A question that’s come up in conversations I’ve had with partners at firms: ” What do you think about sending over an initial proposal prior to the first meeting with a prospect?”

I generally understand why a partner or business development lead would think this is helpful.

In their mind, it’s giving that prospect helpful/useful information about the firm prior to the call to give she or he a better feel for the firm, or something along those lines.

With that said, Do Not Do This.

Along with this questions, I’ve heard others around sending over a proposal very early in the process, which can also backfire.

So, put yourself in your prospect’s place for a moment as I transport you into their mind, like Rod Serling in a Twilight Zone episode (please tell me you know who/what that is):

Submitted for Your Approval: Inside Your Prospect’s Mind

I reach out. Or I’m referred. Or I finally fill out your contact form.

Sometimes, before we’ve even spoken, my inbox gets lit up with:

“Attached is an initial proposal based on what we understand…”

Other times, we have a quick intro call. Ten minutes, maybe.

By that afternoon, you’ve sent me a 24-page proposal.

Then there’s the agency that finally gets a meeting and spends 45 minutes screen sharing a dense deck I never asked for.

You’re proud of the responsiveness.

I’m not impressed.

From my side of the table, here’s what all of this really says:

• You don’t understand my priorities, timing, or constraints.

• You’re guessing.

• You probably send the same thing to everyone.

Experts don’t prescribe after zero or ten minutes of context.

Vendors do.

And I’m not looking for another vendor.

And. . . .scene.

Ouch.

The above may sound a bit harsh, as the firm in this example really is trying to show initiate and how on top of it they are.

But you really do need to put yourself fin your prospect’s place in situations like this.

So, below are three mistakes you need to recognize and acknowledge if you’re not moving past the first meeting, or having meetings inexplicably canceled before they happen.

Why Your Proposals Are Killing Deals (From Your Prospect’s POV)

Mistake #1: Sending a Proposal Before We’ve Even Talked

If you send a proposal before we’ve talked or you’ve asked any questions, here’s what goes through my mind:

• You’re not listening. Big first strike if you want me to even consider a next step, much less work together.

• Your numbers are fiction. Scope, timelines, and fees are clearly built on assumptions.

• You give away your leverage. I can circulate your “proposal” internally or to competitors with zero engagement.

Mike Weinberg calls this Premature Proposal Syndrome.

Consultative selling 101:  Understand the customer’s situation, then recommend, versus leading with a blind proposal.

If there’s no live discovery, there should be no proposal. At most: a short capabilities snapshot and a clear invitation to talk.

(A caveat here is if you’re specifically asked up front, which comes with it’s own set of challenges, but that’s another post.)

Mistake #2: The 10-Minute Call followed by a 30-Page Proposal

When you fire off a full proposal after a surface-level intro call:

• It feels generic. If you barely know my situation, I assume it’s boilerplate.

• It makes me do the work. I have to map your language to our goals and sell it internally.

• It weakens your position. Similar to the  “leverage” point above, I can now shop your thinking around without ever talking to you again.

• It risks my credibility. A misaligned proposal makes me look sloppy if I share it upward.

Per the Sales Xceleration blog,

A winning proposal . . . is part of an orderly sales process, and should merely serve to document understandings and agreements that have already been reached over time.

Mistake #3: Turning the First Meeting Into a Proposal Walkthrough

Then there’s this move:

“Thanks for making the time. Let me share my screen and walk you through our proposal.”

Which typically results in:

• It’s a monologue. You talk. And keep talking.  I do not get potential partner vibes.

• It’s about you, not me. Credentials, process, case studies — light on what our needs are.

• It skips stages. I’m still deciding if I trust you; you’re already selling me a 12-month retainer.

• It kills honesty. I don’t feel I can say, “This misses,” so I smile, leave, and disengage.

By the end, you’ve showcased.

You haven’t understood.

Bottom Line: you will not gain trust by screen sharing a giant proposal in a first meeting.*

*(See the caveat in Mistake #1 here as well.)

What a Strong First Conversation Looks Like (From Your Prospect)

If you want to stand out from every other firm in my inbox, here’s what I’m hoping for:

1. You’ve done basic homework.
You know my category, a few key signals, and skip the obvious.

2. You let me talk.
You ask sharp questions about:

• What’s not working.

• What’s been tried.

• Who’s involved.

• Timelines and constraints.

• Any Internal sensitivities.

I’m talking 60–70% of the time. You’re listening and clarifying.

3. You test for fit.
You’re willing to say, “If X/Y/Z aren’t true, we’re probably not the right partner.”

That earns trust.

4. You end with clarity, not a PDF.
We agree:
“Next step is a working session to shape the right approach. Then we’ll send a proposal that reflects what we’ve aligned on.”

And while ultimately the fit may not be right, I feel good about the possibility.

The Better Sequence: Diagnose First, Then Propose

For agencies, marketing services firms, PR and professional services firms, here’s a simple flow, which I understand may not always apply, for all kinds of reasons, but it’s at least a place to start from and aim towards:

Step 1: Discovery (Meeting 1)

Goal: Understand, qualify, align.

• 30–45 minutes.

• Ask questions. Listen.

• Mutual decision: is there something worth exploring?

Step 2: Working Session (Meeting 2)

Goal: Co-create direction.

• You bring a point of view based on discovery.

• We refine scope, priorities, and constraints together.

• We align on what “good” looks like and ballpark investment.

Step 3: Proposal (Now It’s Earned)

Goal: Document what we already agreed.

• Tailored. Clear. Short.

• No surprises — just confirmation.

How to Make Your Proposal Easier to Say “Yes” To (From your prospect’s viewpoint)

When it’s finally time to send a proposal:

1. One-page executive summary

• My situation in my words.

• Objectives we agreed on.

• Recommended approach.

• Investment & timeline.

2. Good / Better / Best options 

Three levels of impact:

• Good: Focused starter / pilot.

• Better: Full solution aligned to objectives.

• Best: Strategic, deeper partnership.

Each option should clearly spell out:

• Outcomes and success metrics.

• Scope and responsibilities.

• Timeframe.

• Coherent, value-based pricing logic.

(And if your three options are the same thing with different hours, I know you’re guessing.)

Where Our Outsourced BD Team Fits In

Because we work exclusively with agencies, marketing services, PR and professional services firms, we see these same patterns:

• Proposals sent before conversations.

• Proposals sent after shallow conversations.

• Proposals disguised as first-meeting decks.

Before your next initial meetgin with a prospect, think strategically about where your proposal fits.

Our VP of Sales & Marketing, Lee McKnight Jr., just joined Drew McLellan on the Build a Better Agency podcast to break down the findings from our Rolling into 2026 Agency New Business Report.

In this episode, Drew and Lee take a hard look at the state of agency new business as we head into 2026.

Listen to the podcast here.

They discuss the hurdles agencies are facing, and one striking data point: 93% of agencies report their growth engines aren’t running at full capacity.

The conversation doesn’t stop at challenges though, they also spotlight where agencies are stepping up.

From building stronger content strategies and productizing services to modernizing referral programs and adopting smarter business development tactics, the survey reveals that more firms are getting proactive.

Other key takeaways include:

• Why an “always-on” new business engine is more critical than ever
• How AI is reshaping research, prospecting, and content without replacing human expertise
• Practical strategies small and midsize agencies can use to stand out in a crowded market
• Productization of agency services—opportunities and caution
• Competing and collaborating with in-house agencies in today’s landscape

If you want to understand how agencies are really approaching growth in today’s shifting landscape—and how to keep your pipeline healthy in 2026—this episode is packed with insights.

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 the Spring 2025 report said that marketing is feeling increased pressure from the CFO, up from 52% who said the same in the Fall 2023 edition of the report – Marketing Charts), agencies and professional services firms can’t sit back and wait.  

Your messaging has to do more, especially your site. You Can’t Control the Market, But You Can Control Your Positioning 

Because like it or not, that homepage headline might be the only shot you get. 

In this post (1 of 3), I’m walking through a few real-world agency site examples—anonymized on purpose—because this isn’t about being a jerk.  

This is about showing you what’s not working, so you can take back control of your new business narrative. 

And yes, these are real examples, laid out by the issues they represent. 

Issue #1: Saying Nothing with a Lot of Words 

“Turn up the volume on your marketing.” 

It’s the first thing a prospect sees on this particular agency site—and it tells them nothing. 

Catchy, I suppose, but it doesn’t give the visitor any sense of who the agency helps, what problems it solves, or what type of firm it is.  

That space is prime real estate.  

Don’t waste it on metaphors that could apply to any firm, anywhere. 

It doesn’t get better on the second try, as the prospect scrolls down: 

“We are experts, leaders, strategists, creators, disruptors and innovators revolutionizing the marketing landscape.” 

You lost them at “disruptors.”  

This kind of language is well-intentioned, but ultimately meaningless without context. 

 What’s the actual benefit to the client? What makes this firm worth their time? 

Issue #2: Claiming Results—Without Showing Any 

“Our results speak volumes.” 

Cool. Show me. 

This is the same site, and this language is found after scrolling a few more times. 

If your site makes a claim about results but doesn’t back it up in an easily found way—case studies, proof points, metrics, quotes—it’s a red flag.  

Prospects are skeptical by default.  

You don’t earn trust by declaring it—you earn it by demonstrating it. 

Issue #3: Making Prospects Work Too Hard 

“Join the Transformational Growth Journey Powered by the Transformation Growth Engine.” 

Now we’re on to a different site, and this is a real headline. Unfortunately. 

When a prospect lands on your site, they need clarity in seconds.  

Not a puzzle. Not a buzzword bingo board. And definitely not charts above the fold.  

If it takes more than a few seconds to understand what kind of firm you are and who you serve, you’ve already lost the click. 

This site goes on to break messaging into a scroll-through of  circular diagrams, icons, and hard to read copyrighted names—without ever really saying what they do or who they help. 

That’s a problem.

Especially when today’s buyers are moving fast and hunting for solutions, not abstract philosophies. 

Issue #4: Leading with Fluff Over Substance 

Another firm’s site opens with a name and a word cloud of adjectives.  

That’s it.  

The prospect doesn’t even get a sentence—just a collection of brand-y words that could just as easily describe a candle line or a wellness app. 

Further down, their mission statement reads: 

“To delight, inspire, create affinity and form essential connections with audiences, brands, products and services.” 

There’s a place for aspiration—but not at the expense of clarity.  

Especially when, a few scrolls later, the firm itself says: 

“In a media-saturated, hyper-connected world, we have mere seconds to capture attention.” 

Yes. Yes, you do. And that’s why your messaging has to work harder. 

Issue #5: The “Process Page” Problem (AKA, Prospects Don’t Care About Your Process) 

Again, you can’t control the market—but you can control your positioning

A lot of firms try to prove their legitimacy by showcasing their process—but it ends up doing the opposite typically. 

Two examples: 

• One agency maps out their process in a giant workflow diagram filled with generic icons and buzzwords. It’s visually busy, conceptually vague, and feels like it was pulled from an agency template circa 2011. 

• Another opens their homepage with what looks like a PowerPoint slide: circular diagrams, arrows, and labels like “Transformation Growth Engine.” (see #3 above) 

It’s hard to read, and harder to care about. 

Here’s the problem: if your process page could be copied and pasted onto another firm’s site and still make sense (or not)—it’s not distinctive enough. 

Clients don’t need to understand every step of your process. They need to understand: 

• What outcomes it leads to 

• Why it’s important 

• How it solves the specific problems they’re trying to fix 

Don’t lead with the machine—lead with the result.  

Then, if they’re interested, you can show them how the gears turn. 

So What’s the Fix? 

Well, that’s in my next post, but for now: 

• Be specific. Say who you help, how you help them, and why that matters. Quickly. 

• Lead with outcomes. Start with what your work does, not how you feel about it. 

• Back up your claims. Results don’t speak for themselves—they need a microphone. 

• Think like a buyer. If you were your ideal client, would your site make you want to learn more? 

The Big Idea: You Can’t Control the Market—But You Can Control Your Positioning 

Your site may not be the first way a potential client hears about you—but it is where they’ll go next. 

And when they do, the messaging they find will either move them forward… or close the door. 

You can’t control the market, but you can control how you show up. 

If you were a prospect, would you hire you? 

In many of these cases, you don’t need a complete site re-work, you just need to change up the copy, or where it sits on your site. 

Now’s the time to revisit how your firm tells its story. 

“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 strategy and your client retention strategy. 

The High-Stakes Reality for CMOs

Gartner’s study revealed “the average marketing function is involved in or accountable for 10 business areas and will take on additional responsibilities by 2029”. 

That insight comes from the article, where Stewart and Hiebert reference a Gartner study in which 125 CEOs and CFOs were interviewed to reveal their expectations for CMOs and how they can extend their tenure.

Another pertinent quote before we dive in: 

The main reason marketers are fired, Gartner found, was the inability to deliver promised results, with 69% of CEOs and CFOs stating this would lead to CMO removal. 

I think (I hope) you see where I’m going here. 

Your Agency Can Help Extend CMO tenure 

In an agency panel I hosted this week in our RSW virtual conference on maximizing agency/client value, Stephen Larkin, Chief Marketing Officer at Erich & Kallman, said this:

Clients want to be led. Clients are under so much pressure . . . and advertising is literally 20% of her job. There’s the other 80% taking them in every other direction. 

The Dreaded Order Taker 

Oh, agency teams love hearing it: You have to be more than just an order taker. 

One of the main reasons marketers look for a new agency? 

They’re not bringing fresh thinking or ideas to the table. 

And the fact is, this is true. 

To Stephen’s point above, marketers are under enormous pressure, and they’re feeling isolated often because of it. 

(We did a 3 Takeaways episode around it last year after our key note speaker, who had worked on the agency and client side, explained the isolating nature of the marketing position post-Covid.)  

Marketers do want to be lead, and you have the opportunity to do that.

Agencies That Lead, Win.

They’re not paying you for what you do. They’re paying you for the result. 

That’s a quote from the same panel, and from Jamil Buie, Growth and Innovation at Campbell Ewald, in response to the order taker question. 

He went on: 

The same reason why folks go to a barbershop or a hairstylist. You could probably cut your own hair at home. It’s the result that you’re getting and it’s the experience to get you to the result. Like the consultive nature of, “I see where you’re trying to go, I see what you want to accomplish”. I can also see the blind spot that you can’t see behind your head and make sure that you take care of.  

And so that’s the reason why you can’t just be a flat order taker, because if you do that, at some point in time, they will build a structure that says, I can cut you out. And that’s what a smart marketer would probably do. So a smart agency would say, I can continue to listen, evolve, and be, as said, a couple of steps ahead of where you want to be. Because we focus and think about this all day, every day. And that’s how you create a tremendous amount of value for a client. 

Exactly this. And by doing this for clients, that effort can and should be employed as you engage with prospects. 

Don’t let that knowledge go to waste. 

Incorporate it into your thought leadership content and get it in front of your prospects. 

Seth Gunderson, Sr. Director, Growth at Signal Theory, gave a concrete answer and example of how they go beyond order taker status in our conference panel: 

They’ve paid us money to do a specific job. And what we’ve learned is that if you’re not answering the brief, if you’re not answering what the client request is, no matter what you present next, it’s going to fall on deaf ears. So first and foremost, we make sure that we answer the brief.  

But then we have also amended our process to carve out time for teams. That’s not necessarily billing against the client’s hours, but it’s a time to really understand the business, truly understand the business, and bring up proactive ideas. And we do that on a quarterly basis to make sure that we are providing extra value to those clients. 

Please Stop Saying We make the CMO Look Like A Hero 

I’ve been in too many conversations with ad agency principals where they eventually bring this up as a selling point. 

It is not. 

It’s fantastic, but it’s pure fluff when you phrase it this way.   

Instead, you need 5-10 concrete examples of how you make her or him look like a hero. 

Fill in this blank 5 to 10 times: We make X client look like a hero because ____________

As Jamil said and I repeat: they’re not paying you for what you do. they’re paying you for the result. 

And maybe you don’t have a concrete, “we increased sales by 45%”.

That’s OK.  I mean, let’s be clear, it’s great if you do have that, but if not, then succinctly explain how you solved their business challenge, which in turn, made them look like a hero. 

Turning Insights Into Action

The Adweek piece ended with this: 

CMOs can rebuild CEO and CFO confidence by clarifying their accountabilities, communicating how marketing is connected to growth initiatives, improving collaboration with others, and more effectively demonstrating the impact of marketing. 

As an agency, you can’t, and shouldn’t, try to tackle every one of these for your clients, because not all are in your control, but you can absolutely help with a good portion of it. 

Take each of these and pinpoint where your agency specifically has an impact and get that in front of your client. 

Lead them. 

And then take those very same points and intertwine them into your prospecting process.