Want More New Business? Read the Want Ads.

New Business is a difficult challenge for most agencies and service companies.

I have written a blog in the past called Are Most Agencies New Business Efforts a Waste of Time? You see many agencies chase prospects where there is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I know from my agency search practice that many great brands have a larger brand footprint than budget. Agencies give them proposals that are way over their head.

I’ve heard ,“These guys are big. I bet you they have a huge budget.” One too many times.

What I Learn By Visiting Advertising Agencies.

I like speaking to AAF and AMA Chapters. I have spoken in Amarillo, Fort Worth, Louisville, Jackson MS, New Orleans, Great Falls, Duluth, Biloxi, Mobile, Norfolk, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Oklahoma City, Little Rock and other spots like Nashville, Louisville, Omaha, Lincoln, and Tucson to name a few.

Every time I travel to a town I have some down time. Most likely in the morning prior to presenting. I can do emails in my hotel room anytime but I can’t meet people in whatever town everyday. So I send out emails to ad agencies in those cities saying I am coming to town.

I have conducted agency searches for Jenny Craig, Jacuzzi, Villeroy & Boch, Toyo Tires and other companies and coming to your town I write. Have anytime for a coffee I ask?

The Secrets of Agency New Business.

I have conducted agency reviews for clients like Jenny Craig and Toyo Tires. I was the fly on the wall.

I have won lots of New Business for agencies and supported myself for over a decade by creating my own salary.

So here are the key secrets I have discovered about New Business.

There are none. None. Nada. Zero. None. Aucun.

Sorry.

“I don’t want to hear that Hank. I want the easy answer.”

Should Advertising Agencies Collaborate?

I was doing some recruiting the other day.  Trying to find some folks.  I like to feel the happiness of successful human outcomes. I reached out to some people I was connected with on LinkedIn.

I sent an e mail to one agency that I didn’t know well.  I told him that I was looking for a mid-level Account person.  I wasn’t looking for anybody to split the atom.

I got back an interesting response.  “Are you asking me to recommend a person for a competitive agency?”  He seemed incredulous.

I hope my LinkedIn friend never ends up at the beach if he loses his job.  He will get a bad sun burn. Not too much karma there.

How Agencies Can Get More New Business in the New Normal

I could have called this article Does Your Agency Have Vision or Passion or Leadership?  What most agencies think is vision is a positioning line. Vision isn’t copy.  Vision is a belief that translates into action.   It is an ethic that fosters a culture and an aggressive approach to New Business.

I had lunch the other day with a Chief Technology person for a bicoastal agency.

I had never met her before and was chasing her for something else.