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Growing up in the 80’s, some of the most influential people in my life, well, aren’t even real people.
They are characters created in the amazing and gone-too-soon mind of John Hughes.
Here are a few lessons John Hughes and his movies have taught me. I hope they can help you in your new business development efforts.
Ferris Bueller, You’re My Hero
“The question isn’t what are we going to do, the question is what aren’t we going to do,” Ferris Bueller.
What makes Ferris Bueller my hero and such an unstoppable force is his commitment to have a good day off.
And he goes to some extremes to ensure his efforts ar e a success.
Are you willing to ditch a day of your regular job to devote to developing new business for your agency?
We can all get sucked in the never-ending list of daily chores that have to get done at your agency.
There is always a client you need to call, a creative brief you need to review, an estimate you need to approve.
Are you willing to get in that 1961 Ferrari GT and cruise through some prospecting?
That estimate will still be there tomorrow, but will your agency if you don’t keep building your client base?
Don’t Get Crushed — The Molly Ringwald Factor
“That’s why they call them crushes. If they were easy, they’d call them something else,” Jim Baker to his daughter Samantha in Sixteen Candles.
Samantha is the awkward, 16-year-old girl who is desperately infatuated with Jake Ryan, the hunky, popular senior football player.
Sometimes when prospecting, you can feel a bit awkward and out of your element. New business development can crush you.
So what should you do when you have your sight set on a great company, a popular company that every agency in town would love to work with, but that company doesn’t know you exist? Channel your inner Molly Ringwald of course.
In the end of this movie, Samantha’s birthday wish comes true and she gets “noticed” by the hunky Jake.
But the moral of the story is that he notices her because she is true to herself.
She’s not the voluptuous, blonde bombshell, but Jake appreciates that Samantha is authentic – she brings value to his life that his prom queen girlfriend didn’t.
If you want to get noticed by the best companies, don’t try to be something your agency is not. You will come across as being fake.
Maybe that company is tired of dating the prom queen. Be the person/agency who brings substance and value to that company and in the end, they will probably notice you, just like Jake.
Dear Mr. Vernon…
“We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong… But we think you’re crazy to make an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us… In the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions,” the geek, from The Breakfast Club.
Prospects will often try to define your agency in the simplest terms, the most convenient definitions.
It is your job, when reaching out to them, to make them see your agency as you want to be seen.
So take a look at how you’re presenting your agency.
Do you have a clearly defined point of view?
Does your website, your blog, your capabilities presentation and your YouTube account support that point of view?
This is an area of opportunity that I’ve seen agencies struggle with, defining who they are and how they fit in the marketplace. If you struggle with this, so will your prospects.
There are certainly many other important lessons you can learn from the collection of John Hughes movies, these are some of my favorite.
So the next time you’re stuck in Saturday School, roaming around the halls of your agency, trying to drum up some new accounts, keep these lessons in mind.
One response to "Take a Page from The Breakfast Club to Inspire Your New Business Development"
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Deb Budd 28/10/2011 14:57 pm
I am shocked (shocked!) that no one else has responded to your very funny post. (All Hail John Hughes) I especially like “The Breakfast Club” advice; agencies need to work really hard to define who they are and what they bring to their clients. It’s our job to help clients sell; if we can’t even sell our own agencies, why should they perceive our skills as exceptional enough to drive their businesses to success? Down with convenient definitions…
