Do you win new business by accident or design?

2024-11-14T16:18:36+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?2024-11-14T16:18:36+00:00

The key to building resilience? Humility

2024-04-12T15:23:51+00:00

The key to building resilience? Humility

I was recently asked what resilience means to me and how to build it. This is the theme of The Agency Collective’s ‘Future Proofing Your Agency’ conference in April. I’m on one of the panels so to avoid any risk of floundering about on stage, I best get some thoughts down in writing.

Let’s start with the fairly obvious stuff.

I was an agency business developer for 14 years, witnessing the good, the bad and the ugly side of sales. In fact, I was responsible for my fair share of the latter, making a whole load of cringeworthy mistakes during those years.

Over time, I built resilience by consciously deciding not to dwell on those mistakes but, instead, learn from them.

The wins, whilst welcome, were short-lived highs. There was always another opportunity that needed attention, so I had no option but to quickly move on. The losses, whilst frustrating, were equally short-lived. Because, over time, I learned not to dwell on those either.

Resilience came from accepting things were often outside of my control and not taking the knockbacks personally. This is particularly relevant to the current climate, where dither, delay and indecision have been prevalent themes in recent months.

And of course, resilience is also about physical and mental wellbeing. You’ll find it easier to roll with the punches if you look after yourself, which is not something I always did in my 20s and 30s; there was far too much fun to be had in the bars and nightclubs of Brighton and London. But as I’ve got older, I’m much more mindful of what goes inside my belly and mind.

For example, I realised a couple of years ago, Twitter turned me into a raging idiot (as can be the case with even the most mild-mannered of human beings). So whilst I still have a profile, I haven’t engaged with the platform for as long as I can remember, particularly since Musk got his mitts on it. My mental well-being is all the better for it (less rage, more love).

So, in summary, learning from your mistakes, accepting you can’t control everything, not taking things too personally and looking after yourself – all good stuff when it comes to building resilience, right?

But, as I’ve thought about it further, I’ve realised the true source of my resilience is…

…humility (and its close companion, perspective).

Let me explain.

If you’re reading this, you probably run or work for an agency. If that’s the case – and apologies if this offends you – your job isn’t that important.

Ouch.

It might even, in the words of anthropologist David Graeber, be a ‘bullshit’ job.

Ouch again!

Now, before you click away in disgust, remember, this is about perspective so bear with me.

There are exceptions, of course, but most agencies work with commercial enterprises. So, irrespective of the services you offer or how you deliver them, your agency exists to help those enterprises sell more stuff. That’s it.

My job is even more ridiculous when I think about it – it involves helping an agency win more (or better) clients, so, in turn, the agency can then help those clients sell even MORE stuff.

Maybe I don’t quite fit neatly into the categories of bullshit job described by David Graeber – flunkies, goons, duct tapers, box tickers or taskmasters – but, let’s face it, I’m certainly not all that important.

And neither are you.

We’re not doctors, nurses, teachers or even bin men – without these jobs, the fabric of society would soon start to unravel (you might argue, here in the UK, it already has). This is why it’s a travesty these jobs are not better rewarded, considering their vital contribution to a properly functioning society.

This is not to say you, your agency (and the marketing industry as a whole) have no value. Far from it, especially economically. But if an ad campaign flunks or another agency bites the dust, is the world any worse off, as a result? Compared to say, a drastic shortage in nurses or teachers?

The point I’m trying to make is: we shouldn’t take this industry of ours too seriously.

And, in turn, you shouldn’t take your job too seriously either.

Because at the end of the day, we do marketing. Not open-heart surgery.

I don’t say this to diminish your achievements – running a business or working in sales, for example, is tough. It requires commitment, perseverance and, of course, resilience. But if you want to build more resilience, start by being a bit more humble about our place in the world.

Every so often, take the time to scroll through your LinkedIn feed and chuckle at how ludicrous – and indeed delicate – this whole ecosystem is, relying on the existence of media behemoths and third-party platforms, which we have no control or influence over.

Smirk at the zany job titles we give ourselves (many that didn’t exist even five years ago).

Marvel at the effort we all put in to get a few more followers and likes.

It’s all taken very seriously. But it’s not that serious, really. Is it?

Perhaps this outlook comes with age. I certainly couldn’t imagine my 25-year-old self writing these words.

But as you get older, you start to see things differently. More years on the clock means more perspective.

And this is where humility comes from with resilience following close behind (in my case anyway).

Thus, it becomes easier to accept you’re not going to win every deal.

You’re not going to smash it with every client.

You’re not going to keep every member of staff happy.

And if it all went to shit tomorrow, you’d be absolutely fine.

That’s what resilience means to me.

What about you?

The key to building resilience? Humility2024-04-12T15:23:51+00:00

Eight sales mistakes that eat away your profit

2024-04-12T14:54:46+00:00

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.

Eight sales mistakes that eat away your profit2024-04-12T14:54:46+00:00

Are you screwing up your first sales meetings?

2024-04-12T15:14:48+00:00

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 screwing up your first sales meetings?2024-04-12T15:14:48+00:00

Are you over-egging your pipeline?

2024-04-12T14:14:40+00:00

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.

Are you over-egging your pipeline?2024-04-12T14:14:40+00:00

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

2023-04-05T15:29:26+00:00

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.

8 tips to uncover a prospect’s budget during the sales process2023-04-05T15:29:26+00:00

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

2023-04-05T15:30:43+00:00

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.

How to take control of the sales process from the first conversation2023-04-05T15:30:43+00:00

30 easy wins to make the most of attending events

2023-04-05T15:08:22+00:00

30 easy wins to make the most of attending events

In-person events made a real comeback in 2022 after a tough couple of years (something to do with a global pandemic, apparently). I attended a few events last year and found there to be a real buzz in the air; people were clearly happy to be out of their bedrooms and home offices and meeting people in real life again, myself included.

One of my clients is attending their first in-person event for quite some time in February. We got talking about how they can make the most of their time at the event (and their investment…it isn’t cheap, let me tell you).

So I offered to put together a list of practical things they can do before, during and after the event to ensure they meet the right people, make a good impression and create opportunities. And because I’m such a generous chap, I’m sharing the list with you.

Now, the event in question is where meetings are prearranged in advance between agencies and clients. These are always the best kind of events in my opinion. As such, some of the advice below relates to how you’d prepare for these pre-arranged, quick-fire meetings. However, much of it can also be applied to any other type of event where you have the opportunity to meet clients, prospects and partners.

So, without further ado, here goes…

Before the event

1) Request an attendee list from the event organisers. They are unlikely to share names, but a list of organisations and job titles might allow you to do some detective work on LinkedIn to make an educated guess as to who will be in attendance. Also check out the event website where they will often publish exhibitors, for example. Where relevant, consider reaching out to people in advance. Even if it turns out they’re not attending the event, you’re still opening up a conversation. At the very least, you’ll make them aware of an industry event that might not have been on their radar.

2) It is likely the people you are scheduled to meet will take a look at your LinkedIn profile in advance of the event. So, make sure your profile page is up to date, reflecting your current role and agency messaging e.g.,

  • Make your headline outcome / value focused, rather than just your job title. For example, I describe myself as a ‘business development adviser’ but I also include ‘helping independent agencies win the right clients’ to highlight what people will experience by working with me.
  • Make your ‘about’ and ‘experience’ summaries distinctive. The ‘about’ section is probably the first thing someone will read about you. It should talk about your background and what has led to where you are today.
  • Inject some personality by giving some insight into your thinking, beliefs and interests (in a professional context). Put yourself in the spotlight, not just the agency you run or work for. Mention them, of course, but you can talk more about this in the ‘experience’ section.
  • Write a succinct overview of your agency and role in the ‘Experience’ section. Emphasise your expertise, problem-solving skills and the impact of your work as if you were speaking directly to a prospect (more ‘you’ and ‘your’, less ‘we’, ‘our’ and ‘us’).

3) Review your LinkedIn Company page…

  • Include a high-quality logo and banner image that incorporates a succinct elevator pitch (a few words describing what you do and for who).
  • Build on the above with a compelling ‘About’ section. Focus first and foremost on the problems you solve, for who, how and why.
  • Include your website URL, location, industry, company size and number of employees.
  • Specify the services your agency provides in the ‘specialities’ section. But be mindful of damaging your credibility by creating an endless list.

4) Sticking with LinkedIn, find the Company pages of organisations you are due to meet (or would like to meet) at the event and follow them. Do the same on other social networks, where relevant.

5) Then find the people you are due to meet on LinkedIn. Make a note of any shared connections that you might mention when meeting. Assuming they are fairly active, send a personalised connection request e.g.,

Hi NAME,
I’m looking forward to meeting you at EVENT. In the meantime, it would be great to connect.
See you on DATE.
Ben

6) Carry out some light touch research on the companies you are meeting:

  • Take a look at their website
  • Search for the company on Google and check the ‘news’ section
  • Look at their LinkedIn company page and feed
  • Make a note of anything relevant that you might refer to in conversation e.g., financial performance, investment, product launches, legal / regulatory changes, new leadership, personnel changes, agencies they are already working with

7) If appropriate, ‘like’ or comment on any relevant posts or articles shared by the company or person you are meeting.

8) Based on the above, prepare notes for each of your pre-arranged meetings:

  • Relevant observations from your research
  • Top-line ideas or opportunities
  • Any specific questions relevant to the organisation or contact

9) Add all organisations, contact data and research findings to your CRM. Download the CRM app to your phone so you can access details and add notes whilst at the event.

10) Ensure you are clear in how you will describe the agency when asked ‘what do you do?’ Consider creating a ‘one-pager’ you can have in front of you covering your elevator pitch, the problems you typically help your clients address, clients and key questions.

11) Review other agencies and suppliers attending the event (either by looking at the event website and / or via the attendee list). Is there anybody you’d like to meet? Send them a message on LinkedIn to arrange a chat over a coffee.

12) Follow the event organiser’s social media feeds, company pages and event hashtags.

13) Set yourself some simple goals for the event e.g., strike up a conversation with 10 people during breaks and the evening drinks.

14) Write a post on LinkedIn about your attendance and what you are looking forward to. Tag the event organisers and include the event hashtags.

15) A day or two before the event, review accepted connection requests and profile views on LinkedIn.

At the event

16) Treat each pre-arranged meeting as a two-way conversation, not a pitch. For anybody you meet – whether pre-arranged or at random – you will probably have no longer than 10 or 15 minutes to make an impression. Nothing will turn a prospect off more than you spending that time only talking about your agency and shoving a business card or brochure down their throat. So, lead the conversation with questions, not statements. This is just a small selection of possible conversation starters and exploratory questions…

  • Where have you travelled from?
  • Have you attended this event before?
  • What are you looking to get out of the conference?
  • How have the last couple of years been for you and the company?
  • What are you responsible for?
  • What are your priorities for the year ahead?
  • We typically see our clients struggling with XYZ. How is your company fairing?
  • Can you tell me a little bit about how you are dealing with that problem right now?
  • Where does addressing this problem feature on your list of priorities?
  • What opportunities do you see for the business over the next 18 months?
  • How is your diary looking next Wednesday to talk about this further?
  • If this isn’t a priority, when would you suggest we talk again?

17) There is every chance you will be asked early in the conversation what you do. Politely decline to answer this question until you find out a bit more about them first. This will allow you to answer their question in the most relevant way. You might gently push back by saying: ‘There are a number of different ways in which we help companies like yours, depending on X, Y and Z. Would you mind if I asked you a few more questions first?’

18) If you found anything relevant in your research prior to the event, refer to it during the conversation and then follow up with a question e.g. ‘I can see that you recently launched a new product – how have the first few months been working out?’

19) There is only so much you can cover during a 15-minute intro meeting or chance conversation during the event. Your goal is therefore to arrange a follow-up meeting. Schedule it there and then by agreeing on a date and sending an invite. If you can’t do this, keep a list of actions for each meeting so you can follow up immediately after the event.

20) For people you meet ‘randomly’, use LinkedIn’s QR Code feature (in the app) to make it easy for people to connect with you on the spot. Use the ‘Scan’ feature to connect to those who share their QR code with you first. Alternatively, go old school and swap business cards.

21) Post updates and key insights to LinkedIn and / or Twitter during the event using relevant hashtags. For example, if there is a speaker you find really interesting, write a short post highlighting a key point from their talk. Tag them in the post.

22) Keep an ear out for any audience questions asked at the end of presentations or panels. Does it present an opportunity to follow up with an attendee during the event or afterwards by offering some further insights or advice?

After the event

23) For those with whom you have already arranged a follow-up meeting, is there anything you can share in advance e.g., an article relevant to a point raised during your first conversation?

24) For those where you haven’t booked a follow-up meeting (but would like to), send an email a day or two after the event e.g.,

Hi NAME,
It was lovely to meet you on Tuesday. I hope you enjoyed the rest of the event.
You mentioned you were struggling with PROBLEM. Are you free for a short call on Thursday? I’d like to share a few thoughts and ideas based on our experience of working with organisations facing similar challenges.
How does that sound?

25) Or you could send the above as a LinkedIn voice message

26) If you haven’t done so already, connect on LinkedIn with any other people you met at the event. Be sure to personalise your message, perhaps reminding them when you met or what you spoke about.

27) Ensure all new contacts are added to your CRM and schedule tasks for those you plan to follow up with later i.e. if somebody asked you to reach out in three months to discuss a project. Consider how you can stay in touch in the meantime by sharing something relevant to your conversation

28) Write an article or LinkedIn post reviewing the event; what did you learn, what did you enjoy and so on. Tag the event organisers and use the event hashtags (there is a good chance they will share it with their network).

29) Review your LinkedIn feed regularly to ‘like’, comment or share something of value with the new connections you made at the event (or attendees you didn’t get the chance to meet).

30) And finally, take some time to review the event. Did it meet your expectations? How many new contacts did you make? Have you increased your LinkedIn connections? Broadly, how many opportunities do you think it might create in the future? What did you learn? Would you go again? But manage your expectations – you are unlikely to win a new client a couple of weeks after the event so judge its success over the medium term.

Have I missed anything?

30 easy wins to make the most of attending events2023-04-05T15:08:22+00:00

In defence of lead gen agencies

2023-03-14T18:14:40+00:00
Telephone

In defence of lead gen agencies

Barely a day goes by without an agency owner or business developer telling me about their less-than-pleasing experience outsourcing lead generation. I’d say for every person I speak to with good things to say about lead gen agencies, another ten say the complete opposite.

So, what’s going on?

Firstly, people tend to share negative experiences more than they do positive ones.

Secondly, even if a lead gen agency is doing a great job, I could imagine a scenario where their client is reluctant to tell the world about it. Who wants to give away their secret sauce to the competition, right?

And finally, there is my own confirmation bias to consider. If I keep hearing people say lead gen agencies suck, I’ll subconsciously listen out for and recall conversations that support this view.

But let’s put all that aside to make one thing clear. I don’t think all lead gen agencies suck.

Far from it.

Of course, there are some sharks and charlatans about. I’ve had the (mis)pleasure of seeing under the bonnet of campaigns run by such lead gen agencies and, let me tell you, they weren’t pretty. Thousands upon thousands of generic emails fired out to anyone with a pulse. It would have been less damaging to both the client’s wallet and reputation to have done nothing at all.

But I’ve also heard disparaging comments about lead gen agencies I really rate.

So, what’s REALLY going on?

Any lead gen agencies reading this will be best placed to confirm (or challenge) my hypothesis, but I think there are a couple of key factors that determine success:

1) The client’s readiness to do outbound.

2) How the client approaches the meetings booked by their lead gen partner.

On the first point, Mark Duval wrote a great article last year exploring what makes a client (marketing agencies in this context) outbound-ready. They include narrow positioning, proven results in the sectors being targeted and the capacity to follow up opportunities effectively.

When a lead gen agency sends thousands of generic emails, it might be because they don’t know any better. But it could also be because their client just wasn’t ready to do outbound in a more targeted and refined manner.

(As an aside, I’d argue a lead gen agency ‘doing the right thing’ wouldn’t even consider drafting an outbound email until the issues Mark raises have been fixed. But, of course, that doesn’t always happen. Either because the lead gen doesn’t have the expertise to fix these issues or because they decide to take on the client regardless.)

‘They weren’t qualified’

But even those lead gen agencies approaching outbound with more sophistication – resulting in a steady stream of meetings – can still find their client unhappy.

The client might tell me:

‘Yeah, they got us meetings with some decent brands, but they weren’t qualified.’

This leads us on to the second of my success factors; how the client manages the meetings set up by the lead gen partner.

In my view, a lead gen agency is simply there to open the door on behalf of their client. I say ‘simply’ but actually that task is extremely challenging; client-side marketers might receive 20 or 30 approaches a day (A DAY!) so getting a response to an outbound email is a minor miracle in itself.

But here’s the real crux.

Just because a prospect says they are happy to talk, it doesn’t mean they are in the market RIGHT NOW.

Yes, their interest has been piqued, otherwise, why would they have responded? But the likelihood that your lead gen agency has hit them up just as they were thinking about a change of approach, strategy or agency is very low.

You might immediately think this is a bad thing. Not necessarily. In fact, a prospect who is not in the market right now can actually be a more fruitful opportunity in the long run. But it requires an entirely different mindset and approach to the meeting your lovely lead gen partner has just booked for you.

From salesperson to changemaker

If you first accept that, in all likelihood, prospects targeted by your lead gen agency aren’t ready to buy right now, you will also accept the need to tackle the meeting differently.

Rather than whipping out the creds and talking about your agency for an hour – an approach that creates no value whatsoever for the prospect – you instead focus on building a case for change (remembering that change can be hard, scary and uncomfortable. It is much easier to do nothing, hence in sales your biggest competitor is the status quo).

That’s why a creds-style conversation so often ends with things going no further. Think about it. Why would a prospect consider changing based on a one-way conversation where you attempt to persuade them that your agency is ‘better’? Trust me, they’ve heard it all before.

This is where a lot of agencies need to up their sales game. People like to consider themselves ‘consultative’ salespeople but, in reality, I’m not so sure they are.
Consultative selling involves playing the role of trusted adviser; challenging assumptions, sharing insight, offering advice, and, ultimately, helping the prospect navigate change.

It relies on you already having a good idea of the problems faced by your prospect – and more importantly, the root causes of those problems – because you have seen them many times before (in The Challenger Sale, they call this hypothesis-based selling).

Consultative selling means you know as much – if not more – about your prospect’s world as they do. This means they learn something new about themselves, their business or their market during the sales process, thus beginning to build the case for change.

If they’re not learning, then they have no reason to continue talking to you. So they go dark. You chase them up for months on end. Then after a few attempts, you give up.

And who gets the blame for this? The lead gen agency of course. Because the prospect ‘wasn’t qualified’.

All paths lead back to positioning

If you haven’t guessed by now, consultative selling is most effective with narrow positioning; where working with similar clients, facing similar problems, leads to deep expertise.

Not only does this make the sales process easier – especially your ability to act as a trusted adviser in meetings – but your lead gen agency will also stand a far better chance of getting those meetings in the first place.

With generalist positioning, the opposite is often true. Your lead gen agency is forced to ‘bend the narrative’ to get you in front of prospects. Today, you are experts in banking, tomorrow e-commerce. It can be done. But it’s a tough gig for the lead gen agency.

And even if they get you a meeting, you probably lack the deep expertise to drive change.

Making the whole exercise a waste of everyone’s time.

All of which leads to my parting thought.

If the results you’re getting from your lead gen agency aren’t meeting expectations, it’s easy to pass the blame and push them to up their game.

But maybe they need you to up yours first.

In defence of lead gen agencies2023-03-14T18:14:40+00:00