Agency Business Development Challenges & Solutions
This is a guest post by Kathryn Neal Odell (@sales_onsite), managing partner for Sales-Onsite.
How do you fix “the agency business development problem?” We went to the source and asked some marketing agency executives and business development managers about the challenges they face and how they overcome them. In this post, we curate their thoughts on the topic.
Read More12 Criteria for Qualifying Marketing Agency Clients
If a client relationship is like marriage, then the marketing process is like dating. Since one will flow from the other, it’s difficult to overestimate the importance of “intentional dating” as you seek new client relationships. In other words, now is the time to date only marriageable people (unlike college, right?).
Unless the standard is set high at this stage, you’ll be exerting far too much effort in trying to change your clients ongoing. That’s energy not very well spent. It’s better to screen potential clients and be choosier about prospective partners at the onset.
David C. Baker, principal of Recourses, Inc. offers some thoughts you might adapt to your own situation.
Read MoreImprove Client Loyalty and Agency Performance with Marketing Score — Available in Public Beta
According to the CMO Council, only 36 percent of marketers are firmly committed to their agencies. So, how does your agency attract, retain and grow the right accounts? It starts with a thorough marketing assessment of your leads and clients that enables your agency to forecast potential, align expectations and build performance-driven campaigns.
By gauging the strength of an organization’s existing brand, website, marketing mix, team, technology, processes and performance, agencies can better identify areas of impact and reduce the risk of eventual churn. Now available in public beta, Marketing Score (@MKTScore) is a free assessment tool and marketing intelligence engine powered by PR 20/20 that can help agencies with this assessment process.
Read MoreAgency New Business in Just an Hour a Day
This is a guest post from Mark Sneider, owner and president of RSW/US, an outsourced lead generation and business development firm for marketing agencies. In the post, Mark stresses the need for agencies to pursue new business on a consistent basis and offers six business development pointers to get started.
Cut the Geek Speak and Other Ways for Agencies to Triple Billings
Last week, I had the opportunity to attend Inbound12, an inbound marketing conference in Boston. At the conference, Connection Model, led by president David Carpenter (@davidcarpenter), was named the first HubSpot VAR to reach platinum partner status for its ability to acquire and retain accounts.
For me, the award begged the question: What’s their secret to new business? Well, we got the answer straight from the horse’s mouth.
Read MoreTips for Managing the Marketing Agency Sales Process
As the leader of a startup agency, you’re likely your own sales force until further notice. You basically roll with the highs and lows, working toward client loyalty and recurring revenue. However, there comes a time when balancing your roles as CEO and rainmaker becomes a greater challenge than it may be worth. At this point, it’s time to think about growing your team and how they’ll fit into the sales process. In this post, we offer tips on doing just that.
Read MoreYour Sales Funnel: In Feast and Famine
Whether you are a hybrid agency of 1 or 100, your sales funnel determines your fate. A common challenge among agencies is the “feast or famine” condition of business development. You either:
- Gain a large influx of leads, scrambling for time and capacity to properly vet, process and support, or
- Have a dry spell, which can stall growth and pull involved personnel into other agency responsibilities.
While there is no way to completely control these ebbs and flows, a structured sales process ensures that leads are handled as effectively and efficiently at possible when they come en masse, and a dedicated marketing effort can help prevent lengthy business development dry spells.
Read MoreHow to Avoid Dead-End Client Relationships
Find out if your leads are marriage material. Twenty-five questions marketing agencies should consider when evaluating new business opportunities.
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