Eight sales mistakes that eat away your profit

Be honest, when do you really start thinking about the profitability of a new client?

I’m guessing it’s when you start the work. Comparing the number of quoted hours with those recorded in that god-forsaken timesheet, you pray they marry up.

Or maybe, just maybe, it’s taken you less time to deliver the work than you quoted.

Working with agencies, I’ve noticed how profit only tends to come into sharp focus in this way once the work kicks off. But profitability is really determined by what happens – or doesn’t happen – earlier in the engagement, namely the sales process.

Now, I don’t pretend to be the world’s foremost expert on pricing. But I do bear witness to how agencies typically sell their services. And, unfortunately, they are too often on the back foot. Poor positioning, inadequate sales skills and desperation all play their part. Thus, the ability to price fairly – and profitably – is undermined.

So, with this in mind, let’s explore some common sales mistakes made by agencies that can negatively impact margin. And tips on how you can avoid them.

1. Failing to talk about money early in the process

There’s a good chance you find conversations about money slightly awkward. So much so that you might avoid the topic altogether, especially in a personal setting.

But in business – and sales specifically – your reluctance to tackle the money conversation head-on means you’re more likely to waste time on prospects who aren’t the right fit. Separating the tyre kickers from the serious buyers requires the courage to discuss money early (and often thereafter).

Granted, often a prospect won’t divulge their budget. Before progressing to the next stage in your process, you must seek to understand why. Are they simply unsure how much they need to invest? Or are they playing a game of cat and mouse, refusing to reveal their budget for fear your price will conveniently match it?

This is where you might state a preliminary price range (‘our clients typically invest between X and Y’) or a minimum spend threshold (‘a typical size project for us starts at X’) to encourage the prospect to open up. Be mindful, however, the first price you state becomes the ‘anchor’; any future price you put forward will be compared to it.

If you still can’t get a figure out of them, seriously question whether you should progress any further. If you’ve developed the courage to be direct in discussing money, you’ll also be brave enough to walk away.

2. Using proposals to reveal pricing

If you neglect to talk about money upfront, you’re more likely to use a proposal to communicate your price. Big mistake.

This tends to happen when you commit to writing a proposal too soon. Which, in all likelihood, means you’ve not conversed enough with the prospect during the process.

To prevent this ‘premature proposal syndrome’, follow this simple rule:

A proposal should be confirmation of what you have verbally agreed with the prospect.

How would applying this principle change your approach to the sales process? Top marks if you’re already thinking you’d slow things down; speak with the prospect more frequently; seek to involve more stakeholders; and discuss pricing options well before putting pen to paper.

Ultimately, the sales process should be collaborative. The solution, including pricing, should not be a ‘big reveal’.

3. Not aligning price with desired outcomes

Most agencies price based on inputs i.e. the hours required to undertake the work. For brevity, I’m not going to discuss why this model is broken, especially with the arrival of AI (over to you Tim Williams).

Instead, I want to focus on a specific flaw in the model, namely that the buyer’s attention is directed towards the time required to deliver the work, rather than its potential impact.

Your price should always be positioned in context. The wrong context is a list of features, deliverables, hours and rates. The right context is a set of benefits, or better still, strategic outcomes.

Therefore, always explore and prioritise the problem(s) to be solved and the prospect’s desired outcomes before committing to a price. This is also one of the key principles of value-based pricing i.e., solutions are priced based on their anticipated impact, rather than the time it takes to complete the work.

In exploring this with the prospect, you might ask…

“In addressing (DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM), what would a successful outcome look like?”

And then…

“What are your expectations in terms of investment to achieve those outcomes? Can you share with me how you arrived at that figure?”

The second question emphasises the relationship between investment and outcomes. It’s remarkable how naïve people are to this – I can’t tell you how many conversations I had in my agency days where a prospect aspired to 10X their business before revealing a shoestring budget to do it.

As an aside, notice the word ‘investment’, as opposed to ‘budget’ or, worse, ‘cost’. The latter is a particular bugbear of mine when reviewing agency proposals. If something costs me time, money or effort, I don’t feel particularly enthused. It’s got negative vibes. Maybe it’s just me, but ‘investment’ feels more positive; it tells me I’m going to get something in return.

4. Inaccurate scoping

If you take a brief at face value or rush through the sales process, then it’s doubtful you’ve built a deep enough understanding of the underlying problems to be solved, desired outcomes or the views of all stakeholders.

In turn, this increases the likelihood of not scoping (and therefore pricing) the proposal properly. You might win the work, but then a whole load of things come out in the wash during the onboarding process. All of which bring unwelcome, downward pressure on your margin.

Again, this reinforces the importance of slowing the sales process down, running effective discovery meetings and involving your subject matter experts once the opportunity has been qualified.

But even then, things can change later. Agreeing a contingency budget upfront and building in milestones to review spending at regular intervals, can help counter the unknowns.

5. Sharing rate cards or granular fee breakdowns

Many years ago, I was asked by a prospect to share a detailed breakdown of a paid search 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 impressive 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 based on time. And because prospects want to compare apples to apples, you’re asked to share (what should be) commercially sensitive information.

So, irrespective of how you price (day rate, value-based, fixed fee, etc), avoid sharing the intricate details in your proposal. Speaking from personal experience, it will come back to haunt you.

6. Providing a shopping list of options and prices

When numerous options and add-ons are included in a proposal, it’s a sure-fire sign you haven’t worked collaboratively with the prospect to come up with (and agree) the right approach.

It’s also cognitive overload for the prospect. Their brain cannot handle so much choice. So they choose to do nothing at all.

If you apply the principle above – where a proposal acts as confirmation of what has been agreed verbally – there should be no need to provide numerous options.

This is not to eliminate the idea of options altogether. Proposals offering three options, for example, can work incredibly well in increasing revenue and profit, something Blair Enns talks more about here.

7. Dropping your price without realigning the scope

2023 can best be described as sluggish; there’s been a lot of dithering, opportunities put on hold and greater price sensitivity.

So, even if you’ve collaborated with the prospect throughout the sales process and agreed (in principle) on the price, you may still experience pushback during the latter stages (especially if you have to contend with procurement).

When asked to discount, the temptation will be to say ‘yes’ – the fear of losing the business is just too great to push back, right? But if you agree to deliver the same scope at a lower fee, it makes over-servicing almost guaranteed. And, in turn, puts a decent margin at greater risk.

As such, negotiation should always start with the scope. Based on everything you have learned during the sales process, explain how you believe the proposed price is the right level of investment. Refer back to the strategic outcomes you’ve agreed on. Explain how a reduction in price will mean a reduction in scope. And a reduction in scope may put those outcomes at risk.

If that doesn’t work, explore alternatives to a price reduction, such as negotiating on payment terms.

To protect profit, reducing price should be the last resort, not your default.

8. Forgetting to take account of commission or referral fees

And finally, a simple – but often overlooked – mistake.

If you have a salesperson who is paid commission (there are arguments for and against this, by the way), you must ‘bake’ this into your pricing.

Likewise, any fees you pay to referrers, such as other agency partners. Let’s assume you pay 10% of the deal value. If you fail to account for this in your pricing, that’s a 10% hit before you’ve even kicked a ball.

Your golden ticket to higher prices (and margins)

It’s unlikely you’re going to have much leverage in the sales process when offering a multitude of different services to clients of all shapes and sizes.

Where pricing is concerned, this ‘broad-brush’ attempt at positioning makes it nigh on impossible to charge a premium or experiment with different pricing methods.

On the other hand, when your specialist expertise is truly valued, the opposite can be true. You are more likely to be able to lead (or at least influence) the sales process, thus avoiding the missteps I describe above.

Specialisation is the key to this.

Solve a specific problem for a discrete audience.

Have a point of view.

And please, ditch the clichés.

By doing so, you lay the foundation to justifiably (and confidently) charge higher prices.

And run a more profitable agency, as a result.

This article was originally published in The Agency Growth Book, alongside content from a whole host of brilliant agency coaches and advisers.

Are you screwing up your first sales meetings?

There are two types of ‘intro’ sales meeting.

The first is one requested by the prospect. She has a need, does some research and reaches out (hopefully only to you but probably to a few of your competitors as well).

The second is one initiated by you, the agency. For example, you meet your dream client at an event, send an email shortly after and he agrees to a follow-up conversation.

Typically, when a prospect reaches out to you, she has already decided something needs to change; she isn’t getting the desired results doing things in-house. Or her current agency isn’t up to scratch. As such, she is a member of the ‘5% gang’ – a small collective of B2B buyers who are ‘in the market’ at any one time.

Now, this doesn’t guarantee she will actually follow through and move to another agency, for example. And it certainly doesn’t mean she has correctly diagnosed the problem she faces or how to fix it. But there’s enough of an itch for her to at least explore doing something about it.

When you initiate the meeting, on the other hand, the prospect is typically in a different place. He’s interested enough to hear what you have to say, otherwise, he wouldn’t have agreed to meet you. But, in his mind, there isn’t a problem requiring immediate attention. He’s in the ‘95% crew’ – a far larger group of B2B buyers who are not actively in the market.

Put another way, the first prospect is already at the start line.

The second is not – he’s five steps behind it.

Enough with the analogies, so what?

Because these prospects are at very different stages of the buying journey, your first meeting with each of them needs to be approached very differently.

For example, a qualifying-style conversation might be appropriate in the first scenario. The prospect has a need and has shown some interest in working with your agency. The early exchanges are primarily about establishing if there is a good fit (‘fit’ is broad enough to cover a whole range of criteria, from the suitability of the brief to whether there is cultural alignment).

However, jumping into a qualifying-style conversation is definitely not appropriate in the second scenario. The prospect doesn’t have a live requirement. He hasn’t expressed a particular interest in working with your agency. In fact, before you bumped into each other at the event, he’d never heard of your agency.

So perhaps you should start the meeting by presenting your creds. After all, if he’s not familiar with your people, clients, case studies and, of course, awards, this is the best way to get him up to speed – and closer to that start line – right?

I don’t think so.

Why not, prospects love our creds presentations!

Do they?

Ask yourself this question: how often does a creds meeting result in a second meeting, where you actually start getting into the meat of how you’re going to work together?

I’m guessing not nearly as often as you’d like. Our friend from the ‘95% crew’ is more likely to thank you for your time and say he’ll be in touch when something comes up. But he never does, despite your repeated chase emails.

This is, in part, because most creds decks just regurgitate information on your website. Or they include stuff the prospect just doesn’t care about (not at this early stage, anyway). For example, I’m sure your ‘unique methodology’ is fantastic. But, for an out-of-market prospect, I doubt it’s going to do much to challenge the status quo and therefore provide a compelling case for change.

I’d actually go further by saying in most instances, a creds presentation is a complete waste of time. Primarily, this is because it delivers no value for the prospect. And, from your perspective, it therefore fails to separate you, and your agency, from all the others attempting to ‘sell’ in this way.

OK, so what’s the alternative?

Particularly for those in the ‘95% crew’, you need to build a case for change.

That’s highly unlikely to happen if you only spend time talking about how brilliant your agency is (don’t fret, there’ll be time for that later).

Instead, you need to be genuinely insightful, teaching a prospect something new about themselves, their business or market. Just like you and I, he is bombarded with vast amounts of information, much of it contradictory. His world is also in constant flux.

You therefore create value during these early interactions by demonstrating you understand the problems he is facing. But, more importantly, you are able to shine a light on their root cause(s). After all, the REAL problem always exists below the surface.

Another way you might create value is by helping him to see into the future; to make sense of emerging trends and how they will affect the business, for example.

If you’ve ever wondered why a prospect goes dark after a first meeting – whether you get your creds out or not – it’s because you didn’t share anything genuinely insightful. No insight normally equates to no value. And if there’s no value, there’s no reason to continue talking to you.

‘I am consultative, honest guv’

This is where agencies need to up their sales game.

People like to call themselves ‘consultative’ but, in reality, I’m not sure they are.

Consultative selling involves being a trusted adviser; sharing insight, challenging assumptions and offering advice.

As I alluded to earlier, it relies on you already having a good idea of the problems faced by your prospect because you have seen them many times before. In The Challenger Sale, they call this ‘hypothesis-based selling’.

So, rather than whipping out the creds and talking about your agency for an hour, you instead use insight to build a case for change. Remember, change can be hard, scary and uncomfortable. It is much easier to do nothing, hence in sales, your biggest competitor is usually the status quo.

This is why – when fortunate enough to get that first meeting – you’re wasting it if your case for change is built on the shaky argument your agency is more ‘passionate’, ‘results-focused’ or ‘creative’ than your competitors.

‘If we could just get in the room with more prospects…

…we’d win more clients.’

I’ve heard this so many times.

And it’s a fallacy, I’m afraid.

Those who say this are blind to the fact they’ve only ever converted prospects from the ‘5% gang’ (who, to make things even easier, have likely come via a referral).

That’s a relatively straightforward opportunity to win. But put them in a room with a member of the ‘95% crew’ and they haven’t a clue how to build a case for change.

So out the come the creds instead.

It’s also why lead generation agencies often get a bad rap – ‘well, they got us some meetings, but the prospects weren’t qualified’ is the common feedback. Translated, this means the prospects weren’t in the market. And the agency wasted the meeting by not having the insight, skills or patience to change that.

Let’s wrap this up

Most agencies have a pipeline problem; there are just not enough live, qualified opportunities at any one time to meet their new business objectives.

I’m convinced this is because agencies either wait for a tiny pool of prospects to be ‘in the market’, by which point they have probably already decided who they want to work with AND / OR agencies do not possess the skills to bring about change when a prospect is not really looking.

The underlying reasons for this?

A combination of poor positioning, a lack of genuine thought leadership and a dated approach to selling.

So to finish, a few questions to ponder that might help you start to fix these issues:

– Have you defined a discrete audience for your agency offering? And got this down on paper in the form of an ‘ideal client profile’?

– What are the most common problems faced by this audience? For each of these, what do you believe to be the underlying issues or causes (that your clients and prospects are normally blind to)?

– What are the current or emerging trends impacting your audience? What is your opinion on these? Are they threats or opportunities? To what extent, is your audience up to speed on these trends? (clue: not very)

Insight can come in many shapes and sizes. But if you only start by working through the second and third questions above, you’ll already have some pretty juicy stuff up your sleeve.

And, as a result, you’ll deliver a lot more value in your next sales meeting, especially when chatting to our mate in the ‘95% crew’.

Afterwards, he may even want to join your crew.

Now wouldn’t that be something?

And not a creds deck in sight.

Are you over-egging your pipeline?

The most profound challenge in running an agency is to balance the work to be done with the resource to deliver it. To a high standard. On a consistent basis.

Most agencies either have too much work and not enough resource OR not enough work and too many bums on seats. Very rarely are the two perfectly in sync.

This of course impacts the business in all manner of ways, most notably recruitment.

A sales pipeline report is an essential tool for hiring decisions. For example, a strong pipeline may require the agency to recruit in anticipation of more work landing. A weak pipeline, on the other hand, might mean the agency needs to start planning for redundancies.

But, in my experience, most pipeline reports fail in this respect for two reasons:

1) There are too many dead ‘opportunities’ that should have been removed from the report a long time ago. They remain due to wishful thinking, rather than any realistic chance of closing.

2) A subjective weighting methodology that means the % chance of closing each opportunity is inaccurate.

The cumulative effect is an inflated pipeline value, making the report a potential hazard for anybody using it to make important decisions.

So, let’s address each of these points:

Let it go, let it goooo…

It’s a strange market at the moment, full of conflicting messages and narratives (are we in recession, not in recession, heading for one…who knows?).

The one constant I hear from agencies is that decisions are stalling; prospects are keen as mustard one minute, quiet as a mouse the next. If you’re also experiencing fewer leads entering the top of the funnel, there is a natural tendency to hold on to the opportunities you do have. Who wants to show up to the next board meeting with a near-empty pipeline, right?

However, as difficult as that meeting will be, you’re far better presenting a realistic picture of the current situation. To facilitate effective decision-making (and for your own sanity), you need to cut loose those opportunities that – in your heart of hearts – you know are not going to move forward any time soon.

If you’ve heard nothing from a prospect for a few weeks but still need a definitive ‘no’ before you can move on, at least put the opportunity ‘on hold’. By all means, find value-add ways to stay in touch.

But in the meantime, remove it from the pipeline report.

Subjectivity killed the cat

I tend to find most agencies align their weighting with a stage in their CRM. For example, ‘Stage 1 – Qualifying’ = 20%. As an opportunity moves through each stage, the % score increases.

Makes sense, right?

Maybe not.

Just because a prospect is at the proposal stage, for example, it doesn’t necessarily mean the opportunity has been properly qualified. When a proposal is flung together and fired out by email after a 20-minute phone call, qualification will be dubious at best.

But the CRM – arbitrarily – says it has a 70% chance of closing.

Realistically, it’s closer to 10%.

I’ve tested this hypothesis on dozens of clients over the years by objectively reviewing opportunities in their pipeline against a set of YES / NO questions, for example:

• Have you agreed on a set of desired outcomes and therefore how success will be measured?
• Has the prospect confirmed they are able to invest at a level relative to those desired outcomes? (As an aside, nothing should go into your pipeline report until you have a confirmed budget).
• Do you know all the alternatives under consideration e.g., other agencies, including incumbents?
• Have you got agreement on timescales for starting?
• Have you got consensus amongst ALL stakeholders, responding directly to their questions, concerns or objections?

And so on…

A checklist or set of questions like this is an attempt to make the exercise of weighting opportunities as objective as possible. It ensures the same level of robustness is applied whatever the situation and irrespective of the sales stage.

This is not to say that stages don’t matter. They do. But the nature of selling is messy. We’d all love opportunities to move smoothly through each stage of our process. But rarely does this happen; they move at different speeds, stall, and some go backwards before moving forward again.

This is particularly true in the current climate.

And that means % weighting based solely on stages in a CRM is at greater risk of being inaccurate.

Back to that board meeting…

Have you ever noticed how everyone seems to have an opinion on sales? Even when they have no first-hand experience in selling.

Annoying, isn’t it?

If you look after business development in your agency, you’re going to be challenged to justify yourself time and time again. It’s the nature of the beast.

So any ambiguities, unknowns or question marks are going to be latched on to.

In my agency days, if I could explain to the board why an opportunity hadn’t moved forward – and that reason was outside of my control – it was accepted (despite the obvious frustration).

However, if I’d lost an opportunity due to something I should have foreseen or a question I should have asked, I was quite rightly called up on it.

This is where an objective approach to managing sales opportunities is your friend. It allows you to make the distinction between what is in your control vs what isn’t. The questions you ask, the information you gather and whether you decide to move forward or pause – these are all under your control.

A key contact leaving abruptly, a company going under or an FD slashing the marketing budget – these are outside of your control (although in some instances, such events might in themselves create new opportunities).

In the words of Viktor Frankl, “control the controllables”.

But you can only do this if you remove assumptions, guesswork or wishful thinking from your sales process.

8 tips to uncover a prospect’s budget during the sales process

Do you struggle to talk about money during sales conversations?

If so, you’re not alone. Us Brits, especially, have an in-built, irrational fear when it comes to broaching the subject of dosh, dough, moola or swag (despite the fact we’re great at coming up with amusing slang alternatives).

From an agency’s perspective, the failure to talk about money early in the sales process increases the risk of wasting time on poor-fitting ‘opportunities’. Far too often proposals or pitch decks are put together in the hope the prospect is willing (and able) to invest at the appropriate level. Using a proposal in this way – to qualify budget – is fatally flawed. Written words are no substitute for open and honest conversation. I do, however, appreciate the budget conversation is not always an easy one. Not helped, of course, when a prospect chooses to withhold their budget. Or, they might say, ‘why don’t you tell me how much it’s going to cost?’

In other instances, a prospect may approach you without having a budget at all. I’ve no problem with their need to do some research to obtain a ballpark figure. But not if it means you throw a load of time into writing a proposal to provide the answer.

In each scenario, it’s your job to identify where the prospect is in their buying journey and, importantly, not to overcommit resources to those in research mode, for example. Remember, there is no cost to a prospect when they ask you to create a proposal. But there is a cost to you. Always seek to protect your time.

With this in mind, if you find money a difficult topic to address with a prospect, here are a few tips to help you along:

Firstly, talk about money early in the process

When I say early, I mean on the first call. To do this, you’ll need to tee up the meeting, explaining its purpose and goal. You might say something like:

“We tend to work best with clients who…(DESCRIBE IN A FEW WORDS YOUR TYPICAL CLIENT AND THEIR SITUATION).

The purpose of this first conversation is therefore to establish if we are likely to be a good fit for you and vice versa. I’ve got a few questions I’d like to throw your way and I’m sure you’ll have a few questions for me.

If we get to the end of the call and agree, in principle, that there’s a good fit here, I suggest we arrange a second meeting where we can explore your requirements in more detail and how we’d work together. We can also bring in some of the subject matter experts from our side and anybody from your end that needs to be involved.

How does that sound?”

Note: this assumes an inbound lead. A prospect you have reached out to who agrees to a meeting requires an altogether different approach.

Then explore where they are trying to get to

Uncover the results or outcomes the prospect is looking to achieve BEFORE broaching the topic of money. Once you understand their goals, say something like:

“What are your expectations in terms of investment to achieve those goals? Can you share with me how you arrived at that figure?”

This highlights to the prospect the direct relationship between the amount they need to invest and the outcomes they desire. It’s remarkable how naïve people are to this – I can’t tell you how many conversations I had in my agency days where a prospect aspired to X10 the size of their business before revealing a shoestring budget to do it.

Eliminate ‘cost’ from your vocabulary

Notice the use of the word ‘investment’ above, as opposed to budget or, worse, ‘cost’. The latter is a particular bugbear of mine when reviewing agency proposals – if something costs me time, money or effort, I don’t feel particularly enthused. It’s got negative connotations. ‘Investment’, on the other hand, tells me I will get something in return.

Politely push back with a question

If you are asked to provide an estimated figure before you feel ready to do so (because you haven’t yet gathered enough information), put the ball back in the court of the prospect. You might say something like:

“The amount our clients invest will vary depending on a number of factors, for example, X, Y and Z’. Do you have the time to explore these now or shall we arrange a call for another time?”

Refer to how much your other clients are investing

Without naming them, use your existing clients as a benchmark. You might say something like:

“We work with a number of clients facing a similar challenge. They are typically investing between £X and £Y to achieve results comparable to those you are looking for. How do you feel about that level of investment?”

State a minimum fee level

In line with your ‘ideal client profile’, try stating the minimum amount you get out of bed for. You might say something like:

“We occasionally make exceptions, but our minimum project fee is £X. This reflects the typical size of client we work best with and what they are looking to achieve. Does that align with your expectations?”

Share some options

Providing three options and asking the prospect to choose one is another technique to try. You might say something like:

“We offer a number of solutions and pricing options. For client A, we are typically doing X and they will be investing Y. For client B, we are typically doing X and they will be investing Y. And for client C, we are typically doing X and they will be investing Y. If you had to choose one of those options, where would you say you sit at this stage?”

Show them that you are prepared to walk away

Finally, if you still can’t get the prospect to open up, explain how you are unable to take things any further. You might say something like:

“Our agency has a policy of not writing a proposal until a budget has been agreed upon. I wouldn’t be able to progress things further without confirming the amount you are able to invest in this project. How do you think we should move forward from here?”

Using the word ‘policy’ is a tip I picked up from the brilliant 2Bobs podcast. It tells the prospect that you have documented your approach to the sales process and would be ‘breaking the rules’ if you were to progress without an agreed budget.

If, after trying these approaches, the prospect still won’t divulge their budget, then you might want to consider whether they’re the kind of client you really want. The sales process is a window into what it will be like to work with them. If they aren’t demonstrating a high degree of openness and collaboration now, don’t assume this will change later on.

If you’ve developed the courage to approach the money discussion head-on, you’ll also have the courage to walk away.

Give these tips a go and let me know how you get on.

How to take control of the sales process from the first conversation

How open are you with prospects about the steps in your sales process and, in particular, the purpose of each stage?

When you break it down, a sales process is simply a series of conversations. Your goal is to determine whether a prospect is a good fit for your agency. Likewise, the prospective client is seeking to understand if you are the right fit for them.

So why not both be honest about this from the outset?

An example…

You receive an enquiry via your website. You do a bit of research and decide to arrange a call. After the niceties, you might say something like…

“We tend to work best with clients who…(DESCRIBE IN A FEW WORDS YOUR TYPICAL CLIENT, THEIR SITUATION AND THE PROBLEMS YOU SOLVE).

The purpose of this first conversation is therefore to establish if we are likely to be a good fit for you and vice versa. I’ve got a few questions I’d like to throw your way and I’m sure you’ll have a few questions for me.

If we get to the end of the call and agree, in principle, that there’s a good fit here, I suggest we arrange a second meeting where we can explore your requirements in more detail and how we’d work together. We can also bring in some of the subject matter experts from our side and anybody from your end that needs to be involved.

How does that sound?

Great, before we get into it, tell me…what would you like to get out of this first call? Is there anything you’d like to know about us to determine if we’d be a good fit for you?”

Teeing up the conversation like this serves a number of purposes:

1) It shows you’re not desperate; you don’t just work with anyone. You know what the right client looks like for your agency, and you are confident enough to put it on the table early.

2) It provides a clear scope of what will be covered and, perhaps more importantly, what won’t be covered on this first call. For example, you’re unlikely to gather enough information to put forward a solution at this stage. However, you might want to provide an idea of what a typical client spends with you to test their ability (and willingness) to invest.

3) In line with the above, it lets the prospect know you aren’t going to be rushed into writing a proposal. There are a series of steps – and information that needs to be gathered – before you get to that point. Remember, your proposal should be confirmation of what you have already agreed verbally (which means you need to converse regularly during the process).

4) It highlights you have a tried and tested process, which is not only for your benefit but also theirs. It also subtly highlights to the prospect that you won’t just fall into line with their process (assuming they have one).

5) It outlines your role by highlighting you are not necessarily able to answer discipline-specific questions. This is particularly relevant if you are in a dedicated BD or sales role. You know enough to hold a conversation about SEO or PPC, for example, but the discipline team are the experts.

6) In line with point 5), you are protecting the time of your team by only bringing them into the process when necessary.

7) It lays the foundation for involving their other stakeholders in the process sooner rather than later. This is essential if you are going to build consensus amongst a group of buyers – all with their own interests, concerns and questions.

8) It means you only share information about the agency that the prospect is actually interested in based on their response to the question: ‘Is there anything you’d like to know about us…’. Or you could get your creds deck and regurgitate a whole load of meaningless guff that the prospect can read for themselves on your website.😉

If you’ve never been this upfront before, I can understand it might fill you with a sense of dread. It’s far easier to skirt around the edges, right? But I’m pretty confident your unwillingness to be open about your process and the purpose of each stage means you are wasting time (and money) on ‘opportunities’ you stand little chance of winning.

As a slightly cheeky aside, take a look at your website. I’m going to hazard a guess that somewhere it says how ‘honest’ and ‘transparent’ you are. If that’s the case, it might be time to think about how you apply those values to aspects of your sales process, starting with the very first conversation.