Proposals Archives - Ben Potter

How your weak positioning shows up in the sales process

Ben Potter2024-11-14T16:59:31+00:00

How your weak positioning shows up in the sales process

Recently, a question came to mind: have agencies conditioned themselves to accept the symptoms of weak positioning as ‘normal’?

And if so, what are these symptoms, particularly where the sales process is concerned?

While you mull that over for a moment, let’s just ensure we’re on the same page with the ‘P’ word. I describe positioning as what you do, why and most importantly, for whom. It brings together your expertise, interests and values to solve a problem (or set of problems) for a discrete audience, thus making your agency distinctive and memorable.

We’ve become somewhat fixated on ‘positioning’ in agency land (me included). But what we really mean is strategy. They are one and the same if you ask me. As such, if you claim to ‘work with businesses of all shapes and sizes’, or you mistake hygiene factors for points of difference (‘transparent’, ‘results-focused’, ‘passionate’, etc), some might say your positioning is a bit crap.

But I’d go further; it actually demonstrates a lack of strategic nous (which is kind of ironic if you also happen to offer ‘strategy’ as a service to your clients).

Anyway, to the main crux of this blurb: small agencies with weak positioning tend to find new business tough. Year after year, it’s cited as your number one challenge. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule. I know agencies with laughably poor positioning doing very well for themselves. But for every high-flying generalist, there are fifty others where the process of acquiring new clients – consistently – is a bit of a slog.

Yet, interestingly, agencies don’t always see it that way. ‘Slog? No mate, that’s just how it is, right?’

Back to ‘normal’…are you sure?

The last few years have been quite the rollercoaster – Brexit, global pandemic, great resignation, cost-of-living crisis, sluggish economy and the arrival of AI. It’s been one thing after another. So much so, it’s hard to remember the last time we had a ‘normal’ year.

Each event has, of course, presented its challenges. But they have also resulted in monumental (and, in my view, broadly positive) changes to how and where we work, for example.

But there is one area where not much seems to have changed: the sales process.

Yes, we’ve all learnt to run sales meetings virtually. AI is helping make aspects of selling more efficient (although not necessarily more effective). And we can collaborate on pitch decks with colleagues on the other side of the world, no problem.

But leaving these fairly marginal gains aside, has the sales process really changed that much?

Not from where I’m standing.

Sub-standard briefs are still being fired out to agencies. Consultative sales skills are still in short supply. Proposals are still put together and fired over by email without a second thought. And, of course, ghosting is ever-present.

So, what to do?

Well, we could throw our toys out of the pram and blame those pesky clients for their rubbish briefs, unreasonable demands and disappearing acts. But this doesn’t stand up to scrutiny because, over many years, agencies have inadvertently schooled these behaviours in clients.

Which means we are left with one alternative: to be the grown-up, take responsibility and make change happen ourselves.

But to do this, a large proportion of agencies (83% to be exact) need to start by addressing the root cause of their sales woes: weak positioning.

So, circling back to my original thought, let’s take a look at how weak positioning shows up in the sales process; symptoms you might accept as ‘normal’…but they don’t have to be:

1. You rarely say ‘no’

Without defining a discrete audience you have limited criteria to qualify if a prospect is a good fit for your agency. So, pretty much any prospect is considered a good fit.

This can manifest itself in various ways but perhaps the most telling is your website. The ‘experience’ section has twenty pages, each one dedicated to a different vertical where you claim to be experts (in an agency of ten people…are you sure?).

Ironically, this misguided attempt to make yourself attractive to the widest possible range of prospects has the opposite effect. Educated clients aren’t looking for generalists. They are looking for agencies with deep expertise. Those twenty sector pages dilute your credibility.

2. You frequently bend the narrative

You find yourself changing your proposition to suit what the prospect wants to hear. Yesterday, you were experts in ecommerce. Today, it’s financial services. You scratch around for relevant case studies. Hidden deep on the shared drive is some work you did for a failed start-up in 2013. Use ChatGPT to summarise the latest Fintech trends, stick them in a creds deck and hey presto, you’re an expert.

As David C Baker says in The Business of Expertise, even if you win the business, the client is effectively paying you to learn on the job. Maybe you’re cool with being a ‘fake expert’. I’m not so sure.

3. You take the brief at face value

What a client thinks they want and what they actually need can be quite different.

So embrace a prospect’s brief but accept it’s going to have holes in it. A prospect who truly values your expertise will be open to answering your questions and exploring different ideas or approaches.

But with weak positioning, you lack the deep expertise to challenge the brief. Therefore, you’re more likely to accept their version of events and rush headlong into writing a proposal (bypassing critical conversations in the sales process, as a result).

4. You don’t push back on the prospect’s process

You don’t want to fill in that 15-page RFI document, but you have no leverage.

You’d like to speak to other stakeholders, but you have no leverage.

You want to say ‘no’ when they ask for a proposal by Friday (it’s Thursday), but you have no leverage.

The sales process should be collaborative. But the prospect tends to dictate the term of engagement.

When your expertise is truly valued, the opposite can be true. You are more likely to be able to lead (or at least influence) the process. And that matters. According to Blair Enns, ‘winning firms are almost ten times more likely to have significantly affected the buying process than losing firms.’

5. You offer a solution before the client has paid for it

A few years ago, I had an extension built. The process started by spending a couple of hours with an architect to explore our requirements. We were satisfied to move forward, which meant paying her some money. Not in a million years would I have asked her to do the drawings as part of the sales process. But neither did I need to; she had demonstrated through her related experience and expertise that she was the right fit for the job. She didn’t need to do the actual work to prove it.

With weak positioning, the opposite is true. Lacking enough relevant content, case studies and testimonials, your only option is to demonstrate your ‘expertise’ by coming up with the solution as part of the sales process. With no guarantee the client will buy the strategy, idea or design you’ve laboured over.

And you do all of this for free.

Nuts, right?

6. You share rate cards and granular fee breakdowns

I was once asked by a prospect to share a detailed breakdown of a PPC quote. I duly obliged and won the business. I soon wished I hadn’t.

The spreadsheet I shared detailing tasks, hours and fees became the basis of the relationship. Instead of focusing on the great results we were delivering, the weekly call was an interrogation of how every minute had been spent on the account. It was utterly demoralising for the team.

Agencies have inadvertently trained clients to buy services in this way (based on inputs). And because they want to compare apples to apples, you’re asked to share (what should be) commercially sensitive information about your agency.

Your weak positioning makes it more likely the client is buying on price. And therefore, you’ll have no option but to hand over the apples.

7. You regularly discount

When reviewing a proposal for a new client, I noticed a 10% discount had been applied to the fees. When I asked why, I was taken aback with the reply:

“We know clients are going to ask for it so to make things easier we just apply it upfront”.

Eek.

Weak positioning means it’s more likely you’ll be asked (and to some extent forced) to reduce your fees to win the business. It doesn’t matter how passionate you are about their brand. It doesn’t matter how many awards you’ve won. It doesn’t matter how good you say your people are. A prospect won’t pay a premium for something they can buy from ten, similar-looking agencies just down the road.

And value-based pricing? Good luck with that.

8. Your win rate is around 25%

Agency owners are often surprised when I tell them they should be aiming for a +70% conversion rate (from proposal to win).

Why so high? Because when agencies define a discrete audience where their expertise is best applied (and use this ‘ideal client profile’ to qualify prospects), they are better placed to separate those who fit from those who don’t. And spot the serious prospects amongst the timewasters.

Furthermore, they seek to establish this early, way before putting pen to paper on a proposal.

As such, they pitch less to win more.

With weak positioning, you pitch more to win less. A 25%-win rate is considered good. But just think of all the hours wasted on the 75% that don’t go anywhere.

Making the abnormal, normal

Weak positioning isn’t entirely to blame for all that happens during a typical sales process. Other factors are at play that I won’t go into now. But, over many years, agencies have inadvertently given clients the upper hand. And it’s going to take time to redress the balance.

To do that, one of the most powerful things you can do is to narrow your focus. Specialise in solving a specific problem for a discrete audience. Have a point of view. And ditch the clichés.

By doing so, you’re twice as likely to achieve fast growth (increase in fee income of 26%+) and high profitability (gross profit of 61%+).*

If those numbers sound abnormal to you, address the root cause.

You might just find that winning more business, on your terms, becomes your new normal.

*Benchpress report 2024.

How your weak positioning shows up in the sales processBen Potter2024-11-14T16:59:31+00:00

Do you win new business by accident or design?

Ben Potter2024-11-14T16:18:36+00:00

Do you win new business by accident or design?

OK, ‘by accident’ might be a slight exaggeration; new clients don’t just stumble through the front door like a drunk 40-something after one too many (obviously not referring to myself here).

My point is that whilst most agencies win their fair share of new business, it’s not necessarily the ‘right’ business. ‘Right’ is a subtle, but strategically important, distinction to make, defined as clients matching an agency’s specialist expertise, interests, beliefs and values.

So, why do agencies often end up in bed – nursing a nasty hangover – with clients not fitting these criteria?

Well, in my experience, it’s because new business just isn’t given the same level of focus and attention as, say, operations or account management. Policies, processes and templates are aplenty across these disciplines, but new business – despite its obvious importance – lacks similar intent and rigour.

But what does this look like?

Well, in my humble opinion, winning the ‘right’ clients, by design, is evident when…

1. Positioning (or should I say ‘strategy’) sets the agenda

According to the latest Benchpress report, you’re twice as likely to achieve fast growth (increase in fee income of 26%+) and high profitability (gross profit of 61%+) with a clear specialism or niche.

Yet, despite the benefits of narrow positioning, just 17% of respondents describe their agency as having a specialism or niche.

Crazy, eh?

In agency-land, we’ve become fixated on the word ‘positioning’ (me included). But what we really mean is ‘strategy’. They are one and the same.

As such, agencies winning the right clients (by design) have a sound business strategy, defining what they do, for whom and how (and, just as importantly, what they don’t do). As a result, they find everything else layering up from this strategic foundation a great deal easier.

If, on the other hand, you claim to ‘work with businesses of all shapes and sizes’, it might highlight poor positioning.

But I wonder if you’d take the ‘P’ word more seriously if it was reframed as also demonstrating a systematic failure of strategy.

2. You have a small set of services to sell

In the aforementioned Benchpress report, the average number of services offered by sub-million turnover agencies was eleven. ELEVEN! For me, the ratio of headcount to services just doesn’t stack up; can an agency of say, fifteen people, really excel at so many things?

A well-designed approach to new business is evident when you offer a fairly small, complementary set of services. Better still, you combine services or disciplines to create ‘solutions’ or ‘programs’, aligned to the specific problems you solve and the strategic outcomes you impact.

Compare this to the agency with a long shopping list of commoditised services, some of which were made up on the fly just to satisfy a brief.

3. Your marketing isn’t a stab in the dark

Have you ever tried writing a marketing plan to target ‘businesses of all shapes and sizes? No, me neither. Because it’s impossible. So in the absence of a credible plan, you chuck bucketloads of marketing mud at the wall, hoping some might stick.

Or you become easily distracted by the latest ‘silver bullet’, such as the guy on LinkedIn promising ‘20 qualified meetings a month with his innovative use of AI’. Whatever mate.

Creating the ‘right’ opportunities by design is evident when an agency has absolute clarity in how they should invest their marketing budget. Decisions on what to write about, events to attend, awards to enter and so on are straightforward (due to the strategic decisions highlighted in point 1).

4. You make things happen

Even with great positioning and laser-focused marketing, your dream client is unlikely to just land in your lap (not in the short term anyway).

In my agency days, we received a handful of ‘on the money’ inbound leads each year. Otherwise, it was initiative, resourcefulness and patience that got us in front of the brands we wanted to talk to.

As such, new business by design includes proactive relationship building and lead nurturing, underpinned with a CRM. Most importantly, these activities are always on, irrespective of how busy things get with client work or other distractions. I bore myself saying it, but consistency in execution is the closest you can get to a silver bullet in this game.

Compare this to the agency relying almost solely on referrals. With no control over lead volume or quality, the rollercoaster of feast and famine is ever-present.

5. You say ‘no’ just as often as you say ‘yes’

Agencies approaching new business with intent communicate publicly what their ideal client looks like; a prospect spending two minutes on their website can quickly conclude if they are a good fit, leading to better quality inbound enquiries.

But that doesn’t mean every enquiry is a good enquiry. Their ideal client profile (ICP) acts as a qualifying framework, making the early stages of the sales process more efficient. They say ‘no’ early and often (and enjoy doing so), taking the long view over any short-term, financial benefit.

The opposite is true when a prospect visits your website only to conclude you look and sound the same as everyone else. But they reach out anyway, inviting you to be part of a beauty parade where cost is likely to be their main selection criteria. And despite your reservations, you say ‘yes’.

6. You have the leverage to lead the sales process

When you end up in bed with the wrong client, it’s often because they set the terms of engagement during the sales process. From unrealistic pitch deadlines to fully worked-up design ideas, the prospect says ‘jump’, you say, ‘how high?’. With each concession, you tip the balance of power in their favour.

An agency with a well-designed approach to new business – from positioning to proposals – will show up in the sales process differently. Their specialist expertise provides leverage to lead (or at least influence) the sales process and therefore push back on unreasonable demands or practices that work against their interests.

For example, they’re more likely to gain access to key stakeholders, which is proven to significantly increase the likelihood of winning an opportunity. And they have the deeper know-how, experience, and gravitas to challenge assumptions, ask insightful questions and share unique insights.

All of which leads to a more equal balance of power from the outset.

7. Your proposal is a confirmatory document

Building on the point above, agencies with a well-designed sales process use a proposal to succinctly describe how they will solve the prospect’s problem once they become a paying client, rather than give away the solution (e.g., strategy, creative ideas, etc) for free. Vitally, the proposal acts as confirmation of what has already been verbally agreed, rather than a ‘big reveal’.

Pricing (not ‘costs’, NEVER costs!) is based on outcomes, rather than inputs. And, where appropriate, three options are offered, something Blair Enns talks about here.

On the other hand, an inadequate approach to qualifying and discovery means you agree to write a proposal after a 15-minute intro call. You fire it over by email and hope for the best, only to never hear from the prospect again. I exaggerate for dark, comedic effect. But only a little bit.

Even if you do win the business, your quote broken down into a granular list of tasks and hours becomes the basis of the relationship. Instead of focusing on the impressive results you’re delivering, the client constantly interrogates how every minute is being spent on the account. It’s exhausting and demoralising. Trust me, I’ve been there.

8. You know your numbers

You’ve heard how sales ‘is a numbers game’, right? Well, this is both right and wrong depending on the context. Firing out thousands of generic outbound emails to anyone with a pulse; that’s not a numbers game, it’s a fools’ game. (Even if AI makes outbound more efficient, it doesn’t necessarily make it more effective).

Setting SMART new business objectives (and ensuring adequate resource is in place to meet them) is a numbers game. Tracking leads, first and second meetings, sales qualified opportunities, proposals and conversion rate, is also a numbers game. And using a pipeline weighting methodology to score your win probability, forecast new business revenue and assess the impact on capacity; yep, that’s a numbers game too.

When new business is designed, the accuracy of data and regular reporting ensure you can easily identify what is working / not working and focus your efforts accordingly.

9. New business is everyone’s business

Agencies approaching new business with purpose do so collaboratively. The responsibility for winning new clients doesn’t rest solely on the shoulders of one person. As such, internal communication and accountability rule, with clearly defined roles and responsibilities (playing to people’s strengths), along with documented guidelines and processes.

This means investing in training and coaching to help break down barriers and cast aside misconceptions. People only shy away from new business because they misunderstand it. But when you look at the breadth of skills required to promote the agency, build relationships and convert opportunities, everyone in the agency can (and should) play a role, This means successes are celebrated for what they are – a team effort – and losses commiserated likewise.

Compare this to a culture where business development and sales skills are misunderstood or underappreciated. It is more likely the agency lurches from one ‘quick fix’ to the next. A business developer is hired, expected to work miracles but find themselves out on their ear three months later – the agency owner failing to recognise they are just part of the solution. Not THE solution.

10. You don’t rest on your laurels

I speak to a lot of agency owners and business developers who mistake a winning streak for a winning approach to new business; they’ve won a few clients in a short space of time, they’re busy and all is good in the world.

But a couple of months later, the big project comes to an end, the pipeline is looking thin and they’re back to square one.

When new business is designed, the ‘machine’ never stops. Marketing, business development and sales are never nailed. Instead, there is a continuous cycle of ‘plan, do, review’, whilst also staying on top of business development and marketing trends by digesting content, upskilling and networking with peers.

Let’s wrap things up

You might be reading this thinking ‘we don’t tick a lot of these boxes, but we still win our share of new clients, you’re talking rubbish Ben’ (it wouldn’t be the first time).

I accept there are, of course, exceptions to the rule. I know agencies with laughably poor positioning, for example, who are absolutely smashing it.

But for many, this isn’t the case with 40% of agencies stating new business as their number one challenge in 2023, up from 27% in 2022.

So, if there’s ever a time to give marketing, business development and sales the attention it deserves, it’s now.

And what better place to start than by asking yourself…

Do you win the right clients by design?

Or the wrong ones by accident?

Do you win new business by accident or design?Ben Potter2024-11-14T16:18:36+00:00

Launching the Agency Business Development Scorecard

Ben Potter2022-05-11T16:11:24+00:00

Launching the Agency Business Development Scorecard

Are you looking for a quick and easy way to assess your agency’s business development capabilities?

Look no further, my friend.

I’m delighted to finally launch the ‘Agency Business Development Scorecard’ (I say ‘finally’ because it’s only been five years in the making!).

Anyway, what’s it all about?

Well, business development is consistently cited as one of the most pressing challenges for agency owners. Day to day, this reveals itself in a number of ways; inconsistency in lead quality / quantity, lack of control over the sales process, and revenue up and down like a yoyo (to name just three).

So whilst agency owners are only too aware of the symptoms, experience has taught me they don’t always understand WHY their business development function isn’t quite working.

That’s where the scorecard comes in. It’s a simple diagnostic tool to…

> Highlight what a high performing business development function looks like

> Uncover if (and why) your new business function is falling short

> Shine a light on gaps in your approach

It takes around 10 minutes to mark yourself against 45 statements, divided into three sections: positioning, opportunity creation, and your sales process.

At the end, you’ll receive a personalised report with a score for each section and a total score to indicate the ‘maturity’ of your business development function (along with an explanation of each score).

You can take the scorecard as often as you like. Have different stakeholders complete it to get a range of views on what’s working, what’s not, and where attention is needed. Or do it every six months or so to see how you are progressing.

A lot of work has gone into this (did I mention it’s been five years in the making?). But I didn’t do it alone. A number of agency owners and business developers were kind enough to review the scorecard as I was building it so I’d like to thank them all (too many to list) for their help.

Have a go and let me know what you think.

Launching the Agency Business Development ScorecardBen Potter2022-05-11T16:11:24+00:00

25 anecdotes from 5 years of advising agencies

Ben Potter2022-01-07T12:42:12+00:00

25 anecdotes from 5 years of advising agencies on business development

2016. What a year eh? The UK voted to leave the EU. England crashed out of the Euros to Iceland. And Trump became president. And in news that seemed to escape media attention – not so much as a mention in the Brighton Argus – I also moved on from the agency where I’d spent thirteen years as a Business Development Manager, Commercial Director and Board Member.

During that time, I learned a thing or two about business development. I enjoyed memorable successes. I made some monumental mistakes. And I faced many challenges. But ironically, I’ve learnt as much (maybe more) about the craft of business development during the last five years. I guess working across multiple agencies, reading (a lot) and avoiding the 101 other things you have to deal with as an agency Director, have played a part in that.

So, to the point of this article…a round-up of those learnings; themes and patterns observed during my work with around fifty agencies and in the conversations I’ve had with many more.

1. Business development is more difficult for most than I anticipated

Back in 2016, I suspected others faced similar challenges to those I’d wrestled with during my agency days. However, I wasn’t expecting so many to cite business development as their number one challenge.

2. All paths lead back to positioning

There are a number of reasons why business development is hard. But the most significant root cause is positioning.

Agencies with weak positioning – inward-facing (‘look at us, we’re brilliant), broad-brush (‘hey, we work with anyone’) and cliché-ridden (‘we’re a passionate, award-winning, full-service agency. Honest’) – tend to find business development more difficult.

There are exceptions to the rule, of course. I know agencies with laughably weak positioning doing very well for themselves. But for every high-flying generalist, there are fifty others finding business development a slog.

3. The symptoms of weak positioning have become normalised

Arms-length RFP processes. Prospects demanding a proposal by Friday (on Thursday afternoon!). Agencies giving away their ideas for free. Fees slashed to get the business over the line.

So much of this stuff is considered normal. It needn’t be. And fortunately, more agencies are seeing the light, challenging processes and behaviours that too often work against their interests.

4. The number one reason agency owners don’t narrow their focus…

…a fear of missing out; there is a natural tendency to think only about what they might lose, as opposed to what they will gain by specialising or niching.

5. The importance of purpose is over-inflated…I think (I’m still wrestling with it)

For most agencies, trouble winning new clients on a consistent basis is not because they lack a compelling ‘why’ (Simon Sinek style). It’s because they’ve failed to 1) define what the right client looks like; 2) build a proposition around this audience, and; 3) consistently execute a lead generation plan.

For some, purpose can be galvanising. For others, the relentless search for their ‘why’ can be an exhausting distraction.

6. Business development touches every other part of the agency

A conversation that starts with a lead generation issue quickly turns to one about positioning, culture, people and finance. Business development impacts, and is impacted by, all other functions of the agency, something that isn’t always understood or acknowledged.

As such, agencies under-invest in business development. It’s quite rare to find an agency that approaches it with the same level of intent as service delivery or account management, for example.

7. Peaks and troughs are born out of inconsistency

Many agencies are on a perpetual cycle of feast and famine. Busy one minute, panicking about how they’re going to fill the beer fridge the next.

Ups and downs are inevitable. But their size will hinge on an agency’s ability to execute the right lead generation tactics, consistently well. Always.

Sounds simple I know. But the reality is few agencies master this. The ones that do spend more time feasting and less time worrying about where the next meal is going to come from.

8. It all boils down to action

Sales, business development, new business, partnership marketing? Whatever you call it, the aim is the same: to continuously grow and nurture a network of on-profile prospects. That’s it.

In doing this, the only thing you can truly control is the actions you take – day in, day out, week in, week out. So, break tasks down into actions. Review and plan your actions weekly. Measure the % of actions you complete. Don’t drop below 85%. Do this on repeat and the big (sometimes scary) sales target will look after itself.

9. Impatience kills the right tactics before they have a chance to yield results

“What do you mean that webinar didn’t bring us any leads? Right, we’re not doing that again, what a waste of money.”

Sound familiar?

You run an event, for example, not because it will provide you with a bunch of ‘hot’ leads right now but because it puts you on the radar of people who might have a need in the future. Yet too many tactics like this are binned because of misplaced expectations and the wrong metrics.

I’ll leave it James Clear to sum up 8 and 9: ‘Be impatient with your actions. Be patient with your results.’

10. Referrals: more by accident than design

Referrals are the number one source of leads for most agencies. No news there. But it’s crazy how few agencies are proactively increasing the quantity and quality of referrals.

More worryingly, referrals are cited as justification not to invest in other activities. Talk about putting all your eggs in one basket. Worse, when you are, in effect, outsourcing lead generation – by hoping people will refer you – the basket isn’t even yours.

11. Outbound: simple in principle but rarely done well

I’ve spoken to hundreds of agencies. I can count on one hand the number that are proactively building relationships with prospects by phone, email and using LinkedIn, for example. And doing it well.

When it does happen, it tends to be a panicked reaction to an empty-looking pipeline. And therefore done badly.

12. For every agency that has good things to say about outsourcing lead gen…

…another ten say they got nothing from it.

But this is not to tarnish all lead generation agencies with the same brush. There are great ones out there. But there are also some who are happy to take the money and run.

If a lead generation agency doesn’t challenge you on your positioning, target audience, point of view, and content assets (amongst other things), you should be doing the running.

13. A career in business development is rarely planned

Not one person I’ve mentored set out to work as a business developer. But none of them regrets where they accidentally ended up, me included.

Thankfully, understanding and appreciation of business development is growing, helped by the likes of the BD100. But it still feels like we’ve got a way to go before it’s considered a career option by sixth formers and graduates…

14. …which is a problem because good business developers are in short supply

If you’ve got a good one, do your absolute utmost to keep them. Finding another won’t be easy.

15. Agencies (and clients) remain addicted to proposals and presentations

But they can’t do the selling for you.

So apply the following rule: a proposal or presentation should be confirmation of what you have already agreed verbally.

I haven’t pulled any stats together (note to self) but I know the agencies employing this approach – spending more time talking with prospects as part of a collaborative, exploratory process – have significantly increased their conversion rate.

16. When qualifying, most look for reasons why they SHOULD move forward…

But it’s better to identify all the reasons why you SHOULDN’T. It is a subtle but powerful shift in mindset. And it might just mean you waste less time on opportunities you stand little chance of winning.

17. People don’t like talking about money…

…especially early in the qualifying process. But this is exactly when you should be uncovering how much a prospect is willing and able to invest. If you don’t ask the awkward questions early, you’re setting yourself up to face objections later.

18. Average conversion rates hover around 30 – 40%…

…from proposal / pitch meeting to win.

Agency owners are often surprised when I tell them they should be aiming for a +70%. ‘Why so high?’ they ask? Because when an agency has a clear view of what the right client looks like (and therefore a framework to qualify against), they more easily separate those who fit from those who don’t. And spot the serious prospects amongst the timewasters.

And they work this out early, way before putting pen to paper on a proposal. As such, they pitch less to win more.

19. An agency owner cannot own business development AND be an effective leader

I’m yet to come across an agency that has broken a million with only the MD on business development and marketing. I’m sure they exist but suspect they are the exception, not the rule.

20. New business as everyone’s business? Easier said than done

The skills required to deliver a successful business development and marketing strategy are wide-ranging. So much so, one person cannot excel at them all. I’ve always believed business development should be a team effort; everyone in the agency can (and should) bring something to the party.

But creating this new business culture – where new business REALLY is everyone’s business – well, that’s tough. A misunderstanding (and therefore, fear) of ‘sales’, poor communication and the pressure of client work, are just three of the things holding agencies back in this respect.

21. Culture is created through shared values. Values are visible in behaviours

Sticking ‘innovate’ on the office wall won’t make a person more innovative.

For values to be effective, they need to be communicated as verbs (actions and behaviours). Whatever you say about Simon Sinek, I have him to thank for this one. It works.

22. The best time to work on the strategic stuff is…

…when things are going well (or at least OK). That might sound counterintuitive but when the opposite is true – when the pipeline is looking sparse, for example – agency leaders lack the clarity to make the best, long-term decisions. The focus is inevitably on the next couple of months and making sure there’s enough cash to cover payroll.

This is exactly the wrong time to bring in advisers like me.

23. Change takes time despite the ambition to move fast

Take repositioning, for example. When an agency chooses to transition from generalist to specialist, it takes at least a couple of years before they build a network, reputation and client base that justifies the decision.

Repositioning is a journey. Buckle up and enjoy the ride.

24. Business development is messy

Much of my work with agencies is about systems, processes and frameworks. But for all the effort to make business development organised and consistent, it is, by its very nature, a bit chaotic.

If you’re a highly organised individual, you’ll bring a lot to the table. But you’ll also need to accept the untidiness of it all.

25. Agencies are brilliantly resilient

There were inevitably agencies that didn’t survive the pandemic. But the vast majority did. Some even thrived. And, if there is one good thing to come out of it, the feeling of camaraderie amongst agencies feels stronger than ever. I’ll drink to that.

I could go on but it’s going to mess with the double-5 in the title so let’s leave it there.

Before I go, a caveat to all this; I speak to and work with agencies who have an issue with business development. I, therefore, tend to see only the stuff that needs fixing.

But, of course, a lot of agencies are smashing it. And if you are, well done. Seriously, if most of what you’ve just read doesn’t apply, I take my hat off to you. Because, if I were to summarise in a few words what the last five years have taught me, you are the exception, not the rule, my friend.

Finally, I’d like to say a massive thank you to all those that have been a part of the journey so far: clients, partners, peers, friends, and family.

Here’s to the next five years of striving to make business development just a little bit easier.

25 anecdotes from 5 years of advising agenciesBen Potter2022-01-07T12:42:12+00:00

What’s in your business development playbook?

Ben Potter2021-01-27T17:56:33+00:00

What’s in your business development playbook?

Quite rightly, agencies invest a lot of time thinking about (and documenting) how their services are delivered, how to communicate with clients and the means by which they report results. Operationally, there are policies, processes and templates aplenty.

However, with new business, it’s a different story. Business development is rarely designed or documented with the same rigour. Execution is therefore patchy and inconsistent at best. And that leads to the big peaks and troughs in revenue (many consider these normal when they needn’t be).

If you want to flatten these out, there is only one way; give business development the same attention as any other function of the agency (if not, more). And document everything.

In my agency days, we had a playbook; our new business bible, if you like. It could be handed over to a new recruit and after a large brew, they’d know all about our approach to new business – from positioning to pitching and everything in between. (Training was more hands-on than that. But you get my drift).

The idea of a playbook remains something I recommend (and work towards) with my clients. Some will have the beginnings of one when we start out. Others will have little. Either way, the goal is to fill in the gaps.

So, what does the playbook include? Here’s my suggested contents page, with some brief notes to tell you what each section / sub-section is all about:

Positioning

What you do, who for, how and why – the foundations of your business development strategy.

Your story
How did the agency get started? How has it evolved over time? Where are you now?

Your vision, mission and values
Building on the above, why do you exist, what is your cause and how do you like to do business?

Target audience
Who are you trying to speak to? What does your ideal client look like? For most smaller agencies, the narrower the audience, the better.

Value proposition, elevator pitch and one-liner
Your ‘go to market’ messaging, focused on the problems you help address for your target audience (and / or the opportunities you help them exploit).

Overview of services and pricing
A summary of what you do. Features, benefits and pricing for each of your services. You might also include a brief overview of any methodologies or frameworks used in delivering your services (especially if they are proprietary and add weight to your proposition).

Business development and marketing activity

With a clearly defined target audience, this section explains how you build awareness and create opportunity.

Objectives
Your SMART, new business objective and how this breaks down into tactical targets, such as the required number of wins, proposals / pitches, qualifying calls and so on.

Also, include a summary of your methodology in working out the above. Or stick it in the Appendix.

Strategy overview
A brief explanation of how you are going to meet those objectives and targets (‘how’ being the keyword here), including an overview of barriers to overcome and strengths to exploit.

Team
In delivering the strategy, a summary of roles, responsibilities and reporting lines, including any external partners.

Thought leadership
Your point of view, manifesto or core belief; the central pillar that guides your content strategy, public speaking gigs, events and so on.

Collateral
The key assets that demonstrate your expertise, perspective and impact; the kind of stuff used to open doors and nurture relationships e.g. whitepapers, reports, case studies, testimonials, award wins and so on (and where these assets can be accessed).

Technology and tools
Outlining the technology used by the agency to support activity, such as your CRM, automation platforms and intelligence tools.

Execution
A summary of channels and tactics. Whilst the playbook doesn’t include detailed goals, plans and actions, it should direct people to where these can be found and any guidance on how such templates are used.

Qualifying and discovery

Covering everything the agency does in separating the prospects who fit from those who don’t and spotting the serious opportunities amongst the tire-kickers.

Qualifying and discovery process
The steps taken from pre-qualifying all the way through to on-boarding (and the goals / actions associated with each of those stages).

Questioning frameworks
Guidelines on the questions asked at each stage of the process, including examples and links to relevant templates.

Internal briefing guidelines
A summary of the information to be gathered from a prospect before briefing the internal team e.g. background, objectives, challenges, success criteria and so on.

Lead scoring and forecasting methodology
The criteria used to pre-qualify, fully qualify and weight opportunities in your pipeline.

Proposals and pitching

Outlining everything the agency does to prepare, create, send / present and follow up proposals.

Proposal and presentation guidelines
Direction on proposal / presentation structure, style and format, including links to templates and recent examples.

Pitch meeting guidelines
A checklist of things that should happen before, during and after a pitch meeting. Who is involved, when and how? This section should now include notes on delivering pitches virtually – they are here to stay, even when things get back to some kind of normal.

Pitch review process
Win or lose, the questions you ask prospects and how feedback is shared across the agency (and acted upon).

On-boarding process
Covering everything that needs to happen for a smooth handover to the delivery team.

Reporting and review

The means by which you know if things are going well. Or not.

Lead and lag key performance indicators
An overview of business development and marketing KPIs, how they’re tracked and by who.

Weekly and monthly meeting agendas
What is discussed in progress meetings, who needs to attend, how often they take place and so on.

Reward / compensation plan
An overview of any commission structures and company bonus schemes that are related to new business performance.

Appendix

Stick everything in here that is too long to go in the main document e.g. detailed methodologies, frameworks, templates and processes

This is not a static document. Some sections will be reviewed, refined and added to on a fairly regular basis. Others not so much.

This leads to the question; should you have a playbook in place before recruiting a business developer or build it out once they are on-board? There’s an argument to say a good business developer will have a lot to contribute to its creation. And you’d be absolutely right. In fact, I’d encourage it.

HOWEVER, the reason why so many business developers are out on their ear after three-months is because a lot of this isn’t already in place. I’m particularly referring to the big stuff like positioning.

The poor business developer is therefore working with a blank canvas. As well as being expected to bring in the bacon, he or she is also tasked with effectively building the new business function from scratch (which the playbook is designed to document).

That’s fine. But only if you give them the time and space to do so.

Otherwise, I’d recommend getting a large chunk of the playbook in place first. Design the function and then recruit into it accordingly. Not only will you have a much better idea of the person / people you need (experience, skills, strength / relevance of their network, etc) but you’ll also give them more of a fighting chance when they join.

That’s my playbook. What does yours look like? Have I missed anything?

Photo by Susan Yin on Unsplash

What’s in your business development playbook?Ben Potter2021-01-27T17:56:33+00:00

10 easy-wins to make new business, everyone’s business

Ben Potter2020-12-10T10:48:56+00:00

10 easy-wins to make new business, everyone’s business

First, a confession. I stole the title for this article. Well, the second half anyway.

Recently, I attended Winning Together, a virtual event for the cream of the business development community (and me) to share experiences, insights and tips.

The first panel discussion – where said title came from – had Camilla Harrison, Jason Foo and Sherilyn Shackell discussing the importance of instilling a new business culture across an agency (there’s more in this write up from Jody Osman).

I found myself nodding along. A lot. The skills required to deliver a successful new business and marketing strategy are wide-ranging. So much so, one person cannot possibly excel at them all. I’ve therefore always believed that new business should be a team effort.

That’s all very well. But it’s easier said than done. So, what are the practical things a business developer (BD) can do to create an ‘in it together’ mentality across the agency: where new business rests not on the shoulders of one, but the shoulders of many?

Building on the excellent insight shared by Camilla, Jason and Sherilyn, here are some (relatively) easy wins to do just that:

1) Position the role of BD in the right way

As BD, you are not THE solution to winning new business. You are part of the solution (albeit an especially important one). Ensure the team understand that whilst you play the lead role, without a supporting cast your efforts will be hampered.

From day one, new business should be positioned as a collaborative effort where everybody plays their part (see point 6).

2) Physically sit business development at the heart of the agency

This is one for next year. When returning to the office, take a look at where you are physically sat.

I’ve walked into agencies where the BD might as well have had leprosy; sat in a corner, on their own, far enough away not to infect others with their salesy curse.

The BD should be at the centre of things. Where you can hear the conversations between the team and with clients. Importantly, the team should be able to listen in on some of the conversations you are having with prospects.

If you want to educate them on what business development is all about, let them hear and feel it.

3) Communicate objectives and plans. And keep the team updated on progress

When it’s ready, present your new business and marketing plan to the team. Better still, involve them in creating it. I find it particularly useful to get their take on the agency’s strengths (and their individual capabilities), how much resource is available and any barriers they anticipate the agency facing in executing the plan.

And then once things are underway, keep the team updated. New business should be on the agenda of every company meeting, whether that’s the Monday morning huddle or the end of month review.

For example, Monday morning is a great opportunity to communicate where you need support in the week ahead. Nobody will appreciate being asked for ‘a few slides’ the night before a pitch. They will thank you for giving them four days’ notice.

4) Ask the team who they would love to work with

A well-positioned agency will know exactly who they are best placed to help. They’ll have an ‘ideal client profile’ that acts as the basis for building a prospect list and the framework by which opportunities are qualified.

Share this with the team. Ask them if they know of any brands they’d love to work with (fitting the profile, of course). They’ll get a kick out of knowing you are actively pursuing brands they have an affinity to.

And, you never know, someone might pipe up with a cheeky…’oh, my friend works there…’

Talking of which…

5) Encourage everyone to tap into their network

Business development is about relationships. But even a seasoned BD can only ever have so many.

If you’ve got a list of people you’d love to speak to, but you’ve got no relationship, maybe someone in the team has. By asking five, ten or twenty other people in the agency to look at your prospects on LinkedIn, the chances of finding a shared connection are multiplied.

You can’t put a value on an ‘in’ like this. It’s so much better than approaching a prospect cold. So, you might want to reward your helpful colleague. Nothing major; a bottle of something nice will show your appreciation.

6) Play to the team’s strengths and interests

Twenty years ago, sales involved a telephone and a Rolodex (thankfully, things have moved on).

Today, the number of tactics is endless. As are the skills required to execute those tactics. This means everyone in the agency can (and should) bring something to the party.

Whether it’s researching, planning, writing, speaking, organising, designing, networking, tweeting (and many other words ending with ‘ing’), explore how they’d like to contribute. Play to people’s strengths and interests. Put tactical goals in place. Focus on action. And make sure people have the time (around client work) to give it their undivided attention.

7) Even the simple act of reading can be invaluable

Every member of your team reads stuff. Or they should be. This is a great way for everyone to contribute to your prospecting efforts.

Using a tool, such as Pocket or Diigo, the team can tag and save the (relevant) content they are digesting into a central repository. Over time, you’ll build a bank of curated content that can be searched by subject, sector or discipline. The kind of value-add stuff you can be sharing with your prospects.

8) Educate and coach those around you

Do your team associate business development with a more traditional view of sales and selling, wincing at the very thought of it?

If so, educate them. Share insight, tips and resources on business development. Especially support those on the front line; account managers who have a responsibility for identifying up-sell / cross-sell opportunities.

The more people get new business, the better they’ll get at it.

9) Involve the team early(ish) and often in the pitch process

The pitch process should be a collaborative one between agency and prospect. But it should also be a collaborative process internally. Involve the team to interrogate, shape and respond to a brief. Don’t just wheel them in for the pitch. As much as anything else, this will help them understand how you decide which opportunities to pursue and which to pass up.

But protect people’s time. Qualify the prospect before you get the team involved. The more you waste peoples’ time on ‘opportunities’ you don’t end up winning, the more reluctant they will be to get involved again in the future.

10) Share feedback; good, bad and indifferent

Successes should be celebrated for what they are – a team effort – and losses commiserated likewise.

Win or lose, gather feedback and take time out to talk it through with the team. Acknowledge the effort and contribution made by everyone involved. Learn from every experience.

And when you don’t win (even though you are crying inside), stay positive. Drive the team forward. Today you may have lost. But tomorrow you go again.

Look, none of these things will change the game on their own. I’ve barely touched on the importance (and meatier topics) of positioning, values and incentives in building a new business culture.

But remember; business development is all about those marginal gains. Many small changes can combine to big effect.

Have I missed anything? What do you do to make new business, everyone’s business?

Photo by Matteo Vistocco on Unsplash

10 easy-wins to make new business, everyone’s businessBen Potter2020-12-10T10:48:56+00:00

Do your case studies get people hot under the collar?

Ben Potter2020-11-20T14:28:24+00:00

Do your case studies get people hot under the collar?

A while back I explored the role of the agency creds deck, arguing that the classic ‘show and tell’ does neither the agency nor the client any favours.

I’d go so far to say they should be scrapped altogether. But that’s never going to happen. Creds are a deeply ingrained feature in how agencies and clients seek to work together. So, if an outright ban is out of the question, how can we make them better?

I’d like to take a look at perhaps the most important aspect of the creds; case studies. This is of course where the agency has the opportunity to bring to life the primary (perhaps the only) reason why they exist in the first place; to deliver impactful work that addresses a client need or problem.

As an aside, someone once said to me that “prospects don’t care about the work you have done for others. They only care about what you can do for them”. I agree with this…to an extent. But I also wonder if agencies have conditioned some buyers to think this way because the case studies presented are too often completely irrelevant. And even when they are, the actual content itself is yawn-inducing.

You’ve got their attention. Don’t waste the opportunity

Taking that first point, if you’re presenting a case study that has little or no contextual relevance to the prospect, then I’d question why you’re in the room in the first place. But let’s forget that and assume you should be in the room. Goddam, you’ve fought tooth and nail to be in that room. But then you go and spoil it all by following an all too familiar structure when you get to the ‘our work’ bit. It might go something like this:

Background…some mundane stuff about the client that you probably sourced from Wikipedia.

What we did…a richly detailed description of your approach, methodology or processes. Yawn.

Results…an underwhelming stat about how you increased traffic, conversion rate or something equally noncommercial.

Client testimonial…a quote that you (probably) wrote on behalf of the client because they couldn’t be bothered or didn’t actually think the work was all that good.

I’d like to say my efforts at sarcasm are an exaggeration, but I’ve literally seen hundreds of case studies like this. Hold fire, come to think of it I’ve probably written a few in my time. Arse.

Prospects want stories, not just stats

Irrespective of the detail, there’s one thing that case studies tend to lack. And that’s a story. A proper start, middle and end. Or maybe not an end, more of a look to the future. Because let’s be honest, client / agency relationships are rarely smooth sailing. There are always bumps in the road, right? Why are we so wary to talk about these, to tell the real story?

Don’t worry. I’m not talking about the time when the account manager had one too many shandies and told the client where to go. That’s too much detail.

But what a case study should do is to describe the problem you were hired to solve, the challenges faced by the client and the obstacles you overcame together. The aim is to create a bit of drama, which in turn should stir the emotions. Yes, you heard me right. We want prospects to get emotional with our case studies. Remember, that’s how people buy. Initially, decisions are based on emotion. Rationality only enters the picture later on when we seek to justify a decision with facts.

A few questions to get you started

So how do you go about making your case studies more compelling, more emotional? Try these questions for starters. If you can’t answer them, go and speak to the client. If they can’t answer them, worry.

How did the client find you? Why did they choose you and who was involved?

What were they trying to achieve and why?

What did it mean to them? What might have happened if they hadn’t addressed the problem?

What had they tried previously? If they failed at past attempts, why?

What were the challenges you and the client faced along the way? How did you work together to overcome them?

What have you helped them achieve? How have you directly or indirectly affected revenue, profit or productivity, for example?

What about your impact across other areas of the business? What opportunities have they been able to exploit?

How have you made things easier for the people who work with?

What lessons did you learn along the way?

What does the future hold? What’s next for you and the client?

Much is said about the need for agencies to be more authentic, dare I say ‘honest’. What better place to showcase this than your case studies. You know, the actual work you do, the reason why you’ve been hired first place.

So, next time you’re writing a case study, ask yourself; is this telling the real story? Is this in any way exciting? Because if your case studies don’t get you hot under the collar, then it’s doubtful they’ll be doing anything for your prospects. When you only present a dry description of the work you did, you’re more likely boring them to a slow death.

Do your case studies get people hot under the collar?Ben Potter2020-11-20T14:28:24+00:00

For goodness sake, put your deck away

Ben Potter2020-11-20T14:42:38+00:00

For goodness sake, put your deck away

“Send us over your creds.”

“We’d like you to present your creds.”

“Our MD will need to see your creds before the meeting.”

Any of these sound familiar? How do you typically respond?

If you are anything like the many agency leaders and business developers I speak with, you eagerly oblige. After all, it’s a positive buying signal, right? Maybe. But often not.

When it comes to the agency / client ecosystem, there are certain processes and behaviours that are deeply engrained, even though they don’t really benefit either party. The ‘show and tell’ presentation is one of these.

The subtle difference between ‘want’ and ‘need’

From the client’s perspective, what they want and what they actually need can often be quite different.

They want you to talk through your clients, case studies, team, approach, processes, awards and all manner of other, largely irrelevant tosh because this is ‘just how things are done’ when it comes to this agency lark.

What they actually need is for the agency to ‘own’ the process and discover (fairly quickly) if there is an opportunity to work together (to the mutual benefit of both parties). This is rarely achieved when the agency talks at the prospect for half an hour.

In my view, agencies need to be the drivers of change when it comes to this sort of thing so let’s look at a few specific situations when your creds deck should stay well away:

When asked to send it via email

Imagine the scenario. After gently nurturing your dream client for months you finally get through.

“Thanks for your call. I haven’t any time now but send me your creds. I’ll take a look and come back to you.”

With your thoughts already turning to celebratory champagne as the signed contract lands on your desk, you dutifully send them over. Game on.

What are the chances of the prospect looking through the deck and getting back in touch? Pretty much zero.

What are the chances you’ll spend the next year chasing them? Very high.

If a prospect asks you to send over your creds during the very early stages of engagement, it’s a fob off. It’s a polite way of telling you to bugger off.

You should therefore be polite in return and push back. If you genuinely believe you can help (beyond “we can definitely get better results than your current agency”), tell them you don’t have a standard creds deck. I never had one in my agency days.

Say you’d be happy to share some information but want to be sure it’s relevant. Ask what’s on their mind, what they’re working on right now or what they’d find of interest. Ask them anything that strikes up a conversation (or allows you to book a call / meeting for a later date).

You’ll either quickly discover that they’re not interested right now, which saves you wasting your time OR you’ll create an opportunity to send something that’s actually relevant, helping you move the discussion to the next stage.

When meeting a prospect for the first time

You’ve gone one better than getting through to your key contact. You’ve secured an appointment.

Introductions quickly out the way, the laptop comes out and you talk through your creds, leaving no stone unturned as you elaborately describe the agency’s history, approach, processes, team, clients, case studies and, of course, awards.

The prospect barely says a word, clearly in awe.

“That all sounds very interesting, we’ll be in touch”, they say.

You never hear from them again.

There is a time and place for talking about your agency. However, it comes a distant second to talking about the prospect; THEIR objectives, THEIR issues, THEIR metrics for success, THEIR, THEIR, THEIR!

As a rule of thumb, whatever you say about your agency, your approach, your clients and so on should be contextually relevant. Any solutions you introduce should be directly related to an issue the prospect is facing (and therefore the problem you are solving).

You cannot possibly do this without taking the time to get to the know the prospect; where they are trying to get to, the challenges they are facing, what success looks like and their concerns, anxieties and motivations, for example.

So, in landing an appointment, leave the creds deck alone. Instead, focus your efforts on posing interesting and challenging questions. This will lead to a much better outcome for you and the prospect.

When pitching

After starting work with a new client last year, I reviewed one of their pitch decks. It contained sixty slides. Probably too many but not a crime in itself. What made me fall off my metaphorical chair was that the opening forty slides were all about the agency. Slide after slide of mind-numbing guff, entirely irrelevant to the prospect and readily available on the agency’s website should the prospect choose to bore themselves to death. Unfortunately for them, they were not given that choice.

Needless to say, the agency lost this particular pitch.

A good presentation tells a story. Not about the agency but about the prospect.

Having got to this stage, the prospect should have already done their fair share of due diligence. It shouldn’t be necessary to tell them a load of stuff they already know.

I’m not saying there isn’t a time and place for an ‘about us’ section. There is – at the back of the deck in an Appendix. At the end of the presentation, ask the prospect if there is anything they’d like to know about the agency that hasn’t already been covered and then jump to the relevant slide.

This means anything you say about the agency is there to fill the gaps in knowledge, not fill minds with irrelevant drivel.

Look, I have nothing against agency creds, per se. It’s the often lazy approach to how they are used that makes them a near pointless sales ‘tool’.

Think about how you react when you meet someone for the first time and all they do is talk about themselves. They don’t ask you a single question. It’s all about them.

I know what I do. I turn off. I think about other stuff. I find my excuses and I scarper.

Are your prospects doing the same?

For goodness sake, put your deck awayBen Potter2020-11-20T14:42:38+00:00

Lost a pitch to the incumbent? Here’s why

Ben Potter2020-11-20T14:47:38+00:00

Have you ever lost a pitch to the incumbent? Here’s why.

A lead comes in. It looks like a great opportunity. You throw the kitchen sink at it. You lose the pitch. Worse than that, you find out the prospect is sticking with the incumbent agency. Anger and frustration fester at the wasted time, effort and resource you’ve invested. For nothing.

Sound familiar? I’ve seen a few comments recently on LinkedIn about this very scenario; when you are invited by a prospect to share your expertise and ideas, unbeknown to you that the prospect has no intention of actually changing agency. You’re ‘pitch candy’, as one of my clients eloquently put it.

I’m not condoning this behaviour. But like it or not, it happens. And whilst you can’t stop it, there are steps you can take to give yourself a better chance of not being caught out.

And before you act the innocent, we all play this game to varying degrees. Think about how you negotiate your mobile phone, broadband or gas contract – if you’re not playing these companies against one another, you’re missing a trick. I know it’s a very different setting. But the principle is the same.

Kicking you whilst you’re down

Back in agency land, whilst the prospect invariably gets all the blame for their deceitful ways, here’s the rub. If you find yourself in this situation, I’m afraid the fault lies with you. Sorry…I know that’s going to hurt (when you’re already down) but it’s true.

In most cases, it’s down to you because you’ve failed to ask the right questions, at the right time. You’ve also failed to ‘own’ the pitch process, as far as you possibly can. Instead, you’ve allowed the prospect to lead and you’ve taken the bait; hook, line and sinker.

Agencies are often far too eager to present their ideas and solutions. But by doing so, they bypass key steps in the information-gathering and qualifying process.

Many small ‘yeses’ = one BIG ‘yes’

As one of my mentors taught me, qualifying is about gaining lots of small ‘yeses’ from the prospect, for example:

‘Yes, we will give you our time and share insight with you.’

‘Yes, we will explain the process we are working through, who will be involved and why.’

‘Yes, we will invest the appropriate budget.’

‘Yes, we will review your proposal and provide feedback regardless of our decision.’

‘Yes, we will follow through and actually implement your strategy and ideas.’

Ultimately, ‘yes, we are going to make a change.’

Gaining lots of small ‘yeses’ means you stand a far greater chance of hearing the big ‘YES’ at the end. A ‘no’ at any stage is a red flag.

Incumbent in the mix? That’s another red flag

In a situation where a prospect is already working with another agency, you should double down on your qualifying efforts. You’ll start by seeking to explore where the prospect is trying to get to, the problems they are facing and what success looks like. But fairly early on, you will also want to ‘test’ the prospect on just how serious they are about making a change.

This means understanding how they found you and what encouraged them to get in touch.

It means finding out who else they are speaking to and why.

It means exploring their criteria for shortlisting agencies.

It means explicitly asking if their existing agency is re-pitching.

It means finding out what they are looking for in a partner and what they have seen in other agencies that they like / dislike.

This is not an exhaustive list. Every scenario is different and needs to be treated as such. But it should act to highlight just how robust and detailed your approach to qualifying should be, especially in a competitive pitch situation, and even more so when an incumbent is involved.

It’s not a perfect science

Qualifying involves leaving no stone unturned. It means avoiding assumptions. It’s about being in control and only moving to the next stage when you are confident you have gained the necessary ‘yes’ from the prospect.

Big caveat. I’m not saying that by mastering the art of qualifying, you are never again going to lose a pitch to an incumbent. Sometimes they win fair and square.

However, a process that you follow consistently, combined with the confidence to ask the right questions, at the right time, means you’ll certainly be far better at spotting the red flags earlier (and then politely declining the opportunity to progress things further).

On the flip side, you’ll also arm yourself with the skills to stand a better chance of winning the ‘right’ opportunities.

Lost a pitch to the incumbent? Here’s whyBen Potter2020-11-20T14:47:38+00:00