I particularly enjoyed Barkley EVP Jeff Fromm’s (@JeffFromm) presentation, discussing how he realigned Barkley’s new business strategy after losing a major client a few years ago.

I’m not doing his presentation justice, but he had several insights, one of them being a list of 8 important steps to take, or ideals to follow might be a better way of putting it, when it comes to new business for your agency.

While I won’t go into all 8 of those in this post, one of his ideals was. . .

“Don’t Chase Butterflies”

It’s something we see far too often-agencies pursuing that perceived “perfect” client, when they really shouldn’t be.

Jeff wasn’t saying, and neither would we, that you shouldn’t pursue sizable, established companies, but chasing them down, spending untold amounts of money and man hours when that prospective client ultimately isn’t the right fit, is where the problem lies.

Which leads me to a very recent client story here at RSW/US with a happy ending.

Along these same “butterfly” lines, we had a new business director come across an RFP opportunity for a client.

(RFP’s aren’t our ultimate goal for clients, but we also won’t ignore those opportunities if we unearth them.)

Happy to report our client, after taking a look, saw that although the company had the potential to be a great client fit, they knew they didn’t have the expertise to satisfy every facet of the RFP.

So they decided to walk.

And that can often be a very good thing in ad agency new business-knowing when to say no. (As we’ve discussed before.)

But their RSW/US new business director suggested they go to the prospect and say (and I’m paraphrasing here) “thanks, but we’re not able to participate because we aren’t expert at everything you’re looking for, but if you were to decide to break the assignment out, we’d love to work with you and we’ll knock it out.”

Our client did just that, and the prospect said “absolutely, because we love your work”.

Our client had a great call prior to submitting their response, submitted a great RFP response, and were notified they won the business.

So yes, knowing when to walk away is invaluable, but so is offering other alternatives to the prospective client when you know in your gut you can crush it.

Worst that can happen is they say no.

Post by RSW/US Director Of Business Development Lee McKnight Jr

(lee@rswus.com)

Retention is that sacred cow for agencies and I don’t have to tell any of you reading, a lot can get in the way of that relationship from both the agency and client side.

The article is separated over three separate stories on the web (links below for a full read) so thought I would give you a collective look at the reasons Marketers give for the longevity of these iconic brands and their long-term agencies.

Some may be lip-service, but this is about longevity, so somewhere within lies a mix of great agencies and clients willing to commit, who understand what it takes to maintain the relationship:

Agency-Client Relationships: What Makes Them Work, From The Marketer’s Mouth

BDO Minneapolis & Hormel: From Spam to Dinty Moore stew to Jennie-O turkey, BBDO has serviced every Hormel brand since 1930. Over 83 years, this pair’s secret to success is commitment and near-constant communication.

As in any relationship, issues do arise.

But over the decades, Hormel has focused on working through them, rather than launching a knee-jerk agency review.

“When a client fires an agency, [they] lose all of the good people along with the few that have disappointed him,” former Hormel CEO Joel Johnson, who retired in 2006, said in the company’s submission to Ad Age. “It’s smarter, and more fair, to deal with the problem than to terminate the entire agency.”

Publicis Kaplan Thaler and P&G’s Charmin:  In its submission to Ad Age’s agency-client marriage contest, Charmin said it’s taken joy in the toilet talk “day after day, year after year, for over 50 years.”

“There are no barriers,” said the agency. “No awkward formalities.

Nothing’s off limits. . .Said Charmin: “This longstanding partnership centered around a dedication to creating a more enjoyable “go’ has enabled us to build a brand that has sold more toilet paper than anyone else, has weathered economic ups and downs, entry and exits of competitors, and welcomed new team members all while having a great time together.

Haworth & Target: “Haworth has a knack for putting Target at the heart of pop-culture moments that fuel talk value.”

DDB Chicago & Morton Salt: “While the agency teams and ideas have certainly evolved over time, DDB’s values and approach have remained consistent.”

Doe Anderson & Maker’s Mark: “What we didn’t bargain for was an equally passionate marketing partner in Doe Anderson.”. . And although it wasn’t always easy — the team weathered backlash from the brand’s temporary decision to lower the whiskey’s proof this year — the trials have only tightened the bond.

Saatchi & Saatchi & Tide: Over the past 50 years, that relationship has evolved into a partnership with ambitious goals.

There was the disaster-relief program “Tide Loads of Hope” in 2005 in response to Hurricane Katrina, the Super Bowl hit known as the “Talking Stain” and the creation of Tide Pods, one of the biggest laundry innovations in decades.

Campbell Mithun & Land O’Lakes: When Land O’Lakes diversified from its legacy product lines of butter, milk and cheese into margarine in the 1970s, Campbell Mithun played a key role in shaping strategy.

That’s continued with the development of flavored-butter blends and new cheese products.

Said the company: “We can count on the creative talent and breakthrough thinking of Campbell Mithun to deliver.”

Marc USA AND Rite Aid: The shop’s knowledge of the business has made it a powerful resource. As a result it’s responsible for driving everything from store design to employee training to internal communications.

Doner & Bush Brothers: The “Jay and Duke” campaign consistently scores in ASI’s top 10. Consumers remain curious about whether or not Duke will keep the “Secret Family Recipe” secret. “We believe that continuity, consistency and commitment yield a distinct competitive advantage in the marketplace,” Bush Brothers said.

Links:

BBDO, Minneapolis, and Hormel Win Gold in Ad Age’s Best Agency-Client Marriages Contest

Publicis Kaplan Thaler and P&G’s Charmin Take Silver in Ad Age’s Best Agency-Client Marriages Contest

Seven Strong Unions Earn Honorable Mention in Ad Age’s Agency-Client Marriages Contest

Post by RSW/US Director Of Business Development Lee McKnight Jr

(lee@rswus.com)

Did I say Sweet Success?!?

Yes, as I look at my records of the reach out to this particular prospect there are no fewer than 3, yes 3, incidents where I dialed the prospect, the phone was picked up and then put immediately back in the cradle!

“OH NO, SHE DIDN’T!!!”

Yes, she DID…

How can you get someone at “hello” when she hangs up 3 times without even 1 hello?

This is definitely not my favorite scenario when this talented and brilliant NBD makes cold calls on behalf of my talented and brilliant clients.

And the prospect worked for a company that was a perfect match to my client’s expertise.

Soooo, I got stubborn.

Very, very, very stubborn [my angel is whispering in my ear “determined or maybe persistent” but I fear I was listening to the devil after that 3^rd hang-up, which was “the charm”].

In this case stubbornness manifested itself in:

-a carefully positioned and worded email

-pointing out how my client’s expertise has benefitted other businesses

-with a picture of the work

-ending in an invitation to reach back to me with a time to chat at the show

(I really hoped not to have to dial that phone again).

The prospect responded via email:  “I would like to hear what you have to say.  What day works best for you?”

Within 10 minutes of receiving this email, the meeting was on the calendar.

And, yes, that was done via a phone call.

Today’s moral is the same as that in my last blog on new business development:

Persistence (or stubbornness) pays off.

Post by RSW/US New Business Director Catherine Ross

When you’re in meetings with prospects, you must listen to the prompts prospects give you to offer new ideas.

Make sure you’re giving the prospect food for thought and a reason to meet with them again.

Too many agencies aren’t proactive enough – or quick enough with an idea.

Understandably, this can be tough, and it is a skill to be sure.

But it’s something you need to keep top of mind in every conversation with a prospect- plant seeds of opportunities for future conversations.

A few things to remember for prospect conversations:

1) Listen to prompts to offer new ideas-
2) Have a plan on how the conversation will go.
3) Research as best you can what that prospect’s competitors are doing in the space

And as always, remember to ask for that next step before you finish the conversation.

Post by RSW/US Director Of Business Development Lee McKnight Jr & New Business Director Dixie Bonenfant

It was a great exchange and Tony offered some fantastic insight that can be extremely helpful to any agency trying to figure out how to best represent themselves throughout the new business process.

The key question Tony asked to capture the essence of his insights is:

Are You a “Winner” or a “Presenter”?

In his opinion, too many agencies are “presenters” and they don’t think about what they need to do to win from the very start of their engagement with a prospect.

Three specific things Tony says you need to think about:

1. Marketers can tell if you’re a “winner” from the first meeting or call

You have to prepare to WIN!

You need to build client confidence!

It’s about THEM, not YOU!

The potential client is going to look at you or listen to you during that first connect and they want to know if you understand their business and can fix their problem.

Walking through capabilities isn’t the answer!

Sitting down (versus standing) to present doesn’t build confidence.  Doing all the talking will accomplish little.

Tony recommends coming to the table with at least one big question about their business to start the conversation.

He suggests that you carry into the meeting a small book filled with factoids about their business and competition that you can look at and reference and impress them with.

They’ll wonder what you keep referencing.

Tony says the while marketers know a lot about their customers, the two things companies know little about:  1. Their Clients.  2. Their Competitors.  Be the EXPERT!

The only reason for a 1st meeting is to get a 2nd meeting!

If you’re able to impress them with your knowledge, suggest they come to the agency for a visit so you can walk them through the full analysis that you’ve worked through in preparation for the meeting.

2. Marketers are going to do business with people they like

So the question you need to ask yourself is how quickly can you/do you establish “likeability”?   The quicker you can establish it, the better.  So help yourself by knowing something about their business to let them know you care.

Be humble.

You want them to feel like they can work really well with you.

You want them to know that not only are you a good listener, but you are also one that will give their opinions.

Don’t threaten them by making them feel like you’re after their AOR.

Show interest in them. Know something about the prospect (their school, their employment history) to help create the connection.

3. Marketers will favor those agencies that do things differently

Tony conducted his own survey among clients of his Second Wind member agency network and and 88% of the clients said that “IDEAS” was the #1 and #2 reason why they look for new agencies.  Agencies have to keep things fresh.

Same holds true when presenting or on that first call.

You need to make it fresh and different from all the rest.  Take some chances!

Agencies either get lazy or tired or a little of both and marketers start feeling like they need to look outside for better thinking.

Tony sees it all the time.

I asked Tony what “different” means in the context of presentations or calls, and he suggested the following:

Present differently than others (don’t just rely on the powerpoint, put the projector away).  Tony talked about a pitch where the agency put the projector away and took all their working research and posted it all around the room.

The principal explained how they got to the conclusion and everytime he came to a summary, he pasted a cardboard summary over the research.

In the end, he was left with the conclusion they ultimately drew about the client’s business.

The client gave it a big old “WOW!”.

Come to the table with insights that break the typical pattern (interview customers, consumers, do focus groups).

Tony told a story about a bakery client that only believed in slotting fees and moved all his money into this from his ad budget.

The agency guy noticed a consumer picking up a loaf of the client’s bread in a store, then put it down, and select a competitive brand.

He did 8-9 interviews with customers who did the same and teased the client with the findings.  Again, another “WOW!”.

Emote or become an undertaker! 

Energy is key.

The client sees you’re empassioned, they will feel the love and want to work with you.

You present in a monotone fashion and you sit down when you present and you probably aren’t going to fire up that prospective client.

Tony Mikes is the founder and managing director of The Second Wind Network, an association of small to mid-sized advertising, graphic design, interactive and PR firms. Mikes, a former advertising executive who spent twenty-five years managing and owning advertising agencies and graphic design studios, today conducts agency management workshops, serves as an agency management consultant, and has addressed many advertising associations and trade organizations. He is an author and contributes to numerous industry trade publications.

It reminded this NBD to share a (not all digital) Twitter success story.

One of my clients was attending the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons meeting in Chicago.

Great list in hand, and one I was using to reach out to prospects.

One facet of the RSW/US prospecting process is to follow target companies, and if possible individual prospects, on Twitter.

Low and behold, a prospect company posted this Tweet:

 Find out which products we will be featuring at #AAOS2013 try visiting….

 About three clicks into each AAOS featured product a marketing manager or VP was identified as the owner.

Can you say, “I just hit the mother lode of marketing people attending this event?”

Our list team quickly added several of these VP’s to our list and mailed (yes, mailed) an introductory letter and brochure, calling ahead to each prospect about the mailing and introducing my client.

I followed that up with an email post-call and continued a respectful reach-out to these prospects.

About the 3^rd call in, one of these new contacts recommended an as yet unknown person as the appropriate contact for the subject company.

Happy to report, our process paid off and through my efforts and ongoing awareness of my client, a first meeting was born.

(As it turned out, the prospect did reschedule to a more convenient time, away from the conference.  We hated having a whole hour to talk instead of just 20 minutes in the middle of a busy conference full of distractions.)

As this is being written, our client is in continuing discussions and bordering on writing a proposal for work with that prospect company.

The moral of this story?

Persistence pays off.

Pursue and ply any and all tools until the payoff!

Related to Persistence Leads To A Payoff or Using Twitter As A New Business Building Tool:

50 Ideas on Using Twitter for Business

Social Media and Agency New Business-Is Twitter The New Voice Mail?

My 70-20-10 Twitter Formula for Ad Agency New Business

Post by RSW/US New Business Director Catherine Ross

When I hear that reason, I always ask the agency principal to provide further detail-where did it go wrong?

Often those reasons are legitimate-the meetings just weren’t good, qualified meetings.

But I also hear situations that could have been avoided-meetings that could have resulted in work.

Three situations where agencies don’t get it right:

1)      No upfront strategy

Specifically, the agency never should have reached out in the first place (or taken the referral).

This is where tightly crafted, purposeful messaging, as told through the sales lens, is critical, coupled with the right prospect targets.

Understandably, not every agency has the manpower or funds to generate laser-focused prospect lists.

But you’ve got to take the time to first decide who is the ideal client-where do they reside, what is their target revenue, what sectors do they fall in, etc.

Do this, and you automatically clear the first hurdle in acquiring a quality meeting.

2)      Aren’t willing to talk to a prospect unless there’s work in hand

While understandable given past situations, if it’s the right prospect to begin with (see above), it’s not a useless meeting, even if the prospect doesn’t have work in hand.

Don’t misunderstand, those work-in-hand, face-to-face first meetings are fantastic, but as we all know, it doesn’t always work that way.

If you’ve done your homework, in theory any prospect on a good list is worth having a conversation with.

Does that mean you jump on a plane across the country in this scenario-no, but you take the time to start the relationship.

3)      No ongoing awareness-they don’t stick with it

This is key-don’t take this step, and regardless of how well-suited the prospect is for your business, that first meeting will indeed be useless.

Prospects go dark, sometimes there’s nothing you can do about that, but you (the agency) going dark, should never be the reason a prospect didn’t become a client.

Technology gives you everything you need to set reminders and keep up with that prospect.

I hear agency principals tell me they  lose sleep over how to stay in touch in a meaningful way.

They over think it and feel they have to stay in touch with amazing, original content that will completely blow away the prospect.

That would be ideal, certainly, but keeping the outreach timing respectful, showing how your agency can help through an overall understanding of the sector and keeping it tightly focused and short are sound guidelines.

No way around it, new business is a process, but once you have the process in place, you’re in an infinitely better place.

Related to Ad Agency New Business-Three Ways You May Be Sabotaging That First Meeting

Effective Agency Meetings

8 Rules for New Business Courtship: The Small Agency’s Guide to Wooing Clients

Agency New Business First Meeting- “It Was Great-Wait, Who Just Got Fired?”

Post by RSW/US Director Of Business Development Lee McKnight Jr

(lee@rswus.com)

How close is your agency to being in that place?

I hope you’re there now, but I know from my own experience that a great majority of you reading this post aren’t there yet.

Now is as good a time as any to ask why.

Here are several reasons we know of:

-Not financially possible right now-we have to take what we can

-Tough to break out of comfort zone and go after those larger accounts

-Seen as too small for larger accounts

-Don’t have an ongoing new business strategy in place to consistently go after larger/better accounts

There are more of course, but we hear these often.

Taking care of the fourth reason is going to solve, or go a long way towards solving, the first three.

Cue Broken Record

Cue broken record: creating a new business strategy and executing that strategy are a must to help you say no when you should.

If you’re not there now, start small-baby steps.

Create a manageable plan around 1 to 3 people in the agency with manageable time allotments for an initial effort.

Easier said than done I know, but even a small start gets you somewhere.

Related to Ad Agency New Business Nirvana: Saying No To Prospective Clients More Often Than Yes

Learn to say NO

Post by RSW/US Director Of Business Development Lee McKnight Jr

(lee@rswus.com)

It was a great exchange and Tim offered some fantastic insight that can be extremely helpful to any agency trying to figure out how to tackle the issue of specialization in an attempt to improve their appeal among marketers.

Here are some of the key takeaways from my discussion with Tim on agency specialization:

“Specialization” gets misinterpreted often to mean “sector” specialization only.

Agencies think the only way they can specialize is to “own” a sector like healthcare or professional services – which, according to Tim, isn’t true.

In his book, Take A Stand for Your Brand, Tim describes positioning as one or more of three things:

WHAT – some competency like a specialization in digital, shopper marketing or social media

WHO – an audience like seniors, or working moms, or blue collar males

HOW – processes or approaches, like Chiat Day’s “disruption”, or Saatchi’s “Lovemarks”,
or Victor & Spoils’ “Crowdsource”.

According to Tim, an agency can be strong in all three areas, like Smith Brothers in Pittsburgh as an example.

Their “WHO” is CPG, their “WHAT” is advertising creative (that’s all they do), and their “HOW” is outcome based agreements.

They have been extremely successful with this three tiered positioning.

According to Tim, you can have a strong or narrow “WHO” and a broader “WHAT” or a narrow “WHAT” and a broad “WHO”.

It all depends on what your desires are.  Key is sticking with it.

Agencies have to focus.

Law practices do it. Artists do it.  Science professionals do it.  If you need heart surgery are you going to go to a generalist?

Why don’t agencies do it?

Tim cites a few reasons why agencies tend to shy away from it:

Variety.  Creatives don’t like just doing the same old thing in the same category all the time.
Narrow Cast.  Agencies fear being too pigeon-holed and losing out on opportunities.
Staleness.  Agencies think they might be viewed as not being able to bring fresh thinking to the table.

None of this has to be true.

It’s all within the control of the agency.

Variety is something an agency can control.

Creativity can be pushed within the bounds of a single category.

If you want it to get old and boring, it will get old and boring.

If you worry about losing out on opportunities in other categories all the time, you will lose out on opportunities most of the time.

The more you walk away from your focus, the more general you’ll get and the more you’ll start looking like everyone else.

And relative to the latter, we’ve seen it on the RSW/AgencySearch side of our business – Marketers wanting to look outside their category for “fresh” thinking.

But as Tim reminds us all that some of the best and brightest innovation and thinking comes from specialists, not from generalists.

Agencies simply need to make it a priority.

Tim Williams is founder of Ignition Consulting Group (www.ignitiongroup.com), a consultancy devoted to helping marketing organizations create and capture more value.  As a recognized thought leader in the advertising and marketing business, he is a frequent speaker and presenter for major business associations and organizations worldwide.  Tim is a regular contributor to leading business and marketing publications and is author of two books, the latest of which is Positioning for Professionals.

Interestingly, a recent NPR conversation (Social Media Advice: Are Voicemails Verboten Or Not?) with Baratunde Thurston, former digital director at The Onion, spoke to this as well.

“I am anti-voice mail”

The interviewer (not Thurston) says at one point: I am anti-voice mail. And actually, I’ve made a lot of people really frustrated because I actually leave my phone box full so that people can’t leave a voice mail.

And Thurston then follows with: The thing about voice mail, if you’re going to leave it, I would say keep it brief. . . think about the burden on the other person and assume they’re getting a lot of these and just keep it tight. What’s the message? What’s the point? What do you want? What are you offering? And then be out.

I would agree. And I do still see voice mail as an effective tool in your new business arsenal.

You aren’t a secret agent. You need to be known

In a related post by S. Anthony Iannarino (The Case for Leaving Voice Mails): If you never leave a message, you are ensuring that you are unknown. You aren’t a secret agent. You need to be known, and you need to be known as a value creator. You aren’t accomplishing either of those things by not leaving a message.

Having said all that, voice mail is definitely at risk of becoming an anachronism for incoming generations of marketers.

And that’s why you’ve got to get conversant with social media channels like Twitter and LinkedIn.

This is not news to most, if not all of you, but I still see agencies using Twitter as an agency mouthpiece and not an interactive tool that can get you in the door with a prospect.

Social Media & Agency New Business: 2 things to keep in mind

1) For a great majority of your prospects, Twitter can be the most immediate news source, showing your prospects you’re paying attention or giving you viable information you can use to break through

and

2) Once you’ve been followed back on Twitter or invited to Link In, it opens a door.  Not to bombard your prospects with useless sales messages, but to have the ability, for example, to replace voice mail and instead send them direct messages (and vice versa).

Direct messaging in Twitter is just one benefit, but if you have a prospect averse to voice mail (like the interviewer at the beginning of this post) you need to replace the channel they’ve dropped.

Related to Social Media and Agency New Business-Is Twitter The New Voice Mail?

CMOs Using Social Data to Flex Their Muscle

The 10 Worst Voicemail Mistakes

Are You Leaving Voice Mail Messages that Lose Business? 

Post by RSW/US Director Of Business Development Lee McKnight Jr

(lee@rswus.com)