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.

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

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