Finding an experienced advertising agency new business director is tough, as is handling lead generation in-house, or finding outsourced lead generation services that only work with advertising agencies, marketing services firms, and PR firms. as RSW/US does.
Below we lay out three scenarios and the corresponding advantages to using RSW’s outsourced lead generation services.
Unlike our competitors, we are all about getting you closer to close — not just getting you meetings.
Your RSW/US New Business Director is not only given incentives to find you qualified leads, but those incentives increase the longer you stay on past your contract period. Typically, the only way you’ll do that is if you’re closing business.
We realize that meetings are only part of the program. We have mutually shared objectives. You win, we win.
RSW/US vs. an Internal Advertising Agency New Business Director
The lifespan of an advertising agency new business director is less than a CMO — about 18 months.* Here are some of the reasons we’ve been given for this revolving door:
- Too many responsibilities. A consistent new business process is a full-time job that demands consistent focus. Too many responsibilities often divert the attention of new business directors.
- Wrong skill set. Too many agencies try and hire new business directors with non-service selling backgrounds or from specific industries, without regard for their understanding of how to sell marketing services.
- No methodology or consistency. Few new business directors come in with a well-grounded methodology. They might do well with 10 to 20 priority prospects, but often have difficulty beyond that.
- One person can only do so much. While one person can reach out to prospects, time still has to be allocated to the critical tasks of implementing ongoing strategy, follow-up, content creation, and list building/cleaning.
- Little-to-no value. “Setting up useless meetings” is one of the top reasons agency principals note as why new business directors fail. New business directors get desperate, and they just start pushing.
RSW/US vs. the Competition
- We only work with marketing service firms. Unlike other firms, we only help marketing services firms — from full service traditional agencies to PR to technology firms.
- We are all about the close. We don’t walk away after the first meeting takes place — we follow up to ensure you get as close to close as possible.
- We are more proactive. You don’t have to come to us to make programs more effective — we come to you with new ideas.
- We deliver better-qualified leads. 30-50% of what we turn over to a client turns into a bid, pitch, or proposal within a few months of the initial meeting.
- We create superior lists. We have a team of list builders and cleaners on staff that build customized lists weeks before the program begins. Each list is as targeted as possible, based off criteria like revenue, geography, vertical, and prospect title.
- We are on top of the latest technologies. Each year we issue technology reports that provide perspective on the world of marketing technology.
- We create a unique selling proposition. We define your offering in a compelling way, differentiating your market position while maintaining consistency of messaging throughout the program.
- We are more experienced. We know how to sell marketing service firms. The New Business Directors who represent our clients come to RSW/US with an average of 20 years of marketing/sales/agency experience.
- A team backs each program. We want every client’s New Business Director to focus on selling, so a team that helps facilitate daily activity supports each New Business Director.
- We utilize the latest technologies. We use a robust CRM, we subscribe to sophisticated list resources, we receive weekly updates about marketers that read content about finding new agencies, and we receive daily reports about prospects visiting your website.
- We offer superior program control. The vast majority of our employees are on-site in our Cincinnati headquarters.
- We use multiple channels to prospect. We don’t stake a program’s success solely on calling. Our methodology includes email, direct mail, phone calls, and social media, where applicable.
- We follow a consistent methodology. While every New Business Director has their own selling style, each one follows our internal process to maintain consistency and focus.
- We deliver insights beyond day-to-day program management. RSW/US is continuously surveying marketers and agencies to better understand what clients want and how agencies can deliver more effectively. These insights feed us a constant stream of valuable content delivered to agencies throughout the year.
- We don’t take commissions on work we help you close. We aren’t interested in taking part of the business you win. Our goal is to help you win business so you stay a client indefinitely.
- We offer full service support. We help guide website redesign development, provide counsel on capabilities presentations and client collateral drafts, as well as manage the mailings for our clients.
- We walk our own walk. We use the same methods for our client outreach as we do to generate new business for RSW/US.
For Advertising Agency New Business Directors
While we often operate as the new business team for an agency, we can also serve as part of an existing new business team. In either scenario, RSW/US accomplishes what would traditionally take at least two to three people to accomplish.
We frequently work with internal new business directors and are flexible in how we’re integrated into a client’s business. We can be a great pipeline-filler for a new business director working inside an agency and provide a support system to help their overall efforts.
Top 10 Reasons Existing Agency New Business Directors Give for Hiring RSW/US
- Consistent outreach that keeps my agency on our prospects’ radar.
- Ability to immediately bring a market-proven strategy to the table.
- Helps shepherd the development of new business collateral content for programs, including case studies, introductory mailers/digital pieces, and trackable, ongoing, value-added emails.
- Provides targeted list building/cleaning.
- Manages the process consistently months and years into the program.
- Manages all monthly mailings and/or digital outreach.
- Orchestrates and ensures each meeting happens after it’s set.
- Provides detailed snapshots of the company and prospect prior to the meeting.
- Conducts post-meeting follow-up, to ensure all the necessary steps are taken.
- They are focused on helping me close new business.