Agency New Business: Prospects Go Dark, Don’t Let Your Agency Do The Same

One of the most frustrating challenges in agency new business? When prospects go dark.

Always tough, and agencies tend to get worried or even desperate when it’s been a few days or weeks, understandably so.

You can’t get anxious (easy for me to say I know) and when you do reach back out, find something of value to further the conversation so it’s not just a generic check-in.

Something interesting about going dark that’s not often talked about though:

Agencies go dark with their own prospects.

Usually without meaning to, but excellent opportunities are lost this way.

For the same reasons agencies work with us (predominantly lack of time for a consistent process because clients have to come first) we realized we often needed to take the reins (where it made sense) after those first meetings.

And you can’t let the fact that you’re slammed cause a promising prospect to fall through the cracks.

It most often happens with those prospects who have a need, but it’s several weeks or months away.

Before that first meeting ends, respectfully ask for a second, as well as a timeline if possible.

Immediately afterwards, set calendar reminders for yourself and take a few minutes to craft a meaningful email or send a thank you via snail mail.

Don’t pester them, but stay consistent in your reach-outs. Especially if there’s new work to tout, awards won, or content around their vertical you’ve written, and the prospect will see what working with you looks like, making them feel better and better about you before you’ve started working together.

Everybody’s busy, and it stinks when a prospect goes dark-don’t do the same.