Fueling Ad Agency New Business
Believe it or not, most small to midsize agencies have no consistent process for generating online leads. Business development doesn’t have to be so difficult. With a little forethought and the creation of simple steps and processes, you can create a system that will make it much easier to kick-start your online leads. Here are […]
Those charged with new business often neglect to plan their work and work their plan. Agencies are great at analyzing and planning for their clients. But, when it comes to planning for their own new business they balk. It is strange, but often occurrence. When an agency starts focusing on themselves, it causes their marketing minds to […]
A “Brand” New Day for Agencies It’s a new day for agencies and for clients. Agencies have been notorious for not creating their own articulated brand, but today we all need a differentiated brand just like our clients. You can “do” a lot of things, but you can only be “famous” for one thing. Agencies […]
The Levitan Pitch. Buy This Book. Win More Pitches. is the most comprehensive guide for developing a winning pitch management system that I have ever read. Pitching for new business is costly. A lot of time, money and morale are lost because of poor decisions, bad planning and a lack of adequately managing the pitch process. […]
Content marketing is the fuel for an inbound marketing strategy for new business, if done the right way. It is now one of the most effective tactics to attract prospective clients, build their trust and gain a positioning of expertise. According to a research report by DemandGen, from a B2B buyer survey, 82% of surveyed senior […]
Timing is critical when it comes to engaging with your social media audience. To increase the Click-Through-Rate of your article links and boot your website traffic, you need to be posting and tweeting at the best times. Figuring out the best times to post, you’ll need to consider such as the time zones where your best prospects […]
Give your presentations LIFE rather than SUCKING THE LIFE out of your audience. I’ve been speaking publically for more than three decades. Last year, I spoke at conferences, seminars and workshops in over 43 different cities. I’m still a student who continually wants to improve. Presentations are very time consuming and require a lot of hard work. I […]
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, […]
Learn how to accelerate your agency’s positioning, inbound lead generation, network and referral business. Since 2007, I’ve conducted over 200 new business workshops for agencies in North and South America and Europe. No matter what country, I find there are some common problems when it comes to business development that makes it harder than it needs […]
Profiling ensures you’re deploying your time, energy and resources on high probability targets. The advertising industry has dramatically changed over the past five years. This change has had a tremendous impact on lead generation and prospecting. The power has shifted to decision-makers due to the vast amount of information found online. Instead of chasing new […]
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