In our 2018 Agency New Business Thought Leader Survey Report, Jason Parks, EVP/Managing Director at Barkley asked the following question:
Are you satisfied with the success of your new business plan/program?
As my post title points out, 64% said no. And Jason also asked, “Why do you feel the program has been a success or not been a success?”
In our report we listed some of the responses to this question from your peers, and as a bonus of sorts, I wanted to include a few more that weren’t in the survey:
Not deliberate, no one dedicated to it
Unfocused outreach
Becoming harder to drive opps at the necessary rate to fill the pipeline for Sales.
Not sure we are using the best approach. Identifying the right prospects is a challenge.
In the tech age prospecting has become difficult, very few people respond to emails sent out and even fewer pick-up the phone when called. It’s become more difficult to make connections to the right decision makers.
The last quote bears a bit of examination.
Undoubtedly the influx and pervasiveness of technology have changed the way we prospect, but here are three points to focus on, to make your new business “life” easier and process more effective:
- You Need To Plan For Multiple Touches: I know, broken record, but you must understand that sending out an email or two is not enough. Minimally you’ll need to plan on 6-8 touches. And while the phone is as challenging as ever, it absolutely still works. You need to plan your process out so that you’re not truly cold calling, which isn’t effective. Instead, focus your first 2-3 touches on awareness (and value), rather than selling, so that when they’re aware of who you are.
- Use Every Channel In Concert With Each Other: Don’t focus on only one platform. You must use the phone, email, social (where it makes sense-don’t spin your wheels on Instagram if your prospects aren’t there) and yes, direct mail-which leads to #3. . .
- What’s Old Is New Again-Yes, snail mail is your friend. Sure, it’s old school, but the interesting thing is, with all the new technology that’s out there, the realm of letters and phone calls have become a more uncluttered space. Use them to your advantage.
And you can hear more from Jason Parks in this YouTube interview on the importance of content segmentation when prospecting, the most effective channels/platforms used to help drive new business programs, and the metrics that determine prospecting success.
