11 (Bad) Reasons Your Agency Isn’t Pursuing New Business

Over the past month, as I’ve talked to agency principals, I decided to make note of the reasons they gave for not keeping up with new business to that point (hence why they were now talking to me and considering our new business services).

Here are several, all real, and all bad, reasons given to me throughout the past month:

Working on new site

Case studies aren’t updated

Training

Client Project

Restructuring

We aren’t in a large market-difficult to break through

Agency is attempting to transition to different sectors

We don’t have anyone to do new business

Referrals had always been consistent

We’ve exhausted our pool of prospects

We’ve had bad luck with new business directors

I should make it very clear: many of these are important, and many are valid, but they’re still bad reasons.

They’re bad reasons because you can’t afford to wait, not in the long run.

I know what you’re thinking-you’ve turned new business off and on before and you always manage to catch up.

The flaw in that thinking is once you embrace it, even unknowingly, it becomes endemic.

And that time will come when you haven’t even thought about new business in four months and your biggest client drops a bomb on you.

Not saying these things so you live in fear, or that you pick up the phone to call us here at RSW/US to help (although we will pick up the phone).

In all seriousness, of course there will be those days when you simply cannot pursue new business, especially for smaller agencies where you’re stretched thin as it is, but don’t let excuses, however valid, dominate your thinking when it comes to new business.

If you’re waiting to pursue new business ongoing, ask yourself why you’re waiting.

And don’t make it harder than it needs be-start small, don’t overwhelm yourself with setting initial goals that are entirely too big, like writing 5 posts a week or reaching out to several hundred prospects a week.

However you pursue new business: with an internal new business director, an outsourced group or taking it on yourself-start the process now.

Waiting=Heartbreak.

Or at the very least a crap-load of stress.