I refer you back to my last blog about the top 7 reasons why prospects will agree to see an agency from a cold call and you will recall that the number one reason is the ability of the caller to build rapport on the phone with the marketing decision maker.

There are other determining factors (like relevant case studies, ROI, unique methodologies etc) but the simple truth is that building rapport and demonstrating empathy with their current challenges are often the most important reason why marketing prospects will agree to meet a new agency – particularly when there aren’t any discernible points of difference.

This makes it doubly important for us to recruit and retain a highly skilled and motivated team of New Business Managers and I’m often asked where we get them from.

The simple answer is, from wherever we can, provided they can demonstrate the unique blend of skills, passion for marketing and intrinsic values that we are looking for.

They will often have experience of setting meetings in other markets, such as technology or management consultancy, sometimes they come from recruitment or publishing and often they are referred by our existing team.

On a practical basis we use a combination of handpicked recruitment consultants who know and understand our business very well and online jobsites. It’s then down to the time consuming process of first and second interviews where the candidates are put through a series of exercises which will help us identify the mix of skills and attitude that are so important in a small, tight knit company.

I’ll write another blog shortly on how we retain our staff…

Alchemis is in the business of New Business and for that you need fresh, vibrant minds that have the eagerness and tenacity to represent your company.

Why?

Because they will mould themselves to become an organic extension of your existing team thus being able to sell your offer and put you in front of the right people, generating high quality opportunities for you to secure new business in 2011.

I joined the Alchemis family in June of 2010 with a limited amount of sales experience from a property management company. Daunting? Yes!

I plunged in at the deep end and made the decision to be open minded to whatever came my way. Well, my first months were a complete blur of intense training sessions, learning the marketing lingo, campaign plans and role plays. The buzz on the sales floor from some 12 New Business Managers was enough to make me want to get my first meeting up on the board and until I did, I felt out of my depth and full of doubt in my ability.

Well, that first meeting came and I have not looked back. With the help of Dave our Sales Director, who has been very patient with my incessant questions, I came to realise that the art of ‘selling’ is really rooted in psychology and once I began to understand this suddenly something clicked!

8 months into the job and I have four clients of my own.

It is a testament to the quality of training and the encouragement of my colleagues that I have started to understand how to wear hats for a variety of marketing clients. My numerous hats have included creative clients, a PR agency, a market research agency, a customer management outfit as well as design and digital clients. By gaining solid insight to how these companies operate, their heritage, ethos and ambitions for their business, I am able to put together a campaign strategy to represent them in the most honest and appealing way to potential prospects.

In my experience, I believe that the blueprint for a successful New Business Manager would be one that found the right balance between flair and fluency on the telephone, up-to-date knowledge of the market and sectors they are working within, strong communication with their clients and good time management skills. I can say with confidence that these are attributes found amongst the team at Alchemis and qualities I strive to emulate. So if you want to join a team that encourages you to be the best you can be and rewards you for it, a team that supports, stimulates you and teaches you to think on your feet in any situation then this is the right experience for you and your career. It is certainly a group of people I am happy to continue learning from, socialising with and bouncing ideas off for some time to come!

September-November is traditionally the purple patch for new business and September 2010 didn’t disappoint.

We fell just short of the record number of meetings set in August but still recorded a figure that stands as 2nd best in the past few years. More impressive is the number of quality new business meetings our clients attended, which was a year best.

October is already shaping up to be a good month and it will need to be as we have had an influx of new clients coming on board. Any client starting in October is going to get in front of some great companies before Christmas but they will find the real work starts in the New Year. With December being a ‘festive’ month finding a date that works for all parties to meet can be a bit like nailing jelly to a wall so meetings tend to back up in January. Although we try to be sensitive to our client’s need to recover after the Christmas and New Year break I’m afraid most will be returning to work in January to face a busy diary of good prospects with money to spend.

So if you are thinking of making ‘new business’ a resolution for the new year then now is a great time to get the ball rolling.