Get on with it and win.

If you’re having fun doing New Business development you’re probably not doing it right. Take a tough cookie, soak it in vinegar and then bake it at 220 degrees for a further 17 hours. THAT’s how tough a cookie cold channel biz dev is.

Probably the biggest ‘killer’ of effective New Business is inactivity. I know that’s like saying “the fastest way to not make bread is to not make bread” but you’d be amazed how many people do ALL the prep but put off actually doing any of the work (primarily because they know it’s a lot of “NO”s just waiting to happen).

Though I’m not generally a massive user of mnemonics and acronyms, I heard something recently that I quite liked called the “Triple A” rule. Assessment, Assembly, Action.

Whatever the task (in our case, some business development) start by assessing what you already have and what you’ll face (otherwise known as “the problem”). For us, we might already have a small list of prospects, and what we’ll face are the companies on that list who likely don’t want to be sold anything today.

Next we plan with those variables in mind, augmenting what we already have by adding what we need. Assemble the ‘things’ we need - the assets, the data, the people, the objection-handling responses, etc.

And finally (and MOST importantly) you then take ACTION.

It sounds like common sense, but I can assure you there are fleets of people as we speak NOT doing anything despite having assessed the situation and assembled what they need.

The sooner you get on with it, the sooner things will happen. And the sooner things happen, the better you’ll do.

Happy hunting.

EPILOGUE:

1) Meatloaf was wrong (two out of three IS bad)

2) Funny how you can’t think of the word ASSEMBLE without picturing Captain America, isn’t it?

3) I got the “Triple A” rule from a PlayStation game. I knew they wouldn’t rot my brain (mum).

List-building for cold prospecting

For us, list-building is very much a “bread and butter” part of what we do. We could be awesome on the phone (we are) and write incredible emails (we do) but none of it would matter if our prospect lists were duff.

As I’m relatively new to business development compared to some of the experts I rub shoulders with, I just always assumed everyone had a team like we do, scouring the web and building databases for clients. But it turns out that many folks (including some of our competitors!) buy them in from external list-building companies.

The big question is, does it matter?

Well… my answer starts with a question (I’m like a politician in that way). What process that wasn’t purely mechanical was ever improved by automating it or cutting corners? Sure, some list-building agencies allow you to manipulate twenty drop down lists and tick as many filter buttons as you can, but without a smart human eye-balling every list made, something will slip through the cracks.

If you want a list you can depend on, invest as much time, effort and love into it as possible. These names and numbers potentially represent the future of your company. These are they guys you plan to collaborate with (and be paid handsomely by) for years to come., so invest invest invest.

If buying in the same list your competitors bought in last week seems like the strongest move, then fine; fill your boots. However, some diligent desk research and directory interrogation might uncover the real prospects that haven’t yet made it onto the communal “for sale” lists.

Happy hunting.

Getting better at being remote.

As I write, industry events are starting back up again and people are gradually becoming confident returning to their more mobile ways of doing business (I wonder if my Oyster Card still works?)

When we all got locked down, the likes of Zoom and Teams were a god-send, allowing us to still meet, pitch and converse with team members, clients and prospects. As time passed they became very much the norm, ultimately transforming into a bit of a “meh” way of working (I even had some prospects ask if we could just ‘have a phone call’ to break up the Zoom schedule monotony).

The question is, what do we do now? Are we all just abandoning Zoom and going back to sitting on trains for hours to take a 30 minute meeting before heading back home, or should we look to do a better job of making virtual meetings still work for us?

A smart blog on www.alliancebernstein.com - “Mastering the Virtual Practice: Virtual vs. Face-to-Face Meetings“ suggests that “Face-to-face meetings activate thousands of years of social instincts“ postulating that face-to-face meetings present a greater opportunity for a salesperson to affect another person’s decision-making. It also said “… a person feels an instinctive social obligation to pay full attention“ in a face-to-face meeting, which I find particularly interesting as I’ve actually found that people often seem more tuned in when they know I’m staring down the barrel of their webcam rather than swinging their feet in capacious “Meeting Room C” of their very familiar office surroundings.

Though body language cues and practices aren’t so available in a virtual meeting, we can do something to improve our interactions. Think about a real meeting… you greet, you swap cards, you make a little small talk and discuss the weather. We can’t discuss the journey anymore, so let’s discuss favourite green screen backgrounds and audio set ups problems. Maybe even tilt the camera down to reveal the needy dog with its head on your leg wondering why you’re talking to ‘the telly’. These shared experiences can still be used to build rapport and bring the human element to a virtual meeting.

It’s been a tough time for sure, but I’ve personally seen a huge increase in efficiency, simply because I just have to put on a shirt and sit upright to make a pitch. No District line, no Kings Cross, and - more importantly - no 12 hour days ‘out of office’ to complete what can do done with two 45-minute Zoom calls.

Don’t give up on the virtual just yet; it might still be our saviour.

Agency New Business: THE meritocracy

My first full-time job was at a well-known high street chemist. I was in one of the larger stores selling records and stereos (if you’re under 25, please ask an adult what ‘records’ and ‘stereos’ are or you’ll have no context).

I was told that a management role was definitely a possibility, as long as I was prepared to work there for the next 55 years and wait while everyone above me retired or died. It was at that point I thought it might be better to find a more meritocratic company to work for.

Being rewarded and progressing based entirely upon your merit has always worked out well for me, but anyone moving into business development might have a tough time initially. The interesting thing about new biz is that the only way to go about it and expect results is full steam. Being ‘part-time’ or ‘when I have time’ about cold channel prospecting will most certainly fail.

The challenging part of new business (both to companies and individuals) is that you can be doing an absolutely top job on paper and yet see nothing in the bank for your efforts. It’s demoralising and forces you to constantly wonder ‘am I doing this right?’. Until you start converting cold channel outreach into wins you’ll ALWAYS doubt yourself (and even once you trust your methods, it only takes one dry patch to send you spiralling back down into self-doubt again).

So, if you plan to attack new business, then do exactly that - ATTACK. Don’t ‘have a go’ or ‘spend a little time on it’. All you’ll do is have a bad experience and give yourself a thin reason to believe that cold new business doesn’t work. It does work - it just takes a lot of sustained effort.

Good luck.

The Data Doughnut (TM)

Yeah yeah… go ahead and snigger. So I’ve got a ‘thing’.

I accidentally said it one day… and then liked it enough to use again in conversation (multiple times). But you mind my words (sonny boy) once I take you through The Data Doughnut (TM) you’ll be eating your words. Your delicious doughnuty words.

I should also quickly point out that though I’m aware there’s a way to get a proper trademark symbol to appear, I like to simply put the letters T and M into brackets to show that I’m not precious about it (use it, however, without prior permission and I will hunt you down and kill you).

Anyway… The Data Doughnut (TM) is a FANTASTIC visual representation of your database. A mistake I see often is people building a database, starting to work on the database, and then, when not even halfway round ‘the ring’ (as we call it) adding a bunch of new prospects. So, just as you were approaching 6 o’clock (yes, I know I’m mixing metaphors - don’t tell me how to live my life) you’ve sudden expanded the ring and sent yourself back to 4 o’clock.

And then off you go, continuing round this slightly larger doughnut, and then… BAM! - you add even more data! You’re taking what was a manageable, well-thought-out and reasonably-sized database, and warped it into an unmanageable monster. And while you think you’re doing a dandy job of ‘augmenting’ your database, the data sitting at 11 o’clock is getting older and mouldier (and further away). You’re sabotaging your own doughnut you lunatic!

I am of course assuming you did a good job of building your database in the first place, so now just focus on working it. As data is removed (taking ‘a bite’ if you will) don’t replace it, just continue round the ring. Give all this freshly-baked data a chance to bear fruit (again, don’t worry about the metaphor - it’ll be fine).

Some of the doughnut will require a second pass (maybe even three) but that’s the nature of a new business prospect database - it takes time and tenacity. Only once you feel you’re chewing on the same bits over and over should you think about building it back up with fresh entries.

Anyway… data, rings, doughnuts, trademarks. I’m sure you get the idea.

Good luck and goodbye.

You're not alone. Ish.

Steve and I were recently asked to guest present on an Agency Hackers’ video training session (check them out - there are some incredible agencies in their community), talking to agency owners about smart ways to improve their own business development. As lovely as it is to be asked to do such things, the part I actually enjoy the most is the Q&A session at the end.

Apart from it being a nice opportunity to interact with the many many faces floating on the screen, it’s also always interesting for us to hear which part of ‘new biz’ trips them up the most.

The kinds of questions we got asked on this occasion included:

How big should my database be?

How should I approach our ‘dream clients’?

What email platform should I use?

As you might imagine, we had a lovely time addressing all of these questions (no, I’m not giving you the answers ‘for free’ here – you’ll have to give us a buzz for those gems) but more important/interesting is that you get to see how – with just a simple prod in the right direction – the weight lifts from some seriously-intelligent people who just happen to not know where to begin when it comes to business development.

So… you’re not alone! If you know you should be doing some/more/better business development but don’t even know how to get beyond a napkin with a few prospects scribbled down, fear not; lots of other smart people are in exactly the same boat.

It took the SpongeNB collective many years to feel confident enough to host such a video session, so there’s no way you’re going to get everything right in your first few attempts to reach out into the (never-forgiving) cold channel.

And before you ask, no, I don’t have a copy of the video to share (but I do have a VHS of Robocop if that’s any use).

Trick yourself (and get some work done)

As someone who gave up office life more than 15 years ago, it was interesting to watch the entire nation deal with something that I had to address back then: working from home.

If you have a dog, a ukulele, a biscuit barrel, a PlayStation, a garden, Candy Crush, Netflix or perhaps a keen interest in adult entertainment, working from home can initially prove challenging when it comes to staying focused. Without a boss calling you into their office or staff wandering by your screen to keep you honest, it can be hard to self-discipline and stay on-task with so many distractions around you (and no one to stop you from doing whatever you fancy).

Ironically, if you can stop your eyes twitching to something more interesting, you’ll be stunned at how much work you can get done (though there’s no one hassling to keep you working, there’s also no one hassling to STOP you working). Tea and coffee intake will initially go through the roof (you don’t have to make ANYONE else a cup!) but once you get control of that obsession you should find a more productive WFH balance is entirely achievable.

I enjoyed a blog by Rachel Degginger at Heinz Marketing, offering “4 Tips to Improving Your WFH Experience”. In the blog Rachel talks about improving her WFH situation by mimicking her old work setup (down to an office-replicating raised laptop, external keyboard, second monitor, etc.) to ‘trick’ herself into entering her own personal ‘office space’ with the right mindset.

Though workers are already returning to offices, many are still working from home, and who knows if we’ll all be sent home again in the coming months and years. It’s for this reason that it’s so important to get your WFH workspace arranged in a way that allows you to enjoy the benefits of working from home (no commuting!) without compromising your productivity.

Now close that Incognito window.

Agency new business. What works?

There are so many ways to build a sales campaign for an agency. Many agency bosses don’t want to be seen as needing to sell, but once you’re past the honeymoon phase and it’s time to scale-up beyond what falls in your lap, you’re going to need to have some outreach strategy.

Cold-channel business development is, when considered in isolation, inefficient. But there are ways to make it work better. It takes discipline and you have to throw out any ideas you have about high-volume telesales campaigns or mass-email outreach. Forget transactional selling (for at least 95% of the process) and sell something that has huge relevancy to your prospect. A recent Dun & Bradstreet report showed that 67% of b2b buyers see “relevant communication” as a top influence for choosing one vendor over another.

But it’s more complicated than that. A Gartner report found that the number of people in a company buying decision has increased from 1-2, to 7-8 in a small business (up to 500 staff). Each level of decision-maker will have a different idea of what is relevant.

Luckily, it’s not just the direct outreach that can create that relevancy. Your content marketing is part of what makes you relevant. A Forrester report from a while back (2014) found that even back then, half of b2b prospects will view at least 8 content pieces during the buying process. 80% of them looked at a minimum of 5 content pieces. This is all part of the selling process and your direct outreach should dovetail nicely with the content you produce. Sadly agencies’ content is all too often the sort of thing that impresses other agencies rather than prospects.

The reason agency new business endeavours are so frustrating at times is the need to maintain relevant contact with a large number of prospects, who have rarely been profiled and segmented properly. And if you get busy, you drop new business. And if it doesn’t bring in new clients quickly, you drop new business. And that’s why it becomes cyclical. You blame everything in turn. Your proposition. Your creds. Your Business Development Manager. A new business agency. The prospects. Your website. You. Another new business agency. You might be right (about one or two of them), but the chances are that nobody has ever really explained how cold-channel outreach works. It’s literally the opposite of winning through referral. It’s very, very hard. But it can work.

I’ll finish with some insights from Hubspot – their survey of buyers said that the top things that lead to a positive sales outcome are:

-          Listening to the prospect’s needs (69%)

-          Not being pushy (61%)

-          Providing relevant information (See!) (61%)

-          Responding in a timely fashion (seriously, it’s such an easy win – and so many agencies screw this up) (51%)

We can help with all of these things. We can consult with you on your agency’s many value propositions, selling personas, positioning statements, outreach strategies, and content strategies. We can do the outreach for you. You’ll feel it move under your feet and you’ll finally be able to tick “get the new business sorted” off your to-do list. Let’s have a chat.

Are we prospecting? Always.

During a casual chat with a competitor, I was asked when we like to prospect? I thought he meant specific hours of the day, but actually he meant months of the year. I then realised that we might be the only new business agency that prospects ALL YEAR ROUND!

Yes, August is a weird month, but that’s just a great opportunity to revisit data, stop sending emails (unless you LOVE out-of-office replies) and get everything in order before the rest of the year starts hurtling towards Christmas with the brakes off.

B2B Sales Connections recently ran a “3 Best B2B Sales Prospecting Tips” article, with one of the titular “3” looking at exactly this: “When should you prospect?” One tip I liked was to make sure you understand where every prospect is in their own buying cycle. If they’re one month into a new contract, there’s very little point setting a reminder to talk to them again in one month’s time to “see how they’re getting on”. You’re better off finding out when a review will take place and then popping up down the line as if it’s lucky timing. Such a review might take place at the halfway point or in five years’ time, but if you gather that information while you’re connected, you at least stand a chance of a more meaningful outcome when you next talk (and you’ll look smart for being switched-on enough to ask in the first place).

We challenge our own business development managers to never just accept a “try me again in six months” fob off. We’d rather say “no” as long as we then say something like: “I’d rather call back when we can have a proper conversation that moves things forward; when would that be?” Often this prompts the prospect to reveal “when the contract ends in 24 months” but at least now we know to stop wasting everyone’s time, set a realistic reminder, and to move on to the next target.

We also try to avoid arbitrarily writing off Summer… writing off Christmas… writing off the bit after Christmas… etc. Gather information and react to that rather than what the calendar says. And while you’re at it, why not research when your prospect’s next big anniversary is. Is it coming up to their first anniversary? Their 10th birthday? Their centenary even? They are BOUND to be doing something big around these events, so say hello eight months before that date, make them aware that you’ve done your homework, and ask how you can help make this momentous occasion go off with a bang.

‘Lucky timing’ is way more under your control than you realise.

Be more Monty Don

Gardeners know the score. They plant tomato seeds hoping that they’ll grow into tomato plants and give them - yes, you’ve guessed - tomatoes. They know that they’re in for months and months of nothing but giving care an attention with no immediate return. Watering… transferring from seed trays to pots… in and out of cold frames and greenhouses to make the best of the weather. It goes on like this for months… WITH NO TOMATOES!

Then, if they do all of that, they should get some tomatoes at the end of it (but might not). At no point do gardeners say, “well it’s been two months now and I don’t have any tomatoes. Yes, I know the seed packet said five months, but I still thought I’d have something by now (for no reason).”

You can see where I’m going with this can’t you…

New business development also takes time to yield fruit, but not a specific amount of time I can promise you (we’ve genuinely won new business for clients in the first week, but don’t expect that every time!). All I can promise you is that if you start a project, the thing that will definitely kill it is giving up on before it even had a chance to success.

A gardener wouldn’t plant seeds if they knew that they’d have no more water one month in, so don’t start a new business project if you know you won’t have enough resource (be that money, patience or belief) to see it through to a point where it’s reasonable to expect it to bear fruit.

if you hear someone say “don’t expect anything for six months” then don’t expect anything for six months. If you hear them say those words but then hear yourself say “yeah, but we’ll probably get something before then” slap yourself. You’re reading the packet all wrong.

By now you should've somehow realised what you gotta do

I used to teach kids to play guitar. Before I even taught my first lesson I asked a few music teachers I knew for tips. One trumpet teacher told me: “make sure they can go home and play something to their parents after every lesson.” The logic being that if the parents could see something was being achieved they’d keep sending little Johnny back for more (and nothing impresses a parent more than Wonderwall on the trumpet, apparently).

The problem with this approach was that rather than focusing on the fundamentals and scales (the kinds of things that would actually bring long-term success) it meant you were constantly trying to take short cuts as the lesson drew to a close, worried that if Johnny went home and showed his folks “yet another bloody scale” his dad would knock it on the head and send him to ballet instead.

The problem is, as with anything worthwhile in life, there’s rarely a ‘fast track’ route that’s sustainable or ultimately rewarding. I’d rather be honest and say “it’s going to be five weeks of scales before we even look in Wonderwall’s direction.” That way, at least you know what to expect, and when it takes five weeks to get to something sexy, it’s no surprise.

It’s a weird metaphor I know, but we have a similar stance when telling clients what to expect when they bring us onboard to boost their new business returns. If we fall over ourselves to “play you a tune you’ll like” after one month, we’re probably not actually doing a very good job with the fundamentals (in this case, not so much scales, more database management, research, collateral creation, quality of outreach, etc.).

So if we pitch to you and tell you it’ll possibly take six months to bring in the first win if we do things right, PLEASE don’t agree unless you actually agree. If, once we get started, we remind you it’ll possibly be six months before the first win is in the bank, again, please don’t nod and smile in agreement… ESPECIALLY if after three months you then wet the bed and give up because you haven’t won anything.

If you keep doing that, we’ll just teach you Wonderwall (metaphorically speaking) and you’ll end up with a really naff and unsustainable new business campaign. Oh, and one song (on guitar or trumpet - your choice).

7 ways to stop making dreadful sales calls

First, let’s get something clear: we do a lot more than make phone calls for our clients. Today we’re just addressing the fact that most new business calls are remarkably bad. We don’t claim to have a magic wand, nor do we promise ridiculous results from our work. We do however make sure we avoid wasted opportunities. The phone call is a prime example of where waste can occur over and over in a single day. In a single hour. At a new business agency like Sponge NB, we see this affect outcomes directly - so we’re strict.

1 - Research it

The first compliment you can pay your prospect is having taken the time to research them. Even a little bit. It’ll make all the difference to your confidence. It’ll make all the difference to how receptive they will be. You don’t need to know their dog’s name (though if you do, please find a way to mention it without sounding like a stalker (on second thoughts, you will sound like a stalker. Probably keep it to yourself)), but knowing where they have worked before (Linkedin will help with that) or which agencies they’ve hired before (trade press can yield that information) will show that they’re not just a name on a list. You’d be stunned at how many BDMs don’t do the simplest research.

2 - Make it different

Most agencies’ new business calls open with something like “We’re Crunchy Frame Creative and we’re a creative agency and we’ve worked for Channel 6, Harbinsons’s Jam and Nevaslip Prophylactics. Can I have a minute to talk about your marketing?”. Other than the fact that you’ve already started talking to them without establishing that they are okay with having an agency badly described at them, it’s just dull. You’re an agency? With clients? Wow! When can we brief you? If you’ve done your research and you’re smart enough, you’ll be able to open with a question that prompts some conversation. Some of our team are sometimes guilty of not using their research to spark natural conversation – it makes the call far harder to get anything from. Nobody in any marketing department wants to know who you’ve worked for or what type of agency you are until you’ve created a compelling reason for them to desire that information. You might create that compulsion through your clever questions, your knowledge of their company or simply your genuine, carefully directed enthusiasm.

3 - Stick to what you say you’ll do

If you tell someone you’ll send them information straight away. That means moments after the call. If you’re not going to send it immediately, then tell them when they’ll get it. If you tell them 3pm, make it arrive at 3pm.

4 - Follow it up properly

Your prospects get a lot of calls. If you’re going to build any relationship with them then you will need to stay in touch. If you don’t then despite how amazing your agency’s work is, they won’t remember you. There’s a fine, nay (nay?) invisible line between “staying in touch” and “pestering the heck out of someone”. Stay on the right side, but don’t convince yourself that they’ll call when they need you. Too often they won’t. If polite contact from time to time is enough to annoy them then they weren’t going to hire you anyway.

5 - Don’t offer outs

“Can we respond to your next advertising brief, or……..”. This “or”, hanging off the end of the sentence is like a comfort blanket to new business people. In fact I’ve heard it from salespeople of all types over the years. Listen to your new business calls. If you hear that, then stop doing it the way you’re doing it and hire us (quoting SNB_OURPREVIOUSNEWBUSINESSCALLSWEREAWFULSOPLEASEHELPUS for a 7% discount). Don’t offer exits along the way. If the prospect doesn’t like your approach, or if your questioning uncovers the fact that they don’t want you, then they’ll find their own exit. You ought to be looking for the next best thing, all the time. When are they reviewing? How long is the current agency contract? Are there ever projects that fall outside of their current agency’s remit? But don’t roll out the red carpet to the exit door, or why did you call in the first place?

6 - Don’t immediately mention something you sent

You sent information and now you’re calling. You mention it, right? Let’s look at the possibilities:

1)      You call, saying that you sent the information about your amazing work on Harbinson’s Jam. The prospect remembers this information. But the prospect also remembers seeing it and not calling or emailing you. Otherwise you wouldn’t be calling them, eh?

2)      You call, saying that stuff about the PDF about the jam guys. The prospect doesn’t remember seeing it, or didn’t have time. Now you’re back at square one, but the prospect now views you as the guys who sent the information that he instantly forgot, or couldn’t be bothered to read.

3)      You call, use your research and intelligence to ask questions, building on the previous information that led you to send information. If the prospect doesn’t mention it, then you can send it as if they’ve never seen it. If they now remember it of their own volition, then their image of you is rather stronger – they remembered your jam work unprompted.

In case it’s not clear, number 3 is best. So if you sent info, don’t mention it. Sounds counter-intuitive, but it isn’t about your ego, it’s about creating a compelling reason for a prospect to hire you.

7 - Close, boldly, openly and honestly.

There are loads of different types of closes – the assumptive close, the Ben Franklin, the negative close. Bin them – they’re too prescriptive. How about something like:

“I hope I haven’t interrupted your day too horribly, but if I did then here’s the short version: we’re a cracking new business agency and you’re an agency that could do with a long-term, coherent, effective new business campaign. How can we do some work for you?”. Too prescriptive? Of course it is. The conversation should guide the words you use to close. Do close though. It’s the bit that’ll start your stomach churning but when it works (and if you follow all of the above, it’ll work more often), it results in those lovely highs that make the new business slog worth it.

We’re Sponge NB and you can hire us to do ALL of this for you. Call 01708 451311 or email Steve on steve@spongenb.com

Should your agency work with Sponge New Business?

There are some things that new business agencies don't want to say out loud in case you don't hire them. We'd much rather you know what a cold-channel business development campaign looks like. Then we'll work together for a much longer time, finding the wins that make it worthwhile for you and of course us. Here are some simple truths about how a cold-channel campaign can pan out.

It's not the same as converting referrals.
Referrals convert at around 80% (opportunity/win). Cold approaches will convert at a MUCH lower rate. It can take months upon months for the first win to land. It's not because you're not good at pitching. It's not because we're not good at finding the right opportunities. It's because referrals are out there winning 80% of things and VERY often, the decision-maker choosing an agency will talk to a few other people to ensure the referral is competitive. You will VERY rarely know you're often a makeweight. It's tough. Quitting after 5-10 meetings/opportunities is probably too early unless the meetings are "coffee and creds" meetings, in which case quit now, then hire us.

You're going to need to spend some money (and no, we're not going to do it for free/per meeting/for a win bonus).
We charge £3000+VAT/month. That means grown-up business developers who can speak at a senior level to prospects in a conversational way. It means strategy from me with my 19 years of business development experience (all for agencies). It means consultancy from Matt Broughton, formerly International Head of Comms for Atari. It means Emma and our team of research consultants, building lists from scratch to ensure amazing data. And even with the level of resource pulling you forward - it takes time. If you've got enough for a couple of months and "if we win something you'll be able to continue", don't hire us. Instead, phone me (I'm Steve) and I'll give you a 15-minute call for free. You can ask me what you CAN be doing while spending very little if anything.

You're gonna be selling.
When we put you in front of a decision-maker, they're not handing you the business. You will have to sell what you do in a compelling way. We can help you to learn these skills if you're worried about that - and it's included in the service (see? the monthly fee is pretty good value really).

But please remember that you’re selling what the prospect wants to achieve, not a set of processes. Think about the business outcomes they want to make happen. Sell those outcomes. This means leaving out some of your usual spiel. It’s worth it - this is SO important.

Send in the big guns.
If you get an opportunity, have the MD in the first meeting. Unless you're one of the massive agencies, this is expected. Actually, if you're one of the massive agencies, it's a hugely compelling thing to send in the boss. I've met some of the CEOs of the monster agencies and they've always got an air of confidence and capability that is beyond any sales pitch.

This is the long game.
There's no magic wand for this. Anyone selling you fast cold-channel business development for significant-sized wins is taking you for a ride. Much of what we do is relationship maintenance. We're not there to strong-arm decision-makers. We're there to seem like a great way to solve some problems. If you're a business owner, ask yourself: how good does it feel to find a great supplier for something? Amazing, right? Making you into that is our job. It takes time, tenacity, and organisation. Trust the process.

No we can't give you constant updates.
Our time is best spent doing the things that make the conversations happen. We can introduce you to a couple of our competitors who produce MUCH prettier reports and give you a "live dashboard". It's great for the paranoid micro-manager in you, who hired us and immediately decides not to trust us to be experts at this. I bet you LOVE clients like that yourself, right? No? Oh.

No, we can't go after the "low hanging fruit".

There are over 25,000 marketing agencies of different types and sizes in the UK. If each decided there was one sector in which there were "easy wins", it wouldn't be long before that list of low-hanging fruit was pretty much every target company in the UK. There are no low-hanging fruit, other than referrals. Stop looking for quick wins. Nothing worth doing is easy.

Year one might not be amazing.
If we get one or two decent wins in year one, we're pretty happy. More is great. Remember how good you are at getting referrals? Well get some from those wins and suddenly we're your best sales channel. Ignore that and you'll quickly decide that we're not worth the money. The thing is we are, almost every time. But there's a level of commercial patience that is crucial. We don't ask that you tolerate poor performance - we find opportunities every month - just not to expect the impossible. A current client used two of our competitors and between them, they got 2 meetings in two years. We would hope you'd fire us waaaaaaaaay before that happened (to be honest, we'd resign - our guys don't want to be running a project like that). Side note, that same agency got five wins in their last full calendar year with us and has been with us for over four years. Year one wasn't amazing, but we were the first new business agency they didn't fire.

We’ll always make sure you can make an informed decision. We don’t always know how a campaign will go, but we won’t sell you crazy dreams just to get you on the books. Let’s talk - we might be the new business agency you don’t fire.