We recently got great news from a client who won a piece of business from a door we opened and helped nurture.

Before I get into what made the difference, a quick public service announcement: your agency new business process requires patience.

That may seem obvious, but I’d argue it isn’t. Too many agencies set unrealistic expectations about how long new business actually takes.

But that’s not the focus here.

Our client sent us post-win notes on something we don’t see often enough.

I can’t share their exact approach, but I can share the overall premise and a framework you can apply to your own new business efforts.

What they did is something every agency should build into their process:

Review Your Process Even When You Win

First, to set the stage: when the converse happens and you don’t win the business, agencies will often do a post-mortem on the reasons for not getting the work.  (And if you typically don’t do this, you should.)

The first step in that process is typically trying to get feedback from the prospect as to why.

We all know how often you get that information: not very often.  And that’s frustrating.

But you can and should do your own internal review of the pros and cons of the overall effort, in order to implement any changes for the better, in those areas you have control over.

But back to our client who won the business.

They assembled their team to review why they won.

They’re not the first agency to do this, but when’s the last time you won a piece of business and conducted a similar review?

Speaking specifically to their new business process and the steps they took, they reviewed from beginning to end and came away with notes on how to replicate the process.

Each opportunity will vary and require levels of customization, but without giving away the inner workings, I wanted to give you their initial framework, distilled into “four Ps”.

The Four Ps of a Winning Agency New Business Process

Be persistent: Persistence is non-negotiable in new business, but it’s hard to maintain when you’re wearing multiple hats.

I’m proud to say our client included RSW in this first P, crediting us with opening doors and nurturing leads.

The key isn’t hammering the same channel repeatedly: four or five calls a week to the same prospect doesn’t work.

Alternate your outreach mediums so you’re not hitting the prospect the same way every time.

And when you do reach out, bring value. That’s reflected in the second P.

Be Proactive: Following up isn’t enough. Give the prospect a glimpse of what it’s like to work with your team.

I’m not advocating spec work, but sharing a relevant piece of industry news, a quick finding from current work, or a piece of content someone on your team created signals genuine interest and demonstrates value before you’ve won a dollar of business.

Be Prepared: Do the homework. There’s no excuse not to.

You know the industry, now take the time to research the specific prospect.

AI platforms are your friend here, and after the first or second meeting, you need to go deeper and tie your expertise directly to what they’re asking for.

Show Proof: Whenever you can, show the prospect you can deliver on what you’ve promised.

Whatever way you can bring your work to life when given the opportunity, take it.

Take the time to review losses and wins, you’ll be better for it.

In a wrap-up to our 2022 RSW New Year Outlook Report, we’re talking virtual and in-person trade shows and conferences. 

State of Virtual & In-Person Trade Shows and Conferences 

We revisited the conference question this year, and to provide some perspective, in last year’s report, 76% of agencies and 70% of marketers said on average, they attended 1-5 tradeshows annually pre-COVID. 

We asked how many they attended (including both in-person and virtual) in 2021, still in the midst of uncertainty, and 54% of agencies and 32% of marketers said they attended 1-5 shows.  

Interestingly, in last year’s report agencies said 54%, but we see a precipitous drop in marketer attendance, as last year 65% said they attended 1-5 virtual tradeshows. 

In 2020, 65% of marketers said they attended 1-5 shows. In 2021, 32%. 

We followed up by asking if those shows/conferences were in-person or virtual in 2021, allowing to pick both if needed. Agencies said 86% of those were in-person, and 59% were virtual, and marketers said 78% of those were in person, and 56% were virtual. 

In a third follow-up question, we asked agencies and marketers if virtual trade shows will remain a “thing” in 2022, with 82% of agencies, and 60% of marketers responding yes. 

Even with the uncertainty in ‘21, agencies attended conferences at the same rate, but we saw a 33-point decrease in marketer attendance.  

Even with that marketer decrease however, we saw both agencies and marketers overwhelmingly going to more in-person than virtual events/shows when they did attend. 

The world was hungry to return to in-person events in 2021, so it’s not a surprise to see these numbers, but marketers still attended far fewer events overall. 

While it’s conjecture, marketers may have found the events in ‘20 lackluster enough that they dramatically dropped their attendance in ‘21.  

Where are in-person trade shows headed? 

From a new business perspective, smart agencies saw they couldn’t rely on live events in 2020 as their strategy, and that carried over in ‘21. 

Unfortunately, that looks to continue, as least into the first few quarters of 2022.  

Although an article from TSNN (Trade Show News Network) (thanks Foster Marketing for the heads up) argues Trade shows can—and should—be held in person this year.

From Greg Topalian, CEO, Clarion Events North America; 

Simply nothing replaces face-to-face interaction. The past two years have proven that point countless times. While there is some exciting new progress on digital products, they don’t replace the value of meeting in person. Our customers and industries continue to struggle to create the kind of lead generation and customer acquisition that our events provide. 

So while agencies are bullish on virtual events continuing this year (with a 10-point increase over last year), marketers are less so, with a 7-point drop from last year.  

Inevitably we’ll see some further virtual fatigue, but both agencies and marketers apparently still find value in virtual events that provide a solid return. 

Agencies that haven’t adjusted to this new, hybrid reality of virtual and in-person need to.  

Trade shows and conferences are a great source of new business if managed in an organized fashion – regardless of whether they are in-person or not. 

This is the first in our ad agency list-building blog series around our latest eBook, The Prospecting List, Turbocharged: How To Pump The Right Fuel Into Your New Business Engine. 

Written by RSW Operations team member, Emma Thompson, Emma delves into all the list options agency execs are bombarded with and a few of the best solutions to tackle what is arguably one of the most important parts of your agency’s new business effort.

As an agency executive, you have a lot on your plate.

You most likely wear many hats.

Aside from the day-to-day running of your business, you probably also handle prospect research as well as outreach.

It makes sense that you look for ways to make your job easier and more efficient.

Luckily for you, there are many great resources on the market for company and contact research.

We named a handful of these (including our own service-couldn’t help myself) in our recent eBook The Prospecting List, Turbocharged: How To Pump The Right Fuel Into Your New Business Engine.

Making the process more efficient, many of these programs offer an automated list service.

But are they any good?

While they may seem time and cost-effective upfront, the information may not be all that accurate.

These platforms often grade their information on an accuracy scale and do not guarantee that it is 100% correct.

The data they are pulling is often based on a computer algorithm that culls information from the internet, or worse yet, user-entered information.

As you can imagine, this results in a wide range of accuracy from platform to platform and puts into question the quality of your purchased list.

When the data you are using for your outreach is inaccurate, you will spend more time finding the right information and less time actually prospecting.

Your agency would actually be wise to utilize 2-3 different research platforms to gather all necessary data and crosscheck for a high level of fidelity.

But as an agency executive, do you really have time for that?

The answer is assuredly no, but the time and effort it takes to do this extra legwork is worth it.

Consider hiring someone to do this work, or more realistically (especially for small and mid-sized firms), could be a prime opportunity to have someone handle that work as part of their responsibilities, with a salary increase.

Trusting your list building to someone proficient in online research, who understands your company and can navigate resources and analyze data, is the most effective way to get the information you need.

Not only will this person have a full understanding of what you are looking for in a way a computer never will, they will also be capable of cross-referencing multiple data sources to find the most accurate information on your target list of companies and contacts.

The role of this designated “list builder” can even go further.

Once they build up your initial list of prospects, they can also help you manage your database on-going and ensure that new company and contact information being added over time is accurate and correctly targeted.

As experience has no doubt shown you, it’s important to continue to nurture your prospects over time, so when the opportunity strikes and they need agency assistance, your name will be top of mind.

Keeping your database “clean” will ensure that you reach everyone.

And delegating this work to a researcher will free you up to focus all your time and energy on your outreach and not ad agency list-building.