Agency Management Institute

What Agency Management Institute does

Agency Management Institute (AMI) is a privately held professional services and peer network business founded in 1995 by Drew McLellan and operated today with Danyel Newcom McLellan from Denver, Colorado. AMI serves small to mid-sized advertising, digital, marketing, media, and PR agencies in North America by combining owner peer groups (Live Owner Peer Groups meeting 2.5 days twice yearly, virtual peer groups for owners, CFO, COO, CTO, and AI & Automation leaders, and the Key Leadership Network), one-on-one coaching and onsite consulting led by an adjunct faculty of 15+-year agency owners, live two-day workshops, and a comprehensive succession planning practice that includes M&A advisory. The company is not a technology business: it does not ship proprietary software, APIs, or integrations, and its technology footprint is limited to standard content delivery (podcast, blog, newsletter, webinars, research downloads).

AMI monetizes through a tiered stack of recurring memberships (Associate, Summit Associate, Live/Virtual Owner, Key Leadership, role-specific Virtual CFO/COO/CTO/AI peer groups, Agency Partner Membership), one-time paid live workshops, professional services engagements (coaching, consulting, succession planning, client satisfaction surveys), and book and research royalties (Sell With Authority and the Agency Edge Research Series running 2014-2026). Its go-to-market is community-led, event-driven, and content-led: a top-5% podcast (Build A Better Agency), a weekly newsletter, an annual statistically valid research series, the BABA Summit conference, and Drew McLellan's ongoing media presence in Forbes, Entrepreneur, AdAge, the Wall Street Journal, and other outlets drive top-of-funnel demand that converts into membership and coaching relationships with very long average tenures, including multi-generational participation among agency owners. The firm is bootstrapped, founder-owned, and has no disclosed external capital, parent company, or acquisition history.

Name

Agency Management Institute

Legal name

Agency Management Institute

Website

https://agencymanagementinstitute.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Agency Management Institute is a privately held, founder-owned firm that runs peer networks, coaching, workshops, and succession planning for small and mid-sized advertising and marketing agency owners across North America, supported by a flagship podcast and an annual research series.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Management Consulting and Training

NAICS

Human Resources Consulting Services (541612)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

DEI, Equity & Inclusion Advisory (BPACAJAJ)

Keywords

• Agency management training
• Peer group networks
• Agency consulting services
• Executive coaching
• Succession planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Des Moines

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Membership Programs: Various membership tiers including Associate Membership, Summit Associate Membership, Virtual Agency Owner Peer Groups (CFO, COO, CTO, AI & Automation), Live Owner Peer Groups, Live Key Leadership Groups, and Agency Partner Membership. Also includes member benefits like AMI Association Healthcare Insurance Plans and AMI 401K Program.
2. Live Workshops: In-person two-day workshops for agency owners, leaders and account executives. Topics include Advanced AE Bootcamp, AE Bootcamp, Getting it Write! Proposals that Win!, Growing the Clients You Already Have, Money Matters, and Selling with Strategic Insights.
3. On-Demand Courses: Previously offered on-demand web-based courses including Agency New Business Blueprint and Account Executive Bootcamp. Currently being revamped.
4. Coaching and Consulting: One-on-one agency coaching with AMI coaches to help owners crush goals, build their shop and hit financial metrics. Also offers onsite consulting where AMI staff visit agencies for extended periods.
5. Leadership and Succession Services: Leadership coaching and Comprehensive Succession Planning Program for agency owners preparing for transition, including M&A work and internal/external sales.
6. Research and Publications: Annual Agency Edge research series (2020-2026) available as free executive summaries. Book 'Sell With Authority' sold through Amazon and other channels.
7. Client Satisfaction Surveys: Standalone product offering client satisfaction surveys for member agencies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Agency Management Institute (AMI) provides management training, consulting, and facilitated peer networks for small to mid-sized advertising, digital, marketing, media, and PR agencies. Its core deliverables include live and virtual owner/executive peer groups, two-day in-person workshops, one-on-one coaching, and a comprehensive succession planning program, supported by proprietary research, a podcast, and an annual BABA Summit conference.

Product overview

Agency Management Institute offers a multi-tiered service platform for advertising and marketing agencies, combining peer networking groups (Live Owner Peer Groups, Virtual CFO/COO/CTO Peer Groups, Key Leadership Network), live and on-demand training workshops, one-on-one coaching and consulting, and content resources including the Build A Better Agency Podcast, Blog, and Agency Edge Research Series. The core offering centers on owner-peer networks for agency leadership benchmarking and accountability, supported by specialized programs for succession planning, leadership development, and client satisfaction. Additional offerings include the annual BABA Summit conference, the Sell With Authority book, webinars, and various membership tiers. The company is not a software product company and does not offer APIs or technical integrations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Peer Groups Structured, non-competitive peer network groups for agency owners and their executives (CFO, COO, CTO, AI & Automation, Key Leadership) that meet virtually or in-person for benchmarking, financial transparency (P&L sharing), and accountability.
• Agency Coaching and Consulting One-on-one coaching with AMI coaches (successful agency owners with 15+ years in the AMI ecosystem) and onsite consulting where advisors work directly with agency teams to crush goals, build their shop, and hit financial metrics.
• Live Workshops Two-day live workshops for agency owners, leaders, and account executives covering topics such as new business development, proposal writing, client growth, financial management, and strategic selling.
• Comprehensive Succession Planning Program Program helping agency owners identify and plan their succession journey, including internal or external sale options and grooming employees for eventual ownership.
• Leadership Coaching Coaching services for agency leaders with or without potential succession options, developing right-hand leaders to think and behave more like owners.
• Client Satisfaction Surveys Survey services enabling agencies to understand how their current clients feel about their work, people, and value.
• BABA Summit Annual flagship conference bringing together agency owners for keynotes, workshops, and peer networking.
• Associate Membership Entry-level membership providing discounts on AMI services and courses, member-only content, and direct communication from Drew and Danyel, without requiring peer group participation.
• Agency Edge Research Series Annual statistically valid research studies providing insights into agency clients, employees, and operations, with reports from 2014 through 2026, available as free executive summaries with deeper webinar dives.
• Sell With Authority (Book) Book by Drew McLellan (2020) on authority marketing strategies for agencies, distributed through Amazon and other retail channels.
• Sales Momentum Lab Weekly action accountability program helping agency owners stay focused on growth objectives.

Quantifiable outcome

• Elite group of less than 100 privately owned agencies maintaining strict accreditation standards
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• AMI Preferred PartnersminorOthersA curated network of preferred partners offering services, SaaS, and products at special AMI pricing for member agencies. Access through AMI Marketplace.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Bill Gullan Consulting: Bill Gullan Consulting is a boutique advisory specifically for advertising/PR agency leaders on positioning, operations, and growth — a smaller but directly comparable competitor in agency-owner consulting.

Broad incumbents

• Gazelles (Verne Harnish): Gazelles (Verne Harnish) provides executive education, coaching, and the Scaling Up/Rockefeller Habits operating system to growth-stage firms across industries — same coaching/training flywheel as AMI but a much broader vertical focus.
• Vistage: Vistage operates peer advisory groups for SME CEOs across all industries, using a similar non-competitive peer-group model and executive coaching flywheel. AMI is a vertical-specialized version of Vistage focused on advertising/marketing agencies, with comparable recurring-membership economics.
• EOS Worldwide: EOS Worldwide implements the Entrepreneurial Operating System (vision, traction, healthy) for SMEs globally. It competes with AMI's leadership/operations coaching content and role-specific (COO/CTO) peer groups for similar mid-market owner-buyers.
• Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO): EO is a global peer network for founders/owners of companies with $1M+ in revenue, structured around member-driven forums and learning events — analogous to AMI's peer-group model but at much larger scale and across all verticals.

Direct peers

• The Alternative Board (TAB): TAB runs monthly peer boards for business owners in non-competing industries with facilitated discussion and benchmarking — a near-identical model to AMI's non-competitive Owner Peer Groups, but serving a broader set of industries.
• 2nd Wind Marketing: 2nd Wind provides peer groups, coaching, and consulting specifically for marketing agency owners (e.g., Rob Cornilles), competing head-to-head with AMI in the same agency-owner peer advisory category.
• Duct Tape Marketing: John Jantsch's Duct Tape Marketing offers consulting, training, and a franchise/consultant network for small marketing agencies, overlapping directly with AMI's training and consulting for marketing agency owners.
• Agency Mavericks: Founded by Jason Swenk, Agency Mavericks provides group coaching, courses, and a community specifically for marketing agency owners. It competes directly with AMI for the same agency-owner persona and dollar.
• Win Without Pitching: Blair Enns' Win Without Pitching delivers training, workshops, and advisory specifically to agencies on positioning, pricing, and new business — a direct vertical competitor to AMI's Money Matters and Selling with Strategic Insights workshops.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/amicontent
• Facebookfacebook.com/agencymanagementinstitute
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/management-agency

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Agency Management Institute