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Pitching

The Biggest Advertising Agency New Business Secret

February 28, 2021 By Peter Leave a Comment

The Biggest, Most Important Advertising Agency New Business Secret.

Ogilvy Mather UK

It’s Sales Stupid.

Back in 1992, James Carville, Bill Clinton’s strategist said, “It’s the economy, stupid” to make sure the Clinton campaign remembered what was critically important to the American electorate. So, taking my cue from James, I offer that “It’s sales stupid”  is the biggest, most important advertising agency new business secret.

An advertising, design, PR agency new business program, marketing materials, presentations (even daily conversations with existing clients), and new business pitches are all about sales. Sounds obvious, right? The problem is that ‘sales’ can be a dirty word at some ‘creative’ agencies. If you think that I am overstating this, take a look at a few agency websites, and ask yourself if they are designed to be high-octane sales experiences that drive leads or just well-designed agency brochures. I think that the Contact page is a number one offender. Contact copy like, “Give us a call” is simply not a romantic way to begin a relationship.

An Advertising Agency New Business Secret

A discussion of how to use the science of salesmanship in an agency presentation could fill a book. I’ll be brief and hit what I think are the most effective techniques we can learn from the masters of salesmanship. Allow me a brief detour first.

I left advertising in 1995 to put a group of New Jersey newspapers online for Advance Internet (the digital newspaper arm of the Newhouse Media Group – you know them as the owner of Condé Nast). In addition to inventing New Jersey Online’s digital newspaper editorial persona, we also had to build an early online sales program that included the design of new advertising units and a sales pitch for this new Internet platform. To help me, Advance brought in Jim Hagaman from the Miami Herald. Jim was easily one of the savviest media salespeople I had ever met.

Within a few days, I had gone from thinking that I knew how to sell (i.e. running business development at Saatchi & Saatchi), to jettisoning much that I had learned, to watching a master actually make sales in the nascent Internet marketplace. Much of what you see below came from Jim.

One of his more interesting sales insights came when I said that we needed to go pitch New Jersey Online to New York advertising agencies. He said, whoa boy. In his experience, agencies always mucked up the sale. They wanted to put their own stamp on the sales message, usually got the details wrong, and always slowed down the process. He said that we were going directly to the clients to explain the benefits of digital media. As I eventually witnessed, he was right.

Actually, here is one more super insightful story that will introduce my next point, which I admit might be a “duh” for some of you.

You have to understand your client’s mindset, needs, pain points, rationale, and emotional motivations before you can ever craft an effective sales pitch.

I learned this lesson at my first agency pitch for New Jersey Online. I figured I’d start with my very own ex, the New York office of Saatchi & Saatchi. I knew the agency inside and out and had worked with their Executive Media Director Allen Banks for years. My pitch included a 1996 hockey puck graph of projected Internet usage and a discussion of digital advertising that touted our newfound ability to track how website visitors viewed and interacted with online advertising. Was Allen smiling? No. His reaction?

“Are you f*cking kidding me? We have made a fortune not really knowing how, when and for how long consumers have been looking at our ads. I manage hundreds of millions in advertising media placement. Knowing how much of it doesn’t work will kill our golden goose.”

My point in telling you this story is that I didn’t think through Allen’s motivations before I delivered my early online advertising sales pitch. By the way, he was right. The Internet sure seems like it killed some parts of the golden advertising goose.

More Sales Advice

[Read more…] about The Biggest Advertising Agency New Business Secret

How To Manage A Brain On A Zoom Sales Meeting

December 1, 2020 By Peter Leave a Comment

The Neuroscientist Patrick Renvoisé On How To Manage and Win A Zoom Sales Meeting

Zoom sales meetingFace-to-face vs. a virtual sales meeting. Some things remain the same and somethings radically change. This podcast is all about how to understand how the brain works in a Zoom sales meeting, presentations or any other Zoomish thing.

You will hear about what works including the concept of primacy and recency. As in what people actually remember. Important learning here.

This is one that you should stay for till the last few minutes. I made an avoidable podcasting mistake that acts as a decent learning moment. For me, and you.

This is number 4 in my series on Zoom sales calls and it delves into the science. This is, if I say so myself, a must listen to interview.

Patrick Renvoisé is President, Chief Neuromarketing Officer of sales Brain. What is Patrick’s Sales Brain? …

SalesBrain is the first neuromarketing agency with a scientific persuasion model that helps companies achieve scientific growth, rapid growth and proven growth. SalesBrain increases marketing and sales performance by targeting the decision making part of your customer’s brain with a unique, award-winning, science-based  NeuroMap®.


Patrick Renvoisé on LinkedIn

Sales Brain

# 4 in this virtual pitch series. Go listen to #1 with the leading advertising agency pitch consultant.

YO – Hypnotism coming: Remember to subscribe to Advertising Stories. Remember to subscribe to Advertising Stories.

Remember… so you will hear my whole series on virtual pitching.

A nice thing for me… Feedspot has recognized Advertising Stories as being a top 15 advertising podcast.

The Best Advertising Agency Podcast Ever

November 30, 2020 By Peter Leave a Comment

best advertising agency podcastI am so unbiased. Therefore, I can say without any hesitation that this is the best advertising agency podcast interview. How do I know this? I was recently interviewed by what I consider the best (well in addition to Advertising Stories) advertising agency podcast and host. Full stop. Great interviewer and I was, on that day, a brilliant speed-talking guest.

I discuss my loooong New York, London even Oregon advertising career, how to pitch (I wrote THE pitch book – see the top portion of this page), and how to buy and sell an advertising agency (get this 57-page freebie by subscribing to my occasional newsletter).

The Best Advertising Agency Podcast? It’s Aqui: The Businessology Show

The Businessology Show is a podcast about the business of design and the design of business It is hosted by CPA/coach Jason Blumer. Jason is a leading financial and accounting consultant for the advertising and marketing communications industry. I said expert, right? Also, a really cool interviewer.

 Here is the show – go here: “Pitch It.”

About this show… from Mr. Blumer

Businessology is a platform to help designers, developers, and agencies run more successful businesses. One of the greatest things about the web industry is that we have the desire to share the most valuable tips and tricks of our trade with our “competitors.” When it comes to business, however, that knowledge seems to be kept behind closed doors.

This podcast was started because we want that information to exist in the open. We talk about what to charge for your work. We talk about how to do great work that your clients value. We talk about business models. We talk about managing projects. We talk about growing. We talk about the business side of design and how you can most effectively design your business. We coach real owners of real agencies working through their own growth complexities.

Guests have included Tim Williams; Matt Faulk (here is my interview on winning Webby Awards with Basic’s Matt); and, Drew McClellan of The Agency Management Institute (AMI).

Go listen…

 

How To Win A Mobile Dating App Client – On Zoom

November 9, 2020 By Peter Leave a Comment

Dating AppA Zoom Class.

#2 In The Advertising Stories Series On Virtual Pitching.

I interviewed Linda Lane Gonzalez, CEO of Miami’s Viva Multicultural agency on how to win a virtual pitch. I mean, how she won a new dating app client. Linda and her team combined the art of  Zoom + love + hooking up + a very smart advertising agency + video + influencers + consumer interviews + keeping the ball rolling down the virtual field to wow and win a new client.

This is a how-to get past not being in the same room BUT still exciting the dating app client and winning. Ah, love.

# 2 in this virtual pitch series. Go listen to #1 with the leading advertising agency pitch consultant.

Linda Lane Gonzalez

Viva Multicultural

The Levitan Pitch. Buy This Book. Win More Pitches.

YO – Hypnotism coming: Remember to subscribe to Advertising Stories. Remember to subscribe to Advertising Stories.

Remember… so you will hear my whole series on virtual pitching.

A nice thing for me… Feedspot has recognized Advertising Stories as being a top 15 advertising podcast.

How To Win A Virtual Advertising Agency Presentation

October 29, 2020 By Peter Leave a Comment

advertising agency presentationAdvertising Agency Search Consultant Lisa Colantuono of AAR Partners On How To Win The Virtual Pitch.

Some people who have read my book, “The Levitan Pitch. Buy This Book. Win More Pitches.” have asked me how to present in the virtual world. Well, I am going to a bunch of experts to help me help y’all to win your next virtual advertising agency presentation and pitch.

First in what will be a multi-part series is a fantastic interview with the very experienced pitch consultant and, good for us, loquacious Lisa Colantuono of AAR Partners. Lisa covers many aspects of virtual selling. This might just be the most compelling interview I have done on Advertising Stories.

Lisa discusses how to manage what she calls the virtual “Brady Bunch” room; how to be human; body language management; what to do in advance of the session; how to create creative differentiation; backgrounds; and even, oh no, how to use online presentation tools like Powerpoint.

Bottom line? Just give this interview about how to run a virtual advertising agency pitch a listen. HEY —- Listen to this interview. Win more pitches.

Note, this is the first in my series on how to run a virtual presentation. Interviews with agency owners who’ve won virtual presentations to a brainiac neuroscientist’s perspective on making friends in the online sales world are coming. Stay tuned.

Links:

Lisa on LinkedIn

AAR Partners

Hypnotism coming: Remember to subscribe to Advertising Stories. Remember to subscribe to Advertising Stories. Remember to…

A nice thing for me… Feedspot has recognized Advertising Stories as being a top 15 advertising podcast.

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