The role of the agency new business executive is the riskiest position due a dramatic change in the way business is acquired and the skills rainmakers need to make it happen.
Business development has been dramatically altered. There are many people who have done this job in the past who do not know how to do it well now.
The average tenure of an agency business development director is now as low as two years. At large agencies it can be even less than a year.
According to the Agency-Marketer Business Report from RSW/US, only 26% of new business directors were viewed as successful.
New business is now much more difficult that ever. The Great Recession and the empowerment of prospects through social media moved the battle for new business primarily online. Instead of chasing new business, it is now more important to be found. Interruptive type tactics such as cold calls, email blasts and direct mail have become ineffective and inefficient.
Before hiring someone responsible for your agency’s new business efforts, in addition to understanding their traditional new business expertise, you should be explore what they really know about the following:
1. How to build an online community of prospects
The battle for new business has moved online. Community development is now an indispensable in marketing your agency. Knowing how to build an online audience has become an important skill-set for those charged with agency new business.
Agencies must understand there should be a significant shift in their thinking and embrace audience building as an important initiative. Audience development is now a function that should come before business development.
Many agencies struggle with building an online community. A good number of agencies have the attitude that “if I build it, they will come” but that isn’t the case. To have success, it must be done the right way.
Here’s a crucial tip for building your online community of prospects: Stop trying to sell your agency. It’s not about touting your credentials, capabilities and case studies. You will never build an online audience without providing value to your audience.
2. How to provide a direct connection to your agency’s brand leader
Provide a Direct Connection to Your Agency’s Brand Leader
Your skills and experience in social media has become very important. Social media provides a much more efficient way of reaching prospects than the interruptive type tactics of the past.
Prospective clients expect to have direct connections to the agency’s brand leader as its spokesman and chief. For the small to midsize agency, the owner is critical to new business. The task of the person charged with new business should provide the strategies, tactics and tools to help the agency owner to become the face of the agency.
PEOPLE want to work with other PEOPLE that they know, trust and like.
The mix of the owner’s personal brand with a prospective client community can be powerful. With it, you will help your agency acquire more new business.
3. How to create a niche for new business
Creating and maintaining agency new business is often harder than it should be because one key ingredient is often missing. You must solve the problem of positioning. Positioning is the foundation for new business. Most agencies are fearful of it. It is the area that many agencies have not addressed because of either procrastination or more likely, their unwillingness to make the difficult business decisions.
Since 2007 I’ve prescribed creating a niche blog for agency new business and have helped create over 200 personal blogs for agency principals.
A personal blog can provide small to midsize agency owners with a perfect platform to create positioning of expertise and appeal to a very specific target audience. It’s like a fishing expedition. You fish for a specific fish with a particular bait, you fish away from the boat (the agency’s website) so you don’t scare off the fish.
Recently, a small agency won a significant national account through their niche blog, www.thestorestarters.com. Sheehy + Associates has been awarded the business of helping to launch 22 new stores for Burlington Coat Factory last year. This is what a niche blog can do for your agency.
Here are some additional examples:
- Sound Marketing: Helping Music Brands Be Heard
- Fire Support: Aerospace and Defense Marketing
- Marketing to Farmers
- Health Craze: Marketing Healthy Foods to Families
- Social Worth: How to Inspire Action for Social Profitability
- Pin Point for Health, Branding for the Greater Good
Email me if you would like a copy of my Seven Steps for Fueling New Business Through Social Media. It is an outline and guide for implementing an inbound marketing program for your agency.
photo credit: Diann Bayes Bandera Rodeo in Bandera, Texas via photopin (license)
Michael
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