New Business Intel

» 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.

» For Ad Agency New Business Success, Hire a Sales Person with These 4 Traits…

Hire someone with proven success in consultative sales ... then ... let them sell!

Sales is a profession and a critical business function. The sales professional's personality is very different from any other staff member.

These 4 traits are critical - and common - among successful sales people:

1. They are driven to make money
2. They don't take rejection personally
3. They are incredibly persistent
4. They think like a business owner

For sales success the first step is hiring the right person with the right traits and secondly, you must let them sell.

Does this sound familiar?

You win a big account. Your head of business development, (let's call her Sally) nurtured the relationship over 18 months, so your new client naturally asks, "Will Sally work on my business?" You don't know how to say, "No", so you naturally respond, "Absolutely"! Your client walks away happy and confident, while you've just torpedoed your new business development effort.

This is a familiar story for any consultancy, ad agency, and most marketing services companies. Your best new business people land the business and then have to work on the business. This approach works great until you lose the account or the project ends, at which point you have to (madly) scramble to ramp up your sales effort to quickly generate revenue.

The only way to break this cycle: hire someone who knows how to sell and then, let them do it. Account service shouldn't be part of their responsibilities.

The answer to the question, "Will Sally work on my business" is simple: "No." And then respond professionally with something like, "As I'm sure you understand, revenue growth is important for us as it is for you. If Sally were to work on your business we would stop growing and jeopardize the health of the company. That would be bad for both of us."

» Procrastination Can Kill Your Ad Agency New Business Program

Any excuse is a good excuse not to make prospect calls

Just last month an agency president told me, "Over 20 years I've made up every possible excuse in order to NOT make the new business calls I needed to make."

Here are 4 common forms of new business procrastination:

• You find a great opportunity to talk to someone down the hall rather than picking up the phone.
• You schedule meetings during time you blocked off for contacting prospects or networking.
• You discover another interesting web site to "research"...
• You take part in a new business committee meeting that doesn't accomplish anything except make everyone feel good about doing something.

I've seen the following tactics break the procrastination habit:

1. Create monthly, weekly and daily new business objectives for yourself.
2. Don't leave work until you meet your daily objective(s).
3. Block time on your calendar. On schedule, close your email, put your phone on DND and focus on what you need to do.
4. If you must attend a meeting during your dedicated new business time, immediately reschedule it for later in the day or another day that week.
5. Set a maximum amount of time to research a company (minutes, not hours).
6. Decline any new business committee meeting and ask for the minutes instead.

The only way to be successful at ad agency new business development is to actually do it.

» Voicemails can Break through Proactive New Business Clutter

The words you use and the way you use them say a lot about you and your agency

They will determine if you are able to move from voicemails to conversations.

Think about how we pre-judge people who leave us voicemails. If they are a fast-talking salesperson we'll call them "slick" or "slimy". If they are from New York we assume they are "pushy". If they are from the South they won't be very smart. And if they have an accent (any accent unlike your own) it's going to be difficult to communicate with them.

No matter how educated or liberal we think we are, most of us will eventually fall prey to such prejudice.

Here are 6 things you can do to keep from falling into the voicemail trap:

1. Accent: be sure you or your new business person's accent is "neutral" - i.e. there is no perceivable accent (unless, of course, it's British, which is the trend for those agencies looking to be particularly sophisticated, hip and global).
2. Inflection: Listen to yourself and be sure your voice doesn't rise at the end of the sentence, or conversely trail off to nothing at the end.
3. Clarity: Is your voice clear and sparkly? Do you mumble?
4. Word choice: Do you sound strong and self-confident? Are you able to use a few good words to describe your agency instead of a paragraph?
5. Length: Are your voicemails short and to the point? Wordy and Verbose?
6. Message: Is your message respectful of the person you're calling? Demanding? Intriguing?

Used effectively, voicemails can be extremely powerful branding vehicles for your agency. In the hands of the wrong person they can be downright destructive.

» Chemistry Wins Ad Agency New Business

The determining factor at “decision time” is often how your prospect feels about your agency team

Full-disclosure - I've been in the room less than a dozen times during the agency selection decision, so I'm relying on search consultants who confirm that once there are 2-3 comparable agencies competing in the finals, the hiring decision often comes down to chemistry.

So why is this the case? Thinking about it analytically, you might conclude that:

• It's hard to differentiate between agency services;
• Talent is usually perceived as being equal, unless your agency is "a Crispin";
• Thanks to procurement, the economy, and pressure to reduce prices, the low-cost agency should always win.

However, I think the answer is simpler: people do business with people they like.

If hiring decisions are made because of chemistry, what can you do to build chemistry-creation into your proactive new business program?

I think there's something to developing the ability to "read" people - to determine the type of person you're speaking with or presenting to, and then give them what they want, how they want it. However, I doubt there are very many people who can pull this off effectively.

What I've seen work far better is this: ask your prospects questions to determine:

• What they want or need;
• What their opportunities or challenges are;
• When they need a solution.

And then, present a solution that meets their needs and timetable.

Along the way, use your intuition and determine if you like them and would enjoy having them as a client. If you do, pursue the opportunity. If you don't, remember that chemistry is a two-way street, and walk away.

» Proactive Ad Agency Business Development is Relationship-Building in Action

Jumping on a plane at the first whiff of potential client interest in your agency is a quick way to waste time and money

I had lunch the other day with a friend who's in charge of business development for an agency with a half-dozen locations across the country. She's a true expert in proactive business development, someone who can successfully bring a targeted prospect from no knowledge of her agency to new client, without a review.

She relayed the story of her new CEO's propensity to fly out to meet with any client who expresses any interest, however remote, in their agency. The expression she used to describe his behavior was off-color, to say the least (and very funny), but it drove home her point:

Successful proactive new business development is about developing relationships over time.

There are 4 easy to identify phases of the relationship-building process:

1. Awareness
2. Trust
3. Value
4. Decision

Awareness

Many of the clients on your prospect list may not even know that your agency exists. In this phase it is up to you to let them know who you are, what you do, and why they should care. This phase takes time and can't be rushed (hence flying out to meet them now is pointless).

Trust

In this phase your prospective client is starting to believe what you say and what you can do. This might be demonstrated by simply calling them when you said you would, or providing testimonials on case studies.

Value

Here you are showing that what you do generates ROI for your clients. This might be through relevant case studies or thought-pieces. You may also be successful by demonstrating that you are thinking about their business, asking them questions and bringing ideas to the table.

Decision

Naturally, agencies want to jump right to the decision phase. Sometimes it happens - you might call and be lucky enough to get into an RFP process. Even better, though, is when they have gotten to know you and have written the RFP with you in mind, or award you the work without a competitive review.

Think about these phases as you speak with your prospects. Recognize where you are in the process, where it makes sense to nurture the relationship by telephone, and when a face-to-face may move it forward. However, resist jumping on a plane too early - it will more than likely be a waste of time and money.

» Persistence Determines Successful Ad Agency New Business Development

CMO friends consistently tell me that new business people give up too early

Here are the unofficial statistics they cite about agencies' proactive business development people:

• 50% never follow up on the email or material they send
• 25% follow up only once or twice by phone
• 10% call 3-5 times
• 5% call more than 5 times

This does not mean that CMOs want you to call more. However, they do understand the sales process, and recognize "good sales" when they experience it.

If you see yourself in the above statistics, you might think about it this way – you're giving up before you've really begun the sales process. As one CMO said to me, "I won't ever take someone's call unless they've called me at least 5 times." When I asked why, she responded by saying. "I want to know that they really want to work with my company, and that they're not just looking for low-hanging fruit...I am NOT low hanging fruit!"

I recommend you consider doing the following 3 things to quickly improve your persistence:

• Follow up at least seven times: remember the marketing adage that it takes 5-7 impressions to make a first impression.
• Do what you say you're going to do; or, Set and fulfill expectations: if you say you're going to call on the 23rd, call on the 23rd.
• Use a CRM system (for example Act! or Salesforce) to record your notes and set next actions.

» 7 Voicemail Messages for Successful Ad Agency New Business Development

Good voicemail messages are a critical part of an effective sales and marketing campaign

Good voicemail messages are a critical part of an effective sales and marketing campaign: they develop awareness and rapport before a conversation begins.

I have a friend who's the CMO at a major retailer. One day she told me a story about how agencies and other marketing companies typically approach her. She said that she receives more than 10 unsolicited calls every week. All callers were directed to her voicemail. Of these, she said:

• 90% couldn't articulate why they were calling
• Only 5% left an intriguing voicemail message

In the training that we've done for many advertising agencies, as well as the business development professionals at Catapult New Business, we have identified an approach to leaving voicemail messages that professionally builds your agency's brand, articulates why you're calling, and builds rapport with your prospects.

The following 7 messages are a good outline to follow to achieve these objectives.

Note: No voicemail message should be longer than 20 seconds. In these examples, I'm assuming you are following up on something you've sent (e.g. an email or package).

Message 1: Answer the question - Who are you? Do not leave your telephone number; tell them you will call them back.

Message 2: Answer the question - Who have you worked with (current/past clients)? Again, do not leave your telephone number. Why? They won't call you back, and why should they?

Message 3: Answer the question - Why are you calling? You must be able to state your reason in a way that makes sense from their perspective! It's now appropriate to leave your phone number and say when you'll call back, but don't expect them to call you. Start revealing your personality, sense of humor, etc

Message 4: Answer the question - Why are you relevant? This needs to be a clear and succinct statement of why they should care who you are and what you do. What can you do for them?

Message 5: Answer the question (again) - Why should they care? Objective - give them more "meat" about your agency.

Message 6: Answer the question - What recent work is important to them? Your prospect should hear your message and respond with, "Wow, those are impressive results - they know what's important to me (industry, competition, revenue, market share, etc.)."

Message 7: Answer the question - Why am I not going away? Be you - for example with humor or sincerity - and let your prospect know that you really want to work with them, and that you aren't going away. You might now let them know that you'd like to speak with them about one of their current challenges. Or, offer an insight into a challenge they may be experiencing, perhaps based on research you've done.

As you can see, you shouldn't plan to stop after leaving 7 messages. Instead, now develop a plan for your next seven messages.

If your voicemail messages are professional and interesting, and if you've positioned your agency so you're relevant to your prospect, you will start experiencing greater new business success.

Your prospects will develop a positive feeling for you and your firm. And, that's the best way to begin a potential business relationship.

» 10 Steps to a New Business Plan

Make your plan, and then work your plan

A former senior colleague of mine on the client side used to preach the old adage, "Make your plan, and then work your plan." It works. Applied to new business, it works really well.

I remember asking the president of a west coast ad agency to describe his new business plan. He hesitated, and then answered that he had hired a woman right out of college and given her a list to call. I waited. He started visibly squirming in his seat.

I gently pushed him over the edge with another question, "...and your plan is...?" He looked at me, grimaced, and shrugged, palms directed towards the ceiling.

Creating your new business plan doesn't have to be an arduous process - particularly if you don't have one now. It's far better to do something than nothing. And, to make it a living document, I highly recommend that it fit on a single piece of paper. Some of the details may need to be on a subsequent page (e.g. the details behind the goals, metrics, marketing plan), but all the top-line elements should fit.

Here's a 10-step process that may help:

1. Pick the new business system that best matches your agency's size, culture, personnel, and objective.
2. Identify the person who will drive the process (who is responsible and accountable).
3. Evaluate your new business performance over the last 2 years: # meetings, # proposals and RFPs completed, # wins. Determine your ratios (e.g. meetings/proposals; RFP/win).
4. Set realistic new business goals based on past performance, and then set stretch goals.
5. Identify the top two things you want to improve about your past performance. Create an action plan for each item, with specific dates, metrics, and person(s) responsible to achieve them.
6. Identify the top 3 categories you're going to pursue.
7. Clearly define why your agency is relevant to each category - in one sentence for each. To help, answer this question: Why should the VP marketing at one of your target companies care that you exist? In other words, what problem can you solve for them?
8. Create your marketing and sales plan, complete with specific dates, metrics (e.g. email open rates, calls made, conversations, meetings, proposals, etc.) and person(s) responsible to implement each aspect.
9. Implement your plan. This means work it - do what you said you were going to do.
10. Measure the results. Determine ways to improve. Implement those changes. Measure. Repeat.

As you can see, none of this is hard. It just takes commitment to your plan.