition to the 'office book shelf' of any digital agency highly recommended.
Mark Mitchell
Mark MitchellDigital Director, Live & Breathe
I wish I'd had this book to hand when I was preparing my agency for sale several years ago.
The author has a forensic grasp on what matters and what doesn't matter in digital agency life.
Ian Grier
All agency owners feel at times like they're clawing in the dark for direction and reassurance. This book provides both, and should be on the desk of every owner and agency board member.
Andrew Diamond
A great book for marketing agency owners and agency executives.
Clear, simple, to-the-point, and inspiring.
DanielUK Reader
Hand on heart the most enjoyable read I’ve had for some time; lots to implement and super excited for the future!
Nathan Lomax
Nathan LomaxCEO Quickfire Digital
This book reinforced a lot of the strategy I have been working towards in my head and has given me a clear structure for getting this down in writing and formulating a plan to action it.
Carl Maher
Carl MaherDigilytiks
If you’re prepared to start your journey to being STANDOUT, this book will show you how to do it.
Thank you to Gareth for taking the time to write something so useful, practical, and powerful.
Peter Czapp
Peter CzappCo-Founder The Wow Company
Love this book. Gives some real insight into struggles of agency owners. Great tips and tactics on how to change your day to day thinking and start focusing on scaling up your business.
Highly recommend this book!
Jalle IUK Reader
I really liked the stand-still versus stand-out concept in the book. That is a great new way to assess the way agencies/consultancies position themselves in their markets.
Luk Smeyers
Luk SmeyersReader, Germany
A roadmap to getting control of your agency. This book gives you the perfect platform to build your agency and expertly guides you through the process.
Chris Bardsley
Chris BardsleyList & Found Agency
Rarely has a book like this had such a direct and profound impact on my business! We’ve applied so much of its content to our strategic planning and objective setting. Although Standout Or Die directly focuses on digital marketing agencies, I personally think it can be applied to any service based business.
Scott Mackintosh
Scott MackintoshCEO Converta
A roadmap to getting control of your agency. This book gives you the perfect platform to build your agency and expertly guides you through the process.
Chris Bardsley
Chris BardsleyList & Found Agency
Gareth has done much more than simply share his story in this book. He’s provided a practical, step-by-step framework to guide you on the path to creating the agency you’ve always dreamed of.
Peter Czapp
Peter CzappCo-Founder The Wow Company
This is a great addition to the 'office book shelf' of any digital agency highly recommended.
Mark Mitchell
Mark MitchellDigital Director, Live & Breathe
I wish I'd had this book to hand when I was preparing my agency for sale several years ago.
The author has a forensic grasp on what matters and what doesn't matter in digital agency life.
Ian GrierFormer Agency Owner
All agency owners feel at times like they're clawing in the dark for direction and reassurance. This book provides both, and should be on the desk of every owner and agency board member.
Andrew DiamondAgency Owner
A great book for marketing agency owners and agency executives.
Clear, simple, to-the-point, and inspiring.
DanielUK Reader
This book reinforced a lot of the strategy I have been working towards in my head and has given me a clear structure for getting this down in writing and formulating a plan to action it.
Carl MaherDigilytiks
Love this book. Gives some real insight into struggles of agency owners. Great tips and tactics on how to change your day to day thinking and start focusing on scaling up your business.
Highly recommend this book!
Jalle IUK Reader
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This book is for...

    • Owners-directors of digital marketing agencies between £500,000 and £1 million of annual gross profit.

 

    • They have more than 10 staff and have been trading for more than 3 years.

 

    • They don’t want to build the biggest agency in the world, but they do want to grow.

 

    • Unfortunately, their growth has stalled.

 

    • They’re unhappy. They’re struggling to win new business, recruit staff and stay motivated themselves.

 

Oh wait, that’s not you? Stay with me. Don’t go anywhere...

The book’s target audience is very specific. There’s good reason for this. If the above description doesn’t describe you, that’s OK. You can still get massive value from reading this book. If you’re remotely involved in marketing (NB: everybody in business is), you need a target audience. But you also need to understand that your target is not your market. Your target is the bullseye, your market is much wider. Many more people are able to get value from, or buy from you, than those that you specifically communicate with. If you target a very specific group of people it is inevitable that others will be pulled into your orbit. The same applies to this book.  

About the Author

Gareth Healey is an agency coach who has been there and done it.

He has over 25 years experience in the sector and for 15 years was the CEO and joint equity partner of his own £12.5M agency. Employing 175 people, and with offices in Leeds and London, Gareth’s business and was voted the Top Regional Advertising Agency in the UK by Campaign Magazine.

In 2017 Gareth exited his agency. Through his consultancy he now focuses on helping other agency owners maximise their potential, grow their businesses and realise their dreams. 

He has a BA(Hons.) in Business Studies with Marketing from De Montfort University and also holds the CIM Diploma. He is currently a visiting lecturer at Coventry University School of Marketing and Management.

He lives in Harrogate, North Yorkshire with his wife and teenage children. In his free time he likes to read, enjoys keeping fit and loves watching the beautiful game. STANDOUT OR DIE is his first book.

STANDOUT OR DIE wins USA Silver Medal

STANDOUT OR DIE scooped a Silver Medal at the prestigious Axiom Business Book Awards 2022.

Now in their 15th year, the Axiom Business Book Awards are the largest and most respected critical guidepost for business books in the United States.

These prestigious and competitive awards are presented in 23 business categories. This year’s winners include inventor Sir James Dyson and best-selling business author, John Warrillow.

Previous medalists include Nobel laureate Robert Shiller, former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Pulitzer Prize winner Doris Kearns Goodwin, philanthropist and investor Ray Dalio.

A full list of this year’s winners can be viewed here.

Image of STANDOUT OR DIE book, certificate and silver medal

Latest Tweets

Follow @garethmhealey on Twitter for the latest STANDOUT content...

Avatar Gareth Healey @garethmhealey ·
29 Mar

STANDSTILL agencies adapt their message.

In the current climate, focus on how you solve problems for clients. You need to be treating headaches not making them healthier.

In tough times put your agency in painkiller mode rather than vitamin mode.

#StandoutOrDie

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Avatar Gareth Healey @garethmhealey ·
28 Mar

SOA don’t pitch. Pitching is not a selling process, it’s a buying process.

Sales is leadership. Positioning yourself as the expert. Leading the client into new territory. Challenging them creatively, technically & even financially in order to get better results.

#StandoutOrDie

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Avatar Gareth Healey @garethmhealey ·
23 Mar

Don’t expect what you don’t inspect.

There are times though when you need to look under the bonnet of your agency.

STANDOUT agency leaders take the time to regularly inspect the work of others. This is not micro-management, it’s quality control.

#StandoutOrDie

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