Agency New Business: All Pain & Still No Gain?

Posted on July 21, 2011

Does the title describe your current new business effort? If so, time to ask yourself why.

Is it lack of consistency, value of outreach or patience? It’s usually one (or all) of the three.

I’m going to focus on the patience aspect for this post.

Agencies seem to lack it when it comes to new business. That’s a rather blanket generalization, I realize, but any worthwhile new business effort takes time.

And an overlooked part of the process is building the pipeline. You hear about it ad nauseam, but it’s often abandoned in practice.

Agencies get laser focused on opening doors and getting meetings to the exclusion of relationship building opportunities.

If you start with a list of prospects that are targeted and that fit with your plans for growth, always keep in mind that timing is everything. If the company is a fit, and you get an initial conversation but there’s no immediate work, lay the foundation for a potential relationship with smart questions.

This is where agencies traditionally drop the ball. The prospect doesn’t have work now or isn’t currently looking for an agency and so they move on, never to return.

But one day, most likely sooner than later, they will be ready. Which is why in those situations, set reminders on your calendar and stay consistent with a content stream that doesn’t sell but instead shows that your agency “gets it.”

Set up a Google alert for that company if possible and drop back in when you get applicable news.

It also shows you’re confident of a fit, therefore willing to wait. (Which, granted, is the hard part.)

The key of course is that timing is indeed everything. With a consistent, intelligent process, you’ll find a blend of hot and soon-to-be-hot prospects.

Then you’ll start to see some of that elusive “gain.”

5 responses to "Agency New Business: All Pain & Still No Gain?"

Reese Adams 22/07/2011 06:56 am Reply

Doesn’t always take away the Pain – but at least lays some groundwork for the Gain

also you never know who any given prospect might know – that particular person may not have work – but they may still recommend you to another because they respect your professional approach
Randy Gunter 22/07/2011 08:48 am Reply

Here’s another thing to remember when you are looking at prospective companies that would be a good fit for you: people change. We recently landed a new client that we have been pursuing for years, but it was a change in their management that prompted our landing the account. Two lessons: (1) Timing can be everything. (2) Don’t write anyone off, put them on the “check back later” list.
Lee McKnight Jr 25/07/2011 10:44 am Reply

Thanks Randy, great point. That “check back later” list is all-important. That’s one area where agencies fall short-they never actually do check back.
Lee McKnight Jr 25/07/2011 10:46 am Reply

Thanks as well Reese! (Something screwy going on with the comments.) Very true-those referrals are as sweet as it gets.
Agency New Business & The Change of the Guard – Agency New Business 27/07/2011 13:52 pm Reply

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