Book

The Video: How To Write An Advertising Agency Book

Peter · December 8, 2014 · Leave a Comment

My HubSpot Inbound Conference Video: “The Advertising Agency Book – From Idea To Publication in 6 Months”

Here is a video of the talk I gave at HubSpot’s Inbound 2014 conference. Watch my presentation to find out how to write an advertising agency book by mid 2015. Yes, you can do it.

The video will show you how to get a good head start on adding this special arrow to your new business quiver. I discuss the multiple benefits of writing a book; that it can be done relatively quickly (I wrote my 65,000 word The Levitan Pitch, Buy This Book. Win More Pitches. in less than 6 months); how the book will drive your thought-leadership program and how your agency is particularly well set up and well endowed to get a great business-building book out the door.

Writing is a good thing

As I’ve written before: I got the speaking gig at Inbound 2014 because I write for HubSpot’s Agency Post. Using thought leadership to gain broad awareness of your agency is, well, its a very good thing. Here’s my earlier post on the value of guest posting: “Why I Guest post On Agency Post.”

Here is my dedicated post on writing an advertising agency book and how it can be used for new business outreach. The post includes the PowerPoint presentation I used in the following video.

To help you find the gems in the 30 minute talk, I’ve put some highlights below.

Video Timelines

This are approximate…

Intro: :00 to 1:30
6 Months, Really?: 1:30 to 3:00
The how to: 3:00 to 7:00
Mistakes: 7:00 to 10:50
Objectives and Strategies: 10:50 to 25:00
Recap: 25:00 to 30:00

OK, Buy The Book – I wrote my book for you. I want you to win more pitches.

If you read the book you will pitch better than your competition.

Here’s more:

You will mange your agency’s pitch process much better.
You won’t burn out your employees.
You will plan better.
You will reduce your pitch budget.
You will strategize better.
You will arrive better prepared.
You will present better.
You will win more pitches.
You will retire earlier.

Buy multiple copies of the book as Christmas / Hanukah gifts right here: Amazon

Buy the “How Not To Win A Pitch” poster here: Society6

Are You More About ‘Likes’ than Being ‘Liked’? PR Master Peter Shankman Lays It Out.

Peter · November 24, 2014 · Leave a Comment

Some Thoughts On Social Media and Real Life ‘Liked’ Vs. ‘Likes’ From PR Master Peter Shankman

I spoke at HubSpot’s enormous Inbound 2014 conference in September. This was without question the largest advertising conference I’ve attended. It consumed the entire Boston convention center. I was told that there were around 7,000 people attending. The draw was Hubspot’s leadership in inbound marketing and a fantastic list of speakers.

I had two favorite moments. One was a ‘comedy central’ (and insightful) monologue and the other was, yes, about me and how I wrote my new book from idea to published in just 6 months.

1 – An Interview With Peter Shankman – The Funniest Man In Marketing

PR master Peter Shankman was one of the most insightful speakers at Inbound 2014. Peter drove a large audience of marketers and advertising agency types into fits of hysteria during his 45-minute talk about being a smart (and nice) marketer. His staccato monologue was all stand-up and included only one slide. It was a rare PowerPoint-free and very funny experience. I hope that HubSpot puts the talk up on its website soon.

Peter discussed the marketing power of good customer service and how he built the online PR tool HARO and sold it 3 years after launch. Most businesses and, in the case of the marketing-oriented Inbound audience, advertising agencies dream of creating a service or product that can be sold. He did it.

Peter’s latest book, “Zombie Loyalists”, will be out in January. In the meantime, visit the book’s website.

Peter, tell me a bit about your Inbound talk.

It was a lot of fun. A smart marketing audience like that hears a lot of about social and metrics, scale and analytics, but to be able to talk to them a little bit about the basics of customer service and being nicer to your audience and how that actually generates more revenue than almost everything else combined is a lot of fun. I love being able to share that insight.

You’re saying that just being nice is a forgotten marketing tool?

Inside My Book On Advertising Agency Pitching

Peter · September 16, 2014 · Leave a Comment

What’s Inside My Book On Pitching?

As some of you know, I am speaking at HubSpot’s Inbound 2014 conference. I am talking about how to write a B2B book in less than 6 months.

Since I am not actually talking about the art of pitching for advertising agency new business that is the subject of The Levitan Pitch. Buy This Book. Win More Pitches. (which I wrote in 5 months), I thought that I should share what’s inside the 251 page book. I find that people dig the title but still wonder what they are actually going to get. How will this book actually help them win more advertising pitches? Can’t blame them. There are a few books on pitching out there and while I know that I’ve designed my book to be insightful and easy to read, how can anyone other than a reader know this without picking up a copy. So, here you go… (from the book’s introduction)…

Chapter One

In Chapter One of this book, I discuss the very high cost of failing to run well-crafted, efficient pitches. The costs of failure include poor agency staff morale, individual employee burnout, and the financial cost to an agency’s bottom-line that comes from the cost of participating in four-month agency searches and funding an agency’s annual business development plan. There can also be significant costs to career advancement, as you will see from my personal experience in my Saatchi & Saatchi story about “The Worst Advertising Pitch Ever”.

Chapter Two

Chapter Two offers an escape hatch. You should not pitch every account that comes knocking. I give you a handy tool to gauge both the value of the prospective client and your agency’s chances of winning. This is a rather good exercise to do before you embark on the path of winding up the agency to build your finalist pitch.

Chapter Three

Chapter Three begins to help you position the pitch for success. We look at the essential facts of the pitch and dig into understanding the client’s mindset by understanding the type of assignment, type of relationship they are looking for, and what type of agency will fulfill their needs.

Chapter Four

Chapter Four delivers my list of “The 12 Deadliest Presentation Mistakes”. These are identified pitch killers that come from my personal experience and the experiences of agency CEO’s, clients, and search consultants. The accompanying cartoons wouldn’t be as funny if these mistakes were not being made over and over, even by the most sophisticated agencies.

Chapter Five

In Chapter Five I lay out thirty short but very sweet suggestions for how to build a brilliant presentation that I know will greatly increase your odds of winning. These ideas cover three core elements of a successful pitch: process management, content development, and how to deliver a standout presentation. Each rule is supported by a tip or insight that offers a fast way to achieve your objectives. One of my favorite insights is how to use LinkedIn recommendations to understand the personalities and interests of the clients that will be in the presentation. This insight isn’t what you think.

Chapter Six

Chapter Six is all about don’t take my word for it. This chapter brings in valuable learning via fourteen interviews with a range of communications industry experts. It is informative and often mind-blowing to hear the pitch related experiences and advice of agency search consultants, compensation experts, an ex P&G procurement executive, a negotiation trainer, the 4A’s, the Association of National Advertisers, a silicon valley presentation guru, a leading agency strategist, an ex-Nike and W+K executive on building chemistry, an IP lawyer on who actually owns your pitch ideas, the CEO of a London advertising agency, and the CEO of an independent agency network who has been on both sides of the table.

Chapter Seven

Finally, I’ve included insights about all too common agency pitch mistakes from 16 of the world’s leading search consultants.

—

That’s it. Hope this sounds like a book that you’ll want to read. My goal is to help you win more pitches. I can almost guarantee that if you pay attention to the book’s advice — you will win more. By the way, take a look inside the book on Amazon.

New Reviews For The Levitan Pitch

Peter · September 11, 2014 · Leave a Comment

Wow, Nice Reviews Are Coming In

Here are some early reviews of The Levitan Pitch. Buy This Book. Win More Pitches. that are up on Amazon. Very cool to read. Well, for me that is!

No, I don’t know all of these people.

Russ Stoddard:

You get it all in this book. Peter Levitan presents insights gleaned from global pitches for multi-national brands all the way down to the local and regional level. Hey, some aspects of pitching transcend client size. With the significant funds you invest in pitching, how can you not afford to make a small investment in a resource like this? It’s a gem.

Jerome Seljan:

I found this an invaluable handbook for a small business operator who handles all his marketing. I owned & operated a restaurant & jazz club for 25 years. This book would have greatly aided my strategy in marketing my business. The book is clear & concise & gets right to the point.

Big Jim:

Know The High Cost Of Advertising Agency New Business?

Peter · September 10, 2014 · 1 Comment

Advertising Agency New Business Is Expensive

Surprising? No.

Over the next few weeks, I am going to be writing about the costs associated with advertising agency new business programs and how to offset these costs by increasing your win rate and ROI. There are many costs to an agency beyond the high dollar cost. But, since the cash cost has the highest rate of winging… here you go. These calculations are from my pitch book and have been blessed as reasonable averages by my industry contacts.

The Big Metaphor

Agency CEO’s and Business Development Directors occasionally use metaphors to help describe their business development efforts. One of the all-time favorites is how similar agencies are to cobblers and shoes. Cobblers do not have the time to make shoes for their children, and too many agencies don’t make the time to run smart business development programs.

Here’s another metaphor.