Podcast Summary:

Smarter Agency Partnerships with Behdad Jamshidi | Ep 1135
The Digital Executive, Coruzant Technologies
Date: October 28, 2025
Host: Brian (Coruzant Technologies)
Guest: Behdad Jamshidi (Founder, The Marketing Connector / CJAM)

Episode Overview

This episode of The Digital Executive features Behdad Jamshidi, founder of CJAM, The Marketing Connector, who specializes in matching businesses with the right marketing agency partners. Through his experience evaluating over 1,000 agencies, Behdad shares hard-won insights on what distinguishes great ("A player") agencies from mediocre ("B player") ones, the pitfalls businesses face when hiring agencies, and forward-looking advice on agency partnerships in an era of AI and distributed teams.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Origin of CJAM & Identifying the Agency Evaluation Gap

(01:11–03:35)

• Key Insight: Behdad's background in engineering consulting revealed a communication gap between businesses and marketing agencies, where each side didn't understand the other's language or priorities.
• Moment of Realization:
  • Behdad noticed firsthand that agencies have limited specialties—often excelling at just one to three things—and "full-service" agencies frequently overstate their capabilities.
  • “As I've talked to over 1,081 different marketing agencies and experts…there is no one size fits all. ... Only 11% of them are good at one to three things and the rest are good at nothing.” (B, 03:17)
• Skill Set: His strength lies in "the matchmaking process"—pairing businesses with the right specialized partners at the right stage of growth.

2. Spotting B Player Agencies and What to Do About Them

(04:22–06:22)

• Warning Signs:

  • Agencies that stagnate: stop bringing new ideas, hide or obscure performance data, and fail to adjust strategies.
  • Agencies may fit certain business sizes or stages, but expertise doesn't always scale with business needs.
    • "Most agencies have a range of businesses they can work with. Some are good with businesses from 500K to 3 million, some from 3 million to 10, some from 10 million to 30 million…" (B, 04:35)
  • Watch your gut: if you’re not seeing results or transparency, it’s time to reassess.

• A Player vs. B Player Impact:

  • The difference in results is not linear but exponential.
  • Example:
    • “If you’re running Facebook ads and you have the B player that says, ‘we just run the ads, we don't do any strategy...’ that's a pretty telltale sign they don’t really care about all aspects of Facebook.” (B, 05:37)
  • A Player agencies integrate strategic input, asset creation, and rapid iteration—crucial for maximizing larger budgets.

3. Critical Agency Evaluation Criteria (Jamshidi's Checklist)

(07:10–09:00)

• Top Checklist Items:

  • Agency Age: Less than five years = immature systems/processes. Five years marks a minimum for agency maturity.
  • Founding Story:
    • Question if founders actually ran the type of work they tout under their agency or if they're inflating experience from prior roles as employees elsewhere.
  • Client Logos:
    • “Don’t get tricked” by big logos—verify that the agency, not an individual’s freelance or employee work, owns that experience.
  • Growth Claims:
    • If an agency says they’re "growing really fast," it’s a red flag. Agencies are built on people, and rapid growth often leads to quality breakdowns.
    • “You want to hear an agency is growing 15 to 20% a year. … If they can do ‘everything under the sun’ for mid-sized companies, that's a massive red flag.” (B, 08:37)
  • Service Claims:
    • "Full-service" promises rarely hold true unless you’re an enterprise—and then, expect a massive bill.

• Jamshidi’s Vetting:

  • Behdad has over 40 checkpoints, but these core signals can be spotted in the first 30 minutes of a call.

4. Future Agency Partnerships: AI, Distributed Teams, and Specialization

(09:55–11:28)

• AI and Execution:

  • AI is making marketing execution easier and more automated, so future differentiation will be less about who can "do the thing" and more about who has better strategy and specialized talents.
  • "Execution is becoming easier and easier... you're going to need to make sure your marketing strategy...is really sound, because execution is going to become way easier." (B, 10:09)

• Advice to Business Leaders:

  • Prioritize partners who provide real strategic resources, not just hands-for-hire.
  • Use AI as a productivity multiplier, not a substitute for true marketing mastery:
    • “…If you use an expert copywriter and they use ChatGPT… because they know what great looks like, you’re going to get great results.” (B, 11:03)
  • "Find those specialists that really understand and have mastered the craft and then they can use AI to then get the output that they’re looking for." (B, 10:54)

• Distributed Teams:

  • The dispersion of teams is now the norm and isn't seen as a major disruptor anymore.

Notable Quotes

• On the Agency Gap:

  • “There is no one size fits all marketing agency. It really comes down to what the business needs, what their size is, and which channels make the most sense.” (B, 03:09)

• On B vs. A Agencies:

  • “The difference between an A player and a B player is not linear, it’s exponential.” (B, 05:04)

• On Superficial Agency Claims:

  • “Don’t get tricked by some of these things... whenever an agency tells you that they're growing really fast, that’s a red flag because agencies are businesses built on people, and people don’t scale.” (B, 08:29)

• On AI in Marketing:

  • “If you take an average copywriter and you get them to use ChatGPT, you’re going to get average results. But if you use an expert copywriter... you’re going to get great results.” (B, 11:03)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:49] – Behdad’s backstory and the creation of CJAM
• [03:35] – The “matchmaking” problem and agency specialization limits
• [04:22] – How to spot B player agencies and the impact on business
• [07:10] – Critical vetting criteria for agencies (experience, story, genuine credentials)
• [09:55] – Future-proofing agency partnerships with AI and niche experts
• [11:28] – Leveraging AI with true expertise vs. average execution

Overall Tone & Takeaways

The conversation is direct, practical, and candid, with Behdad speaking openly about the realities of the agency world and the mistakes clients make. He emphasizes methodical evaluation and warns against being swayed by fast growth hype or over-promises. His outlook on AI is pragmatic: it’s a tool for masters, not a magic wand for average talent.

For business leaders:

• Regularly evaluate agency fit as your business evolves
• Insist on transparency, expertise, and strategic input
• Don’t be seduced by rapid growth or “we do everything” claims
• Use AI to expand on proven excellence, not to generate mediocrity