Decades of new business experience

There may be cause for a small celebration at Alchemis this week, as another of our Account Managers hits the 10-year mark in their job here.

Whilst some of you may wonder what the big deal is, this level of longevity – i.e staying at the same (relatively small) company in an outbound business development role – is more likely to be the exception rather than the rule in the world of sales and new business.

Alchemis has a team that averages 18-21 staff at any one point. Eight of them have been here more than 10 years – and three of them more than 20 years.

Let’s consider how this situation benefits our client base of agencies throughout the creative and marketing services industry:

Knowledge is power

The longer you spend in a role, the better you understand it. You gain an immense amount of experience and the very nature of this job means you will have worked on new business campaigns for clients across an extremely vast range of marketing disciplines. You know what works (and you also know what doesn’t) when it comes to conveying their services to the decision makers and budget-holders that they want to meet.

You are well aware of the industry challenges your clients (and, just as importantly, their prospects) will be facing as you have been discussing these issues day in day out with decision makers in the industry throughout your whole time in the role. It is, quite literally, your day job.

You have dealt with every personality type in terms of prospects and are extremely skilled in objection handling – you will know when it is worth pushing for a new business meeting and – equally importantly – when it is not worthwhile.

The value of this knowledge and market experience cannot be understated.

Company Integrity

As an employee in the role for such a long time, you have faith in the company. Why would you stay in the job so long at a place that treats you badly or doesn’t value your contribution otherwise? Quite simply, you wouldn’t.

Likewise, the company has shown faith in you. We know that outbound new business is a very tough role. If it was easy then nobody would ever outsource it. There are targets to hit and frankly if you are not delivering to your client base the company would not be able to keep you. Whilst every salesperson may have some peaks and troughs, consistency over a prolonged period is why you remain in the job.

Alchemis has been in business for 40 years and we know there can be cowboys in this market. That is why it is so important to carry out due diligence. This applies to employees who may be seeking a job at a new business agency, as well as marketing agencies who may be looking to appoint one to help them win new clients.

Our employees are our single greatest asset. If they (and therefore our company) could not deliver to our clients, we wouldn’t be in business. It really is that simple.

Stability and Mentorship

The fact that there is such a significant portion of the team with decades “on the clock” at this job brings stability to the company – and by extension – our clients. With well over a hundred years collective experience specifically in new business for the agency world, there are not many gaps in our knowledge.

This means that on the occasions that any staff leave, there will be someone behind the scenes who is ready and capable to step into the role to enable a smooth transition and consistency on a client campaign. Think of the upheaval your own agency may go through when trying to recruit a capable new business manager internally. They need to be able to hit the ground running as soon as they start in the role and if they don’t, or if they leave, you are back to square one. This can be a particularly acute problem for small to medium sized agencies (which is why they tend to make up a higher proportion of our client base).

Internally at Alchemis, the fact that there are a senior team of “wisened owls” (for want of a better term) enables mentorship for newer staff as they come through the ranks. This can actually work both ways, as younger employees joining the team may bring different perspectives and knowledge from the roles they have previously come from. The end result is that the whole team can benefit as they learn from each other – which in turn benefits the clients.

Wider Network

Having been in the business so long, our collective team has amassed a vast network of contacts throughout the marketing industry and beyond.

This also extends to our own suppliers, as we have dealt with a wide range of external consultants and companies over the years in order to stay on top of our game with technology and innovation.

In terms of how this can benefit our clients, the chances are we will always have or know somebody who “knows the industry”…. No matter how obscure or specific that particular fragment of industry may be.

This means there may also be opportunities for a client that might want to collaborate on a project within this extensive network if they ever need an extra skill set.

So, to all the Alchemis veterans of new business, who have worked with every type of agency, across every kind of marketing discipline throughout the UK, Europe and further afield… well done you!

And never stop learning.