OK, Why Don’t Advertising Agencies Win New Business?

Advertising agencies don’t win new business on a consistent basis for many reasons. No huge news here. But, there are a few core reasons that are so obvious that I just don’t understand why so many agencies make these mistakes. For the sake of Christmas Eve brevity, I will list three of the most important.

The No Clear Value Agency.

The agency doesn’t have anything special to offer clients. For example, they are not more creative, more strategic, more digitally aware, more media savvy or have not chosen to be a specialist in any category. They haven’t applied the same strategic thinking to their agency positioning that they do (or claim to do) for their clients.

Considering that there are over 4,000 ‘Advertising Agencies’ in the USA and dozens in any large metropolitan area, how can an agency think that they will grow without a distinctive brand position or sales proposition?

• If you don’t think I am right, take a look at a range of agency websites on my Pinterest advertising agency directory.
• If you would like to see a list of some agency positioning options head over here to see my “how to position an advertising agency” post.

The No Plan Agency.

According to the RSW/US’s 2014 Agency Marketer New Business Report , 66% Of Ad Agencies Have No Business Development or Sales Methodology. What? 66%! Having run ‘sales’ (sorry, it is sales) at Saatchi, my own agency and two Internet companies, I know that a company that has something to sell in the B2B marketplace cannot succeed without a biz dev plan and implementation methodology. Cannot, full-stop. No methodology means no plan and no plan means no growth no growth means lower income.

The No Action Agency.

Once an agency has  a compelling brand position and a sales plan, they need to run with it – 24/7. After No Value Proposition and No Plan, I think that the number one reason that advertising agencies don’t win new business is because they do not run their plan on a consistent basis. These agencies have an essentially start-stop approach that reflects a lack of CEO attention, simple planning and scheduling (calendars rule here), a sense of who is actually in charge of what (treat your new business planning like you treat client jobs), and the use of inbound and social media marketing that will deliver the right clients to your website or email box on a regular basis.

15 Minutes To Get To Yes…

If you would like to get past: No Value, No Plan, No Action, give me a shout. My very own new business program has yielded me a range of happy advertising agency clients on four continents. I know from experience that a 15 to 30 minute phone call will get you thinking about how I can help you grow your agency in 2015.

That is what I call my Corleone offer. Don’t refuse it.