I’ve been on a jag lately in regards to clarity and conciseness in your new business messaging. (Well, not just lately, actually constantly.) Any time I write an email, a letter-whatever vehicle I may be using to prospect-I always ask myself, “How can I make this shorter, more concise and more relevant to the prospect?” […]
INFLUENCE. In agency new business – where facing prospects who hold the decision making power that can potentially carry your firm to new heights – influence is a coveted ability. At every phase of the new business development process, building credibility and influence is vital. It’s quite an art to accomplish this pleasantly and […]
Ever put a bumper sticker on your car? I have – usually during political election seasons. Bumper stickers typically very clearly and very succinctly articulate an idea or a position. If you had to create a bumper sticker for your agency, what would it say? How would it define your point of difference in a […]
In a conversation with one of my New Business Director colleagues the other day about particularly successful clients, she reflected on the importance of “Thank You”. She specifically recalled the AdAge article reporting on the new business panel discussion at their Small Agency Conference, when one panelist remarked: “I’ve seen when an agency won the […]
Over the past few weeks, our posts have presented the Agency of the Future, describing traits agencies will need to flourish in our rapidly evolving industry. Several traits we presented described how agencies can continuously grow in value as a partner to their clients. Others centered on becoming a more effective competitor as marketers consolidate agency partners. […]
Your new business prospects are looking for something to sink their teeth into. As our series on future-proofing your agency has illustrated, marketers are consolidating agencies, and agencies are intensifying their agency new business efforts. Amid this increasingly competitive activity, marketers are telling us they receive information from hundreds of agencies who sound […]
If an outside observer remarked that your agency team appear “as busy as bees”, that could be a good thing. Particularly, if they are busy on the right things – things that matter for moving your clients and your own firm forward. However, that’s not what is most important about the Honey Bee when it […]
When corporate powerhouses like Coca Cola and JP Morgan Chase eliminate employee voicemail services, it may seem that the job of agency new business development just got harder. Hold the phone though! It’s an opportunity to leverage live conversations, as well as other prospecting resources.
“When we are planning for a conversation or meeting, typically we think about the task and objectives. But how much time do we plan the relationship?…how can we connect at a deeper level…?” These lines jumped out at me as I recently read excerpts of an interview conducted by the Center for Creative […]
I was on a call with a few agency principals and the subject of prospect/list volume came up. They were in the position of having an abundance of work with one (large) client, a very smart, talented mid-size agency, and wanted to be selective about what they went after. I mean, really selective, like potentially […]
