Most marketing communications firms do a great job of building their clients’ businesses. But when it comes to marketing themselves they tend to rely on a “strategy” of “laying in the middle of the road and hoping to get run over” to win new business. Perhaps it’s this lack of proactive marketing that causes client decision-makers to view the entire MarCom services world as a giant set of commodity firms.

To break out of this commodity grid-lock and change your new business results, you have to change your new business marketing approach. And that’s why so many marketing communications firms have turned to Robb High.

Click to get details about the Robb High Consulting Services that other successful agencies have used to grow:

Turn your firm into a new business “machine” and reinvent and reenergize your company at the same time.

Attend Robb High's New Business Boot Camp: how to come to grips with what you really have to do to win new business for small to mid-sized agencies of all disciplines.

Create a “killer” new business presentation team in just 2 days.

Avoid getting fired by current clients by finding out what they think of you via a Client Satisfaction Audit.

Have a 24/7 new business consultant on call year round to help you strategize to win.

From time to time, the leadership at every MarCom firm recognizes a need to “shift gears” to go to the “next level,” or just to stay competitive. Sometimes it’s motivated by a recent client loss, or a pattern of not getting into enough reviews. And sometimes it’s because the agency is going through, or about to go through a management or ownership transition.

Whatever the motivation, centering the change process on the pursuit new business is always the most effective strategy . . . because new business changes everything . . . for the better.

This engagement extends for a full 3-month period to ensure that the new strategies and practices are actually implemented.

 

DELIVERABLES

Develop and define the firm’s go-to-market proposition and brand architecture via a facilitated group ideation process. This is not a company positioning, it’s the creation of something interesting and appealing to prospects that will enable your firm to generate face-to-face contact with prospects. Think of it as a marketing “lure.”

Create the new outbound communications program customized to your firm’s go-to-market proposition and able to effectively connect and develop relevant awareness with 1,000+ client marketing decision-makers by communicating 12-15 times a year . . . year after year . . . with virtually no expense and very little staff time.

Assist in creating new interactive content for your web site that will make it a more effective selling platform for client decision-makers.

Train people to solicit and properly handle face-to-face meetings with prospects leading to long-term relationships.

Train people to solicit press visibility.

Provide new techniques for creating better RFP/RFI responses.

Provide a totally new approach for how to present in review situations.

Assess and critique the firm’s presenters to engage prospects more effectively.

COST

The RHA fee for the entire 90-day engagement described below is $8,500 + travel. The new business development program is done in two parts.

PART I: THE NEW BUSINESS PLANNING SESSION

Who should participate?

Everyone involved in directly presenting to prospects or contacting them during the prospecting process, plus other senior management. Ideally not less than three or more than 12 people should participate.

What will we accomplish in the sessions?

The agenda can be crafted to meet your specific needs, but I generally recommend the following:

Understand the new competitive context. A part of my practice includes doing client audits. From that extensive exposure to clients I provide agencies with a present-tense summary of what client issues and desires are. This helps the firm understand how to best position themselves in the marketplace.

Arrive at a compelling summary statement as to why prospects should be interested in your firm, AKA, a Go-To-Market Proposition. Most firms use the same terms to describe themselves, and so no differentiation happens and clients end up seeing all MarCom firms as commodities. This isn’t about a company positioning. It’s about identifying an interesting aspect of the firm that prospects will be sufficiently intrigued by to begin having face-to-face meetings. To do this, I lead a focused ideation session, which usually takes about two hours if the participants do some thinking about it ahead of time based on the questionnaire I send out beforehand.

Identify a list of prospects that reflect your aspirations, capabilities and newly selected “lure.” as a group you will select the categories and criteria for the selection of prospects. Following the work sessions I will generate a master list of 800-2,000 companies that match the criteria and send that to all participants to make individual selections. Those are then sent back to me and based on your collective choices, I prepare a final prospect list of approximately 250 companies.

Develop content ideas to build the prospect communications program. As a team we will generate ideas for communications that will have universal appeal to marketing decision-makers and reflect the firm’s capabilities and selected marketing “lure.” The actual communications will be drafted by you and edited by me following the session.

Develop ideas for generating face-to-face meetings with prospects. As a team we will generate ideas that will motivate prospects to accept face-to-face meetings and allow cost-effective customized meetings to be created rapidly.

Identify ways to make the firm’s web site a more effective selling tool. After thoroughly evaluating your site and using the results of my research among client decision-makers, I will make recommendations for enhancements/ changes. If you use an outside web-provider, it can be helpful to have someone from that company on hand.

Develop a strategic press plan. I will give you several strategies to successfully leverage the press to gain positive visibility.

Develop a search consultant strategy. Based on my familiarity with all of the major consultants we will discuss how each consultant works and establish strategies for developing appropriate awareness and how to operate if you are in one of their searches.

Evaluate/improve pitch team dynamics. How you come across to prospects in the crucible of the one to two presentations usually allowed is critical. We start by reviewing your recent presentations. I provide recommendations for changes and discuss techniques for improving the excitement and teamwork. In addition I work with individuals on a solo basis to advise them on what training might help them become more effective.

PART II: POST-SESSION CONSULTING (90 DAYS)

I will be available, 24/7, to be contacted about anything relating to new business. Access is unlimited. The range of services following the planning session will vary according to the needs of your firm, but, in general, it will include the following:

Oversee implementation of the prospect communications program. This is where the bulk of my post-session time is spent. I will work with each individual involved at the firm to help them complete the drafting of the communications and then edit all submissions to ensure they are appropriate.

Evaluate the effectiveness of the prospect communications program. Based on the response data you decide to collect, I will help evaluate the quality of respective communications and recommend any necessary revisions.

RFP Response counsel. I work with the firm to create innovative ways to stand out during the impersonal RFP stage.

Pitch coaching. If desired, I can sit in on the initial planning session to consult/advise on any pitch that comes up in the 90-day period. (No additional fee, but travel costs are extra.)

Strategic partnering. If your firm needs to establish a strategic partnership in order to enhance your offering and appeal to larger clients I can assist with identifying and arranging introductions. (This includes establishing international reach and having a broader array of communications disciplines.)

New business meetings are not “meetings. They should always be thought of as stage shows. And putting on a stage show requires actor training.

Robb High works with the firm’s new business team, first as a group, and then individually, to assess the abilities of each member, provide constructive advice for what each person needs to do to improve/excel, and create new and better team dynamics. He also identifies which team members will be most effective and which should not be included on the new business team.

The cost ranges from $2,400 to $3,700 (+travel) depending on the number of individuals in the training group.

The reality is that all clients will eventually change agencies. Yes, even your oldest client. It’s just the way life works.

But you can “slow down the endgame” by having Robb High check in with your clients to get an accurate assessment of their satisfaction levels and find out any hidden “issues” that might cause a breakdown in the relationship. At very least, doing the evaluation always buys you some extra time to fix things.

Think of it as an insurance policy on your firm’s financial future.

The cost generally runs from $1,000 to $4,500 depending on the number of clients involved and the extent to which face-to-face vs. telephone interviews are used.

Whenever new business issues or opportunities arise, you can instantly reach out and contact RHA for confidential consultation via phone or email. This includes consulting on RFP responses, strategies for getting first meetings, developing new email campaign copy, evaluating email campaign performance, presentation strategy, compensation proposals, etc. Fee: $2,400 per year for unlimited access (= only $200/month).