Predicted to be a game-changer
Published on March 09, 2010
The editor of Wired magazine, last week at the 4As Transformation 2010 conference, predicted that tablet computers will replace laptops. He also predicted a new era for the print publishing industry. My question, "How might tablets impact new business?"
First, some of his other predictions on how things will change:
- Tablets are going to be very personal devices: you're going to want to cradle it, lean back and interact with it.
- It's going to be a rich media device: think of it as a large "app platform".
- Look to the success of the Kindle as a predictor of the future, with a multiplier effect on usage once full color and connectivity are widely available.
- We will be interacting with applications living in The Cloud, which means we'll individually need less computing power than we do using laptops today.
For advertisers and ad agencies:
- A higher degree of interactivity with ads than ever before.
- New software will measure everything, making it the most measurable medium available.
- Measurement will be able to take place when users are online and offline.
- The interactive nature of the tablet is going to allow consumers to play, touch and roam through content and ads - seamlessly.
Tablets will become a new presentation platform, offering the attraction of print and digital interactivity and measurement.
So how might tablets impact new business? Here are some wild guesses:
- You may travel with your phone and your tablet, but no laptop.
- You might deliver a presentation on your tablet, in portrait or landscape, or both.
- Presentations might allow prospective or current clients to envision a campaign in a way that current digital capabilities and interactivity don't.
- Might apps be developed to provided innovative ways for clients to find and experience potential agency partners?
- Your agency's 360-degree digital presence will become even more important and easily accessible.
I'm sure I haven't even scratched the surface of the changes that are coming, and would love to hear your thoughts on this new medium. Regardless, I think tablets will offer a host of opportunities for innovation with current clients, as well as in your new business efforts. This should be an exciting couple of years as we all learn about and experiment with this new medium.
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In the words of Rishad Tobaccowala
Published on March 03, 2010
Marketing is understanding and meeting customer requirements. In order to survive, companies must meet their requirements; technology is going to allow agencies to understand customers' requirements; and, new marketing tools will allow us to meet them. So argued the cerebral Rishad Tobaccowala, CEO of Denuo Group, at the As conference in San Francisco.
Here are his thoughts on how to ad agencies can thrive in the next ten years:
To meet customer requirements, ad agencies must first overcome three challenges - internally and then ultimately with your clients:
1. The future does not fit in the containers of the past.
In other words, you have to think differently. Consider...
- Digital linkages are changing the way we do everything, and will continue to do so.
- Your people are analog - they operate based on feelings. The biggest driver - your incentive plan.
Show me your incentives and I will show you what will happen.
- Lack of speed kills. The biggest impediment to speed is your organizational structure. Push decision-making down to the lowest levels possible in the organization (see # 2).
2. Talent Scales.
- Top companies are fixated on talent, passionate about talent. All companies have to be that way if they are going to thrive.
- To create a renaissance in marketing and advertising, we need to hire builders - talented younger people who want to create something.
- Incentive systems typically incent seniority; don't forget to incent your builders or they will build elsewhere.
- Builders will embrace accountability - if it aligns with what they want to do.
- Builders want skin in the game - a purpose for being there.
Understanding and meeting customer requirements = purpose.
3. "Us" the leaders.
Your people are curious about where you're going to take them. Do you know? Do they know?
- Audacity and dreams make a difference. They attract builders.
- If you want to know your culture, talk to the people at the bottom of the organizational chart; they may tell you if they trust you.
As CEOs, getting it right inside your agency will position you to meet the ever-changing needs of your clients.
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The glue in the marketing organization
Published on February 24, 2010
The marketing organization inside many of your larger prospects or clients is becoming increasingly fractured and siloed, creating a big opportunity for agencies to exercise leadership and vocally represent the voice of the customer. So argued Larry Light, President and CEO of Arcature yesterday at the 4As Transformations 2010 conference in San Francisco.
Larry is a management consultant credited with helping to turn around McDonalds and Nissan.
He made the case that in a big client's marketing organization, you might find a CMO and various chiefs of insight, analytics, merchandising, strategy, branding, and maybe more. Each has turf they're trying to protect and grow, and each is firmly entrenched in their own silo. From his experience, Larry has found that silos only serve to decrease accountability and increase the ability to blame others when there's a problem.
What's the opportunity for ad agencies, and new business people in particular? Become the voice of the customer. In many of the companies he's worked with, Larry said that no one truly represents the customer. That's a leadership role agencies are perfectly suited to assume.
Agencies shouldn't just be coordinators of marketing communication - not when the real prize is to be the glue that holds the client's marketing organization together.
Assuming the mantle of "the voice of the customer" would put your agency in the role of saying to your client,
"What kind of exciting future can we create for your business?"
Here are two important ways that Larry says you can do this:
- Come up with a real insight. Before you state that it's an insight, though, you'd better be surprised by what you learned. If your insight is that "people like food that tastes great", keep digging.
- As a result of your insight, how will behaviors change? If the insight doesn't cause you and your client to change the way you do things, then you only created an "interesting insight". You need a business-changing insight.
There are clear opportunities here for new business pros to use insights to crack open prospects' doors. Likewise, for agency management to think about the roles you play in your clients' organizations, and how you can better represent the voice of the customer to assume a greater leadership role.
Thought-provoking stuff; hope it generates an idea or two.
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Where and how to successfully prospect
Published on February 18, 2010
There are only a few people in the U.S. who have a broad-based and in-depth view of the proactive new business market, and who can speak to all geographic regions, industry categories, and types of services being purchased by large and small clients alike. One of them is Dave Currie, President of Catapult New Business. I interviewed him yesterday to get an insider's view of where and how to successfully prospect - today.
What categories are currently hot?
- Consumer Package Goods (CPG).
- Food.
- Retail - both big-box and super markets.
- Consumer banking - particularly regional banks who want to acquire customers from their larger rivals.
- Travel and tourism.
- Education - colleges and universities (all types), and MBA programs.
What outreach techniques are most effective?
- Email marketing with trackable links to landing pages.
- Rifle vs. shotgun: carefully identify your hard targets, but be sure you have a lot of them.
- Small email batches (less than 20 per group).
- 60-second, HD, production-quality video case studies.
- Webcasts with niche content.
What messaging is most effective?
- Show something they may not know, that's a result of research.
- What's your solution that will help your prospect - NOT why your agency is best.
- Specify your value: why should they talk to you?
What follow up techniques are most effective?
- Plan for 15 touch points.
- Variable media: email, phone, webcast, direct mail, video case studies.
- Concise voicemail messages, each with a value message.
- Relevance: get to the point very quickly, with specifics.
- Consistency: success only comes if you regularly follow up.
How fast is work being won?
We've seen first meetings progress to projects in a week, as well as 6 months. The key is consistent follow-up, at least weekly, by phone as well as other touch-points. Be proactive and suggest days and times to connect with your prospect by phone.
Most importantly: "Ask for the meeting. Marketers are taking meetings today that they wouldn't or couldn't take last year."
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7 ways to make your committee more effective
Published on February 09, 2010
Many smart ad agency Presidents create new business committees with the best of intentions: bring together the best and brightest in the agency who touch new business, give them a mission and deadlines, and then watch them work together as a unified team and land new accounts.
Too often, the committee never realizes its potential.
Jason Zweig of The Wall Street Journal recently wrote a column titled, "How Group Decisions End Up Wrong-Footed". Extrapolating from his article, which addresses how committees lost billions of dollars during the recent financial crisis, we can learn a lot about how to make our new business committees work more effectively. Here are his suggestions:
- A committee must be made up of people with different perspectives.
- Each member must be unafraid to speak their mind.
- Each member must be able to select and process information effectively.
- Each member must demonstrate their ability to learn from their mistakes.
- At the outset, the agency President must objectively determine and specify what success looks like for the committee. Each success factor must be measurable.
- As the committee considers various options, they should split themselves into two groups: the "pro" group and the "con" group. Each side should generate the best arguments they can for each position, being sure to consider what success and failure looks like for each.
- As recommendations are being considered, the committee needs to ask "the five whys". For example, why is one idea superior to another? Why does the proposer of that idea know that their proposal is right? (For a new business example of this, see this post.) Zweig argues that,
If you ask five such "why" questions in a row, you are likely to expose any weak points in the advice.
While I have a bias against new business committees, as I look back on my experience on various committees I can see how implementing Zweig's recommendations would have improved the membership, and more importantly, the healthy functioning of each group. I'll be curious to hear how these ideas work for you.
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Recent Entries
Objectives and Key Results
published on February 02, 2010
Two days ago I was introduced to a management technique that's widely used at Intel and Google, about which I was previously unaware. The idea is to get everyone in the company focused on the
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Change can be just another thing that you do
published on January 29, 2010
In our company, we constantly push ourselves to figure out how to change and improve in order to grow. Part of the pushing comes from an external source (the executive coach I mention in a recent
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How hard are you willing to work, and for how long?
published on January 22, 2010
Most ad agency new business people are competitive, and want to be the very best they can be. What separates the average from the great? The experts from the "wannabes"? I was struck by a section
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Making sure you and your new business director are on the same page
published on January 19, 2010
Every now and then you learn a management technique that's so easy and powerful that you can't believe you didn't know about it before. I learned one of these tactics recently from an executive
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Wall Street Journal article suggests it still works
published on January 14, 2010
It wasn't too many years ago that ad agencies used direct mail to generate new business leads. Then, it went out of fashion in favor of email. But, as spam laws and filters have made email less
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Everyone likes the best of...
published on January 08, 2010
As a way to kick off the New Year, here are the ten most-read posts from 2009. Enjoy!
- 7 Voicemail Messages for Successful Ad Agency New Business Development.
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...with a new business hook
published on December 22, 2009
Interested in being able to offer your clients a quick, inexpensive, cost-effective ad delivery system targeted at millennials that guarantees 100% of your ads are viewed?
I ran across Beezag a
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Know your type
published on December 18, 2009
This is a guest post from Craig Kavicky, Vice President at Big Red Rooster, an independent research, strategy, and design company in Columbus, Ohio.
In recent posts, Todd has referenced the
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The good news is that everything is measurable
published on December 15, 2009
A reader recently wrote me, saying that he's a new ad agency CEO, but has never managed a new business department. What objectives should I set, he asked? What should I measure? As many agency
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"Jarring" is not the reaction you want
published on December 11, 2009
A few weeks ago I wrote about how not to self-destruct during your first meeting. Unfortunately, in this true story the agency became the talk of the prospect's office. Here's the back-story.
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Wonderfactory prototype is an exciting development
published on December 03, 2009
The Wonderfactory, in collaboration with Time, Inc., helped design the prototype of what Sports Illustrated magazine might look like on a tablet computer.
Revealed on December 2nd, this innovation
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Reveal the answer to close more new business
published on December 02, 2009
Before a prospect can become a client, they have to clearly understand the value of working with your ad agency or marketing services firm.
Does your current new business process demonstrate what
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Help them create a new future
published on November 23, 2009
The common approach to selling marketing services is, "Find their pain, and then show how you can solve it." But, if you only focus on your prospect's pain, you're leaving half the potential new
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Introducing Leap Media
published on November 19, 2009
Small and mid-size advertising agencies can now offer their clients Digital TV services. A low-cost, turn-key solution, which you can offer as your own, is available to drive new business.
Leap
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People do business with people they like
published on November 13, 2009
85% of buyers of marketing services state they're more likely to purchase from a provider with whom they've established some kind of personal chemistry. This was cited in a white paper I read
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Stay true to yourself
published on November 09, 2009
To many marketing services providers, sales is the equivalent of checking your values at the door and becoming a slimy salesman. Your mental image is along the lines of getting a prospect to part
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Good chemistry means learning how to have difficult conversations to maintain harmony
published on November 04, 2009
You've seen it happen: two members of your team aren't getting along. You've tried to repair the damage, but everyone knows it's there. While everyone tries to cover it up in the pitch, it still
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How one agency is turning an opportunity to win into a likely loss
published on November 02, 2009
Agencies will do almost anything to get a first meeting with an ideal new business prospect. But once the meeting is secured, optimism often turns to disappointment, and too often it's because the
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The issue is timeless
published on October 30, 2009
Knowing what your services are worth and being able to articulate and sell the value to a prospect is a critical new business skill.
I was recently emailed the following story, which was delivered
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Guest Post
published on October 27, 2009
Janet Northen is Partner and EVP Director of Agency Communications at McKinney. She's been in agency PR for many years, including significant stints and Fallon and The Martin Agency. When I think
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The answer depends...
published on October 22, 2009
This is the last in our three-part Q&A from our reader in Finland, who posed an often-debated question: "Should I thoroughly research my prospects and make fewer calls, or research less and make
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Question and answer from a reader (#2)
published on October 20, 2009
Recall that I promised to answer three questions from a reader in Finland. His second question is, "What's the best strategy for a first meeting?"
I've written in the past about the importance of
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Answers to a reader's new business question
published on October 16, 2009
A reader from Finland recently emailed a few questions, which I'll answer over the next few days. The first is, "When you're selling something as intangible as advertising, how can you close at
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Don't manage your career, Exceed Expectations
published on October 14, 2009
Come year-end, we'll see ad agency new business people engage in the annual ritual of getting fired and finding new jobs at different firms.
This game of musical chairs creates turmoil within
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How Justin is turning around an almost-lost client
published on October 08, 2009
Customer retention, let alone organic growth, usually comes down to people delivering on promises. Missed deadlines, less than acceptable quality, and poor communication all naturally lead to
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Cultivate your network with relevant information
published on October 07, 2009
It wasn't that many years ago that you'd send snail mail that included an article with a note attached that read something like this,
Saw this and thought you'd enjoy it.
The approach was simple
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Helping your network with no expectation of ROI
published on October 05, 2009
One definition of karma is "actions that bring bring upon oneself inevitable results". I was intrigued by a recent conversation with Jane, a new business person, who claimed that this was the key
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Signs of a turnaround
published on October 01, 2009
Dave Currie, President of Catapult New Business sits in a fairly unique seat. Catapult gets meetings with corporate marketers for its agency clients. While Dave speaks with dozens of agencies a
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It's a bit like cutting off your nose to spite your face
published on September 30, 2009
It's my birthday (it's not divisible by five, just another on the short march towards the big five-oh), and I've given myself permission to rant after hearing this comment one too many times from
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Just because you have a database doesn't mean it's accurate
published on September 28, 2009
Most agencies have a new business database. Twelve years ago, while working at another company, I would've agreed with the majority of agency principals who believe that their database resembles
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Study reveals execs prefer face-to-face
published on September 23, 2009
According to a recent Forbes Insights study, business executives prefer face-to-face meetings and conferences over virtual meetings, and overwhelmingly agree that they're necessary to build
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The lifeblood of most agencies
published on September 21, 2009
When you analyze the cost of acquiring a new client, generating new business from referrals is usually the least expensive. Realizing this, the natural question to ask is, "How do I get more?"
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Add value so you don't kill your prospects
published on September 17, 2009
Pros-pec-ti-cide [pros-pek-tuh-sahyd]
-noun
- The act of killing prospects.
What a great word! I came across it in an article by Paul McCord. He raises valuable issues and recommendations that
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Real change requires real effort
published on September 16, 2009
A recent Harvard Business School article addressed why it's so hard to change, which is a good follow up to my last post on the need for constant change and improvement in ad agency new business.
Read on...
A call to action
published on September 14, 2009
You've probably heard the expression, "Change or Die". Winston Churchill had another take on it that, to me, is even more powerful:
To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.
A
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And it needs to be a sound business decision
published on September 10, 2009
A few years ago I was faced with a decision about whether or not to file a lawsuit. As I considered my options, an old friend related to me what his even wiser lawyer once counseled him about
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($ Canadian, that is.)
published on September 09, 2009
How many of us are willing to offer $40,000 off agency fees to bring in a client? Well that's what The BrainStorm Group did at the end of May. And it worked.
Ron Telpner, chairman and CEO of the
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published on September 04, 2009
What are the best questions to get corporate marketers talking?
We all have our favorites, so why not combine our knowledge and put together a list of the best? Below is a form to enter your
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"Busy-ness" abounds in good times and bad...
published on September 02, 2009
Not long ago I had to let someone go who was always the first to arrive and last to leave. She willingly put in time on the weekends without complaint. And when she was at work, she worked; it
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What's the right mix?
published on August 31, 2009
Ad agency clients regularly ask us this question, "What's the best mix of retainer vs. project work?" I think the answer can determine how successful you are at creating a sustainable new business
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You are judged on first impressions
published on August 27, 2009
A recent survey reveals that only one in three agency receptionists meet the characteristics of a Director of First Impressions. Staffed well and you'll have another new business weapon in your
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One benefit is time to think and plan
published on August 26, 2009
In a recent post I wrote about the importance of getting away from ad agency new business to get refreshed and re-energized. But there's more to it: it's taking a long-term view of the work you
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Resist pressure to reduce your fees
published on August 24, 2009
A recession is a scary time for the person trying to maintain the financial health of the agency.
I got into a conversation with a fellow CEO the other day about the pressure agencies are under to
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Listening = Winning
published on August 20, 2009
We've all heard the expression, "People love to hear themselves talk." When it comes to new business, your success is often determined by how well you get your prospects to do the talking.
I've
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One of the old rules may need to be rewritten
published on August 19, 2009
It wasn't long ago that calling a marketer on their cell phone was considered "too personal".
However, as cell phones are becoming mobile computers, and the lines between work-time and
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Growth is within your control
published on August 17, 2009
CEO beliefs and behaviors either contribute to revenue growth or work against it. The questions is, are you helping or hindering your agency generate new business?
Here's an article by Michael
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The skills of your hunters and farmers are critcial to landing and retaining clients
published on August 14, 2009
Tight client budgets, hungry competitors, and aggressive new business hunters make for a tricky new business environment. That's what we're all experiencing now, and probably will for some time -
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Caller ID doesn't have to be your enemy
published on August 12, 2009
How often do your prospects answer the phone?
New business people say that if feels like their calls are being screened. I agree. If your prospects don't recognize your number, they're unlikely
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You may have it if your new business revenue is falling short of expectations
published on August 10, 2009
I was doing some role practice recently and observed the following: the new business person asked a few good questions and then, thinking he'd identified the need he could satisfy, switched into
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White paper reveals benefits of good prospect targeting
published on August 07, 2009
There's a direct correlation, in our data and in our experience, between companies who know more about their targets, and how successful they are at generating leads.
RainToday.com's research
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Best predictor of job performance is a work sample
published on August 05, 2009
Dan Heath and Chip Heath, authors of "Made to Stick" wrote a provocative article in the June issue of Fast Company. It challenges our basic premise about how to hire successful employees.They
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Input from entrepreneurs on management, marketing and sales
published on August 03, 2009
If your ad agency is new or entrepreneurial, you're in a start-up marketing services company, or you're a CEO, you'll relate to this list of 10 things MBA schools won't teach you and the
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How to you decompress and rejuvinate?
published on July 30, 2009
As you read this I'll have just gotten off a beautiful kayaking river in Idaho. We planned this trip a year ago. With us are members of my wife's family and very close friends with great senses
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Think discipline.
published on July 28, 2009
Too often, creatively-driven firms forget the business discipline that's required to achieve financial success.
A consultant recently reminded me of this. He's the product of the financial and
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Lack of ROI is usually caused by one of four things
published on July 27, 2009
It's not uncommon to hear that an ad agency (or other type of marketing services company) is suspending their proactive, outbound new business efforts due to low Return on Investment (ROI).
In
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The single best way to improve results is to measure activity
published on July 23, 2009
Those of us of a certain age remember the Ford Pinto. It had problem: hit it in the rear-end and the fuel tank might explode. This was a rather nasty surprise that drivers wanted to avoid, which
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There are two things every client wants. K.I.S.
published on July 21, 2009
We all know that when you Keep It Simple (K.I.S.) - I'll assume no readers are stupid - business success comes easier.
I've been thinking about agency-client surveys. Each tells us what clients
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Tips from a ProBlogger
published on July 20, 2009
I noticed a post by Darren Rowse on ProBlogger that may be of value if you're looking to create an ad agency blog to generate awareness and drive new business.
Every big goal needs to be broken
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Why shouldn't ad agencies or design firms launch their own brands?
published on July 17, 2009
In a recent post I mention the opportunity to partner with upstart technology companies as a new business play. This month's Fast Company article titled "Selling Soap. Literally" shows how some
Read on...
Adweek doesn't suggest an answer; Here's one.
published on July 15, 2009
Large, well-known agencies are getting frustrated at the length of time it's taking to fill open CMO positions and with the lack of available talent, according to a July 13 article in Adweek.
I
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Reports point to continued decline, with opportunity on the horizon
published on July 14, 2009
It feels so good to wake up to a headline like this: ...during a presentation this morning Brian Wiesner of Interpublic Group of Cos' Magna, said that the U.S. advertising economy will drop 14.5%
Read on...
Continuous improvement is a competitive advantage; here's a 3-step process to do so
published on July 13, 2009
Given the competitive nature of the ad agency and marketing services world, everyone involved in new business must continuously improve their processes and techniques in order to remain in the
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10 steps to win more new business from first meetings
published on July 09, 2009
Too often ad agency principals and new business people approach their first meeting with a prospect as an opportunity to "show up and throw up". I've seen it happen repeatedly over the last ten
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Role practice will dramatically improve your results
published on July 08, 2009
Listen to a gifted proactive new business person: their ability to engage a prospect on the phone and move the conversation forward will appear effortless. What you won't see are the hours and
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Use a CRM system for new business advantage
published on July 07, 2009
A sales guy from a well known payroll services company has been calling me on and off for months, trying to get me interested in their service, even though we're very satisfied with our current
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Attitude, self confidence and practice are key
published on July 06, 2009
You can usually tell if someone is a natural sales or proactive new business person by the way they handle rejection. If they take it personally and procrastinate before picking up the phone to
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How will you obtain and connect with prospects?
published on July 01, 2009
A client asked me recently, "How will the rise of social media sites impact how I obtain and use prospect information?"
To me there are two ways you need to consider the issue:
- How will social
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Leaders never let their minds shut down, always strive to learn more
published on June 30, 2009
In college, I don't think there was any way to comprehend what a professor meant when he said, "learning is a lifelong occupation". All we wanted to do was graduate and not have to take another
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published on June 29, 2009
Every ad agency wants to break into a new category. How do you do so when you don't have the experience? How do you avoid spending a great deal of money on a pitch that you have no chance of
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Making brownies while presenting your credentials doesn't mix
published on June 25, 2009
One day during the week of June 15th, 2009 a multicultural ad agency that can't be named had a conference call with a very large, well-known telecommunications company. They completely blew it.
Read on...
Recent survey reveals the stress associated with trying to take a vacation
published on June 24, 2009
With many agencies having trimmed staff, and the pressure to win new business extreme, it's hard to even think about taking time off. Yet, we all need to recharge our batteries and in stressful
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The greatest change of our work lives is on the horizon
published on June 23, 2009
Michael Malone's new book, The Future Arrived Yesterday hit bookshelves on Monday. You may remember his name from the early 1990s prediction that work was going to become increasingly virtual. He
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Think twice, then act decisively in pursuit of new business
published on June 19, 2009
Chi Wan thought three times before taking action. When the Master was informed of it, he said, "Twice will do."
Shaun Rein writes about "Confucius' Three Keys to Successful Leadership" in a
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Certain marketers are hiring, so get ready to ramp up your prospecting efforts
published on June 18, 2009
Jodi Bailey runs The Experts Bench, which places senior interim marketers with Fortune 500 companies (if any of your clients need this type of help, they're a very good resource, particularly for
Read on...
4 steps to benefit from focused learning and strategic targeting during slowdowns
published on June 16, 2009
Elizabeth Baskin of Tribe passed along a good idea to me yesterday that may be of use to those who work or own small agencies. We ran into each other at Catapult New Business' New Business from
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Aggregating or disaggregating your services could be the key
published on June 15, 2009
Too often marketers complain that agencies are alike, that their services are a commodity.
As frustrating as this may be, Kaihan Krippendorff argues in a recent Fast Company article that there's a
Read on...
A homeless man provides a life lesson
published on June 12, 2009
My son got a powerful dose of wisdom from a homeless man yesterday. When I heard the story, I couldn't help but think about the applicability of what he said to business in general, and to ad
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Wanted: passionate, creative designers
published on June 11, 2009
On my plane to Connecticut this past weekend I got into a recent article in Fortune Magazine titled "Fixing Up Ford." It's all about Alan Mulally's drive to save Ford. And he's doing some great
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5 ways to ensure your appointments stick
published on June 10, 2009
Does this sound like something you'd say, after hearing your prospect express interest in speaking further about your agency's credentials (recent work, award, new client win, etc.):
"Great! I'll
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Recession success proves the power of a well executed strategy
published on June 09, 2009
Amid stories about client losses, staff cuts and reduced spending are powerful reminders that a well-executed organic growth strategy can be a powerful revenue-generator in good times as well as
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Relentless focus on improvement is a key to success
published on June 08, 2009
Bottom Line interviews Josh Waitzkin, a former national chess champion and current martial arts world champion, in their most recent newsletter. Waitzkin shares insights that may cause you to
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Proactive client outreach explored using Twitter
published on June 05, 2009
Naked Pizza is driving new business using Twitter. Jeff Leach, Randy Crochet and Brock Fillinger, Naked's founders, filed an article with Ad Age last week that struck a cord.
Their goals are to
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It may be the most dreaded type of prospecting effort. Some claim it's dead. But, it still works.
published on June 04, 2009
"I just got a call-back from International Paper."
Turns out this new business person made one introductory phone call to track down the appropriate person, left a voicemail message, sent
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To be successful, a good new business hunter needs to feel their boss' confidence
published on June 03, 2009
Faye Hyman died six months ago after losing her battle with cancer.
I met Faye in 1997. When I took my new position, Faye was on probation, facing the loss of her job if her numbers didn't
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Measuring and graphing trends over time will show whether your new business process is improving, or not
published on June 02, 2009
If you have kids between 7th and 10th grades, you should know about The College Board's The Official SAT Question of the Day. It provides a daily question that is a fun and challenging way to
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The deal was almost inked, and then he tried to change the terms
published on June 01, 2009
I love asking agency principals the question, "What's the first thing you think of when you think of sales?" The answer is almost inevitably "car" or "used car".
Last Saturday morning my wife
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Take a page from Jack Welch's playbook
published on May 29, 2009
Ad agencies must drive new business to grow. But then there's growth through acquisition. Or, perhaps "stealing" your way to growth. If you missed this from today's Vanity Fair/Bloomberg Panel,
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Prospecting is a numbers game and knowing your numbers is the key to success
published on May 28, 2009
Start at the bottom to end at the top.
When speaking at the 2006-2008 Mirren New Business Conferences, we talked about how agencies should build their new business “funnel” from the bottom up. A
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If you determine the depth and weight of your prospect's needs you'll clearly define the potential opportunity
published on May 27, 2009
Most proactive new business efforts take place over the phone, which is at the heart of any outbound new business process. Most sales people know about the idea of identifying needs, but as Art
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Facing lack of new business growth? Loss of clients? This is what a recession feels like, so now's the time to rally your troops
published on May 26, 2009
Ad agencies and other marketing services firms are perfectly positioned to get creative and inspire their marketing talent on behalf of the firm. Rosabeth Moss Kanter reminds us that,
In a
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But in any economy, clever entrepreneurs find opportunity where others see only problems
published on May 25, 2009
Imagine running your agency while fearing imminent kidnapping of a family member.
I spent the Memorial Day weekend with family. We are quite a crew of different nationalities and cultures. One of
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The title of your agency's next blog post must appeal to your target audience. Here's a guide to improve title selection
published on May 22, 2009
As someone who is new to social media, and knowing that many agency new business people are in the same boat learning how to blog for their agency, I thought that a recent post in ProBlogger by
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Your agency's first meeting with a prospective client should be all about them and not about you or your capabilities
published on May 21, 2009
I've enjoyed reading Norm Brodsky's articles in Inc. magazine for years. He's seen and experienced just about anything you'll ever encounter, and there's a wealth of good business insight in every
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David beats Goliath
published on May 20, 2009
There's a great article titled, How David Beats Goliath in the May 10, 2009 edition of "The New Yorker" magazine by Malcom Gladwell. This article made me think about the small agency Davids who
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Don't be one of those new business professionals (or CEOs) who's missing what's happening outside the four walls of your agency
published on May 18, 2009
If you're the new business person at a small or medium-size agency, or the agency CEO, a recent post from OnStartUps by Dharmesh Shah may resonate.
I borrowed this post's title from Dharmesh, who
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Use search and social media to reveal insights and initiate conversations with prospective clients
published on May 15, 2009
Medical Marketing and Media magazine published a story called "The Science of Eavesdropping" in the May 2009 issue. While the authors, from Wunderman NY, are writing it from a client research
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What is the one thing that must be done extraordinarily well to achieve your Vision?
published on May 14, 2009
In yesterday's post I mentioned participating in a Vistage meeting on Tuesday that featured an excellent speaker, Dan Barnett. Dan has run businesses for 25 years at companies like Pillsbury,
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What is the clear, specific, measurable and achievable Vision motivating your agency?
published on May 13, 2009
Yesterday I participated in a Vistage meeting that featured an excellent speaker, Dan Barnett. Dan has run businesses for 25 years at companies like Pillsbury, Nestle, Constellation Brands,
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Your new business program will benefit from applying the principals of healthy living
published on May 12, 2009
I was struck by the parallels between maintaining good personal health and a successful and healthy agency new business program when scanning the recent Zappos blog, Slow and Steady Wins the Race.
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Don’t plow up your crops before they have time to grow
published on May 08, 2009
I recently saw an email from Mark and David Sandler of Sandler Training that caught my eye.
The Sandler's company specializes in sales training. They understand very well that it takes time, hard
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