New Business wins in a Challenging Market

I am an agency man, always have been. I’ve made the odd foray client
side but only to be further reminded that everything about me is
agency…I love the variety, the relationship building and actually when
it comes down to it, I love serving my clients, their businesses, their
brands.

I have been so very lucky to work for so many different clients and
alongside so many brilliant people in my own and in partner agencies
across all agency disciplines. We all share that same commitment to
providing a service that only good agencies and good agency people can
provide. There is a genuine pride in what we can add to our clients’
endeavours but of course with that come all sorts of issues.

As I offer my experience in this area to fellow agency people, I am
acutely aware of how tough it is out there for the mainstay of my client
base, the agencies with less than £1m turnover and those who experience
more than the larger agencies the change in temperature and the gale
force winds that blow about them following the ups and downs of the past
few years.

Key Insights from the Benchpress Survey

The 13th edition of the excellent Benchpress survey run by the Wow
Company (who if you don’t know them are an accountancy practice who
specialise in agencies) surveys nearly 700 agency owners in the sub £1m
fee income bracket. In case you haven’t had a chance to read it let me
give you the slightly scary headlines….

• 2023 was a brutal year for agencies, almost as bad as the first COVID year in 2020. Only 52% grew fee income.
• Agencies had to make tough resourcing decisions, with 50% reducing staff/freelancers at some point.
• Operating profit trended downwards.
• The biggest challenges are winning new business, working too much IN vs ON the business, cash flow and profitability.

It’s not news that things are tough. There is always a challenge to face
as an agency owner although of course we’d rather have too much growth
than not enough although that too can be a headache (another subject for
another article)

The Challenge of Winning New Business While Managing the Business

The thing that stands out most from this report is the challenge of
winning new business while managing the business that is now more
important than ever in the agency. This together with the assertion that
Agency leaders are spending ever more time IN the business rather than
ON the business is a real headache.

The other thing that can compound all this is the time it takes for a
client to respond as part of the new business process. My friends in the
PR sector report this as particularly galling at the minute but its
reflected everywhere in agency land…

So…what to do when you need that new business, you can’t let quality
slip in the way you approach it, but you simply don’t have the time as
you are so busy in the business?

Auditing Your New Business Process

All situations, all agencies and indeed all clients are unique, and it
really is a question of adapting to each situation but an audit of not
just what you present or how you present it but what you ask for from
your potential clients is really valuable…

Some things to think about – How do you do them now and how could you
enhance them?

Before Everything, be Demanding!

Too often we are nervous to put pressure on our potential clients to commit to anything before they are err…committed, and this is endemic in an industry where we are trained to put so much of ourselves, our people, our creativity into our pitches, a lot of the time fully formed campaigns appear in the pitch with no payment given or even expected. This leads us to feel bad to demand from our potential clients but demand we must…demand their attention, their response, and their commitment. After all you’re worth it!

Set Clear Expectations and Timelines

No wooliness here! Communicate the key milestones in the decision-making process pre during and post pitch. Create a sense of urgency and momentum and this will encourage clients to make timely decisions.

Laser sharp proposals

It’s all about the client and answering their brief….less grand plan more short, clear, engaging is a good rule of thumb! Help clients quickly understand the value you offer and make it the ‘only’ sensible choice for their budget.

Offer a Phased Approach

Sometimes, clients may hesitate to commit to a full-scale engagement right away. How do you offer a way to engage that gets them into your family as quickly as possible? There are lots of options depending on the scope of the account.

Social Proof and testimonials are great – but don’t go mad.

People want to know you’re good but they want to know more about your capabilities as applied to them rather than the impressive but irrelevant jobs you’ve done for others…make your boasting sharp, strong and choose relevant case studies rather than just your best ones!

Apropos – I have a particular horror of agency show reels that are beautifully produced but offer nothing more than endless quick cuts of your work…I will write about this in another article!

Don’t be scared to follow up and follow up and follow up.

Keep your agency top of mind – do it in the charming way that comes naturally and be the proactive force the client will want to be when you’re working for them. I am minded of a story that I think is genuine of the PR legend Matthew Freud who used to waltz into client meetings and just confront them to hire his agency because they were “F*&^ing good” Imagine getting your agency to the point where your fame was this effective in getting new business!

What now?
If you’d like to discuss audits, new business, pitching or perhaps laugh about how “clients really are something else aren’t they?” then why not book an intro chat? We could have coffee ( if in Brighton ), shoot the breeze and get into all the good stuff….no sales, no obligations just chat….

because I’m F*&^ing good.