It's hard to express what makes your agency unique versus your competitors. The fact is, agencies aren’t all that different from each other. And when agencies go in search of the elusive differentiator, they end up with something ultra-specific that doesn't matter to the customer. Or they land back on the same old tired pitch. I’m not suggesting you go to market sounding like everyone else. We all know that's not a useful new business strategy. But maybe the point isn't to be different but to be distinctive.
Confidence and vulnerability — two very different states of being and paradoxically both play a crucial role in positioning your agency as a great partner. Here’s why they’re both helping agencies in an uncertain marketing win new business.
Agencies neglect the most essential element of a case study that makes is irresistible to prospects. Stop treating your case studies as a dumping ground for facts and self-congratulation and learn how to tell a great story.
How you show up in the world as an agency? How do you communicate who you are, what you do, and why someone should care. This message is built from your agency's core positioning. But it also needs to breathe and expand across all the places you’re interacting with your ideal clients. In other words, your message is more likely to reach its audience if it’s supported by a marketing strategy.
You’ve decided to hire your first salesperson for your agency. The need is acute: not enough good leads, an overreliance on competitive RFPs, and a poor pitch-to-win ratio. It seems logical but the decision to hire must be based on scaling your agency, not digging it out of a hole.
Creating your annual plan for agency business development is exciting! An exercise fueled by possibility and healthy ambition. It’s also time-consuming and requires a lot of work so it’s in your best interest to create a plan you can stick with. Here’s how.
We know we need to communicate clearly to our prospects. And yet, agencies keep reaching for phrases like “data-driven decisions,” “client-first process,” and “relentless problem-solving.”
These high-level abstractions communicate little and might even be doing more harm than good.
Here are 10 common phrases I see all the time, along with some clearer, more grounded alternatives. Not perfect but hopefully a little more helpful.
A weak positioning statement is one of the costliest liabilities a small agency can carry. It doesn’t just make new business harder—it makes it unsustainable. Without clear positioning, even the most creative and capable agencies get stuck in an unproductive cycle of reinvention each time they pitch a new prospect.
A strong foundation for new business growth is built on a strong story. It’s not a nice-to-have; it's one of your most strategic business development tools.
New 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.
If you’re an owner of a small agency, you are the best business development resource your agency has. This isn’t a challenge to find more time in your already overloaded weeks to do an activity that may not be your favorite, But it does mean that your voice and presence are irreplaceable—especially when building trust with new prospects.
