Initially it was because we were “coming up to Christmas”. This one started in November and could be justified by the fact that my social calendar was a lot busier than usual, so there simply wasn’t time… well there was really, but we all know what a busy period this is, what with writing cards, wrapping presents and meeting up with various “once a year” friends and acquaintances.

Following this, I was secretly delighted that the lift in our building was out of order for about a month. Surely having to climb 88 stairs three or four times a day on top of my 10 minute walk to and from the station negated the need for me to do any more exercise than this?

And then there was the skiing holiday. Admittedly a considerable proportion of that involved sitting in bars drinking steins of Bavarian lager and eating brotwurst, but the going down the slope bit must have counted for something. Probably.

However, my excuses have finally run out. The whole company has entered the Sport Relief Mile and there is no way to get out of this without losing face.

Now, one of the things about being the only person at Alchemis from a non-sales background and in a non-sales role is you notice how competitive everyone else is. They all strive for excellence and they all want to be top of their game – all of the time. So, whilst I appreciate the great camaraderie and “work hard” ethic in the office, the “play hard” aspect out of the office does occasionally fill me with a slight sense of trepidation – and this occasion wasn’t about to disappoint.

At first, I wasn’t too worried about running a mile. I thought I could do that without any training. In fact I could probably even squeeze in a fair few pints the night before (what with it being a Saturday) and still do it if I had to. Alas, everybody else here deemed that a mile was too short and the competitive element kicked in: “What? Surely it would be cheeky to ask for sponsorship for anything less than three miles!” cried half the sales team. “No, surely it would be an outrage to ask for sponsorship for anything less than six miles!” cried the other half. And so the new boundaries were set.

For someone like me, who was never overly competitive, working with the current team at Alchemis does seem to be rubbing off somewhat. Everyone is enthusiastic, the whole team works well together and nobody wants to let the side down – either in or out of the office. But also, for this very reason, no one wants to finish last within our team. I can’t use the excuses I was toying with, such as being the oldest runner in the team (I’m not) or “having a bad knee” (not bad enough to stop me skiing) – the only option would be to start training. So last night, for the first time in about six months, I forced myself to go to the gym, with the fear of there being less than two weeks to get in shape and the need to avoid finishing last driving me relentlessly forward on the treadmill for mile after mile – no warm up, no warm down, no stretching, just running… and today, finally, I have a genuine reason why I may finish last – and that is because I can hardly walk.

Training for “The Mile” (to save face) is a post from the Alchemis New Business Blog

The essence of the discussion focused on how we could get marketing agencies to work together to better serve the needs of the consumer. Lets face it, the consumer calls the shots nowadays and they are totally aware of how demanding they can be. This puts greater pressure on marketing agencies to provide a 360-degree approach.

In the past, agencies have been suspicious about sharing their ideas with other agencies and they have felt exposed to the fact that their ideas could be stolen or worse still, misused.

Today, we see more of the “ Best Creatives” coming together and sharing their knowledge across all disciplines, which makes the need for getting it right first time key, especially as more emphasis is placed on delivery.

Direct clients will inevitably get the most for their money when they present a problem to a group of vendors and they are no longer concerned with how many people are involved in the campaign as long as they get the results they require.

The challenges tend to be experienced at agency level as colleagues try to build experience around skills, which may overlap. Therefore, the best agency collaboration can be seen between agencies that respect each other’s boundaries and learn to work together towards a common goal.

Are there any agencies out there that would like to comment on their personal experiences of collaboration?

What does agency collaboration mean in today’s markets? is a post from the Alchemis New Business Blog

Having so many new clients come on board can make life complicated so I’m glad to report the sales team have risen admirably to the challenge.

The other challenge we faced in February was a five-a-side football match against another new business agency. As the pre match hype reached fever pitch the significance of this game grew to unbelievable proportions so it was with considerable apprehension that we learned the other team was comprised of one business development guy and 4 ringers. Worse still, this five-some was actually a regular five-a-side team that play in a league every week.

I knew my guys talked a good game. As a company we punch well above our weight when it comes to knowing football trivia and I’d been treated to several beer fuelled accounts of people’s glory days on the pitch when they were younger but I was convinced a team used to playing together would soundly thrash us.

This didn’t stop us buying football kit for everyone in the company and a very gaudy trophy to be presented to the winning team.

As kick-off approached the mood among our fans was, I felt, unreasonably hopeful. This possibly owed much to the fact that the ban on drinking spirits common in the professional leagues was not being observed. Among the players on the pitch the sense of impending humiliation was palpable. But then something strange happened. As we kicked the ball around during the warm-up it became clear that there was some real talent in the team, but would we have the stamina or organisation to win a competitive match?

Actually we won convincingly. As one of the star players, the leading goal scorer, main creative force and the defensive rock from which our victory was chiselled it’s probably fairer I let someone else write the match report. What I will say is that the way we gelled together so quickly and went about our task of dismantling the opposition was phenomenal.

I’m also happy to report that the crowd were impeccably behaved despite the presence of known troublemakers. And that this Corinthian spirit continued in the pub afterwards where both teams gathered. We became more gracious in victory the more we drank….A rematch has been demanded by the opposition and we shall oblige but first we have the Alchemis Sponsored Run for Sport Relief in March.

Having been bowled over by our performance in the football match I’ll not be surprised now if this motley crew don’t churn out 4-minute miles one after the other.

February sales team and footy round-up is a post from the Alchemis New Business Blog

However, it is not that simple. We can’t conjure new business from thin air. Cold new business is a tough process and we, along with any other new business agency, are only as good as the effort both parties put in. There is no doubt that a collaborative approach works the best, not only in terms of results, but also as an enjoyable working experience. Communication and relationship are everything. After working with c.500 marketing agencies over 11 years, these are my top tips for maximising your new business agency:

1. Get off on the right foot:

Set the partnership up from day one. You will have shared some business objectives and goals before making your decision to use us, but be open with your designated New Business Manager. We are genuinely interested in how your business is structured, your core vision for the future and your objectives from the relationship. You would share this with an internal recruit, so why not your agency.

2. Invest time in the briefing process:

Inducting your New Business Manager into your agency is key. Take them around to meet and talk to key personnel as hearing about your company from a number of viewpoints gives a well-rounded picture. Your caller needs to feel part of the team and this undoubtedly helps.

Really take the time to give a full briefing on your company. We know you have been through it a thousand times before, but we haven’t. It is new and exciting and we want to hear about why you set the company up and the ethos and philosophy behind it. Often there are gems, which can work wonders on the phone. Give us as much as you can and we will take the relevant “sales” parts from it.

3. Case studies, case studies, case studies:

These are the most important sales tools we have. We will guide you as to the ideal format, and as always, quantifiable results are gold dust. It is well worth spending time in creating great looking case studies, which can be used as a sales tool for your caller and also by you in new business meetings.

4. Be passionate:

All our clients are passionate about their work and achievements and this really filters through to your New Business Manager. It is a requirement of both parties, but getting the enthusiasm you feel for your company and your work to manifest itself in your caller can only come from you. They need to leave that initial briefing feeling inspired to sell your business.

5. Communicate:

The briefing is the starting point. We will keep you updated of progress, but you need to commit to do the same. It is rare, but occasionally we have worked with agencies who have been “too busy” to take our calls for weeks on end. We can’t work effectively like that. We never lose sight of two things.

• You are paying us to do a good job
• We are taking responsibility for your business growth and frankly, personal success

6. Keep your agency updated:

It is the hardest thing to do. You have just finished a great project and moved onto the next. The former is confined to history. Take time to tell us about it and write up a case study. We love going back to prospects with something fresh to say and it gives your agency the air of vibrancy and success.

7. Feedback:

It is not always 100% positive, but we need to know in order to change or develop our approach. Once you have been on a meeting, let us know straight away if it was good, bad or ugly. Let us know why and let us know what the next step is. A good meeting needs to be followed up on and we need to agree when and by whom. That way we can drive the process.

More importantly, your New Business Manager likes a pat on the back for a job well done, so make sure you send that email or make that call after a great appointment.

8. Honesty:

We give you total permission to be honest with us (you are paying us after all), but we need the same. If you have concerns, we want to nip them in the bud. If something is not working on the phone, we want to let you know and agree a new strategy or direction. We don’t like surprises, so please tell us if something is keeping you awake at night.

We don’t always get it right first time, but if we don’t know, we can’t fix it.

9. Manners:

It costs nothing. Treat us, and your caller as you would treat your own staff. Rudeness and disrespectful behaviour will not get the results you are looking for. It adds an additional pressure that can only be detrimental. As previously mentioned, if things aren’t going as well as they might, one thing you can be assured of is that we will die trying to change that. Work collaboratively with us and we will both reap the rewards.

10. Enjoy it:

We create a fun and rewarding environment at Alchemis and a big part of that is the quality of the clients we work with. We enjoy working with a diverse range of interesting clients and we want you to enjoy working with us. If together we ensure all points above are covered, I assure you that will be the case.

Get the best from your new business agency relationship is a post from the Alchemis New Business Blog

In my view it’s more than a wise step to get out there, even if a Twitter account doesn’t result in immediate new business, your brand and company name is out there in the “Twittersphere” for all to see, which can only be a good thing.

The common perception with social media sites is that people go there to socialise and not to buy. True, but brand visibility is the key, and with Twitter having over 18 million users, and Facebook a staggering 400 million active users, it’s hard to see why some companies still stick to their guns and use more traditional methods of marketing.

On the same note, with the introduction of more and more mobile devices, surely the place to be is in the mobile web? Well you would be shocked at the lack of brands I speak to on a daily basis that are yet to fully appreciate the benefit of mobile marketing.

That’s why when one of my clients that I call on invited me to a seminar based on their predictions for paid search in 2010, it was refreshing to listen to someone promoting the idea of harnessing the mammoth power of social media, and the importance of the growing number of consumers available to be targeted through mobile devices today.

Now I am not about to give away my client’s top tips for mobile or social media search (sorry), but what I will say is that the seminar really drove home the constant developments in social media and mobile technologies that companies just aren’t making full use of.

I read an obvious but probably not widely registered fact in an article some time ago that text messages are usually read by a user within 20 seconds, which means brands can start seeing results almost instantaneously, versus hours or days for a similar email marketing campaign. Now if brands can harness this to generate new business and get results that fast, then they should be getting onto it before these spaces are flooded, and their brand becomes a needle in a haystack.

The moral of the story is if you’re not using the power of social media, do it. And if you’re not mobile marketing, do it.

I can’t recall the last time I had a clever, well-targeted marketing text message sent to me, in fact I’m not even sure I’ve even had one! Aside from my mate John texting “Dan, get down to the Royal George, they are giving out free Tequilas!” Now that was well targeted.

The importance of social media and mobile marketing is a post from the Alchemis New Business Blog

You have met a prospect, established a strong rapport, and they have promised you a crack of the whip at the next appropriate brief/project/pitch.

You have followed up on that meeting with an email or left a voicemail, but………………..silence. Delves Broughton poses the point and the question that “the unanswered message is a curse. What are you meant to do?”

The truth is that there is no right answer to this. There are a number of differing articles relating to this subject and average “touch points” between initial contact and securing business vary from 5-15. It is dependent on so many variables such as company size, industry, offer, right down to the personality and working practices and preferences of the individual prospect.

Some would prefer an email and some a call. Some won’t mind multiple calls and some will. However, that follow up strategy is one of the mystical keys to winning new business and is dependent on a number of factors. What was the opportunity time frame? What was the type of opportunity (brief/roster review/formal pitch)? However, most importantly, what was agreed with the prospect at the meeting?

This last point is paramount and if there is a “golden rule” of a cold approach new business program, this is it. The follow up process must be driven by the prospect. Whether your lead pipeline is generated in-house, outsourced to an agency or the prospect has contacted you directly, never leave a meeting without agreeing the next steps. Once this is agreed, a bespoke strategy for each prospect can be formed.

The article suggests a follow up email and phone call soon after the meeting. I don’t disagree with this, but it then goes on to suggest that once this is done, the ball is in the prospect’s court and if they do not respond, it is because they are busy or have no interest. This, I strongly disagree with.

Prospects are busy, but you have to break through that barrier. If they are not interested, we want to know and rule them out. If they are too busy, fine, but we want to agree a new appropriate time with them. Of course, there is a balancing act between a professional approach and being a nuisance. However, it is a competitive world and you will not be the only potential supplier vying for attention. However, you must make sure that your message is the one that stands out. You can only do this by communicating with them. Newsletters, relevant emails and new case studies are all soft methods our clients use, but there is no substitute for speaking to these potential clients.

Once you have agreed when to get back in touch, make sure you diarise that communication. We know, that for the owner of a busy, time poor marketing agency, that is easier said than done. This is where a professional new business agency can help. Generating fresh appointments is only part of any effective campaign. It is clearly in our interest to see those meetings through to the most positive conclusion as our real margins come in retaining clients and that can only be done through generating ROI. That is why it is in our interest to drive the follow up process. We know you are busy and we know that it could take multiple calls to contact that prospect. We have the systems, processes, skills, and above all, time to make sure that happens, so utilise your agency. It will pay dividends.

As a sign off to all of this, don’t take things personally. In the 11 years I have been in business development, the world is becoming a tougher, busier, noisier and dare I say it ruder place. People forget about emails and voicemails almost as soon as they are picked up. It is nothing against you personally, but don’t assume someone is not interested from his or her silence. Take the time or use the resources available to you to be “politely persistent”.

How soon is too soon and how often too often? is a post from the Alchemis New Business Blog

There is a wonderful quote at the top of the report – Turquoise Transports Us to an Exciting, Tropical Paradise While Offering a Sense of Protection and Healing in Stressful Times.

Whilst I’m not sure that all those thoughts were running through my mind when I selected this particular shade of turquoise, I do love the sentiment behind them.

In fact, I chose this turquoise as it complements our primary colour of brown, although I can see why it would ‘evoke thoughts of healing, tropical waters’

I would also like to thank a few of our creative clients (you know who you are) as I always check my intuitive thought processes with those who really understand colour and branding.

What do you think of the colour of the year?

What does it invoke for you?

Colour of the year is a post from the Alchemis New Business Blog

If you have an in-house new businessperson who came from a business development agency background then they will know the process and metrics required to deliver success. And they won’t mind putting in the hard work. Often though marketing agencies employ sales people from a variety of backgrounds and are disappointed with the results. This may be less about the quality of person hired and more about the change in sales environment an experienced sales person is likely to experience when they enter the average marketing agency.

Most telephone sales people prefer working in a sales team, with a positive buzz where everyone can feed off one another’s energy and the success of teammates. And lets be honest, most sales people like to be able to moan to a colleague that’s “been there” about how tough it is when things aren’t going so well. The average sales person is not going to be at their best when they’re the only person pitching in a room full of “creatives” hunched over their Macs.

This has created a niche for new business agencies to service the appointment generation needs of marketing agencies. The best new business agencies will be doing the following:

• Have a reasonable sized team; fewer than 8 sales people and its hard to create and sustain the right atmosphere.
• Have clearly defined KPIs; like the pennies and pounds, if you make the calls in new business then the results will come….so long as you do the following
• Provide thorough and ongoing coaching; a new business manager will be expected to call on a variety of different clients and disciplines over their career so the learning process never really stops. A graphic example of this is the fact that probably a third of our clients make a living doing things that were not technologically possible a few years ago
• Reallocate (quickly and painlessly) the business development manager if it’s not working. This is a massive advantage a new business agency has over an in-house approach
• Provide a supportive environment. It’s one thing to have incentives and awards for the best performers but at any point in time it’s likely someone will be struggling with a new client or in a tough industry sector. Coaching will help but confidence is important as well, so helping people through a tough patch is important. A sales person at a new business agency is lucky as they can switch to calling on a client they are confident on, achieve some quick results and then crack on with their tough client with their “mojo” renewed and intact

Some large marketing agencies will be able to offer this themselves but for most small to medium marketing agencies the economies of scale just don’t work. They can’t justify a full-time sales team and probably don’t need a full-time caller at all, which may mean they have the one person making the calls and going on initial meetings with prospects. This will work for some marketing agencies and when it does it’s probably the best single solution to new business. This is how many agencies got started in the first place, the passion of the agency owner determined to build their business from scratch. But for many agencies the person hired for making the initial calls isn’t the best person for attending face-to-face meetings. Hiring a new business agency to make the first contact on the phone setting meets for a board level person to attend seems to work best.

If you are a marketing agency and you’re determined to explore the in-house sales person route then I recommend the following:

• Look for a proven business development background either at a marketing agency or in a new business agency. These people will know what they’re getting into and ought to be able to provide quantifiable evidence of previous success
• Have clear and reasonable expectations of what this person should be able to achieve with timelines
• Set short term and achievable targets to begin with in terms of calling activity and appointment generation, which can be increased over time. If these are not being met then you may have a problem but if they are, you should be patient and supportive if the big wins don’t come straight away
• Have a clear idea of the role and how it may develop. A business development person who thinks they will get out on face-to-face meetings will quickly become disillusioned if they find themselves chained to their phone. Similarly, someone hired to make phone calls may find themselves out of their depth if they find themselves pitched into meetings
• Ensure they have leads and software to work with, often this is a challenge for marketing agencies

In conclusion, having a dedicated new business all-rounder under your roof is probably the perfect solution but finding such a person can be a needle in a haystack even if you can afford it. You then need to make sure that you have leads / data and software for them to manage a lead generation campaign effectively. Even if going in-house was your first thought it would be well worthwhile bringing a few of the better established new business agencies in for a conversation as we do possess some genuine advantages.

Considering hiring an in-house business development professional? is a post from the Alchemis New Business Blog

This is certainly borne out by our experiences at Alchemis during the latter part of 2009 and into 2010. We started seeing an increase in the number of marketing budgets being released around August last year and we experienced a 70% increase in the number of wins for our clients in the second half of the year compared to the first half.

The key phrase for me is ‘effective marketing & advertising’ and those of our clients (typically small-medium sized agencies) who recognise this and who are prepared to develop their proposition to reflect this need are more likely to get in front of key decision makers with budgets.

The signs are that this upward trend will continue, although we remain cautious and work closely with our clients to develop propositions that are most effective in this climate and to focus our activity on those markets where we see the most opportunities.

Growing optimism is a post from the Alchemis New Business Blog

I’m happy to report that most of the meetings postponed at the beginning of the month have now gone back into the diary. Rearranging meetings is the bane of any Business Development Consultant’s life as there is always the chance that the meeting will not slot smoothly back in and occasionally such meetings can slip into a limbo-like state for months on end. We do everything we can to minimise the impact this has on delivering to clients, including;

• Regular contact with our clients to ensure we have the most up to date knowledge of their availability for meetings
• Setting high quality meetings in the first place, with a qualified decision maker and establishing a clear agenda for both prospect and client
• Ensuring the proven process for confirming meetings is carried out
• Factoring in a cancellation rate; we set more meetings than we need to because at the end of the day and despite everything we do, some meets will always drop out

The first couple of weeks in January posed an unprecedented challenge however. Some of our clients were literally snowed in and some prospects were inaccessible on the day the meeting had been set for. Fortunately the measures we took ensured no clients made a wasted journey and the majority of the meetings we had to move in the first week or so have now either happened or will do so shortly.

The increase in decision maker access we achieved when talking to marketing agencies is harder to explain. We were 50% more likely to speak to an agency owner in January than the historical average (which really doesn’t fluctuate much). One can only assume that marketing agencies are looking positively at 2010 when planning their proactive new business efforts, which is great news for people like us. This assumption is supported by the net increase in our client base we have experienced so far this year.

I’d like to report that we found it so much easer to get through to Marketing Directors in January but this was not the case. It seems there is no substitute for hard graft when it comes to winning a telephone audience with a Marketing Director. Fortunately the uplift in successful outcomes once we have got one on the phone, which began in June 2009, now seems entrenched so we enter the year optimistically, hoping to build on a very positive second half of 2009.

Sales team round up for January 2010 is a post from the Alchemis New Business Blog

Most of us have entered the 3 mile race but there are a few hardy souls (or should that be competitive souls?) who have entered the 6 mile race.

Our joint aim for this event is to raise a minimum of £1000 for Sport Relief.

Alchemis has adopted a number of different charities this year including African Village Support, who help villagers in rural Uganda become self sufficient, Thames Reach, a London- based charity helping homeless and vulnerable people to find decent homes, build supportive relationships and lead fulfilling lives and Children with Cystic Fibrosis Dream Holidays, who organise holidays and breaks for children with cystic fibrosis.

We will be running a number of events ourselves this year, mainly involving sporting based competitions amongst our team of Business Development Managers.

Are there any marketing or new business agencies out there who fancy taking us on (all in the aid of charity of course)? We’re confident enough in our overall sporting prowess to allow you to name the sport and we’ll happily put our money where our mouth is!

Charity run is a post from the Alchemis New Business Blog

Now, if anybody read my previous blog about CRM, you may have surmised that I can be a bit picky when it comes to data integrity. So, a few things I should point out about these stats, before any traditional DM agencies start to beat their chests in self-pity whilst wailing “we’re all doomed”.

Firstly, all these articles appear to have stemmed from the same source (the Alterian 7th annual survey).

Secondly, this survey questioned 1,068 professionals worldwide, but of these only 42% were actually marketers (the rest were agencies, service providers, systems integrators and “others”).

Thirdly, only 36% of respondents were from Europe as opposed to 62% from North America and 2% from Asia.

So, I would imagine from this that the real sample size of British marketing decision makers who are actually in a budget holding position is unlikely to be more than a few hundred.

That said, there’s no denying that social media is a very attractive option for marketers. It’s relatively cheap, leaves less of a carbon footprint in these environmentally-conscious times and campaigns can be created and turned around so quickly that marketers have the ability to act almost “up to the minute” with current trends and events.

However, it’s not necessarily going to reach all demographics across the board. The weighting is far heavier at the younger end of the scale so for the foreseeable future the “older” generations (and I’m not just talking about pensioners here) will still be a very safe bet for traditional direct marketers.

On top of this, an ever-growing number of DM agencies have integrated digital and social media marketing offers as well now which, when considering the vast amounts of personal data gleaned from online campaigns, raises opportunities to tailor highly personalised specific direct marketing campaigns to potential customers with a higher degree of accuracy than ever before. Don’t forget, traditional direct marketing doesn’t just have to be in the form of a letter – I’ve heard of all manner of objects being sent in order to elicit a response (including a crowbar on one B2B campaign).

This blog is obviously focused on the reports that DM could lose revenue, but most meetings we attend across all disciplines talk about social media. Is it also the death knell for traditional PR agencies or advertising agencies? Social media is no longer the jewel in the crown of just the digital agency fraternity. It has and will become a part of all marketing be it PR, DM or even research and as such agencies need to develop their offers in that area.

It’s true that some traditional direct marketers may have to raise their game and “work smarter” to keep it an effective medium. But those who do will reap the rewards.

What are your predictions for the future of direct or social media marketing?

Is this the death of traditional direct marketing in Britain? is a post from the Alchemis New Business Blog

Unless you were living under a rock last year, you will know that the GLA invited creative agencies to pitch for the job of creating a new Brand For London -  very exciting!

Now I’m no expert, but whilst generating new business opportunities for various design agencies over the past two and a half years, I have gained a great deal of insight into the importance of good branding.

I’m very proud of my nation’s great capital, and naturally drawn towards good, clever design. So imagine my disappointment at the 2012 logo! I could moan until I am blue in the face on that subject, but that’s not the purpose of this blog.

What I do hope for is a brand that will represent London a little better than one that looks like the aftermath of Bagpuss meeting the business end of a bus.

A wise client once told me that the key to a good logo/brand is that it accurately represents the community or organisation – it must be clever, but serious. A humorous logo, for example, would be counterproductive in projecting a serious message.

Then again, he also told me that the best brands are memorable brands (good or bad). Perhaps that’s saying something that I can’t get that 2012 logo out of my head!

A brand for London is a post from the Alchemis New Business Blog

The AAR publishes its annual summary of pitch opportunities in 2009 and predictions for 2010. Key statements include:

• Number of new business pitches down by 21%
• Advertising reviews down by 20%
• Digital pitches suffered a 33% decline
• 24% less DM reviews
• Full service media pitches down by 24%

It could be argued that this is tantamount to scaremongering. I’m sure this is not the case, but on face value these are concerning figures and offer little optimism for recovery in 2010. However, if a step back is taken, previous figures are considered and everything is overlaid with common sense, there are certainly reasons to be optimistic for the right kind of agencies with the right kind of business development outlook and strategy.

To a degree, the figures should be taken with a pinch of salt. In January 2008, the AAR reflected on the figures from 2007, stating that direct marketing pitches were down by 47% from 2006. However, the likelihood is that, at the time of the digital boom, pitches were labelled as “digital” despite containing a heavy element of traditional direct mail. It transpired that direct marketing pitches increased by 10.4% in 2008. What does an “integrated” pitch get labelled as in the AAR statistics, as the make up of that pitch would differ each time? What is clear is that the pitch discipline waters are too muddied to develop any real insight or identify any true trends.

That said, the figures are interesting, but more in part, due to the fact that the pressures of 2009 forced marketing decision makers to review their actual pitch process rather than the agencies they used.

The pitch process is a long and laborious one and with increased pressure on time and resource, one that marketing departments could well do without. On top of that, in times of economic downturn, the client is king. Incumbent agencies will bend over backwards to retain an account and inevitably clients are able to drive down fees and demand more for their dollar.

However, if that were true across the board, there would be no new business opportunities and we know from our work and from our clients that this is not the case. There is no doubt that there has been a rise in the stock of small to medium sized agencies able to offer that “big agency” experience, but with the flexibility, cost-effectiveness and high service levels only a smaller agency can provide. Pitches involving this profile of agency may well fall outside of the AAR’s remit.

The AAR summary also rightly identifies that clients are moving agencies without pitching. For new business agencies and their clients, this signifies the Holy Grail. A core aim of any new business program is not predominantly to get agencies onto pitch lists (indeed, in some campaigns it is a key objective to avoid them). It is to get you and your agency in front of the right kind of prospective clients with the right kind of work and the right kind of budgets. If we can get you in early enough and we can work together to build that relationship, possibly undertaking smaller “test” projects on the way, the need for pitching is often negated. That is the beauty of a well handled, proactive cold calling approach. Often smaller agencies are involved in a pitch to “make up the numbers”, so why not push to develop that relationship and prove yourself before that review/pitch takes place.

A “back door” approach will ensure you are front of mind when reviews are happening and a good new business program will help you achieve this.

The benefit of the back door is a post from the Alchemis New Business Blog

I opened my copy of Marketing Week on the 18th December and I waited with bated breath to see what the predictions might be for 2010. As a sales professional, working for a new business agency, I have often found the predictions given by the magazine at the end of the year to be extremely useful when speaking to marketing prospects in January. Let’s face it, if you are going to call someone then you had better have done your research and being able to demonstrate forward insight really works with prospects.

Last year, ‘Marketing Week’ decided to opt out of a full-length feature giving an overview of the year and predictions for next. Instead, they focussed on a subject, which has been topical for some time – namely ‘the bruised relationship’ between marketers and procurement.

The article explains that ‘value’ will be the buzzword of 2010 as businesses continue to keep a close eye on budgets. This is something we can relate to as a business development agency when we speak to marketing prospects on the telephone. The message is clear, marketing spend is there but companies will have to ensure that they achieve good value for money when deciding which agency to appoint.

This year, procurement will play an increasing role in achieving good value for their business. This does not mean cutting costs but genuinely growing the business through a value added approach. It is true to say that marketers have tended to eye procurement through suspicious eyes in the past, but the need for both sides to work together is paramount. Also, an understanding of each other’s roles will go some way to achieving this.

I will certainly consider this argument and when I next get directed to a procurement department, rather than fearing that I won’t get anywhere, I will ask them what measures they are taking to ensure a good turnaround of agencies with the right experience.

We’d love to hear about your experiences with procurement departments.

Maximising the procurement channel for new business opportunities is a post from the Alchemis New Business Blog