Greater traction through integrated activity – well it works for our clients!

The number of Agency new business credential presentations we have sat through where the central proposition to clients is based around greater traction through integrated activity must mean that there is something within this broad proposition which is a marketing truism.

If this is the case then there is a logical argument for applying it to all marketing activity… or well you would have thought so.

Sadly when you look at a lot of Agency new business activity there is rarely any joined up activity and in many cases there is just a jumble with lots of gaps and missed opportunities!

At Mint we believe that it is essential to create integrated activity which needs to work on every level most notably:

1.   Developing a strategic communication platform which has a single proposition which is easy for the client to understand with a point of difference creating a competitive advantage.
2. Choosing the right marketing mix to get this message over including a website which has clarity and show cases the agency pedigree.
3.   Developing thought leadership initiatives such as white papers which demonstrate “thinking prowess”, innovation and creativity – after all this is the business that we are in!
4. Creating impactful and creative credentials which have synergy with the agency proposition and case studies which demonstrate effectiveness through ROI.
5.  Effective use of social and business networks to manage the agency digital footprint and create the synergy within the mix.
6.  Tactical use of PR both on and off line.

Over the next few weeks we will explore further the concept of game changing through integrated activity and the ground-breaking notion of creating agency campaigns that have strategic focus, creative flair and providing clients with a positive reason why you should be on the roster.

As always thanks for reading.

Look Whose Stirred Up a Hornet’s Nest!

Well we appear to have stirred up quite a debate on the approach to new business so what better than to bring this out into the wider arena for further thoughts.

The old or shall we say traditional approach to retainer led outsourced activity appears to create a divided camp. On one side there appears to be the thought that a retainer tends to bring an outsourced partner closer to the organisation. The other side of the argument appears to be lead by the belief that retainers tend to lure a partner into a comfort zone that removes the urgency prevalent with partners that have to deliver, otherwise they see no return on their efforts.

So let’s look at this clearly based on feedback to this point. The vast majority have tried and tested the retainer led approach with approximately 65% finding results disappointing. The main frustrations have been failure to hit an agreed target and the quality being poor – majority being unqualified without an immediate need.

With the non-retainer led approach the findings are quite startling. The quality has been far better in terms of opportunities, realistic targets have been achieved and both parties are satisfied with the approach. The new business arm is hungry to perform far better and the client more willing to offer flexibility where the quality is to a high standard.

This is quite the hornet’s nest and does offer up some lively debate. Whatever your approach always be mindful that, in this new age of intelligence driven new business, motivated and targeted new business arms work far better than retained ones – we live by delivery alone. We fail to deliver we do not get paid. And with no other source of fee the quality has to be high to ensure our clients are happy and that we both get a suitable reward.

That’s our thoughts and approach – more along similar lines to follow in the coming days.

Thanks as always for reading

www.mintconsultancy.co.uk

The World Of The Hunter

As humans we have always been ones to hunt to satisfy our basic needs – understanding where to hunt and what to hunt for is second nature.

But when it comes to new business development the majority fail to apply the same approach prior to making any initial contact with prospects. This leads to a failure to engage succinctly which can be soul destroying as, we all know, you get one chance particularly at a senior level.

So let’s apply the same approach over the generations to new business development – where to hunt and what to hunt for.

Where to hunt? Well let’s think of the ultimate new business opportunity as a Truffle. There are hundreds of species of truffles, as there are prospects, but the fruiting body of some are highly prized as a food. The 18th-century French gastronome Brillat-Savarin called these truffles "the diamond of the kitchen”.  These diamonds exist in new business and are as difficult to find but not as difficult as you would imagine.

If we imagine the online world as one large garden - some areas are rich in content, others lacking in any value. These rich areas can exist within the social media arenas where “chatter” can often unearth a particular frustration within an organisation often highlighting an immediate opportunity. The business networks also contain rich hunting ground with forums often containing a mine of information relating directly to an agencies experience and pedigree. These are two prime areas of fertile ground. There are others as well through traditional offline media but in this instance this can reflect news that is aged – they still offer insight into the mechanics involved within a particular company and their most recent channels of activity but the need to look beyond these to where a particular company might go next in developing their channels is where the clever agencies thrive and this is where the smart new business personnel make hay.

No one is saying that hunting for all this intelligence is easy but by focusing on a core target audience (the Tier 1’s as discussed in the previous blog) over, not necessarily, a lengthy period of time can pay significant dividends.

As before, if you want to learn more about our own approach, as a whole, please feel free to visit us online at www.mintconsultancy.co.uk or contact us for further insight into how the above approach works extremely well for our clients.

Thanks as always for reading.

Creating New Business Silos

In our ongoing series on developing the new business pipeline the smart developers will understand the methodology behind the following approach.

To start with we’ll reverse the approach into a real life scenario. When you see an advertisement, through whatever channel, it will create one of three silos in your mind:

·         Of no interest at all

·         Possibly of interest

·         Of definite interest

Based on the “possible” and “definite interest” silos you’ll then action a further interest approach by doing your homework as to where to go for the product and service and the most competitive price.

New business development is no different. If you apply the same logic to your prospect list you’ll create your own three silo scenario:

·         Prospects that have no relationship with your historical pedigree but you are aware of activity through word of mouth, network activity etc.

·         Prospects that have some correlation but do not represent the cream of the target audience

·         Prospects that have a direct relationship with the experience of the agency

These three silos will then become their own silos of activity:

·         Tier 3 – No relationship but you know of activity within the prospects that could offer a potential revenue stream

·         Tier 2 - The bread and butter clients – those that will generate a robust revenue stream which will act as the bedrock for new business activity

·         Tier 1 - Clients that, with time and effort, will transform the agency and are the “A” targets

So by working through this process you’ll then begin to develop strategic thoughts as to how to approach each silo which could typically be:

 

·         Tier 3 – Generic targets that might receive a traditional or viral related communication

·         Tier 2 – Again a viral/traditional generic communication but with the ability to reflect some form of correlation with the agency offering

·         Tier 1 – Targeted communication which reflects succinctly the pedigree you offer as an agency

The Tier 1 silo is where the clever approach is in terms of pre-contact intelligence and this will be an area we will cover tomorrow.

That’s one approach to new business – everyone will have their own thoughts but from a standing start it represents, we believe, a good point to make solid progression when developing the new business pipeline.

If you want to learn more about our own approach, as a whole, please feel free to visit us online at www.mintconsultancy.co.uk

Thanks as always for reading.

Getting Your Back-Office In Order

In our ongoing series on our thoughts on new business an area so sorely missed in the scheme of things is that of the back-office. Whether you have chosen the option of an outsourced partner for new business activity or are driving things internally if the basic systems and processes are not in place then activity will suffer.

Here is an outline on the main areas to focus on:

·         Email settings

o   If you are using an external partner make sure you have a pop account or webmail set up so that all communications being made are sent through your server. This ensures continuity of brand from your agency’s perspective  but also allows you insight as to what a partner is communicating – useful insight if they appear to be going off message.

o   If you are using a POP account make sure it works – we’ve had a number of issues historically where emails go out without issue but any incoming get lost in the ether. A major opportunity was lost down to just this.

·         Diaries

o   Ensure you have diaries that can be accessed in real time.  There is nothing worse than having an opportunity confirmed and then having to move it due to lack of communication in this area – it shows poor structure and, perception being what it is, if you can’t get the diary right what hope of delivery!

·         General Communication

o   Always ensure that communication lines are open at all times. The hungry new business professional will want to share the good and the bad at any given time – be a free sprit when taking a call. It engenders a good working relationship that will flourish as you get to understand each others expectations.

·         Collateral

o   The essential part of any back-office tool box – the supporting collateral. Try and ensure that all the channels you are pressing ahead with for new business having supporting collateral. The ideal scenario would be links to the various channels that a prospect can be directed to ie. a micro-site. These sites need only hold the equivalent of a truncated credentials but they are essential in securing what you hope will prove to be a positive opportunity.

That covers the main areas of contention – there are others of course but these we believe are key to a smooth new business process.

If you want to learn more about our own approach as a whole please feel free to visit us online at www.mintconsultancy.co.uk

Thanks as always for reading.

Pt 34 – The Sea Change – Outsourcing New Business Activity

Given the fluidity of the marketplace companies are seeking ever more effective ways to generate new business but with a caveat. The old approach of utilising new business companies that literally throw teams of uninformed personnel at campaigns are finding the going tough as more strategic and tactical players are entering the marketplace.

The use of business intelligence is creating this change primarily because the majority of targets want to hear how you, as an agency, can help them from that first call. You cannot, particularly at Director Level, offer the valuable insight required that puts you ahead of your competitors without the understanding of what might be needed by doing your homework beforehand.

A plethora of online sources can now assist in this process and, with a keen eye, the more niche players who know what they are looking for can open that door of opportunity far more succinctly than through a generic cold call.

These strategic thinkers still represent a small minority of outsourced new business consultancies but they are growing primarily because agencies understand that the relationship between themselves and their chosen outsourced partners needs to be far more closer than has been the case to date. Generic new business companies struggle to get to grip with an agencies proposition because they do not get close enough to their client in understanding the USP’s, developing a two or three pronged approach through tactical targeting and reflecting this with the pre-call intelligence gathering essential to opening the proverbial door of opportunity – you get one chance at C-Level and agencies are recognising this, hence why the niche players will prove more successful in the long run.

Play to your strengths as an agency but also be brave when looking at diversification into new sectors – if you can show valuable intelligence within a virgin area you will still be successful in winning new opportunities as you have made the effort in understanding where the weaknesses are. And an agency that can stand out in new ground may well be taken on because if they have not been immersed in the sector for years and their refreshing approach may prove very attractive for a prospect looking for a different take on the issue at hand.

Thanks as always for reading.

Pt 32 - Make Hay – We’re In Boom Time!

Not quite – but the green shoots are there. And there is significant opportunity to gain significant new business with a succinct approach.

How do we know this? The two-step approach highlighted this as fact. The first step was to go to a sample of agencies (appx 100) and ask the pertinent question – how is new business activity?  The second step was to ask what has been organic and what has been from cold?

In October last year growth was predominantly organic. Now the split is 25% organic and 75% completely new. Evidence, if any was needed, of the green shoots that are evident.

The news media may well highlight the negative economic factors and uncertainty that prevails but there are still a sufficient number of organisations that need to continually push the boundaries of activity, companies that are young and need support in raising their profile. You also only have to look at the FTSE fast track listings to see that good news does exist across a multitude of sectors.

It is important to continually focus on your strengths, particularly in these testing times. Alliances between agencies continue to grow where synergy exists for services to be bolted on to build up the proverbial war chest.

There is a multitude of ways to develop new business streams, some not as evident on first glance, but the need to be a little braver even in challenging times is essential for continued growth.  And whilst we are not necessarily in boom time within the wider arena, there are agencies that are in substantial growth mode. These have realised that alliances, a more focussed approach to new business and a realignment of their businesses as a whole was needed to ensure that not only did they survive difficult trading conditions but that they also made significant movement growth wise.

We are now getting into the more strategic and tactical work we carry out and we’ll expand upon this in the series to come but thanks, as always, for reading to this point.

Pt 32 – Engage No 1!

Making strong inroads with your new business has been and will always be down to timing. Whilst there is a continuous flow of ad-hoc projects the real opportunities are timed according to sector nuances, typical review times for clients and similar.

The failure to make significant new business gains does not necessarily come from lack of contact but from not making a note when timing might be better for a call. We would say 90% of calls made where the timing is out gets the response call me back in 1 month, 2 months, 3 months etc. How many of these calls are actually made? Near to none. We never fail to get the detail, make a note and follow up.

Bear in mind the majority of new business activity should be intelligence led timing should be less of an issue. But if time is at a premium, and the initial pre-work can’t be done in terms of the intelligence gathering, their needs to be due diligence when noting the timing of follow-up calls - and they need to be made.

Whilst a small percentage of these typical timing responses may well be a palm off, as in go away, the majority will be factual. If you actually specifically ask for a typical timetable of reviews 9 out of 10 times you’ll get the detail. Why? Because the prospect is trying to engineer one less call within the intervening period and, if you work to this regime, you’ll make more friends than lost prospects. You’re also likely to get more active opportunities and the all important healthy pipeline.

On a last point, deduct two weeks for the timed call back – this avoids the dreaded “you’re too late” scenario. Remember their timing might be the start, middle or end of a pitch process. Call slightly earlier and you’ll avoid the disappointment of such a response.

Thanks, as always, for reading.

Pt 30 – Fire in the Hold!

Burning the proverbial bridge has always been the negative aspect of new business activity. Why? Because, both internal personnel and external new business agencies have historically, and continue to play, the scattergun numbers approach.

Our typical burn rate, if we need to call it something, is 0.5%. How is this possible? Because given the pre-work put in to identifying targets with each and every client we develop a deep understanding as to the reasoning behind contacting a specific prospect. With a far more focussed approach the burn rate is reduced vastly so over a typical 12 month period, starting with an average target audience of 200, we’ll still have a base of 120+ at the end of this period, even at a meeting rate of 6 per month (which typically is the level required by clients on a monthly basis).

This does not take into account referral opportunities, work with lapsed clients and the like but gives you a good feel as the difference of approach and the minimisation of the burn ratio.

Given that some of the successes will no doubt come with companies that have multiple divisions there is even greater opportunity for organic growth through these new relationships. This should further leave fertile ground as such.

We always emphasise the need for this focussed approach. Fed with relevant business intelligence, new business activity can become a formidable force in growing any agency.

With the hope this insight proves useful but please remember it is purely our opinion. One though, we believe, works.

Thanks, as always, for reading.

Pt 29 - Power To Business Intelligence

What’s worse? Making a cold call to someone who you are unsure as to the relevance of contact or to a telephone number without a pertinent starting point? Both offer dead ends of opportunity and both scenarios, alongside similar, can be avoided.

With a little bit of homework you can clarify these points and avoid the pitfalls of cold calling in particular. And not only can you avoid them but you can also gain valuable insight into what is on a particular targets mind. This puts you ahead of the game in terms of having a tangible conversation with the prospects and entirely avoids the cold approach.

We know we have covered this area before but it cannot be emphasised enough the importance of background activity prior to making a call. You sometimes only get one opportunity to converse with your chosen contact so make it a barn stormer of a call. They’ll appreciate the effort you have put in to ensure you are not wasting their time and are more likely to converse openly with you on the chosen channel you have approached them about.

Remember the saying – it’s not just who you know it’s also what you know. How you know the intelligence can also be a serious door opener but take care given that some intelligence should never reach the public domain. All companies are aware it happens so when approaching a prospect, word your initial conversation piece delicately so as to avoid any issues. If the intelligence comes from an open source ie. a business network then it can be treated as such but other that comes from more personal or restricted sources should be treated with appropriate care.

We hope this detail proves useful and thanks, as always, for reading.

Pt 29 – The Targeting Conundrum

We’ve all experienced the difficulty in putting together a succinct list of targets when prospecting for new business. Where do you start?

We tend to break this down into four key areas:

•       Must-haves – those targets that fit with the ethos, pedigree and service capability of the agency

•       Lapsed – those companies that we’ve had previous relationships with but have fallen by the wayside just due to time pressures

•       Generics – the bread and butter targets that still sit within the service offering as being appropriate but offer a lower level but regular revenue stream , the bedrock of the agency in effect. A particular important stream which avoids the pitfalls of having just one major client supporting the business. Great whilst it lasts but a dangerous commercial position to be in as many will testify.

•       Black book – these comprise of the network contacts that have not been utilised to this point, referrals to be picked up and connections that exist within the framework of a network and are there to be approached.

There might appear to be a very simple logic within this process but this roadmap for targeting works effectively when you add scenarios such as targeted virals, as an example, where you can tweek the message to suit the target audience on an ongoing basis.

Within a variety of agencies there are of course other more personal relationships that can be called upon but these do need to be handled carefully to ensure avoidance of conflict. A good example of this was an engineering company that an agency supported with their internal comms. Given the relationship had been established with a central head office, when you scratched under the surface, we found over 50 separate offices with their own marketing activity. All had seen the internal comms work so were aware of the quality of the output and the majority engaged over a 12 month period. That created multiple revenue streams that were not evident at first glance.

These are our thoughts and they by no means cover all the bases but should act as a useful starting point particularly from a tactical perspective.

Thanks, as always, for reading.

Pt 28 – The Shop That’s Closed For Business

We’re going to just run through our thoughts on an agency’s shop window.

So many agencies are now incorporating their digital capabilities within their service offering but are falling down on their own ability to portray their capability within their online presence.

Let’s put ourselves for a moment in the shoes of the prospect. They are approached by a multitude of agencies plying their wares so one of the first places they will look will be the agency website. If an agency has stated that its capabilities encompass the basic premise of design and build then why do so many have an online presence where functionality and content fail to inspire? If it fails to inspire the prospect they are hardly going to come running with a brief. And with regard the more technical aspects of delivery, again failure to portray such skills will lead down the same road.

The agency website is core to the delivery of new business particularly where digital is concerned.  Agencies need to really focus on getting their message across with such things as an embedded show reel or at the very least the same functionality, design capabilities and illustration that they are taking to their target audience.

We obviously take on board that all agencies have varying levels of available budget but if they do really smart work then they should shout about it through the online presence and then escalate the message of ability through the social media and business networks. The more activity carried out along these lines the greater the chance of picking up new business opportunities through this strategic approach which will only compliment all other existing new business development.

You’ll sense some passion in our thoughts but it’s frustrating to come across an agency that delivers exceptional work but where the message gets lost through poor illustration via their own chosen communication channels.

Thanks, as always, for reading.

Pt 27 – The Cancelled Opportunities

One of the main frustrations in new business life is the opportunities that appear so alive with potential but then fall by the wayside through no fault of your own.

From a meeting that gets cancelled due to changes internally due to the worst case scenario, turning up for a meeting and receiving the blank look as if to say – who are you?

This is where it is so important to maintain the dialogue, even via email, within the period of appointing and actually attending. Given diaries are ever changing, for all concerned, ensuring that the confirmation goes out on the day of arranging the meeting is essential as it is still front of mind. Leave it a few days and it could get lost in the ether. And even more important, if you have the facility, send an additional meeting invite out to follow the confirmation. This will place it in everyone’s diary and it is then cemented.

Adding value though is important from the outset so why not outline an agenda for the meeting based on the initial discussions – this gives cause to focus for both parties and emphasises further the understanding and potential synergy between the two parties.  It also re-iterates the point that you listened and have expressed sincere interest in helping beyond the initial meeting.

You now have a fine balancing act – if the period in question between setting the meeting and actually meeting is longer than a few weeks keep an eye out for any news or event that re-iterates the agency’s pedigree that keeps the prospect engaged with you – however loosely.

The above may sound like common sense but all parties to the agreement are notoriously tenuous when it comes to having ongoing structure in place so they are all important steps. By keeping in touch you may also garner a further referral or even an additional opportunity that may not have been the case had you just confirmed without these procedures.

Thanks, as always, for reading.

Pt 25 – Pitch To Win

We would all agree that to successfully pitch you need a fair degree of self-confidence. Through the ongoing drive for new business you’ll find the more you pitch the more self-confident you’ll become.

But what are the other keys to pitching successfully:

·         Prepare well - get a firm grasp of your subject, brood over it; get to know it far more than you are going to use.

·         Gather – get together all relevant intelligence and then cull to the most succinct and relevant, bearing in mind the audience you are pitching to.

·         Appearance and delivery – be well groomed but not over dressed. One of the Directors here is renowned for his pinstripe approach – over the top, possibly, but they stand out from the crowd and that’s what you want to be able to do. Get gripped in your delivery and really live for the moment – all other mannerisms will fall into place like the dreaded limp arm syndrome!

·         Platform nerves – everyone gets nervous, even the best of us.  This will actually help you with your pitch. It will help you keep controlled if you remain friendly towards your audience. Remember they are not your enemies, but your friends who have paid you a compliment by coming along for you to pitch to them.

·         Be vital – call on your own experiences as much as possible when delivering your pitch. To gain and hold interest, deliver in such a way that is empowering to your audience – you’re bringing the pot of gold to them so make them see it.

The client will want to not only buy into the concepts you are presenting to them but also that they want to believe that they can see themselves working with you for the long term.

A final example of this mentality comes from one of our previous experiences agency side.  A major automotive company was pitching out their dealership programme and two members of the client team turned up at a major agency to see whether the environment matched with the potential creative output of the agency. They were disappointed to find a lacklustre, dark and unassuming office with little or no creative atmosphere – the pitch was lost on this point alone. The agency changed its ways and turned the office into a vibrant atmosphere, productivity went up and the actual quality of work, which was never really lacking, increased further. A harsh lesson learnt but they are now one of the leading agencies in their particular field.

Thanks, as always, for reading.

Pt 25 – Tact Is Key

New Business personnel continue to make a name for themselves for all the wrong reasons so a thought piece on this area seemed plausible – just our thoughts and opinion. They may differ from others but we hope they prove useful.

Situations to avoid

Avoid making people look small. When working with the larger agencies we always stress the importance of engaging on the same level and not frightening prospects off with your size. Conversations that immediately revert to “well I’m too small for you” should not happen if, one, you’ve targeted correctly or two, you’ve done your homework beforehand and there is a tangible reason for the call. This is particularly relevant when targeting audiences such as the Fast Track 100. They may be small now but evidently they are growing and rapidly.

Avoid infringing the rights of others. Prospects have a right to protect their domain so going in all guns blazing will only alienate them. Avoid pumping for information and really, if the approach is consultative, they will be volunteering information from the outset. Opinion orientated questions tend to work well particularly if the prospect is struggling in a certain area.

Avoid boosting yourself. There is nothing worse than having a call that starts off with “well we’re working with some of the largest FTSE 100 companies ....”. Not consultative in its approach and not really particularly of interest unless you’re asked.

Don’t teach other people how to do their job. We’ve heard this approach countless times – “I wouldn’t recommend going down that route etc”. Go down the route of bolt on. If you have what you believe to be an opening try the supplementary approach – your service could add further value rather than replace and take the prospect back to square one, something they’ll not admit to but afterwards might consider. They’ll not thank you for it though and they will rarely call you back.

Consideration is the positive aspect of tact. The most obvious area is that initial call. You have not been invited to call them and make a demand upon that prospects time therefore a simple apology for the intrusion before commencing the call will deal with this sensitive area – if they ask for a call back you might have inadvertently warmed the call up on the second run.

Simple reasons to be tactful but we hope they prove useful.

Thanks, as always, for reading.

Pt 24 – “Lead” Generation but not as we know it Jim

Here’s a completely different take on lead generation which has come to the fore through the ever changing approach.

Let’s look at the word “Lead”. Then attach a business network element to it. Now reflect these two steps into a forum on one of the business networks, let’s take LinkedIn.  Utilise your pedigree now within a specific area and open up a discussion based on this. Then blog it, tweet it and monitor the listeners, comments etc and you’ll find you’ll begin to engage with your potential target audience a little more robustly than you would through standard means.

Always remember though to play to your strengths when carrying out this strategic approach to lead generation – you’ll be found out if you have any chink in the armoury so ensure you communicate from a position of strength.

This is a useful approach for adding a supplementary channel to the new business process and lead generation does tend to get lost when the focus is on the end game of new business.

Better to engage with a target that has a need rather than one that doesn’t, particularly if they engage with you through this type of activity.

We’ll offer up further nuances to this approach in the days to come, and there are many of them. These are also useful if you flip them to client side thoughts – social/business media still holds fear in many eyes because it remains a relative unknown. But you only have to keep your eye on the wire to see that 90% of discussions are now emanating through the use of these channels. Utilising them for new business purposes will become second nature to many but, for the majority, they are at the bottom of this particular hill to this point – strikes us as an ongoing opportunity.

Thanks, as always, for reading.

Pt 23 – Learn To Love New Business!

We come across an array of new business personnel with differing attitudes to new business – from the driven to the despairing. So we thought it might be useful to pen a short guide to why we love new business and how we have reached this point.

New Business personnel spend at least half their waking hours earning their bread and butter. To be happy, therefore, your daily work must contribute towards that state. You must accept your role and all that it entails.

So how do you do this? First, focus on it as your primary interest. Do it to the best of your ability. Find out all you can about it, how others are doing it. See whether you can introduce any new ideas or improvements. A useful approach is to delve into the psyche of your agency – the history, what has bought it to where it is now.

Secondly, always bear in mind the final results of your role. Visualise people benefitting from your efforts and the positive changes it brings to them.

Thirdly, determine how to excel in your role, however difficult you might perceive it to be. Excellence will not go unnoticed, and promotion will bring its own rewards, not only materially, but in a sense of satisfaction and achievement.

This all sounds very simple in its approach but sometimes simple is the best policy – hence our business model being results driven. The more you complicate your approach in your mind the harder the task becomes.

Like all things in life we enjoy those things we like to do – what better role than one that offers you the opportunity to talk with all manner of individuals on a subject that should be close to your own heart.

On a final note – “The greatest motivational act one person can do for another is to listen”- Roy E. Moody – sums up the approach to new business succinctly.

Thanks, as always, for reading.

Pt 22 – Connecting Virally

Email has fast become the most popular form of communication in the digital age and as such can provide a potent channel for developing a dialogue with your audience. A well structured email, sent to a pertinent list of contacts (ideally pre-qualified) at regular intervals can provide a powerful addition to any agency’s marketing activity.

If successful, the benefits of producing a viral are obvious – as the communication is “pushed” to the target audience, you do not need to rely on your audience visiting your website to provide them with the latest information.

Get it right and you will have opened a powerful new channel of direct communication with your target audience.

As to the do’s and don’ts – in our view these are:

·         Do instil confidence in your target audience. All users to respond negatively as well as positively – remember you do not want to alienate your audience and burn bridges unnecessarily.

·         Do test your viral to numerous email accounts to ensure delivery is successful.

·         Keep it clear and concise

·         Don’t use plus-ins or JavaScript in HTML virals – they will not work.

·         Don’t use the Cc field when sending your viral – there’s no greater faux pas than exposing all your recipients emails to each other!

Some useful pointers but a final point to consider that may be obvious but works wonders. Test the message internally to see the response. Create a viral that engages with your internal audience – you’ll be surprised at the response which sometimes can trigger a tweeked approached that makes your viral even more effective externally.

Thanks, as always, for reading.

Pt 21 – Spinning Those Plates

A good new business push will encompass keeping a variety of new business plates spinning – not just one that suits.

There is a variety but the mains one are:

·         Specific DM activity to a chosen audience to follow-up

·         Generic activity to Tier 2 targets

·         Network activity derived from contacts you know

·         Social Media activity to engage with an individual or group of targets (lists in Twitter are useful to monitor specific targets)

·         Internal hot targets – the one’s the boss really wants!

·         Target Marketplace activity – what’s the sector up to

·         Agency Marketplace activity – what’s the competition up to

·         Word of mouth activity – a hot lead!

Daunting when you look at it but once you have all your silos in place you’ll begin to see how they marry together to become a potent formula for exceptional new business opportunities.

It may take some time to get all of them up and running and whilst you are developing each channel you’ll find immediate opportunities by default. The important thing is to keep all of these active, populated and refreshed regularly.

Remember the more specific business intelligence you gather the more opportunity you will come across – just like panning for gold!

Thanks, as always, for reading.

Pt 20 – The Social Media Wave

Given that we monitor an array of agency and prospect communications across a variety of social and business sites daily it seemed useful to share our thoughts.

Twitter, as a starting point, has a large following among an older professional audience that might not initially be evident.  What this offers agencies is an immediate host of prospects to communicate to – and yet there are a multitude of agencies that continually fail to grasp the opportunity and leave it to the younger members of their teams to tweet relentlessly on matters, shall we say, unrelated to the job at hand.

Linked-in and Facebook both offer the ability to maintain current connections and create new ones. The ease with which entrepreneurs use these sites to build networks and keep their market interested, and engaged, means that an understanding of social media has become hugely important particularly for online marketers.

These mentioned avenues offer a cost-effective method of extending the reach of agencies far beyond what they have been able to do previously.  They increase the stream of visitors to your online presence and also allow you to alert visitors to new detail you upload.

None of these or the other channels replace the need to actually meet people face to face but what they do is offer a tangible avenue of activity that can raise the awareness of an agency far beyond the normal methods of contact.

Agencies also need to realise that whatever detail is held within the digital space they must ensure it offers value to the audience and engages just as they would expect from the activity they deliver for their clients.

This is a brave and still relatively new world for many but the opportunities are astonishing with the right approach.

Thanks, as always, for reading.

Pt 19 – The Entrepreneurial Spirit

New Business must always be approached with the same driving force that encapsulates the entrepreneurial spirit.

Just going through the motions fails to motivate the very best of us when it comes to looking for those opportunities that make a difference to everyone within an agency.

The very best new business personnel can see an opportunity even before any initial contact is made.  This is probably why the majority of the best practitioners within the space either work for themselves or within a tight knit group.

Agencies need to appreciate that to get the very best new business opportunities they need to think beyond the constraints of their own commercial environment and become aware of the benefits of going externally to the very best.

Whilst never underestimating those more generic new business agencies, and the value they bring, the ability to communicate with the C-Level of contact is essential to really get those opportunities that make a substantive difference to an agency moving forward.

So agencies need to be brave and encompass this spirit of engagement that the entrepreneur brings – it works wonders not only for the new business personnel but for the agency as a whole

This entrepreneurial spirit is highlighted quite succinctly in the following quote – “An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.” - Buddha

Thank you, as always, for reading.

Pt 18 – Key to a Successful New Business Push

We have been asked recently to flag what we believe to be the 3 key stages for delivering a successful new business initiative. These stages might sound obvious but you normally find only one of the stages in place at any given time which is why so many initiatives fail.

So, the 3 key stages are:

·         Plan and plan well

Agencies are keen planners. Plan and prepare for the push. Think about how you will go about winning new business not just how you are going to get through the process

·         Collect, gather and consolidate your resources

Make sure that the process, the people involved and the financials are in place for a successful execution and to attain this success smoothly. You need to have all of these in order to make sure that the plan is well ironed out to ensure success

·         Execute the plan at the right time

Put a succinct timetable together and make sure the timing is right. Viral campaigns are a good example where more harm than good can occur if the timing is wrong. It never ceases to amaze us to hear that a viral has been sent out over a half-term holiday period when the email will get lost in amongst 100 others that pile up in a dormant inbox. Knowing when the pitch processes tend to occur within a particular sector is also a succinct way of ensuring timing is correct.

These three stages might sound obvious in their content but they are a potent combination. Actioned individually and a new business initiative will ultimately fail as so often happens not through the fault of any individual but eyes tend to fall on the ultimate prize, the win, rather than the journey to it.

Thanks, as always, for reading.

Pt 17 – Listening Is Different From Hearing

When any new business call is made you can be guaranteed that 9 out of 10 times what you hear can differ from what is actually being said.

Take for example the call made to a prospect. It’s quite clear that the prospect is pushed for time and gives only slight credence to the call. The majority of times the take would be to arrange a call back at another time which may or may not happen.

But what if the question was asked “what’s causing the time issues for you?  Now you’ll either get a no time to talk further or you’ll get war and peace. This war and peace may well highlight business issues where the prospect is crying out for some help so why not offer exactly that particularly if it relates to an area of your business that you were calling about. Not exactly rocket science but all of a sudden you have valuable traction and the prospect may well already be seeing a valuable connection.

So what you initially heard was different from what was actually being said. It’s a matter of paying attention but we all know that in any given working day when searching for opportunities this is easier said than done. It’s not enough to hear you really have to listen. People say more than they actually say.

This approach tends to get lost in our every day working lives but it is such an important one and can so often generate an opportunity from absolutely nowhere.

Thanks, always, for reading.

Pt 16 – Developing The War Chest

The majority of agencies are constantly active within the new business arena. Using traditional methods of finding new business ekes out a few opportunities. The lack of focus on strengths remains the major failing of agencies to find the better ones.

This brings us to the war chest scenario. What quite a few agencies lack is a clear and concise focus as to what their chosen marketplace needs against what they have to offer. The very simplest of methods can alter a sectors perception of them.

By looking inwards at their recent wins and the reasoning behind them this can offer substantial value to their ongoing new business push. An agency that knows that they had their hand bitten off by a prospect with regard a specific piece of work that worked wonders for them can act as a superior tool when approaching similar audiences.

Engaging with all departments within an agency can often also throw up opportunities. One agency does just this. They hold weekly meetings that last little more than an hour in length but involve all internal parties. Departments hold their own pre-meeting get together just to delve into the thoughts of team members as to areas where they feel the agency might be missing a trick. These are brought up within the main meeting and the findings are then fed through to the new business team or individual to action with the results then raised in the next meeting.

Such activity generates on average a 25% uplift in opportunities because the war chest contains more tangible arguments when approaching prospects.

So for 60 minutes of each week you can have a constant reinvigoration of new business activity that not only generates opportunities but also brings everyone into the process and also creates that team ethos sometimes lacking.

The final point on this approach is you can also find gems within your various teams that may not necessarily be evident in the day to day operations. And utilising these strengths can further enhance the agencies standing in a sector that has strength in numbers but remains strategically amiss in terms of focus.

Thanks, always, for reading.