I Y’am What I Y’am

Flash Report – January 7, 2003

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. I Y’am What I Y’am
2. Your Agency Audit
3. BPI Marketing Activities
4. Enter With Caution
5. New Business Assistance
6. New Business Awards

Good Afternoon,

Our first newsletter this year is brief. Our purpose during 2003 is simple, focused and serious – to get your agency invited to speak with pre-qualified clients so you can perform your magic and win those accounts. We want to devote our full energies to those agencies that share this objective.

2003 is going to be a better year for Agencyfinder agencies. That’s less a prediction than a state-ment of need. 2002 was difficult for agencies everywhere. Long-standing brand-name agencies bit the dirt,

shuttering doors and sending employees packing. Small agencies got even smaller as they went virtual to survive. But some agencies did do quite well.

I Y’AM WHAT I Y’AM

We are what we are – agencyfinder is an on-line and then off-line consulting service to match pre-qualified clients (as in advertisers or pr clients) with your agency (as in advertising, pr, direct marketing, interactive, etc.). Yes, we use the Internet and an industrial-strength database to start, but we are trained, accomplished and accredited new business consultants first. Since 1990, we’ve taught agencies new business outreach, so we’re well qualified to offer you guidance on the best combination of new business elements for your firm.

There are other Internet services, but for the most part, those are really just on-line directories – industry generic, flat-file, read-only, non-interactive, non-distinguishing and annoying (from the searcher’s standpoint) in that they leave meaningful apples-and-apples comparison up to the searcher. That’s because they’re designed and run by well intending techies with little or no agency new business development experience. Clients repeatedly tell us they appreciate the agencyfinder differences. YOUR AGENCY AUDIT

This newsletter and the majority of our communication with your agency is sent to the person listed as the new business contact in your datafile, plus the listed alternate new business contact. That’s because you, someone who preceded you, or someone in management made the decision to register your agency, and like advertising in down times, your agency membership has its rewards. Periodically, we also confirm your agency’s status with your CEO or CFO.

OUR MARKETING ACTIVITIES For 2003, our ongoing marketing activities include an oversize 4/c postcard sent on a repeating basis to companies known to advertise and known to hire agencies, customized e-mail invitations to our opt-in client subscribers, special invitational e-mails to other qualified opt-in lists, reciprocal links with affiliate sites, ongoing search engine optimization, public relations and various vertical market print ads.

ENTER WITH CAUTION:

Our site is perfectly safe, but to work, your agency data MUST be current and accurate. Your data is what gets you found, and it’s what pre-qualifies you for our pre-qualified clients. We do screen all new agency applicants, but we take much at your word of

honor. You must enter clean, accurate data – don’t fib, don’t exaggerate and certainly don’t lie. When you get caught, clients don’t forget and they have been known to tell their business friends. This is not the place for your wish list; this is where you’re rewarded for experience and candor.

We’ll be checking the records looking for agencies that may need to spruce up or finish their data entry. If we spot something, we’ll drop you a note, or Kaille Padgett may telephone.

Updates are always FREE; check and update your agency data now: https://www.agencyfinder.com/agency-login.html

NEW BUSINESS ASSISTANCE

There’s more to new business than meeting with prospects. Since we’ve taught new business, since we live and breathe the various processes each and every day, call us and ask your questions. Not just how to use and benefit from agencyfinder.com, but about other outreach efforts you can also employ. That’s another benefit of your membership and we’re glad to help.

Thanks for taking time to read this; we look forward to getting you face-to-face with a great prospect.

Sincerely,

Charles G. Meyst, Chairman/CEO
Business Partnering International, Ltd.
Vantage Place, 4327 Cox Road
Glen Allen, VA 23060 USA
804-346-1812