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Getting to Close – A Letter of Love from Mark

A letter of love…

Yell and tell and sell!

79% of marketers tell us in our surveys that agencies talk too much about themselves when they first meet with them.

And only 16% of agencies come into a first meeting knowing anything substantive about the marketing prospect.

Come on now!! Y’all can do better than that!

I tell our agency clients on the outsourced new business side of our business (RSW/US) and agencies involved in searches I’m running on the agency search side of our business (RSW/AgencySearch) that the way you look today to that marketer — in their eyes is the way you will likely operate tomorrow.

So it’s all about 110%

It’s hard to push yourself, but you have to if you’re going to win in this new, highly competitive world we’re all operating in.

That goes for new business prospecting and how you’re managing your existing client relationships.

The two reasons marketers come to me looking for a new firm is because they either feel like their agency isn’t keeping them ahead of the curve (they’re getting calls and emails from other agencies introducing them to new technology, processes, approaches).

Or they wake up one day and realize that they’re the ones bringing all the ideas to the table, asking for the agency’s POV, and it’s never the other way around.

The answer to all of these challenges is two-fold.

1. Add value

2. Make it all about them

Whether it’s an existing client or a marketing prospect, go beyond the ask or the expected…delight and surprise…show them you’re there to help beyond just doing great creative or communications work, but there to help their business grow.

And don’t make it about you – especially when prospecting. It’s what everybody else is doing.  Show that prospect you’re there for them and you’re thinking about them. And that starts the minute you reach out (or in our world, the agency’s New Business Director reaches out to prospects they’re interested in working with).  And it carries all the way through to the proposal, RFP, presentation/pitch.

Don’t let up!

We have a webinar we give to new clients called “Getting to Close” and it talks about all of these things – and more.

It’s always interesting – as many feel like they agree with the vast majority of what we say, but what often comes to light is agencies just aren’t taking the time to do it – or they aren’t putting the 110% against it.

So, help guide the perception that marketing client of yours or that prospect of yours has about you.

And never forget that how you look today is a direct reflection of how you might operate down the road.

Happy to talk about how we can help – by either coaching or supporting your effort.

Onwards and upwards!

Mark (mark@rswus.com)

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Shout-out logo — crank up your marketing agency awareness
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Crank up the “Awareness Meter”!

When we prospect for an agency client of ours (looking like we’re part of their team), part of the “game” is building awareness of the agency’s brand.

We want to get our agency client on the radar of marketers they’re interested in working with, so when they’re ready, you’re there.

And just like you would build a multi-channel campaign for your clients to build awareness of their brand, we need to do (and do) the same for our clients.

In 2005, the awareness of the RSW/US brand (and the category of outsourced agency new business) was basically non-existent.

Reason being is that networking, past relationships, and referrals all dominated the agency new business landscape – well into 2022.

As we see below, 73% of agencies in 2022 said they use networking as a primary source for new business. 67% said past relationships. 60% said friends/co-workers.  And 44% said direct outreach.

It’s what worked for agencies at least at the time…so why change it?

But turns out, the market didn’t sit still and because of that, it forced agencies to think differently about how they win new business.

Over the last few years, we’ve seen changes in the marketing landscape that have impacted how agencies source opportunities:

  • Companies are doing more with less – so there are few marketers out there to connect with.
  • More companies are consolidating so there are fewer companies to network with.
  • And there’s less movement among marketers, so there are fewer past clients to target.

So consequently, we’re seeing a shift.

All of the key sources for agency new business have lessened in importance because of the changes we’ve seen in the market.

Only 58% of agencies say networking is a primary source of new business. Only 48% say that past relationships are a key source for new business.  Andy only 35% say friends/co-workers.

And all the while, “Direct Outreach” remains constant at 45%.

So what are the implications for agencies trying to find new business for their firm?

You need to be more proactive in reaching out to prospects you want to work with!

  • Use a multi-channel approach (phone, email, mail, LinkedIn)
  • Be intentional in defining targets
  • Look for new hires when building lists

You need to reach out to past clients (people/companies)

  • There may not be as many of them, but they’re still out there
  • Put one person in charge of organizing an outreach plan

Create content to help your firm be found

  • Web searches are growing in importance (16% in 2022 and 39% in 2025)
  • Showing up in AI driven searches is critical

So regardless of your approach, what’s key is not letting up and not relying on the old stalwarts because they just aren’t as reliable a resource any more. Use them….but don’t rely on them.

Because we know that sometimes it takes years to get the attention of a prospect, so staying with them and staying on their radar can  go a long way.

Build away!

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Reality Check #4: If Prospects Can’t Find You, They Can’t Hire You
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Reality Check #4: If Prospects Can’t Find You, They Can’t Hire You

Reality Check #4: If Prospects Can’t Find You, They Can’t Hire You

Agencies have always been better at doing great work than at promoting themselves.

That’s not me being obnoxious, it’s just reality.

For years, most small and mid-sized agencies have relied on referrals, relationships, and reputation to drive new business, which works until it doesn’t.

The problem is that agencies have historically been pretty bad at one critical thing: getting found by prospects who do not already know them.

It’s improved over the years.

More agencies invest in websites, content, and thought leadership than they used to.

But, as our industry loves to do to all of us, the rules are changing again, and fairly quickly.

Search behavior is shifting and AI is reshaping how buyers look for partners.

So discoverability is no longer optional.

If prospects cannot find you, they cannot hire you.

Agencies Have Always Been Bad at Getting Found

Agencies, marketing services, and PR firms have long struggled with self-promotion.

You sell expertise, not a physical product so value can be hard to see and difficult to sell until someone is already talking to you.

So most firms default to what feels safer and more familiar: referrals, networking, and past relationships.

That approach worked better when relationships were easier to monetize and markets were less crowded. But those channels are not as generous as they used to be.

Per our latest report (2026 RSW/US New Year Outlook Report), referrals are on the downswing, and potential clients are doing more of their own research.

Reality Check #4: If Prospects Can’t Find You, They Can’t Hire You

Back in 2022, only 16% of clients said they used web searches to find new partner firms. Today that number is nearly 40% at 39%.

In just a few years, search has gone from a secondary path to a primary starting point for many buyers.

That means agency discoverability is no longer just a marketing concern, a core business development issue.

Search and AI Changed How Clients Find Agencies

It’s not just that more buyers are using search, it’s how search itself is changing.

Prospects aren’t typing a few keywords into Google and clicking through a list of links, they’re asking AI tools questions.

They’re looking for summarized answers, recommendations, and more and more, letting algorithms shape their shortlists.

In practical terms, this means two things:

First, more buyers are starting their agency search without any referral or introduction at all. They begin with search and AI.

Second, how you show up in those environments determines whether you are even considered.

If your firm isn’t visible, or clearly positioned, or not understood by search and AI systems, it makes the process that much harder for your firm.

This is why discoverability matters more now than at any point in the past.

Why Discoverability Is Now a Core Business Development Channel

For years, many agencies treated their website and content like a brochure: nice to have, but not central to growth.

Business development lived in relationships, outreach, and networking, with typically little to no direct outreach. (More on that in our last post of the series).

Search, AI, and direct outreach need to be at the top of your new business funnel. They influence:

Which doesn’t mean referrals and outreach are no longer effective, just not enough on their own.

5 Simple Things Agencies Must Do to Be Found

You don’t have time for a massive content overhaul or a year-long SEO project.

So forget the idea of “doing everything” and focus on these five baby steps that actually move your business development process forward and are realistic to execute.

1. Fix Your Page Titles and Descriptions First

This is the highest impact, lowest effort move you can make.

Go to your homepage and core service pages and update the page titles and meta descriptions to match what prospects actually search for, not just your internal language.

For example:

  • “Our Services” becomes “B2B Brand Strategy and Creative Agency for SaaS and Tech”
  • “What We Do” becomes “Healthcare Marketing Agency Focused on Growth and Demand”

This helps both traditional search engines and AI tools understand what you actually do and who you do it for.

2. Clean Up and Complete Your Core Profiles

Before you create anything new, make sure your basics are in place:

  • Google Business Profile
  • LinkedIn Company Page
  • Key industry directories like Clutch, Agency Spotter, or similar

Make sure your descriptions are consistent, clear, and category-specific.

These profiles often rank well and frequently show up in AI-assisted discovery.

3. Publish One Intent-Driven Post Per Month

One useful post per month (ideally on your site and LinkedIn) that answers a real buyer question.

Examples:

  • “How to choose a marketing agency for SaaS companies”
  • “What outcomes to expect from a brand strategy engagement”
  • “How we help healthcare brands drive growth”

Short, clear, and practical.

The goal is not volume but relevance to what buyers are searching for.

4. Link What You Already Have

Many agencies already have one or all of these: case studies, service pages, and thought leadership posts, they just aren’t well connected.

Spend a couple of hours:

  • Linking case studies to relevant service pages

  • Linking service pages to insight content

  • Linking insight content back to core offerings

This helps search engines and AI tools understand your expertise and improves discoverability without writing a load of new posts.

5. Direct Outreach Matters

Being found helps get you noticed but is only part of the equation, and can take time.

So while doing 1-4 above will help prospects discover you, it is passive.  Important, but passive nevertheless.

Prospects respond better to outreach because your name already feels familiar.

Discoverability and outreach reinforce each other.

Which is why direct outreach has to be part of the mix.

In our outsourced new business programs at RSW/US, we don’t just build lists, we help firms capitalize on existing LinkedIn connections, past clients, and targeted prospecting, while making sure the brand shows up in the places buyers are already looking.

Of course, you can also drive it internally, but you have to stay consistent.

The firms that win going forward will not rely on a single channel.

They will combine being found with being proactive.

The Bottom Line

Business development has always been about discoverability, the difference now is that search and AI have become the front door.

If prospects can’t find you when they go looking, you are invisible.

Invisible agencies do not get hired.

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President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivering a State of the Union address
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State of the Union – 2026 Edition

A Front-Row Seat from Both Sides of the Fence

Lee McKnight, our VP Sales and Marketing asked me to write a post on the “state of the union” and I agreed to deliver the goods.

So here we go…

I’ve been in this business since 2005, when I started RSW/US here in the states.

Today we represent close over 40 marketing agency and other professional services firms, helping them find new opportunities though our two outsourced new business programs (RSW/US and LAUNCH).

I also run a search consultancy (RSW/AgencySearch), where we help marketers find new and better agencies.

This multi-layered perspective puts me and our company in a unique position, hearing it all from both sides of the fence.

Déjà Vu All Over Again: 2008, the Pandemic, and Now

So with that as a back-drop, what I’m seeing here as we roll into the start of 2026 is an environment that looks very much like the environment we faced as we were coming out of the ’08 recession and very much like the environment we faced as we came out of the pandemic.

The start of these three events (this being the third) all started out in similar fashion – just driven by different factors.

In all three cases, marketers got nervous, they pulled back or slowed their investment in marketing and the agency world suffered.

But it was those agencies that kept their head down and pushed through it were the agencies that prospered.

As many of us suspected, marketers couldn’t hold back forever.

They eventually needed to start spending and supporting their brands again.

I’ll never forget when the pandemic hit and one of our clients’ reaction was to pause our outsourced new business program. We convinced him otherwise, give him a little discount (than you PPP) to help the cause, and sure enough within the two months that followed he won a sizeable piece of new business.

What we saw heading into 2024 was a fear of recession and a complete uncertainty about Trump and what chaos he might cause.  He did and so for many agencies 2024 and the first half of 2025 were tough.

What we’re seeing now is the makings of what we saw at the end of the recession and the end of the pandemic: things starting to pick back up.

Beginning the mid-way point in 2025, we started to see more clients win new business and more marketers interested in wanting to meet with our clients.

In our most recent New Year Outlook survey, 60% of marketers told us that they expect to spend more money to support their brands in 2026.

Was on a call with a long-standing client based out of Oklahoma yesterday and we helped get his agency involved in three agency reviews that are finally looking to break and decide on a preferred partner (hopefully his firm).

These “reviews” have been in process for a good 3-4 months and it finally appears that they’re ready to make a move.

Why 2026 Sets Up Well for Prepared Agencies

And while not out of the woods on the Trump train, things are (and hopefully will continue to be) a bit more balanced.

At the very least we can say with some degree of confidence that his unpredictability is now predictable so there’s less waiting and seeing.

Reductions in interest rates certainly have helped ease concerns and we’re seeing more business investment activity, which only bodes well for consumer spending and marketing investment.

Siemens announced $1B investment

Eli Lilly investing $3B in Pennsylvania

Meta investing $6B in Ohio

So where do we land at the end of 2026?

We land in a good place because:

  1. Economy in general is in good shape and all this investment should only help improve it.
  2. Interest rates will continue to drop, which should spur even more consumer spending activity.
  3. Marketers will stop dragging their feet and wins for agencies will only improve.
  4. A Democratic-led House will temper the chaos even further.
  5. The move to “out of house” (turning to agencies more for marketing support) will only continue.
  6. And Ai-mania will settle. Agencies (if they’re good and on it) will lead their clients versus letting their clients use Ai to take away from agency partners.

Will the agency world ever look like the agency world did 20 years ago when I started RSW/US?

No it won’t, but that doesn’t mean firms can’t find their way to a better place, re-defining their value and their positioning in the market to help move their agencies forward.

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Most Firms Sell AI Capabilities. Clients Buy Outcomes.
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Most Firms Sell AI Capabilities. Clients Buy Outcomes

AI Capabilities vs Client Outcomes

Reality Check #3: Clients Aren’t Asking for AI. They’re Asking for Clarity.

This is the third post in our 5-part series based on our 2026 RSW/US New Year Outlook Report.

The first two Reality Checks focused on control.

Reality Check #1 (When “The Market” Becomes a Crutch) stressed that growth is not completely dictated by the economy, but by what firms choose to do when conditions are uncertain.

Reality Check #2 (Winning the In-House Battle) challenged the belief that in-housing is an unstoppable force, showing instead that it is shrinking in meaningful ways and creating opportunity for agencies positioning themselves in a clear way.

Reality Check #3 tackles this assumption:

Clients are asking for AI. They are actually not, at least not in the way agencies perceive.

The AI Conversation Agencies Think Clients Want

When we asked agencies and professional services firms where they believe clients most want them to leverage AI, answers around content creation combined and represented one of the strongest area cited.

Not surprising. Content is visible and is the “proof” AI is being used.

But once again, perception and reality are not aligned.

What Clients Actually Told Us

When we asked marketers where they would most like their current agency to better leverage AI, content actually ranked much lower.

Instead, both agencies and marketers pointed to analytics, research, and competitive assessment as the most important areas for AI application .

Clients aren’t asking agencies to impress them with AI tools.

They’re asking agencies to help them understand their market, their competition, and their options.

They want clarity.

Most Firms Sell AI Capabilities. Clients Buy Outcomes

What We Hear in Real Conversations

When we bring new clients into our outsourced new business programs, we ask three questions early in the kickoff process:

  • How do you use AI?
  • What is your position on AI?
  • What do your clients want or expect from your use of AI?

The responses are usually consistent:

  • We use AI as a foundational starting point for strategic thinking.
  • It helps us be more efficient in research, analytics, and content development.
  • It allows us to deliver faster and more cost-effective work.

And then this line almost always comes up: “Clients really aren’t asking for much as it relates to AI.”

Meaning, not out loud.

Clients Assume AI Is Baked In At This Point. They’re Evaluating Value.

Clients assume capable agencies are using AI, so what they’re evaluating instead is whether their agency can clearly articulate:

How does this help me compete?
How does this reduce cost or risk?
How does this make better, more efficient decisions possible?

This ties directly back to our Reality Check #1.

Just like the economy, AI has become an easy thing to point to.

It explains pressure (which is real), but doesn’t explain performance.

What Agencies Need To Show Prospects and Clients About AI Outcomes

Most firms talk about AI as a capability, whereas clients experience value as outcomes.

That disconnect between AI capabilities vs client outcomes is where messaging often breaks down.

If your messaging stops at “we use AI for research, analytics, and content,” the client is left to figure out why that matters.

Never a good idea with your clients, or in business development.

Our report makes this clear.

Clients are hungry for business analytics and insights to help them compete in a challenging marketplace.
They’re dealing with lower-cost competitors.
They’re searching for efficiencies.
And, so far, typically not investing as heavily in AI platforms as agencies are.

These are all opportunities if agencies and professional services firms explain it clearly.

The Connection to In-Housing

Our Reality Check #2 showed that in-housing is smaller, not stronger.

Internal teams struggle to keep pace with analytics, insight, and strategic application of AI.

This is where agencies should win: by clearly explaining how their AI usage, delivers better outcomes than internal teams can reasonably produce.

Reality Check #3

Clients are evaluating whether you can explain AI value in a way that helps them make better decisions.

In 2026, firms can’t just talk about AI, they need make its value easiest to understand within the context of the suite of services they offer.

The next Reality Check in this series will focus on how firms talk about what they sell and why productized offerings continue to be misunderstood.

Once again, perception and reality are not the same.

 

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In-house marketing team vs outsourced new business development
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Winning the In-House Battle

The second reality check in our series, based on our latest report data, focuses on in-housing and the belief that it’s on the rise with little that can be done about it.

Read the first post here: When “The Market” Becomes a Crutch.

Reality Check #2: In-Housing Isn’t Dead But It Is Smaller

We see a major opportunity for marketing and other professional services firms—particularly agencies—to reclaim work that clients have brought in-house.

In the agency world, major marketers in 2025 made the move to remove or reduce in-housing, like Keurig Dr. Pepper, PepsiCo, Suntory Global Spirits, and Expedia.

 

Structural Pressures Are Reversing the In-House Trend

While the headlines we see these days talk mostly about bigger marketing organizations making these changes, we expect this to trickle down to mid-tier and smaller marketers for a few reasons:

  • AI Resource Gap: Many in-house teams have struggled to keep pace with AI-powered content production. In some recent studies, approximately 61% of external agencies utilized generative AI in 2025, compared to only 17% of in-house agencies, making outsourcing more cost-effective for high-scale, Ai-driven campaigns.
  • Financial Strain: Economic uncertainty has placed mounting pressure on internal shops, leading CMOs to prioritize variable costs through external agencies over fixed internal overhead.
  • Need for Specialization: Brands are increasingly turning to agencies for complex, niche functions such as creator marketing, social media intelligence, and high-end performance media that are difficult to maintain at scale internally.

In our most recent survey, 65% of client firms said that at least 26% of their marketing work is managed by an in-house team.

While this seems like a large amount of work handled in-house, this represents a significant drop relative to 2024 (92%).

 

Interestingly, the dramatic decrease in the amount of work managed by in-house teams, as reported by clients, did not translate over to marketing and other professional service firms when reporting on the number of their clients taking work in-house.

Marketing and other professional services firms report that 60% of their clients now have some form of in-house capability—up sharply from 40% last year.

While this increase appears dramatic, it’s less concerning because the figure reflects the percentage of clients, not the share of work brought in-house.

More client firms might be bringing work in-house, but the absolute amount of work seems to be on the decline.

(Check out more helpful marketer and agency insights in our 2026 New Year Outlook Survey Report here.)

So…what does this mean for marketing agencies?

Here are several steps you can take to improve your chances of winning back in-house work:

Showcase what your clients can’t or won’t do.

– Digital, media, SEO, e-commerce

Talk the financial flexibility your agency can deliver.

 – Consider alternate pricing/relationship models

Introduce clients to services you offer but they’re not taking advantage of.

– Incentivize your team to drive organic growth

Share the efficiencies you’ve created with AI.

– Talk what’s important to them (e.g. speed to market, cost efficiencies, foundational use of AI to better content/idea creation process)

At the end of the day, it’s all going to come down to the financial strain that in-house firms put on companies (causing them to want to look outside) and the realization that their internal teams are only so good.

Sure they might be great sales collateral and in-store signage makers, but can they see the forest beyond the trees and think and act strategically and technically to the same level of marketing service firms.

I say the answer is a big ole’ “NO!”.

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Agency in highly regulated industries
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Under The Hood Agency Interview: How Lunne Succeeds as an Agency in Highly Regulated Industries

In our latest episode of Under the Agency Hood, Mark Sneider sits down with Doug Lunne and Chris Wilguess of Lunne to unpack how a 21-year-old shop stays sharp for clients in the finance and health sectors.

The conversation explores how Lunne thinks about delivering real value in highly regulated categories where trust, precision, and speed matter just as much as creative output.

What you’ll learn:

  • How to position your agency as an “agency of relationships” that augments in‑house teams and becomes the go‑to partner rather than an expensive, risky AOR.
  • Practical ways to use AI responsibly across workflows—including client governance, internal education, and prompts that actually improve output without leaking proprietary data.
  • How specializing in finance and health shortens onboarding, avoids legal landmines, and expands opportunity (B2C, B2B2C, referral funnels).
  • Client‑friendly ways to offer project‑based work that makes it easy for marketers to try you and scale engagement.
  • Becoming skilled at navigating regulatory guardrails, reducing legal back-and-forth by knowing what can and cannot be said.

Throughout the discussion, Doug and Chris reinforce that Lunne’s model is designed to make it easier for marketers to say yes.

The agency often begins relationships on a project basis, coexists smoothly with in-house teams or other agencies, and expands support as trust builds.
With a Midwest-rooted service mindset, deep category fluency, and a disciplined operating system, Lunne positions itself as a partner clients genuinely enjoy working with while still delivering work that competes with much larger and more expensive firms.
If your agency wants to stop being “only as good as your last project” and start building dependable, scalable client relationships in regulated industries, this interview is a must‑watch.
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When “The Market” Becomes a Crutch
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When “The Market” Becomes a Crutch

Reality Check #1: Growth Isn’t Tied to the Economy. It’s Tied to What Firms Do.

This is the first in our 5-part series around our 2026 New Year Outlook Report.  (Download it here.)

Let me get this out of the way first. Yes, growth is influenced by the economy. So is uncertainty, inflation, political volatility, and cautious client spending.

All of these factors affect business development. And this is typically when “the market” becomes a crutch. (You could just as easily substitute inflation, budget pressure, or economic uncertainty in its place.)

But if you’re not driving new business, or doing anything meaningful to support it, you can only blame the economy for so long.

That is the truth behind our first 2026 Reality Check.

The economy explains pressure. It does not explain inaction.

In our newly released 2026 RSW/US New Year Outlook Report, agencies and professional services firms once again point to familiar challenges heading into the year ahead: economic uncertainty, client caution, budget pressure, confusion around AI, and increased competition from firms chasing smaller budgets.

None of that is surprising.

What is more telling is what happens when you look past the headlines and into our report data.

Across the last three years, agency growth has been remarkably consistent, and consistently modest.

In 2023, 38 percent of agencies reported growth.

In 2024, that number was 44 percent.

In 2025, it edged up a bit to 39 percent .

Different economic conditions, different narratives, but nearly identical outcomes.

That consistency suggests agency growth has not moved, and does not move, in lockstep with the economy.

It has stayed largely flat regardless of it.

When “The Market” Becomes a Crutch

Client Expectations Are Shifting. Agency Outcomes Are Not

Now let’s look at how clients have been thinking about growth over the last 3 years.

Client growth expectations have moved sharply over the past few years.

Heading into 2023, only 39 percent of clients expected positive growth compared to the prior year, reflecting widespread uncertainty and caution at the time.

Going into 2024, 75 percent of clients anticipated positive growth compared to 2023, driven in part by stabilization after a difficult period and a belief that conditions were improving.

And finally, when clients looked to 2025 in comparison to the previous year, expectations moderated again, with 60 percent of clients expecting solid growth.

What matters most is not whether clients are optimistic or cautious in any given year, it’s that their expectations move with economic cycles.

Agency outcomes, by contrast, have remained remarkably consistent over the same period, regardless of shifts in client sentiment or broader economic conditions.

That contrast reinforces a key point behind this Reality Check.

Client expectations are shaped by the market.

Agency growth is shaped far more by what firms choose to do about business development, visibility, and positioning when those expectations rise or fall.

Optimism exists. Investment does not always follow

There’s also an important distinction between expectations and behavior.

Looking ahead to 2026, 69 percent of agencies expect improvement in their business performance, a meaningful increase from the prior year.

Confidence is creeping back.

But when it comes to investment, the story changes.

Only 46 percent of agencies expect to invest somewhat or heavily in their business this year.

On the client side, that number drops to 37 percent .

Marketing spend expectations are even more cautious. Just 25 percent of clients expect their marketing spending to increase in 2026, down from prior years.

This is where many firms drop the ball.

They want growth but they hesitate to invest in the very activities that make growth more likely.

Waiting, Assuming, and Hoping Are Not Growth Strategies

The data reinforces that these are not successful strategies for growth:

  • waiting for the economy to turn
  • assuming referrals will rebound on their own
  • hoping clients suddenly become less cautious

The firms that outperform in environments like this,

  • Stay visible when other firms pull back.
  • Stay proactive about business development instead of reactive.
  • Make it easier for prospects to find them, understand them, and engage with them.

Outsourcing growth is a successful strategy to combat marketing conditions (shameless plug for RSW).

Outsourcing stagnation to combat marketing conditions is no strategy at all.

Reality Check #1

Growth is not disconnected from the economy. But it’s not dictated by it either.

What ultimately separates firms that grow from those that stall is what they do when conditions are uncertain.

Do they reinforce their messaging clarity or wait it out.
Do they invest in discoverability or retreat into existing relationships.
Do they treat new business as an ongoing function or something to revisit when things feel easier.

The economy sets the context. Your actions determine the outcome.

This is the first of our 2026 Reality Checks, and it sets the tone for what comes next.

Growth is still happening and opportunity still exists.

The question is whether firms are positioned to capture it.

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2026 RSW/US New Year Outlook Report

This is the RSW/US 2026 New Year Outlook Report.

If this is your first time here, RSW/US is an outsourced lead generation/business development firm that exclusively services ad agencies, PR, marketing service, and professional services firms (of all sizes and types).

We work with over 50 firms across the U.S., operating as their outsourced sales and marketing team.

More about us here.

Introduction

The 2026 RSW/US New Year Outlook Report provides clear, data-backed insight into how marketing services agencies, professional services firms, and marketers are approaching the year ahead, where priorities are shifting, and what challenges are most likely to impact growth and new business development.

By capturing perspectives from all sides of the relationship, this report offers practical guidance to help organizations plan more effectively and move into 2026 with greater focus and confidence.

As marketing agencies, PR firms, and professional services organizations head into 2026, optimism hasn’t disappeared—but it has matured.

The 2026 RSW/US New Year Outlook Report captures how agencies and marketers alike are recalibrating expectations after several volatile years.

Economic uncertainty, cautious spending, and continued confusion around AI remain top concerns, yet beneath the surface there are clear signs of opportunity for firms willing to adapt how they position, sell, and differentiate themselves

What stands out this year is a sense of optimistic realism.

While growth expectations are more restrained than in prior cycles, a majority of agencies still anticipate improvement in 2026, supported by steadier engagement, renewed search activity, and shifting client behavior.

At the same time, traditional sources of new business: referrals, networking, and past relationships, are proving less reliable, forcing firms to rethink how they build awareness, communicate value, and compete in a crowded, AI-influenced market

Perhaps most importantly, the report highlights three areas where agencies can regain momentum:

  • capitalizing on the pullback from in-housing
  • expanding brand visibility in a changing discovery landscape
  • and clearly articulating how AI delivers real, tangible value to clients

Firms that approach 2026 with focus and intention. not just hope, will be best positioned to turn a cautious market into a competitive advantage

 

RSW/US 2026 New Year Outlook Report

About the Report

The 2026 RSW/US New Year Outlook Survey was conducted among senior- level marketers, marketing agency executives, and professional services firm leaders during November and December 2025.

The goal of the study was to uncover how these organizations are thinking about growth, business development, and marketing investment as they prepare for the opportunities and challenges of 2026.

The agency and professional services sample included more than 5,000 marketing services, advertising, digital, PR, consulting, and advisory firms across the U.S. and Canada, ranging from under $3 million to over $75 million in capitalized billings.

Respondents represented a wide range of disciplines, including full-service agencies, digital specialists, PR firms, marketing consultancies, and professional advisory organizations.

The marketer sample was drawn from the RSW/AgencySearch database of over 20,000 marketing decision-makers, representing companies of varying sizes, industries, and geographic locations.

We hope the insights and takeaways from this study help inform your marketing and sales planning and provide clarity as you move into the year ahead.

If you’d like to reproduce any of the findings from this report, please contact Lee McKnight Jr. or Mark Sneider at 513-559-3111 / 513-559-3101, or via email at  lee@rswus.com or mark@rswus.com.

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Everyone’s a Salesperson When New Business Slows
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Everyone’s a Salesperson When New Business Slows

For this post, I want to give a shout-out-to all of you in the new business trenches, every mighty salesperson, whether you’re a new business director or a partner at your firm. 

It’s no newsflash to point out that this business is hard. 

A short, entertaining story to illustrate my point (at my expense): 

When I started at RSW almost 18(!) years ago, I was a new business director, so I had my own agency clients I represented, driving new business for them. 

For one client, I was reaching out to a fairly large chain retailer focused on footwear.  Over the course of multiple touches, I was able to secure a conversation with this CMO, with the ultimate goal of securing a meeting for my client. 

We exchanged emails where the CMO ultimately asked I call her (remember this part) on a specific day and time to talk a prospective fit with my agency. 

The day and time arrived the following week and I made the call-here’s how the very brief conversation went: 

Me: Hi, CMO of a large chain retailer focused on footwear, thanks again for the opportunity to talk.

CMO: (Silence, for what felt like an eternity, but was probably only a few seconds) Who is this?

Me: Lee McKnight, with X agency. We had this time set to discuss a potential fit with our agency services.

CMO-You have got to stop bothering me.

Me: (Very perplexed at this stage of the game) Well. . .you actually asked that I call you.

CMO: (Another pause) I don’t have time for this.  CLICK.

Yep, that happened. And to be fair, she was probably just having a really bad day, but that’s the kind of thing salespeople go through. 

And look, everybody’s job is hard, but when it comes specifically to sales, if you’re not living it every day, there’s a tendency to forget that, and then the impatience sets in. 

Fast forward to today and I traded emails with a VP of new business in the last few weeks who summed it up quite well: 

When things are going great everyone is calm and delightful, but when things go south just a little bit, everyone wants to be a salesperson.

I’ve seen this happen many times, and while I see both sides, it’s tough when agency leadership decides to get involved where there was little involvement previously.  

Everyone’s a Salesperson When New Business Slows

Ultimately, It is all about the long game. 

4 months, for example, is not the length of a new business effort, it’s only the beginning. 

You have to give yourself time, and be given time, to succeed. 

Now, that doesn’t mean you keep someone in the new business role if they aren’t delivering, but you also don’t cut them off 3 or 4 months in. 

 I’ve talked to agencies who look at new business as a separate series of try-outs, all short game. 

 In the meantime, agencies who understand what it takes are taking your business, playing the long game. 

 Don’t let that happen. 

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