You finally get the meeting. It goes well. Good energy. Smart questions. Maybe even a personal connection. And then… silence. If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. According to our 2025 Professional Services New Business Survey, 78% of firms say it takes up to six months to close a deal after the first meeting. This […]
When outreach falls flat: If getting in the door with prospects feels more difficult this year, that’s because it is—but it’s not insurmountable. From our 2025 Professional Services New Business Survey Report, 58% of professional services firms say the biggest challenge right now is either “fewer opportunities” or “harder to break through.” Yes, it’s crowded […]
Why You’re Not Getting That Second Meeting (Even After a Great First One) You landed the meeting. You were prepared. You walked through your creds deck, your client wins, maybe even some creative. So… why didn’t it go anywhere? It’s one of the most frustrating realities in business development—especially for agencies and professional services firms. […]
Sigh. Let’s talk about your site. And start with a little tough love. If you’re relying on referrals and repeat business to keep things going right now—you’re not alone. But here’s the problem: in a market where budgets are tight, competition is fierce, and decision-makers are under pressure (some 63% of CMOs responding to […]
What happens when big brands like The North Face and Jordan start crowdsourcing their agency searches on LinkedIn? The industry starts buzzing—and splitting. An Ad Age post from Lindsay Rittenhouse that made the rounds on LinkedIn this week: Why major brands are hiring agencies on LinkedIn—and dividing the industry In recent weeks, brands […]
“The average CMO tenure is notoriously one of the shortest in the C-suite. Most Fortune 500 CMOs last just 51 months” This is from the piece by Rebecca Stewart & Paul Hiebert in Adweek this past week titled The Real Reasons Why CMOs Get Fired and it’s an important read for your agency business development […]
undefined Frequently Asked Questions What does an effective agency business development playbook look like in 2025? An effective 2025 agency business development playbook combines refined positioning, direct outreach, and a clear value story that goes beyond capabilities. With marketers scrutinizing every dollar, agencies need to lead with outcomes and ROI rather than process. The playbook […]
There are two prospecting objections that stifle agencies , and they get hung up, or worse, give up when faced with them: We already work with an agency We handle that in-house Let’s tackle each: How To Handle The “We already work with an agency” Objection As an initial aside, you should actually want to […]
undefined Positioning shapes whether a marketer notices you at all. For context on how that discovery process works from the client side, see our data on how marketers discover new ad agencies.
undefined Frequently Asked Questions How can ad agencies use AI for business development? Agencies can use AI for business development in five concrete ways: personalizing outreach at scale by researching prospects faster, identifying the right contacts within target companies, generating content that builds visibility with prospects, analyzing which outreach sequences perform best, and automating follow-up […]
