Consistency is vital when it comes to new business for professional service firms. We talk to companies every day, both client and prospective, and have engaged in a few surprising conversations.

Some of these execs conveyed they’ve had a pretty good run lately handling new business internally.

They’ve created a memorable direct mail piece, dedicated themselves to social media, or made more time to reach out, either in person or on the phone.

All are encouraging, and while we’d love to have them as RSW/US clients, timing is everything, and we’re always happy to hear about healthy businesses.

What was surprising about these conversations however was the similarity in how each executive ended the internal efforts conversation.

Each of them stated they hoped to get to the point where they had enough new business coming in from their current efforts that they could take a break.

Insert red flag here.

 

You probably know what I’m going to say: this will come back to haunt them.

It’s commendable that the effort got started, but you can’t “take a break.”

Not saying you should be chained to your desk either, but even taking a month or two off will set back your efforts, sometimes dramatically.

In the short run, these firms may see no detrimental effects if their initial efforts, combined with their existing clients, keep them busy, but ultimately their pipeline will be empty and they might also find themselves with an uncomfortable amount of business coming from a sole client.

So if you’re giving it a go internally, ensure you’re taking these steps:

• Make your prospecting list manageable (in monthly chunks)
• Target your prospects appropriately
• Do a little homework prior to reaching out
• Always follow up

No, it’s not easy and yes, it will take time, but as the title of the post suggests, “Consistency is next to Godliness” when it comes to new business.

I assume you create smart strategic plans for your clients, but do you do the same for yourself?

We are currently in the midst of 2025 planning for all our client programs – a practice we implemented many years ago.

In the past, we didn’t think quite as strategically and focused on short-term needs rather than developing a truly long-term vision for programs.

However, now we can see past our noses and the shift in focus has helped create the best client programs possible. We set up a roadmap that aligns with the goals of the head of sales or marketing—one that we can agree on—and follow it throughout the year. This approach enables us to objectively evaluate our programs, identifying what works well and what needs improvement.

You need to adopt this same mindset for yourself.

Ask yourself: What do you want to achieve in 2025? Not just the numbers, but what you truly want to accomplish.

For example:

• Elevate my perceived expertise
• Broaden my appeal into new sectors
• Increase the number of high-visibility clients in the portfolio
• Better diversify the portfolio
• Strengthen our perceived client service offering
• Increase our perception of being a value-added player

These are just a few examples of the objectives we consider for our client programs.

You should establish similar goals for yourself.

Here’s the bottom line: you have to lay out some objectives beyond the numbers and create a plan to achieve them. If it’s “elevating my perceived expertise”, consider things like speaking engagements, writing and emailing to prospects thought leadership pieces, or hosting a webinar on a relevant topic.

If diversifying your portfolio is a priority, take a close look at your client list and determine where you can best leverage your expertise. You need to be objective and assess what is realistic in terms of prospecting (size of prospect, geography, etc.).

While it might be challenging to think long-term during these difficult times, it is essential now more than ever to adopt a broader perspective for your business.

Drop me a line (mark@rswus.com) or give me a call if you’d like some free advice.

I had a conversation with an agency considering our services, and the principal asked if I would take a look at their current service offering and answer the question,

What Are We Missing?

After a bit of clarification, I understood he meant in terms of future-proofing: are there services they should be considering to show prospects they’re keeping their firm prepared and looking forward.

It’s an important question, and one you should be asking yourself and your team.

There’s a certain level of shiny object infiltration here (which would be a great, if not lengthy, band name – use it with my blessing).

There are of course, “would be cool to haves” and “need to haves”, which is what want to talk about here.

Two articles will help me do this, and some context from the first, Top Predictions For Marketing Agencies In 2025. (Yes, it’s time for the glut of new year predictions!)

The last 24 months have been challenging for the agency marketplace, with depressed tech spending in the US and global dragging of agency performance. In particular, the start-stop nature of existing or newly awarded brand assignments was a source of financial frustration. Yet 2025 shows signs of optimism, including a strong US economy, agency M&A activity, a resurgence of brand spending, and a growing independent agency market.

Good stuff, right?  The whole piece is worth a read, but there are 2 points you should think on.

1) One-third of digital media specialists will evolve into full-funnel agencies

According to the Forbes piece, “In 2025, CMOs and agency executives will reconcile full-funnel, full-service capabilities with deep expertise in various disciplines and channels.”

So what does that mean?

• Division Between Brand and Performance Media is Blurring
  • CMOs (chief marketing officers) increasingly expect their agencies to bridge the gap between branding and performance rather than working in silos.
  • Barely half of CMOs plan to integrate brand and performance media, meaning there’s still significant opportunity for agencies to educate and position themselves as seamless full-funnel solutions.
• Integration of Creative and Media Assignments
  • More than one-third of CMOs plan to integrate creative and media assignments within the next year. This suggests that clients want agencies capable of aligning creative ideas directly with media strategies to drive results.
• Reconciling Full-Service and Expertise
  • While clients want the convenience of full-service capabilities (e.g., creative, media, strategy, and performance in one place), they’re also looking for deep expertise in specific channels or disciplines.

So, when you ask, what are we missing, your firm may already be well-positioned here, and you should capitalize on that:

1. Highlight your ability to deliver both brand awareness and performance results.
2. In business development outreach, focus on how you can simplify and unify what is often fragmented across multiple agencies or vendors.
3. Be clear about where your agency excels while still offering a broader range of services. For example, if your strength is in programmatic performance media, highlight how it connects with your creative and brand-building efforts.

And if you aren’t well-positioned in terms of services, collaborate with partners or explore building a cross-functional team to ensure you meet client expectations for both depth and breadth of expertise.

2) AI-powered content production will decelerate marketing in-housing

The piece points out 61% of external agencies already use genAI in their marketing efforts, compared to only 17% of in-house teams.

This gap highlights a significant opportunity for agencies to position themselves as leaders in AI-driven content production.

And of course, where AI ends up and how it’s used is very much still unknown, but the bottom line is, you can’t be left behind in it’s usage.

So, as above, when you ask, what are we missing, your firm may already be well-positioned here in its AI usage, and you should capitalize on that:

• Use messaging that emphasizes cost-efficiency, speed, and customization to appeal to marketers who are reevaluating their reliance on in-house teams.
• Many marketers may (or even definitely) still lack a clear understanding of how generative AI can transform their content production. Use thought leadership—through webinars, blogs, and social media content—to educate potential clients on the benefits of outsourcing to an AI-driven agency.
• Showcase how your agency can go beyond what in-house teams offer, such as: Advanced AI model customization tailored to a brand’s voice and access to cutting-edge tools and expertise.

And if you aren’t well-positioned in terms of AI, (and this won’t surprise you), agencies with generative AI expertise will gain a significant advantage.

As budgets allow, invest in genAI tools and talent to position yourself as knowledgeable and on top of  AI-driven content production.

3) Your Prospects’ Attention Has Never Been More Divided

And lastly, a piece from MediaPost, Attention: It’s In Short Supply:

While our attention spans aren’t really as short as Ted Lasso’s 10-second goldfish (btw, that figure has been refuted by scientists studying goldfish), UC Irvine’s Dr. Gloria Marks found through tracking research that we switch screens after 47 seconds on average, down from an average 2.5 minutes back in 2004.

This is so critically important for your business development process, and I’ve been preaching it for years: keep your initial biz dev outreach succinct, to the point, and value-driven.

If your first outreach to a prospect is a 5 paragraph email screed, that’s an automatic delete.

But there’s another, valuable piece of info here:

TikTok may dominate time spent for younger cohorts, but an Involved Media study found the greatest monthly reach from YouTube Shorts (44%) and Instagram Reels (41%). But older cohorts can learn to love a faster pace. The Involved study found that parents followed their children to short-form platforms. Got kids? Chances are you watch Reels, Shorts and TikTok more than other 40-year-olds.

We’ve been experimenting with YouTube shorts for a little while now to drive new business for RSW (you can see a few here for reference) and met with some initial success.

So, as above, when you ask, what are we missing, if you haven’t explored short-form video to help drive your thought leadership/content strategy for business development, this is the time.

Yes, you’ll need to do some planning , but these are meant to be short and impactful, and best of all, are typically done on your phone.

Authenticity is key here.

Keep asking yourself, and your team, “What are we missing?”.

It will pay off.

So much is made of social media these days when it comes to new business, and rightfully so, as it can be a powerful tool, and in this post, we’ll give you 12 tips to get prospects to call you back.

But it’s critically important to remember the personal call (notice I didn’t say cold call, as we’ve talked about before on this blog).

It’s still one of the most powerful tools, and skills, we employ here at to help our clients gain new business.

And with social media maintaining its prominence, speaking articulately, persuasively and with empathy becomes even more valuable.

In other words, don’t lose your edge while you tweet and post away.

Along those lines, we had a client send us a blog posted by Colleen Francis with 12 tips to get prospects to call you back.

All these tips are excellent points and are part of our gospel when it comes to personal calling.

Here’s a summary of each:

💡 Balance Persistence & Patience: Reach out consistently without overwhelming prospects. Set clear follow-up dates to build trust and increase callbacks.

✅ Give an Out: Let them know it’s okay to say no. This honesty often leads to either a clear “yes” or “no,” saving you time and guesswork.

✍️ Send Handwritten Notes: Stand out by sending a handwritten note after a meeting—it boosts likability and response rates.

📅 Set up Auto-Drip: Send valuable content at regular intervals to keep you top-of-mind without overwhelming them.

🤔 Check-in Humorously: Lightheartedly ask if they’re okay or stuck under a filing cabinet. This fun approach often elicits a response and re-engages silent contacts.

⏳ Establish Deadlines: After each conversation, agree on next steps and deadlines, so it’s clear why you’re following up later.

📊 Track Interactions: Use CRM to log each call and email, referencing these in follow-ups to reinforce your consistency and professionalism.

🔍 Avoid Assumptions: Use a structured voicemail strategy to understand why they haven’t responded. Stick to set follow-up times to show reliability.

🌅 Call Early or Late: Increase your chances by calling during off-hours when gatekeepers aren’t around.

🔄 Vary Communication Channels: Switch between email and phone based on what seems easiest for them, showing you’re flexible and attentive to their needs.

🚩 Final Attempt Notice: When ready to walk away, give a polite “final attempt” message, allowing them one last opportunity to reconnect if interested.

😄 Add Some Fun: For unresponsive prospects, try a light-hearted message. This can refresh the conversation and often leads to a callback.

Great tips, and what’s key to remember in a new business outreach is not to rely too heavily on any one medium.

Make sure it’s a healthy mix, or you’ll deprive yourself of potential opportunities.