Agency New Business: The Harsh Reality-Clients Will Go

We did a Pennsylvania tour of duty this week with a few wonderful new clients and on the way home in the Pittsburgh airport, had a quick bite and beverage at The Burgh Sportz Bar. (Which despite the use of the Z where an S should be, is quite affordable for an airport and is manned by the very friendly Cindy)

They had a nicely varied selection of tunes playing and the 1972 song, Hold Your Head Up came on.

(Incidentally I typically have a pretty good grasp on music trivia, and as well as I knew the song, could not for the life of me remember who sang it.*)

Where am I going with this?

 

Holding your head up.

In a post a few weeks ago, I referenced an Ad Age article about agency AOR assignments being harder to come by.

Another point I should have added then and will now-at some point your current clients will move on.

Not particularly pleasant to think about and you know it well.

Or sometimes worse, they won’t go away but will cut back.

And more often than not, it’s through no fault of your agency, which of course, makes it all the more frustrating.

 

Which is another reason why-you must invest in ongoing agency new business.

However you do it.

But you can’t start and stop.

It’s not a 3 month, 6 month or even 12 month proposition.

It’s ongoing.

And that’s where we see agencies constantly falling short.

So when you do see a client go, or cut back, hold your head up and don’t dwell on it.

And if you have a new business strategy in place-you’ll weather the loss.

 

*It’s Argent by the way.  Behold.