Need a Good New Client?

Flash Report – August 21, 2001

This BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT information is for agencyfinder.com Certified Agencies, Agency New Business Executives and agency subscribers. We communicate with registered member-agencies using e-mail.

CONTENTS:

1. Need a Good New Client?
2. 30 Days and Counting
3. Here’s Johnny!
4. Jack of One Trade
5. $18 Million in Referrals

NEED A GOOD NEW CLIENT?

When I read that an east coast agency has shuttered its west coast office, I’m reminded how vulnerable an agency is if it can’t replace lost business.

Sure the times are tuff, but that’s no excuse. I’d say about 1 agency in 10 has a new business development program that works. And remember, each time a client leaves, they end up somewhere else. With a good working program, it could be at your agency.

A proactive outreach new business program takes months to develop, but to the right client, you can make your agency stick like flypaper. BE CERTAIN your agencyfinder.com data elements, your essays, case histories and client list are complete and up-to-date. I shudder to know that an agency expects new business, but hasn’t done what it takes to earn it.

Other than that weird time between Christmas and New Year, this last week or two in August is your best time to clean and tidy up your agency new business “bits.” Be prepared for the Fall rush. And call if you need help, a password, or whatever!

30 DAYS AND COUNTING

Don’t mark your calendars, but watch for our announcement. We’ll be unveiling our brand new web site, with many additional features and benefits. Much of the re-design has to do with what we’ve learned during our first 5 years – improved navigation, more info, more options.

Simultaneously, we’re launching a client invitational campaign. We specifically target clients who advertise and who use agencies and pr firms. It’s not back-to-school; it’s back-to-business. We too are constantly upgrading agencies with new ones. Our next campaign targets North American shops. We’ll also be sending you a special-offer mailer. Look for it.

HERE’S JOHNNY!

If my memory serves me, Johnny Carson used to talk about an Encino auto dealer that sold every car for $100 below cost. How did they do it? Volume!

I’m not suggesting we have anything in common with Encino Man, but I can report that 2001 is the year of volume here @ agencyfinder.com. Admittedly, it’s coming in smaller increments (as in smaller budget searches), but it just keeps coming. Clients tell us they MUST GET value for their marketing investments, and where they don’t perceive that value, they move.

Most clients send signals, and seldom does one leave in the dead-of-night. Watch for the tell-tale signs. Do what you can to make them happy. If you conclude a departure is eminent, then DO SOMETHING to replace that business. But do it BEFORE, not after they leave.

JACK OF ONE TRADE

New business, new business, new business. That’s agencyfinder.com. We’re not a portal for breaking news, and

ed almost overnight? Why should clients be expected to shift to another agency (at the agency’s direction), or that employees accept similar shifts. How can this

happen? Is there a fix, a solution?

On just this subject, a city magazine publisher-friend spoke of his 25 staffers that produce their monthly magazine. Not only do they produce the magazine, but they also produce more than 50% of the ads – for clients that don’t have agencies themselves. “If we skipped publishing next month or any month thereafter, but still did the ads, we’d be an ad agency. Conversely, ad agencies are publishers without a magazine.”

That’s an interesting thought. Without that magazine, it suggests an agency has no public persona, no identity, it has no claim to fame and it has little equity, little brand. Not surprising it can “go away” overnight.

When an agency closes, many suffer. Employees need to find new jobs and families are jeopardized. Clients lose too – finding a replacement agency is neither quick nor easy; in fact, it’s costly in expense, manpower and marketing downtime. Agencies and clients alike have a vested interest in solving this problem.

This Special Edition Flash Report does not propose a solution, for one is not clearly apparent. Rather, we raise the question and ask for your input. We’ll collect, assimilate, consider and share your proposed solutions. We welcome your thoughts and comments. Write me directly – it really is a matter of serious and immediate concern.

Sincerely,

Charles G. Meyst, Chairman/CEO

Business Partnering International, Ltd.
Vantage Place, 4327 Cox Road
Glen Allen, Virginia 23060 USA