New Business Intel

» Ad Agency New Business, First Build a Relationship

Your agency's first meeting with a prospective client should be all about them and not about you or your capabilities

I've enjoyed reading Norm Brodsky's articles in Inc. magazine for years. He's seen and experienced just about anything you'll ever encounter, and there's a wealth of good business insight in every article and post. If you're a creative person who's perhaps less fond of the business aspects of running an agency, reading his stuff is a quick way to get a degree in management and sales.

Take the following post about the first meetings. This topic is one of my favorites because I've seen so many ad agencies blow what could be the first step towards a sizable piece of new business. Here's what Norm says:

I usually go out on the first sales call with any new sales person we hire. After we leave that first meeting, the new sales person's comment is usually, You didn't tell them what we do.

My answer is always, they know what we do. And they know we're there to make a sale. But the best way to close a sale is by building a relationship. Every time I go into somebody's office, I look at the plaques on the walls, the trophies, the memorabilia, the photographs. I always try to learn something about the person I'm meeting.

More times than not, I steer the conversation toward their hobbies, their passions, their families, and try to relate my experiences to what they like. In our business, which is a service business, we never close on the first call anyway. But when I leave that meeting, I want them to remember that we've been there.

It's so simple. But how many of us use the excuse of the first meeting to talk all about ourselves and our companies?

Instead, why not ask your prospect questions? Get to know them? Build a relationship. After all, they know why you're there - to sell your agency's services. But they, like you, need to determine if there's chemistry.

You're probably heard this before - people buy from people they like. So stop presenting and instead try building a relationship. When you're successful, closing the deal becomes a matter of deciding when to start, which is a fun way to add new business.

» Effort Trumps Ability in Ad Agency Business Development

David beats Goliath

There's a great article titled, How David Beats Goliath in the May 10, 2009 edition of "The New Yorker" magazine by Malcom Gladwell. This article made me think about the small agency Davids who regularly compete against big agency Goliaths.

"David's victory over Goliath, in the Biblical account, is held to be an anomaly. It was not. Davids win all the time. The political scientist Ivan Arreguín-Toft recently looked at every war fought in the past two hundred years between strong and weak combatants. The Goliaths, he found, won in 71.5 percent of the cases. That is a remarkable fact. Arreguín-Toft was analyzing conflicts in which one side was at least ten times as powerful—in terms of armed might and population—as its opponent, and even in those lopsided contests the underdog won almost a third of the time."

Gladwell relates the story of a girls (12-year olds) basketball team in Redwood City, CA. The coach, who was from Mumbai, India, directed his less-skilled team to attack the inbounds pass, "the point in a game where a great team is as vulnerable as a weak one. They defended all ninety-four feet. The full-court press is legs, not arms. It supplants ability with effort.

It is basketball for those "quite unused to formal warfare, whose assets were movement, endurance, individual intelligence...courage."

If you're a David, and now recognize that you have a 30% chance of winning, how might you compete differently, in a way that's to your advantage? You might get an idea from this article.

» Is Your Ad Agency Practicing Inward Facing Dog?

Don't be one of those new business professionals (or CEOs) who's missing what's happening outside the four walls of your agency

If you're the new business person at a small or medium-size agency, or the agency CEO, a recent post from OnStartUps by Dharmesh Shah may resonate.

I borrowed this post's title from Dharmesh, who alludes to the popular yoga pose "downward facing dog" when he asks his readers, "[are you] practicing inward facing dog? That is, are you overly focused on things going on inside the company with too little attention on what might be going on outside the company?"

Here are his 6 ways to determine if your agency is Inward-Facing (he wrote this for start-ups; I've re-written his points to apply to ad agencies):

1. You haven't talked to your client(s) this week for any reason other than to provide support.

2. You don't know what your closest agency competitors are doing, or what new ones are cropping up (yes, even in a recession).

3. You don't read the blogs of at least 5 people you respect in the advertising industry. Read. Stay up to date on the conversations shaping the industry.

4. You haven't been to an industry conference in years - solely to learn and have in-person conversations.

5. You don't follow the news about where the money is flowing in the ad industry or your clients' industries. Who is being funded? What technological innovations are occurring? What companies are getting bought, being sold?

6. You don't regularly meet with other new business professionals (or agency CEOs). Your experiences, challenges, frustrations are not unique - others have been through it before and you can learn from them.

Hopefully, one or more of these ideas will help you get tuned back in to what's happening outside. It's important for your professional growth as well as as the health and vitality of your agency.

What other signs might indicate that your agency is too inward focused? What else do you do to make sure you stay in touch with what's going on outside your four walls?

» Eavesdropping as an Ad Agency New Business Strategy

Use search and social media to reveal insights and initiate conversations with prospective clients

Medical Marketing and Media magazine published a story called "The Science of Eavesdropping" in the May 2009 issue. While the authors, from Wunderman NY, are writing it from a client research perspective, I found that it offers some interesting ideas for agency new business pros.

Extrapolating from what the authors report, I've come up with the following:

Research industries and companies you're targeting

• Read your prospects' blogs and those of their consumers
• Listen to what those consumers are saying
• Identify broad themes, topics and sub-topics that they are talking about
• Identify perceptions about your target's brands, as well as their competitors
• Determine insights that you can use to develop marketing messages

Use your research to start conversations

Insights become your 'door-openers' - the reason you're calling; the reason to meet; the reason to have a second meeting.

• Plan your voicemail series to incorporate the insights you have gained and get your prospect's attention
• Structure first meetings to ask questions around your insights to determine if you're on target and learn more
• Suggest second meetings to reveal your insights and plant seeds for how you might help capitalize on them

I know certain large and sophisticated agencies are employing research methodologies and strategies like those the authors discuss to gain insights into their prospects' consumers and markets. What tools do you use and how do you utilize them for new business? How are you using insights to open doors with your top prospects?

» New Business and Your Ad Agency’s Vision

What is the clear, specific, measurable and achievable Vision motivating your agency?

Yesterday I participated in a Vistage meeting that featured an excellent speaker, Dan Barnett. Dan has run businesses for 25 years at companies like Pillsbury, Nestle, Constellation Brands, Vistage, and now on his own.

He pushed us to write down our company's vision and then identify our "make or break".

Three things struck me that hadn't previously: written well, a vision statement should:

1. Motivate employees
2. Drive behavior
3. Last for (only) 5-7 years

Woops: I realized that ours doesn't accomplish either of the first 2 and was written 9 years ago. Dan said that while it's not uncommon, we were all missing a huge opportunity not to update or change it so points you in the direction you want to go.

The other question he asked was this: "Will achieving your Vision make you happy when you get there?" If you're the CEO or on your agency's management team and the answer is No, you need a new vision.

Think about this: your new business program needs to flow directly from your vision. Like your vision, it must be clear, specific, measurable, achievable and motivating. Is it?

• Does your agency occupy a clear position in the market?
• Have you set specific goals?
• Can you easily measure every activity that will lead to new business success?
• Are your goals and activities achievable in the time period?
• Are they motivating to employees?

Let the vision statement be your agency's guide. Once you have it, everything else will follow.

» Slow and Steady Ad Agency New Business

Your new business program will benefit from applying the principals of healthy living

I was struck by the parallels between maintaining good personal health and a successful and healthy agency new business program when scanning the recent Zappos blog, Slow and Steady Wins the Race.

Consider these 5 well-known, but not always well-adhered to principals of healthy living and how you can reinterpret them for new business:

1. Don't do crash diets. Translation: practice new business consistently. Identify and put a 100% dedicated person in charge of new business.
2. Schedule your workouts. Translation: schedule your new business activities on your calendar. Sticking with your commitment to new business is much easier when you have an appointment to do it.
3. Clean up your eating habits. Translation: focus on companies that are a good potential fit for your agency. Pursue clients who fit with your culture, core principals, and will allow you to make a fair profit.
4. Be realistic. Translation: set achievable goals, so that hitting them will help you stick with your plan.
5. Log your time. Translation: track your activities. Knowing your metrics will make you a better new business person and allow you to determine what to change in order to improve.

Successful new business professionals do these 5 things every day. How are many do you do?

» Ad Agency New Business Strategy: Employee Referrals

Push responsibility for new business throughout your entire agency

I'm talking to more agencies and marketing services companies that are trying to enlist everyone in their companies to drive new business. Miriam Marcus wrote an article in Forbes magazine the other day (click here for the story) featuring Roundarch, a 175-person Chicago-based Web site and mobile application designer/developer.

Until 5 years ago Roundarch had a dedicated sales team. But then they decided to push responsibility for driving new business throughout the company. Here's what they did to kick off and maintain the program:

• Offered a $5,000 bonus for any referral that leads to a project.
• Agreed upon a 2 minute elevator pitch.
• Encouraged employees to network with and through friends and family.
• Initiated a weekly company-wide email that lists all leads and projects in the pipeline to solicit "who do you know" feedback from employees.
• Held a company-wide sales meeting every month to share what's working and what's not.

New business from employee referrals is now a critical part of Roundarch's success, and some of the biggest projects in the last five years have come from junior staffers. And a peripheral benefit emerged: enhanced employee morale, as employees at all levels feel directly responsible for the success of the company.

Here are 4 recommendations that Roundarch recommends you keep in mind if you'd like to kick off a program like this:

1. Hone your value statement. Make sure your employees know what the company can do, and can not do, and which clients are most worth targeting. Everyone should have a quick two-minute elevator-pitch on hand, should the right occasion arise.
2. Be reasonable. Some employees are capable of setting up a meeting, while others can deliver a full-on pitch. Define upfront what is expected of people, and how they should follow through on potentially promising situations.
3. Harness the Web. Any connection can lead to a sale--be it through alumni associations, community groups and now, especially, online via Facebook or LinkedIn. When Roundarch launched an iPhone application for Avis Rent A Car, nearly 30 employees posted links about it on their blogs and on their Twitter and Facebook accounts.
4. Reward them. Salespeople crave commissions. At Roundarch, employees receive a $5,000 bonus for a referral that leads to a project. Positive reinforcement and peer recognition are great motivators, too. Even if a lead doesn't turn into a project, Roundarch highlights efforts at the company's monthly meetings, and asks the person to tell the group how they did it. "We gave the first junior employee to score us a lead a huge over-sized check," says Roundarch President, Jeff Maling.

If you set the right expectations, provide the necessary training, and establish and maintain the required communication and incentives, this can be an effective way to grow your new business pipeline.

Have you done something similar at your agency? I'm interested in hearing what's worked and what hasn't.

» For Ad Agency New Business Success, Focus on Just a Few Prospects

Why is it that most large advertising agencies focus on only 10 or 15 prospects?

Here are 5 reasons why large agencies focus on fewer prospects:

• Client "conflicts" limit the industries where they can pursue prospects.
• Budget: they are looking for big game, big budgets, and often global scope.
• Knowledge: big companies expect anyone calling them to be smart and have insights about their business before they'll talk to them, so the new business team has to research and absorb a lot of information over time.
• Competitive review: they watch what their competitors are doing (both their prospect's competitors and their prospect's agencies) and look for weakness and potential opportunities.
• Knowing when to call: careful analysis and synthesis of information over time gives the new business team ideas about when and how to make their approach.

As an example, TBWA / Chiat Day identified Visa as a prospect many years before they won the business.

How can your agency benefit from this approach? I think it depends on your...

• Brand - have you put your stake in the sand; do you have a niche where you thrive?
• Persistence - do you have someone with proven sales ability who can nurture prospects over the long term?
• Financial health - with fewer prospects in your pipeline you may have to wait before you win; how long can you last?

With these three you have a competitive advantage. To reach more about this kind of new business focus, I encourage you to read Tim Williams' post on not making new business a numbers game.

» 13 Questions Ad Agencies Should Ask Prospective Clients

What are the best questions to ask when your ad agency first meets a prospect? Check these out and then submit your favorites

In every prospect meeting, new business people have the opportunity to ask a few good questions. Ask the right ones and you'll find the opportunities you need to win.

Here are 13 good questions for you to try. I'd love to get feedback on the ones you really like, and hope you'll submit some of your own. Then we'll put them to a vote in the future.

• What's the biggest opportunity for you to shine over the next year?
• (To a someone new to their position) What are your 2-3 biggest surprises since taking over this brand/role?
• In what markets do you need to be stronger? Why?
• How might we make your current AOR work better?
• You'd paid your final check for the year. What will make you say "thank you" to your agency?
• What will convince you that an agency is right for you/the job?
• What's your business must-list vs. your business wish-list?
• What do we need to accomplish beyond your standard expectations?
• What are the most successful / least successful programs you have run?
• What's the biggest barrier to achieving your goals?
• What keeps you up at night?
• What role do sales reps play?
• What's your biggest struggle with your top account?

» Ad Agency New Business: How Not to Sound Like a Used Car Salesman

New business wins are rare if your prospect feels like a piece of meat

What are the first words that come to mind when you read the word, "Sales"? When I ask this of ad agency new business teams, or friends at cocktail parties (however embarrassing, yes, I've asked that question), the answer is almost always: "Used Car".

Unfortunately, the sales profession has been terribly tarnished by traditional hard-sells: sales people trying to sell you something (whether you want it or not). You know the feeling: the harder they push, the more you want to run away.

Instead, think of a buying experience you where you felt like the person you were working with really had your best interests at heart. I remember Brad Feiman, a wonderful real estate agent who helped us when we moved to Atlanta, and Sid Mashburn, owner of a fabulous Atlanta-based men's clothing store.

A great sales experience feels like this:

• It begins with an exchange of information
• It feels like a conversation
• The salesperson listens intently and is genuinely interested in me and answers my questions
• The salesperson is knowledgeable
• They can think on their feet and demonstrate resourcefulness
• Overall, they feel and act like a trusted advisor

Too often, when inexperienced new business people try to sell, they revert to the used-car style that most people hate.

Instead, experience greater new business success by acting as a trusted advisor, treating your future ad agency clients as you would a good friend.