Posted by Robert Sanders on Tue, Aug 24, 2010 @ 11:26 AM
The advertising industry finds itself – yet again – at a crossroads, a confluence, a decision-point, a junction. Attention is needed. Assessment is necessary and action is required. After all, it’s been nearly 10 years since the industry was last stumbling headlong toward extinction.
Are there many reasons for concern? – Yes. Are there always reasons for concern? – Yes! It's most interesting how the “expert class” repeatedly presumes cataclysm at the first sign of economic Darwinism. Chicken Little would be proud.
Remember, not that many years ago, the Internet spelled doom for the industry. Still around – amazing. Before that, TV. Radio...
Assuming clients will continue to sell products and services, there is a reason to believe that agencies will survive this most recent report of their demise.
Agencies HAVE Changed
That said, there are indications that change is needed to stem the tide of marginalization. Agencies have expanded, purchased, and partnered their way into every market, category and discipline. They have leveraged advancements in technology to become as connected globally as their predecessors were in one office tower only a decade earlier. And have scoured the market for the best and brightest to set to work advancing their client’s brands and products.
Evidently, not everyone has been impressed by the results of this effort.
The end of advertising as we know it
Traditional advertising players – broadcasters, distributors and advertising agencies – will need innovative new approaches to respond to major industry shifts underway.
What is most intriguing about this point-of-view is that it assumes the clients will sit and wait on the ad agency and their partners to innovate our way into the future.
There is no question that the future of advertising will look radically different from its past. The push for control of attention, creativity, measurements and inventory will reshape the advertising value chain and shift the balance of power. For both incumbent and new players, it is imperative to plan for multiple consumer futures, craft agile strategies and build new capabilities before advertising as we know it disappears.
Shocking! I know! The industry will have to “craft agile strategies!” in light of this “shifting balance of power.” This is amazing to hear in 2010. Particularly from IBM who is serviced by the industries most influential agencies. After all, didn’t the industry spend the past few decades consolidating to deliver on the opportunity of integrated services, or was it convergent communication, or media-neutral communication, or whatever other iteration of the same to better measure and influence consumers. If agencies were delivering on their service promise, then churn would not be at unprecedented levels and clients would not be seeking the same service object as a decade earlier – FROM YET ANOTHER AD AGENCY.
So, where’s the rub? Change is coming. And some agencies won’t make the change… See Cliff Freeman’s recent closing as Exhibit A.
Fingers of fault can be pointed in every direction, but what can an agency do to deliver on the promise of change and better consumer insight?
Options For Change
One choice might be to do – nothing. As one CEO of a prominent agency network advised, “it’s not going to happen in my lifetime, so I’m better off spending my time on matters where I can have an impact.”
This pessimistic view might work for him and his pre-packaged retirement, but, as an industry, ignoring the issues is not a viable option.
If you are confident that agencies are on the case and see these views as a “Chicken Little” prophecy, consider one advertiser’s recent action. They terminated their agency relationships claiming the agency model to be irreparably broken. Then proceeded to underwrite the organization of its new agency – only to see that model stumble and fall. And now have folded the whole mess into yet another ad agency.
This is an extreme but not an isolated example of how client dissatisfaction has embodied itself in unprecedented levels of client churn.
Some would argue that client’s share much of the blame in these dysfunctional relationships. But these same clients –criticized by agencies – have increased the role and expenditures for their management consultants year-over-year. Perhaps as an industry we need to consider why?
Anyone can satisfy and make money off of the handful of great clients. A great agency effectively services and profits from all of their client relationships.
Perhaps A New Role is Needed
Before dismissing the end of advertising as we know it, the example of another industry’s response to similar service pressures may be worth considering. The role of the general contractor in construction resembles the traditional advertising agencies role as general contractors of business communication.
The construction industry responded to client demand for improved quality, professionalism, integrated and unbiased service management by creating an entirely new industry services category – Construction Management.
After a decade of unfulfilled promises of better creative, more integration, social media and consumer insight and tracking, clients are showing signs of an aggressive search for “Communication Managers.”
Construction management firms are staffed by experienced and credentialed industry professionals who deliver unbiased results to the client. General contractors were not and did not. Those who did not adapt have been marginalized. Agencies that continue to attempt to deliver services as general contractors have had their fate cast. Responding will require you to revisit your brand, organizational model, processes, fee structure and staffing protocols.
Time is of the essence; a recent study reported that those in the “advertising” profession rank just ahead of Used Car Salespeople in esteem. But neither that nor the changing consumer will end advertising as we know it.
Posted by stuart sanders on Thu, Aug 19, 2010 @ 10:34 AM
Every person in advertising, like every fisherman, has a story about “the one that got away,” the perfect client that was a great fit, or the one that was “this close.”
Many times, great clients are lost due to blunders in negotiating. But there are negotiating tools and techniques that can help you land prize clients. Or keep key clients longer.
Although negotiation is a natural part of human interaction, it also makes many people uncomfortable. Lots of us, for example, are conflict averse: When it comes to “fight or flight,” we’d rather fly every time. Others see negotiation as an exercise in deception and manipulation, in which we hide our true intent, try to intimidate or outwit our “opponent,” or try to “wait them out” by sitting silently as they present options.
Many books and articles on the subject present negotiation as a set of “tips and tricks” designed to make the other person squirm. Negotiation, like office politics, is an unavoidable part of business life that’s gotten a bad rap because of the way it’s practiced by some agencies and consultants.
One of the first steps in successful negotiations is assessing your client’s style or profile accurately, and responding to their negotiating style in the way best suited to them. There are four client profiles, based on how they work and respond, whether they are more task oriented or people oriented, and whether they are high or low assertive. For instance, someone considered a “Headline", high assertive and low response, is focused on “now” and “results”, and wants “options” presented so that they are in control of the decisions. Others, like “Body Copy", are more interested in “how” and “process” and respond better to fully-presented information as they check off all the pieces they want to consider. Other profiles include the "Logo" and the "Illustration"
Client relationships tend to evolve, initially being based more on learning about each other, then on tasks and getting the work done after trust has been established. However, tension from something gone wrong can swing that relationship upside down, and until the relationship is healed, work essentially needs to, or will, come to a stop.
Negotiations are not always about the money, but can include a number of other items, such as turnaround speed, payment terms, licensing agreements, or limits to the approval process.
The negotiation triangle is a balance between finding out what the client wants and make them feel heard, with knowing exactly what your agency wants, and then suggesting action in such a way the client can accept, always looking for a win/win resolution.
Common errors in negotiation include misunderstanding what the negotiations are actually concerned with (someone’s job may literally be on the line, so budget is not as key as a client feeling confident that an agency can successfully solve the client’s business challenge). Or the agency team may not have clear goals going into negotiations, or not have a clear understanding of the roles and responsibilities for the negotiating team members.
There are eight phases of negotiation we teach in our High Gear program for Account Service:
- Preparing: Collecting information about the client, their profile, background, and more.
- Setting Objectives: Making sure all your objectives are on the agenda, how to counter other issues that might be raised.
- Identifying Positions: Setting your “ideal”, “realistic” and “fallback” positions, or even your BATNA – “Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement.”
- Opening: Open well away from where you want to settle, never accept an opening offer, and never negotiate with yourself, making concessions to the other party before you meet because “I know they wouldn’t accept that.”
- Checking and Testing: Know the power of silence, and don’t accept “no” at face value, try rephrasing, look for non-verbal signs.
- Getting Movement: “If you... then we” style of introducing some early concessions.
- Giving Concessions: Consider when to give, how much, and what are you getting in return.
- Finalizing and Agreeing: Recognize when you are at the agreeing stage. Look for signals such as repeated “no’s”, concessions getting smaller or resistant body language.
It’s important to remember that getting an agreement is the easy part. Keeping the agreement is often the hard part.
One key point - negotiations on client-agency relationships should be kept separate from those who will actually be working on the business, due to the potential for some bad feelings, no matter how good the intentions or how well negotiations proceed. It is critical that CEO’s in particular not lead negotiations as they are the ones who may, at some point, find it necessary to step in to resolve potential issues.
Posted by Robert Sanders on Tue, Aug 17, 2010 @ 09:59 AM
Want to grow fast? Do a cross-town merger. This way you add important services you don’t have or bulk up fast and perhaps more inexpensively than you thought. And with a cross-town merger you can bring in experienced personnel to add to your management team. That’s all possible if you grow by acquiring.
Why Cross-town Merger vs. Out-of-town Acquisition? Cross-town mergers are often quicker, easier and more profitable immediately. Back office, administrative, production and more can be streamlined with little problem. This simplifies management issues and produces fewer hassles. In addition, a cross-town merger is usually less expensive and is a good place to start. Few executives know the full extent of the many attractive opportunities within their own city.
So how does one go about a cross-town merger?
First you have to decide to seek a merger partner. It's important not to tell any outsiders about your decision. The search needs to be done in isolation. Second, do a strategy session to look at all the options. What type of firm should we be looking for? Any specialties we are missing? Or what market do you want to get into? Third, organize a proper search to see where the best fit is. Keep your name out of the initial conversation with any prospects. And lastly, use an experienced, outside point of view that will keep the process on track.
Typical Cross-Town Merger Situations We Find:
A. The Cherry A perfect fit where everything goes right from the beginning and continues on through the deal. If everyone is reasonable, Cherry deals can be found and made. Cross-town mergers make these even sweeter.
B. The Slot This is another perfect fit where you can slot the acquired operation into your firm without missing a beat. It’s usually in a service area where you have little experience but solid potential. The acquired firm gains from your resources, your new business opportunities, and the organic business you can place from your existing accounts.
C. The Escape The search phase has located a firm in trouble and the owners want to crash the company, not pay the creditors and move themselves and several key accounts to your operation. You buy nothing. You take on some staff. You pay for what sticks.
D. The Exit The search phase has located an owner who wants out, will stay for a year or two to work the accounts and help maintain AGI. But the owner is phasing out but willing to stay around to help the transition. And is willing to work hard to make the deal happen.
E. The Key Guy One firm is not very good at new business, for example. The other firm is bad at operations but great at growth. The buying firm brings the other firm on board mainly to get the key person and the expertise to help them grow. The other guy wants to sell because he or she is having troubling managing the business already on hand and can’t wait to dump the operational side of things so he or she can go chase new business.
How To Get Started: Not sure a cross-town merger is right for you? We suggest a “Power Hour.” This is a one-hour, no-cost discussion by phone on the best way forward. It’s a chance to check chemistry, analyze costs and investments needed, and discuss possible options and strategies for moving ahead. Give us a call at 800/899.1538 for more information on how to get started and how to set up a Power Hour on mergers and acquisitions.
Posted by stuart sanders on Mon, Aug 09, 2010 @ 09:55 AM
Over the past few years Sanders Consulting Group has worked with many marketing firms, both small and large, and they all share the same problem: How to get more value/recognition/reward for what we do for clients.
The Old or Traditional Way to Get More Business From Clients
Agencies grew on the basis of getting clients to buy more services from their marketing firm. This is a value-added approach that is aggravating to many clients. And it’s lost its power in the market place.You know what Value Added is. Like my ads? Then buy my PR! Like my PR? Then buy my direct! These are called Value Added Services.
A Different Approach to Organic Growth
Agencies have many opportunities to develop high-value solutions for existing clients called Value-Based Initiatives (VBIs). These contribute to the success of the client's business and are often process focused. VBIs go after what’s on the client's desk that really troubling them.
These Value-Based Initiatives are built around learning how to explore client needs, problems, or requirements.
The primary skill that generates new ideas for VBIs consists of listening and that means knowing what questions to ask and questions not to ask. VBIs are often the small things that trouble clients like improving their way of working. For example, helping them manage projects inside their world better with an online traffic system. Or helping to get all the different departments approvals under control.
Account managers with a VBI take control of these problems for clients, offer solutions and solve the problems on a consultative arrangement. Usually fee-based and calculated on time.
VBIs add up quickly and the revenue drops to the bottom line. And not only do they add additional revenue to the firm, but VBIs increase overall client satisfaction a lot.
VBIs are one part of the total organic growth approach. Here are a few rules of the road.
The Organic Growth Rules of the Road
1. Organic growth is a game of singles and doubles. They are small day-to-day wins and quick suggestions to changes in the market place that build the foundation for both retention and new organic growth.
2. Keep any homerun ideas in your back pocket. Too many firms keep waiting for a big idea or homerun to suggest, and then rush out and toss it on the client's desk. They miss the point that singles and doubles are the foundation for home runs. Singles and doubles get the client in a receptive mood and help the client change perspectives about your value.
3. Singles and doubles provide important discipline. Organic growth requires a new discipline that encourages the constant generating of suggestions for clients. And organic growth requires a discipline of flawless execution of the suggestions to clients.
4. Clients don’t measure how many suggestions they adopt. So don’t get caught up in worrying about whether or not your suggestions are being adopted. The client isn’t counting. They just want the suggestions to keep on coming.
5. Organic growth is everyone’s business. Just as it’s important for all hands to be involved in cost reduction, all hands should be charged with the responsibility of generating new growth ideas for existing clients.
6. Institutionalize organic growth. Build a measure into your evaluations on the number of organic growth ideas offered by each employee. And add in some bonus money for suggestions that were adopted and that added to the firm's revenue. That will help make organic growth part of your DNA and that's important.
Agencies need to understand organic growth and how to anticipate client needs. These agencies must learn how to become involved with clients on whatever terms they seek to have a relationship.
Posted by Robert Sanders on Fri, Jul 30, 2010 @ 09:37 AM
If you’re in the agency business, you quickly learn you have to be good at presenting. If you’re going to really grow your firm, you have to be especially good at presenting to win large accounts in what we call a “formal review” or the Pitch You Have To Win.
You know the review I’m talking about. It’s where the prospect has selected a number of agencies to present for their business. It usually starts with a “cattle call” for lots of agencies. Then this mob is whittled down into the “consideration set,” requiring jumping through some additional hoops at an intermediate stage in the selection process. And finally you get to the “presentation set:” those agencies chosen to finally present for the business.
Prospects love these formal reviews because they get all this advice and creative work – most of the time for free! And a group of very smart agency people are all lined up to tell them all about their markets, their business, their competition, and offer thoughtful recommendations on what they should be doing with their business. What’s not to like?
But on the agency side? Well, it’s a different story. Long hours, lots of pressure, changes made at the last minute. Presentation books to prepare and print. Lots of tension and patience is in short supply. You have probably been there before, so you know full well what I mean.
The agencies have to spend a lot of time and money on these formal pitches, knowing there will be only one winner and nothing for the agencies that lose (except maybe, and I really mean maybe, a thank you note from the prospect). But most times agencies hear nothing back after putting in all this effort. And the message is brutal: “Sorry guys, we’re going with someone else.” And the unstated message agencies hear is: “We’re going with someone we like a lot better than you. We’re going with someone who is so much better than you.” It’s crushing on agency spirit. And if the losses mount up, it kills an agency’s self image, an agency’s confidence.
Make your presentations pay off by winning more formal reviews. I mean win three, four or five presentations in a row. And many of our agency-clients win at this success rate. Then the effort you put into formal presentations isn’t a lost expense but an investment because your firm is winning more than its fair share.
Here’s how the process starts. First you need to get what we call a “Defining Moment.” That’s a big opportunity that will basically redefine who your firm is if you win the account. The win will reshape who your firm is because of the account’s size, its budget, the type of business it is, their reputation, their category, and their impact in the market place. All these can redefine an agency if they win such an account.
Getting a chunk of the Apple business is a defining moment for many national agencies. A nice bank can define a local agency. Winning a consumer product can reshape a B2B agency. Winning a nice technology account can redefine a retail agency. And moving into consumer advertising can redefine an internet agency. I think you know what I mean.
You want to look for a “Defining Moment” to win: a presentation that will have a big impact on your agency. You might have one right now on your hands. If you do, then this information will really help you.
Understand that any pitch you make will be made up of four elements – Style, Format, Content, and Chemistry. And most agencies mishandle these four elements completely by putting all their time and energy into Content, the least important part of the four. They practically ignore the power and account-winning pull of getting Style and Format right. And they spend NO time on thinking about how to win with Chemistry.
Prospects Have a Different View of Your Presentation Than You Do
Style
Style is how you present. How you own the room. What techniques you use to present. Are you locked into PowerPoint, which puts most prospects to sleep? Do you have walk-in music? Do you put out agendas? Do you bring in coffee and refreshments? Do you have a welcome video? Has your CEO learned to charm a room with a simple story from his childhood that he tells to set the stage? Are you using California Boards that make an impact in a room? Do you use reveals? Do you tantalize? In other words are you set to Make Your Presentation a Show?
Remember this is a fun school trip for prospects, and they want to be entertained. They want to fall in love with an agency. They want to be dazzled. They want to laugh and to enjoy the process. They don’t want to be bored. And they don’t want to be talked down to – talking down to a client means you know their business more than they do. That’s insulting. The agency’s role at this stage should be to offer the prospect something they want and need. So you have to get Style right and make a show by the smoothness of your presentation, your professional look, and the impact you create.
Format
The second element is Format. And that’s the structure and organization of your pitch and how you organize things. Basically, what format do you follow? For example, do you lead with a creative to grab their attention? Do you change the brief in some dramatic way? How do you structure what you present? Do you let one person dominate your presentation (which rarely works)? What’s your casting and do your people show well? How are they dressed? Do they look like dress casual gone wild?
Is your presentation logical? Have you dumbed it down so everyone can easily understand what you are saying? Do you make sense? Do you build from one key point to another? Does your presentation lead somewhere? This is all Format and you need to get it right.
Frankly, from what I’ve seen, and I see lots of agency presentations, most agencies seriously fall down in the Format stage. In fact, most agencies, and this is coming from the search consultants who sit in on agency pitches all the time, say prospects are most often seriously disappointed at the quality of the presentations they see. There is no Style. Format is weak. And Content, the third element of pitch, all looks and sounds the same from agency to agency.
Content
The third element is content. I've sat in day-long sessions where each word in a presentation is agonized over, discussed, argued and beat to a pulp. Hours wasted on reviewing the 120 slide pitch deck. Each slide is analyzed in isolation to the big picture. And while each slide is finally perfect, clear and perhaps even makes a great point, the overall message is lost in the clutter. A few key points when thinking about content:
- Brand your message
- Presentation built on one central theme
- Check, check, double check for mistakes/typos
- Avoid hyperbole
- Clearly demonstrate a clear path to success/results
- Less is more – remove all excess and put in the leave behind
Chemistry
The fourth and most important element of presentations is Chemistry. New business wins swing most often on which firm the prospect likes best. Every search consultant will tell you the work, strategy, and presentation are all important – but the number one reason a firm is hired is the client felt a connection with them. They liked them the most – not which firm does the best work. Once you understand this, you can see why new business is mainly about people and your firm’s likeability. Learn how to best match your people with prospects, so they like you better. Learn how to profile prospects before you even meet them.
If you have a Defining Moment, call us. We have an excellent track record of helping agencies win pitches of all shapes and sizes. We can help, from large multinational wins to small local business wins. Whatever is a Defining Moment for your agency is a defining moment for Sanders Consulting Group to help you win and help you redefine who you are and what you stand for.
You’ll get the training and learn the processes that can keep you winning. I’ve seen defining moments change the direction of an agency for years to come just by winning one account. If you’re there, then call us.
Posted by Robert Sanders on Wed, Jul 21, 2010 @ 09:10 AM
I just read an interesting article on how local businesses in a small resort town are asking the city for better reporting, more accountability and standardized metrics.
Shrinking revenues are demanding that the town become far more fiscally accountable so that funding is directed at the most productive activities.
Some of those who are attempting to analyze the productivity reports that are submitted claim the lack of financial or demographic data standards makes it impossible to fairly evaluate the productivity from either an economic or community-relations perspective.
Now change the players.
The city is the marketing manager, brand manager, or director of advertising at any one of your clients. The business leaders are acting as the C-suite. CFO, CEO, CMO, etc. In these tough times every action, every marketing plan, every cost will be studied. Analized. Picked clean.
What are the goals? How will we measure success? What is the ROI?
This is something business consultants in the world understand, and something they build into their proposals each and every time. Call it a cost/benefit analysis, matrix reporting, measurable deliverables, but they speak the language of the C-suite.
How is it impacting your business and what are you doing to deal with the changes?
Expecting things to remain the same is not an option!
Posted by Robert Sanders on Mon, Jul 12, 2010 @ 12:22 PM
Recently I was working with a great agency, around 15 people and some outstanding work. They were well known in their market, but had been defined within that market as a certain type of marketing firm. While there were many pitch opportunities in the area it seemed they were almost never called.
Why?
Over the past few years by not defining their brand they had allowed the market to brand them. And as their capabilities had grown and improved, they failed to communicate that with prospects.
Even worst, the market perception for the firm was out-of-date and just plain wrong.
So here are 4 easy steps to help your brand stand out in the market.
Agency Focus – In this cluttered market place only an expert has any chance of standing out. Business leaders don’t have time to educate someone on their unique situation. An expert understands their product, their service, and knows how it can benefit customers. OR an expert knows their customer better then anyone. OR an expert has a unique view of the marketing landscape. Find something to be your area of expertise. Just being a “full service highly creative marketing firm that offers outstanding service” isn’t enough any more!
Make New Friends - We all now that people do business with people whom they like and trust. Choose to make a new friend over just creating a new business transaction. This will pay off in the long run.
Effectively Communicate - Establish yourself with your target market by creating a dialog on things that you have in common. You must be able to establish a relationship. With lots of people. This generates understanding and builds business over time.
Find Opportunities To Speak – Become a speaker to your target market, and educate people on both the changes hitting their market as well as the challenges they face. Provide Solutions.
There you go… 4 easy-to-forget strategies that can help you establish your brand in the mind of your ideal prospect. And just then, once they’ve heard of you, perhaps know you, and think you have some solutions then they will call you.
Posted by Robert Sanders on Tue, Jul 06, 2010 @ 11:55 AM
Having started my career in the military, I’ve seen my share of crap. Don’t take me wrong, I loved my time serving! After all I spent 9 years traveling all over the world with some of the best and the brightest. That said, there are some aspects of serving that really grate one’s nerves – like having to clean out the latrines.
Working in new business is much the same. You get to work with some of the best and brightest, be highly creative, experience fun times, and relish the thrill of victory. But there are some aspects that remind me of cleaning latrines.
Here are the highlights of the things I hate about new business:
1. Letting Chaos Drive the Process (The Guy Everyone in the Platoon Hates)
This is not unique to new business, and we have all interacted with someone who never responds to requests for input into a planning document or who fails to provide clear direction early in the process. This same person tends to show up for meetings 15 minutes late, pontificates endlessly rather than attempting to understand the situation or share critical information. And then assigns responsibilities and actions not related to the outcome. The end result is often that last-minute changes are made in the wee hours of the morning of the presentation. The counter-argument is “we need to be more spontaneous” or “you just need to be more flexible” or my personal favorite is “I work better off-the-cuff.” What a crock.
2. Using Overly Complex Marketing Jargon (Or Establish a SOP to SITREP Clearly)
Marketing buzz-speak is often deployed as a defense mechanism. Box a marketing person into a corner, whether he is a brand manager or the most junior account coordinator, and rather than admit they were wrong or have no idea what you’re talking about, they’ll start spouting off impressive-sounding marketing terms, abbreviations, and jargon-laced speeches – “We need to highlight the brand USP to maximize CTR by implementing a highly-integrated cross platform SMM to generate strong ROI.” I know some former military folks who can’t communicate with civilians due to the lack of acronym commonality. That’s why it’s important to communicate clearly. The most respected people in marketing I’ve worked with have an ability to articulate a complex situation or a difficult process or a hard-to-grasp marketing problem in simple, understandable terms. Not the other way around.
3. Not Developing Presenters (Providing More than Just a Toothbrush for Latrine Duty)
Marketing firms tend to promote people with good account skills or outstanding creative credentials, and then expect them to deliver powerful presentations. Often the very skills needed to be great in client service or creative makes them terrible at delivering presentations. Yes, I’ve heard all the excuses about how times are tight and there are no staff-development budgets, but you really cannot afford to ignore building great presenters in your firm. The best presenters are coached and groomed – they’re not just born that way. And if someone just doesn’t have that ability, then don’t bring them! Would you want someone covering your back who hasn’t had adequate training? Watching a well-crafted presentation delivered poorly just kills me.
4. Focusing on the Wrong Things (Should Leadership be THAT Concerned about the Cleanliness of the Latrines?)
When heading into a new business planning session or pitch there are certain areas where we should be spending most of our time. That means the overall goal, strategy, or plan. One disturbing trend I’ve noticed is agency leaders are focused on small stuff, like which word on which slide is better. Getting a handle on new business requires among other things, a particularly strong attention to detail. However, few leaders are able to coordinate the dozens, if not hundreds, of individual details associated with new business. Although keeping track of details is a valuable skill for leaders, I think it's easy for leaders to lose sight of the big picture. Regardless of how many small details need to be handled, it's important to step back every once in a while to see things from a broader perspective. That’s why in the military you have a commander who is in charge of the overall mission and subordinates to track and execute the details.
5. Letting Your Firm Get Lazy and Fat (Why Physical Training is a Way of Life in the Military)
The worst thing about new business is how so many firms let things slide until there is a crisis, and then everyone goes nuts. The day-in-day-out work eventually fills everyone’s time, and new business keeps getting pushed to the back burner. Weeks/months/years go by with little-to-no-effort being made in new business until one day a large client decides to head across town to a rival firm. Then all hell breaks lose as the agency goes nuts trying to find new business. Suddenly outbound phone calls get made. Old prospects get hounded. And new outreach programs are thrown together. Why? As I’ve stated many times, the most important client in the firm is the firm. Look over the past year, and decide if your own marketing efforts would be representive of your best you would do for any old client. Probably not. Working and exercising your new business skills day in and day out should become part of life at your firm. They don't call new business the heart beat of an agency for nothing. By continuing to ignore your weaknesses or problems they will never get resolved.
Posted by Robert Sanders on Thu, Jul 01, 2010 @ 02:03 PM
Most agencies annually convene a leadership meeting, strategic planning retreat, or brainstorming session dedicated to crafting an innovative course of business strategy. Rarely do these meetings deliver results.
Instead, they produce a pattern of incremental progress. And this does not translate into competitive advantage. Other factors affecting these meetings include planning, organization and leadership. Because responsibility for this meeting most often falls on the agency leader, the outcome is predictable.
The reasons for this are simple. Leaders "know" they know more than their team, so they develop a plan and agenda that determines the outcome - and everyone's frustration. Experience shows most meetings of this type fall into one of two patterns. At the "Rubber Stamp Offsite," the team nods along as their leader uses his agenda to present his assessment of the agency "As Is." He then dictates the action plan and assigns responsibilities. This approach is easily identified by the neatly organized three-ring binder entitled, "Agency Strategic Planning 20XX." Note - look for an accumulation of dust.
The other meeting type, the "March of the Hopeful, Guilty and Ambivalent," is the product of an insightful leader who - tired of the "Rubber Stamp Offsite" - assigns every member of the team roles and responsibilities. The outcome - well - you have been at these meetings, there is no outcome, just a reporting of the past year, justification of the results and explanation of the incremental changes that will be implemented to fix what's broken. Frustrated, the agency President usually sits down following this session; drafts an action plan and dictates responsibilities - see the results of the "Rubber Stamp Offsite."
If you want to break this cycle to create opportunities for innovation at your agency, then change your approach.
Don't go off the deep end and schedule team building exercises through Outward Bound, or book a provoking motivational speaker. These activities make great copy - but rarely, if ever deliver business-changing insights. A growing number of successful organizations are utilizing professional facilitators to assist in the planning and management of these important meetings.
By assigning responsibility for the business of the meeting to an experienced outside party, the group is better able to focus on the business of the business. The role of the facilitator is part emcee, part mediator, and part referee. But more than that, this person frames the discussion, manages interaction and creates opportunities for discovery.
Because innovation is not achieved in-the-box, an agency is better served living the process, not running the process. And agency leaders must understand that insight is achieved through their support, not as a result of their management. Utilizing a resource experienced in facilitation and knowledgeable in the industry changes the meeting dynamics. The agency, as a whole, becomes the focus, not the innumerable piece and parts.
If your agency's strategic planning process is not creating measurable results in growth, quality, productivity, or profitability year-over-year, then you might be a perfect candidate for this approach.
Photo Credit: thedailylondonphoto
Posted by Robert Sanders on Fri, Jun 11, 2010 @ 11:06 AM
Often when speaking with agency leaders they bemoan the state of their finances. Projections are looking better, but they're still not great. Marketing firms aren't setting any records for growth. Client marketing schedules are still being pushed back. What can an agency leader do?
1. Productivity improvement. This was once described as "pushing the staff to work harder." Most agencies are at the limit now when it comes to how hard your staff is working. It's more effective to strip non-value-added work out of the process. Streamline the workflow, implement new tools to enhance communication, remove old forms and steps that were implemented in another age.
2. Compensation and contract terms improvement from clients. This is a great option if only you can figure out a way to make your clients pay you more. Revisit your contracts, utilize benchmarking results, establish performance goals and understand how to negotiate.
3. Organic growth. This is the British term for getting more work from existing clients. It can be difficult if all you do is try to sell more of your existing services. It is far more effective to find ways to sell Business Building Ideas and Value-Added Services.
4. Merge or acquire. An effective way to reduce overhead or add services you are now buying from someone else. Look around your market for a good opportunity for a cross-town merger. If done properly, this can transform an agency.
5. Realign your brand. Focus your efforts on one category and become an expert. By adapting a more consultative approach for your existing and new accounts you can increase revenue to the bottom-line
6. Cut salaries and staff. This is a meat axe approach and is usually the last resort before the door closes. If not handled correctly, the end result is often good people leave and bad ones stay. There are some effective ways to better align staff with your overall agency goals. If this is done correctly, it can reenergize staff by removing deadwood.
7. Grow. Win more new business. One of the things Sanders Consulting Group is best known for is our new business prowess. Over the years we have taught more marketing communication people around the world more about generating new business than anyone else. If your firm needs more new business, give us a call.
By following these tips you can increase your bottom line, even during the recession. And, if you need help - don't be afraid to ask the experts!