“Jody offered our audience of senior agency executives a fresh perspective on a perennially challenging subject: winning new business. She didn’t shy away from speaking some hard truths, yet she also offered concrete solutions with warmth and humor.”
When I prepare for a speaking or training event, I ask myself, “what would I want to learn?” Themes I focus on include:
How to communicate persuasively to win more business
The systems and tools that you need in place to run a well-oiled new business practice
Bringing out the best in your team so that everyone is invested in growing the business
Here are some talks I’ve given before. They were designed for the types of clients I work with the most, leaders of small agencies, but they’re right for any kind of creative professional who also shoulders the responsibility of attracting new clients to his or her firm.
The Small Agency CEO’s Guide to Winning New Business:
5 Keys to Winning More of the Right Kinds of Clients
In my years of working with agencies large and small, I’ve noticed those that are most successful share some common characteristics.
Despite what you might expect, they don’t involve hard-core sales tactics or esoteric techniques. In fact, these seven steps are based on straightforward practices that any agency can master. In this talk, I’ll reveal what those common characteristics are, why they lead to winning high-quality business, and how you can cultivate those qualities within your own agency.
Selling through Storytelling:
A Human-centric Approach to Communicating Value
Agencies have two huge disadvantages when it comes to winning new business. First, they lack a sales culture, leaving the poor soul in charge of business development with little training or support. Second, agencies deal in the abstract—and abstract things are hard to sell. Luckily, there’s a way out of this dilemma and it stems from an innate ability we were all born with: the power to tell a good story. No special sales skills needed. In this talk, you’ll discover:
Three ways stories give you an immediate edge over your competition
How to transform your agency new business boilerplate into compelling narrative
Scientific proof that will change the way you pitch forever
“We were ecstatic to have Jody on the Agency Track at INBOUND. Her lively presentation style hooked the audience of 300 captivated attendees. More importantly, her presentation had valuable insights and tips that attendees could start implementing straight away.”
How to Create a Strategic New Business Plan for Your Agency
Creating an annual plan for new business is one of the most important things you can do to keep your agency on track for growth. In this session, I’ll give you a basic structure that any ad agency can use. Plus, you’ll discover:
Who needs to be involved and why
How to accurately project the amount you’ll need to pitch next year
How to get it all done when time and resources are in short supply
Be Your Own Rainmaker: How to Tap into Your Natural Talent for Business Development
Have you spent your career avoiding business development because you simply found the whole effort too foreign, overwhelming, or downright unappealing? And yet, you also want control over your firm’s destiny. How do you find an approach to generating revenue that works for you?
The answer lies in playing to your strengths. In this talk, you’ll discover how to land on a new business strategy based on stuff you’re already good at. Because when you play to your strengths, you're more likely to be successful (and maybe even enjoy yourself).
You’ll discover:
The mindset that keeps you stuck and how to overcome it
Four new business strengths profiles (Hunter, Thinker, Communicator, Promoter) and which one fits you best
What a well-rounded business development program looks like for your firm
“Working with speakers for your event is tricky business. You need them to know their stuff, be easy to work with, and ideally stick around to connect with your audience. It’s tough to find speakers who can deliver but Jody actually over-delivers on all three points.
She is deeply knowledgeable about agency new business and shares her knowledge generously. If you want a speaker who will go out of her way to add value – Jody should be first on your list.”
