Said in another way, how can you avoid giving away thinking? Typically, this situation comes up not during an initial contact, but further on in the prospect / agency relationship. (Assuming this is a qualified prospect for your agency.)

Seems like some spec thinking might be unavoidable. You do, after all, need to demonstrate some expertise. And many agency new business folks do this by talking about the prospective client and tying those challenges to past agency or staff experience.

But what follows are a few thoughts that can help avoid that feeling like you’ve been kicked out of bed without seeing any money left on the table:

Plan the interaction ahead of time

It doesn’t matter if it’s a phone call, lunch, social event or even an email. Understand YOUR goals for the interaction before you start. This will help keep you focused on the matter at hand.

Listen more than you speak

One easy way to think about this is to simply talk less. The less you say, the less risk you have of saying something you may not get paid for. Listening is a critical skill, particularly in this aspect of relationship.

Think fact finding and discovery (not problem solving)

Before you are actually “pitching,” you’re trying to get the lay of the land and building the relationship. Of course, your mileage will vary. And it completely depends on the setting and feeling of the situation you find yourself in. But to understand what’s really going on, think about asking questions that will get at some key issues:

• What do they need?
• What created the need?
• Why do they need  help now?
• What are the issues around the need?
• What difference would having this need met make to you?
• Who else is involved in the matter at the company?

There are more questions, of course. Please note the above are not necessarily the questions you should be asking. Some of the above are fairly blunt. You can be a little sharper, and ask questions that help you solve the problem later (as well as provide valuable insights that can drive pitch content and context.)

You’re in the agency business. The business of ideas. You can’t help but offer up a thought here or there. Sometimes, it just can’t be avoided. You are, after all, a smartie. And you can always make more ideas. But do give some thought to the value of what it is you do for a living. It’s billable!

Anywho, hope this has helped. And should you have any related thoughts on how to avoid a strategy booty call early in the prospect / agency relationship…feel free to share with your fellow ad agency new business junkie.

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“What does that mean?”

This can be done for practically anything related to agency new business. For instance, let’s just look at understanding the mindset and personality type of the prospective client. If you get the sense that your prospect is more of a Type A professional, ladder up to understand the implications of this personality type and what it can mean throughout both prospecting and pitching.

It ain’t rocket science. Type A people don’t have too much time and want to get right to the point. What does that mean in prospecting? Short, purposeful interactions would be a good start. A minimum of bullshit. What can it mean in pitching?  Well, for one, it can mean shorter presentations. Shorter introductory walk-ups to strategy or creative.

Another quick example: laddering up in its most basic form helps identify pitches, too. Let’s say you see recurring quarters of negative same-store sales. What does that mean? Again, no quadratic equation needed here. It suggests that change is in the air for this brand. And change could spell a new business opportunity for your agency!

There are lots of other ways laddering up can be used in new business:

• identify root brand challenges or opportunities
• help define pitch storytelling or presentation themes

Or, turn the ladder horizontal: talk about how your idea impacts the entire stakeholder chain (from company to sales force to distribution channels to end-use consumers).

As always, thanks for your attention. What that means for me is certainly available upon request! Happy pitching.

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Timing, friend, is everything. The thing that crossed my path that reminded me of this idea is a humble bus stop bench. And on the bench was, you guessed it, an ad for a local used car dealership. A crafty marketer, wisely putting their message at the right time and place. Would could have made the ad even better was a message that took advantage of the location and the mindset of the waiting mass transit-ee. But I digress. And you really aren’t here for brief-writing lessons.

You’re here for new business thinking and inspiration! So, here are some related thoughts on how to be at the right time and place to pitch…

Leverage marketplace conditions

There are lots of things, of course, that lead to agency reviews. But one of the key drivers is a change in client-side staff. New CMOs and marketing directors. Resources like The List, Access Confidential, Ratti Report, Pearlfinders and more will all help identify the kinds of changes that suggest a review is coming. Or, you can read about it in the trades.

These are all fine resources. But one of the problems with them is that everyone else has access to that same information! So, feel free to be one of the masses that’s sending a friendly note to the new CMO.

Looking to be a bit craftier? Who could blame you.

Get a step ahead of your agency competitors: act like you’ve been fired

Why be one of the masses when you’re smarter than that? Companies that are looking for CMOs and directors of marketing advertise this need. Think about that implication. And get in job search mode.

Happy hunting. Do it right, and avoid the bus!

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Looking for a hint on what this brand will do in the future? Here’s a quote from Ms. Shaw. “Together, I know we can tap into the brand’s unlimited potential as we expand the relationship with our current consumer, and usher a new generation of loyalists into the brand.” Hmmm…

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She has a balanced background, including agency and client-side stints. Agency experience includes Ogilvy.

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The commercial was for a large financial services company and talked about the viewer’s “personal economy.” Which got my attention. I had never heard the phrase before. And it makes a lot of sense in that category. By adding one word, Fidelity is able to immediately personalize, yet leverage deep-seated feelings people have about the economy. Fidelity offers hope and a sense of empowerment. You can just hear the movie announcer, right? “In a world…”

The point is, they draw a clear line of distinction between the viewer and the big picture. And, perhaps, their competitors.

It immediately generated two thoughts for ad agency new business gurus like yourself:

What’s your client unease and how can you make them less queasy?

What are the anxieties your clients might have? Take your pick. ROI, internal politics, keeping their jobs, etc. Some of these concerns are related to the care and feeding (deeper stuff) of a relationship vs. the work. I often wonder why there seem to be few agencies with positionings that leverage their relationship-based qualities.

Hmmm… But we digress.

While easing anxiety could be applied to an agency’s positioning, it could also simply be applied to new services and ways of helping your client. These new services would not only make you money, but cement your relationship.

Where’s your new?

Many financial services firms, like agencies, are the same. There are also other similarities between these categories, potentially even when you look at category users and their attitudes.  Fidelity coined a new phrase. Is there an opportunity for you to do this? Some thoughts:

• New transparency or visibility into staffing, compensation or other parts of the business relationship
• New kind of consumer (demographic or psychographic)
• New kind of buying pattern or shopping behavior
• New kind of media use habit
• New agency role or function
• “And more”

So, instead of a “personal economy,” is there a “partnership economy”? I dunno. But it’s worth thinking about as your agency looks for ways to grow. Hope this has helped!

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Sure, you could talk about making the agency money. But you can’t do that part of the job until you have a lead. There’s plenty of writing in all sorts of places about how to get said leads. But I thought it might be worth a few hundred words to discuss how leads are related to keeping your job. Meaning, some quick thoughts on how to merchandise what you are doing in agency new business. You know, how to make sure everyone knows you’re worth keeping around.

Think SALES and marketing

A lot of agency new business development professionals look at themselves as marketers. Particularly at the bigger shops. To me, agency “marketing” is the stuff that will impact your agency’s transom – the unexpected, but expected opportunities. You know, the stuff that makes the phone ring. So, craft a plan. Tweak the positioning, the website, your social program, develop some unique agency intellectual property… Absolutely a part of your job.

But to me, “sales” is the stuff you do before, during and after the marketing aspects. “Sales” often has a negative perception in the professional services industries. Get that outta your head. Get on the phone. Get outta your office. And start building some relationships and earning referrals. So that you can say, in a sense,  ”I know this person and our agency has a relationship with this person because of my efforts.” Being able to say this and really mean it will go a long way to keeping your job. Yes, when you  do the marketing right, you’ll be able to say this, too. But the “sales” stuff and the relationship you have really matter more. Because everyone should take credit for the marketing.

Treat the agency as your client

Again, not rocket science. But more directly related to keeping your job. (And keeping you and yours from living in a cardboard box on lower Wacker, sipping Mad Dog and bitterly muttering, “new business is a tough racket.”) Two areas worth pontificating on.

The first is the actual act of “surprising and delighting” your boss and the agency with new business progress. Your goal: avoiding the new business grumpies and communicating that you are successfully harnessing the team’s efforts. This can mean things like:

• Status reports that show progress even when there isn’t any (probably worth it’s own blog post)
• Email heads-up notes on specific prospecting outreach efforts
• Showcasing the work after a pitch to the rest of the agency
• Sharing an idea that will grow incremental business (then stepping out if need be)
• Making it easy for people to contribute to new business
• Keeping in mind these folks are billable and already busy
• Rewarding folks who contribute (particularly after a pitch)
• Prompt replies and attention to internal new business interest or ideas

The second? All the political stuff. Yeah. That. Super important. Your mileage will absolutely vary there. So, more on that at another time, perhaps.

Hope this has helped. Shout with any questions. Thanks!

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If you liked this, check out some other career-related posts from Thunderclap and other sources:

Big agency new business experience and your career (Part one of three)

Why new business should be a part of anyone’s career 

Michael Gass on three things a new business person needs to succeed. Good read.

Thunderclap (on Michael’s site) on your new business resume. Fine read, too. But check Michael’s links below the post.

“Zipcar is the world’s leading car sharing network with more than 777,000 members and nearly 10,000 i urban areas and college campuses throughout the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Spain.”

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Here are a couple of tidbits lifted from Wikipedia on Big Data that suggest Big Data is here to stay:

• Walmart handles more than 1 million customer transactions every hour, which is imported into databases estimated to contain more than 2.5 petabytes of data – the equivalent of 167 times the information contained in all the books in the US Library of Congress.
• Facebook handles 40 billion photos from its user base.
• FICO Falcon Credit Card Fraud Detection System protects 2.1 billion active accounts world-wide.
• The volume of business data worldwide, across all companies, doubles every 1.2 years, according to estimates.

While you can find all sorts of terrific writing out there about this agency and business trend, perhaps there’s some value in a few hundred about how Big Data can impact your agency’s new business and growth efforts.

Oh, yeah. That stuff.

So, below are three reasons why it’s worth your time to better understand this trend and think about incorporating it in some way at your agency:

Optimize your existing work

Kind of a no-brainer, right? This is where most of that terrific writing is focused. So, no need to spend so much time on it here. What I would humbly offer up here is that data is one thing; actionable insights another; and RESULTS are what keeps your client’s job safe (and helps keep your client / agency relationship intact.)

Need something a bit more tangible and less basic? Keep reading.

Accelerate your move into new revenue

Now we’re talking! So, one typical move might be to either buy or partner with a a database marketing firm. Or simply identify resources you can bolt on to your existing suite of services for existing or new business.

But there’s a bigger opportunity here. Which is why Big Data can be so interesting. Because it can get you into the product business vs. a professional services business. What could your agency’s product be?

For some time, agencies have had proprietary  tools. Not only processes for making the work, but ways of looking at consumers or brands (like Y&R’s Brand Asset Valuator). Now, when you check out that link, you will immediately see it’s different. BAV is not transaction-focused (which seems to me is a key element to Big Data). It’s being mentioned in this post as just one example of an agency tool.

You can find another branding and organizational construct here, from smart Canadians. Take a look at these, do some additional research, and craft your own product.

You can also use Big Data to generate new business meetings. For instance, what brand marketer wouldn’t want some insights into their target? And don’t get me started on how it can be used in pitches.

Differentiate your agency – while supplies last

When agencies like Hyper Marketing or Aspen Marketing are purchased by Epsilon…and more and more trade press stories talk about data and brands…agencies begin paying attention. We’re desperate for news, see. So, the bandwagon begins following the existing rut of how a marketing communication trend shapes an industry. We all begin hopping on. We add Big Data to our lexicon of digital, social, mobile… And then, Big Data becomes less of a difference between your agency and someone else’s.

What’s a smarter agency growth professional do? Here’s a thought. Pull a George Costanza. Do the opposite. Here’s a cool little bit of writing on getting back to the basics. In this post, strategist Dan Gershenson tells a terrific story about a social media guru who lacks social skills. You know, the basics of connecting – in real life – with human beings. The stuff that’s easy to forget in a world of 140 characters.

Hope this post has given you some things to think about. It’s given yours truly a few blog post ideas that, should time allow, might make for some fun reading at a popular, well-meaning ad agency new business blog near you.

That is the main reason you don’t want to specialize, right?! You’re afraid of declining a good pitch. I hear ya cluckin’, big chicken! You are not alone. After all, new business leads don’t happen every day. And you’ve got mortgages to cover. Private school tuitions. Hookers, booze and gambling debts to pay!

Fret not, homeowner. Because here’s a dirty little secret: specialization does not have to mean saying “no” so much. In fact, there are plenty of agencies I can think of that say they specialize in something, but are more than happy to accept offers to pitch (and win) business beyond their speciality.

In fact, I know one large agency that does a fantastic job of articulating and proving their positioning and…wait for it…only 55% of their clients are in their specialty!

To be clear, this is a category shop versus another way an agency can specialize, such as a demographic target or a marketing challenge. I calculated the 55% by the number of clients they list on their website. I suspect a dollar volume chart would suggest a stronger share of the speciality.

Should you need additional convincing of why your agency might want to specialize, I refer you to the evergreen advice you give your own clients.

Also, consider what’s happening in our industry. Here are just three things, all of which suggest there’s value in specializing.

• More discipline-specific firms saying they can do everything, creating a bigger sea of sameness
• Agency unbundling, creating more competition and firms shouting for CMO attention
• More procurement (means higher barriers to enter a given pitch and more reliance on past experience)

Why sure, you think to yourself, there are lots of rational, logical reasons why an agency should specialize. But there are plenty of financial reasons to not do it, too. And then, there’s the whole emotional part of running your agency or pitching a piece of business.

These are the reasons why many agencies can’t bring themselves to specialize. Here’s hoping these few hundred words have give you some confidence. Well, 55% of you.

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