New Business Thought Leadership

Welcome to the RSW/US blog, focused on a variety of new business insights and thought leadership, from getting a program off the ground all the way to the final pitch, it’s the place for experienced new business pros and owners/principals alike. Catch our posts based on 18 years of experience working with professional services firms.

Featured, Outsourced Business Development, Processes

You Can’t Control the Market, But You Can Control Your Positioning

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 […]

April 24, 2025/by Lee McKnight Jr

Outsourced Business Development

Challenging but Signs of a Turn

2008. 2020. 2025. This whole tariff thing and the wild state of inertia it has seemed to cause in the market is unlike anything many of us have ever seen. The 2008 recession was hurtful, but it did not affect every type of business, nor…

When Brands Skip the Pitch Consultants—and Go to LinkedIn Instead

Featured, Outsourced Business Development

When Brands Skip the Pitch Consultants—and Go to LinkedIn Instead

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…

Featured, Outsourced Business Development, Processes

Do What Others Aren’t

A frightening tale with a happy ending. I'll never forget the day when I thought the world was going to implode and our outsourced new business company would fold. It was March, 2020 and it appeared all was over. Calls came in from clients…

Agencies That Lead Win - Why CMOs Need More Than Just Order Takers

Featured, Outsourced Business Development, Processes

Agencies That Lead Win – Why CMOs Need More Than Just Order Takers

“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…

Agency Business Development Playbook

Outsourced Business Development, Processes

The Agency Business Development Playbook: Navigating a Competitive and Cost-Sensitive Market

The Agency Business Development Playbook: Navigating a Competitive and Cost-Sensitive Market Time to wrap up my series around our latest RSW/US report. Marketers continue to be selective in their spending (not a new thing), agency search…

Roadmap

Featured, Outsourced Business Development

The 1st Step in Your New Business Roadmap

Let’s get back to basics for a moment on the subject of new business. We consistently preach our philosophy and mantra when speaking with prospects: we maintain a relationship-building approach that doesn’t shove the company down the…