new business

Advertising Agency Process and Profitability

Peter · December 12, 2023 · 1 Comment

Get This Right – Your Advertising Agency Process Delivers Profit

Warning: While not as sexy as a new TikTok marketing plan, this in-depth 3,500-word post is all about creating and running a killer advertising agency process that will help your agency make, here it comes, more money. Process, as in managing and controlling your time, costs, and being efficient will deliver greater profits — and much happier clients and staff.

Process, having a process, is one of the key elements of my business development and client management consultancy. I get into the weeds on this every day with my clients. You cannot be efficient and a money-making machine if you do not have a clear path – a plan that you repeat for each client and every element of your agency sales plan.

By the way, if this post is too long for your online perusal, I’ll send you a PDF version. Just email me at peter@peterlevitan.com

Process = Big $$$$

A bit of background. When I worked at Saatchi & Saatchi one of the accounts I ran was Northwest Airlines. At that time, a time when airlines spent big bucks, their media budget was $60 million per year. At the standard 15% commission, we generated $9 million in agency revenues. $9 million! Ah, the good old days. Days when an agency minted bucks even if some of our processes were a bit wanky.

This isn’t the case anymore.

Today, process: the art and science of managing client relations, agency staff, expenditures, and time, is critical to profitability.

A Wonderful Advertising Agency Process Plan = $$$$$

I have a Texas advertising agency client that isn’t anywhere near as profitable as it should be. Their problem isn’t having the right clients or clients that want great work, or clients that spend money. Their problem is not having the right workflow process to ensure that these clients are profitable.

And, worse, because the agency appears to be always overworked, they don’t have the time or energy to run a smart and consistent new business program. A 24/7 program.

I built this client process plan for them and thought, why not share it? To protect the innocent, this full-service ad agency has been renamed… Wonderful Advertising. I think that these general principles and actions can be applied to any communications agency type.

The Wonderful Agency: Background

Wonderful is an integrated marketing communications agency based in Dallas. Wonderful describes itself as (from Wonderful’s Twitter profile):

“A full-service advertising and marketing agency blending traditional and non-traditional media with digital services, graphic design, and social media.”

A bit boring, but at least they’ve made a statement.

Wonderful: Management Issues

Wonderful is entering a next-stage business phase where it would like to add larger national clients to its roster. In order to do so, it would like to set up client management systems to improve its workflow efficiency and improve and manage its client relationships, and most importantly… increase agency profitability. The agency must also build a business development system that will help them entice and land the type of clients that they need for agency growth. [Read more…] about Advertising Agency Process and Profitability

Using ChatGPT And Grammarly For Blogging

Peter · October 23, 2023 · Leave a Comment

Yes, I Am Using ChatGPT And Grammarly For Blogging

I wanted to see how ChatGPT and Grammarly would work for me to have them help write a summary of my book, “The Levitan Pitch: Buy This Book. Win More Pitches.” The bottom line is that ChatGPT and Grammarly for blogging — works.

A simple process: I prompted ChatGPT-4 to summarize the book and then loaded it into Grammarly to check for any lingo improvements and to detect any ‘plagiarism.’ I then rewrote elements for clarity and to use my own voice and style, and here you go.

By the way, buy this best seller (aren’t all books best sellers LOL???). In this case its true. OK, onto ChatGPT and Grammarly for blogging.

“The Levitan Pitch: Buy This Book. Win More Pitches.” by Peter Levitan is a guide for advertising agencies of all types to understand and refine the art of pitching to clients. While I can’t reproduce the entire book, I can provide a high-level summary of its key points and takeaways:

Importance of Pitching: Levitan stresses that the pitch is the moment of truth for agencies. It’s the culmination of a lot of hard work and is the point where the agency can make or break a potential business opportunity. He also stress that agencies DO NOT pitch everything. have a strategy and a set of criteria for who to go after.
Understanding the Client: Before making a pitch, it’s crucial to understand the client’s business, their needs, their customers, and their industry landscape. This deep understanding will enable you to tailor your pitch to be more effective and resonate with the client. Please, do the research. Determine the client’s pain points and make sure you understand their FUD – fears, uncertainties and doubts.
Differentiation: With many agencies vying for the same client, differentiation is key. Levitan suggests that agencies find their unique selling proposition (USP) and communicate it effectively to stand out from the competition. Be unignorable!!!!
Pitch Team Selection: Only some are great pitchers, and that’s okay. Selecting a pitch team based on strengths, presentation skills, and compatibility with the client’s team is essential. Plus, train your pitchers all year long. Not the day before.
Preparation and Practice: The best pitches are not impromptu; they are the result of thorough preparation and practice. This ensures that the presentation goes smoothly and that all potential questions or concerns from the client can be addressed. Practice. Please.
Engagement and Storytelling: The way information is presented can make a huge difference. Engaging the client through storytelling, providing relevant examples, and drawing them into a vision of a successful partnership can be very effective.
Handling Objections: It’s not uncommon for clients to have reservations or objections. Levitan provides strategies for addressing these concerns gracefully and turning potential weaknesses into strengths.
Closing the Deal: The final steps in a pitch are crucial. Levitan offers techniques for sealing the deal and ensuring that the client feels confident in their decision to work with your agency.
Post-Pitch Analysis: After the pitch, it’s beneficial to analyze what went well and what could have been done better. This reflection will lead to continuous improvement and more successful pitches in the future. I always made a deal with the clients i pitched… they had to give me post pitch feedback.
Real-world Examples: Throughout the book, Levitan draws from his vast experience in the advertising world, providing real-world examples, anecdotes, and case studies to illustrate his points.
In essence, “The Levitan Pitch” is a comprehensive guide for agencies to refine their pitching process, from understanding the client’s needs to effectively closing the deal. Levitan’s insights, drawn from decades of experience, offer valuable advice for both new and seasoned agencies looking to win more business.

So, do you agree???? Was my using ChatGPT and Grammarly for blogging a good idea?

Oh, have you bought my new book yet? — “How To Build A Kick-Ass Advertising Agency”

Grow Advertising Agency Business Development

Peter · October 22, 2023 · Leave a Comment

A Faster Way To Grow Advertising Agency Business Development

Your marketing agency must have a need for speed. According to RSW/US’s 2023 advertising agency business development report, you better learn how to stand out fast if you want to grow and should not ignore Peter Levitan’s kick-ass advertising agency business development actions.

This year (2023) 58% of agencies report obtaining new business has been harder, or a lot harder, compared to the previous year. As seen in our graph, that’s creeping closer to 2020 levels at 67%, when we faced lockdowns, budget freezes, and overall extreme uncertainty.

The Way Forward Is… Leveraging FUD To Grab Attention

Think Purple Cow. Think Seth Godin. Think about being unignorable. Don’t be shy. I advise all of my advertising agency business development clients that they need to capture the attention of their future clients. Leverage business pain points and even FUD – Fear + Uncertainty + Doubt. A way to do that is to do some easy to do custom research. Call me to find out how.

For Now… Here Is My Take On Godin’s Super 2003 Best Seller “Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable” and, YUP…. Grow Advertising Agency Business Development Success

“Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable” by Seth Godin presented a groundbreaking perspective on modern marketing. Here’s a brief summary of the book’s key points:

The Purple Cow Analogy: In a field of brown cows (think about your 4,000 competitors), a purple cow stands out. Similarly, in a market flooded with products and services, being “remarkable” (like a purple cow) is the only way to truly stand out.
The Old Marketing Paradigm is Broken: Advertising methods (like TV commercials – today even SEO) are becoming less effective due to over-saturation. People are good at ignoring ordinary products and boring ads.
The New P’s of Marketing: Godin suggested a revised set of P’s for marketing: Purple Cow, Permission, Peer Pressure, Paranoia, Persistence, Placebo, Personalization, People like us, and Perceived Value.
Safety is Risky: Playing it safe and creating average products and messaging for average people is a risky strategy. It’s better to take calculated risks to create something truly unique and remarkable.
Target the Innovators and Early Adopters: Rather than trying to market to everyone, focus on the audience segment that’s most likely to try new things and spread the word – i.e., the clients you want.
Word of Mouth is Powerful: Remarkable products and services get talked about. Creating something worth talking about can lead to exponential growth via word of mouth.
Create and Spread Ideas: The goal should be to create ideas that spread. If an idea spreads, it’s because people like it, believe in it, and share it. your custom research will help.
Be Genuine: Consumers and client types can detect inauthenticity. It’s essential to genuinely be remarkable and not just create a facade.
Embrace Criticism: Remarkable ideas often get criticized. Instead of fearing criticism, see it as evidence that you’re breaking norms and standing out.
The Lifecycle of a Purple Cow: Once a service and a product becomes popular and mainstream, it loses its “remarkableness.” Brands need to keep innovating to stay relevant and remarkable.

In essence, GO: “Purple Cow” Buy it now! …Challenges businesses to stop focusing solely on standard B2B marketing. In a cluttered marketplace, only the remarkable advertising, digital, etc. agencies stand out, get talked about, and succeed in the long run.

Oh, Yeah: BUY My Books. Stand Out. They Will Tell You: How To Grow Advertising Agency Business Development

Smart Advertising Agency Lead Generation

Peter · October 14, 2023 · Leave a Comment

Unignorable Marketing Program Delivers A Smart Advertising Agency Lead Generation System

This is a thought starter for how to deliver on and support the promise that your advertising agency can make a client, its services, or its products unignorable. Deliver an unignorable message to develop a smart advertising agency lead generation system.

To prove your point and demonstrate your unignorable belief system your advertising agency will need to think about how to express its own marketing messaging in an unignorable way. Your advertising agency will need to tailor its promise based on its own skills and history.

You have to walk the talk.

Now, consider this…

“My brain is full.”

It is common knowledge that we are bombarded by 24/7 news, social media content, incoming alerts, messaging and emails, digital notifications, and multiple forms of advertising every day. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people and brands and sales messages want our attention.

“My brain forgets”

Even worse than message bombardment is the fact that we can hardly even remember the messages that we want to remember. Neuroscientists tell us that, at best, 90% of what we hear and see will be forgotten. These scientists have even invented the Forgetting Curve chart to help us to visualize how much does not sink in.

Marketing clients understand the high cost of this cognitive problem and are looking for marketing techniques, systems, platforms, and efficient solutions that help deliver sales messages that get noticed and are memorable. These clients are looking for marketing communications agencies that can offer marketing that cannot be ignored.

I call it getting to being Unignorable.

Unignorable delivers smart advertising agency lead generation.

What is the definition of Unignorable? The online dictionary Merriam–Webster defines “Unignorable” as being – unable to be ignored: not ignorable.

According to me, the opposite of being Unignorable is to be ignored. Being ignored is a marketing disaster. A waste of everyone’s time and money.

Your Advertising Agency’s Must-Do Approach to Delivering Unignorable Marketing.

OK. How to express your advertising agency’s solution to current and future clients? [Read more…] about Smart Advertising Agency Lead Generation

12 Advertising Agency Pitch Mistakes

Peter · September 6, 2023 · 3 Comments

12 Advertising Agency Pitch Mistakes

Here are my 12 favorite advertising agency pitch mistakes. Delivered as a ‘must do’s’ cartoon series – see below.

Now that my new book How To Build A Kick-Ass Advertising Agency is on the market (and doing well, thank you – buy it) I thought I’d revisit a core message from my first advertising agency advice book.

The fact is that way too many agencies continue to make avoidable mistakes – especially in the world of Zoom-like meetings.

One of the biggest mistakes is that advertising agency leaders do not recognize the importance of interpersonal chemistry. The agency pitch consultants I interviewed for The Levitan Pitch book all told me that many agency selection decisions are made by the client determining that they LIKE the agency and its people. This is because way too many agencies are kinda look-a-like. OK, and sound alike. Work on YOU, INC.

Here they are… The 12 Advertising Agency Pitch Mistakes

I’ve purposely served the pitching mistakes up as advice, as things to do. Why? As you will see throughout my paperback and eBook, The Levitan Pitch. (especially in the interview section) many advertising agencies, pitch leaders, and team members, make these crazy mistakes. According to the 18 agency search consultants interviewed in the book, these pitch mistakes are made all the time. Agencies make them despite knowing that they will lower their batting average. This is quite baffling.

Here are five of my all-time favorites:

The agency hasn’t worked at being distinctive. There might even be a fear of being “too” different. Strange, but true.
The agency hasn’t done a good job of planning the flow of the presentation. They haven’t approached the pitch as theater.
Agencies often leave their best presenters behind because it is someone else’s turn to go to the pitch. Huh!?
The agency presents way too many strategic and creative ideas.
The big one: the agency spends way too much time talking about themselves and not the client. Here is an example from the book:

“Agencies spend far too much time talking about themselves and not enough time addressing the problems of the client. Clients want to hear solutions to their problems, not how great the agency thinks it is. Best advice to agencies – focus on the client, demonstrate real understanding of their issues, unearth commercial as well as consumer insight, keep it simple, and make it memorable!”

C/O Brian Sparks, Managing Director: Agency Assessments International, UK and Ireland…

How did we all get to this not-so-special place? I think that some of the primary issues haven’t been addressed:

The speed at which agencies start to work as soon as they are invited to pith an account. Rarely do they stop and think through the entire process before all hell breaks loose.
Most agencies do not have a clear methodology for how they are going to run pitches. It is almost as if they are starting with a blank page every time they are invited to pitch for new business. I recommend a few things to do to manage the pitch including having a standard agency checklist. You can see one in my Pitch Playbook.
Worse, most agencies don’t even have a master business development plan.

To help resolve this dilemma, I offer my 12 deadliest advertising agency pitch mistakes as counter-intuitive must-dos illustrated by a series of cartoons from my friend Steve Klinetobe.