Open the Damn Door! We’ve Got New Business for Your Firm!
Can you believe it! Clients who come to us for help conducting their agency review often share a horror story – their difficulty penetrating the protective agency shield managed by the “New Business Coordinator.” Before coming to AgencyFinder, they tried to conduct a search themselves. By whatever process they identified their initial candidates, when they reached out and made contact they tell us of the off-putting practice by people they thought would welcome a new client opportunity. That might surprise you too, but even we experience that with some of our registered agencies who presumably came to us looking for new clients. Go figure…
Part of what we do that they can’t is penetrate that “shield.” Back when we started and continuing today, we use three different technologies to make each invited agency well aware of each opportunity we have for them. How? We start with a brief e-mail to the primary and alternate new business contacts identifying the client, their budget and their URL. Then we let them know we’re about to send them a “Fax” that will contain the entire Request for Dialogue (RFD). And if they don’t have a fax anymore, we ask for the number of a machine nearby. Yes the Fax is a dated technology but it does give us a way to defeat the “heavy duty” e-mail filters that agency IT folks have installed. If you think each agency would always be open to new opportunities, I share that thought but have trouble coming to grips with e-mail filters that isolate them. Even when we fail to penetrate with the fax, our final outreach is one or a series of phone calls. When we connect we test to learn what they received – and at that point we can take steps to share all the details.
Fax machines seem to bring either vacation specials to Cancun, Jamaica or Hawaii, funding for cash-flow or expansion or AgencyFinder invitations! A Brother IntelliFAX High-Speed Laser Fax Machine is priced at $170 at Staples and can be installed to share on an existing phone line. Small price to pay to vector in new business. Some might say that better than that is @eFax. If an agency wants to learn about every incoming opportunity from any source, I encourage an agency to invest in some form of fax service. Check websites for the branded agencies and you’ll often see fax numbers. If they think it’s worth it, so should you.
Helpful Tips for Our Agency Friends!
