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Launching the Agency Business Development Scorecard

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

Launching the Agency Business Development Scorecard

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

Look no further, my friend.

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

Anyway, what’s it all about?

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

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

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

> Highlight what a high performing business development function looks like

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

> Shine a light on gaps in your approach

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

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

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

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

Have a go and let me know what you think.

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

25 anecdotes from 5 years of advising agencies

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

25 anecdotes from 5 years of advising agencies on business development

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

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

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

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

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

2. All paths lead back to positioning

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

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

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

3. The symptoms of weak positioning have become normalised

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

6. Business development touches every other part of the agency

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

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

7. Peaks and troughs are born out of inconsistency

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

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

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

8. It all boils down to action

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

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

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

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

Sound familiar?

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

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

10. Referrals: more by accident than design

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

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

11. Outbound: simple in principle but rarely done well

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

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

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

…another ten say they got nothing from it.

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

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

13. A career in business development is rarely planned

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

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

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

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

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

But they can’t do the selling for you.

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

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

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

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

17. People don’t like talking about money…

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

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

…from proposal / pitch meeting to win.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

23. Change takes time despite the ambition to move fast

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

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

24. Business development is messy

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

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

25. Agencies are brilliantly resilient

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What’s in your business development playbook?

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

What’s in your business development playbook?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Positioning

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

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

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

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

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

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

Business development and marketing activity

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Qualifying and discovery

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

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

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

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

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

Proposals and pitching

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

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

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

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

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

Reporting and review

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

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

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

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

Appendix

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Photo by Susan Yin on Unsplash

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1) Position the role of BD in the right way

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Talking of which…

5) Encourage everyone to tap into their network

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

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

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

6) Play to the team’s strengths and interests

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

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

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

7) Even the simple act of reading can be invaluable

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

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

8) Educate and coach those around you

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

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

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

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

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

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

10) Share feedback; good, bad and indifferent

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

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

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

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

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

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

Photo by Matteo Vistocco on Unsplash

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

8 principles to qualify prospects properly

Ben Potter2020-11-20T14:18:39+00:00

Eight principles to help you better qualify new business opportunities

When it comes to how agencies and clients approach working together, I believe there are too many ingrained behaviours, processes and dated methods that ultimately benefit neither party.

None more so than the pitch process. Too often, it is heavily weighted in favour of the client. They can fire out an RFP to twenty agencies. Some will decline to take part. But most will exhaust every ounce of energy to share their strategic nous or creative brilliance (for free). Only to see the prospect do nothing. Or worse, stick with their incumbent.

This is, of course, an extreme example. But I hear variations of this story every day. Poor positioning, a fear of saying ‘no’ and the pressure to keep feeding the machine, all play their part. Not to mention clients who gladly take advantage of this, intentional or otherwise.

It means far too many hours are wasted writing proposals and pitch decks for ‘opportunities’ that agencies stand little, or no, chance of winning.

Now for the bit you don’t want to hear

It’s easy to blame the prospect in this scenario. But the lion’s share of that blame sits with the agency. I know that’s difficult to accept. But it’s true. Because in most cases, it’s a failure of process.

In their book, ‘Let’s get real or let’s not play’, Mahan Khalsa and Randy Illig estimate that 80% of lost sales opportunities are the result of an inadequate or non-existing qualifying process.

Anecdotally, that feels about right.

So, to help you spend less time on opportunities you stand little chance of winning (and more time on those that you do), here are some key principles to apply to your qualifying process:

1. Qualifying isn’t a one-off affair

We’ve all received one of those calls (at 5pm on a Wednesday) where a prospect needs a proposal on their desk by Friday. After dropping everything, we get the proposal in before the weekend. And then chase for weeks, giving up only when it becomes clear we’ve been ghosted.

Trust me, you’ll only make this mistake once. Won’t you…?

For whatever reason, agencies and clients are far too eager to get to the money shot (or proposal, as it is otherwise known). Qualifying is treated as something that is done early and done once. Wrong. Qualifying is not a one-off event. It isn’t something you tick off the list after the first call.

Instead, as one of my mentors taught me, qualifying is about gaining lots of small ‘yeses’ from the prospect. Which, hopefully, combine into one big ‘YES’ at the end.

Gaining these ‘yeses’ means asking A LOT of questions that simply can’t be covered off in one introductory call or chemistry meeting.

A decent qualifying process, whilst never perfectly linear, will encourage you to take stock at different stages. It will encourage you to seek the opinion of others, speak to the prospect more regularly (therefore building rapport) and gain those all-important ‘yeses’ along the way. All of which allows you can put together your proposal or pitch deck with greater confidence. More on that later.

2. If you are going to say ‘no’, do it early

When a lead comes in, give yourself some wiggle room to do a bit of due diligence first. Whilst it’s tempting to jump straight on a call, make of an assessment of how closely they fit your ideal client profile.

Clearly, there are certain things that are difficult to judge without a conversation. But there is a lot that can be gleaned from your desk. If they’re not right, be brave and say ‘no’. Go on, I dare you.

And if they do pass the first fitness test, your homework will stand you in good stead for the next step.

3. Always set a meeting agenda

Assuming you decide to progress, an introductory call or meeting will be the next step.

Always send an agenda and invite the recipient to add to it. Make sure you are both clear on exactly where you want to be by the end of the meeting. That way, the prospect can be prepared with the information you need. And you can be prepared with what they want to hear.

Don’t leave it to chance. I once went to a meeting that I thought was an initial meet and greet. Turned out it was a pitch. I didn’t win the business. And I didn’t make the same mistake again.

4. Put your creds away

As eager as you might be to talk through your creds at the start of the meeting (and even if the prospect asks you to), don’t. I repeat, don’t.

Instead, the spotlight should be on the prospect sat in front of you right now, not your past glories.

So, start the meeting with questions. Talking of which…

5. Go big, broad and bold with your questions

One of the great advantages an agency can create during the pitch process is in the questions they ask. If you’ve ever had a prospect say something like ‘that’s a really interesting question’, then well done. Because your question just provoked a new thought, idea, or possibility in the mind of the prospect. And that’s a good thing.

Questions also put a prospect at ease because they won’t feel like they’re being spoken at or sold to. Someone once said to me I was ‘the most un-salesy salesperson they’d ever met’. I took this as a great compliment. Because they didn’t realise I WAS selling. But I was doing it through the questions I was asking, not by making grand statements about my untold brilliance (if you’ve ever met me, you’ll know this is not my style anyway, I’m pretty self-deprecating). They went on to become a client by the way.

There are literally hundreds of questions you might ask during the qualifying process. I divide them into three categories:

1) Big, hairy questions that uncover where the prospect is trying to get to, the issues they are facing and what success looks like, as well as the needs, desires, motivations and concerns of the people involved.

2) Questions specific to the product or service under discussion, uncovering more granular pain points.

3) Questions that determine how likely things will move forward on terms both parties are happy with. Think budget, timescales, stakeholder opinion, other options, and the decision-making process.

As a rule of thumb, start with the big, hairy questions.

The broader you go in your questioning, the more you will learn. And the more you learn, the better you are placed to challenge the prospect, reveal new opportunities, and offer the right advice. All of which builds trust and elevates you above the competition.

6. Involve the team early and often

The pitch process should be a collaborative one between agency and client. But it should also be a collaborative process internally.

The stories of maverick business developers promising the earth to a prospect, chucking the bomb over the fence and wishing the team luck, are plenty. Avoid the ensuing shitshow this creates by involving those who will be delivering the work at the earliest opportunity.

They will inevitably have different questions, perspectives and ideas. Don’t just wheel them in for the pitch meeting. Make them an integral part of the process to interrogate, shape and respond to the brief.

7. Only put into writing what you have agreed verbally

A proposal or presentation should not be a BIG REVEAL, Don Draper style. There should be no major surprises. Instead, it should be confirmation of what you have broadly, already agreed with the prospect.

Before you put pen to paper, give the prospect a call. Talk through your top-line strategy, idea, or approach to get their buy-in well before the pitch. One of two things will happen. Either they are happy with the direction you’re headed meaning you can write your proposal / pitch deck without any grey areas, guesses or assumptions.

Or they’re not quite sure. In which case you can talk through their concerns and make revisions now, rather than batting away their objections later.

8. Even at the pitch meeting, you are still qualifying

Qualifying continues right the way through the process, meaning there will be questions you pose even at the pitch meeting. For example:

What do you see of particular value in our proposal?

Does our recommended approach still meet your brief?

Is there anything you are uncertain about in our approach?

Is there anything you have seen from another agency that we didn’t cover?

Is there anything else you need to see from us to get this signed off?

ABQ…

Until next time.

Always Be Qualifying.

8 principles to qualify prospects properlyBen Potter2020-11-20T14:18:39+00:00

Increase referrals by building your partner network

Ben Potter2020-11-20T14:22:44+00:00

How to increase referrals by building your partner network

A network of like-minded, complementary partners should be an integral part of your business development activity. I recently looked at how to increase the frequency and quality of client referrals with a more systematic approach. The same is true of your partner network. It’s no good waiting (and hoping) to be referred. You’ve got to take control and make things happen.

Here are some pointers to help you do just that.

First, build a prospect list

Let’s say as part of your business development plan you set a target to establish five, new strategic partnerships this year. To get to your favoured five, you might need to approach, speak to or test the water with ten or fifteen.

So, you need a partner prospect list. Just as you have one for prospective clients. (You do, right?).

Start by identifying the products or services (outside of your own) that your clients spend money on. Shortlist those that are a natural fit to your offering. For example, if you do digital marketing, a development agency partner would make sense.

Next, ask your clients about other agencies they work with and where they could facilitate an introduction (assuming they think they’re good).

Add to this list with some research. Look through directories and buyers guides, for example, The Drum Recommends, Campaign and regional resources, such as Prolific North. There’s also Google, of course. But be specific in what you’re looking for e.g. “web development retail London”.

As you scan the websites, content and social feeds of prospective partners look for…

Focus / specialisms – are they targeting the same industries / sectors / types of client?

Services – is there any crossover and therefore a potential conflict of interest?

Clients – are they working with brands on your target list?

Values – is there evidence that they share your outlook, thinking or way of doing business?

Size – are they independent or part of a network?

People – who is most likely to be responsible for partnerships? Do you have any shared connections on LinkedIn you can reference when getting in touch?

Marketing / PR – for example, are there any upcoming (virtual) events they are hosting or sponsoring? This might be a good chance to see what they’re all about.

For those that make the cut, follow the agency and key individuals on Twitter, LinkedIn and any other relevant networks. You could also sign up to their newsletter.

Make your approach

Like any relationship, there must be a mutual benefit. The prospective partner should feel from the outset that there is something in it for them. If your approach is focused only on what you want, you’re less likely to get a positive response.

If you were to send an email or LinkedIn message, it might read something like this:

Hi NAME,

From time to time our clients ask us if we know anyone good at SERVICE. In doing some research on their behalf, I came across your agency.

From your website, it looks like we are focused on working with similar clients. I also really like your ethos around SHARED THINKING / VALUE.

Let me know if you’re up for a chat to explore things further.

Cheers,

Ben

As always, keep your message short and sweet.

Or you could bypass email altogether and, dare I say, pick up the phone.

Qualify they’re a good fit

Just like a prospective client, you want to avoid jumping into bed with the wrong partner. Set up a call or meeting (remember those?) where you explore stuff like…

How did the agency get started? How have they grown and evolved since then?

How long have they focused or specialised in the audience / sectors / services detailed on their website?

What is their take on current trends and developments in these sectors / services?

Who are they working with right now? What are the key challenges these clients are facing? Which of these are they typically able to help with? Are there other challenges that come up in discussion that they are unable to address themselves?

Do they partner with any other agencies similar to yours?

How would they describe their culture?

What challenges do they face in terms of sales, marketing and PR? What have they got planned?

The expectation, of course, is that they will ask similar questions of you. If they don’t, it’s probably a red flag.

Nurture the relationship

Even if those early discussions go well, it is unlikely the new partner will simply start throwing leads your way. You’ll need to invest time in the relationship before you can expect to get anything back.

To get you started, here are thirteen ideas for staying front of mind…

1) Suggest that you present your background, service offering, approach and success stories to their wider team, especially those regularly speaking to clients, such as Account Managers.

2) Use this as a catalyst to set up regular knowledge-sharing sessions.

3) Ensure they are clear in who you are targeting. Share your ‘ideal client profile’.

4) Give them the confidence to talk about your agency and the value you bring by providing a messaging template (value proposition, elevator pitch, etc).

5) Share new case studies to bring your elevator pitch to life.

6) Keep them updated on your client wins, especially where there might be an opportunity to introduce them in the future.

7) Regularly share content reflecting your thinking / outlook / approach. Make it easy for the partner to share this content with their clients. For example, provide an email template overviewing the content (and why their clients should read it).

8) Invite them to an event or webinar you are attending / hosting.

9) Bring your teams together to explore joint marketing initiatives, such as research, content or events.

10) Help them look good. Share ideas and opportunities specific to one of their clients that they can incorporate into an upcoming review.

11) Make an introduction to another partner or someone that can help with their business, such as an advisor or consultant.

12) Congratulate them on their news, such as their latest award win.

13) And if you’re confident enough to do so, refer them to one of your clients. It’s the best way to get one back (so says the rule of reciprocity).

A bit of admin

Make sure there is a clear process in place for how introductions are made. For example, agree on the information that will be gathered by the other party. Will introductions be made over email? How quickly will you respond to that email?

You may also decide to formalise the agreement with some basic terms, including a kickback on any business you win as a direct result of the introduction (5-10% seems to be the norm). Alternatively, keep things fairly informal for the first few months to see how the relationship evolves. This has always been my preference.

At the very least, recognise, thank and reward those that refer you. If this doesn’t take the form of cold, hard cash, then send them a gift, take them out for (a socially distanced) lunch or buy them a ticket for an event. That sort of thing.

And just as you use your CRM to keep a track of your relationships with prospects and clients, do the same for partners. Create a category, label or tag for ‘partners’ so they can be easily filtered. Include background information. Keep contact details up to date. Set yourself a task or action to keep in touch at regular intervals.

And add a ‘partners’ option under ‘sources’ so you can track how many leads come from your partner network. By following the steps above you should soon start to see them increasing.

Now go.

Go on.

Make it happen.

Increase referrals by building your partner networkBen Potter2020-11-20T14:22:44+00:00

Get proactive with client referrals

Ben Potter2020-11-20T14:25:43+00:00

Get proactive with client referrals

Like most agencies, I bet you already get your fair share of referrals; clients and partners recommending your agency to prospects who might benefit from your expertise.

Referrals are great. They’re a sign you’re doing a good job. And the sales cycle is often shorter, and the close rate higher, compared to leads from other sources.

But referrals are also a problem if your agency is too reliant on them. And without a systematic approach to increase the frequency and quality of those referrals, the problem is compounded. It means growth (or survival) is contingent on something you have virtually no control over. Instead, you are reliant on whatever happens to come through the front door.

For a lot of agencies, pipelines have been decimated in recent months. Projects have been put on hold or cancelled indefinitely. So now, more than ever, you’ve got to make things happen.

Start by taking a more proactive approach to client referrals. It looks something like this:

Start by setting yourself a target

Let’s say you have a new business objective of £500K for the year. From a standing start, it can feel pretty daunting.

To make that big number less frightening break it down into smaller targets and ultimately, actions. For example, to hit your big number, you estimate you’ll need 30 on-profile leads. From there, set targets by channel, say 15 leads from inbound, 5 from outbound and 10 via referrals.

You can then set yourself a goal of, say, 20 referral requests over the year (with a view that 50% will convert to an on-profile lead). That’s less than two requests a month.

See, feels better already, right?

Lay the foundations early to ask later

A lot of people I speak to say they feel uncomfortable asking a client for a referral.

A great tip I picked up from Anthony Iannarino is to lay the foundations to ask by introducing the idea of referrals early in the relationship. Not long after the client has signed on the dotted line, explain that referrals are your most successful form of lead generation. Talk about how much you are looking forward to workinhttps://thesalesblog.com/g together and your confidence in exceeding their expectations. And that when this happens, you hope they won’t mind you asking for a referral or two.

This works particularly well if the new client was referred to you of course.

Use feedback as a catalyst to ask

Focus your referral requests on those clients you know are in a good place. You might know this anecdotally. If not, consider a more formal method for gaining feedback. I know NPS (Net Promoter Score) gets mixed reviews. That’s a debate for another day. But as a means of facilitating a referral, I think it works particularly well.

If you are not familiar with NPS, it involves just two questions, along the lines of the following:

On a scale of 1 – 10, how likely is it that you would recommend our agency to your colleagues or peers?

Please can you provide a brief explanation of your score?

Those clients scoring you 6 or below are ‘Detractors’, 7 or 8 are ‘Passives’ and 9 or 10 are ‘Promoters’.

NPS tees up your ask perfectly (for those scoring you highly) because it directs attention towards referring you, something they may not have thought about without being prompted.

As an aside, I’d recommend speaking to all clients after receiving back your score. Whether it’s good bad or indifferent, it’s a great starting point to an open conversation on what is working / not working and how you can improve. From experience, this is far more effective than a multiple-choice, Survey Monkey questionnaire, for example.

Ask in the right way

So, your client gives you a 9. They explain their reasoning. They’re happy. You’re happy. Now it’s time to ask them for a referral (maybe even two. Hell, you only live once).

Firstly, explain why referrals are valuable. You might say something like:

“We are looking to grow by working with more great clients like you. Referrals have always been an effective way of doing this. I was wondering if you might be able to help.”

Notice the complement in there. It never hurts.

Next, be specific. It’s no good asking ‘do you know anyone that might be interested in what we do?’. That puts all the onus on your client to come up with a list of names. Which is no good anyway.

Instead, do your homework. Use LinkedIn to identify relevant prospects they are connected to. Seek to understand the nature of their relationship. Just like you, they’ll be connected with people they don’t know well or have never met so it’s mindful to check before you get too excited.

If you can’t be as specific as this, use your ‘ideal client profile’ to make it clear about the types of businesses and people you’re looking to work with.

Make a good first impression

After the introduction, don’t (I repeat DON’T!) send a long-winded email all about your agency and how brilliant you are.

Instead, do some research. Share something relevant and useful.

Explain that the first step is an exploratory chat.

Nothing will turn a prospect off more than being pitched to. And your client won’t appreciate it either. They’ve referred you in good faith. Don’t make them look bad.

Follow up with your client

After you’ve been introduced, and especially if you’ve had a conversation with the prospect, let your client know. And for goodness sake, say thank you. Knowing how much you appreciate their help will go a long way. And might mean they don’t need to be prompted to recommend you again in the future.

A final word on incentives

I’m often asked whether a client needs to be, in effect, paid to help. Whether that’s a kickback, a reduction in fees and so on.

No.

If you’re doing a good job, if the relationship is strong and if you ask in the right way, there should be no need. The client should want to help. If they don’t then it might suggest an underlying issue (meaning you’ve probably got a more pressing problem to fix).

By all means, buy them a bottle of their favourite tipple to say thank you but anything more than that shouldn’t be necessary.

Photo by Christian Stahl on Unsplash.

Get proactive with client referralsBen Potter2020-11-20T14:25:43+00:00

For goodness sake, put your deck away

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

For goodness sake, put your deck away

“Send us over your creds.”

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

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

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

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

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

The subtle difference between ‘want’ and ‘need’

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

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

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

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

When asked to send it via email

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

When meeting a prospect for the first time

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

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

The prospect barely says a word, clearly in awe.

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

You never hear from them again.

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

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

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

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

When pitching

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

Needless to say, the agency lost this particular pitch.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Are your prospects doing the same?

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

Stop looking for the ‘silver bullet’

Ben Potter2020-11-20T14:44:56+00:00

To win new business, stop looking for the silver bullet

In life, us humans love the idea that somewhere out there lies the ONE thing that will solve our problems, cure our woes or make things better – the classic ‘silver bullet’.

I find this can also be true of business development. Perhaps because it is often misunderstood or under-valued as a discipline, agency owners believe the answer lies in a single variable; a shiny tool, a piece of technology, a lead generation agency or recruiting a business development manager (BDM), for example.

They’re guilty of ‘silver bullet syndrome’, mistakenly chasing the one thing that will change the game and lead to a flood of new business.

It just doesn’t work like that

If business development was easy, every agency would be nailing it. They’re not. And that’s because there are no short cuts, no hidden tricks, no rabbits out of hats. It very rarely comes down to one thing, no matter how big the change or how large the investment.

So, what is the answer?

For me, it lies in the principle of marginal gains; a theory perhaps best explained with an example from the world of sport.

Now, if we ignore for a moment some of the bad press around Team Sky (but certainly not condone it!) and instead talk about Dave Brailsford’s philosophy to winning.

He was appointed manager of the cycling team in 2010. His strategy was based on the idea that every area related to the team’s performance could be improved by 1%.

He started by optimising the things that even us cycling novices could have a guess at: nutrition, training regimes, the bike seat, helmet and the weight of the tires, for example.

However, he then searched for 1% improvements in areas overlooked by the competition, such as the pillows the cyclists used (ensuring the optimum night’s sleep as they moved from hotel to hotel), massage gels and how they washed their hands (to avoid infection).

By employing this approach, Dave targeted a Tour de France victory within five years. They won it in three. Dave went on to coach the British cycling team at the 2012 Olympic Games, winning around 70% of the gold medals available.

Dave knew that creating a winning team wouldn’t come down to one or two major changes. Instead, it was about the detail. It was the ‘aggregation of marginal gains’ that delivered a remarkable improvement in performance.

Where are your marginal gains?

I’m a big fan of marginal gains, believing the principle perfectly lends itself to business development. In isolation, a change in behaviour, a new skill, a better process, a piece of technology or even bringing an experienced BDM into the fold, will not make a huge amount of difference.

In other words, performance isn’t driven by a single factor. Instead, it’s the culmination of hundreds of small, continual improvements in people (attitude, behaviours and skills), processes and tools that can give one agency the edge over another.

Agencies rarely look at business development as a source of advantage over the competition. Instead, the emphasis (and investment) is in delivering their services bigger and better than anybody else (better people, better techniques, better tools, better reporting and so on).

Whilst there is a big difference between the very best and the very worst agencies when it comes to service delivery, there is a huge middle ground where the difference is small. Therefore, the advantage many agencies believe they have (and put front and centre of their proposition) is not really an advantage at all.

Conversely, how an agency view and approach all aspects of business development, from positioning through to pitching, really can make the difference when, on the face of it, so many agencies look the same.

In other words, business development can be your agency’s competitive advantage if you focus on the detail, rather than chasing a single solution to address a multitude of issues, gaps and opportunities.

Stop looking for the ‘silver bullet’Ben Potter2020-11-20T14:44:56+00:00