Must-Have Agency Tools For Your Digital Marketing Agency

I started Inquivix, my digital marketing agency, without knowing a lot about agency tools.

I worked in Korea and although the internet there is one of the fastest in the world, there is not a lot of awareness on agency tools and definitely no widespread SaaS adoption.

If you don’t know what SaaS or Software as a Service is, it is a method of software delivery, allowing data to be accessed by users from any device with an internet connection. Most businesses use it now, to make their lives and work processes easier.

Going back to when I started, I was still using spreadsheets and simple documents, which I admit, gave me recurring headaches. So I’ve done some research, learned about SaaS, and dive into the SaaS world. Well, it changed my business and life completely because I have found the agency tools I need to grow my agency, as well as my personal brand.

When Did I Start Using Agency Tools?

When I first started my marketing agency, it was a one-man show. Making proposals, contracts, and invoices–all my work in general, was done manually. I was using spreadsheets and just regular documents. In addition, whenever I need to send a contract, I will print it and sign it, then send it to the client.

After a few months, I realized there might be a better way to do these things, so I did a little bit more research. Then, I have learned about SaaS tools and what kind of tools was out there that can change my processes. And to be honest, these SaaS tools changed my life and my business. Thus, making me able to scale a lot faster and more efficiently.

The Best Agency Tools For Your Digital Marketing Agency

Before you start your agency or before you start getting clients, you need to be prepared. And by prepared, means that you have the tools you need to use in all your processes. Let’s go right into the most basic processes you will have while running your agency as well as the SaaS tools I can recommend for each process.

Agency Tools For Email Hosting

There’s a lot of free email providers out there, like Gmail and Hotmail, which can be used for free. However, you don’t want to be sending your potential clients emails from Hotmail or Gmail. Whatever you want to be sending from, you want it to be your own domain. A dedicated business email will make your email look professional and for email hosting, these are my recommendations:

1. Gsuite

If you don’t have a website set up, what I recommend is Gsuite. If you’re just starting out, of course, there’s a ton of other providers out there. But with those I have tried, Gsuite has been my favorite. I’m using it across two or three of my businesses and I am very satisfied. Gsuite’s lowest plan starts at around six dollars ($6) a month. But not only are you getting that email hosted on your own domain, but you are getting access to the full google workspace or most of the workspace agency tools.

These tools include Google documents, Google sheets, and most importantly Google drive. You get around 30 gigs for the lowest plan. But if you do need more and you don’t want to upgrade to any of the other tiers you could upgrade simply the amount of space you need for Google drive. Also, if you’re not adamant about having some sort of white-labeled meeting platform, you also get access to Google meet. Meetings nowadays are done online, and Google meet is one of the best free video conferencing tools.

2. Zoho

If you’re not into Google or Gsuite, I also recommend using Zoho. I use this agency tool in my other business and it was originally the first one I’ve ever used and tested when I first got into what SaaS was. Well, I’m not technical but I focus a lot more on design and UI, and UX. Thankfully, Zoho didn’t cut it for me.

Well, I have stopped using it but went back to it and tried it out. I realized they did a major UI overhaul. Hence making it more pleasant and efficient to use. So, if you’re not into Google, go check out Zoho! They have almost the equivalent of every single thing Google has.

Why do we need email hosting software?

There is nothing wrong with using a professional email. But when you want to set up a web presence, you will need a business email that can use your own domain. One of the best reasons is that using a professional email adds credibility to your business. They will trust you because they know your business is legitimate. Well for me, a business email helped me stay organized. I am a lot of businesses and one of them is my personal brand, it will be confusing if I will just use my personal email for everything.

Agency Tools For Proposals

When I first started, I wrote proposals in documents and or sometimes in emails and I just sent those out. But after I found out about SaaS or agency tools, I discovered there is proposal software that can really make my life easier. In addition, one of the great things about proposal software, is they already provide templates so you can set up your own template. Thus, you don’t have to rewrite everything and set everything up.

1. Better Proposals

The first proposal software I can recommend would be Better Proposals. It was one of the first ones I used and for me, it is the best proposal software out there. The software provides templates and you can save your own templates to reuse. What’s great is that the UI/UX of the builder makes building proposals a pleasure for you.

Moreover, the UI/UX of the proposals itself makes it a pleasant experience for your prospects. Though I left it and go for a little bit cheaper or go with some lifetime deals, I always end up coming back. It is mainly because I’ve never found a proposal software yet that is as great as better proposals.

2. Nusii

Next on my list of the best proposal software is Nusii. Though it’s not as pretty and nice as Better Proposals, it gets the job done. It’s easy to use and more than enough to start with. The UI isn’t as amazing as Better Proposals and it still has some minor details that I wish worked, but it’s still great for your new agency.

Why do we need proposal software?

Proposals are one of the first things that your potential clients are going to be seeing from you. Moreover, that is going to sway their decision on whether or not they want to work with you. Thus, you have to make sure your proposals look nice and professional. But more than that, they must have value and substance because they are an extension of your brand. Of course, you may want your proposals to look nice and original.

The great thing about all these proposal software is that you’re able to check how many times your clients have opened the proposal. In addition, you will know what your clients are doing there. Furthermore, depending on what software you’re using, they really make your life easier. Hence making it easier to close the client.

Contracts & E-signature Tools For Agencies

When I started closing more and more clients and then I found out about E-signatures, I didn’t think twice. The great thing was they already have contract templates so you can change out some of the placeholders and whatnot. Thus, paying a lawyer is not an option anymore. Though, I still advise that an actual lawyer should look through the proposals to make sure it fits your business. Well, most of these E-signature platforms that specialize in contracts and other documents are legally binding. E-signatures or legally binding signatures are e-signed and UETA compliant. Hence, many companies across the world use them, especially today where meeting people is not as easy as it used to be.

1. DocuSign

This platform I’d like to recommend is pretty much standard nowadays. I think it is the industry standard because it is a great platform. They have legally binding E-signatures and even provide Contract Lifecycle Management, where you can automate workflows and agreements. Streamline your contract process through a well-trusted tool like DocuSign.

2. PandaDoc

This E-signature platform also has legally binding e-signatures and is extremely easy to use. You’ll be notified through all stages of the contract lifecycle like when the recipient views the contract, signs the contract, and more! This is among those agency tools that can start for free. It also has multiple templates that are easy to use like DocuSign. What’s great is that you’re able to check in on where the recipient is in terms of the contract workflow.

Don’t mess around with legal documents and issues, unless you know your way around business law. It’s worth paying for legally binding signature platforms. DocuSign, Pandadoc, and many others actually have a free tier to help get you started without busting your wallet.

Why do we need a contracts & e-signature tool?

Like proposals, if you want to move forward, what you need is a legally binding contract. Of course, you do not want to mess around with the legal stuff. I actually didn’t know anything about these processed. I had an actual lawyer who works on these processes as a freelancer in the very beginning. However, I discovered contracts and e-signature SaaS platforms or E-signature platforms with the legal stuff. I recommend you use them because I know you definitely want a contract in place. Again, when I first started, I wrote out a contract in a word document. The process was tedious because I need to print, sign, scan, then send to the client.

Invoices & Accounting Agency Tools

I used spreadsheets when I first started because that’s what I learned at the companies that I used to work at in South Korea. Well, for me, invoicing is also part of your brand or a representation of your brand. If you’re providing any services based on subscriptions most likely you’re using some payment gateway providers like Stripe or Braintree to check out and so on. But if you’re using something like Stripe you can send out your invoice using Stripe now. But if you’re not using a specific payment gateway there’s a lot of accounting software or bookkeeping software out there that also has invoicing attached.

1. Xero

What I’m using for invoicing and also to keep track of our books is Xero. With Xero’s great platform, a lot of companies are using it I think they have over two million users. I use this for my US-based businesses to keep track of our books. With over 2 million users that trust Xero, you would be in good hands. You can integrate your banks with Xero and make sure everything is aligned. By sending out invoices through Xero, your users can simply pay with a click of a button. Easy right?

2. Wave Apps

The way I got started was looking for free stuff or lower pricing that would fit the picture and keep my expenses down. Wave Apps is completely free so that is something you might want to check out. What’s great is that invoice software enables you to easily create and send professional invoices, with advanced features like recurring billing and automatic payments.

3. Fiskl

This invoicing platform has a really nice user interface. It lets people or customers can pay directly from the invoice and Fiskl invoices can be customized. Fiskl lets you send all your invoices directly from the platform or the software. Hence, you don’t have to know the link for the invoice and write the email. Thus, shooting it out can send it outright!

Why do we need an invoice & accounting agency tool?

To me, even invoices are a part of branding. Sending over a quote and a payment request by email might work for some very small businesses as it did for me when I first started. However, it makes you look unprofessional. With agency tools, your invoice stands out professionally and represents your brand. More importantly, it will not allow you to mess around with finances and accounting. Invoice software helps you keep track of all your invoices and you will be super thankful when tax time rolls around. Trust me.

Customer Relation Management Tools

CRM is exactly what you should be doing to streamline all your processes. Our business model revolves around the customer or client. Thus, you need to have this information easily accessible and understand where your leads, prospects, and clients are in their journey. For CRM, I recommend these tools:

1. Hubspot

The king of kings. Hubspot does a lot more and is a lot more than a simple CRM and everything it does, it does well. The downside is that it can start getting expensive very quickly and may not be the best fit for a small agency. I had to add Hubspot because it’s the first platform I used and helped me understand CRM’s and many marketing principles when I first started.

2. Pipedrive

This CRM is simple. If you’re moving on from a simple Kanban-style sales pipeline like Trello, you will love Pipedrive and find it easy to move into. It is, like they say, ridiculously easy to use. Get a full view of your sales pipeline and understand where each lead is in their buyer’s journey. By having this full view of your pipeline, you can focus on the actions needed to push each lead to the next stage of your pipeline and ultimately close the client.

With Pipedrive, you have a full view of your pipeline right in front of you. It works like a kanban board you’re able to see where everyone is or where each lead and prospect is in their journey and act. The great thing about Pipedrive is as your software arsenal grows it you’ll see that Pipedrive really does integrate with everything.

3. Salesflare

I moved into Salesflare after Hubspot and it helped me convert many leads into paying clients by making sure I never forgot or lost any contacts. If you’re on Gsuite, you definitely want to check out Salesflare because it has native integration with Gmail. I love getting the notification that contact is “on fire” because they’ve been opening up my emails many times. Salesflare will also let you know if you’ve forgotten to reply to a lead, helping you make sure you don’t lose any potential clients.

Why do we need CRM tools?

CRM tools are important in order to better understand and provide for your customers. You may not think you need something like a CRM to start, but if you have prepared your agency for growth properly, you’ll know you need it. In addition, you will start seeing the leads flow in through a CRM. Hence, making you track their journey easily. You could potentially get by with using a simple spreadsheet or Kanban board like Trello, but there’s a reason there are specialized CRM agency tools out there. It makes a world of a difference! Having a great CRM set up so you never lose leads or prospects through the cracks – if you do, you’re losing money.

To Sum Up

These are the most fundamental and basic agency tools any agency owner should have set up before going out and trying to close clients. There are a lot more tools that you will need and should have for your agency like content tools, SEO tools, social media tools, but I wanted to focus on the basics first.

Remember though, the SaaS industry and tech, in general, is so fast. Hence, the trend is always changing. So it is important to always stay up to date on the latest trends and tools. You can check out my other business, Saastronautics, for that! And if you have missed my previous about the best SaaS tools for digital marketers, check this out: What Are The Best SaaS Tools For Digital Marketers!