New Business Hawk

Are Ad Agencies Too Expensive?

Many advertising agencies are starting to hear more and more that they are too expensive. Having worked with many of them we know their rates are reasonable.

The question is how can our industry overcome this objection and convert more into wins? The economic downturn has pressured clients to trim expenses and assess the value-added contribution of their agencies. Most agencies have had their fees questioned and many have experienced the discomfort of fee/rate audits. Often agencies are responding with examples of results achieved and service quality, and question the appropriateness of this examination.

But this view overlooks the client perspective. While the marketplace has become more tactically driven and project-based, many traditional agencies have not adapted their organizations and services to match the needs of the client.

To be effective and profitable your agency needs to present itself in a manner acceptable and appropriate for the circumstances.

Agencies in this situation must understand that they are in three separate businesses that are often non-complimentary – Strategic & Execution Management & Production. Many traditional agencies have acknowledged this and have launched separately branded consultancies (strategic) and design studios (tactical). This approach enables a tactical response to an agencies organization and fee structure.

Just one more thought on this ongoing dilemma.

Chemistry Wins New Business

Chemistry is that funny stuff in the space between people.

It’s not about you or me but what’s between us. That space is called Chemistry and it’s a driving force in new business. Chemistry is rarely talked about. Firms don’t like to say “we just didn’t like you” when explaining to an agency why they weren’t hired. Strategic direction, better fit, outstanding idea are all better reasons to go with another firm. Perhaps it would help if we called it “Likeability” as in “I like one firm more than another.” But Chemistry is more than that. Good Chemistry has more to do with meeting expectations, as in “I think we could work with these people best.”

Losing the Chemistry Battle

Here’s why it’s so important: We tend to like people better who best meet our expectations. Who seem like us. We understand them easier. We don’t get surprised. In short, we want to work with them. Hence we hire them.

In many searches, the search consultants or the key client-side decisions makers will realize that “any of these agencies can do the job.” The search process then becomes about which one firm do “we want to work with.” That’s Chemistry.

Must be Leap Year: Demise of the Ad Industry Being Reported

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.

New Business & Client Service: Keys to Successful Negotiation

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:

1. Preparing: Collecting information about the client, their profile, background, and more.
2. Setting Objectives: Making sure all your objectives are on the agenda, how to counter other issues that might be raised.
3. Identifying Positions: Setting your “ideal”, “realistic” and “fallback” positions, or even your BATNA – “Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement.”
4. 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.”
5. Checking and Testing: Know the power of silence, and don’t accept “no” at face value, try rephrasing, look for non-verbal signs.
6. Getting Movement: “If you... then we” style of introducing some early concessions.
7. Giving Concessions: Consider when to give, how much, and what are you getting in return.
8. 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.

Agency Growth the Old Fashion Way: Buy It!

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.

A New Business Fable

Once upon a time, there was a nice advertising agency in an important city far, far away. The agency had four key partners named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. The agency’s creative work was outstanding but the agency wasn’t growing.

It seemed when it came to new business, Everybody was sure Somebody was looking after it. Anybody could have done it easily but Nobody touched it.

Somebody got angry about the lack of new business growth because he thought Everybody was in charge of it. Everybody thought Anybody was looking after it. And Nobody did nothing.

The situation lasted for several years and the agency stopped growing. Some key people left for better opportunities at agencies that were growing rapidly. Then the agency’s best accounts left because of company buyouts and changes in client management.

The agency spiraled downward because there were no new clients to replace the ones who left. In desperation, the partners sold their firm to a large agency holding company who had to rebuild the entire operation. The partners’ buyout turned to peanuts.

To this day, Everybody blamed Somebody for the lack of new business success when Nobody did what Anybody could easily have done. And that was to fix new business forever.

Overselling Is a Fatal New Business Disease

Stuart Sanders Chairman

I was so proud of myself. I had been following up on a good prospect, a large regional hospital in a small city near the agency where I worked. The Director of Communications agreed to see me because of our agency’s hospital expertise.

The Importance of Personality Profiling

Over the phone I did my usual personality profiling to understand her profile so I could establish good chemistry quickly. She sounded warm, friendly and definitely people oriented. She was low-assertive, meaning she was not pushy, very agreeable, and let me lead our phone calls. Those observations quickly established her as a Logo™ personality. I therefore cooled my sales jets, took a low-aggressive approach and worked over several weeks to warm her up. It’s all out of our Chemistry Wins New Business training manual.

I asked for permission to see her when it felt right. Besides, I explained, “I was passing close by,” so she agreed to see me. As I stood in front of her office located in the bowels of the hospital, I mentally checked over the Do’s and Don’ts for Logos™. I remembered don’t push. Don’t oversell. Do build chemistry by treating her first as a friend. Do establish common ground. That approach means I don’t take in a presentation or even samples because that’s too “salesy” for most Logos™.

The Importance of a Solid First-Visit Strategy

The first visit went like clockwork. It’s a tried and try approach built around Agency Baseball and something that I practiced at the agency, working to get my words down, remembering to talk it over easy, and not pushing. Now in her office it all came together as I spent 20-minutes discussing personal issues with her, including family, friends, industry contacts we both knew, college backgrounds and all type of stuff that drive Headlines™, those hard-charging profiles, crazy. It wasn’t difficult to hit common ground because her office was loaded with discussion tips in typical Logo™ fashion. And the approach works because Logos™ want to establish a personal relationship first before moving into work.

About the time I was going to bring up business, she suggested it. I moved quickly to outline our capabilities using word pictures. It was our hospital competency story, and it takes about three-minutes and includes the five things we do well, all stuff we teach in our Spark Training. It’s light and easy.

The Importance of Discovery

Then I asked moved to Discovery, a process where the agency asks questions, and acts like a medical doctor with good bed-side manners, meaning concerned, probing, checking off needs and looking for symptoms or pain where we can be of help. But not selling, just questioning like good docs do.

She opened up and laid out her marketing problems and opportunities in a very professional and orderly fashioned. I asked the Process questions and found out she was moving to fire her current agency, a shop that was having well-known leadership issues. My heart took a jump but I didn’t try the old “hire us” trial offer. I remembered my bed-side manner and her Logo™ profile.

The Right Way to Exit

The meeting ended abruptly, and too early for me, with a call from her boss that she had to take, but I stood and said my good-byes, told her I would follow up, and departed. I understood that I had accomplished just about all I could on a first visit with a Logo™ profile. Trying to close the account at that time would not have worked. And I knew rushing to ask for the order as so many “experts” suggest would have lost all I had gained.

Winning With a Conference Report

I followed up with a detailed conference report based on what she told me. And true to the process we teach in Torch Training, I stuck to the facts with no selling. And I sent it to her by overnight delivery as we suggest, never on email. She called back very impressed at how well I had listened, and said she didn’t want to go through an agency review and would like to shift her account to us. I asked her how she wanted to proceed, staying in her profile, and she suggested I send up our agency contract so her in-house attorneys could review it. Never had I won a piece of business any easier.

The Agency New Business Meeting

That Tuesday, when we had the agency new business committee meeting, which is usually the most hated meeting in the agency and a big waste of time because the account staff goes around the table and tells lies about stuff that should have been done and calls they should have made, but didn’t. All well and good until my turn, and I opened my mouth and bragged about my new “win.”

The agency president and chief creative officer, Headline™ to the core, demanded to know what this Director of Communications felt about our hospital creative work. I explained that she had not really seen it because I had not taken the agency hospital presentation to her because, in my opinion, it wasn’t needed. He was incensed and announced to everyone that he would go pick up the contract with me, but only after he marched my “new account” through our creative work. He would make very sure she knew what type of agency she was hiring.

DOA

You know the rest. We never got the account. The follow-up meeting began with our contract from her attorneys sitting there on her desk, breathing “pick me up.” Our president rushed to deliver his heavy-selling “we do it our way” creative review despite my suggestions on how to do it that I had given to him before we left the agency. His pushy overselling killed the win.

The sad thing is he felt he did a good job. I didn’t have the strength on the ride back to the agency, while listening to him tell me how well we had done, to speak the truth. We had just lost the easiest account we had ever won.

Five Important Take-Aways

1. Personality profiling really improves your batting averages.
2. Having a solid first visit approach always works.
3. A conference report follow-up is often your best closing device because among other things it proves you listened to the prospect.
4. Over-selling hurts your chances despite all the “ask for the order” junk floating around.
5. Never brag at agency new business meetings.

Free Offer

If your agency wants to learn more details on some of these techniques discussed here, call Sanders Consulting Group (800/899-1538) for a free, no-obligation discussion on new business, tips on your process, and perhaps some advice.

Old New Business: Organic Growth Rules of the Road

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.

New Business: Five Warning Signs of a Nightmare Prospect

New business sometimes lands you in strange places. This has never been truer than in challenging time like these. Winning is everyone’s objective, but every agency has a nightmare client that was once a promising prospect.

Our clients often ask if there is a way to assess in advance what prospects and accounts will drain profits and drive you to madness once they become clients. SCG advocates the use of an active outreach program for screening prospects. You need a clear understanding of the prospects personality, history, objectives, budget, and expectations for all prospects in your database.

Agencies don’t take on these clients willingly. Dysfunctional, destructive or disorganized prospects slip through the cracks all the time pulling you into lose-lose relationships that drain patience, time, resources and profits. The time to confirm and clarify a prospects “nightmare potential” is during the first visit. Doing so can keep you from investing time and energy into loser accounts.

Here are the five warning signs of a nightmare prospect:

1. You are their first agency. This is a red flag. Take a pass and allow another agency the frustration of training them.
2. The prospect is not clear about what he or she wants, but somehow expects your agency to produce it without detailed input.
3. The prospect reports having had a lot of problems with their previous agencies. A pattern of “problem” agencies could be a sign of a problem client.
4. The prospect is ignorant about marketing, advertising, or the creative process and has no competent staff. This prospect often expects you to wave a magic wand, with little understanding of the complexity or expense of developing and producing effective work.
5. The prospect makes it clear that they are looking for a bargain and focuses entirely on cost.

If you have found one or more of these signs, proceed with caution, if at all.

If you decide to attempt to turn this prospect into a client, here are some steps that you can take to minimize the risk.

1. Document major concerns in writing in a conference report following the first visit. In your reports make sure to outline the framework for a successful relationship.
2. Maintain constant communication becoming their best friend and confidant.We recommend you create a binder and number every conference report, and be over organized!
3. Don’t let problems fester. They are much easier to solve when they are small problems. Keep the focus on relationships not issues.
4. Educate them. Explain the impact of their behavior on schedules, budgets and deliverables.

Search consultants and Cattle Call RFP’s have made it more difficult to identify a nightmare prospect. Many agencies see only the revenue opportunity and overlook or ignore the signs.

To keep a prospect from becoming a nightmare client, you must be extremely clear on what you need from the prospect at each step. You must communicate as often and as tactfully as possible. Communicate these success factors up front is most effective.

It’s important to have a detailed contract covering issues that might lead to problems and exactly how payment will be handled if things do not work out.

By building a graceful exit into the process, you can protect your most important client - you.

Advertising New Business: The Pitch You Have To Win!

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.