Agency owners tell me lack of time is a big reason why proactive business development doesn’t get done at their agency. But when an RFP or a competitive new business pitch comes their way, somehow they find the time to write a response or prepare for the pitch meeting. Why? It’s the difference between our psychological drive to act versus our drive to delay.
Read MoreWhy is the cover letter so important? It may be the only section of your proposal or RFP response that your client actually reads . Sure, that’s a cynical attitude, but winning competitive agency reviews is hard enough. Here’s one agency business development best practice to embrace.
Read MoreWe have a love/hate relationship with the RFP. As long as RFPs are a reality of agency new business, here are 4 ways to turn your RFP response into a strategic selling tool.
Read MoreWhen an agency fails to captivate an audience in a pitch meeting it might have less to do with presentation skills and more with content and preparation. Here’s a simple set of three quality control factors to apply to your next pitch deck before writing a big check to a presentation coach.
Read MoreDo agencies ask enough questions in a new business pitch? How sharpening your questioning skills helps you close more new business for your agency.
Read MoreDo agencies ask enough questions in a new business pitch? How sharpening your questioning skills helps you close more new business for your agency.
Read MoreIn a new business pitch, there’s the perception that the marketer holds all power. After all, they’re the ones writing the check. But agencies have more power over the pitch than they may realize. Stepping into that power depends on demonstrating to a prospective client how you will maximize their gains and minimize their losses.
Read MoreEven in uncertain times, marketers still have problems that marketing agencies like yours can solve. That’s good news for you, but you might need to change how you pitch new business.
Read MoreAgency leaders are sometimes better at planning for all the great stuff they could do to generate new business and not so good at doing it. What holds them back? There are myriad priorities that get in the way of agency business development goals. But there are also some powerful mental blocks. Here are three that might be standing between you and your goals for growing your agency next year.
Read MoreWhy does the small stuff matter? Because it has the capacity to communicate in a big way the qualities that clients are seeking when hiring a new agency: trust, responsibility, respect, proactivity.
Read MoreAgency business development success is often measured by revenue. And of course that’s a good qualitative measure—did you make your numbers or didn’t you?
But a lot goes into a successful new business operation, both quantitative and qualitative. Wouldn’t it be great to have a scorecard that objectively measures where you are today and keeps you accountable for the improvement you want to see? Here’s one way to start:
Read MoreNew business is one of those responsibilities that should be fully integrated into your daily schedule. But for a lot of agency leaders, it's not. I think it’s why new business plans fail. Here’s a framework to help you operationalize your new business strategy and a roadmap for prioritizing activities on a daily, weekly, quarterly, and annual basis.
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