© 2008 Anthony P. Mikes and Second Wind Ltd. 1

FOR
© 2008 Anthony P. Mikes and Second Wind Ltd. 1

Two excellent reasons why
today’s advertising and
marketing firms are
aggressively seeking
new business…

We seek New Business
because:
We need to replace lost accounts
It’s a fact of agency life –

accounts turn over…
10% a year

We seek New Business
because:
We need to replace lost accounts
We want to “trade up” to a better
level of clients

Benefits of “Trading Up”:
More opportunities to do “good work”
Better clients understand the value of
advertising
Enhanced agency reputation
Treated as strategic partners, not as
vendors
If you are perceived as valuable, you can
be paid based on what you are worth

How a New Business Plan Gives
You Control Over Your Future:
You choose the clients you want,
instead of waiting for them to
choose you
You position your agency brand to
win these preferred accounts
You focus on important prospects
instead of pitching every project
that comes along

Second Wind’s

1.
Are you interesting?

Your brand is at the
intersection of what
customers value and your
agency’s strengths.

A Strong Brand:
Guarantees authenticity
Assures delivery of a consistent,
replicable customer experience
Taps into emotions and a sense of
fantasy to transform the customer
experience into something
personal and desirable

You Need to Brand Your
Agency to:
Counter increased competition
Enhance client/prospect
perceptions
Build reputation and “presence” in
your market
Promote and sustain controlled
growth
Attract fresh, young talent

How well do you know
your brand?
Your Mission Agency History
Employee People
Perceptions of Clients
the Agency Awards
SWOT Leadership
Employee Community standing
Perception Survey Office/Location

How well do you know
your brand?
External Research Market Forces
(what they value, want Industry trends
and perceive)
Challenges/
Agency clients
Opportunities
Vendors
Peers (partners and Competition
competitors)
Public
(local community)
Prospects
(local businesses)

What Is Your Brand Essence?
Product-driven – What does your brand
promise and deliver?
Function-driven – What does your brand
do or provide?
Values-driven – What values/qualities do
customers associate with your brand?
Personality-driven – What characteristics
or personality traits are associated with
your brand?

What Is Your Brand Essence?
Perception – Do customer
perceptions of your brand match
your perceptions?

Naming Your Brand
For agency founders Some use adapted
– Ogilvy & Mather, descriptions –
JWT, Weiden + Quarry Integrated,
Kennedy, etc. Shelton
Or adding a Communications
description –
Abney Advertising,
French Creative,
Gordley Design

Naming Your Brand
Trend toward symbolic/
representational names –
Binary Pulse, Fluid, Imaginasium,
Journey, Mindpower, WOWappeal,
Red Rover, Envoy, AdFarm, etc.

What are your brand deliverables?
Brand Essence
One or two sentences speaking to your agency’s
“true” essence – who you are and what you do
for clients – “the elevator speech”
Brand Statement
The positioning statement, a simple expression
of the brand promise you will deliver
Brand Visuals
The design side of the brand – your “packaging”

An Agency Flag?

And Brand Your Space…

Don’t forget your process!
Brand Purification™
Turning the Telescope™
Disruption™
What is YOUR approach to branding?

2.
Lead the New Business Effort

Principal Passion is
essential to agency new
business success!
Know what kind of agency you want

to be, and focus all branding, hiring
decisions and client selections on
becoming that agency.

Be Passionate About:
Great Creative
Agency Brand Differentiation
Employee Dedication
Shameless Self-Promotion
Leading Your Merry Band to
Success

The Agency Principal’s Role
in New Business:
Allot 30 to 40% of their time to new
business activities
Be fully aware of all new business
activities
Regularly review prospects list to
ensure the agency focuses on “best”
opportunities
Be the agency’s best “new business
ambassador” and promoter

The Agency Principal’s Role
in New Business:
Sign off on all new business
Attend all new business presentations
(but not necessarily all first meetings)
Be prepared to lead all new business
pitches
Be able to “solo pitch” if needed
Stay in contact with existing accounts
to win new projects and grow the
business
3.
The Holistic New Business Effort

These are the people who
prepare the pitch:
The Creative Director
The Account Director
The Media Director
The Digital Czar
The Production Manager
Put someone from each department on

“the committee.”

4.
The New Business Hunter

New business is
development, not just sales.
This is why the new business
hunter is a necessary,
salaried position,
plus commission.

What does a new business
hunter do?
Prepares and maintains the agency mailing
list
Fulfills the agency mailings
Builds prospect background research files
Cold calls – and “warm” calls
Looks for “trouble”
Makes “trouble”
Sets up meetings
Makes initial calls

What does a new business
hunter do?
Is involved in the community
Informs the principal as to when
s/he should step in
Meets with the agency new
business committee regularly
Adds input to marketing proposals
Transfers accounts to the agency
account service team

The Weekly New Business
Pipeline Meeting
Recaps new business hunter’s activities
Updates committee on status of “AA”
list prospect pursuit
Announces contacts/appointments with
“A” List
Details actions needed, meetings
achieved, next targets to be contacted

5.
The Prospects You Most

Want to Win

The Agency New Business
Team builds and maintains
the database list
The agency principal reviews
the list regularly to add,
delete and prioritize

Building a New Business List:
Your “AA” List – the prospects you would
kill to acquire; your Top Ten
The “A” List – the rest of your pre-qualified,
top fifty prospects to whom you mail
regularly
The “B” List – Your Referral Network;
primary business contacts who may send
prospects your way
Your Current Clients
Building a New Business List:
Assemble list from a variety of sources:
Purchased lists (you will customize)
Chamber of Commerce
Associations
Organizations like Sales & marketing
Executives
Personal knowledge
Contacts
Media representatives
Newspaper references

Pre-qualify your
prospects!

Client/Prospect Evaluation Form
Please rate prospects on their potential to become an
agency client.
Prospect Name: King Arthur Widgets, Inc.
Address: 2020 Lancelot Avenue Camelot Heights, CT
Phone: 203-121-2121 Contact:
Charlie Gawain
Type of Business: Industrial Parts Manufacturer
How did we obtain this lead? Camelot Heights Country Club
Rating:
100 is index. Please rate prospect “over” or “under” (over
being better than the index of 100, and under being worse than
the index of 100).
Rating
1. Agency knowledge of prospect’s business 75
2. Quality of work demanded by prospect 125
3. Agency proximity to client 125
4. Chemistry factor 100
5. Working level/number of decision makers 125
6. Potential gross income relative to total agency gross
income 100
7. Will we be marketing partner, intelligent project
supplier,
or vendor (potential for full service relationship)?
125
8. Importance of advertising to success of prospect’s
business 75
9. Prospect’s knowledge of how agencies work 100
10.Prospect’s ability to pay the agency on a timely
Building a New Business List
Keep your list clean
For print mail, use “address correction
requested”
Collect email addresses and URLs as
well whenever possible (more about
these in tactics No. 6)

Ask Current Clients for
Referrals
Use a name to get a meeting
The referral gets you in the door –
be prepared to gather information,
intrigue and impress
Follow-up with regular mailings,
business tips, and topical info
Call, call, call, call, call
How to “Stalk”

Guerilla Research
To “get smart” before you meet
a prospect:
Standard Rate & Dun & Bradstreet,
Data Hoovers
Trade associations Online informational
Dealers and databases
Distributors Prospect website,
(the Channel) marketing materials
Brokerage Second Wind
Firms/annual Research
reports

Nuggets

Voicemail

Up Against
the Wall

6.
Building Your Name and

Telling Your Story

You are doing more than
just promoting your
agency…
You are “evoking”

prospects to contact you
through awareness and
word-of-mouth
The Best Ways to Evoke
New Business:
Reputation
Word of mouth (a.k.a., “buzz”)
Over the transom (referrals)
Satisfied customers
Happy, passionately devoted
employees
The Web

Agency PR/Publicity
Press releases
Feature stories
“Expert” articles and quotes
Speaking engagements
Recruiting program
Conferences, forums, association
gatherings

Competitions –
Your work defines your agency
Awards build reputation

Awards build employee pride
Awards draw the media spotlight
Awards define your agency brand

Civic Work
Another reputation builder
Positions you as a community
leader
Helps build your referral network
Helps make first contact with
prospects
Engages employees in community
service

Organizations
Chamber of Commerce
Sales and marketing groups
Ad clubs
Civic or arts boards of directors
Charitable organizations

Advertising
(Why so surprised?)
Print ads in local/regional
newspapers and magazines
Outdoor campaigns
Online banner ads
Direct mail
Sponsorships (art shows, other
events)

The Agency Website
Great design, and…
Strategic portfolio – Contact page
current and results- A virtual agency
oriented tour
Case studies! CONTENT!
Your people An agency blog?
Your mission A press page
Your clients Fun stuff!

7.
Persistent Pursuit of
Prime Prospects

Direct Mail Essentials
Your customizable new business letter
Several memorable 3-D mailers (target
concepts for each industry)
Postcards
Custom research
Content! – Use for newsletter, e-zine and
regular mailings
Plus… a branded agency brochure and/or
CD/ROM; and your agency profile;

Don’t forget E-marketing
Build a permission-based email list for
prospects
Send an e-zine (ask for email address
registration)
Prospect-relevant news, research tidbits
and free white papers
Always include contact info, your URL and

“unsubscribe” links

Set up a Mailing Schedule
Send 3-D mailers to the “AA” list: follow-
up with phone call, bounceback
postcards
Send regular postcards, newsletter, etc.
to “A” list
The new business hunter tracks all
mailings in the database, inventories
mailing supplies
SET A BUDGET!

Remember Your “B” List?
Mail to referral network, too –
consider which prospects they
know and send interesting news
and data to be “passed on”
Refer business to them to
encourage a “return of favor”
Send thank-you gifts for referrals

8.
Why Search Is Part of Agency

New Business Strategy

Search matters because:
90% of businesses looking for an
agency start with online research
Over 95% of Web users find what they are
looking for by visiting the top 6 search
engines
The top 10 results receive 78% more
traffic than positions 11-30
Users hardly ever go deeper than the top
30 listings for any one search
A high ranking is GOLDEN

Search Engine Optimization
of your website helps
improve your “organic”
search results.
Combine SEO with an online/offline
search marketing campaign.

Search Engine Optimization
The “science” of achieving a high-
ranking in organic search results
(Search Engine Positioning) by:
Making the code and structure of
website pages “search-friendly”
Offering search-relevant content
Gaining popular links
Selecting the right keywords

SEO and Site Architecture
Internal linking – text links as well as
graphics
Keywords/phrases – relevant and
accurate
Page titles, file names, ALT tags and
META tags – spider-friendly
programming
Shallow navigation (content only a few
clicks “deep”)
Google site maps
Site Popularity
RELEVANT Popular/Reciprocal
Links – pioneered by Google to
help rank search results to
searcher’s keywords
Requests from Users
Site traffic

Popular Link Strategies
Reciprocal Links – Current Content
Bloggers, online Sponsorships –
publications, vendors,
clients, industry sites Request link on sites
you support
RSS Feeds –
Press and home page Content to other
feeds sites –
Blogs – Exchange articles with
Link your blog to other websites and
related blogs and request reciprocal
vice versa links

Keyword/Phrase Criteria
Prominence – Proximity –
How early they How close together
appear on the page are they (in the
phrase)
Frequency – How
Placement – Page
often they appear
title, body copy,
Weight – Ratio of META tags, etc.
keywords/page Synonyms
compared to other Grammar (really!)
words
Programming
Page Titles – brief, no hype, accurate
Site Description/Summary – concise
and accurate
No “dead” or broken links
Correct HTML code (ALT and META
tags)
Frame-less and text-linked
Clean navigation structure

Site Maps
Example: Google site map –helps
Google index a site.
See http://www.xml-sitemaps.com/
for help generating sitemap.xml file.
Set up a Google Webmaster Tools
account and submit the sitemap.xml
info to Google with your web address.
Explore similar strategies for other
engines.

Content, Content, Content
Regular rolling content evokes
regular relevant traffic
Articles, blogs, trends, data, tips
and insights
Offer freebies (white papers,
e-zines, etc.)
If it’s valuable, they will come.

Optimization Is About
More Than Positioning
Click-throughs – are users clicking
your search listing? (Relevant
keywords)
Are the “right” users clicking yur
listing? (Targeted keywords)
Are they staying on your site?
(“Stickiness”)

Site Marketing
Paid Search Joint ventures
Viral tactics (cross-promotion
Targeted directories with relevant
E-zine collaboration providers/vendors
(offer content, get Other people’s
a link) traffic (ask users
Local and Niche to share your
(vertical) search URL)
engines

9.
What to Take, What to Say,

and Winning a Second Meeting

The First Meeting
The agency principal goes with the new
business hunter in most cases
Take with you:
Research/industry knowledge
Portfolio on CD/ROM
Leave-behind agency brochure
Agency profile
No slide shows or videos unless those
are projects you’re pitching!

Talk about the prospect’s
business, products,
industry and challenges –
NOT about the agency!
Ask intelligent questions and
prompt them to tell you
what they need.

The
Confidential
Intelligence
Book

Up-Front Strategic
Deliverables
Competitive Intelligence
Research $2,000 - $ 8,000
Best Practice Analysis $4,000 - $10,000
Marketing Audit $5,000 - $15,000
Internet Best Practices $2,000 - $ 5,000

First Meeting Objectives:
Make prospects understand the agency
is consultative and strategic, not merely
a vendor of services
Get the prospect to do the talking
Probe for problems and issues
Get a second meeting by promising to
“gather some research about that topic”

The First Meeting Follow-up
Send a thank-you letter with more
“smart” research
KEEP THE BALL ROLLING – send
research tidbits via email and call
to discuss
Persistent Pursuit!

Full Court Press!
Continue to send research about the
prospect, products, industry and market
challenges – and potential ideas to grow
their business
Get the account, a project, another
meeting or a chance to pitch!
Pursue, pursue, pursue.
Mail and call until you get “your next shot”
Invite the prospect to tour the agency
The Agency Tour
Prepare the space and your employees
Post current work in your conference room
Ask employees to tidy up and dress
appropriately
Tell everyone about the prospect, especially
the correct pronunciation of names
Welcome them promptly and show
them to your conference room
Offer refreshments
Be a good host – work to make them
feel comfortable and “engaged”
10.
Tips for Successful

Pitching – and Closing!

The New Business Proposal
The Key to a Better Presentation
Marketing Media Strategy
Objective Media Plan
Overview Public relations,
Marketing Strategy Publicity, Promotion
Creative Strategy The Agency
Creative The Budget
Presentation

The Pitch
Customize it! No canned presentations –
Make it fit the prospect
The agency principal (or whoever is the
best presenter) must lead
All attending agency people participate
(or else leave them out of it) – but the
leader controls the event

The Pitch
BE PREPARED – Rehearse until you can
do it without prompts
Hold their copies of the written proposal
until you are done
Present from memory – Know your stuff
and be prepared for questions
NO SLIDE SHOWS! Use easel tablets
and list points as you make them

The Pitch
Make eye contact
Put drama in the presentation –
inject the
Keep it short

It’s Not Presenting,
It’s WINNING That Counts
Four Things That Are Part of a
“Winning” Strategy:
A strong understanding of the
prospect’s situation and problems
An ability to forge a personal
relationship with the new client
The “WOW” factor – make it memorable
An understanding of the underlying
politics
And a few more tips
Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse
Do creative “all the way” or not at all
Never underestimate the competition
Clearly demonstrate your USP -- the
unique selling proposition that makes
you stand out from the crowd
Make mini-summaries throughout
MAKE IT MEMORABLE
Be yourself (authenticity)

Basic Salesmanship
Some Things Never Change
Positive Attitude – Believe you are going to

succeed
Get into the prospect’s world immediately –
their needs, worries and problems
Be specific about goals
Keep the pitch interactive and involving –
ask questions that invite agreement

Basic Salesmanship
Some Things Never Change
Listen for buying signals – when they ask

for examples, what testing system you
use, how you charge for certain items, etc.
They are telling you that they are seriously
considering partnering with your agency
ASK FOR THE SALE

What Do Clients Look For
in a Pitch?
Creative exuberance
Good preparation
Credibility
Fearlessness and conviction
Different than the rest (your USP)

What Do You Have That
Bigger Agencies Don’t?
Attention – They service accounts with
second stringers; you use “the first
team”
Smarts – You have access to the same
research, planning and measurement
tools as they do
Agility – Imagine trying to turn course
in the Titanic – “big” and “responsive”
seldom go together
Price – They charge a lot more!
Contracts:
5 Things to Cover with New Clients
Agency of Record – you are contracted

by the client to act in their name
Sequential Liability – If the client does
not pay you for media placed in their
name, they are liable, not your agency
Hold Harmless – you are protected from
suits against false claims made by the
client about their products/services

Contracts:
5 Things to Cover with New Clients
Binding Arbitration – Both you and the

client agree to settle any disputes
through arbitration rather than in the
courts (not available in all States)
Time – you are given adequate notice
of termination (typically 90 days)

To Recap –
Our 10 “Killer” Ideas:
• Your Agency • Voracious Mailing
Brand • Optimized
• Principal Passion Agency Website
• The “First Team” • First Meeting
• Your Point Person Dynamics
• Your “A” List • Be a Winner, Not

Just a Presenter
• SSP

For more information about
Second Wind seminars, publications,
videos and services, or to learn about
membership in The Second Wind
Network, please visit:
www.secondwindonline.com.

© 2008 Anthony P. Mikes and Second Wind Ltd. 1

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FOR

© 2008 Anthony P. Mikes and Second Wind Ltd. 1

© 2008 Anthony P. Mikes and Second Wind Ltd. 2

It’s a fact of agency life –

© 2008 Anthony P. Mikes and Second Wind Ltd. 3

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Are you interesting?

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What is YOUR approach to branding?

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Lead the New Business Effort

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Know what kind of agency you want

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The Holistic New Business Effort

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Put someone from each department on

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The New Business Hunter

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The Prospects You Most

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Building Your Name and

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You are “evoking”

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Awards build reputation

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Awards build reputation

Positive Attitude – Believe you are going to

Listen for buying signals – when they ask

Agency of Record – you are contracted

Binding Arbitration – Both you and the