I’ve seen a lot of sensational headlines appealing to ad agency leadership claiming to offer a winning new business plan, and I wonder what that means. What constitutes a winning program? 100 leads in your inbox every day? 20 meetings every week? 10X your revenue in 30 days? Follow someone on LinkedIn, comment on their post, and get a prompt that turns your AI platform into a money-printing machine. So many agencies fall for these schemes. These too-good-to-be-true offers prey on agencies that desperately need new clients but struggle for a variety of reasons. So, the idea of a winning plan seems as nebulous as whiter whites or tastier cheese. Cheesy indeed.
I’ve reported in previous posts the state of agency new business wins across a diverse group of firms. Some as low as 10%, others as high as 75%, most in the 25% range. Are these winning new business programs? I’ve heard an agency president claim to win everything they pitch. Now that sounds like a winning new business plan to me. I then asked their new business lead, and the number is far less. But even at far less, that could qualify as a winning plan too.
In my view, the goal of any agency working on its new business program is to improve its winning. Dah! The steps to do so are no secret and pretty basic, yet agency owners still fall for the sensational. I have yet to find a silver bullet or magic beans. I haven’t seen a secret formula or a new, never-before-used breakthrough approach, as some might claim. If you have the beans, let me know. I’d like to refer some agencies to you. It’s always painful to hear owners recall bad experiences and money wasted on empty claims.
The agencies I have seen performing better than most execute the basics well. That doesn’t mean they never lose. It does mean they spend precious time and resources in the places that deliver the best results for them. They are great at saying no, focused and deliberate in what they pursue, and confident about what makes them different and why that matters. They are marketers applying proven marketing strategies, learning from their efforts, and continuously optimizing the basics.
To be honest, there are many exceptions to the success of new businesses. Agencies have found unique channels to engage, stunts to attract attention, partnerships that differentiate, and other effective ways to improve their odds. But these are, for the most part, one-off tactics. They are hard to scale and rarely succeed when others try. They arise from unique circumstances that are hard to replicate elsewhere. Agency leaders have shared their experiences trying to recreate the formula others have profited from with disappointing results and have returned to the basics.
The majority of agencies, large and small, can improve their winning program by following the basic tenets of marketing, the things they do so well for their clients. The hardest part by far is differentiation. It is the hardest task for any brand in any category. Many agencies I speak with believe they are different from their peers, but their prospects do not. I surveyed those prospects, and they told me again and again how many agencies contact them that don’t seem any different than the hundreds before. It is no different than laundry detergent or cheese. All the brands clean your clothes or satisfy your hunger. You’ve worked hard with your client to separate their detergent brand from the pack. Why not do it for yourself?
Don’t get me wrong. With roughly 50,000 agencies offering essentially the same benefits to skeptical marketers, the task of differentiating is tough. Some agencies have been able to solve it themselves, while others seek outside help. I provide that help, as do many other great consultants, firms, and resources. In fact, there are agencies that focus exclusively on helping agencies in this way. And, the best ones start with the brand and how to differentiate it. Those who start with a phone bank or an email blitz are essentially doing the same thing over again, expecting different results. When you know what your difference is, you’ll be more successful on the phone or with email. Before you do anything, figure out your difference in a way that will matter to those who will listen.
The benefit of differentiation impacts every other part of the business development process. When you know why you are different, you will better understand who your difference will appeal to and who it won’t, shaping your prospect list into higher probability opportunities. Knowing what makes you different and who that difference matters to makes it easier to know what to say or what content to share, and how to pitch more wins. Now that is what I call a winning new business program – today, tomorrow, and far into the future of a growing agency.
Happy Hunting!
I’ve got more advice on how to make your business development efforts more effective and would enjoy sharing what I know. If you like this post, sign up for my new business newsletter. Find me on LinkedIn for daily tips, tricks, and insights. And, please feel free to reach out at any time. #LetsGrow!
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