Fueling Ad Agency New Business
To be more successful, you’ll need to be less accessible. Owners of small to midsize agencies are a key to new business. You must manage your time wisely. Learn to say “no” to the wrong requests and “yes” to the right ones. This reminds me of the following quote from Michael Hyatt, author of the New York Times […]
You may not be a fan of Jordan Zimmerman, but you will miss a lot of valuable lessons about new business if you neglect him. I volunteered to read and write a review of Zimmerman’s book, Leading Fearlessly. After I read it, my first thought was, agency owners are going to hate this book. They’ll never […]
There ARE strong numbers behind successful advertising, digital, media and PR agencies that are applicable to yours. Speaker, writer and ad agency consultant, David Baker led in a Fuel Lines’ webinar: “The New Business Metrics Behind a Successful, Growing Agency”. David speaks to, writes for, and consults with the marketing industry via ReCourses, Inc. He’s worked with 800 firms […]
Full service advertising agencies are filled with talented people but often lack specialists that have a much narrower focus of expertise. Consumers, brand marketers and marketing channels have changed and so has the traditional advertising agency. Smaller agencies often possess specialties and a nimbleness that allows them to adapt quickly to a rapidly changing marketing landscape. […]
Within just the next three to five years, social media is anticipated to rise from the least likely method for CEOs to connect with their audiences to the second highest method, just behind face-to-face interactions. I was recently speaking to a sold out event for the Nashville AMA on the dramatic changes brought upon business […]
Business development has undergone a major change. New business has historically been a problem for agencies. Most small to midsize agencies have no positioning and no point of differentiation. They look and sound the same. They are often treated as vendors because they lack a positioning of expertise. Most don’t have a target audience thus, […]
Are we who we pretend to be on social media? My wife and I were shopping at a local antique consignment shop over the weekend and came across this sign,“May your life someday be as awesome as you pretend it is on Facebook.” I had to laugh and took this picture to share, where else […]
Social media is a primary force that is redefining the role of the men and women who oversee the world’s largest companies. Brands no longer ignore social media. The importance of social media on business has dramatically escalated. We have moved through the “hype phase of social media when businesses felt compelled to participate because […]
Business development doesn’t have to be so hard for small to midsize agencies. I’ve spent almost my entire advertising career in business development. I can tell you from my experience that agencies are historically bad when it comes to marketing themselves. It’s as if they lose their marketing minds. They tend to forget the very […]
If you think social media is hard to comprehend – the answers may be in our past! I was reading an Ad Age aricle this morning, “Lee Clow on Advertising, Then and Now”. Ad Age has referred to Lee Clow as “advertising’s art director guru”. He was a personal friend of Steve Jobs for some thirty years. He’s known […]
For ad agencies that even have a new business plan, the majority fall short in its implementation.
How many annual planning meetings has your agency gone through to create a strategic marketing plan, only to have it fail in its implementation? Maybe this year, instead of focusing so much attention on the plan, use annual planning to create a dynamic process for execution.
Experience has taught me that successfully executing a new business strategy requires a system.… Continue reading
Most agencies have no plan for new business. They can’t express what they are selling or who they are selling it to.
For you to state that you want to “take your agency to the next level” is not a strategy, it’s a goal. A strategy is not your agency’s mission statement. Your marketing strategy is a plan of execution.
Goals, objectives and mission statements are all fine.… Continue reading
As part of my consulting work, I’m asked to review a lot of agency websites from a new business perspective. Recently, I had a request to review the website of a large ad agency in New York. I wasn’t surprised that I didn’t find a single testimonial from a happy client. A good number of agencies neglect to add this important component to their marketing mix.… Continue reading
The battle for new business has moved online.
You want to enlarge your agency’s online footprint to generate more leads.
These are some proven platforms:
It’s natural. We’re at the top and insulated. Our world consists of our employees, clients, vendors and the small, finite amount of time we get to spend with our friends and families.
Sure, it can be fun, exciting and rewarding. Hell, we wouldn’t do it otherwise. These are the highs.
But on the other hand, there are lows. And they get well, really low. In some cases, it seems you don’t have anyone to turn to.
Since 2007, I’ve preached that there was a new model for new business that made the existing model obsolete. Agencies needed a new approach to new business.
During the past decade, technology and the rise of social media changed how people communicated. This dramatically impacted business development. Prospects became self-sufficent. Any business information they wanted about a product or service became easily available online.… Continue reading
The atmosphere is often chaotic at most agencies. There are numerous interruptions and urgent requests throughout each day. It’s an environment that’s in a perpetual state of distraction. Working in this kind of climate is stressful. You’re constantly shifting from one task to the next.
In addition to agency our agency life, we’re now having to process an extreme amount of information daily.… Continue reading
Agency business development programs are often sales focused. They’re built around outbound, interruptive sales tactics that are designed to start engagements with prospective clients. The prospects have little, if any, awareness of the agency or how they’re different from their competitors.
Success in “selling the agency” is proving to be extremely difficult. And when business development isn’t successful, they think the sensible thing to do is to step-up outbound sales.… Continue reading
As any agency business development executive knows, it’s crucial to track decision-maker shifts in order to beat competitors to the pitch. First-time CMOs are one of the top new business triggers for agency changes, media shifts, and new marketing technology investments, as new hires tend to make changes within 3-12 months following their appointment.
First-time CMO hires signal that a company is making moves to bolster their marketing efforts, and also indicates a probable increase in spend in order to support these initiatives.… Continue reading
Through my experience working with hundreds of advertising, digital, media and PR firms, I’ve discovered how important it is for the agency owner to be the face of their company. Given the rise of social media, their personal brand story is as essential, or even more so, than the agency’s brand.
… Continue readingBeing the “face” of an agency is an intimidating role, and as a result, many owners and founders avoid the spotlight.
Michael Gass, Business Development Consultant | Speaker | Author of Fuel Lines
Fuel Lines provides new business resources for Advertising, Digital, Media and PR Agencies.
It has been rated among the top 100 marketing blogs in the world, according to Ad Age’s Power 150.
Since 2007, Michael has helped pioneer the use of social media, inbound and content marketing strategies specifically for agency new business.
Read more about Michael
An essential component to your agency's new business program is a prospective client data base.
In my opinion one of the most accurate online database of marketing and advertising decision makers is Winmo. I highly recommend them.
I'm Michael Gass, I'm an author, speaker and a new business consultant to advertising, digital, media and PR agencies.
Since 2007, I have helped pioneer the use of social media, inbound and content marketing strategies specifically for agency new business.
Fuel Lines is my social media 'home-base. It has been ranked among the top 100 marketing blogs in the world, according to Advertising Age’s, The Power 150.
Learn more about me