Change the Rules of Competition for Ad Agency New Business

Michael Gass Ad Agency new business

Instead of trying to figure out how to beat your competitors, a smart strategy looks to change the rules of competition altogether.

A New Business Plan is Just a Plan Until It’s Executed

Execution is the battleground that determines success or failure. 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 […]

A Plan for Ad Agency New Business in 3 Simple Steps

A Plan for Ad Agency New Business

Having a written marketing plan makes new business easier and much more consistent. 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 […]

Your Personal Brand is Key for Ad Agency New Business

Your Personal Brand and Ad Agency New Business

Developing your personal brand is one of the best investments you can make for new business. 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 […]

Best Practices of Highly Social CEOs for Ad Agency New Business

Social Media and Ad Agency Owners

Agency owners should be part of a “New Group of Executives” that are using social media to attract clients, generate exposure for their companies and acquire new business. The importance of social media on business has dramatically escalated. It is a primary force that is redefining the role of the men and women who oversee […]

Revise Your Ad Agency’s Website for New Business

a website for ad agency new business

Your website’s key role is to generate business for the firm Research shows websites influence 97% of clients’ purchasing decisions.  I’ve often said that agencies are in a perpetual state of re-branding and re-designing their websites. Neither should be so difficult. A website is an important online platform to showcase your agency’s credentials, capabilities and case […]

Report: Thought Leader Survey for Ad Agency New Business

Ad Agency New Business Survey

Most agencies have an active new business plan but 67% of responders don’t view their program as successful. “When it comes to new business, it’s important that agencies never become complacent, even when times are good. In order to nurture and grow a vibrant agency, there must be a steady stream of new business opportunities […]

Successfully Executing a New Business Strategy Requires a System

A System for Ad Agency New Business

A plan is just a plan until it’s executed. Execution is the battleground that determines success or failure. According to the RSW/US survey report, 66% of agency execs stated their new business hire was unsuccessful because the person lacked a methodology. How many annual planning meetings has your agency gone through to create a strategic new business plan only to […]

8 Primary Problems for Ad Agency New Business

Problems for Ad Agency New Business

  Agencies have lots of problems when it comes to new business. Almost my entire career in advertising was spent in business development. I’ve been a consultant to advertising, digital, media and PR firms for over ten years. I’ve worked one-on-one with over 270 agencies. From my experience, new business is becoming more complex and […]

The Strategy and Tools the Top Ad Agencies Use to Win New Business

new business training for ad agencies

Only 26% of agency new business directors are viewed as successful. According to the same agency-marketer report, the tenure of a new business director is 2 years or less  To help better understand why agency new business executives are struggling and what they can do about it, I wanted to share a recent Webinar,“Selling Less to Win More […]

Social Media Isn’t Working for Ad Agency New Business

social media and ad agency new business

 

If your agency’s social media participation isn’t developing new business leads, it’s important to know WHY. 

From my experience, most agencies finally got on board with social media in 2010. They created their agency’s blog, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram accounts and jumped in.

70% of marketers report that social media marketing delivers poor or average return on investment.

Many agencies thought that by merely having a social media presence, it would give them social media credibility.… Continue reading

Ad Agencies Need Systems to Consistently Produce Leads

Systems for Ad Agency New Business

Believe it or not, most small to midsize agencies are not organized to consistently generate leads.

Agency life is chaotic. Too much to do; to little time. The answer to this problem is to work smarter not harder by creating SYSTEMS for new business.

A system is a set of detailed methods, procedures and routines created to carry out a specific activity, perform a duty, or solve a repeated business issue.

Business development doesn’t have to be so difficult.… Continue reading

7 Benefits from the Right Positioning for Ad Agency New Business

seven benefits of ad agency positioning

The FOUNDATION of an ad agency’s new business program is its positioning.

When you have the right positioning it’s like fishing for a specific fish with  a particular bait. You know where the fish are, what bait is appealing to them, the right equipment to use and you have developed the expertise to catch the real trophies.

“By appealing to everyone, brands end up appealing to no one.  Standing for everything is the same as standing for nothing.” 

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How to Create Your Personal Brand Story for Ad Agency New Business

Michael Gass Ad Agency New Business

I’ve learned the importance of creating my personal brand story when I launched my own consultancy a decade ago. I had led new business for a number of advertising agencies before deciding to start my own consulting firm. This could have easily been one of the worst decisions of my life.

My advertising career had been spent working in only two markets, outside of Birmingham, Alabama and Nashville, Tennessee, I had zero awareness. Little did I know that I was about to start my new business at the beginning of one of the longest economic downturns since the Great Depression.… Continue reading

An Idea Platform for Ad Agency New Business

A New Business Idea Platform for Ad Agencies

Ideasicleˣ: The First Advertising SaaS Platform For Virtual Creativity.

If timing is everything, then Ideasicleˣ is the poster child. Just when the world closes down due to Covid-19, a platform arrives that helps accelerate creativity through remote work. I was intrigued enough with the concept, particularly as a new business idea machine, to reach out to its founder, Will Burns, to learn more about it.

“What the world needs now are ideas. Lots and lots of ideas.”

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Panic is Not a Strategy for Ad Agency New Business

Panic is not strategy for ad agency new business

How to implement sales intelligence for agency growth.

No one opens an advertising agency because they have a passion for sales. That’s why many agencies only have one dedicated new business specialist or include it in the laundry list of owner responsibilities. By not prioritizing additional revenue opportunities, it only gets done when work is slow or the worst happens.

Maybe your biggest client leaves and now a significant chunk of your annual revenue is gone.… Continue reading

Tips for Working from Home for Agency New Business

Home Office Ad Agency New Business

Your number one objective should be to maintain, if not increase, your engagement with prospects.

I’ve been working from home for almost thirteen years, but many of you are working from home for the first time. You’re having to adjust to a new work environment that includes kids, spouses, and pets. You’re probably having to develop new skills to successfully work remotely. The last thing you’re probably thinking about is new business.

But just because your environment has changed, doesn’t mean your commitment to growing your agency should change.… Continue reading

Great Onboarding: The Secret to 88% Employee Retention

employee retention ad agencies

How to cut employee turnover in half.

This is a guest article written by John Paul Strong, the owner of the Birmingham-based advertising agency, Strong Automotive Merchandising.  John Paul has developed a very robust onboarding process that I wanted him to share with you.

Their original roster of 10 employees and eight clients has exploded today, growing to more than 115 full-time employees and 250 automotive dealers. And it hasn’t gone without notice. Strong Automotive Merchandising has been recognized as a perennial winner in Birmingham’s Best Places to Work contest and as a Top 20 Agency among Google’s National Ad Partners.… Continue reading

Change the Rules of Competition for Ad Agency New Business

Michael Gass Ad Agency new business

“You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to step away from the shore” – Nobel Prize-winning author André Gide.

I read an insightful article on why the focus of a company’s (agency’s) business strategy should not be upon its competitors. The article was written by Gabor George Burt, internationally recognized expert on innovation, creativity and strategy development, and the author of the book, Slingshot.

Burt states,

“In today’s marketplace, I would argue that doing something unprecedented is not just adventurous but imperative … eliminating competition by trying to beat it is dangerously shortsighted.

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Positioning is the Foundation for Ad Agency New Business

positioning for ad agency new business

Without a differentiated position, new business is much harder than it needs to be. 

Many small to midsize agencies have not addressed positioning because of either procrastination or, more likely, their unwillingness to make the difficult business decisions.

“Contrary to common belief, all agencies have pretty much the same basic capabilities, and processes. They all claim to have proprietary tools, and they may have different labels for what they do, but the approach is essentially the same at big or small agencies.”

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