Agency New Business Nightmare-Your New Client Changes Direction (And Doesn’t Tell You)

Here’s the scenario:

You got the meeting with an ideal prospect.

You have a conversation where you unearth that the company is going in a specific direction and needs services you can provide.

So your team comes together to construct initial thinking and direction, incorporating ways you’ve helped past and current clients.

The day comes, several weeks later, where you meet with your main point of contact and the rest of their team.

You’ve put together a killer initial presentation with all kinds of data to back it up.

All the right steps toward crushing this and bringing this client on board.

But there’s a problem.

You’re noticing confused looks.  Then slightly concerned looks.  Then your main point of contact, that you’ve been nurturing all this time, tells you. . .

”There’s been a change of direction.”

A change of direction that’s apparently quite pronounced.

That client does not come on board.

An abbreviated version of a true event and one you must be aware of.

I don’t need to tell you that, dependent on a company’s size, each department can be extremely siloed.

To the point that a change of direction like this can happen, with your main point of contact getting little notice.

Should they give you a heads up if that happens?

Hell yes!

But you can’t count on that.

The moral of this painful story?

The new business process doesn’t stop once you secure the meeting.

It’s on you to make sure you follow up prior to the meeting and ensure the plan hasn’t changed.