We know marketing departments are under enormous pressure to deliver better sales results with tighter resources. This often results in short-term price based promotional activity, or certainly activity where ROI can be truly measured (this has typically taken a digital route). However, the pressure that they are under inevitably feeds down to the marketing agencies they employ and feedback from our clients suggests that they have needed to compromise their pre-recession pricing or working practices in order to retain business and feel that a good pricing “offer” could be beneficial in attracting new business. These often revolve around payment on results, taking on initial projects at a loss on the basis of future potential or offering free audits as a way to get a foot in the door, but how much of a hook is it for prospective new clients?

No doubt, agencies need to adapt to their clients’ changing circumstances. Agencies that put the client first may experience more short-term pain but could potentially reap the rewards during and post this recession. With brands demanding more for their money, a well thought through and executed price or results based proposition may well help attract new business, but if positioned in the wrong way, could devalue the quality of your offer, people and brand. Stick to what you are good at. Many agencies see themselves as multi-faceted, but most still tend to have core strengths, be it in sector or discipline. There will always be a temptation to say “yes” to a client interested in a discipline outside of your agency’s core expertise. Whether you are trying to get a foot in the door through new business calling or at the point of working with a client, learning or developing a new skill at the expense of the client will almost certainly backfire and potentially damage your brand.

On both these points, your new business agency is key and needs to be properly briefed, with absolute clarity. The key is to work with your new business agency to identify your core proposition. Sounds obvious, but we want to be sending you in to meet people, where you can demonstrate knowledge, experience and discipline expertise, which is more likely to lead to business conversions.

Work with your agency to identify the prospects you would be prepared to make a price/working practice/free audit based offer to. You may find it is only a proportion of your target audience. This is something your new business agency should be able to help you with. If, during a conversation, it is a clear a prospect would not provide substantial, ongoing potential, why compromise for a one off project? Finally, and most importantly, agree how any offer will be conveyed. A good offer, put in the right way will come across as powerful and value added and can be dynamite for generating interest over the phone versus other agency approaches, but in the wrong way, there will be a danger of it devaluing your company and people. On all of this, your new business agency should be delivering meaningful feedback on any offer or proposition in order to hone your business development strategy and drive your company through the recession.

To agency owners, how are you responding to marketing departments putting pressure on you to deliver results?

To marketing decision makers, how are your agencies responding to your requests for measurable ROI?

I read an interesting article in Marketing Week on 3^rd December referring to the latest Marketing Trends Survey by the Chartered Institute of Marketing. Specifically this feature concerns the investment that brand owners need to make (both in terms of their time when it comes to training and their money relating to technology) in order to meet their customer relationship management goals.

Keeping on top of CRM is no picnic: you might be a huge multinational with an entire department dedicated to tracking the ever-changing habits and needs of your customer base or a small agency relying on a package like ACT, but the quality of the data you get out will only ever be as good as the quality of data that gets captured in the first place – and this takes a lot of time and effort. It’s a bit like painting the Forth Bridge, although even that has an ending in sight now.

Let’s relate this issue to small to medium size agencies: you’ve got finite resources so it’s not always practical to have a data research team. Sure, you can buy data from numerous providers; but how often have you opened your data package expectantly, only to feel somewhat underwhelmed when you start using it? It’s a bit like an excitable child opening a present at Christmas only to find that the box contains an old Sega Master System rather than the latest Playstation 3.

Then there’s the whole issue of how to get your data working for you, as opposed to you working for it. There are plenty of contact management systems out there but if you don’t have the expertise to fully utilise them it’s fairly likely that you’ll be missing opportunities and therefore potentially losing money.

One of the key contributions to our own success as a company (and obviously this has come off the back of delivering results for our clients) has been the continued investment, maintenance and development of our CRM database. As a tool it is invaluable in helping to identify genuine opportunities for our clients and helping to win new business for ourselves.

Let’s be realistic – on any sizeable database you will never achieve 100% accuracy. There will always be a certain proportion of the information that has changed and not yet been recaptured. But if you have a whole group of business development professionals collectively updating the system from the information they are gathering with each call they make (somewhere in the region of 1000 calls each day between them) and this information is specifically focussed on gleaning new business opportunities above anything else, you soon start to separate the wheat from the chaff. Of course, it helps to have a tip-top system built specifically for your requirements – but if you’ve got it, why not flaunt it?

What are your views on the opportunity cost of CRM?

“Botanophobic landscape gardener – seeks similar”. Ok so admittedly, not all of us are going to find our perfect match, but if you’re willing to get yourself out there, a happy relationship awaits.

What am I waffling on about? Let me explain. I’ve worked in sales since I was a fresh-faced 17-year-old lad – hard-nosed, relentless, soul destroying sales. Working as a New Business Manager for marketing agencies is a different kettle of fish all together.

I could probably best relate the process, and the feeling I get when my clients win new business to that of a “Love Advisor” (or whatever they call themselves in the dating game). The satisfaction they must feel when Jim the botanophobe calls to thank them profusely for finally finding him love.

My clients come to me with a list of qualification criteria, thankfully not quite as specific as Jim’s, but criteria that I will work very tightly with to source them the best opportunities to win new business.

The process is much the same as the dating game (in a way).

The Introduction (The Call):

So I have the criteria, let’s say retail brands, budget over £50k, based in the South East, and an agency user? Check! Now to start building the relationship. My job is to ensure they are the right kind of prospect, and by the end of my call have a healthy interest in my client, enough to meet and get acquainted.

Now maybe they are already in relationship but they like you enough to meet you don’t they?

The Big First Date (The New Business Meeting):

My place or yours? (well, usually their place). I have qualified this meeting enough for us to know that they fit my client’s criteria, and they have a genuine interest in the offer. Here’s where the client comes in to see if there is chemistry. What do you have in common? Now it’s not as simple as “No way! Your favourite colour is red!? Mine too! Garçon! Bill please!” It takes a little work. These prospects don’t jump into bed with just anyone you know.

At the end of the date, it would be great if you came away with a new business brief. If not don’t be shy, they have trusted in you, maybe told you their problems so be brave enough to ask them for a second date.

The Proposal (The Proposal!):

Let’s say it was love at first sight, and things are moving fast. You have the brief, and you’re considering your proposal (It doesn’t need to take place at the top of the Eiffel Tower, their offices will do).

You swoop in suited and booted, romance them with your flashy power point presentation proposal. They say yes! All of your hard work (and mine) has paid off! Let the relationship begin.

And all of this from a well-targeted, new business cold call. Doesn’t it just make you want to weep?