Get Naked for Ad Agency New Business, OK, Not Really Naked

The post title, Get Naked for Ad Agency New Business, OK, Not Really Naked, comes from a few recent conversations about outbound lead generation with agency principals and internal agency new business directors. Cutting right to the chase: as in any field, a large part of your success as an agency new business person is being proactive. A basic sales tenet, right?  You don’t need me to tell you that.  Well, apparently I do, based off the conversations I mentioned.

What I’m hearing/seeing is an unhealthy dependence on external “needs”, causing salespeople to wait until the “right time” to sell.  In most cases, these “needs” aren’t needs at all, but mental clothing for that salesperson to “wear” when selling and inevitably use as a crutch.

Forget the mental clothing; shed the supposed “needs” and “get naked.”  Don’t hold up the new business process because the collateral isn’t ready or the landing page isn’t finished. Sure those can be helpful, but don’t make them vital to your sales process.

Having said that, “getting naked” doesn’t mean completely naked.  Do your homework on each prospect first, and make sure they fall within your parameters of the right client. And then show them, with a combination of a little digging and smart questions, that there’s a reason you’re contacting them.

You’ll always find something about them or their industry you can use to differentiate you from all the other agency salespeople. Don’t wait because that email blast or piece of collateral hasn’t gone out yet.  By combining that proactive behavior with a sound strategy and consistent prospecting, you’ll never need “clothes” again.