Zombies: They Can Help Your Agency New Business Effort

So, I love Halloween.  I do.

And with Halloween comes the second season of  The Walking Dead.

A fabulous (albeit wrenching) show (and comic book) that I am unfortunately not being paid to plug.

If you’re not familiar, the show is about a zombie apocalypse and what might happen if real world folks were caught in the midst of it.

How they would survive? (It’s not for the kids.)

And while it may seem counter-intuitive, there is something to learn, a few pros and cons, from these dreadful zombies.

First, a few of the cons:

Other than the whole not being alive thing

1) They’re slow to react

Zombies shamble along, at best. (No, I do not acknowledge those films where the zombies run.)

They shuffle about with senses dulled and when they do actually notice something, which is typically only when quite loud and/or moving directly in front of them, they’re not reacting quickly.

Too many agencies, unbelievably, actually take the time to initially prospect, and then don’t react.

No follow up, or worse, a Marketer does show interest but follow up is turgid, at best.

2) Zombies just aren’t very smart overall

There is no forethought, plan or direction to their lives, poor things.

That’s because they’re the undead of course, but it’s somewhat sad to see a group of them shamble into a dead end alley and be stuck for days (weeks?) continuously running into the wall at the end.

Suffice to say, too often there is no plan when agencies prospect.  Even with those who hire an internal salesperson. Once hired, we’ve seen too many instances of the principals not touching base or meeting often enough with their new business person, to everyone’s detriment.

On to a few pros.

Bless Their Hearts, They Just Don’t Give Up

1) Single Minded Determination

Zombies have it in spades.

While they may not have a plan, they think about one thing only -one sole focus: the acute need for human flesh. ( Gross, I know.)

New agency clients consistently tell us new business people didn’t work, in retrospect, because they had too many responsibilities that didn’t involve new business.

Pulled in too many different directions, their focus was taken away.

This is a tough one, as often situations dictate individuals have to wear many hats, but that sole focus is important.

2) They’re relentless

Zombies do not give up, ever. They apparently don’t know how to.  If they see a human, they will pursue that person until the bitter end (literally).

Similarly, you can’t pick up prospecting and then put it down when things get busy.

Whether it’s a group or a single individual handling new business, you have to be prepared for the long haul.

Timing, timing, timing.

Is everything.

So maybe zombies aren’t entirely all bad.