For creative, marketing and communications businesses, this week’s Budget brings a mixed verdict.

The key question for agencies isn’t simply whether the Budget leaves businesses with more or less money. It’s whether it changes the economics of winning clients, hiring people, investing in growth and converting new business into profitable revenue.

For smaller and medium-sized agencies, its greatest value may be that it allows decisions to move forward. Frankly, not much happened for businesses in the budget outside of certain sectors, so “let’s wait until after the Budget” has reached its expiry date.

For an agency owner or Managing Director, the impact is across three areas:

• The cost of running the agency: employment costs, tax, business rates and other overheads
• The appetite of clients to spend – whether your clients have more confidence and budget to commission marketing, PR, branding, digital, content and communications
• The case for investing in growth – whether you can afford to build a more consistent new business pipeline rather than relying on referrals and occasional pitches

The task now is to understand what has changed, identify where clients have reasons to invest, and build momentum before 2027.

This is what we will be doing with and for our clients.

Some breathing space, but selective benefits

There is no increase in headline National Insurance or VAT rates, while the corporation tax roadmap remains in place. That offers continuity, rather than a reduction in the cost of employing people.

Meanwhile, the National Living Wage rises 3.9% to £13.21 from April 2027. Agencies with lower-paid junior roles will need to account for this, potentially alongside pressure to preserve salary differentials.

Business rates announcements require care. Agencies serving the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors may benefit indirectly if clients gain financial breathing space, but that money will still have competing demands. Equally, increases in gambling taxation could impact agencies heavily involved in that industry.

There are opportunities around scale-up and public sector procurement. The Budget includes support for innovative and growing businesses, improved access to finance through the British Business Bank, and plans to make public procurement easier for innovative firms to access. Agencies serving technology, innovation, regional development or other growth sectors may find opportunities in the clients and projects these measures support. But there is no automatic increase in marketing budgets, nor a guaranteed pipeline of agency contracts.

Size changes the impact and the opportunity – can small to medium agencies now justify investment into new business?

Yes — provided the investment is tied to a measurable commercial outcome.

Small and medium-sized agencies have less room to absorb higher costs or a delayed client decision. Larger agency groups can spread exposure across more accounts, markets and services.

For an agency that has been overly reliant on referrals, repeat clients or a small number of large accounts, there is a strong business case for examining new-business investment now.

We would ask three questions:

1. What is the cost of not investing?

On winning a large media account, a client of ours once famously announced “Great, but sure as anything we’ll lose that client at some point. We need to focus on the next one!”

Good sized clients represent risk. A structured new-business programme can help diversify and dilute that exposure, build a more predictable pipeline and reduce dependence on a handful of clients.

The relevant question isn’t simply “Can we afford business development?”

It’s also “Can we afford to continue without a consistent way of winning new clients?”

2. What return would make the investment worthwhile?

Smaller agencies need fewer significant wins to make meaningful progress. Three additional clients generating £100,000 each in annual agency fees would add £300,000+ to growth before churn. That is only the initial 12-month value and not the lifetime value of those clients, potentially over a good number of years, which could be very significant.

Delivery costs and capacity determine how much becomes profit. Nevertheless, the scale of the task matters: a handful of well-chosen relationships can materially improve a smaller agency’s year, but this needs planning for and working towards now if you want to impact 2027.

3. Is the investment addressing the real problem?

Different agencies need different new business interventions and should have a deep dive into their sales data to identify the gap.

Turn opportunity into conversations

Smaller agencies can compete by making themselves straightforward to buy: a clear specialism, senior access, convincing evidence and a tightly scoped first assignment.

The next step is practical and something we will be doing for all clients: Revisit prospects who postponed decisions. Ask what the Budget changes for their business. Establish which projects now have approval, which remain constrained and where an initial project could unlock further opportunity and progress. Then maintain regular, informed contact with the people making those decisions.

Waiting for clarity was understandable. Waiting for universal confidence could consume another quarter.
The Budget has given agencies a new basis for planning. Those that turn it into relevant conversations now give themselves a better chance of entering 2027 with relationships developing, proposals progressing and new business already taking shape.

If you would like to discuss how Alchemis can help with any of your 2027 new business plans or challenges, please get in touch.

How the budget has impacted agencies and why it’s time to get moving first appeared on the Alchemis website.

Every year there are literally thousands of new creative and marketing services agencies established in the UK. This broad spectrum will range from a vast amount of one-man businesses targeting other SMEs, to much larger and fast-growing agencies, often formed when senior staff leave very well-known organisations, bringing with them a wealth of experience (not to mention top level industry contacts) to form their own new venture.

One thing that all of these agencies have in common is that they need new business to survive.

It’s an incredibly challenging environment for newly established agencies (younger than three or four years) and growth often follows a familiar pattern: The founders win a few early clients, deliver great work, build a reputation and start generating referrals. Business grows, the team expands, and things begin to look promising.

But then a problem emerges: new business becomes unpredictable.

One month brings several promising enquiries; the next is frustratingly quiet. Existing clients take up more of the team’s time, referrals become less frequent, and the pressure to find the next big opportunity starts to build.

If this sounds familiar, it could be time to rethink your approach to new business. And with the end of the year approaching, now may be one of the most valuable times to do it.

The danger of relying on reputation and referrals

Word of mouth is a powerful way to win business. A recommendation from a trusted contact can open doors, shorten sales cycles and give a prospective client confidence in your agency before the first meeting.

However, referrals have one significant limitation: you cannot completely control when they arrive.

Relying on reputation alone means leaving a substantial part of your agency’s growth to chance. You might be well known within your existing network, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re visible to the marketing directors, business owners and brand teams you really want to work with.

For an agency looking to move beyond its early years, the challenge is not simply delivering excellent work. It’s consistently getting that work in front of the right people.

A proactive new business strategy helps you identify target clients, build relationships beyond your immediate network and create opportunities that might never have come through a referral.

Reputation helps you win the conversation. Proactive outreach helps you start it.

Why doing everything in-house isn’t always the answer

Many growing agencies assume that new business should be handled internally. After all, nobody understands the agency’s capabilities, culture and creative offering better than the people who built it.

But there is a difference between understanding your agency and having the time, expertise and processes required to generate a consistent pipeline of opportunities.

Founders and senior teams are already balancing client delivery, recruitment, finance, strategy and the day-to-day running of the business. Prospecting, researching target accounts, making contact, following up and nurturing relationships can quickly become another task that gets pushed down the priority list.

Hiring an internal business development manager is one option, but it comes with recruitment costs, salary commitments, onboarding and the challenge of building a process that works.

A specialist outbound new business agency offers an alternative. With dedicated expertise, established processes and a focus on opening relevant conversations, it can help an agency reach prospective clients without requiring its senior team to manage every stage of the process themselves.

The right partner should work as an extension of your agency, taking the time to understand your positioning, services, ambitions and ideal clients. The aim isn’t to generate a high volume of indiscriminate sales calls. It’s to create meaningful conversations with organisations that have a genuine reason to consider working with you.

For a young agency, that can mean accessing specialist expertise without immediately committing to a full internal sales function.

The cost of doing nothing

It’s easy to view outbound business development as an expense that can wait until the agency is bigger, busier or more financially comfortable.

Yet waiting carries its own risks.

If you only start looking for new clients when existing work begins to dry up, you’re already on the back foot. Business development takes time: prospects need to be identified, relationships established, requirements understood and budgets assessed.

By the time a gap in revenue becomes obvious, it may be too late to fill it quickly.

A more proactive approach allows you to build a pipeline while existing projects are still running. It also reduces dependence on a handful of major clients and gives you greater visibility of what might be coming down the line.

For agencies in their formative years, developing this discipline early can be an important step towards building a more resilient, scalable business.

The importance of timing

As the end of the year approaches, it’s tempting to assume that new business should take a back seat. Decision-makers are preparing for holidays, budgets may be under review, and some businesses operate with reduced teams over Christmas.

But treating the entire winter period as a write-off can mean missing valuable opportunities.

Firstly, planning for 2027 starts before well before January. Many organisations use the final quarter to review performance, consider future priorities and think about the support they may need in the year ahead. Making contact now gives your agency the opportunity to become part of those conversations before plans are finalised.

Secondly, the holiday period doesn’t necessarily mean business activity stops. While availability varies between organisations, some decision-makers have more space for strategic thinking when the usual meeting schedule and day-to-day demands begin to ease. A thoughtful, relevant approach may stand out when it isn’t competing with quite so much routine activity.

Thirdly, business development has a natural lead time. If you begin prospecting in January, you are very unlikely to see meaningful conversations develop until February or March, with projects taking longer still to convert. Starting earlier gives you a head start on building relationships, understanding potential requirements and identifying opportunities for the first quarter.

Of course, timing matters. The answer isn’t to bombard people with messages when they’re out of the office. It’s to plan intelligently, respect people’s availability, follow up appropriately and use the quieter weeks for research, targeting, positioning and preparation.

By the time January arrives, your agency could already have a clear target list, an active outreach programme and conversations underway.

Build a pipeline before you need one

For creative and marketing agencies looking to move into their next stage of growth, new business shouldn’t be an occasional activity triggered by a quiet month. It should be a consistent part of your strategy.

A specialist outbound agency can help bring structure, focus and momentum to that process, complementing the reputation you’ve already built and the referrals you continue to receive.

The end of the year is not necessarily a time to stop selling. It can be a time to prepare intelligently, establish relationships and create the foundations for a stronger start to the next year.

The agencies that grow most confidently aren’t always the ones doing the best work alone. They’re the ones that make sure the right people know about it.

If you would like to discuss how Alchemis can help with any of your agency’s new business challenges, please get in touch.

Business Development for New and Young Agencies first appeared on the Alchemis website.

The team is busy and the client work is going well, yet new business arrives in fits and starts and nobody can say why. If that sounds familiar, a new business audit may be the right place to start.

A new business audit is a structured review of how your agency wins clients. It looks at positioning, target market, lead generation, pipeline, pitching, people, process and tools to identify what is holding growth back.

It works a bit like an MOT for your new business engine. With over 40 years’ experience of helping agencies grow, we’ve found that the problem is rarely a lack of effort. More often it comes down to focus, ownership or data that nobody has looked at honestly. Below we explain what an audit involves and whether your agency needs one.

What is a new business audit?

A new business audit is an in-depth review of how an agency wins clients, from its positioning through to how well it converts pitches. It differs from other types of review. A marketing audit looks at how your own marketing activity is performing, a financial audit checks your accounts and a general agency health check covers operations and culture, with new business rarely getting the scrutiny it deserves.

An audit looks at the whole new business engine rather than lead generation alone. More meetings won’t help if your proposition is unclear, proposals go out late or nobody owns the follow up.

What does a new business audit cover?

Every agency is different, but a thorough audit should look at the following seven areas.

Positioning and proposition

With so many agencies competing for the same clients, why should a prospect choose you? An audit tests whether your agency positioning is distinctive and relevant to the clients you want, or whether it could just as easily belong to any other agency.

Target market and ideal client profile

“Anyone with a budget” is not a target market. An audit defines the sectors, company sizes and job titles that make up your ideal client, then checks that your outreach is genuinely reaching them.

Lead generation and outreach activity

This covers referrals, inbound enquiries, email and the phone. The question is whether outreach happens consistently every week or only when someone has a spare afternoon.

Pipeline data and conversion rates

How many conversations turn into meetings, and how many meetings turn into clients? Mapping each stage of your sales funnel shows where opportunities are leaking out.

Pitching, proposals and win rates

Are you pitching for the right work, and do you know why you win or lose? Reviewing recent pitches tends to reveal patterns, including whether you need to get better at handling price objections.

People, process and tools

Who is responsible for new business, and do they have the time to do it properly? Is your CRM kept up to date, or is it quietly gathering dust? Our article on who should take responsibility for new business looks at this in more detail.

Marketing assets that support sales

Prospects will look you up before they agree to a meeting, so your website, thought leadership and case studies all need to support what you say.

What happens during a new business audit?

The exact process varies, but a typical audit follows six stages:

• A discovery session to understand your ambitions and frustrations.
• A data and pipeline review covering your CRM, win and loss records and revenue mix.
• Stakeholder interviews with everyone involved in new business.
• Feedback from clients and lost prospects on why they chose you, or didn’t.
• Benchmarking against similar agencies.
• A final report with a prioritised roadmap, so you know where to start.

DIY audit or independent audit?

A self-assessment is a good start, but it’s hard to be objective about your own agency and some issues are awkward to raise internally. An independent audit brings objectivity, benchmarks against similar agencies and the uncomfortable truths that prospects will often only tell an outsider. It’s one reason many agencies weigh up in-house against outsourced new business in the first place.

How often should an agency review its new business?

We’d recommend a full review at least once a year, ideally before annual planning. It’s also worth reviewing at trigger points such as losing a major client, a leadership change or a new growth target. New business is rarely instant, which is why it pays to spot problems early.

New business audits with Alchemis

As the first lead generation agency specifically for the marketing industry, we speak to hundreds of marketing decision makers every day and see first hand what is working in agency new business and what isn’t. If you’d like an independent view of how your agency wins clients and where to focus first, get in touch with the Alchemis team.

What is a new business audit and does your agency need one? first appeared on the Alchemis website.

As 2026 draws to a close, the UK agency market is entering 2027 in a more positive position than many might have expected – but it remains a challenging environment.

Client spending is still moving in the right direction. UK advertising investment rose 9.3% year-on-year in Q1 2026, reaching £11.7bn, with full-year growth currently forecast at 8.2%. Marketing budgets have also remained resilient, with the latest IPA Bellwether reporting a net 6.9% of businesses increasing budgets in Q2.

But agencies aren’t necessarily finding that growth easy to capture.

The sector is becoming increasingly selective. Moore Kingston Smith’s latest outlook forecasts average agency revenue growth of 5.8% in 2026, but also highlights growing pressure on profitability, with 27% of agencies expecting revenues to decline.

Heading into 2027, the agencies that thrive are likely to be those that can combine a clear proposition, demonstrable commercial value and a consistent approach to new business.

AI will continue to reshape how agencies operate, creating opportunities to improve productivity and margins – but also putting pressure on agencies to justify their value beyond simply producing work. At the same time, clients are scrutinising budgets more closely and increasingly looking for measurable outcomes.

For agency leaders, that makes their new business pipeline particularly important. Relying solely on referrals, existing clients and inbound enquiries can leave growth exposed when market conditions change or a major account reduces its spend.

The opportunity in 2027 isn’t necessarily about chasing more prospects. It’s about being more deliberate: identifying the right prospects, having a differentiated reason to engage, nurturing relationships consistently and creating a new-business engine that operates alongside the day-to-day delivery of client work.

The outlook is therefore one of cautious optimism. Advertising and marketing investment is expected to continue growing into 2027, while the wider UK economy is also forecast to improve.

There is undoubtedly growth in the market.

The question for agencies is whether they have the proposition, commercial focus and pipeline to capture it.

The UK Agency Climate: Looking Ahead to 2027 first appeared on the Alchemis website.

One of the most important reasons for ALL agencies to maintain an ongoing new business strategy is because there will inevitably be situations where you lose an existing client. Whilst this may sometimes be through under delivery on your own part, we have seen it time and time again where it is simply a result of circumstances beyond the agency’s control.

For example, your biggest client is bought out by another company and the account is centralised into the new parent company’s incumbent agency. Or your client folds (and during our four decades in business we have seen plenty of once big name brands disappear through bankruptcy). In these cases you may lose not only an important revenue stream going forward, but in all likelihood money owed from outstanding invoices from work you have already done.

Ensuring you constantly have a robust new business pipeline can help you mitigate a significant amount of risk in these situations, whether you are running that entirely in-house, using an outsourced agency like Alchemis or a combination of both.

But even then, it’s not a nice situation to find yourself in and we know how disruptive it can be for your business.

Coping with loss

As an agency owner you can’t help taking it as a personal criticism of you, your team, your talent, and your creative work.

And what about all the hard work you put into looking after that client, besides the fact that you’ve lost an important revenue stream.

That said, by far the best thing you can do now is to get straight into recovery gear, and think of this as a hiccup on the way to future success rather than the end of everything.

Begin by assessing the financial situation

Review cash flow, calculate your monthly fixed expenses to see how long you can operate without the lost revenue.

Avoid non-essential spending, freeze software subscriptions, contractor retainers, and office upgrades until cash flow stabilises. And chase up outstanding invoices to boost your current bank balance.

Communicate with your team early

Boost morale by talking honestly with your team about the possible financial and operational impacts of the loss.

At the same time keep everyone focused on the importance of maintaining the quality of current client work.

Understand why the client left

Conduct a post-mortem to discover likely reasons for why the client chose to leave; this should include seeking feedback from the client themselves. 

Schedule a live connection and talk things over amicably to uncover blind spots in your service or communication.

Protect and reallocate capacity

Rearrange staff working hours so team members who worked on the lost account can switch their attention to internal growth projects or growing client accounts.

Assess the financial situation and decide whether the account loss actually merits staff cuts.

Maintain a positive attitude

View the lost client as a chance to free up staff and resources for new client pitches.

Turn the gap into a growth opportunity

Plan and regroup. Fast-track your business development pipeline to cover the revenue gap. This will be easier if you already have an ongoing new business programme in place rather than starting from a standstill.

Reach out to current clients with new strategy ideas or additional services they might need.

Ramp up your networking efforts and content marketing to fill your pipeline with new leads.

Ensure a healthy new business pipeline

At Alchemis we know how essential a solid pipeline of prospects and opportunities is, not only for planning and future growth, but in case of an unexpected client loss.

We have over 100 years’ collective experience in helping agencies win new business, and we can help you build meaningful, valuable new business relationships by providing a constant flow of opportunities for you to meet and engage with qualified prospects.

If you are a marketing outfit who would welcome partnering with Alchemis to support your new business efforts, get in touch today.

How marketing agencies can survive a client loss without panicking first appeared on the Alchemis website.

In business, there is a constant temptation to reinvent.

New channels emerge. New technologies promise to transform the way we work. Competitors reposition themselves. And suddenly, doing what you have always done can feel dangerously close to standing still. It is a discussion we have with ourselves every year!

But there is an important distinction between standing still and getting better.

For a new business agency that has always built its proposition around the phone, that distinction matters.

Over the years, there have been plenty of reasons to question the model. Email became the dominant business communication tool. LinkedIn transformed professional networking. Marketing automation promised scalable outreach. More recently, AI has made it possible to research prospects, personalise messages and contact thousands of people at extraordinary speed.

It would have been easy to conclude that the answer was to change our proposition.

However, we have always taken a different view: How can we use new resources, technology, insights and tools to make our core proposition even better?

The phone works in agency new business because buying marketing services is fundamentally a human decision. Conversations and relationship building are critical.

There are two core elements of our proposition development:

1. Evolution – evolving to meet the challenges as the world changes. Alchemis has always done this, from the introduction of the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) to ensuring absolute GDPR compliance and, in the last few years, adapting to a world shift in working practices with hybrid working being the norm. New challenges constantly arise and will continue to do so. A company that doesn’t evolve to meet these challenges would not survive for over 40 years!
   
2. Advancement – using technology and AI developments to enhance what we do. There has never been so much information readily available on companies, prospects, intent to buy, aside of smart tools like AI sales coaching and instant transcription of conversations.

All of this enables us to deliver the best possible results, but at the heart of it all remains personal interaction.

Agencies in the main aren’t selling an interchangeable product. They are selling expertise, ideas, chemistry, judgement and trust. Understanding whether a prospect has a genuine need requires curiosity. It means asking questions, listening to the answers and knowing when to explore something further.

That’s difficult to replicate through an automated sequence.

There are plenty of lessons from new business reinvention

We’ve seen waves of supposed new business solutions arrive over the years.

Mass email promised scale, until inboxes became saturated and response rates declined. Marketing automation made it possible to create increasingly sophisticated sequences, but also made it easier for prospects to recognise when they were part of one.

LinkedIn automation offered another route to scale. The inevitable result was decision-makers receiving streams of remarkably similar connection requests, content and sales messages.

And now AI makes personalisation possible at an unprecedented scale. But there is a paradox here: when everyone can create personalised outreach instantly, personalisation itself becomes less differentiating.

Many new business agencies have consequently moved from one fashionable methodology to another – phone to email, email to social selling, social to automation, automation to AI.

The technology changes. The fundamental challenge doesn’t.

You still need to get the right person interested enough to have a meaningful conversation.

Evolution beats reinvention

None of this is an argument against technology. Quite the opposite.

The opportunity is to apply new technology to every part of the process where it genuinely makes the core proposition stronger.

Use better data to identify the right companies. Use intent signals to improve timing. Use AI to research prospects. Use technology to understand sectors and identify relevant triggers. Use CRM systems to capture intelligence. Use email and LinkedIn intelligently around conversations. And use better analytics to understand what is – and isn’t – working.

Then pick up the phone.

The result isn’t an old-fashioned new business model stubbornly refusing to change.

It’s a modern new business model built around something that hasn’t changed: people buy from people.

Getting better at what you’re good at

There is a tendency in business to associate innovation with doing something different.

But some of the strongest businesses innovate by relentlessly improving something they already do exceptionally well. They use new knowledge, tools and resources to make what already works better.

New business should be viewed in the same way.

Better, Not Different – Why evolution is better than revolution for agency new business first appeared on the Alchemis website.

The success of comedy and entertainment shows such as Ted Lasso comes from the depth in which they explore human psychology, empathy and emotional intelligence. In this particular series, also leadership and people management. The best comedy shows tend to tap into the human to connect.

Somewhat unsurprisingly, for anyone who has built a successful career in sales, new business or account management, developing a keen understanding of these traits is absolutely critical.

With the release of the new series of everyone’s favourite Kansas football manager, the infamous darts scene from series one has been replayed across all manner of social platforms.

“Be curious, not judgmental.”

Quite a striking quote, but this is incredibly important for agency new business. One of the challenges we have to overcome when we are speaking to prospective clients is “how can you represent my business in the same way I do?”

We don’t have to!!

Yes, we need to be polite, professional and courteous and we need to be armed with facts and case studies relevant to each prospect to provide evidence and a rationale to consider our clients agencies. But most of all, we have to be curious – i.e ask questions. Sounds simple! However, it really isn’t and it takes a certain skillset to do it well.

Having been in agency business development for 40 years, we know prospects are far more interested in talking about themselves and their challenges. The interest in any particular agency is gleaned through intelligent questioning and genuinely being curious and interested. Being able to do that well is the art of new business.

Modern outbound new business prospecting is often based on data and increasingly sophisticated AI and automation. But there’s a danger in all that data…

We start believing we already know the answer.

You MUST be bored of receiving emails and messages from companies who have decided you are a valid prospect even though you aren’t, what your challenges are and what message is important to you. Then you get that email again………………… and again!! It’s impersonal, tedious, annoying and gets deleted immediately.

But what if that company approaching you for your business were simply more curious?

That’s where good phone-based new business is so powerful. A good new business conversation can uncover things an email or LinkedIn message simply can’t.

Agency new business isn’t just about generating leads. Done properly, the phone becomes part of an agency’s market intelligence.

Every conversation tells you something.

You begin to understand what prospects are worrying about. Which propositions resonate. Which don’t. How people describe their challenges. Where budgets are moving. Why agencies are being appointed. Why they’re being replaced. And where future opportunities might emerge.

That intelligence feeds back into the entire new business programme. There is still enormous value in one real human being genuinely curious about another real human’s business.

Conversations can change direction. People explain things you didn’t think to ask. You hear hesitation, enthusiasm, frustration and uncertainty. You discover that the problem you thought they had isn’t the problem at all.

And you can discover there’s no opportunity — which is incredibly valuable too.

In business, we can make the same mistake every time we assume we already know what a prospect thinks, needs or wants.

Sometimes, the best piece of sales technology is still two people having an actual conversation.

Perhaps that’s the lesson agency new business teams should take from Ted Lasso.

Don’t just prospect. Ask questions.

Don’t assume. Be curious.

And every now and then, pick up the phone.

Be Curious: New Business the Lasso Way first appeared on the Alchemis website.

With so many agencies vying with each other for new business, why should a client pick you?  This is what agency positioning is all about.

It’s basically a question of knowing how to get yourself noticed by creating a unique value proposition that makes you stand out from the crowd.

What is agency positioning

Agency positioning is a matter of building a distinct, relevant, and consistent image for yourself that doesn’t just set you apart from your competitors, but also appeals directly to the kind of clients you want to attract, and gives them a reason for wanting to work with you.

Successful agency positioning tells prospective clients what your business is and what you do, why they should work with you, and how you’re different from every other agency they could choose.

It identifies the target audience, industry, company size or demographic your agency specialises in, how you go about producing work with a unique value, and your core philosophy.

Why is agency positioning so important

In a nutshell, it gives potential clients a picture of you as the best pick.

It defines your agency as a must-have partner, rather than merely just someone who is trying to get their business.  

It attracts the kind of clients who will be a better fit with your agency. And it enables premium pricing as a recognised expert in your carefully defined field.

How agency positioning can help you win new business

An important first step in standing out from the crowd is to narrow your focus by defining what you stand for, your vision, mission and values, and getting your team united behind these.

By focusing on a smaller and more clearly defined audience, rather than trying to appeal to everyone, you’re most likely to attract clients that identify with, and are looking for, the high quality, specialist niche agency image you’re projecting.

A valuable element in helping to shape your target audience’s perception of your agency is to showcase the results you’ve delivered that helped your clients to grow. 

In the form of testimonials, reviews, and case studies, these demonstrate your ability to deliver results.

Agency positioning with Alchemis

Working with a wide range of agency clients and speaking to hundreds of marketing decision makers each day, we know just how vital agency positioning is.

After developing thousands of valuable new business relationships by identifying and delivering real opportunities, we have insights into what resonates and how to adapt a proposition and story to create impact in today’s changing market.

As a result we are able to provide our clients with a competitive advantage when it comes to new business generation. We know what works and gets cut-through.

What is agency positioning, and why does it matter for winning new business? first appeared on the Alchemis website.

New business development is obviously vital for agency growth. But while an in-house team and an outsourced agency both serve much the same function, the key differences between them are worth considering before deciding which will work best for you.

Hiring in-house

One advantage of having an in-house new business team is that they’ll always be on hand to provide full control over your agency brand and messaging. They live and breathe your culture day to day, so there’s no need to brief an external partner on tone, positioning or the nuances of how you like to present yourselves to prospects.

On the other hand, you’ll need to build a team of people with new business expertise and a diverse range of industry specialisms, from research and list building through to copywriting, outreach and negotiation. Finding people who are genuinely skilled across all of these areas, and who can hit the ground running, is rarely straightforward. It also takes time to build the internal processes, playbooks and reporting that a consistently performing new business function relies on, and results are unlikely to appear overnight.

There’s also the question of resilience. An in-house team of one or two people is vulnerable to holidays, illness or staff turnover, any of which can bring your pipeline to a standstill just when you need it most.

Costs of an in-house hire

A highly qualified and dedicated new business team will also come with high fixed costs, including their recruitment, salaries, the usual company benefits, and an investment in technology. Add to this the cost of data and prospecting tools, CRM licences, training, and the management time needed to keep the team focused and accountable, and the true cost of an in-house function is often higher than it first appears.

These costs are largely fixed too, meaning you’ll be paying for the team whether new business is flowing steadily or the pipeline has temporarily dried up. That can make it a riskier commitment for smaller or mid-sized agencies in particular, where budgets need to flex with the ups and downs of the market.

What a new business agency does

An outsourced agency will provide you with a team of experts skilled in finding, qualifying and securing new client leads.

Using the latest industry tools, they can analyse market trends or identify new markets, handle the cold calling, email campaigns and networking. They can if required also work as an extension of your existing team, plugging straight into your brand guidelines, target sectors and ideal client profile so that everything they do looks and sounds like it’s come from you.

Because this is their sole focus, a good new business agency will typically have tried and tested processes already in place, refined across many campaigns and sectors, rather than needing to build these from scratch.

Benefits of outsourcing over in-house hire

An outsourced agency will provide an immediate, dedicated resource for business development, handling the entire business of chasing leads, organising meetings and admin, allowing in-house teams to focus on servicing existing clients.

They’ll assess prospects to ensure they have the budget and a specific problem your business can solve, then set up qualified meetings with the right decision-makers. This qualification step matters: it means the meetings landing in your diary are with people who are genuinely in-market and able to make a decision, rather than early-stage enquiries that go nowhere.

They’ll also have a lower cost commitment than an internal team, but one that’s also scalable if needed, so you can flex activity up during growth periods or scale back if priorities shift, without the overheads or complications of hiring and redundancy. And because you’re working with specialists who run multiple campaigns across the industry, you benefit from insight into what’s currently working for other agencies too, rather than relying on the experience of a single in-house hire.

Working with Alchemis

At Alchemis, everything we do is to generate new business for our clients. Not only were we the first lead generation agency specifically for the marketing industry, our senior team have over 100 years’ collective experience in developing new business campaigns for agencies.

We’ve worked across all marketing and communications disciplines and understand the challenges of running and managing an agency, and of generating new business.

We know how important a solid pipeline of prospects and opportunities is for planning as well as future growth and this is where we can help your business grow.

We use a range of tools to identify and engage with the right prospects for you. Prior to you receiving a lead as a new business meeting, all prospects are fully qualified against your specific criteria via intelligent, in-depth conversations.

To do this effectively is an art and real skill and we have a highly talented team in place to deliver. We’re also comfortable working with and supporting in-house business development teams to offer wider support, helping to generate and maximise any new business opportunities.

In-house new business vs outsourced agency: which is right for your agency? first appeared on the Alchemis website.

We have already written about the phone being one of the most powerful tools in the new business mix. Just to recap, this is because:

• Creative and marketing decision makers are overwhelmed by digital outreach
• AI is making human interaction more important
• Complex services still require discussion
• Agencies need qualified meetings, not leads

However, when engaging with a senior buyer, what is spoken needs to be relevant and resonate. The agency positioning and story are critical.

Because we work with a wide range of agency clients and we speak to hundreds of marketing decision makers each day, we have insights into what resonates and how to adapt a proposition and story to create impact in today’s changing market.

We are able to provide our clients with a competitive advantage when it comes to new business generation. We know what works and gets cut-through.

For most agencies, one of the biggest new business challenges right now isn’t finding prospects. It’s proving why a client should hire an agency at all when AI, in-house teams, freelancers, and consultancies are all competing for the same budget.

Being “creative” or being an agency for “ambitious brands” is no longer strong enough. Moving into the second half of 2026, if you want to be picking up opportunities and work over the summer and into autumn, you should focus on the following:

Demonstrating commercial impact, not creative capability

CMOs and CFOs are under pressure to justify spend. Agencies that lead with awards, process, or outputs are finding it harder than those that lead with business outcomes, revenue impact, customer acquisition, retention, or brand growth. Proof of ROI is dynamite.

Identifying the proposition piece that is most relevant

A branding client recently stated to us that they have given up on selling creative as their clients were doing this themselves via AI and they were just adapting it. Instead, they have focused on the end-to-end model, from strategy to production – with the latter being the strongest hook. i.e. we can do the strategy and creative if that is what you need, but critically we will roll our sleeves up and make the creative work. This proposition is resonating well with buyers.

AI positioning is becoming a make-or-break issue

Clients increasingly assume agencies use AI. The question is no longer whether you use it, but why you’re still worth paying premium fees.

The strongest positioning right now is:

• AI for efficiency
• Humans for insight, taste, strategy, and decision-making

Weak positioning is either:

• Pretending AI doesn’t matter
• Selling “we use AI” as a differentiator

Everyone uses AI now.

Distinctive brand thinking is becoming more valuable

AI is flooding the market with competent content.

The scarcity is:

• Original thinking
• Category insight
• Brand positioning
• Cultural relevance

Clients are increasingly worried about sameness. Agencies that can articulate how they create differentiation have an advantage.

The summer and autumn are key for creative growth foundations for 2027. Agency reviews and account movement tends to increase in autumn, and several industry forecasts point toward continued account reviews, consolidation, and reassessment of agency rosters as companies adjust to AI-driven operating models and budget pressure.

That creates opportunity, but it also means:

• Incumbent agencies are vulnerable
• Challenger agencies need to demonstrate value
• Relationship-building before formal reviews matters more than ever

For the next 3–6 months, our recommendations to agencies would be:

1. Tighten positioning around one or two high-value problems
2. Build case studies that show commercial outcomes, not deliverables
3. Develop a clear AI narrative (“how we use it” and “where human expertise matters”)
4. Create thought leadership around a specific market niche
5. Invest heavily in high level relationship building through mutually valuable meetings

The agencies likely to have the strongest autumn are not necessarily the most creative. They’re the ones that can answer, in one sentence:

“Why should a client hire us instead of their current agency or instead of trying to do this in-house with AI?”

That is becoming the defining new-business question of 2026.

Top tips on agency positioning and proposition to genuinely cut-through in 2026 first appeared on the Alchemis website.

Pulp, Suede, The Manic Street Preachers, The Lightning Seeds and even Mis-Teeq are all reuniting for live performances. TFI Friday is back on our TVs and Number 10 has welcomed back Gordon Brown. Even Tony Blair is back on the front pages with views and opinions.

Whilst the death knell for the telephone as a channel for new business was sounded in the 90s and again in the Noughties with the introduction of answerphones and the Telephone Preference Service, it has defied all predictions and, despite the AI revolution, remains a key tool. In 2026, the telephone is making a significant resurgence. Why? It is certainly not in the traditional “smile and dial” sense.

Many channels that diverted from phone-based human interactions and dominated agency business development over the last decade have become crowded:

• Email response rates have fallen
• LinkedIn outreach is heavily automated and often ignored
• Paid lead generation has become more expensive
• AI has dramatically increased the volume of generic outbound messaging

As a result, a thoughtful phone call stands out because it’s one of the few channels where a real conversation can take place.

Decision-makers are overwhelmed by digital outreach

Senior marketers, founders, and procurement leaders can receive dozens of cold emails every day and many report that they simply don’t read most of them.

A well-researched call can cut through that noise because it demands attention in a way an email doesn’t. It also allows for fact finding, qualification and relationship building. Yes, the timing could be interrupting someone’s day, but a professional business developer will be able to schedule another call for a better time if required. An email gets deleted.

AI is making human interaction more valuable

The irony is that AI-generated outreach is helping telemarketing.

When prospects suspect that emails and LinkedIn messages are automated (which tends to be quite obvious), genuine human conversations become more credible and memorable.

For agencies, this is especially important because that call is the start of a relationship. Clients buy people and trust as much as they buy services.

Complex services still require discussion

Creative, branding, strategy, digital transformation, and marketing engagements are rarely impulse purchases.

Any new agency is a risk and the buyer often needs:

• Education
• Reassurance
• Challenges to their thinking
• Exploration of needs

Phone conversations are effective for uncovering those opportunities.

Agencies need meetings, not leads

Most agencies don’t actually need thousands of leads. They need:

• Meaningful conversations
• Qualified prospects to build a pipeline with short and long-term opportunities
• Qualified meetings with prospects that could offer ongoing work, projects and activity

A skilled business-development caller will always produce better-quality meetings than a large-volume, automated email campaign.

The most effective new business approaches will include targeted email and LinkedIn engagement, but timing and qualification will only ever happen during a phone call. The telephone is also an absolute imperative for nurturing prospects.

What won’t work

Old-school telemarketing is ineffective:

• Reading scripts
• Uber high-volume cold calling
• Generic pitches
• Appointment setting without qualification

Prospects are quick to detect low-value outreach. Genuine conversations, a genuine interest in their challenges and requirements and a human approach are critical. An experienced caller should be able to bring a point of view rather than simply asking for a meeting. A meeting going into the diary should feel like a natural conclusion to the call. If it doesn’t, but the conversation has been a chance to qualify that prospect as a potentially high-value lead for the future, a very strong, reliable and predictable pipeline can be developed.

The challenges

Of course, in 2026, phone-based outreach has challenges. It is not as simple as calling an office and asking for a name. Flexible working and the move of prospects to mobile numbers from landlines is key. Real investment needs to be made into data. The likes of Lusha, ZoomInfo, Apollo and Cognism are not cheap, but are necessary investments to provide the required contact information. Highly personalised and targeted emails to arrange that all-important initial conversation should be utilised.

AI screening is also in play with Apple’s new IOS update. However, if the reason for calling is short and relevant, we tend to find the calls get answered. If the prospect sees the approach as interesting and of value, they will often add the number to their contact lists, so any follow up call is not screened.

There are additional sensitivities that need to be considered. Prospects often have a single mobile number for business and personal use. This might mean you call them in a non-work situation such as holiday or the school run. Any professional business developer will check the prospect is working and happy to have a B2B conversation. It sounds obvious, but how many scripted sales calls have you received where as soon as you answer, you receive a 45 second rambling introduction? This bulldozer approach simply won’t work. It never did!

Looking into autumn

We expect the value of phone-based business development to increase further over the coming months because:

• Email and AI-generated outbound volume will continue rising, creating noise. Neither approach will be able to counter the holiday period and generate timely call-backs based on annual leave
• Trust and human connection will continue to become stronger differentiators
• Many companies will be reviewing agency relationships and budgets before 2027 planning cycles

The agencies seeing the best results aren’t treating telemarketing as a volume game. They’re using it as a relationship-building and intelligence-gathering channel, supported by strong positioning and targeted account selection. That’s a very different discipline from the telemarketing most people think of when they hear the term.

Phone-based prospecting is experiencing a resurgence. Here’s how to utilise it effectively first appeared on the Alchemis website.

Picture this scenario:

You are a new business manager for a creative marketing agency. You are trying to win new clients for your agency, and a significant part of this sales drive is an outbound calling campaign. You have a CRM system full of prospects you would just love to work with and a compelling reason why you think your agency would be best suited to push their brands to the next level.

However, we all know that getting hold of people over the phone can be a bit of a challenge. It takes tenacity and, from our decades of experience, you will only get through to (and have a meaningful conversation with) a fraction of the prospects you call each day.

For the rest of the people you are targeting, should you leave a voicemail?

Whilst the most obvious disadvantage is that you cannot engage the prospect in real-time dialogue, there are still many practical reasons for leaving a coherent message.

Let’s look at some of the reasons to leave one and, equally importantly, the situations when it may be best not to.

Why leaving a voicemail works

It turns a cold call into a “warm recognition”

When you call again, you’re no longer a random unknown number.

Decision makers subconsciously think “I’ve heard this name/company before.”

That familiarity alone can increase pickup rates on future attempts.

It creates curiosity (if done correctly)

Voicemails may fail because they sell.

Good voicemails create intrigue, not explanation.

Your goal when leaving a voicemail is NOT:

• to try to overexplain your service
• to pitch to somebody you have not spoken to in person
• to ask for a meeting

A more subtle method is to make the prospect slightly curious so they answer next time.

Senior decision makers are likely to be extremely time-poor

As a result of this they may:

• screen calls heavily
• listen to voicemail selectively
• often decide whether to answer next time based on tone + relevance

A short, confident voicemail signals professionalism.

It multiplies callback probability

You won’t get loads of callbacks — but you don’t need loads.

Even 2–5 callbacks per week dramatically improves meeting numbers over time.

When NOT to leave a voicemail

Do NOT leave one if:

• You will call again later the same day
• You’re making rapid multi-dial attempts
• You already left one recently

Why many BDMs avoid voicemail (and why that’s wrong)

Two key reasons that Business Development Managers won’t leave voicemails are because they think:

• The prospect won’t call back
• It wastes time

But don’t limit yourself to the mindset that voicemail is only to generate callbacks – it’s to help build future call success.

If you are leaving a voicemail, remember these key points:

• Your name + company (sounds obvious, I know)
• Reason relevant to the prospect you are calling
• Low-pressure close
• Keep it short and professional
• Tell them you’ll try again

And remember to avoid the following mistakes:

• asking them to call you back urgently
• over-long explanations
• reeling off too many services – keep it relevant to them
• sounding scripted
• apologising for calling
• talking for longer than 25 seconds…Long voicemails = ignored voicemails.

If you would like support with any aspect of your outbound new business efforts, Alchemis can help. With decades of experience working with all types of agencies in the marketing industry, we can take your proposition to the appropriate audience, constantly listening to the market, reviewing and learning. This enables us to direct and evolve activity, keeping your messaging fresh and relevant.

Please get in touch to find out more.

Why leave voicemails when doing cold new business outreach?  first appeared on the Alchemis website.

In case you’re unfamiliar with the term, ‘ghosting’ is the act of suddenly ceasing all communication with someone without any explanation.

The term is generally used in reference to a romantic relationship, but it can technically refer to any scenario where all contact unexpectedly ceases. Even when the person being ghosted reaches out to re-initiate contact or gain closure, they’re met with silence.

It’s done in the hope that the person being ghosted will get the message, and accept that their attentions are unwanted.

What is ‘ghosting’ in new business?

Though ghosting in a new business context is fairly common, it’s definitely unprofessional when a prospective client simply ceases all forms of communication with you after initial proposals or negotiations.

The practise can be disruptive, and in some cases financially damaging, after what could seem like a promising encounter.

This applies more so in cases where a verbal assurance was made that a prospect had the intention of taking things further – only to vanish without having put any tangible follow-up structures in place. 

Why new business prospects might ghost you.

It can happen as the result of poor communications, where an agency misinterprets the initial interest of a client as a more solid intention.

A potential client may ghost because they were just shopping around, and simply found a better offer from a cheaper agency, but lack the professional courtesy or business experience to be honest with your agency.

It can happen when a client experiences a sudden shift in company priorities, budgetary reviews or workload changes. 

There could be problems with the client’s decision-making process or internal politics involving multiple stakeholders, creating an inability to reach a consensus. 

How to prevent ghosting in new business.

There are number of ways you could look to prevent being ghosted by new business prospects.

For example, you might send a follow-up email after making a proposal, followed by a phone call a few days later to keep things warm.

Alternatively, you could use social media, video calls, or connect on LinkedIn to create a human connection with your prospect. After all, in the age of AI, nothing has the impact quite like human interactions.

Or, you might book the next meeting before you end the current one so you have a definite commitment to follow things up.

Then there’s the ‘Breakup’ Email: If a prospect stops communicating, send a polite email saying you are closing their file due to lack of communication. This often triggers a response if they’re still interested. 

Having been at the forefront of new business for agencies for the past four decades, here is another way to look at it:

First impressions absolutely matter. Be pragmatic, honest and try to build chemistry from the very outset. You may not get a second chance, but if a prospect gels with you in the first place, they are more likely to give you the courtesy of a response instead of pretending you don’t exist.

In the case of agency new business, you are likely to be chasing a relatively expensive commitment from a potential client. They’re buying into a long-term service arrangement for you to essentially become part of their business, so put yourself in their shoes.

It’s the same as recruitment –  you’re not going to recruit a candidate just because the recruitment consultant is pestering you. Of course the prospect would expect to see some tenacity in an agency, as they will hope to see the same from their Account Manager, should you start working with them. But they will want to work with people they like and trust. There may be different buying motivations from the prospect if you are selling them a service rather than a product.

Using a new business agency like Alchemis

The senior team at Alchemis have consistently generated new business and growth for our clients in all types of marketing, creative and communications agencies.

With our extremely strong database of marketing decision makers, we can take your proposition to the right audience, at companies you want to work with, and engage them via intelligent interactions.

This is how Alchemis build meaningful business to business relationships – not with ghosts but with real people.

Why new business prospects ghost you, and how to prevent it first appeared on the Alchemis website.

It’s unlikely to have escaped your attention that the world seems to have gone “a bit mad” lately. Whilst I know there’s always been geo-political turmoil somewhere or other, it feels like following the economic shock of Covid (six years ago now!) the whole country has lurched from one calamity to another – very often from events well beyond our control – as UK industry does its best to recover and flourish again.
As companies in the UK endeavour to soldier on, here is some food for thought about why firms in the creative and marketing industries may consider additional support from a new business agency at this point in time.

Economic downturns have a way of exposing the fault lines in even the most established marketing and creative agencies. Budgets tighten, client confidence dips, and pipelines that once felt predictable suddenly become fragile. For agency leaders across the UK, the pressure isn’t just to survive—it’s to maintain momentum, protect teams, and emerge stronger.
This is where a well-positioned new business agency can become more than just a supplier. At its best, it becomes a strategic growth partner.

Understanding the Shift in Client Behaviour

We’ve all heard the old adage that business loves certainty. But during uncertain economic periods, clients don’t necessarily stop spending —they just become more cautious. Decision-making cycles lengthen, procurement becomes more involved, and expectations around value increase significantly.
A capable new business agency recognises this shift and adapts outreach strategies accordingly. Instead of just pushing for quick wins, the focus moves toward building trust, demonstrating commercial understanding, and positioning the agency as a low-risk, high-impact partner.
For marketing and creative agencies, this means the conversations being opened on their behalf are more qualified, more relevant, and far more likely to convert over time.

Prioritising Quality Over Volume

One of the biggest mistakes agencies make during downturns is chasing volume—more outreach, more meetings, more noise. In reality, the agencies that perform best are those that double down on precision.
A good new business agency brings rigour to targeting. That includes:
• Identifying sectors that remain resilient or are still investing
• Prioritising organisations showing signs of growth or transformation
• Aligning outreach with genuine business challenges, not generic credentials
This level of focus ensures that every conversation has a clear strategic rationale behind it—something internal teams often struggle to maintain when under pressure.

Strengthening Proposition and Positioning

Difficult markets have a way of testing how clearly an agency can articulate its value. Vague propositions and “full-service” messaging quickly lose their effectiveness when clients are scrutinising every pound spent.
New business agencies can play a critical role here by feeding real-time market insight back into the agency. What are prospects responding to? Where are conversations stalling? Which messages resonate?
This feedback loop allows agencies to refine:
• Their positioning
• Their messaging
• Their case studies and proof points
Over time, this doesn’t just improve conversion rates, it sharpens the entire commercial edge of the agency.

Extending Internal Capability Without Adding Risk

Hiring internally during uncertain times is a significant commitment. Salaries, onboarding, and ramp-up time all add pressure to an agency chasing revenue in challenging economic circumstances.
A new business agency provides flexibility. It allows agencies to maintain a consistent level of outbound activity without the fixed cost and long-term risk of expanding internal teams prematurely.
For senior leaders, this creates some breathing room because:
• Pipelines continue to build
• Internal teams remain focused on delivery and existing clients
• Growth activity becomes more predictable and manageable
• It brings structure and consistency to their new business function

In many agencies, new business is still driven by bursts of activity—often reactive and difficult to sustain. Economic pressure tends to amplify this inconsistency.
A dedicated new business agency can ensure:
• Defined outreach strategies
• Consistent prospect engagement
• Ongoing pipeline management and reporting

This consistency is often the difference between agencies that “get lucky” with new business and those that build a truly reliable growth pipeline.

Acting as a Market Intelligence Function

Beyond lead generation, a reputable new business agency becomes a valuable source of market insight.
They are on the front line of conversations with potential clients every day. They hear objections (and know how to counter them), understand budget pressures and spot emerging opportunities early.
For agency leaders, this intelligence is invaluable as it can help with:
• Service development
• Pricing strategy
• Sector focus
• Go-to-market decisions

Having access to this level of real-world feedback can provide a significant competitive advantage, particularly so in uncertain times.

Supporting Long-Term Pipeline Health

Perhaps the most important contribution a new business agency makes is helping agencies think beyond immediate wins.
When pressure mounts, it’s tempting to focus only on short-term revenue. But the agencies that come out strongest are those that continue to invest in long-term relationships and future opportunities.
A good new business partner balances both by:
• Generating near-term opportunities where possible
• Nurturing longer-term prospects that will convert when conditions improve

This ensures that when the market rebounds, the agency isn’t starting from zero—it’s already well-positioned.

In summary

Difficult economic conditions don’t remove the need for growth—they redefine how it’s achieved.
For UK-based marketing and creative agencies, partnering with a new business agency isn’t just about outsourcing outreach. It’s about adding strategic capability, improving focus, and building a more resilient pipeline.

If you would like to find out how Alchemis can help deliver genuine opportunities or discuss any of your new business challenges, please feel free to get in touch.

How New Business Agencies Can Add Real Value During Unpredictable Economic Times first appeared on the Alchemis website.

There may be cause for a small celebration at Alchemis this week, as another of our Account Managers hits the 10-year mark in their job here.

Whilst some of you may wonder what the big deal is, this level of longevity – i.e staying at the same (relatively small) company in an outbound business development role – is more likely to be the exception rather than the rule in the world of sales and new business.

Alchemis has a team that averages 18-21 staff at any one point. Eight of them have been here more than 10 years – and three of them more than 20 years.

Let’s consider how this situation benefits our client base of agencies throughout the creative and marketing services industry:

Knowledge is Power

The longer you spend in a role, the better you understand it. You gain an immense amount of experience and the very nature of this job means you will have worked on new business campaigns for clients across an extremely vast range of marketing disciplines. You know what works (and you also know what doesn’t) when it comes to conveying their services to the decision makers and budget-holders that they want to meet.

You are well aware of the industry challenges your clients (and, just as importantly, their prospects) will be facing as you have been discussing these issues day in day out with decision makers in the industry throughout your whole time in the role. It is, quite literally, your day job.

You have dealt with every personality type in terms of prospects and are extremely skilled in objection handling – you will know when it is worth pushing for a new business meeting and – equally importantly – when it is not worthwhile.

The value of this knowledge and market experience cannot be understated.

Company Integrity

As an employee in the role for such a long time, you have faith in the company. Why would you stay in the job so long at a place that treats you badly or doesn’t value your contribution otherwise? Quite simply, you wouldn’t.

Likewise, the company has shown faith in you. We know that outbound new business is a very tough role. If it was easy then nobody would ever outsource it. There are targets to hit and frankly if you are not delivering to your client base the company would not be able to keep you. Whilst every salesperson may have some peaks and troughs, consistency over a prolonged period is why you remain in the job.

Alchemis has been in business for 40 years and we know there can be cowboys in this market. That is why it is so important to carry out due diligence. This applies to employees who may be seeking a job at a new business agency, as well as marketing agencies who may be looking to appoint one to help them win new clients.

Our employees are our single greatest asset. If they (and therefore our company) could not deliver to our clients, we wouldn’t be in business. It really is that simple.

Stability and Mentorship

The fact that there is such a significant portion of the team with decades “on the clock” at this job brings stability to the company – and by extension – our clients. With well over a hundred years collective experience specifically in new business for the agency world, there are not many gaps in our knowledge.

This means that on the occasions that any staff leave, there will be someone behind the scenes who is ready and capable to step into the role to enable a smooth transition and consistency on a client campaign. Think of the upheaval your own agency may go through when trying to recruit a capable new business manager internally. They need to be able to hit the ground running as soon as they start in the role and if they don’t, or if they leave, you are back to square one. This can be a particularly acute problem for small to medium sized agencies (which is why they tend to make up a higher proportion of our client base).

Internally at Alchemis, the fact that there are a senior team of “wisened owls” (for want of a better term) enables mentorship for newer staff as they come through the ranks. This can actually work both ways, as younger employees joining the team may bring different perspectives and knowledge from the roles they have previously come from. The end result is that the whole team can benefit as they learn from each other – which in turn benefits the clients.

Wider Network

Having been in the business so long, our collective team has amassed a vast network of contacts throughout the marketing industry and beyond.

This also extends to our own suppliers, as we have dealt with a wide range of external consultants and companies over the years in order to stay on top of our game with technology and innovation.

In terms of how this can benefit our clients, the chances are we will always have or know somebody who “knows the industry”…. No matter how obscure or specific that particular fragment of industry may be.

This means there may also be opportunities for a client that might want to collaborate on a project within this extensive network if they ever need an extra skill set.

So, to all the Alchemis veterans of new business, who have worked with every type of agency, across every kind of marketing discipline throughout the UK, Europe and further afield… well done you!

And never stop learning.

Decades of new business experience first appeared on the Alchemis website.

With the ever-increasing range of AI tools entering the market, the temptation for Sales and New Business Managers to utilise these as a way of streamlining their jobs is understandably pretty high.
Some might see it as having your own virtual PA on call 24/7 to attend every meeting with you – with no introductions necessary, no pre or post-meeting briefings required and certainly no need to pay them.

Benefits of using AI recording tools

The most obvious benefits to using one of these tools for your new business meetings include:

• Boosted Productivity – you’re going to spend less (if any) time taking notes in the meeting and writing them up after.
• Accuracy – you will have full and detailed documentation with a searchable transcript of what was actually said during the meetings, rather than just your own recollection and scribbled notes. After all, you are unlikely to write down literally everything yourself as it simply isn’t practical.
• Automated summaries and action points – this can save you a lot of admin time and effort when working out and following up “next steps”.

What to consider when using AI recording tools

However, whilst it is undoubtedly very convenient to have an extra pair of hands to take detailed notes and summarise the key points you have been discussing with your prospective clients, there are some other factors to consider as you chase those new business wins – and this may be particularly relevant on your first new business meeting, when both yourself and the prospect are at the “getting to know you” stage:

Nuance

This is something that absolutely shouldn’t be overlooked. AI has become pretty proficient in its ability to understand and summarise the key points discussed between the meeting attendees. What it is currently less capable of is picking up subtleties such as tone, context, sarcasm and body language/non-verbal signs (presuming you are in a meeting where you can see the other attendees).
Any mediocre (let alone good) sales person will be able to spot and interpret these signals during the course of a new business meeting. You stand a far better chance of winning a client if you can weave these details into your own notes so your follow ups can be tailored accordingly.

Trust

Even though we are all becoming more and more familiar with the presence of AI in our daily lives, it doesn’t mean everyone will be entirely happy with its use in a meeting. There may be business sensitive topics discussed and the presence of an all-seeing-eye may put some prospects on edge or reluctant to divulge full information which they may have done otherwise. This brings us on to another critical reason for this trepidation:

Data Security

Where is the data that is gained by the AI from a meeting being stored and what is to stop it being harvested and used by that system for other purposes? There may be an expectation of confidentiality in business meetings, whether that is implicit or explicit. It would be perfectly understandable if attendees were uncomfortable with AI recording meetings for those reasons. And beyond that there may be legal and regulatory obligations to consider such as GDPR.

Inaccuracies

For the most part, the AI seems pretty good at picking up what is discussed in a meeting between two parties verbatim.
However, it would be negligent to not review the output relating to these recordings and ideally you would want to do this while everything is still fresh in your mind. Don’t treat AI summaries as the absolute truth… and certainly have a proper check through the details before sharing information so you can ensure that Mr Robot’s analysis is in line with your own understanding of everything discussed in the meeting.

Advice for first meetings

If you want to use AI tools in an initial new business meeting with a prospect, here are a few tips to consider:

• Ask for permission before starting the meeting – let the prospect know you would like to do this and be prepared to graciously turn it off if they are not comfortable with that.
• Ensure the tool you want to use is reputable, from an enterprise-grade vendor that offers strong data security and will not harvest any of your data that you don’t want it to.
• Review before you share – make sure you have double checked any output for errors or misunderstandings at the earliest opportunity after the meeting has finished.
• Be prepared to pause or turn it off during the meeting if discussing sensitive subjects. Anyone who has made credit card payments over the phone will be familiar with the agent pausing any call recording software at that point and these tools should be treated with the same mindset.

Remember, building trust is far more important than immediate administrative efficiency when talking to a new prospect that you are hoping to entice to spend potentially vast sums of money with your organisation in the future!

Further research

Anecdotally, we already know that AI meeting recording tools seem to divide opinion for meetings in general – but in particular for first time new business meetings.

With this in mind, we are hoping to commission a series of short surveys to our client base and beyond over the next couple of months. These will aim to gather opinions about how the increasing use of AI is affecting both the agency world and wider marketing industry (whether positive or negative).

If you would be interested in giving your feedback, please contact robert@alchemis.co.uk. Any participation in these short surveys will remain confidential and any published findings will be anonymised.

On a final point, if you would like to discuss how Alchemis can help you with any of your new business challenges or ambitions, please get in touch here.

Should AI recording tools be used in first time new business meetings?  first appeared on the Alchemis website.

In 2026, businesses are surrounded by more technology, data, and automation than ever before. AI writes emails, schedules meetings, scores leads, and predicts intent. Yet despite all this innovation, many pipelines are weaker, slower, and less predictable than they were years ago.

The reason is simple: growth has become automated, but trust remains human.

The most reliable new business pipelines in 2026 are not built on volume or velocity alone — they are built on meaningful conversations, genuine relationships, and a deep understanding of real business challenges.

1. Reliability Comes from Connection, Not Just Activity

Modern buyers are overwhelmed. They receive hundreds of automated messages that all sound vaguely relevant but rarely feel personal. As a result, most outreach is ignored — not because the offer is wrong, but because it lacks humanity.

A reliable pipeline starts when companies prioritise:

• Fewer, more intentional conversations
• Listening before pitching
• Relevance rooted in real understanding, not assumptions

When prospects feel they are speaking to someone who genuinely understands their world, engagement changes. Conversations become longer, more open, and more productive — and opportunities follow naturally.

2. Trust Is Built in Dialogue, Not Campaigns

In 2026, trust is no longer built through polished messaging alone. Buyers trust people who ask thoughtful questions, acknowledge uncertainty, and engage honestly with complexity.

Human-focused pipelines are grounded in:

• Two-way conversations, not scripted monologues
• Advisors who challenge thinking, not just sell solutions
• Transparency about what will — and won’t — work

Marketing may open the door, but real conversations are what move deals forward. Every meaningful interaction compounds trust, making the pipeline more resilient and predictable.

3. Technology Should Support Humans, Not Replace Them

AI plays an important role in modern pipeline development — but only when it enhances human connection rather than replacing it.

High-performing teams use technology to:

• Free up time for deeper conversations
• Provide context before meetings, not generic talking points
• Follow up thoughtfully, not mechanically

In 2026, the competitive advantage belongs to companies that use technology to be more human, not less. Automation should remove friction, not authenticity.

4. Sales and Marketing Align Around Conversations, Not Leads

The most effective revenue teams no longer ask, “How many leads did we generate?” Instead, they ask, “How many meaningful conversations did we create?”

This shift requires:

• Shared ownership of conversation quality
• Marketing content designed to spark dialogue, not just clicks
• Sales teams measured on insight and engagement, not just activity

When sales and marketing align around human interaction, pipelines become stronger, healthier, and more sustainable.

5. Existing Relationships Are the Strongest Source of Growth

In a human-centred approach, customers are not endpoints — they are ongoing conversations. Expansion, referrals, and repeat business are the most reliable forms of pipeline because they are built on trust that already exists.

Companies that prioritise:

• Regular, value-driven check-ins
• Honest feedback loops
• Long-term partnerships over short-term wins

create pipelines that grow organically, without constant pressure at the top of the funnel.

6. Measure What Matters: Quality of Engagement

A human-focused pipeline cannot be measured purely by volume. In 2026, the most insightful organisations track:

• Depth and frequency of real conversations
• Progress driven by buyer confidence, not sales pressure
• Deals influenced by multiple trusted interactions

These indicators provide a clearer picture of pipeline health than raw activity metrics ever could.

Building Pipelines People Want to Be Part Of

In 2026, reliable growth does not come from louder messaging or smarter automation alone. It comes from being present, curious, and genuinely invested in the people behind every deal.

Businesses that put real conversations at the heart of their pipeline do not just close more opportunities — they build relationships that last. And in a world increasingly driven by algorithms, being unmistakably human has become the most powerful strategy of all.

Building a Reliable New Business Pipeline in 2026: Why Real Conversations Matter More Than Ever first appeared on the Alchemis website.

No doubt you have received numerous “first week back” emails.

However, these are the start of the year realities – fresh starts, grand plans and big ambitions!! New business is high on the agenda. A smorgasbord of thoughts, initiatives and Ideas.

You must take a step back!!

New business is so multi-faceted, with so many options. It is easy to try and do too much… and doing too much could mean nothing clicks!

Below are some simple, yet often forgotten tips for your 2026 new business strategy planning:

Identify what success looks like for your agency

There are so many ways to define this:

• Are you looking for new names and logos or is success growing existing clients and brands?
• Would one red hot new client, delivering agency changing revenue and opportunity, be the goal?
• Does your business model revolve around a higher number of lower value clients?

These are just three scenarios. There are many more, but new business goals are not always revenue based and understanding what new business success looks like for your agency will give you the foundations of a workable and achievable strategy.

Keep it simple

It is all too easy to start veering towards not just a rabbit hole, but a whole warren of new business holes and options. Conversations might revolve around LinkedIn, telephone lead generation, emails, AI tools, content, networking, referrals and more.

Agencies are notoriously time poor, so identify the right strategy and approach that can be given the time and attention required to ascertain if it has been successful. Whilst all your intended plans and approaches could be valid, trying to tackle them all is likely to result in none of them being delivered effectively.

If you are to have a multifaceted approach, prioritise and allocate appropriate and proportionate time to each.

Put resource in place

The best strategy in the world is pointless unless it can be implemented. Do you, or someone in your team, have the time to dedicate to new business? Most strategies will fail as resource gets dragged into day-to-day agency delivery and execution. Step one might be recruitment or finding an appropriate outsourced partner with expertise in delivering your desired strategy.

Do you need to invest in lead sources and databases? Working on excel spreadsheets is laborious and even the very best organisers can miss a trick. Make sure your new business resource is armed with the best possible tools to deliver the job.

Make it measurable with realistic timeframes

Ensure you can gauge what is working and what isn’t. Unless you are very lucky, new business won’t be instant and you need to be able to measure progress and pipeline quality. We call this campaign equity. Can you be sure that you are heading in the right direction?

Holding your nerve is key. If you have no wins in 6 months, but you have engaged with and met key prospects with budget, proposals are out pending answers and you are confident of progression with that pipeline, that is almost certainly a better place to be than one quick, lucky win and no future identifiable opportunities.

Break objectives into quarterly KPIs – outreach attempts, engaged, qualified prospects, briefs, proposals, pitches and of course wins.

It could be that the Q1 objective is to have the plan, direction and resource in place to tackle the rest of the year. That will yield better results long-term than going gung-ho into activity.

Take time up front to ensure the best possible direction

Lead sourcing and profiling is critical to any new business and must link back to your strategy and defined agency successes as well as the KPIs you are putting in place. Build lists of the right people in the right companies. A sniper’s rifle versus a blunderbuss.

Celebrate the failures and the successes

New business is hard, tiring and relentless, but can be so rewarding when those projects and accounts are won. However, if you lost a pitch, you still got on the pitch list. If budgets get pulled from an expected project, that is not your failure. Just engaging with a key decision maker in a target company should be deemed a success and could easily become a building block for a future new business relationship.

Just do it!!

New business can be likened to DIY procrastination around the house. There is always something else to do first!

• We need to get our website redone
• We’re developing new case studies
• We’re reimagining our value proposition
• We’re rebranding

Of course you need certain elements in place, but don’t overthink it. If you know the clients you want, the type of work you want and you have a desire to grow, it is a case of JFDI!! Other agencies will be.

Good luck going into 2026

How to plan your 2026 new business strategy first appeared on the Alchemis website.

For most marketing agencies, referrals are the single most powerful source of new business. Referred leads tend to convert faster, trust you sooner, and stay longer. Yet many agencies avoid asking for them because it feels uncomfortable or overly direct.

The good news is that asking for referrals doesn’t need to feel pushy. With the right timing, language and process, it becomes a natural extension of the client relationship.

Why referrals work so well for agencies

Referrals come from warm, trusted sources. When a client introduces you to someone in their network, that person already views you as credible. This means you have to spend less time convincing and more time demonstrating how you can help.

For agencies juggling capacity and ROI, the efficiency of referral-based growth is hard to beat.

Choosing the right moment to ask

Clients are most open to referring you when they are experiencing positive momentum. This might be after you’ve delivered a successful campaign, completed a project they love or presented a strong performance report.

If a client expresses appreciation or mentions that results are better than expected, that is a perfect moment to mention referrals. You don’t need to force the conversation; you simply build on the goodwill that already exists.

How to ask without sounding salesy

A gentle referral request works best when it’s framed around helping others, rather than helping you. For example, you might say, “If you know anyone facing similar marketing challenges, I’d be happy to take a look for them.” This keeps the tone helpful rather than self-promotional.

Clarity also helps. Many clients want to refer you but don’t know who the right fit might be. Give a simple description of the type of business you work best with. For instance, you might say you’re a good match for mid-sized e-commerce brands, local service providers or B2B companies preparing for growth. This gives clients a mental shortcut that makes referring easier.

If you want to go a step further, provide a short paragraph they can forward to a colleague or contact. When people know exactly what to say, referrals happen more often.

Embedding referral prompts in your client journey

You don’t have to rely on spontaneous conversations. Referral prompts can be woven into your agency’s usual touchpoints, such as onboarding documents, end-of-project handovers, review meetings or the note you send after a successful campaign launch.

A simple sentence is enough to keep referrals front of mind without overdoing it.

Showing appreciation

A sincere thank-you goes a long way. While cash rewards can feel transactional in a professional services context, a thoughtful gesture can strengthen the relationship. Many agencies send a handwritten note, a small gift or early access to a new service. The aim is simply to acknowledge the effort your client made on your behalf.

Building a referral system you can repeat

If you want referrals to be consistent rather than occasional, it helps to build a small, repeatable process. Start by identifying clients who are clearly pleased with your work. Ask at an appropriate moment, provide easy referral materials and track referrals inside your CRM so you can follow up efficiently.

When a referral converts, let the client know and thank them personally. Closing the loop reinforces the behaviour and encourages more introductions in future.

Asking for referrals

Asking for referrals doesn’t need to feel awkward. When you focus on timing, clarity and genuine appreciation, the request becomes a natural part of the client relationship. Marketing agencies that treat referrals as a system rather than an occasional lucky break often find that they generate some of their most profitable and enjoyable client partnerships this way.

If you need any support bringing in new business into your marketing agency, Alchemis’ senior team have over 100 years’ collective experience in developing new business campaigns for agencies like yours. Discover how we can help your new business pipeline today.

How marketing agencies can ask clients for referrals (without the awkwardness) first appeared on the Alchemis website.

As we are in the penultimate week before the Christmas close-down, we know it’s a distinct possibility that your agency may be more focused on putting fallen baubles back onto the office tree than ramping up your new business plans.
 
However, waiting until “things calm down” in Q1 is the fastest way to cap your year’s growth.
 
January to March is a key time for marketing decision-makers to:
 
•    Approve budgets
•    Scope new initiatives
•    Draw up shortlists for agencies they may want to work with in 2026.
 
To ensure you get ahead of your competitors, you shouldn’t delay new business outreach until the spring. Buyers already have partners in mind by that point and you may be left competing for leftovers or rushed projects.
 
New business wins are unlikely to fall into your lap the minute outreach starts—it can take months to build a solid pipeline.
 
With this in mind, Alchemis can help you hit the ground running in in the new year with a whole range of new business solutions tailored to your agency’s needs.

Please get in touch with us if you would like to discuss any of your new business plans or challenges for the 2026.

Wishing all our readers a very merry Christmas and best wishes for a prosperous new year.

The Myth of “We’ll Start Biz Dev Later” first appeared on the Alchemis website.