Agency New Business: All Pain And Still No Gain?

Does the title describe your current agency 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.

Agencies definitely lack patience when it comes to new business.

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 targeted list of prospects who fit with your plans for growth, always keep in mind:

Timing really 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.”

It 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.”